Celle

I want to solve that murder.

No matter what.

Dodging the ship would have been difficult, but not impossible. Yet I chose to sail towards it and I knew this was irresponsible. Our small ship didn’t merely anchor beside it—as we approached the gargantuan Arcship, it opened. Its sides swung open like a vertical door, allowing our ship to enter it and dock alongside countless other ships. I heard stories but…how big is the Arcship?

Once inside, I was surprised to see that there were no guards checking who we were. Perhaps there was an assumption that anyone who stumbled upon the Arcship and wasn’t blown to bits by its massive weaponry was an intended guest. This raised the question, however: who had invited us in? This was a trap, surely…I knew that. There was no way I could lie to myself.

Let the trap spring. Let the assassins kill. Let the sparks fly. Let the blood flow. Let the Arcship explode. Let the fire burn. Let it all do as it wishes, so long as I get one more shot at solving the murder. We were so close now....I could just ignore the whole team match anyway. We are already in the Arcship, so all I need is to be able to sneak into the mansion and...die, most likely. This was a team of duellists, not an army.

The manor the Emperor had stayed in was guarded by at least twenty armoured knights. Entering it without being noticed would be difficult…and even if we managed to do that, chances are I wouldn’t be able to focus enough on the crime scene to figure out what exactly went down there. I needed a solid few hours by myself. No. We had to win the team match. But before then…we would have to survive today.

“How many people are following us?” I asked.

“Right now? About four,” Carr replied, noncommittally. “I’m not exactly a master of stealth, but they aren’t exactly trying to make themselves hidden. They are being very open about all of this…you sure boarding this ship was a good idea?”

“No. But I was out of good ideas so I went with a bad one instead,” I told him.

It was less of a ship and more of a floating city. It had many levels and I did not know how many—if not for the occasional swaying from side to side I would have thought we were in a city, one with luxury beyond my wildest of dreams…I never noticed how beautiful this place was last time I was here. Too busy with the case, I guess. If only I had focused more on the things that mattered…

There was a loud sound and abruptly we all turned: Isabella had screeched loudly, and was now excitedly paying a vendor for both jewelry and what appeared to be some sort of frozen candy I didn’t quite recognize. “This is so goddamn good,” Isabella exclaimed, tears nearly coming out of her eyes. “It’s so sweet, oh my lord!”

“It is our pleasure to see you enjoy our rare Cream Ice, Your Highness,” the merchant said, smiling happily as she handed him a sizeable amount of gold. “And our unique jewelry.”

The jewelry itself wasn’t particularly unique—expensive looking, most definitely, but it was something you could find in a place like Arcadia. The frozen sweet, however, was more unique. “We could be being followed right now,” I told her in a whisper. “Don’t act so…normally!”

“Why not?” Isabella asked, appearing legitimately confused. “Not like enjoying ourselves is going to change whether we get caught or not. Just enjoy the moment. Want to try some of the Cream Ice?”

“No—I mean, yes, but not right—”

Carr leaned over and tried a bite. “Interesting,” he said slowly. “Ice cream has been around Europe since the 18th century or so…it shouldn’t be that rare to see it around these parts. But Celle, you say you haven’t seen this around here before?”

“Definitely not,” I told him. “I heard of it, and I think I saw it last time I was here to investigate the Emperor’s case but I didn’t have time—or the money—to try some. It’s a pretty rare treat around these parts.”

“Interesting,” Carr said. He brought his hand to his chin and rubbed contemplatively. “This world at times seems like a mirror of my own, but it has a few key differences…that seem like they are there almost on purpose…I wonder what this is about.”

“You think our worlds have some sort of link?” This was interesting. I had considered the point before, but I didn’t really go anywhere with that train of thought. “Is that why we can both understand each other?”

“Maybe,” Carr replied. He had Cream Ice on his face which made his serious, contemplative expression hard to take care of. I wiped it off for him with my thumb and he didn’t acknowledge it. “I think there’s a lot to consider here…I wonder what we can do to figure things out? Even killing Johan wouldn’t answer some of the questions I have.”

“Oh, don’t worry,” said Isabella. “I have a plan for that, it should work out just fine. Just give me three or four days and I will have all the answers you need.”

“You…will?” I hesitated for numerous reasons. One was back when I still had my [Investigation] I remember reading the inside of her head and hearing numerous voices in there, loud, aggressive voices…that were and weren’t hers at the same time. Even talking to Isabella right now was a concern. Yet she was still a kind ally and it was only my own paranoia that kept me from naming her friend. What if asking further just pushes her away and she doesn’t give us that information anymore? “Just a few days?”

“I’m thinking two or three. Then we should have a lot more information to work with…before our Team Duel, even.”

“Um, and how do you know all of that?” Fedal asked. “Is it—“

Carr raised a hand to interrupt him. “Fedal, you’re on Gilder watch duty. Don’t ask questions, just make sure he doesn’t get us into somehow even more illegal shit right now.”

“Guys, that’s really not fair,” Gilder whined. “Do you really think I haven’t learned my lesson by now?”

We all looked at each other and nodded.

“Harsh,” Gilder said, looking down. Then, more cheerfully, he added, “But fair. Anyway, where are we gonna go? I always wanted to be here. There’s so many different places we could go to. The casino—“Gilder noticed our harsh glare at this point”—or not. But the legendary library, the Majestic Theatre, the Underwater Restaurant…”

“Need I remind you this is not a vacation?” I said dryly. “This is very clearly a trap. The Arcship is only supposed to welcome the most important of nobility—most people have never even seen this place. It never docks anywhere. It…somehow just sails away forever.”

“Yeah but, hear me out,” Gilder said slowly, “we decided to walk right into the trap anyway right?”

“Better than to have the Archship chasing after us,” I replied. That’s not all…if I’m being honest, trap or not, I just want to get closer to the crime scene and everyone listened to me for some reason. “What’s your point?”

“Well, if we’re talking into that trap anyway—why not have some fun?” Gilder asked, shrugging. “Might as well walk into the trap the right way. I mean I’m just saying. If we aren’t having fun it will come off a bit weird.”

Fedal hesitated. He looked at me hesitantly, as if asking permission to agree with Gilder. I rolled my eyes, but he took this as permission enough. “I mean, he does make a lot of sense here…it might make them let their guard down if we appear like we are just being dumb and having fun with everything.”

Valle shrugged. “Don’t look now, but I’m pretty sure we’re being followed.”

I froze. Now that he mentioned…I think we were. Was it just paranoia, or was every face in the crowd a sort of demon that I had to vanquish? I knew it was going to be like this…but I need to get to the crime scene. No matter what. Even if that’s where they probably have the most assassins lined up….

“Let’s not split up. Let’s not go into any special attractions,” Valle said confidently. “If we all maintain our focus and stay in open areas we might be safe. Even Lord Johan is hardly bold enough to start an attack in the middle of the Arcship…open spaces are our salvation, understand?”

“Say, is that theatre a big deal?” Carr asked. Oh no.

Valle looked at it once, then nodded. “Yeah…I always dreamed of going into the Majestic Theatre. Never thought I would be able to see it until I became World Champion, really. Cresna was never high up enough on the Empire’s list of nobles that…” He trailed off. “Forget what I said, we’re going inside the theatre.”

“Valle, no!” I said. I wanted to shout at him, but attracting more attention to us would just create more problems. Why is he putting his obsessions above our wellbeing? Then again, I was not really one to talk, was I?

“Looks like he’s already buying tickets,” Carr said slowly. “Hey, is that popcorn? Is that common here?”

“Sort of?” I replied. It was hard to focus right now. Lord above, were there assassins after us right now? “It…it sort of is common in some places. Not others. Seriously, can we talk about this later?”

My daze didn’t last long; Carr shoved some popcorn into my mouth and I nearly choked. When I looked at him to complain, something about his nonchalant laugh eased my nerves. Not like being tense is going to help…we have to figure this out. At least the theatre was safe from the outside world once the show started. There was only one entrance, and the Majestic Theatre was famous for keeping it completely sealed until the show was done. In a way, it wouldn’t be the worst place to hide for a moment, especially if people were following us. And killing us there would be too scandalous…maybe we can rely on that?

“I have our tickets,” Valle said, grinning wildly. “Do not worry, I paid for them all. Can we go now?”

Dear lord, he was like a child. “Fine,” I agreed, annoyedly.

With one last glance over my shoulder, I allowed ourselves into the theatre. An elderly—though extremely well dressed—woman checked our tickets, Carr got more popcorn(which he made me hold for some reason), and we walked right into the theatre. The double-doors were taller than tall, standing at nearly three meter tall they felt more like gates than doors. I took a deep breath. Guess there’s no coming back from this.

The theatre awed me in many ways.

It washed over all of my worries like a sort of emotional eclipse; surely my concerns still shone bright, yet for the moment they all remained hidden by the darkness of theatre. There was nary a window in sight and once the door shut behind us, we were hurried into this new world we were to experience for the next two-and-a-half-hours.

A gentleman ushered us to our seats, in the fourth row—a most distinguished set of seats!—and his presence appeared eerie, like the conductor of a phantom orchestra, and we could do naught but follow. There was his curious eye, partially shadowed by the darkness in the theatre, pivoting round at each of us; his tall figure, neck inching downward, as if looking for the unthinkable on the ground…yet he sat us all down, and none of us saw him commit any sudden moves.

None other guests in the theatre—and the were many!—dared say a word aloud. We too remained silent, in that awkward state where you wish to speak but do not desire being the first. It was a suffocating silence, the kind that can only be summoned by a crowd. None spoke and none watched: the darkness reigned supreme.

“FIRE, BURN!” The gentleman roared from the stage. At his command, a beautiful orange candlelight shone down the stage, illuminating it and yet casting it with a strong downward shadow that gave the impression that part of their body belonged to a realm of darkness, or hid it from view completely, creating an image of half-limbed creatures, walking around as though it were natural. “Do not move, Lord Carr and his companions.”

It was not only these words that gave me that sinking feeling, that elusive sensation that everything had gone wrong. It was also my companion’s silence, Carr’s lack of a reaction. For the moment, I held my breath. He sauntered across the stage in a calculated manner, his footsteps echoing loudly and reverbing heavily against the auditorium.

“Fear not, my guests, isn't death of the people? To end is human, to not is evil. Awaiting you we've been, with swords in hands. And here you stand, most ready for our dance. Cruel of m'lord to sentence thee alas, To your grave with you, in Lord Johan's name! Struggle not, only watch, and play this game.”

The stage was set as we watched it; there were two broad stone arch hanging over both stairwells that led into the platform, and a third arch projecting from these two and framing the centre of it all. The gentleman stood to the right of centre, still framed, illuminated by candlelight that appeared to exist only for his sake—and we could hardly move. The audience…there’s so many people…why aren’t they panicking? Do they think this is part of the show?

“They are being controlled by him,” Carr whispered to me. “I’m…I’m sure of it. I don’t know how, but every person here is under his control.

My heart skipped a beat. How were we to fight against this man when the entire crowd were his hostages? No…how do I know they are hostages? They could be his puppets. That would be even worse. I can’t risk this. This was a bad idea. We shouldn’t have entered the theatre…this wasn’t a good place to hide. It was a trap. Valle’s idea was horrible, and—Valle? Where was he?

I turned around in a hurry, but did not get up from my seat. I could see Carr, Isabella, Gilder and Fedal—but Valle’s seat was empty. Had he run? If so, rather than being upset at being abandoned, my first thought was instead how? The thick metal double-doors that led us into the theatre were locked tightly. How would he have escaped—

“False showman! I fail to see the logic here—you arrange the stage then ask the players to sit? Nay, the protagonists should rise!” A voice shouted.

Candlelight—no, something stronger!—shone upon the other end of the centrestage. A familiar figure stood, blade drawn, basking in the stagelight. His steel reflected the light, creating a small piercing beam of light that allowed us to see exactly where the tip of his blade glared at. As he moved, so did the reflection.

Valle stood onto the stage now, projecting his voice as if duelling. No. He duelled as if he were on the stage.

The Gentleman did not accept this. “Do you not pay a merchant for his wares? Do you not find such thing most fair indeed? Do you not desire a most just, kind world? Then why object to the fair royal price? Pay it, so all can go to the new world! Reject fairness and claim villainy, lord. So is Lord Johan's royal judgement. “

“And his judgement matters not.” Valle set down his blade and walked to the edge of the stage, arms open wide and gesturing wildly at the crowd before. With each declaration he swung his arms forward, as if a conductor urging for the orchestra to play their part. “FOR MY PURPOSE!” He abruptly stopped, in an unnatural speech that seemed fitting for the stage. The shallow husks of a crowd, in a dark, echo of humanity, applauded him. “IS TO FELL A MOST FOUL BEAST!” More applause!

The Gentleman withdrew his own blade, producing a thunderous sound that echoed across the entire auditorium. “LORD JOHAN! That, is the one who you seek! And THAT is why I shall stand in your path!”

“And as the mighty Champion of Cresna, I shall welcome and overcome your challenge! Nay, not only welcome, but encourage it, even!” Valle used his [Swordsmanship] to produce a series of small explosions around the stage, not enough to seriously damage it, but enough to create a mighty sound and a trail of smoke that encircled him, until he stepped through it, dismissing it with a broad hand gesture. “For the opportunity of ridding the world of such a horrible being, as you!” He raised his finger. “Is a fortune most sweet, indeed.”

The two stage duellists walked toward each other.

“Should…should we do something?” I asked.

Carr shook his head. “No. Pass the popcorn.”