untitled maid quest

The two of you decide to stick together, leaping into the same mirror that Violet was pulled into. You both end up in another mirror-lined hallway, but this time you're alone, the reflections normal. Having no idea where to look, you choose a direction at random and start wandering the mirror maze... unfortunately, you have no way of marking where you've been, so there's a lot of aimless wandering for a good long while.

You yawn, after some time. Cotton follows you up with one of her own

"How long has it been? I'm getting sleepy..." you say.

"It feels like we've been here for hours, yes?" replies Cotton.

"Yeah... let's try going through another mirror..."

You glance around, trying to sense if one of them is different from the others...

"Maybe this one?"

You touch it, and your reflection suddenly changes! Her eyes start to glow and her hair starts to move on its own... in fact, it's now moving independently of you! You fall back in shock, and Cotton runs over to take your side.

"Hello, Sage," she says. "Enjoying my mirror maze?"

"No! And what did you do with Violet?"

She snaps her fingers and a now awake but incredibly frightened-looking Violet appears in one of the mirrors, flanked on both sides by mirror copies of you – one with half her head missing and the other with red hands. She screams out loud when she sees you, begging for you to save her, before fading from view once more as false you waves a single hand.


"She's mine now," the false you says, "and will remain so until you surrender and take her place. Thus proclaims I, Hevel, the Mirror Demon! Hahahaha~!"

"Never!" you exclaim, making your own eyes shine. "Give her back!"

You throw a punch but Hevel easily dodges it. Conversely, however, when she attacks, it's with moves you know and can easily deflect as well. An even match...

...that is until Cotton jumps in to help you and Hevel summons up a bunch of mirror clones of you in response. Hevel easily dodges Cotton's web-strings and the mirror clones have your friend completely surrounded. You go to try and save her... but the clones swarm you too, and you're stuck keeping yourself out of harm's way. Eventually, you manage to deal with them all, but when you see what became of Cotton...

"I told you... you should surrender."

...she's down and out on the cold ground, Hevel having one foot on her neck.

"You wouldn't dare!"

"Oh? How do you know that? I'm not really you, remember?" is Hevel's response. "...but you're right, there's no point in killing her. After all, you're going to surrender here, right Sage?"

"You... I..."

"I'll give you a moment to think it over. Choose wisely~!"

...

[] You have no choice. You have to make sure Cotton and Violet can get out of here alive! You surrender...
[] No! You won't accept this! You have to try and save them yourself! (Sage vs Hevel, must win 3 out of 5 d20 roll offs to pass)

Sage's Insanity: 15
-Cancer Moon is active (-3 for empathy, -2 for exploration)
Violet's Insanity: 21

QM Note: I figured this was too important a decision to automate. Surrendering here does not immediately end the quest, nor does failing if you try to fight.

Today's writing BGM


Week 16

"...I don't have a choice, do I? I can't risk their lives. If you promise to let my friends go unharmed, I'll surrender."

"Of course," Hevel replies as she removes her foot from Cotton's neck, gently laying it on the floor next to her. She then snaps her fingers and Violet re-appears in one of the mirrors, attended by mirror clones. Unlike the other mirror clones, they're more vaguely shaped... more like a suggestion of a human. Is that Hevel's true form? In any case, Violet is shoved out of the mirror and runs over to you.

"Don't do this! Please don't leave us, Sage!" she cries out, hugging you tight.

"I don't want to go either, but... what can I do? I have to make sure you get out of here safely. It's what you would do for me, right?"

You smile at her, but it only makes her cry harder. You kiss her forehead, and then turn your attention back to Hevel, who has walked up to the two of you.

"Oh, don't mind me. Take as long as you want~."

"How could you do this!?" Violet shouts at the demon. "Who are you!? What do you want!?"

"I am Hevel, the Mirror Demon. I've been trapped in here for far too long... and I want out. Forever to be free! Sage just happens to be a perfect vessel, better than anyone else who's come along. It's not personal, you were just unlucky."

"...what will happen to me?" you ask.

"You'll be stuck here until someone else comes to free you. But don't worry, I'm sure you won't be here long. After all, I was only here for... say, what year is it?"

You tell her.

"Right. I was only trapped here for around 150 years, so you should be able to get out by then easily~."

You shudder and Violet holds on to you tighter. Hevel was in here that long!? Did the isolation make her this twisted? Or was she always like this, and that's why she was sealed? Regardless, there's no way you're going to let yourself be stuck here for that long. There must be some way for you to escape...!

"Sage, I... I won't forget you. I won't let you stay trapped here! I'll find a way to save you!"

"And I'll try to find a way to break out, Violet. I won't give up!"

"Cute. But futile. Not even an excellent human soul like yourself will find it easy to exit the Mirror World. Now then, anything else before I end this?"

...

No.

You let Violet go and she sadly releases you too. Hevel walks up to you, and lightly taps you on the forehead while chanting something... and suddenly you feel yourself being pushed out of your body. You lose most of your sensations... except sight. If anything, you can now see too much, as can view the entire Glass Hall of Mirrors, alongside another large mirror in some room you've never been in before. It's too much!

You narrow yourself down to just watching Hevel in your body exit with Violet, both of them carrying Cotton. Hevel-Sage snaps her fingers and you're suddenly pushed entirely out of that hallway.

You're now in a large empty room – no windows, no furniture, nothing but some lights and this mirror you're stuck in. Directly across from you is a door that you can't reach. You turn around in the mirror and see that same door. Well, there's nothing else to do here... you enter the door and go down that staircase and...

...you're in the Moonlight Mansion? The décor looks similar... though when you look at the window you see horse-drawn carriages instead of cars. Is this the world of 150 years ago?

Nothing left to do, you start wandering around as a ghost in this world.

END OF ACT 4

Week 17

Your name is Sage, and as you've been wandering around in Hevel's Mirror World you've found out a few important things.

One – despite being a ghost-like being, the housekeepers (who are not human themselves) can see you. Sure enough, this is a replica of the mansion, and they're all reflections of actual former Housekeepers. The Mansion itself is also roughly in the state it was back then.

Two – the Glass Hall of Mirrors also exists here, but is now a completely normal hallway. This must be the reason why you can't go there in the real world anymore – Hevel isn't letting you access it.

Three – Hevel used to be a human. She also used to live in the Moonlight Mansion long ago. It's clear from what little the housekeepers have told you that something terrible that they refuse to talk about in detail happened to Hevel, which is why she is the way that she is. They insist that Hevel won't be a threat to your friends – she just wants freedom. All the same, you want freedom too.

Four – getting out of here is going to be difficult. You're a barely coherent soul as it is. The housekeepers tell you that you need to 're-attach yourself to the material world' in order to walk around outside the mirrors like Hevel did. Thinking about your life and your friends helps... but only a little bit. Maybe you just need to keep doing it?

Five – something odd is going on inside the real Moonlight Mansion. You can feel it in your soul.

You hope everyone is okay.

Week 18

You're feeling a little bit stronger every day... you're a bit more tangible and you can now touch things too. But the new habits you'd been falling into are broken one day by an odd feeling you suddenly have. There's a strange presence nearby. Curious, you go up to the Attic and to that empty room. And when you arrive...

"...Who are you!? What are you doing with Violet's body!?"

...you see Violet, but instead of black eyes, her eyes are now a deep blue.

"Don't worry, I'll be done with her soon. I just need to borrow her body for a moment... and I also need that power I stored inside you. I'm sure you won't mind."

"What are you...!?"

Before you can finish your question, you feel something being drained out of you. Strangely, instead of making you feel weaker, it makes you feel stronger, and you don't know why. It's like some weakness is being removed from you... and that's when you realize it. What this thing possessing Violet did to you must be what Vini noticed all that time ago.

"Yes... that's the good stuff!" it exclaims, power surging through Violet's body. "In just a moment, I won't need this body... but it won't do to have you interfere with my plan now."

It then smirks. "I have a wonderful idea," it says as its eyes start to shine with menace.

It then makes Violet punch the mirror so hard that it shatters.

On your side of the mirror, the scattered shards fall to the ground. You scream in panic as it laughs and you can only watch as it departs from the empty room. Magic is still infused into each shard, but... what are you supposed to do now?

Are you trapped here?

Forever...?

You start to weep, and some of the housekeepers come by to stay by your side and mourn with you.

At that moment, you truly thought it was the end for you.

Some time later (you don't know how long), you heard loud rumbling and explosions on the other side, and saw that some of the shattered mirror pieces had broken into even smaller pieces. When you looked into one, all you saw was a pile of rubble surrounded by a clear and sunny day. So then... no more mansion? What happened to everyone? Are they all...?

No...

It can't be...

Can it?

The thought of it makes you weep even louder.

"SAGE!!"

...that voice. Is it possible...?

"...Almo?"

Her face suddenly appears in one of the mirror shards. You crawl over to her.

"Sage? Are you still there?" she asks.

"Almo!! What's going on!? What happened!?"

"Hold on! We're going to get you out of there!"

"But how?" you ask.

Almo answers by pointing the mirror shard at... you. Or rather, at Hevel-Sage, who is tied up by vines. Behind her is the Rainbow Serpent, who orders Hevel to free you. When Hevel refuses saying she'd rather die then go back inside, you hear Prali's voice offer her something in exchange – a new body and forgiveness as long as she frees you and helps clean up the Mansion. Hevel grudgingly accepts, tapping the mirror while chanting something...

...and in a bright flash, you find yourself back in your body.

"I fixed her," grumbles Hevel from the mirror shard in Almo's hands.

"Sage!!" multiple people yell, as they all tackle-hug you. You see Vini, Cotton, Taffy, and Almo attached to you, crying tears of joy. Prali is now holding the mirror shard with Hevel in it, and seems to be discussing something with the Rainbow Serpent. You also see that Britt, Rufflo, and Gophe, are here, as well as a lot of people you don't recognize.

You're all also standing around in the rubble of what used to be the Moonlight Mansion, and most of the group is scavenging through it.

"...what happened?" you ask.

"...actually, we don't know the full story," starts Vini. "Almo, you were explaining?"

"Ah, right! Sage, did you see a blue-eyed Violet this morning?" Almo asks.

"Yes! That person smashed the mirror! I thought I was a goner for sure!"

"Whoever possessed her was the one who did this! I heard it all and managed to slip away before it could notice me. It summoned to two guys in suits and said it was going to free that light spirit and dark spirit and take their power for itself!"

"So then... it must have succeeded. And it's long gone by now," Taffy noted. "You don't feel anything do you, Vini?"

Vini shakes their head. "Just the absence of what should be here."

In the distance you hear sirens. Emergency responders.

Couldn't have come soon enough, as your conversation gets cut off by the sound of Britt's pained scream.

.

.

.

It's night time now. You were admitted to one of the many Crescent City hospitals for observation as well, but were let go once they realized that all your damage was to your mind. You're now in the waiting room, along with Vini, Britt, Cotton, and Taffy... and also Lily and Daisy, who came as soon as they heard about what happened.

Almost everyone who had been on an upper floor of the Mansion at the time of the collapse was dead. Rocandi, Lady Pralisson, Pena, Glaz, Mrs. Pearl, Poco... the list goes on and on. Cara-Cara and some others managed to only be critically injured, but it wasn't clear who would make it out or who would fall too. Violet's comatose body was also found in the Earthly Tapestry Chamber.

Prali and Almo were staying in a hotel in town, along with Peca and her kid, who had been out on the town during the incident. You were, of course, invited back to stay at your old place by Lily and Daisy, and Vini and Cotton were invited in as well when they revealed that they had no other home. Taffy is also from here, and so can stay with her parents, but you're not sure what Britt will do. Should you invite her home as well?

Your train of thought is interrupted by someone saying that she's surprised that you're still here.

A familiar someone.

You look over to her and see Calico, in the same dress you saw her in last time. You let out a gasp in shock, while Taffy, Cotton, Vini, and Britt all look ready to go on the attack once they realize what's happening. Lily and Daisy, meanwhile, just seem confused, and ask you who this woman is.

Calico chuckles. "We're enemies... at least, we were, but now we have common cause. After all, my Rocandi is dead now and the Mansion is in ruins. Besides... you'll need my help if you want Violet to recover."

...

...what!?

[] "Calico, I don't believe you!"
[] "What do you really want!?"
[] "You... you can help Violet?"
[] "So, you know who did this?"
[] (write-in)

Sage's Insanity: 15 n/a
-Cancer Moon is active (-3 for empathy, -2 for exploration)
Violet's Insanity: 22 n/a

QM Note: The end of the quest is now in sight, but will you live or die...? That's still to be decided.

"What do you really want!?" is what you first demand to know of Calico.

She then smirks. "Why Sage, do you think so little of me, that I would demand something of you in your time of need?"

"Yes."

She looks a bit stunned at your blunt statement, but quickly recovers. "...okay, fair. But I honestly do want to help you."

You glare at her. "Sure, I bet you do, Calico... but I bet you also want something in exchange for your so-called help."

You make your eyes shine and you feel like more power is flowing out of you than ever before.

"I suggest you tell us what you're after before we decide to show you the door."

For the first time since you've met her, she has an expression that somewhat resembles concern for her own safety, and backs away slightly. Of course, she'd certainly never admit to being scared of you if she truly was. She coughs into her hand and tries to regain her composure.

"W-well, if you must know... it's you. Well, more specifically your powers. I'd like to study them, as well as your soul. I've never encountered a living person with the Shining Power before. Furthermore, I'm fairly confident that I know who did this, and I would like to exact punishment on them, as well as study whatever remains of them when we're done. In exchange, you get my free and full cooperation from this point on, and I'll fix up Violet for you with no strings attached. How about that?"

When your glare doesn't subside, she throws in an offer to save anyone else they come across who can be saved. Vini and Cotton then interject, saying that if you agree, they're going to keep an eye on Calico and at no point will Calico be allowed to make them go away. Calico attempts to assert that she can be trusted, but none of you go for it and she accepts these additional conditions. With a sigh, you relax your shine away and decide that it's good enough to shake on.

A great deal of energy then passes between the two of you, enough to illuminate the whole room.

When the light subsides, you see that in your other hand is a blackwood wand, similar to Calico's. However, the crystal on the tip of yours is green and star-shaped. Calico, on the other hand, gets... a maid outfit? It sure looks like one. With a blushing face, she sends it away, and deflects questions from an amused Britt and a curious Cotton as to why that's what she got out of the deal.

At this point, Lily and Daisy interject, wondering why no one else in the waiting room seems to care about what's going on.

"I put them under a glamour. It's not that they can't see us, they just don't think we're important. They'll forget all about this as soon as we leave," is Calico's reply.

"Oh! I see. Is that something you learn about in Witch school?" asks Lily.

"Indeed. It's an essential part of keeping ordinary humans out of our affairs. I'm more curious as to why it didn't affect you two."

"I have a little sister at Spellman, so I know a little bit."

You stare at Lily in shock. "Huh!? You do?"

"Yep. Sorry, if I'd known that you already knew about magic, I would have brought it up earlier."

"No, it's fine. I didn't know about this whole thing until after I started working in the mansion."

You then turn to Daisy. "What about you?"

"I have some people in my family that work with spirits. Not me though, so I only know so much."

"Ah, I see."

"Hey Lily, why don't we call for help while Sage and her friends talk things over with Calico?"

"Sounds good to me, Daisy. We'll be outside if you need us, Sage."

The two of them wish you luck, pull out their cellphones, and walk some distance away to not disturb the rest of the people here. You turn to Calico, and bid her to start explaining things. Not long after the mansion was destroyed, she came around and started investigating the scene, using her magic to piece together what happened. She found out that Violet's soul had been removed from her body, and was now part of the amalgamation that included the light and dark spirits, which is why she's certain that Violet can be saved.

She then has you all update her on the full details of what happened at the Moonlight Mansion, in order to get the full story. Once you mention that a blue-eyed and clearly possessed Violet approached the you that was sealed in the mirror, Calico confidently states that this was done by an imp named Ultramarinus, who often takes the form of a blue-eyed man. He mysteriously appears in places and manipulates others either for his amusement or for the service of achieving some aim. Calico has had first-hand experience with him that she refuses to go into detail about.

However, when she asks you how Violet might have come into contact with the man, you're clueless there. You never asked her how she got her position here.

"Hm. Well, have either of you had experiences with strange men recently?" asks Calico.

"Hmmm... well, Almo mentioned something about two guys in suits. I got my job offer from a guy who also had two guys in suits in his employ," you note. You explain more to the group about that first encounter, and when Calico asks what color his eyes were, you find that you're unable to answer the question.

"Well, there's an easy fix for that," she says, pulling out her wand. "...Hey, hold on! Calm down! I'm just going to pull out Sage's memory of that event so we can all see it."

All of you had leapt up, ready to fight, at the sight of her wand. Her statement calms you down a little bit. She puts the tip of it to your head, and you watch as she draws a thread out and spools it around itself until it forms a sphere... a crystal ball. She taps it, and the memory plays.

But even in the memory, Mr. Kentucky's eyes cannot be seen.

"Hm. He must have tampered with your memories then. The Shining Power is perhaps able to overcome it, if you're willing to give it a shot Sage."

"What do I need to do?" you ask.

"Just focus on his eyes."

"Okay..."

Vini and Cotton put their hands on your shoulders as you make your eyes shine and try to force yourself to remember. And when you do, you can then see them clearly. The man's deep blue eyes.

The eyes that are now... looking at you!?

You drop your shine in shock as the rest of the memory fades and the man takes center focus.

"I say! Curious. You shouldn't be able to see this, miss. I guess my plan must not have worked? That or I altered it sometime later."

He then looks around, and eventually his eyes settle on Calico, at which point he gets visibly nervous.

"Oh, well hello there, Calico... how, uhhhh, have you been?"

"Shut up," she says with all the ice she can muster. "What the hell is your aim now?"

"Oh, little miss, still so cold? Remember how we used to..."

"Answer the question."

"...fine, fine. Well, misses, my plan this time was quite simple. Take the power of the Light Half and the Dark Half for myself and become God!"

Calico gives him a curious look. "Really? You know what happened to the one that was split into those two halves, right?"

Ultramarinus smirks. "Naturally. He made the foolish mistake of assuming that having power itself means you've won. The other gods were able to kill the would-be Usurper since he wanted to rule over them and thus kept them alive, giving them the ability to work together to defeat him. I, on the other hand, have no consideration for the gods, so I'll rip their heads off before they can do it to me! I won't even give them the opportunity!"

Vini's eyes widen. "Wait, but that means... he's going to go after the original me!"

"Correct, you would be the nearest god to the Moonlight Mansion. And then after I deal with the Tree of Divinity, I'll probably head to the nearest Temple of the Triunity and ascend to the other realms from there."

"...why are ya jus tellin us this?" asks Britt.

"Simple, miss. You have no way of stopping me at this point," is his reply. "I ensured that you had no way of detecting me up to this point, after all."

"Yep, we sure don't, now goodbye," says Calico before anyone can speak up in protest, dispelling the memory. "Now that he's gone, let me explain how we can stop him. Since his aim is to become the new Triunity of this world, we have to defeat him before he kills the existing Triunity and takes their power as his own. He's also made a critical mistake that we can exploit. Keeping Violet's soul around as part of the amalgamation means that he's not a true Triunity, so removing her – as well as whatever other souls he's captured – means the whole thing will collapse, leaving him exposed."

"Let's hurry then!" you exclaim.

Your group then rushes out of the hospital, where you see Lily and Daisy sitting on a bench outside. You quickly explain to them where you're going from here, and they tell you they'll have backup on the way to support you soon. In the meantime, you all decide the fastest way to get to the Lost Woods is to pile into your car and have you drive everyone up. But on your way to your car...

"Look out!"

...you all find yourselves accosted by harsh winds and falling rocks. In the distance, you can see two suited Demons approaching, both with raven wings – a small one in the air and a large one on the ground. Those must be Ultramarinus' minions... and they've found you!

(Group: Sage, Vini, Taffy, Cotton, Britt, Calico ... how do you handle this?)
[] Fight them. Defeat them. You just need them both out of the way. (write-in who fights what demon)
[] On the other hand, you could retreat and hope they don't catch up.
[] Your group should split up. Some should fight while the rest go. (write-in who fights and who goes)
[] Do something else? (write-in)

Sage's Insanity: 15 n/a
-Cancer Moon is active (-3 for empathy, -2 for exploration)
-Inventory: Towel, Wand, Sword of Starlight, Peltate Amulet
Violet's Insanity: 22 n/a

QM Note: Note that if you do split up, Sage and Calico need to be on the same team and need to be there when Ultramarinus is confronted.