graveyard part 4

[gamehead]

hunter's game the graveyard You wake up in an unfamiliar cabin. At first, it almost seems like you're in an entirely different place and that everything had been just a dream. The interior of the cabin looks nothing like the run-down, old-timey shacks that you had been living in before. Everything in here is sleek and modern, from the enormous flat-screen TV mounted on the wall to the fridge and mini-bars stocked with all your favorite foods. There aren't any individual rooms in here, just a common area large enough to house everyone comfortably, no matter how many more people join you...and there will be plenty more people joining you before the week is over. Because if you look outside the window, it quickly becomes clear that not only are you still in Prayer's Pass, but that you are no longer among the realm of the living. Judging from the tombstones directly outside, you're now in what had been the abandoned broken-down cabin in the graveyard. The cabin's not all that changed; the world outside has gone completely grey and everything you see appears to be faded and blurry. The only things that remain sharp and in color are what's inside the cabin, including your fellow ghosts. Occasionally, people who are still alive may enter, but it's clear that what they're seeing is completely different from what you're seeing. The door's unlocked; however, a mysterious force prevents you from stepping beyond the threshold, no matter how hard you may try. After all, this cabin is a cage for the dead - a gilded one, perhaps, but a cage nonetheless. On the flat-screen TV plays everything that is currently happening in the town. It will shut off once night starts...and something else will appear instead.

Comments

[bloodofgrima]

[Robin hates to be this blunt, but...]

Calm down, please. Critter just said that it will cost far more than the clues, and that's a lot to ask for someone many of us don't seem to know.

However, I'm certain that someone here will be willing. There's no need to get angry.

[notyetlost]

I don't care if you knew him or not! [The way all these people would talk about him though, Poland knows they didn't know anything about him in the slightest.]

You all said we would have been screwed without all the clues and he got you the time to get them! You owe him!

Start sacrificing!

[bloodofgrima]

Calm down. [Yes, she's repeating herself, but she'll keep doing it until Poland listens.]

I agree completely with you. But yelling at everyone and demanding they sacrifice whatever higher price Critter demands is going to make them less inclined to do so, especially as you're doing now.

Take a few deep breaths and try to at least get yourself composed. A calm case is much more likely to be accepted and you're already in the right.

[notyetlost]

[It is a wonder why Robin even tries helping Poland when all he ever does is yell at her for it.]

...Fine.

[She did say he was right though. He's breathing.]

[bloodofgrima]

[Because that's how Robin is. There are other friends of hers back home who started out trying to do far worse than yell at her.]

I think you're absolutely right. We do owe him and even if it's only to bring him here as a ghost, I honestly believe that the sacrifice should be made. However... let me put it this way.

Imagine it was my husband Chrom in the place of Lithuania. The rest of the circumstances were the same, but it was someone that I cared for and you didn't know. Furthermore, you have not yet sacrificed something.

If I started screaming at you to sacrifice because you owed him -- no attempt at talking, just the same yelling -- would you be inclined to give up a very heavy price for him?

[notyetlost]

[And now he's pouting.] ...no.

[bloodofgrima]

That's the position that most of us here seem to be in. We don't know Lithuania or much about him.

As I've said, however, you are right. It's thanks to him we were bought more time, and thanks to him we were able to unlock so many clues so quickly. I fully believe someone here would be willing to pay the price Critter puts forward, but only if you present your case calmly. There is going to be resistance to it, especially once Critter tells us how heavy the price is, but no matter what is said you can't lose your cool.

Once you start yelling again, the discussion -- and opportunity -- is lost.

I'll help you, if you want me too.

[notyetlost]

[Poland withers a little. Bullying strangers was one thing, trying to talk to them and actually convincing them of things was another. Poland didn't like strangers, they were hard to deal with and he never knew what to say to them. Lithuania was always better when it came to dealing with them and even more than that he would always help Poland with it too. That fact that he hasn't been around Lithuania for most of the duration of the game has been Poland's biggest detriment.




Robin's not Lithuania, but if she can help get Lithuania back he'll take it.]

...Okay. You can help me.

[bloodofgrima]

[And she'd never try to be. Right now, all she wants is to get Poland his friend back, and that's going to take some finesse.]

Let me speak with Critter and find out just what's required. Once we know exactly what the price is, I'm sure we can think of a way to convince someone here to pay it.

[notyetlost]

[He nods.]

[bloodofgrima]

[Well shit, that almost backfired. Robin is glad that Critter at least gave her a chance to shut up, though. If she'd made it so Lithuania couldn't be brought back, she would've hated herself.]

The best we can do, it seems, is to make the case to everyone and see who comes forward.

[Feel free to yell at her if you heard her conversation with Critter, Poland. Robin is already kicking herself about it because she should have known better. She should've known Critter wouldn't entertain her for long...]

[notyetlost]

A-ah... [He won't yell at her, but he does look more nervous as Ukraine and Kanaya ask more questions. One too many and Critter might take it back, but these are important.]

We need six.

[Six people.]

[bloodofgrima]

[She seems relieved at that. She already knows she came dangerously close to a mistake.]

Six people... that will be... difficult.

[Are there even six people still here who haven't given up something? Robin's been too out of it, she doesn't know.]

[notyetlost]

Only Ukraine seems interested... [This is a huge problem.]

Everyone liked you right, isn't there like anyone here you can convince?

[bloodofgrima]

I can ask Owada, but the only other people I knew well either aren't here, are gone completely, or have already given something up.

[notyetlost]

I didn't really last long enough to make friends with later people... [Most of the people who Poland managed to make friends with already gave things up.]

D-didn't anyone like Liet?

[bloodofgrima]

I'm not sure if I ever even met him, so that's not a question I can answer. I would guess that at least a few did... but why they aren't coming up, I can't say.

I would stand up before everyone and ask that soon, if I were you. Maybe an out and out discussion -- started calmly -- might be enough to push a few more people forward.

[notyetlost]

[Public speaking and begging for help are not exactly Poland's strong suits but.]

I-I... um.

O-okay.

[bloodofgrima]

I'm right here if you need me. Just remember to say what you told me. He's important to you, he's the one who let us get those extra clues.

And... if this really is our last few moments, having someone like here is the least we can do for him.