Hey guys? I think it's time to start thinking about voting.
Now, I'm going to say that I'm pretty sure we've just been politely dismissed (though given we're playing kKrika we could 100% ignore that and keep talking like we didn't notice) so I guess we should leave the nice lady alone now unless we want to be rude.
Seeing as I can't think of anything else we can do here of immediate importance at this time:
[] Leave the girl alone
-[] Rest at the bonfire.
I'm open to any additional ideas, but we really shouldn't forget to do that (again).
A drawn silence hangs after the girl finishes speaking and she looks at you curiously. It takes longer than you'd like to admit to realise that she just told you to leave her alone.
You blink twice and clear your throat. "A-Ah, right. Well, I'll leave you to your, uh… praying, I guess?" You mutter, stepping back and shooting her some awkward finger guns.
She smiles faintly and gives you a small nod. "Indeed, though I suppose I too shall soon be departing. I pray we both find what we seek." At this, she catches the eye of Vince and steps past you. The two exchange quiet words before Petrus steps over to them from his conversation with Oscar.
Oscar, likewise, comes over to you, moving as gently as his armour allows and head turned to the conversing group. He stops beside you and remains quiet until the girl and her bodyguards all move off.
"I believe we should move on as well."
You ignore him and watch the clerics go, folding your arms and keeping your mouth firmly shut.
Oscar sighs. "Kirika, I'm sorry to have offended you. I truly meant no ill will. You have been an invaluable companion on this journey thus far and I had no intentions of belittling you."
"That was so formal it sounded like you have a stick up your ass." You comment flatly, still not turning to look at him.
He sighs again and scratches the back of his helmet. "What I mean to say is… I'm sorry. We are all shaped by our experiences, the bad often more than the good, and I won't ask you to share what you've been through. Just… I hope I didn't truly offend you."
You frown and finally turn to look up at him. You shrug. "Apology accepted, I guess. It'd be a pain if you were like this all the time."
"I see…" Mumbles Oscar, eyeing you. "Well, as I said, I believe it's time we moved on."
"You wanna try to find a peg to block your nose first?" You ask, stretching widely. "I get the feeling a sewer's gonna smell like, well… shit."
Oscar brings a hand to his chin in thought. "Smell aside, Petrus mentioned hearing of dangerous beasts that lurk there. Perhaps we should visit that Oswald fellow for some spare Purging Stones, seeing as they appear to cure your curse building, it may be worthwhile stocking up."
You tilt your head at him, all annoyance forgotten now that the conversation's turned to business. "Hmm? It can't be that bad, can it? We can deal with Hollows no worries, and I can't imagine small smelly tunnels will fit anything too dangerous."
"There are apparently rumours of the Pale Duke's Channelers lurking deep within. We had a poor time of things the last time we encountered one, and I doubt they're up to anything better down below."
"Channeler? Channeler… wait, you mean six-eyes with the trident?" You ask. Sure, they were tough, but you wouldn't call them too dangerous. Oh wait, the witch… fighting a witch in tight quarters would be… not great. "Ah, right. I think I get what you mean. Okay, sure. Can't ring your bell and find Oriko if we're both dead, so let's do that then."
The trip up to see Oswald is surprising, if uneventful. You expect to be jumped by a bunch of Hollows on the way through the church, and indeed you immediately encounter almost a dozen the moment you step out of the elevator. To your surprise, however, they either ignore you or give you blank glances as you pass. Most are just wandering about the place, while some sit slumped in the pews. A few seem to be praying to the altar.
You run into a few armed Hollows upon heading upstairs, looking something like alert. You decide to investigate what they're guarding, and they don't seem to care that you walk past them. The equipment of the Hollows improves as you move down the passage towards the back of the church, and the number of guards increases when you reach the wooden door barricade you busted through in your previous visit.
You weren't expecting to see friendly (well, not aggressive) Hollows to begin with, so you certainly never expected to see the red-caped Hollows trapped in the cell you freed Lautrec from. Instead of fixing the cell door you busted, the Hollows have dumped so much stuff against it that you can barely even see into the cell.
"It would seem that odd priestess at the shrine has been here." Oscar says as the two of you head back to the other end of the church.
"You think this was her?"
Oscar shakes his head. "I can't think of any other explanation, nor would I like to. It is unsettling how much control she has over the Hollows, however."
You don't disagree, although you distinctly remember her not liking you say she was controlling them. You honestly wonder how she managed to do all this so quickly, even with that little miracle she has. Best not to piss her off, at any rate.
While the first and second floors of the church are full of Hollows, it seems they have no interest in the small area up the ladders, nor the roof and belltower above. There's no one to be seen as you climb up and cross the roof to see Oswald.
You hear a caw! As you approach the door into the belltower and a big crow flies out before you enter. Oswald looks over from his wall and smiles at your entrance. He seems completely unperturbed by the Hollows that have moved in below.
"Greetings!" He exclaims, his grin wide and sinister. "Have thou cometh to confess, friends?"
"You don't seem surprised to see us back." Oscar says with a cautious tone.
Oswald laughs shrilly. "Why, of course not! My Lady has been keeping a keen eye on thou. I have made sure to prepare for your arrival." He replies, kicking his big bag of goodies towards you. "Thou wish to stock up, yes? Hehehehehehe!"
You and Oscar have 11,706 souls between the two of you.
Items:
Purging Stone (x3) – 3,000 souls
Indictment – 200 souls
Homeward bone – 500 souls
Curious if Madoka met Velka yet, would be quite an interesting meeting and i wonder if Velka hoping to use Kirika to save her world or gain passage for the remaining survivors to escape for a new world.
Suggestion: we discreetly look ourself up in the book of sin first, preferably without Oscar seeing what we find 'cause Kirika's done a lot of questionable stuff back home, so we know what exactly we're absolving. Plus if the list of our sins is short or non-existent, we can get a good feel for how long Oriko's been here and how active she's been. Can't commit very many sins in a jail cell beneath Seaths mansion after all.
As for price I think it's something like 500 souls per level, which is pretty manageable in general save for the fact our level is ??? apparently.
Suggestion: we discreetly look ourself up in the book of sin first, preferably without Oscar seeing what we find 'cause Kirika's done a lot of questionable stuff back home, so we know what exactly we're absolving.
We know it counts all the stuff from back in Japan, so it's mostly murder. I haven't read the source, but I do know most of what Kirika's done is murder. And frankly, Oscar isn't an idiot. He saw Oriko's page.
"Kirika," Oscar says, pulling you out of your thoughts as he leans over your shoulder "are you sure that's the right Oriko?"
"Huh?" You look up at him, not sure what he means. "Uh, yeah. It's one hundred percent her. Besides, I don't think there'd be many people with the name Oriko Mikuni around these parts."
"It's just… that list. It's fairly long, and the crimes themselves are nothing to scoff at." He says, uncertainly in his voice.
He knows the crimes Oriko committed, and I'm willing to bet there's more then a few murders in there. He knows Kirika is unreasonably loyal to a very bad person and considers her to be her master, and he's also seen everything Kirika's done since they met, good and bad. He's fairly aware of the kind of person Kirika is, even if the details aren't known to him.
And far as I can tell, he's okay with that. Maybe Kirika's too useful to part ways with. Maybe he meant it when he said Kirika circumstances aren't his place to judge. I don't think it really matters. I'm more wondering what effects being absolved of Sin has. We'll probably no longer be in the Book of the Guilty, but anything else?
Can we get look up Kirika's page of sins option, I'm curious if she would feel introspective after seeing her actions on paper especially with the character development she's going through, not a lot but enough i guess.
