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

[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?]

[thecastle]

[ Heck yeah!

Inside this drawer there are several really old rolled up scrolls. If Ros goes to open them up she'll see that they're all maps. There's nothing too detailed but the cartography is solid and done with a skilled hand. Each one is labeled with a name and number as well.

And, yes! Ros will recognize at least one of them, the one of Columbia. The rest of the maps come from the other Warrior's worlds are pretty accurate. ]

[originallutece]

[Oh, that . . . sure is a map of home, isn't it? Rosalind hisses softly, her eyes narrowing. She rerolls the map of Columbia after a moment-- she's sure taking them all with her, but that first and foremost-- and glances over towards her companions.]

I think you'll be able to find your homes here. There's a detailed map of mine.

[Next drawer?]

[thecastle]

[ Next and last! You've done great, Ros! And you seem to be finding all the scrolls, though given how old this next one is it might be best it's left in your care.

A portion of it reads:

“For long I have poured over ancient texts in my quest to fulfill the true destiny of our race. The elementals may have shunned me, but there may yet be a use for the knowledge they hoard. Most aspects in life have a duality: passion can become fury, cunning to madness. Fire can cleanse, and immolate, light can blind and illuminate. Fools would classify these traits as positive or negative, good or evil, but they overlook one aspect in doing so:

Fire requires kindle, cunning the knowledge to draw upon, and as such both are a utilization of energy. The potentiality in extraction is lucrative, though mages have long ago learned to harness the power of the elements in gems. What if that same concept was to be applied to living beings...” ]

[maddogs]

[ sup majimas here too ]

[blacksong]

... Yeah, that's definitely my world.

[Although it might be recognizable as upside down western Europe, but details. She gestures at the stack of papers she's made on top of the desk.]

Whoever this Tennou guy is, it sounds like he's the one who made the Sage into the Sage. Seems like the Sage really fucked something up though.

[maddogs]

Hm. Tennou's just another title, same as "Sage" or "Teishu." He must be Sage's boss.

[blacksong]

Or he was, maybe. These letters are all pretty old. [a pause] Didn't the Teishu used to have someone else for his boss too?

[maddogs]

Yes, but not here. Teishu's never met Sage's boss -- an' Teishu's old boss is dead.

[blacksong]

Hm. Maybe Tennou is too. They used to talk a lot, but I guess not anymore.

[She couldn't find any newer looking letters at least.]

There was some other stuff, like the "sword warriors" and this poem.

[maddogs]

Maybe he killed him.

[ hm. this sure is a poem. ]

The sword thing ain't that surprisin' - 's why I told Hanyuu-san ta look for different names.

[thecastle]

[ Now that you've regrouped a little—any idea what kind of book you should be looking for? ]

[blacksong]

[The Tennou was mentioned a lot in the letters she found, so she'll try looking for any books on him.]

[thecastle]

[ She'll find a hit under the "T" section! How on point.

The first book of note is about Tennou and is aptly named, well, Tennou. Opening it up it begins with, “The Kingdom of Rekna was founded by the Tennou who descended from the heavens in order to rule the land...” Past that, unfortunately, the rest has been intentionally blacked out.

The second book is in front of the first and may catch Zero's eye. It's called Tenka, which is the name of the island they're on and was mentioned by The Sage during their first week here. The book describes how the island of Tenka came to be; it was created using an ancient spell that pulled the land from another dimension. It seems Tennou gave it to one of his most loyal friends as a gift.

That's it! That's everything, you're all done here. Good work! ]

[originallutece]

[SUP BOO

Rosalind offers him the first heap of scrolls.]

See if you can find home. I think you'll be able to . . . though I don't quite know why they'd need something so detailed. But--

[She skims over the other scroll again, reading it through twice before saying aloud:]

Look at this . . . passion can become fury, cunning to madness . . . mages have long ago learned to harness the power of the elements in gems. What if that same concept was to be applied to living beings?

Is that what part of this was? An experiment?

[maddogs]

[ he pokes through them until he finds a map of kamurocho and a map of sotenbori -- one for him, and one for nishitani. ]

Wouldn't be surprised. The whole don't take your pendants off thing always seemed like bullshit ta me.

[originallutece]

Bullshit that was enforced very well, though.

[So, like, vague props to the Sage, she supposes. After looking over at Zero's poem:]

Given that reference to things being out of balance . . . I wonder if they were trying to extract those traits from us?

[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?]

[thecastle]

[ This one is empty save one thing—part of a poem on a torn sheet of paper. Surely Zero's the perfect person to find this!

intertwining light
stagnating, constant darkness;
diminished balance

That's all there is to find in the desk! Good job! ]