Keine Quest (Part 3): Broken History

[DracoOmega]

>Do any of them pass through noteworthy locations?

>The map is not terribly detailed. There are no points of interest at all marked within the Forest of Magic. The leyline that intersects part of the lake also passes fairly close to the mansion. Elsewhere, one major terminus is at Youkai Mountain. Most of the lines appear not to pass through any points of interest.

[Hello Purvis]

>Ponder the Youkai mountain line.
>Point it out.
>"Can you tell me anything about this one?"

[DracoOmega]

>Ponder the Youkai mountain line.
>Point it out.
>"Can you tell me anything about this one?"

>Patchouli looks at the line you indicate. "What is it you wish to know? The Moriya Shrine is similarly located near a terminus, although a much lesser one than the Hakurei Shrine was. It is probably why they arrived in that location; they may not, in fact, have had a choice in the matter. In many ways, the lines are a reflection of the border itself, and its structure. You may crudely think of them as intersecting planes within a crystal, although one with geometry far more convoluted than any physical one."

[Hello Purvis]

>"I am wondering if the presence of Kanako, and the presence of the hell raven Kanako is keeping captured there would have an influence on it?"

[DracoOmega]

>"I am wondering if the presence of Kanako, and the presence of the hell raven Kanako is keeping captured there would have an influence on it?"

>"In what way? They are generally beyond the ability of most to shape. And the boundary itself has not seemed especially unusual lately. What did you have in mind?"

[Hello Purvis]

>"Being overly jumpy, I suppose. Just, you said these lie along ley lines. And, having two major sources of power on top of one, it makes me wonder if that would do anything to them."

[DracoOmega]

>"Being overly jumpy, I suppose. Just, you said these lie along ley lines. And, having two major sources of power on top of one, it makes me wonder if that would do anything to them."

>She considers this. "I do not think so. It certainly would not be a passive effect. Unless you are implying that you believe either of them is directly instigating this somehow?"

[Hello Purvis]

>"I doubt it, it predates the both of them. My worry was that they might influence the ley line by being there. And, well, influencing may make it active."

[DracoOmega]

>"I doubt it, it predates the both of them. My worry was that they might influence the ley line by being there. And, well, influencing may make it active."

>"Oh, I very much doubt that is possible. Ley lines are not something that can generally become 'active' in the sense I think you mean it. Any more than than a border between a river and its shore can become 'active'. Whatever occurred most likely happened across these lines because they were a path of least resistance."

[Hello Purvis]

>Nod. "Alright."
>"Can you tell me anything about Yuka? I would hate to have to tangle with her of missing something between our divergent timelines."

[DracoOmega]

>Nod. "Alright."
>"Can you tell me anything about Yuka? I would hate to have to tangle with her of missing something between our divergent timelines."

>"I have not personally had any contact with her for quite some time, nor have I heard of her involved in any incidents. Beings as old as her tend not to change a great deal over short periods. The usual caveats apply: be respectful, and take care not to offend her. But I gather you are aware of this much already."

[Hello Purvis]

>"I suppose it could worse."
>Study the map again; are there any of spots that have been taken indicated besides the old shrine location, the one we saw tonight, and the one near the garden?

[DracoOmega]

>"I suppose it could worse."
>Study the map again; are there any of spots that have been taken indicated besides the old shrine location, the one we saw tonight, and the one near the garden?

>There is another marker over the lake, and second a ways to the north of the mansion, and there are a couple question marks elsewhere: south of the bamboo forest, southwest of the village, and southeast of the shrine.
>"I'm afraid this is not yet comprehensive," Patchouli adds, noting your attention. "There may be more I have yet to find; I am not certain these are even all visible on the surface, or if their magnitude would be great enough to notice unless you were immediately next to them."

[Hello Purvis]

>Do we think we could check out the history of those points from here with any usefulness?

[DracoOmega]

>Do we think we could check out the history of those points from here with any usefulness?

>It doesn't appear so

[Hello Purvis]

>Check the map one more time to find the best route to the large fissure near the Garden of the Sun.

[DracoOmega]

>Check the map one more time to find the best route to the large fissure near the Garden of the Sun.

>Looking at the map, you're pretty sure you'll have no trouble finding the indicated area.

[Hello Purvis]

>"I'll go investigate it now, and try to report back soon."
>Start to leave, then stop. "Would it be too much to hope for something to eat when we get back?"

[DracoOmega]

>"I'll go investigate it now, and try to report back soon."

>Patchouli nods. "Very well. May your investigation prove fruitful."

>Start to leave, then stop. "Would it be too much to hope for something to eat when we get back?"

>"I-" she pauses, and frowns a little. "It is hardly my job to-" Then she sighs and shakes her head.  "Very well, I will ask."

[Doll.S CUBE]

> "Thank you" Bow towards her.

> Go investigate the Garden of the Sun.

[DracoOmega]

> "Thank you" Bow towards her.

> Go investigate the Garden of the Sun.

>You thank Patchouli and she nods back at you before returning to pondering the contents of the desk in front of her.
>You exit the mansion, and head towards the southwest corner of Gensokyo. You pass by the lake, and the road to the human village, and head further south. Much of this region of Gensokyo is uninhabited and it's an uneventful trip. Eventually you can see the location of Utsuho's last battle in the distance. It seems like so much more than an evening since you descended into hell. Soon, you pass this by as well.
>The Garden of the Sun is obvious, even at a considerable distance: a patch of brilliant color quite unlike its surroundings. You don't see any obvious signs of a fissure from this distance, but the region Patchouli indicated would be quite a bit more than sight range, and the Garden itself only a portion of it.

[Hello Purvis]

>Angle away from the garden, and toward where the fissure should be.

[DracoOmega]

>Angle away from the garden, and toward where the fissure should be.

>You were only given a general area. Presumably Patchouli's ability to locate these things precisely diminishes with her own distance from them. Nevertheless, you decide to give the garden a wide berth until you've examined the rest of the area. And who could honestly blame you for wanting to leave Yuka as a last resort?
>You continue west, staying what you feel is a safe and inoffensive distance north of the garden. Everything looks perfectly normal for a time. Eventually, you think you can see a column of dark purple in the distance.

[Hello Purvis]

>Frown disapprovingly.
>Head toward the column, but don't get too close.

[DracoOmega]

>Frown disapprovingly.
>Head toward the column, but don't get too close.

>You transmit your disapproval to... whatever that is. You suspect it does not grasp the full force of your displeasure.
>You head towards the column. It is certainly quite a lot less energetic than the burst you witnessed earlier today. It seems smaller, more contained. Stable, even. However, once you navigate past a ridge of hills, you become aware of another obstacle between yourself and it: an utterly massive fissure. It is many, many times the size of the one at the Hakurei Shrine. It might even be a whole kilometer wide and so deep that you can't see the bottom from here. Standing near the opposite end of it, nearly against the border itself rises the column of energy, its surface seeming to shift and shimmer ever so faintly.

[Hello Purvis]

>"Well then..."
>"I'm just going to have a look at the history of this place, do be ready to catch me if I fall, punch me if I fall asleep, and the like..."
>Have a look at the history of the area.

[DracoOmega]

>"Well then..."

>"Yeah, that's uh..." Mokou looks around at the terrain, or rather lack of it.

>"I'm just going to have a look at the history of this place, do be ready to catch me if I fall, punch me if I fall asleep, and the like..."

>Mokou looks at you, and the corner of her mouth dips a little. "Y'know, I really don't want to do that to you, again."  Still, she doesn't argue further.

>Have a look at the history of the area.

>You try to delve into the history of this place. You see the event that consumed the terrain even more clearly than at the shrine, feeling much the same but at a larger scale. You think this happened at around the same time. Moving further back, the history of the place seems veiled. You think that there is something important about this place, somehow, but it's almost as if someone has hidden it. You can't see anything very clearly.
>However, one other thing attracts your attention. The pillar in the middle... history seems to bend around it, or rather, you don't think the same history exists inside it. It is almost like it forms a boundary between this history and another.

[Hello Purvis]

>Probe the history of that barrier.

[DracoOmega]

>Probe the history of that barrier.

>The barrier itself seems to be as old as the rest of the fissure here, you think. Looking more closely.... you find that the shift in history from outside to inside reminds you of the 'splice' you felt earlier, in history of this place more generally. It is almost as though what's on the inside is a pocket of an earlier timeline.

[Hello Purvis]

>Try to trace the barrier's creation. Given its longevity, this has to be a notable event.