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[X] Head straight to the Forest.

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"Enough talk," says Alice sternly. "We should leave for the Forest of Magic right now. We still have to find the fool who did this to Marisa."

The dollmaker makes for the exit immediately, Shanghai floating nearby. She doesn't seem to be in the mood for small talk. Grimnír quickly follows behind her, taking a moment to make sure that all of his things are in his sack. Reisen rushes after them only after talking to Dr. Yagokoro.

"S-sorry about that," mumbles Reisen as she steps outside. "Just received some last minute instructions."

Alice says nothing in reply. Instead, she starts hovering a few feet above the ground.

"I guess we should go," says Grimnír. He gives the timid rabbit girl a small nod to encourage her before stepping off into the air. Reisen gives him the tiniest of smiles before following.

The trip from Eientei to the Forest of Magic is generally uneventful. Along the way, Grimnír spots the red-lantern stand that he saw yesterday. He manages to take a better glance at the stall as they fly over it. Dressed in odd brown clothing, the owner seems to be humming a tune as she grills some meat. He notes that she has wings. Perhaps the owner is a youkai girl as well.

"Hey Alice," says Grimnír in an attempt to make conversation. "Do you think we should pass by your house for anything? I don't think that it would take that much time and -"

"No!" interrupts Alice harshly. "This all ends now."

...

For the next hour, their small group carefully sweeps the Forest of Magic. The three of them stay together as they move, but the magician and lunarian seem to have other means of searching the area.

Alice summons several other dolls to scout the area. Each of them wield weapons several times their size, but they don't seem to have any trouble moving and floating around. The dollmaker magician sends them in different directions to investigate. Only Shanghai remains to stay by her side.

Reisen peers into the depth of the forest, routinely reporting the number of youkai and animals running about. She even describes their exact distance and heading, as well as their potential threat level. Her eyes seem to be exceptionally accurate when searching from a distance, and by the way she speaks, he wouldn't be surprised if she was once a soldier of some sort. However, this idea seems out of place for a timid girl like her, so he quickly shakes it away.

Grimnír, on the other hand, has no special skills or magic to help in the search, so he simply flies behind the other two silently. As they systematically search the labyrinthine Forest of Magic, he wonders idly if he would be useful at all in this task. He only knows how to fly and create barriers. Apart from his other, extremely risky magic, he has no way to restrain or attack an opponent. Hopefully, Alice has some sort of elaborate plan to create a suitable diversion.

"I-I think I see him!" cries Reisen suddenly. Before they can reply, she dives deep into the trees below.

Alice and Grimnír quickly follow the lunarian into the depths of the Forest of Magic. After a few minutes, they find Reisen crouching behind some nearby bushes. They follow her lead and stay hidden beside her. The rabbit girl beckons them to follow her through the foliage. After a few minutes of careful sneaking, she points toward something leaning against a huge tree.

It takes Grimnír a few moments to recognize the thing she pointed at. Almost completely hidden by the shadows of the trees, someone seems to be sleeping underneath it's shade. From this distance, the person looks like an ordinary, tired traveller. Dressed in a thick worn coat and some old pants, the man sleeps peacefully against the tree. He seems to be using a long hooded cloak as a make-shift blanket as he rests. The man seems very ordinary, and he seems no older than Grimnír. Far too young to be a wandering hermit. There is nothing visibly unusual about him.

Grimnír would have thought that this was the wrong person if it weren't for one thing. Resting against his shoulder is a long trident made of some strange dark metal. Even from this distance, he can recognize several ornate designs engraved all over the weapon. Some of them look like magical runes, but he can't decipher them from this distance.

As he watches, he suddenly feels something strange in his head. The trident seems to glitter brightly in response to his gaze. He can't help but feel curious about how the weapon feels to the touch. Is it cool or warm? For some reason, he can almost hear a tiny voice calling out to him. The weapon itself seems almost.. alive.

"E-er... Mr. Grimnír?" whispers Reisen suddenly.

"Eh?" he replies blankly.

"I-Is she alright?" the lunarian says.

Grimnír blinks blankly until the lunarian points toward Alice's direction. He turns to look at the dollmaker magician. The sight doesn't register in his brain until a couple of seconds later.

"..."

His eyes widen in horror as he realizes that Alice has gathered all of her dolls around her. They seem to be arranged in some sort of combat position. Alice's once kind eyes are now filled with a fury he has never seen before. She seems to be chanting spells to augment the power of her dolls, as well as her own magic. Even Shanghai has an angry expression upon her face.

Alice looks like she is ready to kill.

[ ] Help Alice kill the stranger. This is a good chance to end it early.
[ ] Try to convince Alice to calm down. This isn't part of the plan.
[ ] Grab Alice and stop her before she does something stupid.
[ ] Step out of the bushes and try to talk to the stranger before Alice attacks.
[ ] Stay silent and watch the events unfold.
[ ] Custom