ARCADE SESSION: REBOOTED

[knux400]

>CREATE: GUARDIAN BAT
>TEACH ECHO: ANIMAL CARE
 

Tamaru startles at the bat popping into existence next to him, and Echo has a moment of existential crisis before shrugging it off. She quickly wriggles her way out of the PROSTHETIC ARMS, their battery now fully depleted, and goes back to hustling Tamaru out the door. As the two exit the base, you propose the idea of creating some fortifications for the kobolds. Echo says she'd have to ask the kobolds about that first, and right now whatever's outside is the more pressing matter. You also suggest maybe filling Tamaru in on recent events- the poor kobold is growing increasingly confused and distressed.

...Yeah, I guess I should.
Should what?
What's going on is there's something weird flying outside our base for some reason. Trinket and I are concerned it might be bad.
...Like the gemstealer?

Gemstealer? You realize the kobolds must have given the knocker a name of their own, since they have no clue what it actually is. Echo seems to go through a similar thought process before responding.

...Kind of like that, yeah. It's hard to expl-
Could you please just try? You're scaring me.
...Sorry. I just didn't want you to get hurt, and it's faster to just get you home rather than try and talk my way through everything-
Forget it. You're just like Orkahm.

Tamaru punches in the code and begins walking south without Echo. He figured out how the door works and remembered the code just by watching Echo do it? He catches on quick, you think to yourself.

Wait! What do you mean by that?
Orkahm always treats me like I'm a baby. He never wants to tell me anything because he's afraid I'll get scared or something. And I do get scared! I get scared a lot. But it's even scarier not knowing, and getting shoved around like I'm some delicate little flower that has to be hidden and protected and-

Tamaru sighs, collecting himself.

...Sorry. You probably have no idea what I'm rambling about.
No, I get it.
You do?
Trinket treated me the same way for a while. We had just gotten back from an adventure and found our stuff ransacked, and Trinket sort of panicked. She kept making me all these nice things inside the house, and then making all these protective things outside, and it all just felt wrong.
What did you do?
I did basically the same thing you're doing right now. I told Trinket to stop it, and I explained why, and she did. And then we went and rescued Topaz together, but that's a different story. What I'm saying is, we worked it out. And I think if you tell Orkahm what he's doing the same way you told me, you'll be able to work things out with him.
...Maybe with a bit less shouting, though.

Tamaru chuckles at that.

...Yeah. Anyway, um...
Right, sorry. So you know that thing we saw on the camera?
Yeah?
Trinket and I are worried it might have come from another group like us.
...Like you?
Yeah. One person like me running around, and one invisible voice thingy that can create anything.
...And if Trinket can make sharp pointy things and metal monsters, then so could the other voice.
Right. And we don't know how many of them are out there-
...There's five total, I think.
-Trinket says there's five, including her.
That's a lot.
It is. So we need to get you home and safe before anything else shows up.

...That went a lot better than you expected. You thought for sure you would have to step in, but Echo handled it great. The two of them are still talking as they walk briskly towards the kobold village, but you're confident all the important stuff is out of the way.
 

>CHECK ECHO
 

Echo is a BAT TYPE TCP. She is currently feeling bad that she treated Tamaru like she did, but she is mostly just relieved that she is no longer doing so. She is also experiencing a strong sense of urgency to return Tamaru to his home. Echo's health is currently at its maximum of GREAT.

You type /skills, and you're met with this string of text:

Echo's current skills are: speech, kindness, morality, spelunking, reading, writing, mining, mining safety, train use, train care, prosthetic use, appraisal, knock knock jokes, puns, echolocation, cartography, geology, investigation, stealth tactics, stun gun use, teaching, breathing exercises, tracking, animal care

It seems like the two are making good time towards the kobold village. Is there anything else you want to say or do before they get there, or should you wait? Remember, you can no longer CREATE or TEACH now that you've left the base.