Magical Lotus - Mahou Shoujou Byakuren - Episode 3, Part 2

[Oldmansour]

>Examine the object a little before touching it
>"Might I ask why?"

>The rock appears to be just that. A polished but uncut jump of jade. It has the same color and texture of the jades inlaying her bracelet, and is only a hair lighter than the green coloration of her hair. That could signify that she is a youkai of jade, but the slitted eyes are a mystery.

>The woman gives you a somewhat shy smile. "If you wouldn't mind."

[DracoOmega]

>"Very well, then."
>Accept the jade

[Oldmansour]

>"Very well, then."
>Accept the jade

>You take the hunk of rock from the woman's hand. You'd be lying if you said you didn't have a vague sense of trepidation. Considering what happened the last time you took something precious from a strange being, things went a bit sideways.
>To your relief, however, the gem does not change color or erupt in a shower of light or magic, or send you on any kind of metaphysical journey.
>To your surprise, nothing at all happens. The piece of jade sits in the palm of your hand like, well, a stone. Just to make sure everything's on the up and up, you sweep the piece of stone with your mystic senses, but it reveals nothing out of the ordinary about either the jade or the woman who gave it to you.

>For her part, the tall green haired woman merely stands there for several long moments, her expression distant, mysterious. Kohaku, you note, has removed her boots by this point, and is watching this exchange with open curiosity.
>At last, the woman nods, and a warm smile spreads across her face like the moon rising. "Thank you, lady." she says with a shallow bow.

[DracoOmega]

>"I am happy to be of help."
>Return the jade to her
>"Though I... don't suppose you might now be able to explain why you asked this? I am curious."

[Oldmansour]

>"I am happy to be of help."
>Return the jade to her

>The woman holds her hand out, palm out, and shakes her head once. "Keep it."

>"Though I... don't suppose you might now be able to explain why you asked this? I am curious."

>"In my own way, I wanted to see if what Rin Kaenbyou said was true with my own eyes."

[DracoOmega]

>"I am not certain I understand."

[Oldmansour]

>"I am not certain I understand."

>The woman gives you another of her self-effacing smiles. "I could try to explain, but, I'm afraid I wouldn't do a very good job. But as simply as I can put it, I spoke with Rin Kaenbyou earlier tonight, and she told me about you. This was my way of seeing for myself into the truth of her words."

[DracoOmega]

>"And this has satisfied you that they are?"

[Oldmansour]

>"And this has satisfied you that they are?"

>The woman nods, her smile growing a hair. "And more."

[DracoOmega]

>"I am still not sure I entirely understand, but I will take you at your word and am glad to have been able to put your mind at ease, one way or the other."
>Pause, then gesture to the jade in our hand
>"Are you sure you don't want this back?"

[Oldmansour]

>"I am still not sure I entirely understand, but I will take you at your word and am glad to have been able to put your mind at ease, one way or the other."
>Pause, then gesture to the jade in our hand
>"Are you sure you don't want this back?"

>"Very sure. Consider it a gift."

>Kohaku, having said nothing during this exchange while removing her boots, finally says, as she looks analytically at the piece of stone in your hand, "Is that Qi Lao jade?" The green haired woman shakes her head, and Kohaku frowns. "Wouldn't be Macedonian, would it...? Could I see that for a minute, please?"

[DracoOmega]

>"Of course."
>Hand the jade to her

[Oldmansour]

>"Of course."
>Hand the jade to her

>The purple haired woman produces a jeweler's eyepiece as she accepts the stone.
>The miko, for her part, merely gives you a friendly nod as Kohaku starts to examine the rock. "Have a pleasant night, Byakuren Hijiri."

[DracoOmega]

>"To you as well."
>Let Kohaku take her look

[Oldmansour]

>"To you as well."
>Let Kohaku take her look

>Reimu's aide scrutinizes the hunk of jade in her hand as the miko departs, turning it over in her hand as she peers at it through her eyepiece. "Fascinating. Nearly flawless, yet the shading is strange to me. The facets suggest Macedonian jade, but the coloration is wrong. Where did you..." she trails off as she looks up, glancing around for the absent miko. "Where did she go?"

[DracoOmega]

>Where did we see the miko depart to?

[Oldmansour]

>Where did we see the miko depart to?

>She exited stage right.

[DracoOmega]

>"She went that way."
>Point right

[Oldmansour]

>"She went that way."
>Point right

>Kohaku seems a bit disappointed, but she returns to the jade. "I'll have to ask here where she got this, if I meet her again. My father would know, but I still have much to learn." She gives the precious stone one more turn, then offers it back to you.

[DracoOmega]

>Accept the jade once more, and pocket it
>"You obviously have some experience with these sorts of things."

[Oldmansour]

>Accept the jade once more, and pocket it
>"You obviously have some experience with these sorts of things."

>You acquire: Walnut-sized piece of jade

>"I'm a jewelcrafter and appraiser. Well, an apprentice, really." she adds modestly. "I'm not as good as my father yet, but Reimu-sama seems to think I'm good enough to use as her appraiser."

[DracoOmega]

>"And this jade was an unusual piece to your eye? I mean, it is quite pretty, of course, but...."

[Oldmansour]

>"And this jade was an unusual piece to your eye? I mean, it is quite pretty, of course, but...."

>"I'm not sure about 'unusual', but... Well, most jade I'm familiar with has at least one quality to it that shows its origin. Jade from, say, northeast Luyang is a bit distinct from southern Eagleland, for example. But I can't place where that piece of jade comes from." Kohaku places a lock of her hair between her thumb and forefinger and strokes it up and down slowly, a thoughtful gesture. "Maybe it was exposed to magic at some point? That would affect its physical properties..." She narrows her eyes slightly. "Of course, it's far more likely that I simply don't know it. I'm still an apprentice, after all."

[DracoOmega]

>"You could always try to find the miko again, if you're curious. Even if she does seem the... private type."
>"Though speaking of finding people, I really should figure out where Rin went. It was nice meeting you, Kohaku."
>Assuming nothing else happens, say our farewells, then head off after Rin.

[Oldmansour]

>"You could always try to find the miko again, if you're curious. Even if she does seem the... private type."
>"Though speaking of finding people, I really should figure out where Rin went. It was nice meeting you, Kohaku."
>Assuming nothing else happens, say our farewells, then head off after Rin.

>"You could always try to find the miko again, if you're curious. Even if she does seem the... private type."
>"Though speaking of finding people, I really should figure out where Rin went. It was nice meeting you, Kohaku."
>Assuming nothing else happens, say our farewells, then head off after Rin.

>"Perhaps I will, after I'm done in the kitchen. Tenshi-sama requested my services for her food." With a modest face- which suits her beauty very well, you find- she adds, "Personally I think my brother's a better cook, but I'm happy to serve."
>"And you as well, Hijiri-san. But, before you go." she adds quickly, producing a business card and offering it to you with a friendly smile. "In the event you want to do something with that jade, I'd be happy to offer you the services of myself or my father."

>You acquire: Daidouji-ken's Business Card.

>With offer and card in tow, you and Kohaku go your separate ways. She heads off to find the kitchen, you head forward towards the chamber of the sacred flame to rendezvous with Rin, the wooden floor bit chilly on your shoe-less feet.

>The chamber here is a bit bigger than the chamber in the Tortoise shrine, though this impression is colored somewhat by the giant tree trunk that practically fills the north side of the room. The tree is bound by a blue rope with white talismans and ofuda charms attached to it, and green vines droop down its flanks. The flooring is a smooth hardwood, and tall black wood columns are staggered throughout the room. The seating in this temple are pews, brown and white wood sealed and treated. Banners depicting swords and kanji-scrawled sayings of faith drop from the ceiling. The middle of the west wall and the east wall host two more statues of eastern-styled dragons, the eastern one carved of white rock, the west one a very dark grey, almost black. Both have sapphires for eyes and jade  and pearl inlay along their scales, fangs and claws.
>The flame itself, not quite as large as the one in the Tortoise shrine, sits in front of the tree, and is supported by a grey wood pedestal with another sacred blue rope surrounding it.

>Rin, still in her cat form, is currently lying down on top of the head of the white statue. She appears to be the only occupant.

[DracoOmega]

>Approach her
>"Hello again."
>Any progress?

[Oldmansour]

>Approach her
>"Hello again."
>Any progress?

>Rin rises, stretches, and yawns.
>I'm afraid not. I don't think I can get a clearer sense without transforming, and I didn't wanna do that 'less I had to.

[DracoOmega]

>Agreed. I'll see if I can find anything.
>Concentrate and cast our senses out. Can we sense anything we feel may be the unusual sensation Rin spoke of?

[Oldmansour]

>Agreed. I'll see if I can find anything.
>Concentrate and cast our senses out. Can we sense anything we feel may be the unusual sensation Rin spoke of?

>Straight away you sense what Rin mentioned earlier: the encompassing sense of peace throughout the room. But as she said, while the effect is like having two arms wrapped around your shoulders, they are rather muscular ones. They do not grip you tight or hold you in place, but rather give you a sense of security and safety, that they are meant to warn off all the bad things around you. If the feeling in the Tortoise's flame chamber was akin to a mother's comfort, this would be a father's protection.
>Before you can start to analyze the second sensation, however, there is a loud noise from the back of the room, like a fire igniting. With a rush of air, the sacred flame increases in size and turns a dark blue.

[DracoOmega]

>Dark enough blue that it might be considered nearly black?
>Did we feel a change in the second sensation as this ignited?
>Whether yes or no, focus our senses on the flame and the change in it, but be cautious, approach gently, and be ready to pull back at the very first sign of hostile presence or anything else that might reach out at our mind from it.