Keine Quest (Part 3): Broken History

[Hello Purvis]

>Keep the costume party excuse in mind.
>Onwards!

[DracoOmega]

>Keep the costume party excuse in mind.
>Onwards!

>There's always that possibility as an explanation for incongruous dress...
>You continue further along the path, and eventually emerge in a larger open field, bordered by more trees. You can see a fair number of people spread out across here, in small groups, walking or talking among each other. Some of them seem to be sitting on benches along the trail, or at small wooden tables in the open areas.

[Hello Purvis]

>Examine their species and styles of dress. Do we stand out?

[DracoOmega]

>Examine their species and styles of dress. Do we stand out?

>They all appear to be human, as best you can tell. Many of them are dressed similar to the ones you passed earlier, although there is some variety in their clothing. You have to admit that none of them are wearing anything much like yourself, however.

[Blitzer]

>Consider the advantages of being inconspicuous.

[DracoOmega]

>Consider the advantages of being inconspicuous.

>Well, it could certainly help you look around unimpeded. None of these people have seemed hostile thus far, but you can't be certain that won't change. Moreover, it might be best if whatever you're chasing didn't realize you were here. Of course, you don't know that new clothes would help with that.

[Hello Purvis]

>Have a look at the surroundings, and what is beyond the immediate area. Stay close to the trees for now.

[Blitzer]

>Can't do anything about that, then.
>Continue down the path.

[DracoOmega]

>Have a look at the surroundings, and what is beyond the immediate area. Stay close to the trees for now.

>Beyond the open area in front of you, several trails appear to continue further into the trees in a couple directions. Aside from this, and the people in-between, you can't see a great deal more from this vantage point.

>Can't do anything about that, then.
>Continue down the path.

>Well, you certainly don't have any alternate clothes on your person, at the moment
>You continue along the path into the field. No one really seems to be paying a great deal of attention to you, although you still think you may be getting the occasional odd look from people you pass near. Maybe it's just your imagination.
>The trail you're on continues into the trees to the south, while most of the field stretches out to the east. You can see another trail in the trees further in that direction.

[Hello Purvis]

>Head for that further trail.

[DracoOmega]

>Head for that further trail.

>You cut across the field towards the eastern trail. Along the way you pass near several groups of people, many walking casually or sitting with each other, although you see a pair of people throwing a bright orange disc back and forth across the field and running to catch it before it lands. You reach the other trail without incident, however.

[Hello Purvis]

>Keep going onward, eyes open for interesting things.

[DracoOmega]

>Keep going onward, eyes open for interesting things.

>You continue along the trail, alternating between admiring the view and carefully examining your surroundings for signs of anything unusual. You cross a aesthetically constructed wooden bridge as the trail passes over a small stream. You also pass several more people; one of them seemed to be holding some small object next to their ear and talking loudly to themselves.
>Eventually the trail emerges into another open area, this time without tree cover on the other side, and.... you're not even sure how to describe what you're seeing. Past the open area you're in currently, you can see what looks like a road of some sort, made of flat black stone. There are... large metal objects with bright lights moving along it at high speed. Beyond this, there are dense clusters of buildings huddled together, and extending as far as the eye can see in every direction. In the distance you can see some which are impossibly tall, their surface reflecting the bright lights around them. You don't even know how they could possibly be constructed.

[Hello Purvis]

>Have a seat somewhere. We're gonna need to take this in.

[DracoOmega]

>Have a seat somewhere. We're gonna need to take this in.

>You find an unoccupied bench and sit down, trying not to look as utterly out of place as you feel. The scale of what you can see is truly staggering. You can see more buildings from where you were standing than probably exist in all of Gensokyo. How are you supposed to find anything in a place like this? Especially when you're not even sure what you're looking for?

[Hello Purvis]

>Ponder if we're even in the right place, given the lack of youkai that don't seem to understand reality at all and things hitting us with sleep-based attacks.

[DracoOmega]

>Ponder if we're even in the right place, given the lack of youkai that don't seem to understand reality at all and things hitting us with sleep-based attacks.

>You... don't really know. This is certainly not what you'd expected, but Ran seemed comfortable that she'd opened the path correctly. Maybe she was just simply wrong? How would you even go about checking? Maybe if you can find some point of reference?

[Hello Purvis]

>Look around a bit more. Try get a sense of what other places there are around here.

[DracoOmega]

>Look around a bit more. Try get a sense of what other places there are around here.

>There seem to be a couple small buildings on the outskirts of the park area, near where you're seated. One of them seems to be selling food, as far as you can tell. You're not sure about the others. The road extends for a significant distance to the north and south, intersecting with other roads along the way. If you had to guess, you'd say that most of the buildings near here are houses, although their architectural style is unfamiliar to you.

[Hello Purvis]

>Do they have signs?
>Are they legible signs?

[Blitzer]

>You're gonna need a world map, and a local map. A local map to find out the name of this place, and the world map to find out where is this place compared to everywhere else. Clearly, this place isn't Gensokyo.

[DracoOmega]

>Do they have signs?
>Are they legible signs?

>There are a few signs around. They appear to be in perfectly legible Japanese. One fairly nearby reads "Uetake Public Park" and follows with a list of notices about littering and walking animals on trails.

>You're gonna need a world map, and a local map. A local map to find out the name of this place, and the world map to find out where is this place compared to everywhere else. Clearly, this place isn't Gensokyo.

>A map would certainly be a wonderful thing to have right about now.

[Hello Purvis]

>Walk toward the buildings and observe their signs.
>Consider the common language as an important facet of data.

[DracoOmega]

>Walk toward the buildings and observe their signs.
>Consider the common language as an important facet of data.

>You walk to the nearby buildings and consider their signage. One is labeled "Park Maintenance and Administration". It appears to be closed for the evening. Another is "Visitor Information." It... also appears to be closed for the evening. You think you find a trail map posted on a large free-standing sign, however.

>The fact that they're speaking Japanese implies that you're probably not on some alien plane, at the very least... Despite how it might feel at the moment. In fact, you're growing increasingly suspicious that you may somehow have passed outside the border. Like most people in Gensokyo, you don't know a lot about the outside world, but you've read bits and pieces where you've come across it. The descriptions didn't really prepare you for seeing this, though...

[Hello Purvis]

>Consider the most modern bits of outside history we know, given we know a whole lot of the not so modern bits.
>...Do we know where the Moriya Shrine used to be?

[DracoOmega]

>Consider the most modern bits of outside history we know, given we know a whole lot of the not so modern bits.
>...Do we know where the Moriya Shrine used to be?

>The border was created in 1885, so your records of the outside are fairly comprehensive up to that time period. Beyond that... matters are sporadic and potentially unreliable. You've picked up tidbits from Rinnosuke, or the occasional book, and conversations with other people who know a little. But you have to admit that knowledge of going-ons in the outside world was never something you'd actively pursued. You... never really anticipated this kind of situation.
>You do not, unfortunately.

[Hello Purvis]

>Look around. Do we see any sign of Mount Fuji?
>If not, we now have our cover story. We're from Tokyo!
>If we do see it, we're from Kyoto!

[DracoOmega]

>Look around. Do we see any sign of Mount Fuji?
>If not, we now have our cover story. We're from Tokyo!
>If we do see it, we're from Kyoto!

>You don't see any sign of Mt. Fuji, as far as you can tell, so you decide that your cover story will be a traveler from Tokyo. With odd taste in traveling clothes, apparently. And odd hair color, too, if the people you've seen are any indication. Maybe one will justify the other?

[Hello Purvis]

>Can we see anything other than park services buildings?

[DracoOmega]

>Can we see anything other than park services buildings?

>Besides those buildings, there is a concession stand and a trail map within the area in front of the park.