@candor | IC info-sharing

[fulcrum3]

I suggest we pool our information. Use this post if you want to, to keep it all in the same place.

Remember to keep your astralogues hidden and use them stealthily.

Comments

DALEN + FACTORY DEETS

[dynobyte]

i think im buddies with that dalen guy now???
so if any1 has any questions about the factory let me know bc hes going 2 give me a tour

@forgetmenot

[inklongdry]

I'm glad it worked out. Keep me appraised of what you discover.

LATER THAT DAY - BIG UPDATE

[dynobyte]

ok so....
i did the factory tour and i feel like dalen rly gave me a run around about some stuff
like he wouldnt show me anything about how the green dyes are getting made
or how the dye making materials are sourced
or about the excavation waste
or about anything thats going on inside of the bigger factory

its just a lot of blank spaces guys!! a lot of stuff that he kept breezing past me about and making me forget what i was even trying 2 ask!
oh and he just wont talk about aaliyah AT ALL
but maybe thats less surprising

theres a lot we still need 2 do

[purplexing]

I knew that guy was suspicious.

[No you didn't, Donnie. You thought he was rather charming and were pleased to have your skills acknowledged!

-okay so he's not the best at reading people, that's why he's not the face man!]

The green dyes are one of the ones this town's been using forever though, right? Do we know how they're traditionally sourced?

[dynobyte]

idk the specifics but theyre this kind of burrowing beetle they mush up
so i guess in smaller amounts youd just catch the beetles or breed them...?
wait DO they breed them anywhere??
that seems like something youd do if you wanted 2 have a bunch of them...?
but maybe someone could talk 2 one of the traditional artisans and find out for sure

[purplexing]

Depends on how common these beetles are. Haven't heard of any beetle farms but who knows?

Yeah, I think it'd be better to find out how the traditional side of things work so we have something to compare against the more "modern" methods.

Birds'-eye-view crew

[fulcrum3]

Yamada, Mephiston and I are up in the mountains. We can see that the lush vegetation around the town and farm cuts off abruptly into the sparser vegetation of the surrounding environment, which is not surprising. What is is that the area around the lake doesn't seem to be thriving as well; atypical for an oasis.

[OOC: shamelessly paraphrasing this]

[dynobyte]

u guys are in the mountains??? wow
ive actually been wondering if theres pollution in the lake thats been making that area weird

[fulcrum3]

That sounds good, keep us posted. We're staying up here for a while to look out for anyone else lurking, or for any strange traffic patterns down there.

[Cassian's seen too many crowded places turn into battlefields, especially if there's some conspiracy at work. It's a bit paranoid, even he'll admit, but if any group starts to turn against theirs, he won't pass up the chance to be an early warning system.]

@forgetmenot

[inklongdry]

Oh, that's very atypical indeed. Estinien and I mean to investigate the lake, as will others, I'm sure. I'll let you know what we discover.

[fulcrum3]

Yes, please do. We're gonna keep an eye on things up here a little longer.

[He hasn't quite admitted it to the others, but if any group starts to turn against theirs, Cassian hopes they can be an early warning system.]

[dreamofhoney]

I think I might have found a lead on the sickness. One of the dyes they use here is made using the shell of a beetle that seems to be slightly toxic, which could either be causing the illness or weakening their immune systems to make it easier to get sick.

[dynobyte]

i wanna find out if dalen knows about the beetles & if they take any precautions with them
i rly wonder if it could be enough 2 cause such a terrible sickness tho...

[dreamofhoney]

Even if it isn't the sole cause, during a plague, any way to improve general health is good, right? So, I want to look more into the beetles. Where they come from, how long they've been used... oh, and whether or not there's any pattern between dye colors used in homes and sickness.

[dynobyte]

thats a great idea!! :) :) :)
if ppl started getting sick at the same time thats like a done deal

LATER...

[dynobyte]

ok dalen wouldnt tell me anything about how the beetles are processed i think we r definitely on 2 something here
theres gotta be something fucked up about it

Re: LATER...

[dreamofhoney]

We're definitely on to something! I just don't understand why. If you know that the dye is toxic, why would you just keep making it anyway? Why not find a safer recipe?

[dynobyte]

sometimes if ppl are making enough money they dont care about stuff like that
but its weird because he seemed so friendly with his workers....
but maybe hes just friendly with every1 even if hes secretly killing them and thats his whole thing

[soabirdcameand]

hang on but theyve been using this stuff for ages right
doesnt really track with more folks getting ill of late
unless its one of those long term type scenarios i suppose

[dreamofhoney]

That's why I want to find more information. How long have they been using these beetles to make dye? How long have people been getting sick? Until we know the timelines, we can't be sure.

[soabirdcameand]

got a glimpse of the docs records seems like things kicked off bout fifty years back with people getting ill
dunno if that matches up with any of the rest of timeframe but its a start right

[dreamofhoney]

That's good! Now we just need to look into the history of dye! If the green dye recipe is 50 years old, then that's probably the cause.

[soabirdcameand]

would be a bit of a smoking gun
ill pull a few strings flash a few coins see what the scuttlebutt is round the market

[dreamofhoney]

Good plan! While you're doing that, I'm going to go hunting for beetles. Maybe I can learn more about them if I see where they come from.

pathology

[unlawfulstudy]

well, i managed to get a sample to try and test for the infection agent, and i didn't get anything when i tried to culture it. so the disease isn't viral, bacterial, or even fungal. the good news, i guess, is that means you probably can't catch it just from being around someone who's sick. the bad news is that means we can't vaccinate against it, and it's another dead end as to source of infection. but it does point more strongly in the direction of something environmental. in conclusion, i concur with my colleagues that those beetles are really suspicious.

Re: pathology

[unlawfulstudy]

also i tried to talk to the doctor and she wasn't having it because apparently SOMEONE broke into her lab and rummaged through her stuff, so thanks for NOTHING, whoever that was!!!!

[your_best_friend]

Sounds like it's magical then. Do you think giving some of the infected some monster food to see if it heals them?

[Around half an hour later:]

I could also try to enter a battle with them to *CHECK on their stats, but doing so exposes my abilities. It could still be useful information, perhaps.

[unlawfulstudy]

not "magical," environmental. possibly some sort of poisoning or radiation. and venet already tried some sort of "magic" healing and it didn't seem to have any lasting effect but-- go ahead, i guess??

[In response to the latter message:]

DO NOT FIGHT THE SICK PEOPLE??????

[your_best_friend]

Oh no, no one needs to choose the FIGHT option.

[redesignated]

Symptoms are not consistent with radiation sickness.

Has anyone investigated the farm yet? Industrial farming methods can introduce environmental factors.

[redesignated]

I learned from the couple that manages the farm that this region experienced a severe famine during their youth. Many people died.

When asked about the timing of the famine's end, Uzma seemed unable to recall and implied she may be experiencing early stages of dementia.

[added later:] Correction: Auntie Uzma.

[apparently people get really indignant if you leave off her honorific!!!]

[dynobyte]

i feel like these guys gotta b doing something 2 artificially enhance their general bounty
like u know a contract with otherworldly forces
or an unethical harnessing of interplanar energies

[You know, as you do.]

[your_best_friend]

I'd also like to add in that that's all the useful information pertaining to this mission that we got. We spent nearly the entire time listening to ramblings about her life. While that is useful for other things, it isn't for this.

[redesignated]

It was not useful for the investigation but I did find it very charming.

I like her.

[your_best_friend]

Since Rinfally already posted the results of the investigation I did with him, the one I did with Wheatley did not end so favorably. I only managed to find out one interesting tidbit:

The first cases of al-yatalashaa seemed to only begin 50 years ago.