Part 67: The Adventure of the Dead Man's Banquet, Part 2
Entry 64: The Adventure of the Dead Man's Banquet, Part 2Quick note, the characters will sometimes switch outfits during this section. Just pretend they're playing with asterisks between scenes.
D's Journal: Shieldbearer Cdr Daniel Goodman posted:
When Officer Steiner was poisoned it placed suspicion firmly on the commander's wife, and she was confined to the dungeon below. Then, all of a sudden, the lights in the residence went out and a scream was heard! Someone had murdered the Shieldbearer Officer Savish Neuer.
D's Journal: Shieldbearer Officer Savish Neuer posted:
After her colleague Officer Steiner was killed, Officer Neuer became hysterical. Then the lights went out suddenly, and when they came on again, Officer Neuer lay slain!
One by one, those in the house have died. Only the Goodmans and the party remain.
Desperate for answers, the party goes to the cellar to question the imprisoned Eleanor...
Have you been here the whole time?
Y-yes...
Let's look for a hidden passage. A hidden passage? What are you talking about? I'm so confused...While Ringabel questions the suspect, the rest of the party searches the room for clues.
I know nothing of any hidden passage. I believe you are telling the truth. But that means we have a bigger problem. If you are innocent, then it must mean that Commander Goodman is the killer.
Only because there is nobody else it could be.
The four of us have stayed together the whole time, so we cannot be responsible. The only other survivors here are you and your husband... Right before Neuer breathed her last, she indicated her killer was a woman. That makes you the only suspect...
But I can't see any way out of here. There must be. Otherwise, who could be the culprit? There are no other women here, except...Ringabel falls silent.
Wait! How could we be so stupid? 
We have made a fatal error! We must return to Commander Goodman at once!
With not a moment to lose, the party races upstairs, just in time to find...
The servant Nastassja, alive and slowly advancing towards the Commander!
That's a distinctive and familiar voice pattern...
Commander Goodman! Watch out!
*SHWINK*
You...you saved me!
I don't believe it! Isn't that the servant, Nastassja!? But she was the first to die! I confirmed it myself. She had no pulse. But she was the only woman in the house other than Eleanor and Officer Neuer. It seems we have been fooled by an elaborate ruse!
Who on earth are you!? Reveal yourself!
Where is the real Nastassja?
You fiend...
Iwasbutahair'sbreadthawayfromterminatingmytarget,andthenthewindvestalofallpeoplehastoshowup. Icertainlydidnotexpectyouarrival,Imustadmit. ButthatsimplymeansIwilladdyouandyourfollowerstothelistofvictimstofallpreytomyblade. JustasthefirevestaldidattheTempleofFirethreeyearsago! You were the one who took the fire vestal's life!? Then, you are a member of the Black Blades!?
Huh? She's gone quiet! I've seen this woman near this residence before! She was just my type, so--
Er...I mean she looked suspicious, so I chased after her, but she gave me a swift rebuff. What? You mean this is the girl you were chasing after that time?Ringabel's taste in women is almost as bad as his flirtation techniques.
Kikyo leaps back, changing her stance--
Here she comes!
Time to take out the last of the Black Blades.
Kikyo's speciality is based around being a highly evasive target, making her a pain to whittle down without magic.
In addition to naturally high evasion, Utsusemi allows her to automatically evade the next physical attack done against her. She combines this with a nasty counter skill.
She also has an attack skill which lets her hit first during the turn, making it better to be better proactive rather than reactive with healing.
Anyway, keep up steady hits, abuse Salve-Maker as needed, and before you know it--
Well hey, Tiz doesn't waste any time.
Utsusemi is even more broken than it sounds.
With Kikyo nearly dead and her asterisk taken, the party confronts the ninja.
Any last words before you meet your maker?
So the ninja chooses to remain silent upon her death...
You think...? It looks like she has something to say. Look, she's changed her disguise again...
allsaid.Unfortunately,thewindvestalIhadusedasbaitactuallyappeared.TherewasnowayIcouldhaveanticipatedthisturnofevents. PerhapsthisiswhatIgetfortakingthefirevestal'slife.Mypunishmentfornotheedingtheswordmaster'swarnings. Itwasaregrettablemisstep.Ifonlythefirevestalhadnotignoredmywarningandleaptintothelavap...
What did you say!? What happened to the fire vestal...!? It's no use. She's dead.D's Journal: Konoe the Ninja posted:
At a Shieldbearer banquet, Kikyo dressed herself up as the corpse of a dead servant, intending to murder the key Shieldbearers present. We happened to be there, and used our powers of deduction to uncover her plot. She attacked, and we were forced to defeat her. She was the one who rebuffed me before, so she must have been planning this for quite some time.
D's Journal: Nastassja the Servant posted:
According to the Black Blades' ninja Konoe Kikyo, who disguised herself as Nastassja and murdered two Shieldbearer officers, she killed the real Nastassja and tossed her into the lava at Mount Karka...
The true threat revealed and removed, Commander Goodman frees Eleanor and meets with the party, relieved yet solemn.
Though we lost two of our officers, I consider it a blessing that you and my wife escaped unharmed. I have done my wife a disservice. I was not able to trust her completely... It was a tough situation we were placed in.
That would certainly set me at ease. It gets lonely in this big house by myself...Before the Commander responds, a loud knocking comes from the other side of the front door, along with a soldier's voice.
Commander Goodman! Officer Steiner! Officer Neuer! Are you alright!?
We'll just, uh, conveniently not mention the other two for now.
I'll get the door open now! Please stand back!As the Shieldbearers smash the door down, the party stands off to one side...
That's one banquet I won't forget.D's Journal: Shieldbearer Cdr Daniel Goodman posted:
The culprit was the Black Blades' ninja Konoe Kikyo, who had disguised herself as the slain servant! She attempted to take the commander's life, but we were able to stop her in time. Looking more closely, I realized she was the one who had given me a whack and run away earlier. We prevailed after a frenzied battle.
D's Journal: Eleanor Goodman posted:
The culprit was the Black Blades' ninja Konoe Kikyo, who had disguised herself as the slain servant! She tried to take the commander's life, but we stopped her in time. Unfortunately, others had already fallen victim to her plot.
A rather grim ending to that story.
If only the party had uncovered the truth earlier. Konoe Kikyo's plan made for a fine mystery, but left many gaping holes so far as clean assassinations go.
Let's give this another shot.
Gathering all these high-powered individuals and announcing the kill-fest beforehand with a letter is a classic dramatic flourish. But why risk it? What if the Shieldbearers had left straightaway, or after the murder letter had been read? What if backup soldiers were called to the residence at that point?
Kikyo put a lot of stock in her makeup, costume, and acting abilities. To her credit, these aspects of the plan went off without a hitch, fooling even Eleanor.
Kikyo considered the Shieldbearer officers easy targets -- easy enough to have some fun beforehand. After the wind vestal's party appeared, she must've panicked. The party turned the tide of the Eisenberg war nearly singlehandedly, but Kikyo's plan -- the disappeared servant, the letter announcing murder -- was already too far along to stop.
Was Kikyo going to attempt to pick the party off one-by-one after killing Goodman? Perhaps, even as it got more and more difficult to catch them off guard the further along she went with her original plan.
Look at how many opportunities there were to kill the party. What if Agnès had drunk the poisoned tea instead? That's only one example of how this could've ended up with three sad vestal guards, one very disappointed fairy, and a happy bunch of Eternians (at least until the world started dying).
...Whoops. Got so distracted analyzing, Steiner died.
Okay, there's still time to save Neuer. If we can just unmask Kikyo...
...Nothing doing.
...Okay. We know it's her. Steiner dying -- again -- was the last straw. Let's try another... say, 15 times.
Three....
Four....
...
......
............
Seventeen!
............ ..................
Whoa! The body spoke!?
Hah! Just as I suspected. Yeah, right... Ihaveyettoslaymymark.Trustthewindvestalandhertrooptoshowupattheworstpossibletime. Well,itseemsIhavenochoicebuttokillyouall!JustasIdidthefirevestalthreeyearsago! You were the one who took the fire vestal's life!? Then you are a member of the Black Blades!? You sure talk fast...! Thatiscorrect.IamKonoeKikyo,professionalkiller,andleaderoftheBlackBlades'covertforces!*poof*
.................. ....................................~Fighting ensues~
D's Journal: Ringabel posted:
Stuck inside the Goodman residence, we placed the murdered servant Nastassja in bed. Something struck me as odd, and ignoring the stares of the others, I began to prod the body. Suddenly she came back to life and began to babble, revealing her true identity and the details of her deception. She was the one who had rebuffed me earlier!
D's Journal: Nastassja the Servant posted:
I noticed something odd about the body of Nastassja, which had been placed on a bed. I poked away at it, trying to get to the bottom of things. Confirming my suspicions, I penetrated the disguise of the ninja Konoe Kikyo of the Black Blades!
D's Journal: Shieldbearer Cdr Daniel Goodman posted:
The culprit was the Black Blades' ninja Konoe Kikyo, who had disguised herself as the slain servant! We fortunately unraveled the plot, although not before another life was claimed. It seems my quick thinking saved the day!
(Hey! -Edea)
After the battle, the party confronts Kikyo once again. Her final speech, however, has changed:
hasbeenfornaught. AllwasgoingtoplanuntilIusedthewindvestaltoluremyvictimsandyouallcomesaunteringinoutofnowhereandruineverything. ThatisthelasttimeItrustAlternisforinformation. IpittedOfficersSteinerandNeueragainsteachotherforallthattime,yetyougotmeintheend,WindVestal. Gagh... *die* She got that off her chest quick...D's Journal: Shieldbearer Officer Savish Neuer posted:
Though Officer Steiner was killed, we solved the crime thanks to my brilliant detective work. The culprit was the Black Blades' ninja Konoe Kikyo, who had disguised herself as the body of the servant Nastassja. We also learned that it was the covert force of the Black Blades that had spread nasty rumors about Officers Steiner and Neuer.
The party rejoins Goodman and Neuer, explaining the Black Blades' hidden plan. Goodman frees Eleanor immediately before returning to speak with the party.
Neuer bows.
Indeed. Just as we let our guard down, we walked straight into this deadly trap. It was silly of me to assume that Officer Steiner was after Commander Goodman's position now that I think of it. As joint chiefs of operations for the Shieldbearers, it is terribly embarrassing to fall into the enemy's snare...
Of course...! I've got it! Just what is it you've got? That death threat. It's all starting to make sense now... What is!? How about filling in the blanks? The enemy had spread rumors and slander about Officers Steiner and Neuer over a long period of time. That death threat was undoubtedly a devious scheme to bring their suspicions of each other to a head. The invitations bearing the name of the wind vestal, savior of these lands, and the hint that Commander Goodman was targeted... At the very least, it would have driven a wedge between the three leaders of the Shieldbearers.The years of slander between Neuer and Steiner worked wonders. Luckily it focused on petty grievances rather than, say, questions of treason.
Were years of petty subterfuge really superior to three swift assassinations done earlier in the war? Either way, saving Goodman, the prime target, for last just ensured he'd be the most likely to survive and least likely to continue spreading slanderous rumors about his colleagues.
Eleanor cries out from another room.
D-Daniel...! Nastassja is in the cellar!!That's right: by stopping Kikyo before she murdered both officers, we retroactively made her less competent at killing.
Yes. She was drugged, and is still a little woozy, but she is safe. I see... Thank heavens. From now on I'll do my best to spend more time at home, even when I'm busy. That would certainly set me at ease. It gets lonely in this big house by myself...
Neuer's a good person when not paranoid. Aside from the small unrequited crush on Daniel, turns out she really is just big on organization and meetings and such.
I appreciate it.*KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK*
Commander Goodman! Officer Steiner! Officer Neuer! Are you alright!?
D's Journal: Eleanor Goodman posted:
The culprit was the Black Blades' ninja Konoe Kikyo, who had disguised herself as the slain servant! The Shieldbearers' Officer Saranish Steiner was poisoned, but my keen wit saw through the plot in time to prevent more deaths. We later discovered the servant Nastassja alive, locked up in the dungeon.
D's Journal: Nastassja the Servant posted:
Though Officer Saranish Steiner died from the poison slipped into his tea by Konoe Kikyo, we vanquished her when the Wind Vestal saw through her scheme. After the incident, Nastassja was found in the cellar in a dazed state, having been drugged and locked up.
And so, the party and the Goodmans, plus Neuer, are rescued.
But we still haven't saved Steiner.
If only the party had obsessively checked the corpse sooner...
ACTUALLY
D's Journal: Eleanor Goodman posted:
The culprit was the Black Blades' ninja Konoe Kikyo, who had disguised herself as the slain servant! My keen wit saw through her plan, though. I won't let her get away with causing Eleanor so many tears!
*FIGHT* *die*D's Journal: Shieldbearer Cdr Daniel Goodman posted:
The culprit was the Black Blades' ninja Konoe Kikyo, who had disguised herself as the slain servant! We fortunately unraveled the plot before anyone else was killed, all thanks to my quick wit!
(Liar! -Edea)
You have my eternal gratitude, Wind Vestal. The Shieldbearers could have lost their leadership before the war drew to a close. Indeed. Just as we let our guard down, we walked straight into this deadly trap. All the slander I'd heard about Officer Neuer could have been the work of the enemy as well. It was silly of me to assume that Officer Steiner was after Commander Goodman's position now that I think of it.The cutscene continues as before, until near the end.
One good thing about unmasking Kikyo right away is that Eleanor is never imprisoned. Even with her husband apologizing afterwards for not believing her, it's hard to imagine that the whole deal wouldn't drive a wedge in their relationship.
I appreciate it. Well, that's case closed. Now we just have to get the door open...*KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK*
Commander Goodman! Officer Steiner! Officer Neuer! Are you alright!?
I'll get the door open now! Please stand back! Don't make too much mess!D's Journal: Shieldbearer Officer Savish Neuer, Shieldbearer Ofc Saranish Steiner posted:
Thanks to my brilliant detective work, we solved the crime and unmasked the Black Blades' ninja Konoe Kikyo, who had disguised herself as the body of the servant Nastassja. We also learned that it was the covert force of the Black Blades that had spread nasty rumors about Officers Steiner and Neuer.
D's Journal: Nastassja the Servant posted:
Thanks to my keen wit and powers of deduction, Konoe Kikyo's plot was foiled. After the incident, Nastassja was found in the cellar in a dazed state, having been drugged and locked up.
And thus the adventure of the dead man's banquet drew to a close. Final casualties: One theatrically-inclined ninja, and a plan borne of reading far too many whodunits.
Next: Trouble on the grandship on the grand seas.
--
Event Viewer
Sub-Scenario:
A Fatal Error
Kikyo the Ninja
The Ninja Meets Her End - B
End to a Tragedy
Not Just a Corpse
The Ninja Meets Her End - A
Steiner is Gone
The Grand Finale
D's Journal: Konoe the Ninja posted:
A 21-year-old woman from Eternia. Her full name is Konoe Kikyo, and she carries the ninja asterisk. When not disguised she stays silent, but in costume she speaks in a rapid torrent of words.
--------------------------------
Likes: Make-up, collecting materials for her disguises
Dislikes: The fat feeb (Qada)
