Liberi Reader

Ermi Ermi, if you read me, please respond.

Ermi...? It's not working?

Young Djall, could you please unbind my hands? I promise I won't run. At least let me have a smoke?

No can do! I'm not letting you go until I get you back to the Furnace.

I told you, you've got the wrong guy. I've been meaning to drop by the Furnace, but I really didn't escape from the thing.

I have a Columbian ID in my shirt pocket. I could show you right now—if you unbind my hands.

It's a long trip from Columbia to Kazdel, isn't it?

If you'd told me you were from Rim Billiton, I probably would've believed you.

Ermi, can you hear me? Hey? Hello...?

The box's comm Arts structure has been ruined. You can slap it all you want, but that isn't going to fix it.

How dare you?! It's your fault my box got crushed in the first place!

If I fix your little box thing for you, will you free my hands?

Can you really fix it?

Don't you pull any tricks or anything! I-I have my own methods to deal with you!

I got it, little Djall. Relax. I'm not going anywhere.

Hold on. Are you actually buying this, Nymph? The guy gets possessed by a re—by the ancestors and you're ready to unbind him?

You sure love getting your word in, kiddo, but you don't seem to know a thing about revenants or Djaj. Djaj are the only ones that can't be influenced by revenants.

I'll free just one of your hands... Hey! How'd you break yourself out of that? You tricked me!

I knew you were up to no good!

I hope you can appreciate how much it hurts to have my hands bound for so long.

It hurts, even though you've got iron skin?

It's not iron. It's tin. And it doesn't exactly hurt. It's just...

Huff—Ah, that's good.

You can't buy cigarettes this nice in Kazdel. I have to ration them.

Hey, you promised you'd fix my box.

I lied.

A Lich created the Arts in that box, and those prideful bastards never think about repairability when they design things. That's not to say none of them earned their pride, though.

Come on, you're just going back on your word!

Let me finish. You're looking for someone, aren't you? I can't fix the box, but I can help you find the Lich who made it.

H-How come you know who I'm looking for?

I don't, but I think I don't need to.

Who are you exactly?

Just... who are you, mister?

They call me the Tin Man.

Tin Man...?

Look, the one you're looking for is here.

One can count all the revenants that walk the lands on one hand. Who might you be?

He says he's the Tin Man.

He says he's from Columbia.

...Kazdel is not ready for your return yet.

Hard to blame you. I never thought I'd ever come back here when I left.

What did you come back for?

He says he wants to go to the Furnace.

Nymphy!

Okay okay. I won't interrupt again. Go ahead and ask.

Then allow me to... Never mind. I suppose there's nothing else to ask.

Normally, a guest of your pedigree would be received by my master, but...

Your master? That stubborn old man? Let's not tell him, save my vacation from going completely down the drain.

If you'd like to visit and take a look beneath the Soul Furnace, I could bring you there, without telling anyone.

(Shakes head) Not beneath it. I want to go inside it.

Who do you want to visit there?

Who else?

...

Nymphy, have you gathered all the revenant fragments yet?

They're all inside my box. Here!

Then let's go.

Nymphy, I'll find another time to give you your reward. And here's the surprise I promised you—Do you want to go into the Soul Furnace for a walk?

Can I really?!

Can I bring friends?! So many kind people have helped us along the way! I could never have collected all the fragments so quickly without them!

Ahem, to tell the truth, I've always wanted to go inside, ever since I was a kid, just to see how it works.

Well... As it stands, we've already broken multiple rules today. so...

Give me just a minute! I'll gather everybody up!

Everybody? Hold on...

Right, for my reward, can I get some scrap Oriron...? Pohl, help me explain it to Ermi, okay?

Uh, alright.

Ah, youth. So motivated. Already sprang away like an arrow from the bow.

I never introduced myself. I'm from down below, the slums, as people call it.

They call me the Consultant there, and I speak for them. Mr. Tin Man, and the Lich lady. Please, call me Pohl.

Don't call me a lady. Don't you think that's very improper?

Oh, kiddo... In certain ways, you're still far too young.

One, two, three, four... and me. Five! All of us are here!

Nymphy, the Furnace is a dangerous place. Why did you bring this many people? And that little girl behind you...

One child ticket, please.

This is not a sightseeing spot, and we don't sell tickets! No children, either!

Sorry, Cherie. I tried my best... Maybe next time?

There's no next time!

It's okay, Nymph. I was thinking that maybe the big furnace is full of flatbread like the little one we have. Turns out, it's all dark and dirty and lame!

What flatbread? We never bake anything with the furnace nodes! Your grandpa is still waiting outside, right? Quick, go find him!

There are still so many people here. Now what am I going to do with them?

They all helped me, a lot, and you promised me just now! They won't give you any trouble at all!

Everyone, I need all of you to give me your own words, not just Nymphy's.

It doesn't matter to me. All I want is to take a look at the work of that legendary designer. I've heard her signature is on the Soul Furnace's blueprints, too. Is that true?

Since when has the Soul Furnace had blueprints?

You can look all you want, but no touching. What about you, Gargoyle? What are you looking at?

If there's a wide enough pipeline that leads straight out of the city...

Gargoyles tend to be into complicated constructions like this. Don't worry. She's just checking whether the pipelines are sturdy enough.

Right. I'm trying to see if we can crawl through them.

What about you, Consultant? Trying to live your childhood dream? Like you said before?

(Shrugs) Is that not good enough of a reason?

Hmph.

I didn't expect to see you here, Qalaiša. What is a Nachzehrer who left her tribe doing here?

Left my tribe? No, we just hold different ideals.

As for what I am doing here... Hm, mainly, I couldn't bring myself to refuse such a sincere invitation from this cutie pie.

And if I manage to learn a few extraordinary witchcraft rituals while inside the Soul Furnace, that's all the better.

None of us here have any reason to lie. What's more, it was a Djall who invited all of us.

I've finished a whole cigarette already. Are you done with the roll call yet? I don't suppose anyone's going against their word?

Lich girl, try not to pick up your master's bad habits. Liches used to have a pretty great reputation, but now...

I'm not very well-versed in history, but I can tell you are making things up.

Okay, now. If everyone's ready, let's get going. Stay close. Don't fall behind.

Hooray! You're the best, Ermi! I knew you would be more amenable than those old, stuck-up fossils!

Turn right at the next corner.

There are potholes on the ground three steps ahead. Keep left.

You can open your eyes now. We're here.

So this is what it looks like inside! What's that faintly glowing thing?

The witchcraft core.

This is the deepest part of the Soul Furnace. As far as I know, ever since it was built, only Liches have come here to hold rituals to appease the revenants.

And the last ritual caused the big fireworks that led all of us here. Anything else to share?

Mr. Tin Man, should we proceed as we discussed?

Sure. I'll keep an eye out for you.

The fireworks were only an accident, and the ceremony wasn't completed.

My master tasked me with finding the revenant fragments scattered all over Kazdel, and I entrusted this mission to Nymph. Nymph then got your help. Which means...

My master owes all of you a favor. No, he owes all of us a favor.

As the keeper of the Temple of Knowledge, a favor of his is most valuable indeed. You could accomplish quite a lot with it.

But, as his student, I've already decided in his place to use this favor to do something exceedingly difficult.

I'm kinda getting the feeling you're about to say something horrible... Is it okay if I leave now?

No way! I invited you here. If anyone's leaving, I'm leaving first!

Ahem, it's actually nothing to be scared of. She's just being sulky that she got taught a lesson by the stubborn old man, and she's trying to win back some face.

What face?

The revenant's... face. I'll finish my master's appeasement ceremony without a flaw. So, are you in?

Yaaahhh!

Sorry, I couldn't stand that awkward silence, so I thought I'd make some noise.

Uh, like I said, I'm just here to admire that legendary designer's work... Since I've now seen it, I'll leave this revenant business to the rest of you.

We kept our eyes closed the whole time, and you're telling me you're already done?!

If it was just watching the ceremony, I'd be totally fine, but the Lich here seems to want us to be active participants?

If we're dealing with revenants, should we let Amiya know? And the Babel members, too?

All of us have seen how powerful the revenants can be. Even little fragments were causing chaos all over Kazdel.

Pohl, stop sweating! It's not that bad!

Not that bad? Think about it, Nymph. If it'd taken us just a little longer to get to any one of the fragments, what do you think would have happened?

There would've been bloodshed if those gangs had drawn their blades, and that berserk colossus wouldn't have stopped its fist...

And think about the risks when facing the revenants who have been burning in the Furnace for centuries. Is that really something we can take by ourselves?

Yes.

Like I said, I'll keep an eye out for you.

A revenant. A powerful revenant who turned his back on his homeland, only to return as if nothing had happened.

I have no qualms with this.

I'm fine with it, too! What's there to be scared of if we have such a bad-ass ancestor looking after us?

You're getting ahead of yourself, Nymph. Even with Mr. Tin Man here, it's not going to be easy to appease the ancestors with just the few of us.

Why do you think it'll be hard? We've met so many people on our way here. Everyone may live pretty hard lives, but we're all living life to the fullest.

Maybe the ceremony failed last time because the ancestors had heard enough nagging. I mean, when all you ever hear is the future and sacrifice, blahblahblah, how is anyone supposed to cheer up?

If we tell them about how people in Kazdel live these days, that might drive up their enthusiasm!

Besides, the revenants might still remember that legendary designer, they might know her true identity...

That sounds splendid. Count me in!

We've made it this far. We can't go back empty-handed. And if the revenants can show us a secret passageway out of the city...

Then you're in, too! Pohl, what do you say? Still hesitating?

It's a bit of a risk, but I can't think of a reason to not go for it. I'm in.

Okay, then let's throw the ancestors an appeasement ceremony like they've never seen! What do you think, Mr. Tin Man?

I'm intrigued. I said yes to the Lich girl there because she said basically what you just did.

Huh? Really, Ermi?

We're the ones who will walk the path of Kazdel's future, not them, so...

Of course, we have the right to do this.

Now cover your ears. I'll begin the incantations.

Let's try again. Relax... Flawed souls, come near, and heed my call.

In the flames... as your bloodlines melt away... heed my call.

...

What's going on? There's no response at all.

Mr. Tin Man, are you still there?

Maybe I've gone too deep... I'm not getting any response. Did I do something wrong?

No, if I turn back now, I'll be admitting to a failure before it's even over.

Step back... Three, two, one. Cut your senses off and step back!

!!!

Ermi, are you okay?! You were standing there, shaking. That was scary!

I... I'm alright. Where is Mr. Tin Man?

He's over there by the wall. He hasn't moved for a while now with his head down, and I'm not sure what's going on with him, or if those metallic joints ever ache.

The ceremony... did it work?

I was returning the fragments to the revenants, but I almost lost myself in their consciousness. It was the Tin Man who saved me.

Not a big deal. I just offered a hand. You could've handled it by yourself, although it would have taken more time.

He was standing still the whole time, why this sound feels like it's echoing inside my head?

It's not a bad thing for kids to have that kind of drive, but you went too deep. Good thing you had an old man like me to watch you from ashore and occasionally drop the odd pearl.

But the revenants didn't heed my call.

I half expected as much. Having spent so many years in the Furnace, their brains have been torched. No, they haven't had brains in a long time.

You, the schemy kid. Yes, you. Give me a hand. Take the notepad from my coat's inside pocket, and a few pens, too.

You aren't going to suddenly wake up and grab my hand, right? Like that kind of thing in the horror stories.

I'm not that cliche. Once you have the notebook, write down whatever you want to say to the revenants, tear the pages out, and burn them.

The lighter's in my pants pocket. Or use Arts. Either way.

Will that really reach them?

They can't make me look bad, right?

Write down whatever you want, but I suggest topics they might be interested in—Hey, what do you folks want to know about?

Things about Kazdel. Write them down, tear the pages out, burn them.

What are you doing right now...?

I ran into an old friend. We're catching up. Don't worry about me.

I'm finished! Ermi, make me a fireball, will you?

Can't you manage simple Arts like that...? Never mind. Who else has something ready to burn?

No need. I found the lighter.

Me? Actually, he came to me back then too, but I didn't go with him.

I saw the bones on him, clattering away. Were you in there?

But you still recognized me.

You lot certainly have a reason to loathe. I find myself with hard feelings every now and then, too.

Let's just say I'm here to see old friends. I've spent too much time in Columbia, waking up every morning to see a bunch of newly invented gadgets. But sometimes, I reminisce on old times and old friends.

That's why I decided to take a vacation and came back here. It's been centuries, and I heard Kazdel got rebuilt again. I was curious what the place would look like.

I heard that they'd be renovating this Furnace soon and there would be a celebration to release all of you. Haha, though I wonder if you'll last that long.

I'm aware.

Revenants. All of you died long ago, but you need a funeral nonetheless.

I understand that. I do...

In some parts of Columbia, you tell jokes about the dead at funerals. Everybody laughs and forgets the teary parts. I think that's a pretty good tradition. More places should have funerals like that.

I just so happened to have met some interesting kids, and they've got some interesting ideas. Why not hear what they have to say? Think of it as a rehearsal for your funeral.

Try not to scare them, though. They... They're all good Kazdelian kids.

It's only been a second. Why are my legs so stiff? Seems I need to find some time for a spa treatment on my joints.

Hm? Where's my lighter?

The schemy boy took it.

Can you feel it? The Furnace seems to be shaking... I can see it!

The ancestors have manifested!

Nymph! Watch out! Come over here.

Not only the future... What I wrote is probably more like legends and folktales?

Those mercenaries sounded pretty confident, and I wasn't sure if it was true, so I figured I would ask you if there was ever really a Kazdel city that fell straight to the ground, leaving only a big pit?

Curse? Perish the thought. If such a place actually exists, I want to see it. I might just find some lost treasures I could use to expand my style.

I've already thought up the exhibition's title. 'The Lost Kazdel: Echoes of Eras Past'. Sounds classy, don't you think?

There's been so many Kazdels over the course of history. Maybe one of them really did come crashing down...

Uh, I'm just running my mouth. Don't get mad at me.

What I wrote is my hopes for Kazdel's future, nothing too wild.

Really? Let's see... 'In a New Kazdel, the Sarkaz help one another, and outsiders no longer have to crowd on the city outskirts.'

'People come here for better lives regardless of race, and there is no Royal Court anymore.' Pohl, did you write that?

Th-That's mine! Didn't I burn it? How did you find it?

Regardless of race... No Royal Court...

Can you see what I wrote?

Yes. Well... Your vision is pretty bold, Gargoyle. I'm afraid it may never come true.

A lot of people said the same thing a lot of years ago, to another Gargoyle.

(Whispers) Ermi, Ermi. Which step of the ceremony are we on?

We're not on any step. Ever since the ancestors showed up, I've completely lost control of this ceremony.

Right now, the feeling I'm getting is that the ancestors are toying with us.

Toying?

They seem to enjoy hearing a different kind of stories.

Crashing to the earth, flying into the sky, no Royal Court, and an entire city turned to revenants... You people come up with some wild ideas. Do you really think—

There's no such thing as 'the wrong path'.

Nobody knows what form Kazdel will ultimately take, but all of us want the people here to live better lives.

If life gets better, how could you call it the wrong path?

Even if the path we end up taking is a treacherous one, it would be better than finding ourselves at a dead end, wouldn't it?

A different path... to where?