A Fragment of Truth [Solo | Celestial Arms II Part I/II]

[Icyferno]

Status: Healthy / Rested

~

What was the first thing he did, upon his narrow escape? Of course, it was to find the Dossier Sage which set him upon this whole quest in the first place, his hands eager to grasp the collar of that cloak and lift the poor Sage up to find the salvation he or she probably desired. He had not discarded the pebble, of course; it was far too queer to try and blend it in within the random stones around Londinium, that was assuming he could even throw it away in the first place. Sure, he could take it out of his inventory, but it seemed glued to his hand. Was this the system's way of saying items could not be junked? Damn it, system. Why are you making life so hard? Anyway, he felt unsettled having this rock stuck to him like it was a lover clinging on to the last chance of seeing their beloved (not that he would ever have someone who would act that way towards him anyway), so the only course of action was to, of course, bring it to the person who started it all. The Sage of the Unknown Gender.

From where he was situated at the gates of Londinium, it took more than a few minutes to get to the Sage. He had gotten there the first two times by luck, and he only remembered the general direction of the place. Some wandering around soon led him to the place he sought, though. And as he approached, the Dossier Sage took a few steps back, as though sensing that the Swashbuckler was going to wrangle the life out of him.

"Y-You! I sense power enamating from you! What did you find in the temple?" He thought People of the Land could read status bars to find names. Apparently not, it seems.

"Not much, actually. I just found a pebble guarded by a abominable fusion of crab and human called Brachyura, and now the pebble seems to be stuck to me like it was glued on." Just a few more meters to before the Sage gets in range of his hands...

Now the Sage looked dumbstruck. Or at least, the Sage's posture indicated dumbstruck, because that damned hood was still on. "Brachyura! The one sent to steal the power of the pebble! He who belongs to th-"

The Sage was in range. The Adventurer, not mindful of the throngs of people still around him, some just picking up their rods of blinding light, gripped the cloak of the Sage and lifted the person up.

~

Word count: 431
Total word count (Swashbuckler): 431 x 1.1 = 474.1
Notes: Post 1 of 2 for part I of the Celestial Arms II Questline.

[Icyferno]

Status: Healthy / Rested

~

He was happy, for a brief second. He would finally know the mystery. The hood fell away, and the light of the sun revealed the secrets which lay beneath.

He was greeted by a feminine face which could pass for a man's, and a clean head devoid of hair save for eyebrows and eyelashes. There were probably some nostril hairs as well.

Sadly, this was not conclusive evidence in determining the gender of the Sage. Must he do the immoral and strip the Sage of clothing to find the truth? What if the Sage had no genitals?

As his head swarmed with confusion, the Sage managed to free himself, or herself, and dusted off their robes without so much as changing expression, which was the one of shock when he mentioned Brachyura. "Brachyura was known to be lurking around Ultima Thule to steal the Pebble of Philosophy! How did you manage to kill him?"

Man, this person was strange. Did not even seem to notice being lifted. Still, knowing something of Sages from his old world, he assumed this Sage to be an acolyte; not a full Sage, but tasked with convincing Adventurers to do their dirty work for them. "Easy, I escaped with the rock. Brachyura's probably still raging over at Ultima Thule. What's so special about this rock that a crab would want it?" Wriggling his arm which still held the stone, he asked a question hoping to get some answers.

"The Pebble of Philosphy! Of course! It is condensed anima in its purest form, collected from a civilization of the past!" At this point, the Sage was rambling on in excitement. The Sage then continued to rattle on about theories on the significance of the Genius Brachyura wanting the stone. While waiting for the ramblings to end, he probed a question about the Genius, in general, twirling the stone in his hand in boredom.

"... oh, and not to forget the elusive Genius simply known as The Red!"

Wait, The Red? The thing he was looking for because of the huge scandal?

He suddenly leaned forward, finally interested in what the Sage had to say. In a slow, serious tone, he spoke. "What do you know of The Red? I want everything you have on him!"

Surprised by the sudden change in tone, the Sage did manage to quell themselves long enough to continue. "The Red, is, um, good at hiding! The first sighting occured at the same time as the Banquet of Revolution! It destroyed an entire town!"

Oh, he just noticed that all the grandeur of an NPC Sage was now gone, and replaced with the excitement of a teenage kid fantasizing about their favorite series. Definitely just an acolyte. But this acolyte did give him some good information. The huge scandal involved an a banquet as well. They could be related. He filed the information away for future use.

"Okay, but after all that, what am I supposed to do with the pebble? Surely its more than an ornament."

"The cuneiform! The cuneiform will probably a clue. Could I examine it again?" Digging into his inventory, he noted that there was an indent which he did not notice before. Hmm, looked similar to the shape of the pebble. Curiously, he slotted it in.

Then the world spun, and he felt no more.

~

Word count: 557
Total word count (Swashbuckler): ( 431 + 557 ) x 1.1 = 1086.8
Notes: Post 2 of 2 for part I of the Celestial Arms II Questline.

[Icyferno]

Status: Healthy / Rested

~

The enveloping darkness hugged his very being, covering all five of his senses, leaving him with only his mind for company. A split moment later, the feeling was gone, and he felt solid ground beneath his feet again.

But something was off, the air seemed different, and when he opened his eyes once more, he was no longer in Londinium. At least, he was not out in the open anymore. He did hear arguing though, so he was not alone.

He took in the sight of a small room, and the first thing he noticed were people. People of the Land, probably, and working with the military, judging from their uniforms. The insignias on their shoulders signified a fairly high rank, or at least looked the part. They were arguing over a square wooden table which dominated the room, a torch hanging directly over from the ceiling to light the contents of said table. There was a map spread out on it, though he could not make out its contents as his view was blocked by the military men. The rest of room was fairly basic, with maps strewn all over tables against the walls, several swords sticking out of a wooden crate by the red wooden door which was the only exit out of the room, and cabinets of other papers. He wondered what they did for ventilation here. It sure was stuffy though.

For some reason, the military men did not notice him. Might as well take the opportunity to listen in on their argument. Taking a few steps, he hopped onto one of the tables.

And fell right through.

He tumbled to the ground, confused. Wait, so he could phase through things now? Was he a ghost? Why can't he go through the ground then? Could he fly up instead?

For a moment, he tried getting out through the doors, the walls, attempting to fly, but it was all for naught. On the bright side, he heard a bit of the argument, so he had gained some insight.

That he was not supposed to be here. Rather, it should not be possible for him to here since this was not his timeline.

~

Word count: 365
Total word count (Swashbuckler): ( 431 + 557 + 365 ) x 1.1 = 1488.3
Notes: Post 1 of 2 for part II of the Celestial Arms II Questline.

[Icyferno]

Status: Healthy / Rested

~

If one were to listen to the last line of his inner thoughts, one would be confused as to how he ended up at that conclusion. It was like declaring a new invention without trail tests to know that the invention works as intended. While it was true that the clues from the argument was obvious, the argument itself was not the deciding factor; truthfully, the argument was simply all about the military deploying a contingent of troops to some area in the defence of a Fairy Gate. A betrayal left them vulnerable, and the Fairy Gate was an ancient travelling relic too previous to leave in the hands of enemies.

There was a Fairy Gate at Londinium too, and it was currently under investigation by some of the Adventurers to examine the feasibility of reliably contacting Adventurers across the server, or over servers, if possible. Nothing is certain, which means the possibility that multiple timelines, or paralel worlds, exists. It was possible the stone transported him elsewhere, where he was clearly interuppting a private military conversation in all his ghostly glory, and would probably make the Landers regret not investing in ghostbusters services.

It was the map that told him all he needed to know. The area displayed was Avon Valley, though it was listed under a different name. And the Fairy Gate they sought to defend was none other than where the Purple Mirror Mansion currently stands. Given that the technology to create Fairy Gates was lost with the Alvs of old, there was only one conclusion.

He was peering into the past. Oh, and now he also needs to demand why the Trickster's Mansion site lies over what was once a Fairy Gate. Unless the house was the gate itself. Perhaps it was constructed over the gate?

As the gears in his mind spun that conclusion, however, a cold feeling washed over him. When he blinked, he was staring at the curious face of the Sage.

"What happened? You sort of blanked out there." A concerned Sage voiced a message of worry as the Swashbuckler processed the information he just got.

He needed to go back to the Mansion. Perhaps he missed something while dodging the slendermen.

He hefted the stone in his hand, not noticing when it got out of the stone blob. "I'm keeping this," he told the Sage. "And I think I've gotten a lead on where to go next. Is there anything else I need to know before I go?"

"But where are you going? Surely a trip down to the libraries of the Dossier Sages should be more productive." More like, the Sage acolyte just wanted more time to study the stone, but he did not say it out loud.

"Where am I going? I'm going to visit of the house of the bastard who owes me some personal time."

~

Word count: 478
Total word count (Swashbuckler): ( 431 + 557 + 365 + 478 ) x 1.1 = 2014.1
Notes: Post 2 of 2 for part II of the Celestial Arms II Questline.