Face, meet fist. This is Akyu Quest!

[Hello Purvis]

> "Gotcha. C'mon then, put up them dukes!"
> Cirno puts up a simple combat stance, fists at face level.

>Strike her in the abdomen, as Meling taught us.

[Fightest]

> You throw a sudden punch to Cirno's gut. It catches her off-guard, though she doesn't double over.
> "Oof! Hey, you coulda said you're ready!"

[Hello Purvis]

>Stay defensive for now.
>"I'm sorry, I thought once you were in your stance, you were ready."
>If she hasn't tried to sock us while apologizing, bow. Do be ready to be socked during that.
>Assuming nothing happens, resume, this time telling her we're ready. Take it easy, nothing fancy. Try to experience with the Sheathed Claw stance.
>How are those gauntlets feeling?

[Fightest]

> "Yeah, I was ready, dinno about you! Eh, no big."
> She puts up her fists again, and you lead into a slow spar. After a few practice punches and kicks, you switch to Eagle Hides Talons.
> You comfortably turn away every blow Cirno sends to your upper body, and find yourself being able to easily respond with a counter to each attack that comes your way. You note that this stance does not cover your lower body and legs too well.
> Having worn them constantly since breakfast, you sometimes forget that you're wearing the gauntlets at all. Their weight still slows your movements, though, nothing to do about that until you beef up a little more.

[Hello Purvis]

>"I think I understand this stance quite well. Let me try one that I've yet to do anything with. It may yet be beyond me."
>Attempt Tiger Rends Prey, to try and get a feel for its workings and complexity.

[Fightest]

> You adopt the stance as perfectly as you remember it. You immediately feel your body's balance shifting forward, and you have to pull back to avoid toppling over face-first. For the brief moment that you had it, you were on the tips of your toes, your head tilted low, your arms ahead of you, close to your opponent - ready for a quick, brutal strike that moves you past your enemy. This stance emphasises speed and power over defense and technique - strikes made from this stance are certain to get through even a dogged defense, and the easily-shifted footing means you can quickly move to avoid counterattacks. However, you are limited in the number of strikes you can make due to the stance's intentionally-unstable centre of balance. Additionally, you cannot perform complex strikes for the same reason. Complexity: 3 - this stance is currently too hard for you.

[Kasu]

> Attempt Meiling's Tower.

[Fightest]

> You stand there, copying the stance perfectly. Nothing seems to happen. Cirno looks puzzled.
> "That's... a weird stance. Doesn't even look like it'd be much use in a fight."
> "You need some more time, or you ready for the big show? Gonna show them Bamboo Forest weirdoes what for!"

[Hello Purvis]

>"I suppose I understand all that I am going to for now.  Do you have any kind of plan?"

[Fightest]

> "We were gonna attack at night, catch 'em off-guard, yanno? Attack from two sides, and smash 'em inna middle!"
> Cirno claps her hands together to emphasise her point.
> "Apparently their doctor is away somewhere, so we can get easy points off the lazy bum princess - she's good with Spell Cards, but she can't take a good punch, know what I'm saying? Anyway, Great Fairy and me were gonna lead up separate teams, but looks like you're gonna haveta take her place. You cool with that?"

[Hello Purvis]

>"I suppose I have no choice at this point. Well then. What do we know about their forces? Their defenses? Is there anyone who has left?"
>Recall the layout of Eientei, and any defenses that we saw during the expo. If possible, try to estimate their numbers. Sketch a map into the dirt, to help visualize things.
>"As well, what do we know about our new forces? It would be best to take some time to get to know what they are capable of, so we can deploy them well."

[Fightest]

> "Ya see, the reason we need so many troops on side is 'cause of them rabbits. Hundreds of the little bastards. No good inna fight, but enough of 'em can just roll over  you and pin you down. They got no magic defenses that I know of. Just rabbits. Freakin' rabbits. Oh, as I said, their doctor left somewhere, and," Cirno puffs out her chest, "inside in-form-a-shun tells us that she won't be back 'til tomorrow. So it's only the bum princess and their crazy-eyes rabbit."
> Cirno is right about there being no magical defenses. The hundreds of rabbits around the place can raise a massive racket if they spot attackers, and their detection net is very dense. You sketch out a map from memory to miniscule detail. The rabbit detection net is usually spread out most densely on circle that fully surrounds Eientei. This highest-density point is two hundred meters away from its center. The detection density from that point on decreases to a minimum in and around Eientei proper. This is, of course, done only when Eientei has anything to worry about, so this was done to prevent incidents during the expo, you recall.
> "Well, the new folks aren't anything special - they're about as strong as the fairies we have here, maybe a bit weaker for lack of training. But they can cook a mean dinner! Oh, but with them we've nearly doubled what we have!"

[MysTeariousYukari]

> "Ok, doube the numbers, probly about double the odds of this going well."
> Do the Eientei rabbits sleep during the Day or the Night, overall?

[Fightest]

> Nobody knows when the little slackers sleep, as the impression they give is that it's all the time. Yet the detection net that they have seems to work flawlessly, so it has been theorised that they slack off in shifts.

[Kasu]

> "Okay.  In order to ensure that we get a good hit in on 'em we have to catch them off-guard.  This may be easiest if we surround the entire mansion with all of our troops.  Now, since the tournament is fairly well known, they may have their detection net set up due to the high chance of hostiles wanting to fight.  Since this also concerns Kaguya, we may want to see if we can pull Mokou to our side temporarily to make things a tad easier.  Whaddya think?"

[Fightest]

> "Um, I don't think we gotta 'nough troops to surround. That's what Great Fairy said. Also it's only you and me leadin', and that's only enough to keep two sides."
> "Yeah, we're 'specting the rabbits to be on patrol. Dunno about sneaking by, those rabbits're good at spotting trouble, if only ta run away from it."
> "That crazy fire lady? Well... maybe, but our," Cirno puffs out her chest again, "inside information also told us she might have some other stuff to do, so not to rely on her."

[Demonbman]

>"Is our Inside information a rabbit with a Carrot Charm?"

[Hello Purvis]

>"It's just as well. Mokou would be unreliable, we have little to offer her, and she would want a lion's share of the reward."
>Contemplate the map some more. Recall what we know of the security layouts they favored, and the fastest and most indiret ways to get through Eientei
>"We will need to identify where they are weak, and where they are strong. My suggestion is that we lead a feint to draw away some of their strength. They are going to be on high alert now, if Eirin is missing and the tournament is going on, so they are most definitely going to expect something. I think we can use this to make them jump at shadows before the proper attack."
>"Do we know how to get through the forest reliably?"

[Mr_Bob]

>As our troops being fairy sans the one human, navigating the forest by air should not be too hard until we get close enough to air drop in. General tactics should start with a blast of danmaku and close-in. Escape by air should be feasible too, once we roll through Eientei.

[Fightest]

>"Is our Inside information a rabbit with a Carrot Charm?"

> "Um, dunno, never seen 'em. Great Fairy always dealt with 'em."

>Contemplate the map some more. Recall what we know of the security layouts they favored, and the fastest and most indiret ways to get through Eientei
>"We will need to identify where they are weak, and where they are strong. My suggestion is that we lead a feint to draw away some of their strength. They are going to be on high alert now, if Eirin is missing and the tournament is going on, so they are most definitely going to expect something. I think we can use this to make them jump at shadows before the proper attack."
>"Do we know how to get through the forest reliably?"

> Once in Eientei proper, security is minimal. They rely on their detection rabbits to keep warned of intruders, but they hate the racket the rabbits make, so they don't keep them inside. It's impossible to say where Kaguya will be at any given moment, as she tends to wander the place restlessly when she gets bored. Which is often. Reisen is likely to be at the main gates, if on guard duty.
> "Ooh, a fei-eent! Awesome! How're we gonna do that?"
> Cirno scratches her head at your last question and looks bashful.
> "Um... no, not really. Great Fairy was working on that, but then she left to get beaten up by you. I just figure if we go forward, we'll find it eventually, right? Oh, but then we'd be spotted by the rabbits. Darned rabbits."

>As our troops being fairy sans the one human, navigating the forest by air should not be too hard until we get close enough to air drop in. General tactics should start with a blast of danmaku and close-in. Escape by air should be feasible too, once we roll through Eientei.

> Flying over the forest certainly gives you a good view, but, equally, gives the detection rabbits a good view of the flyer. It is, however, certainly the fastest means to attack and escape.

[Hello Purvis]

>Examine the map for entrances. Main and non-main.
>Ponder the likelyhood of a faerie being about to go from one side of defensive parameter to another without detected and without getting lost. As well, consider how we got there for the expo, and whether our memory would be reliable enough to get us back there.
>"It seems our main fight is going to be outside Eientei itself. That is good, it means they won't be able to take much advantage of its defenses, The problem is that there will be no reliable way for our two groups to communicate, which will make coordination difficult. Tell me, what do you think the chances of one of your faeries, just one, sneaking past them will be?"

[Fightest]

> Eientei has just the one entrance - a main gate and a smaller side-entrance right next to it.
> Fairies are not known for their abilities of stealth and infiltration. One fairy would be more likely to slip past, but that is not saying much. It would be a matter of luck.
> On the bright side, you remember the route you took to the expo - Eientei used rabbit-based waypoint markers to lead people who couldn't fly there, and, despite the rabbits not being there any more, you will have no trouble recognising geographical features.
> Cirno confirms what you already suspected. "Dunno if any of this bunch can be quiet enough to sneak by. If they're lucky, maybe."

[Hello Purvis]

>Are there any open courtyards, places that could be accessed from outside?
>"That's fine. I can use that as well. If I could get a lone faerie into the right position, posing as a 'spy', it would do much to confuse the enemy when she is caught. Especially if she can adequately sow disinformation. But we would need to be able to get her into position... As for getting to Eientei, I should be able to help."
>Calculate how likely a faerie could move from one compass direction to another outside of the rabbits' perimeter without getting lost.
>Try to recall if we have a compass at home, or if such technology is even known to Gensokyo.

[Fightest]

> The central courtyard of Eientei, with its garden, is outside and can be accessed by flight.
> Cirno nods sagely at your plan. You get the impression that she only gets half of it, at best.
> Quite unlikely, actually. She wouldn't have any good reference points, and the Bamboo Forest is infamous for messing up one's sense of direction. With a compass, however...
> It's just a magnet on a string with one end painted red. Kourindou could easily stock them.

[Hello Purvis]

>"I'll need to get some supplies, but I think I have a workable plan."
>Gesture toward the crude map. "We will split our forces into two parts. One part, which I would like you to lead, will circle around to here."
>Point to the left or right side of Eientei, whichever is closest to the courtyard. "This force will be the distraction. The rabbits will detect you, and try to stop you. Your job will be to put up as much of a fight as possible. Two things will happen. Either the rabbits will draw their forces together, leaving the rest of Eientei lightly defended, or they will try to hold you off with what is there and stay vigilante against other attacks. In the case of the former, you have cleared the way for the second group to raid Eientei itself. If they do not concentrate their forces, then we shall hit them from two directions at once, and I do not believe they can handle that. My hope is that Reisen will abandon her position and go to assist against you. And that will work for us, the time she takes to relocate is time she is not spending in the fight.
>"Depending on circumstances, I may try to send in someone posing as an infiltrator, whose job will be to get captured and misdirect the enemy into looking the wrong way for us. Whether this is effective will depend on how they react to you, you yourself will attack first with the full advantage of surprise.
>"Your goal is to tie them up as long as possible, and deal with as many of their forces as you can. If you happen to actually get by them, by all means, take the courtyard. But do not expect this. I will lead the other force and attack the front door. Once word of a second strike gets to the defenders, it will hurt their morale, and they will have to make a choice. Either they will try to finish you off, then come after us, or they will will try to send off forces to stop us. Either way, you will be able to use that confusion to your advantage. I am hoping, again, that it will confuse Reisen further lessen her impact on the fight.
>"Once we are in Eientei, there are two places we must hold. One is the front entrance, the other is the courtyard. We must anticipate, however, that there are other entrances we do not know about, so a foolproof holding strategy is not possible at this time. But, we shouldn't have to devote all of our forces to simply holding those points, so we may send patrols to seek out the Princess.
>"There are a few problems. Firstly, we do not know for a fact that Eirin is gone, it could be a deception to lure you in. If that is the case, she and Reisen can easily counter us both. If she is seen, I suggest we retreat. The other problem will be communication between us. We cannot send runners, they would get lost. Do you have any ideas for that? Otherwise, we will have to coordinate by listening for the battle."

[Fightest]

> Cirno nods vigorously throughout your explanation.
> "So we attack from two sides and smash 'em inna middle, like Great Fairy was thinking! I can do the smashing, you do the complicated stuff!"
> "Dunno about co-moo-nick-kay-shun. We could yell real loud, maybe!"
> Cirno grins.

[Hello Purvis]

>"Very well. Cirno, I would like you to take over things with the troops. Make sure that they can work well together, and that you have a good idea of their relative strengths. Make sure they are drilled, but do not tire them out. And make certain that they are well fed."
>Stand up. "I am going to go look into some things while you do so. With luck, I may be able to solve a few problems."
>Presuming no objections or better ideas from Cirno, go to Kourindou.

>_

[Fightest]

> Parser's note: curiously, this has turned into what is primarily a single-player game. The parser would have thought that more people would have been interested in gentlemanly fisticuffs.
> Cirno thumps her chest, gets up, and heads over to the now-sizeable mob of fairies. "All right, you knuckleheads! Gather 'round!"
> Things over there pretty much dissolve into chaos for a few minutes.
> You walk back through the human village and out the other end, to where Kourindou is located. The village still feels like a ghost town, with everyone indoors due to the huge mob of fairies.
> Kourindou stands as it always has, a well-maintained largish building. The path outside is quite freshly-worn. The interior is stocked, as usual, with all sorts of rare and unusual marvels. Rinnosuke reclines behind the counter, looking at his back wall, which has a gigantic scroll mounted on it. The scroll is written all over in small writing that you can't make out from the entrance. What you do notices is that the writing is constantly changing even as you look at it.

[Hello Purvis]

>Just due to the heavy planning aspect at this point and time, I imagine.
>"Good <time period>. I hope things have been well for you of late?"
>Glance at the stock.

[Mr_Bob]

>Considering enemies, we may want something that makes an especially loud noise. If Red-Eyes will be involved, mirrored polarized sunglasses may help. Or at least makes us look cooler. Maybe some baseballs to bean the Neetcess during spell cards.  Also, considering rabbits have powerful legs and we like keeping our teeth, check mouth guard stock.