epidemiology | EVENT ★ THE USUAL SUSPECTS

THE BARRIER

As promised, Arthur has the means to unlock that first, crucial step to saving the ALASTAIR recruits: unveiling the runes maintaining the barrier. He has sequestered himself in a rented room in the inn down the road from the prison; he’s at a good enough distance to keep his concentration unbroken, but near enough that he can reach the runes in question. The recruits are told to be ready, to wait for his signal before they take action.

The signal comes just after the stroke of 5 on the town’s clocks, at what would be dawn in a world of less darkness. There’s a shimmer in the air around the brick building of the jail, like the surface of a bubble. Then suddenly the runes are there: glowing bright green, flaming into existence at various points along and within the barrier.

There are at least 30 of them along the outside. They’re etched on walls, scribed into doors, carved into the very ground. These have to be destroyed first to make any progress, in any way the recruits are able to. Once these all have been broken, erased, or scattered (and some of them are cleverly hidden or out of reach -- have you checked the topmost brick in the clock tower of the jailhouse?), the first defense of the barrier has fallen. Then the jailhouse itself can be rushed, but magic is still hampered until every rune is destroyed. From there the runes can be found every few feet in the walls, ceilings, and floors of the jail, and only once each one is broken will the spell be completely lifted, magic and abilities restored to the area, and the inmates considerably easier to break out.

The recruits aren’t the only ones that can see those runes, though. The jailers are quick to react, and some spring to the defense of the runes while others rush to sound the alarm, calling even more armed guards to the area. Even city guards start to show up in response to the alarm -- there’s definitely a time limit on this venture. Dispose of the runes, rescue your friends, and be out of the area quickly, or you might just be overrun with armed, angry opposition.

THE ESCAPE

By the time those in the cells are finally brought out, it’s pandemonium. The guards, jailers and city guards alike, might not have been able to stop ALASTAIR’s recruits from destroying the runes and bringing down the barrier, but they’re determined at least to stop dangerous criminals from escaping into the city. And these criminals were due to be hung, so they’re not looking to take anyone down peacefully. They’ll be going for the killing blows.

The best chance will be to rely on numbers and scatter. In ones and twos and threes, people should be taking to shadowy alleys, slipping around corners, even dropping down into the sewers, if they have to. Anything to thin out and disappear. The most capable and destructive fighters are asked to stay as long as they can, giving the bulk of the rest of the escapees time to disappear into that unending night.

THE COOLDOWN

Those that helped free their friends probably won’t run into too many problems in the following days, unless you run into a guard with a few injuries and a long memory. The ex-prisoners, though, are another story. They were in there long enough that the men and women who guarded them know most of their faces quite well, and since they’re out of prisoners to guard, what else do they have to do but take to the streets and search? Ex-prisoners should play it carefully, then, if they don’t want to end up right back where they started. Guards are more than happy to cause an immediate fracas should they spot anyone that belongs in jail.

That’s not to say you shouldn’t go out at all! Just, you know, take a disguise with you. As if anticipating the rising demand for them, all local merchant shops seem to be stocking up on scarves, shawls, and bulky clothing. Isn’t that nice? Most of them don’t really care what anyone did to end up in jail, they just want to share in on those ALASTAIR-paid wages.

If spotted, townsfolk have varied opinions of the escapees. Some are mistrustful and bitter, and will immediately alert guards upon realizing who they’re dealing with. Some of them really don’t care. They’re tired of the darkness, tired of the conflicts, they just want to get on with life. One old man in particular seems to inexplicably love all ALASTAIR recruits, the ex-prisoners in particular, and will insist on buying a drink and playing a game of chess with any of them he runs into. The goblins, of course, have pretty good opinions of anyone on the wrong side of the king, and will be your best bet for finding lodging and food. Some of them might even think of you as a hero, or at least a roguishly charming vigilante.

Spend your post-breakout time well, and try not to make any more enemies.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Escort me outside.

[This sounds simple enough, but... knowing Gilgamesh, there's a catch involved. And it's steep. But his expression gives nothing away, eyes twinkling and lips curled into that insufferable smile. Feel free to keep him waiting, Rin, he's not going anywhere anytime soon. Not without you, at least.]

Do you think I'm stupid?

[as stupid as shinji matou? she refuses to be one of his playthings. gilgamesh may think his offer is plain to understand, but she hasn't forgotten.

rin stares accusingly at him. do not toy with her, or they are done here.

in that instance, he was never going to share with her anything of worth to begin with.]

I offered to escort you outside from the very beginning. Which is it, do you want me to help you escape, or do you want to sit here and die?

Hold my hand.

[Yes, Rin, apparently he thinks you're stupid. Or else he thinks he can push his luck so much that he'll humiliate you both in the process.]

[rin thinks that a sickening man like this simply wants to creep out over her hand, or snap her remaining stores of magical energy from her. her frown deepens. there's no use even mentioning her suspicions because he'll never budge. for rin, only two options are available: either grip his hand and learn what he knows, or deny him and leave with nothing. ultimately—rin's always a fast thinker—she decides.

—archer, she is counting on you if he's going to kill her.]

If you try any funny business, I'll call my Servant with a Command Seal, and he will smear you across the jail cell.

[she holds out her hand to him, and though it's as soft and delicate as he'd expect, it's also cold.]

[Gilgamesh reaches to thread their fingers together. His hand is cold, too. Cold and clammy with skin even paler than usual. Despite his willingness to engage in back-and-forth with her, he is not doing so well. He strains to stand with her.]

There's nothing funny about this.

[And that's the sad truth of the matter. He doesn't comment on Archer, doesn't feel the need to.]

Lead on. I will tell you along the way.

[it's a sad state he's in, but she's sure he deserves it. rin turns and her fingers are lifeless and unkind, returning the clutch of fingers against fingers only with as much force necessary to tug him after her.

she starts walking, pulling him along with something that's like begrudging reluctance. she stalks through the cell and the hallways and interior of the jailhouse with proud, confident—and yes, animated—steps.]

You had better.

[her hand emblazoned with the command seals deliberately hangs out so that he might view the symbols and be reminded. she doesn't trust him.]

Start talking.

[She shouldn't. He wouldn't, in her position.]

I knew your father.

[He starts off simply enough. For Gilgamesh, it is an effort to remember in his current state of mind, when everything's so hazy and his vision swims. But the events of the Fourth War were as close as yesterday for him, and even closer still considering they had yet to conclude, so he recalls them with intimate detail anyway.]

I was his Servant during the Fourth War; I am now aware I participated in a Fifth. But for that time... well, I will say, he was a practical man. Perhaps overly so. He never spoke of you at all, so I never knew about you until we met here. He didn't really seem the sort for daughters. Sons, maybe.

[He remembers a wife from skimming his memories, also never mentioned. What ever happened to her, anyway? He falls into thoughtfulness for a moment.]

[rin freezes in defiant, hunched-shoulders silence.]

Are you... responsible for him dying?

[it would seem to be obvious. too, too obvious. gilgamesh was no sanctioned servant of the fifth war. which means he may have remained after the fourth, which leads her to assume he left her father to die in the grail war and took another master, he was not a very good servant at all, he's less than dirt.]

No.

[It isn't a lie. Not entirely, at least. He stops with her, stares her down seriously, then says:]

But I know who was.

[hasn't anyone ever told him that an incomplete lie is still a lie?

especially when it concerns her father. just as she doesn't trust him, she doesn't trust such a flat, empty answer that reeks of manipulation. she can feel the weight of his stare heavy upon her back, and—yes, she already knows, has already suspected—there is one man who she somehow doesn't doubt would have it in him to kill her father.]

Who?

[she's like a girl, now.]

I like your ribbons. They're very pretty.

[Sorry, Rin. It won't be quite that easy. He gives a stronger squeeze around her fingers and flashes his most handsome smile—admittedly a bit strained in his condition, but charming nonetheless—while daring to give her a slight nudge in the hip.]

Come. We should pick up the pace. I can hear the guards nearby.

[wrong answer, gilgamesh.

it all happens very quickly. perhaps too quickly. rin whips around, twintails whirling through the air, and she pulls her hand away from his with force. she pushes the weak, smirking servant into a nearby wall and all he'll see is a flash of her face before she runs and deserts him in that hallway.

her face was upset. angry, cursing herself for believing in him, condemning him. she charges out of the jailhouse, her speed enhanced with magic, and she doesn't look back even if guards should come for him. her patience has a limit, and he has passed it. her disgust with him touching her only her makes it easier.

he's right next to another cell, though. he won't die today if he huddles and prays.]

[And all she'll hear on the way out will be the sound of Gilgamesh's echoing laughter. Maybe something was funny about this after all.]

EVENT ★ THE USUAL SUSPECTS

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