Story Prologue: Uncertain Times

Part of Prologue: Uncertain Times in Secrets of the Obscure

1. Goal 1

   Active: Check into the situation at Applied Development Lab.

   Complete: Taimi, in one of her more...formal letters, asked me to travel to the Applied Development Lab to help check in on a dire situation. Given that I'm not especially busy, I'm on my way.

2. Goal 2

   Active: Check into the situation at Applied Development Lab.

   Complete: Ambushed. I was ambushed in the refuge of my own home laboratory. "Taimi"—or someone pretending to be her—sent an urgent mail beckoning me to the Applied Development Lab. My personal oasis of thought and reflection. I should've suspected something was amiss when she claimed there was a "very important development" with no additional context. (Taimi—like all asura—will brag about the smallest accomplishments. The lack of significant boasting made my ears perk up.) But the urgency could not be ignored, so I ventured back to my refuge. Shortly after my arrival, this mysterious "Taimi" was nowhere to be found. A reporter from New Kaineng named Mi-Rae—now revealed as the impostor—sprung from the shadows and ambushed me on the spot. She immediately launched an interview, but the whole thing was such a blur. She asked several very...pointed questions about the events that took place in Cantha, and—perhaps against my better judgment—I answered her as directly as I could. I got the sense she was less interested in the truth and that she was looking for something salacious. Thank goodness Taimi (the real one) just happened to send a message the moment things began to sour, allowing me to exit the encounter before things really went awry. Mi-Rae said she got everything that she needed. We'll see how that turns out.