Skeletons in Her Closet

Ursandel

I was once a manservant in the employ of one of the oldest and proudest families in Gridania─the Dartancours. During that time, I had the honor of waiting upon Lady Amandine, mistress of the household. Fair as summer was she, and possessed of a heart befitting her radiance.

• FR La maîtresse, dame Amandine, était belle comme un jour de printemps, et son cœur d'or était le complément parfait de son doux visage. ‘The mistress, Lady Amandine, was as beautiful as a spring day, and her heart of gold was the perfect complement to her sweet face.’ English compares her beauty to summer; French compares it to a spring day.

Alas, the Calamity wrought a great change in her. Though my lady escaped with her life, death may well have been a kinder fate. Never will I forget the day her bandages were removed, and she beheld her disfigured face for the first time. At that moment, the kindly woman I knew ceased to be.

• FR Jamais je n'oublierai le jour où on lui a retiré ses bandages et où j'ai vu son visage défiguré pour la première fois. ‘Never will I forget the day her bandages were removed and I saw her disfigured face for the first time.’ English says she saw her own disfigured face; French says Ursandel saw it.

Unable to bear the thought of being seen, my lady sequestered herself within her chambers and refused all company. This continued for many uneasy moons, until one day, without warning, she began receiving queer guests. None among us knew whence they came, these masked men, but my lady believed that they would help her to regain that which she had lost. So began the “rites of rejuvenation.”

These rituals seemed innocent enough in the beginning, but grew ever more grotesque as time went by. Eventually, there came a day when my lady bound one of her handmaidens to her bed, and...and proceeded to mutilate the poor girl's face. Suffice it to say, she did not survive the ordeal. It fell to me to dispose of her body.

• DE Uns Dienern schnitt man bei lebendigem Leib Stücke unseres Fleisches vom Körper! ‘Pieces of flesh were cut from the bodies of us servants while we were still alive!’ English says the rituals seemed innocent at first; German says the servants had flesh cut off alive.
• DE Die armen Hausmädchen aber wurden gefoltert - ihre hübschen Gesichter richtete man grausam zu - und dann umgebracht. ‘The poor housemaids, however, were tortured - their pretty faces cruelly ruined - and then killed.’ English says the lady bound one handmaiden and mutilated her face; German says the maids were tortured and killed.
• JA 使用人たちは戯れに責め苛まれ、美しいメイドたちは拷問の後、無残に殺された。 ‘The servants were tormented for sport, and the beautiful maids were cruelly killed after being tortured.’ English says the rituals seemed innocent at first; Japanese says the servants were tormented for sport.
• JA 使用人たちは戯れに責め苛まれ、美しいメイドたちは拷問の後、無残に殺された。 ‘The servants were tormented for sport, and the beautiful maids were cruelly killed after being tortured.’ English says the lady bound one handmaiden and mutilated her face; Japanese says the maids were tortured and killed.

I performed the dreadful task as bade, obedient servant that I was, but when the time came to return to the house, my legs refused to move. I knew then that I could not go back to that place, not after the nightmare I had witnessed. So it was that I left Haukke Manor, my home for nigh on half a century.

Long did I weep for the girl who was slain, and longer still for the woman that Lady Amandine had been. Yet one cannot weep forever, and I endeavored to put the matter behind me. Indeed, I had resolved never to speak of my experience...until you appeared before me.

My lady's madness must be ended, lest more innocent lives be lost. Lay her tormented soul to rest, as you swore to me you would. She awaits you at Haukke Manor, on the western edge of the Central Shroud. Go now. Go and do what must be done.

Ursandel

You are returned! What sights awaited you within the manor? What has become of Lady Amandine? You must tell me all!

• FR Je vois que vous êtes blessé(e). ‘I see that you are wounded.’ English welcomes your return; French remarks that you are wounded.

...So she went so far as to consort with devils. Would that I could have done more to prevent her fall. May she finally find peace in the beyond.

I know not whether the masked men you encountered are the same pair that first led my lady astray, but it is plain that they are of the same vile brood. Should the chance ever present itself, promise me that you will visit upon them tenfold the woe they have brought upon others.

• DE Ob es sich bei einem der zwei Männer, die Ihr gesehen habt, um Euren Gesuchten handelt? ‘Whether one of the two men you saw is the one you are looking for?’ English wonders if they are the pair that misled his lady; German wonders if one is the man you seek.

But who am I to speak of punishment? By my silence, I allowed I know not how many innocent young women to die in unspeakable circumstances... It matters not wherefore─through misplaced loyalty, cowardice, or both, I am an abettor to a gross crime. I will surrender myself to the authorities and accept whatever punishment they deem just. I only pray that the gods will have mercy on my soul.

• DE Ich, für meinen Teil, werde dem Klageregiment umfassend Bericht erstatten. ‘I, for my part, will give the Klageregiment a full report.’ English says he will turn himself in and accept punishment; German says he will give the Klageregiment a full report.

Minfilia

Welcome back, [name]. Full glad am I to see you safely returned. Tell me, how fared you on your sojourn in the Twelveswood?

...Two of Lahabrea's minions? ...And they sought to measure your strength...by their own admission?

The devils taunt us... It is beyond doubt, then─the Ascians have begun to move in earnest. Would that we knew to what end.

Yet I will not bemoan our plight. Thanks to your tireless efforts, we are at least aware of the encroaching Darkness.

• JA 「大当たり」だったってわけね。 ‘So it turned out to be a "jackpot".’ English soberly notes they now know of the Darkness; Japanese cheerfully calls your findings a "jackpot".

Alas, we can only do so much. It is clear to me now that we Scions are too few to protect the realm against this threat unaided.

• DE Wenn wir weiter auf gut Glück im Heuhaufen herumstochern, finden wir die Nadel bestimmt nicht. ‘If we keep blindly poking around in the haystack, we surely won't find the needle.’ English says the Scions are too few to protect the realm; German says blind searching won't find the needle in the haystack.

We must needs alert the three nations to the presence of this elusive enemy, and recommend that they heighten their vigil.

There is no shortage of misery in the world that the Ascians might exploit. We have an arduous struggle ahead of us.

Yet come what may, we must not allow ourselves to become lost to hope, for that is precisely what the enemy desires.

We have gleaned all we can from the information available to us. Let us set this investigation aside for the present.

Another matter has arisen that requires your attention. Let me know when you are ready to be briefed, and I will summon the others.

• DE Die Primae haben sich in letzter Zeit ruhig verhalten, doch das wird nicht mehr lange so bleiben. ‘The Primae have kept quiet lately, but that will not stay so for long.’ English says a new matter has arisen; German says the Primae have been quiet lately.