Memory of Chaos: Clementine

Memory of Chaos: Clementine was a character scenario released in Mass for the Dead, featuring the character Clementine.

Episode 1: Everyday
At E-Rantel behind its triple walls, though it has taken less damage compared to other areas, by the Chaos Beasts and Contaminated Beasts, the city still reels at the rising issues from the missing infrastructure and rising gathering of refugees in the city. Even now, some are struggling to rebuild the city's walls after the last Chaos Beast attack. Clementine among them assist as best she could, first by dressing the wound of a laborer with a strip of cloth from her robes. The kindness is accepted by the resident though he did not wish to damage the lady's clothing, but his worries are considered unimportant compared to his wound by Clementine. After she leaves to tend to others, the man wonders if he met a angel or goddess.

Clementine busies herself by serving soup alongside an older woman. After Clementine serves food to a young boy, the older woman gives Clementine her thanks for helping her prepare the food. She admits that Clementine's presence has been slowly accepted by the people, despite being from the Slane Theocracy. Clementine herself states that to be natural, given the religious differences between her nation and the Re-Estize Kingdom. Her humanitarian help though has eased those worries, a few though wonder why she pushes herself with spreading kindness to them. In truth, Clementine had come to E-Rantel, on the run and wounded. She had collapsed in a dark alley from her injuries when someone called out to her. When she awoke, Clementine found herself in a cot and her wound healed by something akin to the work of a high priest or expensive potion by her unknown benefactor. Since being saved by the kindness of this stranger she met, Clementine began to dedicate her life to helping the people of the city. The old woman is glad to know that the bad rumors about Clementine are untrue and the two prepare to head outside the walls where the refugee camps are located. The last thought on Clementine's mind is her hoping that the child she helped pass kindness onto others in the camp.

Episode 2: Difficult Person
One day, Clementine visited the Adventurer's Guild at the invitation of Pluton Ainzach. There, she not only met the guildmaster of the adventurers in the city, but also Theo Rakheshir of the Magician's Guild as well as the Blacksmith's Guildmaster. Alongside the executives of the city, they discussed the main subject: the current situation of refugees gathering outside the wall. They were survivors from towns and villages that were hit hardest by the Chaos Beasts and monsters. The numbers of refugees are growing, but the work to accommodate them was proceeding slowly. Thus, the refugees are forced to stand by in the wilderness without any sort of defenses to the Chaos Beasts. With insufficient shelters, protection for refugees, and manpower there lies another problem in security. When talk on establishing stricter inspections, Clementine worries that this would intrude on the refugees' privacy. Ainzach explains that that the number of displaced people will continue to increase over time, however even if the residential area of the city is expanded, it would be impossible to accept everyone in the city immediately. However, Clementine fears that the frustrations of the refugees would eventually turn to a riot. The scenario would force the city to suppress it by force, something all in the room agree should be avoided. There is a plan by the guildmaster to prevent a riot: the construction of a fourth wall for the city. He explains that there is a plan that was designed after the invasion of Chaotic Beasts from earlier, with the aim of strengthening the defense and improving the food self-sufficiency rate. Given the situation outside the city, Ainzach believes they need to hasten the schedule for the wall's construction. Once a new wall is created, it will enclose each gate leading to the city in a semicircle and ensure that the area surrounded by the fourth wall is large enough for refugees to stay. It would secure the refugees from fear of being attacked and also expand areas for growing food. The city has it covered with food and supplies from the Baharuth Empire and Slane Theocracy, but the main issue is with manpower to build the fourth wall.

While money for building the wall is unavailable, Ainzach and the city can offer free meals and supplies to the refugees that contribute. After seeing Clementine's daily dedication and her acceptance among the city's resident, the guildmaster hopes that Clementine can convince the refugees to accept the offer and need for the fourth wall with little disagreement. Though the task seems almost impossible, Clementine accepts the role to persuade the refugees on building the fourth wall.

Episode 3: Status
Later on, Clementine is at the city's gate serving bowls of soup to the refugees. There are some minor arguments by the refugees waiting in line, but Clementine and a guard manage to quell things down. Once the food is gone, the refugees depart, leaving the reformed criminal and guard by themselves. After thanking each other for their work, Clementine advises the guard that he should take a break and rest. While their workload was great today, it has been noted by Clementine that since she received the request from Ainzach, conditions for the refugees are slightly improving be it food and sanitation. In addition to that, there would be more guards to patrol the area. Now left alone on her own, Clementine spots a weakened cloaked man, who abruptly collapses on the road in front of her. She hurries over to help him out, but the man refuses to be pitied despite his poor health. Seeing she was dealing with a stubborn personality, Clementine uses [Charm Person] to calm the man down. The man now seeing her as a friend while under her spell, tells her that he was attacked by Chaos Beasts and has been running to get to E-Rantel without sleep in fear for his life. Clementine consoles him and uses her magic to make him sleep. After dragging the man's unconscious body to a nearby empty tent, Clementine comes face to face with three armed refugees. Feigning concern for Clementine, the men speak to her to stay, subtly threatening her with their weapons and had been waiting for her to be alone once the guard left. Before they could even have the chance of touching her, the guard soon appears with more of his fellows alongside him as it was part of their plan to draw the criminals out. Clementine happily used herself as bait in order to prevent the rising crimes among the refugees where it would create less friction with the city's inhabitants.

Episode 4: Insanity
By morning, Clementine addresses a gathering of the refugees outside the city gates. A few of the refugees are getting restless with the delays in their acceptance into the city as they were told it would take only some days to process them. However, Clementine informs them about the worst case happening is that it would possibly take as long as a few more weeks or months before the city can officially allow them permanent residence into the city. This brings cries of outrage by the refugees as they are being denied protection from the Chaos Beasts laying in wait outside the city walls. Clementine understands their anger, but brings them a solution to their woes, that being the fourth wall project. While the idea of building an extra layer of protection around the city is well and good, a few of the refugees object as it is not something that can be done in a day. Clementine agrees stating that manpower would be required and asks them for their help to construct the wall. She puts in that the guards will also cooperate with the idea of building the wall alongside them while providing food and supplies to the refugees.

Her words are met by rejection by one of the people in the crowd, who throws a stone at her. The guard standing next to Clementine immediately tries to retaliate against the perpetrator, but is stopped by Clementine in fear his actions could start a riot. With great reluctance, the guard refrain himself from escalating the hostile tension any further than it already is. The man who threw the stone unimpressed by their restraint then calls the city's offer as a farce. A voice then interjects accepting the offer to work on the wall. It's revealed to be the man Clementine found outside the gate and gave him shelter. The instigator thinks the stranger is insane to accept labor for protection, though the latter tells the man and the crowd who hasn't been taken care of by Clementine? The instigator states that it is due to her job as an official. However, the stranger corrects him as from what he learned from a soldier, Clementine isn't even an official from the city, but voluntarily assist in helping the people. Additionally, he tries to reason with the crowd, stating that the city officials would have quickly cleared this incident if they started a mob, yet Clementine stopped one from starting, highlight it as proof that she is an ally of the people. His words eventually win over several in the crowd who begin to volunteer to help build the fourth wall around the city. Clementine now with support from the refugees thanks them, promising to do her very best to ensure their prosperity. A small family watching the humble woman, comment that Clementine is like a saint told by bards.

Clementine later is walking in the streets to give her report to the Adventurer Guild, but was then met with Nigun Grid Luin as they ended up encountering each other surprisingly and coincidentally. The captain of the Sunlight Scripture finds it humorous that Clementine is being hailed as a saint and wonders if everything that happened at the meeting played right into her hands. Though to the common man, the calming of the crowd may appear as a "miracle" he suspects there was magic at work, pointing out that it was very convenient for the man she treated managed to change the flow of the meeting. A man who she used magic on to enchant him and tells her his suspicions that he was under her influence the whole time throughout the meeting. Clementine does not admit that her magic's influence remained on the man in question. Nigun states her actions to her home country speaks for itself, which Clementine admits that her crimes were selfish and asks for forgiveness. Nigun is in disbelief that Clementine thinks he is naïve to believe her sincerity. Clementine tells him that she doesn't care whether he believe her or not, as she found a general purpose for herself, deciding to focus on good intentions as she was saved from the good will of another. Nigun not wishing to anger a crowd of accosting their "saint" allows her to pass. The captain though feels that she is lying to herself, but cannot help but wonder if she is truly being truthful or not.

Episode 5: Saint
A while after the Clementine's meeting, the refugees got started on the construction of the fourth wall, Ainzach provided Clementine with a report from the Empire and Theocracy about the situation in the Great Forest of Tob. In the report Clementine takes an interest in a person of interest that the two nation's forces encountered there. She asks Ainzach about who informs her that the person was a collaborator that helped and would soon arrive at the city by tomorrow with guests. Clementine deduces that the person may be related to rumors from the Swords of Darkness and survivors from Carne Village as well as priests from the Sunlight Scripture who were praising an individual of worthy skill and power. Wishing to meet the individual, Clementine requests to be absent from tomorrow's meeting in order to greet the returning imperial knights and Sunlight Scripture to meet these guests. At the gate Clementine waits for the group to arrive and several people greet her as "Saint" in recognition of her accomplishments to the city. Though she finds the title to be restless, Clementine understands that it's an mantle that people upon her. So she strives to meet the name of a saint as expected of by the people.

Trivia

 * This character scenario was released alongside the Memory of Chaos: Nigun Grid Luin.