>Contemplate giving her a pat on the head, but she's probably protective of her hat, so simply smile at her. "I'm counting on ya, kid."
>Off to Yuugi's. Follow the booze trails.
>Honey gives you another little cheer.
>You head northwest, towards the mining and industrial districts and what is colloquially considered oni territory. Honey waves to you as you leave, before heading back inside and locking the door again.
>The scents and sounds of the north end make themselves known to you long before you actually enter it properly. Sooty, unpleasant smells of smelting and refining drift upon the air, tinged with the sharp odor of molten metal. You can already hear boisterous carousing that will doubtlessly continue through the night without pause. Given the inhabitants of the district, it's nearly as easy to find an alehouse as a factory; such establishments seem to find a way of popping up in whatever cracks and alleyways are left between the industrial infrastructure that gives Braston its relevance on the world stage. Consequently, it's rather hard to get anywhere in the evening without passing by gatherings of drunken and often rowdy oni.
>The flow of traffic thins and takes on a distinctly different composition as you progress further north, humans going from ubiquitous to scarce. While humans and other youkai do work in these industries as well, much of it is dominated by the oni, whose aptitude for physical labor lets them excel at it. Moreover, what human workforce there is tends to keep to standard daylight shifts and leave the night to the oni entirely. There may be strictures against oni bringing their brawls to the rest of the city, but that's small comfort to anyone who lets themselves get caught in one while up here. You keep a brisk pace and a low profile and manage to make it to the Miner's Guild headquarters without being drawn into anything you'd rather not.
>The guild headquarters is a squat ugly building, but an expansive one; mining is the lifeblood of Braston, after all. Workshops and other such buildings press closely against it on nearly all sides and the smell of industry hangs heavy in the air. You wrinkle your nose a little. Just two buildings down the road, a small gang of mildly inebriated oni lounge around the open door of an establishment; warm light and loud conversation stream forth from it. The large double doors of the guild also stand open, and you can see oni moving about within.
