I walked through the streets of Baisien still fighting off that feeling of dejectedness. Despite this somber feeling, I can’t help but admire the beauty of the city, from the multiple paintings in the streets to the hundreds of flowers growing on the walls of the buildings. From time to time, I can see people performing in the streets, some were telling stories, some were acting, or even performing poetry. They wore flashy clothes and had an impactful presence when they performed but they all had a sad and gloomy look to them. The story tellers were forgetting lines and often turned their tale darker and darker as they continued to tell it. The actors were making mistakes, fumbling during performance and resulting to show faces of anguish. The poets were… I feel like they were the same, just doing what they normally do which is mumbling deep sad rhymes and such. I assume the whole mood did not have a major effect on them.
As for the clues I have gathered, Sweet Jade told me a certain performer was the reason behind this. They apparently squandered their marbles, whatever that meant. I asked around the locals for any famous performers they might know and all of the names they mentioned had something to do with the three Theaters in the city. Those three were the main hotspot of fame, being massive in size and having a lot of talented performers fight to have a spot inside.
Personally I would love to have at least one hour at one of these stages, I can just imagine the amount of words I can blabber to the people about the shrine, maybe then I don’t have to leave the shrine again. It’s just so depressing out here. Honestly it’s still sad in the shrine, but it’s a safe place right? If I keep leaving then will I end up just like him? I don’t want to die, but what’s the point in staying here? In this world. Maybe there’s a place beyond the current one we live in, a utopia with me and the old man living together again…
“Hmm.” Welp time to enter this place now, the first and closest theater to my location, the Den of Stories. I heard a lot about this place, well more like, read a lot about this place. It’s one of the best experiences that a tourist should have, having storytellers that can pull you into the tale’s world with their skillful voices and narration. Apparently their leader was one of the founders of the city, having lived such a long life I can only assume they must be of another species. And the last thing the pamphlet said was the place was one the most expensive Theaters to enter since the leader was the one always performing.
Standing outside the Den of Stories, I can see a lot of banners representing a lot of different stories. One of them has a black knight raising their sword towards a pale woman. Another banner has a red and white figure fighting under falling cherry blossoms. And the final one I can see was a bard singing in front of crowned animals.
I walked up the stairs and opened one of the doors of the Theater. Inside was a warm and fancy looking room with a massive bundle of lights hanging from the ceiling. The room was spacious and was labeled as the reception room, with a massive desk in the front which had a girl wearing a red and yellow kimono behind it. She glanced towards me and immediately frowned, holding up a big sign that read.
“Closed!!! Leave!” She swung the sign around, her eyes stabbing multiple daggers into my flesh.
“Woah, please calm down now.” I approached her with my arms raised up, trying to defuse the situation. “I’m here for an important matter.”
She clicked her tongue and rubbed the sign gracefully with a white handkerchief, before violently slamming it into the desk. She then gripped the table with her left hand intensely and whipped out a brush with her right. The brush moved rapidly across the sign, leaving behind streaks of fury and elegance. She removed her grip from the table and spun the sign towards me.
“What is it?”
She looked confused and turned the sign back to her, moving her brush to strike and leave multiple lines.
“Oh… What is it!!! Well I am here to meet with the head of theTheater and discuss the issue regarding the depressing atmosphere in the city.”
The girl spun her sign back to her and closed her eyes, wiping the board and softly with a gentle smile on her face. She then stabbed the handle of the sign into the table, and slashed her brush against it with immense speed before flippin it towards me. “Sorry but you can’t just meet lady Lilias! But… No but this is quite the important matter you see. I just need to ask her something.”
She wrote on the backside of the sign and raised it at me. “Ask me instead.”
“Have there been any storytellers that have lost something important? Like maybe their trinkets, like small balls perhaps… Marbles, I mean marbles.”
She lifted her handkerchief to wipe the sign but noticed her brush was lacking in any more ink. She laid the sign down at her desk and placed her brush and handkerchief on top of it. “As far as I know, not a single storyteller here goes blabbing on about their trinkets.” Her voice reeked with venom as she eyed me maliciously. “Let me ask you something, by losing their marbles, do you mean losing their minds? Because let me answer that for you.”
She left the confines of her desk and approached me with an indifferent look on her face. “I did not know you could talk, why bother communicating with signs then when you have such a nice voice?” She raised her eyebrow and stopped in front of me. “Every storyteller here is currently losing their minds, every single performer in this city is slowly giving up and succumbing to sadness. That’s the main reason why we're closed right now, so tell me this.”
She swung her arm to the side and clenched her fist tightly, summoning a massive axe from out of nowhere. “Why do you have that demonic mark on your shoulder?” She raised her axe towards me,waiting for me to answer, she’s clearly threatening me. I don’t know what she means by the demonic mark in my shoulder but I’m not letting a single axe scare me off like this.
“I don’t understand what you mean by demonic mark, but let me prove my innocence, would a shrine priest like me, nay, would a Saint like me be in possession of a demonic mark. Box open, status, whatever, just open up you box.”
Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.
Lotus
SAINT Generosity Karma: 20 ===SKILLS===
Talisman Creation (Lv.1)
Sharp Eyes (Lv.1)
“See.” I waved my hands down, pointing them at the floating screen in front of me.
“No, not really.” She lifted her axe to the air and swung it down swiftly at me, however my reaction speed was able to give just enough ample time to open my mouth and let out a high pitch squeak. “AaAaaAHH!” The axe collided in the air snapping red fragments everywhere. “Waaaaaaiiit! Stop! Yeowch hot hot hot!” I hurriedly backed away from the girl, quickly looking under my clothes to remove the burning hot talismans stuck to my body. “See, look at this, can’t you see that these talismans are of the highest quality and could only be made by a saint!”
She gazed at me silently, waiting for me to fix my clothes… “I’m a saint, okay?!”
“How would I know? Do I look like a religious person to you?” She pulled her axe back, preparing to do another swing. Judging by the amount of talismans it needed to block that earlier attack which was six and the fact I only have four left on my body, I definitely need to slither my way out of this fight. “Hey, can you describe the dark demonic mark on my shoulder, I’m just as clueless as you are.”
“It’s a dark black mist which reeks of death, its very presence makes me sick to my core.”
Dark black mist?! The hell do you mean by a black mark on my shoulder, you axe swinging psycho. Come on Lotus think, what could have left a mark on you, is it the depressing atmosphere of Baisien, no it can’t be that. If that was the reason then this girl would have been going on a rampage already attacking all the sad people in this place. Ahh! I know.
“This mark came from Sweet Jade!”
“Sweet Jade? I don’t know who that is.”
“Well Sweet Jade is a… a.” Crap. How do I explain the person to her, what even is he? I can’t think of a way to explain it without revealing how monstrous he looks. I mean a tall lanky faceless being who leaves behind smoke wherever he walks, that sounds like the very definition of a demon or something evil. “He’s an old and tall gentleman… who loves to give candies and gifts… to me.”
“Sounds weird… I’m killing you now.” She swung her axe across the air horizontally, forcing me to drop down to the floor. “Wait! I challenge you to a story telling duel or whatever it’s called! Let me tell a story and if it’s good enough, let me go!”
“A story?” She lifted her axe above herself, her eyes looking off to the side before snapping back to me. The axe lowered quickly towards the ground, giving me no time to dodge by rolling to the side or by crawling away. I raised my arms in front of my face and shut my eyes close, waiting for the axe to slam into my head and burst it head open. “... Eh?”
I opened my eyes and saw her reaching out to me. She had a smug look on her face as her hand slapped my arms away. “I personally don’t care much for story telling but lady Lilias on the other hand.” I pulled on her hand and she lifted me up, helping me stand up. “She enjoys art a lot. Enough to stay in this crappy town for so many years now.”
“Welp, I guess you aren’t affected by the atmosphere too like those guards.” I wiped the sweat and tears off my face. Clenching my fist in anger but flashing a smile to hide it away.
“Why would I be? Only those who are weak magically will succumb to this phenomenon.”
“So it’s related to magic?”
“Well that’s the current assumed theory about it, something about a curse or a magical artifact going haywire. Though I do think some people already know the true reason behind the, lady Lilias included… Ooh, what a bummer, she’s keeping secrets from me now.”
“Lady Lilias knows? Where is she?”
“Well she’s in the main performance room over there, she’s busy with thinking about the whole incident here in the city.”
“You’re just letting me in? Aren’t you suspicious of me because of this dark mark in my shoulder.”
“I am, but…” She rubbed her throat and jumped over behind her desk, opening a small compartment on it and pulling out a bottle of ink. She dipped the brush into it and left a streak of ink across the air. She threw her sign up and wiped her handkerchief to the left, rubbing out all the ink before spinning across the ground, speeding away behind the counter and dashing to the front, wiping to the right and removing the ink from both sides of the sign.
She grabbed the sign before it fell onto the table and gracefully wrote on it and raised the sign above her shoulders. “ I'm gonna be there the whole time.” She turned and faced me, writing on the sign’s blank side. “And you're also weak so I don't care that much… You didn't have to be a show off, you know.” I placed my bag on the floor and rummaged through it.
Rectangular bricks of bread (x3)
Blank talismans (x10)
Gohei (x1)
Brown sac (x1)
Metal flask (x1)
Cosette
Vannessa
Can of mush (2x)
I took out three blank talismans and my Gohei from my bag before carrying it over my back again. “What is this stick for? It’s for self defense honestly, and you could say it’s also more proof of me being a holy person and not some dark ominous being who leaves behind a dark mark. So please don’t uhh scare me like that again.” I smiled at her and reached my hand out towards her brush. “May I borrow this? My mana is almost empty and I need to make some talismans.”
She raised her brush towards her sign but hesitantly lowered it and handed it to me instead. “Thanks.” I kneeled on the floor and placed the three blank pieces of paper on the floor. “So what's your name? I’m Lotus.” Draw a circle, then three lines downward, a curvy line from the left. “Islay.” Another circle and then a connecting hook between the two. “Islay, you should consider visiting my shrine sometime, it’s a nice place I promise you.” I repeated the inked symbols onto the next blank talisman. “I’ll serve you some tea in exchange for you to write some signs for my shrine.”
“I’m not a fan of tea, make it something alcoholic instead.”
“Sure sure.” I drew a triangle on the third piece of paper, coloring the inside entirely in black. Two lines sideways, a small square above and a frowning face with no eyes. I tossed the brush towards Islay and slapped the talismans under my clothes. “Phew. That feels so much better, all the suicidal thoughts disappearing so fast.” I stood up, carrying my Gohei. The talismans I placed on my body were two protective charms which will activate a barrier whenever danger approaches me and a charm of tranquility. It’s a talisman that prevents any tampering with my mind. It won’t work forever and will probably only last a couple minutes to an hour at most but removing that depressing atmosphere out of my head is really great.
“Lotus, it’s time to enter.” Islay opened the door, her arms carrying the sign, handkerchief and brush. “Time to tell lady Lilias a wonderful story.”