Hello, Jaskier, we haven't met yet, but I'm a friend of Sam's, currently in Thorne. He mentioned you were one of the best people to speak to in the Free Cities with a good awareness of what was happening.
Sam's tasked me with trying to keep lines of communication open between all of us, despite being at a distance. Especially when things we uncover might be of more use to someone in one of the other factions. If you come across anything important, would you mind reaching out to share it?
I have something important. Something I do not think anyone else knows yet. Sam is awaiting us both in the Horizon, in his home. I need to show you both something that I can only recreate there. I am hoping it's... it helps. That it leads us somewhere.
[ and in ten, sam is there, pacing around his living room since natasha has already started to take over the dining room and he's not going to mess with that system. the influx of information is a lot - good, he knows, but a lot at once. once this is all behind them and he can look at this from a thousand-foot view, he's going to be pretty proud of how everyone's stepping in to help.
for now, there's a job to be done and people are missing. he'd told jaskier to meet them both in the horizon, so that's where he is, waiting for the others to come walking through the door. ]
[ Natasha pops into the dining room a moment later, having sent herself directly there once she got to somewhere safe and had someone watching over her, just in case. She was taking a lot of precautions in Thorne right now, despite being very short on people she trusted to watch her back.
She goes hunting through the house the moment she arrives, finding Sam quickly and huffing out a soft breath of relief as she crosses to him and greets him with a brief hug. ]
[He is not entirely sure what "ten" denotes, but one can assume it is minutes and not hours. Jaskier slips into the Horizon quite easily, and finds himself in Sam's domain even easier -- and gods, there is some measured relief he does not appear where he did not mean to. He is still a bit traumatized by that.
To say the least.
The way Jaskier appears now is not better. He is shaken by the loss of Ciri, especially in front of his own eyes, and having lost Geralt again. And this sound, now, which haunts his waking moments and his sleep, to the point he had to go to Nadine for a sleeping draught.
Jaskier walks in as they're embracing, and for a moment, he only takes it in. In any other moment, he would not have been able to help himself -- Natasha is a very gorgeous woman, if this is her -- but he more wishes that he had his closest friends here, so he could do the same.
And receive a bit of grief for it.
They needn't wait long to listen to what he found.
He doesn't even smile to see Sam, only approaching them to hold out a single device to the two of them: the only way Jaskier has come to understand the "recording" of music. What he hands over is the same anachronistic CD player Nadine gifted him with during Yule some time ago, with a disc placed inside that has the exact sound he heard from the eavesdropping stone, with the sound of ocean waves before it.]
I don't know what to make of it. And I don't know if anyone else has heard it but the people who have been taken.
[ there is something to how sam's chest still seizes up a bit at the sight of her. it's enough that he's glad that she's the one to cross the room for the brief hug, enough that she won't always call him out for the brief extra second he might hold onto it, just because he can. it's truly settled in now how the others are gone, and while sam is in go-mode, around those that know him, it's telling how much this is getting under his skin.
when they separate, sam's shaking his head. ] But it's important. Jaskier's good people, Nat. Whatever he- [ and that's when sam looks up to see jaskier stepping into the room, his attention moving from work to concern at what he can pick up from jaskier's body language alone.
part of him wants to ask, if only because jaskier does still look rattled, but he makes the decision to focus on the task at hand. the work. and hopes that'll be enough for all of them. when he's handed the cd player, he holds it up so both he and nat can listen simultaneously, his brow furrowing at the scream at the end. ]
At the beginning- you heard waves, right? Water? [ his eyes go from jaskier to nat, handing her the cd player in case she wants to listen to it again. ] That could be useful. But I don't know about whatever that screaming is supposed to be. It doesn't sound... [ he means to say like ciri but stops himself. he supposes he could end it with human, too, but he doesn't follow up with anything quite yet. ] This sound- how'd you record it?
[ After the time they've had at this so far, Natasha might hold on to Sam a little tighter for a moment as well. Relieved, at least, that he's not gone, too. She wouldn't even know where to start without his knowledge of this place.
She turns at the sound of movement, eyes taking in the sight of the man who's joined them. Assessing. She'll take Sam's word on him, but she's all business when she steps forward to join Sam in listening to what Jaskier's brought them.
Which is horrifying, at the very least. That scream at the end... She takes the cd player when Sam offers it, because yeah, she's going to listen to that a few more times, focusing in on varying parts, trying to pick up as much as she can. ]
It's ocean waves, I'm pretty sure, there's a rhythm to it. There's movement - dragging. They're moving something heavy. Could be whoever they took. There's no sound of struggle, so if it is, the person was either immobile or unconscious.
But that sound at the end... [ She's frowning, concentrating. Although that sound is unlikely to be forgotten anytime soon. It sent chills down her spine. ] I'm pretty sure nothing human made that. I've never heard anything like it.
[ She glances up, wondering the same thing as Sam, offering the cd player back to Jaskier. ]
It was definitely water. Waves, I would guess. The ocean. [Natasha confirms his beliefs, and he doesn't doubt her. In the way he quickly gave in to the belief that Sam was as gentle as his words allowed, he can believe she is as serious. Though, it goes without saying he does not know if it is the situation alone. Jaskier, certainly, barely feels like himself right now.]
It was Ciri. [He looks at Sam, then away; a jerking of his eyes, as he realizes he will have to tell him at some point. It may as well be now. It is not that Jaskier was hiding it, exactly. It was only that he... he had to live with it. For a few days. As he speaks again, he begins pacing.] She was unconscious. When they came, they used magic, and it was... effortless. And powerful. [Jaskier pales, and he can't seem to look either of them in the face; not because he's lying, but because he's in that moment again, watching them take her, and look back at him, to find him not worthy. Left behind. Again.] I have heard many monsters and creatures in my travels with Geralt, but nothing like this. The only assumption I can make is it came from something extremely large.
[He seems to freeze, then shake himself out of it, dragging himself back to the present: to Sam, who he trusts absolutely, and to Natasha, who is a complete stranger to him. He must appear some sort of haggard fool now.] These. [To Sam's question, belated: he hands him a pair of stones, what appear to be only rocks.] I won them at Thorne's black market some time ago. The merchant called them eavesdrop stones. Now, these are only a replica. They were only to be used once. Now, they're but stones. I planted one on Ciri before we --
[And here, he chokes, taking a breath. Recalling the same things he told to Sam in that moment of panic, so many months ago now.] We were in the desert's outskirts when we were attacked. And as they took her, I could hear everything from her side, if only for a few minutes. And that was what I heard.
[ the shift from the hug to business is pretty seamless, which is equal parts due to the fact that's always just been how nat is, but also the fact it's easy to slip into work mode when they're at this together.
when jaskier meets sam's eyes, though, that confirms it. it is ciri, then, and that has some of what sam is trying to shift through into perspective. that ciri is who was being dragged, that ciri has now been taken, and that needs to be included in their assessment. sam feels himself frown the more that jaskier describes of the magic and the monsters. of the experience jaskier had while out there with her.
it is when jaskier pales, when he freezes, that sam reaches out to set a (hopefully) stilling hand to his elbow. he can see just how much this is affecting jaskier, how deeply. ] Which means that the people taking everyone is leading them to some kind of... [ monster? creature? thing? he glances at natasha for a brief moment to see if she had any idea, before his attention is brought back to the stones. he takes them when jaskier offers, letting go of his elbow and turning them over in his hand. part of him had wanted to make sure whatever it was that had recorded the sound wouldn't have been corrupted by anything else that's been happening with the singularity, but with the stones in hand he is increasingly aware that there's...no real way for him to check.
so he nods, accepts it for what it is, and hands these off to nat as well - assuming she would want to check over the replicas of them too. ]
Hey- [ sam says, calming, turning back to jaskier. he can see the low-grade panic in him, and that's what now has sam's attention. he's gauging just where jaskier's fear is settling, if he'll let sam reach out and take his shoulders or if the touch will just startle him. ] You're okay. And she's going to be okay. We're going to get them out, if Ciri doesn't bust her way out of there herself. Alright?
[ Natasha takes the stones, although she's not sure what Sam expects her to do with them. She has way less experience with magic compared to literally anyone else in this room. Although it's a cool idea and she wonders if Stephen could recreate something similar? She'd have to ask. At the very least, Jaskier might like a pair back, after expending these.
She moves to perch on the edge of the table, one foot swinging absently beneath her as she watches Sam reassure the man. She doesn't know who Ciri is, although she had recognized Geralt's name. Something she'd ask about at some other time, but for now... ]
They took Steve. [ Her voice is quiet and she brings her gaze up from the floor to meet Jaskier's gaze, offering the only comfort she can think might help right now. She hopes. ] I know that might not mean much to you, but if I could choose anyone to be watching my back in a crisis? It would be Steve. He'll be watching out for all of them, wherever they are. Until we can locate them and get them out again.
[ She lifts the stones he'd brought them ] This will narrow down our search options considerably I'll make sure it gets to the people doing the locating spells in Thorne. [ A glance at Sam, then. ] I'll assume you can pass this on to Jayce and Viktor? It might be useful to them, too.
[Jaskier pulls away, his brows dark.] Sam, I am not all right. And neither of us know if she is, either. I was supposed to go with her, and I'm fucking -- I'm fucking here, again!
[Left behind. As it seems to be a recurring pattern in his life.
For once, he does not wish to hear any pacifying words. He is not a panicked, cornered animal, but he is not all right, and he will not be until he figures out what the fuck is going on.
He turns to Natasha as she speaks, giving himself several steps of room between himself and Sam. Nothing against Sam, in the long run, but her words are far more helpful than any reassurance that cannot be backed up by action.] It does mean something to me. I've met Steve. And from what I have learned of him, I trust he will. But it does not override the fact that these people who should have not been able to be overpowered so easily were.
[He sighs. Turning from them, as they speak between each other. Ciri was intentional, but Geralt? And for this to happen twice?] Viktor already knows. Somewhat. He gave us... devices. Because we were meant to be taken. To find where Geralt is.
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cointosser) wrote2021-04-12 08:58 pm
Shortly after Sam's coordination announcement during the disappearances
Sam's tasked me with trying to keep lines of communication open between all of us, despite being at a distance. Especially when things we uncover might be of more use to someone in one of the other factions. If you come across anything important, would you mind reaching out to share it?
gonna drag dai in here for this if that works!
I have something important. Something I do not think anyone else knows yet. Sam is awaiting us both in the Horizon, in his home. I need to show you both something that I can only recreate there. I am hoping it's... it helps. That it leads us somewhere.
perfect!
horizon.
for now, there's a job to be done and people are missing. he'd told jaskier to meet them both in the horizon, so that's where he is, waiting for the others to come walking through the door. ]
no subject
She goes hunting through the house the moment she arrives, finding Sam quickly and huffing out a soft breath of relief as she crosses to him and greets him with a brief hug. ]
Hey. Any idea what he found?
no subject
To say the least.
The way Jaskier appears now is not better. He is shaken by the loss of Ciri, especially in front of his own eyes, and having lost Geralt again. And this sound, now, which haunts his waking moments and his sleep, to the point he had to go to Nadine for a sleeping draught.
Jaskier walks in as they're embracing, and for a moment, he only takes it in. In any other moment, he would not have been able to help himself -- Natasha is a very gorgeous woman, if this is her -- but he more wishes that he had his closest friends here, so he could do the same.
And receive a bit of grief for it.
They needn't wait long to listen to what he found.
He doesn't even smile to see Sam, only approaching them to hold out a single device to the two of them: the only way Jaskier has come to understand the "recording" of music. What he hands over is the same anachronistic CD player Nadine gifted him with during Yule some time ago, with a disc placed inside that has the exact sound he heard from the eavesdropping stone, with the sound of ocean waves before it.]
I don't know what to make of it. And I don't know if anyone else has heard it but the people who have been taken.
no subject
when they separate, sam's shaking his head. ] But it's important. Jaskier's good people, Nat. Whatever he- [ and that's when sam looks up to see jaskier stepping into the room, his attention moving from work to concern at what he can pick up from jaskier's body language alone.
part of him wants to ask, if only because jaskier does still look rattled, but he makes the decision to focus on the task at hand. the work. and hopes that'll be enough for all of them. when he's handed the cd player, he holds it up so both he and nat can listen simultaneously, his brow furrowing at the scream at the end. ]
At the beginning- you heard waves, right? Water? [ his eyes go from jaskier to nat, handing her the cd player in case she wants to listen to it again. ] That could be useful. But I don't know about whatever that screaming is supposed to be. It doesn't sound... [ he means to say like ciri but stops himself. he supposes he could end it with human, too, but he doesn't follow up with anything quite yet. ] This sound- how'd you record it?
no subject
She turns at the sound of movement, eyes taking in the sight of the man who's joined them. Assessing. She'll take Sam's word on him, but she's all business when she steps forward to join Sam in listening to what Jaskier's brought them.
Which is horrifying, at the very least. That scream at the end... She takes the cd player when Sam offers it, because yeah, she's going to listen to that a few more times, focusing in on varying parts, trying to pick up as much as she can. ]
It's ocean waves, I'm pretty sure, there's a rhythm to it. There's movement - dragging. They're moving something heavy. Could be whoever they took. There's no sound of struggle, so if it is, the person was either immobile or unconscious.
But that sound at the end... [ She's frowning, concentrating. Although that sound is unlikely to be forgotten anytime soon. It sent chills down her spine. ] I'm pretty sure nothing human made that. I've never heard anything like it.
[ She glances up, wondering the same thing as Sam, offering the cd player back to Jaskier. ]
no subject
It was Ciri. [He looks at Sam, then away; a jerking of his eyes, as he realizes he will have to tell him at some point. It may as well be now. It is not that Jaskier was hiding it, exactly. It was only that he... he had to live with it. For a few days. As he speaks again, he begins pacing.] She was unconscious. When they came, they used magic, and it was... effortless. And powerful. [Jaskier pales, and he can't seem to look either of them in the face; not because he's lying, but because he's in that moment again, watching them take her, and look back at him, to find him not worthy. Left behind. Again.] I have heard many monsters and creatures in my travels with Geralt, but nothing like this. The only assumption I can make is it came from something extremely large.
[He seems to freeze, then shake himself out of it, dragging himself back to the present: to Sam, who he trusts absolutely, and to Natasha, who is a complete stranger to him. He must appear some sort of haggard fool now.] These. [To Sam's question, belated: he hands him a pair of stones, what appear to be only rocks.] I won them at Thorne's black market some time ago. The merchant called them eavesdrop stones. Now, these are only a replica. They were only to be used once. Now, they're but stones. I planted one on Ciri before we --
[And here, he chokes, taking a breath. Recalling the same things he told to Sam in that moment of panic, so many months ago now.] We were in the desert's outskirts when we were attacked. And as they took her, I could hear everything from her side, if only for a few minutes. And that was what I heard.
no subject
when jaskier meets sam's eyes, though, that confirms it. it is ciri, then, and that has some of what sam is trying to shift through into perspective. that ciri is who was being dragged, that ciri has now been taken, and that needs to be included in their assessment. sam feels himself frown the more that jaskier describes of the magic and the monsters. of the experience jaskier had while out there with her.
it is when jaskier pales, when he freezes, that sam reaches out to set a (hopefully) stilling hand to his elbow. he can see just how much this is affecting jaskier, how deeply. ] Which means that the people taking everyone is leading them to some kind of... [ monster? creature? thing? he glances at natasha for a brief moment to see if she had any idea, before his attention is brought back to the stones. he takes them when jaskier offers, letting go of his elbow and turning them over in his hand. part of him had wanted to make sure whatever it was that had recorded the sound wouldn't have been corrupted by anything else that's been happening with the singularity, but with the stones in hand he is increasingly aware that there's...no real way for him to check.
so he nods, accepts it for what it is, and hands these off to nat as well - assuming she would want to check over the replicas of them too. ]
Hey- [ sam says, calming, turning back to jaskier. he can see the low-grade panic in him, and that's what now has sam's attention. he's gauging just where jaskier's fear is settling, if he'll let sam reach out and take his shoulders or if the touch will just startle him. ] You're okay. And she's going to be okay. We're going to get them out, if Ciri doesn't bust her way out of there herself. Alright?
no subject
She moves to perch on the edge of the table, one foot swinging absently beneath her as she watches Sam reassure the man. She doesn't know who Ciri is, although she had recognized Geralt's name. Something she'd ask about at some other time, but for now... ]
They took Steve. [ Her voice is quiet and she brings her gaze up from the floor to meet Jaskier's gaze, offering the only comfort she can think might help right now. She hopes. ] I know that might not mean much to you, but if I could choose anyone to be watching my back in a crisis? It would be Steve. He'll be watching out for all of them, wherever they are. Until we can locate them and get them out again.
[ She lifts the stones he'd brought them ] This will narrow down our search options considerably I'll make sure it gets to the people doing the locating spells in Thorne. [ A glance at Sam, then. ] I'll assume you can pass this on to Jayce and Viktor? It might be useful to them, too.
no subject
[Left behind. As it seems to be a recurring pattern in his life.
For once, he does not wish to hear any pacifying words. He is not a panicked, cornered animal, but he is not all right, and he will not be until he figures out what the fuck is going on.
He turns to Natasha as she speaks, giving himself several steps of room between himself and Sam. Nothing against Sam, in the long run, but her words are far more helpful than any reassurance that cannot be backed up by action.] It does mean something to me. I've met Steve. And from what I have learned of him, I trust he will. But it does not override the fact that these people who should have not been able to be overpowered so easily were.
[He sighs. Turning from them, as they speak between each other. Ciri was intentional, but Geralt? And for this to happen twice?] Viktor already knows. Somewhat. He gave us... devices. Because we were meant to be taken. To find where Geralt is.