Remilia Quest

[Oldmansour]

>"Tch....Which one leads to the Waterfall Basin..."
>We should be able to break off a bat or two to investigate as scouts, yes?
>"As for Greed and Wrath, I suspect Wrath will just be pure power, like Flan when she gets in one of her tempers. Simple enough to redirect. Greed will likely try to use any means necessary to con us into something. And I suspect we should be especially careful should it attempt to possess Reimu, as it might promise her vast wealth in exchange for playing host to it."
>Smirk. "However....Even Greed can fall prey to it's own machinations when making a Deal with a Devil."

>"I don't know. I've never been in this part of Gensokyo before."
>Following the southern fork is simple enough, you can do that without crossing the water at all. However, unless you find a bridge, you will be unable to explore the southeast fork.

[Hanzo K.]

>Sigh. "Well, we have two options. We split up, I take the south fork, you take the southeast one. Or, we both take the south one."

[Oldmansour]

>Sigh. "Well, we have two options. We split up, I take the south fork, you take the southeast one. Or, we both take the south one."

>Reisen looks down the southeast fork, then looks back at you. "Is there something wrong with that side for you?"

[Hanzo K.]

>"A girl has to keep at least some secrets, no? I'm just not particularly fond of water."

[Oldmansour]

>"A girl has to keep at least some secrets, no? I'm just not particularly fond of water."

>"Even flying over it? .... Well, I won't make a deal of it. I guess even vampires have phobias." Reisen looks down both branches again. "I think we'd be okay splitting up. And whichever river turns out to be the wrong one, well, that one of us can always turn around and head down the other river." She pauses then. "Well.... at least I can." she adds.

[Hanzo K.]

>...We'll go with that. Better she think it a phobia than a weakness.
>"Alright, we'll play it that way."
>Let's take the southern fork!

[Oldmansour]

>...We'll go with that. Better she think it a phobia than a weakness.
>"Alright, we'll play it that way."
>Let's take the southern fork!

>Allowing Reisen her misconception, you agree to her plan of action, and fly down the south-flowing strand, while the rabbit heads southeast.
>Flying solo... First time you've actually done that since the night began. Gives a vampire time to think. As you've said to others, it has indeed been a very long time since the last time you met one of your kind. Then again, the normal precedents for contact with another vampire don't apply to this situation, anyway, not if this Countess is holding Sakuya. Be she superior to your, or inferior, nobody but NOBODY takes your head maid from you and gets away with it. You may have to damage Rei, if push comes to shove, but she'll get over it in time. A few decades under your wing will do the youngling some good. Even if you've never actually tried to train a youngling yourself before, but, how hard can it be?

>After twelve minutes of following the gently winding river, a bridge comes into view ahead. Not the sturdiest bridge in the world, made of rope and wood planks, but it will serve the purpose if wish to cross to the other side here. The bridge is not uninhabited, however, as two figures stand upon it, a trail-beaten man and a taller, muscular woman with bright red hair. Both seem to be holding crude fishing poles.
>The time is now 1:06 AM.

[Hanzo K.]

>Let's flip to bat form and fly over. We'll masquerade as a youkai bat like we did earlier.

[Oldmansour]

>Let's flip to bat form and fly over. We'll masquerade as a youkai bat like we did earlier.

>Transforming to snoop on the pair, you fly over them in your batshape.
>Neither of the two seem familiar to you. The taller woman has dull brown eyes and her thick hair has a bit of a mohawk going on on top of the rest of the mop of hair. She has a bit of an unkepmt look about her, though, her green and brown dress seems to be homespun, crudely, and is dripping wet, as is her hair. How she can maintain a mohawk while having wet hair is beyond you. Her skin also has a bit of a greenish pall, faint but noticable.
>The male also appears shabby. His faded blue trousers are battered, his black windbreaker is dusty, covering a patched blue shirt. His thin brown hair is tied back in a tight braid. The faint scent of his blood washes across your nose as you approach him, sign of a thin cut somewhere on his body. He's definately human, although there is a faint touch of something else you can't quite place. He's a handsome sort, though, despite the scar on his throat. In defiance of his raggedy appearance and the fact that he's standing next to what may well be a feral, or at least, wild youkai, he wears a casual grin, the grin men wear when they're fishing. Bit of an odd bird, this human. Humans aren't usually that comfortable in the company of youkai. Then again, you've never heard of a human this far away from the village or the Hakurei shrine, either.

[Hanzo K.]

>Let's keep nearby in bat form.
>"'scuse me, but does this branch of the river lead to the waterfall basin?"

[Oldmansour]

>Let's keep nearby in bat form.
>"'scuse me, but does this branch of the river lead to the waterfall basin?"

>Dropping down slightly to communicate with the odd pair, you ask them of your destination. The woman grunts, a deep sound. "Buzz off. You'll scare the fish."
>The human, though, looks up at you with curious eyes.

[Hanzo K.]

> Perch on one of the bridgeposts. "That's pretty rude y'know, All I'm doing is asking for directions."

[Oldmansour]

> Perch on one of the bridgeposts. "That's pretty rude y'know, All I'm doing is asking for directions."

>"And all I'm doin' is tellin' you yer scaring the fish. Now get off my bridge, before I flatten you."

[Hanzo K.]

>And back to normal form, 50% aura.
>"Well, seems that asking you won't get me anywhere. Tch, a waste of time..."
>Let's just fly over the bridge so we can get across to the other branch if this one doesn't work, and keep going.

[Oldmansour]

>And back to normal form, 50% aura.
>"Well, seems that asking you won't get me anywhere. Tch, a waste of time..."
>Let's just fly over the bridge so we can get across to the other branch if this one doesn't work, and keep going.

>Transforming back makes both youkai and human take a step backwards.
>As you attempt to cross the bridge, however, the youkai reaches out and grabs you by the foot, despite your power aura. Rather violently, she sends you flying back the way you came. She's rather strong.
>"Nobody crosses my bridge without besting me, scrawny." The youkai snarls.
>The human, however, seems fixated upon you. That's a bit refreshing, been some years since a human gave you that kind of respect.

[Hanzo K.]

>Smirk. "I had a feeling it would end up like this. Troll, I assume? This reminds me of an old tale from the outside world you know."
>100%! "But it seems the time for talk is over, no? How many spellcards shall we settle this with, five?"

[Oldmansour]

>Smirk. "I had a feeling it would end up like this. Troll, I assume? This reminds me of an old tale from the outside world you know."
>100%! "But it seems the time for talk is over, no? How many spellcards shall we settle this with, five?"

>The suspected Troll pulls her lips back into a feral grin, revealing canine teeth that are more like tusks than teeth, elongated as they are. "Come on, even this human could do better than that."
>"And maybe I can again." the human offers, his eyes still upon you. "You're a... vampire, aren't you? The Scarlet Devil?"

[Hanzo K.]

>Smirk. "I see my reputation precedes me once again."

[Oldmansour]

>Smirk. "I see my reputation precedes me once again."

>"Keine taught us about you. Though I had to pick up most of it myself." The boy seems fascinated by your presense, his eyes fixed on, you think, your fangs. "But what would you want with a waterfall? I didn't think vampires were big fans of water." His eyes alight with curiousity. "Have you found a way to beat that?"

[Hanzo K.]

>Chuckle. "Another Vampire's shown up, and she's caused me a great deal of trouble by attempting to steal my head maid for herself. I've discovered that her domain is somewhere in the waterfall basin, which is why I asked about it earlier."
>Then smirk. "I must admit though, most humans don't readily associate with Youkai so easily."

[Oldmansour]

>Chuckle. "Another Vampire's shown up, and she's caused me a great deal of trouble by attempting to steal my head maid for herself. I've discovered that her domain is somewhere in the waterfall basin, which is why I asked about it earlier."
>Then smirk. "I must admit though, most humans don't readily associate with Youkai so easily."

>The human's face swirls with a mix of pride and, simultaneously, disgust. "I'm not like most humans." he says in an odd voice. "But I might be able to help you, if you don't mind the help of a human."

[Hanzo K.]

>Smirk. "Who am I to turn down an offer of aid? You can come along if you so choose."
>Does this young man seem to be possessed? Regardless, we'll be on internal guard just in case.
>"I shall warn you though, this new vampire has seven underlings that are rather dangerous for non-vampires. Envy, Wrath, Greed, Pride, Sloth, Gluttony, and Lust. Envy, Gluttony, and Sloth have already been bested, which leaves the other four. Why do I say they're dangerous? They can possess people, and use that person's body as their own."

[Oldmansour]

>Smirk. "Who am I to turn down an offer of aid? You can come along if you so choose."
>Does this young man seem to be possessed? Regardless, we'll be on internal guard just in case.
>"I shall warn you though, this new vampire has seven underlings that are rather dangerous for non-vampires. Envy, Wrath, Greed, Pride, Sloth, Gluttony, and Lust. Envy, Gluttony, and Sloth have already been bested, which leaves the other four. Why do I say they're dangerous? They can possess people, and use that person's body as their own."

>The young man smiles broadly as you extend the invitation. It's hard to say if he seems possessed, as you're not familiar with him. But you haven't felt any surges of strange emotions, as you did with Envy, and if she and Sloth were any indication, he wouldn't be offering to help you if he were possessed. Unless, of course, the spirit is lying to you.
>"Those are weird names for youkai. I didn't think a youkai would name herself after human emotions."
>"We name ourselves whatever we damn well please, toothpick." the burly youkai rumbles.

[Hanzo K.]

>"That is because they aren't normal Youkai. But rather, the embodiments of the Seven Deadly Sins, a strong part of Western belief. I've taken to calling them Sin Spirits myself, which is a simple and straightforward means of referring to them."
>Chuckle a bit. "I've heard of another Youkai who can also be considered an embodiment of jealousy. I've entertained the idea of placing her and Envy in the same room together to see what results from that. I daresay it could be an amusing little experiment, no?"

[Oldmansour]

>"That is because they aren't normal Youkai. But rather, the embodiments of the Seven Deadly Sins, a strong part of Western belief. I've taken to calling them Sin Spirits myself, which is a simple and straightforward means of referring to them."
>Chuckle a bit. "I've heard of another Youkai who can also be considered an embodiment of jealousy. I've entertained the idea of placing her and Envy in the same room together to see what results from that. I daresay it could be an amusing little experiment, no?"

>"You vamps got a weird sense of humor." The youkai grunts. Bah. Your genius is obviously wasted on this brute.
>The human glances over the bridge at the river below, twists his lip, then nods. "Well, I don't know how much use I'd be in a fight, especially against a vampire. I mean, I'm still only human. But I might be able to point you in the direction. I think. I've never used my tricks like this before. For all I know, I could make the river explode."
>"River's made of water, toothpick." the youkai corrects him.
>"You haven't seen what I can do..." the human retorts.

[Hanzo K.]

>Chuckle a bit. "And that brings me to another matter, what is it you can do? I take it it's related to Water?"
>Oh yeah, we may as well power the aura down to stage 1.

[Oldmansour]

>Chuckle a bit. "And that brings me to another matter, what is it you can do? I take it it's related to Water?"
>Oh yeah, we may as well power the aura down to stage 1.

>"Not exactly." he mutters, clenching his fist and opening it again as you reduce your aura, for now. "But, if I do this right, I should be able to get this river to give up its secrets, and tell you, hopefully, where this waterfall is."
>He flexes his right arm. "Ah, it'll work out." he adds with a grin. "And it'll be cool, either way."

[Hanzo K.]

>Nod. "Alright, let's see if it'll work. I'm rather pressed for time after all."

[Oldmansour]

>Nod. "Alright, let's see if it'll work. I'm rather pressed for time after all."

>The grinning human chuckles. "Trust me." he says grandly as he pulls his right arm out of his jacket sleeve, letting that half of his jacket hang loose. He walks off of the bridge to your side of the river, and the youkai behind him grunts sharply.
>"Better not damage my river, stick. I'll take it out of your hide." she threatens the human. That could be a problem, if the boy turns out to be useful. To his credit, he doesn't seem outwardly scared of the burly youkai's threat, either.
>The young man takes a knee by the side of the river, and takes a couple of steadying breaths. He reaches his wirey arm out towards the surface of the water, but comments to you, "Might wanna back up a step or two, though, just in case there's a splash."

[Hanzo K.]

>Nod. "You have a point."
>Let's do so. But keep an eye on Ms. Brawny here.