Season 6 - Resolutions

[Ame]

[Source] peterparker said:

Achlys sits up straighter to reach for the pancakes. They look delicious, though nothing like what the Baroness of North Ultima is used to. She takes in the platter of luxurious foods, made from crops that could never survive in North Ultima's barren landscape: wheat for the pancakes, cocoa beans, and some kind of red fruit - maybe strawberries? 

"What a pleasant surprise! In North Ultima, breakfast usually means a hearty plate of mackerel, but this looks even better!"

She reaches for her fork, gluttony in her eyes, before she notices Pope Clairmont still standing there, waiting for an answer. 

"That's right. I would love a drink, if you don't mind, Pope. I take my coffee as black as a winter's night, as they say."

"Black coffee, you say? Just one moment."

Clairmont does a little bow and walks off, heading back to the kitchen.

---

Clairmont opens the door and is met by laughter of all those inside

"Glad you're all having fun, how goes breakfast?"

"Amazing. Of course. They're pancakes, Nora, we're not aiming cannons."

"Well, you never know with you."

"Har-har. What did she end up wanting"

"Coffee. I hope you found the small carafes."

As soon as Clairmont says 'coffee', Leng falls down and lets out a cry. Ollie on the other hand, let out a laugh.

"They were making bets. I'm sure you can guess the outcome."

"Don't let it get you down, Leng. If you had hit her shins instead, I'm sure she would have picked hot chocolate."

Clairmont begins to fill up a small carafe with coffee, grabs a cup and saucer, and sugar pot.

"I'll be back shortly. By the way she was eyeing up those pancakes. I'm sure they'll be half gone by the time I get back."

Clairmont lets out a giggle

"I'll join you all for breakfast once I clean up her dishes. Don't burn down the kitchen, Spoone!"

---

Clairmont returns to Achlys and sets down the coffee

"For you, Baroness."

[crazynuto]

Aug 6, 2024 19:53:30 GMT -6 ⋆⋅ Sage ⋅⋆ said:

Almond inspects the king’s bookshelf for any bookmark he could use.

Almond takes a look at the King's ample bookshelf, taking off a few volumes. It seems the King loves to dog-ear his pages, the monster. If this wasn't reason to usurp him, I don't know what is.

After a hefty search, Almond discovers a set of bookmarks in a tome about the Holy Beasts. One of each corresponding color in fact! They seem to be rather moth-eaten though...

         

Brie takes a closer look at the glass floor-case thing, and discovers the smallest of letters engraved on it, spelling this:




Sliding a bookmark in, Almond hears the faintest of clicks. He tries to pull the case's cover up, but fails to gain any purchase. Seems like you'll need to put the bookmarks in a certain configuration to open this. They can be rotated and flipped, but not folded.

Good luck.


Let me know if you have any issues with the images, sometimes transparency can be weird.

[Sachi]

"I don't want people thinking we're leaving the investigating to everyone else, so I'm off to the King's chamber too! Biyomon, you can deal with the negotiations!"

V-Mon runs off out of the Council chamber, and as he said, over to the King's. Biyomon lounges next to the throne, munching on some berries and glancing between everyone left in the throne room. He regards Inspector Columbrovolone curiously.


"You're right, Inspector. There's no doubt the King trusts us. And you are also right in assuming he could not dismantle the Council without any opposition. And therein lies the basis of my own theory. In whatever form it may take, the purpose of the concoction is to eliminate the opposition before it can even rise up. Make no mistake, my good man, for the breadcrumbs of this trail have already been laid out. Look at the state of the military in most of Ronpa. Other than your own alliance's, it has practically been wiped out. I don't think that is a coincidence. If it is, it's a very fortunate one."

His beak is now covered in berry juice. He wipes it with a fancy looking napkin, then brings out even more and starts munching again. Where exactly he's storing (or retrieving them from) is a mystery in and of itself. Surely not as grand as this conspiracy though.

---

On his way to the King's tower, V-Mon encounters the same magical runes his Uncle Almond did a short time ago. He crouches down to their level to get a better look at the designs, but then realises he doesn't know much about runes to begin with. He just gets the feeling that they're bad news.

He slowly and carefully makes his way up the spiral staircase to the King's chamber, taking great care not to step on any of the scary looking runes. When he's close to the top, though, the unthinkable happens...

In a moment of carelessness, he loses his footing on one of the stairs! V-Mon falls onto his V-Backside, directly on top of one of the security runes! 

His heart tells him it's going to sound off a mighty alarm and alert the entire Capitol, but... Something within him... Begins reacting to the magical presence inside the rune!



"V-Mon, evolve to...!"

The runes embed themselves into his back - the blue scales soon flowing into a mighty cape!

His face is shrouded by a vast amount of energy, soon coalescing into the shape of a mighty hat!

In his hand forms a mighty wooden staff, and the Grinch outfit he's wearing evolves with him, turning into cosy robes!


"...Wizarmon!"

---

The newly evolved Wizarmon takes a moment to gaze at his new appearance. He creates a small, magical mirror so he can see his face. Though shrouded in mystery, he can see a surprised expression. If nothing else, this certainly wasn't the evolution he expected!

Still, there is no time to waste! He levitates up the rest of the stairs, casts a quiet spell under his breath, and opens the door to the King's chamber (hopefully) without any additional resistance. 


"Worry not, dear Uncle! 'Tis I, V-Mon, in a form finally befitting of mine own wisdom! I shall lend you my investigative strength, as I intended to do from the beginning!"

[⋆⋅ Sage ⋅⋆]

Almond smiles. “Oh, you look great! Your papas will be so happy when they see you. We’ve got this puzzle here, Wizarmon, maybe you can help out with it?”

[Sachi]

#s://wikimon~net/images/3/38/Wizarmon_collectors2~jpg

"If you'll allow me, dear Uncle, I believe the solution is thus:"

Wizarmon flips and twirls the bookmarks like a magician performing a card trick, as opposed to a detective earnestly searching for information. In the end, he is able to place them in such a way that it reveals a message on the glass case:



"His beloved Vespera - the name of the former Queen. By inserting the bookmarks like this - starting with blue, then green, then red, and finally yellow - the book should open. Such is the order the Holy Beasts are mentioned in the old poem, as well. A good bit of trivia for my lovely Uncle."

[⋆⋅ Sage ⋅⋆]

Almond claps.

“Great job, Wizarmon! You should have the honour of putting it in. Let’s take that book out and have a look.”

[Sachi]

"Verily, then, I shall do just that! Let us see what the good King is hiding..."

Wizarmon places the bookmarks in the designated order, then waits for something awesome to happen.

[crazynuto]

Aug 7, 2024 9:02:58 GMT -6 Sachi said:

"Verily, then, I shall do just that! Let us see what the good King is hiding..."

Wizarmon places the bookmarks in the designated order, then waits for something awesome to happen.

Using the awesome power of logic and reasoning, Wizarmon slides the bookmarks in, the case opening with a loud click. Upon reaching inside, he pulls out the book, and is rather startled to see another rune hidden underneath it!




This one seems particularly potent, it's a good thing you didn't touch it!

Regardless, Wizarmon now has possession of "The Magicks of Beasts, Men, and Monsters"

The book is old and rather frail, so with delicate hands he turns to the first page.

---

Preface

This tome is a collection of study on magicks across the realm of Ronpa. For many a century events that most civilizations consider "otherworldly" are commonplace here. Whether it be magic storms, terrifying Beasts, or new and powerful weaponry, magic power flows throughout the landscape. This is not intended to be an encyclopedia of how to use magic, but more of an illustrated guide as to what the average reader may find when traversing the Ronpan lands.

Magic itself is a wondrous phenomenon, one could spend an entire lifetime exploring just one aspect of it. Some are born with the power to harness the energy that swirls through the land, whilst others require the use of certain "Runes" or "Holy Beasts" to fuel their arcanist dreams. Without proper study or knowhow, one cannot hope to harness more than a simple breeze, much less command the elements to their whims.

It is my hope that this research allows the reader to become enlightened to the dangers and perils an inexperienced mage can inflict on themselves. Take heed and let Blaiddyd be with us all.

Professor Proudmoore
824

---

Seems like a fascinating read, if a bit superstitious.

You are free to do what you like with the book, although you don't have all day to pour over the thing. Is there anything in particular you'd like to look at?

---

[Sachi]

"Harnessing Holy Beasts to fuel one's dreams..."

A shiver makes its way up Wizarmon's spine. He gets the feeling that 'politely asking' isn't the method that this book is referring to. Still, the effort would be for naught if he didn't do anything with the findings, and so he delicately turns the pages. 

He skims and scours the pages for words relating to "pacifying" and "mind control" firstly, and then a thought comes to mind...

Uncle Almond discovered that the King loves to dog-ear his pages, didn't he? Indeed, while this book might be old and withered, and while the King should be careful with it, it's possible that he wasn't able to break his hold habit. He'll look for signs of dog-ears (or accidental dog-ears that the King hastily tried to repair) on the old pages.

[crazynuto]

Aug 7, 2024 10:08:05 GMT -6 Sachi said:

He skims and scours the pages for words relating to "pacifying" and "mind control" firstly, and then a thought comes to mind...

Uncle Almond discovered that the King loves to dog-ear his pages, didn't he? Indeed, while this book might be old and withered, and while the King should be careful with it, it's possible that he wasn't able to break his hold habit. He'll look for signs of dog-ears (or accidental dog-ears that the King hastily tried to repair) on the old pages.

Skimming through the magic (sorta) manual, you find a few passages on monsters. Most are rather mundane, but a few creatures in the region known as Monstrome hold the power to alter a target's perception, albeit not for a very long time and only if one were to look in their eyes every ten days. Said creatures, known as soulstealers, pray primarily on children as they struggle to control those with complex minds. Alongside it is a depiction of a creature, the size of a child with soft, blotchy skin and a sinister grin.

Muttering under your breath about how creepy this is, you ruffle through the book until you find a several torn remnants of pages. Flipping a few pages back, you find most of the Runes section to be missing, primarily the section about "Creating Defensive Runes." It makes sense one would want to remove it I suppose, if they wanted to feel fully secure.

From what you can glean from the remaining section on Runesmithing (which holds the telltale signs of creases and former dog-eared pages) you discover quote:

---

Runes are bound to the bloodline of those who create them, as well as those who the Runesmith allows to bind to it. If one is of a bloodline, they have a greater resistance against Defensive Runes, allowing them to potentially ignore their effects. Such downsides a defensive rune might do include but are not limited to: Emotional Manipulation, Disgust in Others, Loss of Taste, Burning/Sparking Sensations, Sleepiness, Flatulence, Tooth Decay, Unexplained Rashes, Glue-Mouth Syndrome,

The book goes on for a page and a half about symptoms. Most of them are benign, but a few could be crippling or deadly if left untreated.


When a rune is removed, it leaves behind a sticky gray powder that is a bother to clean. One must be careful not to inscribe runes onto valuable antiques, else they could become rune-ined hoho!

---

Terrible pun aside, that is all that the book holds on Defensive Runes. Most of that knowledge has been removed, much to your dismay.

[Sachi]

"...The powder! The soldiers!"

Wizarmon struggles to keep a level head. It seems as if his mind is racing a million miles a minute.

"Uncle, do you remember when all the soldiers in the capital were replaced? About a year ago, when I was still Azulongmon. Papa Soy might have told you about it. 

But listen, do you see this? The soldiers acting strangely, the King not seeming too worried about it, and that strange gray powder we never identified... it was runes! The King must have been testing the runes on our soldiers!"

[Vaellin the Bard]

Aug 7, 2024 10:47:12 GMT -6 Sachi said:

"...The powder! The soldiers!"

Wizarmon struggles to keep a level head. It seems as if his mind is racing a million miles a minute.

"Uncle, do you remember when all the soldiers in the capital were replaced? About a year ago, when I was still Azulongmon. Papa Soy might have told you about it. 

But listen, do you see this? The soldiers acting strangely, the King not seeming too worried about it, and that strange gray powder we never identified... it was runes! The King must have been testing the runes on our soldiers!"

Brie pouts.

"But based on the book, he didn't know the extent of what the problems would be. Symptoms seemed minor if I'm reading this right. Even if he was testing on the soldiers, he probably didn't think it would cripple them like they did."

"But also, I am not sure that lines up. Ah, I don't know too much about what was going on but wasn't it figured out to be some part of a plant not a rune?"

[Sachi]

"No. It was never identified, Brie. The soldiers were dismissed and replaced with new hires, and we never gave it a second thought. Some did report feeling a kind of brain fog..."

Wizarmon looks again to see if brain fog or "feeling out of it" or some other synonym is among the gigantic list of symptoms. I mean it probably is. He just wants to prove a point.

[Vaellin the Bard]

Aug 7, 2024 10:56:18 GMT -6 Sachi said:

"No. It was never identified, Brie. The soldiers were dismissed and replaced with new hires, and we never gave it a second thought. Some did report feeling a kind of brain fog..."

Wizarmon looks again to see if brain fog or "feeling out of it" or some other synonym is among the gigantic list of symptoms. I mean it probably is. He just wants to prove a point.

"But why use it on moderately high ranking members rather than the lower ranking ones? Not that I'd approve but the lower ranking ones are easier to dismiss."

"Also, this doesn't prove he was using them on the soldiers, what if he too was trying to track down the source. He was dismissive, yes, but our King isn't exactly the most emotional."

She tried to imagine herself trying to get King Tyronius to smile like she occasionally tried with Vanyara. The results in her mind often ended her up jailed or executed.

[crazynuto]

Aug 7, 2024 10:56:18 GMT -6 Sachi said:

Wizarmon looks again to see if brain fog or "feeling out of it" or some other synonym is among the gigantic list of symptoms. I mean it probably is. He just wants to prove a point.

While not "brain fog" specifically, it does list

Clouding of Consciousness