Story Update

Observer: Your visit to Verdant Castle is interrupted by a shrill scream.
Observer: Rushing to a balcony, you lean out, eyes widening as you see the Verdant Kingdom guard blocking some members of the corrupt army, standing with…
Observer: …why are Morgana and Muramasa naked?
Morgana: “I KNOW YOU’VE HIRED THE BEASTS, IOLA!”
Observer: You spot Iola coming out onto a balcony a ways away from you, looking like she just finished getting dressed, and very much confused.
Queen Iola: “What are you talki… why are you naked?”
Morgana: “YOU KNOW DAMN WELL WHY I’M NAKED! YOUR BEASTS HAVE EATEN ALL OUR CLOTHES!"
Observer: You watch Queen Iola look around with deep confusion, before she lifts her arm and pinches her skin.
King Nero: “What on Aerius is-“
Observer: He stops cold in his tracks, midway onto the balcony alongside another dextroluma, before covering his eyes.
King Nero: “I wish we could erase memories…”
Observer: Morgana puts her hands on her hips.
Morgana: “Well if you didn’t want to see your parents naked, you shouldn’t have hired those beasts to eat all our clothes!”
Muramasa: “I really don’t think either of them is smart enough to know about the beasts being here…”
Morgana: “They HAVE to, it can’t just be US having our clothes eaten by beasts!”
Queen Iola: “Uh… I… I think that’s just you? …have you… seen these beasts…?”
Muramasa: “Once, when we exiled them.”
Queen Iola: “…you… exiled them…? You exiled just… some weird animals…?”
Morgana: “Don’t play stupid with us!”
Observer: Looking at the four is… interesting. King Nero has not uncovered his eyes yet, Queen Iola seems utterly confused, Morgana is livid, and Muramasa seems… oddly resigned.
Muramasa: “I do not believe they could have hired them to do this, considering that neither of them possessed any interest in things of… actual value.”
Muramasa: “Could we perhaps return to camp to actually procure clothing for ourselves, my love?”
Observer: Morgana grumbles something, but after a few more moments, relents, letting Muramasa lead her away.
Queen Iola: “…why would they have exiled animals for eating their clothes? Wouldn’t they just… kill them?”
King Nero: “I could not possibly tell you… I need a drink. Or five. I’d like to forget this entire interaction.”
Observer: She rubs his back sympathetically as they walk back into what must be their chambers.
Observer: Left alone now, you ponder what will happen if the corrupt army are driven away by the ‘beasts’… Will they give chase? Or will they move targets again…?
Observer: It’s not the way you expected this invasion to go, but… it sure seems to be how it’s going, nonetheless…

Attack on the verdant kingdom (Daily)

Observer: Halfway to the store where you know the scavengers are, you stop in your tracks, seeing Morgana and Muramasa leaving it behind, along with a contingent of their soldiers.
Observer: The pair have managed to scrounge up some amount of clothing now, though it doesn’t seem to have improved their moods - particularly Morgana’s.
Morgana: “-as soon as we entered, one of my new gloves was gone. Hopefully if we’re not there, just in our tent, they can’t get to our clothes.”
Morgana: “I’d rather face a thousand weapons than ever experience feeling my clothing being eaten off of me again!”
Observer: You can’t hear the question a soldier asks, but Morgana turns and strikes him, sending him reeling back.
Morgana: “Yes we’re leaving the bedamned scavengers, we don’t need the stupid things anymore!”
Morgana: “Ugh, why are Muramasa and I the only intelligent people in this operation?”
Observer: She stalks ahead… and as she does, you spy the wiggle of a stripy tail in bushes alongside the road…
Observer: …if the shop has been abandoned, maybe you can just go take all the abandoned scavengers home…?
Observer: Or you could consider telling Boone instead, you suppose.
Observer: …or you could follow that stripy tail to see what happens…
Observer: Decisions are hard.

Verdant Castle

Observer: It seems that the excitement of twilight has faded by the time you peek your head into this room.
Observer: Unfortunately, there’s no sign of Queen Iola or King Nero.
Observer: There is, however, a crowd of stewies trying to lift one of their number up to the pot left forgotten on the stovetop…
Observer: A shudder runs down your spine, because you don’t know what they’re trying to do.
Observer: Well… The secrets of stewies are not your business, you decide.
Observer: Time to wander elsewhere.

Crystal Casino

Observer: The casino seems to be almost back to normal. You’d be surprised by it but… well, not really.
Observer: There’s only so long people in the Crystal Isles were going to care about a war somewhere else.
Observer: Curiously, though, you see no sign of either of the Queens this time…
Observer: You do, however, overhear someone saying they heard that Queen Ashe was rather upset when Queen Diana returned from the Verdant Kingdom.
Observer: …well, when you saw Queen Diana there, she did have a corrupt dextroluma pinned to a wall, so you suppose you can guess why her wife might have been upset by that…
Observer: It is a shame they aren’t around though, it would have been interesting to see if you could ferret out why Queen Ashe had looked so tired…

Rodeo Ruff Pets

Observer: To your surprise, nobody is present at Rodeo Ruff when you arrive.
Observer: There is, however, a sign on the counter, and… the draphibian from before is sitting upright behind it, watching you intently.
SIGN: “Closed for today. Leave a note with the draphibian if you want something and come back later.”
Observer: Odd… You wonder what Boone is doing today…

Trash Kingdom

Observer: Curiosity is such a dangerous thing. It leads you places you wish you could avoid.
Observer: The fact you hear rapid chewing as you thread your way into the Trash Kingdom already confirms your expectations and fears.
Observer: You just… How did they go from only getting gloves, stockings, a cravat, and a vest to obtaining every single article of clothing that Morgana and Muramasa had?
Angelic Voice: “This is such a feast! We lucked out, even if Masamasa almost got us with his sword!”
Chill Voice: “It was worth it… This dress is my favorite!”
Angelic Voice: “His pants aren’t as tough as his vest was, they have such a rich taste to them.”
Chill Voice: “I hope they stay here for a nice long while, I want to eat more of their clothes…”
Observer: You have to wonder what sort of creatures think almost getting stabbed is an acceptable risk to steal some clothing to eat…
Observer: And while you wonder about it, you’re going to just… leave.
Observer: Whatever these ‘beasts’ are, you’re really not emotionally prepared to meet them just yet…

Attack on the Verdant Kingdom (Shop)

Observer: You expected to find the shop cleared out or abandoned when you heard that Morgana and Muramasa had abandoned it.
Observer: What you didn’t expect was to see Boone with a very pink lockette, standing in the middle of the shop.
Boone: “They were just keeping these poor animals tied to perches, Milk! This one doesn’t look like it’s eaten in days!”
Boone: “No enrichment, no toys, not even fed regularly, their feathers are- Blazing hells. I’d like to wring the neck of the bastard that was running this operation.”
Milk: “I don’t understand why they’d do that… At least we have the aviary for them up now.”
Boone: “Damn glad we made it as big as we did…”
Boone: “I was expectin’ we’d find the bastards eventually, but not that they’d abandon the poor birds before we found them…”
Milk: “I guess you can go get the transport crate from the shop and I’ll stay here?”
Observer: You half thought Boone was going to say he should stay, but he pauses as he opens his mouth, looking at one of the scavengers as it relieves itself on the wall where its perch is.
Boone: “…yeah… Want me to bring some spare clothes back for you?”
Milk: “Hazard gear for us both might be a good option too.”
Boone: “Yeah. I’ll be back soon.”
Observer: As he walks past you, he pauses, giving you a bemused look.
Boone: “You really do just wind up everywhere, don’t you?”
Observer: He continues walking out, leaving you with Milk and the scavengers.
Milk: “…hi? …you weren’t with the people selling these guys, were you?”
Milk: “…no, no, Boone seemed to know you, so you wouldn’t be or he’d be throttling you instead of leaving, I think.”
Observer: You nod, although you wonder how Boone might react if he knew that you had known and not told him…
Observer: Fortunately, Milk doesn’t seem to read it in your face.
Milk: “I’d suggest leaving before Boone and I pack them up, though… The poor things need baths and food, so they’ll be more aggressive than they otherwise would be.”
Milk: “Better to see them once we’ve had some time to get them taken care of at the shop.”
Observer: You nod understandingly and take your leave. At least you’ll still be able to see and pet the corrupt scavengers at Rodeo Ruff.