New Avalon

[yamikuronue]

Erika sighs, glancing around before taking a deep breath, willing her hands to be still.

"Last week, I was poor. Dirt poor. About to lose my home poor. More loans than I'd ever be able to pay off, skipping meals, never going to be Welcomed poor. I was offered a deal -- I'd be given a new life, a chance to pull myself out of debt. And what was I supposed to do exactly? Say no and nobly die in the streets? I had to take it. You're probably Welcomed, but maybe you can understand, at least a little..." She wrings her hands, her voice pleading.

[Hammer Sister]

"Unless working for the GRD counts as Welcomed, I'm still one of the Waiting. And I'll admit, when we first met, I did suspect you were, shall we say, on the wrong side of fate. I can understand seizing any opportunity to stack the odds in your favour; I'd likely do the same if I was in that position. But there's more to your story than poverty; deals such as the one you took often come with a catch..."

[yamikuronue]

She nods, looking down. "It was great... for a day or so. Then I started... I don't know. Hallucinating isn't the right word. I just sort of... it was like I was asleep, and then when I woke up, I was in danger, terrible danger. I didn't know what to think. Was it a stroke or something? So I called the guy who gave me the deal and he said..."

She takes a deep breath, keenly aware that this is where her story veers into lala land.

"He told me that he had found a way to fake being Welcomed, but the price was that when it wore off, the city would try to kill me for deceiving it. He renewed the protection, but in essence.... I have to keep him happy, whatever he asks of me, or I'll die."

[Hammer Sister]

Rob ponders the story for a moment or so. "Sounds like a scare story to keep you from terminating the arrangement to me," he comments. "It implies that, somehow, the city itself is sentient, maybe even sapient, which I think you'll agree is ridiculous. As for the hallucinations... you'd have to speak to a medical professional about those." Rob pauses a moment. "When you made the deal, were you given something? Like a charm or a totem or something?"

[yamikuronue]

She shakes her head. "Only an ordinary business card."

[Hammer Sister]

"Do you have it with you?"

[yamikuronue]

Erika digs into her purse for a moment before producing the card she was given.

[CalamityJade]

The name on the card was Stauf Harrox. It was a name a lot of people were familiar with. He ran several businesses and while none of them were skyrocketing him to fame, they were making money. Not only that but he seemed to get invited to a lot of parties and events from knowing one person or another. He was pretty well connected and somewhat shrewed with his business practices, but tricking people into thinking the city wanted to kill them seemed a bit...far fetched for him.

[Hammer Sister]

Rob takes the card and reads it. "Harrox... he's just a businessman. A reasonably successful one too; can't see why he'd want to trick people into thinking the city is out to kill them," Rob comments, handing the card back to Erika.

[yamikuronue]

"All I know is what I experienced: wealth, power, and homicidally bad luck."

[Hammer Sister]

"Would that be why you gave the Keystone exhibit such a wide berth?"

[yamikuronue]

She nods. "I want to avoid angering the City any more than I already have."

[Hammer Sister]

"I don't think anyone minds if you get close to a big rock," Rob assures.

[yamikuronue]

"Well yeah, if it's not real, but what if it had been the home of the spirit of the city?"

[Hammer Sister]

"If there is such a thing as a 'spirit of the city', I doubt it'd limit itself to one location." Rob pauses a moment. "That probably isn't as comforting as I intended."