luministi | Nocturne IV

[The CAT feed comes on while Braxiatel is ransacking his house. His movements have changed - they're less practised and less careful. He mutters something under his breath—] —I'll have Narvin dispersed if he has anything to do with this— [—and then, in a pile of papers, he spots something. He pulls some of the papers out of the pile, irritation flickering across his face.]

Oh, joy. Notes from my enigmatic... [Then he trails off. And his face, when it falls to its default, is cold and distant, not smiling. He turns the pages, reading too quickly, and when he gets to the last page, he stops and then composes himself.]

[He picks up his CAT and sighs.] You're already on, then, are you? Typical. [He sets it down and begins the message.]

Anyone who can hear this, you have lost your memory. This is the town of Luministi and you very probably arrived here before yesterday. Those who have been here the longest have been here for two months. You were abducted and imprisoned here, no exit, and you have yet to determine the culpable parties.

A very short time ago, a 'gas leak' pervaded the city. As a result, you have lost your memories after a certain point in your life—apparently, a point prior to your arrival at Luministi, which is bound to considerably set back your investigations into the town's mystery. The likely responsible party is a man named Doctor Resarci, who is currently and conspicuously absent.

That covers the most immediately relevant information, I believe. Oh, one more thing. We received a message some time ago that warned us about losing ourselves and keeping each other safe. You may have chosen to take notes and leave them in the house for yourself to find, so if you think you're that sort of person, I'd suggest looking.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

No, actually. You did mention that Howl might come to find you, but you seemed to believe that this isn't his work.

[scoffs] Come to find me? He detests me!

Do your notes say anything about whose work this might be? ...it isn't the Witch of the Waste's, is it?

[He looks up at her, momentarily surprised, and then smiles.] Does he? Ah, well. These things take time. But no, that seems unlikely. How powerful is this witch?

Extremely. Not even a fire demon could undo one of her spells on his own. Though... [glances down at her hands] It seems someone has.

What do you mean?

I was under a spell. It's broken now, but I certainly don't remember that happening. [begrudgingly] It does seem very likely that I've lost some of my memory.

Something which, I suspect, the lived-in state of your house will also support. And we're going to need those memories back. I wonder about what was stolen, though. Why it was stolen.

But how can we recover a lost portion of our memories? Do you think it's a spell?

[surprised] You've had something taken as well?

That wouldn't be my first guess, but I can't discount it out of hand. I'd guess some sort of chemical or psychic suppressant transmitted by the fog. Or nanobots. Those seem popular.

I assume. I'd started making an inventory of what I had with me, but I didn't finish it, so I don't actually know.

Then what would we do to counteract it?

Have you found a small card? [reaches into her pocket, withdrawing a business card with a doorway featuring two open doors on it]

For magic, we'll need a magician to counter it. If it's chemical, we can't synthesize something to neutralize the problem. If it's psychic, we'll need to get a psionic. For nanobots, we'll probably be able to make something chemical to shut them all down, but we might need to build nanobots to counter the problem.

I did. [He holds up his card.] It reminded me of Janus, God of two-facedness and doorways. Not much of a ransom note.

[that just went completely over her head] And what would we do first, to accomplish any of that?

Janus...? [that's certainly not the name of any god she's heard of] Why do you say that?

I'd like to run some tests on the gas in the air. That seems the most direct method. We'll need to also work on getting rid of it.

Oh, it's the two doors. Janus is the god of thresh holds, beginnings, and endings. He's also a two-headed god, each face looking in an opposite direction, one looking into the future and one looking into the past.

Yes, that sounds like a good idea. Is there anyone here who might be able to raise a wind?

[frowns] Perhaps a hint at our lost memories?

I think there may be. But the memory losses do complicate things.

[The idea surprises him, because, well, because on Gallifrey, Earth mythology has nothing to do with anything and it would just be an idle comment.] Hm? Perhaps. It's worth looking into, I suppose.

[it does indeed. Sophie doesn't know about her magic to suggest having a talk with the wind herself] I do wish Howl were here... [quickly] So he could do away with this gas!

Do you think this god might be in town? Or the reason we were brought to it?

I wouldn't suggest otherwise. [And he's going to push back that smile, because his notes weren't particularly vague and mysterious about the impression Sophie gave of Howl.]

A God? That seems---[then he frowns]---disturbingly plausible. If he is, there should be a temple around here. Odd, though. I'm sure I would have made note of any Gods staying in town. It's the sort of thing I'd pay attention to.

Perhaps he's staying hidden. Do your notes mention anyone in town who sounds like they could be a god of...doorways, beginnings, endings... [waves a hand]

Not unless I was being so cryptic even I can't understand what I'm saying. [It has been known to happen. And it's annoying.] It could be a new feature.

Then I suppose that's simply something we'll have to watch for.

Tell me if you find anything that might match that description?

Yes, certainly. And you'll do the same?

Of course.

Nocturne IV

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