act25side

If you really want to destroy this body, you probably need a little more time.

I have two minutes to spare.

So, you're not even going to come out of hiding to greet me...

...Banshee?

Weren't you just talking about how unwilling you are to show yourself?

Like I said, I have no interest in watching you murder your own boss.

But he's more than just that.

Oh? Old acquaintances, are you?

Personally? Not at all.

But my blood knows him.

Fascinating. I've been over it many times, and this guy here... doesn't smell Sarkaz.

Be careful of any tricks he might play. I don't want him to resurrect right after all the trouble I've gone through to kill him.

I won't let him interfere with the next step of the plan.

Hmm... I can't do it.

A delicate trap you've laid. I had guessed that Ho'olheyak might have planted something in the sky, but I didn't expect a banshee's curse to be hidden in the noise of the construction site.

My blood has taught me the power of words, and the sound of machinery clashing and colliding is the language I hear most.

An amazing talent to have fooled even me. There are only a few banshees, including those in the Royal Court, who could make me suffer like this.

Were you born in Kazdel, or the Valley of the Banshees?

It doesn't matter. My blood is not pure enough, and I haven't experienced any grand events either.

Right now, I'm just a engineer living in Columbia doing whatever I want.

*cough*...haha... have you found a home... in Columbia?

What about you?

Ah... so many years have passed by in a flash.

I've heard, that over the past two centuries, those two youths... Theresis and Theresa have finally built Kazdel as a Nomadic city.

I don't even know myself what Kazdel looks like today.

Are the streets still as crowded, the flags hanging on the city walls unchanged for a millennium, the undying furnace in the core still as hot as ever?

Can you relight my cigarette, child?

This little spark can't hold the remaining warmth of your soul.

I know. I only... want to stay a little longer to ask you a few more questions.

What did you see, in Kristen's dreams?

...The future.

Has she actually promised you... a change to the Sarkaz's fate? Do you believe she can do what no one has been able to accomplish over the past millennium?

No, she only showed me a possibility.

A possibility... that came from within myself.

Alright, Engineer Girl, if I could just trouble you to ask my darling employer if he has any last words?

The fire is almost out.

Time moves too fast for an old man like me.

The last question is mine.

An ancient one like you must have seen the fall of many Kazdels, and surely you must have thought of and searched for a place—

(Speaks in Sarkaz) Where is the Sarkaz promised land?

Promised... land, hm...

*sigh*...

Time's up.

A silvery green tail shatters the Tin Man's sigh with a strong burst of wind.

The last spark fizzles out at the same time the cigarette hits the ground.

A bone whistle sounds.

Trimounts has never heard such a sound. Neither the residents in their deep sleep or the office workers working overtime will be aware of what has just happened.

Other than those who've made an appointment.

Rosmontis, did you hear that?

Huh?

Logos was too busy to come to Trimounts, right?

My terminal says Logos has a lot to do. He hasn't trained with me for a long time, so I haven't been using my full strength in my sessions.

Don't make things hard for Mechanist.;It's been hard for Blaze and Sharp.

I know.

My devices are like the Rhodes Island cabins, if they break down, it takes a long time for Mechanist and Closure to fix them.

Mm.

Blaze and Sharp always complain that training with me is more tiring than going out on missions.

Before we left the landship, Raidian told me that Logos would come back with Amiya soon.

I miss Amiya too. I miss her so much.

Doctor, will we be able to see them, after we finish this, and return to Rhodes Island?

I miss them too.;I hope we can see them soon too.

Doctor, did you make it there?

Yes, the message says we're meeting in this alley.;I think the Tin Man should be already waiting for me?

We'll go home soon, I promise.

The alley is dark and silent, like an abyss.

Something rolls out from the murky shadows.

Perhaps it's due to its material hardness, but as it rubs against the ground, it eerily resembles a cog out of its wheel, a frightful rattle echoing through the darkness of the night.

It rolls straight to the alley entrance, where light and darkness meet.

It turns out to be a metal head.

The upper half is usually obscured by a hat's brim, and the mouth on its lower half often has a cigarette exhaling rings of smoke while spouting words that are at times perceptive, and other times incongruous.

But now there is no cigarette, no hat, no trench coat, or even the part that should be present past the neck.

There is only a head.

The Tin Man...;...is dead?

I would take it easy, if I were you.

After all, if you <i>do</i> make any moves, I can't guarantee that your head won't end up rolling along with my old employer's there.

Let's get to the point.;You didn't come here just to banter with me.

Sure.

Two things—It's time for Rhodes Island to end your excursion in Trimounts, and the other, as you've just seen, the leader of the Maylander agents, the 'Tin Man' has been murdered. We need a culprit.

And you've picked me.;Should I feel honored?

Your frailty certainly affects the credibility of the idea.

But the mundanity and perfectly enigmatic vibes of Rhodes Island makes you an excellent target for Maylander investigations, even if just for a bit.

You want to buy Kristen some time.;You want to buy yourself some time.

It won't do you any good to look for other secrets, okay?

It's not like I can run.;It never hurts to get a better understanding of each other.

Are you going to try and call for help?

You might want to lower your gaze, my tail won't exactly agree.

Or do you want to employ your expert negotiation techniques, to list a number of reasons why I can't do anything to you?

What a pity that Trimounts is not Tkaronto, and your opponent is not some black-hearted pharma.

I've had my eyes on you ever since you stepped into Trimounts.

At first, none of this had anything to do with you... or Rhodes Island at all.

Even if you and Saria are moving in the same direction, roleplaying as heroic firefighters, why haven't you dispatched a few more men like that good old mechanic to mop things up quick?

If you're not going to talk, then why don't I... tear your chest open and take a look at the secrets hiding inside?

The silvery green Liberi approaches.

Her plumage scrapes the fabric of your hood, emanating a soft but piercing sound.

At first, I thought you were the same as those other eccentric scientists, trying to find some sort of revelation about the future in Kristen's research.

After all, we're such a silly species, aren't we? Limited lifespan and unlimited ambition.

The moment we realize the limits of what we can accomplish in our short lives, we become willing to surrender our arrogance for just a moment, and beg for a shortcut.

But on you...*sniff*...I smell no trace of that desire.

What do you dream of, and what of your past?

I'm becoming very interested in you now, 'Doctor.'