USER #030066 | A DISCOVERY

[passio]

It’s Dextera.

Guren and I recently returned from a trip into the woods. We’re unhurt, but we weren’t without our trials. Our final encounter was with a mysterious woman who asked us each a question. I’m sorry that I can’t share the details of those questions, but they were intended to present us with a difficult, painful choice.

Even now, I’m not sure why she accepted our answers, but we were rewarded with our selection of items. Of the three things presented to us, we chose to take a journal written by one of the former residents of the town.

Without repeating everything that he wrote here, I can summarize what we found important.

1. The Town’s districts used to be much more discrete. Romance between the residents of separate districts was bound to fail, which seems to be the focus of the story being revealed to us by #FFFFFF, but the writer explains other small difficulties of trying to intermingle as well. I don’t think there were any laws in place, but the social tensions were discouraging enough.

2. The woods weren’t always the danger they seem to be to us today.

3. Even so, near the end of what’s written in the journal, the writer mentions that the colors of people around town are fading, and that he’s beginning to fear the woods in a way that he never had before. Along with the color disappearing from the people, it’s as we’ve seen in circumstances like this before. Their joy disappeared.

4. The last entry is about his best friend going missing. After that, the pages are empty.

I wanted to present this information as objectively as possible, but based on everything we saw in the woods, and the sickness that spread throughout so many of us when the Sirens attacked, I have to say this: the connections we’ve formed in this town are critical. They are our strength and our weakness. The past few weeks have been kind to us, but I’m afraid of what that could mean.

If anyone would like to see the journal, feel free to ask. That’s all.

Comments

#EA0000

[theshowsover]

[It's always bonds...

It doesn't surprise him, though, that what happened to the town is tied to the incidents of people losing their color and emotions. It seems to be one of the worst things the town does to its residents.]

Neither of you lost any color this time?

[passio]

No.

Somehow, we were able to pass all the tests. They weren’t easy, but we weren’t punished.

[ whether or not they are punishing themselves for their behavior, however, is a totally different story! bonds! ]

#03B2F7

[withwisdom]

I'm glad to hear you're alright.

[ or, well, she's assuming as much from the tone of this posting. though strange, guren told her dextera was very much against going into the woods. she's curious about that, but she rather not detract from the message. ]

This woman you met, she lives in the woods then? Did she tell you anything about herself at all?

-Zelda

[passio]

We didn’t ask.

I don’t think she would have answered, anyway. She knew us the way the town knows us, and disappeared after we answered her questions.

If I had to guess, she was just an extension of the town.

#4FB6C3

[totheno1]

[This is rather interesting to say the least. He assumes thee questions were personal, if he's not willing to share them. He won't press for that.]

This woman, she didn't look like anyone you knew, correct?

[It may seem like an odd thing to say, but he does have his reasons.]

[passio]

No. I know other people have encountered “a woman” in the woods, but the one we saw was unfamiliar.

#FFC100

[good_ideas]

do you mind if I take a look?
and what other things did they offer to you?

[passio]

Please, come look. I was going to ask.

We were also offered a shiny pocket watch and a notepad, but the journal seemed like it was the easiest to parse.

#610B0B

[bisection]

I am glad you returned safely. It seems you accomplished quite a bit, so I am glad your time was well spent.

Still, according to what you said, we should be preparing for something to hit us soon.

[passio]

It’s easy to forget this place can hurt us, when the worst we’ve seen this month is a few skeletons.

#A5001B

[retrobeats]

[ colour! ]

glad you guys got out of that one ok.
and with more conspiracy theory fuel to boot!!
seriously tho i feel like that journal just raises more questions than what it answers
like obviously the guy who wrote it lived through the color going away and the forest becoming all spooky but i feel like we're still missing a lot. so far i think another group also went in and found out that it vanished cause people forgot something important, but what's that even supposed to mean?
i mean my money's on it being connected to that totally stupid unspoken rule about people from different districts not being able to mix and maybe even the whole thing with the magic rainbow hen but that's just a hunch, you know?

[passio]

Yes, I remember that.

It doesn’t seem like the town has anything against us mixing colors now, but I don’t know what could have changed. There have been times that we were separated by our colors, but Guren and I are Red and Blue, and the woods seemed OK with that.

#0715CD

[windeity]

(color!)

so what it sounds like is that maybe...what, something showed up in the woods that didn't like something the people were doing? and maybe our writer disappeared to go find his best friend.
what do you think the chances are that the writer is the same as mr. f?

[passio]

I didn’t consider that as a possibility.

He seems too “normal” to be #FFFFFF. He was a shepherd. But do you think that maybe something in the woods changed him, and he never returned?

[ it’s weird to imagine the potential pseudo-deity of this town just chilling with sheep and eating porridge or whatever. ]

#ffff99

[troubadamsel]

This information could prove very useful. Whatever difficult trials you went through, please know that it is greatly appreciated, and we are indebted to you both.

[passio]

Thank you, Maribelle. I just wish we could have brought back more answers than questions, but it seems like that’s not how this place works.

#FF8080

[queenofminiskirts]

wait. people weren't afraid of the woods?

and you met an old woman?

[passio]

Yes. Didn’t you go into the woods and meet an old woman as well, Kaoru?

#3630FF

[messianic]

Bonds being that important makes sense to me.

[OF COURSE IT DOES.]

But... I wonder what happened to his best friend.

[passio]

Even if she died, she should have been able to come back. That’s how it works in this town.

[ and natives can’t be “sent home” the way that a few of them have, right? ]

#00002a

[deathscyther]

A strength and weakness.

Somehow I'm not surprised. Even without all the magic bullcrap, relationships tend to be the things that get exploited more than anything else, for good or ill.

[passio]

More than any of us realized here, I think.

#B91600

[heartsteals]

Dextera,

Thank you for sharing what you've discovered. We're quite fortunate you and Guren were able to make it through the woods unscathed, and with information as well. You've outdone me thoroughly.

I want to ask more about this woman who asked you questions - was she a Spirit or Demon, or do you believe she was a real person?

- Lupin

[passio]

We weren’t trying to outdo anyone. I’m surprised we found anything, honestly.

To your question, I don’t think she was a person. She disappeared after we answered her, but it’s possible she was “real” in the sense that she exists, and wasn’t just a tool or illusion of the town.

#900014

[doublecrowss]

[ Bonds, huh? He's heard this talk before, and he's definitely made a few conjectures about the importance of relationships in this place, but...

Ah, well. First things first: ]

I'm glad the both of you are unharmed. I hope there haven't been any other consequences, either.

I would like to take a look at this journal, too, if you don't mind. And if possible, could you perhaps describe this woman you found? It might be useful, in case anyone else decides to investigate.

[ Akechi wants to, but... Does he really have any truly strong bonds...? ]

[passio]

[ learn to make friends, AKECHI ]

Of course. Like I’ve said to other people, you can come over whenever you like. There’s always someone home.

As for the woman, it’s hard to say. She was just pleasant. She was cooking something, but once we sat down, she was completely focused on us. I don’t know if describing her looks would help anything. It seems like the kind of thing you just “know.”

#B9536C

[scooptimistic]

I'm glad you're both okay, at least. And with a boatload of information to show for it, too!

[passio]

Is it really a “boatload”?

#FFDF00

[inheritance]

I'd like to take a look at the journal!

And thank you for sharing the information with us, too. We all know how dangerous the forest can get. I'm just relieved you two got back here safely.

[passio]

Any time is OK.

I was surprised at how simple it was to progress. For a long time, we didn’t find anything. Saying it was “easy” isn’t quite right, but there were no creatures standing in our way.

Now that I think about it, it was almost completely silent.

#1A2367

[nascere]

i'd like to take a look too, dex
what were the other two items?

[passio]

You know where to find me.

The other two things were a pocket watch and a notepad. I don’t regret our choice, but I want to know what the other two would have told us, too.