[video + a̴̞̰̩ư̲̩̳d̘͘i̶̝͖̩o]

[rekindlenpcs]

Hello, guests of our fair city!

[A young woman appears on the screen, dressed in white robes with a very ornate pattern on the hood and sleeves inlaid with gold thread. She stretches her arms out in welcome, a warm smile crossing her lips.]

My name is Rhea, and I am the one who presides over our ancient traditions - including those kept within our temple that was only recently reclaimed by the plight that has infected our homes.

[She bows her head in thought, and despite herself, tones down her youthfulness into a more serious tone.]

My fellow priestesses, the monks, and I hope you had a festive winter holiday season despite those creatures who seemed taken with us all. Let me ease your fears and say that those slain shortly before your Earthen holiday of Christmas were the last, and our... partners in the science department are s-

[And just like that, the video cuts as a laugh echoes through the now-staticky feed as though they weren't being broadcasted by something that had been linked directly to the network like the initial feed. Judging by the tone, it is decidedly male.]

Shown yourself to give them a sense of safety, have you my dearest Rhea? And I thought the priestess you succeeded had taught you better than to lie to your guests.

[There is a clearing of a throat and further pause before the video cuts back to Rhea, looking quite at a loss for words.]

...A-As I was saying, the science department as collected a few of the rocks for study. Though I doubt they'll find much on an object that has lost it's magic, if what history reads.

Iif you have any questions, I would be glad to answer them.

[As the feed cuts, she mouths "What was that?" to someone off-screen.]

Comments

[rekindlenpcs]

[She flails a little, suddenly a bit shy as she speaks.]

N-no, we still have access to some information from before the power situation. It's just that...

[Oh, who is she fooling? She blushes, bowing her head.]

I... recently took over as the High Priestess. Public speaking is not quite my forte lest I have a tome in front of my face.

[shadowsgambit]

Oh. I guess I wouldn't be much better, myself.

[Like hell she wouldn't, she's gotten very good at appearing confident.]

So that makes you the leader of this whole thing. It's nice to see someone upfront about it. [It rules out part of her suspicion for sure, though far from all.] When I came here, someone mentioned people just vanish here. Where do they go?

[rekindlenpcs]

I try to be. We are, as a whole, more transparent when given the chance.

[She smiles politely, if maybe a little sad.]

I assume you mean fellow guest like yourself? We try to care for you all as one would for guests you invite into your home. However, this one - while peaceful for the most part - is not very forgiving in its current state. Sometimes those not acclimated like my brothers and sisters grow ill suddenly, so we take them in for treatment. However, when neither priestesses nor doctors can cure them, we use what power we have to send them home to the point the scientists first brought them at.

[shadowsgambit]

"Acclimated" to what?

[rekindlenpcs]

Many of my colleagues will say that it's because of something in the air. However, I think it may simply be because our world is different from your own. Sometimes the sudden change in locations can be more disorienting to others, which is why their souls overcompensate.

[Though she quickly adds:] Of course, this is only my speculation.

[shadowsgambit]

So nobody agrees.

[Doesn't matter. She got the answer to that question.]

Fair enough, I guess. That voice sounded like he knew some things. Any idea what kind of a position a person could come from to say that kinda thing in confidence?

[Aside from "someone who dug up dirt", which would be the obvious thing back home, but this is not home and this fact has been very insistently shoved in her face with every single second she's spent in this place.]

[rekindlenpcs]

Right.

As for who... it would have to be either someone from my order - which I doubt since I know all of them and none of them sound like that voice - or someone who is very good at delving into our histories.

[shadowsgambit]

And your histories are filed how, exactly? Electronic or paper?

[Given that the feed seemed like it was hacked, she assumes the former. But there's no reason a good decker - hacker, whatever - can't be good at stealth work in meatspace too.]