Your memories are like wilted leaves hanging from withered branches. Wiping away the dust might restore some sheen, but if you press too hard, you'll only damage them further.
Mercia
By all rights, I should not even touch them. If not for...
Mercia
Sorry, Madam Væla.
Væla
I must... know. I must... remember.
Mercia
Your memories since leaving your homeland have not been happy ones. However, if you insist... close your eyes, and we'll try again.
Mercia puts her old projector on the table with some effort.
Her fingers glide as glass slides drop into the slot, and the aging Banshee becomes covered in an unfamiliar scene.
Slowly, indistinct memories begin to diffuse on the backdrop cast by the projector. Mercia can identify an elderly figure shackled by the wall, as robed figures come and go.
The smell of blood, a terrifying melody, the marks of Arts.
Mercia
A Leithanian spire. Were you imprisoned there... as a test subject?
Mercia
You would have been buried beneath the tomes of the spire casters, if not for the aid of a Lich.
No need to crouch so low, Oakley. The Arts unit on your back is slipping.
Oakley
This is Rhine Lab's underground passage. The walls could have nano-monitors listening to us!
Oakley
Besides, we have to worry about Propeller Paradise's warning system too... why do we have to avoid the police, if we're doing this for Tannen?
Ferne
Do you think he trusts many of his subordinates?
Oakley
Hm...
Ferne
Even the elevator guard could be a pair of eyes for some big shot. If anything goes wrong, the trouble could go way further than just a few boxes of contraband.
Oakley
So the two of us, being outsiders with no such interests in this, ended up being the best choice to 'dispose of' his stuff?
Ferne
Yes.
Ferne
But there is something I haven't been able to figure out.
Oakley
What is it?
Ferne
You got someone to do your job, and you got someone to meet them on the other side. Why not just lie down in your office, pet your finbeast, and put on some jazz?
Ferne
Aren't you worried about getting yourself in trouble if you're on the scene—sir?
Gordon
I came to see my little darlings off!
Oakley
What is it?
Gordon
Quit fidgeting! You almost hit the wall with the Arts recreation unit! I told you to treat it nicely, like your life depends on it!
Oakley
Yeah, I remember.
Oakley
You'd better remember what you said too, if we deliver your darlings safely and keep our mouths shut—
Gordon
Then we're square.
Oakley
Great!
Gordon
Don't let your guard down. Nasti has refused to leave the Vivarium. She's continuing her research in the middle of a roomful of failures, pulling all-nighters.
Ferne
So she's right above us? I think I hear her footsteps...
Gordon
Don't worry, Mercia will take care of her.
Gordon
Merry? Merry!
Mercia
...Yes, Mr. Tannen, I hear you.
Gordon
What's going on there? If something goes wrong, you've GOT to keep Nasti distracted, whatever it takes.
Mercia
Don't worry, sir.
Mercia
It was my negligence that allowed the accidents to happen...
Mercia
I'll keep a close eye on Director Lunorey and ensure she leaves the Rhine Vivarium, buying as much time for you as possible.
Gordon
Very good.
Gordon
See? Even Merry steps up her game when it matters most.
Gordon
You two had better do the same. We're almost at the exit.
Oakley
Yessir.
Mercia
Ferne has a keen sense of hearing.
???
There is a risk that you will be exposed. Do you need the Emergency Management Council to intervene?
Mercia
There are better ways to use the Maylander name. No need to worry about me; being Mr. Tannen's secretary makes an excellent cover.
Mercia
Report.
Maylander Agent
Bravo's intel is that the Rhine technical staff have evacuated the experiment zone. Director Lunorey and her aide are the only ones who currently access this site. However...
Mercia
She spends an inexplicable amount of time here.
Maylander Agent
...Yes.
Maylander Agent
Apologies are in order. As members of your squad, we should have trusted your judgment. It does seem that Rhine Lab might be hiding something under the exhibition hall.
Mercia
No need to apologize. My mission was to monitor the tech firms.
Maylander Agent
What about Director Lunorey, if we need to perform further investigation?
Mercia
I have a plan. We'll have at least twenty minutes if everything goes well.
Is this the system that the Vivarium and floating botanical units run on?
Sky Jagger
I knew the Banshees were good at manipulating objects from a distance, but to abandon sound as the medium, sealing incantations inside the module and repairing flaws through self-cycling... this is a revolutionary innovation!
Sky Jagger
If it's all incantation-driven...
Nasti
You should stop reading purely speculative papers.
Sky Jagger
Most people don't know much about the Banshees. I understand they rarely leave the valley of Convallis...
Sky Jagger
Did you live there before coming to Columbia?
Nasti
My first memories are of Kazdel. I was later adopted by one of my kin and taken to the Convallis.
Sky Jagger
What kind of place is it?
Nasti
A peaceful, beautiful place.
Nasti
The riverbanks are covered in grass and shrubs. The flowers never wilt and the fruit never falls. Not even rain disturbs its tranquility, much less Catastrophe.
The conical tip, severed from the rest of the pen, rolls across the floor.
Sky Jagger
Who could have done this...?
Sky Jagger
What happened in the Vivarium wasn't an accident, and it wasn't a practical joke. Everything was planned, and they were targeting someone... maybe the target was you, or maybe Rhine Lab itself.
Nasti
There is a way to find out.
Nasti
(In Sarkaz) Guide.
The fragment in Nasti's hand floats up into the air at her command, a white halo enveloping it. The pen tip spins a few times, then slowly flies off in a certain direction.
Nasti
Looks like the other half of the pen isn't far away.
Sky Jagger
Director...
Nasti
It could be a trap, yes. But I must go.
Nasti
I sense traces of a familiar incantation from the bone pen.
