Meira Quest (Part 2)

[日巫子]

> "... Oh! Sorry, I meant the bamboo forest. Anyways, so what's this torii hill place like? You said there's eyeballs or something, what's up with that? Do they live around here with you guys?"
> "... What do they even eat?!"

> Cypress' face falls.  "Oh.  I heard people get lost there a lot."  She brightens up a little when you ask about the torii hill place.
> "It's completely abandoned," she says.  "Except sometimes the long-nosed monsters are there.  And sometimes eyeballs...but not always.  I do wonder what they eat?  They eyeballs are quite peculiar."

> _

[Sect]

> "Ohhhh... hey, maybe she will be there, Kouyoshi! And then she'll tell us how to beat the kitsune!"
> Keep following!

[日巫子]

> "Ohhhh... hey, maybe she will be there, Kouyoshi! And then she'll tell us how to beat the kitsune!"
> Keep following!

> "That would be convenient," says Kouyoshi.
> You keep following Cypress as she weaves around the trees, flying at a leisurely pace as the ground gently slopes uphill.  The gaps between the trees become wider here, and eventually the trees start to thin out.  Up ahead you think you see a path.

> _

[Sect]

> "Oh, is it up this path?"

[日巫子]

> "Oh, is it up this path?"

> Cypress lands on the ground and starts walking.  "Yup.  It leads to stairs."

> _

[Sect]

> Start trotting up the path. What was our village's shrine like? Did we have festivals?
> Why would there be a shrine way out here?

[日巫子]

> Start trotting up the path. What was our village's shrine like? Did we have festivals?
> Why would there be a shrine way out here?

> The three of you start walking the path, which is bordered by trees.
> You think back to the shrine that was at Mayohiga.  It wasn't the biggest building in town, but it was always very well-kept and attended by a few shrine maidens and priests.  No festival was missed back then.
> You wonder what a shrine would be doing out here.  It's not even near the Human Village, after all.

> _

[Sect]

> "So, is this a fairy shrine or something?"

[日巫子]

> "So, is this a fairy shrine or something?"

> "Nuh-uh.  We don't have a shrine.  Maybe one day..."  There's a hop in Cypress' step.  "That would be cool."

> _

[Sect]

> "Maybe..."
> Keep walking and walking.

[日巫子]

> "Maybe..."
> Keep walking and walking.

> You all keep walking.  As you make a turn on one of the bends, you think you see some stairs up ahead.  Cypress seems to have seen this, too, because she suddenly takes off running down the path.

> _

[Sect]

> "Ah! Hey!" Race her up the stairs!

[日巫子]

> "Ah! Hey!" Race her up the stairs!

> You run after Cypress, and start racing her up the stairs.  They're so tall that the torii at the top looks very small.
> Cypress reaches the top before you do, and disappears past the torii.

> _

[Yonowaaru]

>Run after her in an effort to catch up to her.

[日巫子]

>Run after her in an effort to catch up to her.

> You run after Cypress until you reach the top of the stairs.  Hahh...you think your stamina is getting better...
> You pass through the torii and come face to face with a small shrine with an even smaller storehouse nearby.  It's intact, but it looks a bit distended.  The cobblestone pathway is overgrown with weeds, indicating that there isn't anyone around to take care of it.  At the top of the steps of the shrine itself is a large donation box with faded characters on it...you don't think you can read them.
> There are also a lot of trees surrounding the general area here, which probably makes it hard to see from a distance.  However, it looks like there's a space behind the shrine.
> When Kouyoshi reaches the top of the stairs, she keeps walking down the stone path, looking around in awe.
> "I never knew there was a shrine here," she says.
> Cypress, in the meantime, seems to be looking around for something.

> _

[Sect]

> "But why isn't there anyone here? A shrine without a shrine maiden's so sad..."
> Wander around the grounds, looking around.

[日巫子]

> "But why isn't there anyone here? A shrine without a shrine maiden's so sad..."
> Wander around the grounds, looking around.

> "Dunno."  Cypress gives up looking around and flies over to sit on top of the donation box.
> You take a look around the shrine grounds.  This place really is overgrown with plants.  There seems to be some mold on the wood frames, too...
> Kouyoshi walks up to one of the shrine's sliding doors and gives it a tug.  It slides right open.
> "I'm going to look around inside, if that's okay..." she says.

> _

[Sect]

> "Kaay."
> When she goes in, check out that storagehouse.

[日巫子]

> "Kaay."
> When she goes in, check out that storagehouse.

> Kouyoshi disappears inside the shrine, and you go to investigate the storagehouse.
> You reach the storagehouse, and there's the faint smell of rotten food.  Ew...

> _

[Hanzo K.]

>"Blech. Smells like all the food here's rotten. Whoever used to live here must have been gone for a long time."
>Well, may as well steel ourselves and head on in deeper...Maybe we can cover our mouth and nose with something?

[日巫子]

>"Blech. Smells like all the food here's rotten. Whoever used to live here must have been gone for a long time."
>Well, may as well steel ourselves and head on in deeper...Maybe we can cover our mouth and nose with something?

> "Most likely!" Cypress calls out.
> You consider covering your mouth and nose and heading in deeper.  There can't be that much rotten food, can there?

> _

[Sect]

> Cover our nose and mouth with our sleeve, and open the door.

[日巫子]

> Cover our nose and mouth with our sleeve, and open the door.

> Once your nose and mouth are covered, you open the door.
> You're greeted by a cloud of dust billowing out from a dark room.  There are crates and barrels stacked up here; they aren't very organized.  You hear flies buzzing somewhere inside.

> _

[Sect]

> Grimace, and gingerly step inside.
> Rummage through the place, staying away from where we hear the flies.

[日巫子]

> Grimace, and gingerly step inside.
> Rummage through the place, staying away from where we hear the flies.

> Ugh.
> Avoiding the upper left corner of the room, you start looking around.  There are a lot of strange bottles here...a wooden tub that's a bit moldy, bolts of cloth, brooms lined up on the walls, pottery, gardening supplies and so forth...oh, there are glass wind chimes here, too.  Pretty~

> _

[Sect]

> Can we find anything with names or something? Someone must've lived here, maybe Keine knows!

[日巫子]

> Can we find anything with names or something? Someone must've lived here, maybe Keine knows!

> You try looking for something with a name, anything, but you come up with nothing.  Maybe Keine would know something.

> _

[Sect]

> Go outside and close the door, before running to the front of the shrine.
> "There's some neat stuff in the storehouse! But there's a really bad smell..."

[日巫子]

> Go outside and close the door, before running to the front of the shrine.
> "There's some neat stuff in the storehouse! But there's a really bad smell..."

> You head back out, closing the door behind you.  When you run back to the front of the shrine, you see Cypress laying on her back on top of the donation box, basking in the sun.  She sits up when you approach.
> "You mean the door actually works?"  Cypress' face falls.  "I wasn't able to get it open last time I was here."

> _

[Sect]

> "Huh, really? It opened pretty easily... maybe you're kinda weak. If you wanna look you can go ahead, I guess."
> Look inside the shrine. "Kouyoshi, Kouyoshi! Did you find anything?"