(Skyseas of Gensokyo) Nazrin Quest (Part 15)

[DracoOmega]

>Never mind her for now, have we been sleeping a whole day? Didn't we have a bit less than that left before-
>Wait a second. Examine arms, legs, torso.
>Then check chest for unusual growths.

>You've probably also been sleeping for the whole day, but given how exhausted you've been lately, that is the less surprising of the two.
>With your wits returning, you take a moment to examine yourself. The ragged brands of the Blight, which had grown to cover every part of your body, have faded dramatically. You'd be happier if you could say that they were gone altogether, but what remains is muted, like old bruises. A lot of old bruises, but a remarkable improvement nonetheless. Has that done it, then? Is it... really over?

[Oldmansour]

>We can see, and we're not visibly leprous.... What about our other senses, has our sound and smell come back?
>Do we have an appetite again?

[DracoOmega]

>We can see, and we're not visibly leprous.... What about our other senses, has our sound and smell come back?
>Do we have an appetite again?

>You... think so? They may still be a little fuzzy, and it would help if there were something specific to listen to, but otherwise they seem functional.
>...now that you think about it, yes.

[Oldmansour]

>Okay. Let's try standing, see how that goes.

[DracoOmega]

>Okay. Let's try standing, see how that goes.

>You try standing up; your limbs feel achy and still a little unsteady, but you did just spend nearly 20 hours collapsed unceremoniously on the ground. You take a few steps to try and work some of the kinks out, and already things feel more operational than they have in a while.

[Oldmansour]

>Any sign of shortness of breath, or temperature?

[DracoOmega]

>Any sign of shortness of breath, or temperature?

>In absolute terms, you don't feel like you have a whole lot of energy, but it's nowhere near the all-consuming weariness you've experienced these past few days. You don't appear to be running a fever.

[Oldmansour]

>And no apparent signs of incipient worsening?
>Take another look at our hands. They're really clearing?

[DracoOmega]

>And no apparent signs of incipient worsening?
>Take another look at our hands. They're really clearing?

>Not as far as you can tell.
>Well, they're not clearing fast enough to watch it happening, but they've dramatically improved from yesterday,

[Oldmansour]

>And... We're not dead.

[DracoOmega]

>And... We're not dead.

>You are definitely very much alive.

[Oldmansour]

>Then... it worked?
>Practicality, Nazrin. Was it supposed to work all at once, from what we read?

[DracoOmega]

>Then... it worked?
>Practicality, Nazrin. Was it supposed to work all at once, from what we read?

>It certainly seems to have done something!
>It didn't specify. It didn't specify very much, in fact.

[Oldmansour]

>Where's our plant?

[DracoOmega]

>Where's our plant?

>Resting sedately on the ground, a short distance from where you were sleeping. It is still in bloom - though missing a noticeable percentage of its flowers.

[Oldmansour]

>Okay. Okay, let's be practical. We look and feel healthy....
>We're not dead. We were supposed to be dead by now, weren't we?

[DracoOmega]

>Okay. Okay, let's be practical. We look and feel healthy....
>We're not dead. We were supposed to be dead by now, weren't we?

>You don't know. You certainly felt like you had one and a half feet in the grave, and now you don't. That's pretty significant!

[Oldmansour]

>If worse comes to worst, and we end up needing another dose of that stuff, at the very least, we have the energy to make it back to town.
>Now Minoriko may have been the one to diagnose us, but could another detect the presence of the blight?

[DracoOmega]

>If worse comes to worst, and we end up needing another dose of that stuff, at the very least, we have the energy to make it back to town.
>Now Minoriko may have been the one to diagnose us, but could another detect the presence of the blight?

>To be frank, you'd really rather not have to hoof it back to town in a hurry - or anywhere else, for that matter. You're still pretty worn out, and you've done so much hiking lately. Don't you get some time off, after all this?
>You think she diagnosed it purely on the basis of the markings on your body, and you can do that much yourself; nobody else you talked to seemed to have recognized it at all, for that matter.

[Oldmansour]

>Time off? Hell, we've got time again! How long since we said that and meant it. Whether tea completely did the trick or just mostly, it damn sure did something.
>Although, was that possibly the worst tasting brew we've ever had?

[DracoOmega]

>Time off? Hell, we've got time again! How long since we said that and meant it. Whether tea completely did the trick or just mostly, it damn sure did something.
>Although, was that possibly the worst tasting brew we've ever had?

>Maybe... it really is over, now? Could it really be?
>It was fairly unpalatable, but not acutely miserable.

[Oldmansour]

>All things considered, we should probably call it the best brew we've ever had.
>But with that matter dealt with, temporarily at the very least, we should now attend to another matter. Let's see what we have in terms of food and satisfy that need next.
>Without waking Kyouko, if we can help it. Whether she woke up and went back to sleep, or is STILL asleep, she probably needs rest as much or more than we do.
>Or, but, make sure she is still just sleeping comfortably first.

[DracoOmega]

>All things considered, we should probably call it the best brew we've ever had.
>But with that matter dealt with, temporarily at the very least, we should now attend to another matter. Let's see what we have in terms of food and satisfy that need next.
>Without waking Kyouko, if we can help it. Whether she woke up and went back to sleep, or is STILL asleep, she probably needs rest as much or more than we do.
>Or, but, make sure she is still just sleeping comfortably first.

>You go to investigate your collective provisions, and find them surprisingly low. You know you've eaten extremely little on this trip - at least as far as you can remember - but somehow your supplies look barer than they would be if you'd had a normal appetite. There's still enough for a few more meals, but you think there's a very real chance you'll run out before reaching town again.
>Kyouko is sprawled out among a cluster of grasses, half her face smooshed into the dirt and each arm going a different direction. Despite this, there is an almost contented expression on her face. It's... maybe not uncomfortable? Surely no one would pick that place to sleep, deliberately, but the ground at least looks flat. You could try to roll her over, if you wished.

[Oldmansour]

>Wait a second, wasn't she pitched up against a tree?

[DracoOmega]

>Wait a second, wasn't she pitched up against a tree?

>She's only a couple feet from the base of that tree now; close enough to have simply rolled that far without actually waking up.

[Oldmansour]

>Oh.
>Hey cool, we can gauge distance accurately again!
>But yes, let's at least try to un-capsize the yamabiko.

[DracoOmega]

>Oh.
>Hey cool, we can gauge distance accurately again!
>But yes, let's at least try to un-capsize the yamabiko.

>You gently straighten Kyouko onto her back, accidentally brushing her nose past some grass in the process. She scrunches her face as though it tickles, and for a moment you fear you may wake her up, but the expression passes without her opening her eyes. There, that looks more comfortable.

[Oldmansour]

>Cool, we can un-capsize people again!
>Assuming we were skilled at that before. But we are now. Neat.
>Now let's see about breakfast. Lunch. Whatever.

[DracoOmega]

>Cool, we can un-capsize people again!
>Assuming we were skilled at that before. But we are now. Neat.
>Now let's see about breakfast. Lunch. Whatever.

>Satisfied with your job righting Kyouko, you go attend to breakfast. Starting with just a modest piece of cheese and a cracker, you quickly realize that your appetite is returning in earnest - perhaps even making up for lost time. You go through the rest of the block of cheese, a half dozen more crackers, and some dried fruit before deciding you're satisfied. All the while, Kyouko snoozes peacefully. You do hope Yuuka doesn't mind people being this close to her garden, so long as they're not actually inside it.

[Oldmansour]

>She appears to have had plenty of time to do bad things to us.
>But the question still remains. She obviously values her privacy very much, and we found her. Why didn't she kill us?
>Based on what we saw of her, if we went back yet again, she'd more than likely do just that, wouldn't she?