[Meanwhile back on the island....] [Tim and Saldin made proper burial arrangements for the presumed lycanthropic human that Angel shot. And Tim received a phone call.] [That done, the time is now 1830 Local time. Moonrise: 1950 local time.] [You're still near the main town. The rather odd robed woman has gone back to tending to the manacled prisoners, military patrols are still wandering, otherwise pretty quite.] [Obvious investigatory options: Anything else in the small town, the docks, and the ruins.] [The docks are a short walk away, the ruins are at least an hour walk away.] [Start] * Tim hangs up his phone and shoves it back into his pocket before checking to see if Saldin is done yet. * Saldin is looking down at the ground with his eyes closed and the shovel over his shoulder, and the plants he had picked a long time ago totally by the wayside. He sure looks done. * Tim walks a bit closer to Saldin before he speaks, "Weee...might have a problem." * Mai, the SAB translator assigned to you, stands a bit back from Saldin, some of the color lost during the unpleasantness has returned to her face, but she still looks a bit phased. * Saldin looks up and turns to look at Tim, white-eyed as always. "I believe it would be more apt to say you have a problem, my friend. What is it?" No, if Ben's right all three of us have this problem. See, he thinks the mutant werewolf bacteria is airborne and we're all infected. * Saldin arches an eyebrow, then chuckles. "I have to say, Tim, it seems you have forgotten I already have a few problem with my form. One more cannot make much difference." * Saldin pauses, and adds, "I am sorry for you both, however, if it is true." * Tim shrugs, "at the least it increases the number of people trying to kill you by two. Anyway, shall we go find out if he's right?" * Mai looks a bit disturbed at that, but not horribly so. "Lets." * Saldin nods, and puts the shovel down, before re-picking-up his wolfsbane. Or trying to, as he might explode violently if he's a werewolf! * Saldin does not go BOOM! (Or just get a bad rash that'll last for weeks.) [Nor does he manifest a rash.] * Saldin picks up his armfuls of flowers, then! "Well, so far, I am not a werewolf." That's the first good news all day. * Mai walks over to Saldin and gingerly claims a wolfsbane flower for herself, assuming he doesn't object. * Tim reaches into the pocket he stuffed his own flowers into and waits for the itching or lack there of. * Saldin certainly wouldn't object! He even smiles at Mai faintly. [No itching so far.] And it seems I'm not either, and now to find out how long this is going to last. * Tim walks towards the med tent. * Mai smiles back faintly and fidgets a bit, trading the flower from one hand to another. "Quite so." * Saldin walks with Tim. Well, not like he's got anywhere better to be. [And a quick reminder note, the medical tent has doctors and nurses and a few wounded soldiers and badly injured infect persons. Those not badly injured but thought to be infected are in town buildings, as is the odd somewhat ethereal woman.] [Tim, Saldin, and Mai get to the tent, Mai's actually the only one of the three whose been in it so far.] [The tent appears to have once been a fairly conventional field medical facility, that's no longer the case.] [There's about two dozen soldiers and medical personnel currently being tended to by a half dozen medical personnel.] [It seems as if they're fairly understaffed.] [In the other half of the tent there's a lot of cots and about fifty bodies, some wolves, a small numbers half-human half wolves, some humans. The vast majority are apparently dead. There are a handful of still living subjects, with only one still living in wolf form. There are no surviving half-man, half- wolves] [The half men, half wolves seem to be rather burly and hairy humanoids, they look rather strong, although the form seems rather awkward and half-finished. There are spots of fur and spots of bare skins, they don’t make a remotely attractive sight. They do have claws, and although they seem ill-formed] [The wolves themselves appear to be natural quadrupeds, but are about halfway in size between a wolf and a brown bear. Coloration is variable, but primarily black fur. They have several inch claws and teeth quite suitable for tearing into flesh and holding on. From their musculature, you’d think they have strength closer to that of a bear.] * Tim pauses when he sees the inside of the tent, and then steps in and to the side to let the other two enter. [The tent hasn't changed much. Still a doctor working on the various patients, he doesn't really acknowledge your presence. A few nurses running around assisting. The medical personnel are wearing surgical masks and scrubs.] * Saldin enters, holding the flowers close, and looking around. * Mai enters and manages to maintain her composure, having seen this before. [1835 local time.] * Tim clears his throat and attempts to get the attention of one of the nurses or doctors. (Hmm.. give me an etiquette (middle) check Tim. -4 bonus. Vs. soul.) (Yay for stupidly high stats!) * Saldin just looks around. He sees Mai and offers her a small comforting smile. * Mai looks a little bit more at ease with Saldin's smile and then reinforces Tim's cough with a quick string of words in Indonesian. He says something back without looking. She then turns to the group. "He's willing to answer a few more questions, so long as I don't bother him with any repeat from what the other two asked." He does know English, but isn't entirely comfortable with it. * Tim shakes his head, "Tell him I'll try not to, but the other two didn't pass on much of what was said. I just want a couple of people who weren’t bitten tested to see if they're infected too." There were a good number of infected persons who were only clawed. As for neither bitten nor clawed.... * Tim looks at the doctor expectantly. * Doctor barks out a quick orderly to one of the nurses, a fairly tall very short haired Asian male, who walks over to the group. He help you. * Tim nods once, "Thankyou for your time." Apparently this gentlemen was here during the attack. * Doctor gives a grunt of acknowledge, but not a particularly annoyed grunt. * Nurse looks a tad concerned, though Mai says a few quick words to him and he relaxes. * Tim turns to the new guy and gives him a slight bow, "Hello, we might have a problem, and you might be able to help." * Nurse returns it and nods hesitantly at that, more firmly when Mai repeats the message. He returns the bow. * Saldin bows very slightly, because he's stuff-ful. * Nurse makes a comment to Mai in fairly fluent, if likely not native, Chinese. * Tim waits for somebody to translate into a language he speaks. * Mai translates that. * Tim nods, "That's good to hear. One of my two...coworkers who was evicted from the island believes that the bacteria that caused all this mess became airborne at some point and may have infected all of us. I'd like to disprove him, and you seem to do just that." * Mai translates that and he briefly checks with the doctor and then responds in Chinese (translated by Mai) * Saldin nods along slightly. * Tim rubs his eyes and then nods, "Not quite as much help as I had thought...Is there any way to test and make sure other than finding -what did you say her name was? Pathogen?- or waiting for the moon?" * Nurse continues, still translated. "Pathogen's over by the store with the suspected werewolves, wears a cloak, can't miss her. And yes, we can test a blood sample, although the disease may not manifest itself for the first time until moon rise. We haven't had time to test several day old samples for signs of the disease, so we can't be sure.> * Saldin mms faintly. "Not completely promising." * Tim twitches slightly half way through the translation, "...Right, how long would it take to get the results back if you tested right now?" * Man shakes his head, Mai translates. [1845 local time] * Saldin looks slightly confused, but doesn’t speak up. Mhmm, I think there's been a bit of misunderstanding. See, I'm trying to figure out if any of us..." ::points at himself:: "might have become infected since coming here." From what I've gathered, he can test us easily enough. But he isn't absolutely certain that signs of the disease would appear before the person has transformed the first time." She quickly confers with the nurse. "But he's happy to test you." * Nurse goes to get some equipment. * Tim pinches the bridge of his nose and then turns to Saldin, "Could I interest you in a free werewolf test?" * Saldin says with a small smile. "As long as it's free..." [While Tim Demurs from being tested, the others are conducted fairly quickly. In about 5 minutes he reports through Mai that neither Saldin or Mai have any indicators.] [Time 1850] Well, that is one less thing to worry about, is it not? It is, and now... When you do that wandering away thing...can you take other people with you? * Saldin looks stunned. Slightly. "Well... I believe so, but it is not something I would want anyone to rely on. The universe can be... fickle." * Mai looks a tad bemused at that. * Tim nods twice, "See, I'd like to check out the ruins on the other side of the island, but I don't think there's anybody there I can talk to. * Tim gestures at the setting sun, "and while I can get myself there and back in plenty of time, I cannot bring the lovely lady with me." I... see. Well, it could certainly be attempted, if that is where we need to be. Well, it's where I need you to be, and then not to be, but I won't presume to speak for the universe. * Saldin looks between Mai and Tim. "I cannot guarantee where we will show up, if you are even carried along, but if you wish to try..." * Nurse looks a tad confused. Mai makes a quick comment to him in Indonesian that he laughs at and then gets back to work. I am willing. * Tim nods, "I don't think I've got anywhere better to be." * Saldin nods slightly, and closes his eyes for a second. "Alright. I... suppose you can both try to hold my shoulder. That may help." * Mai puts her hand on Saldin's left shoulder. * Tim reaches out with his left hand and puts it on Saldin's other shoulder. * Saldin looks at the tent's door, and strides out it with a sense of purpose! Hopefully, they come along. * Tim follows with a sense of hope. [They just walk for a bit and nothing happens, and nothing keeps happening, but just when you might think to give up you notice that you seem to be at the border of a fairly ancient looking temple structure with the jungle to your back.] [There's a fair number of statues and columns, partly covered in vegetation. There is a medium sized building that still has an enclosed room several meters off, but predominantly you just see lots of ruins.] (spot checks, sight, HA counts) (Hooray!) [You see a hut at the far end of the ruins, blends in with the surroundings fairly naturally, there seems to be some movement in that area.] (I'd call that made) * Tim looks around, "It seems you did need to be here, now if the universe is just as willing when the moon comes out, we'll be out of problems we can deal with." We will see. (Gah, Ard or any of the other editor types would kill me for that comma splice) [There's also a dirt road leading off into the jungle. Looks like a jeep could navigate it, but it'd be a bumpy ride.] And speaking of seeing, there's something over there. * Tim points at the hut. * Saldin nods slightly. "It certainly seems that way." * Mai squints a little in that direction. "I don't know what you.. oh. Yes." * Tim starts to pick his way towards the hut. [As you pass the surviving temple building, you notice that there seem to be some people lying down inside. Further off you can see an old woman sitting by a pot in the hut, and two children playing on the ruins.] * Saldin smiles at all of them as he walks! * Mai glances around as she walks, she's got a slightly fascinated look and is paying close attention to the ruins. * Tim nods at any of them who look his way. [Another awareness check, HA counts, sense of choice. -4 bonus from any dark vision.] (Another yay!) (Dicy seems to like Tim, which is good because his mom has only had two rolls under ten in the past two sessions.) [The people lying down in the temple room all seem to be alive but sleeping rather deeply, it seems a bit off actually.] [One or two of them have on Army uniforms, another is a nurse, the rest seem to be locals. About a dozen in all.] * Saldin mms faintly. "Very strange." * Tim glances at the sleeping people, "I guess that's one way to keep them from attacking, much better than the alternatives." [The three of you reach the hut, the old woman smiles up in acknowledgment and says something in Indonesian which Mai replies.] She greets the three of us and asks if we come for sanctuary, I replied that we were not infected but were looking into the nature of the epidemic. [The two kids, one boy, looks about five, and a girl, looking about eight, keep playing around a few meters away.] * Saldin smiles at the children, and responds, "That sounds about correct." * Tim nods. * The girl waves back to Saldin and says "Hi!" in English. The boy hides behind a statue. * Saldin walks over to them and says, "Hello, little girl. My name is Saldin." * Mai looks over at the two of you. "Want me to ask a few questions, or would either of you like to start?" * Saldin has walked away! Apparently, he is not the questioning type. * Boy maneuvers around the statue so he's still out of sight. * Girl walks up to Saldin. "Nice to meet you Saldin." * Tim smiles at Saldin and the kids before turning to Mai, "Hmm, well, I suppose we should start with the British tourist." * Saldin bows, and doesn't lose any flowers in the process. "What is your name? And what are you doing?" * Mai speaks with the old woman briefly. "She says one came here about a month ago, she'd become feverish during the walk and needed to be treated." (Brain melting, I can't remember if Tim ever heard the date that the tourist came through.) (It hadn't been firmly determined) My name is Adinda, and I was playing, and then I started talking to you. * Girl is now known as Adinda * Saldin laughs very faintly. "Well, Adinda, who is your shy friend?" * Tim blinks and then nods slowly, "I see, that'll make her hard to find again. What happened after she was treated?" His name is Ajoop. He's afraid of you, it might be your eyes. Are you sick? * Saldin shakes his head. "No, I'm not sick. I'm a monk. It makes me look weird sometimes." She stayed here a few days and I tended to her, the fever had started to abate but then a different evil appeared. She changed, for two days I tried to supress it but she only grew sicker, I was afraid she would die. * Adinda speaks quickly in Indonesian to the boy who speaks back at a fast clip. You aren't here to take over the temple, are you? * Tim nods again. * Saldin shakes his head, and smiles comfortingly. "Take it over? Is there no monk or priest here?" * Mai asks a quick follow up question and resumes translating. "The third night I let her transform, several men stood by to subdue her, and she scratched and bit at them." There's grandma, but she's not a priest, she's just here because this is a good place. I translate for her and sometimes the tourist give me candy! * Tim winces, "And then they transformed as well?" * Saldin nods. "Well, I'm afraid I will not be taking over the temple. I am simply here to be here, Adinda." * Old woman sighs and looks down when Mai translates that. "She was still sick and it took her many hours time to transform and regain her power, although when she did she was truly a terrible great dog. But while the men felt ill and she ran off, the moon descended before they changed." She never came back, but earlier she had said her curse, could only be passed by being intimate with the men or the sharing of blood ritual. I think she means blood transfusions. Good! You seem alright, but we don't need a priest, we have grandma. * Old woman continues talking in a low mutter, mostly to herself. * Tim nods slightly and pauses to think. (When did the flu strain come through here again?) * Saldin smiles and replies, "I'm sure your grandma does an excellent job." (Bit more than a month ago, had mostly died by when the doctors recently arrived.) (right, I'm having trouble keeping track of the timeline right now. Sorry. ^^;) (flu, tourist arrives, tourist transforms and runs off, while later doctors, last night full moon rises) * Mai looks puzzled for a moment. "And she seems to take great comfort in the fact that she kept about her men of great heart." * Adinda nods. "She does, she even saved the life of weird cursed dog english tourist lady with wicked wicked boy." * Mai looks to Tim for direction. [Time: 1915] * Saldin nods slightly, and says, "That's very nice of her." * Adinda nods. * Tim pinches his nose again, "I think Ben was right about it mutating, but not about the airborn...Did everybody who touched the woman or the people who had change?" I had, and I did not change. Nor did the wolves attack myself or the little ones. * Tim mutters mostly to himself, "So much for that briliant idea...how do you infect so many people?" * Mai shrugs and asks the woman and then translates back. "The men, they did scratch and bite others, but they were great of heart and fought down the beast before they killed them. Those scratched transformed not long after." * Adinda gets bored with Saldin and goes back to playing. And then thoes men scratched and bit and so on untill the moon changed. I am sorry that no one came sooner. Thank you for telling me this. * Mai passes this on to the woman. "She says you're welcome." * Saldin watches the girl go off, and walks back to Mai/Tim slowly. [Time: 1920] * Tim bows to the old woman, "The end of the conversation is the wrong one to make introductions at, but it is better late than never. I am Tim Shimiru and I thank you again." * Mai translate that and adds a bit. She then smiles. "She apparently goes by Grandmother." Good night Grandmother, and good luck. * Old woman smiles and says something in acknowledgement. She wishes the same for us. It is good to hear. It is. * Tim turns to Saldin, "Shall we see if the universe thinks we should be someplace that has cellphone service?" [The universe apparently does not.] * Saldin laughs faintly. * Mai waves over at the kids, both wave back, the boy comes out of hiding. We can try, but, again, no guarantees. Perhaps, in the worst case, we can stay with these people. No the worst case it decides we need to be at the bottom of the ocean, my mom threatend me with that one a few times. [Slight correction on that, the universe may want you to have cell service, but not badly enough that you have cell service here.] ... I have never been at the bottom of the ocean. Neither have I, I'd like to keep it that way. * Saldin nods, and says, "Hands on shoulders, and we will try." * Mai puts her hand on Saldin's shoulder. * Tim puts his hand on Saldin's shoulder, "If all else fails I'll just hop over to the other end of the island. The phone works there." * Mai comments as you guys walk. "Worst case you can just write up your thoughts and I'll deliver them." * Tim laughs, "I'm sorry, I completely forgot about that option, forgive me." [And you guys walk a while and then mysteriously end up in dessert with a nomad group in the distance.] (Do I recognize the desert?) (Doesn't really matter in this case) * Saldin smiles nervously. "Well, I did say there were no guarantees..." [According to your cell, apparently some time has passed in the journey, although you do still have time to send the report.] [Saldin meanwhile has some nomads to save.] [End]