>"Well, the problem is that I don't really know what I have that's worth anything. Maybe you can help with that."
>List everything we have except the following: Clothes, bucket, blanket, chopsticks, knife, rebar, our spellcard, Eientei letter, sack, booze, oni's card
> Has it done anything for us yet?
> Well, what is there to do with a scarf besides wear it?
> Didn't we put it on shortly after acquiring it?
> "Dunno. Let's find out."
> Put on the scarf.
> Look around the shop again.
>"Well, it's comfortable at least. Might be handy during winter I suppose."
> Any unusual smells or sounds?
> Lift the piece of granite.
> Still the same ol' thoughts on the 'rents?
> How embarassing would it be if we tried to stand and failed, given present company?
> How well might the glass shield serve as a mirror?
> Does the mouse woman look any different?
> "Don't suppose you have a mirror handy?"
> "Then I'm pretty out of ideas. I do have some stuff to take care of, today, though, so if you give me some time I can try to figure it out."
> Nod.
> "Okay."
> "Uh, sure. Through that back door, I assume?"
> "Okay."
> Head through said back door and, once we locate them, down said stairs.
> Wow.
> Head as far into the trail as we can.
> Might as well get to collecting some paper, then.
> Any of it look interesting? Or is it all as unintelligible and/or boring as the stuff upstairs?
> It's not our heart, is it?
> Stop gathering paper and focus our ears on the noise. Close our eyes and listen.
> Open our eyes and look to the east. Keep our eyes peeled for any concentrated paper movement, be it subtle pulsing, an avalanche, or anything between.
> Make a mental note of this pile of paper.
> Head back upstairs to the mouse woman.
> Drop the paper in the barrel.
> "So what's up with the thumping down there? You didn't tell me about that."
> "Well, there is. Wanna go listen?"
>Go listen.
> "It's louder than it was."
> Are we actually in the room now?
> "I took a look at the pile of paper near the sound, but I didn't see anything move."
> Point to the pile.
> "You think it's worth digging?"
> Float toward the corner she pointed at.
> Try to position ourselves three yards from the corner, in a spot that bisects the right angle formed by the walls.
> "I see the papers pulsing. Can you tell what it is?"
> "...Should I dig?'
> "...Eh, let's go for it."
> Start digging through the pulsing papers."
> Quick, float up!
> Look down into the hole. Is that person visible?
> Do we recognize this woman?
> If not, can we at least tell what race she is?
> "Uh, who are you and how did you get down there?"
> "Because I was shopping. In this shop."
> "You still haven't told us who you are."
> "Kisume."
> "That green-haired woman was right. There sure are more extraordinary humans than there used to be."
>"Different one. I'm not the only person out there with green hair."
> "Something exploded, or somewhat."
> Look to Nazrin.
> "You wanna tell her? You know a lot more about it than I do."
> "So, uh, you look like a reasonably young human. What do you do with yourself that you've done it for so long, you had to stop and remember the moniker?"
> "I see."
> "How long have you been down there?"
> Look at Nazrin and raise an eyebrow with a slightly bemused expression.
> Look to Nazrin again.
> "Should we take her to the human village or something?"
> "Because you're a human that's going around digging tunnels into people's basements."
> "It's not my basement. But even with that, I imagine the basement's probably been around a very long time. Long enough to collect enough books to make this chaos."
> Were there any dogs in the village?
> Turn to Nazrin and shrug.
> "This is out of my league. You're with those Buddhists, right? Would any of them know what to do here?"
> "With her on which side?"
> Turn back to Ellen.
> "Does that mean you'd rather be on this side when that wall gets fixed?"
> Point into the hole.
> "So you'd rather be on that side when the wall gets fixed?"
> "Well, a shop should only have so many entrances, right? Otherwise, it would be really easy for thieves to get in and take things."
> "There's more than just paper here, and for all we know, there are more people than can get to that tunnel than just you."
> "Well, if you can dig around like this, who's to say no one else can dig around and find your tunnel?"
> Look at Nazrin.
> "How many before today?"
> Put a hand to our forehead in annoyance.
> "Jeez, this is like arguing with a fairy, and I've done that enough today."
> "Well, uh, how far do these tunnels reach, anyway?"
> "So you've never hit the Ancient City?"
> "Underground city full of oni."
>"Underground."
> "Do you have any sort of above-ground dwelling?"
> Don't humans need oxygen to live?
> Frown.
> "Then how are you getting air to breathe? Before just now, I mean."
> "Huh."
> Turn to Nazrin.
> "Gotta be honest, I'm at a bit of a loss for what to do here. I kinda have some stuff to do today, including delivering a letter for your hooded friend. But I can at least tell your buddies about this, if you like."
> Hand over the letter.
> "What's up with your new recruit, anyway?"
> "I can tell. Anyway, all I know about that letter is that I gotta get it to some doctor in the Bamboo Forest. I have a reasonably warm lead on a guide, so you'll understand if I'm antsy to get that going."
> Take the letter back and stash it away.
> "That'd be a question for Nazrin, it's more her wall than mine."
> "...Fluffiness?"
> Give Nazrin another raised eyebrow.
> "Uh...I...see."
> "Uh, you okay?"
> "Too bad that pink cloud guy isn't here. I wonder if she could give him a double beard."
> "If you want to try, he's in the human village. Though you already said something about that."
> Shrug.
> "They're humans, you're a human. Seemed like a fit to me."
> "You're right. I'll send the next lone human I meet that's tunneling into basements toward the oni city."
> Give the slightest hint of a smile.
> "Maybe. But at least I didn't tunnel into any basements today."
> "Not as far as I know."
> "Well, if you're heading out, so am I. I gotta find that Mokou woman."
> Look back at Ellen.
> "You coming?"
> Head into the front room as well.
> "I think we were actually wrapping up here, because I wanted to use my errands as an excuse to see if this scarf does anything."
> "It's a little bit of that, and a little bit that I don't have a whole lot I'm comfortable giving up. I tend not to have many expendable possessions."
> "Oh. What do you need done?"
> "Mmmkay. What are these things?"
> "Got it. If fairies are the problem, I guess I should say there was one on your roof when I got here."
> "Want me to take her out?"
> Glance over at Ellen, then back at Nazrin with a slight grin.
> "Or maybe this fairy could stand to grow some facial hair."
> "With pleasure."
> Look over at Ellen.
> "Hey, Ellen. There's a fairy on the roof of this place that doesn't belong here. She may be plotting to steal something. Can you help me scare her off?"
> "If you follow my lead, when I prompt you to, give her a beard, like you did to Nazrin downstairs. That should scare her off."
> "I'm thinkin' so, yeah. C'mon, let's go."
> Head outside the shop and up to the rooftop.
> "Hey there. What brings you up here?"
> Nod a couple of times.
> "So you're not up here because you're thinking about taking something from this store? That's good, that's good. Because I just heard that there's a new security system in place here, one that does horrible things to people that try to take things without permission. Even thinking about taking things can trigger it."
> Turn to Ellen while pointing at the fairy.
> "You wanna show her?"
> Look over at Ellen.
> "Bet you didn't think you'd enlighten a fairy when you woke up today."
> "Anyway, the deed's done. Let's head back inside."
> Head back inside.
>Chuckle a bit. "Yeah. Ellen gave 'er a beard just like with you, and the kid thought she became a sage all of a sudden. It was kinda funny if you ask me."
> "Whatever the case, she's gone now, yes."
> "...I get your concern, but I also get the feeling the cat isn't actually going to do anything."
> "...I guess."
> Nod.
> "All right."
> Turn to Ellen again.
> "You gonna stay here? I'll be headed to the village at some point, so, uh, yeah."
> Hwere were we told to go to get to where Mokou was seen heading? West along the nearby stream?
> "Okay. See you two later. I'll be sure to alert the temple about this when I'm back in town."
> Leave the shop, make our way back to the stream, and follow it west.
> Follow dem dents!
> What's the tone of voice like? Shouty, quiet, or normal speaking language? High-pitched or deep?
> Stop.
> "Uh, why?"
>As a precaution, duck!
> "Uh..."
> Unduck and look around in front of us along the ground for a snake.
> "Haven't seen one yet, don't see one now. You lose your pet or something?"
> "Uhh...saw a tiger, a canine, a bird, a bug, and a mouse, but not an oarfish yet. What's she look like?"
> "Oh, her. Not today, no, but I do see her a bunch underground. Tried looking there?"
> "Um, okay. Is she it, though? Absolutely no one else? I'm running around all over the place today, so who knows who else I'll run into."
> "She's a celestial? Huh. I can probably do that, I have errands to run at the jeweler's and the temple in the human village anyway."
> "...Okay, then. There's still a small bit of a problem with this situation, though. I don't know where you live or what you look like, and I don't know where your oarfish lives, nor do I keep a schedule of her underground visits. Let's say I find your snake. How do I get it back to you?"
> "Probably the celestial, since I at least know where she is. If that works for you, then okay. Anyway, where did you lose your pet?"
> "So back east from here, then."
> "Worth asking. Anyway, as long as someone else is here, I have a quick unrelated question. Did you see a woman in long pants go by here recently, possibly rolling a large rock?"
> "Right, of course. Anything else I need to know before I head out?"
> Sigh.
> "Fine."
> Wait a couple more moments for the voice.
> If it says nothing...
> "...Hello?"
> "I'm turning around now!"
> Slowly turn around.
> "Don't even get a name, huh..."
> Check the ground. Anything unusual the voice might have dropped? Pick it up if so.
> Regardless, continue heading west.
> Head toward the sound.
> Say rock!
> "Nice rock."
> "Need to deliver a letter to the doctor in this forest, yeah. Can you tell me how to get to her?"
> Point at the rock.
> "Let me guess; you were already doing just that."
> Frown.
> "Do they want to stay hidden, or what?"
> "Huh."
> "Makes me glad that I'm only there to deliver a letter to a doctor. So how do I get there?"
> Follow!
> "Oh, yeah. Kisume. Since you had the rocks and know the way, I'm assuming you're Mokou?"
> "New around most everywhere up here. I spend my time near the Ancient City. Lots of way too open up here for me. The forests aren't so bad, though."
> "Don't blame you. I stay the hell away from those as often as I can."
> "Gotta letter to deliver from the temple in town. Gettin' decent money, ain't none of my business otherwise."
> "Though, as long as I'm thinkin' about, have you seen a farmer-lookin' human dude running around recently? Silvery hair, tannish skin, decently built?"
> "Shoot. How about a small green snake? Foot long, maybe a little less?"
> "Damn. How about an oarfish youkai?"
> What were the other locations up north, other than Higan, where the silver-haired human could have gone?
> "Well, I was headed back to the human village after this anyway, so I guess that works out."
> "Got a message to deliver. I hear I can leave it with the bartender celestial, though, so I may just do that."
>"Don't suppose you've run into someone who really doesn't want you to see her? She's the one who asked me to deliver the message, and about the snake. Was very insistant that I not see her at all. Kinda strange, really."
> "Sounds like they probably are."
> "Huh. That's good to know. Explains a couple of smaller things."
> "Hmm...do you know how to get to some place called Hakugyokurou?"
> "Oh, right, the red-white. I still need to run into her."
> Do we recall which direction out of the human village we were told the Hakurei Shrine was in?
> Hwere are we currently in relation to the human village?
> "She's what, east of the village?"
> "I also heard about a possible Lunarian base to the north. Know where that is?"
> "I hope they do. It's a possible hiding place for that farmer-lookin' guy."
> "If anyone knew anything about the guy, that's where I'd be looking. But he's some kinda nutjob, running all around the Ancient City for who knows what reason, so just about anything is possible. Met a bird that said she saw him headed north recently. There's a green-haired youkai in the village selling plants who I think is the flower youkai, and she knew nothing about him, so I want to check out Hakugyokurou and that base, since I hear they're also in that direction."
> Did we see a graveyard at any point?
> "Maybe. I'll check it out when I go back there. The temple folks hadn't seen the guy, though, nor the bar celestial, so I dunno."
> "Hmm. A bit unrelated, but have you seen a red leather book or a red crystal rose around?"
> What did Tokiko recommend grabbing while in this forest? Bamboo shoots?
> How hard have they looked to pick?
> Have we ever eaten bamboo?
> But we would have to stop and work at it, rather than yank it out of the ground as we pass.
> "Shame this place is such a maze. I probably won't be able to remember the spots of any bamboo shoots we run across for picking later."
> "Don't want 'em bad enough to stop. Got a decent amount of food already, and getting this done is more important. I can find shoots later."
> "There's that too, yeah. I'm not in any sort of rush to get them."
> How far have we traveled? Can we even tell?
> Regardless, continue on following until prompted otherwise.
> "Thanks. Anything else I should know? Aside from the obvious."
> Smirk.
> "So just the obvious, then."
> "All right, I have mail to carry. See you around, and thanks again."
> Head toward the person in the distance.
> Hold up the letter.
> "Got a letter to deliver to your doctor from the temple in the human village."
> "The temple'd like a response, too, so..."
> "Sure thing."
> Follow where this rabbit takes us.
> What do we remember of the Oni Eater?
> Pull out the letter again.
> "Letter for you from the temple in human town."
> Hand the letter over.
> "Seem fine to me. They got a new recruit, some canine girl. They call her 'exciteable'. That's pretty generous, if you ask me. Almost got a facefull of mop from her just for existing. Other than that, their tiger is still a tiger, their mouse is still a mouse, their pink cloud dude is still a pink cloud dude, yeah."
> "Wouldn't be much of a messenger if I refused."
> Mental check: What have we had to eat today aside from that one grape and the grilled eel?
> How are we feeling for hunger after everything we've eaten?
> "Not really, no, unless a single grape counts."
> Start a little biit.
> "Uh, sure."
> "The latter."
> "If you wouldn't mind. Two robes and a blanket isn't too much, I hope?"
> "Well, all right, then. Lead the way."
> Follow along.
> Inventory (God, I suck at remembering this)
> "How far are we from the hot spring? I don't go quite as quickly once I'm out of the bucket, and, well, yeah."
> "I'll probably leave it at the edge, then."
> Hand over the spare robe and blanket.
> Put all our comestibles together in that sack so they don't end up just lying on the floor, then emply the contents of our bucket into a part of the room that looks reasonable for them.
> "I'll leave the scarf in the bucket when I get in, so all that's left is the robe I'm wearing."
> "Don't worry about the scarf. I'm actually checking to see if it's special in some capacity, since the mouse at the junk shop thought it might be."
> "If she can, that'd be great. So, uh, do you want the robe now, or should I just leave it in the bucket outside?"
> Frown a bit for a moment, then shrug.
> "Guess it doesn't matter that much, given what I'm doing."
> Take off our main robe and hand it over, then hunker down in the bucket as needed.
> "Okay. Thanks."
> Head through the doors!
> Raise an eyebrow.
> "Uh, did I come the wrong way?"
> "A messenger from the temple in human town. Had a letter for your doctor. She's preparing some sort of response, and I got sent this way in the meantime. Figured I'd end up somewhere where I wouldn't disturb the locals, though."
> Is everyone else 'dressed' for proper hot spring use?
> "Okay. Thanks."
> Bounce on forward to the edge, then mentally brace ourselves for what we're about to do in public.
> Untie the scarf and drop it in the bucket, then clamber out of it with whatever dignity we can muster, bringing ourselves to a sitting positing at the edge, submerged in a similar fashion to the black-haired woman.
> "Oh. Oh wow."
> "Yeah. I can feel why."
> "Well, their new recruit tried to mop my face off, so I dunno."
> Give a small smirk.
> "Not as far as I know. She calmed down and apologized eventually, at least, but it still seems like Temple Behavior Basics would include 'don't threaten the visitors.'"
> "I suppose that's true."
> Shake head.
> "Not really my thing. Credit where it's due, though, they're still running that clinic of theirs in the Ancient City."
> "Probably the former. She beat the hell out of the Oni Eater, after all."
> "Just for the damage avoidance? I can see that of them, I guess."
> "Yeah. First time topside in a long time. Bamboo's pretty nice, not nearly as open as everything else."
> "Hmm?"
>"Well, the lady at the temple paid me, and the reason I'm up here in the first place is 'cause I'm looking for someone."
> "Probably not anyone here. It was some farmer-lookin' human guy. Came underground. Ran all over the Ancient City, which caused exactly as much chaos as you think it did. No idea why a human would think that's a good idea, but he somehow managed to dodge all the oni and eventually left. No one has any clue why he came or why he left when he did. It didn't look like he actually took anything."
> "It might be. I heard that too, from a bird youkai earlier. She'd seen a guy headed north through the forest the other day."
> "How weird. And a bit aggravating, too. I was going to head north and see what was up there, but if he's just going all over the place, he'll be really hard to track."
> "Maybe. It'd explain why no one I've met has seen him actually doing anything yet. Oh! It might explain the piece of granite he left behind, too."
> "He left a piece of granite that didn't look like it came from anywhere around our tunnels. Him running all over creation would explain why he had it."
> "No clue. But now that I've learned he's all over the place, it's the only real info I have."
> "Shame, really. I've only been focusing on eventually heading north to look for him. That's a lot of searching that doesn't seem like it's going to amount to anything."
> "I've talked to someone I'm pretty is the youkai woman of the flower fields, but she hadn't seen anyway. I also heard there's an abandoned Lunarian base out that way...could he have found it, and would anyone have noticed if he did?"
> "Okay. Might try to find it myself later. Other than that, I hear there's Hakugyokurou."
>"How so?"
> What do we know of Hakugyokurou?
> "I suppose that's true. Well, hopefully he's either there or in that base, or else I might just lose interest and head back underground. He can be someone else's problem."
> "Unless there's anything else up north I haven't heard about."
> Recall known information on Prismriver Sisters.
> "I'll try to keep an eye out for them as well, I guess."
> "Well, if I see them, I can tell them that, if you like."
> "Do they know how to get here?"
> "They could always ask that woman in the pants. I wonder why she brings people here, though. Sounds like she's not a huge fan of this place."
> "I know full well what that purple-haired rabbit could do to me. I'd have to be a special kind of stupid to want to cause trouble here."
> "Hmmm...have you happened to hear about anyone here finding a red crystal rose?"
> "Oh, wow, really? That's fortunate. Those fairies lifted that rose from the mouse woman in the forest junk shop."
> What was the thing Naz asked us to do, other than retrieve the three missing items?
> Did she say what the rose did, if anything?
> "Yeah. She thinks it might be enchanted, but she didn't have it for long enough to figure out how. She wants it back pretty badly."
> "I see...well, I won't speak definitively for her, but she may be willing to work out a deal with your rabbit to get it back. Not sure how badly she wants it back."
> Have we seen any archery equipment since coming here?
> "Of course."
> "Totally understandable."
> How long have we been in here?
> How are we feeling?
> "Got it. Thanks."
> Do we have anything with which to scrub?
> Might as we use one, then.
> Do whatever is appropriate with a used rag to return it.
> All right, kiddo. This was refreshing, but we have things to do.
> Get out, dry ourselves off, and return to the bucket, re-wearing our scarf.
> "Thanks a bunch. That was great."
> Bounce on back inside.
> Take the note and read it.
> Put our main robe back on, then put our stuff back in the bucket. Might as well keep an eye out to be sure it's all still there, but don't give everything a major inspection.
> Head back out to the garden.
> Bounce on over to the table.
> "That was amazing."
> Did the dog return to us or to her?
> Bounce on over to the table.
> "I'm sure it's still great, if everything else I've seen here so far is any indication."
> Try some of the soup.
> "So what was up with the note?"
> "Oh. I suppose that's true."
> Have a go at the rice.
> Work on them both, then!
> "So I've been told to ask you to see a rabbit named Miyu."
> "I hear she got a red crystal rose from chasing away a fairy that dropped it."
> "I don't, but she got it from that fairy because that fairy lifted it from the forest junk shop. The mouse woman there will probably want it back, so they might need to arrange something."
> "Giving it up for nothing or trading or whatever, that's up to your rabbit and the mouse woman. I'm not going to demand anything on Nazrin's behalf. I'm just telling you where that rose came from."
> "Figured. Does Miyu know how to get to the forest junk shop?"
> "Might be easiest to have her go out there and hash a deal out, then. Don't know if Nazrin knows how to get here, but she's having a mild crisis at the shop right now, so I don't think she's be willing to leave it anyway."
> "Whereabouts could I find her?"
> "All right."
> Keep working on that food.
> "So whereabouts is the kitchen?"
> Follow!
> Turn to Reisen with a small smirk.
> "Sounds good enough to be."
> "I heard you got a crystal rose from a fairy recently."
> "Not a surprise. Probably wasn't too attached to it, given she lifted it from the forest junk shop."
> "If there's a guy, dunno what happened to him. It's being run by a mouse woman right now."
> "Whatever the case, she wants it back, but we're all pretty sure you want to hang onto it, or at least consider it yours at this point. I'm thinking it might be a good idea if you went out to the shop and talked it over with her, so both of you can be happy with the result."
> Put our hands up a little bit with palms facing outward.
> "If that's an issue, I'll stay out."
> Might as well let this hash out, then.
> "How long are the workdays here?"
> Turn to Reisen and shrug.
> "Is it possible to do when the day's over?"
> "What time is lunch, then?"
> "All right. So avoiding setting a bad precedent is the main issue here, yes? How often do fairies drop things here that someone else comes along and confirms are stolen goods?"
> Is there anyone else in the room?
> "Hmm. I dunno...I wonder how 'time-off'-y returning a stolen object really is. Sounds more like an errand to me. Especially given it would probably be pretty bad for this house if word got out that one of its inhabitants found an object stolen from the good people of the temple and refused to return it."
> "The temple's not going to complain, that's not how they do. But that's not going to stop other people passing their own judgments on this house through your actions."
> "Dunno about the whole day, but getting part of the day to head out and run an errand combined with whatever you might get from the mouse woman AND having word spread about you returning that thing seems like a pretty sweet deal to me."
> "Where did I say you were just giving it back?"
> "So you missed the part where I talked about what you might get in return."
> "And where did I say you'd be given no time to do it?"
> "You don't hear that because you interrupted my explanation before I could get talking about how I will need to be there at the shop with you, but I need to go back to the human village first, which would increase the time you spent away from here by a good margin."
> "I need to see the jeweler, the celestial at the bar, and the temple again. All those things will take some time, and all of them need to be done before I return to the junk shop."
> "I'll need to be at the temple for a couple of things, in fact. And I don't particularly care how you would spend your time during all that, assuming you're there."
> Shrug.
> "I can't promise any more than that. I'm not in charge here."
> "There's some pretty neat stuff there. There's an outside-world box of some kind, a gold rod, a large magic shield, a magic arrow, things like that."
> Turn back to Reisen.
> "That's about all they need, unless another rabbit happened into a fairy that dropped a large candle."
> "And the only other thing that got lifted was a red leather book, and that was seen near a lake to the east...all right, then. Oh! I don't suppose anyone has run across a small green snake? Less than a foot long?"
> "This one's apparently a pet, so who knows what it might be doing."
> "Shoot. Oh well. Anyway, I think that's it."
>Do we know anything about Nue's Seeds of Non-Identification?
> "It's fine by me, for what little weight my words carry here. I'm not quite ready to go yet, though."
> How many more leeks are there to cut? Maybe we should finish the job, since we're largely responsible for it being abandoned in the first place.
> Turn back to Reisen.
> "Uh, sorry for the disruption."
> "So what now? I get the feeling that I'll only be in everyone's way if I wait here."
> "Sure."
> Follow Reisen if she leaves.
> Nod.
> Do the arrow feathers match the feathers of the arrow in tne shop?
> Look around the room in semi-marvel.
> "Hmm. I'll base it off what the temple's giving, minus a bit since you provided food and the spring and they aren't impossible to find like this place is. How does 35 sound?"
> "Human town was the next stop on the Bucket Express, yeah. I have a bunch of things to do there, but I can prioritize this if I need to."
> "Can do."
> "Only an unrelated one."
> Take of the scarf and hold it up.
> "The mouse woman at the forest shop thinks this scarf might be special somehow. Could you possibly tell how so?"
> Hand the scarf over.
> "Huh?"
> Take it and put it back on.
> "So it calms me down, or something?"
> Well, since we just put it on...
> Frown for a couple of seconds.
> Crawl out of the bucket and try to do a handstand.
>Or just fly around outside of the bucket, since we have such difficulties doing that.
>Try both.
> Actually, forgo the handstand for a moment.
> Try the bucketless flight first. Once we're done, try to land on our feet.
> Is Eirin's desk within reach? Grab it if so.
> When was the last time we stood up?
> We have a doctor standing right here. What would we have done in the past if a doctor offered to look at our legs in return for services rendered?
> "Huh. That's definitely more balanced than it usually is."
> If we're putting this much strain on our hands and arms now, would we even be able to support ourselves in a handstand?
> Clamber on back into the bucket, then try to tilt it so it's resting on an edge of the bottom lip.
> "Neat."
> Drop the bucket back down to a neutral position.
> Take it.
> "Thanks!"
> Take the stuff.
> "Got it. I'll give 'em all the warnings you gave me earlier, too."
> Quests
> Inventory
> "Actually, yeah."
> Hold up the piece of granite.
> "Any idea where this might've come from?"
> "It probably isn't unusual. But we don't see this kind of granite in my area of the underground. There's a farmer-lookin' human guy running around all over the place, doing who-knows-what. He's why I came topside at all, since he was causing a bunch of havoc in the Ancient City just by being there. At this point, the only real clue I have about him is that granite, since he dropped it."
> "You might find it deeper in, but he dropped it before he got there. He definitely had it before he entered the underground."
> "Figured there probably wasn't. But hopefully it'll tell me where he's been, at least. Beyond the odd sightings, anyway."
> Put the granite back.
> "Ah well. Thanks anyway."
> "Yeah, I'm ready."
> Follow Reisen wherever.
> "Hey, no problem. Worked out well enough for me, so I'm glad I did it."
> Frown a tiny bit.
> "Though I don't know why you'd thank me, given it seems like you did a bunch of stuff for me in return for nothin'."
> "You mean carrying a letter? Well, you're welcome, I suppose, if this meant that much to you."
> "Oh, okay. Huh. You have a stake in the temple or something?"
> "Oh. That's the guy that used to be at the shop, I'm guessing?"
> "What happened to him that he's shacked up in a temple and needs super-duper medicine? You beat him up like the Oni Eater?"
> "Wasn't my business. I'm just the postwoman. But curiosity's got the better of me at this point."
> "Which is what that medicine will do?"
> "Huh. I guess that's what Kyouko meant when she talked about a maniac."
> "She is, yeah."
> "How'd a looney get to run a junk shop in the forest, anyway? He must've been doing it for some time, I've seen Yamame's ad webs for a while."
> "Whack. Never get that kind of crazy down Underground. We only get hell raven crazy. And even that was fixed pretty quickly."
>"They tried letting the red-white and black-white beat this guy up? 'Cause that worked with the hell raven."
> "Sounds like a special kind of crazy."
> Give a small snort.
> "Bleh. I've had enough of people like that for one lifetime."
> "Here's to that."
> "You ready?"
> Any other rabbits in earshot?
> "All right."
> Turn to Reisen.
> "Anything we should know before heading out?"
> "See you later, then. And thanks for the food."
> Turn back to Miyu.
> "Let's head out."
> Leave the building and walled-in area.
> "All right, I don't know my way out of here, so unless you're volunteering yourself as a guide, we're going straight up and heading to the village that way."
> Shrug.
> "Didn't realize it was that big a deal."
> "Then live like I do. I don't answer to anyone. Make my way through life on my own merits and no one else's. Every day is time off."
>"Guess there's merits to that too, but I like how I live too."
> Follow.
> Once we're a bit away from the house...
> "You know, we don't have to go directly from the village to the junk shop."
> "Figured. I, at least, can make a stopover at the shrine."
> "Mmmkay."
> "Mouse lady was willing to take the effort into consideration for future deals."
> "Pretty much. There's some magic arrow there that's kinda interesting. Maybe Doc would be interested?"
> "Saw the quiver on her chair, yeah. The arrow doesn't match hers, though."
> "Regardless, it could be work looking into, if only to curry favor. As much as I don't know the nuances of your house's social structure."
> "Was that the black-haired woman in the hot spring, by any chance?"
> "Yep. Nifty."
> "Human village."
> Give a small hint of a grin.
> "You have some pretty urgent loafing to do, after all."
> "Can't keep that waiting, then, can we? Let's head out."
> Head toward the human village.
> "Okay, I'm headed to the temple. You're on your own for a while."
> Assuming no object, head to the temple.
> Wave back.
> "I got your thing from Eientei."
> "Yeah."
> Hand over Eirin's letter and package.
> "Whatever you do, don't get the contents of that package wet."
> "50 thin ones."
> "Thanks! Doc also told me to make sure you read the instructions and plan on following the dosage exactly. And she said that this is all she was doing, and you're on your own from here."
> Shrug.
> "She didn't elaborate. Might be confidence in the treatment."
> Was there? We covered keeping the stuff dry, following the directions, and how she was only doing this once. Anything else?
> "I think that was about it."
> "Hey, glad to help. And while I'm thinking about it, your mouse friend could probably use some help. Some weirdo human tunneled a hole into the basement of that shop and she has a cat."
> "Well, um."
> Frown a bit.
> "There's no real delicate way to put this, so, uh, this human's...kinda really really slow. If you send Kyouko, you might want to make sure no more misunderstandings happen."
> "If her nerves aren't already mondo frazzled from that cat."
> "Right, of course. Just make sure Kyouko hurries. I made the detour to Eientei instead of coming right back here, so it's been a while."
> Head back toward the tavern.
> "Just got here now. How's the book?"
> "Glad to hear it was a worthwhile find. Anyway, got a message for you. Some girl that wouldn't let me look at her told me to tell you that she needs to see the oarfish woman pretty badly. I guess you're all supposed to know what all of this means, since she didn't give me many details about anything."
> "I guess she lost a pet snake or something? She didn't give a lot of detail. The whole thing was honestly a little bit sketchy, but it sounds from your reaction like this is an actual thing."
> "Awesome. Good that that worked out. I'd go tell her, but I don't know where she is. Though I guess she'll find out on her own soon enough anyway."
> "I guess that's what she meant when she said to tell Iku to meet 'the person' at 'the place'."
> "So there is something sketchy going on here, then? You don't see this kind of weirdo behavior underground, but I have to figure it's bizarre by topside standards, too."
> "Oh. Well, she's got me, at least. I don't know who she is or where 'the place' is."
> "Well, whatever. As long as I get paid for this, I guess it doesn't matter what she looks like."
> "Kisume."
> Were we told where the jeweler's shop was?
> "No problem."
> "On another note, I visited the harvest goddess on the mountain. That guy I asked about earlier? She had no idea who he was. Sounds like he only looks like a farmer and isn't actually a farmer."
> "That's what the goddess is thinking, yeah. We're wondering if he lifted those clothes from someone. She hasn't heard anything yet, though."
> "If you happen to hear anything about that sort of thing, could you let me know?"
> Sigh.
> "Yeah, probably."
> "Great, thanks."
> "All right, I have to go see the jeweler. Miss Disembodied Voice had a message for him too, and he also needs to get something to the forest junk shop. Do you happen to know where he is from here?"
> Nod.
> "Sounds easy enough, yeah."
> "I'll certainly try not to. Thanks for the help."
> Leave the bar and head north, looking for a road between connected houses on the right.
> Once we find that road, turn onto it and look for a jeweler's shop.
> Enter the accessories shop.
> "Well...kinda the first one, I guess? I'm actually here on a couple of requests. The business one is on behalf of the mouse woman from the forest junk shop. She says she's waiting for a pair of earrings from a thing a couplle of weeks ago."
> Frown a bit.
> "Huh. Well, the other request was from some girl that wouldn't let me look at her. She said 'not to worry about things'."
> "Yeah, kinda. I was going through the forest, and there was nothing, and then there was a voice. She was super anxious to find a lost pet. Wanted that oarfish woman something fierce, too."
> "It's a pet snake, if that means anything."
> "Any ideas where she might have run off to? She didn't say anything about where she was going when she left. Or even THAT she was going."
> "Not even to you? Yeesh."
> What time is it?
> "It looks like it's getting pretty close to lunchtime. The celestial at the tavern said the oarfish woman would be coming by for lunch. There any messages you want me to deliver?"
> "All right, I'll let them know next time I see them."
> Nod.
> "Anything else needed?"
> Shake head.
> "It's all neat-looking stuff, but jewelry in generate is out of my price range."
> "Anyway, I'll give 'em your regards next time I see them. Hope your apprentice comes back soon."
> Assuming no objection from the jeweler, leave the shop and head back toward the temple, keeping an eye out for a graveyard.
> Is there any obvious path to get there, rather than simply tromping across the temple lawn?
> Head in the direction of the maybe-path.
> Head down the path at least somewhat respectfully. This is a graveyard, after all.
> Left
> West
> West
> Oho! Inspect the purported thing in the trees.
> In which direction was it?
> Begin floating and head in that direction.
> Well, if this one's not going to warn us to not look...
> Look to the left.
> Keep that piece of tail in sight!
> "Why not?"
> "Why shouldn't I?"
>"Why's that?"
>"Why am I not allowed here?"
>"Why not?"
> "Maybe you shouldn't be here."
> The piece of skirt is just kind of peeking out from behind a tree, right? And we can't see anything else of the person it's theoretically attached to?
> "Then why are you hiding behind that tree?"
> "But I can see you."
> Point in the direction we were going when we got here.
> "All right. I'll go away from here in this direction. Is that okay?"
> Jab our finger in the same direction.
> "The one I'm pointing in. See it?"
> Put our arm down.
> "Oh, all right."
> Remain silent and still for a few moments, watching the hem of that skirt.
> Very slowly start floating over to the tree, aiming for the side of the tree where her skirt isn't sticking out.
> Keep slowly floating toward the tree.
> Do not respond.
> Stop.
> "No, I don't."
> "You said your Master told you to keep people out, right?"
> "But you also said she doesn't want me to see you."
> Raise an eyebrow.
> "You'd hide from your Master that you disobeyed her wishes?"
> "You can't help disobeying your Master? I guess that means I can go through."
> "What will happen if I do? Will you show yourself some more to stop me?"
> "But you'd have to show yourself some more, right?"
> "What, you saying you'd kill me? That seems a bit outside the spellcard rules."
> "So what you're saying is that your Master will learn that you showed yourself to me."
> Where can we spawn demon fire relative to ourselves?
> What can we do with it after we have spawned it?
> How close are we do this weirdo?
> And she's still fairly well-hidden by the very flammable tree?
> We were headed west, correct?
> What direction are we currently facing?
> With moderate speed, fly laterally toward the other side of the tree, as well as forward toward the tree itself. Go far enough that she can't see us anymore from her current position.
> Is the cloud covering the entire tree from our vantage point?
> Can we tell where it is aimed?
> Keep forward-circling around the tree, then, until the weirdo comes into sight again.
> Did she move out toward or away from us?
> So how close are we to her now?
> Without taking the time to actively look around, did we notice any yellow bullets headed to our current position?
> Do we regularly use our demon fire in danmaku battles?
> Are we aware of more room to circle?
> How fast does our demon fire move when we throw it?
> What about up? From what we remember from coming here, how thick is the group of trees and how leafy are the boughs?
> Are there any bullets immediately between her and us?
> How fast are the yellow ones moving? Could we outrun them?
> Pfeh. It'd be lovely to set her on fire, but we'd need to get in closer to reduce the risk ofbburning the whole forest down.
> Send a spray of arrowheads in her direction, then spare a glance upward for places to move to where we won't smack headfirst into a branch.
> Fly straight up, then. Take a look back at her when we can.
> These new kunai are presumably aimed at us, yes?
> Has she moved at all?
> How many kunai are currently between her and us?
> From what we remember from earlier, is our right available for movement? Or is there a branch in the way?
> Are we directly over her, or angled to a side a little bit?
> How far away is she?
> Any leaves or branches between the two of us?
>Plunging bucket attack!
>Meaning drop down and bucket-whack her.
>With the bucket between us and her, how many of the shots do we think would hit us versus the bucket?
> Since the tree is to our left, if we move to the right, would we effectively remove the branches between us? Or do the branches extend out that far?
> Is this still true if we tried circling to the right, rather than moving straight to the right?
> Fire off several more arrowheads in her direction, then circle to the right, pivoting around her location, to get away from the branches.
> The yellows are largely headed toward our previous location, correct?
> How quickly does she float?
> Is she spraying the reds in such a fashion that, even if we dropped back down, we'd still be diving into their flight paths?
> Have we scored any hits on her yet?
> Given she moved with us, how close is she now?
> How dense does the red cloud look?
> List a tiny bit to the right and focus some more arrowheads in her direction. Let's keep our eyes on her this time, so we can aim better.
> Is there any more tree above us?
> Hurtle some demon fire at her, then retreat a little bit upwards.
> What happened to the red kunai?
> "Why not?"
> "Throwing kunai isn't nice!"
> Shoot off some more arrowheads while talking.
> Any coming from below?
> Are they close enough that dropping straight down would still get us clipped by them?
> No time like the present. Drop straight down like the best of 'em!
> Are the yellow kunai moving everywhere, towards where we were previously, or where we are now?
> Is she still conjuring them?
> How far away are we now?
> Any in front of her yet?
> Have we noticed if she had turned to face us as we moved around her?
> What's ahead and to the right?
> Oh, so we're not presently facing her head on?
>How's our arm strength? If it's sufficient, then find a spot on the ground that's relatively safe from bullets and start breakdancing. When our enemy is sufficiently confused:
>If she's decently close, dash at her and apply bucket to face.
>If she's further away, demonfire attack!
>Would we be physically capable of doing such a thing?
> Turn to look at her, then act mildly surprised.
> Point behind her.
> "Hey, wait. Is that person your master?"
> How's the bullet density coming our way?
> Raise our voice a little bit, like we're calling out.
> "Hey, you out there! I saw you! Show yourself!"
> "Is that true? Then..."
> Allow a small look of realization.
> "That person must be trying to sneak in!"
> In wch direction is she now facing?
> From which direction didwe come?
> Are we still noticeably in her line of vision?
> Lower our voice back down to talking-to-this-woman tone.
> "There's a guy out there! Looked kinda like a farmer!"
> If she keeps looking out into the forest, start floating our way westward. If she turns back around to look at us, don't move.
> Aimed at us?
> Did the previous ones at least disperse?
>"Heyheyheyheyhey!"
>"Stop attacking me, and I'll help you catch him!"
> Point back at the trees behind her.
> "No, he's still back there, hiding!"
> "So if I leave, you think he'll leave, right?"
>Why did we come to the graveyard in the first place?
> "I can leave! But the more time you spend looking at me, the more time he has to get past you!"
> "How do you know?"
> What are we looking at for flight angles?
> Is it just the yellow?
> Is she shooting above us, too, or just right at us?
> "Then let me leave!"
> "You're shooting at me! Who would be dumb enough to turn their back on that?"
> How many yellows are aimed right at us?
> How are things looking to either side?
> Move with her to the right.
> "And smack the back of my head into a tree?"
> How close is she?
> They are coming in from the front and left,correct?
> Fly upward, forward, and a little bit more to the right. Ideally, the shots from the left will fly behind us, while we make our way closer to her.
> Any more reds in our path?
> How close are we now?
> Well, if she's just started spawning yellows and there are no more reds...it's now or never.
> Take on RAMMING SPEED and smack bucketfirst right into her face!
> Did we happen to notice if her arms flailed as she fell?
> What have her arm movements been like so far in this battle? We've noticed an overall stiffness to her motions so far...
> Hmm. Let's take a chance, then.
> Land on her torso with a decent thump. Maybe we can knock the air our of her a bit.
> Once we're stable, get to rifling! Let's she what she's got!
> Is she wearing a hat?
> What is our opinion of lifting hats?
> No obvious pockets in the skirt?
> Has she been flailing about at all, that we've noticed?
> And we are on her chest as opposed to her back, correct?
> Bounce off of her to her side closer to west and back off about a half yard.
> Fly west for several yards before glancing back and seeing what she's doing.
> Good enough.
> Keep heading west, at a decent clip.
> Ah, damnit.
> Are there any paths north or south?
> Can we see anyone else?
> Forget this.
> Begin heading south.
> Can we see the temple anywhere from here?
> Float up and over the fence, then float-hoof it back east.
> Turn to where the motion is and take a better look.
> Narrow our eyes and lower our voice.
> "I know you're there. I saw the movement."
>The grass doesn't seem to be interested in answering you.
>_
> Slowly approach the grass.
>How close do you intend to get?
>_
> Keep approaching until the grass moves again or until we can figure out what it is. Keep a spell card in hand.
> Well, have the knife in hand instead of the spell card, since our current card is the only one we've got and it's not in tip-top shape right now.
> And keep the knife in hand in the bucket, so it's not as obvious we have it.
> Float up a bit, then over the 'hole' so we can see it from above.
> Swerve to the left!
> Turn our head to track their movement if we successfully dodge.