"Please.... please.... please end it."

A woman in white speaks to you. You find yourself in a theater. It is strange you don't remember entering this place.

You are sitting in the stands as the woman stands on stage holding a large book. She is staring straight at you so it can't be questioned she is speaking to you.

"Please.... I beg of you..."

Her eyes are filled with a sense of sadness and despair. Her body itself seems on the verge of giving out and collapsing to the ground.

"Please end this tale of magic and reality."

Last edited at 14/03/06(Thu)23:03:11

I try to remember this person. "What is the meaning of THIS?"

Last edited at 14/03/06(Thu)23:07:50

You try to recall her identity but nothing comes to mind at all that would reveal who it is. Rather it seems like she is everyone and yet no one at the same time. As if the possibilities for her identity are endless.

"You're the only one I can rely on. You must end this horrid farce. The one behind all this keeps repeating this tale for their amusement. Please... I can't stand to watch it anymore. Please expose the one behind this."

Somehow you get the idea that another problem has appeared to add to your list of things you need to do.

"You're the only one who I can ask this task of, Dlanor of the Ten Wedges. You who exist on both plains, reality and fantasy."

I consider telling her that all requests should go through official channels in the Great Court, but something about the way she looks stops me just short.

"Very WELL. What is that that you REQUIRE?"

She looks relieved after hearing your response.

"Thank you. I was so worried you'd turn down my request."

She looks on the verge of tears.

"I've been forced to forever remain her being the reader who constantly gets shown this tale."

She pauses for a moment.

"My identity is Clair."

She opens the book in her hand and begins to read aloud. As she does the space behind her begins to fluctuate and change shape as if it was alive. An image begins to be reflected on it, it is of the island Rokkenjima.

"Please step through the portal, it will only remain open while I read."

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Before I even step through the portal, I start to regret my decision. I'm meant to follow bureaucracy and regulation, not unquestioningly oblige strange requests.

Still, as I feel the portal meld around me, I know it's too late it turn back now.

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"Beware the plains around you. This world is in constant fluctuation with neither side refusing to allow the other to become dominate."

"Please hurry, you must put a stop to the one who is repeating this tale."

You hear these words as the world around you vanishes, but you can't really understand their true meaning.

I try to gain my bearings.

You find yourself waking up with a massive headache. Traveling by portal always did have consequences.

You look around you to try and get a sense of your surroundings. You are in front of a very large mansion.

"Welcome to Rokkenjima."

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I check to see if I have presence in the world by removing a flower from the garden. Then, I look around the area to check if there are any people around. If there aren't, I walk towards the mansion.

Last edited at 14/03/06(Thu)23:55:30

You grasp one of the roses despite the torn and tear it from the bush.

You look around and notice someone staring at you with an annoyed expression. The Golden Witch Beatrice stands before you.

"More interested in the roses than me? Or perhaps you just didn't hear me. No matter, welcome to my little world, a world where magic and reality exist at the same time. You're one of the gifted ones, in that you exist in both plains. So we can talk like this without any trouble, but then you could go an interact with humans just the same. While us of this plain have to worry about resistance. I'm kind of jealous."

She pouts a little before letting out a laugh. "Oh well it won't be long before all of us on this side will be like you. Soon the resistance will be a thing of the past. But in the mean time if you ever want to talk to us on this side you'll have to do it when no human is around."

You are beginning to understand a little bit of what Clair meant by both plains existing at the same time and being of both plains.

"It is good to see you, Beatrice-sama," I say. I do a short, polite curtsy. "Am I correct in assuming that I will act as a visitor on your ISLAND?"

Last edited at 14/03/07(Fri)00:12:09

"Hoh, trying to act all polite Dlanor killer of witches. Well it doesn't matter to me, I don't have much interest in you, so you're welcome to do whatever you want. I don't know why you are here, nor do I care. Just so long as you don't get in my way of releasing the barrier that keeps us on this side."

"You seem to have some idea as to what to expect. I recommend you cast those assumptions aside, this is a special tale crafted with completely different intentions than other games. Characters how they act and their backgrounds might be different than how you remember. We are of a different story than you are used to, as I explained this kakera is far different from the ones you may be used to."

"Dlanor-sama! Please allow me to speak."

You turn around at the sound of voices and see your two subordinates.

"We're here to assist you in anyway we can. Using our powers to seal off areas we can monitor areas if you assign us to an area. Just ask us and we'll be glad to serve."

Last edited at 14/03/07(Fri)00:25:02

I ask Cornelius and Gertrude if there's are any noticeable differences about the layout of the island compared to standard game boards. I ask if they're aware of any knowledge about the board's contents or significance.

After hearing their answers, I make a few actions and observations:

-- I observe the weather. The height, formation, and color of the clouds and the strength of the wind. Basically, whether or not rain appears imminent or if it is already raining.

-- Using the position of the sun in the sky, I ascertain the approximate time of day.

-- Whether or not I can see the garden shed anywhere. If I can't, I wander around the rose garden and attempt to look for it.

They inform you that upon a glace at the island it seems to have the same layout as any other Rokkenjima. The other question they provide no worthwhile answer to.

You determine that while it is not raining presently, it seems to be gearing up for a powerful storm, but right now it is calm.

You don't even need to look at the sun to tell what time of day it is. Everything around you is covered with an orange/red glow, it is clear that it is evening.

You can not see the garden shed from your current location. You wander around the garden looking for it and trying to get a gasp of the general area. After some time you find the garden shed, the shutter is closed, there appears to be no one near by.

I attempt to open the garden shed.

It is locked. What kind of crazy people would leave their shed unlocked, even on an island with no one but them? Wild alpacas could still things after all.

I consider breaking the window, but such behavior would probably seem suspicious. I accept my loss and head towards the mansion's front door, looking for any people along the way.

You arrive at the front door, still not seeing anyone. You wonder if you're the only person on this whole island.

I knock on the front door. If I turn out to be the only person on this island, then all the better. My experience with interacting with ordinary humans amounts to about none. Regardless, I have to try until I figure out what is expected of me.

Last edited at 14/03/08(Sat)15:25:39

You wait for a little while before the door slowly opens and a maid with a confused expression on her face appears in the doorway.

She just stares at you for a while before realizing she was being rude and quickly corrects her unprofessional behavior.

"I-I'm sorry, forgive me for staring, but it was just such a surprise to hear someone knock on the door. At first I honestly thought I'd imagined it. Welcome to Rokkenjima the island owned by the Ushiromiya family, I'm Shannon a servant of the family."

"Hello, I am Dlanor A. Knox, Chief Inquisitor of Eiserne Jungfrau and Archbishop of the High Council of Heaven. It is nice to meet your acquaintance."

It takes me a moment before figuring that I might have considered lying.

"Chief of Heaven? What? Does that mean you're an angel?"

"...My apologies. I must have been floating in the ocean for too long. My cognitive abilities are not fully functional. There was a...shipwreck. I believe I was in an accident."

I'm not accustomed to lying, so the words come out rigidly, but it's the best I can come up with on the spot.

"Oh no that is horrid! Hurry come inside."

Shannon gestures you to come inside, it doesn't seem to occur to her that if you had in fact been in a shipwreck your clothes would probably be wet, luck for you.

I follow Shannon inside and take note of anything of interest in the main hall.

"Excuse me, what is the date?"

The main hall is one huge room with a staircase leading up to the second floor, two hallways connect to the main hall. A large chandelier hangs high above your head.

The room is pretty barren, there is an end table against a wall with a vase full of roses, probably picked from the garden.

One thing that stands out is that there is a large portrait of Beatrice the Golden Witch against one of the walls.

"Today's date?" Shannon questions your question. "Why it's the 3rd of October."

The 3rd of October. Not the 4th. This simple change troubles me, although I can't say why.

"Thank you for your assistance," I say. "Under normal circumstances I would give you contact information to my family, but I can not seem to remember it."

She lets out a gasp. "You have amnesia too!? You're not injured from the shipwreck are you? We should have our doctor Nanjo look over you."

"I do not believe that I am injured. Perhaps if I just have some rest, I will come back to myself."

"I understand. Allow me to escort you to the Master."

Shannon suddenly becomes more composed and professional. You also hear the sound of footsteps down one of the hallways.

I look towards the origin of the footsteps.

You see an older woman entering the main hall. She notices you right away and comes over. "Oh are you the help sent over to help with the cleaning Ohohoho~"

"I don't believe so," I say. Then again, perhaps that is my role on this game board. I didn't consider that I could already have a back-story planned out for me. Did I just get caught in a lie?

"Oh really, are you my replacement then?"

"No?"

Is she toying with me? I can't tell.

"Ohohoho~ That's a shame and here I was thinking I could retire. My lumbago has been acting up again you see, but the Madame refuses to believe me. Hohoho~ just because I use that excuse about once a week to take a nap in the VIP room."

Last edited at 14/03/08(Sat)18:37:37

"...I see."

I turn to the portrait of Beatrice. I know who she is, but this feels like the part of the game where I should ask this question. "Who is that?"

"Ohoho~ That is Beatrice the true ruler of this island."

She takes out something from per pocket and shows it to you.

It is a ruler with the name Beatrice painted on it.

"See Beatrice is the ruler of this island."

I don't laugh. Does she keep a ruler with the word 'Beatrice' painted on it just for the offhand chance that a situation like this would come up?

"I see. Shannon-san, you said something about taking me to your master?"

Last edited at 14/03/08(Sat)22:24:43

Shannon doesn't join in on the old maid's laughter instead she looks upset, but she shrugs it off when she hears you address her.

"T-That's right! Come right this way." Shannon proceeds down one of the hallways and beckons you to follow her.

"Ohohoho~ I'm just have a little fun. Laughter helps keep you alive, if I wore a sour face all the time I might be dead by now."

"In all seriousness, you need to beware Beatrice, she is passive to those that respect her, but if you displease her she will take action, fortunately the mirror and the shrine on the island help keep her darkness at bay. Though she isn't evil, just playful."

"I understand," I say. "I have a question. Who is on this island besides myself? I would like to be prepared if we should run into anyone else."

Last edited at 14/03/08(Sat)23:06:17

"Ohohoho~ Didn't you know this island is filled with demons. They roam this whole island. But the shrine and the mirror in the shrine keep them at bay. Aside from those who rule the night, the Ushiromiya family rules the day."

"I'm certain that I can defend myself against any demons," I tell Kumasawa. "Could you please retrieve a glass of water for me? I'm feeling lightheaded."

"Oh right away, I'll be right back."

The old woman leaves to fulfill your request. You notice you are now alone in the room, Shannon appears to have not realized you stopped. You still remember which hallway she went down if you want to follow her, and Kumasawa went down the other if you want to stay in touch with her.

I start walking in the opposite direction of wherever Kumasawa just went.

You enter the hallway and walk and walk, but you see no sign of Shannon or anyone else, it is as if she just vanished.

Since I seem to be able to summon other magical beings, I try to summon Claire.

You hear a voice coming from somewhere laughing at you. "Clair is the reader. One who observes can't enter the story. The mother who reads a storybook can't rewrite the story while reading. But let's see what you want. I might just entertain what you want. Can't have a challenge if no one is trying to oppose me, so what is it you want 'Clair's Piece.'"

"Who am I speaking WITH?" I ask. "I do not wish to address one without a NAME."

"So sorry, but you're in my world now. I make the rules of this endless story. If you want to know who I am, come and try to seek me out. But since you need a name to address me by, you can call me The Puppet-master. I am the one behind the curtain you could say, the one Clair wants you to expose and take down. So you could say we are enemies."

I decide to take a swing.

"You gave me supernatural allies who have already supplied me with INFORMATION." I take out my red longsword. "Knox's 2nd. It is forbidden for supernatural agencies to be employed as a detective TECHNIQUE."

I slash the air in front of me, hoping to strike.

Last edited at 14/03/09(Sun)00:28:12

Since there is nothing actually in front of you, you just swing around wildly at the air.

The voice taunts. "Your wedges mean nothing to me, not while you're in my world."

"But since you don't want me around I'll leave you be to wander aimlessly trying to seek out my identity while I laugh on the inside."

The voice fades from your mind.

I walk around aimlessly until I come across someone or something of interest. I check each door along the way. If I find the kitchen, I stop there.

You find mostly rooms that hold no importance you believe, but among them your search you find yourself entering the dinner room, where two people are currently eating. Your entrance surprises them.

"What? Who? Who are you?" The woman seems to be having trouble speaking from surprise.

"Master. Madame." You notice Shannon also in the room. "This is Dlanor, she was in a shipwreck and managed to make it here to Rokkenjima."

"My apologies," I say. "I was following Shannon-san and I somehow lost track of her."

I offer a curtsy.

"That's terrible." The man seems to feel for your situation.

"You're such a polite woman." The woman takes notice of your politeness. "I'm sure you'd like to contact someone and tell them you're okay."

"I would," I pretend to agree. "But I can't seem to recall any contact details. I seem to be going through a period of memory loss."

Lying seems to be coming more and more naturally to me. Without the use of red, humans seem easy to deceive.

"That's unfortunately, you must be hungry." The woman gestures to one of the open chairs. "Why don't you join us for dinner. Shannon please set another plate."

She seems to be somewhat pushy about wanting you to join them.

I sit down. It's best not to make waves at this point of time. I remember that I'm supposed to be searching for the mastermind of this operation, but I have no idea how to do that.

"Who else is on this island of yours? I seem to keep meeting new people." I say.

The woman's face falls and she stares at the table.

The man clears his throat and replies. "Just our servants, my father, and his personal doctor."

"I see."

I observe my surroundings carefully, noting that something seems off.

You carefully look around the room. You notice the man and woman sitting across from each other. The chair at the head of the table is empty but a plate is still set in front of it. Aside from those your plate is the only other plate on the table, the 4th plate.

A large man comes up behind you and hands you some silverware and puts some food on your plate.

"I hope like what I have cooked up tonight. It is rare I get to cook for an guest. I hope you enjoy." He says to you.

You continue looking around the room, it is a very formal looking western dinning room, there is a large cabinet where all the plates and silverware are kept.

Shannon is standing off to the side trying to act like a good maid.

There doesn't seem to be anything else of interest really.

I turn to Natsuhi. "Natsuhi-san, are you sure there isn't anyone else on this island?"

She thinks about it for a moment. "Not to my knowledge. But I suppose there could be other survivors from your boat."

I nod. It seems that, for the moment, my fears are unfounded.

"Will your father be joining us for dinner?" I ask Krauss. Eliminating Kinzo's death is usually a primary step in gameboards, so I attempt to get it out of the way.

Last edited at 14/03/10(Mon)23:33:53

Krauss shakes his head. "He refuses to leave his room. He is too obsessed with his black magic. He just yells at us, so it isn't that much of an issue to me. In fact I kind of like that he isn't here."

You notice Natsuhi stiffened a little while Krauss was talking.

"May I be excused? I must use the restroom."

"Why of course. Shannon please show our guest to the bathroom."

Shannon comes over to you. "Please allow me to assist you." She says while doing a curtsy.

I follow Shannon. When we're alone, I tell her: "Something is distracting you."

She looks at you in confusion. "What do you mean?"

I take a deep breath. "After I introduced myself to you, you told me that you would take me to your master. Instead, we lost track of each other somewhere in the mansion. By itself, that's not a very big deal. However, when I next saw you, you had not yet informed either of your employers about my arrival. I know what you might say-- you had just arrived. This would be incorrect. You had not. One of your employers specifically told you to set another plate. You had already been working by the time I arrived, yet you had not informed them about my arrival? Why? You may wish to claim that you had been distracted by your servantly duties, but this answer wouldn't make sense. You already had a task in showing me to your master, and if you truly more concerned about what your employers thought, I would still be the most important aspect to you. For all you know, I was wandering the mansion aimlessly-- and I was. I could have got myself hurt, disrupted something important, or got in the way of something. If you're going to claim that your job distracted you, you should have thought of me, the newest arrival and--by your own words-- the only one of the day. With that said, only one possibility remains: something else is bothering you. Something larger than a job. And maybe I can help."

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Shannon is flabbergasted.

It takes her a few moments to recover. "That is amazing. The truth is I actually do have something on my mind. You see I'm quitting being a servant for the Ushiromiya in a few days. Tomorrow is the start of the family conference, I've decided that once it is over, I'm leaving."

I nod. I have no way of knowing whether or not she's telling the truth, but I also have no evidence to suggest that she's not. "May I ask why?"

"I don't think that is really any of your business." Her attitude takes a complete 180. "I just am tired of being a maid. That's it."

I look around for anything valuable looking-- vases, glass furniture, etc.

You notice some vases along some end tables in the hallway that very well could be antiques and worth a great deal.

I pick up one of the vases.

"Oh second thought, perhaps I did accidentally break something while you let me wander around unsupervised. I wonder who would get in more trouble, the ship wreck survivor or the servant who should have been watching her."

I raise it in dramatic fashion.

Last edited at 14/03/11(Tue)00:38:25

Shannon's expression becomes one of horror. "No! Please stop! I can't get in trouble with Master or Madame! If they don't let me quit on a good note I won't be able to find any work!" Shannon continues to beg and plead with you. "Please... please.. I'll do anything! Please!"

I put the vase down. "Thank you for your cooperation. If you would, I believe it is my business to know your reasons for quitting. Also, I should like it if you gave me the names and brief physical description of everyone on this island. Also, Natsuhi seemed rather stressed? Might you know why? You've seen my reasoning capabilities. I'll know if you're lying."

Shannon says nothing. She takes a few steps toward you and grabs the vase and throws it on the ground. It shatters with a large smash.

Natsuhi comes out of the dinning room moments later. "What? Shannon what just happened?!"

"I'm sorry, Madame. I tripped and broke one of the vases." Shannon bows.

Natsuhi looks upset for a moment before noticing you. "We'll talk about it later. Dlanor why don't you join us back inside."

Shannon curtsies and heads back into the dinning room without giving you another glance.

I give Shannon a short, bored stare and head back to the dining room.

Throughout dinner there is only a little conversation, and nothing is useful you believe.

"Dlanor, you're in luck, we have a boat coming tomorrow so we can make arrangements for you to get back to where you're from. However if you want to stay with us. You're more than welcome to. Our annual family conference is tomorrow so it will be more lively around here." Krauss tells you.

Natsuhi lets out a sigh and gets up from her seat. "I'm afraid I'm starting to get a headache so I'll be retiring for the night."

So now it is just you and Krauss, as Shannon and Gohda start to clean up the dinning room.

"Thank you," I say. "Unfortunately, I still don't seem to be in control of my memory. Strange impressions are blurred. Asking questions and hearing answers about reality seems to help a little. Would you mind if I asked more? Normally, I wouldn't impose, but given the circumstances..."

"If you believe that will help you, I'd be happy to answer your questions if I'm able."

"I offer my gratitude once more." I gesture to Shannon and Gohda. "I admit, I must start with a question that's personal to me. You seem to have employed excellent servants. Shannon has been especially kind in particular. She's the kind of young woman who I know I can approach if I have any issue. That said, I don't want to bother her if her workload is too large. How many other servants are on the island?"

You notice Shannon stop what she's doing and stare at you with an unreadable expression. Her gaze is so bizarre, it gives you an unpleasant feeling.

"Well, right now there is also Genji he is my father's most trusted servant, Kumasawa, and Kanon he is a little younger than Shannon if I recall."

Last edited at 14/03/11(Tue)01:21:43

"I see. For the number of other people on the island, that puts my mind at ease. Do you think you could give me the extension to the servant's room? Since I am to spend at least one night, it would be useful to have a way to contact someone like Shannon if I have any unpleasant difficulties."

Regardless of his answer, my next question follows: "I hope you don't mind me asking, but you're wife seemed...stressed. Did I upset her in some way?"

Krauss gives you the number for the servants room. "Natsuhi is just stressed over the upcoming family conference. The conference is not a good time for us." You feel a hint of sadness in Krauss' voice. "Don't let it bother you. You haven't caused Natsuhi any grief."

"Family conference?" I say. "Who will be arriving?"

"I can't be certain, but I'd assume it would be everyone like usual. My younger sister Eva, her husband Hideyoshi and her son George, my younger brother Rudolf, his wife Kyrie, and his children Battler and Ange, and finally my younger sister Rosa and her daughter Maria. But I suppose I can't be sure they'll all show."

"I see. I think that I actually am remembering small facets about myself.

That's right. I'm a writer. It's what I've always wanted to be since I small a small girl. How could I have forgotten something like that? Yet, everything else is still dark..."

"I'm not sure how what I just told you made you remember that but I'm happy for you." Krauss looks at the clock. "I should probably check up on father."

He leaves the room, and you notice you are alone with..... Shannon.

"What are you trying to pull?!" She yells at you.

Last edited at 14/03/11(Tue)01:49:17

"You did not give me the information that I sought," I said simply. "With this, I hope that Krauss-san and Natsuhi-san will keep you close to me while I recover. That way, I can retrieve the information that I want. Additionally, I did not entirely lie. I find your behavior to be...familiar to me."

"I know what you are up to. You are trying to ruin everything! I won't let you! You hear me!"

She glares at you before leaving the room.

I shrug. I examine the dining room for anything interesting then leave the room.

Last edited at 14/03/11(Tue)17:57:35

You look around, but you don't really find anything other than what you did when you looked around. Large empty table and a cabinet filled with dishes and silverware.

Afterwards you step out into the hallway.

I walk until I find some stairs and walk up to the third floor.