Explosive mystery in Beer & Booze
August 24, 29484 - Bret "Conchord" Marlowe [Rimor]
IRRK Freelance: IRRK Freelance - Hope - An everyday bar fight in the small bar known as Mack's Beer & Booze develops into a small disaster scene as the chairs being used as weapons begin to explode, killing a number of patrons and one employee.
Now, normally, a bar brawl is not newsworthy - particularly in Hope, where I'm sure the Beer & Booze regulars and staff witness at least one good fight per day. However, on Tuesday this week I happened to visit this particular bar in the middle of a small riot. Though I didn't witness the start it seemed that three atroxes in particular were in the middle of it. Each of them had picked up chairs from the floor and were indiscriminately whacking each other and whomever they could see that was within reach while shouting the usual abuses. Words such as "g*mp!" and "n**b!" echoed from one end of the bar to the other.
Here's where the mayhem started: Instead of the fight blowing itself out, it started to blow itself up! The chairs suddenly began to explode on impact, often killing the target and occasionally the wielder and whomever else was close by. Equipment and furniture were destroyed in the constant blasts and yet the exploding chairs themselves were barely scratched.
Fortunately nobody was permanently killed during the confusion. Unfortunately, many of those killed seemed so angered by the explosions that within minutes they were back in the bar, chair back in hand and ready to blast the one who had dispatched them previously or in fact anyone else who was nearby.
The staff were unable (or perhaps unwilling?) to restore order or prevent the brawlers from reentering once they had been killed and before long a security droid had been summoned. From what I could see, though, far from abating the situation, the droid simply presented a new and shinier target to explode.
Once the droid was disabled the fight did seem to slowly die down to a stop. I suppose chain-rez-sickness does have that effect in the end. The Hope guards were able to block access temporarily and restore some kind of order (if that is in any way meaningful in Hope).
As I was being manhandled out of my bathroom hiding-place by the guards, I was able to extract a small piece of extra information about the incident - The staff, it seemed, had denied that the troublesome chairs were actually property of the bar and none of them could remember seeing those particular pieces of furniture before that very evening. The guards politely told me that there will be an investigation as I was hurled into the dirt with the rest and while lying, bruised on the ground, we were given a statement:
"We are seeking three atroxes to answer questions regarding the incident this evening. One employee named "Horys" and two patrons for whom we only have nicknames: "Darkbrawl" and "Shhlurring".
The mystery of the exploding chairs, it seems, is as yet unsolved.
Keep an occular symb out for more information as the story progresses!
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