Are any of the Purple second floor windows open?

Uh... um, to follow up on this... I-I kind of want to see if there's anything weird on any of the second floor Purple rooms in general?

And I'm interested in knowing which side of the building the ladder's on outside...

You check them out. None of the second floor Purple rooms seem disTURBed compared to yesterday.

The ladder is on the west wall.

Examine Jessica's thrown bee boxes. Is there any sort of discernible damage to them? If so, checl the bee boxes we found in the train and compare their state.

A couple holes have been cut in Partitio's bedsheet.

There is an all-black outfit underneath Marisa's bed.

King of Clubs and the Noise have the tunnels under their beds blown shut.

Neil's bed and Bud's bed are missing their bedsheets and pillows.

Also, you doublecheck. That's actually a tablecloth covering the sheets and pillows in the Yellow Tunnel, not a bedsheet. A tablecloth is also missing from the Saloon.

Are any of the Purple second floor windows open?

If we drop the bee box from the second floor or the roof, does it sound like what Kroos heard?

The west window and south window of the Mayor's Office are both open.

Examine Jessica's thrown bee boxes. Is there any sort of discernible damage to them? If so, checl the bee boxes we found in the train and compare their state.

It looks like these are sturdy enough that you could drop them from the second floor without them breaking.

Somewhere, deep within the bowels of the earth, a tape recorder springs to life.

As it begins to sound out its pre-recorded message, a voice echoes throughout the catacombs. The speaker is an elderly woman--her tone tempered by the fires of the kitchen, her voice worn and gravelly from decades of shouting and work. She speaks in a foreign language you do not know, and though your mind reasons you should not recognize the words, somehow--perhaps through a whim of the ritual--you can understand what she is saying.

---

Music: Show

My name is Zalsarona, daughter of Zaffria.
These are the final moments of my life as a creature of flesh and blood.

As my compatriots yet fumble impotently in their attempts to salvage our situation, I know the truth.
Our hope is dead. The covenant of our demise is sealed, signed in the blood of the man who could have saved us.

We will become the pretender god's banquet.

But I have not lived this long just to falter when victory is impossible.
When the light is gone, shattered by folly and wanton destruction, I will seize the shadows instead.

---

Discordant sounds interrupt the speaker. Something is being dragged, the low growl of machinery awakens nearby, and there is a second, male voice speaking. It is too distant to make out over the ambient noise.

You want to tie my hands? Do not worry, I have brought chains.
Here. Fasten these ends to the wall or the machines.

Make sure I cannot escape. And if mistake happens and I lose myself, run.

---

I was approached by Roland near the beginning of the night. Something about a plan to kill that chicken fry cook to protect Ace. That Roland, he always acts so jaded and like he is a career screw-up, but when it comes down to it he is just a big sweetheart. So I took some of the nails I brought with the woodworking supplies the other day, the ones I left in the general store, and turned them into a lure for the colonel. I also grabbed an umbrella. While doing so, I saw the man with a skull for a face through the window. He was doing things with ropes by the blue building.

I wanted to bring the nails to Mineral storage, like I told Roland, but when I got there, a big shield was in the way. So I took the long way around. When I got to the room finally, Roland and his crew were actually there, so I gave them the nails in person. I then went back outside, ran into Nico on the way through the dorm. She handed me a flyer.

Outside, I saw Evangeline, that backstabbing malcontent. An idea came to my mind. I raised the umbrella in the air, the metal tip beckoning the sky above. As I felt the surge of an imminent strike, I tossed it at the agent, causing lightning to crash down where she stood. Unfortunately her wickedness protected her and she jumped out of the way just in time, so I couldn't drown her in the river. Yet. A train whistle then sounded, as if to laugh at me.

I re-entered the building to go to the blacksmith. My goal was to make chains and shackles for the ritual. Roland is putting them onto me as I speak.

A metallic rattling sound can be heard in the background.

That Storm person was already there when I entered the room. We worked next to each other for a while, until he took his spikes and left. Some time passed then, and Nico passed through the room, grabbing a small travel anvil then disappearing into carpentry.

Eventually I finished shaping the metal and set it down to cool. I decided to go outside for a bit. Just as I passed by the door to the explosives storage, I heard a noise from above and seconds later an anvil came crashing down upon me. I narrowly dodged out of the way and saw Nico upstairs, looking disappointed that I'm not a pancake.

After that start, I peeked into the explosives storage, then spent some time at the graveyard, paying respects to my apprentice and the man who was to save us.

With my smithing work done, I went north towards the green building, choosing to wait by the bank door for Roland. Then suddenly the road collapsed, and I saw Hifumi come out from the green dorm. Roland then arrived and we went downstairs. That was a few minutes ago.

---

Roland, how much longer until preparation is done?

I will try to wrap this up then.

---

I have lead a long and tumultuous life. Met many people, made many friends and enemies.
But it is clear to me now: I will not be remembered for who I was. Only for what I will be.

Many humans believe to understand the depths of the abyssal. They label something "occultic" and then pretend to understand what it means, as if they had studied it for a thousand years. But I have seen the faces of devils, and one thing is clear: You could study them forever and yet would never be any closer to understanding their motives or machinations. Let alone make them serve you.

There are many "occultic" artifacts here, in storage or in the hands of the reckless. But they do not embody the darkness, they are merely "touched" by it.

To truly embody the powers of the demonic, you cannot lock them into a conduit to channel them "safely". If you wield a demon's power "safely", you aren't wielding anything at all. To truly embody these forces, you must invite them into your heart--fully, willingly, and without reservation.

I am old and withered. I have maybe a decade of life left in me. Let the devil have it.
There are more important things to do now.

This is my final will and testament.



With my final will, I curse Atua, I curse Evangeline, and I curse Yellowil.

Take my bones to lay these traitorous ones to rest.
Take my blood to fuel the fires of righteous wrath.
And take my soul as tribute for your benevolence.

Wipe the false glory of the pretender god from this unclean earth.
And let his vile light be swallowed by the abyss.

Long live the black sheep.

Examine Jessica's thrown bee boxes. Is there any sort of discernible damage to them? If so, checl the bee boxes we found in the train and compare their state.

Check this again but for real this time :BUTITSMYBDAY:

Examine Jessica's thrown bee boxes. Is there any sort of discernible damage to them? If so, checl the bee boxes we found in the train and compare their state.

Check this again but for real this time :BUTITSMYBDAY:

You check this again but for real this time. The boxes thrown around have scuffs and scrapes on them. The ones in the caboose are undamaged.

Are there any bellows missing from blacksmith?

Are there any bellows missing from blacksmith?

There are not.

With my final will, I curse Atua, I curse Evangeline, and I curse Yellowil.

Take my bones to lay these traitorous ones to rest.
Take my blood to fuel the fires of righteous wrath.
And take my soul as tribute for your benevolence.

Wipe the false glory of the pretender god from this unclean earth.
And let his vile light be swallowed by the abyss.

Long live the black sheep.

...

Yeah, I... Might've... understated the extent of everything we did down there.

Just uh... a little.

Just to be sure - the amount of dead bees on Elster plus whatever dead bees are on the ground still wouldn't be enough to cover her completely, right?

How many bees, generally, are there in the Caboose compared to in the Beehive? Not specific numbers... just eyeballing it.

Just to be sure - the amount of dead bees on Elster plus whatever dead bees are on the ground still wouldn't be enough to cover her completely, right?

How many bees, generally, are there in the Caboose compared to in the Beehive? Not specific numbers... just eyeballing it.

The dead bees could not, by themselves, completely cover the body.

It looks like the Caboose has a smaller quantity of bees on the whole.

Hah... So what, we're suddenly missing bees? How're we supposed to find a weapon that can fly around on its own, anyway?

Guess I'll walk around outside, eyes open for bees. Check out the cactus flowers in the desert too. Any bees that are there that... Shouldn't be?

While I'm at it, I'll grab a crate from the Storeroom and take it to the train. How hard is it to coax the bees into the box?

Hah... So what, we're suddenly missing bees? How're we supposed to find a weapon that can fly around on its own, anyway?

Guess I'll walk around outside, eyes open for bees. Check out the cactus flowers in the desert too. Any bees that are there that... Shouldn't be?

While I'm at it, I'll grab a crate from the Storeroom and take it to the train. How hard is it to coax the bees into the box?

You walk around outside. You don't find any stray bees.

You grab a crate from the Storeroom and take it to the bees. It looks like it takes some coaxing and convincing. You could do it but it'd take some time, at least.

Is there anything of note in or around the Livestock Corral?

Uh, s-same with both ends of the Canal, and in the water itself. Probably...

Is there anything of note in or around the Livestock Corral?

Uh, s-same with both ends of the Canal, and in the water itself. Probably...

You check these locations.

The Livestock Corral, north end of the Canal, and main body of the Canal have nothing of interest.

At the south end of the Canal, you find a large quantity of sodden ashes, and some blasted metal wreckage.

I-I believe Roland about the ashes, but just to be sure... they don't seem like the same kind of ashes as the ones up north outside them being sodden, right?

I-I believe Roland about the ashes, but just to be sure... they don't seem like the same kind of ashes as the ones up north outside them being sodden, right?

You can't really tell the ashes apart. They're ashes. There are a LOT of them down by the base of the canal, but that's it.

This post was last modified: 46 minutes ago by Agent Evangeline.

Agent Evangeline
My account? Alright. I'm not sure how helpful it is, but I don't mind sharing.

I woke up and left my dorm, cutting through the upper floor to head to the Bank. I went into the Vault, downstairs, and retrieved a couple of the Liturgic weapons. I'm not leaving anything I can around for someone with bright ideas, at this point. ...Plus, I have a bright idea of my own. If it works, then it works. Once I had everything I needed out of the basement, I went upstairs and exited.

I went down around the east side of the building, and started heading over to the west. That was when Zalsarona struck at me. I was able to avoid it, and that's when I heard the loud train whistle everyone else has been hearing. Splits your ears, huh. I left Zalsarona to her own devices, and went to investigate the Passenger cars of the train. I thought if anything was overlooked, and it might give us a hint, it would be those three, so I boarded and searched for a while. Found nothing useful, though Hifumi came through at one point.

Eventually, I climbed off the train. I saw Roland and someone in a fox mask by the Locomotive, and I started heading to the west, only for Nico to approach me. We had a productive conversation, after which I stepped up north for a bit to the area by the Water Tower. I had a plan there to work on killing someone, but... well. It didn't go off, nobody was in the area. So I walked east from there, saw Hifumi by the Red Building's east exit, and spoke to her. Once that was done, I went to the north and entered the Orange Building via the dorm. I intended to check out the mine again after last night, but with all the ropes, it wasn't safe. So I just collected a couple useful items from Mining Equipment, and then went north to the dorm and slept.

Atua
Very well. As requested.

Atua flexes, and there is a ripping sound. He is wearing a painfully stretched shirt with Perero on the front.

The sleeves have exploded.