(Skyseas of Gensokyo) Nazrin Quest (Part 8)

[Oldmansour]

>Dammit all to hell....
>Are there any more rocks falling or threatening to fall?
>Still no sign this girl is coming around?
>Is Miyuki still on her feet?
>Are we strong enough to sling this woman over one shoulder, giving us a free arm, while not upsetting our balance or compromising our movement speed?

[DracoOmega]

>Dammit all to hell....
>Are there any more rocks falling or threatening to fall?
>Still no sign this girl is coming around?
>Is Miyuki still on her feet?
>Are we strong enough to sling this woman over one shoulder, giving us a free arm, while not upsetting our balance or compromising our movement speed?

>Assuming that isn't straight where you're all heading now....
>Yes. In fact, there are several more uncomfortably close to the both of your positions, though most are only small now. Still, while you could take that kind of a blow, you imagine it would be a lot worse for a human.
>Maybe slightly, but not enough to think she could walk on her own.
>She's attempting to right herself again, but the sharp wince she makes when she bears weight on that foot again is not encouraging.
>You could shoulder her with some effort, but it would definitely compromise your balance and mobility to some degree. You expect you could still manage, if you had to.
>The ship continues falling....

[Oldmansour]

>Do there appear to be any rocks falling around the entrance to the stairs?
>No, never mind. If we put this girl down, she could slide off the ship, or fall down the stairs if we left here there...
>Is there anywhere we could leave her safely while we go help Miyuki?
>"Miyki, are you all right?!"

[DracoOmega]

>Do there appear to be any rocks falling around the entrance to the stairs?
>No, never mind. If we put this girl down, she could slide off the ship, or fall down the stairs if we left here there...
>Is there anywhere we could leave her safely while we go help Miyuki?
>"Miyki, are you all right?!"

>None to speak off. None of these are large enough to create obstructions at any rate; they just would be quite unpleasant to have land on you.
>Falling down the stairs is possible. Sliding off the ship seems less likely given the sides of it are raised safely above the deck. Unless the ship just turns over, and at that point you're all screwed. Of course, if it doesn't stop falling soon, you're all going to be screwed either way....
>If you don't think the stairs are safe or the deck is safe, that doesn't leave much, does it?
>"Fine," she says through gritted teeth, pushing herself upright again. She grimaces, very obviously pushing against pain. Another fragment of rock clatters against the deck near her.

[Oldmansour]

>Are we listing in either direction, or pitching forward?

[DracoOmega]

>Are we listing in either direction, or pitching forward?

>While you are losing altitude at a disturbing rate, the ship's attitude seems to have mostly stabilized.

[Oldmansour]

>Well, if she won't slide away on us...
>Lay the crewman down here, if we think she won't get pummeled by any rocks, then go back and assist Miyuki.
>"You're not a good lier. Now let me help you."
>Watch for more rocks above.

[DracoOmega]

>Well, if she won't slide away on us...
>Lay the crewman down here, if we think she won't get pummeled by any rocks, then go back and assist Miyuki.
>"You're not a good lier. Now let me help you."
>Watch for more rocks above.

>You take a look above to check that your immediate vicinity is clear of any more falling rocks and then lay the crewman down and move over to Miyuki.
>"She's in worse shape than I am," Miyuki replies, still grimacing slightly while she steadies herself. "I can still move."
>You keep your eyes peeled upward for any remaining rocks. Miyuki notices one incoming near her and and quickly sidesteps, though the maneuver draws a short cry of pain from her and she loses her footing again. She wastes no time in attempting to regain it, but it's clearly taking a toll on her.
>Why won't you stop falling...?

[Oldmansour]

>Help her up. The nlace ourselves under her arm, let her lean against us for balance.
>"I'm gonna hold you to that. Think you can get over those stairs on your own? I can't carry you both down."
>Flash her a quick grin, try to ease her mind a little. Nothing we can do about the ship but have faith in Murasa and Ishi, and hope they can come up with something to keep us in the air.
>"I'm good, honey, I ain't that good."

[DracoOmega]

>Help her up. The nlace ourselves under her arm, let her lean against us for balance.
>"I'm gonna hold you to that. Think you can get over those stairs on your own? I can't carry you both down."
>Flash her a quick grin, try to ease her mind a little. Nothing we can do about the ship but have faith in Murasa and Ishi, and hope they can come up with something to keep us in the air.
>"I'm good, honey, I ain't that good."

>You help Miyuki up and let her lean against you. She winces again slightly .
>"It's only a sprained ankle," she says. "I've had worse."
>You flash her a quick grin in hopes of easing her mind. And perhaps even your own. The expression on her own face is deeply troubled but not yet hopeless.
>She frowns somberly. "I'm sorry."

[Oldmansour]

>"No sorries here, Miyuki. Let's just get out of these rocks."
>Do just that with our wounded Miyumiyu.
>Once we get to the stairs, make sure she's okay getting down on that ankle, then go back for the other wounded woman.
>And of course, watch for falling rocks throughout.

[DracoOmega]

>"No sorries here, Miyuki. Let's just get out of these rocks."
>Do just that with our wounded Miyumiyu.
>Once we get to the stairs, make sure she's okay getting down on that ankle, then go back for the other wounded woman.
>And of course, watch for falling rocks throughout.

>"...right." She nods.
>Supporting her as best you can with the height difference, you help Miyuki cover the rest of the distance to the stairs. Another couple of loose stones fall against the deck, but you manage to make it to the deckhouse without needing to perform any further acrobatics.
>You let go of Miyuki once you arrive and watch her take a first hesitant step. Her face draws tight as she shifts her weight gingerly onto her injured foot, but she turns and flashes you a defiant look once she notices your hesitation.
>"Go on!"

[Oldmansour]

>"Right..."
>Retreive the downed crowman.
>Spare a venom-filled look at that damn tengu ship out there.
>Bring the woman to the stairs and get below, into the rock-free zone.

[DracoOmega]

>"Right..."
>Retreive the downed crowman.
>Spare a venom-filled look at that damn tengu ship out there.
>Bring the woman to the stairs and get below, into the rock-free zone.

>With a muted acknowledgment, you leave Miyuki and quickly run back to where you leave the injured crewman. You lean down and carefully pick her up again.
>Then you throw a glare venomous glare towards the tengu ship, whose fault all this is. Unfortunately, the Skyfang appears to have shifted position and you can't spot it at this moment, but the smaller vessel that followed you under the island has gotten quite close now. It's also unpleasantly far above you. You have to be getting close to the point of no return now, surely?
>As you quickly return to the stairs, the woman groans in your arms and tries to focus her eyes on you. "W... what's going on?" she asks weakly.
>The nose of the ship starts to angle upward and you hear a mechanical grating noise from the aft, followed by a heavy clunk.
>All the way from the wheelhouse, you hear Murasa yell out loudly. "Get down and hold on!"

[Kilgamayan]

> Is there anything in the immediate vicinity we could grab onto?
> Are we right at the stairwell opening, or do we still have a little bit of distance to traverse?

[Oldmansour]

>"Just hang on. We ain't outta the woods yet."

[DracoOmega]

> Is there anything in the immediate vicinity we could grab onto?
> Are we right at the stairwell opening, or do we still have a little bit of distance to traverse?

>Nothing within arm's reach. There's still the railing a few feet beyond that, and you supposed the stairs themselves.
>A couple more steps and you can be inside. The stairway itself does mostly lack a banister, unfortunately, but the similar lack of risers means that you could probably grip onto a step itself if you flattened yourself low enough.

>"Just hang on. We ain't outta the woods yet."

>"...woods?" she answers uncertainly, turning her head aside as though she expected to find some somewhere.

>You hear a deafening roar begin to blast out from the rear of the ship. The deck starts to rumble.

[Oldmansour]

>Suppose we'll have to test our grip while holding a wounded woman.
>Get inside. And do the best we can to maintain balance, use supports if need be as best as possible.

Had to rush that one, gotta get to work.
/tags out

[DracoOmega]

>Suppose we'll have to test our grip while holding a wounded woman.
>Get inside. And do the best we can to maintain balance, use supports if need be as best as possible.

>You quickly duck inside the deckhouse, crewman in tow. Miyuki has made it almost to the bottom of the first flight of steps. She glances at you uncertainly. Both the noise and the rumbling intensify. Then Miyuki drops down to her knees and grabs hold of a step herself, wincing at the motion.
>She frowns and quietly breathes. "Oh dear...."

[Kilgamayan]

> So we're completely clear of the deck now?
> Wrap our tail around the torso of the injured woman, just to give ourselves a little extra grip on her.
> "Miyuki, your foot okay?"

[DracoOmega]

> So we're completely clear of the deck now?
> Wrap our tail around the torso of the injured woman, just to give ourselves a little extra grip on her.
> "Miyuki, your foot okay?"

>You're not many steps down, but you are indeed clear of the deck.
>You wrap your tail around the injured crewman for a little extra leverage. She squirms slightly as you do so.
>"I'm fine!" Miyuki insists forcefully. "Now get a hold of something!"
>The ship tilts further upward and you feel it starting to move forward.

[Kilgamayan]

> Are we currently standing on a stair?
> How are we supporting the injured crewwoman, aside from the tail?

[DracoOmega]

> Are we currently standing on a stair?
> How are we supporting the injured crewwoman, aside from the tail?

>You are. There really isn't anywhere to stand in here that isn't on a stair, until you reach the lower deck.
>You're holding her under a shoulder with one arm and around the torso with the other.

[Kilgamayan]

> How far is it to the bottom of the first flight of steps?

[DracoOmega]

> How far is it to the bottom of the first flight of steps?

>About a dozen of them or so, spanning maybe eight feet.

[Kilgamayan]

> We're not really in a position to hold onto stairs...either we'd have to let go of the crewwoman or we'd be pinning her to the steps with our body.
> Hurry down the remaining steps to the bottom of the first flight of steps. We can positions ourselves much better in the open space between flights.

[DracoOmega]

> We're not really in a position to hold onto stairs...either we'd have to let go of the crewwoman or we'd be pinning her to the steps with our body.
> Hurry down the remaining steps to the bottom of the first flight of steps. We can positions ourselves much better in the open space between flights.

>You elect to rush down the rest of the steps rather than risk pinning the poor woman against the angular stairs. The ship picks up momentum rapidly as you move and you find yourself nearly thrown forward from the sudden acceleration; keeping your tail around the crewman isn't helping your balance any.
>Miyuki holds a hand out towards you as you near the bottom of the stairs.

[Kilgamayan]

> As we concontinue to make our way down the stairs, reach out and grab Miyuki's hand with our hand not attached to the arm around the injured's torso.
> "She's got a head wound. Pretty dazed."

[DracoOmega]

> As we concontinue to make our way down the stairs, reach out and grab Miyuki's hand with our hand not attached to the arm around the injured's torso.
> "She's got a head wound. Pretty dazed."

>You reach out and take Miyuki's hand and use it to help steady you down the last few steps.
>Miyuki looks at the crewman in your arms and frowns. Though the wound itself seems small, a considerable amount of blood has flown from it, streaking brightly down the side of her face and cheek. Parts of her bang are matted with it.
>"Natsumi?" Miyuki says in a firm tone. "Are you okay? Can you hear me?"
>The woman in your arms groans and tries vaguely to focus on her. "...what's that racket...?"
>This draws a frown of a different sort from Miyuki. "I think they're giving Ishi's new... project a test drive."

>The ship continues to accelerate, its shaking growing increasingly violent.

[Kilgamayan]

> "Natsumi, is it? Can you grab anything right now?"