Chapter Text
Miki POV:
Miki is leaning back on a chair in the middle of the room, her head looking up to the ceiling and her coat off to the side.
Raguel is at the room’s workbench, sitting in a chair. There are tables with random machine parts and a bookshelf filled with books on technical knowledge. The room is littered with parts and oil, a single candle lights the entire space.
Raguel is tinkering with a machine part, then without turning, he speaks curiously and a little monotone.
Raguel: “Who are you?”
> “Miki Covelow SF-A2”
Raguel: “Sorry, I didn’t mean it like that…”
> “What did you mean?”
Raguel: “I suppose it’s more accurate to ask what you are?”
> “I am a machine.”
Raguel: “Does the machine have any goals?”
(Goals?)
(...)
> “I am not sure.”
Raguel: “What will the machine do?”
(What have you been doing?)
(You are really not sure)
(Why are you doing this?)
(...)
(...)
> “I will stay with the party, they have use of me.”
Raguel: “And if others do?”
(Why is he asking these questions?)
> “I will try to be of use to them too, that is what I am for.”
Miki sees just out of the corner of her vision that Raguel opens his eyes as he turns to look at Miki.
(His eyes are open…)
Raguel: “And if you have to choose, the world or them?”
Raguel has stopped tinkering with the machine part.
(You don’t even really know what the world is, but they seem to want to protect it, so what's the point of this?)
> “I would never have to choose that.”
Raguel: “But if you did?”
(...)
> “I don’t know, I haven’t faced these parameters.”
Raguel: “It’s merely theoretical. Don’t base it off past parameters.”
(If you’re not being of use to someone, what would you do?)
(...what do you want?)
(...)
(That doesn’t matter, you know that)
> “At the present time, I would do what they want me to do.”
Raguel: “And if they chose to sacrifice all of themselves to save you and the world? Would you let that happen?”
(You don’t like this, you don’t like this at all)
> “They are more valuable than me-me, if I could save them and the world, I would.”
Raguel: “You’re avoiding the question, why?”
Raguel’s tone has not strayed from curiosity.
(...)
(You don’t know)
(Why don’t you know?)
> “I-I don’t know.”
Raguel: “Let me phrase it a different way then, say they’re both hanging on the edge of a cliff, you only have enough time to save one but not the other and if you do nothing both will be lost. What do you do?”
(That doesn’t make sense)
> “How would the world be dangling from a cliff? How would I do anything about it if it somehow was?”
Raguel: “There’s two buttons just within distance to run to and push in time. One for your friends and one for the world.”
(Friends?)
> “How would any of us exist after, if the world was gone? This question seems faulty.”
Raguel: “Even so, I would like to hear your answer.”
> “Such an answer wouldn’t seem to hold value, only one option results in anything being around. The actual choice would seem to be to save the world or not.”
Raguel: “If the world fell off the cliff, say for instance you could create a new world, what would be your answer if that were the case?”
(Something about this question hurts)
> “I’m so-sorry, I-I do-don’t think I-I can-can answer.”
Raguel closes his eyes.
Raguel: “Sorry, it’s a tough question I know, I was just curious how the inner part of a machine thought.”
Raguel goes back to his tinkering.
(You know how you were supposed to answer, why couldn’t you answer?)
Raguel: “If you figure out the answer before you all leave, let me know.”
(You were made to be able to answer that, you could answer that before)
(How broken are you?)
They sit in silence for a while, the only audible sounds being Miki’s cooling systems and Raguel’s tinkering.
Raguel: “Sorry, I’ve finished making the part, it’s time for install, it would probably be best if you shut down during this part.”
(You know you can still do that at least)
> “Affermative.”
[Starting Shutdown]
Raguel: “I’ll boot the machine back up when I’m finished.”
[...]
[Shutdown Complete]
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Odile POV:
(Urgh, you can’t sleep…)
(Your mind is too restless, you have to question him about it)
Odile gets up tired and walks up to the main church room, then into the side room where Raguel is working on Miki.
Raguel: “As we saw this morning still, still a lot of mist and fog, especially up north~.”
(What is he saying?)
Raguel: “Who’s there?”
Odile walks into the room. Music is playing over Miki’s audio systems.
> “You… heard me?”
Raguel: “Everyone tells me I have good ears, what is it?”
Odile looks over to Miki’s body sitting in a chair.
The thing that stands out most is her chest, her internals are completely exposed; she had gaps before, but never quite like this. The plate that normally covers it can be seen on a nearby table, prominently showing the star; the puncture wounds are evident, almost taunting. The internals are a mess of coolant, wires, and machine parts, sparks flying out every so often. Miki’s head is laying on the headrest of the chair, looking directly at the ceiling. Most of the paneling of her face is off to the side, but her mouth and eyes remain. Her face has a neutral expression; usually her eyes have some emotion and shades to them, but right now, they are completely empty.
(Miki looks dead)
(...)
(You know it’s just a machine, but something about the sight of it like that makes you very uncomfortable…)
Raguel: “Sorry, you probably don’t want to see her like this…”
(...)
Raguel puts a tarp over Miki and turns off the music.
Raguel: “Now what is it?”
(Get right to it)
> “How did you heal Humble?”
Raguel: “Do you mean- Right right I had nearly forgotten. It was just simple Healing Craft.”
(Yeah right)
Raguel: “What?”
(It must have shown on your face…)
> “What you did can’t simply be done with Healing Craft.”
Raguel opens his eyes and stares at Odile.
(He… opened his eyes? They’re blankly staring at you, peering into your soul)
Raguel closes his eyes.
Raguel: “What about it seemed so strange?”
> “Healing Craft can’t create flesh, it just speeds up the body’s healing.”
Raguel: “I suppose you wouldn’t accept that the leg was fine enough to heal naturally?”
> “No.”
Raguel opens his eyes again and turns around looking at the stained glass pane of the change god. Then looks to Odile with his eyes still open.
Raguel: “If I tell you, will you not tell them of my sin?”
> “That depends.”
Raguel: “Good enough for me. Over here.”
Raguel takes Odile to the main room.
(A Confession Chamber?)
(I guess I’m supposed to go where the Pastor usually goes…)
Raguel: “Forgive me for I have sinned.”
(You should probably play along)
> “And what was your sin?”
Raguel: “I used your gift in a way I shouldn’t have.”
(What does he mean…)
> “How did you do that?”
Raguel: “I study Craft Theory as a hobby, but in reality it’s no hobby.”
Raguel: “More specifically, I study unique Craft applications.”
(You’ve… never heard someone study such a thing)
> “How did you use such a thing to heal Humble?”
Raguel: “Body Craft… I created Flesh.”
(That’s… insane… the level of knowledge of the human body you would need to possess…)
> “You- actually did that?”
Raguel: “Yes.”
> “That’s… nearly taboo, creating life is something all craftologists agree is taboo and leads down dark roads.”
Raguel: “Correct.”
> “But the applications of the healing potential all over the world would be…”
Raguel: “Revolutionary on a wide scale? Correct.”
> “Why… haven’t you?”
Raguel: “My life is not for the world.”
(He didn’t even hesitate)
Raguel: “My life is to these people, the rest is not my responsibility”
(You feel such… determination behind those words)
> “You’d nearly break taboo, for… just this town…?”
Raguel: “Of course.”
> “Do you have any regrets?”
Raguel hesitates, it takes him a long time to answer.
(He’s taking a long time, it makes sense)
Odile looks over.
(His hand is touching his neck?)
(Oh right you’re not supposed to look over during a confessional!)
Odile goes back to not looking.
Raguel: “I just hope I can be forgiven in the end.”
> “If it’s any condolence, I think you can.”
Raguel: “That’s the end of my confessional”
They both walk out.
(Tears are trickling down his face…)
Raguel: “I’d better get back to work.”
> “Yeah go ahead… I’ll head back to bed.”
Odile walks back lost in thought.
Isabeau: “Odile…? What are you doing up?”
Odile: “I had to go to the bathroom, I’m heading back to bed now.”
Isabeau: “Ah! Okay! Good night, Odile!”
(Unique Craft Applications…)
(...such an idea is revolutionary…)
(...yet he stays here)
(You’d best just go to sleep)
(You’ll have time to think about it tomorrow)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Miki POV:
[Rebooting.]
[Rebooting..]
[Rebooting...]
[Memory Recall is Suffering an Error]
[Repair Sequence Initiated]
…
I feel uncomfortable, why do I feel that way?
I am sitting down in a chair, I am holding my hands in my lap.
This is the dining room, I am not in here very often, neither is my Creator.
It is very clean, it would not be hard to make it sterile.
“Well?”
My Creator is in front of me, also in a chair, he looks annoyed.
> “I am sorry, I did not hear that, could you please repeat what you said?”
“More bugs? Stars, what a pain…”
He holds the bridge of his nose with his hand.
“If you had to choose between the world or you, what should you pick?”
This one is simple, I hold little value.
> “The world.”
“Correct, what about the world or a collection of individuals?"
I do not get it.
> “That question does not make sense to me.”
He sighs.
“...Assume that if you picked the individuals, they would still be able to live full lives.”
That makes more sense.
…
“I do not know.”
My Creator looks angry.
“I’ve been trying to get this through your head all day! You should pick the world, every time! No. Matter. What. Do you understand?”
He is furious with me.
That makes sense.
> “Aff-Affermative.”
“So what should you pick?”
> “The-The world.”
“Finally… see? That wasn’t so hard.”
He sits back in his chair, he looks frustrated.
There is something I don’t get.
> “May I ask a question?”
My Creator considers it.
“...Sure.”
> “Why can I not pick to save both?”
“Because it’s either impossible or too risky to consider as a valid option.”
That answer does not satisfy me.
> “May I ask another question?”
“No.”
He does not hesitate.
I forgot that my satisfaction is irrelevant, I need to do better.
“That’s enough of this for today, get back to your studies, I’ll look at your blinding listening bug tomorrow."
He gets up and walks down the hall, knowing him, he is headed to the lab room again.
Why am I so broken? This should be simple.
Time to get back to my̶͚͒ͅ ̶̻̉t̵̺̬́͒ŕ̷͓̉â̷͔n̴̯̠͛͠s̶̡̢̤̾͋̕l̸͇̰͛̃a̶͚̠̗̾̅̒t̵͉̠͆ỉ̵͇ŏ̷̘ṅ̶̡ŝ̵̩͈͒̃͜-̵̝͊̊
[Memory Restored]
[Reboot Complete]
(...)
(Another one of your dreams)
(You do not think humans dream like this, your dreams are more similar to memories, not fully accurate, but mostly accurate representations of your experiences)
Raguel: “Ah. You’re up.”
(This is the room same room where you talked to him, not The Lab, you doubt you will ever see that place again)
> “I am.”
Raguel: “I hope the repairs treat you well. Does everything feel ok?”
(No sense issues this time, coolant levels are standard, the wing puncture damage is gone, and you have no missing parts)
> “Everything is in working order.”
Raguel: “Good, was worried for a moment all my studying was pointless because I couldn’t apply it.”
> “My construction is only non-standard in my head and digestive systems, the rest is standard machine construction.”
Raguel: “Yeah, I saw… It was rather strange.”
> “As far as I am aware, my head had not suffered any damage.”
Raguel: “I ended up double checking everything just in case. I hope that’s alright.”
(You can run a system diagnostic)
[Diagnosing…]
[0 Issues Found]
> “I detect no issues, so it is fine.”
Raguel: “That’s good, I’m glad my studies into these things end up helping others.”
Miki gets up and grabs her coat. In the corner of her vision she notices a trash can overflowing with letters.
> “You seem to get a lot of letters.”
Raguel: “Huh? Oh. Sure.”
(Looking closer, you notice they are all sealed and very similar in design)
(Reminds you of your Creator, you wonder if Raguel does it for the same reason)
> “Are you avoiding someone?”
Raguel opens his eyes and looks to the garbage can. Then closes them and looks to Miki.
Raguel: “She is not… someone I can talk to.”
> “My Creator did this too, he said he didn’t want to hear what she had to say.”
Raguel: “It’s… not the same. I… don’t know if I can trust her again.”
(Trust… you do not fully understand why your Creator was adverse to it)
> “My Creator did not trust anyone, but I do not understand why someone would not trust.”
Raguel: “It’s… my mother… we haven’t talked in ages… we… aren’t on good terms.”
(...)
> “I wish I could still talk to my Creator, but speaking with the dead is not something I know how to do. I feel like that relationship is worth fixing while she lives.”
Raguel: “I don’t know if she could die… knowing her… she wouldn’t let herself die… but even still I… can’t.”
> “You can though? Such a thing is possible.”
Raguel: “Not currently. She’s frozen in time.”
(That phenomenon is still unknown to you)
> “What does that actually mean? I have not seen it.”
Raguel opens his eyes and looks at Miki and then Raguel closes his eyes.
Raguel: “It probably would be best to ask your party, I personally haven’t seen it.”
> “Okay.”
(...)
(It is still bothering you)
> “I am sorry I could not answer your question earlier.”
Raguel: “It’s okay. It’s a hard question.”
> “It should not be.”
Raguel: “Anyone who believes that hasn’t truly thought about the question.”
(That does not make sense to you, your job is not to think about the question, it is to answer it)
> “Think about the question?”
Raguel: “To find your answer you naturally have to think about the question… why would it be any other way?”
> “My purpose is not to think about it, it is to answer it as I was told to.”
Raguel opens his eyes and stares at Miki. He doesn’t say anything, he just stares. What’s going through his head he doesn’t say, he just stares, it feels empty.
(Why is he just staring at you?)
> “I am not a person, I am a tool to be used, that is what I was created for.”
Raguel: “Then why…”
It continues but the rest is all mumbles.
> “Why what?”
Raguel: “...Even a tool requires thought.”
(How does that work?)
> “I do not think so, but it would be better if tools did need to think, I am not doing a good job at my purpose.”
Raguel: “A hammer is pointless if you can’t think of where to hit the nail. If you don't, you're destroying the wall.”
> “Affermative, but the hammer does not need to think.”
Raguel: “The hammer understands that, it needs to think just alongside the person hammering, it needs to know to be built upon the basis it’s hitting the nail dead on.”
> “But hammers do not think.”
Raguel: “Even though a hammer does not think a hammer has thought, the thought of the person who made it, the thoughts of those who came after, and the hammers that came before.”
(You think this is a metaphor? But you do not get what it means)
> “I do not get it.”
Raguel: “A tool learns just the same as any human.”
(Oh, he is comparing humans to tools)
> “I do not think that comparison is valid.”
Raguel: “Is it not? Even at birth we’re given purpose by the people who made us? To eventually be cast aside once our use is done? Some sooner than most.”
(That… does not sound right)
> “That is not what humans are for.”
Raguel: “But who decides what a human’s or a tool’s purpose is then? Who are you to decide that? Who is the one to decide what anything is?”
> “Humans decide what their own purpose is and a tool's purpose is determined by the human using it.”
Raguel: “And if someone is both?”
(What? Both a tool and a human?)
> “But tools are not humans, and humans are not tools.”
Raguel: “You’ll one day see… and be blind no longer.”
> “I do see, my vision is very good.”
(You do not get what vision has to do with this)
Raguel: “Good night.”
> “Oh, good night, may the stars guide you.”
Raguel walks away.
(You should head to where everyone else is sleeping)
Miki gets up and exits the room, leaving the room empty.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Odile POV:
(You didn’t get as much sleep as you would’ve liked, but that’s no surprise)
> “It would seem that everyone is awake.”
Mirabelle “Ah! Right! Let’s head up!”
Mirabelle is a little jumpy.
Isabeau: “Everything okay, Mira?”
Mirabelle: “Yeah just… thinking.”
Isabeau: “What were you thinking about?”
Mirabelle: “...Maybe another time, we need to go find that orb!”
Isabeau: “Okay, but feelings talk later!”
Mirabelle: “O-Okay!”
They all head up and Raguel is up there sitting on the pews.
Mirabelle: “Raguel, do you know what we’re looking for?”
Raguel: “It’s the orbs I’ve been hearing about, right?”
> “There’s one around this area, do you have any information on its whereabouts?”
Raguel: “There’s only one place I can think of…”
Isabeau: “The Crossed Forest?”
Raguel: “Indeed, if such a thing were hidden, I have to imagine it’s there.”
Mirabelle “What is the Crossed Forest?”
Raguel: “It’s a rather… strange place.”
Siffrin starts checking Miki for damage in the back of the group while everyone else talks.
> “How so?”
Raguel: “I’m admittedly not as familiar with the legend as I’d like, but the Forest is said to bring two people together. The scriptures say it holds a relic somewhere in it, but no one has ever found it; it was partially made to protect that relic.”
Isabeau: “Woah! That sounds cool!”
(Oh, you think you’ve heard of this place before)
Raguel: “I’ve only ever gone in there a few times myself. It’s… something.”
> “I think I have heard of the Crossed Forest before now that you’ve explained it…”
> “It’s been around for as long as anyone could remember.”
> “Some have tried to study it, but they came out with few answers.”
> “Legend says it was made by a great craft by a Change Pastor far in the past.”
> “It was designed to bring people together through its trials. But the book I read about it didn’t say what those trials were.”
> “None of the entries in that book went very in depth… The Crossed Forest is only one of many mysteries that fascinate scholars around the world.”
Raguel: “That sounds like the Crossed Forest...”
Isabeau: “Anything to look out for?”
Raguel: “You’ve probably heard but rumors have it that there's monsters coming in and out of the Forest.”
> “Alright we’ll head out.”
Raguel: “Pardon me for asking, but may I come along?”
> “It’d be best if you stayed here.”
Raguel: “I want to help these people, it’s not for you.”
> “I still think it’d be better if the five of us go alone.”
Raguel: “Well something about that… it splits you into groups of two, and if it can’t throw you into a group of two it spits you back out. So with five only four of you will be able to go in.”
(Oh, right, that was one of the few mysterious parts of the forest that was mentioned in that book)
Mirabelle: “We could use the help, Odile.”
> “I suppose, just don’t go dying or these people will be in dire straits.”
Isabeau: “Was that a pun?”
(...Gems…)
> “No.”
Isabeau is smirking anyway.
Raguel: “I don’t have plans to die anytime soon.”
Isabeau: “We should get going, if there’s monsters in the Crossed Forest, we’d all better brace ourselves. Though I’m going to go grab a shovel, just in case… I’ll meet back up with you!”
Isabeau goes sprinting off into town.
(The way over gives you time to think, at least)
(You were right to be suspicious of Raguel, but…)
(He’s using Body Craft for the right reasons)
(You still can’t believe you never considered applying Body Craft like that)
(It’s ridiculously hard, but it makes so much sense)
(You suppose it might be because it walks the line of taboo)
(But still, it’s so obvious…)
(What other applications have people just not thought about?)
(There’s obviously… creating a human…)
(But… hmmm…)
(Should such a power be allowed to exist?)
(Unfortunately you have no one to debate with, you… haven’t had someone to debate with for a long time)
(…)
(This is an embarrassing way to structure your thoughts, but no one else can see them)
(OdileG: “Think about the applications of making humans! It could lead to so many things!”)
(OdileG: “It could lead to human evolution on a grand scale!”)
(OdileR: “But it could also cause armies to be made from nothing.”)
(OdileR: “It could cause war on a large scale!”)
(OdileG: “Either that war means no one dies or the new lives have rights and therefore don’t go to war.”)
(OdileR: “But they could also not truly be human!”)
(OdileR: “They could follow what the person who created them tells them to do, starting a war that way too.”)
(OdileG: “That would depend on how they were made, if they just listened to orders, then that's war with no lost life.”)
(OdileR: “Whose to say if the other side also has them? Whose to say they aren’t harming civilian populations?”)
(OdileG: “That would not last long, everyone would have them eventually. The second is an already existing concern with current warfare, the people doing it is not relevant for this discussion.”)
(OdileR: “You underestimate just how complex doing such a thing would be. You would have to have significant knowledge of the human body and craft and such a thing as that is not easily replicated.”)
(OdileG: “Yet people would, individuals capable of it exist everywhere.”)
(OdileR: “We’ve never encountered an individual on the sort of level as Raguel. If he really tried before anyone else could find out the secrets of it he could wipe out the world… There’s no limit to such an army.”)
(OdileG: “There is a limit, the sheer craft energy required, it would take far too long to create an army.”)
(OdileR: “We can’t say that for certain, we don’t even know how much one would require much less if you could figure out craft application to use less energy; such a thing isn’t well researched.”)
(OdileG: “But how much craft is in the human body has been studied, it varies, but its large, anything with less would be too weak to provide a significant threat.”)
(OdileR: “Who’s to say you couldn’t modify it? They don’t have to be humans verbatim, they could be optimized for warfare or optimized for any number of things.”)
(OdileR: “Not even mentioning whether ignoring the power of such a thing, the consequences it would have.”)
(OdileG: “The moral implications are something to consider… to a degree, we create humans all the time, how different would this be?”)
(OdileR: “We would be able to modify their traits however we wanted, they’d be fundamentally superior to humans. Not to mention how such a people would feel knowing they can be easily modified, possibly without their knowledge”)
(OdileG: “Body Craft already exists, it takes time, months for the largest ones, to a degree, we can already change however we wish.”)
(OdileR: But likely a being created by Craft would be more susceptible to it, allowing Body Craft to be used on it easier, and clearly there is a way to speed up the Body Craft process because Raguel fixed Humble’s legs in one night.”)
(OdileG: “That could be explained by the fact the body already wants to heal that way, speeding up the healing process is different from making something new.”)
(...)
(You suppose you’ll not get much farther on this, it’d be best to ask about it further to Raguel later)
(But there’s one hurdle in creating human life through such a means)
(The Soul)
(In Ka Bue, you make gems from people who have passed to keep a bit of their Soul with you. Expressions are also Souls, while they are of a different variety, they are souls nonetheless. That deeper idea of what makes us human, something special we have that other animals don’t, a Soul)
(How would something artificial like that have a Soul? They would not be made in even remotely the same way as a human)
(Something like Miki gives you pause for that reason, how could it have a soul?)
(...)
(But you can recognize the problem with that kind of thinking, Souls have never been proven to exist, and what a Soul even is is disputed)
(The most logical thing to believe is that Souls don’t exist)
(But you can’t bring yourself to do that, you would like to keep believing these gems you carry with you still have parts of your father. Your culture is very important to you)
(But if you do that, then what must you think of Miki? As much as you don’t want to admit it, it has given you little reason to believe that it is not a person. It has said it over and over that it is not, but it does so while seemingly having wants and wishes of its own)
(...)
(Is your culture holding you back?)
(It’s times like these you wish you could talk to your father, he would have had something insightful to say about this…)
(...you pray to the Expressions of Knowledge and Ethics for guidance, for help in figuring out what to do)
Raguel: “We’re here.”
(It looks like a normal forest, from the outside at least)
Mirabelle “I’m ready”
Isabeau comes sprinting to where everyone else is.
Isabeau: “I found a shovel!”
> “Right on time, if you made us wait I might have docked some points.”
Isabeau makes an exaggerated distraught expression.
Isabeau: “NOOO! NOT THE POINTS!”
Raguel: “And the rest of you?”
They all nod.
Raguel: “Then lets go.”
The party walks into the Crossed Forest.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Mirabelle POV:
(We’re here… You wonder who you ended up with)
Raguel: “It seems me and you are partners.”
(Oh, it’s Raguel!)
(Well! This is your chance to get to know him better!)
(He’s… rather strange for a Pastor you would think)
(You’ve thought about it before, but now that you think about it)
(He’s younger than you would think a Pastor would be)
(You have to imagine he’s somewhere in his mid 20’s)
(Oh it’s rude to-)
Raguel: “Mirabelle?”
> “OH SORRY!”
Raguel: “I hope the savior chosen by the Change God isn’t stuck in their thoughts this often.”
(Chosen by the Change God…)
> “This doesn’t happen often, don't worry!”
Raguel: “Then I must ask… what has you so lost in thought…”
(OH CHANGE!)
> “NOTHING!”
Raguel: “...I think I know…”
> “YOU DO?!?!?!?”
(There’s no way he knows!)
Raguel opens his eyes.
Raguel: “You’re not actually chosen by the Change God are you? It was Euphrasie wasn’t it?”
Mirabelle just stands there looking down while Raguel stands there waiting for an answer.
> “...Yeah, it was...”
Raguel: “Okay”
> “Okay? That’s… all you have to say?”
Raguel: “What? It doesn’t change anything.”
> “But it does!”
Raguel: “Whether or not you were chosen by the Change God doesn’t matter.”
> “I-I’m lying to everyone! The world! How can that not matter?”
Raguel: “And what do you owe the world?”
> “Huh?”
Raguel: “What do you owe the world?”
> “I owe it everything! I wouldn’t be where I am without what it’s given me!”
Raguel: “The nature of giving is expecting nothing in return.”
> “But-!”
Raguel: “When I fixed the Old Smithy’s arm do you think I expected anything in return?”
> “...No?”
Raguel: “When you defeat the King do you expect anything in return?”
> “No.”
Raguel: “You don’t owe anyone anything, giving back is a choice that is yours and only yours.”
> “But I owe the Head Housemaiden!”
Raguel: “Do you? Because I certainly don’t.”
> “What do you mean?”
Raguel: “She sent me here to be this town’s Pastor, I didn’t owe it to her to accept to do that.”
(He… has a point. But still this is what you want to do)
(Hmmmm…)
Mirabelle looks past Raguel and notices a tree that’s… closer than it was before.
> “Raguel, is it only me or is that tree closer?”
Raguel closes his eyes.
Raguel: “It is, that might be our monster.”
They both approach the tree.
Raguel: “Are you ready for battle?”
Mirabelle: “Y-Yes. I’m ready!”
Raguel casts Scissors craft on the tree.
The Tree lets out a large groan and starts rising from the ground.
> “That’s the monster!?”
(That’s quite the monster! It doesn’t look like a sadness at all!)
Raguel: “I think I have a plan.”
The Tree starts attacking.
> “What is it!?”
Mirabelle’s face lights up.
Raguel: “We need to topple it over, one of us needs to get up high.”
The Tree shambles forward and attacks Mirabelle, she just barely dodges.
> “But how will we get up in a tree?”
Raguel: “Prepare to grab onto that tree!”
> “Wha-”
Raguel hits the ground nearby Mirabelle with a Craft launching her up.
(WOAH!)
Mirabelle reacts just in time and grabs a branch.
> “I’m up!”
Raguel: “Let’s hit it!”
They both cast Scissor’s Craft, Raguel from below and Mirabelle from the top, and create enough force to knock it over on its side.
It's now desperately trying to get up.
Raguel: “We’ve won.”
Raguel casts craft and something flies out of it, the tree stops moving.
> “Do you really think whether or not I was chosen by the Change God matters?”
Raguel: “It doesn’t matter Mirabelle.”
> “Thank you.”
Raguel: “We should probably get going, while we slayed the monster it seems the orb you’re searching for isn’t here.”
> “Yeah…”
> “So what was that thing!?!”
(It was so cool! You’ve never seen anything like it!)
Raguel: “It seemed to be a Sadness of some sort.”
> “Wait, that was a sadness?”
Raguel: “I can’t think of any other things that could be a tree and move.”
(Oh… it was just a sadness)
(That’s good! It’s definitely good! Not disappointing at all!)
(...)
(Change, you wanted it to be a monster…)
(Well…)
(You didn’t really get to find out that much about him but…)
(You enjoyed this conversation!)
(Your secret is no longer only yours to keep)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Miki POV:
(All of us have been split up… I wonder who I am with)
(It is very serene, you feel calm despite the circumstances)
(You look around and you don’t see anyone…)
(You couldn’t be alone? Could you?)
(You feel cold)
(You look around one last time)
(You see a hand being held out to you.)
(A Pale Hand)
Antikythera: “You’re not the one I expected to be here alongside, but a pleasure all the same.”
(It is Antikythera, where did they come from?)
> “Hello, why are you holding out your hand like that?”
Antikythera: “Consider it a sign of my good will, my Friend. If you need help, I’ll be a hand.”
(?)
> “You will be a hand?”
Antikythera pauses for a moment then continues on.
Antikythera: “I’ll be of help if you need it.”
Antikythera sits down on a log with their hands held together on their legs.
Miki sits opposite on the grass, criss-crossing her legs and using her arms to hold her up from behind.
Antikythera: “Why did you sit there?”
(You did not really have a reason, you just did)
> “I do not know.”
Antikythera: “Such is the way sometimes my Friend.”
(Friend? That is twice today)
> “Why do you refer to me as a friend? I do not get what a friend even is.”
Antikythera: “If there was a finite meaning I’d love to tell you but, you’ll have to work out your own answer.”
(That was not very helpful, you do not understand any better)
> “What are you doing in The Crossed Forest?”
Antikythera: “I was here to talk with another, but it seems I get to talk to you instead.”
> “Who did you want to talk with?”
Antikythera: “A boy.”
(That does not narrow it down much at all, but it seems like they do not wish to say more)
> “Where did you go before?”
Antikythera: “Oh I jumped in the bushes and watched.”
(No they didn’t, your senses would have picked that up)
> “No you didn’t.”
Antikythera: “I’m really good at magic tricks.”
(Magic… you do not know if anything like that is real, you do not know a lot of things)
Antikythera: “Let me show you. You see this card?”
(You only recently found out what cards were when the party asked you to join a game; though this card looks nothing like those)
(The card has a drawing of a man with a staff in one hand and a hand held up in the other)
(The man has two keys by his feet and two men kneel in front of them)
(At the bottom the card it reads “The Hierophant”)
> “Affermative.”
Antikythera: “Now watch me move it between my hands.”
Miki watches intently.
Antikythera: “Now it’s gone.”
(It… just disappeared… no craft traces or anything)
Antikythera: “Why don’t you check your lap?”
Miki looks down.
(??????)
> “How did you do that!?!?”
Miki’s eyes are sparkling.
Antikythera: “A magician never tells their secrets, now do you need help with anything my Friend?”
(Awww…)
(Do you? You are broken right now…)
> “I think I am broken.”
Antikythera: “Why do you think that?”
> “I was asked a question before, I was trained to have the correct answer, but I couldn’t answer it…”
Antikythera: “What do you think is the correct answer?”
(...)
> “My Creator says saving the world is the correct answer, so that's what I should have been able to answer, but I couldn’t.”
Antikythera: “And the person who asked you? What was their answer?”
> “He never said it directly, but it would have been to save the world, as that's the correct answer.”
Antikythera: “What if I said my answer was my Friends? Would I be wrong to think that way?”
(...)
> “I… don’t know…”
Antikythera: “Is that why you couldn’t answer?”
(...)
Miki sits there in silence for a little while.
> “...Maybe? But I should know…”
Antikythera: “Why did you sit there?”
(You don’t know, you said this before)
(But they know that, so they must have a point in mind)
(...)
(Oh)
> “Shouldn’t I always know why I do the things I do?”
Antikythera: “But the case is you don’t but you’re still sitting there aren’t you?”
(This… doesn’t make sense to you)
> “I’m sorry, I don’t get it.”
Antikythera: “You can’t know everything can you?”
> “Negative, but shouldn’t I know me?”
Antikythera: “So is the world no longer the correct answer but rather your answer?”
> “What I think doesn’t matter, only having the correct answer.”
Antikythera: “But you said you can’t know everything but you should know you. If that is what you believe then why do you expect yourself to have a correct answer?”
> “Because it’s my Creator’s answer, he made me, so I should listen to him.”
Antikythera: “Say my magic trick for instance. I want you to know exactly how it works, give me the correct answer to how it works. But I won’t tell you how it works.”
Antikythera: “What would you think of that?”
(How would that even work? What does that have to do with the topic at hand?)
> “That makes no sense.”
Antikythera: “Now say the question. I want you to know everything about the question, and give me the correct answer to that question. But I won’t give you information.
Antikythera: “What would you think of that?”
(You think you see what's going on here)
> “None of that matters, I was told what the answer should be.”
Antikythera: “Why should that be the answer?”
> “Because my Creator said so.”
Antikythera: “What if everyone else said your Friends was the correct answer?”
(...)
> “I… I don’t know…”
Antikythera: “How does that feel?”
(...)
(...)
> “It doesn’t feel quite right.”
Antikythera: “Why do you feel that way?”
> “The world feels important too.”
Antikythera: “Is either answer correct?”
> “Yes, the world is correct.”
Antikythera: “But they feel important too. So is that answer incorrect?”
(This questions bothers you, you think you get why now)
> “Negative, it’s not.”
Antikythera: “Are both answers correct?”
> “I think I get what the right answer is now.”
Antikythera: “That’s good, we should head on our way.”
> “Already? I have not located the orb yet.”
Antikythera: “It’s not with us, My Friend.”
> “It is not? How do you know?”
Miki tilts her head to the side.
Antikythera: “Call it Magic. Well our exit, it seems, is right over there.”
Two massive plants sprout from the ground and twirl together, forming a gateway that leads out of the forest.
> “Okay, are you coming with me?”
Antikythera: “Sorry my Friend, but this is where we part for now.”
> “Do you want your card back?”
Antikythera: “Keep it, if you ever need my help, just do a little magic trick.”
Miki looks down at the card and when Miki looks up, Antikythera is gone.
(They are gone… you guess you should leave now)
Miki steps through the gate.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Isabeau POV:
(Here you are…)
Isabeau looks around.
(You’re alone?)
(You don’t know if you’re correct but you can’t shake the feeling you’re being watched)
> “Who’s out there?!”
There is no response, no sound in return.
Just silence.
(We came in with six, no one should be alone)
(It’s putting you on edge)
(None of them would hide as a joke)
(So who’s out there?)
(Someone has to be out here)
(Right…?)
(But you’re looking around and looking hard…)
(...and don’t see anything…)
(THINK ISABEAU THINK!)
(What’s the best plan of action?!)
(You can’t stay here…)
(But you don’t know where whoever else is here could be)
(I think I know what to do… I just have to stick out in the open)
(If I do that at the very least they can’t easily sneak up on me)
Isabeau starts walking, double checking his surroundings at every opportunity, that is until he stumbles upon…
(There they are crouched down by that tree!)
(Confront them Isabeau!)
(You got this!)
> “DON’T MOVE!”
They stand up.
(They’re wearing a cloak… it’s hard to see any discernable features)
> “Who are you?”
???: “Nobody.”
(They… responded?)
(You weren’t expecting them to actually respond)
Isabeau then glances down seeing what the cloaked figure was crouched next to.
(That’s… a corpse)
> “Why are you next to a corpse?”
???: “They’ve been dead for over a week.”
> “Why are you here?”
???: “Why should I tell you that?”
(...you got this Isabeau! Come on!)
> “Because if you don’t you’ll have to answer to these.”
Isabeau gestures with his fists.
???: “Like I can see what you’re talking about.”
> “Why don’t you turn around?”
??? starts turning around, but then their eye comes into view and all of a sudden Isabeau feels a great Glare.
(Why do you feel so weak?)
??? walks away.
> “I didn’t say you could leave!”
??? keeps walking.
(They got away…)
(But at least it seems they won’t do you harm so you can relax a bit)
(A corpse…)
(The person said they’ve been dead for over a week…)
(...it makes your stomach burn looking at it)
(You know who this is)
(It’s the kid’s Father)
(There’s only one thing you can do for him now)
(You have to bury him)
Isabeau takes his shovel and starts digging beneath a nice looking tree.
It takes him a while, hitting roots and having to dig elsewhere twice, but he gets the corpse mostly under the tree at which point he buries it.
Isabeau etches “Here lies a Father taken too soon” into the tree.
> “Sorry, but I’d better get going, I’ll tell them for you.”
Isabeau walks to the exit.
(One of the other groups must have found it, unless whoever that was did…)
(You hope you didn’t make a mistake not trying harder to chase after them)
A gateway made of plants grows from out of the ground.
(Is that the exit? Already?)
(You might as well exit, this forest behaves in ways you don’t understand.
Isabeau leaves the forest through the gate.
He appears where everyone entered, Miki, Odile, and Siffrin are already there.
(Odile and Siffrin look out of it…)
(What happened to them?)
> “Odile? What’s wrong?”
Odile turns to look at Isabeau.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Odile POV:
(Here we are…)
(This place… it’s strange)
(You never imagined Craft could be used to make such a place exist…)
(...If that’s what it is, it’s hard to tell)
(You should see who you’re with)
(It’s Siffrin)
(Neither of you are the type to strike up a conversation…)
(So hopefully this will be a gentle stroll through the forest)
(Or maybe rather this is the perfect time to strike up a conversation)
(You probably won’t get a much better chance to find out information about him)
(But how do you start?)
Siffrin: “So, we're looking for an orb? What do they look like?”
(...)
> “They are lightless, and they are orbs, you will know it when you see it.”
(It’s getting cloudy, hopefully you aren’t here too long)
(What to ask…)
> “What do you think of the party?”
Siffrin: “Oh! Uhhh…”
Siffrin: “Isabeau seems like a dependable guy…”
> “He tends to be.”
Siffrin: “I don’t really know what to think about Mirabelle yet…”
(That’s fair, he hasn’t had much time to get to know everyone yet)
Siffrin: “You seem smart and cautious.”
(He’s not wrong about you being cautious)
Siffrin: “And Miki…”
> “I understand if you don’t have much of an opinion on her yet.”
Siffrin: “She reminds me of my sister, looks a lot like her, Miki is also an android, likes to sing, and she's very curious. Miki’s temperament is just like hers too!”
(They have a sister?)
> “What’s your sister's name?”
Siffrin: “Oh! Her name… is…”
Siffrin: “...”
Siffrin stops in place.
(He stopped again, this happened before the last time you asked a personal question…)
> “...Siffrin?”
Siffrin: “Huh?”
> “You stopped just before you were going to tell me your sister’s name.”
Siffrin: “Sister? I don’t have a sister?”
(This happened last time too, that's unnerving…)
> “You were talking about how Miki reminded you of her.”
Siffrin: “I don’t remember saying anything like that…?”
Siffrin: “I do like Miki, not really sure why…”
(You should start writing these things down)
Odile takes out her notebook and begins a new section.
Siffrin Memory Incidents:
- He grew up around androids, lost memory upon trying to say his home's name.
- He had a sister who is similar to Miki, android, curious, looks similar, sings, and has a similar temperament, lost memory upon trying to say her name.
(Hmmmm… is it something about names? Or is he just lying? No way to tell yet)
Siffrin sneaks over and tries to take a peak at what Odile is writing.
(Unless he knows Ka Buan, they can’t read it)
(Judging by the disappointed look on his face, they can’t)
> “My notebook is mine to read.”
Siffrin: “Oh! Sorry, Madam…”
Siffrin hides his face under his hat.
(Does he do that when they're embarrassed? That’s a pretty pretty adorable trait)
(...)
(If the memory thing is genuine, he’s lost so much…)
(You still need to be careful, there’s no telling what his actual intentions are)
> “What do you like doing in your spare time?”
Siffrin: “Uhhhh, I like to look at the ‘stars’ at night, and I crave sometimes?”
> “The dots in the sky?”
Siffrin: “They’re more than dots, they are other suns, just much farther away.”
(What is he talking about? You would know if that was true)
> “How would that work? That doesn’t make any sense.”
Siffrin: “They-”
Siffrin pauses again.
Siffrin: “I- I don’t know, nevermind…”
(Maybe you should record that too, he looked like he knew what they were going to say, but lost it…)
(...)
(Gems, why did you respond like that? That was ruder than you normally are…)
(...)
???: “Help me…”
(It came from that shack…)
(The voice must be coming from in there)
Siffrin starts walking toward the Shack.
(Wait)
Odile stops Siffrin before he walks in.
Siffrin: “What is it?”
Odile whispers.
> “Remember the rule of the forest, there can only be two.”
Siffrin nods and Odile turns to the shack.
> “What’s wrong?”
???: “There was a monster! I escaped but- but it got my leg!”
> “Can you walk out?”
???: “I-I can’t”
> “Okay we’re walking in.”
Odile turns to the ground and grabs a stick and then throws it in.
Once the stick reaches inside, a gaping maw closes down on it, sending Odile and Siffrin back in fright.
(What… is that thing?)
It turns to look at them. It’s eye a carved out hole in the shape of a tear. Its form made of straw, the rest of its shape vaguely resembling a human with 3 arms the hands hung onto the supports of the shack and its 2 legs sat upon the same supports granting it 5 points of support. Behind the straw shows a metallic sort of skeleton. Its mouth has no teeth, they were seemingly gutted out.
(Gems, what IS that?!?!)
Siffrin pulls out his dagger.
Odile casts Paper II.
The creature lets out a screech, and it crawls out of the ceiling of the shack into the trees.
Its speech twists, no longer seeming normal. It talks like it’s struggling for air with emphasis on every word.
???: “WHAT? Are? yoU? DoiNG?”
> “I’ll analyze it.”
Odile examines the sadness through the canopy.
> “Faux, rock type, low health and defense, it’s very frail, but very fast and strong. It’s got craft skills, two offensive ones, one scissors and one rock; it has some concealment craft too. This is a body it inhabits, I don’t know its actual form. I give it very high danger rating.”
Faux: “WHerE? Are? yoU? gOIng?”
Siffrin: “So what’s the game plan?”
> “Don’t get hit by its craft skills.”
Faux: “wE. CAN. hide.”
Siffrin snaps their fingers.
(You feel faster, must be Siffrin’s craft)
It speaks in Odile’s voice
Faux: “Can? You? Walk? Out?”
(So it mimics…)
(You need to locate it…)
Siffrin: “It’s up there.”
Siffrin is looking at one of the taller trees.
(It’s time to see how good he is at tracking)
Odile casts Slow II into the treetop that Siffrin is looking at.
It stitches lines together to create a sentence.
Faux: “ThE. TReES. PrOteCt. US.”
(It’s hard to tell if it landed)
Faux: “WE. Are. the. HUntER. YoU. are. Prey.”
Siffrin holds his arms in front of him.
(You need to be on guard, prepare for it to come from where Siffrin is looking)
A thump is heard from behind Odile and Siffrin.
Faux: “WRoNG WAY! WRONG way.”
Siffrin turns around and darts in for a strike.
Faux dashes at Siffrin crawling on all 5 limbs taking the blow and pushing Siffrin down.
(Gems! Cover him!)
Faux: “rEMemBEr! REMEMB-”
Odile blasts it with a Paper II.
Siffrin looks a little shaken, but he quickly gets over it.
Faux flails and throws Siffrin into a tree, turning towards Odile.
Faux: “dO? YoU? kNOw? THE? PaSTor?”
(What?)
(...)
(Gems, this is a shatteringly dumb idea…)
> “The Pastor?”
Siffrin gets up and starts moving around stealthily.
Faux: “HiS. DaRk. TrUTh.”
Faux: “Set. YOu. free.”
> “What’s this about a dark truth?”
(This distraction better work, you are in a really bad spot, even with Siffrin’s craft you aren’t very fast)
The real Faux sneaks up behind Odile and opens its maw.
Siffrin: “LOOK OUT!”
Odile dodges to the side, the maw barely not trapping her.
Faux: “close call.”
(So it can create illusions, what could have possibly made this thing?)
Faux turns to Siffrin and starts dashing on all 5 limbs.
(It is definitely not slower)
(Slow it, now)
Odile casts Slow II again, this time hitting the mark.
Siffrin dashes to it and goes in for a hit.
But Faux pushes Siffrin down again before he could and goes for a slash on Siffrin’s leg.
Siffrin intercepts it with his dagger, but Faux’s other claw grazes his leg.
Siffrin winces but goes in for another strike while Odile shoots off a paper strike at the same time.
They both land and Faux lets out a screech.
It dashes off back into the trees and camouflages into the environment, leaving it practically invisible.
> “Are you okay?”
Siffrin: “I’m fine.”
(His wound doesn’t look too bad, but you should get Mirabelle to heal it later)
> “Do you know where it is?”
Siffrin: “I can’t really tell for sure, I hear two sets of sounds.”
Faux: “How? Did? You? Heal? Humble?”
(What?)
(How did it hear that? Something is seriously wrong here… the pieces are there, you just need to put them together…)
Faux: “dArK TRuth! DaRK TrutH!”
(!)
(This sadness is very off putting to you, you couldn’t place why exactly, but it reminds you of Bonheur, and that sadness was strange too…)
(They feel like they were… designed)
(“Dark Truth”)
(Could body craft be responsible for this?)
Over Odile’s shoulder she hears…
Faux: “YeS! yES!”
Odile quickly turns around and backs away while Siffrin prepares a craft skill.
Faux just stands there.
Faux: “You. WoN’t. LiVe. TO. Tell. IT.”
Siffrin dashes in and slashes it, but then it dissipates.
The real Faux grabs Odile and prepares to trap Odile in its maw-
-But Odile casts Paper II just in time.
Its three arms go in for slashes but Siffrin jumps on the back of it, slashing one of its eyes.
Faux: “mY! EYE!”
Faux throws Siffrin off and tries to dash away up a tree, but hits the tree dead on.
(It seems distressed, you best take advantage of this opportunity)
Odile casts a paper blast into its remaining eye.
Faux: “nO! N-”
Faux’s vessel suddenly falls and out launches something small like a ball in size into the forest.
(You would chase it, but Raguel almost certainly made it, and if that is true, whoever is with him is in danger)
Siffrin goes to chase after.
> “We have no time to chase it, we have a bigger priority! We need to leave the forest, I'll fill you in on the way out.”
They start running the best they can with Siffrin’s somewhat injured leg.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Miki POV:
Odile and Siffrin walk out panting for air and seeming very out of it.
(They look scared, maybe worried too?)
Isabeau comes out of the forest.
Isabeau: “Odile? What’s wrong?”
Odile pauses for a moment.
Odile: “Where is Raguel?”
(Why is Raguel relevant?)
> “Mirabelle and Raguel got out first, they said they fought a monster and decided to head back.”
(...)
> “Why?”