The Audacity the the second Chapter in the School Fare. It is operable after four days after the prior chapter, The Penchant. In this chapter, it stars Annest as the main character instead.
Story[]
The next day, the freshmen are called out to participate in the next activity not in the academy's grounds, but somewhere else. This time, they are tasked to form a group of 7 people and investigate several particular old mansions in the Western Great Marsh. Also, the freshmen needs to camp in the area for 3 days to record any of their findings. Annest, being timid with the idea, was reluctant at first, but after being reassured by Nerela, she wills it.
Annest teams up with Marryl, Nerela, Aliza, Myde, Zeph and Farouq. While Fens teams up with Hazeal, Hamiwa, Hanare, Wirtz, Hato and Kinetsu. They agreed to work together until the final day. Hato, being the leader of his team, leads the gang through the marshland as he has been wandering the area for a bit in the past. He is assisted by his sister, Hamiwa.
During the first hour, they appears to be going around in circles as they had been walking around the same areas multiple times. Kinetsu, frustrated and agitated, take charge to lead them by using his Gift of Echolocation to determine to exact location of the mansion. Myde, impressed with his ability, sarcastically commented, "You know, you could've done that like in the first place than instead for us having to see your kiddy tantrum".
They discovered the mansion a moment later, but it is basically on an island surrounded by a massive lake. The water also appears to be very viscous, simply traversing would just making themselves soaking in a mud-bath. Marryl and Myde both uses their Hydrokinesis powers to push away the water and divide it along the way as they walk through. After they've come across it, Hazeal realizes; "Fens, why didn't you just freezes that lake? We could've all just skate on it." All them stared at Fens as he blushes to his own forgetfulness.
All of them began their investigation around the 'garden' first. As they look around, they find the area rather unusually suitable to grow roses, which are supposedly not possible to grow in wetlands. Later, Hamiwa screams as she just stumbled across a human skull. Farouq then pick it up as he quotes: "We need to be, or else it shan't ever can be foresee", the famous quote by the legendary poet, William Heimsere. Hamiwa slapped his arm to his joke. "Hey, do you guys think that the people of this mansion actually 'carried' this soil to this part of a marshland just to plant roses? I think there's something underneath it." said Zeph. "Zeph, I know you're smart and all but seriously?? Can't you just deduct that with little confidence? It's just too Weiglocke Johnes for us" said Nerela. "That's 'confidence'? I though he's just being bluntly dead-on", Aliza commented. Curiosity began to strangle them, thus Hato, Hamiwa and Kinetsu started to dig under the rose plant.
What they found underneath was not exactly what they expected from the mansion in the marsh, just a particular skeletal remains of a monster of some sort. "What kind of monster's remains is this?" Hato wondered. They put their wonder aside for a moment as Kinetsu noticed something in the stomach pelvic area of the skeleton. It was some sort of a key. "Do you think this is a key to a treasure inside the mansion?" Zeph commented. "Now that is the sort of deduction- or guess, that we can all agree on!" Nerela said as she gets spunky. "Although, don't you guys think that this key is way too small for it to unlock a certain treasure? It looks more like the keys for opening locked diaries", said Annest. "Regardless, we are sent here to investigate and that key is part of it. We might as well take the benefit of the doubt to see how that key will serve us. Maybe Zeph is right, maybe it's for a treasure or something special in the mansion!" Marryl is overjoyed.
After taking the first few steps through the large entrance door, the gang divides into three party of 5, 5 and 4 people. The first party, Hato, Aliza, Nerela, Hazeal and Hanare investigate the first floor, the second party, Myde, Marryl, Hamiwa, Wirtz and Zeph went for the second floor and the third party, Annest, Fens, Farouq and Kinetsu head for the third floor.
Side-Story[]
Grandmother's Heirloom[]
Annest is called by her butler that a lawyer has arrived at her home to discuss with her about the family's heirloom. Upon arriving home together with Nerela, Kinetsu and Farce, the lawyer presents to her letter regarding the heirloom. In order to inherit it, it states that Annest must ventures through her family's personally made catacom-maze, in which the heirloom is kept. Annest and the others must venture into the the Pierre's Catacomb to obtain the heirloom. Inside, Annest faces several horrible truths about her family before her, in which breaks her heart. Still, believing that with the heirloom, being part of the few truth she learnt is the only treasure in her family that has been kept safe from tainting anyone's heart- she decided to retrieve it to put it in her house's den, alongside the family pictures and portraits as a reminder of a good thing that persist to exists even if a heart is corrupted with wealth. Upon examining the heirloom, she notice a riddle about another treasure. The treasure is Mageste, a wondrous instrument that may calm a tainted heart of greed.