Author Topic: (Skyseas of Gensokyo) Nazrin Quest (Part 8) (Read 34261 times)

DracoOmega · « **Reply #420 on:** February 23, 2012, 04:37:36 AM »

Quote from: Kilgamayan on February 23, 2012, 04:23:44 AM

> "How can I help?"

>"You know anything at all about sailing a ship?" she asks.

Oldmansour · « **Reply #421 on:** February 23, 2012, 04:43:59 AM »

Quote from: Kilgamayan on February 23, 2012, 04:04:55 AM

Crap, I still need to catch up through all the mushy stuff I only quarter-read while at KatsuCon. <_<

You were at a con? What'd you buy me?

And it wasn't HALF as mushy as I might have liked.... But give me time. I'm laying foundations for Operation: Nazrin Harem all over.

>"Well.... Not as such, no. I just don't like doing nothing when there's a threat out there."

Kilgamayan · « **Reply #422 on:** February 23, 2012, 04:50:02 AM »

I don't care about no harem. I just want me some tsuchigumo.

DracoOmega · « **Reply #423 on:** February 23, 2012, 04:53:51 AM »

Quote from: Sourfang, the Falling Star on February 23, 2012, 04:43:59 AM

>"Well.... Not as such, no. I just don't like doing nothing when there's a threat out there."

>"Then go be another pair of eyes, if you want," she says, "or just keep your head down and let us do our jobs. Tengu or no tengu, they still don't come much faster than us, and I don't plan on getting boarded today."

Kilgamayan · « **Reply #424 on:** February 23, 2012, 04:57:49 AM »

> Do we have any conventional projectiles on us, aside from the kunai?

I'm all for letting this unfold. Barring the presence of cannons or sniper rifles, there's not a whole lot we can actually do until and unless boarding takes place.

Various combat strategies come to mind...the Mouthful Katana is an obvious choice for close combat use, and I wonder if our tail can't be used to wrap itself around a leg for yanking if someone gets too close for comfort.

If all else fails, kissing someone then revealing a blight mark could scare the pirates off.

Oldmansour · « **Reply #425 on:** February 23, 2012, 05:01:12 AM »

Quote from: Kilgamayan on February 23, 2012, 04:50:02 AM

I don't care about no harem. I just want me some tsuchigumo.

And I ain't about to stop ya, bro.

>Did we see a spare spyglass around?

Kilgamayan · « **Reply #426 on:** February 23, 2012, 05:04:29 AM »

> "You got any projectile weapons, at least?"

DracoOmega · « **Reply #427 on:** February 23, 2012, 05:12:30 AM »

Quote from: Kilgamayan on February 23, 2012, 04:57:49 AM

> Do we have any conventional projectiles on us, aside from the kunai?

>Technically you have a grappling hook, which is designed for throwing but isn't a weapon, per se. Aside from your kunai (of which you currently have 4), that's pretty much it.

Quote from: Sourfang, the Falling Star on February 23, 2012, 05:01:12 AM

>Did we see a spare spyglass around?

>You don't currently see one.

Quote from: Kilgamayan on February 23, 2012, 05:04:29 AM

> "You got any projectile weapons, at least?"

>"Can you shoot a bow?" Neu asks.
>"Not planning on letting them get that close to us," Murasa says.

Kilgamayan · « **Reply #428 on:** February 23, 2012, 05:14:00 AM »

> How are we at archery?
> Which blight location(s) did we show these two?

Kilgamayan · « **Reply #429 on:** February 23, 2012, 05:27:35 AM »

You're getting this for the night, I should have gone to be 30 minutes ago.

DracoOmega · « **Reply #430 on:** February 23, 2012, 05:32:39 AM »

Quote from: Kilgamayan on February 23, 2012, 05:14:00 AM

> How are we at archery?
> Which blight location(s) did we show these two?

>You gave archery a try during your early apprenticeship, though you found it rather more awkward than throwing knives and ended up devoting most of your weapons training to the latter. While you can shoot a bow, you wouldn't consider yourself very good at it.
>You showed Neu the one on your right upper arm. You didn't show anything to Murasa, though you assume Neu informed her of the aforementioned mark.

Oldmansour · « **Reply #431 on:** February 23, 2012, 05:41:14 AM »

I'll try not to have Aya sold off by tomorrow. Not sure if anyone here actually likes her or not.

>"I can, but, it ain't my forte. Much better with kunai and throwing knives."

DracoOmega · « **Reply #432 on:** February 23, 2012, 06:08:26 AM »

Quote from: Sourfang, the Falling Star on February 23, 2012, 05:41:14 AM

>"I can, but, it ain't my forte. Much better with kunai and throwing knives."

>"Miyuki may have something," Neu says.
>"Worry about that later," Murasa grumbles.

Oldmansour · « **Reply #433 on:** February 23, 2012, 06:29:12 AM »

>"Right... Later."
>Stand back and shut up.

DracoOmega · « **Reply #434 on:** February 23, 2012, 09:14:16 AM »

Quote from: Sourfang, the Falling Star on February 23, 2012, 06:29:12 AM

>"Right... Later."
>Stand back and shut up.

>You stand back and leave the situation in the crew's (hopefully) capable hands. The Blue Maiden continues to close on the cluster of islets and scattered rocks ahead, moving at a faster clip than earlier today. Both Murasa and Neu's faces are grimly focused; the latter in particular has a bleak aspect to her expression that wasn't visible even at the height of last night's storm. Her captain, on the other hand, looks more pissed than worried. You're not sure whether you should find this reassuring or not.
>Floating hunks of rock start to drift by, some uncomfortably close to the ship given that many are as large as the wheelhouse itself. You stare at one as it passes near, its uneven surface sweeping down into jagged crags of gray and red stone. Small tufts of grass cling to others, and one is nearly split in half by thick and twisted roots as a lone withered tree stubbornly claws life from it.
>The ship's course becomes less even as you move further off the main aether currents, tilting a little to one side and then the other. Neu pulls out a second chart from a cabinet beneath the table and spreads it on top of the first, shifting back and forth between them as she reads out more navigational information in increasingly opaque jargon. Every now and again, Miyuki shouts back reports on the ship chasing you. Each time, it is closer than the last. Neither Neu nor Murasa seem surprised or dispirited by this, but continue their deliberate course into the increasingly rocky sky.
>You soon draw near to the first islet worthy of being called such, a stout disc-shaped rock about five times the Maiden's size, carpeted in coarse grasses. The pirate ship has closed enough to resolve some details with your naked eye now; its slender profile combined with the swept stabilizing fins along the sides, typical of Tengu vessels, give it the look of a distant bird of prey. You think it is smaller than the Maiden, though it's hard to judge at this distance. A small consolation is that its rate of approach seems to have slowed and it's now tailing almost directly from the rear, rather than at the wide angle it was earlier. Then, as you begin to round the islet, Miyuki calls out joyous confirmation of what you'd just been starting to suspect.
>"They're falling behind!"

Oldmansour · « **Reply #435 on:** February 23, 2012, 10:23:02 AM »

>Fast ship indeed.
>Let's just hope Miyumiyu's celebration isn't premature. Or celebrate ourselves just yet.
>Still, best not divert Murasa's attention just yet, either.
>Head back out on deck with Miyuki.

DracoOmega · « **Reply #436 on:** February 23, 2012, 08:18:19 PM »

Quote from: Sourfang, the Falling Star on February 23, 2012, 10:23:02 AM

>Fast ship indeed.
>Let's just hope Miyumiyu's celebration isn't premature. Or celebrate ourselves just yet.
>Still, best not divert Murasa's attention just yet, either.
>Head back out on deck with Miyuki.

>No matter the circumstances, gaining on a tengu vessel is damn impressive. As you've always heard it, the only thing that can catch a tengu ship is another tengu ship. It's one of the reasons that what few pirates there are remain so elusive; the only forces capable of apprehending them are their own people, and though the official line from the tengu government is that such criminals are swiftly dealt with once identified, many people suspect that, in practice, they turn a blind eye to attacks on the other races. It certainly wouldn't be out of character.
>Still, you aren't ready to write this off as a victory yet, not with the distance the pirates closed before starting to fall back again. You decide to leave Murasa and Neu to their work and go back out on deck.
>Miyuki glances back in your direction as you draw near and flashes you a wary smile. "I told you we were one of the fastest things on the sky."

Kilgamayan · « **Reply #437 on:** February 23, 2012, 09:36:31 PM »

> "Guess so."
> How's the distance looking now?

DracoOmega · « **Reply #438 on:** February 23, 2012, 10:02:27 PM »

Quote from: Kilgamayan on February 23, 2012, 09:36:31 PM

> "Guess so."
> How's the distance looking now?

>"Well, I guess you won't be able to say your first trip off the island was uneventful," Miyuki offers with an awkward chuckle.
>Without more familiarity with the markers around here, it's hard to guess absolute distance with any precision; the sky is still more open than not, and there's little continuity among the scattered rocks. If you had to offer a number, you might guess somewhere in the half-mile range. The pirate ship is still receding, though only slowly. Then, as the Blue Maiden more fully rounds the islet, it disappears from sight entirely. ...wait.
>A single point of striking luminance streaks upward through the sky, glowing vividly even against the midday sun. It hangs there for a moment, then stares to flicker and fade as a second flies up to meet it, and then a third. While you cannot see their source for certain, they appear to be coming from the same direction that the pirate ship should still be.
>"Signal flare!" Miyuki calls back to the wheelhouse. "Yellow, yellow, green!"

Hanzo K. · « **Reply #439 on:** February 23, 2012, 10:04:41 PM »

>"...That's bad news isn't it?"

DracoOmega · « **Reply #440 on:** February 23, 2012, 10:12:22 PM »

Quote from: Hanzo K. on February 23, 2012, 10:04:41 PM

>"...That's bad news isn't it?"

>"If it's signaling," Miyuki says grimly, "that means there's probably someone else watching for it."

Kilgamayan · « **Reply #441 on:** February 23, 2012, 10:21:49 PM »

> "Pirates work together? How wonderfully irritating."

DracoOmega · « **Reply #442 on:** February 23, 2012, 10:40:32 PM »

Quote from: Kilgamayan on February 23, 2012, 10:21:49 PM

> "Pirates work together? How wonderfully irritating."

>"I'm... not sure that's the word I would use," she says, then offers a weak smile. "Maybe they're just saying 'Target escaped; returning to base'?"
>The sky ahead is growing more dense with larger floating rocks. As you crest the islet you're circling and start to pull away from it again, several more come into view that were previously obscured by it; a narrow snake-like island hangs a mile or so to the right of the ship's course, capped with several scraggly trees and ringed with smaller debris, and a few less notable ones dot the horizon. It's sometimes hard to judge how far away they are, or how much space there is between them; the sky is still more empty than not and the islets range from little larger than the wheelhouse to a dozen of times the size of the whole ship.
>The Maiden angles to the left, appearing to aim for a relatively wide passage between a pair of smaller islets.

Hanzo K. · « **Reply #443 on:** February 23, 2012, 10:41:59 PM »

>"With how my luck's been in the past, they might be calling more of their friends."

DracoOmega · « **Reply #444 on:** February 23, 2012, 10:44:25 PM »

Quote from: Hanzo K. on February 23, 2012, 10:41:59 PM

>"With how my luck's been in the past, they might be calling more of their friends."

>Miyuki frowns. "Yeah... They probably are...."

Kilgamayan · « **Reply #445 on:** February 23, 2012, 10:49:16 PM »

> Frown in return.
> "Did I ever tell you how much I hate waiting?"

DracoOmega · « **Reply #446 on:** February 23, 2012, 11:21:42 PM »

Quote from: Kilgamayan on February 23, 2012, 10:49:16 PM

> Frown in return.
> "Did I ever tell you how much I hate waiting?"

>"For what it's worth," she says with a downcast expression, "I'm sorry."
>You swiftly close on the passage ahead, sometimes making slight course adjustments as the ship's balance wobbles a little; you suspect the aether flows out here are less stable than on the main skyway and the Blue Maiden is not a small ship. Seconds pass by painfully. You still can't see the ship tailing you; earlier you might have thought this reassuring, but now...? You pass along the further edge of the first islet, about 500 yards off the port bow; a small flock of birds scatter from its surface as you near, their calls echoed by others of their kind from far away. And then you are between the islets.
>The rough surface of exposed rock blurs by as the Maiden moves past them at full speed. The passage feels much wider now than it looked from a distance, easily enough for several ships to pass abreast. Ahead, you can see another island or two in the distance, though the ones flanking you restrict your peripheral vision. A narrow prow crests the corner of the left islet, followed by the smooth profile of a wing.
>"Tengu corsair!" Miyuki cries. "Dead ahead!"
>Back in the wheelhouse, you hear Murasa curse loudly.

Kilgamayan · « **Reply #447 on:** February 23, 2012, 11:24:54 PM »

> "Don't suppose we have a name to attach to this one?"

DracoOmega · « **Reply #448 on:** February 23, 2012, 11:50:37 PM »

Quote from: Kilgamayan on February 23, 2012, 11:24:54 PM

> "Don't suppose we have a name to attach to this one?"

>"The markings are the same as the first ship," Miyuki says. "But I don't know either of their names."
>The Blue Maiden swerves hard to the right as the tengu ship moves perpendicular to the passage, shifting its broadside across the Maiden's original path. It is much closer than the first ship ever managed; you can even resolve several individual figures on the deck, dressed in loose garments of white on black with brightly colored sashes. Their raven wings mark them unmistakably as tengu.

Kilgamayan · « **Reply #449 on:** February 23, 2012, 11:54:08 PM »

> So they can fly?