World Tree MUSH

    Raylene is briefly back in town after the most recent exploration. Sadly, while she has a number of theories, there are too many unknowns for her to make a solid call on what it might be. "Extradimensional, certainly, which means it follows its own rules. Odd that the circle didn't contain it better, perhaps it was missing something."

    Regardless, exploring other trouble areas is a good idea. There's the elevator manufacturing and testing, which is a source of blue collar jobs here and has had a number of accidents... which is bad for elevators! It's not hard to find that either, just driving around it's easy to see the only 'skyscraper' in town, which is really just a tall building for... testing elevators. The other option is the defense contractor, but that's largely assembly only as well as some offices for paperwork and perhaps design.

    With everyone piled into her van, buckled in safely, and ready to go, Morrigan moseyed her current adventuring party into town.
    There was the mighty mountain king, the group's tank.
    Krystal, the wily and psychic fox.
    Misaki, the ranged DPS.
    And Lian, the space paladin.
    Not a bad crew as she rolls to a stop outside the tall elevator testing facility.
    Morrigan is, oddly, wearing a very nice black suit; slacks button up blouse, black tie, and black jacket. She's evens straightened out that wild wild hair of hers.
    What no one knows is that she's wearing her leather armor beneath said very nice suit as she rolls the car to a stop and steps out, adjusting her necktie.
    "Right so... I'm an OSHA inspector here to look into the workplace accidents and you're my... Retinue. And that's our cover story, got it? Cool, go team go~."

"OSHA?" Misaki asks, not transformed yet, but she's chosen to put on something that looks a bit more like government agent, even if she's so young that won't survive than a casual inspection.

 
 "Works fer me." Muradin adjusted his plate armor and helmet- as much as he disliked taking orders from a Warlock he was too much of a team player to complain too much. He may not approve of Morrigan's blatant use of dark magics, but they were doing good things at the end of the day and that was what was important to him. Just as long as he didn't have to -personally- participate in any of Morrigan's rituals he'd be fine. As usual, Muradin had gorgone to change attire and continued to wear his ever present very medieval looking armor. He was not even going to try and pretend that he wasn't an offworlder, if anyone asked him directly why an OSHA inspector was hiring offworlder security they could, frankly, talk to his hammer. Besides, with Krystal in the group trying to do subterfuge was kind of a foregone conclusion unless the vixen had some kind of illusion magic. Ultimately he was going to go in with armor on and weapons at the ready like a proper tank. He was more concerned about doing his job properly than playing stealth games with these guys. 

    Lian listens to the cover story Morrigan offers them. She looks down at herself. She looks at Morrigan. She looks at Misaki. She looks at Morrigan. She looks at herself. She looks at Muradin.

    "Certainly. OSHA inspector and her retinue."

    It'll be fine, it'll be fine! She's dressed like an adventurer, she's carrying a walking staff, but it'll totally be fine.

     Krystal did change into a plain midnight blue dress that would probably qualify as business casual, but Muradin was right, there was no hiding that she was a blue fox, with her ears, muzzle, and tail making that pretty clear even to a casual observer at a fairly significant distance. "Well we are here to find out what is causing the accidents and put a stop to it, that's what OSHA is for right? Let's just hope they don't ask too many questions..." Krystal didn't know what OSHA was either, but with her abilities, she thankfully sometimes gets to avoid asking basic questions like that.

    As stated, the elevator testing facility was tall, but also connected to a larger, more squat builting, presumably for the parts that didn't involve, you know, elevators. It doesn't have a gate or anything, but does require badges to get in. The security guard at the front desk just stares, then sighs. "Got any kind of id?"

    He doesn't seem to care too much though, because he's already sliding the visitor's log over, and calling someone to come in and guide the group. "If you are from OSHA, we're pretty tired of getting people who don't understand the industry."

    While the group tries to get some id or bluff their way out of that, a well-dressed man arrives from nearby, looking over the eclectic group. "I have my doubts," he mutters, then sighs, "Well, I don't mind giving the tour regardless. I can assure you that our workplace policies are VERY strict."

    "Occupational Safety and Health Administration." Morrigan replies to Misaki. "They handle workplace saftey, accidents, and stuff to ensure safe and healthy working conditions for people." Pause. "We're obviously not REALLY with OSHA. This will work though, just act like you belong here, and power walk with me."
    Right up until the party is asked for ID.
    She reaches into her breast pocket... And pulls out an honest to god leather bound badge and ID, which she flips open holds open VERY briefly, and snaps shut.
    A little bit off Morrigan's illusion magic can go a long way as long as no one checks to make sure that's credible ID.
    Becuase it's not even real.
    It's when the well-dressed man arrives that she turns her attention to him.
    "Oh excellent! A tour would be lovely. I'm certain your policies are tight, but we have to look into these things, you know~?"

 
 Oh boy, here we go, the bluffing attempts. Muradin had never been particularly good at this sort of thing- not even because of him being a dwarf and a fighter made him rather unsuitable for the job, but given his royalty background he was kind of used to people not denying him anything. The Mountain King knew when to fade into the background when necessary though and he crossed his arms as Morrigan did the talking seemingly the face of the group. He moved a bit closer to Krystal just in case and kept his eyes on the well dressed man, already feeling suspicious about these humans. They sure looked very uptight.. he wondered if they were hidding anything. 

    It is here that those of the group will learn something else about what Lian Kamoya is capable of.

    First off, it's one of the rare occasions where she shows real emotion; there's a faint, soft grimace on her face. It's the familiar look of someone who knows she needs to do something, and doesn't like it one bit.

    But the look passes, and she takes a half step forward. One hand comes up, moving in a low, subtle wave. And perhaps, when she speaks, the more sensitive among the group might feel the gentlest nudge of... something. As if she's moving some unseen energy.

    "You don't need to see our identification. We're definitely OSHA inspectors."

    Of course, the desk jockey will feel the full effect. A nudge of the Force. A push at the thought process he's already halfway into. He clearly wants to just rush them on through. So why shouldn't he?

>> SUMMARY[Lian Kamoya] >> The most classic of classic Jedi mind tricks.

Misaki adheres to the good old mantra of look confident and stay quiet, like a good little mook. She keeps her eyes open though, just in case something unusual comes up.

     Of all the times for Krystal to leave her Cornerian ID in the ship, though they probably wouldn't even know what they were looking at if she showed it. As she watches Morrigan do her illusion, and then Lian's Jedi Mind Trick, she suppresses a grin and decides she really needs to learn how to do some psychic impression, would come in handy for situations like this. She otherwise remains quiet and waits to be ushered on for the tour with the rest of the party.

    That's a good combo. The guard isn't actually that weak-willed... but he also just doesn't have a lot of care about keeping the group out anyway. So a little nudge, and a flash of what looks like an official badge, is... good enough for him. "Sure, sure." He waves a hand, which means the man who comes out to greet them gets a sigh. HE doesn't necessarily believe it, but he also is going with the guard's judgement.

    "Well, I'm sure the unions have complained... again. Our union is ALWAYS fighting with the others. You know how it is, politics." He sighs, turning and heading for the manufacturing floor. "We handle everything ourselves, including pouring the concrete and carrying the materials up, wiring the panels... so the electricians, the construction, so on and so forth, they always want to point out any kind of flaw because we're 'barging in' on their territory. But while there have been a few accidents lately, as far as we can tell it's because of people NOT following the dictated safetey protocols."

    As the group steps away from the desk, there's a distinctly sour look on Lian's face. She murmurs in a soft voice intended only for her own group, "I'm really not fond of doing that." But after that, she says no more, her face returning to its usual placid mask. She listens to their tour guide curiously, musing over the information he offers up and pondering what it means in light of their existing knowledge. "I trust they've had the proper safety training. Do these workers have a history of flouting the protocols, or were these first-time slipups?"

    Lian gets a look from the Warlock.
    That was... Clever. Also a little frightening.
    So when it's time for the tour, Morrigan follows the man.
    "Huh." She muses at first. "Barging in on their territory? Because you handle all that work yourselves, I take it? Well... It's not like they'd actively try sabotage or anything like that, that would just be silly." But she moves on.
    "What kind of accidents are we talking here anyway?" She does ask.

 
 Magic was always very impressive- Muradin had to give them that. The Ironforge Thane gave an amused sort of scoff to himself when Morrigan procured a very realistic looking ID Badge, Muradin had no way of knowing it but he was quite certain that it was magical in nature. Then came Lian who passed her hand across the guard and seemingly was just enough to enough to convince the man they were who they claimed to be. Magicians.. well, Muradin supposed they had their uses. He followed along with the group and listened to the apparent supervisor complain about this and the other. So far nothing too out of the ordinary.. no sign of monsters yet for sure.. "Ye feeling anything strange 'ere yet, lass?" He said to Krystal as the dwarf was somewhat aware of her empathic abilities. 

Misaki may know now nothing about the topic in question, but she's managing to keep up well enough by Japanese standards at high school despite spending far too much time on these kinds of activities, a feat made possible in part by meticulous note keeping. And so, she takes notes on the conversation, occasionally asking people to repeat things just to make the whole thing look more credible.

     Krystal was quiet as they began the tour, she was sort of listening to the official from the factory, but she was more focused on reaching out with her telepathy, seeing if she could detect anything that felt off, or any sort of mental entity that might explain what was happening. When Muradin asks her if she feels anything, she looks back at him and shrugs. "Seems like the workers here are all pretty tired, maybe a little disquieted, but I feel that's to be expected considering all the accidents that have been happening."

    "Oh, first time," the man replies, adjusting his glasses. "It's odd that there have been so many in a row recently, but I suppose the law of averages means that sometimes they cluster, yes? So far nothing major... we DO have multiple checks, you know." He smiles, then that fades. "Which means it is loss of income, but no accidents with an INSTALLED product. A few accidents on the floor, but nothing worse than a broken arm." He frowns, "Which is bad, yes, but we do triple inspections on everything. It's just bad that a few times it's the third inspection, or an accident happens DURING the inspection. Believe me, we want a clear record as much as anyone, and ask around, we treat our employees VERY well."
    He doesn't hear everything Krystal says, but 'tired' manages to get through. "Yes, we think it's because they were tired. A lot of people tired lately. Me too..." he admits, rubbing his chin. "The company has temporarily put a halt on any overtime, in fact. Not a real popular policy... but the grumbling hasn't been that bad because I think everyone wants the extra rest."

    "Hmmmm." Morrigan considers for a moment.
    The accidents always happen during inspections.
    She looks to Krystal for a moment-- and then the man as he confirms the levels of fatigue in the workers...
    "Are there any inspections going on today that we might be able to... Sit in on and observe?" She asks.

    The guide glances back. "Hmm? Well... in a few minutes, probably. We'll make a slight detour, if you like."

 
 Muradin rubbed his beard whilst he leaned slightly to the side to keep his ear close to Krystal. He had been meaning to keep his own side conversation low and all subtle like, but it seemed that their guide still managed to catch some of what the Vixen said. Just as well though, Krystal's mention that everyone felt tired got their guide talking, and talking meant that he was giving them openings to go deeper into their building. "Aye, that seems like a good idea." Quipped the Mountain King as he gave Krystal a thumbs up. So far so good.. 

    Lian will give a faint nod to the suggestion; she has nothing in particular to add. It's a good idea.

"Considering that even with the ban on overtime your workers seem tired, have you considered implementing longer breaks or shorter shifts?" Misaki asks in a tone of practiced boredom with a hint that she expects the answer to be 'no.'

     Krystal nods, listening to the man as he responds to her comment about everyone being tired. She nods to Muradin and softly says back to him. "Makes me wonder if some force is making them all tired, feeding on their energy or something..."

    Some force. An intereting theory! As for Misaki's question, the guide shrugs, "We already mandate that you HAVE to take breaks, and so on. Unless we actually start cutting hours dramatically, what can we do? We can't cut them too much, people get paid by the hour, they are expecting that income. Hopefully it's just a passing phase. Maybe the weather?"

    He sighs, taking a turn and gesturing, then badging in. He picks up a helmet and puts it on, then hands out helmets to everyone else... even Muradin. "You're the oddest inspectors I've seen, but I'm guessing they're doing offworld hiring or something. Or you aren't inspectors at all, but I can't see why your questions shouldn't be answered anyway." He's... not dumb.

    As for the floor, it's a lot of various parts, none yet fully assembled. Pullies, counterweights, braking systems, there are a lot of components that go into these elevators! And everyone does seem sluggish and tired, even the foreman going around trying to make sure everyone keeps their hands safe.

    Well, except one welder in the corner who is going through things like clockwork and VISIBLY more energetic than everyone else.

 
 What an outrage. The hard hat handed to him was a complete downgrade from his finely made dwarven steel helmet that the Mighty Mountain King had taken to so many battles. Why he had headbutted an orc's head clean off with it one time. But! Muradin knew when to play by the rules and he somewhat grudgingly took off his helmet to place on the hard hat that their guide gave him. "Ye got that right, mate." Muradin shot their guide an intense evil eye, to silently suggest that he ought to keep playing along lest bad things happened to him. Morrigan wasn't the only one that could do the evil eye 'round here, or where those exclusive to witches? Eh, same difference as far as Muradin was concerned. Either way, once he placed his new downgraded helmet on, Muradin slid back next to Krystal to listen to what the vixen had to say. "Aye.." He scanned the area looking at the very obviously tired workers. "These humans look like they could use an extra mug o' coffee." Suggested the dwarf. "Except for that bloke over there. Bloke looks hyped up on something." The Mountain King subtly gestured towards one welder who was going ham on his work. "Can ye sense anything weird with him?" He asked of Krstyal. 

    "Everyone needs a job," Lian replies to the guide, after his remarks about who they might or might not be. Offworld hires are people in need of cash just like anyone else! That's not what they are, granted, but it's easier all around if they let that be the 'story' all of them are following. She's counting on him to roll with that, as smart as he seems to be.

    The Jedi dons her helmet without complaint, seating it correctly on her head and then adjusting the strap just so. And then out onto the floor they go. Immediately, Lian is letting her physical senses take a back seat; she can keep her body moving almost on autopilot, while her focus moves largely to the emotional state of the area. In particular, she's looking for whatever vibe the energetic worker might be giving off... but any other emotional blips that stand out are with spotting as well.

    Morrigan dons her hardhat without question. Safety is important especially if it's safety for her underprotected skull.
    "It's a new inclusivity policy." She replies. "But it leads to hiring some good people. Master Bronzebeard knows stone and masonry like none other, right?" She says grinning at the dwarf. "And then we've got our plucky intern, taking notes on everything." She says before halting herself to look over the floor and the people there.
    Everyone looks so tired... Except for that one guy.
    Odd.

     Krystal nods, others had already done a fine job giving reasons why they'd be here, she has nothing to add there. She looks at the helmet when it is given to her though, and frowns, knowing it isn't going to go well with her ears. She sighs and puts it on, keeping it loose so it doesn't crush her ears against her skull though. Hopefully, it'll still be effective if something falls on her head. She agrees it's quite peculiar that the one welder is so much more energetic than the others, and reaches out with her telepathy, trying to sense why he was different from the rest of the workers.

"Uh-huh." Misaki writes down the answer given, and keeps her eyes open. As others have mentioned the energetic guy already, she doesn't bring him up again, but she keeps her eyes open.

    The guide understands(kind of) Krystal's pain... and actually steps forward to adjust it and buckle the chin strap. "Here, properly seated it should be fine." Somehow, this works without pinning the ears down uncomfortably. "Our hardhats aren't made for uh... nonhumans." He's being remarkably accepting of this, considering! Many of the workers are staring though. MOSTLY at Krystal, but her vividly different appearance catches the eye, which draws some to look at Muradin, the other extremely different one here.

    None of them seem up to raising a fuss though. And the welder? Everyone is avoiding him, but not from dislike. It seems more... sympathy? While he seems pretty upset, anger and sadness both, but he's also definitely well-rested. Krystal's telepathy can pick up a hint of what it is... he had a fight with his wife, from the fleeting impressions that pass through between his bits of work.

    "Gentlemen, gentlemen~." Morrigan says at all the staring. "Just a standard routine observation! No need to even treat us like we're here!" She says brightly, waving the workers to continue what their doing before looking to Krystal and Lian to hear their input.
    Before she rubs her chin... And calls upon her Patron.
    There's a brief flash of her eyes before Morrigan glances into the immediate future, just to see if anything will go wrong.
    ... And to see if it can be stopped before it does.

 
 Muradin made a point to look imposing when Morrigan called him out on being a master masony. He was about to say something else when the dwarf suddenly tensed up as their guide made a move to reach for Krystal's hat. The dwarf had been on edge since they started the investigation and it wasn't helping that he hadn't gotten the opportunity to bash any skulls in. As far as he was concerned any of these blokes could be monsters in disguise. Fortunately, the dwarf had a bit of self control and he waited until the last moment to realize that the guide was just fixing Krystal's helmet. "Aye.. ye could say I know me stone quite well.." He finished after Morrigan's statement and relaxed again ever so slightly, his eyes still kept on to the workers, the guy that was all tensed up in particular. He recognized that style of work too, that's how a person worked when they were deeply upset about something. 

    While the emotional vibe of the room seems to largely funnel towards the one man working hard, Lian decides to take a slightly different angle. She steps away from the group, picking a worker that seems as if they won't be terribly disrupted by stopping to answer a few questions. Tap, tap, tap goes the walking staff as the Jedi steps over, deliberately announcing her presence. She'll wait until the worker looks up to her, and then ask simply, "Do you have a moment? I'd like to ask a few questions."

    Stepping into a more conversational range, she adds, "Mostly about how exhausted everyone seems, aside from the gentleman over there. You're not all being overworked, are you?"

     Krystal smiles as the man adjusts her helmet. "Thanks." She says softly. She does feel the eyes upon her from the many workers, but if it bothers her she doesn't show it, she's certainly been around to other worlds enough to have grown desensitized to the attention caused by being different. She has some thoughts but tries to think of how to ask about them. She decides on the right diplomatic tact as Lian goes over to question the worker. Krystal instead questions the man giving the tour. "The welder down there that seems to be more energetic than the others. Has there been any difference in his shifts from the others, recent time off or the like?"

Misaki stays near the warlock as she keeps taking notes. "Any ideas, miss Lor'osa?" She asks quietly. This isn't exactly her wheelhouse.

    A quick glimpse ahead from Morrigan finds nothing particularly worrying... there is, in fact, going to be an 'accident' but it looks like the brake safeties engage and nothing goes wrong. That's what they're there for. Nobody even seems to be worried in that glimpse, so maybe it doesn't even qualify as a strange accident.

    Muradin can probably tell the man has some woman troubles, but Krystal's question has the guide looking over and frowning. "I don't know. I try to be on good terms with the floor workers, but the foreman would be the one to ask." Indeed, while the workers aren't really HAPPY about a suit in their midst, they don't seem to find it bothersome either. Unlike some of these workplaces, there's less friction between the upper and lower employees here, though it's sure that there's some resentment toward his pay grade here and there. Nothing out of the ordinary. He finishes off with, "No vacation... actually I think I recall now, the foreman asked if I'd approve some vacation time for him, but I don't recall the request ever being sent in. I might be misremembering though. I rarely deny a vacation request unless there's a lot of overlap. This CAN be a high-stress job and we do ask a lot of our workers... the strangeness isn't that they are tired, it's that they're tired now, when we aren't in a particularly high pressure time."

    Lian's question gets a more direct answer. "Huh?" The worker glances over. "Oh, no. It's kind of a drag lately, I just haven't been sleeping well. Sounds like nobody has. Except Ray, like you noticed. Kinda weird, he's been sleeping in a cot in the storeroom because he hasn't gone home, but it must be a damn comfortable cot."

    Lian inclines her head slightly as she listens, considering what the worker has to say. "I see. Is there any particular reason you haven't been sleeping well? Things on your mind, not feeling well, bad dreams?" As she asks, she glances over at 'Ray' again, thoughtful. Everyone going home to sleep having trouble, but the man who's been staying here is fine? They might have the wrong place... but finding out what kind of poor sleep they're having is still worthwhile info.

 
 Oh boy.. 
 
 Women problems.. 
 
 Sure enough, Muradin recognized -that- look of grim determination when someone was working and when he overheard that the man was sleeping in a cot rather than going home cemented his suspicions that the worker was having relationship issues. "Hmm..." The dwarf leaned his head backwards and looked upwards. It was an interesting find but not really what they were looking for? At least that's what he thought. It all seemed rather mundane to him, no sign of monsters or spirits or anything. Sure, Muradin could probably give these workers some tips about manual labor but he thought that was hardly the reason why there were here. "Just problems with the wife, really?" Muradin said mostly to himself though doing little to hide his disbelief. He rubbed at his beard again and looked about. Maybe this was a dead end? 

     Krystal nods, they would certainly need more info than that to confirm anything. The fact that he's the only one not sleeping at home and also not tired could be related, but could also be as simple as he gets to sleep more because he has no commute. "Thanks for the info." She says with a smile anyway.

    "Hm."
    That's an accident happening for sure. This is about when Morrigan's voice can be heard in the party's MINDS directly. No movement of her lips no nothing, just a simple telepathic message only her teammates can hear.
    . o O ( We're going to see an accident alright, but it's so minor I don't think it's what we're after. Just look surprised when it happens or something. Though someone should find out if Ray's wife has been more tired and irritable than usual if they're fighting bad enough for him to sleep on the job site. )
    She 'says'. Once said accident DOES happen, she holds out her hand to the group's guide.
    "Thank you for you cooperation. You might hear back from us again in a few days."

    There's a screech as the lift nearby fails, but immediately sparks fly. A few shouts, but nothing too alarmed, just questions if everyone is okay. The guide sighs, "Well, that's more paperwork. But as you can see..." He shakes the hand. "We have plenty of safeguards for when things DO go wrong. The upswing in accidents is concerning, but we're still investigating the cause all we can."

    Lian gets one final bit of info. The man is clocking out - for break, not off work - and furrows his brow. "Now that you mention it, no. I can't think of the last time I had a nightmare. Or a good dream, now that I think of that. I don't always dream but it's been a good few weeks."

    Looks like there is at least one commonality here for a future lead.