Luis' Journal

[windmilled]

[The bulk of Luis' journal is made up of his notes, organized as you might expect from a self-prescribed researcher.

Many of the statements are preceded by "Ob:" while more inquisitive statements are preceded by "H:"]

Day 4
P is bound to the house. To an extent the relationship is reciprocal, but they still remain distinct.
P was involved in another ritual before this
Failed to escape (punished?)

Day 6
Ob: The house resists non-verbal attempts to direct it.
Ob: The house responds favorably to being asked politely.
Ob: There are many old names in the crypt.
H: There have been many more rituals in the past.

Day 11
P gets stronger as the house gets stronger

[THIS PART IS UNDER CONSTRUCTION.]

[There's a single two-page spread where Luis wrote down all of the keys, copied from Eui's journal. He's added his own notes in between the lines, but mostly just speculation or frustration when the clues don't seem to fit together.]

1: The house wasn't always like this.

2: Pratibha fell first.

3: The house has been invaded by an unwelcome guest.

4: The dead matter, even when they shouldn't.

5: Is the house alive, or is it dead?

6: Bad things happen when you pervert the rituals.

7: This house does not have three floors.

8: Love like life depends on it.

9: The walls are thin. These boundaries can be breached.

Comments

DEAD LETTER

[windmilled]

It's hard to know how to start something like this. It's like a last will and testament, but all I have to leave behind are words.

I knew what the risks were with my plan. I'm sorry that I had to put you all through another ritual. I'm sorry that I took Leon down with me. I hope you can forgive us. I hope that I'm right, and the risk pays off, and this isn't the last time we meet.

Shauna: You're one of the most resilient girls I've met. You'll need to use that, I think, to see this through to the end.

Octavia: You're clever, and strong. Dig in and hold onto that, okay? But don't try to carry the weight of the whole world. The only way out of this is together.

Garry: Keep your head up! You all need to rely on each other more than ever, so don't be shy. God willing, we're able to break this cycle and we can all escape, but if

Never mind. Think of some good book recommendations for me!

Gavin: It's alright to care. The ladies like a sensitive guy. Or the gentlemen, whatever you prefer. I'll bet you could pull off a handsome smile, if you let it.

Sr. Edgeworth: I'm counting on your sharp mind to help everyone else find a way out of here. You've been objective and straightforward so far, and that helps when cooler heads must prevail.

Thank you all for all you've done, and I'm sorry that I won't be there with you as the tale draws to a close. Hopefully, if you're reading this, we were able to make some kind of a difference. Hopefully, ours will be the last sacrifices made.

See you soon.

Your friend,
Luis

Anemone

[windmilled]

[Unlike the first letter, this and all other letters are folded neatly in half, the intended recipient's name written on the outside in Luis' tilted handwriting.]

You have taken our losses so much harder than the rest of us. Your heart is a treasure that deserves better than the hand you have been dealt. I'm sorry that I have added two more losses to that score.

Maybe you can forgive me, if my plan works.

In the meantime, be safe. Be well. Be brave. And don't forget the secret ingredient.

Your friend,
Luis

[At the bottom, he's added two more recipes, one for a very simple and hearty meat and bean stew, and the other - noted as "from Eui" - is copied from Eui's journal.]

Aqua

[windmilled]

[His handwriting on this one is a little less neat than on most of the others.]

I hope you can forgive understand my reasons for going through with what I've done. It's been like clockwork for four weeks now. If it wasn't Leon and I, then it would have been someone else. Or maybe it wouldn't have, and the house would have gotten impatient, and done something drastic again to make sure it fed again.

I can't say that Pratibha's condition didn't make up my mind, but I won't lie and say that it was a new idea. I didn't bring Leon into it until I had a plan. I chose him because I knew I could trust him to see the mission through to the end. Because he's done it before. If I could have done it myself, I would have spared him, but the house won't accept that.

If I'm going to choose to die, then I don't want it to be for nothing. again

If this works, then we'll see each other again soon. I hope we do, so I can apologize in person. If this stops the rituals, that's enough for me, however this ends.

I was always an only child but I would have been proud to have a younger brother like you.

Take care of Lortel, and everyone. I hope to see you again soon.

Your friend,
Luis

Lortel

[windmilled]

It devastates me to know how much I've disappointed you. I'm sure that you thought me better than this. But I hope you can understand why I did.

I'm sorry that I had to take Leon from you, too. If you can't forgive me, then I hope you can forgive him for what we've done. For anything he had to do during the ritual.

If my plan worked, then we'll see each other again soon, and you can really let me have it. I hope that that's the case. I hope, at least, that ours is the last ritual. Eui and Pratibha are your best chance at escaping here, I know that much.

I couldn't risk the house taking her

Hold each other close. Take care of Aqua, you two will need each other. I leave what I hope will be the final stretch in Your Majesty's capable hands.

See you soon.

Your loyal subject,
Luis

Otto

[windmilled]

I'm sorry but I think you're the most responsible adult left now. Or perhaps you always have been, since this wasn't very responsible of me.

I must confess, it's a plan I had been thinking about for a while. Since Pratibha told me that the rituals make her strong enough to resist the house, I think. Seeing the condition she was in this week did make me desperate enough to see it through. I pray it worked. I pray she comes back to you.

If she does, I know I can count on you to take care of her. God willing we'll see each other again soon, but if not then I pray at least the rituals stop with ours. If I can do that much, that's a better death than I had before. Maybe it was silly of me to try to defy death at all, to hope that I could have a second chance. But I don't regret the chance to meet all of you.

I am sorry for bringing Leon into it. I knew from experience he would be able to finish the mission. I thought about asking you, but Pratibha would never have forgiven me if she woke up and neither of us were there to meet her. She might never forgive me anyway.

I want you to make sure she gets Eui's journal. You can go through it for anything that may be useful, first (though I think I copied the most important parts into my own, something new might appear after I write this). But when you're done with it I think it's time it goes to her.

Hold onto the others. (You have the wingspan to do it.) Don't give up on them, and don't give up on yourself.

Until we meet again.

Your friend,
Luis

Pratibha

[windmilled]

There are no words for how sorry I am, for how this is going to hurt you. I hope you can believe me that if I saw another way, I would have taken it. I wish you were awake to talk me out of this or help me find another way. I hope this works. I wish I knew for certain that it would.

I'm leaving it to you and to Eui to break this cycle and end the rituals for good. You started this, as it is now. It's time to finish it. I hope that Leon and I can give you what you need to do it.

I hope I get to see you again. I hope you can forgive your foolish knight for his disobedience. I swore I would do what I could to reunite you with your Eui, and I still intend to. In the meantime, I hope her journal will bring you a little peace.

A wise friend told me we can't change the past, or what our past made us into. But we can do everything we can in the future not to keep doing that harm. I'm going to keep trying. Promise me you will too. The blood may never wash away, but maybe one day we'll be able to look past it when we look in the mirror.

Until we meet again.

Love, your knight,
Luis

P.S. I already invited Eui on our quest for cheeseburgers and she agreed. So use that as something else to look forward to.