(Skyseas of Gensokyo) Nazrin Quest (Part 14)

[Oldmansour]

>Rest our hand on her shoulder. "Nothing to be sorry about, kiddo. Nothing you did. Just my body's way of telling me that I need sleep sooner rather than later."
>"Which reminds me, I'm going to need a place to moor up for the night, aren't I."

[DracoOmega]

>Rest our hand on her shoulder. "Nothing to be sorry about, kiddo. Nothing you did. Just my body's way of telling me that I need sleep sooner rather than later."
>"Which reminds me, I'm going to need a place to moor up for the night, aren't I."

>"My bed is yours," she says instantly.

[Oldmansour]

>"I'm glad you said that, actually. My purse is getting a bit thin."

[DracoOmega]

>"I'm glad you said that, actually. My purse is getting a bit thin."

>"Well, Casa Kasodani is available at a bargain price!" she says with a giggle, then frowns abruptly. "Um, I mean, it's free. I wouldn't charge you anything for a bed."
>Is she worried your mind is fuzzy enough to have misunderstood? Well, she mightn't be completely off-base there....

[Oldmansour]

>Chuckle. "I read you, Kyouko. I'm not too out of it, all in all, I just need to focus a bit more than normal. Sorry for spacing on ya before."

[DracoOmega]

>Chuckle. "I read you, Kyouko. I'm not too out of it, all in all, I just need to focus a bit more than normal. Sorry for spacing on ya before."

>"Oh, that's okay!" she says gently. "I'll just have to tell you the story again when you're all better."

[Oldmansour]

>"I'll take you up on that."
>Head inside and check for word from Ringo.

[DracoOmega]

>"I'll take you up on that."
>Head inside and check for word from Ringo.

>"You better!"
>You ascend the stairs and enter the guildhall. The green-haired woman at the front desk perks up nearly as soon as you walk in the door.
>"I think that message you were looking for came in," she says. "Not that they had a lot to say."

[Oldmansour]

>"Oh?"

[DracoOmega]

>"Oh?"

>"Just told you to meet her by the cherry tree at Tachibana Park after 1 o'clock. Alone." She grins at you. "How very clandestine."

[Oldmansour]

>What time is it now?

[DracoOmega]

>What time is it now?

>It's got to be past midnight by now, anyway.

[Oldmansour]

>"AM or PM?"

[DracoOmega]

>"AM or PM?"

>"AM," she replies.

[Oldmansour]

>"As in, within the hour?"
>Location of park, if we know it?

[DracoOmega]

>"As in, within the hour?"
>Location of park, if we know it?

>"Probably less than that, now."
>You have no idea.

[Oldmansour]

>"Where's it to?"

[DracoOmega]

>"Where's it to?"

>"About a mile and a half south of the Academy, off Forth."
>"I know where it is," Kyouko offers. "The cherry tree, too! It's just a small little park, but it's really nice and peaceful."

[Oldmansour]

>Do we know enough of the city geography to get there on our own in our current state?

[DracoOmega]

>Do we know enough of the city geography to get there on our own in our current state?

>Well, you know where the Academy is, and even if the park is small, surely it covers some amount of area you might be able to see from a distance. But frankly, without asking further questions or wandering around, that's not nearly specific enough to take you right to its doorstep. Though you could probably just walk south of the Academy for a while, and then stop someone on the street for directions.

[Oldmansour]

>"Then I'd better hurry, hadn't I?"
>Say to Kyouko as we turn, "Let's move, partner."
>Move thusly. And once we get outside, "Just get me close, Kyouko, though. They did say 'alone' after all."

[DracoOmega]

>"Then I'd better hurry, hadn't I?"
>Say to Kyouko as we turn, "Let's move, partner."
>Move thusly. And once we get outside, "Just get me close, Kyouko, though. They did say 'alone' after all."

>"Hey, it's your secret meeting," the attendant says with a grin. "You tell me."
>Kyouko nods. "Let's move, partner!"
>"Roger, roger. You can count on me!"

>And so the two of you track southward, with purpose and perhaps even a little hope. Your limbs are weary, your mind is hazy, and the streets grow jumbled together, but if Ringo has good news for you, perhaps the night will end well, after all. Eventually, Kyouko stops and points off into the distance.
>"That's the park, over there," she says. You cannot see a trace of green beneath the grey, but you can tell in what direction she's pointing, at least. "The cherry tree is... over that way. I think." Her finger shifts several degrees to the right. "It shouldn't be hard to spot, though!"

[Oldmansour]

>"I sure hope not."
>Advance on the park.

[DracoOmega]

>"I sure hope not."
>Advance on the park.

>"Good luck!" Kyouko says as you take the last steps forward alone.
>The park is surprisingly cloistered for a small wedge of green squeezed into the middle of a city block, framed with broad willows and a little masonary fence. Crushed stone paths wind around shrubs and beneath canopies; it reminds you a little of Ozukitei's grounds, albeit more populated with benches and plaques. There are still a few people here, despite the hour; you pass a couple holding hands, and a fairy hanging upside-down from the limb of a tree, reading a... book? Surely that must be murder on her calves?
>The cherry tree is less easy to spot than it would be in the spring, but it is set enough apart to draw attention to itself, ringed with a small wrought iron railing and then a circular path. There is a bench opposite it, but no actual person in evidence.

[Oldmansour]

>Then we can sit. Most likely heavily.

[DracoOmega]

>Then we can sit. Most likely heavily.

>With a sigh and a weight disproportionate to your own body, you collapse onto the bench and wait. You are not waiting very long.
>"It's a nice spot, isn't it?" Ringo says as she settles onto the bench beside you. You're barely sure where she came from, and you don't know you would even have recognized her if she hadn't spoken; she's lost the hat and swapped her flagrant yellow pants for something more subdued and earthy.

[Oldmansour]

>"I'm grateful it was close, too."

[DracoOmega]

>"I'm grateful it was close, too."

>"And private." A pause. "Your story checks out. Or well enough, anyway. If you're a liar, you're good at what you do."

[Oldmansour]

>"Dare I ask how you checked that out?"

[DracoOmega]

>"Dare I ask how you checked that out?"

>"Oh, we have our sources," she says. "And you've talked to a lot of people about this by now."