Final Investigation

[thecastle]

Unless you're outside the change in the environment is subtle, a spike of electricity in the air that lasts only for a moment. And if you're outside, well, it's hard to miss the blossoms of the sakura tree as they fall in a flurry. It's rather beautiful, if not somewhat disturbing; sometime in the past few hours, they've changed color from a cheerful pink to a blood red.

Regardless of whether you see that as an omen or not, you'll hear what comes next through your pendants:

Third floor, there is little time left.

The Teishu's words are clipped and urgent, so you probably shouldn't tarry.

What awaits you when you climb the stairs are three new corridors and one ornate, black, wooden door directly opposite the solar. There's a keyhole here so you don't need to worry about trying to force it down (and you still have that key don't you?) but it would be wise to explore the rest of rooms first.

Best to be prepared and all.

Explore?

[♫]

Comments

[blacksong]

[Please let them find the Sage so Zero can race to draw first blood, she would be so happy!! MORE SERIOUSLY THOUGH, she's taking a slight lead because... she really is that eager to run in and kill the Sage, but she figures that works out best anyways. She hasn't drawn her sword, but she's on guard.]

[thecastle]

[ The corridor isn't particularly long—toward the end of it there's a set of stairs leading down. At the bottom of them, there's a ornate door slightly ajar. It's good that you don't have to unlock it but it might be a little ominous seeing how the doorknob has been ripped right off the door and left on the floor.

Huh! Proceed? ]

[originallutece]

Careful . . .

[Yeah, Zero, you wanna go ahead and take point for that? Rosalind's got a pocketknife in her hand, for all the good it might do her, but if there's something hideous in there, it's not gonna do her much good.]

[maddogs]

[ oh I guess if we're all armed majima has his knife and his bat so he's just gonna kick the door open

"Careful" she said. Eh. ]

[blacksong]

Just stay behind us and you probably won't die.

[Ros is gonna have her work cut out for her with these two at this rate..... But alright, SWORD'S OUT AND SHE'S COMING THROUGH.]

[thecastle]

[ Kicking the door open reveals... a very well maintained room! There are tall bookshelves lining the walls, the wooden floorboards so clean they practically shine, and there's a strange object in the far corner covered with a white cloth.

Opposite of the three of you there's yet another ornate door, one that matches the doorway you just came through. This isn't the first time you've seen either though, and now that you're in an area with much better lighting you'll see both match the door found in the library.

Welcome to the archive room! ]

[originallutece]

[WELL WELL WELL.]

. . . I have to say, I was expecting something a bit grander.

[Let's check out that strange object, shall we?]

[maddogs]

No shit.

[ thats as good a place to start as any, i guess. ]

[blacksong]

[SIGHING so much for getting a fight. But she'll come along to look at the strange object too.]

[thecastle]

[ Ain't it just tragic, Zero? You all can stay together and peer at the strange object if you want but you can separate and look at the bookshelves too!

And, well, what you can tell of the shape under the cloth is that it's something with four sharp corners, a bit higher up there's a round shape. ]

[maddogs]

[ separate it is! majimas off to go look at the bookshelves - the ladies can handle this thing ]

[thecastle]

[ There are quite a few sections and all the books here are alphabetized by title! Finding anything here is going to be kind of like looking for a needle in a haystack.

Are there any specific keywords he's looking for? As a note, most of the books here are non-fiction! ]

[maddogs]

[ guess we'll start with books on swords ]

[thecastle]

[ There are numerous books on swords! Mostly Japanese ones and none of the books here are newer than the 19th century. There are legends on famous smiths, famous people who wielded swords, and pictures of the blades themselves as well as their fate. It's all interesting information if you're looking to, say, learn a bunch of stuff to emotionally batter The Sage.

Unfortunately, it isn't so pertinent to the investigation. ]

[maddogs]

[ okay, are there any books that are particularly standing out the way teishu had left out books in the library? ]

[thecastle]

[ Only one! Over in one of the sections, there's a book that looks to have either been pulled forward or carelessly put back on the shelf. The spine isn't even with the other books on the same row so it stands out, even if just barely.

From the book title Majima can gather it's about the importance of names. Read? ]

[maddogs]

[ lets do it what does it say ]

[blacksong]

[She is so butthurt about this, you don't understand. But alright, no point in keeping this covered! Time to pull off the cloth.]

[thecastle]

[ Maybe she can fight whatever's under the cloth? Except, no, it's just a desk with a globe and some papers on it. Fantastic. ]

[blacksong]

[She'll fight this entire room if she has to!! For now she'll take a look at the papers.]

[thecastle]

[ Most of the writing is illegible thanks to general wear and age. The ink has started to fade and the paper is so crinkled it's obvious someone's sat here for hours upon hours obsessively rereading what was written. Despite this, there's one line Zero can make out that reads:

“Tennou is inconsolable.” ]

[blacksong]

[Wow this paper has seen better days, someone needs to chill out here.

But alright, "Tennou." She'll keep that in mind. Is there anything else of note at the desk, drawers to rifle through, etc?]

[thecastle]

[ Sure is! There are quite a lot of things to find here, should Ros and Zero want to double team it. In the first drawer Zero looks through she'll find a series of letters. Like the papers on the desk, four of them have aged to the point of being indecipherable.

Three others, however, can be partially read if she squints!

The first letter contains mention of congratulations from the Tennou himself for dispelling the corruption from around the kingdom and mention of appointment of the status as Master Sage to the addressee.

The second letter inquires about how useful the sword warriors are and if there’s been anything else of interest found upon the island the Sage was given.

The third letter isn’t from the Tennou, but from the person Tennou has been addressing. It’s written messily and hard to decipher. There’s a line that reads: “I think there may have been a problem. I may have gotten too close.” But after that there’s nothing else. ]

[originallutece]

[They sure are gonna double-team it. Let's check out some of the other drawers, hm?]

[blacksong]

[THE GIRLS ARE ON IT. But the Sage fucked up at something, who would've guessed. Here's hoping no one's gonna miss these letters because she'll be taking them along with the papers on the desk.

Time to move onto the next drawer?]