The message comes by carrier pigeon actually, which is a pretty weird way to deliver a message but of course, it's thematic. A very pretty looking brown pigeon swoops down out of the sky to wherever Percy and Nisha just so happen to be that afternoon and holds out its leg. The message is short and simple:
Got a job for you. Meet me in front of the mine shaft at dusk. No show, no job. Keep it a secret, rewarded very well.
- Hal
P.S. Burn this.
Except Percy's note in particular has an addiction:
Don't tell your girlfriend, kid. I'll disqualify you both and you won't be able to win your way back home.
And that's it. Of course, if they choose to listen to the message, they'll find the Sheriff in front of the mines at dusk. They'll be greeted with a tip of his hat and one word:
"Miners."
And then he holds out two small notebooks. Looks like they've been chosen for one of those roles that were mentioned. Good luck.
I think it'd be a shame to consider it, if you really want to know. [He's trying to talk a big game but at the same time...yikes. Something else occurs to him though.] If you won...would you want to go back to wherever you're from?
[ She chooses her words carefully. She's still thinking about exactly how she wants to deal with this. ]
Sheriff says he can change the past, change the future. Minimum option would be heading back home with me and my boyfriend alive, assuming he was telling the truth about how all that went down. If his employers really have as much power as he says, I still gotta decide if there's more I want out of it. Never been one to get served things on a silver platter, but on the other hand...
But on the other hand, we don't know if we can trust his employers either. [Look, just saying. As someone who's had to bargain with higher-ups a good handful of times he's still skeptical of that.] I still want to see if the Sheriff can give us more information about who he's actually working for.
On the other hand, if they're really that powerful, they could probably handle a pretty hefty wish for multiple people.
[At least she gets a mildly sheepish look in response. Right. Good point.]
That's exactly what I'm saying, yeah. The winner would be the one who managed to stay alive out of the forty of us which kind of means they've earned the right to ask for anything, don't you think? The Sheriff's already mentioned that past winners could bring people back. Why couldn't the winner of this game be able to give everybody a good outcome? If they wanted to, I mean.
It might be physically possible, but I have to say, the chances of the final survivor benevolently granting everyone their wishes after however many months of killing and betrayal are pretty much zero.
People are selfish. Even more so the person who manages to come out on top of a killing game.
[ She says this factually. ]
You can talk about someone being a good person, wanting to help each other out, especially when it doesn't lose them anything, sure. But that kind of person is even worse. They're hypocrites. Even in this first trial you saw it. If someone like that sees me as a villain in this little story, do you think they're really gonna do it? Be like, "Sure, Nisha, you can come back to life and go back to your town and get back to your executions?"
Nah, I don't think so. And there are gonna be plenty of villains in this town by the end.
[...fair. There's a sound of agreement because yes, people can absolutely be selfish. In a way Percy himself can be selfish if it means protecting someone he's loyal to, but at the same time everything Nisha's saying, while making sense, doesn't sit right with him.]
Not sure why it'd matter to them if we'd also be going back to our own worlds. There's a reason you're executing everybody, isn't there? Besides the fact you like it. Keeping Vault Hunters or whoever in line?
I execute everyone who breaks my laws. The Vault Hunters just came into my town as part of their campaign against my boyfriend, thought they'd get a little revenge for some stuff we did by blowing up my train and robbing my bank. Of course I had to face 'em down.
[ A duel at high noon, very traditional. Just... one that she lost. ]
Not gonna put it past people to get all self-righteous about it, though. Especially when someone else already pulled the trigger.
[Huh. So actually some wild west shit...in space. Space cowboys? Nisha what kind of world are you from.]
And without you holding down the law and executing people where you're from, things would be pretty bad, wouldn't they? [He shrugs, looking at his shoes instead.] People might be self-righteous about spilled blood and okay, maybe killing everybody isn't the answer, but...okay. It is a little hypocritical since people would do anything to protect their own.
But that doesn't mean that there won't be people who would be able to ask for a good end for everyone when the end results would effect everybody differently. That's all I'm saying. [...he's put thought into this, don't mind him.] The balance of the world is a really tricky thing. Taking somebody out of it could change the fate of it way too much.
Hate to say, I think the fate of the world's pretty changed either way you make the decision. And maybe someone will be so unwilling to make judgments that they just give everyone what they want, sure. But I doubt a person like that is gonna win here.
[ That's still said mildly, but for the next part her voice gets a little sharper for the first time. ]
And it's certainly not a thing I'm gonna count on happening when my life is at stake. Wouldn't be the first time someone pretended to be on my side and then blew things up in my face at the critical moment.
It's not just you. [That is to say he's been screwed over, too, and it's why he's trying to lay out the groundwork now as it is.] Then the only thing we can do is work together to eliminate anybody who isn't pulling rank, and then we'll go from there. That shouldn't be hard.
[He'll have an internal crisis over murder later, but it makes sense to him.] There's forty of us. We have a lot of weeks left to figure it out.
I'm not that great with wait and see. [So yeah, this is a bummer.] We'll see if he has an assignment for us, soon. Anything else you want to go over while we can?
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sheriffexe) wrote2017-01-13 11:13 am
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Don't really have a choice, so of course I am. I can't settle for less than that.
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If it comes down between us at some point, I won't expect any mercy from you either.
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[Y'know. Since she's dead and all.]
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[ She chooses her words carefully. She's still thinking about exactly how she wants to deal with this. ]
Sheriff says he can change the past, change the future. Minimum option would be heading back home with me and my boyfriend alive, assuming he was telling the truth about how all that went down. If his employers really have as much power as he says, I still gotta decide if there's more I want out of it. Never been one to get served things on a silver platter, but on the other hand...
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On the other hand, if they're really that powerful, they could probably handle a pretty hefty wish for multiple people.
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[ Her tone is only mildly pointed. ]
What, you're saying that whoever wins could ask for stuff for everyone? Or, whoever they've got allied on their side, anyway.
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That's exactly what I'm saying, yeah. The winner would be the one who managed to stay alive out of the forty of us which kind of means they've earned the right to ask for anything, don't you think? The Sheriff's already mentioned that past winners could bring people back. Why couldn't the winner of this game be able to give everybody a good outcome? If they wanted to, I mean.
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It might be physically possible, but I have to say, the chances of the final survivor benevolently granting everyone their wishes after however many months of killing and betrayal are pretty much zero.
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[ She says this factually. ]
You can talk about someone being a good person, wanting to help each other out, especially when it doesn't lose them anything, sure. But that kind of person is even worse. They're hypocrites. Even in this first trial you saw it. If someone like that sees me as a villain in this little story, do you think they're really gonna do it? Be like, "Sure, Nisha, you can come back to life and go back to your town and get back to your executions?"
Nah, I don't think so. And there are gonna be plenty of villains in this town by the end.
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Not sure why it'd matter to them if we'd also be going back to our own worlds. There's a reason you're executing everybody, isn't there? Besides the fact you like it. Keeping Vault Hunters or whoever in line?
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[ A duel at high noon, very traditional. Just... one that she lost. ]
Not gonna put it past people to get all self-righteous about it, though. Especially when someone else already pulled the trigger.
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And without you holding down the law and executing people where you're from, things would be pretty bad, wouldn't they? [He shrugs, looking at his shoes instead.] People might be self-righteous about spilled blood and okay, maybe killing everybody isn't the answer, but...okay. It is a little hypocritical since people would do anything to protect their own.
But that doesn't mean that there won't be people who would be able to ask for a good end for everyone when the end results would effect everybody differently. That's all I'm saying. [...he's put thought into this, don't mind him.] The balance of the world is a really tricky thing. Taking somebody out of it could change the fate of it way too much.
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[ That's still said mildly, but for the next part her voice gets a little sharper for the first time. ]
And it's certainly not a thing I'm gonna count on happening when my life is at stake. Wouldn't be the first time someone pretended to be on my side and then blew things up in my face at the critical moment.
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It's not just you. [That is to say he's been screwed over, too, and it's why he's trying to lay out the groundwork now as it is.] Then the only thing we can do is work together to eliminate anybody who isn't pulling rank, and then we'll go from there. That shouldn't be hard.
[He'll have an internal crisis over murder later, but it makes sense to him.] There's forty of us. We have a lot of weeks left to figure it out.
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Works for me, that's why I'm not at your throat yet, obviously. Or anyone's. No telling how this is gonna play out without waiting to see.
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