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

> Ask about the orange.



"So why're you all orange?" you ask Justice while you search the room.

Justice groans. "Ugh, I can't get this gunk off of me. I was making my way through this place and some orange blob attacked me. When I woke up after, I was here."



"An orange blob? Like that puddle over there?" you ask.

Justice turns to look and yelps. "Gah! Yeah, that's the one. Don't get near it, okay? They're mean little suckers." She keeps her distance from it.

> Check the vent.



There's a vent in the wall. There's a ladder nearby. You don't have to be a mathematical genius to see how this adds up. You point it out to Justice.

"Oh, hey!" she says. "Yeah, let's get on that."



Justice moves the ladder over to the vent and pries the grate off. Before you can say anything else, she's off like a shot.

> Check the map.



You make to climb the ladder too, but the map catches your eye - it's setting off your finely-honed thieves' sense.



You peel the map off the wall. There's a safe behind it. It looks like a pretty easy one to crack, but you're wary of how quickly you might get caught by whoever is coming to 'check' on you.

You take a moment to decide what the best path forward is.

>Why spend time cracking the safe, when someone could come inside, and open it to see if its contents are safe

> Don't waste the time.



You eventually decide that now is not the time to worry about opening the safe. Even if the thing you're looking for is in there, you can always duck back later to double-check when you're not in danger of getting caught.



You pull the vent shut after you, figuring that it might help obscure your escape route.





It's dark inside the vent, not to mention cramped - you don't even have room to stand up. You're no stranger to cramped air vents, though. Once, you spent five days inside an air vent waiting for a manhunt to die down. The worst part of it was that the guards weren't even looking for you, but you figured that "I didn't have anything to do with the murder; I just wanted to steal the victim's ancient book" wasn't going to fly.

Anyway, you don't see Justice anywhere, but since pretty much all you can see is faint light coming from what are presumably other grates in the air vent, that's not terribly surprising.

>Are those papers, or slimes

>Spy from above

> Are those papers?



You see a few silhouettes in the light from the grates. When you make your way over to them, you realize that they're more pages from the collection that you've been amassing. You hold them up to the light and read through them.

P.6
The magic they could use, however, was unparalleled. Perhaps they were closer to that artifact than the rest, or perhaps they were simply more sensitive to its power. That scarcely matters, I suppose. They could cast magic on a level nobody else could reach. On top of that, they could disguise themselves perfectly, making themselves look like anyone or anything they wanted.

P.4
There was one other created by the Crystal. One other who, at the whim of that most powerful artifact, shed their form for another. We call that final ancestor, and those who came after it, 'shade.'

P.13
We knew that we had to put our plan into action immediately before there were any other casualties from our number. We banished the whole of them into the new plane of existance, which we deemed the Underworld - the whole of them, I should say, except one.

Shades? Planes of existance? This journal is getting weird. You're not sure what to make of it.

> Spy from above.



You take a look through the grates. The first two look out over the hallways you've been through, but the third is in a room that you haven't been in yet.



Now who the heck is this guy?

>continue The Spying

>move to side of grate for spying to avoid being seen

> Keep spying.



You hug the floor of the vent - if that guy turns around, you don't want him to see you.

He doesn't seem interested in scouting the room out, though. In fact, it sounds more like he's talking to someone.


Yeah, it's this weird floating stone. You think that has something to do with it?...


You're sure? Well, if you say so.



The guy leaves. You don't see anyone else in the room.



You're reasonably certain this is the second thing you're supposed to pick up, though your client didn't mention anything about it floating. Oh well. The sooner you nab it, the sooner you can get out of this place. You think you might treat yourself to some noodles when this is done - this is probably the creepiest job you've ever had. Though the time you had to dig up a corpse on an uninhabited island so you could steal its magical pants ranks up there too.

You shake your head. This is no time to get sidetracked. The mark is right in front of you. You just need to figure out the best way to get it.

>Gauge if you could climb back to the vent from the room

> Gauge if you could get back into the vent from the room.



You look around. The floor doesn't seem to be far enough away that you couldn't cleverly apply your rope and crowbar to climb back up.



You pull the grate back up into the air vent, then drop to the ground without a sound. You make a mental note to thank the person who sold you these boots when it's all said and done. They weren't lying when they said the boots wouldn't make a sound. You suppose that someone named Franklin 'Footfalls' Forte would know what they were talking about.



There's the stone. It's blacker than anything you've ever seen before - it's like it's sucking light straight into it. You lay your hand on it, then immediately recoil. It's surprisingly cold.



You get over yourself and put it in your inventory. Then you grab those papers on the floor too, just to be sure, and sort them into the book.



Just when you climb back into the vent, someone else storms into the room. He doesn't seem to notice you. "It's gone," he mutters. He glances around the room, then yells "Scour the labs for it! Don't let anyone escape!"

You're not sure who he's talking to, but you're pretty certain that if you don't get out of here fast, there's going to be trouble.

Well, more trouble, anyway.

>be careful to not let the two marbles touch, they might explode

> Be careful with the stones



You climb back through the vent, being careful not to let the stones touch each other. Your client was very clear on that point.



You jump down into the first hallway you went through. You're surprised you didn't notice the vent here earlier - it's on the wall right in front of you. You must have just completely overlooked it.



The door slides open. It's that guy.



And... that guy? Huh. Were there actually two of him all this time? Wild.



And... those orange puddles.



...which were apparently also guys. Okay, that's quite enough of that. Time to break out your last-ditch resort.



Shadan unlocked a new skill: Smoke Bomb!



You hoof it outta there. You got the target - there's no point in staying any longer, especially not with those goons on your trail. You get in your boat and start rowing. The other boat that was here when you got here is gone, so you suppose that means Justice probably got out okay.



While you row, you leaf through the book. It looks like you collected all the pages, so you give it one more read, all the way through.

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
Those were not only the ancestors of modern humanity - they were the ancestors of most of the sentient beings in Ennen overall. Those who encountered the Crystal found themselves changed - changed into those who we now call olithas, dryads, arbas, nagas, vampires, and, yes, humans, as well as others. This is all well-known.

P.4
There was one other created by the Crystal. One other who, at the whim of that most powerful artifact, shed their form for another. We call that final ancestor, and those who came after it, 'shade.'

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
The magic they could use, however, was unparalleled. Perhaps they were closer to that artifact than the rest, or perhaps they were simply more sensitive to its power. That scarcely matters, I suppose. They could cast magic on a level nobody else could reach. On top of that, they could disguise themselves perfectly, making themselves look like anyone or anything they wanted.

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.

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
What happened next, though, did matter. They turned the olitha into one of them. We still don't quite understand how. For that matter, we're not sure they understood what happened either.

P.11
Thus began their campaign. They began spreading through the world, changing others to become like them. Their purpose and motive are likely never going to be known. They met resistance from the others, but what could the others do against a foe who could avoid all detection, use the most powerful magic, and take the appearance of their family and countrymen?

P.12
Eventually, to avoid the worst, we had to step in. I alone was able to see them, to find them. I was able to create another plane - another world - for them to stay in. And I was able to conceal the truth of what happened. Or, at least, that was the plan, anyway. It turns out they also posed a threat to us, much to our surprise. We found this out when one of them stole the very divinity from one of us - the god of flight and darkness. They attempted to turn him into one of them as well, but before they could finish the process, he disappeared, newly mortal and - since I could no longer see him - presumably void.

P.13
We knew that we had to put our plan into action immediately before there were any other casualties from our number. We banished the whole of them into the new plane of existance, which we deemed the Underworld - the whole of them, I should say, except one.

P.14
The one who stole the divinity could hold their own against us. A terrible battle followed, but they let their guard down exactly once - enough time for me to change what they knew to be the truth. They then believed that they were one of our number - one of our colleagues. So that they would not remember their true nature, we wreathed them in a concealing cloud of smoke and gave them a domain that would not conflict with any of ours - a domain that required them to focus on a single mortal at a time. Then I changed the truth that our colleagues knew as well, so that nobody would question it. Finally, I altered the truth as known by those in Ennen - nobody, save the three of us, will remember.

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

P.16
That is the whole story. We leave these pages as a record of what happened, should one day it become necessary.
Meion
Krytikas
Thale



You first met your client in Port Yarcia, in Erdric; at the time, they said they'd meet you there when you were done. When you asked how they'd know, they just laughed and said "Oh, you're a gem."

You didn't inquire any further. Being nosy into clients' business doesn't aid the flow of currency into your pocket. You head to the alley behind the tavern.

"Ah, you made it back," a voice says. "Excellent! Glad to hear it. And I can tell you've got the product on you."

That would be your client.



"A pleasure doing business with you."





Sienna Travler, woman of mystery, has been unlocked! But first...



Select your intermission!

>The bigger jerk of the two

>The only god of course

> Select the One Goddess.





Gods above.



I close my eyes for one second, and look at how much time has passed.



I'm omnipotent. I don't even need to sleep.



But that's the way it goes, I guess. Time to get back to work. Now, where should I start...?

Take a look at those papers.

> Determine whether your abode lacks anything a god needs. Like a spa. And those people that feed you grapes.
> Oh, you suppose there's paperwork too.

>Check your hitlist

Well, this is no time to break with tradition. When I was mortal, whenever I woke up, I'd sort through a mental list of everyone who'd ever wronged me. Might as well keep it up. The only difference is now it doesn't have to just be a mental list - I can just conjure one up.

Currently, my grudge list consists of:

de Soren
de Soren Sr. X
Blue Indivar
Celeste Aracely
Kuzman Dragov
Palmer Deadman
Torvald Andrews X
Makram Amjad
Ione Raptis X
John Badde X
Jon Wurst X
Giovanni Abategiovanni

The ones with an X by them are the ones I already took care of in this timeline.

Then, of course, there's... her. If she were on this list, her name'd be in big red letters. It makes me angry just to think about.

Happier thoughts.

Happier thoughts, dammit.



This is the late Meion's library, and it's a gigantic pain in the neck. I've got no idea how Meion used it. It keeps shifting around - completely at random. Even the bookcases move around. I'm pretty sure one of the bookcases is eating books, too. There are a couple of books I know I saw a while back that are just completely gone. One of them was Meion's journal, which would have been pretty useful, all things considered.

Not that I'm upset about that.

Aside from the library, the Centrality - the residence of the divine - has just about everything else I could ask for. There's a pool, a garden, a gym, a music hall, a courtroom - not that I would have asked for that. Plus, there's a room for every deity that used to live here. I've had a pretty good time looking through all their belongings, but some of the doors are still puzzling me.

Krytikas, Tukha, Breza, and Duximas. Their rooms are locked, and I can't get them open. What good is it being omnipotent if I'm not, well, omnipotent?



The first page on the table here is just a list of the different rooms that I've found here at the Centrality that I can't get into. Tukha's room and Krytikas' room are the most important ones. Tukha's room has the entrance to the afterlife in it, and Krytikas' room has the library of secrets. Apparently, that little imp was keeping wild amounts of records on every secret anyone ever kept - even the gods and goddesses. If I can get in there, I'm sure I could find out something interesting.



The second page on the table is a sketch I found of the sigils that belonged to each of the gods and goddesses. All of them that are dead are slowly fading away. The ones that are still alive - their sigils will glow if they set foot in here again. I don't think that's going to happen - I took all their divinity, after all - but it's good to be careful.

Monitor's sigil never stops glowing, though. I suppose that's the name of the god I hijacked, so technically he's in the Centrality.



Let me think. What was I doing before I fell asleep? I think I was haranguing that idiot Blue about something...

Oh, right! The Miracle Men told me about people in the Emek Archipelago. When I told Blue to get to the bottom of it, he came back to me with some rock or something he got distracted by. I swear to the gods that that kid has the attention span of an ammon. Maybe I should go see if he managed to find out anything else.

>Nah, he wouldn't be able to find anything else. What about the unmarked gym and garden adjacent doors?

I'm going to get out of the library for now either way. It gets stuffy in there. Plus, I'm pretty sure the bookcases are plotting against me.

That door on the right is one of the ones I'd marked on the list. There's no symbol or anything on it - most of the doors up here have something on them identifying what they are. For example, the door next to it has a flower on it because it leads to the garden.

The last time I went into the garden, it looked like I was actually outside. There wasn't any other door out there that would match up with this mystery door here. In fact, judging by how close this door is to the garden's door, there really shouldn't be anything behind it at all.

Sometimes this place makes my head hurt.

Anyway, every time I've tried to open it, it's stayed firmly locked.



Same deal with that door next to the gym. Side note, all of these hallways look identical. Only the symbols on the doors help me tell them apart. Of course, that's barely any comfort - the hallways rearrange themselves just like the bookcases in the library did.

Certain doors have always stayed next to certain other doors - this door has always been right next to the gym, for example - but for the most part, everything here seems to be trying to stymie me as much as possible.

It's been a frustrating few eons.



One side effect of becoming divine that I didn't see coming was all the prayer. I'm flooded just about all the time with prayers from people down in Ennen. It's pretty distracting, to be honest. I have to constantly keep lists so I remember what I need to do.

Speaking of, this is my to-do list, in no specific order.

> Open mystery doors
> Check in with Blue
> Check in with Miracle Men
> Confer with Pia Amata
> Answer prayers

...The last entry is completely illegible. I can't remember what it was, either.

That's troubling.

>Check in with Miracle Men of course, the most dependable people

Let's check in with Blue, see what he's been up to

Let's check in with Blue, see what he's been up to

I'm seconding this.