At close range, Szerith can easily see that Kethys' analysis is correct; the back of Mr. Thompson's head is a gaping ruin, the stain behind it the dried-up remains of his skull. Clearly, the corpse has been here for a long time.
Midnight Frost's spell easily plucks the weapon from the corpse's hand. As for the paper...
'I'm sorry.
I tried. I tried so hard, always, but when the attack came, I just hid. Everyone is gone. There's only me left, and the Doctor.
I've told him to leave me alone. He'd try to stop me. I can't let him. I failed everyone, and if I'm still here by sundo
I'm sorry. I am so sorry. This is a coward's way out, but the things I saw, the things I heard
I'm sorry. To whomever it may concern, I'm sorry. Good luck to you.
Run, if you can find anywhere to go. I couldn't. I'm sorry.
Signed,
Edward "Big Ed" Thompson'
"Hmmm. Seems there was some form of an attack? This person? Ended his own life because he couldnt get rid of the guilt of letting the others die. It leaves with a warning that we too should get away. Also. It seems the doctor is... not hostile" she muses as she read through the note
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"Okay, sure. There was some kind of attack, and that's not good. But, given the condition of the body, it was a long time ago. More worrisome to me is that puddle of sick on the floor. If all that was left was this Thompson fellow and the doctor, then where did the vomit come from?"
Kethys turned, looking in all directions for some other sign of the recent visitor.
"Indeed, someone must have been here in the history more recent than the attack he mentions. And it seems not to have been the doctor, if he was honest about not intruding."
"Mr. Thompson is very dead, but, I feel as if something is trying to avoid us... Something not quite alive perhaps."
Kethys' search of the room shows no sign of where the source of the vomit might have gone, but simple elimination shows they must have left by the door: the suite's bathroom is unoccupied, the closet and fridge are empty, and the window is locked tight...
"Maybe we should get the doctor creature in here? From his notes it seems he is someone that we can trust to be... thorough" she suggests as they look about the room for the 'observer'.
She will use detect magic
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"The doctor is the only creature I have seen in this place in whom I might think to have any trust, because of the note. But I would be wrong if he were the presence that Szerith noticed."
As you stand discussing, you hear a soft knock at the door.
Or you assume it was meant to be a soft knock; what it sounds like more is something big scratching at the door with sharp claws. The wood actually bulges in a little...
"I heard you mention my designation," you hear the Doctor say. "Are my services required? Is Mr. Thompson alright?"
"If by 'alright' you mean 'dead for quite some time', then yes I'd say most thoroughly so. Has Mr. Thompson had any other visitors besides us that you know of? Someone has been here, and fairly recently. We'd like to know who, or what, that was."
She nods in agreement
"This does look very bad. We wish to help solve this problem"
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The door swings open, and the Doctor comes in. The creature has to stand hunched over, but does so without any noticeable discomfort as it stares at the corpse in the bed.
"Guests. Yes. A party of six was here three days ago. Four gentlemen, two ladies, all human. They have departed. They -- Would you care for some entertainment? We have some delightfully diverting amusement-tapes. Or perhaps you would like a free full-body examination?"
"Who were these people? If they were truly human, they would have been the first I've seen here."
"Yuuuuman.... yuman.... what are yuuumans exactly?" she tries the sound a few times. Not getting it all that correctly
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At the mention of a full body examination, she steps back a few paces
"Thanks, but no thanks"
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"Human, you know, like..."
Kethys stared around him at the others in his motley band. It was odd, there actually weren't any humans among them. He hadn't thought about it before. He was so used to living among humans and assuming that they were always around.
"Kind of like me, I guess, but their skin isn't green. More of a light brown color. And their teeth are smaller, with no fangs. Never mind"
"Doctor, do you know where these people went after they left Mr. Thompson? Perhaps we can follow them to see if they have any information on Mr. Thompson? Or us?"
"They were the ladies and gentlemen of the Favour Brothers Ltd. ladies and gentlemen ready-made fashions department," the Doctor replies without even a hint of irony. "They departed the hospital two days ago. As I am the Doctor, I do not have agency to depart the premises. Are you certain none of you would like to be examined? We have a 'first scan free'-policy, if you are interested. Or perhaps you would like some nutrition? Some entertainment?"
"Food... food sounds like a plan... i havnt ate... in... i cant even remember when last i ate" she looks at the half orc. Trying to picture what he described. But it was very hard. Even those around her seemed so alien to her
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"I've seen the name Favor Brothers around here a few times. Who are they exactly?"
"According to the ladies and gentlemen, the Favour Brothers are both a pair of living humans and the store they run in the city of London," the Doctor replies. "However, they do not exist in my database. What kind of nourishment would you like?"
Tigwith thinks for a few moments, trying to decipher that unknown word, but he is no more edified than before.
"What's a London?"
"Lon-don... londin... Doctor, you speak of strange things indead" she also contemplates his question "Apples would be satisfactory."
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Kethys decided he would see how the horse's apples looked before he asked for any food. The way things were around here, he'd likely get served a roasted part of Mr. Thompson, rather than an elk steak.
"Where are we now? In relation to this London? We aren't from here...not even sure where here is, really. Kind of woke up on the grounds of this carnival not far up the road. Creepy place."
"To the best of my knowledge, and having plumbed every bit of the database which my clearance grants me access to, there []is[/i] no city of London," the Doctor replies. "But possibly the ladies and gentlemen suffered from a form of group dementia and shared a fantasy. I do not do fiction. Please follow me to the cafeteria."
Without a further glance for the remains of Mr. Thompson, the metallic Doctor precedes you back to the elevators and advises you to get out on the first floor. Once there, he guides you to another large, sterile-looking room. Tables and chairs are placed throughout at mathematically precise equidistance, and there is a long counter against the back wall.
Even as you enter the room, little hatches in the countertop open and up rise... platters of fruit. Oblong and shiny, their shape is wholly unfamiliar to you. Green fruit. Red fruit. Golden fruit. Orange fruit. Even some blue fruit. All of them steam slightly, as if they had recently been stored in ice.
"As requested, apples," the Doctor says. "Please enjoy your meal."
Kethys frowned slightly at the food, as he had never seen anything like it before. "This is supposed to be food?" The headache he had been feeling all day throbbed dully, but it wasn't too bad. Maybe he could tell if the food was edible. Eating something might help...or it might not.
He remembered his father telling him something, when he was a boy, about eating strange foods. His father had said "Look, anything you eat has a chance to strengthen you, make you sick, or kill you outright. So, the only time you should eat strange foods without knowing that they are safe is when not eating anything will kill you too."
He picked up one of the green fruits and sliced a bit off with his knife. He held it up and examined it closely.
To the best of Kethys' ability to tell, the fruit is wholesome - though still chilly from having only recently been thawed out. Once sliced, it smells like a normal apple.
Except the memory of his father telling him something fades as soon as it surfaces, leaving only a sense of loss and confusion....
What was that? Was that my...damn! I thought I had remembered something clearly for a moment. They seem to come in flashes when I am not trying to remember. Does that mean I am getting better? Will my memory return on its own?
Kethys nibbled at the sliver of fruit, anxiously awaiting its taste and wholesomeness.
If it tastes like an apple and smells like an apple... it still has a weird shape. But it's good food all the same.
Tigwith is not damaged by the fruit, though his acute senses are disturbed. He looks to his side and sees Kethys with a facial expression similar to his own attitude towards the apple.
"May I ask where you got this apple from?"
"They are harvested from extra-city fully automated orchards, frozen and then shipped through the inter-city subterranean pneumatic network at need. I placed an order with the network when you expressed an interest in apples," the Doctor replies.
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Midnight eagerly digs into the apples. Enjoying the crunchy sounds it makes between her teeth
"Hmmmm.... didnt know how hungry I was"
"So no... Lawndin then? Maybe these people are in the same situation we are?"
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"I require more information before I can make a calculation with an acceptable chance of success," the Doctor says. "Also, it might be wise to subject you all to psychological analysis to make sure you are not suffering from mass delusion."
Kethys ate the rest of his fruit, then said, "No offense, but I'm not keen on subjecting myself to your care." He nodded in the direction of the unfortunate Mr. Thompson.
"Are we done here? Maybe there are more answers to be had elsewhere?"
Kethys was confused by this strange place, and not picking up any clues as to their situation, who he was, or what he was supposed to be doing.
Looking around. She bites her lip then steps forward
"I...I will take that mental evaluation Doctor. Maybe it will shed some light on my current... state"
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"Excellent!" the Doctor says, folding his blade-tipped fingers in a gesture of satisfaction. "Please follow me to the medi-scan room, so we may commence the evaluation. After a brief physical scan, we can proceed with a bracing conversation about your feelings and worries. The first session is free. Please leave your Insurance information at the front desk for repeat session. If the front desk is unmanned, we shall waive the procedurals. In the meantime, would the rest of you perhaps like to partake of our extensive entertainment facilities? We have information tapes on a wide variety of subjects. Perhaps you may even find some of them to be useful."
"I would like to take a look at one of those tapes. What topics do you have?"
Midnight follows the doctor to where he plans to do the tests
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