The Witch's Tearoom

The Witch's Tearoom is a place that would drive many otherwise perfectly calm and collected magi completely and utterly mad. This was because the Tearoom is a place "outside" the world, much like the very root of all things, Akasha, is. However despite being a place on the "outside," the origin of its creator, the Golden Witch who had been summoned as a Servant of the 4th Holy Grail War, as a member of Earth's human race, limited it to the rules of Gaia and Alaya to some degree. The Tearoom was, in the end, simply what the name implied: a tearoom used by the Witch. And yet of all the hideouts that the participants of the 4th Grail war had chosen, the Tearoom was without question the greatest. After all, the only way anyone could get in or out was with the Witch's consent. Not even the True Magics could violate THAT rule.

At the moment the room was in full use by its owner and her Master, who were both seated at the central table in front of a gameboard representing Fuyuki City in real-time.

Caster: "Now pay attention Mr. Amateur, because what has begun is a killing game where all our opponents are professionals."

She waved her pipe and several spots on the board lit up before Ryuunosuke's eyes. The spots were a Church and hotel in Shinto, two western-style mansions in Miyama, and a strange castle in the forest outside of town.

Caster: "I confess that hunting outside my territory, is a new experience for me, but my position as "Caster" in this war seems to have granted me increased sensitivity. It's not up to par with my abilities back on the island, but I am still able to monitor certain things no matter the distance. For example, these locations are enormous beacons of magical energy. There is no doubt in my mind that these are each fortress where our enemies have hidden."

She waved her hand again and the lights vanished. "However, from here in the tearoom I can only sense that these locations have all been heavily fortified, they're all equipped with anti-scrying charms that prevent me from getting a closer look. To find other Servants, we should first have to either venture out tomorrow night and find their auras, after which I can simply have my butterflies watch them or if a large number of them gather in one place, they'd show up on my board just as the magic fortresses do. Any questions so far?"

Ryuunosuke took a moment to absorb all this information, then nodded, "So basically what you're saying is that before we do any fighting, we're going to be spending a long time waiting things out? As a killer, I can understand the reasoning but it seems a little... boring."

The witch could only groan at her Master's lack of patience. "As I explained before we came in here, the 7 servants who seek the Holy Grail are all famous people from history and if our identities are revealed then will be in a dangerous position so it's better to watch the others fight for a while until we can figure out their tactics and weaknesses. Ideally, we'd even pin our actions on other players, turning them against each other until we can crush them in the final stages."

Ryuunosuke: "Yeah, actually that brings up another question I had,"

Waving off the tactical information in favor of another topic Ryuunosuke said: "This Holy Grail thing you're all fighting for, it's a cup that grants wishes right?"

After seeing Caster nod, he continued, "well you mentioned you're going to use it to go to the 'Golden Land' or something. I don't have a particular wish so I don't care if you use it, but I do want to know what it is you're doing."

The witch leaned back in her chair, taking a few long drags from her pipe, and then finally responded. "The Golden Land is a paradise ruled by me the Golden Witch. Currently, it has no occupants and no one but me and my pieces can go towards it."

Caster took a small puff from her golden pipe and continued "and I The Golden Witch will bring the Golden Land to this world and with the Holy Grail's power, I can fuse the Golden Land with Gaia and turn the world into a paradise."

Ryuunosukem raised an eyebrow, "...So you want to conquer the world?"

The reaction was instantaneous. Caster stood up and slammed her hands on the table, screaming at Ryuunosuke, "NO YOU IMBECILE! I am the proper ruler of the Golden Land, a paradise that can bring happiness to all. Both those such as you who know joy only in killing and pacifists who only live to aid others can also know peace in that place. In transforming Gaia into the Golden Land, I do not 'conquer' anything. I merely grant eternal joy to those who would be my residents of the Golden Land."

The witch's tirade ended as suddenly as it started, with her taking her seat once more and continuing to smoke her pipe. After a moment of silence, she asked of Ryuunosuke, "Are we clear?"

The young serial killer hurriedly nodded his head, seeking to placate his superior in killing. "Oh yeah, crystal clear. So uh... we're waiting for nightfall tomorrow yeah?"

Caster: "Correct"

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Next day nightfall

The gameboard in the tearoom had changed once more, this time displaying a scene in the warehouse harbor district. "Wow, so THAT'S Alexander the Great? Thought he'd be shorter."

Caster said jokingly: "As usual, you have an eye for the IMPORTANT information Ryuunosuke."

"Hey, you're the one who said that knowing who these people are is important. Plus I've been locked in this room with nothing to do but drink black tea or read those lame mystery novels you have so many of for some reason," whined the young killer. "Anything happening at all is a great change of pace."

Caster: "And you're going to STAY locked in this room unless you want to end up dead at the hands of a proper mage, one who knows how to use their powers rather than being a lump of mana with a thirst for blood."

Her chastisement ended and the witch rose from her seat but before she exited, she paused and said: "That said, if you're so bored, I'll be sure to make this next part interesting."

With a final cackle, the witch turned into a swarm of golden butterflies and disappeared from the room, sealing Ryuunosuke inside.