Keine Quest (Part 5): Broken History

[DracoOmega]

>Look for one of those booth things have come with phone books.

>You set out and wander the streets for a while, looking for something that resembles the phones that Sanae described to you, and generally angling towards Ran's location. Despite the hour, the streets still seem fairly active, with people going their various ways, and a number of those cars passing unnervingly fast beside you. You cover a few blocks, passing mostly houses, although you do spot a small store or two. There is no sign of a booth that seems to match this description.

[Hello Purvis]

>Wonder if they've been outlawed or some such since Sanae left.
>Try to get some idea where we are from the various signs.

[DracoOmega]

>Wonder if they've been outlawed or some such since Sanae left.
>Try to get some idea where we are from the various signs.

>That would be... very unfortunate, given your current situation.
>While there are plenty of street signs, the names of the streets mean nothing to you. You're not sure how they would help you ascertain your position.

[Hello Purvis]

>Moslty to make sure we don't backtrack unless we want to.
>Look for a place that sells newspapers while travelling in a generally Ran-ward position. As well as booths with phone books.

[DracoOmega]

>Moslty to make sure we don't backtrack unless we want to.
>Look for a place that sells newspapers while travelling in a generally Ran-ward position. As well as booths with phone books.

>You think you've got a pretty good grasp of where you're going. Ran helps with this, serving as a sort of compass anchor point, although she's moving, too. Towards you, it seems.
>You continue to travel in Ran's direction, although you think you're separated by quite a distance, still. Eventually, some of the houses give way to a small commercial area. You can see several shops clustered together and a large open space in front of them filled with stationary cars. And... by the buildings themselves, you think you see some booths labeled 'telephone'.

[Hello Purvis]

>Check one of these booths!

[DracoOmega]

>Check one of these booths!

>You move towards one of the booths. Inside it, there appears to be a large grey box, with a series of numbered buttons and several slots in it. According to the writing, these appear to be for depositing money or cards of some sort. There appears to be a 50 yen charge per usage. There is a sort of roughly bananna-shaped object hanging off the a lever on the side of box and connected to it by a metal cord. You also see a large book bound to the box.

[Hello Purvis]

>Grab the book! Examine it!

[DracoOmega]

>Grab the book! Examine it!

>You open the book and page through it. It seems to contain a massive list of names, each accompanied with an address and a sequence of numbers. There are a truly staggering number of people listed in this book, despite the wording suggesting that it only contains people living within Kyoto.

[Hello Purvis]

>"Maybe it is a summoning tome?"
>Look up Reimu Hakurei.

[DracoOmega]

>"Maybe it is a summoning tome?"
>Look up Reimu Hakurei.

>You mutter to yourself about the book. Even if mundane, this is an impressive feat of logistics. Many large scale censuses were less comprehensive than this in the old days.
>You search through the book for a Reimu Hakurei... and find one! The address means nothing to you, but the kanji in her name is an exact match.

[Hello Purvis]

>Contemplate the numbers.
>Contemplate the device.
>Contemplate what we saw yesterday, with the guy and the thing he was talking into.
>Look around to see if anyone else is using a booth for further guidance.

[E-Nazrin]

>Do we have a way to write down the address for later use? And what is it, specifically?
>Make sure to check for Marisa Kirisame as well.

[DracoOmega]

>Contemplate the numbers.
>Contemplate the device.
>Contemplate what we saw yesterday, with the guy and the thing he was talking into.
>Look around to see if anyone else is using a booth for further guidance.

>Looking at the numbers and the device, it seems fairly plausible that you're intended to push the numeric buttons in a particular order to reach the associated person. Somehow.
>None of this looks especially similar to the device you saw that man speaking into the other day, although Sanae said that phones come in a wide range of sizes. This one is substantially bigger. Perhaps it's more powerful, somehow?
>You don't see anyone in the adjacent booths at the moment.

>Do we have a way to write down the address for later use? And what is it, specifically?
>Make sure to check for Marisa Kirisame as well.

>You have nothing with you that you could write with, although you believe you can commit it to memory. The address is Mibuboujou-chou 48-3-2-113 Nakagyou-ku.
>You decide to check whether there is a Marisa Kirisame in the phone book. There is! Complete with address and number.

[Hello Purvis]

>Step one. Look for the part of the phone you talk into. And listen from.
>We'll defeat this thing, yet.

[DracoOmega]

>Step one. Look for the part of the phone you talk into. And listen from.
>We'll defeat this thing, yet.

>You stare at the box for a bit. It doesn't seem to be making any noises of any sort. That bananna-shaped object on the side looks liftable, though, although you're not sure what purpose that serves. You pick it up to take a better look at it, and it starts to make a sort of buzzing noise. It seems to be coming from a few holes in one end of the object. There are a few holes in the other end, as well. Perhaps this is it?

[Hello Purvis]

>Consider the shape of the banana thing; compare it to what we saw yesterday.
>It wants fifty yen. Look around for a place to put them.

[DracoOmega]

>Consider the shape of the banana thing; compare it to what we saw yesterday.
>It wants fifty yen. Look around for a place to put them.

>It's shape is quite different, but you suspect it was meant to be used in the same fashion. If you put the noise-making section to your ear, the other bit seems to line up with your mouth.
>There is a spot clearly labeled to deposit these coins

[Hello Purvis]

>Try slipping in a fifty yen coin, if we have one.

[DracoOmega]

>Try slipping in a fifty yen coin, if we have one.

>You have no coins of the appropriate denomination, so you try inserting a series of smaller coins. As you put them in, you hear a clattering, and the coins reappears in a tray at the base of the phone. Some moving text on the phone admonishes you to use only proper coinage.

[Hello Purvis]

>Well, at least it gave to back.
>Reclaim coins.
>Examine this admonishing text! This is fascinating. Does it say anything else?

[DracoOmega]

>Well, at least it gave to back.
>Reclaim coins.
>Examine this admonishing text! This is fascinating. Does it say anything else?

>Yes, that would be rather unpleasant. You aren't exactly rich, and the newspaper cost a small fortune as it is. But perhaps you're only spending someone else's money at the moment, anyway?
>You take your coins back.
>It certainly is quite impressive. You're not sure how it moves like that. All it seems to be displaying at the moment is a request to deposit 50 yen. Which you just did. Vexing...

[Hello Purvis]

>Look around for a store that seems open and not too busy, preferably nearby.

[DracoOmega]

>Look around for a store that seems open and not too busy, preferably nearby.

>These phones are in fact immediately outside a small cluster of stores. There appears to be a small grocery store, a hardware store, restaurant of some sort, and some place that deals in electronics.

[Hello Purvis]

>Glance into them, do they seem busy, or open?

[DracoOmega]

>Glance into them, do they seem busy, or open?

>You have a little glance into the windows. The restaurant and the grocery store appear to be open, while the other two are closed. Neither of them are hugely crowded, although both have a solid number of customers at the moment.

[Hello Purvis]

>Oh well.
>Head into the grocery, and approach the merchant if she doesn't seem busy.

[DracoOmega]

>Oh well.
>Head into the grocery, and approach the merchant if she doesn't seem busy.

>You head towards the grocery store, pausing with a startle when the doors slide open in front of you without anyone nearby to have done this. You take a step back and they close again. Moving forward, they re-open. How... different.
>The inside is spacious and brightly lit, and there are row upon row of products in all kinds of strange and colorful packaging. There doesn't actually appear to be a merchant immediately by the entrance, but a little ways away you spot several lines of customers paying for items with several different uniformed people. All of them seem presently engaged, however. You also notice a couple solitary people wearing the same uniform walking around the store and shelving items.

[Hello Purvis]

>Frown. Too busy for barter.
>Look around for someone who seems well to do, and not in a visibly bad mood.

[Pesco]

Popping in to say I like you for numbering your thread titles :3