(Skyseas of Gensokyo) Nazrin Quest (Part 8)

[DracoOmega]

> Raise our hands, but don't drop any weapons.
> "I said I had dowsed the place and they didn't have anything, and I said that Miyuki didn't seem to know anything. I also said I was an outsider. If they don't have it, where might that relic be?"

>You raise your hands.
>"Doublespeak. You'll need to do better than that. Five."

[Kilgamayan]

> "The relic you're looking for is mine and if you take it from me everyone in this room will be dead in two weeks tops."

[DracoOmega]

> "The relic you're looking for is mine and if you take it from me everyone in this room will be dead in two weeks tops."

>"False. Final warning. Disarm yourself."

[Kilgamayan]

> While keeping our arms in the air, roll up the sleeve covering the Blight mark and show the mark in the direction of the tengu.
> "False this."

[Oldmansour]

>She mentioned a 'Lady Scarlet.' Does that name mean anything to us?

[Kilgamayan]

Out for the night.

I fully planned on using the disease as a defense mechanism, but with the added bit that the katana is keeping the disease in check and removing it will not only accelerate our sickness, but cause us to become airborne contagious. What I did NOT plan on is the squad deciding to go full-rush mode and give me ten seconds before getting skewered - I had planned on making this bluff up topside by being ambiguous for a little bit and requesting a meeting with Aya. Their original assertion regarding the relic was sufficiently ambiguous that I had designed my responses based on the assumption that the ship's crew was knowingly harboring some relic, but it appears they either didn't notice or plain don't care so whoop-de-fuckin'-do for that. Now the "confession" is likely to come in front of Miyuki, which I am more distraught about than anything else at present (as far as I'm concerned there's a talky way out of this and if it ultimately turns out that we really were in a no-win situation then we all simply lynch Draco postgame).

I am willing to operate 100% under the assumption that they actually do have some sense of integrity and don't desire bloodshed, just as they claim, if for no other reason than because if that's all a lie then we're completely fucked regardless so hey why the hell not. Doesn't matter how stupid you looked getting there, dead is dead.

Ideally I want Aya to have the story behind the disease and why we need to keep the relic with us for the time being (dying before we land vs. being cured), complete with showing her every afflicted area, and then I want to look her right in the eye and ask her if she's still going to demand we hand it over knowing full well doing so will be effectively murdering us. I want to see just how strong her sense of "integrity" is. And, again, if it turns out they were all lying about that and she never had integrity to begin with, then again, we were dead regardless, and the lynching-the-mod-in-postgame comment still applies. I obviously say this still not having gone through the archives, but I hold no personal attachment to the blade and would be willing to give it up after everything is said and done if the tengu really want it that badly.

[Oldmansour]

I can't help but think we should keep the blight up our sleeves for the moment. Save that threat for Aya, if we see her. I've had thoughts in that area myself. If one of these three gets away from us, she'll warn Aya, and then she'll be prepared to call our bluff. Better if we can catch her offguard later, if it comes to that. If they notice the patches during the fight, well, nothing we can do about that. We'll slash that chicken when we come to it.
And I'm with you on Miyuki. She doesn't know about our disease, and I think we both want to keep it that way. We can get out of this without broadcasting our blight to her.
Threatening to vomit pure blight on Aya, though, that's got some value. In fact, she's a pirate. Scourge of the skies. A worthless parasite. If we died taking her down, that's a good way to go.
I disagree, however, on the talky solution. If there IS one, this tengu isn't giving it to us. I don't believe we can't win this, but blood will spill first. Maybe the rest will flee after they see that we can defend ourselves. They are pirates, after all. they won't put themselves at risk if they don't absolutely have to.
Keep in mind that we could get help as well. Any Maiden crewmen could come to our aid, and since this is 3-on-1, we might need it.

>Instead of showing them the blight, lower our arms slightly.
>"Damn your wings, I CAN'T disarm! I don't want to see this end up in blood, but I can't disarm, anymore than you could tear off your wings."
>The instant they start to charge, IF they charge, produce a pair of kunai, throw the one in our left hand at the one in the lead, and be ready to parry with the other one.
>What do we hear from above?

[Kilgamayan]

Man, if we're doing combat here you're on your own.

[DracoOmega]

>She mentioned a 'Lady Scarlet.' Does that name mean anything to us?

>The name rings a vague bell, though it takes you a moment to place it. You think she's one of the bigwig nobles in Val Razua. You don't really know a great deal about her beyond that.

>What do we hear from above?

>You can still hear movement and some muffled conversation from above, but it sounds like the fighting has either died down or moved off. You're not sure if you should take comfort in this, or be even more worried.

>Instead of showing them the blight, lower our arms slightly.
>"Damn your wings, I CAN'T disarm! I don't want to see this end up in blood, but I can't disarm, anymore than you could tear off your wings."
>The instant they start to charge, IF they charge, produce a pair of kunai, throw the one in our left hand at the one in the lead, and be ready to parry with the other one.

>You lower your arms slightly.
>"It's unfortunate you feel that way," the lead tengu says, starting to close on you with her weapon extended. Her stance is more guarded than openly aggressive, but she'll still be upon you in another couple steps, and the second is following close behind her. You decide you don't intend to let them reach you.
>With a sharp flick of your wrist, you send the kunai in your hand sailing towards the lead tengu while drawing another with your free hand. Your target is already moving aside before the motion is complete, twisting her body to the right and spreading her wings flat against the other side of the corridor. Even as your kunai is sailing past her, she slashes her sword firmly through the air towards you. You stand ready to parry with the second kunai, but her weapon is beyond your reach even moreso than you are beyond its; there is still a good several feet between you and the furthest tip of her blade, and the attack seems harmlessly distant at first. However, as her weapon finishes its arc, you see a sharp distortion of air fly forth from the path traced by the blade and close swiftly on you.

[Oldmansour]

>Is her sword magic?
>Shape and width of this distortion.

[DracoOmega]

>Is her sword magic?
>Shape and width of this distortion.

>It wasn't obviously so at first glance, but you don't exactly have time to break out the dowsing rods and have a proper look right now.
>It is roughly crescent-shaped and quite thin - thinner than the sword itself, but nearly as long. You think it has a bit of depth to it, but the narrow side is facing you nearly directly at the moment.

[Oldmansour]

>Thin just means it's easier to dodge for a nimble mouse like us.
>Sidestep to the left side of the corridor until the attack flies past us. And hope that no one steps into the corridor behind us.
>Flash the pirate a quick grin after it passes. "Neat trick."
>Come off the wall and advance one step after the attack passes.

>Is the corridor wide enough to allow two of them to attack us at once?
>Is there room in this corridor to allow them to fly over our head?
>Are tengu especially resilient?
>Do we know of any general tengu weaknesses?
>Can we use our ESP to detect weaknesses in peoples bodies?

[DracoOmega]

>Is the corridor wide enough to allow two of them to attack us at once?
>Is there room in this corridor to allow them to fly over our head?
>Are tengu especially resilient?
>Do we know of any general tengu weaknesses?
>Can we use our ESP to detect weaknesses in peoples bodies?

>The corridor is wide enough for two people to stand abreast, but not by much. It would be easy enough to walk past someone if neither party were aggressive, but it would be cramped quarters for two people to fight side by side in. At best, it would hamper the maneuverability of both considerably.
>There is theoretically enough room for someone to pass over your head if they were prone, or near to it, but you don't know how much space a tengu needs to properly work their wings. It may be too confined for them to perform such a maneuver.
>As youkai go, tengu are considered high-tier in nearly all respects. While their resilience is not as legendary as their aerial agility, you're sure it would still compare favorably to most youkai, and is almost certainly greater than your own.
>None that you expect would aid you in this situation. Though they are widely considered imperious and dismissive of 'lesser' races, so perhaps it's possible for you to play upon the chance they're taking you lightly?
>Unless said weakness was a core of pure orichalcum, probably not.

>Thin just means it's easier to dodge for a nimble mouse like us.
>Sidestep to the left side of the corridor until the attack flies past us. And hope that no one steps into the corridor behind us.
>Flash the pirate a quick grin after it passes. "Neat trick."
>Come off the wall and advance one step after the attack passes.

>Thin certainly helps, though the corridor itself is fairly narrow and the distortion is quite swift.
>You quickly sidestep to the left, narrowly evading the projectile. You feel you hair rustle as if a gust of wind had just passed you by. Behind the lead tengu, you see the second pirate shift aside from your kunai as it reaches her - less deftly than the first did. She swings her sword as the dagger nears her and sends it clattering against the wall of the corridor.
>You flash the first pirate a quick grin and compliment her on her technique, but before you've even finished the sentence she cuts another slash across the air, crosswise to the last. Another windy distortion flies from it towards you. You can already see her sketching a third stroke.
>From behind the group, you hear footsteps resume on the steps up from the hold, this time at a run. The tengu at the rear turns around to face the stairway.

[Oldmansour]

>That better be reinforcements. For OUR side.
>Relative height of the second slash, is it closer to the roof or the floor?
>Remaining kunai.

[DracoOmega]

>That better be reinforcements. For OUR side.
>Relative height of the second slash, is it closer to the roof or the floor?
>Remaining kunai.

>So you hope....
>It is roughly at the height of your chest, which you suppose would make it closer to the floor than the ceiling.
>You have one in hand, and another one on your person.

[Oldmansour]

>Can we get enough height from a stationary position to jump it, without bashing our head against the ceiling?

[DracoOmega]

>Can we get enough height from a stationary position to jump it, without bashing our head against the ceiling?

>You think it would be tricky to get enough height to put your feet entirely above it with just a standing jump.

[Oldmansour]

>Is it coming too fast to allow us to take a couple steps forward, get a little momentum to aid in a jump?

[DracoOmega]

>Is it coming too fast to allow us to take a couple steps forward, get a little momentum to aid in a jump?

>Taking a couple of steps forward would be tantamount to running straight into it; you aren't a great deal outside of melee range at the moment.

[Oldmansour]

>Fling a kunai at the wind-cutting tengu before she finishes her third cut, while at the same time ducking and falling forward, tucking and rolling under the distortion slash.
>Draw final kunai midroll, and come out of the roll at a lunge, going for a slash at the lead tengu.

[Kilgamayan]

Oh sure, you resurface when I'm at a convention.

[Oldmansour]

And given us a tengu with a magical sword, to boot. As well as adds.
Ever fought a tengu with a magic sword before during your adventures in Purvisverse, Kilga?

[Kilgamayan]

Haven't fought a tengu period, as it turns out.

[DracoOmega]

>Fling a kunai at the wind-cutting tengu before she finishes her third cut, while at the same time ducking and falling forward, tucking and rolling under the distortion slash.
>Draw final kunai midroll, and come out of the roll at a lunge, going for a slash at the lead tengu.

>You hurl your third kunai at the tengu while she's in the middle of her own attack. This does nothing to interrupt it, but the motion costs her time to properly evade and she opts to parry instead. As another slice of air whisks away from the blade's path, she turns her wrist and brings the sword around to deflect the projectile. Even as she starts this maneuver, you are rolling beneath her second slash. You feel the rush of air against you as it skims above your head, making an odd whistling noise as it passes. Behind, you hear something strike sharply against wood.
>You draw your last kunai while you're still rolling and immediately slash at the tengu as you come out of it. Perhaps because of the earlier distraction, she is not well-positioned to defend herself; though she leaps gracefully backwards as you attack, the tip of your blade still manages to score a short, shallow gash across her left leg, about halfway between knee and ankle.
>Before she has even landed, the second tengu rushes you through the gap left by the first's retreat. In the corner of your eye, you see her leveling a diagonal sweep at you, blade held out before her body.

>You hear the footsteps continuing to beat closer to the deck.
>"We've got anothe-!" the third tengu calls out from the rear, her words cut off by the sound of wood loudly splintering.

[Oldmansour]

>Can we see the three kunai we've thrown?
>Can we tell what's going on in the rear without looking away from the two we're fighting?
>Are we standing or crouching?
>Status of wounded tengu.

[DracoOmega]

>Can we see the three kunai we've thrown?
>Can we tell what's going on in the rear without looking away from the two we're fighting?
>Are we standing or crouching?
>Status of wounded tengu.

>Not without a moment or two to glance about, and you don't have many of those to spare before the sharp end of a weapon has an unpleasant meeting with your flesh. You don't imagine the third shot can be far away from you, though.
>They're largely blocking your field of view at the moment, and what you can see at a glance, without one of the three of you moving, isn't terribly informative.
>You're still crouching.
>She is landing gently from her retreat. You can see a thin trickle of blood marking the spot where you cut her, but you doubt it'll be much of an impediment.

[Oldmansour]

>Are we closer to the left or right wall?

[DracoOmega]

>Are we closer to the left or right wall?

>As you are facing, you are very near to the left wall. The lead tengu is as well, though further back. Her companion is rushing in from the right.

[Oldmansour]

>Is she close enough that we can lunge forward and stab her before her swing cuts us?

[DracoOmega]

>Is she close enough that we can lunge forward and stab her before her swing cuts us?

>Probably not. At the very least, you are liable to end up taking the slash while you stab her.