Part 86: D's Journal: Alternate Writings, Part 1
D's Journal: Alternate Writings, Part 1At the conclusion of Chapter 4, the party witnessed the unmasking and death of Eternia's dark knight, Alternis Dim. Moments before he died, he dropped a book that appeared to be an exact replica of D's Journal.
Ringabel took charge of this second journal. The player can view its contents in D's Journal under the category 'Alternis's Journal'.
Alternis's Journal is similar to Enigmatic Writings -- so similar, in fact, that journal entries with an asterisk next to their date are exact, or almost exact copies of what is written in Enigmatic Writings.
The journal is at first an expanded version of Enigmatic Writings, then later branches off in a new direction. While Enigmatic Writings was comprised of 128 pages, Alternis's Journal contains an entire 240. I'll be covering all of Alternis's Journal here and noting the repeated entries with an asterisk. As with Enigmatic Writings, I'll be editing out some line breaks for readability. For images which were also in Enigmatic Writings, I'll be reusing the Enigmatic Writings screenshots, so don't get confused if the page numbers are off. The journal is also long enough to go over the character limit for Something Awful posts, so the journal will be split in two sections.
Now, let's find out what this lovelorn boyo wrote.
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Alternis's Journal
9/01
The Council of Six ship Dark Knight weighed anchor today, our destination Ancheim. This marks the first entry in my fourth journal kept since my tenure as an officer began.
My current mission: to collect the airship newly developed in Ancheim's secret shipyard. I am to transport the skystone given to me by the grand marshal and see it installed, rendering the new vessel skyworthy.
I've just set a southeastward course and noticed my coffee's gone cold. I had it cleared away. The view beneath me is a sea of clouds, its eastern edge taking on a ruddy tinge as my fresh cup is brought. Its aroma is one of my day's few luxuries.
9/06
I have come to the Profiteur Merchantry's secret shipyard in Ancheim. Work installing the skystone within the newly built ship I'm to collect is at a standstill. Three days of waiting. The heat is stifling, and the coffee drowned in sugar. I hate this place.
It's to be called the Eschalot. I'm surprised the first word from Edea's lips upon seeing the blueprints has become its official designation.
I'd braced for another night of cat napping in this sweltering dock, but just received word the skystone is set and sealed. The ship's maiden flight is to the Flor-Cheim Sea, where the ship I rode here is berthed. While it lacks the horsepower of a heavy cruiser like the Dark Knight, the ship is nimble and its design pleasing. I find myself quite taken with it.
9/10
Following her test flight to the Flor-Cheim Sea, the Eschalot has begun seafaring tests. I am confident the ship's power, speed, maneuverability, and defenses all meet the requirements laid forth by the Sky Knights.
The airship originally assigned to the Sky Knights suffered damage during the initial incursion into Caldisla and crashed. The mission to tow the newly completed Eschalot to Caldisla's Lontano Villa will commence in one month's time. It will be Edea's first sortie.
9/20*
The steel airlock door creaked shut behind me. Footsteps investigating the noise drew close for a moment, but soon faded. I lowered myself into bed with a sigh. My right hand unconsciously drifted to the back of my head.
There, beneath my pillow, it fell upon a picture frame. Within it, a disheveled room full of scrap iron, oil stains, and a single, beautiful flower...
My beloved Edea...
I pine for the chance to see a smile unfurl across your face set in equal parts courageous fire and innocence. I long to hear your voice, sweet like a spring breeze. Let it speak my name, and I shall die a happy man.
I could hear the nervous shuffling outside my door of someone afraid to disturb me. Not afraid enough, it seems. I returned the photo to its hiding place and answered without bothering to conceal my irritation.
"I'm awake. What is it?"
I skimmed the manual I'd been given, then tossed it on the bed. I returned to Edea's smile, perfectly preserved within the picture frame.
The Eschalot. My lips formed the word time and again as I watched the new ship in tow from my cabin porthole.
9/24
I make for Caldisla aboard the airship Dark Knight. I entrusted a subordinate with the task of towing the Eschalot to duchy waters, and now sail to give word to the Sky Knights.
It was late afternoon by the time we moored at the Lontano Villa's air dock.
"AAAAH, is this our new boat? It's so BLACK and PUNCHY!"
As I descended to the villa roof, I was met with the loudest misunderstanding I've ever encountered.
"Whaaaaat? Why send our new ship back to the duchy? We're here, man! Bring it to us! BRING IT! Or just give us this one. Either or."
Constant shouting aside, Barras Lehr's point is utterly reasonable. To him, at least. One assumes. But he's not getting my ship.
"Hey, kid! You made it!"
When I reached the villa's study, I was greeted with a rough slap to the back from Heinkel, captain of the Sky Knights. He continues to treat me like a boy despite my superior rank. Strangely, I don't really mind. Arguing with him is a waste of time, regardless.
Two hours later, I sat down to a table laid heavy with a feast. What began as a welcome celebration for me ended in a horror show of Barras's inhuman appetite and Heinkel and Holly's tag-team drinking.
"Edea will serve in Ominas's unit."
I was sobering up on the balcony when Heinkel came to deliver that news, leaving me wholly flustered. I could see his grin from the corner of my eye as he raised his glass in a mock toast.
Knight Argent Heinkel. Tales of his feats go back before the duchy's founding. He holds the grand marshal's trust, to the point of once serving as captain of his personal guard. For some reason, this hero has taken an interest in me from a young age. I owe him more than I can hope to repay.
9/25
Heinkel's proposal would have been confusing enough even without the exquisite hangover clouding my brain. I asked if he was mad to suggest infiltrating the Caldislan castle town. His reply came with a laugh.
"You didn't seem to think so when you volunteered for the job."
I should have smelled a trap when he brought that flagon out to the balcony.
"Going under cover all alone for little Edea's sake? Ooh, what a man! I might swoon."
Leave it to Holly to smell blood in the water and join in the teasing... Just leave me alone!
"Yes, YESSS, charge into enemy territory and single-handedly smash everything! STRATEGY!"
Where do I even begin with Barras? Also, his voice is splitting my head in two. And why is he performing maintenance on MY ship!?
It may be black, but my armor is hardly subtle, so off comes the helmet for this mission. I'm leaving my sword as well. Wait, am I seriously going through with this? I was dropped a ways from the city, told to await a smoke signal, and with that, my ship left for the villa once more.
9/26*
I hurried for the capital as the sun dipped below the Norende Plateau. My steps are unnervingly light without my armor, and these clothes hang oddly on me. Most of all, I feel naked unarmed. I was greeted at the city's edge by the sound of a whistle marking the arrival of a merchant ship. Between the merchants and wholesalers, the dock workers unloading crates, the tired crewmen, and the eager children excited by exotic wares, the port was buzzing with people.
As I pushed my way upstream through the crowd and along the avenue toward the palace, I spotted a splendid building, its roof a rich navy. This must be the inn the old fisherman described.
Inside, I found a man with a gentle mien sitting behind a well-polished counter. I asked after any vacancies, but he replied with a chagrined, "Sorry, we're all full up tonight." It feels quiet for a full inn, but I don't suppose I can blame him. A walk-in customer, at this hour. Clearly not a local. No one to vouch for me. Any respectable innkeep would offer some version of the same excuse.
When I inquired after a place to eat, he said down by the port there should be a cheap pub catering to sailors that's open until morning. Lovely. Back down I go... At the hill's bottom I ate my fill at a food cart aimed at drunken sailors. Now it's back up to the inn. I refuse to spend the night kept awake by carousing seamen.
I let myself into the empty house next door to the inn. I'll just have to sleep lightly.
9/27*
I was awakened by the sound of sword practice, shouts of exertion, and the pleasant smell of toast. One of the king's guard, perhaps? Looks about my age, and reasonably skilled. I lay in my makeshift bed, lazily counting his swings.
"Hurry up, Owen. You'll be late."
Upon hearing the innkeep's words, the youth replied and made his way down from the misty hilltop and into the inn. The scent of breakfast coming from next door has me drooling...
One bite of my rock-hard bread brought me back to reality. The bacon burnt coal black and the murky, bitter coffee made me wish it hadn't. I suppose I can expect no more from a shabby stand in the port.
After choking down my fill, I climbed the hill toward the palace. Supplied by a series of lush waterways, Caldisla was once a formidable city-fortress. These days, its hooked central avenue is lined with a magic shop, general store, armory and other businesses. A large gate stands as a vestige of that era, though now it serves mostly as a site for the town bulletin board.
"This year's boar hunt is set to begin once the final slot is filled! *Weapons provided by the hunting committee."
A boar hunt? With the duchy attacking? I was speechless. As I made to leave, I felt someone grasp my shoulder.
"This fellow says he'll join the hunt! We ride today!"
I turned, shock and irritation laid bare, only to find Owen, the young man I had seen practicing in the fog that morning. My initial protests were drowned in a rising cheer, and as the smith handed me a broadsword and buckler, I dumbly accepted. Potions from the town chemist followed. Between their expectant smiles and Owen's grin, I found myself unable to say no.
On the road, I was told a litany of facts I cared nothing about. The search for food to fatten up before hibernating apparently drives the giant boars to local farms, where they raid crops and injure workers. As a result, the city gathers volunteers each year to hunt them. As captain of the guard (I discover), responsibility for overseeing the hunt falls upon Owen. The armorer was slated to participate, but a leg injury has him on crutches. Owen says he was searching for a replacement when he found a promising candidate during his morning practice. Lucky him.
We walked a full, tiring day stalking our prey. First the trader gave out, then chatter dried up between the two young castle guards. Sunset found us upriver from the city, at the entrance to the Norende Canyon. Just as we decided to make camp, a rustling came from the thickets behind us!
The boar that leapt out was indeed a giant--a vicious, one-tusked monster that had survived the last year's hunt. In a flash, it gored one of the guards, then the other, leaving only Owen, me, and the trader. The boar stamped the ground, preparing to charge the old man now paralyzed with fear. I expect we'd all given up hope for the kindly old merchant, when the beast suddenly changed course.
With only seconds to react, Owen landed a mighty blow, felling the monster in a single strike! I set about treating the young guards' injuries. The trader, clearly still worked up, narrated Owen's victory to the two boys. With every reverent word, I felt as though I was being derided as useless.
The others took to sleep, while I sat watch to keep the fire going. Owen rose, and came to sit beside me.
"Thanks for before."
I kept silent, but he pressed on.
"The boar only changed targets because you circled behind me and channeled your energy at it. It's thanks to you we're not carting home a corpse."
He sat waiting, apparently bent on receiving a response. His grin is infectious.
"I took the surest course of action," I replied as I held aloft my broadsword. "I had my doubts this blade was up to the task."
The weapon's edge was chipped in places, its length bent. With a gentle shake, the pommel gave an unsettling rattle. Owen burst into laughter at the noise. Apparently my response passed muster. He continued, his grin never flagging.
"Starting tomorrow, you'll stay at my place. I'll give word to my father to open a room for you."
I was dragged on this hunt, but if it earns me a real breakfast, it's a bargain I'd take gladly.
9/28*
The innkeep's voice and the smell of coffee being laid on the table roused me from my thoughts.
"You're from Ancheim, eh? You'll be wanting extra sugar, then."
Politely declining, I took a sip. Quality beans, roasted to perfection... Exquisite. After the hunt, we'd carried the wounded back to town. We tied the boar to a high tree branch; Owen said the townspeople would come for it later.
After seeing to the boys' treatment, Owen invited me to his home, the inn. "Savior" was the title he used when introducing me to his father. I was mortified. I was on a journey of personal discovery, originally come from Ancheim... They bought my arbitrary lies without hesitation. They welcomed me.
That evening, we dined early, and well. The boar had been carted back to town, and our share of the meat filled the table. Once Owen returned from the palace, we sat down to feast. The innkeep was a brilliant cook, and we ate, drank, and reveled into the night.
"Come by the palace tomorrow. I want you to meet the king."
He repeated himself time and again, words slurred from the wine, despite my pretending to be asleep.
9/29
I stood before the king of Caldisla.
Owen seemed determined to drag me into the king's service. It's a mercy he didn't know he was speaking to one of Eternia's Council of Six. I expect the embarrassment would be crippling.
The Caldislan king lacks any presence. Any fire. Outside and in, he's utterly common. If I were to kill this man where he stands, would it aid Edea? Remembering that I am unarmed, and that Owen isn't, nips any plotting in the bud.
After regaling the king with tales of my valor, he pushes for my appointment to the king's guard. I parry with a roundabout excuse. Perhaps the king mistook my hesitation for modesty, but he did not press the point. The audience ended, and Owen's scheme with it.
I left the palace, surreptitiously noting the number of guards, their equipment, and any other indication of Caldisla's might. To be blunt, Owen is the only real obstacle here. Given Heinkel's strength, I expect he could take the kingdom by brute force, if necessary.
10/03*
I've been in Caldisla a week, with no sign of the smoke signal. I join Owen in his training some mornings, walk the city streets, chat with the elderly, drink with the sailors at the docks, arm wrestle the drunks... Mostly, I just pass the time.
Today was another peaceful afternoon, the same as any other. Owen was at the palace since morning. I was enjoying a cup of the innkeep's coffee.
It happened in an instant. I felt as if someone was set to plunge a knife into my back. I turned, and saw a window. Through it, the northern sky was on fire in a flash of pure white. Moments later, the inn shook. An earthquake? Shockwave?
All of Caldisla trembled.
The innkeep moaned about a set of heirloom teacups breaking. I had my doubts that teacups would be the worst of the damage. Outside, I spied some injured people, but the city and palace stood unharmed. Another flash lit the sky to the northwest. Close. The Norende Plateau, perhaps...
10/04*
It wasn't till the following morning that Owen came home. By the time he finished muttering about his morning training, he was snoring. A knock at his door put an end to that brief rest that afternoon.
"The river's jammed with rubble!"
After receiving the scout's report, Owen wolfed down the late breakfast his father had readied, then turned to me.
"Sounds like I may need a hand later."
I nodded, eyes fixed on the northwestern sky.
The bridge across the Caldisla River has lain in ruin since the duchy felled it. Now, a flotilla of further rubble and countless corpses approach from upstream. Upstream means the Norende Canyon, and the village of Norende at its source. I suppose that's our epicenter.
Owen and I split up and joined the others searching for victims. Owen's team searched the river's mouth, while I gathered men from town to search further upstream. I've a long sword at my side--a new one, this time, in good condition. Seems the smithy's been busy.
The armorer, the old trader, and a dockhand joined me on the shadowy path through the canyon. A few paces in, the armorer spotted something floating by: a young man, floating face up and snagged on the rocks.
We ran to his side.
"He's breathing! The boy's alive!"
While the others rejoiced, I was more concerned with the ominous shadows surrounding us.
"Goblins!?"
"What are monsters doing here?"
There ought not be monsters so close to human settlement. Not in these numbers. The townspeople were clearly overwhelmed. No doubt this was their first such encounter. I hesitated, unsure for a moment. But no, I had to take action.
"When I give the signal, hoist this boy out and sprint for the canyon's mouth. Is that clear!?"
A nod returned from each of them. Sudden movement would distract the creatures for a moment. I hoped that was all I'd need.
"Now! GO!"
Thankfully, both merchants escaped, as well as the dockhand with the unconscious boy across his shoulders. Left alone, I faced a quickly-closing circle of enemies. So be it, I thought. Come closer, then. A bit more... A deep growl emerged from my chest.
"...Black Bane!"
When I emerged from the canyon on shaky legs, I was greeted by three anxious faces.
"It was this fellow that saved me," I said, holding aloft the badly worn longsword. A huge, proud grin threatened to split the armorer's cheeks.
We hurried the boy back to town. I carried him to the inn.
"I need spirits and all the bandages you've got. And gramps, all the potions you've got, too!"
I laid him in a bed by the window, stripped him down, and had a look at his wounds. Thankfully, they were light, though he still showed no sign of stirring. Owen's group returned soon after, a few of his men wounded. They'd run into monsters as well. Leaving men to guard the gates, he made for the palace to report and formulate a plan.
When he came by to deliver the medicine, the old trader remarked that the boy's clothing bore a Norende pattern.
10/07*
Three days the boy has stayed at the inn, and still no sign of waking. The innkeep says he's run a fever the entire time.
This afternoon is a warm one. Now I'm watching the innkeep nod off at the counter. The aftershocks have stopped, and peace is slowly returning to the city, but a shadow lingers over the earth, the sky, and the townspeople's hearts.
Glancing through the window, I saw people motioning toward the port. Another merchant ship, I thought, but no. Their shouts were anxious, not excited.
I stepped outside. Following the gaze of the others in the street, it was a merchant vessel I saw, drifting into port.
But something was wrong. The ship was listing hard, its aft mast broken.
I sprinted down the hill. As I ran, I noticed a dark, heavy color spreading through the water from the mouth of the bay inward.
I caught snippets as I passed.
"The sea's begun to rot."
"Ships can't leave the bay."
"No fish in the last few days."
A few days? Then the change began when the quake hit...
The ship listed further, rescue boats surrounding it. Most of the cargo had already been cast overboard. When the boats reached the pier, a parade of passengers and crew emerged, each looking more exhausted than the next.
By some miracle, there were no lives lost, though most of the freight followed the ship to the bottom of the bay. The merchants mourned their lost profits and the crew their vessel. The seamen had lost their sea, and the passengers were now stranded. Despair ran rampant.
Except for one young girl.
She was full of questions. About the quake four days prior. About the flash that lit the sky. About Norende.
"Did you know someone in the village? Family, perhaps?"
Her jaw set at my query. Was it anger? Fear? She wordlessly shook her head from side to side.
"No? I just figured, hearing you ask about the quake so soon after weathering the sea. I thought maybe you were a friend of that boy's."
"Boy? What boy?" came her reply. Suspicion played on her face. But as the next boat reached the pier, we were shooed out of the harbor.
"Another visitor from Ancheim, eh? You must be tired. Why don't you stay with us till you're settled?"
Hmph. I recall a different sort of greeting. I cast a sour smile his way, and he responded with a grin.
"We've a sick one in the back. I hope you won't mind."
The girl replied with a nod. Her name, I learned, was Agnès. She seems guarded about her past. Not that I can talk.
Conversation continues to be awkward.
She shows interest in what was happening in this country when the quake hit. For my part, I ask her about the sea.
Her ship had left before the earthquake struck. She says about halfway between Ancheim and Caldisla, their pace began to slow. The seawater clouded, and dead fish began to float to the surface. First small ones, then larger.
As they neared port, the wind died. It was pure luck the ship drifted in before going calm. Other vessels they'd passed in the bay, she reported, were less fortunate.
She listened as I recounted what happened in the canyon, the color draining from her face. I told her the village was likely at the quake's epicenter, and that monsters had flooded the area in its wake. We talked late into the night.
10/08
As the morning mists cleared, I saw traces of a smoke signal hanging in the southwestern sky. I ate breakfast, the same as any other day, and saw Owen off to work. I owe him a greater debt than he knows. And a few apologies.
After one last cup of the innkeep's coffee, I departed.
"Out for another of your walks?" asked the old trader as I passed.
"Something like that," was my reply. I handed him what money I had, and asked him to bring whatever medicine it bought to the boy later.
With the city behind me, I broke into a run for the lake to the southwest. Along the way, I encountered three packs of monsters. The longsword I'd been given broke midway through the third. I arrived to find the Dark Knight moored and waiting.
Aboard the ship, I donned my jet-black armor and helm for the first time in two weeks. With my trusty blade hung at my side, I made for the bridge. There, my crew informed me of our return orders.
My new mission is to survey the changes occurring throughout the world, and to report them to the Council. The report on Caldisla had already been sent from Lontano Villa. Their conclusion: that the Great Chasm that appeared beneath Norende was both cause and effect of the quake.
"No threat in region save Captain Owen's blade."
After firing off a wire to Heinkel, I gave the order to return to Eternia.
As we neared the crags, I received an urgent wire from Ancheim. "Wind vestal missing." A description of the ship she was thought to have taken followed, as well as its destination.
Surely not, I thought, but the facts aligned. Agnes, the vestal of wind?
I sent another wire to Heinkel, and a copy home to the Council. In reply, I received word that Edea had been charged with the vestal's apprehension. Their operation begins tomorrow.
I had hoped to send her off on her first mission. A shame...
--
Continued in Part 2.