o1 | video

[footnoting]

[Seems like the form of the day is a young, tired looking girl. Her hair is matted, shadows under her eyes, and smears of dirt on her face. She's wearing tattered clothes and, most alarmingly, there are what appear to be shackles on each wrist, broken chains swinging from them.

The comm tag reads Bartimaeus, no more no less.]

I have some disturbing news about one of the worlds you've heard about, here. [The girl's voice is young, though the tone doesn't... exactly match up with her appearance.] Though it shouldn't come as much of a surprise if you've been listening.

Right- I am Bartimaeus of Uruk, the Serpent of Silver Plumes, one who watched the rise and fall of eight World Empires and fought in the battles of Troy and Prague, who walked the streets of Rome in its glory!

And I- er. [The girl, quite frankly, looks embarrassed.] I'm also a slave. [Her arms raise, and she wiggles them enough to have the shackles and chains clanging together. Ta-da...]

So. Kitty Jones, if you know her, was telling the truth. Just terrible, what's happening in London. Erm- attacks! Deadly, violent attacks. [Uh] And those cursed magicians, forcing us to fight and attack and torturing us if we don't do a good enough job. Been going on for an age, really. Between you and me, I think they get too much of a kick out of watching the Shriveling Fire at work.

[There's a long, awkward pause after that before the girl raises her wrists again, wiggling them to get that clanking going again- has he shown off the chains yet? Because he thought they were a good touch.

Ahhh, you know what. That's good enough. Looking pleased with her work, the girl reaches out and turns off the feed. Look Kitty he helped!]

Comments

[Video]

[weapabilities]

A slave... I. I wasn't aware humans kept slaves.

[ Disappointed. ]

I can help you get those off.

[Video]

[footnoting]

Some humans. [Look at him, keeping the commoners out of the line of fire.] But yes, it's- [Ah, wait. The girl takes a second and then takes on the expression of utter woe.] -tragic. It's getting so hard to remember a single day I didn't have to answer to a power hungry master.

[You're such a hero, Drift]

Would you? Oh- but I don't- I don't know if I can possibly get rid of them. They're just such a part of me now.

[Makepeace eat your heart out]

video;

[brushoff]

...isn't that a man's name? [ because yes, that's the thing he's questioning the most about all of this. ]

video;

[footnoting]

[Oh well darn, someone has a brain.]

.... my masters have a cruel sense of humor?

[video]

[asafepairofhands]

I know Kitty Jones.

...she has slightly less of a deliberate flair for the melodramatic, but I believed her regardless. Are you a friend of hers? I'm guessing you're not exactly human, not with that self-description.

[video]

[footnoting]

It worked, didn't it? [Bartimaeus those aren't things you say out loud.]

Er- in a sense. [Yes they're friends but don't make him say it] We've worked together and- tch. Human? [The sheer insult of that is clear on the girl's face.] Not in the least. I'm far above human.

VIDEO.

[selfimage]

Ah—yes, Kitty Jones, I'm familiar.

[ he's busying himself with something other than this conversation, moving something or other around. the comm is propped up in the kitchen, against the side of a counter. ]

Are you going to try and sway us into her grand idea of a collective march into bizarro London with promises of victory and cupcakes?

[ he's more curious than he lets on. not of the situation, entirely, each universe had its own ups and downs, but moreso of Bartimaeus. ]

VIDEO.

[footnoting]

Not at all. [The girl crosses her arms, the chains clanging musically as they bounce off each other.] The fighting is her idea, I'm just here to say magicians are bad. Boo oppression.

[He's wondering how long he can keep Mandrake's name out of things.]

[doneproperly]

[Mandrake spends a while thinking about how to respond to this, for he has no doubt that certain people will be looking for a response from him.

This is the good thing about network communications, he thinks. You don't have to respond instantly. You can take time to compose yourself and consider your best available options.

Eventually he settles on an air of good-humoured exasperation, like a parent fed up with their misbehaving child.]

You really are terrible at this, aren't you? I hope you never have to tell a lie to save your life, Bartimaeus. I mean-- you couldn't even think of a girl's name to suit your guise? It's like you aren't even trying.

[footnoting]

[Ah, he was wondering when Mandrake would show up.]

That's because I'm not. [Look at how much he's preening do you see this] It's the truth. Every word of it. [Oh] Except Troy- but at this point even a wisp would chatter about their hand in Troy and we all know how impossible that is.

[How strange a concept this must be. The genius little magician faced with a spirit who not only doesn't leap at his throat, but admits he's actually avoiding lying?

He just honestly hopes Mandrake doesn't question why. He's not exactly up to admitting it's only because Kitty told him not to.]

video

[rathercommon]

[ bartIMAEUS HOW CAN YOU MAKE THE TRUTH SOUND LIKE SUCH A PACK OF LIES

Kitty is smiling when she clicks on the feed, but there's maybe a slight exasperated edge to it. But she declaims what it seems will be most supportive of his story: ]

Thanks for speaking up, Bartimaeus. This is very brave, especially given that there's one of those cursed magicians here.

video

[footnoting]

[What are you talking about he is doing SO MANY GOOD THINGS FOR YOU]

Oh anything to protect my freedom! [The girl is saying with the most obvious wink known to man.

God Kitty why did you trust him with anything.]

video;

[daimeinashi]

So you're one of these spirits Kitty wishes to free, then.

[There's way too many titles there and Sai can't be assed to decide which of them he should use so he's just not going to use any of them.]

video;

[footnoting]

I am. [The girl tilts her head to the side, an action that doesn't quite work as well for this form as it would for Ptolemy. Hm.] One of the most intelligent too, but I'm sure she told you all about that.

[Bartimaeus pls]

video;

[hoboagogo]

[....Wow. This is... uh. Something. And as dire as Kitty's actual plight sounds, he's slightly jaded by the melodrama of it whoops.]

Yeah, she mentioned something about all that. And werewolves eating people and shit. So good thing you're here now instead, I guess.

But when people get ported out've here and end up back home, it's not like they remember any've this. So what's the point of bringing it up here?

video;

[footnoting]

The Night Police. They're part of the government- were their favorite commoner guzzling pets for a while.

[The girl's saying helpfully before pulling herself back and shrugging, chains still clanging around her wrists as she moves.]

Information's important to her. Magicians keep everyone else in the dark about what they do, she probably just wants to change that.

[... he really needs to watch how instantly supportive of Kitty he gets. There are some secrets he's still trying to keep under wraps.]

voice;

[humanistic]

[Um...]

So you're-- friends, with Kitty?

voice;

[footnoting]

[Um indeed.]

Please. As if I could feel friendship towards a human. [Bartimaeus you're full of shit.] We've had a few dealings in our world.

video;

[bratziska]

( Well, Kitty had never seemed like the type to lie about such things - even if she had spent quite some time lying about her name when she'd first arrived - but really, this announcement just raises more questions. )

Has she told you about her plan to save her world as well?

video;

[footnoting]

It would work. [Might as well skip the whole Oh yes she did! dance. But the girl, for better or for worse, remains looking just a shade away from bored.] Someone with power stands behind her and London would topple.

[Which really would just mean the spirits under servitude there would be summoned elsewhere. Maybe America, they seemed like they were going to be the next to have power.

Either way, it won't make much of a difference. But he can't exactly tell Kitty that. All he said was he'd make this post and help her out with getting the truth out.]

text.

[immigrantpunk]

[Oh my God what seriously, this is just embarrassing.]

so um don't quit your day job ok

video

[footnoting]

[If Bartimaeus had the option of penning in his answers, he'd reply to Jayden with a text. But since he can't doodle horrible things in between messages and have them send? He's going to continue showing off his great, illustrious voice, and this carefully constructed face tyvm.]

Don't worry, jealousy's a common reaction to my limitless talents.

[.... n...o... Bartimaeus... that's not... it at all.]

[inmyothertights]

[Oh boy.]

Slavery's illegal here. I don't know if...uh.

Anyone told you that.

Yet.

[footnoting]

Is it? [Oh look, someone who isn't insulting his acting skills right off the bat! Clearly this is time for another Con a Dumb Human moment!!

The girl sighs and clasps her hands together in front of her.] Oh thank goodness I won't have to worry about the horrible magicians.

[He doesn't know why Kitty's annoyed with him. He's doing a fantastic job of selling this!]

video;

[symbionic]

[ ID: Agent Venom. ]

Man, you two really need to work on your sales pitch.

video;

[footnoting]

Oh, I'm not selling anything. I'm just here to say she was telling the truth. Oppression and servitude and all that.

[It's all really embarrassing, to tell the truth.]

[showtunes]

[ hal isn't sure whether to be amused or horrified. ]

And they chain you up?

[footnoting]

[Both, Hal. Go with both.]

Oh of course. [Metaphorically speaking, at least] They think its the only way of getting us to follow orders.

As if we wouldn't complete them just to be able to return home. Even if it's just for a short while.