INTRO LOG #2

[abraxasmods]

Intro Log #2

It has been two months now since the initial group of summonings first took place. Castle Thorne, or at least the part above ground, is buzzing with a vibrant air of hope following the 'success' at the Singularity. Eager smiles and excited chattering are to be found in nearly every corner of the castle and surrounding town. The honored guests may find grateful looks turned their way more often than not. A new and brighter day seems to be dawning on the kingdom.

In the dungeons it's a different story entirely. The mood is somber and uneasy. The prisoner taken for trial has yet to return, and no word has come regarding her or her fate. There has been no mention of any further trials as of yet and guards seem to have little patience for unruly behavior or even conversation. Some seem to not even look at or acknowledge the prisoners at all.

[ Feel free to continue threads from the TDM here or start your own! As cell and room assignments will be short-lived due to this month's event, you're free to assume whichever cellmates and roommates you like instead of officially signing up as long as there are ICly no more than four people in a cell or room at once. ]

Comments

[princessvegas]

Yeah, be sure you fuckin' do that.

[ There is no imagined slight capable of invoking the sheer disgust Julie still displays for Nadine, and likely will continue to espouse until Flagg himself tells her to lay off. Her contempt is deeply real.

For a beat, she just continues to snarl at Nadine, then abruptly shoves her arm through the bars, hand open demandingly even while her face still holds pure spite across it. ]

Well then hand it over.

[nadine_he_loves]

[There's always that internal battle. The desire to be petty and mean versus an upbringing that stressed manners and docility and Being A Good Girl. Despite a notable body count, despite everything she's done, Nadine still finds herself bound by the ghosts of youth. She's a Good Girl.

Whatever that may mean in any given circumstance.

Once more, her upbringing wins out. It's not just conditioning, it's logical. She isn't going to cause problems. She isn't going to make waves. Let Julie be angry and difficult, it's really not much different than any temper tantrum she encountered in class.

Still. She reaches into her basket and finds the smallest of little cakes she has, and drops it into Julie's hand.]

You're welcome.

[princessvegas]

[ That's childish, Nadine. And also not befitting of a queen, Miss Take-The-High Road. Angry and bitchy as she is, Julie is still someone who has pledged her life for your husband.

She feels she deserves a lot more cake than she has been handed. ]

Thanks.

[ Her tone is not particularly grateful, but the nicety is still there. She takes a bite before tucking the cake away for later. ]

You been here the whole time and you ain't figured out that you come from earlier than Lloyd? And Flagg too, I bet.

[nadine_he_loves]

[It's a small thing, the thanks, but it's enough to smooth Nadine's ruffled feathers somewhat.]

Randall just said I didn't need to worry about that.

[There's a slight frown then, tugging stubbornly at the corners of Nadine's mouth. Flagg is...different in some way she can't quite place. It's nothing overt or obvious, but it's something easily explained by time. And the way he'd asked her to tell him so specifically what the last thing she could remember was... She'd known, but taken the assurances that it wasn't anything to concern herself about.]

That it didn't matter and he was just happy I was here. And Lloyd hasn't said much at all about any of it, just a couple of things that didn't really have anything to do with me anyway.

[Not directly, or in any way Nadine wants to admit at the moment.]

But if Randall says I have nothing to worry about, then I have nothing to worry about.

[princessvegas]

Oh. I see.

[ And, in one of those moments of clarity she's prone to, she does see it. Flagg is mysterious and brilliant, but he's also occasionally obvious if you know what to look for, and this is one of those times where he might as well be standing next to one of his neon signs.

Nadine had killed herself back home, but she was only able to do it because he wasn't expecting it. If he could control her better here, if he could convince her that there was nothing to worry about and that she shouldn't think too hard, well, then he could easily ensure that she never had the opportunity to off herself and that baby again.

Julie can think of easier ways to guarantee it, since apparently Nadine isn't even pregnant yet, but that's Flagg's prerogative, she supposes.

She snorts with amusement, finding his manipulation humorous, and leans her head against the bars. But then she decides to move on. All the better to watch it play out. ]

They say why he ain't allowed out?

[nadine_he_loves]

They consider him a threat. I advocated for him but they wouldn't hear it. And made it pretty clear if the issue was pushed, it would do more harm than good. I'm honestly less concerned with the 'why' and more concerned with the 'how'. We know the why, but how the hell are they able to keep him locked up and weakened like this?

[Flagg's power, at least to her, is essentially god-like. How could the Thorneans manage to hold him? How had they figured out a way to do it at all? That sort of power...Nadine's deeply uncomfortable with the implications.

But those are hardly helpful thoughts, and this has finally turned to a productive conversation.]

I've been learning their magic, or at least what they'll let us have access to, but it's not exactly helpful at the moment. They're not stupid, they're only letting us see and know what they want us to. The mages say they know everything about us, but I don't think they really do. I think they know some things, and they guess or just imply they know the rest. They're careful what they say, they never give any details and brush it off with 'we see all possibilities'.

[princessvegas]

As far as I can tell, Flagg can't bring people back from the dead, and these people can. So maybe their magic is... not more powerful than his, but... y'know, different to his. Here, in their world. All the power in the world don't make a difference if it don't work right, and maybe this place makes his not work like it's supposed to.

[ She's not expressing herself the best, but she thinks she has something of a point. Strength only goes so far when your opponent has the high ground, and maybe these people do, from a magical stance. She views Flagg as a god too, but wasn't the point of all those old Greek stories that the gods were fallible too? Didn't even the Christian God find His match in the Devil?

Or maybe Flagg is just biding his time. She wouldn't put that past him either. ]

What'd they said they know about you? [ It's not said snidely or anything, just with a mild curiosity. After all, the mages hadn't said jack shit to Julie. ]

[nadine_he_loves]

Like trying to put out a grease fire with water, it's an incompatibility issue.

[Nadine nods, understanding what Julie's saying. It's something she's considered, in a roundabout way. It's obvious the magic practiced here is its own type, since apparently anyone can learn to use it. Flagg's powers are different from what she understands.

But there has to be some way to undo what Thorne's done.]

And honestly not much, that I'll apparently do great deeds for them. Which I can say right now is wrong. They blew their chance for any help they'd potentially get from us. I don't know if Lloyd or Randall mentioned anything but we don't plan to let them get away with kidnapping us and locking...two of us up.

[Nadine may not have a great impression of Julie, but she's one of their people. That means something.]

[princessvegas]

[ Julie scoffs but it's not at Nadine in particular. It's at the idea of all these stolen people serving their captors, like they should be grateful. Sure, some of them might be, but what was the incentive for everyone else?

Even Julie knows that you have to give people something to want. The people in the fighting pit were promised life at the Inferno if they won. Actual slaves, fighting to the death, just for a chance to be a bigwig. What were they promised here? The chance to learn pre-school magic?

She leans her head back against the wall and rolls her eyes, hugging her knees. ]

Just seems like most people, even the ones they're treatin' like royalty up there, don't wanna be yanked outta time and space. Pretty damn stupid to think that they can do that to folks and then expect 'em to smile and "do great deeds".

[nadine_he_loves]

I only know a couple of people who are interested in helping Thorne. And one of them is a superhero so that's just what he does. Most of us upstairs aren't thrilled about any of this. But it just means the people here are desperate.

[She and Lloyd have had this discussion, coming to the same conclusion. The only reason Thorne would attempt such a risky plan is out of desperation. They can't save themselves so they're praying kind strangers will do it for them.]

Desperate people make mistakes. We just have to keep a close eye on them, keep our strength up, and be ready for pretty much anything. I come down here every day, I'll bring more food next time.

[princessvegas]

To be real honest, I doubt they'll ever find enough people who want to save this place. Like savin' a fuckin' Rennaissance fair, 'cept they don't even have the giant turkey legs.

[ Julie doesn't believe in the goodness of strangers anymore. She experienced too much during her isolation in Kansas and her trek to Vegas to still have faith in mankind.

She sighs, nodding, and while she doesn't seem to have warmed much from her initial acrimony, she is no longer as aggressively toxic. Whether she likes it or not, Nadine is, in all but name, her queen. ]

Thanks. I asked Lloyd for some wine or somethin', the water down here is real dirty. But you don't have to bring me anything special. Just some of whatever you're bringin'.