(Skyseas of Gensokyo) Nazrin Quest (Part 6)

[DracoOmega]

>"Have you ever run across an old book called 'Flora of the Far Isles?'"

>She gives you a curious look. "You're the second person to ask me about that this week. I know of it, of course, but I'm afraid I haven't ever had an actual copy pass through my hands."

[Oldmansour]

>What was the name of the client looking for that book?

[Oldmansour]

For those of you wondering where Draco's been, I've spoken with him, and, to make a long story short, he's been busy with his thesis. And shall return when he can.

[Hello Purvis]

I figured that was the case.

Damn him and his thesizing! Throw him down some stairs for me.

[DracoOmega]

>What was the name of the client looking for that book?

>The posting included a contact address, but no name was given.

[Oldmansour]

>"The other guy didn't happen to be a rare book collector, was he?"

[DracoOmega]

>"The other guy didn't happen to be a rare book collector, was he?"

>"I'm... not really sure," Momoka replies. "She didn't particularly seem the type, though I suppose she might be to be interested in buying a book like that. Or... maybe a historian of some kind? It would really be quite a bit more expensive than what we usually deal in," she adds with a slight frown.

[Oldmansour]

>"I bet."
>"Might've been another Seeker, too. Someone in town's looking for a copy, and there's a decent payoff."
>"Would you know what it looks like?"

[DracoOmega]

>"I bet."
>"Might've been another Seeker, too. Someone in town's looking for a copy, and there's a decent payoff."
>"Would you know what it looks like?"

>"Oh. Well, it is quite old, and I don't know there were ever very many copies made," she says. "I'm... not even sure what I would value it at, if a copy came into my hands somehow. Like I said, we don't really deal in rare and expensive books. Just normal everyday ones."
>"Well, uh..." She frowns a little. "I imagine it would have the title on it, wouldn't it? I don't really know exactly what it would look like other than that."

[Oldmansour]

>"Well, I know some books have a design on their cover, some of em pretty unique."
>Continue walking.

[DracoOmega]

>"Well, I know some books have a design on their cover, some of em pretty unique."
>Continue walking.

>"I don't know if it does or not," she replies. "Sorry. I do hear it has some very detailed botanical illustrations, though..."
>Soon enough, the pair of you reach the houses on the edge of Braston and make your way north to the restaurant where this little expedition started. Momoka frowns at the doorway with obvious trepidation.

[Oldmansour]

>"Calm yourself, Momoka. I know you're nervous, but take a couple breaths. Won't be as bad as you might think."

[DracoOmega]

>"Calm yourself, Momoka. I know you're nervous, but take a couple breaths. Won't be as bad as you might think."

>"I hope so," she says, taking a steadying breath.

[Oldmansour]

>Enter and seek out the lady we spoke with previously.

[DracoOmega]

>Enter and seek out the lady we spoke with previously.

>You enter the Wild Rose and almost immediately spot your client at the other side of the establishment, rapping her fingers on the bar counter and looking rather tense. She appears to notice you nearly as soon as you notice her, but her expression quickly shifts from briefly dumbstruck to distinctly displeased. She marches forcefully towards you, meeting you before you can even step very far into the restaurant.
>"What the hell happened to you?!" she hisses in an effortfully subdued voice. Her face is set in a politely masked scowl, for benefit of the nearby clientele, no doubt.
>Momoka cringes and draws back.

[Oldmansour]

>Well, that could have gone better.
>How do we look?
>"Beg your pardon?"

[DracoOmega]

>Well, that could have gone better.
>How do we look?
>"Beg your pardon?"

>That's for sure...
>Without aid of a mirror, you can't say a great deal about your own appearance at the moment, though you imagine it might be slightly untidy, at worst. Your clothes do show some signs of crawling through the dirt for the last while, but aren't truly dirty looking.
>"You've been gone an hour!" she counters.

[Oldmansour]

>"I had to do a little more traveling than I'd anticipated. And negociating with a hungover fairy isn't a one-step process, yknow."

[DracoOmega]

>"I had to do a little more traveling than I'd anticipated. And negociating with a hungover fairy isn't a one-step process, yknow."

>"You said you were going to see where it led, and then you up and vanish and leave me with a hole to who-knows-where that could have had a whole gang of bandits lurking in it, for all I know."
>She jerks her head accusingly towards Momoka. "And who's she, anyway?"
>The poor mole lets out a little meep and nearly takes a step back.

[Oldmansour]

>"She helped me track the one that took your wines. Some of which I have here, by the way." Raise and lower the case briefly. "I couldn't recover all of it, but I'm fairy sure it won't happen again. There's a bit of a story there."

[DracoOmega]

>"She helped me track the one that took your wines. Some of which I have here, by the way." Raise and lower the case briefly. "I couldn't recover all of it, but I'm fairy sure it won't happen again. There's a bit of a story there."

>The proprietor glances at the case as you raise it, then regards you silently for a moment, her expression drawn tight with either disapproval or skepticism. She throws another scrutinizing glare in Momoka's direction; the nervous bookseller does her best not to blanch under it completely. Then with a hint of what seems like almost reluctant acquiescence, the owner lets the edge of her expression soften ever so slightly.
>"Bring it back this way," she says, turning and moving back in the direction of her office before you even have a chance to reply.

[Oldmansour]

>To Momoka, "All things considered, that coulve have gone worse."
>Still, better she's mad at us than the mole. Poor dear'd probably keel over if this human yelled at her.
>Follow the proprietor. ... Come to think of it, can we tell if she's human or youkai?

[DracoOmega]

>To Momoka, "All things considered, that coulve have gone worse."
>Still, better she's mad at us than the mole. Poor dear'd probably keel over if this human yelled at her.
>Follow the proprietor. ... Come to think of it, can we tell if she's human or youkai?

>"It... could have?" Her voice comes out even closer to a squeak than usual.
>For a moment, you were almost wondering if she were about to, simply from the glare.
>She certainly looks human to you. You follow along, Momoka trailing nervously behind you and stealing glances at the establishment as if she were unsure whether or not she was even allowed to be here. You move into the employee's section, down the hallway past the kitchen and into the office.
>The proprietor turns to you as you step inside and curtly gestures at the case. "Let me see it."

[Oldmansour]

>Place it down and open the top of it.
>"I'm afraid your thief had already consumed some of the goods. This is as much as we could recover."

[DracoOmega]

>Place it down and open the top of it.
>"I'm afraid your thief had already consumed some of the goods. This is as much as we could recover."

>You place the case on her desk and open it. The owner quickly surveys the damage with a steeled gaze.
>"They took the Bavio," she says dully. "Both of them. And the 492 Wynsdale Plum. And the 543 Malbec. And the-" She lets out a short heavy sigh, then addresses you without looking up. "You're sure they've all been... drunk?"

[Oldmansour]

>"Based on the condition of the thief, I'd say yes. Some of the bottles weren't entirely finished, but there were a lot of empty ones. Frankly, I'm amazed the little thing was conscious at all."

[DracoOmega]

>"Based on the condition of the thief, I'd say yes. Some of the bottles weren't entirely finished, but there were a lot of empty ones. Frankly, I'm amazed the little thing was conscious at all."

>"I assume you handed her over to the Watch," she says flatly, eyes still burning holes through the conspicuously empty spaces in the case.

[Oldmansour]

>Are fairys subject to the same laws that other humanoids are?

EDIT: D'oh. Forgot you asked that earlier, Purvis. My bad. Let me try that again.

>"I doubt there's a lot they could have done. Your thief was a fairy. One who fancied herself a treasure hunter, it seems. She seemed to think she'd found buried treasure when she broke through your wall. Didn't even think what she'd found belonged to anyone." Slight shrug. "You know how fairys are."
>"I might add, when we found her, she was suffering from a massive hangover. Which is why I'm inclined to think she won't trouble you again. That said, however, I do know where she lives, so, if you wanted to track her down and prosecute her, or at least as much as you can with fairys, that's your call."

[DracoOmega]

>"I doubt there's a lot they could have done. Your thief was a fairy. One who fancied herself a treasure hunter, it seems. She seemed to think she'd found buried treasure when she broke through your wall. Didn't even think what she'd found belonged to anyone." Slight shrug. "You know how fairys are."
>"I might add, when we found her, she was suffering from a massive hangover. Which is why I'm inclined to think she won't trouble you again. That said, however, I do know where she lives, so, if you wanted to track her down and prosecute her, or at least as much as you can with fairys, that's your call."

>The owner regards you blankly as you finish your story. "You're saying a fairy dug that tunnel into my basement?" There is note of challenge in her voice, or perhaps simply unwillingness to accept.
>Momoka nearly jolts at the question, but the woman fortunately does not seem to have noticed.

[Oldmansour]

>"Part of it, yes. She was digging at random in a field outside of town, and she punched her way into a tunnel system that was already there. Which is actually someone's home, as I found out, so you're not the only victim here. While she was in there, however, she opened up another tunnel, one that the tunnel's owner had sealed a couple weeks ago. That being the tunnel in your wine cellar."