(Skyseas of Gensokyo) Nazrin Quest (Part 12)

[DracoOmega]

>"She doesn't happen to have a secret garden out the middle of nowhere, does she?"

>"Well, it's not on your map, but it isn't exactly a big secret. Though I suppose technically I'm not supposed to chit-chat to civilians about it. Doesn't count as the middle of nowhere though, unless you think you're already there."

[Hello Purvis]

>"And how bad's the shore around the lake?"

[Oldmansour]

>Chuckle once. "Yeah, probably isn't her. Well, unless she can scare fairies something fierce, then it might be the same one."

[DracoOmega]

>"And how bad's the shore around the lake?"

>The guard raises an eyebrow. "Bad how?"

>Chuckle once. "Yeah, probably isn't her. Well, unless she can scare fairies something fierce, then it might be the same one."

>She break out into another peal of snickers. "Nah, she's a big softie. Why, I saw a pair of the little things get her completely flustered just last week." Mirth dances in the soldier's chestnut eyes. "Bet she'd blush if I reminded her."

[Oldmansour]

>What else were we told about Yuuka and her garden that we haven't mentioned to the sentry here?

[DracoOmega]

>What else were we told about Yuuka and her garden that we haven't mentioned to the sentry here?

>You have not been specific about the garden being located in the wilderness to the west as opposed to somewhere else in the local area. Nor have you mentioned anything unusual about the contents of the garden itself, such as its incredible diversity of species or - more pertinently - that the flowers within it are said to bloom regardless of the season.

[Oldmansour]

>"What's the terrain like for walking? If I have to take the long way around, I ought to find out just how long it'll be."

[DracoOmega]

>"What's the terrain like for walking? If I have to take the long way around, I ought to find out just how long it'll be."

>"You know the kind of rocks this place is built along?" the guard asks. "Well, it's a lot like that, but shorter. You can walk around the shore okay in places, but I hope you don't mind doing some rock climbing." She gives you a curious look for a moment. "Are mice any good at that?"

[Oldmansour]

>We're not too shabby at that, right?

[DracoOmega]

>We're not too shabby at that, right?

>You are quite a nimble climber, if not as good in some circumstances as a common mouse might be - the downsides of being so very much larger and heavier.

[Oldmansour]

>"I haven't been stumped by all that many vertical surfaces yet, rock or no."
>Barring the occasional warehouse...
>"It's time that's the issue. The job I've got's a bit time sensitive, I've only got so long to find this supposed garden with flowers and plants that never wilt."

[DracoOmega]

>"I haven't been stumped by all that many vertical surfaces yet, rock or no."
>Barring the occasional warehouse...
>"It's time that's the issue. The job I've got's a bit time sensitive, I've only got so long to find this supposed garden with flowers and plants that never wilt."

>The guard grins. "Handy skill, that."
>Well, your limbs are nimble, but they can't exactly adhere to a smooth surface. Larger fingers means larger indentations needed to grip - a regular mouse could probably have run right up that wall if it wanted to. But then, it couldn't have brought a cat back out again afterward, either.
>"You think it's down around the lake or something, then?" she asks dubiously.

[Oldmansour]

>Indicate the wilderness to the west of here. "Somewhere out there, if my sources were correct."

[DracoOmega]

>Indicate the wilderness to the west of here. "Somewhere out there, if my sources were correct."

>She peers at your chart again. "How far out?" she asks.

[Hello Purvis]

>"That's what I'll have to find out."

[DracoOmega]

>"That's what I'll have to find out."

>"Fair warning," she says, "you can keep going a lot further than the edge of that map you've got, and it's not easy walking either."

[Oldmansour]

>If we can be more specific about the location from the information we have, do so.

[DracoOmega]

>If we can be more specific about the location from the information we have, do so.

>You get the impression it's not very close to the fort, but beyond that you can't really say, unfortunately. Might be a day or two's journey, or a week's....

[Oldmansour]

>Hmmm thoughtfully as we regard the map.
>"Starting to sound like what I need is a guide."

[DracoOmega]

>Hmmm thoughtfully as we regard the map.
>"Starting to sound like what I need is a guide."

>"We don't usually patrol out that far, if that's what you're getting at. Even if someone was okay with you tagging along; I don't really know the protocol for that - it's never come up while I've been here. People aren't exactly lining up to watch bored soldiers march around rocks and trees and more rocks, you know?" She snickers.

[Oldmansour]

>"Plus the occasional sarcastic shrub, of course."
>"But then there's the local civilians (like you'd call em), and the ones that live farther out there. Kagerou, maybe?"

[DracoOmega]

>"Plus the occasional sarcastic shrub, of course."
>"But then there's the local civilians (like you'd call em), and the ones that live farther out there. Kagerou, maybe?"

>"Sounds like more fun company than the regular ones."
>She shakes her head. "Don't know her well enough to speculate, sorry. Don't think much of anyone lives past the river, though."

[Oldmansour]

>Didn't the fairies have a village past the river?

[DracoOmega]

>Didn't the fairies have a village past the river?

>One of the rivers in the wilderness to the west does stem from the lake that the fairies have their village, but the village itself is considerably south-southeast of the river you believe the guard is referring to.

[Oldmansour]

>"What about from the locals? Do you ever work with any of them that go that far out?"

[DracoOmega]

>"What about from the locals? Do you ever work with any of them that go that far out?"

>"I don't know if any of them do, to be honest. This area here is fort jurisdiction," she says, tracing a circle across a large section of the wilderness with her finger. It encompasses a band running many miles to the west along the ridge of hills that frame one side of the lake. "That means restrictions on hunting and logging and other fun things people like to do in the woods. Mostly I think the locals stick to further north, or back on the other side of the river. Easier game out there anyway, I hear."
>She lets out a small chuckle. "But what do I know, anyway? I'm a city girl, through and through."

[Oldmansour]

I'm getting the impression that if we want a guide or an expert, back in port'll be our best bet.
Oh wait, almost forgot about the fairies. If Dai came up this way, some of her kin might've done as well.

>"What about the fairies that come up from that village of theirs? Do they visit the fort here much or just pass by?"

[DracoOmega]

>"What about the fairies that come up from that village of theirs? Do they visit the fort here much or just pass by?"

>"Oh no, we get lots of the little ones up this way," she says with a smile. "We're probably the most interesting place for miles around, after all. We do keep the storerooms warded against them - could probably ward the whole place if it were wartime, but they're one of the more entertaining parts of the posting, if I'm honest. I hear the old quartermaster even used to bake them cookies from time to time. Part of the fort mythos now." She grins.

[Oldmansour]

>Wouldn't have thought fairies would find a fortress all that interesting, as compared to the nature around.
>Wait a minute, when we were talking to Dai, did she mention anything about wards around Yuuka's place? And could we douse for that sort of power?

[DracoOmega]

>Wouldn't have thought fairies would find a fortress all that interesting, as compared to the nature around.
>Wait a minute, when we were talking to Dai, did she mention anything about wards around Yuuka's place? And could we douse for that sort of power?

>You suspect it might have more to do with the people than the fort itself. Though your experience with fairies is that they have an eclectic sense of fascination, and it's not unusual for them to adopt some highly romanticized view of a particular thing. Maybe some of them like to play fort up in one of the watch towers and fend off errant dragons?
>She did not. And it would depend on the nature of the ward and possibly the efforts taken to conceal it, but it's certainly theoretically possible for you to dowse for that kind of magic.