[X] Ask Deis what happened.
- [X] Ask Ilya if she knows anything about what attacked.
[X] See if there's anything you can do to help Caster.
"Hey, Deis, why don't you tell us what happened?" She nods, but Ilya shakes her head.
"Sella and I should leave; we don't have any more business here." She sounds rather sad, and you scowl at her even though she can't see you.
"Nonsense, Ilya. For all we know, this is something that was after me, but it attacked even though I wasn't there, so it might attack any place I've spent a lot of time. Or maybe it's something that's just attacking anyone powerful, and if that's the case then it's not tied to the Grail War and there's no problem with you learning about it."
"She has a point," Deis says, and Ilya sighs.
"Alright, I'll stay and listen." Is she trying to cover up a smile? It looks like it ….
"Oh, I have lots of points," you say, and Ilya tries giving you a look - but you're already moving, and you jab your fingers into her sides. She squeaks and tries to wriggle away from you, but you catch her around the waist and hop back so you're sitting in the doorframe with her on your lap. And with the car blocking anyone's view of you, you drop your invisibility as you nuzzle Ilya's cheek. She slumps, defeated, and Deis stares at you for a long moment before raising her hands and shaking her head. Then she stiffly lowers herself to the ground, and you give her a concerned look.
"Don't worry, I'm fine." You're pretty sure that something is wrong, but you don't challenge her on it, and she closes her eyes as she orders her thoughts. "… So, last night - or this morning, rather - Caster and I were talking … by the way, Flan, all through this speech, pretend I'm giving you a disappointed look. Anyway, we were talking when we both sensed an enormous mass of power outside the gate. It just appeared, so either it was concealing itself before it got close enough to attack or it teleported in; either way, Assassin was gone before Caster could get anything out of him, and then whatever it was started on the defenses she'd put up in case that Archer decided to attack. Nothing subtle or fancy, it just tried to break them through brute force. I told Caster to get everyone away from it, in case it was a hex and could feed on them. Ershin and I met it in the courtyard right as it broke through her defenses. I had Ershin go forward and see if there was a center or core to attack while I kept it contained." She sighs. "It didn't manage much, got thrown into a building with some purely physical injuries, but by then I'd managed to get my defenses in order and Caster had started opening up." You start to wonder if Ershin is alright, but Deis would say something if something had happened. "The … the hex seemed to be attacking me only because I was in its way; there was definitely some kind of passive effect that it was trying to use on me, that was eroding the flagstones, but my barriers kept it from doing anything major to me. Once Caster showed up, though, it made an effort to go after her." She pauses, eyes shut, and you wonder if she had been affected in a minor fashion, or if she was just tired.
"This … hex? What did it look like?" Deis looks at Ilya and shakes her head.
"I don't think 'it' was there, really, so any description is going to be wrong, but …. Imagine a shadow, insubstantial, yet having a physical presence. A hooded and cloaked main body with many tentacles. Beyond that … words can't do it justice. More relevant is its presence - it generates cold and darkness, and a terrifying foreboding of meaninglessness. It scared Caster, terrified her, and she threw everything she had at it. Some spells just didn't do anything, others didn't do enough to stop it, and a few it batted aside. More importantly, it focused on her, and her shields didn't do enough to stop it. I tried putting my own barriers between her and it, but it threw all of itself at those barriers, not just tentacle slaps, and it was able to break through them. It got one tentacle around Caster and tried to draw her into its main body, so I figured I'd try attacking it. I'm not sure what it was that I did that it didn't like, but something drove it away, so I kept up the attack and chased it until it vanished, then came back and took Caster to her Master. He said that she'd been in a similar state once before and took her, and I got Ershin and patched it up." Ilya makes a small noise and nods.
"Do you know what that thing was?" You tilt your head and crane it forward to look at her face.
"No, I can't think of anything like that. But I think I figured out what's wrong with you, Deis. You're hurting, right? Your whole body, and it feels like your nerves are on fire? You burned away at least part of that body's ability to use magic." Deis sighs and holds up one hand, flexing her fingers while staring at it. "It's probably because that person died, so her magic circuits stopped working, but maybe there's just incompatibilities in the way you use magic. More important than that …." She leans forward and looks up toward the temple. "Rin thought Caster died. Even I wasn't sure, and all her defenses are gone, can Rin can't sense Servants as well as I can. She probably came here hoping to make sure Flan was dead, with Archer hanging back in case she wasn't and Rin couldn't beat her quickly. Haa~ She should just try to buy you off so you'll at least be quiet during the Grail War, or even better, leave Fuyuki." You snort, doubtful that she's clever enough to try that. It's not like she could give you anything that would be worth listening to her, anyway. Ilya sighs. "In a way, it's kind of a shame Caster survived; if she hadn't, I'd be able to invite you both to stay with me. As it is, however, I really should be going now." You pout and quiver your lips, but Ilya simply pats your head. "I'll be fine, I'm sure. And I'll see you … hm. Maybe tonight, but probably tomorrow. Goodbye Deis, Flan." She hugs you and waves to Deis, and then you help her into the car. Sella bows politely and you turn invisible once again. Deis waves as the car drives off.
"She really is a good kid, isn't she?" You make a curious sound and Deis chuckles. Caster's exhausted and all her defenses are scrambled and gone; I'm not at my best, either, which would leave you the only one capable of fighting Berserker if she decided to move against Caster. And then she says that she'll probably give us a day to get ready. Anyway, let's get back to Caster's place, shall we? Just let me … there." She vanishes from view and you gasp.
"How did you do that?"
"It's just a little trick with wind magic - like Saber's sword. This is much more fragile, of course, and I'm not going to like walking up the steps while keeping this up and trying to avoid bumping into people, but it'll cut down on troublesome interference." You tap your lips and fly up above her - as you suspected, she isn't invisible from above, and you titter quietly.
"Why don't you make it so you can't be seen around you or from below?" You drop behind her and lift her from under her arms.
"Oh, Flan, you're a lifesaver. Give me a moment, please … okay. Don't go too fast, please; a few minutes to make sure nothing embarrassing happens is well worth the time." You fly smoothly over the shattered forest toward the gate. "… I did make it high enough that you don't need to keep your invisibility up, you know." You waver a bit and blush before dropping your invisibility and giving Deis a sheepish smile. She sighs and shakes her head.
"Hey, Deis? Do you think there's anything I could do to help Caster?" Some of the people in the courtyard are talking to the monks, but a lot of them are busy cleaning up and trying to repair the damage. They're either going to need a lot more people or some better help, though.
"Hmm … I don't know, really. She was certainly spent last night, but Souichirou said he'd take care of her, so I'm not sure if there's anything we can do. Maybe get a fire going to keep her warm if she's still cold?" You smile at the suggestion.
"Well, I was thinking about that spell I showed her, the one my sister uses. I wouldn't be able to set it up, of course, but I could do all the other work." Deis nods.
"That should work, yes. It would need Caster to be well enough to use it, though, so you should probably check with her before you actually do anything." You gently set her down and wait for her to wave that she's fine before letting go, and the two of you walk into Caster's home.
"What about you, Deis? I could do that for you, too." She shakes her head.
"No, I'll be alright - at least for now. Depending on whether or not this body deteriorates any more, and how it goes about it, I might try it, but power isn't my an issue right now, so don't worry on that count. I just need some rest." You give her a hug and let her enter the room you've been using. Now to find Caster …. The house certainly feels a lot different without her sitting at the table spinning her web of magic, but you're not sure that you'd call it worse. You don't find her in any of the rooms you can enter, but one room has its door locked or barred. It wouldn't be a hassle for you to enter, but you wouldn't be able to really cover it up. Fortunately, however, it's an exterior room, so you dart outside and change into your bat form to creep through the window. When you look around for Caster, however, you sigh to yourself - it really wouldn't be a good idea to wake her up right now, especially considering how tightly she's clutching Souichirou. They look sweet together, though, and you consider making a sketch of them, but humans tend to be somewhat reserved about that sort of thing. You watch her for a few moments, then make your way back to the rest of the house - she doesn't look very good, but sleep probably is the best thing for her right now. Deis opens an eye as you slip into the room. Ershin is sitting next to her, and while any damage has been patched up, it looks smaller and less solid than it used to. Maybe you can find someplace with a lot of spare metal for Deis to use?
"She's still asleep," you tell Deis, "and it didn't seem like a good time to wake her up." She nods and closes her eye. Really, she doesn't look too good, either ….
What do you do?
[ ] Take a nap - it's daytime, there are a bunch of people around the temple, and Ershin can keep watch anyway!
[ ] Keep watch in case anyone tries something during the day.
- Any plans or preparations while comrades are sleeping?
[ ] Go out for a little - they'll be safe enough, since there are a bunch of people around and it's daytime, and Ershin's there!
- [ ] Food! When everyone wakes up, they're going to be hungry!
- [ ] See how people in the city are reacting to current events.
- [ ] Have some fun playing around with people, and maybe a meal or two ….
[ ] Other?
DM Note: The next update will not happen before noon on Saturday, and may be delayed until Sunday. I will hopefully be able to be more specific on Friday.
