Skyscrapers & ... Groundscrapers? (RP)

Unaffected by the forward-directed blinding light, Arthur watches the goblins reactions. Several of them (five) drop their spears. Four other goblins clutch their spears to their chests with their eyes closed.

The woman shrieks in alarm, throwing her hands in front of her face.

"Hey, were those your shoes?" Arthur asks before anyone can do anything else. "Yellow soles? Where did you get all the coats for the rope? Where's all the other people who had the coats? Yes, lady, I'm talking to you."

The goblins start yelling in gobbledegook ... or is it goblindigook? Are they goblins? Sure looks like what a goblin would be. They certainly have an awful lot of great, big teeth in their wide mouths. Wait... or is that German? French? Don't tell me they are Canadian! No, not with that bone-structure and grey-green skin.The few goblins what were not blinded by your light move to protect their woman, but there are not many left standing and, with a coordinated attack you could take them out before any reinforcements arrive in response to the yelling.

"Those... those were Jenny's." The cowering woman whimpers. She seems traumatised, like she has spent the last hours (how long since the indecent?) being harassed by strange things unknown, and your sudden appearance, blinding lights, and demands for answers are not helping her state of mind. "I don't know where everyone else is!" She wails.

What do you do?

" Submariner," Arthur confirms. " Whosever it belongs to, it's not doing them any good here." He keeps his flashlight and gun pointed toward the "goblins" as he looks for other signs of erstwhile humanity.

Indeed: While the goblins, both men and women, wear no clothes, a few have piercings glinting in their ears —and other places— and you see a wedding ring hanging precariously from a long, large-knuckled finger, and one is wearing socks —though its toes have poked their way through.

Any signs of humanity are either very superficial or buried deep down inside, but it seems you have found the missing 'people'.

What do you do?

Arthur's medic training takes over. "Come with us, lady," he says to the woman. "Do you think you can climb back up the rope?"

- Arthur -

The goblinized people, though still dazzled by your bright lights, argue and gesture with their weapons to prevent you from taking the cowering woman. You can almost pick out words in their goblin language, 'ours' and possibly 'one of us' dominate, though you could be projecting.

"What's going on?" The woman wails, as scared and confused by the voices out of the light as by the strange people around her.

What do you do?

If the woman complies with instructions, and the goblins don't interfere, Arthur leads her to the rope.

- Arthur -

You saw no sign of long, goblin feet on the way here, it looks like the people (while they were people) came down here, into the dark, of their own volition. Why they would do that you can not guess, but the woman —even scared out of her wits by your sudden invisible 'appearance', and the light that, possibly for the first time, shows her the goblins around her while hiding you— does not want to go back, and wants to know what is going on.

The goblins form up around her, they won't let you take her.

What do you do?

Understanding that violence is not imminent, Arthur carefully considers his next words to further reduce the tension. "We're from back there," he says. "We are investigating the incident. My name …" and he considers whether names might have Power in this weird place. "… is not important. If you would not like to leave here, would you like to explain why not? Can you communicate with your companions?"

- Fiona -

Dazzled by your flashlights (the regular kinds, not the kinds that FLASH) the people —are we calling them 'people' now?— you are confronting can not see your raised hands nor Arthur's pistol and have only your words to go on... if they (aside from the one woman) even understand English.

A little bit of sidetracking and you find what you were looking for, a pile... well 'pile' may be too neat a word, but a scattering of clothing are strewn (yeah, that's the word) long the path, but off to one side. They don't look damaged... well, not ripped, anyway... and not bloody, so it does not look like the people were eaten out of the their clothes, more like they were just too large and fell off or were discarded when they got in the way. It is interesting that people seem to have broken from the group to walk alongside for this process, it does not look like it happened all at once, but this needs more study to be sure.

What do you do?

- Arthur -

Your calm words help a little, the goblins lower their spears, in a relaxed way, like they understand the gist of your tone or words even if they can not speak them.

The woman, whose eyes are starting to adjust to the light your are shining in her face looks around when you ask about her companions, seems to realise for the first time what they look like, and screams, scrabbling backwards, away from both these monsters and the voice out of the light that will not name itself.

You can not know this, but your talk of 'back there' and 'leaving' (or going back) scares her as much as the sight of the goblins does.

You can see the goblins shoulders slump at her fear, as if to say, "we were trying to avoid that, thanks so much". They don't seem 'hostile', more 'protective'.

What do you do?

"You're the lead on this," Arthur says. "I'm just protection and first aid." He blinks his flashlight at the goblins and the woman. "Sorry to bother you, we're moving on."

- Arthur -

"Wait. Where are you going?!" The woman wails. "You're not leaving me with these monsters?!" Now that she has seen who she is with, and with you being the only ones speaking 'proper language', she is not happy staying with the goblins.

"Where is everybody?!"

What do you do?

- Fiona -

"What?" All this talk about 'breaks' and 'less flexible minds' and 'goblin coworkers' is not easy to understand.

The goblins give you (or your general direction) a thankful look, and start to gabble at you before one of them shushes the others and assumes the role of 'speaker'. It does not help that you can not understand a word they are saying, though. At least they don't seem hostile, more curious.

What do you do?

Arthur adds, "But seriously, folks. All will be well. Beats cubicle work, amirite?" He also moves to advance beyond the goblin gaggle. What's next?