And What Alice Found There

[Esifex]

I'm still at a loss as to what exactly it was that Minerva was trying to check with The Experiment, there.
Also, I like your portrayal of Cirno. You don't lay the crazy on thick like a lot of people do - instead, just enough to make her seem naive, like a child, as opposed to 'hilariously, gratuitously idiotic' like most people do.

[Iced Fairy]

I was just wondering when we'd get a new chapter, and it appeared.  I am happy.

I agree with Esifex here too.  Your characterizations are wonderfully done.  Subtle character interactions are hard to pull off.  I'm glad to see someone on the board filling in this writing niche.

[KimikoMuffin]

This made me grin.

And my favorite answer is to "How is a raven like a writing desk?" is still "Because there is a B in both, and an N in neither."

[Ran Squawkumo]

I just started on this the other day, and I am quite impressed. As others have said, your characterization is quite remarkable.

[Kirin no Sora]

This... is a most interesting story indeed. Bravo.

And it would seem unsurprising that Cirno ate Minerva's lunch, actually.

[Yayifications]

"That was reckless and dangerous," Aya chided Minerva. "And you did not even manage to obtain any useful information, at that. You were lucky you only lost your lunch."

Minerva waggled a hand in a gesture of dismissal. "I was never in any real peril. And I have obtained a measure of some... confirmation, if nothing else."

"Confirmation that youkai do exist?"

"Among other things."

Aya was much too refined to sniff derisively, despite managing to convey the impression of having done so anyway. "I could have told you as much. In fact, I did tell you as much."

"It was an experiment," Minerva repeated, with unusual patience.

The Experiment, once Minerva had trundled the whole apparatus back to the Hieda mansion, had been poured into a steel container, filled with water, and then capped and sealed as securely as Minerva could manage. She had then given orders for the container to be buried at the edge of the forest behind the Hieda mansion, and left alone. A makeshift sign had been erected to mark the location. The Hieda household staff had dutifully carried out these instructions, but avoided the area thereafter. Minerva's reputation for being the eccentric Western witch was growing, evidently.

"In any case," Minerva continued, "I admit surprise by your decision to have your servants leave us be. I would have expected them to accompany us everywhere we went."

Aya looked momentarily bemused. "Margatroid-san, I am not so much of an invalid that I cannot pay my respects to the local shrine by myself. After all, I ventured to Yokohama alone to fetch you, did I not?"

"And what would have happened if you collapsed as you did last week?"

"I was in no danger, Margatroid-san. The people of Gensokyo know me, or at least know of me, and a message to the mansion would be dispatched soon enough. Besides, I only require a brief moment to catch my breath."

Minerva had not had an opportunity to personally examine Aya's health, and so she let that lie hang in the air between them for a moment longer.

Aya indicated at the vermilion-painted structure in front of them, which Minerva could not help comparing to some oversized croquet hoop. "Torii," she said. "A shrine gate, signifying the division between Earth and Heaven. As we pass through these gates, we are to reflect on our journey from the temporal, profane world into the sacred, holy realm of the gods."

"A Wicket Gate," Minerva muttered under her breath in English. "But who will open it for us?"

"What was that?"

"Never mind, Aya-san." Minerva glanced at their surroundings. They were, by necessity, taking their time in ascending the moderately intimidating flight of stone steps, which had been built into the side of what seemed like a small mountain. It was not the sort of trek that she would have wanted to make on a whim, even if it was probably trivial for younger folk with an excess of energy. Aya was breathing easily, which meant whatever health issues she suffered from was not flaring up under this physical exertion; she had obviously come here before, and learned to pace herself. For her part, Minerva felt more discomfort from the late summer heat and the awkward arrangement of spelunking tools she carried than the steep stairs and lengthy journey. The second-hand safety mining lamp kept slapping uncomfortably against her thigh.

Were all Shinto shrines built in such inconvenient locations? Or just this one? The path towards the shrine seemed well-kept, but deserted. Along the way, Minerva and Aya had not encountered anyone else returning to the village from the direction of the shrine. Did the people here have an equivalent of a Church Sunday?

For that matter, when was the last time Minerva had stepped inside a church? Not too long ago, certainly, and there had been none of the dramatics that might have been expected from a witch, a heretic, entering a holy place. To Minerva, churches were merely buildings like any other, nothing more. They served a social function, largely involving getting a certain number of people into a useful configuration to be fed homilies and sermons, some of which may even have been useful.

Which meant that the uneasy feeling in Minerva's gut was not, in itself, a product of this place being religiously significant. There was something else at work here.

"I am simplifying greatly, you understand," Aya continued. "You may think of it as a threshold, which you must cross in order to proceed from the outside to the inside. A boundary between two different spaces. I believe your magic has some sort of limitation in that regard?"

"Some varieties do," Minerva said absently. "There are stories of certain brands of thaumaturgy, or even of entirely magical beings, that cannot pass through the threshold without obtaining prior permission. The one that most people know about, thanks to those rail penny-dreadfuls... what is the word in Japanese? Dead beings who subsist on the blood of others?"

Aya told her. "Vampires," she said in English, before switching back to Japanese. "I know what you speak of. The stories we have are not an exact match, but they are similar enough for the cultural associations to be relevant."

"The exact terminology isn't relevant, anyhow. The principle behind a threshold is to denominate a barrier between one area and another. Between yours and mine. As such, the... flow? The flow is quite often different from one area to another, and the more one relies on the energy, the more one is affected." As Minerva was experiencing right at that moment, in fact. She had uprooted herself from her home and country, and travelled halfway across the known world to this distant land in the east. Little wonder that she had felt out of sorts ever since she set foot in Japan, where the myths and magic were alien and unfamiliar. Even the area around the shrine felt awkward, different.

And why was that? Was this shrine built here for social convenience, allowing worshippers to gather when desired? Or was its location chosen long before that? Was there something here that necessitated the presence of a shrine? There were several possible candidates, of varying plausibility.

Don't get ahead of yourself, Minerva. It was a classic mistake to speculate before proof, since one invariably started twisting the evidence to fit the hypothesis.

They had almost reached the top of the stone steps by now, an exercise that had taken them most of the morning, despite having set out at the break of dawn. Minerva was not sure what she had expected at their destination; a grand cathedral of worship was obviously not a possibility, considering the remote locale, but when they crested the lip of the stairs, Minerva had to quash a faint tinge of disappointment at the mundane appearance of the shrine, quite out of place from the effort required to reach it in the first place.

It was not a large shrine, although clearly it was of some importance, being set on a plateau partway up the side of a mountain. Someone saw fit to construct a shrine here, far from the rest of human habitation, along with the stone steps and the gateways on the path leading to it. Someone thought this place significant enough to have the shrine's maintainers take up residence here, regardless of the inconvenience to both congregation and clergy.

One such resident was placidly sweeping the path in front of the main building, using a broom made of bamboo and straw in the typical country style. The young woman was dressed in what Minerva vaguely recalled was the standard clothing of a low-level Shinto shrine maiden, based on her hurried research into the obscure world of Japanese religious traditions, as yet poorly-documented by Anglophone writers. White and red, with the red ribbon adorning up her long black hair providing what might have been a hint of individuality, or perhaps just a uniform-approved accessory.

The shrine maiden briefly turned her attention to her visitors, in the manner of a frequent daydreamer noting the ever-shifting shapes of the clouds in the sky: what lay before her eyes may have changed, but the change was worthy of no more than a moment's consideration, before the mind returned to weightier matters. It may well have been the first time since coming to Japan that Minerva felt no more unusual than her surroundings, a shift in status she wasn't sure she appreciated. The shrine maiden let her gaze rest on them for a moment, before returning to her duties in sweeping the grounds.

Aya glided forward, apparently unaffected by the heat of the afternoon. She continued past the shrine maiden without acknowledging her presence, an act that the shrine maiden returned with an equal lack of interest.

Aya's immediate destination was a small pavilion off to the side, which Minerva noticed was effectively a basin filled with water, sheltered by a roof to keep out the less subtle elements. Using an accompanying long-handled wooden dipper, Aya washed her hands, mouth, and the ladle's handle itself, with the stilted movements characteristic of a traditional ritual. Ablutions completed, she proceeded to the entrance of the main shrine building, where she stopped in front of what Minerva assumed to be a sort of altar. The entrance of the shrine was bracketed by a final torii gate, built into the architecture itself, under which a large wooden box took pride of place.

Aya turned to regard Minerva, her expression wordlessly instructing the Englishwoman to follow suit. A thousand protests leapt to Minerva's lips, all of which she bit back. Aya clearly did not care about the theological aspects of a witch from a Christian country coming to worship at a Shinto shrine. This was, yet again, another intricate social dance around the delicate, inflexible web of etiquette in Gensokyo.

She hurried past the shrine maiden, who continued to pretend obliviousness to their presence. Minerva tried to replicate the ritual of cleansing that Aya had performed: left hand, right hand, mouth, ladle. As a magician, Minerva had a good memory for details, and she was fairly certain that she had done everything correctly. The lack of any sort of magical surge confirmed her expectations that there were no inadvertent mystical traps lying in wait, apart from the general sense of uneasiness permeating the shrine environs.

Minerva stepped up beside Aya, and mimicked her pose, placing her hands together. After a minute or so, Aya frowned, as she finally realized that Minerva was not about to bow her head. Evidently deciding to let the matter pass, Aya clapped her hands three times, and did something complicated with her sleeves that resulted in several coins clattering through the slats on the wooden box. Minerva suppressed a smile as she remembered the collection plate at the end of services; every religion with any degree of organization required funds, no matter where in the world they were.

"Thank you," said the shrine maiden, standing close behind them.

Minerva spun around, managing to bring her startled reaction under control with some effort. She could not remember the last time someone had been able to sneak up so close to her without warning. Was she simply out of sorts from her inability to acclimatize herself to Gensokyo's magical flows? Was the shrine maiden adept at masking her presence, whether from natural talent or training?

"Hakurei," Aya greeted her. Minerva noted the lack of honorific.

"Hieda," the shrine maiden said affably. Now that Aya and Minerva had done the Correct Thing in acting out the role of worshippers at the shrine, they had been deemed worthy of attention, appearing back into the shrine maiden's field of vision. Having proven their existence to the shrine maiden, she granted them her full attention, playing the part of host to unexpected but welcome guests. "It is a pleasure to meet you again. I received your messages."

"Likewise," Aya said. Not truly sincere in that sentiment, but without the undercurrent of sarcasm and scorn that Minerva was used to. "Forgive the late introductions. This is-"

"Minerva Margatroid-san, yes," the shrine maiden said, turning to Minerva with a smile. "The greatest magician in the world."

Minerva took less than a second to sort out her thoughts. "You flatter me, Hakurei-san. I'm afraid the reality may disappoint, however; I am but a humble scholar." First, Aya was attempting to recover from her surprise: whatever she had told this Hakurei shrine maiden, that particular epithet had not been part of it, nor any reputation that might imply the title.

Second, the last time Minerva had been described as anything like that had been by Violet Hearn.

"I think the reality may be safe enough," Hakurei said cryptically. She brightened up. "Would you like some tea?" she asked, leaning her broom against a convenient pillar. "You must be tired from your journey here. I'm afraid I don't have much to offer, though."

Minerva cleared her throat. "I must admit that I was hoping to be able to survey the, er, caves that I was informed were in the area..."

Hakurei looked blankly at her. "Caves... oh, yes, the caves. They are not far from here, but they may be a little strenuous for..." She looked at Aya.

Aya shrugged genteelly, moving further into the shade of the main building. "I will remain here with Hakurei, Margatroid-san. I doubt you will want me underfoot while you search the caves for... whatever you are searching for." The twist in her tone made it clear that she knew exactly what Minerva meant to seek out, and while she did not quite approve, she did accept the necessity.

"There will be a fair amount of what may resemble dirt," Minerva said dryly. "Fortunately, I only need a small sample." The advantages of alchemical transmutation, coupled with the inconveniences of field work. City-born and city-bred, Minerva was still experienced enough with working her experiments in the rural countryside, but she could never be said to enjoy doing so.

"The caves are further up the mountain," Hakurei said. "I've not explored them myself, but I hear that they are quite extensive."

"Natural?"

"I've no idea."

Minerva sighed. "I'd best be about it, then. Hakurei-san, would you be so kind as to direct me to the caves?"

Hakurei's smile grew marginally sunnier. "I may be able to assist you further. I managed to find a map of the caves in the warehouse." She indicated another building, off to the side of the main shrine. "It even has directions to the known entrances. The closest one even has a trail leading towards it, since it seems to be a popular destination for explorers."

From behind Hakurei, Aya mouthed the words "youkai hunters" at Minerva.

Minerva nodded thoughtfully. "Aya-san, would you mind waiting here until Hakurei-san returns? With the map, I should be able to find my way back here on my own. Although I would appreciate it if someone were to come look for me should I fail to return by sunset."

"Of course, Margatroid-san," Aya said. "It has been a while since I talked to Hakurei, in any case."

"Please wait one moment," Hakurei said. "I'll go fetch the map. Now, where did I put it..."

-----

Minerva was thankful that she had brought along her notebook on this expedition.

The entrance to the caves had indeed been quite close to the shrine, less than an hour's travel away, even considering the rough trail that had been stamped out of the mountain wilderness by countless but infrequent adventurers. The map that Hakurei had given her was surprisingly clear and accurate, considering it had been drawn up by some amateur explorer long past. The notations were in some archaic script that Hakurei had helpfully explained; Minerva dutifully pencilled in the English translations on the map.

Some of the ancient scribbles had defeated even the shrine maiden, however. These tended to be concentrated along a certain path through the cave system, and Hakurei had warned Minerva that they may have indicated some sort of danger.

Which was why, as soon as Hakurei started off back to her shrine, Minerva had waited a few more minutes to be sure, before embarking on that very path.

Her initial collection was completed quickly enough; bats were very much present here, although not as many as Minerva had hoped. Their sparse numbers would have been odd in any other similar habitat, but as Minerva raised her lamp, surveying the surrounding cave walls, it was clear that this cave system was at least partly artificial.

Had this been a mining concern, sometime in the history of Gensokyo? The village was probably large enough to support a small industry of such, although Minerva had her doubts about the area's natural resources. The cave tunnels were wide enough for her to walk through without any difficulty, and left more than enough room for her to scrawl a few important runes in chalk onto several handy flat surfaces.

There was yet another odd feeling in here, pressing against Minerva's magic-honed senses. There was the impression of a vast slumbering beast just beyond the rocky walls, its slow heartbeats just beyond the edge of sensation. And yet, when Minerva tried to focus on that impression, it vanished into a mere flight of imagination, leaving her alone in the hot and stuffy tunnel.

Minerva continued onwards, wiping the sweat from her brow. There was something around here that she could almost identify, something that played just beyond her memories. And even as Minerva tried to pin it down, she was distracted by the incessant feeling that there was something else not quite right, something that was counter to expectations, something that yielded a clue in its nature out of place.

When she encountered the dead end, she also found her answers.

The map indicated that the caves went on for quite a while yet, even though the unknown cartographer had not been able to fully explore the depths of the system. However, a wall of rock barred Minerva's progress, evidence of some more recent cave-in.

Not, in itself, an unusual phenomenon, especially in unsupported cave tunnels like this, a fact which reminded Minerva that she should probably not stretch her luck any further by remaining in unsupported cave tunnels like this. What had caught Minerva's interest were the scraps of paper, now mostly in unreadable tatters, pasted across the rock wall almost haphazardly. When Minerva ran a hand over them, she could feel the traces of power remaining after countless years; she guessed more than a couple of centuries, but could not estimate a more exact date. The cave-in had been as artificial as the rest of the caves.

As Minerva searched along the wall, she found the other thing she had been looking for. With the lack of air circulation in the cave tunnels, a faint breeze from beyond the cave-in was easy enough to notice, especially when it had a distinctly noxious smell.

She brought her safety mining lamp close to the source of the breeze, and watched the flame colour change. This also resulted in a thoroughly unexpected discovery, which meant that by the time Minerva staggered back out of the caves in a daze, Aya and the shrine maiden were waiting irritably outside.

"I take it you found something interesting," Aya said. "Or you would have returned much earlier."

"I don't think it's a good idea to head back to the village in this state," Hakurei said dubiously. "I'll prepare a bath and bedding for you, and you can have a good rest tonight."

"An excellent idea," Minerva agreed, taking the opportunity to suck in several deep lungfuls of fresh air before nodding apologetically at Aya. "I did find something quite interesting, yes. I'm... not entirely sure what it means, however. I will need more study."

Aya pursed her lips, but did not press the issue further that day.

The bath and dinner passed in a dull haze, although Minerva did not recall anything about these events that warranted mention. She did remember noting the oddity of Hakurei living alone in the shrine, but pushed that fact aside for now. She contributed a few minor comments at dinner without much engagement from most of her mind, which was probably why Aya and Hakurei kept the conversation to small talk anyway.

Even after Minerva had settled into the bedding laid out on the floor of what she assumed was the guest room, she lay awake, staring blankly up at the ceiling, her vision filled with the patterns and lines that had sprung into focus when the light from the mining lamp had been fed with the gas from beyond the rock fall. It would indeed take much more study before she could discern the nature of the designs: were they meant to seal, protect, or trap? From which direction had the spellcasters expected the threat to come from?

Who had created those spells?

Minerva tilted her head. Aya had fallen asleep almost immediately, with the same iron-willed determination that she did everything else. Piled up somewhere in the far corner were their belongings, which included one tiny vial, sealed tight, containing a sample of whatever atmosphere had leaked past the cave-in.

There had been more than enough time since Minerva's return from the caves for her to have identified at least some of the individual scents that made up the mysterious breeze. There wasn't much she could do about it without further research, however.

Especially when her dreams that night, when she finally fell asleep, kept returning to the obvious conclusion for the unsettling presence of magic-infused brimstone.

[Iced Fairy]

Ah, it's a pleasure to see this return after so long.  And Minerva's find here amuses me as well.  I wonder if she'll learn that odd truth.

I look forward to the next segment, however long it takes.  (Though I hope it will be soon!)

[Esifex]

Ohh, this made a miserable day soooooooooooo much better for me, thank you thank you thank you

[Ran Squawkumo]

Oh my gosh I have missed this so much. Thank you.

Minerva is too interesting for an OC, it's unfair

[KimikoMuffin]

This is splendid~

Yeah, I was starting to wonder where this had gone! Can't wait to see what's next!

[Yayifications]

Tuning out the hammering of the rain outside, Minerva raised the teacup to her lips, using the opportunity to observe the shrine maiden.

Hakurei was, quite simply, bland. She was pretty, no doubt, albeit based on Minerva's rather British notions, which may not have the same effect here in Japan. For someone used to doing manual labour in the rural countryside of an old-fashioned nation, Hakurei kept herself well, with only a close inspection revealing the lines and calluses from her work.

And yet, there was something about the way she acted and spoke which caused her to fade beyond notice. One would be able to hold a conversation with her, and what she said could be remembered without difficulty afterwards, but her words gave no indication that any distinct personality lay behind that ever-present smile. It was as though the general population had been gathered, the outliers excluded, and the remaining individual personalities extracted, distilled, and averaged out into a uniform level, with the results molded into this platonic Example of a Common Person. A minor actor in a play, tasked with delivering a single line, their message far more important than who they were.

Minerva sipped the scaldingly hot tea. She had only know Hakurei for a day or so, which was hardly enough time to discern any hidden depths. Nevertheless, this may be the first time Minerva had failed to notice the very presence of hidden depths to discern.

"The Hakurei family have been caretakers of this shrine for as long as anyone remembers," Hakurei was saying, in response to Minerva's polite queries. "That's why people call it the Hakurei shrine."

A classic non-answer. Minerva wrestled with the temptation of asking direct questions, regardless of how rude they may seem. Hakurei was a shrine maiden maintaining this shrine alone, which, in Minerva's estimation, was about akin to a lay sister proclaiming jurisdiction over a convent sans Mother Superior. Certain circumstances could plausibly explain the situation, but Hakurei was steadfastly not providing any account of these circumstances.

Minerva tried again. "What, precisely, are your duties as a shrine maiden here, Hakurei-san?"

"Well, let's see..." Hakurei pondered this question with far more gravity than Minerva had assumed it warranted. "I keep the shrine grounds clean, and maintain the buildings as best as I can. I help visitors with their inquiries and requests, if they are within my humble abilities to fulfil. I perform the necessary rites during important dates, in order to please the gods. I-"

"Er, that is sufficient, Hakurei-san," Minerva quickly interrupted. Hakurei's listing had been delivered in the matter-of-fact tones of someone would not have minded continuing to recite from her mental script for as long as it took. Given that Hakurei had not mentioned anything beyond the standard duties of a shrine maiden as described in Minerva's rudimentary research, there was little point in letting her continue without cutting straight to the heart of the matter. "What I meant to ask, Hakurei-san, was whether you have any... unusual duties."

Hakurei tilted her head in what seemed like genuine incomprehension. "Unusual?"

"Involving youkai."

"You are approaching this issue from incorrect premises, Margatroid-san," Aya said, looking up from her perusal of Minerva's notebook. Minerva had shown them the sketches she had made in her notebook of the mysterious designs drawn over the cave-in rock fall, in the faint hope that either the shrine maiden or the historian would be able to identify some clue within. Hakurei had professed ignorance, but Aya mentioned a strange sense of familiarity with some of the patterns, which she was currently trying to pin down.

Hakurei folded her hands on her lap, head bowed, signifying that she was temporarily withdrawing from the conversation. Presumably she was willing to let Aya explore the limits of Minerva's ignorance.

"If my premises are incorrect, then I must re-examine them," Minerva said. "The chief alteration I would make as a new hypothesis is that dealing with youkai is, in fact, part of a Shinto shrine maiden's usual duties."

Aya nodded. "The truth is much more complex, of course. And a shrine maiden would not usually directly deal with issues involving youkai. But several of the rituals a shrine may hold do have the effect, whether primary or otherwise, of ensuring the supremacy of the gods against those that oppose them, including youkai."

"Something resembling how a sermon may assist in the eradication of sin, then. A pastor's duty may not be directly related to driving out demons, but in the course of his works, the demons may find their surroundings far more inimical."

"Just so. Therefore, when Hakurei performs the rite every year to welcome Amaterasu-oomikami-"

"I beg your pardon?"

"Amaterasu-oomikami," Aya repeated. "Or 'great goddess Amaterasu', if you prefer. The principal sun goddess of the Shinto faith, and one of the most powerful in the... what is your word for a collection of deities? The pantheon. There are many stories surrounding her, which I will not recite here. If you truly wish to know more, there is a copy of the Kojiki in the mansion." The dry irony in her voice was unmistakable.

Minerva frowned. "The Kojiki is the collection of history tales that your ancestor..."

"Hieda no Are, yes. I see you know the story of my family." Aya waved a hand in a gesture of dismissal. "But I digress. When Hakurei, or any shrine maiden anywhere in Japan, welcomes Amaterasu-oomikami into the new year, an aspect of the ritual is to suppress the rise of Amatsu-mikaboshi... that is, one of the gods of evil, as well as a god of the stars. The star you call Polaris, incidentally. Should Amatsu-mikaboshi gain dominance, the coming year will be marked by the spread of evil across the land, which would mean heightened youkai activity, among other things."

"There are other rituals that I have been called on to perform," Hakurei added. "The kagura..." She glanced at Aya, who had taken on the role of explanatory interlocutor.

"A dance to call down the gods to join them in celebration," Aya said. "Also involving Amaterasu-oomikami, as well as Ame-no-uzume, goddess of revelry and the dawn. Simply put, it is a ritual to lure the goddess Amaterasu out from a cave she had been hiding in, in order to ensure the rising of the sun. Since many youkai gain strength during the night, the dawn is a significant protection from youkai attacks."

Minerva nodded. "Thank you for explaining this to me. I am reminded of... I apologize, but I am not certain what a proper translation would be. Folklore? Folk beliefs? But with a very immediate importance and urgency, considering the reality of youkai here in Gensokyo." And of the Fair Folk in Europe, and who knew what else in the Americas and the rest of the world. Yet those had not been seen in many ages, compared to the constant threat the people of Gensokyo faced.

Saving humans from monsters...

"A useful simplification," Aya conceded, "even if there are several inconsistencies that may undermine any extrapolations from that assumption."

"I'll be careful," Minerva said evenly. "Have there been any youkai incursions up here at the shrine?"

Hakurei hesitated slightly. "There have not been any unwelcome youkai sightings here, no. The sacred boundaries around the shrine are meant to keep them out. You have seen the torii gates, for instance? The same principle applies to the rest of the shrine."

Minerva nodded amiably, while making a mental note of the unusual slipperiness in Hakurei's words. "But you appear to be living here alone, which, from what I understand, is not a safe prospect in Gensokyo."

"Oh, the shrine receives visitors quite often, and youkai seldom attack groups of people. In fact, the cherry trees behind the shrine are famous in Gensokyo as the best place to have flower-viewing parties in the spring, so it gets quite crowded around those times." Hakurei counted off items on her fingers. "And then there's the summer festival, the autumn festival, the new year's celebrations, the... well, it can be very busy at times."

"Hm." Minerva revised her initial estimation of Hakurei. The shrine maiden was not so much a tabula rasa where a personality should be, but more of a featureless barrier, shielding its contents through both impenetrability and banality. Neither chinks in the armour nor handholds for leverage could be found, and Minerva did not feel up to the task of verbally sparring with Hakurei. Although in this case, the analogy of tilting at an immovable object may have been more apt.

"Margatroid-san," Aya said distantly, "have you ever studied the use of Shinto or Taoist charms and seals before?"

"I'm sorry?" Minerva said, her train of thought broken.

"Your notebook." Aya held up the item in question, open to a few pages before the sketches of the cave designs. "I noticed that you have been working out some form of what seems like talisman-based magic, based on my limited understanding of the annotations."

Minerva relaxed. "Oh, yes. The credit for that idea should go to one of my acquaintances; a fellow Englishman, although I believe he has spent more than a few years in the Orient from time to time." A brilliant magician, if highly eccentric, and utterly infuriating to work with. "He had shared his preliminary notes with me, and I have been trying to work out his methodology based on those first principles."

Minerva had expected this brief digression to pass without further comment, but Hakurei had leaned closer to them, eyes bright with curiosity. "Could you please describe this system?" Hakurei asked. "You don't have to go into too much detail, but it sounds like something useful to know."

Mystified, Minerva complied. Aya seemed just as confused about Hakurei's sudden interest in magical theory. "The version in my notes has several changes from the original, since I was concerned more with the issue as a theoretical exercise than any intention to adapt it for practical use. The core of the system is a way to store and cast specific spells, albeit to a varying degree of specificity, without requiring an unworkable amount of on-the-spot preparation. This allows the use of magic of increasing complexity, through a simple invocation of the storage medium."

Minerva retrieved her notebook from Aya, and opened it to the relevant pages. "The original conception involved the creation and binding of semi-autonomous spirits, which I deemed to be far too excessive for most purposes. I think he wished to maintain a stable of partially independent... familiars? Is that the correct word? Djinn?"

"Shikigami," Aya supplied. "Spirits summoned to serve the onmyouji... that is, the summoner. They are not created as such, however, but merely bound."

It was probably not a surprise that certain magical concepts would have evolved in parallel throughout the world. "Something resembling that, then. In any case, that approach may be discarded as being too extravagant to our needs, but the structural framework of the cards... you can see the designs here, although this is just one method of doing it... is useful for storing a spell that may be reused at will, rather than expending itself after the first casting. Think of it not as a bullet or cannonball, but the pistol or cannon itself."

"With an infinite supply of ammunition?" Aya asked.

"Not... quite," Minerva said. "Even prepared beforehand, the cards will draw upon the energy of the caster, and the danger of overuse is much more pronounced; in normal circumstances, the time needed for casting a spell of complexity will allow for either the replenishment of energy, or more than enough warnings that the magician is incapable of performing the task at hand."

"What of outside sources of power?" Hakurei said. "From the gods, maybe?"

Minerva stared at her, puzzled.

"What Hakurei is referring to," Aya said, "are the Shinto talismans I mentioned earlier. They are not usually considered magic, any more than your Christian prayers. The ofuda... that is, a 'great note', has the name of a god and the name of the issuing shrine or representative inscribed upon it. These ofuda are used as charms of protection, be it against general harm or more specific ills."

As with the tattered remnants of paper found in the cave. "Mm. Then we return to the original case of the independent spirits bound to the cards," Minerva said. "It is certainly an option, but, as I said, not one that is necessary for this system. For one, it requires a skillset that not every practitioner may have, at the necessary level."

"The gods are not bound-"

"It doesn't matter," Minerva snapped. "The point of this entire exercise is to reduce the reliance on the capricious whims of outside forces, be they spirits or fae, gods or youkai." She caught the expressions of the others, and took a deep, calming breath. "I apologize for my outburst."

Aya and Hakurei adopted the thoroughly Oriental look of those who had just deleted the past few seconds of conversation from their personal realities, in order to maintain a harmonious and peaceful exchange of views. "Would it be too much of a bother to ask for a copy of your notes?" Hakurei asked.

Minerva quickly considered the possibilities. Hakurei was a shrine maiden at a Shinto shrine, which did not inevitably imply some sort of mystical prowess, any more than a given priest would be able to turn water into wine, at least without the aid of a distillery. However, this being Gensokyo, it would also not be unreasonable for Hakurei to possess supernatural powers as real as the youkai she no doubt had to devise countermeasures against, if only passively.

What would she need the notes for the card system for? Aya had brought up the Shinto talisman business, and Minerva could see how easily the cards could be reworked to include those aspects, and many more. Wasn't that why she had been working on the card system in the first place? Every change she had made had been to establish the foundation and architecture for a general system of magic, rather than the highly specific implementation that the original had been intended for.

Was Hakurei seeking a more powerful option for her own particular brand of magic?

"I will send you a copy as soon as I am able," Minerva said, "if you'll teach me all you can about Gensokyo and the youkai."

"Agreed," Hakurei said instantly. She stood, and bowed politely. "Thank you for your kind acceptance of my unreasonable request, Margatroid-san. Please, there is no need to stand; I was about to fetch something, and will return soon." Another bow, before she departed. Minerva could hear her humming, some local tune that faded into the distance.

"That was-" Aya caught herself. "I apologize, Margatroid-san, but I question the wisdom of that decision."

"I mean no offense, Aya-san, but I require some sort of idea about the mystical lay of the region," Minerva said, in quick, low tones. "Hakurei-san is the best person so far to give me that information. I am indebted to you, and your family's collection of tomes, for the historical aspects of my research, but it is understandably lacking in supernatural accounts beyond the Gensokyo Chronicles. Information about the youkai is well and good, but a survey of the natural... or rather, supernatural resources of this land would be invaluable."

"And if Hakurei fails to give it to you?"

"If she does not have the mystical powers I suspect she does, then there is no loss in giving her a copy of my notes on the card system. It will not be difficult to remove any potential hazards from the system: the notes Hakurei-san receives will be a harmless game, at most, unless she is able to engineer a breakthrough beyond my own understanding of the system, in which case the lecture I provided just now would have been more than sufficient. Besides, I expect that most of her time would be spent organizing my notes into something more coherent; I've not had the time or luxury to do so myself as yet."

"You know that is not what I mean, Margatroid-san."

Minerva shrugged. "I don't expect Hakurei-san to betray me over something like this. It is a gamble, but... she doesn't seem the type. Either she can use the card system, in which case she can help me with the youkai problem, or she cannot, in which case there is no loss. There would be no reason for her to use the knowledge for ill, since I doubt anything she can do with it will be more terrible than her present abilities. Or, for that matter, the youkai."

"Conceded," Aya said slowly. "Nevertheless..."

"You do not trust her. Why?"

Before Aya could reply, the humming returned, preceding Hakurei. She was holding several loosely-stitched books, which she laid on the table.

"I found these in the warehouse," Hakurei said. "They are journals by the previous Hakurei shrine keepers, although I'm not sure how far back they go. The words are a little, um, ancient..."

"I can help with those," Aya said.

Minerva picked up a book at random. It had a symbol embossed on its cover that even Minerva recognized. "Yin and yang. Duality and balance."

"An important duty of the Hakurei shrine," Hakurei said. "Maintaining the balance in Gensokyo." Her smile remained serene, fixed. "Such as it is."

"I see," Minerva said, clearly not.

"Please, feel free to borrow these as long as you want," Hakurei said. "There are probably more journals in storage, but I haven't been able to find them yet. Maybe one of them will have some answers about those drawings you found in the cave." She glanced at Minerva's notebook. "If I discover any, I'll let you know."

"We may hope." Aya stood, and bowed. "Thank you for your hospitality, Hakurei. The rain has stopped for now, so it is about time for us to return."

"Please don't mention it," Hakurei responded politely. "I'll see you to the bottom of the steps. Do come visit again."

-----

The servants at the Hieda mansion were not very good at hiding their relief at the return of their mistress. Aya pretended not to notice, and after a few curious stares, Minerva took her cue.

Alice had a present for Minerva, which she displayed proudly in her hand.

"It came out this morning," Miho informed Minerva. Judging from Alice's good cheer, Minerva assumed that the tooth had fallen out naturally, rather than having been induced to do so. "Alice has been telling me about this... what was it again?"

"Tooth fairy," Alice said.

Minerva looked at Aya.

"I am not aware of any such youkai present in Gensokyo," Aya said. "Yet, at any rate."

"Yes, I imagine financial transactions would be a specialized trait among them." Did Minerva have any shillings left? She'd have to check. Then again, yen would likely be more useful to Alice; Minerva wondered what the going exchange rate was. "Remember to keep it under your pillow, Alice, dear. And no peeking!"

Alice took on an air of injured pride at the merest suggestion that she would sully her honour by attempting to ambush any prospective tooth fairies.

"In the meantime, I've got to- yes, what is it?" Minerva said, turning to the servant who had been hovering nervously at the edges. The servant quailed; Minerva supposed he was new, judging from his age, and not quite over the whole mystique of the Foreign Sorceress.

"A delivery for you, it seems," Aya said. "More equipment?"

The deliveryman turned out to be Seiji, who grinned broadly as Minerva approached. "Maria managed to get one of these for a bargain," he said, indicated the wrapped bundles being carted in by the mansion's servants. "It's a... what is it called again? Lots of planets and stars and such, going round and round..."

"An orrery," Minerva said. "Thank you. I hadn't expected to find a working one here; it is a rare find. How should payment be arranged?"

"We'll put it on your tab. It's not as though you're difficult to find."

"Just so." Minerva inspected the bill of receipt. "Please relay my thanks to Kirisame-san. I'll drop by to settle accounts as soon as I can."

"No hurry. Maria's still looking for a couple more of your items, like the, er, whatever that's called..." Seiji blinked. "Oh, hi there. What's your name?"

Alice retreated further behind Minerva's legs, glaring at Seiji.

Seiji's smile was rueful. "I guess she doesn't like me much."

"Come now, Alice, don't be rude," Minerva chided. "This is Seiji, who has been a great help. Say hallo, Alice."

Alice made a sound that was partway between a mumbled greeting and a hiss.

"I suppose that's the best I can ask for," Seiji said. "Okay, Alice-chan, how about this: the next time I come to visit, I'll show you something amazing. How's that?"

Minerva stifled a chuckle at Alice's exasperated look. "I must warn you, Seiji-san, that magic tricks are somewhat passe for little Alice."

"But of course, Miss Magician." Seiji sketched a parody of a courtly bow. "Do you need help with that, um, what was it called again? Orrery? Some assembly may be required."

"No, thank you, I can manage," Minerva said. "Your offer is appreciated, however. I'll see you at the store, Seiji-san."

Aya regarded the disassembled orrery with poorly-disguised dismay. "I take it you will require more space for the storage and use of your equipment?"

"Well..."

Aya waved a hand wearily. "Fine. Please do not block the passageways more than you have to."

"Don't be so stiff, Aya," Miho said. "This looks like something that will be Highly Educational for Alice, and we must always make allowances for the education of children. Right, Alice? Oh, let me help you with that... see, this piece should go here, at the base..."

"I'm certainly learning something new every day," Minerva said helpfully.

"As do we all," Aya sighed.

[Esifex]

I love how you're portraying Hieda. The bored, exasperated, 'oh God what did I do to deserve having to entertain some foreigner like this' vibe that oozes from her is a very solid characterization.

I'm loving this more and more, honestly. I look forward to updates with much enthusiasm!

[nolrai2]

I agree with everything Esifex said.

[locoroco1]

Interesting. The origins of the spellcard system. I'm a little confused as to the timeline though. Assuming that the Alice in the story is the same one from the games, she's about the same age she is at her first appearance. And yet Gensokyo is still a part of Japan. Meaning this is hundreds of years before Reimu and Marisa were born.

[Esifex]

Interesting. The origins of the spellcard system. I'm a little confused as to the timeline though. Assuming that the Alice in the story is the same one from the games, she's about the same age she is at her first appearance. And yet Gensokyo is still a part of Japan. Meaning this is hundreds of years before Reimu and Marisa were born.

Alice is a Youkai, don't forget.

[nolrai2]

I wonder if this Alice ends up in Makai or not.

Either way will be interesting.

I was kind of assuming that this was not using pc98 cannon, and yet here's the Hakurai Seal showing up.

[Yayifications]

It was not particularly ladylike to fan oneself with a sheaf of notepaper, which was why Minerva took care to do so surreptitiously.

"Forgive me for speaking on a topic so devoid of interest and consequence as the weather," she muttered, "but is this sort of climate normal for Gensokyo? First the overbearing warmth of summer, followed by downpours, which then result in fog, upon which the cycle continues once again."

"The weather has been slightly unusual this past month or so," Aya admitted, handing her a proper fan, "but it is still within the realms of meteorological plausibility. In any case, autumn should be here in full force soon enough, even if it seems rather late this year. You might even be able to experience winter here in Gensokyo, Margatroid-san."

Minerva had travelled to enough regions with geographical features resembling Gensokyo's to know that the locals tended not to bother measuring snowfall using units as puny as inches. "I suspect my business here will take rather longer than that to resolve. Are there any special features of Gensokyo's winter that I should take note of?"

"Apart from a whole host of winter youkai?" Aya shrugged. "There are the usual hazards of winter in a rural mountainous area, but we have survived millennia of the same. It is not a difficult thing to overcome, as long as you do not do silly things like venture far outside the village alone."

"Lose many explorers that way?"

"A few," Aya said. "Youkai hunters who have more pride than sense. Unfortunate souls who wander a little too far, and are lost in the darkness. We forbid our children from leaving the village for a reason."

There didn't seem to be anything Minerva could say in response, so she changed the subject. "Do the mansion's servants have to follow us everywhere we go? We're just going to meet Miho-san and Alice at the school, aren't we?"

Aya glanced back at the two servants who had been trailing them from a respectful distance, as though alerted to their presence for the very first time. From what Minerva could gather, this unusual discretion was a special arrangement based on Minerva's presence; normally the servants would walk beside, or at least a few steps behind, the lady of the house, viz Aya. Presumably whoever had given the orders to lengthen the leash was worried about the contagion of Minerva's heretical Western philosophies.

Minerva recognized the servant couple, in any case. And a couple they were, if the rather determined female half of the pair had anything to say about it. The girl had approached Minerva one evening, asking for charms or potions to attract the attention of the more obtuse variety of young man. She had seemed disappointed when Minerva had gently declined to brew something up; as far as Minerva knew, there was no such thing as a true, effective love potion, and even if it existed, Minerva would not have known where to start.

Minerva gave her some advice, largely to do with the benefits of being direct, and a few perfume recommendations. The young man currently had a startled, wary expression, as though he suspected some subtle prank being played on him, but could not quite fathom what.

The servants seemed more preoccupied with their own little world than Aya and Minerva's conversation, anyway. "It is not entirely my decision, but the inconvenience is trivial," Aya said, dismissing the servants from her immediate sphere of notice. "I enjoy walks through the village like this, and there have hardly been any... incidents. Certainly none worthy of note."

Minerva reflected that any incident involving Aya's health worthy of note would probably happen only once. It would only need to happen once. "But they do come to your aid should you have any, shall we say, shortness of breath? Rendering immediate assistance?"

"Well... yes." Aya rallied. "But it is still something of a bother to both myself and the servants. I try to leave them at the mansion, but sometimes..."

"You'd need some way of calling attention to yourself when necessary, then," Minerva mused. "Shouting won't do, since you might not be able to summon the wind for it. A whistle? No, that runs into the same problem. A bell, then. A little silver bell that you can ring when you are in peril."

Aya stared at Minerva.

"It can be a very ladylike bell," Minerva said encouragingly. "Not too large. Handy for keeping in your purse."

"And if I ring it, I'm sure you will come flying to my rescue."

"On a white horse."

"A tempting, productive, and might I say heroic offer," Aya said. "But here is the schoolhouse, and it appears lessons are not yet over."

The schoolhouse was, in fact, an ancient annex of what seemed like a part of the local town hall equivalent, where the tiny civil service of the village held office. Some effort had been spent to spruce up the building with whitewash and paint, and Minerva could see the clear delineation between the work done by bored but professional workers on the administrative side, and by enthusiastic volunteers on the school side.

"Miho-san is teaching the younger children, isn't she?" Minerva asked, looking around for signs of authority figures to avoid, lest they be caught and forced to take tea with the smallest of talk. "Aya-san?"

Aya was staring at the administrative building, where the usual number of people were conducting the everyday business of running a large village without undue complications. Overall traffic was sparse, and was composed largely of messengers and errand boys, as well as the occasional civil servant venturing forth in search of an early lunch.

"Aya-san?" Minerva repeated.

"I apologize," Aya said distantly, as she started a beeline towards whatever had caught her interest. "There seems to be someone I must speak to, regarding a certain business that I had thought settled."

Minerva caught up with her after a few paces. "Would it be a bother if I joined you?"

Aya glanced at her. "I suppose not. I'll explain the situation to you as soon as I am able, later."

Aya's target turned out to be a middle-aged man, rail-thin and balding, with the lined face of a constant worrier. He had apparently nipped outside for a quick cigarette during a break in his duties, despite the heat that required him to mop the sweat off his brow frequently. Both his perspiration and lines of worry increased as he spotted Aya bearing down on him. He seemed to contemplate escape for a very brief moment, before resigning himself to his fate.

"Nakamuraya-san," Aya said without preamble. "I see you've finished your work in Tokyo."

"Er, yes," Nakamuraya said guiltily. "I just came back in last week."

"Which is strange, since you said you were going to be there for much longer."

"Things, er, things were expedited," Nakamuraya said. "Certain arrangements were made, and they helped greatly with my work. I am very grateful to those who agreed to assist me."

"What arrangements are these?"

"Oh, you know, this and that..."

"Which you have not yet elaborated to my satisfaction, even after you returned to the village last week. If I did not know any better, Nakamuraya-san, I would even say that you seem to have been avoiding me."

"Anyway," Nakamuraya said desperately, "this must be the, um, the magician."

Minerva took this cue to curtsey. "Minerva Margatroid, at your service. I am but a humble scholar of the arts arcane."

"There is no need to be modest, Margatroid-san," Aya said relentlessly. "Nakamuraya-san knows exactly who you are, and what you are. Don't you, Nakamuraya-san?"

Nakamuraya squirmed. "Well, not to the precise extent of... which is to say, it is a complicated matter, and I hardly think this is the right place to-"

Minerva kept her polite social smile on her face. "Do tell, Nakamuraya-san."

"I was... informed that a great magician would be coming to Japan, and to this village," Nakamuraya said. "I was in Tokyo on other business at the time, and felt it would be proper to present an official welcome and escort to our poor land. However, Hieda-sama had, er, pre-empted me by a few days..."

Thus far the hypothetical conspiracy did not sound all that menacing. Minerva had a fairly short list of Nakamuraya's possible informants, but she was not yet certain why it had been imperative that Aya had gotten to Minerva first, rather than Nakamuraya. Would it have made any difference? In any other situation, these maneuverings would have made sense in terms of whoever managed to gain Minerva's ear first and influence her opinions, but Aya had resisted telling Minerva anything but the most basic of information about Gensokyo. Was leaving Minerva with an open mind truly so important?

No, that was implausibly inefficient for all the parties involved. Discard that hypothesis, and create another.

"The assistance you received must be efficacious indeed, if you managed to complete it so soon, and go out of your way to pick up a prospective youkai hunter," Aya was saying. "One would think that the true priorities had been reversed."

"N-no, not at all," Nakamuraya said, mopping his brow. "The business was concluded satisfactorily, and the results will be forthcoming, if all goes well... I mean, all will go well, of course. There's nothing to worry about."

"You are strangely confident."

"Arrangements, yes, arrangements have been made." Nakamuraya spoke quickly, a condemned man confessing all he could before the noose was tightened around his neck. "And in the end Kuzunoha-san wasn't interested in travelling here, said that there were things to take care of in the capital, but now we have Margatroid-san the magician, don't we?"

"Libri vermis," Minerva corrected. "A mere scholar. But yes, I am presently engaged in finding a solution to your village's problems with unwelcome intrusions of the supernatural variety."

"Yet everything you have done," Aya said, "has been at the behest of..."

"I had no choice, Hieda-sama," Nakamuraya pleaded. "I was just following instructions. I, I understand your disapproval, truly I do, and I wish there was some other way, but these things happen. There's no helping it."

Before Aya could press further, the rapidly growing sounds of chatter drew their attention, as classes were dismissed. Nakamuraya took this opportunity to flee, mumbling about unfinished work at his desk.

"Aya!" This was from Miho, who was waving cheerfully towards them from the midst of a small clump of children. "Over here!"

Aya's disappointment at Nakamuraya's escape smoothed over into her usual quiet fondness for her cousin. "Good afternoon, Miho. How did lessons go?"

As Aya and Minerva approached, Alice detached herself from Miho's side to scuttle towards Minerva's skirts. Minerva absently patted the child's head.

"Quite well, actually!" Miho was saying. "I might see if I can get a full-time position here. Kamishirasawa-san is looking for more volunteer teachers to... ah, where are my manners? Everyone, this is Hieda no Aya-san, a very important person. And this is Margatroid-san, a guest who will be living with us in the village for a while. Say hallo!"

There was a general toccata of greetings from the handful of students clustered around Miho. Minerva guessed them to be between six to eight; Alice was already viewing them with the smug superiority of her extra years.

The other students of the school were dispersed throughout the area, with the older children gravitating to their little cliques, beyond the supervision of their teachers. Minerva noticed more than a few of them hurriedly averting their own stares at the strange foreign sorceress surveying their school.

There were less than forty students all told, with the oldest looking not more than sixteen.

"It is still a vast improvement from just a few years ago," Aya remarked, interrupting her aura of Very Important Person gravitas to read Minerva's thoughts. "Normally the parents would prefer work in the fields, or apprenticeships, over formal education, as soon as the child learns their way around livestock or tools. Little by little, but all the more sure for that, we are changing."

In between dealing with the shy but persistent demands of her charges, Miho quickly outlined the curriculum of the school: mornings were taken up by lessons for all ages. Come noon, the younger children would go down to the village for lunch, accompanied by their teachers, before returning for afternoon classes. The older students were dismissed at lunch; optional classes were available should they wish, which about half of them did. The rest returned home to learn their respective crafts or help out around the house.

Alice was thus in a peculiar situation: by age, she should return with the younger students, but by her education level, she fit far better with the more advanced classes. Enduring the afternoon's simple lessons would probably bore her to distraction.

"It's all a work in progress," Miho admitted. "We'll probably straighten out all the details after a few more years."

"You have decided to continue teaching here?" Minerva asked.

"If Ryotarou lets me, but there shouldn't be any problems there." A broad grin. "It'll give me plenty of practice with children, after all."

"What about you, Alice?" Aya said. "Are you interested in enrolling in Kamishirasawa-san's school?"

Alice indicated, with a wiggle of her hand, that the answer was yet unknown, and she would need a few more days and classes to decide.

"Fair enough," Minerva said. "At least there should be no objection to a shopping trip for stationery?" None were raised, and Alice seemed tolerant of the idea. "Aya-san, Miho-san, if you'll excuse us?"

Aya nodded. "We shall meet you back at the mansion."

As she departed, Minerva gave a small wave to the two servants loitering in the background, prompting them to come to some sort of attention. Since Aya would be staying at the schoolhouse with Miho, their responsibilities lay here. Minerva could not help her relief at being free from the polite, unobtrusive, and yet nigh-constant surveillance, even if the target of their watchfulness was not Minerva herself.

Minerva and Alice picked up some food on the way to the shops, to serve as their walking lunch. Chicken skewers, slathered in a dark sticky savoury sauce, putting Minerva in mind of the usual fairground foods, strong of taste and dangerous to moderation. Alice was perfectly content with this meal, attacking it with vigour now that she was temporarily assured not to lose any more milk teeth.

Their purchases included yet more notepaper, pencils, and a Japanese dictionary; Alice's weak subject at the moment was that language. Books to practice her reading comprehension skills on would presumably be available in the Hieda mansion, but Minerva also added a couple of collections of children's short stories as supplementary material.

The shopping trip turned general from there, after Alice had shown an interest in some soft fabrics, suitable for making doll clothes. This led to a congenial discussion with the shopkeeper on needlework, the cautious purchase of some short lengths of lace, directions to other stores of interest, and an afternoon spent most agreeably.

Almost without realizing it, they found themselves at Kirisame's store. The oddities and curios that were stocked within fascinated Alice, who flitted among the shelves, her attention caught by one trinket after another.

"Be careful with that," Minerva instructed. "If you break anything, you'll have to pay for it out of your own pocket."

"It's all right, Margatroid-san," Maria said indulgently. "I'm sure the girl..."

"Alice. She's under my care, at least for now."

"A lovely name. I'm sure Alice will be careful."

Alice nodded quickly, and clasped her hands behind her back to show willing.

"Was there anything in particular you were looking for?" Maria asked, diplomatically avoiding the subject of Alice's precise status with regards to Minerva. "I've managed to track down a few more of the items you wanted, but it will take some time before they arrive here. The disruption of the trade shipments to the village was not kind to business."

"Disruption?"

Maria shrugged. "It started about a few months or so back. Something about new bureaucratic rules on goods travelling through the country. I never could get a straight answer from the village business association, but I think it had much to do with taxes, or smuggling. Possibly both. Whatever the reason, the shipments haven't recovered."

Before Minerva's arrival to Gensokyo, but not by much. A coincidence?

Minerva shifted away from the counter, as more people entered the shop. "Well, I'll not keep you from your business," she said amiably. "I will browse around to see if anything catches my eye."

Kirisame's store was spacious but inconsistently lit; Minerva secreted herself in a shadowed corner, ostensibly inspecting a line of luck charms, but keeping an eye on Alice's movements, as well as the other customers. Most of these were not particularly notable, being men and women of the village looking for something or other for their homes or themselves. Conversation pieces, from all over the world.

One of them, a young lad of twelve or thirteen, was surely no customer. In fact, he slouched through the store in the manner of disaffected adolescents everywhere, but roused himself to give a quiet, warm greeting when he reached Maria. Maria, for her part, returned the affection, and the boy proceeded into the back of the shop with the easy familiarity of...

"Her son," said a voice beside Minerva in English.

Minerva set down the small silver handbell she had been holding with a sort of steely resignation. "I hope you realize that you have probably wasted both your time and mine with these charades, Miss Hearn."

Violet Hearn smiled easily, shifting her folded parasol to the crook of her arm. "Hardly a waste. I admit I was moderately alarmed when you failed to arrive at the capital as instructed." There was the slightest hint of emphasis on the last few words. "However, you have made your way to Gensokyo without undue delay, and so matters are proceeding as originally planned."

"Were you waiting for me long? Or did you send a representative in your stead?"

"The latter. I'm afraid Miss Aya got wind of my schemes, and arranged to intercept you before my representative could react. The difference is trivial, and perhaps it is better this way. You have a great ally with the Hieda family, Miss Margatroid."

Minerva turned to face Violet. "And you? What are you, Miss Hearn? Are you my benefactor, my ally, my rival, my foe, my puppeteer?"

"I am, as I always have been, my own counsel," Violet said, picking up a porcelain figurine of a cat. Some quirk of the manufacture had given it two tails; Minerva was not certain if this was an error or deliberate. "But know that from the beginning, even to the end, I will do anything to save this land. In that, if nothing else, I am firm of purpose."

"I have met your monsters," Minerva said. "Your youkai. It was only a fairy, simple and weak, but not something the humans here need assistance with. Even now, they don't seem to act as though they are under threat of destruction. What do they truly fear?"

Violet sighed, and replaced the figurine on the shelf. Minerva had the impression that she had failed some kind of minor test. "Fear takes on many forms, Miss Margatroid. Yes, the people of Gensokyo are cheerful, honest, and not given to wild panic. And yet have you not already heard of their warnings and advice? Do not venture too far out of the village. Never travel singly. Always have a friend walking beside you. Should you meet something not quite the same as yourself, be polite and respectful. Be wary of giving offense, however inadvertent. There is nothing to fear, if you follow the rules, but ask yourself, Miss Margatroid: why are these rules there?"

Minerva was silent for a moment. "And you still require me to save the humans from monsters?" she finally said.

"That is, indeed, what I require you to focus your efforts on doing," Violet agreed. "I will endeavour to provide assistance when I can, now that I am back in Gensokyo."

"A gracious offer, but, alas, suspect."

"I pray that you will accept my help in the spirit it was given," Violet said without hint of offense. "Although I understand that Miss Aya will most likely not approve of my interference. She is a cautious one, and rightly so. I will leave you your research, and its conclusions, so that you may be certain that what you know is correct and true. For now, I shall simply point you in a useful direction, and say that it may be productive to explore the dark forest not far from the village."

"To what end."

"There may be interesting discoveries found there," Violet said. "To whit, certain mushrooms which are native to Gensokyo, and Gensokyo only. Examining them and their properties may reveal further insights into the nature of this land; I believe you have already initiated your own experiments in this regard, and I hope this will hasten the process."

Minerva considered this. "I will keep it in mind, and thank you for the information, Miss Hearn."

"You are most welcome. However, do beware of the forest's mushrooms; they are of Gensokyo, and all that implies. Do not bring along your young ward, for instance," Violet said, glancing significantly at Alice.

"I had not considered doing so," Minerva said stiffly.

Violet bowed her head. "My apologies if I have given offense, Miss Margatroid. I wish you all the best in your task, both the immediate and the greater."

"A task that, for some reason, you could not accomplish yourself," Minerva noted.

Violet bobbed in a brief shadow of a curtsey. "But I am not the greatest magician in the world, am I? Do excuse me, Miss Margatroid, and good day." With that, she swept out of the store, humming a nameless tune to herself.

[Iced Fairy]

Interesting.  So that's where "Violet" has been.  That explains a lot, and opens up some more questions.

A great chapter as always.  I find myself caught between wanting more detail of the little side treks and a desire to see the plot continue along.  I'm eagerly awaiting the next update.

[nolrai2]

I love your characters.  Haida's condensation.  Violet's edge-case-ness. The village.

[Religion]

Nice little SMT reference there. And "Violet" is just as irritating as ever.

[Esifex]

I'm interested in how we still have yet to hear/see any actual dialogue come from Alice, rather than just summations of whatever she says. Very interesting way to keep her in the story without spreading the attention around too much.

[Yayifications]

Minerva was beginning to get very tired of carefully inspecting every mushroom she found, for the forest she was exploring had an astounding number of mushrooms, of every size and shape. Some of these she recognized as specimens found elsewhere in the world, and thus not particularly interesting; some were otherwise familiar, but had some unusual property or other that might or might not have been significant. The latter went into a small sack Minerva carried, securely bound to the belt at her waist.

She was considering in her own mind whether the pleasure of simply sweeping everything she encountered into her sack would be worth the bother of having to pick it all apart later, when suddenly a white rabbit ran close by her.

There was nothing so very remarkable in that; nor did Minerva think it so very much out of the way to hear the rabbit mutter some litany of complaint under its breath. Much later, it would have occurred to Minerva that she ought to have wondered about this, but at the time it all seemed quite natural.

But when the rabbit actually took a silver pocket-watch out of its pink dress, and looked at it, and hurried on, Minerva shot to her feet, for it flashed across her mind that she had never before seen a rabbit with either a pocket-watch or a dress of any colour to take it out of.

A youkai, most certainly. One based on a beast of the field and forest, rather than a fae. Minerva was still amassing the facts of this strange land, and the observation of this rabbit youkai would serve as a useful data point, far more than the mushrooms she was collecting.

The youkai had darted off deeper into the forest, moving as swiftly as its lagomorphic roots would suggest. Minerva cursed as she became entangled in some tenacious underbrush, by which time the rabbit had gained some ground. No doubt the youkai knew by now that someone was chasing it, for all the noise Minerva was making as she blundered through the unfamiliar forest.

In her apprenticeship as a witch, Minerva had learned the basics of woodland tracking, under the assumption that anything more strenuous for a child of the city would be solvable by the use of simple spells and charms. Not having had the opportunity to prepare any of these, Minerva was mildly surprised at her success in following the rabbit's trail. Every time she lost sight of the rabbit, a strange instinct pulled her in another direction, and she would catch another tantalizing glimpse of her quarry not long afterwards.

The kerchief wrapped around her nose and mouth to filter the spores from the forest's mushrooms hampered her exertions; she pulled it off, trusting that the speed of her passage would hopefully protect her from the more inconvenient aspects of the fungoid infestation. The air was almost hazy with spores, giving it a thick, unpleasant smell that Minerva could not easily place; it put her in mind of too many old but unforgotten things, from the choking smoke of London's factories to the crowded stench of the Billingsgate fish market.

The rabbit youkai flashed past her vision once again, and Minerva leapt forward, past the obscuring fronds of some monstrous climbing vine, and into a sudden clearing containing sunlight, uncut grass, and a decrepit-looking house that looked as though it had been transplanted directly from the English countryside.

Minerva stared for a moment, for this was not something she had ever expected to see in the middle of a gloomy forest in Gensokyo, Japan. The spore-laden air was suffused with the sharp tang of large-scale magic having been used here, quite recently.

Where had this house come from? Why was it here? Was this the abandoned dwelling of one of Gensokyo's former youkai hunters? Why would it have been built in the middle of a forest?

Minerva approached the house in wonder, stopping short of some peculiar markings upon the ground. The grass had been bent here, but not broken, in what seemed like a wide pattern reminiscent of one of those mysterious drawings on crop fields caused by weather or pranksters. The full pattern could not be seen from this level; Minerva would have to climb to a vantage point.

There was a movement in the darkened interior of the house, catching Minerva's eye. Had it been an errant breeze disturbing some hanging curtain? Or was the rabbit youkai in the pink dress hiding within?

"'In another moment down went Alice after it,'" Minerva quoted to herself, "'never once considering how in the world she was to get out again.'"

The portico seemed stable enough, which gave Minerva hope for the sturdiness of the overall structure; it would be particularly ignoble for her adventures in the Orient to be cut short by the collapse of an architectural anomaly.

The inside of the house was brighter than it had seemed from the outside. Most of the illumination came from the beam of sunlight shining cheerily through a large hole that had been punched through the roof and the upper floor, as though by a giant fist. Fine particles danced in the light, and Minerva's footsteps disturbed yet more, rising from the floor. She knelt, inspecting the dark grey-black dust, like charcoal, strewn about what was undeniably an impact site. The grains were sharp-edged, uneven, with an odd aroma of wood smoke or rusting iron.

Where was a grey dust area around Gensokyo? And how had it ended up here, from such a trajectory? Had it previously formed a single solid object that had disintegrated upon impact? There did not seem to be enough residue to have caused a hole of that size in the roof, and the impact site on the floor was too shallow for it to have been done with incredible force.

Minerva collected some of the dust into a vial, stoppering it securely. Some other adventurer would surely have been able to note any tell-tale footprints or other disturbances in the abandoned environs, but such skills were beyond Minerva's knowledge. She had to work on the assumption that the rabbit youkai had passed through here quite recently, and could very well still be somewhere inside the house.

Up the decaying staircase, which creaked ominously with every cautious step. The upper level of the house held several rooms, each barren of furniture, interest, or youkai. Bedrooms, guest rooms, servant's quarters, and lumber rooms, no doubt. Should Minerva have checked if the house held a cellar? Perhaps later.

A window frame was knocked loose with a well-placed kick, and Minerva clambered up onto the roof of the house, surveying the surrounding area. The patterns on the grass could be seen from up here, and Minerva spent a few moments sketching the salient points into her notebook. Tracing the patterns, their purpose could be estimated: some sort of translocation effect, crudely done under the assumption of a terrific power source. Most of the pattern was probably used to confirm the destination. Did the unknown spellcaster intend this house to be relocated to Gensokyo? Or had it been a misfire?

It took the sound of retreating footsteps to remind Minerva of her original objective, and the glimpse of a pink dress below, seen through the hole in the roof, brought a curse to her lips. Stuffing her notebook back into its pouch, Minerva scrambled towards the window she had opened earlier, and promptly crashed through a weak spot on the roof, through both floors, and into the cellar.

Her landing was cushioned by a bed of mushrooms, judging from the cloud of spores that burst forth. Minerva sucked in a lungful of these in shock, and immediately regretted the action, flailing for something stable to hold on to as her head swam and visions danced across her eyes. Hallucinations, illusions, and tricks. The magic of Gensokyo had imbued these mushrooms with far more potency than the usual psilocybin, and Minerva had inadvertently dosed herself beyond any wise or safe bounds.

When next Minerva regained consciousness, she opted to lie there, blanketed by mushrooms and spores, not knowing how much time had passed. And when she finally roused herself to climb out of the hole she had made, she looked out upon a sea of staring eyes and knew that she had finally gone mad.

But this was Gensokyo, a land of fantasy and illusion, which made it a fine place to lose one's sanity. Minerva would probably meet an untimely end at the hands of whatever terrors still lurked in the dark, saving everyone a lengthy and expensive repatriation back to England and Bedlam. Just another would-be youkai hunter to serve as a warning to future attempts.

Best be up and about it, then. Minerva curtsied towards the eyes, felt that this was somehow insufficient, and turned it into a dramatic bow, swooping low. When she came back up, the eyes had disappeared, to be replaced by the illusion of a forest.

Minerva vaguely remembered something about a forest, not too long ago. But it was not this forest. The other forest, the one that Minerva had wandered through a few lifetimes ago, had a lot of mushrooms. Mushrooms were prominent in Minerva's mind now, and she noted with bemusement that there did not seem to be any mushrooms around here. Where had they all gone?

The trees looked odd, anyway. Proper trees should be... brown, or brownish, with a kind of green cloud on top for the leaves. Red apples would dot the green, and maybe a squirrel or two pencilled in, or a bird or rabbit-

The rabbit. Where was the rabbit? Where had it gone?

Where had Minerva gone?

The trees. They were long, thin, and segmented in a peculiar way... bamboo. A bamboo forest, which Minerva was quite certain she had never been in. All the forests she knew had been proper English forests. None of this Oriental nonsense. Good, solid, English forests, filled with adventure-

No! No adventures! Adventures were bad! But you could not help but be fascinated by it, could you, Minerva Margatroid? The long days of summer, August 1867, East Hampshire. A glimpse into a world you should have avoided, should have turned your back on, but you were only a child, and you had to see, had to know how deep the rabbit hole went.

Rabbit. Why a rabbit? Why had the rabbit been important?

Minerva stopped, confused. Maybe she had written something down somewhere? Minerva Margatroid, always a one for writing things down. Making little notes, maps, diagrams. A real talent, they had said. It certainly helped her become one of the greatest magicians in the...

Minerva realized that she had been staring blankly at a piece of parchment clutched in her fist, as she walked through the bamboo forest. She also realized that she had been giving herself a constant low-voiced commentary of whatever had been running through her addled brain. Mushroom poisoning wasn't permanent, was it? No, it had just tipped her over the edge. But she would have to try to pretend to be sane, in order to give her own little story a proper end.

To her dismay, the parchment was of no help at all. The images transcribed onto it swirled before Minerva's eyes, altering themselves into strange and terrible shapes. Minerva thought she caught a glimpse of what looked like a map, but it dissolved into unfamiliar characters marching across the page in a stately dance.

Minerva rubbed at the parchment, and the pictures rippled at her touch. Curious, Minerva flicked at a likely spot, and the image coalesced into a sketch of what looked like a pocket-watch. Where had Minerva seen such a pocket-watch before?

The parchment abruptly blanked out. No amount of shaking or rubbing was able to resummon the images from before, and Minerva put the parchment away, disappointed.

Through the bamboo forest. "It's not even as though I know where I'm going," Minerva said conversationally. "For instance, it is clear that the bamboo tree here has grown awry. But unless I compare it to its fellows from up close, I would not know. Any attempt at navigation through such a forest would lead me astray quite easily. But if I do not have a destination in mind in the first place, can I ever be led astray?"

She grabbed a nearby branch, and gave an experimental tug. When it failed to snap, she shrugged, and moved on. "I visit Germany often, you know. All these little villages, quite parochial, but some of them have these ancient remnants from days long past, when people build great big Gothic cathedrals in the middle of the countryside for some reason, with absolutely nothing else for miles and miles except for a few bewildered sheep. Perhaps they simply wished to see who would come."

An irritated whack at an errant frond of leaves. "Some of these villages, quite tiny villages, but overshadowed by this vast expression of religious ego wrought in stone and marble... some of these villages have a sort of ceremony, with the clocks. Clocks are quite popular in that part of the world, I find. Clocks and clockwork, everywhere. They're devils for fiddly little details like that. And there's this clock that's as big as a house, and not a small house either. Clocks as big as a big house."

Whack. "Every hour, a tiny little door opens somewhere upon the face of that amalgamation of clockwork, and a cuckoo pops out to announce the hour. Cuckoo, just like that. But every day at noon, a few more doors open, and further mannequins and toys emerge to announce the passing of a particular special hour. Bells and hammers are involved. Bingely bingely bong, and that's noon. Every week, on Sundays, at noon, even more doors open, and great big chains and axles and gears somewhere inside the clock turn and rattle, and a whole procession of figures and hammers spring into action, bang bang bong, announcing noon on a Sunday with a performance of some splendour, for all their paint and varnish have faded, little soldiers marching out to fire musket-volleys in salute. For all I know, every month, year, decade, century, even more doors and figures and hammers and bells find their occupation, ancient rusted weights fall, and yet more special events occur. The soldiers are supplemented by cannons, flags wave, a battlefield is created, whole armies are resurrected and mown down, Death comes riding out to fell the ranks with a patented scything mechanism, angels blow trumpets, a multitude of messiahs writhe on the cross and expire, the end of days depicted with lovingly gruesome care, and will someone stop that thrice-damned ticking noise!"

The aforementioned thrice-damned ticking noise immediately stopped, plunging the area around Minerva into silence. Had the ticking even been real? Or was it yet another one of her hallucinations?

"A hallucination," Minerva decided. "Or it would not have ceased simply upon my command. Wouldn't you agree? But no, you must be another trick of the mind as well."

The large blackbird perched on the tree looked at her in the glassy, unwary way of birds who had never had stones shied at them before. It was certainly a very large blackbird, Minerva thought. If it was a crow, it was an uncommon one. Was it a raven? Very well, let's call it a raven.

"As far as hallucinations go, you are a fine specimen," Minerva said with approval. "I haven't seen a blackbird as well-kept since I visited the Tower."

The raven spread its wings deliberately, and took off, only to land on another tree a short distance away. Not having anything better to do, Minerva followed.

The raven waited patiently for Minerva to catch up, before opening its beak. "Who," it said, with the clipped sounds of stones being struck, "are you?"

"Minerva Margatroid, if it pleases you, Sir Raven," Minerva said. "Or even if it does not please you. I can't help being who I am, I'm afraid."

The raven flew to the next tree. "Who are you?" it repeated, when Minerva arrived.

"I am myself," Minerva said. "Unlike poor Alice, who had to put up with being so many different sizes in one day... well, I mean Alice of the book. Our own Alice seems fairly confident in her own self."

The raven cawed at her, and flew on.

"I do wonder how she is doing. Or how she will do, once she knows that her guardian has gone quite mad. Poor girl. I hope the Hieda family will take care of her. She has a bright future ahead."

"Who are you?" the raven said once more.

"A scholar. A pilgrim. A lost soul. A magician who has fallen too deep into the rabbit hole, and can't get back out," Minerva said, with a touch of impatience.

"Who are you?"

"Someone who wishes that she had hallucinated the caterpillar with the hookah instead," Minerva countered. "At least then I'd know that one side of the mushroom would make me larger, and the other smaller. I might have been able to accomplish something more substantial if I could see things from a different point of view."

The raven snapped its beak together a few times, but did not say anything more as it guided Minerva through the forest.

"A moment, Sir Raven," Minerva said.

The raven looked at her.

"Say 'nevermore'."

The raven gagged in disgust, and turned its back on her.

Minerva's smirk remained on her face for a few paces more, just enough for her to push through a bamboo thicket and come face to face with a final vision of a rabbit in a pink dress.

Which was the best description that Minerva could give, much later, now that she had gotten a good look at her quarry. It was as though the image of a young girl in a pink dress was superimposed over the image of a rabbit, in the manner of one of those stereoscopic optical illusions that were in vogue in Europe. Seen one way, she was a girl. Shift your perspective ever so slightly, and she was a rabbit. Rabbit and girl occupied the same space, and which she was depended on how you looked at her.

Both rabbit and girl had frozen in shock at seeing Minerva so close, which was all that allowed Minerva to leap forward to tackle the youkai in time.

The rabbit recovered almost instantly, lashing out with a powerful kick that slammed into Minerva's gut, knocking the wind out of her. But Minerva held on grimly, shielding her face and eyes as best as she could, as the youkai kicked and struggled.

Something snapped, and suddenly the youkai was free, as Minerva fell back with a shout of surprise. She had torn some item away from the youkai, and the youkai had just discovered this unfortunate development, as she launched itself back towards Minerva, desperate hands outstretched.

But Minerva was falling backwards, much farther than she would have thought, and the world shrank to a narrow circle of light as a hundred thousand eyes blinked open around her.

A fine confirmation of her madness. Minerva was, to be perfectly honest, not quite looking forward to her stay in Bedlam surrounded by her hallucinations of eyes...

Eyes?

There were no eyes. Minerva sat up, as mushrooms and spores cascaded off her.

She was in what looked like the cellar of the mysterious house in the woods, which was just as empty as the rest, save for the shallow hole in the ground filled with mushrooms she had fallen into. Directly above her, framed by the hole in the roof, the circle of light she had mistaken as the receding entrance of the rabbit-hole resolved itself into the steady, silent full moon.

A dream, then. A vivid dream born from the shock of falling, what felt like a painful knock on the head, and spiced with the hallucinogenic properties of the mushrooms. Minerva's head felt relatively clear, save for the throbbing pain at the back of her skull, and so the assumptions of insanity had all been merely a dream.

A dream, which had left a souvenir in the form of a silver pocket-watch, clutched in Minerva's hand, quietly ticking away.

It was a few hours later when Minerva finally found her way back to the Hieda mansion, disheveled and dirty.

Miho was waiting for her, worry written clear on her face. "Where have you been, Margatroid-san?" she cried. "We thought you had been taken by the youkai! What happened to you? What have you been doing?"

"Exploring the area," Minerva said, "meeting the locals, and partaking of their fine traditions. May I come in now? I find myself in dire need of a bath."

[nolrai2]

Hhm

[Iced Fairy]

That was a very nice chapter.  Thank you fro reminding me of the stranger side of Gensoukyo.

And Tewi's gonna be pissed that she lost her pocketwatch.  Those things have to be hard to find.

[KimikoMuffin]

The Alice quote/paraphrase in the narration was yes.

[Esifex]

And almost spot-on, too. Nice touch!
Is Sir Raven an homage to the Discworld raven, Quoth?
'I don't say the 'N' word so just put it out of your mind!'

[KimikoMuffin]

Actually, my first thought was of when a talking raven gets asked to say "nevermore" at one point in American Gods. (It replies, "F*** you!")

[Nao]

Your story is very interesting!
I'm looking forword to reading next chapter.

[ninryu]

Best chapter so far. I can't wait for the next one.