Hatate Quest

[O4rfish]

>"Well, when was the last time you saw her?"

[Oldmansour]

>"Well, when was the last time you saw her?"

>The wind priestess thinks back. "Probably... I think it was the day after the Night of Rage. Or the day after that, I'm not sure." Sanae admits. "She wanted to talk to me about that night, and to Kanako-sama and Suwako-sama as well. She didn't stay for long, though, said she had a lot more interviews to conduct."

[O4rfish]

>"She's been gone since then, so I decided to go look for her. "

[Oldmansour]

>"She's been gone since then, so I decided to go look for her. "

>"That's almost a month."
>"Longer." the ruddy faced woman to her left intones in a deep voice.
>"Longer?" Sanae concentrates. "Suppose it would be, wouldn't it?"
>"Perhaps you require some more coffee, miko-sama?"
>"Sanae!" the green haired miko shouts, pouting slightly. "Just Sanae."
>The cloaked youkai chuckles quietly and inclines her head. "I beg your pardon." She then turns her attention towards you. "Have you had any success in your search this far?"

[O4rfish]

>"Well, I've had some success today, but not in locating Aya. If she wasn't missing, I'd be proud of scooping her this much!"
>Extend hand.
>"I'm Hatate Himekaidou, from the Kakashi Spirit News. What's your name, and would you be interested in signing up for a trial subscription at an introductory discount?"

[Oldmansour]

>"Well, I've had some success today, but not in locating Aya. If she wasn't missing, I'd be proud of scooping her this much!"
>Extend hand.
>"I'm Hatate Himekaidou, from the Kakashi Spirit News. What's your name, and would you be interested in signing up for a trial subscription at an introductory discount?"

>The youkai's arm winds its way out of her cloak, and you exchange a quick, firm handshake.
>"Honoka." the woman introduces herself as. "And may I say, I respect you for getting so quickly down to business. The Crow tengu I have met previously have not been so direct."
>"How many Crows would you have met before?" Momiji asks curiously.
>"Perhaps more than you may think. Although it is a minor irony that the last Crow I spoke with also was a news reporter, being the aforementioned Aya herself." She pauses briefly. "You are a professional rival of Aya, then, are you, Himekaidou-san?"

[Hello Purvis]

>"Mmm, I humor Aya to let her think of me as such. Where did you see her?"

[Oldmansour]

>"Mmm, I humor Aya to let her think of me as such. Where did you see her?"

>"This was years ago, I'm sorry to say. I've not seen her in person since before Sanae and this temple came to Gensokyo. And it is as well for her." the cloaked youkai adds with a hint of a growl. "I've a score to settle with that Crow."

[Hello Purvis]

>"Oh my. Did she take some embarrassing photos? And, about that introductory rate?"

[Oldmansour]

>"Oh my. Did she take some embarrassing photos? And, about that introductory rate?"

>"In a manner of speaking." Honoka intones.
>"Yes, back to business." the cloaked youkai says with a nod. "A generous offer. I confess, I had not considered myself much for newspapers. I prefer to learn by visiting and asking and seeing. But your directness impresses me, Himekaidou-san, and I would repay that. I feel I should point out, however, that, to my knowledge, newspapers are generally delivered to one's home, correct?"
>"Except for Aya's paper." Momiji says. "She delivers to people no matter where they are."
>"An impressive skill. I myself would have to accept delivery in the same way, as I have no home. Is that acceptable to you?"

[Hello Purvis]

>"How about a drop off point. How does Kourindou sound?"

[Oldmansour]

>"How about a drop off point. How does Kourindou sound?"

>Honoka's brow furrows in thought.
>"It's a store in the human village." Momiji informs her.
>The youkai's face brightens in recognition. "Ah yes, the half-blood's store. That would be acceptable."
>"You don't have any trouble entering the human village?" Momiji asks. "The local protector of the village is pretty selective of the youkai she lets in."
>Honoka nods. "I assume you mean Keine. The good teacher and I are on good terms. In point of fact, it is something of a favor to her that has brought me up to the shrine."
>"Not that you objected to brawling with Suwako-sama while you were here." Sanae says with a grin.
>The cloaked youkai grins slightly herself. "Hardly."

[O4rfish]

>Does Gensokyo have any sort of homesteading?

[Hello Purvis]

>"Very well, then! That'll be <The usual price, and let's give a 15% discount on that>."

[Oldmansour]

>Does Gensokyo have any sort of homesteading?

>To your knowledge, there are many, many individuals in Gensokyo who employ a self-sufficient lifestyle. Most if not all of those, however, you believe would claim to have a home of some kind, unlike evidently Honoka here.

>"Very well, then! That'll be <The usual price, and let's give a 15% discount on that>."

>Once again, the ruddy faced youkai's hand extends from her cloak, this time gripping a collection of bills and coins. "It is fortunate that we meet today, when I have currency. I normally do not."

[Hello Purvis]

>Collect payment, issue a reciept if we usually do that, note down subscriber's name and place of delivery for updating the master list later.
>"It's a pleasure, I assure you. Keep your eyes open for a special edition within the next week or so, if all goes according to plan."

[Oldmansour]

>Collect payment, issue a reciept if we usually do that, note down subscriber's name and place of delivery for updating the master list later.
>"It's a pleasure, I assure you. Keep your eyes open for a special edition within the next week or so, if all goes according to plan."

>You do issue receipts if the client requests, but Honoka does not. So you simply make a note of the appropriate information in your notebook. Despite yourself, you feel a mote of satisfaction. This has been a profitable venture already, your first subscription from someone off of the mountain.
>You also make a note to visit Rinnosuke a bit later, to find out if he would be willing to let his shop be used as a drop off point.

>"I shall." Honoka assures you.

>While you secure your new subscription information, Momiji asks Sanae, "I don't suppose you know where Aya went after she left here?"
>"She wasn't sure." Sanae replies. "She had a lot of places she rattled off before she left, but she didn't say straight out which one she was going to first."

[O4rfish]

>Do we recall Aya being an attorney?

[Oldmansour]

>Do we recall Aya being an attorney?

>She has many talents, but you're fairly confidant that's not one of them. An Ace, certainly, but no Attorney.

[Hello Purvis]

>"What kinds of places did she rattle off? Did she say anything else?"

[Oldmansour]

>"What kinds of places did she rattle off? Did she say anything else?"

>"Or where she'd been, for that matter." Momiji adds.
>The green haired miko thinks for a moment. "She did say she'd been to see Reimu and Kogasa, before coming up here. I asked. But as for where she was going... I remember she was really keen on talking to Marisa, figuring out why she wasn't involved in the Night of Rage. Which really is weird, when you think about it." she adds, placing her hands on her hips. "Reimu told me that Marisa's been involved in almost as many incident as Reimu herself's been, and yet she wasn't involved in this one. At least not as far as anyone I know knows."

[Hello Purvis]

>"That is pretty weird. Did she add anything else?"
>Do we know what might cause Marisa to sit an incident out?

[Oldmansour]

>Do we know what might cause Marisa to sit an incident out?

>By her reputation, Marisa loves to be in the middle of trouble. She is drawn to incident resolution almost as much as Reimu herself is, though for different reasons. Reimu does it out of obligation, Marisa does it for fun. And profit. But she's also a practicing mage, so it's possible she spent the night caught up in some kind of experiment, or research.

>"That is pretty weird. Did she add anything else?"

>"She said she wanted to visit the Scarlet Devil Manor." Sanae says after a moment. "I think she said she thought Remilia Scarlet was involved in this one."
>"She was." Honoka intones. "Though it's more accurate to say she had her own incident to resolve."
>"How do you know?"
>"I helped her resolve it." the cloaked youkai answers. "Well, to an extent. Ultimately my contribution was minor, but I did accompany her to the Cobalt Keep." To you, she says, "Knowing Aya, she would have went there, too. If not before speaking with the black-white magician, then certainly after."

[Hello Purvis]

>Do we know about a cobalt keep?
>If not, ask, "Cobalt Keep?"

[Oldmansour]

>Do we know about a cobalt keep?
>If not, ask, "Cobalt Keep?"

>Momiji mentioned it after she returned to the mountain a month ago. The residents of the Cobalt Keep, she reported, were indirectly responsible for the Night of Rage. They're new to Gensokyo, and the incident was apparently an accident. That was all Momiji had to report. She said Aya ordered her back to the mountain, and that she'd get the rest of the story herself. The White Wolf wasn't exactly happy with the order, but she's not in the habit of disobeying orders, unless they're obviously bad ones.

[Hello Purvis]

>"How do you get there?"

[Oldmansour]

>"How do you get there?"

>"It's location is somewhat remote." Honoka informs you, raising her hand and pointing in a vaguely westerly direction. "It lies in a deep waterfall basin far to the southwest of here, south of a kappa village." Lowering her hand, she adds, "If you wish to visit the Cobalt Keep yourselves, I would be willing to guide you there myself. My business with the humans of the mountain is concluded."

[Hello Purvis]

Should we, or should we gather some more data first?

[O4rfish]

We have plenty of places to go though, right?

>Where was Momiji going?

[O4rfish]

although I guess we might as well take Honoka up on her offer, seeing as how we're probably going to go there anyways

>Any organized sports the Tengu play? Yakyuu, perhaps?
>What I'm trying to ask is do Wolves chase balls?