======Taekol======

=====Scribe=====

Taekol dismounts the carriage, manuscript clutched to their chest. Their work is nearing completion, with just a few final interviews to conduct.

The answers always vary – some recall the shifting brambles, others the beautiful golden interior, others the secret passageways within he walls. Some remember the fierce politics over the indicative ballots, others the eldritch mysteries they uncovered. Everyone remembers the blood.

Yes, while the electors’ stories all differ slightly, everyone still has crystal clear memories of what happened across the two fateful weeks.

Tome in hand, Taekol knocks on the door of The Ever-Gregarious Magnus Ferrekrust. “Taekol!” There he stands, looking mostly recovered from the ordeals of the Palace. “How goes your writing?”

“It’s going great,” Taekol responds, gesturing to the volume. “The University is already interested in publishing my script.”

“Excellent!” Magnus lets out a hearty laugh. “Glad to hear that my funding has been used to such great success. I am excited to see how this project turns out.”

“Yep, just have a few more interviews before they’re all done! Um, which brings me to the point of this visit, I suppose.”

“Yes, of course. Please, please, come inside.”

----

Neat stacks of paper line Taekol’s desk, dotted with edits and revisions. On a nearby shelf is their original notebook they had brought to the Palace, filled with meticulous notes of day-by-day occurrences and investigations. It’s a simple setup, but more than serviceable, especially since most of their work was on the road anyways.

Still, with the interviews finished, all that remained was to finish the book. It had been a long and painstaking process – their meticulous notes grew larger by the day – but it was a rewarding one too. They think back to their interview with Cyo.

“It was living too, you know. The Palace.” It had been a sunny day, the two of them sitting in the shade of a large oak tree. “Maybe it seemed malicious, and I know what it did… but some of the electors did equally vile things. It was playful too, at heart. I don’t think the rest of them understood that.”

Taekol ruffles the dragon wings on their back. Picking up their pen, they get back to work.