AN_TUOWAN: forum

A memorable first experience, thanks everyone for this! 

SEE YE NEXT YEAR MATEYS!

Great trader ~ Thanks  

08:06:05 - 05/08/26 You bought some Xanax on Deadringers's bazaar at $810,349 each for a total of $810,349

Safe & fast trader!

Would definitely come again! 😁

(Totally not an evil snowman)

In retrospect, Towan should’ve seen it coming. He could count on his fingers the number of times he actually tried to do some sneaky things, and on one hand only the numbers of time it succeeded. For his eavesdropping to be detected by the people inside wasn’t anything surprising.

What he hadn’t thought of, and for which he berated himself over, was that there were more than two people inside this room. That is, the stronger party, the one doing the beating, was made up of more than one person. 

So here he was, arm twisted behind his back, his face pressed against the wall, and less time than to say Mississippi to actually react to what was happening. The pain only came after this impromptu assault. Like a slow burn that swam along his limbs and lingered at every joints.

Towan didn’t even have time to appraise the room where he found himself. The only thing he could tell was that it was ugly, not like any place where he would see himself work, and occupied by two people who screamed trouble. None of whom were the doctor he came looking for.

That last part was what Towan thought about before being approached by the man he saw in the room. The one who didn’t hold him in arm-lock against the wall. He had been worried about having to bargain with a violent and ill-tempered doctor, where he risked having to pay with more than he had on him for the tools he needed. That the dominant party wasn’t with said doctor was somewhat of a good thing.

If he could navigate his way out of his current situation, that is. While he was pondering on how to do this, he felt his mask being lowered, the hand responsible for it adorned by a golden ring, leading Towan to believe this person was in charge of this group. Then a slightly hoarse voice reached his ears:

- Unfortunately, the clinic is currently closed, my young friend. You’ve arrived at a truly bad moment: the doctor is presently… indisposed from working, as well as from speaking, currently. Did you need something?

The superfluous politeness felt mocking to Towan. What’s the point of being polite after having been so rude physically? What, are you gonna prod my ass and say thanks and sorry to make it better? Bugger off. Yet he couldn’t get mad at the man either. He certainly didn’t want to find out if his inner thoughts could become reality.

While he tried not to flinch from the irate woman torturing the doctor, Towan carefully chose his words.

– Actually, I wasn’t here to see the doctor. Only to acquire some equipment for my own practice. I’m a doctor myself, you see.

Even as he said those words, Towan was worried their target wasn’t this doctor, but doctors in general. Yet he didn’t dare delay his answer either. And also trusted his own medical skills to be above many doctors. He might have been expelled before graduation, he still had been among the top of his promo. And worked with some renowned doctors during his latest years of study.

A really impressive workout to get those curves ! Congrats ~

Bump

Happy doing business with you! 😁

It had been barely a week since Towan arrived in this chaotic, noisy, smelly city. Already, Towan was having thoughts of finding another solution to his… situation. He had been forced to leave with his tail tucked between his legs, then to find the fastest way to put his skills to the work. Torn City had been the one destination which stood out among others. A den of unrestrained freedom, of crimes and vices. A place where he was garanteed to find patients of all kind on whom to apply his skills. Where no one would care if his methods sometimes led him to experiment and sacrifice some materials. It wasn’t like he ever failed on the important tasks! Just that to him, the idea of making human experiment was like driving with the brakes still pulled up. Most medicals advancements in history had been done this way, to change and be mindful of even the dead or the lost cases was just insanity to him.

Unfortunately, Towan’s view of things wasn’t seen in a good light, and that’s how he ended up in Torn.

Where, at this time of the year, the light was tyrannical presence, trying to burn and melt everything under its sight. With all the filth littering in the City, it was a recipe for plague and pestilence. Which was why Towan was already thinking of leaving this god-forsaken place.

And also why, despite the unbearable heat, Towan always wore gloves, long-sleeved shirts, and one of those ugly and cumbersome medical masks which seemed to cut into the back of the ears. He would have rather stayed inside for that matter, but if he wanted to work properly and get some much need income, he had acquire tools for his practice. He wouldn’t be much of a doctor if the only thing he could work with were his hands…

The place he had found was a bit far from his own, but Towan couldn’t afford to wait for another opportunity, much less to miss this one. So when he heard the news of someone wanting to sold equipment, Towan didn’t hesitate and rushed over. He made sure to ignore every thugs and workers trying to sell him something or someone, wary of any of them noticing he was carrying cash on him. A bit paranoid considering said cash was packed in a rag and taped to his torso, thus didn’t stood out visibly and was very unlikely to get stolen without Towan getting beaten beforehand for another reason entirely. Although, when there are indeed people out there to get you, it isn’t paranoia. And in Torn, it’s best to assume there’s always someone about to mug you, or worse. A lesson Towan had been both fortunate and unfortunate to very quickly learn in his few first days in Torn. Though he would rather forget the process…

At the moment, the young-ish unlicensed doctor was only thinking of how to ensure he wouldn’t be ripped off. A worry which was forced to take a backseat when Towan eventually arrived at his destination. After many detours, and after what felt like losing a liter of water in sweat. It was a disgusting place, more even than the outside, something Towan hadn’t realised was possible. The stains had become part of the walls and of the floor, their lingering smells permeating the air in one horrid blend. Towan couldn’t help but liken the place to some kind of filthy hell. The fact he had to go down several flight of stairs only gave more weight to that impression. An underworld and very apt representation of how much sins were an immutable feature of Torn.

The disturbance taking him away from his worry had started slowly, or rather, Towan took some time to notice the noise. This rhythmic thump, at first muffled by distance and obstacles, then gradually becoming clearer. The methodical impact of someone beating up another, a target having lost his identity as a human being. Towan could feel it, the person in charge behind that door was more willing than he was to discard humans lives. Not a good prospect considering his supplier was supposedly behind that door.

Despite the risk, Towan couldn’t help but be curious. And more than anything, he didn’t want to make a wasted trip. He might not be able to afford it. Not finalising that trade would force him to look for other ways to make money than his profession, ways he was very disinclined to seek.

No, he had to buy those tools. The only question was how to proceed.

The daring part of Towan was pushing him to simply barge in and lean heavily on his lack of morality, to indulge the person behind the door and feed his strike of sadism. To offer his skills to let the victim of those repeated blows survive just a few more moment and lengthen his pain. Or even save him completely. Not that Towan cared much about his life, he hadn’t sworn the Hippocratic Oath yet. Never got the chance. And would likely have broken it at some point either way…

Yet, the more prudent and cowardly side of him thought it might be better to just wait it out. After all, Towan had no way of knowing if the person doing the beating was the doctor or not. In case it was, Towan’s action would very likely offend the other party.

The one thing he could tell was that something went wrong, and someone was already paying for the consequences. The problem was to figure out which party was whom, and whether Towan would have to suffer from those consequences himself.

Maybe the safer choice would be to make some noise on his side and announce himself… Yet, Towan wondered if it was the most beneficial action for himself. He needed those tools, desperately, and it wasn’t by following rules and acting like a goody-two-shoes that he would assert himself in this city.

So, after taking a breath to adjust his mindset, and instantly regretting it due to the ambiant stench, Towan decided to take a middle approach, of sort. He moved closer to the door, while making sure to stay out of sight from those inside, his focus only on eavesdropping on the scene. Additionally, as a fallback measure, he kept his arm raised as if about to knock on the door.

Should he find out the person getting beaten up was the doctor he was planning to meet, or at least that the one doing the beating was an outsider, Towan planned to make his entrance and mention his skills. No matter the place, doctors were always in short demand. If this one had failed in some ways, Towan well intended to take advantage of the situation. Otherwise, well… better to take some precaution and be a bit polite, knocking on the door and showing himself surely wouldn’t antogonize anyone?

Contrary to what is written on the wiki (>> "Objective: Inflict approx. 17k - 45k damage using Duke's bat."), the damage needed for the Contract "Batshit Crazy" was much lower for my case. Got lucky in a way, since based on the information I had and the damage i could deal in only 3 days, there's likely no chance I could inflict between 17,000 and 45,000 points of damage. Yet still ended up taking the mission by.. recklessness, I guess? 😅

Thankfully I was only required to "Inflict a total of 287 damage using Duke's bat (0 / 287)."

Edit: From what Duke is saying, the math check out for me: it's half of my maximum life. (575 / 2 = 287.5)