[Day: 3] [Time: Mid-noon] [Weather: Drizzle]
> Pocket that. NOW.
> Shrine maiden's taking forever, but just keep waiting on her.
[4] You place the pendant in your pocket and continue waiting outside. Haruko's voice can be heard coming from inside the shrine. Even though it sounds like she's not in physical pain, there's no denying the intense psychological pain behind every word she says.
> Search for a way out of the forest.
[6] There's a tree with a patch of mushrooms beneath it. Near the patch is a lantern lying on its side, seemingly pointing towards a straight grassy path. Obviously this must have some sort of deep symbolism behind it, so you pick up the lantern and run along the path...
...A while later, you find yourself on a solid dirt road that leads to the Human Village.
ITEM ACQUIRED: Lantern>Faith-on; apply directly to the gods
>Continual power flow is good, too.
[6](+1) As you stand, watching the comatose girl lying on front of you, a deep desire to undo as much damage as possible causes your heart to open up to the goddesses surrounding you. Suwako and Kanako hold their hands against Haruko's wound as Sanae grips the needle and slowly pulls it away from her body. As this goes on, the low-complexity waves on the monitor decrease in amplitude and increase in complexity, all the way up until the needle is completely pulled free. The two-and-a-half goddesses all place a hand over the wound and close their eyes. In unison, they make their final prayer out loud:
"Please grant this body back to the innocent soul who once inhabited it, for she has done nothing wrong to receive this fate..."
...Haruko opens her eyes for the first time since you brought her to the Moriya Shrine.
"W- Where am I? Where is everyone? Where is it?"
As she regains consciousness, the last seconds before the attack replays in her mind, causing the brain-wave readout to spike up and down. Tears stream down her eyes as she remembers it all: Patorikku's gruesome death. Your painful near-death experience. The destruction of the laptop, and with it, the remaining proof that her father ever existed.
Tears roll down her eyes as she whimpers...
>"So, what's the progress on the whole 'saving everyone' thing? Anything I can do to help?"
>Be faithful
[3] You do not carry the trauma shared by those who risked (and lost) their lives saving Haruko last night, and as a result you can't find much faith in you. That doesn't matter though, since an unmatched sock nearly gave his life to save the girl. His faith has caused a miracle, leaving Haruko without a trace of the physical harm inflicted upon her. As she regains consciousness for the first time since you first saw her today, you can't help but notice the trauma behind every word she speaks.
The half-goddess half-shrine-maiden answers your question:
"She's incredibly vulnerable right now, and her mind is very fragile. The last thing we need is Reimu paying us a visit. Don't worry, I've notified all of Youkai Mountain regarding this incident, so we will receive warning well in advance of her arrival. That, and there's two guys waiting outside. You said her mother is alive, right?"
>"I...feel fine, and power is flowing through me...what was that tome supposed to teach anyways?"
[4] "Well, um, it contained teleporation spells an' all that, though I haven't seen any human teleport."
Marisa looks at you for a while before a wide smile appears on her face.
"I want you to try this: See the corner of the walls over there?" She points to the corner farthest away from where the two of you are. "Try teleportin' there."
>Then walk out, damnit. I should be able to do this.
[3] Confused, angry, and in pain, you walk out of the bamboo forest...
...By the time you reach the familiar dirt path that forks in the direction of the Forest of Magic and the Human Village, your lower back begins to pulse with pain.
> Continue onward. Be careful of pointy things, and listen for any unnatural noises.
[5] BONUS: Your next roll gets 1 added to it.
The grassy path turns into a dirt path, and later on the dirt path turns into a rocky path. What was once a drizzle turns into light snow as you come upon a thin blanket of mist covering a medium-sized lake.
