1.9: Yet More Questions
- Location
- A single human dimension
- Pronouns
- She/Her
[x] Continue speaking with Franz.
-[x] Ask about his time working for that Inspired he spoke of, the strong one. He appears to be surprisingly at ease right now.
-[x] Ask him to describe the two Inspired of this army and how to identify them. Also ask him to describe and identify who's in charge of the mercenaries.
-[X] Ask about League Inspired, how do they differ from normal, what their role is in the League?
"What can you tell me about your time working for the strong Inspired mentioned earlier?"
Franz shrugs.
"Not a whole lot to tell, Sir. My father and I were conscripted, he got killed, and I was considered quick enough on my feet to be dedicated toward sabotage. I had some nice gear to play with, but the Count was more focused on burning his enemies than fireproofing his own belongings. Long story short? One of his toys exploded, he got a face full of burning steel shards, and some of the other conscripts decided it'd be a good time to kill the bastard."
Franz produces a disgusted noise from the back of his throat.
"Idiots. His safe was trapped to Hell and back, and without its contents, we were left in the middle of bumfuck nowhere with no money to rebuild our lives. As you can see, Sir, I'm not supposed to be a scout. I think the right term is 'sapper?' At any rate, I just burned what I was told and ran away, Sir. Terrifying as Hell and I've seen things I'd rather not, but it's better than being cannoneer fodder. The League is supposed to keep their Inspiirrreed — uh, forget I said anything, Sir."
"I was going to ask about that either way. How do League Inspired differ from those in the rest of the world? How do they fit in? Do be so kind as to answer honestly, I don't harm the messengers."
Unless, of course, those messengers are also assassins. Inspired are excessively fond of that trick, something which has made the entire trade far riskier than it really needs to be.
Franz swallows and shifts uncomfortably.
"They're... constrained, Sir. Most people know to eat the light if they ever see it, but even then, the League still gets its fair share of Inspired. Some of 'em try to hide, but that fails spectacularly the first time they wander across one of the famous inner city fountains and Surge from the sight. After that, Inspired are given three choices: Join the Enlightened, leave the League, or continue roaming free until one of their inventions inevitably causes serious involuntary property damage or injures someone else. Even then, the League only really allow the third choice if one of the Inspired's construction philosophies would make regulation cause more problems than it solved. Uh, Sir, the Enlightened are the League's official Inspired organization. The League's full name is even supposed to be either 'The League of the Enlightened' or 'The Enlightened League' depending on who you ask."
"Define 'involuntary property damage.'"
"Something the owner didn't agree to," Franz answers promptly. "Demolition and reconstruction is fine provided you get them to agree with it first. Not everyone wants their home to turn into a clockwork fortress that'll spray superheated steam in their face if they ever forget one of seven hundred complicated steps to be taken daily."
You suppress an unladylike snort with the ease of long practice. If you're going to make something for Uninspired to use, always assume they're going to be dumber than you are.
"What do 'Enlightened' do?"
Franz visibly straightens. You're not entirely sure why.
"It's supposed to actually be pretty reasonable, Sir. They get a lab, an abundance of materials, and the occasional goal to work toward. Only caveat is that they need to give the League anything they can't carry on their person without any sort of assistance, including artificial changes to their own body, and they aren't allowed to leave the Enlightened until they pay off whatever they use. And that carrying thing is supposed to be for 'at the same time' so they can't just stock up on lighter stuff like grenades. The League doesn't pull that horseshit some landowners pull with overpriced materials and underpriced inventions, either; everyone agrees they're pretty fair about it and most Enlightened could leave if they actually wanted to, Sir."
Franz appears to consider his words before visibly wincing.
"Of course, some Inspired feel like their inventions are underappreciated and, uh, make their displeasure known pretty quickly, Sir. And they only get paid a small difference in their favor if they do decide to leave. It's not a perfect system, but it's better than the alternative, Sir. The League even has the occasional Inspired come in from outside to join up, usually those on the losing end of a war or fleeing from one of those homicidal Blackburn people. I guess that's practically the same thing when you think about it."
"The Blackburns don't just follow?"
Franz shakes his head.
"It seems to be the one rejection they'll actually respect, Sir. Rumors say they think 'the entire League is going to burn with cobalt flame' sooner or later and they don't want to be anywhere near it. Other rumors say they just don't want to get anywhere near the Kingslayers. I can't really say which is true, Sir."
If any. Don't assume one of your choices has to be correct just because they're there.
"Describe those in charge of the army, including the Inspired."
Franz visibly flinches.
"Sir, those are the same people. They don't really seem to like having people who'll tell them something is a bloody stupid idea. But beyond that? I don't know, Sir. Neither is a crossbreed and both have brown hair, but so does half the country. I think one of them is fooling around in one of the supply wagons while the other is on horseback? They're arrogant, too, but you can't really tell unless you get close. I think they're trying to avoid being sniped by the fair-skinned Lady of Blasphemy?"
That's the second time you've heard the term 'crossbreed' since yesterday morning. Somehow, you doubt he's referring to half-cat half-horse abominations of science.
"What does 'crossbreed' mean in this context?"
Franz shifts uncomfortably.
"Oh. Uh, I think it's Fused who were modified by Inspired, right? Crossbreeds are those who weren't personally altered, but still got some parts from Fused parents. I think. I might be wrong and thinking of Hybrids, Sir. I can't remember which is supposed to be made from Constructs and who just had Fused parents."
You frown as your mask makes a somewhat ominous grinding noise before continuing its normal click-click-click-click-click. You should probably wrap this up soon; it doesn't seem your voice changer will last as long as you thought it would.
[] Ask Franz a few final questions.
-[] Write-in
[] Move on.
-[] Head back north, out of the League. You'd prefer powerful Inspired over murderous Empowered.
-[] Head west, further into the League.
-[] Free your prisoner.
--[] Drop Franz ahead of the army after forcing him back into unconsciousness.
--[] Leave him near the road, but leave him conscious and simply threaten him with death if he turns around before several minutes have passed. He should know better than to challenge your threat.
[] Write-in
-[x] Ask about his time working for that Inspired he spoke of, the strong one. He appears to be surprisingly at ease right now.
-[x] Ask him to describe the two Inspired of this army and how to identify them. Also ask him to describe and identify who's in charge of the mercenaries.
-[X] Ask about League Inspired, how do they differ from normal, what their role is in the League?
"What can you tell me about your time working for the strong Inspired mentioned earlier?"
Franz shrugs.
"Not a whole lot to tell, Sir. My father and I were conscripted, he got killed, and I was considered quick enough on my feet to be dedicated toward sabotage. I had some nice gear to play with, but the Count was more focused on burning his enemies than fireproofing his own belongings. Long story short? One of his toys exploded, he got a face full of burning steel shards, and some of the other conscripts decided it'd be a good time to kill the bastard."
Franz produces a disgusted noise from the back of his throat.
"Idiots. His safe was trapped to Hell and back, and without its contents, we were left in the middle of bumfuck nowhere with no money to rebuild our lives. As you can see, Sir, I'm not supposed to be a scout. I think the right term is 'sapper?' At any rate, I just burned what I was told and ran away, Sir. Terrifying as Hell and I've seen things I'd rather not, but it's better than being cannoneer fodder. The League is supposed to keep their Inspiirrreed — uh, forget I said anything, Sir."
"I was going to ask about that either way. How do League Inspired differ from those in the rest of the world? How do they fit in? Do be so kind as to answer honestly, I don't harm the messengers."
Unless, of course, those messengers are also assassins. Inspired are excessively fond of that trick, something which has made the entire trade far riskier than it really needs to be.
Franz swallows and shifts uncomfortably.
"They're... constrained, Sir. Most people know to eat the light if they ever see it, but even then, the League still gets its fair share of Inspired. Some of 'em try to hide, but that fails spectacularly the first time they wander across one of the famous inner city fountains and Surge from the sight. After that, Inspired are given three choices: Join the Enlightened, leave the League, or continue roaming free until one of their inventions inevitably causes serious involuntary property damage or injures someone else. Even then, the League only really allow the third choice if one of the Inspired's construction philosophies would make regulation cause more problems than it solved. Uh, Sir, the Enlightened are the League's official Inspired organization. The League's full name is even supposed to be either 'The League of the Enlightened' or 'The Enlightened League' depending on who you ask."
"Define 'involuntary property damage.'"
"Something the owner didn't agree to," Franz answers promptly. "Demolition and reconstruction is fine provided you get them to agree with it first. Not everyone wants their home to turn into a clockwork fortress that'll spray superheated steam in their face if they ever forget one of seven hundred complicated steps to be taken daily."
You suppress an unladylike snort with the ease of long practice. If you're going to make something for Uninspired to use, always assume they're going to be dumber than you are.
"What do 'Enlightened' do?"
Franz visibly straightens. You're not entirely sure why.
"It's supposed to actually be pretty reasonable, Sir. They get a lab, an abundance of materials, and the occasional goal to work toward. Only caveat is that they need to give the League anything they can't carry on their person without any sort of assistance, including artificial changes to their own body, and they aren't allowed to leave the Enlightened until they pay off whatever they use. And that carrying thing is supposed to be for 'at the same time' so they can't just stock up on lighter stuff like grenades. The League doesn't pull that horseshit some landowners pull with overpriced materials and underpriced inventions, either; everyone agrees they're pretty fair about it and most Enlightened could leave if they actually wanted to, Sir."
Franz appears to consider his words before visibly wincing.
"Of course, some Inspired feel like their inventions are underappreciated and, uh, make their displeasure known pretty quickly, Sir. And they only get paid a small difference in their favor if they do decide to leave. It's not a perfect system, but it's better than the alternative, Sir. The League even has the occasional Inspired come in from outside to join up, usually those on the losing end of a war or fleeing from one of those homicidal Blackburn people. I guess that's practically the same thing when you think about it."
"The Blackburns don't just follow?"
Franz shakes his head.
"It seems to be the one rejection they'll actually respect, Sir. Rumors say they think 'the entire League is going to burn with cobalt flame' sooner or later and they don't want to be anywhere near it. Other rumors say they just don't want to get anywhere near the Kingslayers. I can't really say which is true, Sir."
If any. Don't assume one of your choices has to be correct just because they're there.
"Describe those in charge of the army, including the Inspired."
Franz visibly flinches.
"Sir, those are the same people. They don't really seem to like having people who'll tell them something is a bloody stupid idea. But beyond that? I don't know, Sir. Neither is a crossbreed and both have brown hair, but so does half the country. I think one of them is fooling around in one of the supply wagons while the other is on horseback? They're arrogant, too, but you can't really tell unless you get close. I think they're trying to avoid being sniped by the fair-skinned Lady of Blasphemy?"
That's the second time you've heard the term 'crossbreed' since yesterday morning. Somehow, you doubt he's referring to half-cat half-horse abominations of science.
"What does 'crossbreed' mean in this context?"
Franz shifts uncomfortably.
"Oh. Uh, I think it's Fused who were modified by Inspired, right? Crossbreeds are those who weren't personally altered, but still got some parts from Fused parents. I think. I might be wrong and thinking of Hybrids, Sir. I can't remember which is supposed to be made from Constructs and who just had Fused parents."
You frown as your mask makes a somewhat ominous grinding noise before continuing its normal click-click-click-click-click. You should probably wrap this up soon; it doesn't seem your voice changer will last as long as you thought it would.
[] Ask Franz a few final questions.
-[] Write-in
[] Move on.
-[] Head back north, out of the League. You'd prefer powerful Inspired over murderous Empowered.
-[] Head west, further into the League.
-[] Free your prisoner.
--[] Drop Franz ahead of the army after forcing him back into unconsciousness.
--[] Leave him near the road, but leave him conscious and simply threaten him with death if he turns around before several minutes have passed. He should know better than to challenge your threat.
[] Write-in
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