[X] Decline the invitation and return to the temple.
-[X] You made a deal with Caster when she allowed you to stay at the temple, and you're perilously close to a conflict of
interests already.
--[X] However, whenever your interests do not conflict, you'd be glad to talk further, another time.
Finally you slowly shake your head and smile sadly at Illyasviel. "I'm sorry, but I think I must decline your generous offer. Caster allowed my friend and I to stay at the temple after a deal was struck, and I am perilously close to a conflict of interests." She nods as you stand up and step away from the table.
"I understand. Try to do better against Berserker next time, okay?" You flash her a grin.
"Of course I will! And if situations permit us to see each other without issue, I would be glad to talk further." You drop into a curtsy. "I thank you, Illyasviel von Einzbern, for the joy of the fight, the warmth of your fire, the health of your drink, and the pleasure of your company." She looks a little uncomfortable, almost embarrassed, nodding her head and looking down. Sella is scowling at you angrily, but Leysritt seems to be confused by your farewell.
"Um, It's fine. I'll see you later. Leysritt, escort her out, please." You head for the door, the quiet servant following you with her halberd carried ceremoniously. As you walk down the hall, you hear Illyasviel and Sella talking about something, but you can't hear what they're saying.
"… Leysritt. That's a good name, isn't it?" You glance back at the servant as you walk down the stairs of the hall, and she frowns uncomfortably. "You don't like being complimented?"
"You … are an enemy. Caster's tool." You chuckle and shake your head.
"We simply have an agreement," you reply, and the rest of the walk to the door is made in silence. She watches you as you step past the threshold and take a deep breath. "I'll be seeing Illyasviel again, I think. At least one more time. Take care of her for me until then." You step forward and leap into the air without waiting to see how she responds, heading straight for the temple at a comfortably slow speed. As you pass through the detection field you slow down again and turn invisible, then quickly take off your ragged dress and put it away so it can recover. One of the extra dresses you got in Mitakihara replaces it and you speed up again, eager to get some rest. Dawn is still some hours away, but that doesn't mean you have to stay up. You drop onto the stairs, wondering if Sasaki is on guard or not. You creep up to the entrance without challenge and return to visibility; moments later, Sasaki does as well, blade held loosely as he watches the approach.
"You've finally returned. There was a great deal of excitement while you were gone." You stare at him, waiting for him to explain, but he simply continues watching. You huff in irritation and walk in, only slightly concerned about being seen. You keep an eye out and move to the rooftops to minimize any chances of being caught, and apparently safely make it to the building you're staying. No lights are on, and you quietly make your way to the empty room. You stop and frown at the sleeping mat in the corner next to Ershin, then slowly approach the suit of armor. Caster doesn't seem to be around, for some reason, but Deis partially projects herself and waggles a finger at you.
"Tsk, tsk. Naughty girl." You tilt your head curiously and she shakes her head before gesturing at the mat. "You hid Caster's gem away in that non-space of yours, didn't you?" You nod and she finally seems to notice your change of apparel, raising an eyebrow.
"Yes, I had to do a bit of sneaking and didn't want to alert anyone," you begin. Did you ever tell her about your bat transformation? You don't think so …. "It didn't help, though, but I had a few good talks with people while I was out. Would you like to hear about them?" You stop next to the mat.
"Oh, go on, go on - it's yours, at least until we leave. I'm not sure Caster actually sleeps … anyway, no, I'm good for now. Once our host has calmed down and we're all ready for serious talks we can talk about everything." You flop down on the mat; it's quite comfortable. Your eyes lock on Deis's.
"Sasaki said something about excitement, and you knew I put the bead away. What happened?" She shakes her head and shrugs.
"One of her spells fell apart, and it seems to have been triggered by you cutting the connection to the gem. She was a little … distraught … for a while. We can talk more tomorrow - well, later today, I guess." You nod and close your eyes, falling asleep almost instantly.
Caster studies the bead, frowning unhappily, then sighs and sets it down on the table. "Well, what's done is done. I can still use it to contact you - if it's in this reality, anyway - so I'd like you to keep it." You nod and scoop it up, putting it back in your ribbon. "So, what were you up to last night?" You take a drink from the cup in front of you - green tea, not something you ever learned to like - and relax, wings twining behind you.
"Hmm … well, the first place I visited was Rider's lair, since she's supposed to be the weakest Servant. That's when I put the bead away, since I didn't want to get caught. Rider didn't notice me even though I got within a few meters of her, but there is a competent mage there. He was in the basement with some weird worms; said he was the Master's grandfather, and he seemed to have some sort of plan for the war, so I wouldn't discount Rider so quickly." Caster frowns when you mention the strange old man.
"Another mage? … What did these worms look like?" You pull out a blank sheet of paper and a pencil and sketch the two varieties of worm instead of telling her, and make a quick portrait of the old man as well before sliding it toward her. Deis titters when she sees the picture.
"He said the worms were his 'pets.' He'd sent Rider and her Master out when I entered the basement, and they got caught by Tohsaka and Archer, so we cut my visit short. He did offer to explain them and let me have one or two if I helped him, but I figured it wasn't any of my business." Caster is scowling at the picture when you clear your throat. She looks up at you. "He offered another deal, left it open-ended. Said he knew about all the Masters and Servants except for two, and was willing to trade information for the identities of those two Servants - Archer and Caster." She stares at you, surprised, then shakes her head.
"Implying he knows about Lancer's Master. Interesting. That is …." She trails off, frowning as some thought gains traction, and you wait for her to gesture for you to continue.
"He also said that his family has a lot of records about the Grail War, because it was one of the first participants, so he might have more useful information. Anyway, when I left I put the bead back on, and then I flew to Saber's place. I saw you fighting her. What were you doing?" Deis chuckles.
"Trying to pull apart the binding on her sword. Not an easy thing to do over a distance, and then the intruder and the backlash from the spell happened and we had to give up."
"Did you ever find the intruder?" Caster sighs and shakes her head, slumping over the table.
"No. It must have been some interference from wherever you kept the gem, because I couldn't find any trace of anyone who shouldn't have been there. Nothing breached the walls, and Assassin claims that no one passed through the gate either …." You pat her on the head as she grumbles to herself, drawing a quickly-hidden flash of irritation and a chuckle from Deis. Right, Caster doesn't like to be touched. You lean back as she sits up straight.
"Anyway, didn't learn much at Emiya's place. It has some kind of warning boundary. There was a girl there, apparently the sister of Rider's Master, and they think someone might have attacked her magically, because she became ill almost immediately after I arrived. Emiya was worried that her brother might do something to her if he found out about Emiya being a Master. Also, they owe me a small service or a trade of information for my telling them of Rider's Master." Caster's head jerks toward you, snakelike, and she grins, eyes glinting suspiciously, but you glare at her. "And I won't have that abused, Caster. If you try to take advantage of their trust in me, that's a betrayal of me, and you'll have made an enemy of me." She draws back, shocked, fear evident on her face, and you hold her gaze until she nods. "… Anyway, after that I went to see Berserker and his Master."
"Oh? How did it go? Oh, is that why you came back in that other dress?" You nod at Deis.
"Yes, there are three people there apart from the Servant - a mage, a warrior, and Illyasviel. I fought Berserker again, wasn't able to beat him, and then went inside and had tea with Illyasviel. She said she was the owner of the Holy Grail, and that she couldn't lose because no one could kill Berserker and no one could kill her without wasting everything. I like her, and I think I'll see about meeting her sometime apart from any fighting." Caster loses track of the conversation again, frowning to herself and making short gestures with her hands. Not spellcasting, you think, just keeping track of her thoughts.
"You got into a fight, lost, and then had tea. And then you just left?" You scoff gently at Deis.
"I didn't lose. I simply wasn't able to beat him. And then we talked over tea and I left peacefully, yes. She's really quite civilized." Deis just smiles knowingly at you and drapes herself over Ershin. You really have no idea why she makes her illusion move around so much … maybe she gets some level of feedback from it?
What do you do?
[ ] Keep talking with Caster.
- Subject?
[ ] Keep talking with Deis.
- Subject?
[ ] Go read some of your books.
[ ] Wait for it to get dark, then go out.
- [ ] Explore the City.
- [ ] Investigate the Tohsaka residence.
- [ ] Try to pick a fight with a Master. (Specify)
[ ] Other?
DM Note: No option to go back to the Einzbern Castle tonight.
