Hatate Quest

[Oldmansour]

>Do we know how Aya keeps her darkroom defended, given we know Tsubaki can get through locks?
>If not, let's pose this question to Momiji.

>She has hinted that her dark room, being rather important to her, isn't one she worries about in terms of intruders and the like, but she hasn't mentioned specifics.
>"It changes, now and then." the wolf informs you. "Sometimes she employs mechanical traps, sometimes magical objects she buys or borrows. Most of the time, though, she uses trapped winds. Those can be pretty hard to detect, but it doesn't surprise me that someone like Tsubaki could, if that is what happened there. Especially since she and Aya have been dancing around each other for centuries."

[Hello Purvis]

>"Mmm.  Good for her. Well, at least Tusbaki didn't do any more damage."
>Finish off the tea.
>"Let's go find Aya. Think looking around the kappa would be a good place to start?"
>Do the kappa get much contact from the rest of the world?

[Oldmansour]

>"Mmm.  Good for her. Well, at least Tusbaki didn't do any more damage."
>Finish off the tea.
>"Let's go find Aya. Think looking around the kappa would be a good place to start?"
>Do the kappa get much contact from the rest of the world?

>Momiji nods. "Aya is really very good at weaving traps in the air, especially in her house. If that's what she detected, Tsubaki was smart not to mess with them. Even a Dai-tengu would be put out a bit by one of Aya's traps."
>The remnants of you tea have gone a bit cold by this point, but there's only half a swallow left. Which you polish off in short order and hand your cup to Momiji, who returns yours and hers to the kitchen.

>"Personally, I would start with the Moriya temple before the Kappa. I like the kappa, as you know, but Sanae and Kanako seem to be more aware of the events of Gensokyo outside of the mountain. The kappa may get out into the world more than the tengu, but they're still a retiring people by nature."
>Momiji's assessment is brief but accurate. The Kappa are a shy people by nature. To your knowledge, the first kappa to have extended contact with the people outside the mountain was Nitori, and though many Kappa have followed her example and gone exploring outside of the mountain, they're still mostly a reclusive people. They have more contact with the white wolves than with humans, so far as you know.

[Hello Purvis]

>"Right."
>Give things a once over to be sure that we haven't overlooked anything.
>Once this is done, head for the Moriya Shrine and lock the door proper.

[Oldmansour]

>"Right."
>Give things a once over to be sure that we haven't overlooked anything.
>Once this is done, head for the Moriya Shrine and lock the door proper.

>Checking your pockets, you have your usual accoutrements for traveling, and you go over your pictures of Tsubaki's break in and delete the ones that are either redundant or un-incriminating, to free up space. It wouldn't do to be caught with insufficient space if something else interesting crops up.
>Leaving your house without disabling your spiderweb traps proves to be a bit of a challenge, but you do eventually manage it, and set off northwest and up the mountain, towards the home of the three Goddess of the Moriya.
>Along the way, Momiji inquires, "Can we make a quick stop along the way? I told Touma I'd drop this honey off at one of our guard posts."

[Hello Purvis]

>"Sure thing. Do you want me to come along, or would you prefer to go on your own and meet up somewhere?"

[Oldmansour]

>"Sure thing. Do you want me to come along, or would you prefer to go on your own and meet up somewhere?"

>"Actually, I'd prefer you come with me. You see, there's another reason I'd like to stop at this particular guard house. I believe one of those that are on duty there today is a friend of mine, Juna. She worked for quite a number of years as a maid for the Dai-tengu, before being transferred to the Rangers. I believe she worked for Tsubaki, for a time. She might be able to shed some light on why Tsubaki would have broken into Aya's place. Assuming she wasn't too hung over to report for duty this morning."

[O4rfish]

>"Great, a character witness. Let's go!"
>Is it common for Dai-tengu to have servants?

[Oldmansour]

>"Great, a character witness. Let's go!"
>Is it common for Dai-tengu to have servants?

>Quite common. Tengu of all castes can be called upon to serve the ruling class. Even the Yamabushi, though they are called far less frequently than others. And there are many who volunteer for the jobs as well. The pay can be quite high, depending on the Dai-tengu employer, but even the stingiest bosses are legally bound to a bare minimum wage that they must pay to their Tengu servants, and that minimum is none too shabby a wage.

>"I should warn you." Momiji calls as you jet forward. "You'll need to approach the subject with a bit of care. Juna tends to be very... cautious, whenever Dai-tengu are involved. You can't just say 'I saw Tsubaki Ayatsuji break into Aya Shameimaru's house today, would you know why?', she'll probably bolt. At the least, you won't get anything out of her. You have to be careful with being too straight forward."

[O4rfish]

>"Don't worry about me, I can be as devious as an oni."
>Grin.
>"Just kidding."

[Hello Purvis]

>How do we, and tengu in general, feel about deception?
>"Perhaps if I suggested it was research for an article, without letting any further details on? Do you think it's possible that would get back to Tsubaki?"

[Oldmansour]

>How do we, and tengu in general, feel about deception?

>In general, this is one area where Tengu and Humans are much alike, in that it essentially comes down to a person-to-person basis. Some Tengu are honest to a fault and hate being lied to, some tengu would just as soon lie as say hello, and expect to be lied to just as much in return. With a lot of middle ground, of course.
>As for yourself, you don't enjoy getting lied to any more than the next woman, but it doesn't bother you especially more than other things. Depending on the deception of course. It's one thing to be kept in the dark about a surprise party, it would be another thing to suddenly find out that your mother was really a kappa and had been lying to you all this time.
>And while you are, in general, an honest person, with a substantial dose of integrity, you're not about a little truth-stretching here and there, or the occasional little white lie for the right reasons. Honesty for honesty's sake may be good for the Oni, but a Tengu knows that doesn't always work.

>"Don't worry about me, I can be as devious as an oni."
>Grin.
>"Just kidding."

>Momiji offers you a chuckle.

>"Perhaps if I suggested it was research for an article, without letting any further details on? Do you think it's possible that would get back to Tsubaki?"

>"Maybe. It's hard to be sure with Dai-tengu one way or the other. But it's not what I think is possible, it's what she thinks is possible, and she thinks the Dai-tengu, all of them, have longer arms than I do. I suppose that comes with decades of working directly under them like she did."
>"I'm not sure that the article approach will work with Juna. Something more..." She pauses and thinks. "Casual, maybe? Like.... Maybe Tsubaki's name coming up in conversation with Aya once?"

[Hello Purvis]

>"Mmm. Hard to be causal about that. Last time anyone's spoken with Aya was awhile ago. I'll have to think about it a bit.  Maybe if I mention I'm thinking about hiring a maid?"

[Oldmansour]

>"Mmm. Hard to be causal about that. Last time anyone's spoken with Aya was awhile ago. I'll have to think about it a bit.  Maybe if I mention I'm thinking about hiring a maid?"

>"That would be fine." Momiji says with a nod. "She hasn't done it for a lot of years, but she doesn't mind talking about her past job experience."

[Hello Purvis]

>Presumably, Dai-tengu have internal rivalries. How bad can they get and how far can the extend?

[O4rfish]

>Do we have any reason to suspect our mother of being a kappa?

[Oldmansour]

>Do we have any reason to suspect our mother of being a kappa?

>You do not.

>Presumably, Dai-tengu have internal rivalries. How bad can they get and how far can the extend?

>The rivalries that spawn between Dai-tengu can be the stuff of legend. Conventional wisdom dictates that they do at least try to keep the worst of their internal conflicts - internal. As such, there are details that lower castes simply aren't privy to. Further, you haven't really payed that close attention to the rivalries and feuds between the various Dai-tengu classes before. You never found them personally interesting, and writing about them wasn't an especially good choice to run in one's newspapers.
>However, you're hardly completely ignorant on the subject, either. Dai-tengu are the elite of the Tengu races, and just about every Dai-tengu is convinced they're the most sterling example of their race. They compete in every way you can imagine, and probably some you can't. And those competitions can sometimes be downright vicious. But, the surrounding Dai-tengu never let these feuds grow out of proportion, or out of control. They are supposed to be the finest example of the Tengu, and they can't do that if they're brawling in the streets over who can lay out the finest dinner spread. As a result, rivalries and enmities tend to be more... aristocratic, more 'civilized' in nature. At least, as much as one can use such terms to describe two centuries old beings glaring daggers at each other, declaring their hate in every way but with drawn swords.

[O4rfish]

>Actually, which living relatives of ours are notable, and that we have notable relationships with?

[Oldmansour]

>Actually, which living relatives of ours are notable, and that we have notable relationships with?

>Your mother is still alive, and you and she are on rather good terms. You don't live together, but that means she accepts your independence. She's the sort who you know will always be there, but doesn't insist on meddling in your life.

[O4rfish]

>Flying casually towards the guardpost ...
>"So, was it a good party then?"

[Oldmansour]

>Flying casually towards the guardpost ...
>"So, was it a good party then?"

>You maintain an easy pace with Momiji. You have a bit of a ways to go, as there is a stretch of wooded wilderness between the main tengu settlements and the line of guardposts that watch over the borders of Tengu land. The tengu wanted some room between their houses and intruders in the event of combat out on the 'frontier', as it is known to some.

>Momiji chuckles. "Very." she says with some enthusiasm. "Between you and me, Hatate, Rangers could use a little more downtime like that." Then she frowns slightly. "I did think about inviting you over, but Ayase and the others wanted to keep our little get together Rangers-only, in their words. Sorry about that."

[O4rfish]

>"I understand. Sort of a pack bonding thing, right? and you were able to cut loose a bit more than otherwise."

[Oldmansour]

>"I understand. Sort of a pack bonding thing, right? and you were able to cut loose a bit more than otherwise."

>Momiji gives you a wry grin. "Clever guess. But it's not really about a pack mentality. Rangers spend a lot of time working with each other, in and out of tengu lands. It can make some groups a bit insular. Or cliquish, unfortunately, depending on the squad." Proudly, she adds, "But my troops are anything but cliquish. I don't have time for that sort of thing. A bit insular, I can live with, that sort of comes with the job. But cliques make my teeth ache."

[Hello Purvis]

>"Are there any particular stories that Juna likes to tell that I could prod her into without difficulty?"

[Oldmansour]

>"Are there any particular stories that Juna likes to tell that I could prod her into without difficulty?"

>"Plenty." Momiji says with a grin. "She may watch her tail when the Dai-tengu are involved, but that doesn't mean she doesn't like to talk. Or were you thinking about something specifically referring to Tsubaki, or Aya?"

[O4rfish]

>"Whatever you think will get the ball rolling."
>What does the forest look like here?

[Oldmansour]

>"Whatever you think will get the ball rolling."
>What does the forest look like here?

>Your friend considers that for a long moment. "I think I've got an idea. This would have been about... two hundred and seventy years ago, I think it was. Juma was working for Tsubaki when Tsubaki took an order of weapons for her mansion's men at arms. The one who made the weapons, and the one who delivered them, was Karen. That's Karen Raiha, I think I've told you about her before." Momiji thinks again, then nods. "Yeah, you shouldn't have any trouble getting Juma to tell you that story."

>At the moment, you are just now passing over a large farm, an apple orchard, to be precise. Apple trees dominate the ground beneath you, leafless, of course, due to the winter season. To the northeast, the direction you are traveling, there is a thin clearing where flows a small river. On the other side of this river the trees become intermingled maples and beeches. In the other three seasons, the scenery here would be picturesque, but with the trees all naked now, every leaf long fallen, the scene is just a bit bleak for your eyes. Not nearly enough color, and the thin clumps of slushy snow on the uneven ground amidst the pale trunks of the trees don't help a great deal. Still, you know that somewhere in that field of maples and beeches is your guardhouse, so you can bear with the lack of color, if it gets you closer to a lead on your Tsubaki situation.

[Hello Purvis]

>Follow dat dawggie

[Oldmansour]

>Follow dat dawggie

>The apple orchard soon passes beneath you and Momiji as you press on up the mountain towards the guard post in question. With Momiji leading the way, you have an easy time matching her pace. The wind picks up as you travel, a chilly breeze blowing in from the northeast. It carries the distinct scent of incumbent snow, probably sooner than you had predicted earlier.
>Fifteen minutes later, a curious sight appears in the distance. Amidst a small break in the trees, near a very small creek, you can see what appears to be a black dome. A hemisphere of perfect darkness, and Momiji's trajectory appears to be taking you directly towards it.

[Hello Purvis]

>The apple orchard soon passes beneath you and Momiji as you press on up the mountain towards the guard post in question. With Momiji leading the way, you have an easy time matching her pace. The wind picks up as you travel, a chilly breeze blowing in from the northeast. It carries the distinct scent of incumbent snow, probably sooner than you had predicted earlier.
>Fifteen minutes later, a curious sight appears in the distance. Amidst a small break in the trees, near a very small creek, you can see what appears to be a black dome. A hemisphere of perfect darkness, and Momiji's trajectory appears to be taking you directly towards it.

>Does this seem to be a structure, or a something less building-like?
>It's not a darkness youkai, is it?