1st Venture [Video]

[amanwhodrinkstea]

[A nimble hand idly turns the bracelet a moment before pursed lips and sharp blue eyes come into view.]

A'right. Now what sort of drug induced fun fair is this? I'll say now I'm not really interested in another war. There's nothing to be gained from it. Least not on my end. I've got wars and bullshit enough where I've come from. The like that I've got stock in.

And the like that I need to be getting back to.

[Thomas shoves a hand in his coat pocket and digs around for a moment before his face turns from indifferent to downright annoyed, nose wrinkling and brows furrowing darkly]

Where the fuck can you get cigarettes 'round 'ere?

[He checks the other pocket with a dark look before finding a small wood toothpick that must have been left in his pocket from the Garrison. He sticks it between his teeth, gnawing it at it distractedly.]

If I'm to be stuck in this place, I want a smoke.

 

Comments

[seesobserves]

No joke. The scarcity of nicotine is serious blow to brain work.

There's a substance not dissimilar to shisha, but that's as close as we're going to get.

[amanwhodrinkstea]

Never 'eard of it.

What kind of poison is it then?

[seesobserves]

[With an offhand, "oh, of course" sort of tone:] Man like you probably never saw a hookah.

Shisha's milder. Made to be shared socially rather than taken in a quick five-minute fix. And what you'll find here is only an analogue. But if you're desperate for a substitute...

[amanwhodrinkstea]

And where 'round 'ere does a man get ahold of it?

[His tone is annoyed but flat as though he's only half considering it. A 'social' drug is not exactly his idea of a solution]

And for what price?

[seesobserves]

[He'll rattle off the location of a shop in Baldr's district.] Tell the proprietor you've just arrived, give her a decent sob story. They're typically sympathetic to newcomers.

[amanwhodrinkstea]

[He listens carefully, quiet a moment]

And how long have you been in this place?

[seesobserves]

Not as long as most.

[He'll leave the why do you ask unsaid, especially since he has an idea of the answer.]

[amanwhodrinkstea]

Long enough to make an opinion of it, i'd wager.

[seesobserves]

Certainly. Although in your position I might find facts more useful than opinions.

This isn't a hallucination, drug-induced or otherwise. You'll get on better if you let that sink in sooner rather than later.

[amanwhodrinkstea]

Are you a man with experience in drug-induced hallucinations?

[seesobserves]

Enough to have considered it a possibility, as you have.

[amanwhodrinkstea]

Fair enough.

So I am supposed to take it then that this is not a hallucination...it is not optional...and runnin' about in search of the exit would be a bigger waste of my time.

[seesobserves]

If by 'exit' you mean an exit from the situation entirely, then yes.

[amanwhodrinkstea]

So what would you suggest is a profitable use of a man's time 'ere?

[seesobserves]

Depends on what a man considers profit...

Although if you do mean money, the answer's the same as anywhere. If a bit complicated by the war efforts.

[amanwhodrinkstea]

Profit comes in more forms than money. Given the situation I am beginning to doubt that monetary profit in this place would worth any more than the shit from the cut.

[seesobserves]

More useful as a necessary means to survival. [Which is to say he agrees.]

War's the only business going, really. You want advancement, you'll want to find a place in it.

[His emphasis of the word carries an unconscious hint of personal disdain. He's never been one to seek power for its own sake.]

[amanwhodrinkstea]

Not necessarily lookin' to advance 'ere. I suppose it depends on how long they're planning to keep me around.

What needs doing with the war effort?

[seesobserves]

Have the natives not tried to recruit you to one of their compulsory gangs yet?