(Skyseas of Gensokyo) Nazrin Quest (Part 6)

[Oldmansour]

>"If I'm right, then I think I might've found where your wines went."
>Keep moving things out of our way to the wall, keeping an eye out for more damaged crates.

[DracoOmega]

>"If I'm right, then I think I might've found where your wines went."
>Keep moving things out of our way to the wall, keeping an eye out for more damaged crates.

>"But that's a crate of potatoes," she says, still frowning at the hole.
>You continue to move things out of the way, taking several smaller (but still fairly heavy) boxes from off the top of the damaged box and putting them aside. After a few more moments staring at the damage, the woman actually joins in, making the work go much more quickly. You inspect every crate and container you move for damage, though all of them seem perfectly intact, and in the condition she says they should be in. Eventually, once the rest of the obstacles are removed, the two of you grab hold of the damaged box and drag it away.
>In the wall directly behind where that box had stood is a hole, roughly dug and about two feet in diameter. The woman stares at it open-mouthed.

[Oldmansour]

>"I was right. Someone, or something, has been digging around in that wall. Dollars to donuts, that's how they got your goods out."
>Sniff the air in that hole, then, assuming we can't smell anything too hazardous, take a look inside.
>Take a moment to brace ourselves first. This is Braston, not the hills out Easthaven way.

[DracoOmega]

>"I was right. Someone, or something, has been digging around in that wall. Dollars to donuts, that's how they got your goods out."
>Sniff the air in that hole, then, assuming we can't smell anything too hazardous, take a look inside.
>Take a moment to brace ourselves first. This is Braston, not the hills out Easthaven way.

>The woman's frown deepens, but she simply continues staring at the hole in silence; it seems she hasn't quite figured out how to process this development.
>You take a moment to brace yourself and set aside unpleasant memories of other holes you've crawled through lately, then take a sniff of the air inside. It mostly smells earthy, with a faint hint of... alcohol, you think? And... something faintly floral. Given that neither flowers nor alcohol seem especially threatening (except perhaps in the form of an irate oni gardener), you take a look inside. Mostly, it is dark. There is enough light coming from the room to allow you to see fairly far in, just the same, though you expect the woman can't see much past the entrance. Not that seeing further allows you to see much of consequence, in this case. The tunnel is simply a path cut through the bare earth, without any distinguishing features or objects visible. It seems to widen slightly just past the entrance, then continues onward beyond the limits of your sight.

[Oldmansour]

>Does it seem wide enough to allow a humanoid passage while standing, or would they have to crawl?
>Can we discern what type of alcohol? Or flowers, for that matter? Or could the floral smell be perfume?
>"This would explain how somebody got in without a key, alright. And how they got out without catching your, or anyone else's, eye."

[Hello Purvis]

>"I wonder how they stacked everything back up on the way out, though..."

[DracoOmega]

>Does it seem wide enough to allow a humanoid passage while standing, or would they have to crawl?
>Can we discern what type of alcohol? Or flowers, for that matter? Or could the floral smell be perfume?
>"This would explain how somebody got in without a key, alright. And how they got out without catching your, or anyone else's, eye."

>It could probably allow some fairies to walk through while standing, or at least crouching a little. You would need to crawl.
>You do think it may be wine. The flowers are less determinant. It might well be perfume, but there is only a trace of it - possibly from someone passing through there, though you suspect not from something which is still there.
>She nods slowly.

>"I wonder how they stacked everything back up on the way out, though..."

>"Quite," she says, frowning. "Everything here looked the same as it did before the wine was stolen, as well. At least, not different enough for me to notice."

[Hello Purvis]

>"Would that box of wine fit in there, you think?"
>Kneel down and look into the tunnel; don't put any of our bits into it yet.

[DracoOmega]

>"Would that box of wine fit in there, you think?"
>Kneel down and look into the tunnel; don't put any of our bits into it yet.

>"Definitely," she says.
>You kneel down and take another look into the tunnel. Unfortunately, this vantage doesn't really provide you with anything new; you can see nothing but bare earth extending for a considerable distance before growing too dark to see further.

[Hello Purvis]

>Look at the bare earth. Does it seem to have been flattened out by dragging, or perhaps have some footprints in it? Do the sides bear any marks?
>How far can we see into it before it gets too dark?

[DracoOmega]

>Look at the bare earth. Does it seem to have been flattened out by dragging, or perhaps have some footprints in it? Do the sides bear any marks?
>How far can we see into it before it gets too dark?

>You don't see any obvious signs of dragging or flattened ground. The earth looks quite firmly packed in general which would make it poorly suited for leaving footprints. There are some marks along the length of the tunnel, but concentrated in particular near the entrance that might be footprints, though they're indistinct. Somewhat more distinct, along the sides of the tunnel further in are what look reminiscent of claw marks.
>About 15 feet or so.

[Hello Purvis]

>Take a good sniff inside, can we smell anything other than the wine?
>"Can you get me a candle?"

[DracoOmega]

>Take a good sniff inside, can we smell anything other than the wine?
>"Can you get me a candle?"

>You take another good sniff, but still detect little else usual beside the wine and faint floral scent. Mostly, it just smells dank and earthy.
>"Is one of the lanterns here good enough?" she asks.

[Hello Purvis]

>Do we think we could crawl with one of those lamps?

[DracoOmega]

>Do we think we could crawl with one of those lamps?

>It'll likely be a little awkward going either way, but you don't expect the lamp would make it much worse.

[Hello Purvis]

>"I can give it a try. Bring one over here, and we'll see if it lights up more."

[DracoOmega]

>"I can give it a try. Bring one over here, and we'll see if it lights up more."

>"Alright," she says, then fetches one of the lanterns hung from the cellar ceiling and hands it to you.

[Hello Purvis]

>Move the lantern so that we can get as much light into the hole as possible, and see what we can see.

[Oldmansour]

>About how big do those claw marks look? Can we tell what kind of animal made them, or at least what size?

[DracoOmega]

>Move the lantern so that we can get as much light into the hole as possible, and see what we can see.

>You move the lantern to shed some more light on the tunnel and take another look. While many details of it become clearer to see, for the most part this doesn't reveal anything new. You can, however, see further into the tunnel than before. There is a slight curvature to it, and then after about 20 feet or so, it curves away out of sight entirely.

>About how big do those claw marks look? Can we tell what kind of animal made them, or at least what size?

>The claws marks look rather broad compared to their span, with each being the better part of an inch wide. While the earth doesn't show them clearly in all spots, there are enough marks running along the length of the tunnel that you strongly suspect it was dug by them.

[Hello Purvis]

>Indicate in the direction that the tunnel curves. "What's that way?"

[DracoOmega]

>Indicate in the direction that the tunnel curves. "What's that way?"

>"Uhh..." The woman takes a look down the tunnel, then looks up at the roof a moment and visibly tries to orient herself. She frowns a little. "I don't know. Lots of places, I'm sure." She frowns further, then shakes her head. "I don't think I could do better than blind guessing."

[Hello Purvis]

>"Oh well. Guess I'm just going to have to go in and see. I don't suppose you have a lamp that's a bit more friendly toward crawling?"

So, we could probably use our tail for lantern dangling, but that might cut down on out light a little much.

[DracoOmega]

>"Oh well. Guess I'm just going to have to go in and see. I don't suppose you have a lamp that's a bit more friendly toward crawling?"

>"Friendly how?" she asks, giving the lantern a glance.

[Hello Purvis]

>"Friendly like I can hold it in front of me easily and not have to worry about it spilling oil if I do something dumb."

[DracoOmega]

>"Friendly like I can hold it in front of me easily and not have to worry about it spilling oil if I do something dumb."

>The lantern you are holding is magical, rather than oil-based (hence why it was left lit in an unattended area for a prolonged length of time), though it is stylized to resemble a mundane one. You won't need to worry about anything spilling, and the construction looks fairly sturdy.

[Oldmansour]

>"That'll do. Thanks."
>Would crawling with that in our hands impede our movement greatly, and how badly would carrying it in our tail impede the lumination?

[DracoOmega]

>"That'll do. Thanks."
>Would crawling with that in our hands impede our movement greatly, and how badly would carrying it in our tail impede the lumination?

>She nods.
>While the tunnel is small, beyond the entrance it's wide enough that you don't think you'll have too hard a time navigating with the lantern in your hands. If you held in your tail, your own body would probably block most of the light, but you also don't need a great deal of it to see well enough.

[Oldmansour]

>Well enough is good enough.
>Take the lantern in our tail, and produce a kunai, then enter the tunnel.
>Being able to resume our original form would come in handy down here.

[DracoOmega]

>Well enough is good enough.
>Take the lantern in our tail, and produce a kunai, then enter the tunnel.
>Being able to resume our original form would come in handy down here.

>You decide you prefer sub-optimal lighting to having a hand full.
>You grab hold of the lantern with your tail - you note the woman raise an eyebrow slightly at the gesture - then draw a kunai and crawl into the tunnel. The entering takes a little wiggling, but after that it's wide enough to be comfortable, even if you don't have much room to maneuver; turning around will certainly take some creative contorting.
>This place would be outright spacious for a mouse. On the other hand, you wouldn't want to be so tiny and defenseless if you run into whoever owns the claws.