CHAPTER 5

[faentasy]

CHAPTER 5

monday

tuesday

wednesday

thursday

Almost half of the non-fairy population of Aira Niluc is gone.

Some may be feeling the absence of their fellow participants in this story. Others will stay focused on the wish they want to get. What never changes is that the story goes on, bringing you closer to the end -- and to another chapter. What will it bring this time?

Snow!

Snow as far as the eye can see, a cold blanket covering the new area. Some winter amenities are now available, ready for perusal! But that's not all there's to find: everyone also will find reminders of their homes, of people they know, of happier times.

Of their wishes.

Who will try to reach their wish this time?

[[Welcome to Week 5! Feel free to make top levels at your discretion, and remember to note it in your header if you plan on investigating any locations. However, please try to keep investigations to Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday! You can also privately contact Hamelin at your leisure.

In addition, a reminder that any Murder Proposals for this week are due by Tuesday 3:00 PM EST/12:00 PM PST! However, please note that you have the option of submitting murder proposals for a later week as well.]]

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WEDNESDAY

[faentasy]

MEETING - Ballroom

[biyishuangfei]

[ Huaisang has probably at some point mentioned to others he'll be having a meeting on Wednesday at noon, or left colorful notes places asking if they can all meet in the ballroom for a lovely get together.

Once people show up, The Sect Leader will be standing there with a borrowed prop fan, fanning himself. ]

I don't know what's been going on, but we always have a meeting around this time of the week, right?

[ He'll blink, tilting his head, before smiling a little. ]

I think we should share some things if we happen to know anything.

A VISION

[biyishuangfei]

[ Anyway at some point, Huaisang's going to look thoughtful, fanning himself again. ]

Oh, I almost forgot to mention something.

Last night, I experienced the strangest thing—like what Phil and Edelgard described. But, since this is rather detailed, I'm going to have to ask for your patience.

[ He'll close his fan. ]

I was sent into the body of an apprentice of a poor fisherman. I suppose since he had taken the apprentice in, it was several years of work we had been making towards catching this "Salmon of Knowledge".

Where we were was in some kind of isolated area, with trees and hills, as well as a river. Apparently this Salmon could be caught over near a waterfall, so while he headed downstream to stop it in the event I was unsuccessful, I put my efforts towards catching it.

I set up something to stop the fish, because I'd been given materials for that, and then went to grab the fish with my bare hands since it was struggling so hard. After, I managed to drag it to shore. Following that, the fisherman hugged and congratulated me [ a flicker of confusion here ] before bringing out a pan I think? And leaving me be to cook the Salmon as he headed off to get some plates.

Then, I kind of just threw the fish into the pan and wandered around a bit.

Behind the trees it looked like there was a white void, as if it was a blank canvas, like the appearance Morgan described the inside of the shrine had, you know? I also felt something some presence that was kind of smug about all of this. I guess someone who felt confident about their power or something?

[ He doesn't look pleased by this but it's not something he lingers on as he explains the rest. ]

Around this time there was a lot of smoke coming from the pan but I didn't think much of it at the time.

Also, in this white space the trees look like painted cardboard. Also the waterfall looked odd—like its water was appearing out of thin air. All of this made the surroundings appear kind of fake.

When I headed back to check on the fish, it was somehow all chopped into pieces and charred black. But it was just only a few minutes, so it was strange.

I guess the sight was enough to shock the body of this person I was in, because it moved without much thought to run away and everything began to collapse into the white void. Trees began to grow up from the floor, and there was a lot of...noise with um, songbirds and everything. There was also so many emotions this person went through...

There's this black rectangle in my line of sight that turned into a cellar door.

Then I had to decide whether to go through the cellar door or back into the nothing that's now behind me. So, I went through towards the open cellar door.

Once going through it, there was some kind of tunnel I entered into, which also led to a place of almost endless darkness. But then I saw something...

Scenes of these children I didn't know that looked to be in trouble. They'll sound familiar, though.

First, I saw a young girl going into a forest, searching for an abandoned cabin in the middle of it. There were images of a family who didn't care about her that she saw; s-she was...uncertain what to do.

Then there was a young prince who hid behind some bag of oats while guards looked for him. I saw images of a...traitorous queen who made unreasonable demands. He appeared cornered.

I saw a young boy with the head of a toad, and covered in scales looking for gold in a forest. Then flashes of a man who had him chained in a dungeon...and the boy looked resigned to this.

I saw the fisherman's apprentice fleeting into the forest in a panic. I saw the images of the kind fisherman and the ruined salmon...she looked like she was ashamed and full of guilt.

Then the images changed. They became brighter, a bit idealistic. I noticed that other than the kids and someone else, everyone else who appeared had their faces blurred out, as if something about them was trying to be obscured.

That forest the young girl was in now looked bright, though she was bringing a skull-shaped lantern with her. Followed by the young prince was escorting a horse with bells, and the courtyard he was in appeared cheerful. Next up, that young boy rescued by the beggar was now holding the gold in a town that looked welcoming. And finally, the fisherman's apprentice shared the salmon with her master in a cozy-looking cottage.

[ Phew, he takes a moment to drink some orange-flavored tea he's conveniently brought with him. Don't judge, he's just a little tired for talking that long without a little break, and needs a moment because this is a long story. ]

And in those images, there was now someone else with them, a woman who appeared to be lovingly assisting the child. She never appears the same, even if I don't really ever see her face, but I always know it's her.

Which is because her shadow is always the same, and the shadow is not anything good. Even if she appears normal, her shadow is far too thin as well as tall, and sharp—angular.

Then the images before me changed one more time...and somehow even in those idealistic images, everyone's fate had turned to something gloomier. What with the children looking withered and exhausted...even if they're where they want to be, they look like they're at their limit. Of course here in these images, there's no one else except the child and that woman.

Even when she has her back to me she looks sad, but somehow satisfied, and then she...approaches, taking all the children in her arms.

With that, the images start fading, like watercolors being washed away? Then I saw that the woman's shadow shifted into some warped shapes, growing so tall, a-and her hands extend into ... I don't know how to describe it but the shapes—they're terrifying, alright? And she's hunching over while her grip tightens onto them.

Then everything faded into black and I woke up in Room 5.

[ He's a little pale because that shit is scary, but he looks so relieved to be finished. ]

[crimson_flamel]

I found this note in the church. Hidden inside some form of religious urn.

[She'll present it by dropping it on a table.]

[scythegun]

Oh, I also took a look around the ice maze while I was in there.

[And considering the story he just told about his mirror adventures, this is relevant.]

I found a ghostly girl in the maze. When I got close, she fled through a wall - but not before I noticed that she was carrying a skull lantern. She seemed frightened, but it was like she hadn't noticed my presence at all.

I found other ghostly children in there as well - they were all quite young and all of them seemed afraid of something, but when I backtracked through the maze, I found more of them and they were playing together happily. There were also several distinctively nonhuman children; one with the head of a frog, and one with fairy wings, for example.

Also, within the deepest parts of the maze, [the eldritch-y sections] I found a carving of one of those claws I saw in the mirror. It wasn't any different from the rest of the ice sculptures, so I imagine there were some that might be relevant to others here.

[With that, he shrugs!!]

I'm not entirely certain how relevant it will be, but it may at least spare anyone else from getting lost in the maze forever!

[ideismo]

[Alexei is here, seeming...not great. The sort of pale and tired that happens when eating and sleeping haven't been happening too well, if at all. But the point is that he's here.]

It seems our friends left us some more letters.

[Or, well, beings that are ostensibly our friends.

Anyway, he's got three of them, which is more than he usually contributes to these things.]

The message in the second letter reads "try salt everywhere, other things too"; there's a drawing on the back containing a symbol I don't recognize.

[biqe]

Yes, I found these letters as well.

[ Presents these three letters... he passes around the two that are readily readable, but holds on to the coded letter, which he just holds up for everyone to see instead. ]

This one was in code, but I was able to figure that out and wrote down the translation —

"Word is traveling too wide and too quickly. Be careful of the company you keep and who you speak with. Trust is a traitor's greatest weapon.

I hear the sculpture in the fountain is fascinating and would appreciate another look through a different lens, and perhaps some seasoning for good measure.

Do not dwell too much on the mirrors, you are running out of time."

[ Part of this is not actually what the original said, but he's banking on no one trying that hard to decode it in the middle of a meeting. ]

There's also this drawing of a clock face showing 5 o'clock on the original... perhaps an indication that we should try conducting this investigation at that particular time.

[amortristis]

[ Morgan doesn't exactly look great, if the bandage on her hand is any indication of that. But it's unimportant! Especially with the letters she ended up finding with Alexei and Phil. ]

There were these letters as well.

[ She frowns, and shows the two letters that she ended up finding.

When she passes the second one to whoever's nearby, she'll look at Yuri with a degree of concern. ]

You said during the last trial that you did not have any problems with moving around that most of the others did, correct?

re: trials

[incompletely]

There's something I wanted to bring up, actually. I think we need to start bringing evidence to trials. The cookies, for example, would have saved us a lot of time if we had them on-hand to inspect to confirm their quality and measure it up against the bakery's.

[ Sorry, Suga... He's not trying to sound accusatory, he promises. ]

Be careful with the more soiled pieces, of course, but if we don't have these things on-hand, it feels like we're doing a lot more guesswork than we actually need to. So my suggestion is to bring whatever you can.

A thing...?

[faentasy]

[Another week, another round of letters. So hopefully it shouldn't be surprising to see a circle of teacups in the animal cafe with a bunch of letters and other stuff around it, right?

Capped to 3 players for letter pick up, but feel free to drop in after to mingle!]

[ideismo]

[You know what, he's here because he's been having a hell of a time and sometimes you want to see if the animals in here will hate you just as badly as the animals anywhere else, because you hate this week just that much.

That said, let's...pick up a letter or two, shall we.]

[biqe]

[ Well, this isn't very surprising at this point! Though he wonders how they pick their locations each week...

What do they have here? Should we be concerned by "other stuff"? ]

[amortristis]

[ Honestly, she's got no idea why she ended up here, but. This might as well happen. Life sucks right now.

What's going on with the letters here? ]

investigation!

[sempiternel]

[ Before Huaisang's meeting, Yuri decides to have a closer look at the chocolate river at Fairy Sweet Park. She has her salt, her magnifying glass, a burlap bag, and some gloves. Plus!! Today she's wearing sturdy boots. ☆ The notes have mentioned it before, but it might finally be time for a thorough check?

First, she follows the chocolate stream, trying to pay close attention to the small details.

(Anyone in the area is free to help, or say hi!) ]

some sweets before the salt

[heroicact]

... Miss Yuri? Do not tell me you are thinking of going... wading?

[Jack has spent much of his time in the snowy area this week -- it seems to be his favored place nowadays, so it's rare to find him outside of it, and even rarer to find him here in the sweets area unless he's frequenting or borrowing from the bar for various reasons. Still, he happens to be passing through, and...

Well, at least it doesn't look like Yuri is about to go swimming in all her clothes, so he doesn't look too alarmed. Still...]

I had almost forgotten we've yet to plumb this place...

[Norton yeeting kind of also yeeted those plans, and it's been hectic enough (and he's been quite distracted enough) that it probably would have sunk to the bottom of all their priorities and out of sight. But here they are! He'll mosey along after her and look around the area...]

[ideismo]

[CHURCH]

[The church is where he'll be spending a fair amount of time that evening, tending to the votives and keeping the candles burning for the dead. It keeps him more or less away from most reflective surfaces, at the very least; the stained glass is darkened enough for him that it causes less of a problem. He seems to be muttering something to himself, quiet but intense, steady and rhythmic; his gaze is fixed on the candles as he does it, and unlike last time he seems rather unaware of anyone joining him until he's spoken to - at which point he'll at least stop whatever he was saying to himself, the incantation or invocation or...whatever it was dying out immediately.]


[ROOM 24]

[Granted, if you're in the halls of the lodging area tonight, you'll hear a sharp crack and a sound of shattering, implying that we're down another mirror. Alexei hadn't even gotten the damn door closed before the visions started up in the full-length, and given from the angle that JRPG sword seems to have come at the mirror from, it looks like he just straight-up threw the damn thing. Fortunately, his aim is good; unfortunately, that's a hell of a lot of glass that he seems determined to deal with- ...later, you know what he's going to deal with that later, he's currently going to deal with this by not dealing with it at all and storming off to the lounge if he's not stopped.

He won't be breaking anything else, but that...happened, he supposes.]

Room 24

[vogelfrei]

[ McGillis is still out and about at odd hours today and that crash is certainly enough to draw anybody out who is still awake enough to hear it. One could almost fear an off-schedule murder! But it's just a mirror and for a moment McGillis is uncertain if he should just leave Alexei alone to deal with these emotions in private dignity.

But then, that seems like a bad idea in the awful situation they're in so... here he is, trailing after Alexei to the lounge. ]

I'm not going to ask you about your feelings if you'd prefer I do not, but would you care for a cup of hot tea?

room 24

[reallyfishy]

[When Alexei calms down enough to head back to his room, he'll find Raven in there, cleaning up the debris of the shattered mirror for him. On his bed is a tray with a hot meal...or at least a warm one at this point. He's been in here for a little bit.]

[gemuinemanagement]

[Training Grounds]
[Today has been a lot - the meeting with the letters, the suspicion, the still present reflections - but at least there's one good thing that's come out of it.

You can find Suga in the training grounds with a sword whose blade is made from a pale blue stone and grows slightly. He's swinging it with much more confidence than he ever had with an iron sword - the weight and grip of it is deeply familiar to him.]

[Docks]
[He'd meant to ask someone here if they could help ferry him to the other side for some investigations, but... that unfortunately leaves him near a reflective surface for a while.

So anyone who happens to be here or comes across him can find him staring into the lake, the image of a young girl flickering on its surface.]

docks;

[ideismo]

[That's unfortunately the hazard of this area, it sort of leaves you open to this sort of thing. Alexei has been fortunate in that particular regard, in that he doesn't completely hate it yet, but... Well, Suga is here, and he sure seems to be rather intently staring into the lake, so...]

Is everything all right, Suga?

[Might as well ask before he wanders in on something that he shouldn't be seeing.]

training grounds

[scythegun]

Oh, this is your blade, ja?

[Hi Suga, Yeager's here and holding up a hand in greeting. The training grounds are likely a pretty good area to avoid reflective surfaces, so he's here to train and forget all about all of that, so!! Look at that cool glowing sword, now that's a jrpg weapon!!!]

investigation

[biqe]

[ OKAY, pretty much immediately after the meeting, Phil gets some of that salt from Tenn and heads over to the third floor of the archives with his new magnifying glass for a second go at The History of Aira Niluc.

Is it still where we left it last time? ]

[mirrite]

[Marcus is here as well, more to stand guard than anything else. He's in a casual lean against one of the shelves, ostensibly flipping through another book, though his eyes aren't really focused on the pages; instead, he occasionally glances around to make sure they're alone as Phil gets to work.]

[incompletely]

archery range.

[ Unsurprisingly, Tenn is training yet again after the meeting, sticking to his regimen of practicing archery and axe swinging. He's diligent in his training, and look at that: The ratio of arrows on the ground to arrows on his target's gotten so much better! He's gotten a lot better at this, and he has a little smile on his face as he looks at the results of his hard work.

Then, he lowers his bow and brings it out in front of him, giving it a fond look before he says something to himself: ]

...To protect.

snowmen round 2.

[ Later on, Tenn begins working on more memorial snowmen. There are new additions to his little cluster: One something that looks like another ponytail and some fabric tied around its neck, resembling a cape. The next one has yet another bundle of sticks that resembles a ponytail, along with a heart etched under its left eye.

He absolutely looks like he's struggling with the one he's working on, though. In fact, it's completely blank, and Tenn looks like he's deep in thought. His gloved hand is pressed up against the middle snowball, and his gaze is locked onto the top one, as if he's trying to lock eyes with someone. ]

docks.

[ Like Suga, at some point towards the early evening, Tenn can be found sitting near the lake, looking into its reflection. His gaze is definitely sad, longing for something he no longer has.

That something is this. His bandmates, staring back at Tenn with proud smiles on their faces.

No matter what burdens you carry, we're TRIGGER. We all share the same fate. If you become a legend, we'll be your trigger.

We'll protect you. ]

...Would you still say that, even now? Yaotome Gaku.

snowmen

[crimson_flamel]

Who does this one respresent, if you don't mind me asking?

[Edelgard's voice can be a little hard to hear underneath her scarf, as she's draped in layers upon layers, but this time they're a lot fancier than the daytime clothing found in the boutique.

She will kneel down next to him however, and start gathering snow, looking at him curiously for direction.]