They're coming to take me away, ha-ha...

[Brian]

The drain? Lazarus seems confused, until you send him an image of the grate, and the bolts.  I had never considered it ... perhaps it leads somewhere?  If only we had a way to investigate without being seen....  Curious.

[Bjorn]

That's more or less what I thought, Bjorn "writes" sourly.  In the worst case scenario, at least, I suppose it will provide some cover.

Still listening to Lazarus' story, Bjorn looks around the room, ostensibly at the other inmates, but also studying the behaviours of the guards.

[Brian]

Hidden within references to the whale's heartbeat, you actually start to pick out the behavior of them.  They're evenly spaced, and walk around the perimeter of the room.  Up at the balcony level, you can make out four smaller doors.  Two of them lead somewhere above the main entrance, and the other two are over the cafeteria door.

Every few minutes -- with the regularity of a heartbeat -- they pause, survey the room, watch for ... something, then resume.  They're S.W.A.T. armored, faceplates down, but once in a while one will reach up to his shoulder and fiddle with something.  It's hard to say what without making it obvious you're looking, but you would guess it's from their walkie-talkies.

Each is carrying a rifle, similar (you think) to the one you saw in the snow back outside of Toronto.

Lazarus's story suggests, that the pattern of the guards changes at 'night', however.  You suspect it doesn't vary much, though.

[Bjorn]

Hm.  What are they watching for?

Still making it seem as if he's "listening" to Lazarus (and he is, with half an mental ear, as well as watching Mikey's reaction to this whole deal), Bjorn studies the guards, trying to figure out if there's something they look for or at during those pauses.

[Brian]

Code Select Expand

Perception check:
<Chibi-Suu> Them bones was tossed for Faceless ... : 3d6 --> {14}
The guards' faces are hid behinds their masks ... they could be staring blankly directly across the room for all you can read them.

[Bjorn]

Dammit.

Bjorn listens to Lazarus for a little longer, trying to determine if there's yet more to learn from his story.  If not, he bids his goodbyes, and heads back towards his "apartment."

[Brian]

Externally, Mikey just seems to find the story of Jonah and the "Big Fishie" fascinating.  Internally, you get the impression that he's absorbing the hidden meanings of it, without leaving them where a random psychic could pick them up ... but you get that inference from 'listening' to Lazarus.  He's pretty good at hiding thoughts in other thoughts....

It really does seem that the story is just to keep impressing Mikey with a good tactical sense of the area they know.  If it's to serve anything else, it's just to entertain Mikey.  'Seeing' the story writ in large across the blackboard of your mind is somewhat interesting.

[Bjorn]

Supposed to practice my mental discipline, anyways.

Bjorn settles in for the remainder of the story -- though he continues to watch both the guards and the other "inmates" for anything unusual or interesting.

[Brian]

Most of the innmates are at least a LITTLE odd.  The signers, for example.  The one who was hauled off the first time you were in the cafeteria is visible, though the other two in his group are keeping a distance away from him, for some reason.

The signs you catch are difficult to decipher from your angle, and they're much faster than Bridgett was, too.

[Bjorn]

Mmph.  If I was trying to keep a bunch of troublemakers locked up and out of trouble.  I'd try to provide them with distractions.  So, we've got the apartments (bare), the cafeteria (shitty an dlimited hours), and the Playground.  Doesn't seem enough....

Bjorn is getting quite bored, and looks around for anything that might have been provided in that regard.

[Brian]

All you can find is a deck of cards, but they're the same kind that you were looking at for the t-series tests.  While you're hunting around for entertainment, the 'sun' sets.

Mikey quickly retreats to his lighted corridor, followed eventually by Lazarus.  As you watch, the bulbs dim, one by one, until the 'sunlight' fades, and the 'moon' lights up.  The stars follow shortly.

Quite a few people take this as a sign to turn in for the day, and a few more wake up and emerge from their corridors.

[Bjorn]

Glacing up for a moment to spot the difference in night-time routine Lazarus mentioned, Bjorn heads over the lighted corridor.  "I think I'm about to head to bed," he says aloud.  "Are you going to be okay, Mikey?"

[Brian]

He nods.  "Old Man Lazarus is telling me about the turtle that carries the world on its back.  He knows lotsa stories!"

[Bjorn]

"That's a good story," Bjorn nods, refraining from asking any questions about elephants, since Lazarus probably has a point to the story.  "Anyways, good night."

On his mental chalkboard, though, he scribbles out, I'm going to my room, but not to sleep.  If Megan wakes up and wants to start, please let me know.

And with that, he heads off to his room -- again, watching the guards.

[Brian]

Lazarus nods slightly.  You're not sure if it was at you or Mikey, though.  After that, you make it to your room, where your dirty laundry remains.