TAKE X (6-5-17: The End)

> Check out the scrap of paper.



You pick up the paper. It's another page of the journal.

P.5
Easily the most dangerous of all of the beings the Crystal created, they didn't look it - in fact, they seemed the most unassuming.

You sort it into the collection.

> Knock on the door.



You knock on the door, then get to a safe distance and watch.









Whoever that was disappears back inside the dome.

Do it again with a disguise on, pretending to sell something

>Go to Primus

Maybe this guy lost these pages. Better get as many as you can, before you deliver them for a Grand Reward!

>Knock again

> Knock on the door again.



You go to knock on the door again, but that turns out to be difficult - seems like the guy left the door open.

> Go to Primus.



Working under the logic that you probably ought to scope out the optics of all of the islands before anything else, you leave Secundus be for now and row over to Primus.

The building on this island is, oddly, lower than ground level. It looks like part of the building may be underground. That seems to you like a dangerous way to build something on a tiny island, but you're not an architect, so what do you know? There's a thick door on the front of the building that looks like it's made of obsidian, as well as a few barred-up windows.

>finish gathering The Notes, compile research

>row the boat to the other side of the island so that you won't have to cross the doorway twice
>Additionall consider that the buildings could be connected.
>It's illogical that such a large office building be built on such a small island. The weight could sink the building in especially concerning the age of the building.

> Consider the logistics of the islands.



You get to thinking about how the islands are laid out. These buildings, all of them, look way too big to be supported on these tiny islands - surely they'd collapse in no time.



Maybe the buildings are connected - maybe they link to each other underwater. If the foundations of the building were on something sturdier, that would explain a lot. You dutifully make a note of this possibility in "Notes on the Emek Archipelago."

> Gather these notes too.



You gather the pages that are on the ground while idly wondering how this journal got spread over three different islands.

P.9
One day, though, much later, one of the others - an olitha, a child of one of the original ones - found them. The olitha asked them why they stayed all alone in the dark like that. Who knows now if the olitha was genuine or if it was merely taunting them? It doesn't really matter at this point.

P.2
Cast your memory back ages and ages, to when the Crystal first appeared. You may or not be aware that the Crystal is the source of magic in Ennen - from it, magical energy flows through the entire world. When the Crystal first appeared, those that were exposed directly to it gained the ability to wield magic themselves.

> Compile your research.



You flip through the pages you've collected so far to see what you can make of it. It looks like the notation at the top of each page indicates a page number, giving you a rough idea of how many you're missing.

P.1
Let these pages be a record of the hitherto-unknown missing chapter of Ennen's history. Even some of my colleagues would not believe you if you showed this to them; however, know that what follows is the absolute truth.

P.2
Cast your memory back ages and ages, to when the Crystal first appeared. You may or not be aware that the Crystal is the source of magic in Ennen - from it, magical energy flows through the entire world. When the Crystal first appeared, those that were exposed directly to it gained the ability to wield magic themselves.

P.3
---

P.4
---

P.5
Easily the most dangerous of all of the beings the Crystal created, they didn't look it - in fact, they seemed the most unassuming.

P.6
---

P.7
---

P.8
It didn't seem like they were, at first. They kept to themselves. They stayed in dark places - perhaps the light was uncomfortable for them. Who knows? In fact, it looked for all the world like they just wanted to be left alone. A lot of time passed like this.

P.9
One day, though, much later, one of the others - an olitha, a child of one of the original ones - found them. The olitha asked them why they stayed all alone in the dark like that. Who knows now if the olitha was genuine or if it was merely taunting them? It doesn't really matter at this point.

P.10
---

P.11
---

P.12
---

P.13
---

P.14
---

P.15
It wasn't an ideal solution, to be sure, but at the time, it's the best we could come up with.

>go to the Secundus, and knock on the (open) door again

> Return to Secundus.



Having done a superficial search for journal pages on each of the three islands, you return to Secundus.

> Knock on the door again.



The door is still open. You wonder if the guy you saw earlier realizes he never closed it. Regardless, knocking on the door at this point would probably just accomplish a quiet "whiff" noise and not much else.

Well, head inside then.

>Try to get the attention of the person inside and ask permission to come in. By yelling if necessary. It doesn't hurt to be polite, after all.

>Knock on the side of the building.
>Excuse me, but I found this litter lying about on the islands.
>Are you familiar with what an Olitha is?

>Be polite! Apologize for the doorbell prank

> Ask permission to enter.



You knock on the side of the building - it feels like very thick metal, and your knock echoes in a vaguely unsettling way. "Hello? Anyone home?" you call. "Mind if I come in?" After a moment, you add, "I'm sorry about knocking earlier and hiding."

There's no response. That's weird, you think, especially since the guy heard you knocking the last time. You suppose there's nothing for it.

> Go inside.



You enter the dome. You are now in a dimly-lit hallway. Aside from the way you came in, you can see a closed door at the other end of the hall. Shelves topped with several jars line the walls.

That guy is nowhere to be seen.

Get that scrap of paper, then look at the... puddle? beside the door.

>Knock on a jar

((to see if they are full of a translucent fluid or empty))

> Get the scrap.



You add the scrap of paper to your collection.

P.7
On top of that, they changed elements upon being exposed to the artifact. They became the 'void' element - the element of stealth and invisibility. That, combined with their magical talent, meant that they would be able to pass unnoticed in any situation. A very deadly combination, were they inclined to use it maliciously.

> Examine the jars.



You walk along the shelves and examine the jars. Some of them are roughly half-full with an unidentifiable fluid, while some of them have... silhouettes inside. You can't make out exactly what they are, though; the glass is distorting the image too much.

One of the jars is completely empty.

> Examine the puddle.



It's started bubbling. That's a little concerning.

>Try the levers

They seem to be the "pull both sides at once" types

SpoilerShow

Hey, just as a heads up, fixing to do some housesitting, so I'm not going to be able to update for the next week and a half or so. Cheers!

> Try the levers.



You pull the lever on the right and nothing happens.



But when you then pull the lever on the left, the door slides open.



Weird. You thought you'd have to pull them simultaneously or something for that to work.

>Logical explanation: someone pulled the other one when you had your back turned!

SpoilerShow

And we're back!

> Consider the door.



You were absolutely certain this was going to be some kind of puzzle or trap, wherein you had to pull both levers at once, perhaps by throwing a jar at one while pulling the other one? You don't know. Either way, though, the door's open. Maybe someone pulled the other lever while your back... was... turned...



You begin to realize that this may not have been the best use of your time.









Shadan Hamidi, master shadow thief, has been unlocked!

Well. That was... unexpected, to say the least.

Looks like there's not much to do except pick Shadan.

Oh noooo Justice ;-;

>Lets be Shadan

> Select Shadan Hamidi.





Your name is Shadan Hamidi, and today's going pretty well, all things considered. People who move in certain circles know that you're the go-to person when it comes to extricating certain items from certain places, or liberating certain economic-related goods from their trappings.

That's how they put it, anyway. You always put it much more simply: you're a thief. People can hire you to steal things. It's not what you'd call glamorous, but it brings in the money.



You have on you your normal tools - a dagger, some rope, a map, a crowbar, and a lockpick. You also have the letter sent to you by your client for this heist.



It has pictures of the two things you're supposed to steal, as well as instructions on where to find them. One of them is with this guy in Vezretti - where you are now - and the other is supposed to be in the Emek Archipelago. The Emek Archipelago gives you the screaming heebies, so you've started here, in Vezretti.

Where do you start?