theairlock | fourth trial

[You get a little time after your investigation is over, but not too long. Your Overseer might still be missing but someone else is.

When everyone has gathered at the door near Fourt's, the impenetrable sheet metal opens automatically. This won't take you outside either; instead, it leads to a long hallway. Like a walk-through aquarium, the walls and ceiling are all made of thick glass, giving you an even better view of the stars outside. There's no sign that the mall is attached to some kind of large-scale station. There's really not going to be an easy way to escape here, unless you get transportation.

You're led to a wide-open area, empty except for a circle of podiums in its center. They've changed from last week, with the three previously empty podiums replaces with greyscale portraits of Will, Queenie and Jamie along with Varric and Clarith. The walls here are equally transparent, and they seem to have lines of large hatches going along them, as if this is where one might park one's spaceship when going on a fun space mall adventure. Shame you don't know anything about those.

You already know what you're here to do. You'd best be getting along with it.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

No, I know that - I am definitely not pointing fingers, I'll make that clear.

[There's a pause, and then a thought.] Hey - do we know if the color was actually the roomba's color, or painted on? We do have art stuff in that one store. Someone could have painted one of the roombas for this, if they went through all the trouble to fiddle with the bits inside!

Anyone got anything I can chip the paint off with, see if there's another coat underneath?

I don't really see what the point would be though--we have a whole store of roombas, there'd be no point in using someone's when you can get a fresh one anyway.

Will a knife work?

[Handing over her closed pink-handle knife from Armigod if Church wants to give it a shot.]

You could say that about not making the darned thing explode with a molotov on top, but here we are.

[He sure doesn't have his knife on him. Pockets, what are those?] Thanks. I mean, sure, that's a point, but...just seems like an extra step of effort that really didn't need done.

[If he chips away the Ardyn-color paint, is there another coat underneath?]

Not if there's a reason for it. What that is, we may have to still suss out...

Think there's a reason there's a fucking orange peel caught in the wheels?

...Wait, what?

[ELABORATE???]

In the wheels here. Lil bit of orange peel. Like, I guess it ran over some on the way? Starbucks is not exactly known for its delicious fruits, though.

...No, it's definitely not. But - what if the roomba came from someplace that was?

Some people get fruit baskets out of the gumball? Or--where here would there be oranges?

(no subject)

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[...well great. Arianna has now gone from "incredibly sad" to "incredibly sad and also confused."]

It... might have gotten stuck on the peel. Or even if it could still move with it, the thing might have dragged it along.

[There is! It's the basic black the non-specially customized roombas are.]

Hmmm...yeah, looks like someone painted it over. Maybe from paints from the art shop, or something? It's just a normal regular black roomba underneath.

[Here's your knife back, Jane.]

Will you-...could I look at it? I'm sure someone will hesitate to trust my word, but if someone modified it...the Doctor and I would surely know.

...Sure.

[He brings the offending boomba over.] Sounds like from what Heart found, it was played with, but can't hurt to be sure.

I'll take a look--Doctor, if you'd like to confirm as well you're welcome to.

[Anything unusual or suspect about the poor unfortunate boomba's inner workings? Ardyn's still got a couple tools in his holster if they're needed to take it apart.]