[Video]

[weremongoose]

[Barabas appears on the video -- fully clothed, thank you -- with a sedate expression, cordial enough. Bright red hair is less styled than he'd prefer it (his kingdom for decent hair product, really) but he still looks sharp, put together. He's set his watch somewhere so that he's in fame, seated at a table, from about the chest up, hands folded in front of him.]

Hello. I've already met some of you, but for those of you I haven't had the pleasure of encountering yet, my name is Barabas. Everyone seems fairly alive, which is better than the alternative. There's a new vacation spot in town, complete with an off-brand Loch Ness Monster. What more could anyone ask for?

[He spreads his hands.]

As... charming... as this place is, there is a disturbing lack of information infrastructure. Even Astoria doesn't quite seem to be able to keep track of who is coming and going at all times -- since the last bunch of us were apparently unexpected guests. I don't exactly find that reassuring. It does not make me feel warm and fuzzy.

[At all.]

In that vein, I think we should address this, put in place some way to keep track of who is here, who is no longer here, the abilities we each possess. [He ticks these items off on his fingers.] And a collection of information of the places that Astoria has sent us, and the general outcome of each trip. And really any other useful things to know, for all of us, and those who may be brought here in the future.

[A smile now, no teeth, but still pleasant.] Sadly, I'm only one man, so I suppose what I'm looking for is twofold:

First, would anyone be willing to help gather and compile this data?

Second, those of you who've been here longer than I have, perhaps we can chat about your experiences.

Comments

[unrecovered]

A magic index can be used against the people who are on it. If they want to volunteer, fine, but I wouldn't go digging.

[Not that Wash has a vested interest in that or anything.]

Other than that, I can help. I was on the Struxta mission... [He pauses, briefly weighing the pros and cons of continuing, and makes his decision.] ...and I have an eidetic memory, so that's helpful.

[weremongoose]

I have no intentions of forcing information from anyone. [This, however sounds personal. And paranoid, if that's the immediate assumption. But Barabas continues, cordial enough.] But there may be those whose abilities are the type they'd want to share and would be helpful for others to know who to seek out -- healers, for example.

Struxta was the most recent one? And there was a world before that as well, I think. Did you arrive after that first world?

[Getting his timeline settled here. This is the lawyer in him in action.]

[unrecovered]

[Paranoia is one of the reasons Wash is still alive. Also, he's pretty sure the Circle at large knowing he could mess with their memories at will would wreck whatever reputation he has, so he'll be staying off that list, thanks.]

Then they can volunteer. I'm sure a lot of people will.

[Most people in the Circle tend to be decent like that, from what he's seen.]

Struxta was the most recent one, yeah. I arrived not long before we went there - I missed out on the first world.

[weremongoose]

I imagine they might. We'll see.

[He's hoping anyway, for at least those with specialized and helpful abilities. But that aside.]

The way I understand it, there have been three groups of people to arrive. Almost in waves. Does that sound right?

[unrecovered]

From what I know, that's about right. I was in the second group.

[weremongoose]

How long were you in the Temple before you found yourself in the other world?

[Sorry for the boring logistics questions.] And this other world, the second world, can you tell me about your experience there? It's where the sickness was brought back from, isn't it?