> We're larger than her, roll the grapple so that she's underneath us, then use our legs - in addition to our arms - to pin her down.
> If she keeps struggling, punch to the kidney.
> If while rolling, we find the trident interfering with the roll, fire off some danmaku point-blank to whatever part of Tewi our hands are currently at.
> Shout "Hey, can someone give me a hand here? Now would be great!"
> Are we bleeding? We better not have any broken teeth!
> "Hurry and help!"
> Do we know the proper technique for a headbutt?
> "Trying!"
> Brace whatever grip on Tewi we still have and stop moving of our own accord. Resist all pushes and pulls on our body by Tewi's struggling as best we can.
> While doing these, since we have fairly recent practice doing it, begin increasing our weight in an attempt to reduce the effect Teri's flailing has on us.
> Oh, that does it.
> Start firing off point-blank danmaku at whatever part of Tewi our hands are aimed at. Don't stop until Tewi breaks free, stops struggling, or vocally gives up, or if someone else tells us to stop.
> "Keep going, Mystia!"
> Stop firing.
> "Hold up, Mystia! I think she's done!"
> Try to get a better grip on Tewi.
> Wait a few seconds to see if Tewi struggles any more.
> If not, adjust our grip so one of our arms has her neck firmly in the crook of our elbow, then release our grip with the other arm and use the now-free arm to disentangle our trident from the mess of rabbit and nue.
> If Tewi still hasn't struggled at all, return to the solid grip around her midsection and stand up, hoisting her up with us. Turn around so we can see the others.
> "Been better."
> Give a toothy grin.
> "Pretty sure she's out. We need to get her into a room big enough for all of us, preferably a room with no windows and one door I can block physically. Best thing we can do after that is wait for her to rejoin the land of the conscious. I have no idea why she bolted that second time after Mystia stood down; I was still easily the most suspicious person of this little group, and you folks had a good number of reasons to trust her over me."
> Frown.
> "For a thief and a rabbit, she has pretty questionable situational assessment skills."
> "The pantry works, if someone doesn't mind giving me a hand to lug her down there."
> Look at Rikako speciifcally.
> "I'll be glad to give you the explanation I'm sure you and your friends want on the way there. Or, at least, as much of one as I can. You might actually have to fill in some of the details for me."
> Start carrying Tewi into the building with Rikako's help as she provides it.
> "Right. So this rabbit here nicked my spellcards earlier this afternoon, while I was still asleep. I managed to track her here, because not only had she stolen my stuff, but she's also the top and, really, only suspect in the case of who turned all of Gensokyo's money into gems. Mystia's here to give her a good thrashing for the latter. We managed to find this building, so I figured two could play at the game of sneaking inside to take stuff and managed to find my way in. Like I said earlier, I had no idea you lived here, or that this was even a home. From the outside, I figured it was either a warehouse, a business, or some sort of shelter. In my investigation I found you and your friend asleep together on a futon. One of the drawers on your chest is still open, by the way. I had no idea who you were, but you weren't Tewi, and it was pretty apparent that you were living here in some capacity, so I left you be and moved on. Found the laundry room with the mobile laundry pole, then found the kitchen and your ghost, who told me that Tewi admitted she had stolen things from me and was now hiding from me. Then pot met wok a whole lot and I think you enough of the rest."
> Grin and tilt our head toward Mystia.
> "She was wrong. There were two dangerous people after her. But anyway, I guess I don't know for sure if she actually said anything about stealing. I told Kana that she had said she was a friend of mine, and that she had only borrowed some important tools. Kana made the robbery connection when I was trying to avoid putting what happened that way as best I could, so I had figured Tewi said something about being a thief. Guess I could've been wrong on that one. Still, though, I'd like to think that her running away after Mystia stopped shooting at her when you two had me a crossbow point must say something about her motives."
> "Dunno. Like I said, pretty questionable situational assessment skills. Mystia probably has the right of it to a degree, too."
> "Also, uh, for what it's worth, I'm sorry for the trouble all this nonsense caused your home. At the very least, I can appreciate the aggravation of having an unwanted visitor sneak into your house while you're sleeping."
> "Does she always do that? I really did kinda try to get her to wake you in a more normal fashion."
>"Doesn't sound like the best kind of housemate to get a night's sleep around."
>"How well do you guys know Tewi, anyway?"
>Nod back to Rika. "Thanks. Sorry about causing a ruckus and all. Well, sorry about making someone else cause a ruckus in this case, I guess."
>Keep carting Tewi in whatever direction Rikako leads
>"Not planning to cause you any more trouble than I already have, once we get this little issue sorted."
>"Was pretty surprised to find a place like this out here, actually. What drives a couple of humans to live in the middle of nowhere, I wonder."
>Crack a little grin.
>"Other than trying to stay away from nosy people like myself, of course."
>"Well, it's a pretty nice place you've got here, anyhow. Looks a bit different from the outside, though. Not sure I've seen anything quite like it."
>"Does that stuff have a name?"
>What material is our currency made of? Normally, of course.
>"How about cement?"
>Chuckle just a little
>"I suppose I can see why. But still, it's kinda neat. Not everyone gets to invent their own building material. I bet there could be a market for that stuff. Not everything people build needs to stay too toasty on the inside, but fireproof? That's a pretty handy thing."
>Go put Tewi down on the bed
>Then grab a chair and sit down. Position ourselves so that we're basically between her and the door, and at an angle where we can keep an eye on her comfortably.
> "I guess we wait until she wakes up. In the mean time..."
> Turn to Rikako
> "Got any rope?"
> "Alright then, in that case just be ready to grab her if she decides to run again please."
> Inventory
> Quests
> "We might want to have your other friends down here too, just in case."
> "Let's start with splashing, then move onto dunking if she doesn't get up. Unless of course you're already set on dunking her."
> "It was the damndest thing, she dumped the water on herself!"
> Call up stairs: "Wasn't me!"
> To Tewi: "Wakey wakey, now siddown!"
> To Mystia: "How do you want to handle this?"
> "Tempting. But after getting whacked in the mouth, I think I'd prefer to get some answers before you go to town on her."
> Grin.
> "Maybe we can drop her off in front of the vampire mansion after you're done with her, though. Then she can visit Lord Tenma, and maybe Deva K and Yuugi too, before we wrap her tour of Gensokyo up by throwing her at Reimu."
> Turn to Tewi.
> "Might be, might not be. Depends on how quickly you provide answers. I will tell you, though, that all those people are really pissed at you."
> "Well, to put it bluntly, it's because you stole their money. Along with all the rest of Gensokyo's currency."
>...
>(http://i107.photobucket.com/albums/m303/ValetVisuals/Random/chenwhat2.jpg)
>"Now, you're quite suspicious-for one thing, you're the one who hid out, not me-but maybe you're being honest. Like me. Of course, I can't be sure you're telling the truth, and if you are, you can't be sure that I am. So first of all: did you take my spellcards?"
>If she says no: "Well, we'll add that to the list of statements to verify, then."
>If she says yes: "As I thought. How about this: if you return my spellcards, I know how to verify my statements and yours."
>Either way, continue with this: "Now, it just so happens that I've met Satori Komeiji. And she, if you don't know, can read minds. So how about we go to her? She can confirm for you that I didn't do this, and confirm for me that you didn't."
Laying all of what out? I restated the situation and proposed going to Satori. That's it.
>"Then please explain why an oni in the Ancient City saw a rabbit in pink -"
> - Pointedly stare at her outfit for a moment -
>"... enter my bar while I was sleeping, and I woke up to find my spellcards gone and all the money replaced."
>Or did it happen shortly after we woke up?
>Most likely the spellcards were either taken for framing purposes, since this seems more like something we'd do (especially with the Seeds and all) or as some sort of component to draw on our powers in order to pull it off.
>"That's the best evidence ever
>Roll eyes
>"Have anything else to add to that accusation?"
>"You're assuming I have nothing. And claiming you have something. You were saying something about baseless accusations?"
>Raise eyebrow
>"You were seen walking into my place while I was asleep this morning. Care to tell me what you were doing there?"
>"There's also the fact that you hid from me and made a run for it the moment you saw me. Which tells me that you did something to antagonize me, presumably stealing my spellcards. You were behind that, I think, correct?"
>"Anyways, let's try a different approach: why do you think I'm responsible? And before you answer, no, I don't have the ability to change the appearance of every coin in Gensokyo, so don't say it's because I can do illusions. And don't say it's because I like to 'play tricks', either. Besides, based on Eirin and Reisen's response, you're probably fond of that yourself, aren't you?"
>"Then you can just wait in anticipation for a bit longer. I notice you didn't actually answer the question; might want to try that."
>"I already spoke with them, actually. They were both rather... interested in finding your whereabouts."
>"And I fail to see why I ought to feel embarrassed about asking what were you doing lying your way into my place. So I'll ask it again: what were you doing there?"
>"Going to tell me what? That it had happened?"
>Assuming an affirmative: "Why me, of all the people in Gensokyo?"
>"That's awfully convenient. And kinda unnecessary seeming, given how pretty much everyone in a couple mile radius found out on their own pretty soon afterward."
>"But, y'see, I know someone swiped my spellcards. A streetear was watching the door. Saw you go in, saw you go out, and only you. There's not a long list of people who'd steal something in the Ancient City, and I'm sure you know it's not worth accusing any of them of lying, either."
>"Because I don't think there was a lot of poofing going on, this time. The gem thing hit everyone, near as I can tell, but I'm the only person I've talked to who lost their spellcards too. Nothing weird in their place, either. Just plain ordinary gone. I get one unusual visitor just before they show up missing, in a city of of the most non-thieves you're ever going to find anywhere. Tell me what you'd think."
>"And why were you running away from me if you'd had nothing to hide, hmm? If you hadn't stolen them, you'd have no reason to even know they'd been taken at all, and certainly no reason to think I suspected you'd taken them. So why'd you bolt?"
>"Then who were you running from? Mystia? I'd only said we wanted to talk. Everyone had stood down. You still bolted."
>"Well, there's a short list of people who showed up when you ran away. I can't imagine it was any of the people who live here, given that you were taking shelter with them in the first place."
>"Ok, let me ask you straight up, then: are you saying that you weren't running away from either me or Mystia or anyone who lives here, for that matter?"
> "Well, there is also the fact that you have easy access to one of two, maybe three libraries that are large enough to have pulled this off."
> "While I may have access to a lot of liquor, that does nothing for me in terms the resources needed to pull this off. Motives mean nothing in the face of simply not having the means to execute. I don't have access to the amount of books that this required. You do."
> "The process involved either the transformation or the outright sacrifice of a lot of books. I don't immediately remember if we figured out which, but either way, they ceased being books. Patchouli is probably the last person in Gensokyo that would take a lot of books and make them into things that are not books."
> Shrug.
> "I don't know why you'd do such a thing, but I also don't know why you wouldn't tell Eirin you'd be gone longer than normal, and you still didn't."
>Do we know of satori who exploit their powers for money?
> "Every little thing? You're so worried about someone that's chasing you for some reason that you hide from them out here and that's 'a little thing' and not worth telling your family about? What if you got caught? How would they be able to find you without having any idea where you were?"
> "This is true, but them knowing where you're going is still better than them knowing nothing at all. If we could stumble upon this place through nothing but fairy advice, I bet they could find it too."
> "You could have stayed at home, which is hidden fairly well in its own right, and with all due respect to the people that live here, I'm pretty sure your home packs far more of a defensive punch. Especially if those gems Reisen used to fend Mokou off aren't just one-time deals."
> Frown.
> "That again, huh? Well, you've reminded me of something else anyway. Why did you run after Mystia stood down?"
> "Even with your friends present? And with a crossbow aimed at my back?"
> Turn our head toward the stairs as best we can.
> "Actually, I assumed you had followed me up until after she ran."
> What do we know of, and think of, 'heretics'?
> Raise an eyebrow at Rika for a second, then shrug and turn back to Tewi.
> "Still, even if you didn't see one, when I shouted that I was at crossbow-point, what did you think I meant?"
> Who did Kisume say she had seen entering and leaving the underground it the time while we were asleep?
>How unusual is it for someone to be unable to fly?
> Frown.
> "Wonderful. I guess the only other thing I can really think of is that I asked one of the folks that lives in the entrance to the underground about passers-through while I was asleep, and a rabbit in a pink dress was the only person they could produce."
> "The person I asked doesn't miss much of anything."
> Does Kisume really drink that much, in our experience?
> "Huh. Haven't heard stories like that myself."
> "Regardless, I hope all of this has been a better explanation of why we're here having this discussion right now than the one I first provided. Lots of lesser coincidences that pointed to you, each by themselves perhaps not enough to indict, but there were just too many of them strung together for me to ignore."
> Shrug.
> "Beats me. The problem with what happened is that no one knows how it happened. All a few of us have found is the book thing, and that it was some sort of manipulation of something similar to faith. Beyond that, no one seems to know. So, books aside, everyone's pretty much equal under the 'how' umbrella."
> Frown.
> "I don't know. I'm out here not just because you're a major suspect, but because you're honestly the only suspect. In both cases. But you've refused to say anything really useful, only dropping vague hints about some unknown evil force that's out to get you for some unknown reason. I don't know if I want to go home with absolutely nothing. I do know I don't want to send Mystia home with absolutely nothing, since she was nice enough to join me."
> "I'm not necessarily looking for an admission of guilt on either charge. But I would feel a lot better about you if I knew anything meaningful about why you were really here, if it isn't for either of those reasons."
> "Which is why I said something meaningful. A who or a why or a where from, any would be good."
> "Really. I would think someone this worried for their well-being would take whatever chance they could at eliminating the threat."
> "Why, will they come after me too the instant you tell me?"
> Jeez, who did she piss off?
> "Who says they'll find out when they can still do something about it?"
> Give a slightly amused expression.
> "Won't know unless you tell me something I can work with."
> Frown for a couple of seconds.
> "If your friends aren't around to hear it and get in trouble themselves, will you tell me then?"
> "You want me to plan for a problem and you give me absolutely no details about it? If I had a catch-all solution to everything like that, do you think I'd be here right now?"
> Turn around back to the stairwell.
> "I've no idea how long this will take. You should all probably go back to bed. Two of you, at least."
> "Right."
> When they leave, turn to Mystia.
> "You should probably join them. If Tewi is telling the truth, and there really is something major going on, I don't want to risk your safety by getting you mixed up in it."
> Grin.
> "And if she's lying, I'll make sure you get first crack."
> "Don't let her get to you. Here, take this."
> Pull out our remaining bottle of wine and give it to Mystia.
> "You can entertain yourself and our 'hosts' with that."
>"So... just the two of us, now. Give me something I can work with here."
>"And like I said, how am I supposed to have a plan without barely knowing the first thing about... whatever this is?"
>"Frankly, how much deeper do you think you're going to get? You're already in hiding, you don't think your own home can protect you. What're you planning to do? Do you even have a plan besides hope whatever it is goes away?"
>"Two heads are better than one, notwithstanding whatever you might think of mine at the moment."
>"Y'see, I may not be feeling terribly altruistic towards you at the moment, but your alibi both for being in my place, and for running from us here depends on this bit of info you're not sharing with me. You say I'll only get myself in trouble if I knew it, but I've committed myself to getting to the bottom of this whole business, and if that's what it takes to do it, then that's what I'm going to do. Won't be the first time I've had someone after my head."
> "Just remember, unless you think whoever this is can hear you right now, no one is going to know anything you say down here but me."
> "Who else is down here, then?"
> Raise an eyebrow.
> "How does that work?"
> "Why would you even make such an agreement in the first place, then? This sounds like one of the dumbest things anyone could possibly do to themselves."
> "Putting yourself in a position to owe this kind of person a favor still seems pretty stupid to me."
>"I see."
>Fortunately, it may be possible to get the info without her having to say anything.
>"Well, let's look at this a different way, then. You're acting very suspicious, and I don't really have a reason to believe that you're innocent in all of this. However, I do happen to know of a way for you to proove your innocence."
>"I happen to know someone who can read minds. State your innocence before her, and she'll know the truth of it."
>And if we mention that tewi's hiding something, she'll think about it and Satori can see what it is, too.
> Frown.
> "You put me in a very difficult position, then. I have already informed Reimu of the money problem, and she wants whatever information she can get, including information regarding suspects. I will probably have to report this to her."
> "You think you can take her?"
> "Who said anything about them? I'd only be reporting you for the jewelry business. Reimu won't care about your personal business, she only wants everyone's money returned."
>"That's also what I was thinking of when I mentioned Satori. I would simply ask you to state that you have nothing to do with the money issue, and while we're there, that you aren't responsible for my spellcard theft. You wouldn't need to say anything about whatever it is you're worried about."
>We don't have to tell her we'd trick her into thinking about that part. And we're a good liar, right? So she shouldn't know we're hiding anything.
> "If neither of us interfere with your personal business, I don't see why the Boogiewoman will come after us."
>"So stating your innocence in the whole money-into-gems thing counts as 'snitching'? even if you say nothing else?"
> "Well, the thing is, contractual obligation or not, you're still partially guilty as an accomplice if you know who did it and refuse to say, even if you had no actual hand in it. It sucks for you, but them's the breaks."
>"Back up a minute, there. Did you just imply that Reimu couldn't handle this, either?"
>"That's gotta be a short list, there."
>"And were you also saying that a lot of people probably owe these people similar favors without realizing how bad the downside of this favor business is?"
>"What, don't even know that they owe anything at all?"
>What do we remember about the dream about a year ago?
> "How'd you find out, then?"
> Frown.
> "I suppose that would have to be the case, for anyone to feel obligated to return a favor they had no idea they owed in the first place. I don't suppose you could tell me if I 'owe them a favor' too, huh?"
> "All right, then. There's a lot of people around Gensokyo that are pretty pissed off about their missing money. Some of those people are in much higher places than others. You want me to give you a plan? How about I round up a large team of pissed-off asskickers and we go off and do exactly that?"
> "Then they flip the favor-callers the bird and keep on ass-kicking."
>"Besides, what guarantee do I have that they would ignore me otherwise, hmm? If half of what you're saying is true, this is a real problem. I don't want to just have to sit here and hope they overlook me, while who knows what else goes on around me."
> "So Nue disappears while I'm rounding up my posse."
> "You want me to go home, forget this ever happened, and let Gensokyo descend into a land full of looting and rioting due to an obliterated economy?"
>"You say I could be calling into an unbreakable contract with someone against my wishes at any time, but don't worry about it? Oh, sure, who cares about something like that, right? No biggie."
> "I'd rather go down swinging than prolong my undoing by abandoning my family and hiding in the forest like a coward."
>"It's hard to plan how to stop something you know almost nothing about, y'know. And are you really comparing them to something like old age? Some sort of cosmic inevitability? Hell, we both know even that one's not quite so inevitable, either. I refuse to believe whatever this is is unstoppable. I've heard that one before."
>"Is it a fair thing to assume that this contract is magically enforced, if you were convinced they'd know, even if you only spoke of it in a closed room?"
> Do we still have our trident with us?
> "...Is Mystia one of those that unknowingly owes?"
> "What about the Buddhists? Or the kids from the outside world?"
> Unsheath the trident.
> "And you're going to impede my pursuit of fixing a problem that threatens all of them?"
> Are we between Tewi and the doorway?
> "You're impeding me by holding secret who I need to see to end this problem. It's not a hard concept to grasp."
> Frown for a couple of seconds.
> "...You say that they'll know if you say anything. But will they know where you are?"
> "Will they know you're you if you don't look like you?"
> Pull out a seed of non-identification with our free hand.
> "So not even one of these would help, then?"
>"Couldn't it help with not being found afterward, though? I mean, you're already on the run. It's not like they're indifferent to you as things stand right now or I'm sure you wouldn't be here at all, would you?"
> "Out of curiosity, do you realize just how ridiculous this all sounds?"
> "Funny thing about that, actually. Reimu knows how to get to your home, doesn't she?"
> "Who said anything about fighting? I only asked if Reimu knew how to get to your home or not. Does she?"
> "Let's just assume she does, then. Why didn't you point out that she could just enter your library, see it's in fine condition and know you're not the culprit?"
Tewi doesn't think that Satori will help, but who says she's right?Purvis did, several times. Let it go man
This is a separate matter, and deserves a separate resolution.
> "It has everything to do with anything. Did you already forget what I said about the amount of books needed to make those gems? If your library is in normal condition, you couldn't be the culprit."
> Do we owe anyone a favor, to our knowledge?
> Can we think of anyone who might have helped us in Gensokyo that hasn't asked us for anything in return?
> Is there a mafia in Gensokyo?
>Do we know about the winter youkai (like what Letty is)? If so: "You say that fighting whoever this is would be like fighting the wind, or the rain, or winter."
>"But people have fought time and won, haven't they? And don't we kinda tell gravity that it can mind its own business whenever we fly somewhere. Hell, wouldn't be surprised if some youkai stopped the tide at some point."
>"Yeah, yeah, I'm sure you're gonna say 'this is different' and 'you don't understand what you're talking about' and... you're right: because you won't tell me. But y'see... whatever this is, if it's out there, it's out there. Sticking my head in the sand isn't going to make it go away. And I'm sure that goes for you, too. You'll already on the run from them. If this really is some force of nature hunting you, does it really get bored and go away? Does time get bored? You could be living like this a very long time, couldn't you? Or, well, at least as long as it takes them to find you. That's not really much of a choice, is it?"
>"I don't mean to just charge in and beat the crap out of anyone in my way, if that's what you mean. I'm quite capable of a lot more subtlety than that. Ok, maybe it doesn't look that way after tonight, but I didn't get my reputation for nothing. I can sneak places other people can't, investigate things no one else could get access to. Everything's got some sort of weakness or loophole. Even without know what you're up against, I'm willing to bet they do, too. Whatever they've got that's keeping everyone in their pocket... there's gotta be some way to nullify that."
>"Just because someone knows what I can do doesn't mean they'll know who they're talking to if I'm wearing someone else's face."
>Nod
>"You got it."
>Nod
>"Do you still have them somewhere, then? Or did they actually want you to bring them to them?"
> Raise an eyebrow.
> "They got picked? Away from you, of all people?"
> "Huh."
> Pause.
> "I...guess I might as well throw this out there. What if, even while you're still here, 'Tewi' finds those cards and still makes the delivery?"
> "I guess."
> Put the trident away.
> "Does it make a difference?"
> "Well. I don't suppose you can say where in the village you were when you found they were gone?"
> "And you'd been looking for food...that should narrow it down a little bit."
> "Anywhere good?"
> "Huh. And Mokou didn't give you any crap?"
> Would our rabbit dress fit Tewi?
> "So with the way you're wringing that out, can I guess you don't have a spare?"
> Pull out our rabbit dress.
> "Wanna trade?"
> Unroll the dress and show it off.
> Roll the dress back up and toss it Tewi's way.
> "Let me know when you're ready."
> Make our way up the stairs. Once we get to the top, turn around and keep watch down it. If we can still see Tewi from the top of the stairs, close the door to the pantry most of the way, leaving it ajar enough that we can hear Tewi when she calls.
> Head back down with an amused expression on our face.
> "You all right? Sounded like the dress gave you a tough battle."
> Frown.
> "Sorry. I didn't actually think she'd just splash you all over. Just the head area."
> "Now then, I did say 'trade'..."
> Walk over and pick it up:
> How wet is it? Still soaking and dripping, or has her wringing managed to reduce it to damped?
> "All right. I'll see how Mystia's holding up, but at most she'll help me search around the human village before I send her home. Don't need her caught up in this. I probably don't need to tell you, but make sure you stay here out of sight. On the off-chance I run into anyone from your home, do I tell them you can't be home for confidential reasons, or do I not say anything at all?"
> "All right. But I assume I shouldn't tell them where you are."
> "Right. Anything final you think I should know?"
> "Not much beyond what I've told you. Patchouli's found the change from money to gems was a result of some force similar to faith, but not quite faith itself. We've found the writing on the gems, too, presumably left over from the books used to create them. Patchouli used 'pearls of wisdom' to describe them, except it's kinda a bit more than pearls that have shown up."
> "Yeah. We obviously still don't know the who, the where, the why or most of the how. So if you can think of anything..."
> "Right. So how was your day yesterday, anyway? Same old same old?"
> "So you were just kinda out doing your normal thing, or did Eirin give you some errands to run?"
> "Enjoying the day, huh? Good sightseeing? Plenty of pretty places in Gensokyo."
> "The Bamboo Forest? Or the Forest of Magic? I'd guess you'd normally see plenty of the former, since you live there."
> "So why exactly are you hiding? Is it just because you lost my cards or was there more to the job that you didn't get done?"
> "Were you visiting anyone in the Forest of Magic in particular? I know there are some real characters in there."
> "Like Marisa's, or Alice's?"
> "Oh. So more along the lines of, say, Mystia's. Or maybe Kourindou. Kourindou's always good for a browse."
>"Or those new people. What were their names again? Maribel and Renko?"
> "Did you get to see anything good at Kourindou, then?"
> "What about the outside kids? They have any interesting stories?"
> "Anything good at Mystia's? Or did you not get that far either?"
> "Huh. I must admit, I'm not completely up-to-date on Forest of Magic tourism, so I wouldn't know what else is out there that's worth seeing. You have any other friends in there that live by themselves, maybe? I know there's that one green-haired youkai with antennae who I saw in Kourindou tonight. I presume she lives in the area."
> "No other notable Gensokyo residents in the forest?"
> Come to think of it, is there anyone else we know that lives in the forest?
> What do we know about karakasas?
> "All right, then. I think I've learned enough about the forest."
> "Don't leave unless you absolutely have to."
> Head back up the stairs.
> Head toward the front room.
> Look over to Rikako, then back to Mystia and Rika.
> Lower our voice a bit.
> "How's everyone holding up?"
> Is the wine bottle visible? If so, how's it holding up?
> "About the money and the jewelery and all that?"
> "Right. And I assume you didn't hear a whole lot of what just happened downstairs."
> "She's fine. No fighting, just talking. The situation is apparently very complicated."
> Look around the table. Is there a place to sit?
> Walk over and have a seat in that spot.
> "So. Tewi did steal my cards. She admitted as much. I'm 99% sure the force that she claims is working behind her, the one she refuses to talk about, is the party responsible for what has happened to Gensokyo's economy, but she claims this force will know the instant she admits it and that will get her in a huge amount of trouble. It sounds like this force also asked her to steal my cards - she said she had been told to do it, but didn't say who asked."
> "Not entirely. She was able to let a few things slip without breaking her contract. Apparently she lost my cards in the kerfuffle at the human village this afternoon, right after coming out of the tavern. This is why she's hiding here - she was supposed to deliver those cards, so she couldn't complete the errand."
> Frown.
> "That's where things get tricky. I have an idea of where to look in that regard...but if what she has said about it is true, I don't want to get anyone else involved."
> Look back and forth across the table at its other inhabitants slowly and silently, then turn back to Mystia.
> "...If you come with me to the human village, I'll tell you there if you really want to know. If what Tewi says is true, then the less that know about this, the better. Tewi is here because she feels completely unsafe in her own home, and Eientei packs a lot of firepower. Apparently not even Reimu would be able to deal with this, should she confront it on her own. But if people ignore it, or don't know it's there, they have a much higher chance of staying safe."
> "All right then."
> Turn to Rika.
> "You three should probably continue your lives as normally as you can, given the circumstances. Tewi wouldn't be hiding here if she thought the people behind her could find her here easily; no reason to give anyone any hints that something is amiss."
> "Good. Now, two important things. The first is that Tewi should be protected. Be suspicious of anyone that shows up at your door, especially if you don't know them. The other...I still don't trust her 100%. I'm willing to humor what she's said so far, because she did raise a good point in asking why she'd backstab her Princess like this, but she's still an admitted thief. I wouldn't trust me if I were in her situation. If you can, try not to let her leave, unless one of you goes with her."
> We still have Tewi's wet dress in our hands, right?
> Stand back up.
> "I hope that the next time I'm back, it's with good news. Good luck to all of us. It sounds like we'll need it."
> "Sure thing."
> Turn back to Mystia.
> "C'mon, let's go find us some cards."
> Head out the door to the outside ourselves.
> "I'll let you know on the way to the village, just to be absolutely sure."
> Crest the canopy, being careful of our wings.
> Once we've crested the canopy, look around. Are there any obvious irregularities in the trees that we could use to find our way back?
> Begin our flight back toward the human village. Use the Scarlet Devil Mansion as a guide, or even just fly toward it first, if we're not sure how to get to the village where we are.
> Along the way, turn to Mystia.
> "So Tewi posed what she was doing for this unknown force as because she "owed them a favor". Apparently, she didn't even know she owed this force a favor until they confronted her yesterday, and I'm inclined to think there's a lot more to it than that, and the whole favor thing is just a BS PR explanation."
> "The thing is, apparently there are lots of people all across Gensokyo that are in a similar situation. They "owe this force a favor", or whatever, and they don't even know it. I can't imagine being willing to return a favor you didn't even know you asked for in the first place, but Tewi doesn't seem like the type that would just blindly go along with someone coming out of nowhere and asked her to return a favor she didn't know she asked for to begin with."
> "Now, the scary part is thinking of how many people in Gensokyo are in similar circumstances. Imagine if we rounded up a large group of problem solvers, found this mysterious force, and then half or more of our group was suddenly forced to work against us? Gensokyo would be ruined even faster. I've asked Tewi about people that may owe these mysterious favors, and while she couldn't definitively name anyone, there were a lot of 'probably's I didn't like, myself among them."
> "I don't want to be turned into that. I don't want my friends to be turned into that. I don't want anyone in Gensokyo to be turned into that. They're all a lot safer if they don't know, so this is why I'm being as private as I can be about it. The less that know, the better. At least until we can be sure we can combat it."
> "She couldn't say. That would've been breaking the contract, and it would have outed her to them. However, through a series of technically unrelated questions, she did reveal that she had been wandering around the Forest of Magic yesterday, before this force found her. She didn't go near Marisa's home or Alice's home, but she did manage to make it to Kourindou, and quite possibly your stand as well. Does that sound familiar?"
> "That would gel with her saying she only just walked by to see if there's someone interesting there, and that there wasn't this time. But it's important to note that she got to Kourindou and went by your stand, but she also said she didn't get as far as Turtle House. I think that the force confronted her at some point in between the two places she got to and the one place she didn't, especially since she didn't visit Wriggle's house and she didn't seem to think there was anywhere else notable in the forest."
> "I would guess she probably would have tried to do all three in a row, rather than having to backtrack. She was also coming from the Bamboo Forest. You know the layout of the forests better than I do - would she have been approaching you first or Kourindou first if she came from the bamboo?"
> "She didn't mention anywhere else. She actively stayed away from Marisa and Alice's houses, didn't visit Wriggle, and didn't make it to Turtle House. She made it to Kourindou and walked by your stand. I don't know of anyone or anywhere else important in the forest, and the only other person she mentioned was a karakasa she 'doesn't bother with',. so presumably she didn't visit the karakasa either. Are there any other notable locations in the forest?"
> "Ah! She did say she 'just intended to enjoy the grass on her feet, a nice stream' and 'maybe hunt for a berry bush or some wild horseradish later.'" Does a place where she could do those things sound familiar?"
> "Anyone notable out that way?"
> "Where would that be relative to you and Turtle House?"
> "And you haven't seen anything unusual in the forest recently, have you?"
> Can we mentally parse a map of the Forest of Magic, in terms of Kourindou, Mystia's stand, Turtle House and the area Mystia says would be good for horseradish and grass?
> And the Bamboo Forest is to the west of all these establishments?
> "I wonder why she'd miss Turtle House but still get to you and Kourindou, if she was coming from the Bamboo Forest."
> "Possibly. Guess I should probably investigate the horseradish to the east, as well as the path from Kourindou to Turtle House."
> "One other thing I should mention...I did as Tewi about you specifically, in terms of who owed this force a favor. She said...she was almost certain you were one, and that she didn't see how you could have avoided it."
>So basically, we're dealing with some sort of nigh-omniscient force of nature that would be able to ask a favor of everyone in Gensokyo.
>Do we know anyone fitting that description?
>Considering how much of a point she made about this being something beyond normal scope, do we know of anything that would make sense for that in the context of this incident?
>Do we know of anyone/any way that people would be made to forget about previous legitimate favors that they've promised, in case this isn't a matter of Tewi being purely intimidated? Or a way of intimidating through more than direct violence?
>What do we know about the creation and maintenance of Gensokyo as a whole?
>What do we know about Reimu's powers?
> Do we know where Yukari lives?
> "It's what she said. If it's true, I'd rather not risk your safety or freedom, which is why I'm a bit reluctant to admit this much to you. Especially given how close to your home they got her."
> Roll up Tewi's dress tight and give it a good wringing while talking.
> "I'm not gonna claim to know what this force has in store for either of us, if anything. But if you ever feel like you need to hide, feel free to hit up my place underground. Can't guarantee total safety, but it shouldn't be the first place they look for you."
>Do we know any way that someone would be able to contact the Dragon?
> Except for that one time she did want to talk to us about her ghostie.
> Unless we're internally referring to The Dragon.
> "Out of curiosity, do you know the ghost that works at the jeweler's in the human village?"
> "I was hoping you might know where she lives. Fairly dark skinned, dark hair, brocaded blue coat."
> "Shoot. Oh well, maybe we'll get lucky. I do have a rabbit's dress, after all."
> Keep working on wringing that dress as we continue on to the human village.
> Is it at least no worse than damp at this point?
> If so, fold it up as best we can while flying and stuff it away in the purse.
> Pull out a rice ball and extend it in Mystia's direction.
> "Want one?"
> How many rice balls do we still have? 3? 4?
> How are we holding up, hunger-wise?
> Pull out the partially eaten one and finish it off.
> Head toward the tavern.
> Is there anything noteworthy outside of it, like a trash barrel?
> Gently check the door. Is it locked?
> Is there room to walk all around the building, or is it set in between other establishments?
> Take a hike all around the tavern. Keep an eye out for anything suspicious.
> Byakuren mentioned seeing rabbit ears in the village today. Did she mention where she saw them?
> "Honestly? I don't know for sure. She mentioned having a meal here today, and that she had left the joint when she found that my cards were gone. So, uh, anything strange-looking, I guess."
> "Yeah, you'd think."
> Look back at the tavern door.
> "The annoying thing is that I could get inside there, but the hakutaku already thinks I'm up to something, and I don't need her to bull after me for breaking into her friend's bar."
> "I understand she made it to the village with them, and then they were gone when people noticed what had happened to their money. I couldn't get anything else out of her."
> "It sounds like she got picked. Which is pretty impressive, given she's her. She didn't think that the force acquired them without telling her, because we wouldn't have gone through all that if she felt she had done her job."
> "Yeah. Don't suppose any place here has any chance of not needing to be broken into right now?"
> "Is there any place in the village that I wouldn't have to break into to enter at this time of night?"
>"The temple'd let me in."
> Sigh.
> "I guess I don't have much of a choice. Do you mind keeping an eye out?"
> "All right."
> Pull out the lockpick set and get to work on the tavern lock.
> Stop picking and put our tools away.
> Casually turn and look around.
> Which project is that?
> Lean over to Mystia.
> "Does she live in the forest too?"
> "Huh."
> Watch Rumia skip by. If she looks at us, wave.
> "We're playing Detectives. Have you seen a poltergeist around recently? Dark hair, dark skin, blue coat with brocade?"
> "It's a fabric. I don't know what it tastes like. I don't remember the last time I ate fabric."
> "Advice. Secret stuff only this ghost is likely to know."
> "Maybe. I'm not to sure how keen this ghost is on company, though."
> Let her move along a bit, then turn to Mystia and take a bit of a quieter tone.
> "Why would anyone eat fabric?"
> "...All right, then. Getting back to work."
> Pull the lockpick tools back out and get back to work on the tavern lock.
> Carefully open the door.
> Open the door wide enough that we can enter, then enter.
> Note if Mystia follows us in or not.
> Walk around and examine each of the booths.
> Has Mystia entered the tavern completely?
> "Hey, Mystia. Go ahead and close the door if you're staying out there."
> Look around for any waste receptacles inside the tavern. Anything unusual in any of them?
> Is there a back room?
> Head behind the bar first. Look around the stock on-hand for anything unusual.
> Grrr
> Head into the back room.
> Do the doors on the western and southern walls have windows?
> If so, can we see outside either of them?
> Head over to the kitchen to look around it for anything odd.
>Do we have any idea what sort of waking hours the Myouren Temple crew tend to keep?
> Do we have any special kind of history with Murasa?
>The water being left behind is a little odd... or maybe they're just forgetful.
>Check quickly whether there's any indication that it's some sort of thief lure or detection system; if not, take a peek at the dishwater to see what's inside.>And inhale deeply.
>What are 'traditional' hours for youkai like Nazrin or Ichirin?
>Do we have any idea if the owner of this place lives somewhere in the establishment, as we do in our own, or if they live elsewhere?
> Frown.
> Head back into the main tavern area.
> Make for the entrance, but put an ear up to it and listen instead of opening it blithely.
> Take a quiet voice.
> "Anyone out there?"
> Gently open the door.
> "Checking to see if anyone else was out here."
> Step out of the tavern and carefully close the door behind us.
> "Aside from a sink still full of filthy dishwater nothing really seemed out of the ordinary, didn't find my cards either."
> "Yeah. Problem is that I have no leads otherwise."
>Uh, do we know anyone better than Tewi at pickpocketing? Besides ourselves?
>Hrm, but he didn't seem the type to pick spellcards, did he?
>Make sure to lock the door behind us, as we found it
>"Well, I think I'll go see if anyone's up at the Temple. They were around here when the cards disappeared; maybe someone saw something worth looking into?"
>Shrug
>"Unless you've got any better ideas?"
>"Well, it's something instead of nothing, I guess."
>Walk to the Temple.
>No light or sign of life from the living quarters, either?
> Gently try to open the door.
> Turn to Mystia and nod, then quietly enter the temple.
> Did the front door get closed behind us? Close it if not.
> Quietly make for the kitchen.
>Are there any other common rooms in the dwelling part of the temple?
>Go check out the sitting room
>You leave to go check the sitting you.
> How much communication have we had with Unzan in the past?
>Why were we not informed of our ability to create duplicates of ourselves?
>Is he basically standing in the way of passage further into the temple?
>What is on the lower floor that we wouldn't have passed on the way in, ourselves?
>"Is Ichirin still up?"
>"Are any of them still up?"
> "Mmm, unfortunate. I don't suppose you've seen my spell cards?"
> "This may be a longshot, but did you feel anything weird happen today? Perhaps just before people started to panic about losing their money, did you feel something like magic get used?"
> "Really? Wow, that's actually quite a help. The Kitsune woman had mentioned only slightly feeling something like magic when that happened. Did you feel something only slightly or was it more substantial?"
> Does he currently have arms?
> "Hm, sorry I didn't quite understand that."
> Raise our left arm
> "Was it a slight disturbance or..."
> Lower our left arm and raise our right arm
> "...was it more substantial?"
> Lower our right arm
> "If you could use the mirror image of our arms please, it would help a lot. I'd like to get as much information as I can without having to wake Ichirin."
> Now that's cool!
> We're standing face-to-face with Unzan?
> "Have you ever felt anything like it before?"
> "Did it come from any particular direction?"
> Mental note: try and form more arms when all this is over.
> Southward would be towards the house Tewi is currently staying at? What else is to the south?
> "Could you tell the source or what caused it?"
> "If we went down southward, do you think you'd have a chance at finding where it came from?"
> What would be a non-offensive way to refer to Ichirin and Unzan's relationship? Companions?
> Turn to Mystia.
> "That seems to match the other info we got today. I gotta be honest, I don't have the highest confidence in the safety of the people living in that area."
> "Possibly, though we did just tell them that they'd be safe there, and we have no proof that they're at any risk. Getting them out might be tough."
> Quests
> Inventory
> What time is it?
> Probably be good to get some sleep, though waking up earlier might be smart so as to have more time to interact above ground.
> Do we have any kind of alarm we can set to wake us up?
> What time do those at the temple usually wake up?
> "I'll be honest Mystia, I think we've done about all we can this late at night. I'm thinking of getting some sleep and starting up again in the morning. What about you?"
>Nod. "Fair enough."
>Do we have an extra futon at home, or other decent sleeping place?>"Wanna share a bed?"
> "Since you're not opening tomorrow do you want to go around investigating with me tomorrow?"
> "Also, you have an alarm you can set?"
> "Alright. You can head on back and get some sleep if you like, I'm going to go do the same."> "Alone, so sadly alone"
> How far are we from the underground?
> Is there an area for guests to sleep here?
> Do we know where to find her?
> Is Unzan out of sight already?
>> If not, flag him down.
>Do we have any idea if Unzan sleeps?
> "Unzan, I'm going to sleep here tonight. Could you let Ichirin and the others know that I'm here when they wake up? I'll try to be up around 9. Oh, and thank you for your help earlier, hopefully it'll help the investigation tomorrow."
> See Mystia off if we haven't already.
> Head to the guest/own room, hang up Tewi's dress to dry, and catch some sleep.
> Call out to the Devas.
> "Is something amiss?"
> Give a groan.
> "Sadly, yes."
> "Huh. I guess I got my alarm after all. Tell him thanks."
> Roll out of the futon, then get up and find our dress. Shame we didn't bring a spare...
> Is that not normal?
> Do we remember yesterday's dream?
> Huh. That sword was fairly prominent in the dream. Maybe the real sword had something to do with it.
> ...Do we remember what the dream sword looked like?
> And that second part was abouts in the forest. Wonder if it came from there, or could be fixed there...
> Pull the two pieces of the sword out and fit them together again.
> "Come on, you, I know you're responsible for that dream. Pull yourself together."
> Tingle like mystery force or tingle like we just cut ourself?
>"Well, thank you for being helpful, at least."
>Any idea who would be up in the Temple at this hour?
> Weird. Byakuren needs to hear about this.
> Stretch a little bit to start working out the lead, then finish getting dressed.
> Put the sword away, then gather our things and leave the room.
> Anyone immediately visible?
> Where else would the surface-dwellers be?
> Check the sitting room
> Head to the kitchen.
> How long do onigiri keep?
> "Morning, thanks for that wake up. Where is everyone?"
> Are there any eggs?
>Kick self for not asking Mystia for her eggs.
>Become Gilgamesh.
>What do we know about Yukari? Where does she live?
>"I don't suppose you've had any word about what's going on underground?"
> "Is it worse up here than last night?"
> "Palpatine's behind it all!"
> "Well since you're here I actually have a few questions for Unzan if that's alright. He helped find a thread last night, but I need a little help giving it a pull. Could you get him?"
> "Sort of, all we have so far is an idea that it's not exactly magic but it's close. The only person to feel it so far has been Ran, but apparently Unzan felt it too, so I'd like to dig a little deeper."
> "Also, it seems that there's a mysterious force calling in favors they don't even know they owe. That's why my cards disappeared, though the thief lost them so I'm back at square one. What kind of thief loses what they stole?"
> "Yeah, I don't think she would. She doesn't even know how it happened. Might've been picked herself."
> Do we know what the ring is for?
> Wait for Unzan to arrive.
> "That feeling you mentioned last night. At least one or two others felt it, which I can't remember if I mentioned or not. Could you possibly describe it?"
> "Interesting. 'Exchange' is an interesting choice of words, since that appears to be what happened with the money and the gems. Hmm...do you think it an inaccurate thing to say that whoever did it may have done it simply by willing it really hard?"
>Oh shit, The Nameless One is in Gensokyo!
> "A desire somewhat about exchange...hmmm. There are lots of things that could be called exchanges. Would you say it was the desire to exchange, or something a bit different?"
Actually, I'd more suspect the Dragon directly, though I do expect her to be troublesome if that is the case.
Also, the dream has concerned me and led to a curious theory.
>The dream we had earlier - do we know where in the Ancient City we were? Did we catch a glimpse of 'our' palace, or any other long-lasting fixtures?
>How much of the distant past have we heard from drunken oni at the tavern? Bad old times, major events, etc? Maybe the cause of the riot that ruined part of the city?
>What's the reason behind our beef with the hakutaku's submission to the Emperor?
> "You pointed southward last night, could you tell if it came from about ground level or from up in the sky? Or how far south it came from?"
> Have we ever personally interacted with the were-hakutaku?
> Have we interacted with any hakutaku then?
> "Could you tell if anyone else felt anything?"
> "Sounds like it's going to be a busy day then. What are you planning to d Ichirin?"
We found mahogany? Where?Whoops, we just have the scrap she gave us. Thought we had actually found that.
>Have we ever been in a major position of authority ourselves?
> "Hmm. Possibly tangentially related to this entire situation..."
> Pull out the Broken Sword Blade and show off the writing.
> "Do you know what this says?"
> "Shoot. I think this might be related somehow, but no one yet's been able to read it. Apparently it's a Western language."
> Pull out the broken sword handle and carefully fit the two pieces together again.
> "There's definitely something up with this thing. I had a dream last night where it was pretty prominent, and my memory of the dream is remarkably clear. I just put it together like this a couple of minutes ago and tried talking it into fixing itself. I felt...some kind of force. Very small, and I don't know what it was. But it was something."
> "Could very well be. Let me try something else with it. Maybe either of you might notice something."
> Look back at the sword and concentrate directly on it.
> Imagine the sword growing material out of itself to repair the damage done to itself. Metal seeping forth from all edges where the sword was broken, congealing together and hardening, fusing, turning two pieces into one once again.
> Impose this idea upon the sword with our will. Expect it to happen as we watch the sword.
> Frown and look up.
> "Did either of you feel that?"
> "I guess that's a no. There was some sensation that came from the hilt of this thing. I can't even put it into any sort of words. It wasn't at all something I could identify, which is honestly pretty irritating given I'm me."
> "No, it didn't feel malevolent. It didn't feel benevolent either. Dunno what it really was. But I wouldn't be at all surprised if it were related to this other force somehow."
> "Mmm. All right then. Ah!"
> Put away the sword pieces and pull the piece of mahogany out.
> "Less related, but do you happen to know where I can get more of this?"
> "And that's pretty much it, huh? I guess it doesn't look like something you'd just find in the woods."
> "All right."
> Put the mahogany away.
> "I think I'm all set, then, if you want to return to your duties."
> Depart the temple.
> Do we recognize her?
> What does she appear to be doing?
> Head out to the main street and look for Byakuren.
> Head over to her to hear what she has to say.
> Wave to Byakuren.
> Watch them for a couple of seconds, then turn back to Byakuren.
> "So I caught up to our friend from last night. You can obviously see the problem isn't solved, but I learned some interesting things."
> "She nicked my cards, on the orders of some mysterious force. She couldn't outright tell me she or they are responsible for the money situation, she's contractually obligated or something. Apparently they'll know the instant she blabs. She lost my cards somewhere in the village, though, and is now in hiding away from this force, because she couldn't complete her delivery."
> Frown apprehensively.
> Look around. Is there an audience of villagers?
> Turn back to Byakuren.
> "Apparently this mysterious force...I don't know the details, but she described it as "returning a favor". She said she didn't know she even owed this favor, and that she found out 'the hard way'. Apparently there are many others in Gensokyo that owe this force 'a favor', whatever the hell that means, and they don't even know it. Enough that she was confident trying to raise an army of big Gensokyo names wouldn't work against this force because so many of them would somehow be forced to do this force's bidding. And...it sounds like you and I, along with the others, we're very likely all included on that list."
>"I have my own doubts about her story, but I know fear when I see it, and she's certainly scared of something. Although she wasn't completely helpless; she was able to drop a few hints."
> "She asked me why she would betray her Princess like this, were she guilty. And then she later admitted she had taken my cards, to show that she was guilty, at least in some respect."
>What's our take on humans, in general?
> "I've been trying to figure that one out myself. She noticed they were gone at the same time everyone noticed their money was gone. She had just come out of the tavern when it happened."
> "It is also true that she's deceptive, but part of her story seems to corroborate with more reliable sources. Her claimed meeting place with this force two days ago seems to be roughly the same place where Unzan felt the energy needed for yesterday's shenanigans come from."
> "I believe it was right after. Possibly even during."
>"At this point, I'm fairly certain they are related; there's just too many connections for it to be a coincidence. I may just be that the same... being is responsible for both, but that's still a relation. The question is why my spellcards would be desired."
>Is it possible for somone to use another's spellcards?
> "If they are related, then all the more reason for me to investigate. But I'll soon be headed in that direction regardless, just to put a stop to this nonsense. I enjoy not living in a city full of angry facebreakers."
> "I'm assuming you don't have any hands available to spare, so the best thing is to probably keep doing what you're doing with the folks here. Keep spirits as high as you can. Tell them a point of origin for this problem has likely been found, but that I'm off with a small, select group of people to see if we can fix things and we're not to be followed. Don't tell them where we're going. These people will be sitting ducks over there if what I've heard about this force is true."
>"You know, on second thought, don't say that it's me. Don't give any names. At least, not until I've got the force together. I don't want to draw this thing's attention to myself before I'm ready."
>"And as for Tewi's concern about it calling in some favors to turn us against each other, well, if it can do that, it'll do it whenever anyone goes after it. And with a group, we may just be able to help each other fight whatever it'll try to do. In fact, it might be a good idea to bring in an expert in the mind. May be worth asking Satori; I kind of want to check on things underground anyways, and hey, the worst she can do is say 'no', right?"
>Do we know of anyone besides Satori who might be considered a 'mental expert'?
> "I suppose that may be true. Though there's one in particular that might be useful. Do you know if the jeweler's shop is staffed right now? I think I wouldn't mind having the ghost kid around with me."
> "I'll have to swing by the shop before I leave for the underground, then. Hopefully she'll be around. She's probably too naive and too loyal to Nagae to think about betraying anyone, regardless of what's in store."
> "She seems to be good at being mysterious. If nothing else, she might be useful as someone that can get away should things turn south. And she has friends in very high places, if you'll pardon the pun. But I'll try to find out more about her herself when I ask her."
> "Right. Don't worry, I got this. And there are people that know approximately where I'm going, just in case."
>"Now, there is one more thing. You remember that broken sword I showed you? I had a dream last night that I think it may have had something to do with."
>Describe the dream. Also describe what happened when we tried focusing on the sword.
>Let's not jump into this; given Tewi's description of the scenario we may want to be more subtle.
>"Speaking of investigating, I may have... stumbled on another rather juicy source, though I'm not sure of its reliability."
>Do a quick casual check for eavesdroppers.
>What sort of powers do our spellcards usually rely on, conceptually? Which ones were stolen, and was there anything special about them?
"I had a dream about that sword we talked about yesterday - first as if I was its owner in the Ancient City, lording it over the oni as a member of some 'Celestial Hierarchy.' Then I was in a forest - I think it was the Forest of Magic - and felt the sword break and reform while I walked there."
"There any chance any of this could be believable or useful? There's a few coincidences about all this that are telling..."
>Say this
>"I have no idea if I can trust it. But I tried to 'will' the sword back together after I got up, and while it didn't work, I did get a weird feeling that I'm betting is some sort of magical connection. I'm willing to guess that it had some effect on it, but I don't know if there's any precedent for artifacts like this to provoke insightful dreams."
>"As for the coincidences... the segment with the Forest of Magic matches up with Unzan pointing that out as the direction of where he felt some odd sort of 'exchange' when things went down, and where our... reluctant informant said she had visited recently."
>We have no idea what the Celestial Hierarchy is, right?
> "The sword? It might well be. It was sufficiently prominent in the latter half of the dream, and was definitely present in the first half."
>What do we know abuot Heida no Akyu, or the Child of Miare in general?
>"I guess the question is whether the first part was a replay of some memory of its former owner, or trying to tempt me with an offer of power."
>"Either way, I'm not so sure what to do with this, now..."
>What entities are present in the Hierarchy, and what's the top... say 5-10% include?
>Review the Yamato.
>What do we know about the Yamato: Where they come from, what they've done, their general nature, any previous direct or indirect encounters, etc>And their spaceship.
> "Mmm. I don't suppose you'd know anyone in the village good with history that might know theorigins of the sword if they saw it?"
> "Where can I find the second one?"
> "All right. I'll decide if it's worth swinging by there while looking for the jeweler ghost, and I'll hit you up again if I think of or learn anything important."
> "Back whenever."
> Give Byakuren a wave, then make our way back over to the jeweler's shop.
> Head back to the window. Can we see who or what is moving?
> Is it particularly impolite to disrupt a jeweler when their shop is closed?
> If not, rap lightly on the window. If Shuuei notices us, point at her, then at ourselves, then mime a talking motion with our hand, in rapid succession.
> "Actually, I might need your apprentice, if she'll be done for the day in a couple of hours."
> Nod and enter.
> "It's based on information I've gathered about a mysterious force that may very well be the one responsible for the crisis we're facing. Based on my knowledge of both her and the situation, I think she may be in a unique position to help."
> Angle ourselves so we can see both jewelers fairly easily, moving around the shop as need be. Obviously, be careful not to touch or break anything.
> "It's a very mysterious situation. Potentially dangerous. What I'm about to tell both of you is information that would be best not leaving this shop. It especially doesn't need to fall into the hands of the general public, because they're angry enough right now that they may end up doing something irrational and getting themselves hurt."
> "Now, a lot of the information I've learned is from someone that appears to be working for this force against their will. They're a member of a rather prominent Gensokyo household, and are pretty miffed at having to basically abandon and betray their home by being an accomplice to this. This person claims that there are many others in Gensokyo that may be forced into a similar situation, and that they don't even know it yet."
>"And she says that I am probably among them."
> "That's okay. I'm intentionally leaving out a lot of details for your safety. But there are two noteworthy things to come of this. One is the idea of betrayal itself. Gensokyo's natives have their loyalties, and I love the place, but it's still Gensokyo. We are where we are spiritually for a reason."
> Gesture at Shuuei.
> "Some of us have friends in higher places. Nagae's a special one; even not knowing her that well personally, I know enough of the spiritiual hierarchy to know that you don't get in good with her just by being any old person."
> Turn to look at Shuuei proerply.
> "And how Nagae was willing to consort with someone like me, who's probably one of the furthest things from a celestial, for your sake...what the two of you have, I'm willing to bet it's stronger than most, if not all, of the loyalties in Gensokyo. Whatever this force does to people to make them work for it, I don't think it could break a bond influenced by enlightenment. Which means I doubt this force will be able to turn you around and get you to work for them, like they did with the other person I mentioned. I don't think you have it in you to stab Nagae and her ideals in the back, no matter what this force thinks it can throw at you. With all the uncertainty and intrigue surrounding this force and this issue, having someone we know we can count on to stay loyal will be a big help."
> Raise an eyebrow.
> "I'm not so sure. The other major thing you've got going for you is that basically no one knows anything about you. It appears the force can be hidden from, and if the unthinkable were to happen to me...you'd at least be able to let people know while avoiding me. With how little I know about you, I doubt I could find you if you didn't want me to. You're not only probably the hardest person to turn in Gensokyo, you're the safest person as well."
> "Do realize that I wouldn't be here talking about this with you if I didn't think your help would be valuable. I don't know anything about your combat ability, but I have no intention of getting involved with direct combat if I can avoid it anyway, and you're far and away the best support I can think of that this expedition could ask for."
> Gesture around the store.
> "And, of course, there's the matter that this incident has cut into your daily business even more than most."
> "Given the situation, you're the most long-term trust-worthy person I know. I admit that it may ultimately amount to nothing, but I'm not interested in taking stupid risks. Having a trump card like you along will open our options."
> "Though I suppose I should also tell that there would be one more person along for the ride, since I know you like your privacy. Only the one, but still."
> "The night sparrow that sells lamprey in the forest. She probably won't care about your presence too much, she just wants her money back really hard."
> Frown, then shrug.
> "All right. If that's what you prefer, I won't press it."
> "I'll get out of your hair for the day, then. I guess if you happen to change your mind, you can let the large woman from the temple know."
>"I could always try getting her to agree to not talk so much while you're there."
>"Or you could just follow along behind us, too."
>I think we just said we weren't going to press it.
>So...let's actually keep that promise?
> "The only thing I can think of if learning what the fastest route to the Hieda house from here is."
> All right, thanks. If there's an emergency, the head of the Buddhist temple knows all of what I've told you and more, so you can confide in and consult with her. Anyone else, it's best for you to disavow all knowledge of this."
> Nod.
> "Good. Here's to things not coming to that. I'll catch you two later."
> "Won't do it unintentionally."
> Head out of the shop and head around 'the edge of town'. Keep an eye our for a grocer for a landmark, since Byakuren mentioned one.
> Head to the house. Is there any sort of outer indication as to whom lives there?
> Well, no time like the present.
> Walk up to the doors and give them a couple of firm knocks.
> "Hello. I'm looking for the Hieda household. I'm in search of some potential history help."
> "...Can I assume you're who I'm looking for, then? This is very likely related to the recent money issue, and info's mostly being kept only to those who need it, in the interest of the safety of innocents."
> Frown a little.
> "Um, are you okay? You seem a bit nervous."
> "Well, all right."
> Pull out the broken sword blade and the broken sword handle. Carefully grip them, and fit them together as normal.
> "Does this style of blade look at all familiar, in any capacity?"
> "The handle came from him, yes. The blade was found in the forest by the trumpet ghost."
> "Shame he's so mum on where he gets things. Wonder if the situation will loosen his tongue."
> "All right. Thanks for the info. Shame I didn't know about the adult thing, I would've shown up here as a kid myself otherwise."
> "Another time, perhaps. Anyway, I'll leave you to go back to whatever you were doing, unless you want something from me."
> How much is our flight speed hampered by putting on weight?
> We got to a decent mass earlier, on the mountain. How much would that have slowed us down?
> Take flight and head towards the underground
>Is it red and white?
>Can we make it out? If not, get a little closer.
> What are we above right now?
> Where is the forest relative to us?
> Is the thing on the horizon a person, or weird weather, or bizarre magic? Or something else entirely?
> Watch the wedge to see if it comes back.
> Are we on the ground?
>> If so, lay down and wait until everything becomes normal again
> Continue to not fall and wait until our senses become normal again.
> Slowly start to head back to the underground, assuming we don't get too dizzy.
> Let's see that thing chase us down here!
> Begin making our way down towards the city.
> Be wary of falling buckets.
> Look for Yamame when we pass by her normal hangout.
> Continue to the city
Why did we want them to make the jet anyway?
> Head on home to check out our place.
> We'll put the door on the bill of whoever's responsible for the jewels.
> Enter our home and look around.
> Check our stock and what gems we have left over.
> Inventory
> So the wine stock doesn't look like Nazrin got a whole lot, then?
> Search the gem pile for another low-value pearl, since that freshwater pearl in our inventory got fried by Patchouli.
> Leave our pub and head to the Palace of the Earth Spirits.
> We need to save some time. Let's just take the straight route and fly there.
> Head to the front door and knock.
> Go in, quick!
> "That's exactly what I wanted to ask you. That silence is positively chilling."
>Is the Ancient City usually asleep at this hour?
> "I've gotten some new information that helps the investigation, but I don't have any solid leads on who is responsible."
> "Where is Satori? If possible I'd like to tell the two of you at the same time."
> "It's...complicated. Out of curiosity, has Utsuho been home since yesterday?"
> "Well. I went to a place that the outside world girls said she might be, and banging on the door got no answer. Then I learned that at least one person in Gensokyo has been forced to abandon and probably even betray their house by the force most likely responsible for the jewels. And apparently there are plenty more in Gensokyo that are vulnerable to similar coercion. And they don't even know it."
> "Yeah. I'm hoping Utsuho didn't get hit too."
> Have a seat.
> "Do you happen to have any ideas? I'll admit I'd feel a lot better knowing Utsuho wasn't hit the same way the other one was."
> "Hmm, alright. Do you have any ideas for contacting Utsuho?"
> "Right. It doesn't matter whether or not I know where she's supposed to be, only that I know she has or hasn't been forced into betrayal."
> "Huh. I saw Parsee alone at home yesterday. Does she not always go?"
> "So Utsuho's disappearance is to be expected, then?"
>"There is another thing."
>Get out the pieces of the sword.
>"I found these, and I think they go together. I also think they had something to do with a dream I had last night."
>think about the dream so that Satori can see it.
> Hand the pieces over.
> "Be careful, it's not hard to accidentally cut yourself."
> "But there is something there."
> Take it back.
> "Thanks. I really suspect it's responsible for that dream now. Wish I knew what it wants to say, though."
> Did it show us anywhere other than the underground and the forest?
>"Hmm... well, I've actually been able to feel a little something myself, if I focus on the sword hard enough. I think it may cause some reaction from whatever's in there. Should I try doing that? Maybe you'll be able to pick up something more."
>"All right, I'm doing it now."
>Focus on the sword as we did earlier. Will it back together as hard as we possibly can.
>"Have you encountered anything else with a mind like that, for lack of a better term?"
>"Huh. I wonder if fixing the sword would restore the mind, then."
>"Also, apparently the change from money to gems was done using some aspect of the mind. The mountain gods thought it was faith, but apparently they're wrong, and it was some other aspect of the mind. And I don't know of anyone who'd be better to ask about that sort of thing than you."
>"I was more wondering how an aspect of the mind could be used for something like this."
> "That's a bit worrying to think about, to be honest."
>"Apparently it's similar, but not actually magic 'as we would understand it'. And no, I don't really know what that means."
> Wave a hand dismissively.
> "Don't be sorry. It seems like this is well beyond everyone's heads."
> "Yeah, there's been a couple of roughly matching stories, which also match the dream to a degree. Somewhere in th Forest of Magic."
> "You mean people that the accomplice didn't say she met or passed before she was conscripted?"
> Satori meant who we're sure didn't do it, I assume.
> "That's kinda tricky, because the only person I'm well and truly 100% sure isn't directly responsible is me. There are a lot of people that are very unlikely, but this situation is really weird."
> Shrug.
> "Hell, for all I know, as unlikely as it is, you're playing me like a fiddle right now."
> "Hmm. Tewi mentioned a karakasa she doesn't bother with, so it's probably not whoever that is. If it's Mystia, she's a fantastic actor. If it's Marisa, Alice, or the outsider girls, they have a lot of chutzpah, considering how a bunch of us were working together last night to solve the mystery, all of them included. There was that green-haired youkai, but I wonder if she'd really hang around an angry Mystia if she were guilty."
> Do we know anyone else that lives in the forest?
> Shrug again.
> "Rinnosuke, I guess. Could he really do something like this, though?"
> "The only other people I can think of are either really mad about what happened, allies of the accomplice, or fairies. I don't know if the shopkeeper is even capable if it, though."
> Nod.
> "Might as well, while I'm over there."
> Have we learned anything new about the 'how' of this issue after last talking to Patchouli?
> "I can think of a couple I could talk to about this, yeah."
> Pause for a moment.
> "Wanna come with?"
> Grin and shrug.
> "Oh well. Figured the worst you'd do is say no, so hey, nothing lost. I'll get out of your hair."
> Do we know how to get to the roof from here?
> "That works, thanks. Catch you later."
> Take flight and head straight up, over the roof, and toward the clinic.
> Oh boy.
> Head inside the clinic.
>Approach Murasa.
>"I 'don't wanna go in there'? Why not? Yeah, it's obviously busy, but is there something else I should know about?"
>Keep our voice down. Hungover oni do not take loudness well.
> "Nah. I was just gonna check in on the wonderful world of...this. But if I don't want to go in there, then I have no problem not going in there."
> "Is it just the two of you?"
> "Anything you want me to relay topside?"
> "Hoping it'll break later today. Lead paid off. I caught an unwilling accomplice. The story they were able to tell matched with stuff Unzan noticed regarding the origin location of this whole mess."
> "Oh, the Devas surfaced? Nifty."
> "Figured it was in-fighting, like what's going on near Satori's manor."
> "Glad to hear they've only been on the giving end. Parts of the human village look like they're ready to go crazy. Probably only a matter of time before the oni do the same."
> Give a wry smile.
> "Yeah, I noticed. They got it out all over my door."
> "Oh, someone will be covering it, all right. But that can come once they have their money back."
> "I'll think about it. But I'm more inclined to talk to Kay about it first, since it was most likely one of hers that did it. You lot already have your hands full with the ghost roof hole anyway."
> "Oh. Ehhhh. I'll think about it."
> "Does Shou know yet what she was volunteered for in that deal, anyway?"
> Grin.
> "Good. Still gives me some time to run far away."
> "No time. Got money to recover, y'know?"
> "Sounds like a plan. In the meantime, maybe someone can come up with some straws we can all draw for the honor."
> "I'll be sure to drop out of the race, then."
> Begin taking flight.
> "Catch you later. Hopefully with real money in tow."
> Assuming no objection from Murasa, finish taking flight and head back toward the surface. Make a note when we reach what we're pretty sure is Yamame's general living area.
> Continue on back up to the surface, then fly on over to Mystia's stand.
> Do we know who might be able to influence the weather?
> Fly over to Mystia's house, then descend through the canopy of trees, being careful with sensitive areas as per usual.
> This is a pretty nice place. At least compared to what we saw of the fairies last night...
> Head to the front door and knock.
> Frown.
> Try to open the door.
> So the door swings in?
> Is Mystia's stand visible from here? If so, look over at it and see if anyone is there.
> Back off a couple of feet from the door.
> Blink.
> "Oh. I thought you'd be awake by now. Uh, sorry."
> "Well. I got info from a far more reliable source that more or less confirms what we heard last night, at least in terms of location. I've also gone over culprit ideas with Satori, and it made me realize that I don't know a whole lot about who lives here, because no one I could think of makes much of any sense. Do you know anyone in this area that might have a whole bunch of books, or maybe is just a big fan of books or something?
> Raise an eyebrow.
> "Should we go find her, then, maybe?"
> "Well, like I said, I'm running pretty short on suspects. Rinnosuke is actually probably my top one, even though I have no idea how he'd do it. If we toss him out and ignore your employee, we're pretty much only looking at people that have actively assisted in fixing things, which makes even less sense."
> "All right, if you say so. Uh, do you want to get dressed?"
> Where exactly did Unzan say he felt the origin, again? Just 'south of the human village'?
>Shank Mystia
>Shank Unzan
>Shank Self