Scenario:Defender's Oath - Chapter 5: Shadowy Machinations - Episode 4

Defender's Oath - Chapter 5: Shadowy Machinations - Episode 4

Siegfried leads the party to the cause of the sickness spreading on the outskirts of Feendrache—the production of alma extract by Sylph. Though he hears the truth, Lancelot questions its veracity.

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The guards that attacked the crew can't be reasoned with and are subdued.

Now Lancelot and Siegfried are once again at odds with each other.

Lancelot: Siegfried! What do you know about this? I want answers now!

Siegfried: Oh? Weren't you going to arrest me?

Lancelot: Humph... I'll listen to what you have to say as a favor to Lyria.

Lyria: Thank you, Lancelot.

Siegfried: Very well. In that case come with me.

Lancelot: Hey! Explain yourself first!

Siegfried: It'll be faster if you see it. Come, Chief.

Village Chief: R-right!

Vane: Let's follow him for now. Just for a bit!

Siegfried guides them even farther down the underground passage.

Siegfried: Beyond this door lies the truth behind Feendrache.

Lancelot: The truth?

Siegfried opens the door. Two rows of jail cells face each other.

Siegfried breaks the locks on the cells and frees the men inside.

Siegfried: Come out. You're free now.

Villager 1: S-Siegfried? Why are you here?

Village Chief: You're all alive!

Villager 2: Same to you, Chief! How did you escape?

Village Chief: Hmm... Siegfried broke through a wall out of nowhere and rescued me. It all happened so fast.

Village Chief: I thought I was dreaming...

Siegfried: I simply used the secret passage built by the late King Josef.

Lancelot: Are you saying this is a royal facility?

Siegfried: Correct. It's a hidden dungeon that lies below the royal palace.

Siegfried: This dungeon was made to secretly imprison those who couldn't be imprisoned publicly.

Lancelot: And who are these imprisoned people?

Villager 1: We're residents of Ruforth Village at the base of the Howling Valley.

Sophia: That's the village with the mystery epidemic!

Village Chief: Yes. I am the chief of the village. Please call me Galton.

Galton: We came to the capital to ask for assistance with the outbreak, but we were tricked and imprisoned here instead.

Sophia: But I'd heard that you all went missing after being attacked by monsters!

Galton: Is that what they're saying? That we died in a monster attack?

Galton: Hehe... Bwahaha! Maybe they're right. The corrupt monsters of the capital are truly fearsome.

Lancelot: Why would they lock up residents of Ruforth? How exactly were you tricked?

Siegfried: I'll explain from here.

Siegfried: What kind of threat do you think a Ruforth villager could pose to the capital?

Siegfried: The answer lies in the mysterious disease afflicting the people of Ruforth.

Sophia: What do you mean by that?

Siegfried: The disease claims the lives of newborns and the elderly.

Siegfried: I presume you already know that.

Sophia: Yes. I came to the capital to relay that information to King Carl.

Siegfried: The symptoms of that disease fade the farther you travel from the village, so the villagers believed it was endemic to the land.

Siegfried: However, the villagers couldn't pinpoint the cause. They came to air their grievances with King Josef.

Siegfried: The king took pity on the villagers, buying alma extract for them with his own money. He appointed me to investigate the disease.

Sophia: Then I take it this disease has been around for quite some time.

Vane: Hold up a second! How come I've never heard of this disease until now?

Lancelot: Exactly. Word of this should have spread to the knights.

Siegfried: They probably didn't want to risk throwing the country into chaos by spreading it.

Siegfried: Very few were privy to this information.

Siegfried: I started to suspect the river water was the source of the disease.

Lancelot: The river water?

Siegfried: My investigation led me upstream into the Howling Valley.

Siegfried: That's where I witnessed Sylph and her bodyguards visiting the sealed Fafnir.

Siegfried: The guards entered the valley as if they were trying to hide something from Sylph, so I tailed them.

Siegfried: They were haphazardly dumping these black orbs into the ground. Do you see where I'm going with this?

Vyrn: Okay, they were littering. So what?

Siegfried: Why would they come all the way out to the deserted Howling Valley unless it was to do something they didn't want anyone to see?

Sophia: Gasp! Are you saying these black orbs were contaminating the river?

Siegfried: You're very perceptive.

Lancelot: You're insinuating that the capital is responsible for this.

Siegfried: Yes. This happened because of the capital, and because of Sylph.

Lancelot: How is Sylph—

Vane: Wait! What about those black orbs?

Siegfried: Ah, yes. I uncovered the truth about those as well.

Siegfried: When Sylph creates alma, a poisonous
by-product is also made in the process.

Lancelot: Absurd...

Siegfried: A small amount of poison leaked from the orbs and flowed downstream, poisoning the villagers of Ruforth. See for yourself.

Siegfried opens the door to a storage room.

Siegfried: They call the poison karmide, and it's being temporarily stored down here.

Siegfried: After which they secretly dispose of it in the Howling Valley.

Lancelot: This is karmide?

Vane: Whoa! They've got a huge stockpile going!

Vane: That's impressive!

Sophia: Um, Vane? Do you think it's wise to be touching them?

Siegfried: Soldiers carry these all the time. It's fine as long as you're not too rough and break the outer shell.

Vane: Huh, who'd have thought these could be so toxic. They look so sparkly and pretty...

Guard's Voice: Hmm? We've got a man down over here!

Vyrn: Uh-oh! Someone's coming! We're gonna get found out!

Guard's Voice: Come on, pull yourselves together! Huh? The villagers aren't in their cells!

Siegfried: The time has come. We'll stir up chaos, sneak into the palace, and excise the lesions eating away at this country.

Galton: Please let us come with you! We'll follow you into the darkest depths if we have to, Siegfried!

Villager 1: Yeah! We'll help you sneak into the palace!

Villager 2: We can't give up and die! It's payback time!

Guard: Hey! How did you prisoners get out? Stay right there!

Siegfried: What do you believe, Lancelot?

Lancelot: Huh?

Siegfried: Take a good look around you.

Guard: It's Siegfried! And why is Lancelot with you?

Siegfried: Only you can decide which truth to believe in.

Siegfried: But the imprisoned villagers of Ruforth, the stockpile of karmide...

Siegfried: And now soldiers who knowingly draw their weapons on the captain of the White Dragons. These are all facts.

Lancelot: Ngh... I...

Siegfried: ...

Lancelot: W-wait! Our conversation isn't over, Siegfried!

The startling truth has finally been revealed, and the party chases after Siegfried, who walks the path toward one last battle.