Scene #9589: The Princess and the Promises 2

Owner	Pose
Sarracenia	It has been about three weeks since Gregory was lost, and Sarracenia has finally requested that venture into the book world again. The Sundew princess has been mourning, but has spent little time in the castle. Aside from her continued activities in the Multiverse (one of which involved her going on a fishing trip while wearing a piranha plant onesie complete with shark-toothed red hood), Sarra has spent much time wandering her the castle town. Those making their way through town to the castle and on tot he room containing the story book would likely hear someone talking about it in passing. The princess has been visiting the places that Gregory would normally visit throughout the month. No servant has been with her during these visits. It has just been the princess going to shops and businesses taking care of the business that Gregory had been taking care of and trying to continue the kindness that he had been showing to the people in those places. It has the populace somewhere between weirded out, stunned, and impressed. The princess has always wandered the town, but rarely has she been so willing to talk to her people and actually listen and try to empathize or even address problems. It has the people cautiously hopeful, but many also think that it will wear off after a month or so. Sarra is awaiting everyone in the book world room wearing a fully black dress, likely meant to show that she is still mourning. Her hair is back to its well-groomed and shining copper, though. Guards are still stationed all around the area, including four flanking the book itself. "Welcome, and thank you again for your continued help." Sarra says once everyone is gathered. "We will be re-entering the book world in order to...question Alina. We will also be using the time to track the Darkmancer in whatever way we can. Flow of magic, residuals, anything that might lead us to him. And, depending on what Alina says we may be bringing her back to answer for crimes against the crown." Sarra allows some time for questions before approaching the book. She reaches to open it, and the pastel energy swirl that had transported them before once again whisks them away to the book world. The Great Deer meets them at the portal on the other side, and it is a short trip as the deer runs to Alina's cabin. There is no sign of the monkey bat creatures, and those with the power to sense it would not feel the scanning eye of the dark fairy that might have been felt the last few times. Once at the cabin, Sarra dismounts from the deer, giving his side an affectionate pat before approaching the cabin. Much like Arthur had before, she approaches the door and knocks. Hard. And again the energy shield flares without the door actually being touched. Alina, the fair skinned, blue-eyed, blonde-haired fairy, coalesces from the shield once more in her poofy pink, purple, and blue dress. She does not smile, and in fact does not speak. She looks down at the ground, obviously saddened and ashamed. It is Sarra who finally speaks. "So...it seems you know why we are here, and have some idea of what we want to ask." Alina looks at Sarra finally, but still can't seem to find the words to start. Sarra huffs impatiently and crosses her arms. "Tell us everything you can about the Darkmancer. And perhaps more importantly...tell me if you were an accomplice, or if you had some idea what might happen."
Riku Asakura	Riku is here today in his usual get-up. Jean jacket, with an orange shirt with a space logo on it, jeans, and a pair of tennis shoes. It's his pretty typical go to for travel, it seems. That or his Don Shine shirt but right now it's not the time for jubilation. He hears about what is going on in the city through rumors. It's pretty strange to him, as Sarracenia seems to be the type to not do that, but it looks like Gregory's loss has affected her. Perhaps for the better, but it's still sad to hear that it took his death for her to become a better person. He doesn't voice this aloud because it's sort of a jerk thing to think and say, and he feels guilty about it. He gets to the hall with the book eventually, nodding once to Sarracenia and shaking his head about questions. Then he pauses and stops. "What does that mean, answer for crimes against the crown. Will she get a trial? It might be stupid to ask, but I want to make sure... this is a personal thing for you, so..." he says, slightly feeling guilty for asking to make sure, but he has to make sure. When they cross over, it's quiet. No summoned things to come after then, no guards trying to take them in. Just the deer that Sarracenia rides towards the Fairy of light. When the fairy comes out, he's bewildered by how quiet she is. "Wait, you knew? Then... was this whole thing a setup just to get at Sarracenia? Someone died because of it, and that's terrible. So answer her questions!" he says, a little heated. He just can't believe she was in on this, and that they were thrown through this entire thing because of the Darkmancer. He's more bewildered by the fact that the fairy seems to be in on the plan. "Also, do you know where the dark fairy is. It was she who made Gregory grow into a monster..."
Storm Investigators	After pushing through some of Marcus' initial misgivings about re-entering the book world that had already claimed the life of the target they had been sent to locate, she and Greta Hofmann have returned to join Sarracenia on this next investigation. Greeting Sarracenia and those others that have gathered with a meek wave and a curt nod, respectively, the pair take a moment to consider her explanation before taking the opportunity to ask their own questions. "Do we have a starting place to begin tracking the Darkmancer? We have tools to trace magic, and I may be able to detect where it goes, but do we have a starting point?" "What makes you believe Alina was involved? If you intend to bring her back to your castle for questioning, I'd like to know what evidence you have that points at her before risking a confrontation or potentially burning bridges with a source of information entirely." As always, the pair are dressed in their usual blue and brown trench coats, and Marcus has her usual bookcase tucked firmly under her arm at that. The lack of hostile creatures on the way has her breathing a deep sigh of relief, but Greta keeps her hand ready at her side despite looking otherwise unaffected by the pleasant change. Sarracenia's and Riku's more direct questions have Marcus sweating already despite not being asked anything herself, leaving Greta to approach Alina with a raised hand for a low-energy greeting. "Miss Alina. The situation has become quite tense as you can see, so we'd like to focus on those who were actually responsible for what happened. Have you heard anything of where the Darkmancer had last been seen, or those working for her?"
Arthur Lowell	> Arthur: Contain the Talerot For all that Arthur has talked up the issue of this infected book and this 'talerot' stuff, he hasn't exactly arrived in biohazard gear. Once, there was a girl who taught him to handle these books. But no protective gear guards you. No bright-yellow full-body suit would help you resist this, no mask would stop a particle of this. No agency or arm of any government ever released a protocol for this. He isn't even visibly armed. He's mostly silent on the way in. He's mostly tense on the walk over. His own black clothes are his robe, but more than ever it feels more like a worker's robe than something ceremonial. There are heavy gloves, and the red of the shoes is darker, on thicker boots. The hood is up. And his posture, it's so tense... > Arthur: Emphasize the weight of the situation "I'm here representing the <book club/audience/critics>." His words in shift oddly in the translation effect, cycling through similar semantic payloads. Old words picked up from performing Derse prince duties with that old friend who taught him how to solve cases like these, who had him endure the pain of shelving these hostile books. "You need to help us. This book, the <theater/collection of pages/game/UNTRANSLATABLE> wasn't made in good faith and there's a lot at risk. You might not have been able to <break character/improvise> before but I need you to do it now." > Arthur: Grill Alina a bit about the foundational details of things "I need to know your spell structure for accessing out-of-book spaces, if the Darkmancer made this then I need to know how it's structured so I can trace it." He mutters, pacing forward and gesturing emphatically at the surroundings. He's looking to get a proper understanding of how to track the true foe down, so if Alina has any spellbooks to help, any scrolls, even just a spell he can watch the shape of, it'll help. "And I need to know exactly how much <verisimilitude/UNTRANSLATABLE> this book has. The <narrative depth/personhood/reality> of the humans in the village, everything you can tell me about the princess under your care -- we need to resolve the third-act structure somehow." He's far more focused on her, for that question. Because he's dealt with enough Talerot to know it's never full-book, but he can't ever know who's on which page. Tensely, teeth gritting... "Tell me you're still on our team here."
Calvin Nash	Calvin arrives in uniform, bending the brim of his hat to Sarracenia in greetin when he enters the room. Calvin isn't willing to rule out the possibility that what happened was the story whipping back and reacting to the approach that was taken, even if he does still want to apprehend the Darkmancer. Arriving at the cabin, Calvin crosses his arms, looking expectantly at Alina without saying anything right away. Hell Biker: This oughta be good. Tell me you're still on our team here. "She answered, didn't she?" Calvin replies, ignoring the buzz of his COMP. Looking right at Alina, "And she looks like somebody that knows they messed up. Or," he says, more unkindly, "Maybe somebody that's sorry they got caught." "You gonna get the chance to prove which one it is, right now," he says, pointing at the ground. "How much of what you done was... 'the role of Alina,' and how much was 'the actor playin' Alina?' How much of a line is there between them two things?"
Angela	The Magical Girl of Love has been restored to her base form thanks to the power of love and hate and a real solid amount of violence. But Love doesn't really want to visit the Storybook World alone anymore--she feels she really messed things up--and when you feel like you've really messed things up, the solution for a magical girl is to go out and seek a friend's help. That's how it goes! And this means she has brought the Knight of Justice along with her, the giantess who wears a black and dark blue constellation patterned gown with stars in her hair. Hovering blades linger at her side, though the tips are pointed downward. Love seems as perky as she ever was--she's not someone who tends to linger in depression for long just as easy as it can be for her to fall into it. Neither have a TON to say before they get into the book because they've been involved long enough that they know what they're about here and what their goals are. Love doesn't seem eager to return to snake either. It seems like a lot of people here are willing to be a bit aggressive, stern, suspicious, and grumpy and putting down lines, but... Love immediately draws her staff and points it at Alina, Fairy of Light. "You better tell us everything you know or I'm going to start blasting!! In the name of Love and Justice!" Well she's going straight to threatening violence. "You got until I finish my cast to spill the beans, buster!" Luckily it's a pretty impractically long cast. Justice in the meanwhile is calmer, "Despair can be soothed with a truthful and open heart." But she's probably on her sister's side here.
Sarracenia	Riku: What does that mean, answer for crimes against the crown. Will she get a trial? It might be stupid to ask, but I want to make sure... this is a personal thing for you, so...' Sarra offers Riku a small smile of greeting when he arrives, then takes a deep breath at the question. It is a fair question. "There will be a trial, but I will not pretend it would not be weighted against her. If we find reason to suspect her. There would be little hard evidence to be had. Only whatever she says and what our magic investigators can find. I will still give her a chance to defend herself, though." Marcus: 'Do we have a starting place to begin tracking the darkmancer? Greta: 'What makes you believe Alina was involved? The investigators are greeted with a polite nod. Sarra again takes a breath and lets it out. "...I have no evidence that she was involved. However, it is highly suspicious that she was the one who summoned Gregory into her world. Why did she pull him and not me? She said it was so that she could build favor with him so that he could help convince me. But, what if it was part of a plan? It is not proof, merely a suspicion that we should address. As for a place to start...no. Right now, we have nowhere to start on tracking the Darkmancer other than the book itself. I suspect his vile energy will be infused into the entire book and world." As Arthur arrives, he is given a small smile as well. Calvin is given a nod of greeting. And Love...Love is given a large hug unless stopped. "I heard you were suffering greatly under the burden of what happened. Do not forget, we will bring those responsible to justice. And for what it is worth, I am quite fond of you." AT THE CABIN Alina shrinks away slightly at Sarra's words and flinches lightly at Riku's heated demand and Love's promise of violence. Greta, Arthur, and Calvin make a more even-toned pleas. Alina gives them all time to say what they will before she even tries to defend herself. She takes a deep breath before finally speaking. "...though it pains me greatly to admit it, I am an accomplice." Alina looks to Sarra. "I was given a choice. Pull the butler in, or face the destruction of the book and this entire world. Apparently only we light fairies can wield the magics needed to open such portals. At least...that is what I was told. " She looks to Riku next. "I do know where the dark fairy is. Or at least, where you are most likely to find her. There is a large swamp on the opposite side of the kingdom from this forest. It is the domain of the dark fairy, where she and others of her kind lived even before they were persecuted. It is where their magic is strongest. I have no doubt in my mind that you will find her there, somewhere. But, I cannot help you track her down. The threat to the princess is still very real. Even if the Darkmancer has revealed his plan, the dark fairy could resume her attack at any time. I will not leave this place until I know that the princess will be safe." She looks to Greta after. "I do not know where the Darkmancer resides, or if it is even within this world. If anyone might be able to connect you to him, it is Lila." Calvin: "You gonna get the chance to prove which one it is, right now, How much of what you done was... 'the role of Alina,' and how much was 'the actor playin' Alina?' How much of a line is there between them two things?' Alina offers a small, grateful smile to Calvin. "Only the part of the innocent fairy who's magic had been intercepted was an act. Everything else was real, even if it did play right into the Darkmancer's hands. The people really were in danger. The queen really had been killed, and the princess really was and is in danger. I suspect the king might be in danger himself now that the ruse has been exposed. It would be quite easy for Lila to resume her rule under the guise of the king, or present herself as another new queen."
Sarracenia	Arthur: Emphasize and Grill Alina seems unsure when confronted with questions and language relating to stories. "I cannot say for sure how we came to be in this world in this book, or how long it has existed. I did not even realize we were in a book until this terrible darkness invaded our world. I have no way to know if my memories were built over lifetimes or if I was created with them only for this purpose. But, I do not think the Darkmancer created this book or this world. If he had, I do not think I would have had to be coerced into helping him, or that I would feel so terrible now. The Darkmancer had been active here long before he suddenly came to demand that I kidnap the butler. As I said, this world is real to me and those people living here. I think perhaps he had been using this world as a source of power, much as Lila was in that kingdom. As far as I can tell, the people in that kingdom are real people living real lives within the bounds of this story. But...I do not know how to tell if that is true or if it merely appears that way." The door of the cabin suddenly opens ever so slightly. Alina turns suddenly. "Princess Talia! You should not do that!" Alina exclaims urgently, but the door continues to open. Alina continues to protest, but the door finally fully opens and a young lady probably barely of age steps out of the barrier. It ripples slightly around her, leaving her unharmed. She moves to stand beside Alina and takes the fairy's hand, and takes a deep breath as if she hasn't been outside in a long while. She has dark hair, pale white skin, and striking blue eyes, and despite apparently being under protection, in hiding, and wearing peasant clothing, is still wearing her crown. A crown not unlike Sarra's. She smiles uncertainly at those gathered. "I...do not know all of what has happened out here since I left the castle, but...Alina is a good person. She has done her best to protect me and my mother before me. Whatever she has done...I hope you will weigh it against what would have been lost and find it in your heart to forgive her."
Sarracenia	'Spell structure for accessing out-of-book spaces' Alina nods lightly at the request. "I will be happy to show you how the spell is structured. But, I am not sure how much help it will be. I do not believe the Darkmancer himself is able to cast the spell. That is why he needed me. Please, hold out your hand." Alina raises her wand and the star tipping it glows. She then brings it down to tap lightly on (presumably Arthur's) outstretched palm. There is a flash of light, then those pastel glowing sparkles that Alina seems to favor form into a scroll detailing the spell.
Riku Asakura	So the facts come in, and for Riku, they're about as bad as they can be. The light fairy was an accomplice to the Darkmancer, which leaves blood on her hands. Riku looks upset at this, but when she explains that she and the book were being held at literal gunpoint... well it's hard to stay mad at her, she wasn't doing it on her own choosing, but rather under duress. He takes a breath and calms down, trying to keep his head cool while he listens to Alina explain everything to them. At least she also gives them the location of the dark fairy, which he assumes was a lot more complicit in the Darkmancer's plan. Well, she was the one who transformed him, too, which probably led to Gregory's death directly. She's also very unlikely to come quietly. "Thank you for that..." he says, calmed down and less aggressive about things. He gives Love the side eye, just assuming she was going to try and scare Alina into talking, which doesn't need to happen now! What's more, with the initial plans of the dark fairy thwarted, it's likely more people are in danger now. It wasn't his place to forgive her, but to him he considers her actions justified, and there isn't anything they should do in this case. "How much of the plan did you know in advance? I mean to say... did you know they were going to kill Gregory?" When the Princess of the storybook comes out, Riku gives her a smile and bows towards her politely. "Hello, it's not like that, just some information we need about what happened to us, and trying to get to the bottom of the plot..." he looks at Sarracenia. What will she do? Will she still demand that Alina be brought in, or will she forgive her? It's a hard thing to do, he admits, and wonders if he has it in himself to forgive something like losing a dear friend.
Angela	Love is always happy to get hugs! She hugs Sarracenia! She doesn't really understand why but she figures she does owe Sarracenia for failing to rescue her butler, so she gets a hug. Sometimes even poison needs hugs. r''The explanation'' Love seems a little disappointed that Alina gave her what she asked for when what she really wanted to do was blast Alina to smithereens and is willing to help and everything. She is someone who is a little hesitant to trust in redemption without a magical girl battle or two happening first. "Why didn't you just ask us for real help when we were first here? Tell us the whole story?" Love asks suspiciously. ''Whatever she has done... I hope you will weigh it against what would have been lost and find it in your heart to forgive her.'' "Nope!" Love says, chirpy--and resolute? It's hard to imagine a word like resolute applying to Love, or even unbending. Maybe this is just one of those principles she can't bend on. "It is not us whom you have harmed, so we cannot forgive." Justice says. "At the end of the day, 'but we would have suffered' is no apology to those whom you have sold into misery and despair."
Storm Investigators	"No direct proof, but some amount of circumstantial evidence. I suppose we'll find our answers once we meet her." Greta nods slowly at Sarracenia once she gets her answer, letting out only the slightest of thoughtful noises to indicate that she's still thinking about it. "Let's hope she is cooperative once we get there. The more we can uncover about the plan, the better off we'll be on unraveling the rest." What neither Greta nor Marcus expect, however, is just how cooperative Alina turns out to be once she starts answering everyone's questions. The admission is particularly telling, and they listen closely to her explanations while jotting down notes every now and then as she goes. "I don't expect you to come with us, considering the circumstances surrounding your princess. If the Darkmancer may not be within this world, however, then perhaps our search should pivot towards Lila instead." "Lila... Oh. Then do you happen to know where we can find Lila, Miss Alina? And..." Marcus starts, pausing to look around at the rest of the Elites present apprehensively. She has an idea on how to verify whether or not Alina's telling the truth, but would Alina actually agree? Would anyone believe it even if she did? As she waffles on whether or not to even ask while her hand hovers over her lantern, someone new appears from the door, and the exchange between her and Alina reveals that this must be the missing princess! Noticing the similarity between the crowns she's seen most recently, Marcus takes a deep breath to steady herself, then... ... Glances over at Greta liike she's hoping for some kind of approval. Greta, not quite understanding her meaning just from looking at her, just gives her a curt nod of acknowledgment that ends up being enough for Marcus to speak up again. "Miss Alina. Princess Talia. Our main-well. Madam Hofmann's and my main priority is to stop the Darkmancer from hurting anyone else with this book. These... Books?" She pauses briefly, in case either of them can actually answer that. "Anything you can help us with locating Lila, and to counteract the Darkmancer's magic would be... Um. Very helpful. Showing us this spell especially..." Marcus continues, then trails off when Alina shows off that spell Arthur asks about to turn her Reading ability towards that. With any luck, she might be able to recognize some traces of that later. Greta, meanwhile, keeps her gaze focused on Lila and Alina while maintaining that indifferent expression she's had since arriving. "Neither of us were harmed, so we cannot speak to forgiveness or punishment. If Alina wishes to make amends, then helping us locate Lila despite the risk to Princess Talia may appear more genuine than directions and a scroll."
Arthur Lowell	> Arthur: Assess situation <J-IC-Scene> Arthur Lowell exhales a bit. "Alright. Rot's from an EDITOR, not a WRITER. Book's got a high VERISIMILITUDE, low MALLEABILITY. Should be DURABLE and we take the PEOPLE in it at FACE VALUE." <J-IC-Scene> Arthur Lowell says, "That's good, KINDA." <J-IC-Scene> Sarracenia says, "F-forgive me, but...a veri-what?" <J-IC-Scene> Justice says, "Realness." <J-IC-Scene> Sarracenia says, "Ah. Thank you." <J-IC-Scene> Arthur Lowell says, "Some BOOK-WORLDS, just a bunch'a THEME PARK RIDES. Makes it BAD when they get ROTTEN." <J-IC-Scene> Riku Asakura says, "You seem to know a lot about book worlds!" <J-IC-Scene> Marcus says, "Have you been to these kinds of worlds before, Mister Lowell?" <J-IC-Scene> Arthur Lowell says, "...Yeah." > Arthur: Remember her "Not right now." He mutters tensely under his breath. Then it's back to Alina, examining the scroll to get a feel, not for the spell, but for what the spell does to bridge the gap between the inside of the book and the outside. If these are script directions for stagehands or instructions for the printers, so to speak, then Arthur can derive key facts about the theater or the printing press. > Arthur: Get a feel for the narrative structure Carefully, he makes himself aware of the Arthur seems to start boundaries of pages, like a comic book character looking around in random peering out of his panel. He starts stepping directions, taking steps between the narrative contexts and frames. He's that don't have a clear not able to do what Alina does, but his absolute motive, and reaching and mastery of space gives him something to work with, grasping nothing at all, so he tugs aside this page of the story and moves until, at long last, it to the next, where Princess Talia introduces Princess Talia introduces herself. herself. > Arthur: Prompt them, tee up the flashbacks "I believe you." He says, to Talia. "I'm not here to punish people. I'm just here to fix what's broken. We have to move this story to its third act, and we have to finish it. You know that something's gone wrong. Not just you being cast out, I mean wrong wrong. Wrong in your gut." He looks to Alina as well. "I need you both to tell me exactly when, where, and how you started feeling the story of your lives stop making sense." > Arthur: Find the marks of editing Arthur starts a heavy, intensive analysis of the Arthur seems to go quiet pocket-dimension that makes up this book, trying to after that, eyes darting prompt both Alina and Talia to explain enough that around as if in intensive old narrative contexts will be brought up. Imagine a thought. Sometimes he dozen other panels, or flipping to other pages in leans strangely, as if he the story. That way, he can look for the marks of an might see the marks of an editor editor.
Calvin Nash	Only the part of the innocent fairy who's magic had been intercepted was an act. Alina's grateful smile is met with a hard stony gaze that softens only after an uncomfortable silence. "Aight," Calvin says with a sigh, looking away dragging a palm over his face in stress, rubbing his chin and then letting his hand fall to rest on his hip. He can't really be upset at someone who was held hostage--the situation is still frustrating, and his own feelings of culpability don't help either. "Okay." I do not know how to tell if that is true or if it merely appears that way. "It's true to you. That's enough of an answer for me. Arthur?" <J-IC-Scene > Arthur Lowell exhales a bit. "Alright. Rot's from an EDITOR, not a WRITER. Book's got a high VERISIMILITUDE, low MALLEABILITY. Should be DURABLE and we take the PEOPLE in it at FACE VALUE." <J-IC-Scene > Arthur Lowell says, "That's good, KINDA." Calvin nods and gives Arthur a thumbs-up. Whatever she has done...I hope you will weigh it against what would have been lost and find it in your heart to forgive her. "'Do it or I wipe this place out' ain't something most people will gamble on, if they think it's for real," Calvin says. "I understand that. But 'forgive' is somethin' the person that was wronged does. Not nobody else. Right now, what I'm worried about is keepin' more people from gettin' hurt just 'cause that peckerhead wants to prove a point. Anything else we'll come back to later." "So tell me what I need to know to track 'im down and stop 'im."
Sarracenia	Sarracenia takes in all of what Alina says with a small but steady frown. Princess Talia emerges, and Sarra curtseys politely as expected when meeting another royal. Her frown increases slightly at the plea from Talia. Riku looks at Sarra, and her eyes look to him a moment before back at Alina. Seems she is still deciding what she will do with Alina. The princess is not exactly known for forgiveness. Riku: 'Thank you for that...How much of the plan did you know in advance? I mean to say... did you know they were going to kill Gregory?'] Alina smiles sadly to Talia and gives her hand a squeeze, then looks down. "...I did not know specifically. I was not told the entire plan, only that I was to bring him here to lure Princess Sundew. But...it was hard to imagine that the Darkmancer intended for him to survive if his goal was to hurt the princess without killing her." Love: Nope! Justice: 'It is not us whom you have harmed, so we cannot forgive. At the end of the day, 'but we would have suffered' is no apology to those whom you have sold into misery and despair. Talia is caught off guard by the resolute but cheerful response from Love. Not sure how to take it, the princess lets out a small and uncertain laugh. Alina nods lightly at what Justice says. "Perhaps not. As for why I did not ask...I could not risk the future of this entire kingdom. The Darkmancer was watching at all times. Now that his plan has succeeded and the book is not in his physical possession, I think it is safe enough to bring all the details out into the open. I doubt he could destroy the book while it is being held by you and your allies." Greta: 'I don't expect you to come with us, considering the circumstances surrounding your princess. If the Darkmancer may not be within this world, however, then perhaps our search should pivot towards Lila instead.' Alina nods. "I do not believe he resides in this world. But, he must still be linked to it somehow. Otherwise, how could he have spoken to us even while the book was in your possession?" Marcus: 'Miss Alina. Princess Talia. Our main-well. Madam Hofmann's and my main priority is to stop the Darkmancer from hurting anyone else with this book. These... Books? Anything you can help us with locating Lila, and to counteract the Darkmancer's magic would be... Um. Very helpful. Showing us this spell especially...' Reading the scroll (in the scrying sense) would show that the scroll itself is conjured. Alina made it just so the party would have a written copy. But, it also give clues to where the spell had originally come from. They might be able to track it, either magically or just through normal detective work. That could tell them just where the Darkmancer is, or at least where he has been. Arthur: 'I believe you.' Talia offers the grateful smile this time, then both she and Alina ponder the question. When, where, how...did they even feel the story of their lives stop making sense? Talia lets out an exasperated sigh. "None of this has made sense at all since my mother became ill. Why did the people blame me? I have never displayed any magical talent at all beyond talking to animals, which is just a natural part of being a princess." Alina ponders a bit longer. "...'wrong wrong'. Out of place. A shift in what I expected..." Alina thinks for a few more moments. "...it was when Lila infiltrated the castle. It made little sense that she was suddenly powerful enough to overcome the balance between dark and light fairies, or that she would strike so long after the queen had freed her people. The queen freed the dark fairies and then passed away over 10 years ago, but Lila only infiltrated the castle and started draining the people a little over 1 year ago. Perhaps that is when the Darkmancer first infiltrated this world?" she says, then pauses. "...although that never made sense to me, either..."
Sarracenia	"...Why would the dark fairies only claim revenge on the one that had finally freed them and frame the princess?" Arthur, peering into the panels of the pages, might see that 10 years ago was the first edit. The book was supposed to be a happy ending with the light fairies, dark fairies, and people of the kingdom all finding balance and an appreciation for the others' talents. It seems the editing became more intensive a little over 1 year ago, right around the time that Sarra and Merelisa destroyed the Darkmancer's castle on that 'destined hero' scam world. Just how long had the Darkmancer had this book? Calvin: Alina's grateful smile is met with a hard stony gaze that softens only after an uncomfortable silence. "Aight," 'So tell me what I need to know to track 'im down and stop 'im.' The smile, already small, fades at the long stony gaze. She eventually looks down and away from him, the gaze raising up her own feelings of guilt. "I do not know what else I can offer. I have told you all I know and given over the only thing I have which could possibly lead to the Darkmancer." she says, looking over at the scroll. He reinforces the others' assertion that they have no room to forgive her. It seems they have agreed that the only forgiveness she might get is from Sarra. And Sarra has been silent since Alina first started talking. She has just been listening, barely looking at Alina, petting the deer idly as she lets everything sink in. There were several moments where the Sundew princess got obviously angry, but she didn't say anything. Finally though, she does. "...I will reserve judgement until we find the Darkmancer and bring him down. But, make no mistake..." Sarra turns her face to Alina. "...you had a hand in taking my most beloved butler and friend from me. Even if you possibly spared hundreds including Princess Talia by doing so." Sarra lets that hang for a few moments, then turns back to the deer. "...there was no choice. I think most anyone with a caring heart in such a situation would make much the same decision. It has clearly taken its toll on you. Perhaps that is enough. That you will have to live with it for what I am assuming is an immortal life." Sarra's voice turns more dangerous. "...that is also assuming the information you have given us is accurate and helpful. If it is neither one nor both of those things...I will return with my soldiers."
Riku Asakura	She also admits that the potential for harming Gregory was there from the beginning, and she knew much of what the Darkmancer wanted to have happen to Sarracenia. He takes a breath, because it's honest at least, but also reveals that she is far from innocent in this. He really doesn't know what he would have done in her place either. It's hard to put yourself in another's shoes. He's also not sure what Arthur's doing, but something weird is going on. It's outside of his expertise, so he just lets the gamer do what he's doing and doesn't bother him. He seems to know what he's doing. Others have ideas of where and how to track down the Darkmancer, and are putting the details and answers together. He's a little jealous of these kinds of abilities because he only has one thing he can do, and right now, it's not very helpful. "We know where the Dark Fairy is... she might know the exact whereabouts of the Darkmancer. At the very least, she shouldn't be let off the hook for what her part in this is..." he says towards Calvin. To Sarracenia, he watches her intently, waiting to see what she'll do. When she finally makes her decision and admits to the impossibility of the decision Alina was forced to make, he smiles supportively at her. There wasn't anything left to say, because she had said it. Though her follow-up causes his smile to waver slightly. It's good to see that Sarracenia still has her old self there. That and bringing her guards wouldn't be unreasonable if Alina was lying or not disclosing something to them.
Angela	"You were unaware the book was in our posession when we first arrived?" Justice frowns. That doesn't exactly make sense to her, how would they have been 'lured into' the book without having the book? But she can suppose that in an afeared mind, one can't really take such risks so lightly, but it still feels a bit of a reach. Sometimes it's hard to find people you get to Hate so cleanly. And so Love is often thankful for those whom hold her ire because it means she gets to be a little more real than when she's just fighting for one thing. She's Love and Hate, after all, and sometimes it's hard when people only get to see one side of you. Love does lower her staff though when Sarracenia seems to come to an understanding. It would feel a little silly to hold a grudge harder than the person it would hurt most, but as Justice said--it wasn't really ever going to be ''their'' choice. "So what next?" Love asks.
Arthur Lowell	> Arthur: Get a piece of the edit from a year ago Arthur steps out of the narrative frame, or Arthur turns away from Alina past the boundaries of a panel, or out of a and Talia to resume his screen, or beyond, temporarily, the limits of weird wander. At one point where one ought to be on a page. Then he looks he turns back and says, back, at nothing. "You're right." He says to "You're right." The purpose nobody in particular, wherever he is. It's of his motions is a bit certainly not time-travel, nor precisely unclear, but they seem to space-travel, but it's a form of in-depth have some kind of meaning. analytical navigation of a pocket universe. He He notices something, pushes around the narrative they bring up, leaning to examine it... He identifies what was meant to be, and sees where seems to find what he was timelines were adjusted, then extrapolated looking for? Maybe. "He forward. "He could only tune the story, not could only tune the story, bend it." not bend it." That's good, thank goodness. The rot should be He hunches down, just small. Simple to deal with. Rummaging around words, sort of shoving his gently pushing lines of dialog and bricks of hands into a pile of literal setting-building aside, he starts finding dirt with no clear the divisions between the ink of the modification purpose. "Ink's dry, and the ink of the core of the narrative. "Ink's years old. Just have to dry, years old. Just have to pull at least one pull at least one chunk chunk free..." He severs a few lines cleanly, free..." He mutters, punctuates a few things. He cuts a few clauses pinching pieces, tugging off-- you know how it is. When it's done, he gets a roots out of soil. Then good solid grip, and pulls. he pulls. > Arthur: Pull. With a horrible sound, like paper tearing, amplified a thousand times, he rips a piece free.
Arthur Lowell	It's a chunk of solidified story-ink, one tiny fragment of intrusive worldstuff/wordstuff ripped from the foundations of this pocket dimension. "He's been FUCKIN' WITH THIS PLACE for a LONG TIME. Looks like he DIVERTED a SPECIAL PROJECT to just pure NASTYGRAM." Arthur says, getting up from having fallen on his ass in the process. "Someone get this stuff some FORENSICS, then get it BACK TO ME. Should have something to TRACK THAT MOTHERFUCKER. Y'know PIGMENTS is DIFFERENT in PLACES. There's LOTS OF INKS or something. I dunno, MI--" Halt. He restarts. "I used to have SOMEONE to FIGURE THAT OUT." He says. This thing looks so unnerving. It is a piece of lettering somewhere. It can't not be unsettling to handle a piece of the firmament of reality. "I don't think that ASSHOLE left a MAILING ADDRESS or whatever, even though it looks like he's been FANFICTIONING this thing for TEN YEARS. But if we follow INK LIKE THIS we can find where his EDITS are all CONCENTRATED." A deep breath as he dusts his hands off. "That'll be DARK FAIRY LILA." Hope someone's got a good feel for scanning, tracing, or otherwise tracking by way of sample. Bet his prints are all over this, or whatever.
Storm Investigators	"Otherwise, how could he have spoken to us even while the book was in your possession?" "Unless he is capable of speaking to you remotely, then..." Greta starts, pauses, then shakes her head a moment later. "We can't rule that possibility out, either. Such an ability would prove invaluable for relaying information to his co-conspirators in this world, if he knew that we were pursuing such leads without him being present. In which case..." She closes her eyes briefly in thought, then goes quiet entirely. >Alina provides a scroll copy! With the scroll in front of her, Marcus wastes little time in Reading it, and she starts writing down all sorts of stuff in her notepad before hastily passing it to Greta a few moments later. "This should do it... We can follow the Darkmancer's trail with this." "Good observations. Even the Spider Tail could be enough to differentiate this from others' magic use." "What if we find other magic nearby? Um. Multiple times?" "We'll worry about that if we see it, but it's worth keeping our eyes open for that." "Not right now." Although Marcus doesn't quite catch what Arthur murmurs, she does look over at him briefly. The confusion is pretty clear, but she's content to just kind of look at him with mild concern instead of actually approaching or asking further. "Why did the people blame me?" "You were in the wrong place at the wrong time. If you didn't have the right magical talent, you did not do enough to protect your people. If you did have the right talent, you should have done more." Greta answers in a very matter-of-fact tone. "To them, and for the world put together here, you would be the most obvious figure to blame if things didn't go perfectly." "...that is also assuming the information you have given us is accurate and helpful." Greta and Marcus exchange knowing looks as Sarracenia levels that more direct threat at Alina, and they both step away to look at a particularly interesting piece of the floor while they whisper to each other all conspiratorial-like. "Should I?" "It would resolve the Princess' doubts immediately, but.." "But...?" "She is unpredictable. Impulsive. If Alina truly is lying to us and the Princess strikes her down, we lose our most direct lead and any pretense of having allies here beyond who we came with." "Someone get this stuff some FORENSICS, then get it BACK TO ME." Hearing Arthur's call for forensics, Marcus also has something else to focus on besides whether or not to use her Reading ability for other purposes! "Different pigments and inks? I... I can help, Mister Lowell." She offers, approaching him with just a bit of apprehension when she realizes he's pulled a page off the book. "Is that the book we are...?" She starts to question, then turns her focus instead to the page itself. "May I?" Marcus instead asks properly, already holding her lantern up to shine her light towards it. She's ready to give it a good Read with her ability as well. Between analyzing the pigments and the handwriting, Marcus is already trying to see if the changed parts were all done by a single person or multiple writers. "If I can find a pattern on what changes were made... Yes, finding the specific edits should be simpler as well. And if there's any magical residue, maybe that can isolate which traces we should follow back, too?"
Sarracenia	Sarra notices Riku watching her at some point, her one good eye focusing on him with blazing blue over her shoulder for a few moments before returning to the deer. Though the threat of soldiers leaves both Alina and Talia a bit shaken, they both seem relieved when Sarra seems to imply that she will not seek retribution on Alina. "Thank you, Princess!" Talia says happily. Alina bows low. "I swear on my immortal life that the information I have provided is true. Thank you, Princess Sarracenia." All three end up staring at Arthur as he does whatever he is doing, and all three yelp in surprise when he rips -something- out of the world. Weren't those roots he was pulling on? And yet it is actually... "Ink?! Are you pulling apart the book -while we are inside it-?!" Sarra exclaims, alarmed. That sounds dangerous, after all. Alina seems less alarmed and more surprised and intrigued. "Are you...able to restore our world to what it was?" she asks. Justice: 'You were unaware the book was in our posession when we first arrived?' Alina shakes her head. "I cannot truly see beyond the book except when casting the portal spell. And even then, all I could see was a room. How could I know if that room was somewhere the Darkmancer could reach or not? Even now, I am not entirely sure. But, it feels like his influence is weakened. He may have tried to sever his control once he had accomplished his goal. Which is why I feel the threat is not enough to continue protecting him. I hope you are able to bring him to justice." Love: 'So what next? Sarra looks over at Love. "Next, we find Lila. She will not be treated nearly so kindly as Alina. While Alina seems to be an unwilling accomplice, Lila was aiding the Darkmancer to gain power and cause strife. After that, we find the Darkmancer and...well, let us just say I may not stop you from using...what is it? Arcane Slave? ...on either of them. ...why is it called that, by the way? Is it not a beam of destruction?" Talia: 'Why did the people blame me?' Greta: 'To them, and for the world put together here, you would be the most obvious figure to blame if things didn't go perfectly.' Sarracenia adds, "We also found that the magic she had cast had somewhat mind-controlled the populace into blaming you specifically instead of the king and queen. That way, they would not rise up against her and instead would take you if it came to that. That is also why I was attacked when we arrived and the story put me in the role of the princess." Marcus and Arthur start working out more details about how they might track down the Darkmancer, and Sarracenia and Alina both pay more attention. Talia meanwhile approaches the great stag that Sarra has been petting and smiles to Sarra as she also pets the deer. "...I...I know it is of little comfort, but...what happened to your Gregory...he died a hero in my eyes. Without him, you would not have come. And without you, the powerful and heroic princess from another world, my kingdom might never have been freed." Sarra stiffens. "...do not thank me. Even if your people were saved, I failed him." she says, then pulls her hand away from the deer. "...I suppose this majestic deer was your friend before he was mine. I will not ask him to accompany me back. It was...nice to meet you, Princess Talia." Sarra says, then without saying anything else starts just...walking back to the cave.
Arthur Lowell	> Arthur: Are you able to restore everything? "I..." Arthur exhales a bit there, rubbing his face. "I don't know. I used to be able to say, you know, sure. These... Mmmh. I can get you back on track. I can make things make sense again. I can't put everything back that got lost, anymore." Arthur struggles not to think of her again. After all, if he could restore a story like that, he'd have long since already... Well, Marcus is underway on analysis. Should be able to trace things. First to Lila, and then beyond.
Riku Asakura	When Sarracenia notices him looking at her, he gives her a soft smile. There wasn't anything else to say about what she did today, but it seems to have his approval. If not, his amazement in handling the situation so well. Instead, he starts walking back with her until he realizes what Arthur does. He stares at him for a moment, amazed and terrified that he just ripped a page out of the book they are currently in, like he was doing it from a book in his hands. "Wow, that was amazing, Arthur..." he lets out before Marcus comes over to start using her arcane power on it to try and track down the Darkmancer. "Yeah, to Lila, after that we track down the Darkmancer."