>>41689071
You're unsure of how to get out of here. Bruised and hungry, you're not the most equipped to stage a breakout- but that won't stop you from trying. The room is lit by thick crystals on the wall, held in place by metal brackets welded to the sides of the room. The wooden chair you were tied to will probably break if you swing it at the door. The glowing bottle sitting on the table in front of you is almost mocking you, in a way.

You can't see any kind of escape route anywhere but the door- and you're not sure at all about what might be on the other side. In any case, you've got to do something.

>Sit back in the chair and call for him. Play along for now, you need to eat.
>Wait for him to return and throw the bottle at his head, and then make a break for it.
>Wait for him to return, but give him the silent treatment.
>Barricade the door with the table and chair. Time to be a rebellious shit.

>>41689102
>>Wait for him to return and throw the bottle at his head, and then make a break for it.

>>41689102
>Wait for him to return and throw the bottle at his head

>>41689172
>>41689762
You eye the bottle closer, trying to glean some degree of understanding of it, without much luck. It doesn't make sense why he gave it to you. It doesn't make sense why he has it here. Did he sneak into your house while you were out? Is this a different bottle? If it's a different bottle, how many does he have? Does Teomo have a bottle like this? What the hell is even in this bottle? Was it his intent to have you drink it? If it's poison, why would he go to such lengths to bring you here? If it's not poison, what is it? Is it just there to mess with you? ...Would he do that? He'd probably do that!

The thought of the bottle being a ruse is actually enough to set you off. You pick it up and draw your arm back to hurl the stupid thing at the wall, but before you do, you have a thought. Why not just chuck it at Earka's stupid head before he shuts the door and locks you in? The plan is enough to leave you grinning like an idiot.

You wait patiently, and soon enough, footsteps echo through the halls. You hold the bottle out of sight, and watch as he unlocks the door. He's holding a leather satchel in one hand, and he appears to be looking into it as he opens the door with his shoulder, not terribly occupied with what you're doing.

Taking the opportunity, you chuck the bottle at him, aiming right for where his forehead should be. You rush forward after it leaves your hand, ready to knock him over and make a break for it. It flies right at him, but to your surprise, he plucks it right out of the air inches away from his head, and sets it down on the table. You almost bump into him, and he knees you right in the gut, leaving you clutching at the wall and your stomach, sinking to the floor in pain.

[cont.]

>>41690589
"Try not to vomit, alright? Get it together. You know better than this- why are we doing this?" He looks down at you with what you assume would be contempt if you could see his ugly mug. "But anyway, in this satchel, I've got some food. It's not as good as the food I first offered, that's for people who cooperate. However, if you do what I tell you, you will be fed. No more of this shit, you're smarter than Kudla, right?"

You struggle to your feet, and work your way back to the chair. You're in no position to put up a fight.
"That's better."
He places a slab of meat on the table. It's smaller, less aromatic, and far less appealing than the last one, but it's food. You shamelessly scarf it down, struggling to hold it down after that hit to the gut. It takes awful- it's tough, unseasoned, almost room temperature, and you don't even know what animal it's from.

"Now that we're done with that, I need you to think about three things. First, you are not going to leave here without my saying so. There is absolutely nothing you can do to break out of here. Second, Teomo is alive. I haven't hurt him yet. I don't know if I'll be able to say that if you continue to refuse to cooperate. Third of all, you have a choice to make."

>"Fuck you." [Grin, giving him your best hardass act possible.]
>"Where's Teomo?"
>"What choice?"

>>41690610
>"Where's Teomo?"

>>41690610
>>"What choice?"

somebody's getting raped.

Rolled 1 (1d2)

ROLLING

>>41690685 (1)
>>41690985 (2)

>>41690685
>>41690985
>>41691234
"Where's Teomo?"

"He's here, like I said, he's safe. I haven't even touched him yet, the gas got to him before I did."
"How do I know you're not lying?"
"You don't. But you do know that you don't have much in the way of choice here."
He's right.
"So, you're telling the truth, Teomo's locked up here along with me. What do you want?"
He walks over to you, satchel in one hand, bottle in the other.
"You're aware of how things are down here. The Sunlit have us under their thumb. In Ksana, you get shot for speaking up about it. In Ksatul, we're still forced to obey their rules. Awendi and Jul'alu think that we have a better future ahead of us but that's not true. The mushrooms are mostly poisonous. Nothing's changed. Even if the mushrooms were edible, the Sunlit would never accept having to treat us as anything more than a colony they can drain resources from freely. We think the gas is enough to protect us but that's a lie. We're sitting ducks down here, every one of us."

This is probably important and all, but... "What does this have to do with me?"

"It has everything to do with you. I have a plan to dismantle this tyrannical institution. I've been planning this for years. You see, my name is known up in Ksalfiri. If I were to return to Ksana for any reason other than my job, they'd have me dead on the side of some alley in a matter of hours. I cannot do anything to avenge my family. But you can."

He's out of his mind. You're a kid. A rather ill kid, at that. Did he forget who he was talking to?

"You see, I've done some listening. Up top, Moffa made it appear that you died. You don't exist anymore. If you were to return with some alias, you'd be fine. And that's why I picked you. ...Well, that's why I NEED you. I picked you because your father owes me a favor. I'll be able to do more good than he ever could."

[cont.]

>>41692382
"You still haven't told me what you want." This is getting old, very fast.
"I want you to pick between one of these." He pulls a second bottle out of the satchel. This one's full of a dull, dark liquid. You don't much like the look of it. He places them both on the table, allowing you to have a good look at them.

"You will drink one of them. The one you're familiar with, the bright one, if you drink that, that tells me that you're willing to do whatever I say and help me bring down the Sunlit. You might be able to save your mother in the process, if she's still alive. Who knows?"

The idea is appealing, but... "What about Teomo?"

"He'll be free to leave. I don't need a hostage if you're behaving."

It might not be a bad option. You don't know, so you don't say anything just yet.

"The other bottle, the dark liquid, that will render you unconscious, and I will not only leave you alone for the rest of your life, but I'll also get you out of this city. I can't guarantee Teomo's safety, though. You have my word that neither of these will kill you, and that I'll do just what I've said. Again, there's no reason to believe I'm lying."

>"...And if I refuse?"
>"What is the glowing water, anyway?"
>Drink the glowing water.
>Drink the dark liquid.

>>41692450
>>"What is the glowing water, anyway?"
>"...And if I refuse?"

>>41692450
>>"What is the glowing water, anyway?"

>>41692637
>>41692935
"What is that glowing water, anyway?"
"It won't kill you, if that's what you want to know."
"No, I want to know what it is! You left it in my house, and then you took it later- this is the same bottle, right?"
"Correct."
"How did you get into my house?"
"I have keys to everyone's houses, boy. I've been planning something like this for years, and becoming a Greeter was an important step. I won't tell you what that liquid is, but I can assure you that it won't kill you. If I wanted to make a corpse out of you, I'd have fed you to the spiders a long time ago."
That still doesn't answer how he knew when to look for you. "...Teomo's not a part of this, right?"
"No. He has nothing to do with this. Really, he just made it easier to get you alone. The timing was all luck, I would have had to do something riskier if not for him."
Strange.
"If you have no more questions, you've got a choice to make."
"Let's say that I refuse. What h-"
"Let's say that I kill him, and then start beating you until you make a choice? What will happen first, will you make a choice, or will you bleed to death?"
He makes a convincing argument. There's absolutely no hint of mercy in his voice.

>Drink the glowing water.
>Drink the dark liquid.

shit uh
i guess i'll go for a walk then come back and see if anyone's here

>>41693847
>>Drink the glowing water.

>>41693847
>>Drink the glowing water.

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>>41695397
>>41696211
Might as well drink the glowing water. The other option, while tempting, isn't gonna happen. Teomo's been good to you. Why throw him under the bus?

Reaching for the little green bottle, you pull off the cork, and give it a little sniff. It's odorless. Not sure what you were expecting, really. You look at Earka, and you're met with the same hidden face that you're always given. "Drink it all, don't leave a drop in there."
It's barely the size of your fist. Shouldn't be hard.

Taking a deep breath, you close your eyes and start drinking. The taste is actually quite foul. You put the bottle down once you finish, and slowly rise to your feet. "Is that all?"
"Well, I did leave out a minor detail."
"What?" You take a defensive stance, afraid you've been tricked.
"Calm down, it's not going to kill you. It's going to hurt, though."
And just like that, you feel an unbearable pain in your stomach. It's worse than when he kicked you. "What is this stuff?"
"You'll learn in time." You grip the seat of the chair, and the table, and start to feel a strain on your eyes. Shutting them doesn't help. "Aaagh!"
"The road ahead is going to be painful. But I feel that it can be a learning experience for us all. Unless, of course, you die along the way. But at least you'll die knowing Teomo's safe, if you do end up dead."
"If you're lying, I'll-"
"You'll what? Vomit on my shoes? I'm terrified." He shakes the table a little, loosening your grip on it enough to send you to the floor, toppling the chair in the process. "Agh!"
The room is spinning. You feel sore all over. It's unclear whether you should clutch your eyes or your stomach- both feel like they're on fire. You just want it to stop. You just want to see Mother again. At no point did you ask for any of this. You watch as Earka exits the room, leaving the door open, and a bit after his footsteps fade from view, you start to cry openly. Eventually the pain gives way to dream-filled sleep.

-

See you next thread!

Goddamnit. Missed it again

>>41698085
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