Author Topic: (Skyseas of Gensokyo) Nazrin Quest (Part 14)  (Read 43622 times)

(Skyseas of Gensokyo) Nazrin Quest (Part 14)
« on: June 30, 2015, 01:23:09 AM »
>You are Nazrin, a newly inducted member of the Seeker's Guild, and you are dying. The stygian brands of the Blight scar your body, and your vision and vitality are failing, but perhaps not all hope is yet lost. If you can just retrieve the lunar orchid Yuuka requested and return it to her before the last of your strength fails you, you can still make it through this. Perhaps that's even possible.

>Your career got off to an interesting and busy start two weeks ago, between stolen cats, missing cattle, and sword-wielding fairies, but things took a much darker turn when an encounter with a wild spider youkai left you infected with a mysterious and deadly illness. Thanks to Minoriko's creative thinking and the power of an ancient sword found buried in the spider's lair, the Blight was kept at bay for a time, but it is reasserting itself with greater vigor each day, and you do not know how many more you have left.

>Your search for this cure has been a long and frustrating road, taking you from Braston to Val Razua to Isir's Cross and then into the depths of the wilderness beyond. You have tangled with sky pirates and obstructive bureaucrats, been stabbed and sliced open, fallen off a cliff, and even gotten cursed by a grimoire-wielding fairy. But you found it. After all that work, you finally uncovered the hidden garden you'd been seeking, the one place you could obtain the flower you need to save yourself.

>And then you were forced to turn around without it.

>The garden was everything you'd been led to believe ? beautiful almost beyond description ? but its keeper was heartless and indifferent to whether you lived or died. She offered the flower you needed only in exchange for bringing her one she did not already possess, and was deaf to your pleas that the disease could easily kill you before you return to her. But she could not be swayed, and so you are left to shoulder one final task: obtain a lunar orchid from the inner gardens of Eientei and return it to Yuuka, or die in the attempt.

>Does it appear that any of the shops down there are open?

>You can only catch glimpses of what passes for a commercial area in this place, but you'd be surprised if there wasn't something still open. Of course, you're not getting that far into town without letting a whole lot of eyes rest upon you, which defeats half the purpose. But you suppose that even if it didn't help your situation here, it might still be useful to have for Val Razua.

Re: (Skyseas of Gensokyo) Nazrin Quest (Part 14)
« Reply #1 on: June 30, 2015, 02:41:49 AM »
>Is that winter coat of ours able to be tied around our waist to cover our legs, like these kids today do with lighter jackets?
>If so, use that to cover our legs, cloak to cover body, then head into town to try and find a trouser seller.
>And keep an eye open for ferry schedule postings along the way.
« Last Edit: June 30, 2015, 05:00:51 AM by Wildsour »

Re: (Skyseas of Gensokyo) Nazrin Quest (Part 14)
« Reply #2 on: June 30, 2015, 05:23:11 AM »
>Is that winter coat of ours able to be tied around our waist to cover our legs, like these kids today do with lighter jackets?
>If so, use that to cover our legs, cloak to cover body, then head into town to try and find a trouser seller.
>And keep an eye open for ferry schedule postings along the way.

>It's really unpleasantly bulky to do this with, and it won't provide total obscuration, but you're not in a position to be too picky.
>You take out your coat, tie it around your waist so that the majority of the coat falls down over your legs, then don the cloak. You are now altogether too dressed for this weather and have to tread carefully simply to avoid tripping yourself up in your own coat, but at least if people stare at you, it will probably be for your fashion sense rather than your illness. Either that or they'll think you're the world's most conspicuous burgler. You try to move briskly enough not to give them too much time to ponder this subject.

>Unsurprisingly, stores are scarce in this town and visitors not much less; there's little you can do to keep from sticking out like a well-insulated sore thumb, and whispers follow you whenever you walk past people, but you do eventually make it to a modest outfitter's selling some too-large work pants in utilitarian brown. They're nearly as ugly as your current ensemble, but at least a little less conspicuous. You'd have to be twice as blind as you are to miss the pointed looks the shopkeeper keeps giving you, though.
>"Sure you're not too hot under all that?" he asks, fingering a mop tensely.

Re: (Skyseas of Gensokyo) Nazrin Quest (Part 14)
« Reply #3 on: June 30, 2015, 05:37:37 AM »
>"Least of my problems lately."

Re: (Skyseas of Gensokyo) Nazrin Quest (Part 14)
« Reply #4 on: June 30, 2015, 05:44:33 AM »
>"Least of my problems lately."

>"I see." He looks unconvinced.

Re: (Skyseas of Gensokyo) Nazrin Quest (Part 14)
« Reply #5 on: June 30, 2015, 05:49:10 AM »
>Are those pants the best deal he's got in something our size? Being in a hurry is no reason not to at least try to find a deal.

Re: (Skyseas of Gensokyo) Nazrin Quest (Part 14)
« Reply #6 on: June 30, 2015, 05:51:45 AM »
>Are those pants the best deal he's got in something our size? Being in a hurry is no reason not to at least try to find a deal.

>There's only a limited amount of clothing here, and this is the best you've managed to dig up in the pants category. The price isn't too bad, all things considered, but they're nothing you'd choose to wear if you had a wider selection.

Re: (Skyseas of Gensokyo) Nazrin Quest (Part 14)
« Reply #7 on: June 30, 2015, 04:18:03 PM »
>Needs must.
>"I've been having a bad run." Glance around for a changing room, then retrieve pants. "I need these."

Re: (Skyseas of Gensokyo) Nazrin Quest (Part 14)
« Reply #8 on: June 30, 2015, 06:57:53 PM »
>Needs must.
>"I've been having a bad run." Glance around for a changing room, then retrieve pants. "I need these."

>You don't see a changing room in evidence; clothing is not this store's mainstay.
>"I hope you mean to pay for them," the shopkeeper says warily.

Re: (Skyseas of Gensokyo) Nazrin Quest (Part 14)
« Reply #9 on: June 30, 2015, 10:18:33 PM »
>Offer a tolerant sigh. "I realize how I look, but I'm not as shady as that. I'm just... Having a run of bad luck."

Re: (Skyseas of Gensokyo) Nazrin Quest (Part 14)
« Reply #10 on: June 30, 2015, 10:20:45 PM »
>Offer a tolerant sigh. "I realize how I look, but I'm not as shady as that. I'm just... Having a run of bad luck."

>"Sorry to hear that," he says. It sounds genuine enough, though he doesn't relax much.

Re: (Skyseas of Gensokyo) Nazrin Quest (Part 14)
« Reply #11 on: June 30, 2015, 10:52:22 PM »
>Maybe the sight of our money will help with that.
>Let us pay the man.
>And while we're at it, let us inquire into the riverboat sched.

Kilgamayan

  • True
  • *
  • The Real Treasure Is You
    • Let's Play Super Marisa World
Re: (Skyseas of Gensokyo) Nazrin Quest (Part 14)
« Reply #12 on: June 30, 2015, 11:02:29 PM »
Might want to make sure you hand your money over with the non-disease hand.
[22:40:12] <Drake> "guys i donwloaded esod but its not workan"
[22:40:21] <Drake> REPORTED
[22:40:25] <NaturallyOccurringChoja> PROBATED
[22:40:30] <Drake> ORGASM
[22:40:32] <NaturallyOccurringChoja> FUCK YEAH

[22:28:39] <Edible> Mafia would be a much easier game if we were playing "spot the asshole"

Re: (Skyseas of Gensokyo) Nazrin Quest (Part 14)
« Reply #13 on: June 30, 2015, 11:07:33 PM »
>Maybe the sight of our money will help with that.
>Let us pay the man.
>And while we're at it, let us inquire into the riverboat sched.

>You pay the man his 14 guilders, taking care not to expose the diseased parts of your hands or face in the doing. He accepts it with a quiet nod.
>You now have 259 guilders and a new pair of pants.
>"Think the ferry to the city leaves in... half-hour or so?" he says. "Thereabouts, anyway."

Kilgamayan

  • True
  • *
  • The Real Treasure Is You
    • Let's Play Super Marisa World
Re: (Skyseas of Gensokyo) Nazrin Quest (Part 14)
« Reply #14 on: June 30, 2015, 11:30:04 PM »
Well fine, go ahead and make me look silly for trying to remember important details. :(
[22:40:12] <Drake> "guys i donwloaded esod but its not workan"
[22:40:21] <Drake> REPORTED
[22:40:25] <NaturallyOccurringChoja> PROBATED
[22:40:30] <Drake> ORGASM
[22:40:32] <NaturallyOccurringChoja> FUCK YEAH

[22:28:39] <Edible> Mafia would be a much easier game if we were playing "spot the asshole"

Re: (Skyseas of Gensokyo) Nazrin Quest (Part 14)
« Reply #15 on: June 30, 2015, 11:42:39 PM »
Hey, I added the note specifically because you mentioned it, rather than wait around for a post amendment!

Re: (Skyseas of Gensokyo) Nazrin Quest (Part 14)
« Reply #16 on: June 30, 2015, 11:53:12 PM »
Feel free to do some of the leg work while you're here, Kilga, I'm going to be sporadic for the next couple of days at least.

>Did we note any back alleys or out of the way back of buildings we could change comfortably?

Re: (Skyseas of Gensokyo) Nazrin Quest (Part 14)
« Reply #17 on: June 30, 2015, 11:56:06 PM »
>Did we note any back alleys or out of the way back of buildings we could change comfortably?

>The construction in the town is not very dense, but neither are there are a great many people out and about. You imagine you could find the backside of a shed or a large tree or something, and get changed without much chance of being spotted in the process.

Re: (Skyseas of Gensokyo) Nazrin Quest (Part 14)
« Reply #18 on: July 01, 2015, 12:35:50 AM »
>Excellent.
>"First bit of good news I've had in days. Thanks."
>Let's go find somewhere to apply pants.

Kilgamayan

  • True
  • *
  • The Real Treasure Is You
    • Let's Play Super Marisa World
Re: (Skyseas of Gensokyo) Nazrin Quest (Part 14)
« Reply #19 on: July 01, 2015, 12:42:58 AM »
Offer's appreciated, but I suspect I'm a spectator from here on out, unless Purvis is willing to relent on decapitating Yamame once Naz runs into her again at the end.
[22:40:12] <Drake> "guys i donwloaded esod but its not workan"
[22:40:21] <Drake> REPORTED
[22:40:25] <NaturallyOccurringChoja> PROBATED
[22:40:30] <Drake> ORGASM
[22:40:32] <NaturallyOccurringChoja> FUCK YEAH

[22:28:39] <Edible> Mafia would be a much easier game if we were playing "spot the asshole"

Re: (Skyseas of Gensokyo) Nazrin Quest (Part 14)
« Reply #20 on: July 01, 2015, 01:37:01 AM »
I'm on your side with that one. Nobody decapitates Yamame unless and until we have no absolutely choice in the matter at all. Especially if she's at Ichirin's, as we planned. I make a point never to decapitate in front of mommy.

Re: (Skyseas of Gensokyo) Nazrin Quest (Part 14)
« Reply #21 on: July 01, 2015, 02:19:34 AM »
>Excellent.
>"First bit of good news I've had in days. Thanks."
>Let's go find somewhere to apply pants.

>"No problem," he says, looking a little reassured for the transaction having concluded in the conventional fashion.
>You exit the shop and find the nearest concealed spot to change. A large woodpile beside a windowless shed serves well enough, particularly with hearing as sensitive as yours; the only witness to your underpants is a lone sparrow. You stuff your coat back into your pack afterward, feeling rather lighter for it. This cloak's still too damn hot, though.

Re: (Skyseas of Gensokyo) Nazrin Quest (Part 14)
« Reply #22 on: July 01, 2015, 03:14:35 AM »
>Merely 'uncomfortably' hot, or 'swelteringly' hot, or 'our little mousy tits are melting off' hot?

Re: (Skyseas of Gensokyo) Nazrin Quest (Part 14)
« Reply #23 on: July 01, 2015, 03:21:57 AM »
>Merely 'uncomfortably' hot, or 'swelteringly' hot, or 'our little mousy tits are melting off' hot?

>Somewhere between the first two. You'd really rather not have to hide yourself so deep inside it on a summer day, but you're not about to collapse of heat exhaustion or anything.

Re: (Skyseas of Gensokyo) Nazrin Quest (Part 14)
« Reply #24 on: July 01, 2015, 04:26:32 AM »
>Note to self: investigate slighter cloak later.
>Let's hit up that ferry.

Re: (Skyseas of Gensokyo) Nazrin Quest (Part 14)
« Reply #25 on: July 02, 2015, 09:35:28 PM »
>Note to self: investigate slighter cloak later.
>Let's hit up that ferry.

>You make your way down to the docks, purchase passage on the ferry, and board it without incident; your conspicuously cowled countenance does elicit a few wary remarks from the people you interact with, but nothing that causes you any real trouble. Once on board, you head straight for your cabin and collapse into bed. It is dawn before you are even vaguely aware of your own body again.

>It aches. Everywhere. Even your tongue is aching, somehow. Your throat is dry enough that it is difficult to swallow, so you attempt to haul your leaden weight far enough out of bed to reach for your canteen, only to sway dizzily in the attempt. It takes a second try before you can even remain upright. The water does help a little, though.

>Feeling a bit more steady on your feet, you push back the curtain to gaze out the window. The morning air is wafting cool and gentle off the river as low green hills drift slowly by, the faintest hints of the new sun warming the edges of the sky. Everything's still rather hazy, though. You blink once to try and clear your vision, and then again. Oh. Right.

>That puts something of a dampener on the scenery, so you let the curtain go and flop down on the bed again. Even this nondescript bunk in a tiny riverboat cabin feels wonderfully soft and yielding after a week of sleeping on the hard ground; if only your health allowed you to enjoy it fully. Some of your arches are from the week's exertions, and some of those are even fading ? the soles of your feet, for example ? but so many parts of you are as bad or worse than ever. You hold your hand up and stare at it, slowly tracing the network of black tendrils that now snake halfway up your arm. It's spreading faster than ever. Whether this is a sign that the disease is approaching some final stage, or just your body finally losing in its struggle, you can't say. One week feels like an awfully long way away.

>You stare at the ceiling, you reflect on the past, you roll around in bed to find some respite from your aches that will not come. At some point you even stand up and stare out the window again, watching the trees drift by beneath that fog of grey which fills your vision. You cannot decide if this room is a sanctuary for your road-weary body or a cage ? probably both. A hazy speck that might once have been a bird streaks across the cloudless sky.

>At some point, you fall back to sleep ? for a minute or an hour, you're not sure. Time passes in a half-forgotten reverie as you drift in and out of consciousness; your dreams are dull and jumbled, your sense of time hazy. You force yourself to have a nibble of your rations at some point, but even this feels like effort. Not that you'd have any desire to fraternize with your cheerful fellow passengers even if you could remain upright; frankly, you liked them better when they were asleep. The hours are long, and yet too vague to count. Time is urgent, and yet you crave nothing more than rest. Did you want to reach your destination yesterday, or not until you spend another week in bed?

>Eventually, the ship pulls into Val Razua. Or so you gradually surmise by the stern rapping on your door and words firmly shouted through it. You rub your eyes and try to get some sense of what time of day it is. Sunset? Just how long were you asleep?

Re: (Skyseas of Gensokyo) Nazrin Quest (Part 14)
« Reply #26 on: July 02, 2015, 10:56:16 PM »
>Is that quite possibly the most miserable voyage we've ever had?
>Are we hungry? Still tired?
>We can still at least think clearly, right?

Re: (Skyseas of Gensokyo) Nazrin Quest (Part 14)
« Reply #27 on: July 02, 2015, 11:05:01 PM »
>Is that quite possibly the most miserable voyage we've ever had?
>Are we hungry? Still tired?
>We can still at least think clearly, right?

>You think you spent too much time out of it for it to have been truly miserable, though you wouldn't have called it pleasant, either. You are distinctly unwell.
>It is a bit hard to assess these things, having only just woken up again; your thoughts are nearly as hazy as your vision. But you can still stand up, and remember where you are and where you're going, at least. Maybe the rest will follow once you're up and about for a while.

Re: (Skyseas of Gensokyo) Nazrin Quest (Part 14)
« Reply #28 on: July 02, 2015, 11:40:56 PM »
>Then let's attend to that.
>Disembark.

Re: (Skyseas of Gensokyo) Nazrin Quest (Part 14)
« Reply #29 on: July 02, 2015, 11:54:21 PM »
>Then let's attend to that.
>Disembark.

>You gather your things, toss on your form-concealing cloak once more, and stumble off the ferry before the crew can complain much more in your direction.
>The dock in Val Razua is a world apart from Isir's Cross, even as modest as this riverside terminal is compared to the true hub of commercial shipping to the north. There is a bustle of people moving in all directions amid the endless rows of tall buildings and sculpted ironwork that stretch off into the blurry distance; though it might have been only a week, it feels closer to a year since you've been among real civilization. In your current headspace, it feels more than a little loud.