Operation story: SV-3 (Under Tides)

Operation

Story

Previous SV-2	Next SV-4
Characters
Gladiia Skadi Anita Inquisitor Bishop Old José Inhabitant Male Inhabitant A Male Inhabitant B Young Inhabitant
Backgrounds
1 2 3 4 5 6

Before operation

“

Skadi goes to the shore looking for food, but finds that in this part of the sea, there is nothing but monsters.

”

<Background black>
Bishop	Look at you, even now irresolute, an ocean fish lost in its course.
Gladiia	(She glances at him.)
Bishop	You wish to know where I have brought you. You very much mind. You have not the qualification to take part in our congregation, yet your eyes tell me, you wish to know just what we will do to her. Did you recover the kindred love between you? Could your heart be torn apart by what happened to your old relation? Do you feel it is unjust? Are you thus angered?
Gladiia	You are attempting to find what you cannot see.
Bishop	But of course. That is the expected response. You believe I wish to harm her. You are wrong. I wish to help her. Only by elucidating where her–where all your pain lies at its source, can I better assist you in excising the problem point, is that not so? As with you. You voluntarily became one of us, wishing to melt into the ocean true. Once you have completed this mission, your sordid nature will achieve purification. This is the ocean's charity to you. And in the end, charity alike will be extended to all your old relations. So long as they alike can relinquish their narrow views of a past enmity. To reunite you, that is the first step. To fathom you, that is the second step. And come the end, you will fathom us too.
Gladiia	...... If you are able to reduce the nonsense by a measure, we may cooperate so much more harmoniously.
Bishop	I can also speak of things that will make you happy. Your old relation–the lucid one, she is already here.
Gladiia	Skadi? She is not here.
Bishop	Naturally, she is not. Without my invitation, none may enter this place.
Gladiia	She's entered the city. You know that.
Bishop	You have expressed surprise. That is very interesting. There is no sound in this city that I do not hear. And He admires all I do, has granted me the power, given my life further reach. My perception, my wit, all are no longer bound by the flesh you see before you. I am approaching perfection. I will accept your grudges.
Gladiia	Hmph.
Bishop	As for your old relation, now–her arrival was sooner than anticipated. "Abyssal Hunters are bound by blood." She has no inkling of what awaits her. All you had to do was take the other away, and she has given chase here, not having once rested. Truly a camaraderie to make one gasp. Does she know the state of you nowadays? What will she do when she confronts a traitor? Will she trust in your blood binding, old comrades rekindled, or will a blade pierce true through your body? I have great expectations.
Gladiia	(She turns to leave.)
Bishop	You needn't hurry to find her. You've done very well. You have brought this one back to where she should remain, and led another into the city. He will be very pleased.
Gladiia	He?
Bishop	You need not know. We simply wait now. We wait until the time comes, and naturally, you may find your old relation then, and pass on to her our invitation.
Gladiia	She is not sure to come.
Bishop	She will come. She will come seeking me herself.
<Background 1>
[Anita rushes to welcome Skadi who had just returned.]
Anita	You're back again! We live in the best building in the whole north area. Look, this door still closes. A door that shuts closed is one of your best friends on a rainy day.
[Skadi goes to Anita.]
Skadi	People are nearby. Two of them.
Anita	They're, well, they're usually here.
Male Inhabitant	One-hundred-and-thirty, one-hundred-and-thirty-one, one-hundred-and-thirty-two...
Anita	Hi, Brick, are you doing good today?
Male Inhabitant	...... One, two, three...
Anita	I'm sorry! Poor guy, now he has to start over again. He's always sitting here, counting all the bricks in the street. Don't tell him I said, but each day's count isn't much like the last. And also, that one's Stonecolumn. He likes making his way all around the street pillars. When it's all dark and rainy he doesn't come out. He's a little old, and his legs start hurting when he gets wet. You can just ignore them, and they'll ignore you too, just like they ignore me. Come in, singer. Let me give you an official introduction. In here is my home.
<Background 2>
[Anita takes Skadi inside her house, with the ones inside looking at her coldly.]
Male Inhabitant A	......
Male Inhabitant B	......
Anita	Hi, Sheetmetal. Hi, Drywall. You're awake!
Skadi	(Strokes case)
Male Inhabitant B	Ouch...
Male Inhabitant A	Hey, Woodframe. You brought this outside person into the house again.
Anita	She's not bad.
Male Inhabitant A	She's from the outside.
Anita	Bench has taken a decent liking to her, haven't you, Bench?
Young Inhabitant	Wgh... aogh...
Anita	Don't–Don't bite! You're going to chew the singer's skirt apart!
Skadi	*cough*. ...Not that it'll come apart.
Anita	It's all slobbery again. That's not very pretty.
Young Inhabitant	Aogh, au-auwgh...
Anita	This rascal really has taken a shining to you, singer.
Skadi	......
Anita	You see? Bench wants her to stay too.
Male Inhabitant A	You are scheming something. Do not think, I do not know.
Anita	Er...
Male Inhabitant A	This will not, end well.
Anita	I'm not, okay, I don't have any plans at all. What is the phrase...? Suit yourself. The rules, may not be broken. Whether by you, or by her. I will be watching. We shall go.
[The others left Anita's house.]
Anita	Phew... they finally left. Singer, don't be afraid. This is just the kind of person Sheetmetal is. He may seem very frightful, but he won't really do anything to us.
Skadi	Oh?
Anita	Okay, I know you're not afraid. Since you're so much more powerful than them. I just wanted to say, if he really tried something–*snort*–I wouldn't be scared of him either.
Skadi	Oh.
Anita	*Sigh*.
Skadi	You're sighing.
Anita	This barrel's empty. So is the tray. Let me just think... maybe there's still some food under the bed.
Skadi	Is this the bed?
Anita	It is. Does it seem very odd? Were the beds in your home not metal?
Skadi	I don't mind too much.
Anita	You can find wooden beds in some houses, too. Wood's surprisingly useful. Wood can burn, and make houses brighter and warmer at once. There are some times if you fall ill here when the winters won't be kind to you. Eh-heh–look, this is my treasure box. I filled it a touch full when I woke up this morning. Help me for a moment here, get this dry seagrass out of my sight. No, don't throw it on the floor. Even if we can't eat it, we can still pad out the bed with it.
Skadi	You have a lot.
Anita	That's right. I hide everything useful inside here. Take a look at this, they're clothes I'm sewing right now. I sharpened up a shell into a needle recently, and it's so much better to use than all those years-old ones. I'm fairly short of material. Still need to go searching properly through the city south. Maybe there'll be some buried so deep that nobody's taken it yet. It'll be getting cold soon, so I need to hurry up.
Young Inhabitant	......
Anita	No, don't you dare, Bench, you can't touch these clothes! These are for Grandma Petra. Her cough just keeps getting worse.
Young Inhabitant	......
Anita	Not this either! You let go!
Young Inhabitant	Woodframe.
Anita	I've told you how many times? It's not Woodframe, it's Pictureframe! Also, you can't even eat this! There's no point in you even having it!
Skadi	Woodframe... Pictureframe?
Anita	You heard them calling me that?
Skadi	I only know you as Anita.
Anita	I picked Anita for myself... I heard it in one of Grandma Petra's stories. She was a girl just like you, she could really sing. It sounds much nicer than Woodframe, doesn't it? Most of us here have no names. Whatever came to mind first is what we use. Brick's always counting bricks, Sheetmetal has a sheetmetal fence running all around his house. They call me Woodframe. Because underneath this pictureframe is where Grandma Petra found me.
Skadi	You mentioned your own mother before.
Anita	She didn't give me up to anyone else. Brave, she was. When I was born, there were no children here. Children couldn't survive. Those years, nobody dared go against Grandma Petra... she gave me a share of food. Don't let her poor health now fool you, she's this city's most fearsome person by far.
Skadi	Oh?
Anita	Even Sheetmetal fears her.
Skadi	Oh.
Anita	Things are much better now. That priest taught us how to survive. Just look at Bench, and those children over there. I believe in this place of ours becoming a lively one someday.
Young Inhabitant	Aaah... ah...
Anita	So long as you don't keep taking what's mine. You're a good kid still, aren't you, Bench? It doesn't matter if anything else gets taken away. Every night when I go to sleep, I hide this box away. They wouldn't know how to find it. Ugh, we don't really go "yours" or "mine" here. I understand hiding things is bad. Singer, you won't go telling anyone else, will you? You're not interested in my things to boot.
Skadi	Do you trust in me?
Anita	You're a guest. Grandma Petra taught me that we should properly receive guests. There it is, I knew it was there. Look, there's still one fin left.
Skadi	This odor...
Anita	It's half a month old. Still quite fresh as fish go. Pull it apart, and this half... is for Bench. Here, Bench, food for you here!
Young Inhabitant	Ah... aaah... (He swallows it.)
Anita	Alright, and this half is for you. Leave the bones when you're done eating. I can boil some soup with them after.
Skadi	I can go to find food too.
Anita	But the day still hasn't come! If you went out now, you probably couldn't find anything to eat.
Skadi	Can't say until you try.
[Skadi heads outside.]
Anita	Huh? She talks, and suddenly she's gone. Seriously, how odd she is!
<Background 1>
The wandering singer in the red dress, carrying her tremendous case on her back, strolls casually through the street. Still no one heeds her. In a street still and ashen, naught moves but a flutter of red.
Skadi	Still following.
Skadi suddenly picks up in speed. The indistinct shadow sweeps through the way, in the manner of a wave driven on by a gale. It is as if she is about to charge headlong into the ocean–and then comes to a sudden halt. The singer in the red dress clutches her harp to her chest, using one hand to clamber a nomadic city's wreckage, her vision sweeping past the chapel towering on the high cliff, resting on the pitch-black sea surface. A sea positively calm. From a crag hanging over ten meters high, she leaps down.
<Background 3>
[The ones following Skadi turn out to be one of the inhabitants inside Anita's house earlier...]
Male Inhabitant A	The shore. She has gone to the shore.
[...who are then joined by another inhabitant.]
Male Inhabitant B	Yes, Sheetmetal, your thinking is correct. She wants to enter the sea. She intends to set into it.
Male Inhabitant A	The time, is not yet come. The priest spoke so. The tide must flood and ebb one-hundred times, before we are permitted, to enter the sea.
Male Inhabitant B	Sheetmetal, we cannot come here. The shore, does not permit us to.
Male Inhabitant A	That is meaningless. We will, block her.
Male Inhabitant B	Block her? As if we could defeat her?
Male Inhabitant A	The priest spoke, we must wait one hundred times, before we may go. It is only, the ninety-ninth time now.
Male Inhabitant B	She will obtain nothing at all. The shore today, has nothing at all.
Male Inhabitant A	So what is she looking for?
Male Inhabitant B	Sheetmetal, it is bitterly cold here, I am hungry, we cannot come here, and you should not ask.
Male Inhabitant A	Is there anything in the sea?
Male Inhabitant B	I do not know.
Male Inhabitant A	Even if you knew, what then?
Male Inhabitant B	I do not know. Sheetmetal, what you say, I do not know any of. I do not understand.
Male Inhabitant A	Where is the furthest we have traveled, in the past?
Male Inhabitant B	The westernmost of the west. A long time ago. In those days, we were, no taller than this. We could still, collect food in the town.
Male Inhabitant A	Borderline. We do not often, say this word. We have seen, this city's, edge.
Male Inhabitant B	That was you, Sheetmetal, not we. At that time, I was dizzy with hunger. You said, you wanted to go further still. You wanted, to push your luck.
Male Inhabitant A	It was to try my luck. Hmph. You never could, make any sense. The priest gave you such years of teaching. You never could learn.
Male Inhabitant B	Heh-heh, Sheetmetal, you make. Sense of me.
Male Inhabitant A	You said so, at that time too. You have always trusted me. You let me take the can you kept. I traveled another day.
Male Inhabitant B	And then you came back.
Male Inhabitant A	Yes, I came back.
Male Inhabitant B	You ate nothing, for several days after. I thought, you wanted to starve yourself to death.
Male Inhabitant A	I thought of it. But what meaning, would starving myself have? After all, we will all perish come not too long.
Male Inhabitant B	You are giving me a shock. You said this back then too. I do not know what you are talking about.
Male Inhabitant A	Afterward... the priest came. It was only when he came, that I felt a change. We all changed.
Male Inhabitant B	The priest, has a good life. He says we can have one. What he says is true.
Male Inhabitant A	It is true. Because... it is the truth. He let us see it. Because of the priest, I survived. We all survived. That is, very good. That line, no one can cross.
Male Inhabitant B	Is that line, the seawater line?
Male Inhabitant A	All lines. Just like the traps Woodframe makes. They stop, even outsiders. We cannot exit either. That is for the best.
Male Inhabitant B	Sheetmetal... your leg, is going to meet the water!
Male Inhabitant A	Water... yes. I shall not cross. Even if I crossed over... crossed over, there may well be nothing there at all.
Male Inhabitant B	Phew... Sheetmetal, you finally stopped walking. You scared me just now. Do not be like that, asking so many questions. You are like Woodframe, when you always ask. She was always strange. The priest said too that something is wrong about her, did he not?
Male Inhabitant A	Questioning... cannot help us. Only answers have any meaning.
Male Inhabitant B	You impress me so, Sheetmetal. You are the only one who remembers, the priest's words as strongly.
Male Inhabitant A	...... Look, she has not stopped walking along the shore.
Male Inhabitant B	Sheetmetal, where are you going? Are you going to follow too? No, that is not right, we may not, and cannot follow her! Even I know, we cannot defeat her. We have no way to drive her out.
Male Inhabitant A	She cannot return now.
Male Inhabitant B	That... That is a very good thing for us. I want the big case she has. There is surely much to eat inside.
Male Inhabitant A	The case is not here. She took it. There is only this... this, she placed it on the rocks. I do not know what this is.
Male Inhabitant B	She is always holding it. It should be something good, no? May I... May I try a bite, Sheetmetal? I am so very hungry.
Male Inhabitant A	(Plink-plunk)
Male Inhabitant B	What–What is this? I have never heard a sound like this before.
Male Inhabitant A	(Plink-plunk, plink-plunk)
Male Inhabitant B	Stop it quickly, Sheetmetal, this sound is making my stomach and teeth shake without end. If you are fond of holding it then hold it. I am going back after all.
Male Inhabitant A	No meaning. This also has no meaning. This useless thing. It should be left on the ground. To rot.
[Skadi suddenly shows up before the inhabitants.]
Skadi	The whole way, I thought it was somebody else following me.
Male Inhabitant B	You–You returned! How were you able? Nobody who goes to, the shore at this time, will return.
Male Inhabitant A	You want to enter the sea.
Skadi	I'm just taking a walk around the area.
Male Inhabitant A	Is there anything in the sea?
Skadi	There's nothing at all.
Male Inhabitant A	That cannot be.
Male Inhabitant B	You have turned stranger and stranger, Sheetmetal. You are still asking these questions I do not understand. Did we not come here to block her? Now she is heading back. We may go back.
Male Inhabitant A	You saw it. You know.
Male Inhabitant B	Sheetmetal, you are shaking. Have you become ill?
Male Inhabitant A	......
[After knowing there's something wrong with the second inhabitant, the first approaches Skadi.]
Skadi	Don't come near.
Male Inhabitant A	And what if I do? Will you beat us so we are lying on the floor, like before?
Skadi	......
Male Inhabitant A	There is something in the sea, correct?
Skadi	Don't move.
[Skadi hits the second inhabitant with her case.]
Male Inhabitant B	Aaaaagh–
Male Inhabitant A	Drywall! This stone... her movements, are truly fast.
Male Inhabitant B	Was that a sound from my mouth? Sheetmetal, I made a sound. My heart is beating wild. Have I become ill too?
Male Inhabitant A	I believe, your head will explode with a bang. Just like a shell smashed open, there will be something shining bright white inside.
Male Inhabitant B	Will I die then?
Male Inhabitant A	We will know the next time we try. What has fallen apart now is something else. I have never seen a thing like this before. Why can it... still move?!
Skadi	Run. Head back to the city. Quickly. –Remember to leave my harp here.

After operation

“

Skadi witnesses the local inhabitants' unusual ceremony for seeking food from the ocean. An indignant young Inquisitor breaks it up, and maintains firmly that Skadi is a wicked Ægir, engaging her in a fight.

”

<Background 4>
[Skadi returns to Anita's house after the sun goes down.]
Anita	Ah, you're back! I was just about to go find you. How come you've got sand stuck to you... did you go to the shore?
Skadi	Yes.
Anita	I told you not to go! But you just don't listen. Hurry, come inside with me, it's warm.
Skadi	No need.
Anita	Fine. This is for you! I found something to eat. I gave those clothes I half-sewed to Uncle Fireplace, and took some things from his. He's got quite a lot of food left, so he shouldn't mind it. It'll be forever before winter comes. If I just work at it a little more, I'm sure I'll find materials to use.
Skadi	This shellmeat...
[Skadi, suspecting something, grabs Anita as she asks her.]
Skadi	Just what is it you're eating?
Anita	Ow! It hurts when you grab me like that... you're much too strong!
Skadi	What is it you're eating...?
Anita	We–We pick them off the coast!
Skadi	There is no food in the sea here. Nothing to harvest whatsoever. This part of the ocean is silent.
Anita	I told you, if you went to the shore today, of course there'd be nothing to eat. The time has to come...
Skadi	What time?
[An inhabitant walks outside while murmuring...]
Inhabitant	One-hundred... One-hundred!
[...before going away.]
Anita	Oh, no! I hadn't even paid attention to the count. We're already at a hundred, then.
As if receiving some sort of signal, each "busied" person scattered all across the street assembles together. From all their mouths the same number comes, as they surround a pot, one after another remove something identical thing from it, and then silently leave.
Skadi	That pot.
Anita	Weren't you asking me where all the food came from? On every hundredth flood and ebb of the tide, the grownups all get together like this, and each one takes a shell out from it. The shells in the pot are mostly white ones, and only one is red. Once the sun's gone down, the one who's taken the red one will go to the shore. And on morning the next day, there'll be food all over the shore.
Skadi	And the one who went?
Anita	Went to go live in the sea. Just as the laws say.
Skadi	You believe in this too?
Anita	Well, where else do you think they go?
[An inhabitant walks by while overjoyed.]
Male Inhabitant A	One-hundred. It has finally come. Here, Woodframe, why that face? This is a good day! Very soon, out of us, another lucky one will be chosen. They will leave before us, to live a better life. Come tomorrow, we will even have, fresh food aplenty. We will all survive. No matter whether gone to the sea, or left on the shore.
Anita	I...
Male Inhabitant A	You do not need to worry. You are already old enough. Very soon you will join this too, and have this greatest, opportunity. For now, you may go on as before. Give your blessings to that sibling.
Male Inhabitant B	Sheetmetal, I, I...
Male Inhabitant A	You have fallen over. Truly hopeless. What happened at the shore, earlier, weakened your leg.
Male Inhabitant B	I do not understand why. I, I am so hungry... I have no strength. I am ill... I am going to die. That is right, what about the shell? The one I just drew...
Male Inhabitant A	You dropped it on the ground.
Male Inhabitant B	Is it... Is it a red one? Can, I go to live in the sea? In the sea, I will not hunger. Is that not right, Sheetmetal? I will live, a good life. You will... erk, bless me too, as the priest told, will you not?
Male Inhabitant A	...... You have mistaken it. Take it, for this is your shell. Look carefully at, what color it is. Do not let the saltwater muddle your eyes.
Male Inhabitant B	A white one? Why would it be white... did I see wrong? I could not have. My eyes, are very fine.
Skadi	(Plucks strings)
Male Inhabitant A	You are here too. So this, is how you use that thing.
Male Inhabitant B	*cough*, Sheetmetal, the shell in your hand... your hand, is clutched so tight. It is bleeding, is it not? I can see, reddest red...
Skadi	If it's blessings you want, I have none for you.
Male Inhabitant A	You understand nothing. This is what is truly meaningful. I know, at least, where I should go. I will very soon learn.
[Suddenly the festivities are interrupted when the young female Inquisitor from before shows up and break the pots.]
???	What are you all doing?!
Anita	That outfit... it's an Inquisitor! What is an Inquisitor doing here all of a sudden? They come so rarely. It was so many years ago when an Inquisitor last came... I was still very young then, and we were all living miserably. We couldn't find any more food in the city, and so many of us were ill. Everything was a mess, and everyday people passed away. The Inquisitors took a few people away. Those people never came back. Since then, the days have gotten a little better. We still starve, or die of illness, but at least we won't, um, we won't... I mean... that's an Inquisitor.
Skadi	Oh.
Anita	Shh, singer, don't anger her. She doesn't seem very happy at all.
Inquisitor	I've seen what's happening here, and I've even heard it. You're plotting to send someone into the sea... Do you not know what it is you're trying to do?!
Inhabitant	......
Inquisitor	Speak! Why won't you speak? I don't like it, I don't like anything about this place. Disease, famine... I thought I'd have seen it here, with how hard it is to escape from. According to prior reports, none of you should even be alive at this point, after all these years! Yet reality begs to differ. You all seem to me in better shape than I'd imagined, yet blighted all too fiercely. Do you all understand what your actions will eventually cause? Look at me, answer me! Don't you know who I am?
Inhabitant	You are an Inquisitor.
Inquisitor	Thus, you are required to answer me, citizen!
Inhabitant	This is the ocean's choice. The one who is chosen is the one who accepts it.
Inquisitor	This isn't right! What in the world is the ocean's choice? As if the ocean had some kind of will of its own... a truly unsound suggestion! The way I see it, you are conducting a collective murder! How could anyone entering the sea survive? On... on what basis do you sentence the innocent?
Inhabitant	Entering the sea, is not death.
Inquisitor	How do you know?
Inhabitant	Do you know?
Inquisitor	I... That's irrelevant. I only know that their departure will in all likelihood be more terrible than death itself. And right now, I witness that you are coercing one amongst you.
Inhabitant	We are not making them do it. This is their own choice. If they want to go to the shore, we should not obstruct them. The laws do not say they cannot do this.
Inquisitor	Unbridled nonsense! This is not in any way proper!
Inhabitant	Then, what is proper? You are an Inquisitor. You may indicate to us.
Inquisitor	At the very least, I know more about wrong than you all seem to. What you're carrying out is impermissible conduct. Whether you see it or not, I still smell an odor of wickedness– (Draws sword)
Inhabitant	......
Inquisitor	It seems you have no fear of my sword. Perhaps, though, you truly don't consider this a homicide. You fear not even death. You're all becoming monsters before my very eyes. Or yet... I suppose there's someone who wants you turned into monsters. It may be your insanity was tugged astray by some actor. I will unearth this sin's source, I swear!
[While quietly watching the Inquisitor threatening the inhabitants...]
Skadi	I'm out of here.
Anita	Hm?
Skadi	She's the one who can't hold it in. It's nothing to do with me.
Anita	Who... Who's she? Do you mean... the Inquisitor?
Skadi	Let's at least let her try.
<Background fades out and in>
Anita	You've looked in an awful lot of houses this whole way.
Skadi	You don't need to follow me.
Anita	Can you really find who you're looking for, turning through one building after another like this?
Skadi	I'll keep looking, then.
Anita	Traveling the city north to south, west to east, would take a whole day or two.
Skadi	If you didn't follow me, I could move faster.
Anita	Does the one who wanted you here know you're looking for her? Didn't she mention any specific place?
Skadi	......
Anita	Ugh, it'll be dark in just a bit, so let's rest up. Singer, have you readied anywhere to stay tonight?
Skadi	Anywhere will do.
Anita	You can head back with me. I've mentioned the buildings in the north are a little better for wear. Plenty of us all live together. Look, there was still a little fin oil left over from last time. Uncle Fireplace was up early to light the lamps, and now the room's nice and bright.
Skadi	I'll be fine.
<Background black>
Skadi randomly kicks open a roadside door. The door belongs to a half-collapsed building.
<Background 5>
[Skadi and Anita enters the ruined building.]
Skadi	I'll stay in here.
Anita	This one? This one hasn't had anyone in it for forever.
Skadi	I don't care about that.
Anita	Never mind a bed, you'd barely find a single even nook in there. If you can't lie down, how are you going to sleep?
Skadi	Standing, sitting. It makes no difference.
Anita	Incredible... You're so strange. I didn't know what wandering singers were like, but the feeling you give me isn't like them. I thought people who love singing would all love laughing, joking. Not like you, you barely talk. And would people who love dancing not mind sitting somewhere dust-caked like you are, getting your skirt all dirty?
Skadi	You should go home.
Anita	Are you annoyed with me now?
Skadi	This is no good place. As you said.
Anita	But I want to keep you company.
Skadi	I don't need company.
Anita	Ugh, I realized. You've stared outside the whole time you've been here. Where are you looking at? The shore, the chapel? Are you going to head out again at night? Say, climb the hill, and take a look inside the chapel?
Skadi	That is none of your business.
Anita	True, it isn't. I'm just curious.
Skadi	Take it.
Anita	Your harp? What are you giving me this for?
Skadi	You've been eyeing it the whole time. If you want it, just take it.
Anita	What a pretty harp. (Plink-plunk) Such a nice sound. But I have no clue what to do with it. I can only watch you use it.
Skadi	Then what do you want?
Anita	Do you feel as though I'm only following you because I want what's yours? I just want to follow you, really.
Skadi	......
Anita	I know the only thing on your mind is finding someone, finding that fellow one of yours.
Skadi	I need to verify a few things.
Anita	You've been searching for her for many years now, haven't you?
Skadi	Hm?
Anita	That's the feeling you give me. The moment I mention finding her, the look in your eyes is different. They're the eyes of someone who's been on so very many journeys. There's times when the look in Grandma Petra's eyes is the same. So wonderful. I think, in the end, you can free yourself from her.
Skadi	What?
Anita	Burdens like this are too heavy.
Skadi	I don't understand what you mean.
Anita	No matter how long you persist for, come twenty or thirty years' time, whether it's you or her, you'll only want to be freed. And no one can persist for that long of a time, besides.
Skadi	What are you saying here?
Anita	I'm saying, you might just be the kind who's fated exceptionally well. You don't have to search for her anymore.
Skadi	......
Anita	Here, only those without any burden can live for very long. If their minds are fixated on one thing for so long, they go mad. Don't take me just for someone young. I've seen a lot of people go mad.
Skadi	You don't understand.
Anita	I don't understand what happened between you in the past. But things of the past, good or bad, can crush people once too much amasses. Just like I'm unsure if Grandma Petra's illness has gotten worse, every time she brings up the name Manuel. You're still young. You don't need to live such a hard life.
Skadi	Things aren't as simple as that.
Anita	Simple or not, you can try talking about it all the same. I'll be right here. I want to hear.
Skadi	They're... Even if I don't pay them mind, they won't just leave. The more I don't pay them mind, the more they'll come find you, drown you...
<Flashback starts here>
<Background 6>
[Sometime in the past, while Skadi and José were working together, they were resting with the latter offering the former a drink.]
Old José	Here, you drink some too.
Skadi	(She tilts her head and gulps.)
Old José	Stop–not too much in one go, leave a drop for me. I need some too to help with sleepless nights. Goddamn. You piece of work, you. My ass, you're the disaster. You got Juan killed... This damnable papá couldn't even give you an earful in time before you came back looking half-dead. What the hell can I even say to you? I can't. A tomar por culo. I can't deal with it.
Skadi	...I'm sorry. The enemy's aim was me. No one who nears me... has a happy end.
Old José	Look at what you're saying. Cursing me, aren't you?
Skadi	You should keep your distance from me too.
Old José	That I can do. Don't have to ask me twice.
Skadi	......
Old José	All right, sichtír, that doesn't mean I believe you're some ill omen. This line of work's bloodthirsty, and that little idiot didn't listen to his papá, died, and died in some goddamn mystery asshole's hands. If even you couldn't do anything, did I ever have a chance? That's not a hatred I can avenge. I've got nothing I can do to you either. Once we're done with this bit of drink, we'll be off again, going wherever we go.
Skadi	Alright.
Old José	You bastard! Were you always like this? Can't even find a single kind word, not so much as a profanity, huh?!
Skadi	I've never been too good at the language here. I'm still not.
Old José	Nah. You're just not willing to admit you've made a friend. Dammit. If we're to part, you might as well spare a couple more words. Where are you heading next?
Skadi	I don't know.
Old José	Same as ever, then. Drifting here and there, taking on missions with no point, fighting wave after wave of enemies who couldn't even take you if you were using one finger. Like living in an unending dream, isn't that?
Skadi	......
Skadi tilts back and swigs. But the alcohol seems without a shred of effect on her.
Skadi	...... Then where can I go, in your opinion? You're all bounty hunters in order to make money, to live. But I long since had nothing left. It's savage, orderless. There's not even an automatic toilet. I don't want to be here, and this place doesn't need me. Why should I be here? Weak, ignorant. Both plainly insatiable yet scared of dying. The things don't even understand me, yet when they come looking for me, they're not even willing to get out of the way. I can't figure it out.
[Skadi crushed the bottle she was holding in anger.]
Old José	Hold it, did you just crush a few bottles?
Skadi	...... Beheading prey. Disposing of enemies. I'm born to do this. They all die, and I live on. What do I live on for? Why do these disasters always come calling, but never kill me... always the ones by my side? Juan was a good person.
Old José	I don't need you to tell me, you damned Ægir hag!
Skadi	Then why? Why is it always them who die? I await, I search, I make sure all those shadows pursuing me will be slain, but I can't even find them, I can't even catch sight of them. So what am I meant to do? What can I even do, except keep far away from everyone? Who can even... tell me at this point?
Old José	Fine, fine. You win. Tah-hathek. This whole bottle's yours. Down it, give crying your eyes out a go, like me. Then get some proper sleep.
Skadi	It doesn't do much. I've already tried.
Old José	Go dream actual dreams, hunter. For you, dreams might just be the more real thing. You never know, maybe you'll find some clues in there–you know, like a, uh, treasure map that only belongs to you? Find it. And then you can be on your way all the better. Cover your head and move forward. It beats being stuck circling in place.
<Flashback ends here>
<Background 5>
Skadi	A treasure map.
Anita	Singer? Are you okay? You seemed very pained for a moment... I didn't know you could make that sort of face.
Skadi	It's fine.
Anita	And then you started pinching this thing. If you didn't treasure it so, I would've believed it was some awful artifact that angered you so much you wanted to pulverize it. You don't... look angry at all.
Skadi	This is hers.
Anita	Her? The fellow person you're looking for? Fine, I can see you just won't give up.
Skadi	...She's not a burden. She's the... one who helped me. She revealed the course of a craft to me. If I keep following its direction and sailing on, maybe I'll be able to find answers.
Anita	Singer, what are you looking for?
Skadi	I still don't know. It may be who I am. It may be what I should do. When... When you're searching for things in the ruins, do you know what you're possibly going to find?
Anita	Wow. Put like that, I actually don't know.
Skadi	I think, once I've found it I'll know.
[Suddenly someone knocks the door hard.]
Inquisitor	Let me in!
Anita	Shoot. Singer, don't you cross words with her. Open the door.
Skadi	Why?
Anita	...... You're not an Iberian.
Skadi	Say what you will.
Anita	That's an Inquisitor. Hmm...
Inquisitor	I know you're in there! Don't get cocky about your disguise, I saw you the moment you entered the city! Open the door, citizen. You don't know what kind of person you're sheltering...
Anita	Sheltering? No, I, I didn't mean to hide her...
Inquisitor	I'll give you a count of three. If you don't open up, don't blame me for being discourteous. One, two–
[The Inquisitor breaks through the door, which fills the room with dust.]
Inquisitor	Three! *cough*, *cough* *cough*, so much dust! How long has this place been uninhabited... Aha, Ægir, I've found you!
The Inquisitor's blade is keen and swift, the air itself practically sundered in two. The one meant for the blade's downswing turns her waist, sliding to the side in one unfathomable motion. She keeps close with the blade's point, and it follows her unerringly, yet it cannot split even one of her hairs.
Anita	Wh–What fast moves– Singer... did you dodge?! That posture... I can't imagine it myself. Stood on the chair... the backrest? People can stand on that? How is she stood so steadily?!
Inquisitor	A fluke and no more! I must see for sure, how long can your good luck last you?
[The Inquisitor strike Skadi, but she dodged it.]
Anita	She dodged again! In a single swish–she went from this end of the house to that... She's even lighter than seagrass flung in a gale, even faster!
[Skadi looks at the Inquisitor.]
Skadi	That stick of yours is useless against me.
Inquisitor	St... Stick?! This is an affront... You will pay for your false words!
[Angered, the Inquisitor unleashes a flurry of strikes at Skadi that cuts open anything in the path, but Skadi evaded them regardless.]
Anita	Whoaaa–so strong too! The chair split apart, the cupboard, and now there's even a crack through the floor! I–I can't bear to watch... oh, the singer... Wait, she's alright? She evaded all of that? Such nimbleness! No... it doesn't seem like she's dodging. Her steps aren't forced in any way. It actually has a peculiar feel of rhythm to it... So–So beautiful.
Sweat drips from the young Inquisitor's flushed face. Her blade hand is still steady, but her breaths are coming faster. The narrow room is cut to utter pieces. To Skadi, this is no different to her slow ambles across the open barrens.
Inquisitor	How long do you plan to hide, Ægir? Like the rest of your kind, you steal into our country, stowing away in the shadows– Heyah!
[The Inquisitor slashes across a nearby wall...]
Anita	Did that slant away? The slash cut against the wall...? Has the Inquisitor... tired out?
Inquisitor	Heh! At no moment does my sword ever slant–
[...which collapses right after, seemingly trapping Skadi.]
Anita	The–The wall collapsed! How fortunate, we're on the other side... But the singer... has no way out now. The Inquisitor did that intentionally.
Inquisitor	Nowhere left to hide. Take this blow, for it is your crimes put on trial!
Skadi	Damn it.
Inquisitor	Gh... how? How can my blade be so casually blocked? Though I have not used all my strength... person of Ægir, just what are you?
Skadi	A wandering singer.
Inquisitor	Drivel! I've been following you ever since you entered Sal Viento. Who are you fooling? What wandering singer... has such skills?!
Skadi	Seems Mister José wasted his effort.
Inquisitor	And who is this José? And your acts at the shore! I saw it all!
The Inquisitor flurries her blade, hacking and slashing, thrusting, each blow coming quicker, more exact than the last. She no longer simply charges the Ægir in her gaze, but relentlessly switches angles, blitzing slices through the surrounding space. If the enemy shows no openings, her swordhand will force the openings from them. However, Skadi is open, head to toe. She has no intent of defending at all. Every supple strike melts, one by one, into a traceless muffle.
Inquisitor	Confess! Why have you stolen into our land?
Skadi	You care too much.
Anita	S–So strong! She's not just unafraid of the Inquisitor, she's taunting her? It might not be a taunt. The singer just speaks this way. I've gotten used to it after half the day. But... *cough*, now the Inquisitor is even angrier.
Inquisitor	I am an... Inquisitor! All things that occur in Iberia are my business. All errors proscribed under the law... we find, we even out. There's something not right about the sea here. Their numbers have grown. This city is on the eve of... no, perhaps it has already become a lair of evils. Speak, Ægir. All these abnormalities, they are all your doing, correct? It was you who brought about disaster, had those things assemble here–
Skadi	Yes.
Inquisitor	You inculcated heretical thought into the citizens here, drove them to enter the sea. Look at them, they've all now become as grotesque as you!
Skadi	Hm?
Inquisitor	You undoubtedly saw it. You clearly brought something about in the ocean here. Yet see the look in your eyes– You simply–do not care!
Skadi	Mm...
Inquisitor	How can such indifference claim resemblance to a normal human? And you dare to say this wasn't your doing?! I will not let you escape, Ægiii–iiir! Do you consider the calamity you've brought to this country a trifle? Your lot are scheming something, of this I am absolutely certain!
Skadi	Huh?
Anita	What's the Inquisitor talking about? The singer's only been here for half a day... and what disaster? Who's grotesque? Don't we... voluntarily enter the sea? What other Ægir are there? I don't understand.
[Skadi narrowly dodged an attack by the Inquisitor.]
Skadi	You can't overcome me.
Inquisitor	How can we know without trying further?
Skadi	This is a pure waste of time.
Inquisitor	Tch. You're correct. What have I been wasting all this talk on you for? I should have long since–apprehended you first.
All of a sudden, the Inquisitor sheathes her blade. From her side she draws a handcannon, grips it in both hands, and aims at Skadi.
<Background 5>
Anita	Huh?!
Skadi	Get down. Don't come out.
[Skadi pushes Anita outside right as the Inquisitor fires her handcannon.]
<Background 4>
[As the dust settles, the Inquisitor rushes out to make sure that Skadi is dealt with...]
Inquisitor	Heh, do you know my might now, Ægir?
[...but she survived without serious injuries, though her clothes are damaged in the process.]
Skadi	(She brushes off her hem.) An extra bullet hole. Can't return this to Mister José in original condition now.
Inquisitor	You... You! You're without a scratch?! How could you be? My aim was true!
Skadi	Are you finished? Your weapon. You don't use it lightly. Otherwise, you wouldn't be talking to me now. You ought to aim a second time.
Inquisitor	I...
Skadi	I don't understand what you're talking about, nor do I care. I don't want to...
A beam of light pierces the dead of night, shone directly on Skadi's face. At the far end of the road, from where the light came, appears a single figure carrying a lamp. Skadi's face shows no expression, her impatience just now gone with it. But in the instant she sees that not-so-bright light, the Inquisitor's face shines.