Hatate Quest Nelja

[Hello Purvis]

>"Yeah, but being adrift in a sea of lies for that long... It's bound to mess with you, isn't it?"

[Oldmansour]

>"Yeah, but being adrift in a sea of lies for that long... It's bound to mess with you, isn't it?"

>Liluye's smile turns wryly amused. "I did not speak this way before Gensokyo."

[Hello Purvis]

>"So how have you kept it together?"

[Oldmansour]

>"So how have you kept it together?"

>"The traditions and beliefs of my birth people have sustained me." the gravelly-voiced woman replies. "With them to guide me, I have become the lone truth in a sea of lies."
>"So she says." Celes interjects. "But I believe she also possesses a truly titanic amount of will."

[Hello Purvis]

>Or she hasn't kept it together.
>"So, how come you've stayed?"

[Oldmansour]

>Or she hasn't kept it together.
>"So, how come you've stayed?"

>Also possible.
>"I could not leave on my own. No one person can leave this place on their own."

[Hello Purvis]

>"Why not?"

[Oldmansour]

>"Why not?"

>"The way out is the way in. Only, here, it is defended, fiercely."

[Hello Purvis]

>"Go on."

[Oldmansour]

>"Go on."

>"She's talking about the Keep." Celes informs you. "She learned a long time ago that the core of this trap is indeed within this world's version of the Cobalt Keep. She just couldn't penetrate the book's defenses on her own."
>"And so, I remain here." Lilyue says by way of confirmation.

[Hello Purvis]

>"Oh, it sounded like you knew something more specific."

[Oldmansour]

>"Oh, it sounded like you knew something more specific."

>"I asked her about those defenses myself." Celes informs you. "But she hasn't tried herself in over 40 years. She said her information about the Keep's protection was out of date."

[Hello Purvis]

>"So it changes over time, huh?"

[Oldmansour]

>"So it changes over time, huh?"

>"It had changed from what was there for me, for the person who was last there."

[Hello Purvis]

>"It had changed from what was there for me, for the person who was last there."

>"Hm. So, you're saying someone was there before you?"

>_

[Oldmansour]

>"Hm. So, you're saying someone was there before you?"

>_

>Liluye shakes her head. "After me, and repeatedly so. Hr, she is a most determined woman."

[Hello Purvis]

>"That's Sakuya, isn't it?"

[Oldmansour]

>"That's Sakuya, isn't it?"

>The barber nods. "Though, she does not consider that her name."

[Hello Purvis]

>"Oh right, she has some dumb crazy person name, doesn't she? So, are you friends?"

[Oldmansour]

>"Oh right, she has some dumb crazy person name, doesn't she? So, are you friends?"

>Liluye chuckles at your speculation about not-Sakuya's name, and the look on Celes' face says that she's trying not to.
>"Ahhh, friend may be too strong a word, Hatate. For she is a vampire hunter, as am I. And, for those of us who live for long in that world, we sometimes find it difficult, and sometimes, unwise, to befriend one another."

[Hello Purvis]

>"Why? Is competition that brutal?"

[Oldmansour]

>"Why? Is competition that brutal?"

>"For some, it is so. But for others, it is simply a way to survive."
>"Not all vampires are like Remilia Scarlet, or the Countess Teregduri, whom I serve." Celes says. "They can be as insidious and blackhearted as any demon born from the abyss. If a vampire hunter has no friends or other emotional attachments, then the vampires can't use those things against them. And there are many vampires who take doing that to an art form. And yes, it necessittates an inherant risk in that no one will come to their aide, but  a lot of hunters would say that this is a risk worth taking."

[Hello Purvis]

>"I guess that makes sense."
>No it doesn't. Silly hootmans trying underplay the role of their communities.
>"I guess she's not...uh...taking it as well as you?"

[Oldmansour]

>"I guess that makes sense."
>No it doesn't. Silly hootmans trying underplay the role of their communities.
>"I guess she's not...uh...taking it as well as you?"

>"It works for some hunters. Not as much for others. I recall one of the most successful hunters I ever encountered was a pair of twin sisters. We barely escaped that one with everyone in one piece."
>"Her approach is different than mine." Liluye says. "Even the best of fortresses has a weak point. But, while I employed patience, she employs what she calls the direct approach. I have been unsuccessful in my attempts to hold her back, but, I have managed to provide her with a safe haven here."

[Hello Purvis]

>"I'm guessing she's not really learned anything else?"

[Oldmansour]

>"I'm guessing she's not really learned anything else?"

>"No, Hatate, she has learned much, just not how to infiltrate the Keep."

[Hello Purvis]

>"Well, that's what I meant. But what else has she figured out and hopefully shared with you?"

[Oldmansour]

>"Well, that's what I meant. But what else has she figured out and hopefully shared with you?"

>Liluye looks behind you when she says, "You said that you were expecting another two tengu?"
>"Yes. Two more like us, trapped in this world."
>"Hhh, then perhaps the details should wait, until we are all gathered in council?"

[Hello Purvis]

>"Fair enough! So, if we're gonna wait, do you do facials?"

[Oldmansour]

>"Fair enough! So, if we're gonna wait, do you do facials?"

>Liluye smiles. "Hmhm, I may be a bit rusty. It has been some time."