[The man on screen looks irritated. He's obviously holding the mirror at a haphazard angle, because there's only a brief shot of his face before it turns to face a building that looks to be in the marketplace. There's nothing for a second, and then the man promptly collapses the building. Hope that wasn't too important. He lets the collapse film for a few more moments, before it focuses back on him. Clearly, he doesn't care much about being caught doing it.]

No. [And with that, the feed appears to be done.

Someone's not happy.]

So. Not all of you know me. In fact I think that most of you don't. [Her voice is brisk; if the Speaker's death or what she's about to say is affecting her, she's not showing it.] I'm Police Chief A'aladash Kadra, one of the dreaded locals, and the reason you get my charming face instead of Xiuh is because today's news is under my jurisdiction.

We've received reports-- or rather I've received reports-- that there's a force moving on Darstone. They'll be here, at the outside, in a few days. We have some city defense forces, and the police, but I thought I'd give you all an opportunity to live up to your purpose here instead of just being dead weight.

[Oh, is she betraying her mixed feelings on the newcomers? Whoops. Usually she tries to play at being more political than that. She really must be stressed.]

So who wants to volunteer to play city defense with me? I'm not going to egg sit you, so if you can't hold your own, don't bother applying.

... Thank you.

[There's a rather obvious sniffle, and a deep breath. She's sobering herself up for this, knowing fullwell she doesn't want to say it.]

I... He...

[She clears her throat] Tomorrow all the stores and official buildings of Darstone will be closed in order to honor Lorris, the late Speaker. As citizens, you are all invited to his funeral tomorrow at noon, if you would so wish.

[She cuts off the feed there. Xiuh doesn't want to start crying over the network. She has to be strong damn it.]

::Whereas the last two posts made to the network have clearly been accidental, this one is quite deliberate. Although Nicholas feels positively ridiculous speaking to a mirror, the fact remains that it seems to be the easiest method of contacting multiple people at once. Which should increase his chances of reaching either a government official, or someone who can get him in contact with such.::

Although I lack familiarity with the local laws, I feel it is worth mentioning that, according to the penal code where I'm from, kidnapping and false imprisonment is considered illegal. Barring any mitigating factors -of which there are few- those responsible for this are looking at some very hefty consequences as soon as I return home.

Especially as I am a police officer.

In fact, it's entirely possible this could be considered a declaration of war.

For those of you who are not complicit with this ill-thought scheme, has anyone figured out how to leave without becoming a co-conspirator? I would rather like to return home as soon as possible. I left a considerable amount of paperwork behind that needs to be completed soon.

::Yeah, he is just about as fun as a barrel of monkeys, isn't he?::