The Journey Never Ends (Original Fantasy Quest)

You tap your leg as you consider the situation before you. There isn't any one thing you can pin it on, but something feels… off with how events progressed here. While taking the initiative and moving as fast as possible is important in dealing with potential cult activity, it is equally crucial to not become overzealous and pounce at any suspicious activity in sight. That's how witch hunts and other acts that history regrets later start. Talking with Iyanu may make things more difficult for you, but that alone won't stop you from doing what seems right.

But how to do so without tipping off either Dan or the miu, who you realize hasn't given her name yet. Not that Dan is suspicious, but neither of you have worked together or have a close bond. Your first thought is saying that you're going to apologize to Iyanu and Lolade, but considering the other two believe the alchemist is secretly connected to cults, it might seem a bit strange for you to do that.

The answer is rather simple once you come up with it.

"If we are investigating demonic influences, I may have something helpful in my room," you say, trying to look thoughtful and worried. "And I need to get myself prepared. I did not come to this city to hunt down cultists, after all. What do you say to us reconvening near Iyanu's address?"

Dan raises an eyebrow but thankfully remains silent, while the miu seems almost interested as she leans forward and says, "Oh? Do you carry around something to handle demons when you travel?"

You shrug, "I am a devout follower of the Light. While I am no cleric, I believe it to be good sense to carry such things. Orbis can be a dangerous world."

"I suppose I can't deny that," she says easily. "Alright then, he lives at…"

Twenty minutes later, you're on the streets circling back to the Good Cauldron once you're relatively certain that Dan and the miu are far enough away. Aya must have chosen to continue shadowing her friend instead, though you weren't too worried about her following you anyways. It's not as if she would have told Dan everything immediately. Taking one last look around you before you reenter the building, you step through once you see nothing and go back up to the office.

Reaching the door, you take a deep breath before knocking on it. You don't hear any yells this time around, though the thumping footsteps tell you that they're still around. This is hardly the first time you've had to confront someone upset with you or your companions, and this time there's much less risk of them attacking you, so you keep calm and assert yourself as the door opens to reveal Iyanu once more.

"Hello, we aren't—oh, it's you," he grumbles out, half looking like he wanted to close the door in your face but just barely stopping himself.

"Greetings. May I come in? I think there are some matters we should speak of."

He sighs, "Oh, I know you probably aren't at fault for the failed divination. I apologize for how I acted earlier, and I will demand no recompense of you. The Good Cauldron, however, will be closing for now. If you are here to ask if Lolade found anything in her divination, I'm afraid you'll have to come by later when she's better rested."

Iyanu's voice is mechanical as he rattles off an apology that the other miu must've convinced him to say if you came back, though he injects some steel in his voice for the last part. Until he brought it up, it didn't even cross your mind to ask about the divination. Perhaps you'll follow up on that later.

"There is no need to apologize, I understand well the pain that comes when a friend is hurt," you respond. "While I've come to offer my own regrets for what occurred, there is a different matter I wish to bring up. May I enter and speak privately with you? This is something for your ears only."

The annoyance in his bearing shifts to a confused wariness, likely not expecting this turn in the conversation. After pulling his hat down to cover his face as he thinks, he eventually sighs and opens the door further for you before turning away wordlessly. Following him to the same room you just exited not too long ago, the myconid eyes you expectantly as you take a seat.

"Well, what's this about?" Iyanu asks.

You look up at the ceiling before saying, "After the… incident, your miu friend took us to this room to discuss the matter I came here originally for."

"She goes by Carmun. Not her real name, but she likes to be called that," he interrupts.

That name… something about it sounded familiar, but you didn't have time to think about it right now.

"Thank you," you say before continuing. "When Carmun began to speak of the cultists however, she shared a… peculiar suspicion of hers. Tell me, how often does she and the others visit your home?"

He tilts his head, "We go to each other's places pretty often, why?"

You look at him for a moment before leaning back and stating, "She accused you of having connections with cultists."

Iyanu blinks for a moment, not comprehending what you just said. His hands clench soon after however as he abruptly stands up and sends the chair he was on clattering to the floor.

"Liar! First you cause, intentionally or not, Lolade to go into some kind of shock, then you try to set up Carmun in trying to what, implicate me because of your paranoia about cultists? Y-you damned… just because we're independent mages…!"

Raising both your hands, you lean forward and stare straight into his eyes before saying, "I am not accusing you of anything, Iyanu. If you wish, I will relay what she told us. She claimed that there was something going on in your home and that you were preparing something in a room that you never allowed anyone in to see. She said the mana around your home was off, and that you were the most supportive of helping out the cultist you took in while viewing your silence during our discussion of the cults as suspicious. Does any of this sound off to you?"


Iyanu's anger slowly dissipates as you talk, replaced by an expression of growing disbelief and shock. He sinks back into his chair, falling down onto his behind due to not realizing he sent it to the ground not too long ago. Taking his hat off and rubbing his cap, he begins to almost visibly shake.

"But… she and everyone knows that's where I brew everything and that it's… the mana? Carmun never told me anything about, about, and, what the hell!?" Iyanu cries out, frustration, confusion, and betrayal mixing on his face. "I submitted myself first to the temple's questioning, and she was the one who introduced that guy to us after telling his sob story! Where the fuck is she? For that matter, where is whatever the hell your friend's name is?"

"Dan, and…" you trail off as you realize something that was bothering you before.

Neither you or Dan shared his name to the people here.

"She proposed that we go investigate your home while you were busy tending to Lolade. I thought something felt off about all this, so I claimed that I needed to go back to where I was staying to prepare myself before circling back here. They should be waiting nearby your home. Tell me, what reason would Carmun have for doing this?"

The myconid shakes his head as he stands back up, "I have no idea. She's been nothing but a good friend to me all these years. I don't know… wait. There's no way she's after… shit! What a fucking schemer! We need to get there now!"

You speak as both of you stand back up, "Do you believe Dan is in danger?"

"Huh? Oh," he says distractedly. "I… I don't know. I thought I knew her well, but apparently it seems I can't get anything right. She's strong though. Carmun studied combat magic in some academy in Tarshish. I don't know how good your friend is, but she's been a powerhouse for years."

You curse inwardly and run your mind through various courses of actions that can help out Dan. Alone with a potentially hostile and powerful foe, he might be able to stall if he is aware of the danger, but will probably crumble against a powerful battlemage if caught off guard. She likely won't attack though if her suspicion isn't raised. How can you make sure the yuren is as safe as possible before you get there…

The image of a hooded figure looking down at her tablet flashes before your eyes. That's right, you know Aya was following you two. Your hand hovers your own tablet as you recall that you've exchanged numbers with everyone in Amina's party. Soon, a plan of action forms in your mind. Now, to figure out how to work the damned thing again…

---

You close your eyes as you focus on your breathing, preparing yourself for a potential battle. The sounds of traffic drifts by as Iyanu focuses on driving the two of you back to his home. Having left his friend behind to look after Lolade, the alchemist is more tense than ever as he skirts around the traffic laws. Despite his likely scammer's business, you feel some sympathy for his situation. His day has been one unfortunate event after another, and you're quite familiar with the sting of betrayal. How could you not, having lived so long? The Crusades alone fostered enough paranoia in you to last over a century.

Perhaps others might've spoken up in an attempt to ease his nerves, but despite all your improvements in sociability, you're still the same in many ways. You prefer to let others think and come to their own conclusions, and involving yourself in something like this has never been something you've grown comfortable doing. There is a world of difference between approaching new people and comforting them when they're struggling. Your preferred method might not always be the best choice, but it has helped more than it has harmed from your experience.

When you get near to your destination however, you feel a sudden spike in the environment's mana, the buzzing and tingling sharply increasing. Iyanu seems to feel it too as he curses and starts to drive faster. Preparing your bow, you peer out the window as you approach the scene of where things seem to be happening and ready yourself to act as quickly as you can.

You hear spells being cast and the crackle of energy being slammed into each other soon enough, and you wince at the sheer force you can both feel and hear from it. Dan may be talented, but a psionic usually can't emit that kind of raw power. Judging by the sheer volume of spells you estimate being flung about, the yuren is most probably losing the battle. Suddenly, the charged mana in the air begins to fizzle away along with the sounds of spells, and you fear that the worst may have occurred. Once Iyanu makes the final turn and you look to see what's going on, you see something… unexpected.


A black blur presses at the black glowing form of Carmun and lands a series of strikes at her, each one accompanied by flashes of color and sending a thudding impact through the area. Aya tilts her head to dodge a laser blast by a hair's breadth before stepping in and digging her fist in her opponent's midsection, sending her up in the air for a few meters and stumbling when she lands back on the ground. Settling herself, the bake-danuki swiftly rotates her body and drives her back foot straight at her opponent's exposed head. The miu frantically tries to block with her arms, but cries out as she's sent flying back with a wave of force.

Without hesitation, Aya drops to all fours and chases after her, leaping the last bit of distance feet first in a drop kick that slams into Carmun's head and sends her crashing into the wall of a building. Spinning in the air before pulling off a perfect three-point landing, the bake-danuki looks at the cloud of smoke and debris with a calm, expectant gaze while breathing evenly.

You don't realize that Iyanu has stopped the car and is also watching until he groans, "That's my house… how am I going to get the money for the repairs?"

"We'll cover it," you say, ready to have to actually be the one who covers it in full if the group's finances aren't in order.

A sharp surge in mana runs through the area, and before you can cry out a warning for Aya to look behind her, she's already turning and dashing forward at Carmun, who's running towards her with a glowing, crackling fist of energy. The martial artist steps into the mage's attack, slipping past the strike before sending her arm over the limb still sailing past her. In a blink of an eye, the counterpunch cracks the miu's jaw and sends her flipping multiple times in the air before falling onto her back with her arms up, groaning.

The two of you stare at the scene for a moment, almost in anticipation, before you both snap out of it and begin exiting the car. Running forward with your bow drawn out and looking around the area, you catch sight of Dan slumped over and sitting against a partially broken fence. His watchful eyes however thankfully show that he's still up, though you see a few nasty burns and wounds on his body.

"Aya, Dan!" you cry out, making your presence known. "Are you two alright? What happened?"

Aya looks over to you first, but it's Dan who calls out to you, "This damned… cat attacked me randomly. Sucker punched me and woulda killed me if I didn't prep my usual shield beforehand."

"You're too late. I punched her first," Aya says simply.

You laugh, "So you did, so you did. Now, I suppose it's time to call this in…"

As you go to support Dan in standing back up however, you catch sight of Iyanu looking down at his coworker and friend with a complicated expression. As you bring the yuren over to them all, the miu seems to have woken up and is blearily staring up at Aya and the myconid standing over her.

"What… what is this all about? What is going on?" Iyanu asks, the desperate tone you recognize of someone deeply wishing this is all a big misunderstanding.

For a moment, she stares uncomprehendingly at the alchemist, before suddenly exploding with a wheezing, horrible laughter that reeked of amusement and malice.

"Oh, innocent Iyanu. I suppose the act is up. Thank the lords," she lets out between peals of laughter.

He stumbles back slightly, before whispering, "Act?"

She shakes her head as she sits up, "It was unbearable being with you absolute messes. Especially you, you inept piece of mold."

"What are you saying…" he lets out, his hands clenching.

"What?" she says questioningly, looking at Iyanu before smirking. "Did you actually believe I cared for you? Thought I was just some kind stranger helping out a shitty alchemist out of the kindness of her heart?"

At his silence, she cackles again, "You did, didn't you? That's just so hysterical! I bet you thought we were just the perfect band of close-knit friends, struggling against the big guys huh? Oh lords, this makes getting caught almost worth it to see your expression."

"You…!" Iyanu rushes forward, only to be held back by Aya.

"Speak on why you've chosen to attempt this pathetic deception before I do what Aya did here much more painfully," you speak up finally, taking pity on Iyanu and seeking to take her attention off him.

The miu glances over at you, "Ah, you. I should've guessed you figured me out with that flimsy excuse you gave. It doesn't matter though. We completed our objective here anyways. We obtained the only thing that makes poor Iyanu here matter at all. The plan is already underway and can't be stopped."

Iyanu bristles with indignant anger, "You fucking cat! You didn't take… not my…"

You kick the miu and send her back into unconsciousness when she bursts into more manic laughter. Iyanu slumps in Aya's arms and almost stumbles forward once released as his expression, so confident and cheery when you first met him, now twists in hurt and confusion.

Surprisingly, it's Dan who asks first, "You alright there, buddy?"

Iyanu shivers, clenching and unclenching his hands, "I… when I was struggling and about to lose everything when my master died and the authorities were going to take everything, she approached me and helped me out of that situation. She supported me and the others and helped us figure out how to achieve our dream jobs even with our lack of qualifications."

"She… she was so good to us. Celebrated all of our birthdays, spent the holidays with us, joked and teased us so normally. I don't… why…" Iyanu trails off and looks down, his mushroom cap covering his expression.

The day has been difficult for him. His friend suffering from a failed divination and another having betrayed him so deeply… you hand Dan over to Aya and rest an arm around his shoulders, quietly letting him release his emotions as he sobs uncontrollably.

Dan speaks up, hesitation coloring his voice, "Don't feel too bad man, I didn't suspect anything either. I thought I was the smart one in my group who knew what to suspect or trust, but I was the first one to get duped just because I found someone who seemed agreeable and logical to me."

Though it doesn't really seem to be helping, you respond anyways to not let an awkward silence descend, "Demons and their followers are insidious. They are thought of as unthinking, slavering foes, but there are many who understand very well how to manipulate people for their own ends. They latch onto what you desire and crave most in moments where you are least equipped to deal with them and slowly render themselves integral to your life. It is a well-practiced process that they have refined for millennia on some of the greatest people in history."

A brief silence follows your explanation as the others digest what you just said. Right when you're about to call the investigation team however, Iyanu speaks up.

"I—I need to take it back," he says, trembling.

You look down at him, "Take what back?"

He stands back up slightly, "My master was part of a long line of alchemists dating back thousands of years. They declined in recent centuries though, and he was the last member of his line when he took me in. Part of the reason why they were so influential was because they were in possession of a special cauldron they liked to call the Basket of Existence."

Dan raises an eyebrow, "That's… a name alright."

Iyanu laughs wetly, "I didn't learn much before my master passed, but even I could make something really potent with what little I knew with it. If cultists have it now, I can't even imagine what they could do with it. More than that… it's the most important thing my master left to me. If I lose it, I… no. I'll do what I must to get it back. You're investigating cultists right? Let me and the others help. I… we aren't the best mages, but I have some stuff left over from my master and what I managed to brew successfully. I can't just sit back like a failure again…"

"Of course," you reassure him. "We'll return your cauldron to you and remove the demonic taint from this city."

As you go to inform the investigation of what occurred, you consider everything you've learned the past three days. There will be a meeting to summarize everything learned by the operations conducted by everyone soon, and hopefully it'll lead to the final demise of the cults infesting Nokoyo.

---

The investigation continues, but you have some time before you move. Who do you choose to meet up with to socialize and discuss things further?

Choose Two:

[] Amina's Group

[] The Good Cauldron

[] The Temple Investigation Trio

Additionally, two people feel free to roll a 1d6 (each) for the results of what happened with the police and museum investigation. Higher is better.

AN: