Keine Quest (Part 3): Broken History

[DracoOmega]

> Land outside of the forest.
> Look around for signs of life.
> If nothing is found, head inside the forest.

>You land at the outside of the forest and look around. You don't see any signs of people or anything else of interest for the matter. You step into the forest.
>"This-a-way!" Rumia says, happily bouncing off ahead of you.

[Hello Purvis]

>Follow the bouncing Rumia~

[DracoOmega]

>Follow the bouncing Rumia~

>You follow after Rumia as she ducks past one tree and loops around another, humming to herself. She stops occasionally, staring hard at a tree or rock and making audible thinking noises. Still she seems purposeful in her meandering, despite clearly not walking in a straight path. You swing left, then right, and virtually double back at one point. After a while you grow increasingly concerned that you've gotten turned around entirely.
>"Hey, you sure this is the most direct route, pipsqueak?" Mokou asks.
>"Nope!" Rumia replies without breaking stride.

[Kasu]

> Sigh.
> "Well either way, Rumia IS the most likely person right now to have had the most recent contact with Chen, so we should probably keep following her."
> Keep going.
> Consider calling out Chen's name.

[DracoOmega]

> Sigh.
> "Well either way, Rumia IS the most likely person right now to have had the most recent contact with Chen, so we should probably keep following her."
> Keep going.
> Consider calling out Chen's name.

>You sigh, but explain to Mokou that you're still better off following her than wandering around without direction.
>"Yup!" Rumia agrees. "Leave it to Rumia! Rumia knows where she's going." She wanders off again. "Except when she doesn't." Mokou rolls her eyes.
>You continue to follow Rumia through the forest, around one bend, past a little brook, and through gaps in the trees that seem intended only for Rumia-sized travelers. Eventually she stops and turns back towards you. "Here we are!" she states proudly.
>You consider calling out to Chen. Especially considering that you see nothing else of interest wherever here is.

[Kasu]

> Examine the area.
> Call out Chen's name.
> Listen for a response.

[DracoOmega]

> Examine the area.
> Call out Chen's name.
> Listen for a response.

>You take a look around the area. You are in a nondescript section of forest, sheltered beneath a canopy of tall oaks and maples. The trees themselves are fairly sparse here, creating several open areas with little underbrush, but the canopy still shuts out all but the occasional shaft of moonlight. You can hear a small stream flowing somewhere to your left.
>You call out Chen's name. You don't get a response.

[Kasu]

> "Are you sure Chen is around here Rumia?"

[DracoOmega]

> "Are you sure Chen is around here Rumia?"

>"Nope," she replies. "But this is where Rumia saw her last."

[Kasu]

> "Oh.  That makes sense."
> Poke around the are and look for clues.
> If nothing is found, check the history to see if we can find a possible direction she may have gone.

[DracoOmega]

> "Oh.  That makes sense."
> Poke around the are and look for clues.
> If nothing is found, check the history to see if we can find a possible direction she may have gone.

>Rumia nods enthusiastically at your reply.
>You fan out around the immediate area and look for signs of habitation. Sadly, this seems pretty fruitless; all you see is dirt and trees and rocks, and the occasional mushroom.
>"Hey," Mokou calls out, "I think there's footprints over here."

[Kasu]

> "Coming!"
> Head over to Mokou.
> Check the history of the footprints.

[DracoOmega]

> "Coming!"
> Head over to Mokou.
> Check the history of the footprints.

>You head over to Mokou and look at the footprints. They're faint and a bit smudged; probably not too recent. They're probably about the right size to be Chen's, although you couldn't say for certain. You don't think you would have noticed them yourself at all, but Mokou is actually a competent tracker.
>You try to get a sense of their history... footprints are not much to go on, but you get the definite sense that whoever left those has spent a lot of time in the area. Unfortunately, they've also criss-crossed the area so many times that it's hard to trace any single path; all the wanderings blur together.

[Kasu]

> "There is a good chance they're hers, but I can't track the owner's path.  They at least seem to frequent the area though."
> Look around a bit more, and if nothing comes up, head in the general direction the prints lead to.

[DracoOmega]

> "There is a good chance they're hers, but I can't track the owner's path.  They at least seem to frequent the area though."
> Look around a bit more, and if nothing comes up, head in the general direction the prints lead to.

>"Well, that's something anyway," Mokou says. "And if you can't follow these, I can."
>You have another look around the area, but don't find much so you decide to have Mokou follow the prints and follow her in turn.
>Progress is a little slow-going, and Mokou has to stop and search around a few times when the prints get cut off by unfavorable terrain, but you continue to follow the trail.
>Eventually you hear a young-sounding voice call out to you from one of the trees. "Hey!" She sounds a little angry.

[Kasu]

> "Yes?"
> Look for the source of the voice.

[DracoOmega]

> "Yes?"
> Look for the source of the voice.

>"Where do you think you're going!?"
>The voice seems to be coming from high up in a tree somewhere to your left. There's far too much foliage to see the source of it, though.

[Hello Purvis]

>That doesn't sound like Mystia, does it?
>"We're looking for Chen. It's important."

[DracoOmega]

>That doesn't sound like Mystia, does it?
>"We're looking for Chen. It's important."

>The voice is quite a bit different. Younger and higher-pitched. And, despite sounding a bit aggressive, quite lacking the deep-seated resentment you could hear from Mystia.
>"What're you looking for, uh, her for?"

[Kasu]

> "We need her in an attempt to rescue someone from inside a barrier."

[DracoOmega]

> "We need her in an attempt to rescue someone from inside a barrier."

>".....what did you say!?"
>You hear rustling in the trees.

[Hello Purvis]

>"Exactly that. We can get Ran out of there. But we have to do it tonight, or else she'll be stuck for another month."

[DracoOmega]

>"Exactly that. We can get Ran out of there. But we have to do it tonight, or else she'll be stuck for another month."

>"Really!?" Her voice practically glows with excitement. You hear someone scrabbling down a tree, branches swaying and leaves shimmering beneath her. Then the motion stops suddenly. "Wait.... how do I know this isn't some kinda trick?"

[Hello Purvis]

>"Because it would be a really mean thing to trick you over, and if we were that mean we would have just had Mokou burn that tree down while you're in it."

[Kasu]

> "You don't know this is a trick.  And we can't prove it isn't.  But you have to trust me on this."

[DracoOmega]

>"Because it would be a really mean thing to trick you over, and if we were that mean we would have just had Mokou burn that tree down while you're in it."

>"Nuh-uh," she replies. "You couldn't catch me in it!"

> "You don't know this is a trick.  And we can't prove it isn't.  But you have to trust me on this."

>"Then why are you are you threatening to set me on fire?"
>"Stop being a meanie!" Rumia calls out.
>"Hey!"

[Hello Purvis]

>"I'm not threatening, Chen. It was just an example. No one is going to set you on fire. Besides, Rumia is here to bite me if we do anything like that."

[Kasu]

> "Chen.  You have to trust us on this.  It isn't a trick.  If you truly want to save Ran, you have to come with us.  Please?"

[DracoOmega]

>"I'm not threatening, Chen. It was just an example. No one is going to set you on fire. Becauses, Rumia is here to bite me if we do anything like that."

>"Yeah, that's right!" Rumia agrees. "Wait...."

> "Chen.  You have to trust us on this.  It isn't a trick.  If you truly want to save Ran, you have to come with us.  Please?"

>She climbs down the tree just far enough that you can catch a glimpse of her.
>"How...." she says. "How can you do it? I've tried everything....."

[Hello Purvis]

>"I'm a Hakutaku, Chen."
>Tap a horn for emphasis.
>"I can manipulate the flow of history a bit to make it work. But, I need you to be there, or there's nothing I can do. And, we don't have much nighttime left."