Gate of Memoirs/Keres' Log

Elise looks uncomfortable with all these mentions of demons, probably due to her affliction.
Portrait 	Dialogue
Music: "Demon Slayers"	Music: "Demon Slayers"
 	
*The light actually stings your eyes.
*You wince as you stumble into the open, glad to be rid of the musty ruins you had encountered the Revenants in.
*Whatever energies they had ingested caused them to give off what seemed like a divine aura at first,
*but as you drew closer, a cruelly spiked carapace rose before you, intent on pulping you into a fleshy mess.
*Old habits die hard. These used to be Guardians, after all.
 	
*Giselle: Welcome back! Find anything interesting?
 	
*Rhetorical as always. But just a few months ago you wouldn't have thought so.
*It's almost as if the Battle Logs themselves want to be found...
*You relay the odd appearance of the Revenants in the ruins,
*as well something that unsettled you the moment you stepped into one of the tunnels.
 	
*Giselle: You heard...a voice?
*Giselle: Like a whisper, you say...
 	
*Giselle: Well, that old tome I bought does include phantom voices and images under the aftereffects of demon summoning,
*Giselle: but for it to persist so long after its original invocaton...
*Giselle: I look forward to what's in those logs, then.
 	
*You pull out the devices from your haversack.
*You're not sure if some of them even are Battle Logs because of their odd appearances.
 	
*Noel has a thoughtful look on his face as he examines them closely.
*Noel: Hmm...Yeah, can't say we've come across anything like this before.
*Noel: On the whole, some of these seem to be a lot smaller than the ones we've got.
*Noel: We'll get the lab to look at it.
 	
*Giselle: I'm tagging along. There's something I want to try on them...
 	
*Noel: Sure.
 	
*You watch as Noel and Giselle gather the devices and leave for the lab.
*You don't quite recall if they've gotten along so swimmingly before, but you think that deep inside, they do.
*Giselle seems especially eager to show you the fruits of her labor,
*so you find yourself herded into the lab before you even get a chance to say good morning.
 	
*Giselle: Morning! Look at this little baby here.
*She waves one of the smaller devices at you, before Noel shoots a disapproving glance at her.
 	
*Giselle: Turns out this isn't a Battle Log at all. It's...some sort of communication for ground-based troops.
*Giselle: Kind of like the ones we have with the scouts, actually.
*Giselle: But what's different is that these exhibit a different wavelength from the Battle Logs.
 	
*Noel: We tried extracting them, but much of it can't be transcoded into what we usually listen to.
*Noel: Giselle does think it's useful for discerning that "demon influence" something-or-other, though. So there's that.
*Noel: We have some interesting data from the normal Battle Logs, though, so let's have a look.
*As usual, Noel sets up the equipment for everyone to listen.
 	
*Giselle leans in curiously this time, as if she expects something...
Portrait 	Dialogue
Music: "Devil's Heart"	Music: "Devil's Heart"
 	
**crackle*
*Baritone Voice: "What the hell was that?"
*You've heard this voice before...
*It's the man named Keres, from Galea's logs.
*Even through his normally gruff and deep voice, you hear a tinge of weariness and fatigue.
*Female Voice: "Said his name was...Czorag. I didn't expect him either."
*Czorag...This voice can only belong to Zeis, the arcanist.
*Keres: "You think we'll...need their help?"
*You hear a short sigh and an intake of breath, as if Zeis was thinking of a way to organize her thoughts.
*Zeis: "Better too much firepower than not enough when we get to the superweapon."
*Keres: "...What do you suggest we do?"
*Zeis: "We've already had success contacting one."
*Keres: "... ..."
*The Battle Log cuts abruptly to another recording, as if a large block of information had been removed or corrupted.
 	
*Giselle: What...?
*Giselle: Oh no! We don't have records of what happens afterwards?
 	
*Noel: Hmm. That's a shame. I'm not sure if we can restore it, either.
 	
*Giselle: I wanted to know if the ritual's the same as Czorag's.
*Giselle: I found fragmentary passages in my tome, but it's not enough to assume it's the full and correct text.
 	
*Noel: Where did you even acquire such a book...?
 	
*After a lengthy bit of silence, it begins to play the next block of dialogue.
Portrait 	Dialogue
Music: "Dark Pursuit"	Music: "Dark Pursuit"
 	
*?: "—as long as your orders are in accordance with the contract, I do not see a problem."
*Zeis: "I see."
*A colder, deeper female voice this time. Like Czorag, this voice has a rather otherworldly quality to it.
*Zeis: "Did you get all that?"
*Keres: "... ..."
*Keres: "...Yes."
*Keres sounds reluctant and unhappy. Even though you can't see him, you feel like he's glaring at something.
*?: "The same way it is for you and Czorag."
*Zeis: "She's all yours."
*Keres: "Fine."
*You hear footsteps receding from the point of recording, and Keres stand up from his seat.
*Keres: "You said your name was Katerin?"
*Katerin: "Yes."
*Keres: "I don't trust you."
*Keres: "But since you're bound to my service, I will have you prove that you are worth a thousand warriors."
*Keres: "What was promised to you...had better be worth it."
*A step accompanied by the clink of armor, and an impossible chilling sensation.
*You imagine whoever this Katerin is must have leaned into Keres.
*Katerin: "However many must have their heads rolled,"
*Katerin: "I will make sure of it."
 	
*Giselle: Hmm. The situation really was dire enough to warrant contacting more demons.
*Giselle: So, we can assume that Keres summoned one of his own, probably with Zeis's help.
 	
*Noel: Given what we'd heard from the aftermath of the superweapon, it seems that way.
*Noel: Where Czorag supplied the power necessary to destroy the weapon,
*Noel: this other demon must have padded out the rest of their armies against the Greherd and the Forshu.
 	
*Giselle: Maybe that's what the whispers in the cave were, .
 	
*Giselle: The groaning of all the headless people left behind by Katerin!
 	
*Noel: ... ...
Portrait 	Dialogue
Music: "Twilight Gleam"	Music: "Twilight Gleam"
 	
**crackle*
*Keres: "This is a matter of grave importance."
*Keres: "I know that relations between the various factions haven't been the best..."
*Keres: "...but this isn't what we're here for today."
*Keres: "We'll need to stand together to stop the superweapon from charging."
*Keres: "If we let them suck the life out of this planet for that thing, we're all goners."
*Sounds of affirmation ring out around what is probably some sort of war room.
*Durumn: "We've already gotten a tip-off. Some people on their side aren't exactly rooting for them, either."
*Keres: "I don't see why they would. After what we've seen in the Vardket labs..."
*Durumn: "Damn. You guys too, huh?"
*Zeis: "More where those came from."
*Zeis: "Makes you wonder what the Vardket were really doing."
*The grim silence from the other leaders makes you uncomfortable.
*Zeis: "What about Galea?"
*Keres: "She knows. Said she wouldn't miss the end of the Greherd for the world."
*Durumn: "There won't *be* a world to speak of anyway, if we fail."
*Durumn: "...All right. So we roughly know what they're up to. If our intel is correct..."
*Durumn: "They're going to be holed up like rats in there, and everyone else surrounding it is going to be nothing but a meatshield for them."
*Durumn: "So, if you're going to drop in on them from your skyships,"
*Durumn: "My serpents will flank them from the ground. They'll have a hard time bringing you down from the air."
*Keres: "Sounds good. Then the three of us will approach from multiple directions to split their focus."
*Keres: "Galea and I will lead the charge straight against the bulk of the operation."
*Keres: "I suspect they're already waiting for us."
*Keres: "Zeis, you're the only one of us with the arcane magic necessary to take out the superweapon."
*Zeis: "With their help, it *will* go down."
*Keres: "... ..."
*Keres: "It will."
Portrait 	Dialogue
Music: "Demon Slayers"	Music: "Demon Slayers"
 	
*Noel: Hmm. Turns out the other factions banded together against the Greherd and the Forshu.
*Noel: So the civil war was very clearly split into two camps,
*Noel: first over the Vardket's disappearance, and now regarding the superweapon.
 	
*Giselle: And that thing was such a threat that both Zeis *and* Keres had to summon demons.
*Giselle: I can't imagine what the situation must have been like on the ground.
 	
*Noel: That just leaves their reasons for activating the superweapon, then.
*Noel: The Vardket's enemies...if they're not on Orebus, then there's only one place they could be.
 	
*Giselle: Like space opera, huh?
 	
*Noel: Space...opera?
 	
*Giselle: Figure of speech.
*Giselle: Anyway, with a weapon like that, the only thing it could take down is an extraterrestrial threat.
*Giselle: So we're just missing Ceulfan's side of the story now.
 	
*As Giselle and Noel discuss the theories of the Vardket's enemies,
*you stare at the device, wondering about that odd feeling you got listening to Katerin.
*Was it merely a trick of the mind?
*What could the Seventh Circle Fiends be seeking to gain in the civil war?