Quest: Manifesto

It looks like the Yaga haven't had a chance to eat their fill like this for some time. I'm glad they were willing to share some of this meat with us, too.

I followed Director Goredolf's advice on how to remove the toxins. Hopefully it turned out okay...

How is it, Master?

You certainly are made of stern stuff, Master.

True, it does have a rather strong smell. Maybe it's because all we did was fillet it and use a little salt.

Still, it's the first fresh food we've had since we came to this world. We can't let it go to waste.

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Huh, you guys are picky, aren't you? Me, I don't care what I eat as long as it fills me up.

... ...

What is it, kid?

Who's that hairless Yaga?

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Uh-huh!

Are you a ghost? Doesn't it hurt your face not having fur on it?

Wow!

Eee!

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Come on, kid, get outta here. ...Gotta say, though, I was expecting the rebel army to be more...armyish?

Between all the kids and old folks here, it seems more like a refugee camp than anything.

Right you are, Patxi.

So far as I can tell, only sixty percent of these Yaga are fit for combat, at most.

The most we could hope for from the remaining is backup, and even that is, at best, a faint hope.

...There you are, Fujimaru. I see the applicant is here too.

Let us be perfectly clear about one thing: yes, our goals are aligned in that we both desire to overthrow Ivan the Terrible.

But that does not mean that we will be taking orders from you.

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For one thing, we can't hope to take on the Oprichniki with our respective abilities getting in each other's way.

To fight them is to fight a force of nature.

However, you are genuinely powerful, and so I would hate to lose that power for our side.

...So to start, I would like to see how you do as a reserve corps, as a way of determining your utility.

In particular, I have missions which I have been putting off for a long time that require a small, elite team.

So far, I have been going out on my own and managing the best I can, but I am also this army's leader.

I don't fear death, but I can't have the entire army shutting down while they wait for me to return.

...Would you undertake these missions in my stead?

Pardon me, Ms. Atalante. My apologies for interrupting you, and remotely at that. I believe you have heard about us from Mr. Fujimaru and Ms. Kyrielight, but please allow us to introduce ourselves properly.

My name is Sherlock Holmes. I am a Servant, just like you. And this is

Hi there! I'm Leonardo da Vinci. I have my reasons for my Spirit Origin being in low power mode, but we'll just skip all that for now if you don't mind.

Atalante, I'm a Servant from Proper Human History, just like you. Also, I'm a genius, so don't be afraid to ask for help if you've got a tricky problem.

That said, there's still a lot we don't know, since we only just came to this world.

Do you mind if I ask you a question?

A...child hero? Are you altered too?

...Well, no matter. It would be wrong to refuse a request from a child. What is it you wish to know?

What can you tell us about that huge tree? From what we've been told, it sounds like it's a fairly recent development.

You wouldn't happen to know what it is, would you?

...You mean the tree so large it appears to support the entire world. There is a tree like that in my own mythology, but...

No, I doubt that tree and this one have anything to do with one another. I am sorry to say that I do not know what it is, either.

However, my spy in Yaga Moscow did tell me one thing.

Oh? What is it?

Hmm... I suppose it would be wrong to withhold this until you have completed your end of the deal I wish to make.

Doing so would only raise your hopes to an unreasonable degree. All we have is a name.

A name...?

Yes. It is called the "Tree of Emptiness."

I'm told the human-looking court mage was muttering it to himself during a walk around the city.

Apparently he said, "The Tree of Emptiness still hasn't taken root."

Hmm. The Tree of Emptiness, eh. It shrouds itself with clouds in lieu of leavesa cloud tree, if you will.

For the time being, I will see what I can find out about this Tree of Emptiness from our database.

I doubt my search will prove fruitful, though.

Do what you wish. Now, what about you?

Will you undertake this mission for me?

Thank you.

I would never give you an order I believed to be impossible.

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Patxi. You will go with them, as they are still unfamiliar with this land.

Since you are a hunter, I trust you know how to use a gun?

Does that mean you're gonna let me join?

If that is what you want.

...Well, I do have my own grudge against the Oprichniki.

A grudge, hm... That alone will not see you to the end of this battle.

You must make a choice, and hold to it with all your conviction.

Otherwise, this Russian blizzard will swallow you up in an instant.

...I know that.

Then here is your first mission: I want you to journey to the nearby village and pass out our manifesto.

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We want other Yaga to know that the rebel army exists, and that our goal is to overthrow Ivan the Terrible and wipe out the Oprichniki.

And, if possible, we would like their help in procuring food and medicine.

You got any idea how risky that is? What're you gonna do if one of these Yaga squeals on us?

Should that happen, I want you to handle it however you feel is necessary.

Not the most comprehensive of plans, hm?

Still, we WILL need assistance from other villages if we are to campaign in such a vast land.

Now, we would like to make a request of our own. Do you think you can help us procure these?

...I can get you the Demonic Beast fangs and golem cores now.

Here is what we have from those we killed earlier. You may have them now, as an advance for this mission.

What about the rest!?

Who do you think we are? We are the rebel army. We never have enough supplies to go around.

I can only give you the fangs and cores because we have little need for them.

As for the rest, well... There are cities that have sworn total allegiance to Ivan the Terrible. I would like to capture a number of them at some point.

If you can help me do that, I'll consider helping you find the rest. How does that sound?

H-hmm...

It's all right if you refuse. Do so, and we will simply kick you out of here.

Grrr... ...Oh, very well.

Fujimaru, Mash, handle this errand ASAP!

I'M the one calling the shots around here, thank you!

EVERYTHING goes through ME first! You do not make decisions for yourself in the field! Understand!?

Well? What is your answer?

Hmm.

...I suppose that is acceptable. See that it is done, Fujimaru.

All that fuss for nothing...

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...Good. Now, I have marked the villages I want you to go to on this map. Make sure you visit all of them.

I'll check into the shortest routes to each from here.

Thank you, Holmes.

(Good, we're finally finding our footing. Now we can start moving forward.)

(Do you think you can stop by the Shadow Border first? We would like you to bring back the food you just acquired.)

(I'm also told there is something else that needs to be done before we can begin the repairs.)

Come on, Master. Let's get going!

H-how's it moving so faaast!?

I optimized the golems for speed. I certainly hope that they could move at least this fast.

So this is what real magecraft is like, huh... Dammit, I should've been a mage myself!

I'm afraid it's not that simple, Patxi.

Avicebron is one of the most famous Kabbalists in history.

It would take at least ten generations for an ordinary mage to reach this level of magecraft...

Thank you, Mash, but all I did was attempt many different casting experiments to find what I was looking for...

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My final goal was to create a golem that would be known as the Primordial Man.

A golem that could guide my people in their time of suffering, and help them to build a new Eden.

Regrettably, I did not live long enough to see that wish fulfilled.

...Still, I am glad that the knowledge I gained along the way is serving to protect humanity now.

Okay, we're coming up on a village. We better get off these things, or they might spark a riot.

A good point. Very well then, I'll disable them for now.