Keine Quest: The Broken and the Lost

[DracoOmega]

>You are Keine Kamishirasawa. You are a were-hakutaku. Most of the time, you appear essentially human, but on the night of the full moon, you transform into a full-blooded hakutaku, growing horns and gained enhanced physical and magical abilities. Although you are a youkai, you have chosen to live as a human.
>You maintain a well-appointed dwelling in the human village, as well as running their only school. You prefer teaching history, but since other teachers are in short supply, you also teach other subjects as necessary.

>History is your passion, and there is little documented about the history of Gensokyo that you do not know. You also know a significant amount about the history of the outside world, gleaned from whatever books and information you've been able to acquire over the years. You contribute to the documentation of history where you can, and have written accounts of several important recent events, as well as some older forgotten ones.
>Your youkai abilities also reflect this connection to history. You have sometimes been called the History Eater due to your ability to 'consume' the past, but this is not a true manipulation of past events. Rather, it is a form of illusion that influences people's perception of history and thus their perception of the present, and even then suffers from a variety of limitations.
>In human form, your combat abilities are only on the order of a mid-level youkai, but this still makes you substantially more powerful than your fellow villagers, and you have used your powers to defend them from other youkai when necessary. In hakutaku form, you would likely be capable of holding your own against some of the stronger beings in Gensokyo, but you've rarely had opportunity to test this.

>Many villagers seem more comfortable forgetting that you are youkai, but this doesn't usually bother you. They have reason enough to fear youkai. It is enough that they feel comfortable around you.


>It is shortly after nightfall, in late summer. You are sitting at your desk in the upstairs room of your home. You have recently finished correcting yesterday's history exam, and are currently working on the next chapter of your chronicle of Byakuren's life prior to her sealing in Makai.
>You feel ill at ease, for reasons you do not fully understand. You think you can sense something... strange, some distance away from the human village, but you are not quite certain in which direction.

>_

[theshirn]

> Proximity of full moon.

[Hello Purvis]

>Skills
>Inventory
>Quests
>Relationships

[DracoOmega]

> Proximity of full moon.

>Tomorrow night should have a full moon.

>Skills
>Inventory
>Quests
>Relationships

>Skills:

>You can use danmaku and spellcards of moderate power. You style focuses particularly on arrays of familiars. Your direct focused firepower is weaker.

>History concealment:
 >You can hide objects by consuming their history
 >This tends to create a localized effect, even if the consequences of a particular change in history should logically be more wide-reaching
 >This does not also generally affect people's memory or knowledge of these events. If you were to hide the history of the village in front of someone's eyes, they would still see it vanish
 >It is also very difficult to do if you're unfamiliar with what you're attempting to hide
 >While in hakutaku form, this ability is heightened

>Were-Hakutaku:
 >During a full moon, you transform into a Hakutaku, heightening all of your abilities

>Inventory:
  >Writing brush (currently held)
  >Pagoda hat (currently worn)
  >Blue dress (currently worn)

>Quests:
  >Investigate the oddity:
    >You sense something strange not too far away. You don't know what it is, but you feel rather unsettled by it
  >Chronicle the past:
    >You are currently compiling the research you have conducted on Byakuren and her companions into a chronicle. You have most of the material you should need, but it will still take a great deal of time to write
  >Remedial Education:
    >The results of the exams you've just corrected suggest that a make-up class on the Warring States period is probably a good idea. The battle against ignorance never seems to end.

>Relationships:
  >While you have a friendly relationship with most of the townsfolk (after all, it's a small place, and you've taught most of their children), you are close to only a few people
  >You are good friends with Akyuu Heida, through your shared interest in history. You have learned a great deal from her Chronicles of Gensokyo and also contributed with information of your own (you do tend to get away from the village more than she does)
  >You are romantically involved with Fujiwara no Mokou. She's a bit of a temperamental sort (to put it mildly), and it's taken a while for your relationship to get to this point, but she seems to soften when you're around. Still, she's been a loner for so long that it's hard for her to adjust to being around people. She still lives in the bamboo forest, away from crowds. You're trying to work on that.
  >You have met many of the major figures in Gensokyo at least once, and have read about many of the rest. Despite her attacking you the first time you met, Reimu is on much the same terms with you as everyone else in the village

[theshirn]

> Stock up on spell cards.  We've got a bad feeling about this.

[E-Nazrin]

>examine pagoda hat
>get drunk

[DracoOmega]

> Stock up on spell cards.  We've got a bad feeling about this.

>You decide that this isn't the sort of thing you want to investigate unarmed. You open one of the drawers of your desk and retrieve the small wooden case you keep your spellcards in. Unlocking it reveals a sizable deck; more than you would possibly have energy to use even across multiple battles. You've always found the process of scribing spellcards strangely calming, despite the time and focus required, so you tend to have more lying around than you probably need. But it never hurts to be more prepared than necessary.
>You retrieve a balanced assortment of cards and put them in your pocket. If there really is a threat worth confronting out there, you're as armed as you'll ever be.

>examine pagoda hat
>get drunk

>You examine your hat. It is a small navy blue hat, shaped somewhat like a small building with a large red ribbon affixed to the top. It may be rather unusual looking, but it IS distinctive

>You tend not to drink except on special occasions, somewhat to Mokou's chagrin. You do have a small amount of sake stored in the pantry downstairs, but now hardly feels like the right time to break it out.

>_

[Naut]

>Grab anything else useful around that may be needed out of the house like our wallet/purse or any spare change lying around.
>Examine the spellcards we've taken.
>Go downstairs and outside.
>Try to sense the disturbance in the force strange thing, and where it is coming from.

[DracoOmega]

>Grab anything else useful around that may be needed out of the house like our wallet/purse or any spare change lying around.
>Examine the spellcards we've taken.
>Go downstairs and outside.
>Try to sense the disturbance in the force strange thing, and where it is coming from.

>You try to think of anything else around the house that might be useful in a pinch. This is made quite a bit more difficult by you having no real idea what you're even looking for. Unless it's a beast that can only be pacified by reading it historical documents, you're probably as prepared for combat as you can be. Although you're not even certain whether this is coming from a being or some other phenomenon. But you figure that taking your wallet can't hurt. You could always buy yourself a bowl of ramen on the way back if this turns out to be a false alarm.
>You obtain: wallet containing 1540 yen

>You take a quick look at your spellcards:
 >Spiritual Birth "First Pyramid"
 >Origin Sign "Ephemerality 137"
 >Ending Sign "Phantasmal Emperor"
 >Ambition Sign "Yoshimitsu Crisis"
 >Land Sign "Three Sacred Treasures - Orb"
 >Last Word "Emperor of the East"

>You left a couple of your most powerful spellcards at home, because you lack the power to use them except while in hakutaku form

>You descend the staircase and exit your home

>You are near the northwestern end of the village, towards the outskirts. Although it is after dark, you can still see some people milling around. There are brighter lights and more signs of activity to the southeast, towards the village center. There will still be some shops and eateries open at this time of night.

>You take a deep breath of the cool air and focus. The sensation you can detect is somewhat elusive, almost a bit like a half-remembered dream. But it is slowly becoming more distinct. You're not sure if that means it's getting closer, or if you're just getting a better grasp of it. You sense a feeling of subtle power. You think... but it's masked. It's hard to tell. However, as you concentrate, you become increasingly convinced that is coming from somewhere generally in the west, away from the village.

[Naut]

>Head west.

[MysTeariousYukari]

> Ponder on where Mokou is right now, if this gets really bad we may need her help.
> What is to the west of our current location, even in a general sense, that we know of?

[DracoOmega]

>Head west.

>You head west, and past the gates of the village. The terrain here is fairly open and there is farmland spreading out in the distance towards the north. There are some farms to the south, but beyond that lies uncultivated grassland for a distance. There are stands of trees here and there. f you follow the westward road, you will eventually connect with the Misty Lake.

>You keep your senses peeled as you continue westward. The presence is definitely getting more distinct, and you can pinpoint its direction more specifically: approximately west-south-west. You increasingly suspect this is a being of some sort, but something about how it feels is very different than the sense that you usually get from most youkai. You don't think it's anything you've encountered before.

> Ponder on where Mokou is right now, if this gets really bad we may need her help.
> What is to the west of our current location, even in a general sense, that we know of?

>You consider if Moukou would be able to lend a hand with this. It's true that she's generally quite a bit more powerful than you are, and convincing her to help would be straightforward enough. Sadly, the bamboo forest where she lives is in nearly the opposite direction of where you're headed, and a fair bit distant. It would be a significant detour to go and fetch her. At this point, although you get the sense that something is unusual, you aren't convinced the presence is directly hostile.

>If we keep heading West, we will eventually reach the Misty Lake. North of there lies the Scarlet Devil Mansion, and further West is Youkai Mountain.

[Hello Purvis]

>Keeping going that way, wary of unusual things.
>Preemptively blame Tenshi.

[MysTeariousYukari]

> Ponder if anyone from the Scarlet Devil Mansion would be capable of making us feel this strange feeling.

[DracoOmega]

>Preemptively blame Tenshi.

>You don't really think the celestial is responsible for this. It seems, well... too subtle for her. But you do get a certain degree of satisfaction from grumbling to yourself about her, anyway. You're sure there's probably SOMETHING she ought to be blamed for, at the moment. You profoundly sympathize with those who have to put up with her on a daily basis.

> Ponder if anyone from the Scarlet Devil Mansion would be capable of making us feel this strange feeling.

>Well, you suppose it's not impossible. Pathchouli's repertoire of magic is extremely extensive, although it is unusual for her to be this far afield. Remilia also has some subtle and difficult to define abilities. Can one feel fate being manipulated? No one tends to get straight answers out of her on that one, though. You've never been quite sure how much of that she could just be making up. Still, this isn't anything that readily reminds you of anyone that lived in the mansion.

>Keeping going that way, wary of unusual things.

>You continue in the direction of the unusual sensation, past the farms and the far outskirts of the village. You seem to be heading towards a moderately sized wooded area, crowded with densely-leafed trees. You're pretty certain that what you're looking for is in there, somewhere. Looking behind you, the village is still clearly visible, but fairly tiny at this point.

>The sensation was growing less fuzzy and more defined as you approached, and at first you thought this was simply because you were getting closer to it. But you've come to suspect that this was because the phenomenon itself was... manifesting, somehow. If one were to put it into words, at first it felt wispy, like something on the edge of consciousness, or a melody too faint to recognize. Now, however, it is clearly the aura of a being. It may not be a youkai, but it is clearly a magical creature of some sort. Curiously, even though you are certain it is fully 'there', it still feels muted and hazy. You have difficulty telling how powerful it is.

[Hello Purvis]

>If it can be felt this far, it is probably pretty powerful. Be ready to try to talk it out, chances are fighting is just going to end poorly.
>How confident are we in our dodging skills?

[DracoOmega]

>If it can be felt this far, it is probably pretty powerful. Be ready to try to talk it out, chances are fighting is just going to end poorly.

>You consider the possibility that something giving off this much presence from a distance is out of your league. It's... distinctly possible, you have to admit. Still, once the presence 'solidified', it doesn't seem to have grown appreciable stronger as you approach it. Which is kind of odd in and of itself, now that you think about it. But it also doesn't feel like raw power emanating from it, either. There's something strangely... lulling about it, actually. You're still not quite sure what it is.

>But yes, you'd much rather resolve this without a fight if at all possible. There's a reasonable chance you'd be out of your league if it came to one.

>How confident are we in our dodging skills?

>You have relatively average agility for a youkai of your rank. On the plus side, the trees should provide plenty of opportunities for cover, assuming whatever it is can't just trivially blast through the trees entirely.

[Hello Purvis]

>Into the forest!

[MysTeariousYukari]

> Stay calm, despite the strange feeling. As someone in our position, we need to stay calm, it could just be a Youkai with a intresting power that didn't know it was affecting others. No matter how unlikly, we should keep peace as our first option and fighting as Plan B if talking won't help us.

[DracoOmega]

> Stay calm, despite the strange feeling. As someone in our position, we need to stay calm, it could just be a Youkai with a intresting power that didn't know it was affecting others. No matter how unlikly, we should keep peace as our first option and fighting as Plan B if talking won't help us.

>You are definitely not looking for a fight here, and still are reasonably hopeful that whatever is in this forest isn't, either. You admit to being nervous, but try to shake it off. You have no reason to suspect it is malicious. Simply very strange. You prefer to approach situations with a rational and analytical mind, in the first place. The false moon incident was an... unfortunate exception where you let your fear for the safety of the village affect your judgment, and jumped to incorrect conclusions with rather... painful consequences. You're still a bit embarrassed when the subject comes up, and in no hurry to repeat something like that.

>Into the forest!

>You're familiar with the terrain of the region and know that the wooded area is actually fairly small, barely more than a thicket. It would probably only take about 15 minutes to walk from one side of to the other. But it would still be plenty of room for something to hide in, and you're not getting any better sense of direction from the creature than 'nearby'
>You approach the point where the trees grow dense, and slip inside. Although it's a bright and clear night out, it quickly becomes dark as you enter. The moonlight filters down in scattered patches through holes in the canopy. Some areas are well lit by pools of moonlight, while others are almost too dark to see. The air is thick with a woody fragrance, and the dense undergrowth crunches beneath your feet as you walk.
>After a minute or two, you think you can make out the sounds of something moving through the trees a short distance to the west

[Hello Purvis]

>Proceed west cautiously.
>Try to get a better idea where it is and what it is from the sounds.

[DracoOmega]

>Proceed west cautiously.
>Try to get a better idea where it is and what it is from the sounds.

>You proceed carefully to the west, trying not to make more noise than necessary. However, you're not exactly the most accomplished woodsman, and you think it's quite possible that if you can hear whoever it is moving around out there, they can probably hear you, too. Or at least hear something.
>From the sounds of motion, it does not appear to be moving very fast, nor does it seem very large. There are no heavy footfalls or other unusual sounds. It could even be human. It is fairly close and to the west, but you can't even be certain the sounds are coming from the presence itself. Its location is indistinct, although you're fairly certain it's in the woods. But would anyone else be wandering around in here at this time of night?
>Wait, what was that? You think you saw a flash of movement in the distance, towards the south. It was quick and indistinct, before you lost it in the trees again. It did not seem to make any noise.
>You stifle a yawn. It's not THAT late in the evening, is it? Maybe correcting those tests was even more depressing than you thought?

[Hello Purvis]

>"Hello?"

[DracoOmega]

>"Hello?"

>You call out into the forest. You don't seem to get a response. You try again, somewhat louder. Still nothing. But then you become aware that you no longer hear movement in the west.
>After a few moments of silence, you hear a timid voice tentatively call out. "I-is someone out there?" You can barely make out the words. Whoever's speaking sounds a little frightened.

[Hello Purvis]

>"Hi, I'm Keine. Are you alright? Don't worry, I'm not here to give you a hard time."
>Can we feel anything different?

[DracoOmega]

>"Hi, I'm Keine. Are you alright? Don't worry, I'm not here to give you a hard time."
>Can we feel anything different?

>You try to introduce yourself and assure whoever it is that you mean no harm. You get partway through 'alright' before you feel compelled to yawn. Your eyes are getting seriously droopy.
>You catch another flash of movement towards the southwest, moving generally towards where the voice is coming from. It's closer, now. Maybe it would be ok to just go to sleep here? It looks so cozy...

[Seian Verian]

> ...Wait, this is too weird. Aren't there stories, possibly even mentions in history, of enchantments that cause people to just sleep where they are? Maybe we should try to get away from here, no matter how nice it might be

[DracoOmega]

> ...Wait, this is too weird. Aren't there stories, possibly even mentions in history, of enchantments that cause people to just sleep where they are? Maybe we should try to get away from here, no matter how nice it might be

>You snap out of contemplating a nap on the forest floor with the realization that this is a very unnatural thing to be thinking at the moment. Something is wrong. You try to will yourself awake, and are at least moderately successful. The thought of pleasant dreams still feels awfully inviting, but that can wait until this is figured out. You yawn again, then slap yourself a couple times. It can wait!
>You consider the possibility of some enchantment on the area. While you haven't been this far into the woods before, it's not an unexplored area. This close to the village, you've no doubt that other people have wandered through here, yet you've never heard of anyone disappearing or having any other unusual experiences here. Unless it's new... Or maybe whoever's voice that was is doing it? She sounded more scared than hostile, though. Maybe it's a defense mechanism? Or is it some kind of trick?
>You think you can probably keep yourself awake if you concentrate on it

[Naut]

>"What are you doing out here?"
>Stay awake. If this thing is causing us to fall asleep, we'll probably be better off trying to talk to it rather than making sudden movements like running away or something.

[DracoOmega]

>"What are you doing out here?"

>You call out to the voice again.
>"A- are you human?" she responds, still clearly nervous. From the sounds of it, she's probably no more than 100 feet or so away from you. You try peering in that direction, but it's impossible to make out any form through the trees at this distance if she's standing still.

>Stay awake. If this thing is causing us to fall asleep, we'll probably be better off trying to talk to it rather than making sudden movements like running away or something.

You think you're ok for the moment. You still feel quite drowsy, but not at immediate risk of taking a spontaneous nap unless you let yourself.