Hatate Quest Kaksi

[Oldmansour]

>"Hatate, Momiji, and Celes."

>The young girl's eyes widen slightly, then she smiles again. "Wow. Uh, right, thanks. Just a minute, please." Then she disappears inside.
>"She seemed to recognize our names." Celes remarks quietly.

[Hello Purvis]

>"Not surprising. We're probably an infamous case of missing people."

[Oldmansour]

>"Not surprising. We're probably an infamous case of missing people."

>"You may be right." Momiji answers. "We have been gone for at least 14 years."
>"How do you arrive at that?" Celes asks her.
>"Because that girl is the daughter of Marisa Kirisame."
>"Are you certain?"
>"Very. I've seen Marisa enough to consider her a friend, and that girl looks far too much like her to be coincidence. She's either Marisa's daughter, or the daughter of her sister. And I don't think she has a sister."

[Hello Purvis]

>"And I am pretty sure Alice didn't have a cadre of little kids running around last time I was here, either."

[Oldmansour]

>"And I am pretty sure Alice didn't have a cadre of little kids running around last time I was here, either."

>"No." Momiji says with a thoughtful nod. "Maybe they're the children of this sewing circle the girl mentioned."
>"That would make sense." Celes replies. "This location would be rather out of the way for a day-care."

>About a minute or so later, the door opens again, and Alice Margatroid appears before you. While you've never met her before, you know her from photographs taken by Aya, and she seems no older than she did in them. Then again, she is a youkai, so this isn't too big a surprise. About the only change is her hair, which is signifigantly longer than how Aya photographed her before. It falls down now to the back of her legs. WIth a look at the three of you, she smiles and pushes the door open a bit more, letting the girl who greeted you out behind her. "It's them, all right." she says to the youth.

[Hello Purvis]

>"So, let me ask the first question, and this will either be really weird or explain a lot. What is the month, day, and year?"

[Oldmansour]

>"So, let me ask the first question, and this will either be really weird or explain a lot. What is the month, day, and year?"

>Alice frowns, placing her hands on her hips. "Now, I realize that you're the owner of one of the largest newspapers in Gensokyo, Hatate-san, but I was expecting at least a 'hello' before the questions, especially one like that."

[Hello Purvis]

>Oh man, there's another Hatate here? We are so totally going to beat her down!
>"...You're right, where are my manners? Sorry about that. But, I think that may be someone else you're thinking of."

[Oldmansour]

>Oh man, there's another Hatate here? We are so totally going to beat her down!
>"...You're right, where are my manners? Sorry about that. But, I think that may be someone else you're thinking of."

>Fightin' plans already.
>Alice still looks rather stern, but after a moment, she says, "Kathryn, go back inside. Tell the ladies I might be a few minutes."
>"Yes, mother." the little blonde replies respectfully, reentering the house.
>"Go on." Alice says to you once she's left.

[Hello Purvis]

>"You see. The three of us just appeared here, only some minutes ago. We were caught in a magic trap of some kind, and it looks like it shunted us away from our real spot in time. It was just starting to be spring. That's why I asked about the date and stuff."

[Oldmansour]

>"You see. The three of us just appeared here, only some minutes ago. We were caught in a magic trap of some kind, and it looks like it shunted us away from our real spot in time. It was just starting to be spring. That's why I asked about the date and stuff."

>"Really." the puppeteer says, with more than a dollop of snark.

[Hello Purvis]

>"You really think this would be what I'd come up with if I were trying to pull one over on you? Celes, tell her about the book."

[Oldmansour]

>"You really think this would be what I'd come up with if I were trying to pull one over on you? Celes, tell her about the book."

>"After living with Marisa as long as I have, I can promise you, I've heard worse." Alice says, a faint smirk touching her lips. "But go ahead."
>The steward clears her throat. "First, my name is Celes d'Arquien." she introduces herself to Alice with a bow.
>"Alice Margatroid." the puppeteer replies in the same tone.
>"May I ask, first, why you seemed so suspicious of Hatate's statement? As I am sure you know, Gensokyo is a place where bizarre events occur frequently."
>"No question of that." Alice agreed. "But, the reason why I have a very hard time believing these two tengu are from the past is because she," pointing her finger in your direction, "is the owner of the Kakashi Spirit Press, and led it to the success it has over the years. Hatate's been a public figure for a long time. And she," she continues, shifting her gaze and finger to Momiji, "is one of the most powerful tengu there is, and has been ever since that revolution your people had a few years ago."

[Hello Purvis]

>"Go on."

[Oldmansour]

>"Go on."

>"And there was no mention in Hatate's paper, or any other news reporting agency, about a rash of disappearances some years ago?" Celes asks her. "Involving a cursed book?"
>"No mention that I know about." Alice replies. "And I've seen my fair share of cursed books, believe me. Marisa had almost as many as Kosuza does."
>"And Kosuza-san is?"
>"The librarian of the human town. Most every magician in Gensokyo, including myself, have visited her from time to time."

[O4rfish]

>"Alice, do you remember when the people in the Cobalt Keep woke up and Marisa started visiting them? How long after that did we first meet?"

[Oldmansour]

>"Alice, do you remember when the people in the Cobalt Keep woke up and Marisa started visiting them? How long after that did we first meet?"

>Alice takes a half step backwards when you mention Celes' home. "The Cobalt Keep?"
>"You've heard of it, then." Momiji remarks.
>"Everyone has. And everyone knows to stay away from it. It's one of the only really dangerous places left above ground. Even Reimu doesn't go there. Marisa went there once, years ago. She almost didn't make it out. We made her promise not to go back."

[Hello Purvis]

>"Well that's weird. It's a pretty friendly place back where we're from. Did someone take it over or something?"

[Oldmansour]

>"Well that's weird. It's a pretty friendly place back where we're from. Did someone take it over or something?"

>Alice looks towards the children, slightly nervous. "I don't know." she answers, lowering her voice. "It's been that way for as long as I know, though. I don't think anyone really knows much about that place. But I'd rather not talk about it with the children around."

[Hello Purvis]

>Nod. "Don't worry about it right now, though I'm sure Celes is going to want to get everything you know since she comes from there. Well, our Cobalt Keep anyways. Where's Marisa at now? I heard something about a trip to town."

[Oldmansour]

>Nod. "Don't worry about it right now, though I'm sure Celes is going to want to get everything you know since she comes from there. Well, our Cobalt Keep anyways. Where's Marisa at now? I heard something about a trip to town."

>Alice gives Celes a very guarded look. "You really come from the Keep?"
>"Like Hatate said, not the Keep you're obviously familiar with. Though I am from France, originally."
>"From the outside world?" The Keep's steward nods. Alice sizes her up for a moment longer. "I can't say I trust you entirely, if you're associated with that place. But since none of my dolls or I can sense any evil about you, I'll give you the benefit of the doubt. For now."
>Celes inclines her head politely. "You are most gracious."

>Alice nods. "You may not know, but I work as a seamstress for quite a few people, and Marisa delivers the items to my clients when they're done. I get to spend more time with Kathryn that way. That's what Marisa's doing now, making a few deliveries."

[Hello Purvis]

>"Will she be back soon?"

[Oldmansour]

>"Will she be back soon?"

>Alice sighs a much put-upon sigh, but she smiles when she says, "She gets distracted pretty easily. Unless I give her a curfew, she stays out as long as she likes. Although, she'll probably be home before dark. She's supposed to make a delivery to Reimu's place, and having a tussle with Remilia usually tires her out enough to send her back home."

[Hello Purvis]

>About what time of day does it seem to be?
>Look to the others. "Well then. What now?"

[Oldmansour]

>About what time of day does it seem to be?
>Look to the others. "Well then. What now?"

>Probably sometime around noon, give or take an hour either way.
>Alice clears her throat. "If you wouldn't mind a suggestion?"

[Hello Purvis]

>"Sure?"

[Oldmansour]

>"Sure?"

>"If what you say is true, then you should probably talk to Reimu. That sort of story sounds like an incident. We need to remind her about it every now and then, but it's still her job to solve those if need be."

[Hello Purvis]

>"Maybe. We're kinda just hoping to find that book and go home."

[Oldmansour]

>"Maybe. We're kinda just hoping to find that book and go home."

>"Maybe we shouldn't get fixed on that idea." Momiji suggests to you. "There's a chance we might not find that book again, or even if we did, it might not do us any good. We may need to find another way back to our time."

[O4rfish]

>"I don't think this is the future though. Remember what Alice said about the Cobalt Keep?"