(Skyseas of Gensokyo) Nazrin Quest (Part 12)

[DracoOmega]

>"There's a certain youkai I'm looking for, she's supposed to live somewhere in the wilderness around these parts. But no one I talked to back in the city seemed to know more than 'down here, somewhere.' So I was hoping to find someone a bit more familiar with the area than that."

>"The werewolf?" Gwen asks, giving you a dubious look.

[Oldmansour]

>To our knowledge, Yuuka wasn't a werewolf, was she?

[DracoOmega]

>To our knowledge, Yuuka wasn't a werewolf, was she?

>Not to your knowledge.

[Oldmansour]

>Did we hear what kind of youkai she was? If so:
>Shake head. "Not as far as I know. She's supposed to be some kind of plant youkai. I think. I couldn't get more than rumor back in the city."
>What do we know of werewolves?

[DracoOmega]

>Did we hear what kind of youkai she was? If so:
>Shake head. "Not as far as I know. She's supposed to be some kind of plant youkai. I think. I couldn't get more than rumor back in the city."

>Dai never specified, though she certainly didn't imply she was a werewolf, either. A plant youkai of some kind would make sense in context.
>Gwen shrugs again. "Don't think I can help ya there, sorry."
>"Here you go!" Jess chirps brightly, having reappeared beside you with a tankard of water. She deposits it upon the table with more force than strictly necessary, grinning all the while. "On the house!" She snickers.

>What do we know of werewolves?

>They are a kind of were-youkai - humans who periodically gain some wolf aspect, typically during nights of the full moon. They're pretty rare and you've never met one, though you've heard they can be prone to fits of violence when transformed. Sounds a bit like an oni on every other night, if you're frank. You believe their nature is due to some kind of 'curse', and one that can be transmitted to other humans somehow, though you're uncertain the mechanism of this; it can't happen very often, either, or there ought to be a heck of a lot more of them around. You vaguely recall someone saying they were much more common in the more distant past, but the source of that fact isn't coming to mind.

[Hello Purvis]

You gotta remember, man, we need to be kinda subtle about these things, or otherwise people are gonna keep thinking we're a naive loony.

>Nod to Jess and say, "Thank you."
>Back to Gwen. "Let's set that aside for a bit. Mind having a look at my map, and telling me how bad I got ripped off?"

[DracoOmega]

>Nod to Jess and say, "Thank you."
>Back to Gwen. "Let's set that aside for a bit. Mind having a look at my map, and telling me how bad I got ripped off?"

>"Sure thing," she says, then turns and heads back to the bar.
>"Guess I could."

[Hello Purvis]

>Produce and unroll map, and position it where Gwen can see it.
>"So, how bad is it?"

[DracoOmega]

>Produce and unroll map, and position it where Gwen can see it.
>"So, how bad is it?"

>You take your map of the Isir's Cross region out of your pack and try to find room to spread it on the table. You cast a dim eye on the sticky remains of a small spill and studiously avoid letting the parchment touch it.
>Gwen regards the map stoically, then takes another drink. "Don't see much wrong with it."

[Hello Purvis]

>"Well, that's good. See anything you could add to it easily?"

[DracoOmega]

>"Well, that's good. See anything you could add to it easily?"

>"What kinda thing?" she asks dubiously.

[Hello Purvis]

>"Landmarks and points of interest. Or to be avoided."
>Is the faerie village marked on there?

[DracoOmega]

>"Landmarks and points of interest. Or to be avoided."
>Is the faerie village marked on there?

>She gives your map another once-over. "Depends on where you're goin', I s'pose."
>It is not marked on this map, but it was clearly on the opposite shore of the lake to the southwest of the fort, and the lake itself is clearly indicated. The shoreline is sketched in enough detail that you'd have no trouble finding the matching position, even without it being explicitly indicated here.

[Hello Purvis]

>"Well, I'm heading out this way."
>Gesticulate toward the general direction we have deduced the garden to be in.
>"And I know there's a faerie village somewhere..."

[DracoOmega]

>"Well, I'm heading out this way."
>Gesticulate toward the general direction we have deduced the garden to be in.
>"And I know there's a faerie village somewhere..."

>You wave a finger in the general direction of the western wilderness, though you have to admit a strong chance the garden could be even further west than the map covers - certainly more than it covers in any detail.
>"Fairies are on the other side of the lake," Gwen says, then frowns a little. "You sure you're not lookin' for the werewolf? She lives out that way someplace."

[Hello Purvis]

>"Where at?"

[DracoOmega]

>"Where at?"

>"Someplace near the river, I think. Hereabouts." She swipes a calloused finger across a patch of map at least a few miles in diameter, along the closer of the two rivers in the region. "Don't know for sure; don't get out that way much, m'self. Comes into town every now and again, though. Might see her if you plan to hang about."

[Hello Purvis]

>"Comes to town, huh? Guess that means she's an okay neighbor. Any other folk that range out that way that I could bother?"

[DracoOmega]

>"Comes to town, huh? Guess that means she's an okay neighbor. Any other folk that range out that way that I could bother?"

>Gwen is silent for another few moments. "Guess there's a couple. Think the both of 'em are away now, though. Last weekend of yellowgill season, so they're up back Maynard's Brook." She gestures vaguely to her left. "Mostly I hunt on this side of the river or further north. Goes for most people, I think. Better herds, easier walkin', fewer fairies messin' up your trap lines." Another swig.
>"And a bunch 'a this is city jurisdiction, too, if ya wanna be fussy." She slaps a hand across the land between the previous river and Isir's Cross proper. "An' sometimes they do."

[Oldmansour]

>Based on where we assume the fairy village to be, about how long do we estimate it would take us to walk there?

[DracoOmega]

>Based on where we assume the fairy village to be, about how long do we estimate it would take us to walk there?

>You'd guess at least a half-hour from here to the fort, and then another hour or so past that to the lake. Getting across the lake could prove to be much more difficult and you can't give a realistic estimate without seeing the terrain. Depending on how rocky the shore is, it might take several hours to circumnavigate, or it might be nearly unnavigable. Or there might be a boat sitting right at the end of the road and you could be there inside 20 minutes - you don't know.

[Oldmansour]

>Are we hungry?

>"Yeah, they can be like that sometimes."
>"So do you get many fairies up this way?"

[DracoOmega]

>Are we hungry?

>You grabbed something on the ferry just before arriving at Isir's Cross, so you're good for a while yet.

>"Yeah, they can be like that sometimes."
>"So do you get many fairies up this way?"

>Gwen nods stoically.
>"Time to time. More out by the fort."

>"Talking your ear off, ain't she?" Jess quips merrily as she passes alongside your table on the way to deliver drinks to another. Gwen takes no notice of her.

[Oldmansour]

>Chuckles quietly. There's a woman that likes her job.
>Take a drink.
>"Lemme ask you this. What'd be the quickest way to get across the lake, if you were in a hurry?"

[DracoOmega]

>Chuckles quietly. There's a woman that likes her job.
>Take a drink.
>"Lemme ask you this. What'd be the quickest way to get across the lake, if you were in a hurry?"

>You have a chuckle, then take a sip of water.
>"I wouldn't be," she replies, and the pause that follows makes you think that might be all she has to say on the subject. Then she takes a swig and says "Fort might have a boat. Or somebody. Not my business, sorry."

[Oldmansour]

Starting to sound like this fort will be more useful to us than here. Assuming we don't find the lycan. Whom I want to find, cuz if it's Kagerou, Sour likes Tohoro.
Personal bias aside, though, we should see if we can squeeze some more information out about the werewolf. You don't run across a werewolf in this sort of quest without it being important in some way.

[Hello Purvis]

More data won't hurt. Let's just change subjects gracefully.

>"What's the fort like?"

[DracoOmega]

>"What's the fort like?"

>"Old, waste of money, but what do I know - I just live here." She shrugs vaguely. "People are mostly friendly, I guess. When ya see 'em."

[Hello Purvis]

>"Mostly troops from the city, huh?"

[DracoOmega]

>"Mostly troops from the city, huh?"

>"Pretty much."
>"Hey, that's not fair!" Jess protests, somehow having appeared beside you again. "I got cousins in the garrison, you know."
>Gwen shrugs dismissively. "Still true."