audio | un: silent + un: finn

[callada]

(color key: Rosinante and Finn)

Finn and I just spent the day following a couple people around town. Finn, you want to give them a primer on how that ability of yours works?

So, back on our first mission in Gyeongje, I… sort of absorbed part of the orb for a little while. It’s a long story, but because of that, I can apparently sense the other orbs and track them if I can find something that’s come in contact with it.

All I’ve gotten here so far are just feelings that it’s nearby, but Rosinante and I have narrowed it down. The Bransons have definitely been near the orb, maybe in contact with it. The kid, Jebediah Branson, and a woman named Poppy have probably been near it. As for the orb’s actual location, though, that’s really all we’ve got so far… But Jebediah did mention a father, grandfather, and an uncle he called Ches.

And on top of Finn's sense of all that, they’re not repeating themselves like the rest of the town and they know the others are. Even mentioned it a few times.

Two of the Branson men might, the father and grandfather of the kid, might still be inside the mines, probably in a part outside the loop Gwen described which is why she didn’t see them. This “Uncle Ches” fellow must work there too, the kid Jeb implied he was always covered in dirt when he comes home.

Their house is over by the stables, if anyone is feeling interested in some infiltration. Otherwise, asking around town about this Ches Branson could be helpful. Maybe hunt him down directly, if you can. But if he has the orb, maybe let all of us know before you tangle with him too closely.

text; un: alenko

[majorbiotic]

If anyone is investigating the mines, be careful around the ore they take out of there. My co-workers at the Trading Post have warned me that it's very dangerous. I tried to confirm this by scanning some with my omni-tool but it doesn't even register that there's something physically there when I try. And my tool does work-- I tested it on a chair just to make sure and the readings were normal.

But back on the subject. They tell me that the ore is made into something they call "pulsefire". All three of my co-workers agree it's nothing good. One of them said that if you use it as flint, it'll create a pulsefire storm "as big as a whole town" and then said it killed her grandmother. Another told me that it's "pure evil" and "only kills living things in its path".

Has anyone else come across this "pulsefire" in their investigation? I would suggest trying to sprinkle it into your conversations with the locals and gauge their reaction. The comment on a storm "as big as a whole town" really set off alarm bells, considering everything else we've discovered so far.

There's also something else that's been troubling me. Whatever is happening is affecting our technology and even our perception. Words blur and start to look like gibberish if we focus on it for too long. My omni-tool didn't register the ore as a physical object and when I tried later, it just turned off. And of course we have the locals who repeat themselves or just look blank if we ask them certain questions. It feels... too familiar to things I've seen back home. I don't like it. I really, really don't like it.