Author Topic: (Skyseas of Gensokyo) Nazrin Quest (Part 13)  (Read 61457 times)

Re: (Skyseas of Gensokyo) Nazrin Quest (Part 13)
« Reply #300 on: April 30, 2015, 02:47:01 AM »
>Stamina check.

Re: (Skyseas of Gensokyo) Nazrin Quest (Part 13)
« Reply #301 on: April 30, 2015, 03:12:31 AM »
>Stamina check.

>The swim itself was bracing in its way, but not particularly strenuous. You have, however, spent hours hiking through the woods and it was already getting late when you arrived at Isir's Cross. And from the moment you woke up this morning, there's been a sort of dull weariness hanging upon you. But you aren't ready to call it a night yet, and you can probably push a couple more hours from yourself before you need to collapse.

Hello Purvis

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  • Hello Jerry
Re: (Skyseas of Gensokyo) Nazrin Quest (Part 13)
« Reply #302 on: April 30, 2015, 03:27:16 AM »
>"I'll be good. So, we follow that path, right?"

Re: (Skyseas of Gensokyo) Nazrin Quest (Part 13)
« Reply #303 on: April 30, 2015, 03:37:15 AM »
>"I'll be good. So, we follow that path, right?"

>Kagerou nods. "Yes. It eventually opens onto in the woods again. Maybe... 15 minutes or so."

Re: (Skyseas of Gensokyo) Nazrin Quest (Part 13)
« Reply #304 on: April 30, 2015, 04:16:48 AM »
>Assess our level of wetness.
>Assuming we are wet and cold enough to want to dry off, flick our tail out and say, "Though maybe we oughta dry off a bit first."

Re: (Skyseas of Gensokyo) Nazrin Quest (Part 13)
« Reply #305 on: April 30, 2015, 04:36:37 AM »
>Assess our level of wetness.
>Assuming we are wet and cold enough to want to dry off, flick our tail out and say, "Though maybe we oughta dry off a bit first."

>You just swam across a river, spent multiple seconds completely submersed beneath it, and are still floating in it nearly up to your neck. It doesn't get much wetter than this.
>"Certainly if we're to go much further in this temperature," she agrees.

Hello Purvis

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  • Hello Jerry
Re: (Skyseas of Gensokyo) Nazrin Quest (Part 13)
« Reply #306 on: April 30, 2015, 04:49:49 AM »
>Let's get out of this pool or whatever it is and onto the path.

Re: (Skyseas of Gensokyo) Nazrin Quest (Part 13)
« Reply #307 on: April 30, 2015, 04:55:27 AM »
>And then cook us up a campfire.

Re: (Skyseas of Gensokyo) Nazrin Quest (Part 13)
« Reply #308 on: April 30, 2015, 06:11:22 AM »
>Let's get out of this pool or whatever it is and onto the path.

>You swim over to the edge of the pool and pull yourself up onto solid, if still wet, ground. Kagerou trails slightly behind you, her feet sloshing noisily through the ankle-deep water that lines this part of the hollow. As you approach drier ground, you can hear a steady patter of it dripping off the edge of her sodden shift. You keep your eyes on the path ahead, since you can't help but think that Kagerou falling behind you is deliberate and you'd lay odds that what she's wearing becomes a whole lot less modest when soaking wet. And if this gives her a good view of your own half-naked backside, for whatever that's worth with the criss-cross of the blight upon you, well... not much worth doing about that.

>"That looks like a good place to stop for a bit," Kagerou says, "Over there by those rocks." You assume she's indicating the cluster of rounded boulders huddled within a small moonlit recess about forty feet ahead; it looks like it would be about the most comfortable spot in view to sit down, at least.

>And then cook us up a campfire.

>Although you have the means to spark a campfire, it's rather difficult to produce one without wood and there are no trees to be seen here. You do have a couple torches you could light as a rather smaller version of this, and your heatstone could probably dry out some of your clothing, given enough time.

Hello Purvis

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  • Hello Jerry
Re: (Skyseas of Gensokyo) Nazrin Quest (Part 13)
« Reply #309 on: April 30, 2015, 06:26:55 AM »
>"Yeah, I wanna get somewhere where I can wring out my hair."

Re: (Skyseas of Gensokyo) Nazrin Quest (Part 13)
« Reply #310 on: April 30, 2015, 06:36:44 AM »
>"Yeah, I wanna get somewhere where I can wring out my hair."

>"At least yours is short," Kagerou replies with a nervous chuckle.

Hello Purvis

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  • Hello Jerry
Re: (Skyseas of Gensokyo) Nazrin Quest (Part 13)
« Reply #311 on: April 30, 2015, 01:34:24 PM »
>"Normally I'd say I got a tail, but I guess that doesn't work here."
>Head for the boulders and get comfortable. If there is any breeze, keep out of it.

Re: (Skyseas of Gensokyo) Nazrin Quest (Part 13)
« Reply #312 on: April 30, 2015, 07:22:55 PM »
>"Normally I'd say I got a tail, but I guess that doesn't work here."
>Head for the boulders and get comfortable. If there is any breeze, keep out of it.

>"At least it's not a full moon," Kagerou replies cryptically.
>You cover the rest of the distance to your chosen resting spot in silence, save for the sound of your feet upon the rocky floor and the steady drip of water rolling off the both of you. You plant yourself on a particularly choice boulder; though the rock is hard and unyielding beneath your posterior, at least it's nice and smooth.
>"I don't suppose you have a towel or something in that pack of yours?" Kagerou asks.

Hello Purvis

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  • Hello Jerry
Re: (Skyseas of Gensokyo) Nazrin Quest (Part 13)
« Reply #313 on: April 30, 2015, 08:00:34 PM »
>Do we know where out towel is at?

Re: (Skyseas of Gensokyo) Nazrin Quest (Part 13)
« Reply #314 on: April 30, 2015, 08:16:31 PM »
>Do we know where out towel is at?

>You sadly have no such thing. Probably the best you can muster is one of your spare outfits, and they're not the most absorbent things in the world. You weren't really packed for an underwater excursion either.

Hello Purvis

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  • Hello Jerry
Re: (Skyseas of Gensokyo) Nazrin Quest (Part 13)
« Reply #315 on: April 30, 2015, 09:20:30 PM »
>"Not really... Just some spare clothes, and I dunno how well they'd do."

Re: (Skyseas of Gensokyo) Nazrin Quest (Part 13)
« Reply #316 on: April 30, 2015, 09:32:24 PM »
>Distance check to nearest wood.
>How much time for the heat stone to dry us off a bit?
>Local insect status.

Re: (Skyseas of Gensokyo) Nazrin Quest (Part 13)
« Reply #317 on: April 30, 2015, 10:27:51 PM »
>"Not really... Just some spare clothes, and I dunno how well they'd do."

>"Oh, I wouldn't feel right getting your clothes all wet. I really didn't pack very well for this," she adds apologetically.

>Distance check to nearest wood.
>How much time for the heat stone to dry us off a bit?
>Local insect status.

>You can't actually see any trees from where you are, though Kagerou suggested the hollow opens up onto the woods in another 15 minutes. You'd rather be dry and fully-clothed before that point, all things being equal.
>Though you've never used the one you own, it's rather small and the atmospheric heat generated by them is not enormous. It's probably better-suited for drying clothing than drying you, something like a warm iron. It could still help a little, of course.
>Fairly mild, given the general lack of vegetation in your vicinity.

Re: (Skyseas of Gensokyo) Nazrin Quest (Part 13)
« Reply #318 on: April 30, 2015, 11:21:55 PM »
>How many torches do we have?
>What did we hear about lycanthropes before meeting Kagerou here? And didn't we hear that she was one?

Re: (Skyseas of Gensokyo) Nazrin Quest (Part 13)
« Reply #319 on: April 30, 2015, 11:34:33 PM »
>How many torches do we have?
>What did we hear about lycanthropes before meeting Kagerou here? And didn't we hear that she was one?

>You have two.
>You understand that they are humans who manifest youkai attributes under particular conditions - a full moon is a common one, though not the only possibility. The people you spoke with in town did refer to Kagerou as a werewolf and there are non-human features evident on her even now, though perhaps they grow even more pronounced with a full moon? You're not wholly sure what Kagerou meant by her earlier remark.

Re: (Skyseas of Gensokyo) Nazrin Quest (Part 13)
« Reply #320 on: May 01, 2015, 12:03:45 AM »
>From the read we get from her, she seems the self-conscious type. Best not to pry.
>Mutter, "Don't know if I did, either."
>"Well, use what you have." Produce a torch a ignite it. Then produce our heatstone. "Not having any wood around, this'll have to do, for now."

Re: (Skyseas of Gensokyo) Nazrin Quest (Part 13)
« Reply #321 on: May 01, 2015, 01:02:32 AM »
>From the read we get from her, she seems the self-conscious type. Best not to pry.
>Mutter, "Don't know if I did, either."
>"Well, use what you have." Produce a torch a ignite it. Then produce our heatstone. "Not having any wood around, this'll have to do, for now."

>You decide to continue erring on the side of respecting Kagerou's privacy, though it's soon going to get rather awkward if you have to keep avoiding looking in her direction.
>"I do hope this idea of mine doesn't end up causing you more trouble than it's worth," she says.
>You produce one of the torches from your pack and find a secure spot among the rocks to wedge it in place, then set it alight. The brightly burning flame quickly pushes back the dimness of the hollow and you can feel the heat from it waft across your damp face. Could be hotter, but it's better than nothing. Then you dig out your heatstone, set it on a boulder, and activate it. Little spots of water dot the rocks around you as you drip all over your campsite. You hear Kagerou ringing out either her clothing or her hair.

Re: (Skyseas of Gensokyo) Nazrin Quest (Part 13)
« Reply #322 on: May 01, 2015, 01:08:54 AM »
>"Saving a bit of time is what I need. Even a minute here and there all adds up, in the end."
>Can't be as awkward as she might feel looking at our body, the way it is now.
>"'sides, now I know at least one more thing I need with me at all times: at least one big towel. And maybe a portable campfire, if I can get a decent deal on one."
>Leave out that last sentence if we do not know of a source for such an item.

Re: (Skyseas of Gensokyo) Nazrin Quest (Part 13)
« Reply #323 on: May 01, 2015, 01:40:20 AM »
>"Saving a bit of time is what I need. Even a minute here and there all adds up, in the end."
>Can't be as awkward as she might feel looking at our body, the way it is now.
>"'sides, now I know at least one more thing I need with me at all times: at least one big towel. And maybe a portable campfire, if I can get a decent deal on one."
>Leave out that last sentence if we do not know of a source for such an item.

>"I wish I'd thought ahead more," she says.
>You're sufficiently driven by pure pragmatism at the moment that you find you scarcely care if someone you met just hours ago is staring at you in your underwear right now. Stare away. Though you'd just as soon switch into some drier ones before too long - for the sake of comfort more than modesty.
>Kagerou lets out a small chuckle - one of the first glimmers of mirth you've heard from her for a while. "There's a firestarter and a few other supplies in my satchel, but that's not much good until we get back to the trees. And I'd really rather not walk the whole way barefoot, either."
>That depends on how you define one. There are certainly portable sources of fire and fuel that wouldn't require foraging for wood, and a larger heatstone can do most of the work of a campfire, short of the scent and crackle of the flame itself.

Re: (Skyseas of Gensokyo) Nazrin Quest (Part 13)
« Reply #324 on: May 01, 2015, 02:43:58 AM »
>"Yeah, I hear that."
>Pause.
>"The 'whole' way?"

Re: (Skyseas of Gensokyo) Nazrin Quest (Part 13)
« Reply #325 on: May 01, 2015, 02:46:31 AM »
>"Yeah, I hear that."
>Pause.
>"The 'whole' way?"

>"Out to the forest," she says. "It's a good fifteen minutes still, and the rocks get... pointier."

Re: (Skyseas of Gensokyo) Nazrin Quest (Part 13)
« Reply #326 on: May 01, 2015, 03:24:19 AM »
>"Oh. I thought you meant, y'know, the WHOLE way."

Re: (Skyseas of Gensokyo) Nazrin Quest (Part 13)
« Reply #327 on: May 01, 2015, 03:35:58 AM »
>"Oh. I thought you meant, y'know, the WHOLE way."

>"I..." she hesitates. "I don't... think I would be much of any help to you out that far. I don't really know the terrain either." There is another pause. "I'm sorry."

Re: (Skyseas of Gensokyo) Nazrin Quest (Part 13)
« Reply #328 on: May 01, 2015, 03:51:48 AM »
>"Don't be. I'm grateful you came this far. Especially when you didn't have to."

Re: (Skyseas of Gensokyo) Nazrin Quest (Part 13)
« Reply #329 on: May 01, 2015, 04:05:18 AM »
>"Don't be. I'm grateful you came this far. Especially when you didn't have to."

>"I couldn't let myself just sit home without trying to help. Not when you're, well... y'know...." She lets the statement hang for a moment, then takes a deep breath.
>"Anyway! I'd really like to get out of these wet clothes now, and if there's nothing for me to dry off with... could you just... do you think you could maybe just... not turn around for a few minutes while I try to shake myself off?" Her voice trails off meekly at the last part. "...and possibly move a little to the left so I can get some of the heat from the torch on me, too?"