[X] Talk to Caster.
- [X] About the vampire.
- [X] About the other Servants.
[X] Take a nap until evening.
You drop from the window and turn to leave the room; Deis is probably trying to work on something magical, and it's apparently something she wants to keep secret from Caster, or at least she wants to keep the mechanics hidden. Your hostess, however, might be free to answer questions, so you leave the room to look for her, finding her in the kitchen, of all places. Still wearing her cloak, although with the hood down, she's looking through the refrigerator and cabinets, taking notes. Perhaps she's planning on going shopping later. You wait for her to notice you, grinning at her surprised jump.
"May I ask you a few questions?" She hesitates, taking a moment to recover her balance, then nods.
"You may. Please follow me." She settles her cloak over her dress and strides out of the kitchen, leading you back to the dining area. She waves her hand, doing something magical, but nothing that seems to affect the room. "What is it you wished to know?"
"I came across a human drained of blood while I was out last night. That means there's a vampire in the city, and if you know where he is, I'd like to go see him." Caster frowns and sits at the table before shaking head.
"A vampire? … There are no Dead Apostles in Fuyuki. Tell me about this human."
"A boy, maybe around that Emiya's age, leaning over the railing at the big bridge over the river. He wasn't quite dead when I passed him, but he'd lost enough blood that he probably died before anyone found him." Caster's frown deepens and she holds her hand in front of her mouth. After a moment, her face clears.
"It was probably Rider, then." You tilt your head in confusion, and Caster waves her hand over the table. A vague map of the city blurs into existence over the surface, becoming sharpened and more defined over a few seconds. One area of the town in the southwest is highlighted in black. "Rider's Master is incompetent and not qualified to handle a Servant, so he has her attack humans and drain their blood to get the mana he cannot provide her." You tuck that away if you ever need it - attacking the Master should affect the Servant. An image of a building shimmers into existence over the black area - it's dark and closed-in, and it looks like a place you wouldn't mind staying in. "Rider's Master lives here; Rider herself is probably there as well." You nod; hunting away from your home is common sense, especially if you're going to leave your target out in the open.
"So unless someone is better at hiding than you are at finding them, it probably wasn't a vampire. Thank you, Caster. I did have some questions about the other Servants as well, actually. I'm probably going to be going out at night, so I may run into them, but also if they attack here and I help, it would make things easier if I knew more about them." Caster smiles and several parts of the map light up - a dull grey far to the south of the temple, red bordering the black, and blue in the northwestern part of the city. More buildings appear over the areas: a castle over the grey; a comfortable-looking home over the red; and an open Japanese house over the blue.
"Lancer's Master I have not been able to identify, and Lancer himself is quick enough to evade my searching, so I cannot tell you where he is likely to be. Assassin considered him a worthy opponent, and while Lancer did not fully engage himself, he still fought well enough to disengage without effort after a short while. He appears to merely be scouting the capabilities of his opponents, and is deliberately holding back some measure of his true strength. Rider, as I said, is a Servant wielded by an incompetent Master, thus weakening her." The red area lights up. "This is Archer's domain; I believe that he is currently unaware that Rider lairs so near to him. If he knew, they would undoubtedly fight. For an archer, he is strangely proficient with swords, so he may be a threat -" She breaks off, glowering, as you shake your head.
"He uses short swords, right? It's a matter of reach and commitment. Assassin has a long sword, and Lancer has a spear, so if you can get in close with shorter weapons, you have a big advantage. His swords, however, are short, so they're great for defending, but not as good on the attack, because the only way he can use them is by somehow getting past his opponent's weapon without being cut. Unless he's significantly faster, though, they just need to move back. I only saw him a little, but we should have the same engagement range, which favors me more than it does him." Caster stares at you for a moment, then bows her head, smiling.
"As you say. I am no fighter, after all." She straightens and her eyes gleam as the blue area is highlighted. "This is Saber's territory. The boy is an incompetent Master as well, weakening her, but she would be so much more with a better Master. She is quite an exquisite Servant … white, I think. Yes, white, at least to start …." She starts to mutter something to herself, then stiffens as you tilt your head curiously. She shakes her head and clears her throat. "In any case, Saber should be less of a threat than Lancer, even if she is more capable than him; she can't risk herself the same way he can because she receives less support from her Master." The final area of the map is highlighted. "And … Berserker. A nearly unstoppable mountain of a warrior, he is also backed by a top-class Master. If you try to match your strength against his, you will lose." You nod, smiling.
"I know. I've got a few things planned for when I meet him again." You pause, tapping your lips. "Is there anything … special I should know about any of them? When Deis offered to dismantle the seal on Saber's sword, they said something about recognizing who a Servant could be by their weapons. Do you know who anyone else might be apart from Heracles?" Caster frowns and shakes her head.
"This early, revealing a Noble Phantasm could be disastrous. Lancer is a hero from Ireland; his spear, it seems, does not miss the target's heart. Rider, Saber, and Archer have not yet revealed themselves, but as you said, Saber will be known once her sword is revealed. Berserker … he will return to life should you manage to kill him, and as you saw, weak attacks will not affect him at all." She doesn't detail herself or Sasaki, of course - it would be a hugely trusting thing for her to do, and she is merely your hostess, not an ally. And it's not as if you've told her everything about yourself, either. "… If I may ask, Flandre, what were seeking at the libraries?" Her voice is soft and you bow your head before grinning at her.
"Stories and legends; at first I was thinking only to get more information on Heracles, but then I decided grab anything that might be useful, so if I can find out who some of these Servants are, I can maybe find some weaknesses, or things to keep track of. I can share anything I learn with you, of course." She stares at you, almost managing to keep the surprise off her face, then smiles and bows her own head.
"Please do. I hate to be a poor hostess, but there are some things I need to prepare. If it's not too much trouble …?" You giggle.
"No, not a problem at all - I was going to take a nap, actually, so I'll just head back to your room. Ah, or should we move? I don't want to force you out, so …." She shakes her head.
"It's fine. Rest well." You rise and curtsy before withdrawing, curling up in the same corner you did yesterday. You wonder if you should trust Caster as much as she seems to be trusting you, or if you should assume she's just better at putting up protections than you are at seeing them, then shrug to yourself. If she tries anything, you'll just have to kill her. Without knowing what you're capable of, she can't put up real defenses that matter, after all ….
When you wake up, Ershin is gone. Deis left a note saying that she was going to check something out and not to worry, though, so she probably has Caster's permission. But the sun is going down, so now you can do things!
What do you do?
[ ] Explore the city.
[ ] Attack a Master's house.
- [ ] Saber
- [ ] Rider
- [ ] Archer
- [ ] Berserker
[ ] Investigate a Master's house.
- [ ] Saber
- [ ] Rider
- [ ] Archer
- [ ] Berserker
[ ] Curl up with the books.
- [ ] Focus on any Irish stories first.
- [ ] Focus on any Greek stories first.
[ ] Other?