Magical Lotus - Mahou Shoujou Byakuren - Episode 3

[Oldmansour]

>"Well, when you tried to communicate with me while my ring was off, it came through my ring as sound, yes? And remained as sound, even after I put my ring back on. But when you use the same method of communication while my ring is on from the start, it comes through into my mind and does not revert to making sound once the ring is removed. But if I put the ring back on while you are still speaking this way, I can once again hear it in my mind."

>"Ah hah." Rin vocalizes in understanding.

[DracoOmega]

>"I am not certain if this knowledge will ever prove useful, but knowing is better than not."
>Smile
>"Shall we go, then?"

[Oldmansour]

>"I am not certain if this knowledge will ever prove useful, but knowing is better than not."
>Smile
>"Shall we go, then?"

>"Beats gettin' caught off guard later." Rin concurs.
>At your suggestion, she retrieves your front-tied black coat and extends it towards you. "Ready when you are."

[DracoOmega]

>Accept the coat
>"Thank you."
>Put it on and then go head out to the bus stop (making sure we have bus fare and all that)

[Oldmansour]

>Accept the coat
>"Thank you."
>Put it on and then go head out to the bus stop (making sure we have bus fare and all that)

>Donning your coat, you check your pockets to makes sure you have everything you need. Finding that you do, you exit through the door Rin holds open for you.
>During your conversation and experimentation with Orin, the wind has died down slightly outside. It's still quite cool, but at a manageable speed. It's getting fairly dark, too, but the busses in town run late, so that shouldn't be a problem.
>As you descend the stairs, you hear a muffled popping sound from the direction of Patchouli's room. A small wisp of blue smoke plumes out from the top of her door, and a dull blue liquid leaks out from the bottom. Even from outside, you can hear her exclaim, "Damn and blast!" So far as you know, that's the first time you've ever heard her curse.

[Hanzo K.]

>Look at Orin with an expression that's a mix between 'back to the drawing board', and 'oh dear'. "First time I've heard her do that."

[Oldmansour]

>Look at Orin with an expression that's a mix between 'back to the drawing board', and 'oh dear'. "First time I've heard her do that."

>"Make somethin' go pop, or swear?"

[DracoOmega]

>"The latter."
>Move over to her door and knock on it. And try to avoid the puddle of... whatever that is.
>Call out: "Are you alright in there?"

[Oldmansour]

>"The latter."
>Move over to her door and knock on it. And try to avoid the puddle of... whatever that is.
>Call out: "Are you alright in there?"

>"Ladder? Oh, 'laTTer'." Rin corrects herself.
>Despite the liquid being very watery in form, if not quite in color, you detect the scent of sulphur from it as you approach Patchouli's door. Rin's nose wrinkles as she follows behind you, and you hear Hyozan, still standing by the gates leading to the street, sneeze sharply.
>Fortunately, the puddle is not large, so you have little trouble standing to the side of it and knocking on the Knowledge's door. You hear the small sound of feet splashing through thin water and the door opens slightly. Reisen's ears proceed her as she pokes her head out of the door, a blue chaulky dust in her tied-back hair. "We're fine, no need to worry." she assures you. "Just had a slight measurement mistake is all."
>"It was NOT the measurements." Patchouli says firmly. "It was the nitric acid. It should have been sulfuric."

[Hanzo K.]

>What do we know about this sort of stuff? If we're lucky, we might provide the nudge they need to make a breakthrough.

[Oldmansour]

>What do we know about this sort of stuff? If we're lucky, we might provide the nudge they need to make a breakthrough.

>You are, unfortunately, a fair bit out of your element when it comes to this brand of magic. You're still learning things about your own, let alone Patchouli's.

[DracoOmega]

>"Are you sure? Is there anything I can do to help?"

[Oldmansour]

>"Are you sure? Is there anything I can do to help?"

>Reisen opens her mouth, but Patchy's voice interrupts what she was about to say. "Ask Nitori if she's got a car battery to spare."

[Hanzo K.]

>Raise an eyebrow. Nitric Acid, Kasha Hair, and a Car Battery...Sounds like they're cooking up a Noodle Incident. Well, we'll probably hear it in more detail when we get back.
>"I'll take care of that then."

[Oldmansour]

>Raise an eyebrow. Nitric Acid, Kasha Hair, and a Car Battery...Sounds like they're cooking up a Noodle Incident. Well, we'll probably hear it in more detail when we get back.
>"I'll take care of that then."

>"Thanks." Patchouli calls.
>"Sorry about the smell." Reisen adds apologetically.

>Rin, however, asks, "What's a car battery got to do with magic?"
>"It's the acid." Reisen fills her in. "Sulphuric acid is used in most car batteries."

[Hanzo K.]

>Ah yeah, we learned that somewhere along the line didn't we? "She should have one then. I'll go."
>Let's make for wherever Nitori is.

[Oldmansour]

>Ah yeah, we learned that somewhere along the line didn't we? "She should have one then. I'll go."
>Let's make for wherever Nitori is.

>Marissa may have mentioned it once or twice, but it only sounds vaguely familiar. Cars are not one of your areas of great interest, though between Marissa and now Nitori, you've absorbed a bit of knowledge via proximity.
>Where would you like to check first?

[Hello Purvis]

>Let's go check where we had morningtimes with her yesterday.

[DracoOmega]

>And if she's not there, do we have any idea where she might be found this time of day?

[Oldmansour]

>And if she's not there, do we have any idea where she might be found this time of day?

>Taking into account what she was doing earlier, if she isn't in her shed, then she's likely still at Minoriko's on her game. Or in her own apartment on said. It can be a real time-consumer.

>Let's go check where we had morningtimes with her yesterday.

>You make your way towards Nitori's shed as Reisen retreats back inside Patchy's place. Upon Rin's suggestion, you send her up to check Minoriko's room while you investigate the shed. Your knock yields no answer, but this is not unusual for Nitori so you crack the door and glance inside. The engine Nitori was working on yesterday is missing, but so too is the Kappa herself.

[DracoOmega]

>Head back towards Minoriko's ourselves

[Oldmansour]

>Head back towards Minoriko's ourselves

>Coming up dry here, you make to reconnoiter with Rin at Minoriko's. The door is closed, so you enter after a quiet knock. You find Rin standing near the end of the kitchen, watching the computer, at which Nitori still sits.
>"If that's you, Byakuren, I'll be with ya in a minute." Nitori calls as you close the door behind you. "Tryin' to take the fel reaver down."

[Hanzo K.]

>Ah, we know what she's talking about, yes?

[Oldmansour]

>Ah, we know what she's talking about, yes?

>You most definitely do. You play the game yourself. As a matter of fact, your first day in Hellfire Peninsula, you had an encounter with the Fel Reaver yourself. It stomped you into the ground while you were questing west of Thrallmar. It's nowhere near as subtle as the Devilsaurs, but it still managed to sneak up on you, as it has many others.
>The Fel Reaver is a level 70 elite mob roaming the area called Hellfire Peninsula, in Outland. It serves two purposes, one official, one unofficial. It's official purpose is as part of a quest chain players must complete to gain access to the Shattered Halls dungeon. It's unofficial purpose is to scare the bajeezus out of new arrivals to Outland. It does this second job very, very well.

[Hanzo K.]

>"Ouch, good luck with that. I remember my first -and accidental- encounter with one of those, I ended up getting pounded flat. Trying to get to Shattered Halls?"
>Did we ever clear that quest, come to think of it?

[Oldmansour]

>"Ouch, good luck with that. I remember my first -and accidental- encounter with one of those, I ended up getting pounded flat. Trying to get to Shattered Halls?"
>Did we ever clear that quest, come to think of it?

>None of your characters are quite high enough to gain access to that quest. You need to be level 67 to access Shattered Halls at all, so most people wait until they are that high to try the Fel Reaver. Your highest level character at the moment is your priest, at level 65.
>Nitori chuckles. "Yeah, he's good like that."
>"Not me, a guildie. Trouble is, all he brought was lowbies to help em out." she adds, sounding a touch strained.

[Hanzo K.]

>Wince. "Ouch. That doesn't sound too pleasant."
>If we didn't have that business, we'd probably help out, wouldn't we?

[Oldmansour]

>Wince. "Ouch. That doesn't sound too pleasant."
>If we didn't have that business, we'd probably help out, wouldn't we?

>"Nah, that's what keeps things interesting."
>While you might like to, Nitori regrettably plays on a different server than you and Marissa.

[Hanzo K.]

>"Shame about the different servers, otherwise I'd lend a hand with my Priest. Buffs, heals, the usual."

[Oldmansour]

>"Shame about the different servers, otherwise I'd lend a hand with my Priest. Buffs, heals, the usual."

>"Nah, I think we got. Just takes a bit longer'n normal... THERE we go." Nitori finishes with some satisfaction. Then her face falls with a protracted sigh. "Why are all the coolest machines evil?"
>"Would ya want one if it weren't?" Rin asks. You note that she keeps her newly ringed hand in her pocket.
>"Hell yeah!" Nitori exclaims. "Who WOULDN'T?"