Murasa Quest - Go Get 'em, Captain!

[UnendingEmpire]

>Find a cart. Having to carry a frozen yamabiko for who knows how long is going to be tiring.

You look around for a cart, but to no avail.  The closest thing you find to a cart is a menreiki.  Seems she noticed you and/or Kyouko, since she steps right up to you disturbingly fast and close.

"Murasa and Kyouko.  Hi."  She's smiling, even if it's just a little.  Still, progress.  However, it seems she's either oblivious to Kyouko's current state or just doesn't care.  Kind of hard to tell which.  "Hijiri-sama told me about the pagoda, and I decided to help a little by looking in the village.  It's not here.  Just thought you would want to know."

>Look around for a map shop.

You check your immediate surroundings for a map shop, since it'd be rude to just ditch Kokoro like that.  No such shop you can find, at least not around here.

>See if there's any place that offers large amounts of heat (a shop selling fire starters, a sauna [to think things through and melt Kyouko in the process, etc.])

Well, you know for a fact that there's a hot spring near Youkai Mountain that opened up after that Former Hell incident.  You mentally curse yourself for forgetting about that until just now.  Last you checked though, there's not such an establishment in town, and it would be both a hassle and waste of the flight here to just go back to the mountain.

>Try and find the Great Dream Mausoleum. We need to find Miko, if she's any help.

You know roughly where it is, but you can never remember the exact location.  But as luck has it, seems somebody who does is standing right in front of you.  You make a mental note that the next thing Kokoro has to work on is her sense of personal space.

Also, looking at the map, there's a cave. Is it an entrance to Makai or Former Hell? Former Hell could be used in this situation....

Nah, that's just a generic cave.  It's either canon or pretty close to it (or at the very least, it applies in my Gensokyo, and as such, here) that the entrance to Makai is behind a seal near the Hakurei Shrine, and Former Hell/the Underworld in general are accessed via a passage under Youkai Mountain.  Not sure why I put that cave there, beyond the fact that there was a huge blank spot otherwise.  Murasa would probably know about Former Hell's location, given the geysers going off in SA were what allowed UFO to even happen.

[Failure McFailFace]

>Hey, Kokoro, could you take me to the Mausoleum? A kappa accidentally froze Kyouko here it one of her inventions, and she said that Miko might help us."

[UnendingEmpire]

>Hey, Kokoro, could you take me to the Mausoleum? A kappa accidentally froze Kyouko here it one of her inventions, and she said that Miko might help us."

"Will she help you, though?"  Crossing her arms and apparently finally noticing Kyouko's frozen state, Kokoro goes on "Hijiri-sama and Shoutoku-sama don't really get along.  I'm pretty sure the only person they both really like is me, actually."  With a shrug and a turn, the menreiki says "We'll try, though.  Follow me."  Her explanation done with, Kokoro starts down the road, checking every few steps to make sure you're following.

[Failure McFailFace]

>Does extra weight when flying weigh you down? As in, slow you down?
>Follow Kokoro
>Drag Kyouko along

[Nash Fais]

>Ask Kokoro to help us carry the frozen Kyouko.

[UnendingEmpire]

>Does extra weight when flying weigh you down? As in, slow you down?

Your choice.  On one hand, you can fly faster.  On the other hand, you'd run the risk of dropping Kyouko and shattering her into a million pieces when she hits the ground from way above.  So while you could fly and not let Kyouko weigh you down, it'd be far better to just slow down.

>Ask Kokoro to help us carry the frozen Kyouko.

You ask Kokoro if she can help you carry Kyouko.  She simply nods in response, lifting the frozen Kyouko by her legs.  "Just carry her head, and don't drop her," Kokoro says

>Follow Kokoro

You and Kokoro head down the roads of the Human Village, carrying Kyouko as you do so.  Some people stop and stare at the frozen girl in your hands, wondering how she got like that to begin with.  Eventually, Kokoro and you step up the stairs of the Dream Palace Mausoleum, and Kokoro softly sets Kyouko down and turns to face you.  "Wait outside.  Shoutoku-sama might not like Buddhists coming inside, so give me a minute to talk to her."

>Drag Kyouko along

See above.

[Failure McFailFace]

>Is Kyouko defrosting at all? As in, minimal defrosting?
>The weather, temperature, etc.
>Time
>Inventory
>Are spell cards impervious to damage?

[Oldmansour]

>"Thanks for the help, by the way."

[Nash Fais]

>Examine surroundings.

[UnendingEmpire]

>Is Kyouko defrosting at all? As in, minimal defrosting?

If she is, you certainly can't tell.

>The weather, temperature, etc.

Spring's just starting, so warm enough for short sleeves but still cool enough for long ones.  As for weather, pretty cloudy.  Looks like it'll probably rain later.  Gensokyo does that an awful lot in the spring.

>Time

5:15 PM

>Inventory

Murasa's inventory: Anchor | Ladle | 1,000-yen bill x3 | Capsize "Dragging Anchor" | Drowning Sign "Deep Vortex" | Ghost "Sinker Ghost" | Flood "Venus of the Bilge" | Blank card | Large paper bag (contains Digital camera | Boomerang | Megaphone | Dirty magazine) | Map of Forest of Magic | Loaf of Bread x4 | Kyouko (frozen, so I guess she kinda counts)

Kyouko's inventory: Bamboo broom (encased in ice) | Green apple (encased in ice) | Chocolate bar (encased in ice) | Mountain Sign "Long Range Echo" (encased in ice) | Piercing Sign "Piercing Circle" (encased in ice)

>Are spell cards impervious to damage?

Fortunately, they are.

>"Thanks for the help, by the way."

Kokoro responds with a friendly nod, and steps deeper into the Mausoleum.  You can't see her too well at this point; may as well kick back for a minute or two.

>Examine surroundings.

You take a look around.  Even if you don't like her, you have to admit Miko has a good sense of architectural aesthetics.  The building's not ridiculously overdone, but really nice-looking.  The outside looks even nicer than the Myouren Temple's if you dare think the thought.  But that doesn't heighten your opinion of the Taoist head honcho any.

[Oldmansour]

>We're probably looking at trouble before the end of the day, aren't we. We really didn't think this through.
>But, we're here now. In for a penny, and all that.
>Keep our hands handy to our spellcards if one of the taoists comes out with danmaku blazing.

[Nash Fais]

>Check on Kyouko.

[UnendingEmpire]

>We're probably looking at trouble before the end of the day, aren't we. We really didn't think this through.

You're kind of regretting coming here of all places to thaw out Kyouko.  But you at least think that if you take the time to explain it all thoroughly, even Byakuren should understand your reasoning.

>But, we're here now. In for a penny, and all that.

That's true.

>Keep our hands handy to our spellcards if one of the taoists comes out with danmaku blazing.

Examining your spell cards (and the mysterious blank one), you keep them close at hand.  No telling what these Taoists may be like.  At the very least, Miko doesn't seem savage enough to start shooting without warning, but it's more her underlings you've got in mind.

>Check on Kyouko.

Kyouko's still frozen solid.  If she can still think, you wonder what she may be thinking in there.  No way to tell, given it's Kyouko.

After a few minutes, your train of thought and examination are cut short by a voice speaking directly behind you.  It's certainly not Kokoro; too deep and - despite your distaste of the owner - charismatic.  "For a moment, I thought Kokoro was joking when she said two of you Buddhists were at my doorstep.  Seems not.  What's so urgent that it brought you to me of all people?"

[Failure McFailFace]

>"Yeah, um, a kappa accidentally froze Kyouko here with one of her machines.... The kappa said that you might help."

[UnendingEmpire]

>"Yeah, um, a kappa accidentally froze Kyouko here with one of her machines.... The kappa said that you might help."

"I can't imagine Byakuren freezing her own follower just to let you slip in.  Even she isn't that foolish..."  Miko quiets up to consider whether or not to help you for a moment, visually scanning Kyouko up and down.  One could almost cut her gaze with a knife.  A small smile cracks in the corner of Miko's mouth, and the Taoist boss speaks up.  "No friend of Kokoro's is an enemy of mine.  Bring her in; I'll see what I can do."  Kokoro at her side, Miko steps inside the Mausoleum.  Unlike Kokoro, she's not checking to see if you've fallen behind.

[Failure McFailFace]

>Ask if Kokoro can help.
>Drag Kyouko along again.
>What mask is Kokoro currently wearing?

[UnendingEmpire]

>Ask if Kokoro can help.

You ask if Kokoro minds helping you carry Kyouko again.  She smiles, nods, and picks up Kyouko by the legs again.  "Don't drop her," she repeats.

>Drag Kyouko along again.

Following Miko, and you Kokoro head through the halls of the Dream Palace Mausoleum.  This place looked a lot smaller from the outside.

>What mask is Kokoro currently wearing?

None.  Seems she's been taking Mamizou's lessons to heart.

[Failure McFailFace]

>Keep walking.

[UnendingEmpire]

>Keep walking.

Following Miko, you and Kokoro head deeper into the Dream Palace Mausoleum.  Finally, Miko stops by entering an otherwise-dull room.  All that's inside is a single table that stands as tall as Miko's chest.  Pointing at the table, Miko says "You girls can set her there.  The thawing may take a bit; it has to be done slowly unless I want to run the risk of killing her.  If you have other business in town, this may be a good time to go about it."

[Failure McFailFace]

>Trust Miko and place Kyouko there.
>Go outside.
>Walk around and see if there are any map shops in the village.
>Ask random villagers about the lazor pagoda.

[UnendingEmpire]

>Trust Miko and place Kyouko there.

Trusting Miko, you and Kokoro set Kyouko on the table.  You're not sure why you're trusting the head Taoist - Byakuren's sworn enemy - but you don't really have much choice now.  Now, what else needs to be done around town...?

>Go outside.

Deciding to get some other business done while you're in the Human Village again, you step back outside.  You can tell it's going to rain.  The thick clouds overhead kind of gave it away.  You should be okay for now though.

>Walk around and see if there are any map shops in the village.

You head over to where you know the shops are in town.  Eventually, you find a store that doesn't specify what it's selling; the sign only says "Get what you need here."  Worth checking out, maybe.

>Ask random villagers about the lazor pagoda.

As you check around for something closer to a map shop, you ask various villagers about a small pagoda, not specifying exactly what it is for Shou's sake.  Maybe it's because your description was a bit vague, but nobody seems to have seen it.  Then again, wasn't Kokoro also checking around for it before you found her?

[Failure McFailFace]

>Ask Kokoro if she's seen the pagoda
>Continue looking around. If there are no map shops, go in the "Get what you need here" shop to escape the rain.

[UnendingEmpire]

>Ask Kokoro if she's seen the pagoda

See previous page.  She's checked, but no sign of it.

>Continue looking around. If there are no map shops, go in the "Get what you need here" shop to escape the rain.

It's not raining yet.  It's just going to.  However, finding no map shops, you enter the "Get what you need here" shop anyway.  Seems you aren't the only Buddhist who shops here, either.

"You're back pretty soon," Nazrin smiles.  Then her expression drops.  "Too soon, actually.  I refuse to believe  you already found the Pagoda.  And Kyouko left with you, right?  Where's she?"

[Failure McFailFace]

Wait, that was the entrance to the temple!?

>"So we left and went to Kourindou. The shop keeper there told us that Marisa Kirisame had it, we followed the wrong path, found Alice Matrigoid, and met Marisa. She told us that it could be at the Youkai Mountain. A kappa there accidentally froze Kyouko when she poked a hole into the kappa's machine. The kappa said that Miko would help us, so I'm here, waiting for Miko to defrost Kyouko."
Damn, it's hard to write sentences when all subjects are the same gender....

>Ask if Nazrin has seen it
>Ask the shop keeper for what they have.

[UnendingEmpire]

>"So we left and went to Kourindou. The shop keeper there told us that Marisa Kirisame had it, we followed the wrong path, found Alice Matrigoid, and met Marisa. She told us that it could be at the Youkai Mountain. A kappa there accidentally froze Kyouko when she poked a hole into the kappa's machine. The kappa said that Miko would help us, so I'm here, waiting for Miko to defrost Kyouko."

"Miko, as in...Toyosatomimi no Miko?  As in, our sworn enemy?"  The expression on Nazrin's face is about equal to the one she makes when Shou explains that she lost the Jeweled Pagoda.  It's not a happy one.  "Mind me asking WHAT THE HELL YOU WERE THINKING!?"

>Ask if Nazrin has seen it

"If I did, we probably wouldn't be having this conversation right now, would we?"  Seems the Miko thing really got her mad.  "Finding it this time is your problem, got it?"

>Ask the shop keeper for what they have.

"Some may call this junk.  Me, I call them treasures."
"Read the sign out front, ma'am.  We've got whatever you need."

[Failure McFailFace]

>To Nazrin: "The Kappa told us to come here, where we met Kokoro, you know, that mereniki that is both a Taoist and a Buddhist. Miko said that Kyouko's defrosting would take a while. Also, at the time, I panicked and forgot about the hot spring near the entrance of Former Hell."
>To shopkeeper: "Do you have any maps of the Youkai Mountain?"

>We're probably looking at trouble before the end of the day, aren't we. We really didn't think this through.

And here we are.

[UnendingEmpire]

>To Nazrin: "The Kappa told us to come here, where we met Kokoro, you know, that mereniki that is both a Taoist and a Buddhist. Miko said that Kyouko's defrosting would take a while. Also, at the time, I panicked and forgot about the hot spring near the entrance of Former Hell."

"Is your head full of seaweed or something?"  Taking a look in your ear as though it may actually be full of seaweed, Nazrin's line of questioning continues with "Your story sounds pretty half-assed.  Kokoro isn't a Taoist or Buddhist; she just goes from one place to the other since she reveres both leaders equally.  Did you forget or something?"

>To shopkeeper: "Do you have any maps of the Youkai Mountain?"

"Maps of Youkai Mountain?  I'll have to go check the back room.  You two sort out your affairs in the meantime."  With that, the old man running the place leaves you with Nazrin to check for what you need.

>We're probably looking at trouble before the end of the day, aren't we. We really didn't think this through.

Good call.  Though if bigyih had decided to lie a little, we might not have been in as much trouble, lol

[Failure McFailFace]

Hmm. Well. I'm stuck now, if Nazrin keeps failing to believe us.

Kokoro isn't a Taoist or Buddhist; she just goes from one place to the other since she reveres both leaders equally.  Did you forget or something?"[/glow]

>"I said that wrong. My mind's still panicking from Kyouko's freezing. I hope she's okay."
>Wait for map
>Check on Kyouko

[UnendingEmpire]

>"I said that wrong. My mind's still panicking from Kyouko's freezing. I hope she's okay."

"I seriously don't have the time for this," Nazrin said irritably, placing her fingers on her temples as thought hat would somehow resolve everything.  "I've already got what I need.  For both of our sakes, I'm just going to walk out of here and pretend that we never saw each other."  And with that, Nazrin stepped outside, carrying a bag of merchandise.

>Wait for map
>Check on Kyouko

How do you plan to do both at the same time?

[Nash Fais]

> Let's wait for the shop owner to retrieve the map first.

> While we're waiting, let's check if there's something worth buying that we might be able to use later.