> "Well, I guess they don't have to come down all the way. Byakuren might be able to hang out on the stairs, at least."
> Watch Cirno's handiwork until they come back downstairs.
> Float a couple of inches off the ground.
> "That makes sense. Her ideas usually do."
> "Pretty much. There's already been a definite change, though."
> Has Rinnosuke reacted at all?
> "Unless someone has any ideas for what we can do in the meantime."
> "Just make sure you don't get frozen to the floor."
> How is the ice doing advancing on the money?
> Point to one of the places where it looks like it has stopped.
> "Hey, check that out."
> "Yeah, that's not Cirno's doing. That's where his defense spell really kicks in."
> "That's pretty impressive, and rather annoying. If Patchouli expected this to happen, she certainly didn't say anything about it when she liked the idea."
>"Though I wonder. While the ICE isn't getting through...perhaps the temperature will."
>"Cirno, try stacking the ice higher"
> "And 'the idea' is getting through the spell via the atmosphere, since it's pretty much impossible to get through physically."
> "Breathe...actually, that may be another idea. Mokou, you work with fire. How are you under asphyxiating conditions?"
> "I only see one entrance to this place. If we sealed it somehow, could you burn up all the oxygen in the room?"
> "Eh, all right. Just figured it was worth asking."
> "True, but less pleasant things than asphyxiation or frostbite will come if he's allowed to finish what he's doing."
> Rinnosuke has still not reacted in any way, has he?
> "Something else is bugging me about all of this, though. He doesn't care who knows he's doing this, and he has to know the news will spread really fast if he actually pulls it off. But once everyone learns who stole their money, and they find they can trade anything amongst each other, who's gonna trade with him? Not even Marisa would go for it, surely."
> Look in Rinnosuke's direction.
> "Oh, I'm sure he heard the question. Whether or not he'll answer, though, who knows."
> "Seems a pretty poor business decision. Unless you no longer care about the business aspect."
> "If I were concerned with personal gain first, I wouldn't be back here after your curse zapped me the first time."
> "Because what you're doing gives you untold power without accountability, and you were remorselessly willing to steal and buy your way into the situation, two things that are rather contradictory to your claimed ideal. Pardon me while I, uh, don't believe anything you say about wanting to make the world a better place."
> "You wouldn't need to trade yourself. You could live off the sparks made by the trades of others, and the sparks made by exchanging sparks for other things."
> "And how do we know you can't do it?"
> "Because there's evidence all around us that you can do something strange."
> Is it yet cold enough enough for us to see our own breath?
> Make a note of when we start seeing our own breath.
> "Well, there's also a degree of thinking about what I would do in your position. I've been a criminal myself for a very long time, probably longer than most of the people in this room have been alive."
> Gesture at the places where the ice is being stopped from creeping up on the money.
> "Now, it's pretty clear you've put a lot of thought into what you're doing. If I were in a position where I felt I could change the world for the better, and I put that much thought into what I was doing because I knew what I was doing would be very controversial, I'd be sure to also put some thoughts into the specifics of what people might object to, and be prepared to offer reassurances before the concerns even came up, so as to avoid conflict as best as I could."
> "What does that matter? I can understand 'hey, I can do this, but I can't do that' perfectly fine without needing to know the details of your sparks. One doesn't need to know the specifics of faith to be able to understand the practical consequences of applications of it."
> "Whatever. The point is that someone that actually believes what they're doing is right and puts the amount of forethought into it that you apparently have, they'd realize the potential practical dangers. Like with this case, where I just pointed out the idea of harvesting sparks from any exchange. When that matter was first discussed, you said, and I quote, 'Just as the beauty of the exchange violates the idea of equivalency, it creates a spark, so to speak. A kind of friction is made with each exchange, each time the paradox grows a little deeper. And I harvest it.' There was nothing in there to say that you can only harvest sparks through your own exchanges, and in fact it is sufficiently ambiguous that it sounds very much to the otherwise uninformed listener like you're harvesting it whenever it happens, not just whenever it happens to you. That seems a rather large oversight for one that has put in the forethought that you have and claims to be doing this for the greater good like you are."
> Could we see his breath when he was talking?
> Keep watch for it.
> Frown.
> "Man, is that really it? And here I was hoping the savior of the world would actually care about the people he claims to be helping."
> Were they not visible that time?
> "There is, but it won't matter until later, so I guess we can shelve it for the time being."
> If we've had the capelet out the entire time, lift it up in front of us just a little bit. If we put it away, pull it back out.
> "Anyway, Marisa would probably get even madder at me if I put this off any longer. Since you've been unoccupied enough to talk to me, does that mean you have time for an exchange she wants me to make for her?"
> "Since when has that sort of thing stopped what Marisa wants before?"
> Float in a little closer.
> "So you'd be willing to step out there and tell her why this transaction couldn't complete? Because I'm sure as hell not gonna piss her off even further."
> "Assuming she doesn't make her way down here before then, of course."
> Look over at Renko and Mokou.
> Exhale and wave at our breath in the air with a free hand for a second, then point back over at Rinnosuke. Try not to drop the 'capelet' while holding it with only one hand.
> "Wow, Cirno, this stuff packs a punch."
> Could we conceivably grow fur?
> "Already? You're getting to him."
> Look at Renko.
> "I can go check above-ground, if you like."
>"You don't want to be the hero who beat the guy that took everyone's money and got the money back?"
> Inventory
> "Well, you saw what happened to your bullets earlier. You know why he's not fighting back? Because he doesn't think you're worth the effort."
>"If you leave now, he wins and you lose."
> "You heard what he said. He's gonna do something really big really soon. So big his win will be unstoppable."
> Sigh.
> Balance the 'capelet' on one arm, then use our now free hand to fish out a Rose Quartz.
> "Would this keep you down here for a while longer?"
> Pull out three of the Green Glass Beads and show them off next to the quartz.
> "All four of them are yours if you help finish this guy off."
>"I should be able to arrange for that."
> Is that actually something we can do?
> Nod.
> "All right, then. I can't put holes in them right now, but I'll give them to Renko, just so you won't think I'm trying to rip you off and run away with them or anything. In the meantime, if you please..."
> Gesture at Rinnosuke with the hand containing the gem and beads.
> Give Renko the gem and beads.
> Lower our voice.
> "Not sure yet. Most likely find a bunch of faith-type folks who can make sure this doesn't happen again."
> Shrug.
> "The alternative's killing him outright."
> "If you have another idea for how to stop this for good, I'd be happy to hear it."
> "I suppose that's true. I guess I just worry about the fact that I don't know what this ritual of his entails, and whether or not he could start it from where he left off if it were interrupted."
> Give a rueful grin.
> "Look at me. Me, of all people, worried about the unknown. I'll pay him back double, triple for all these insults."
> Comfort is a high price to pay to be the most fashionable (and sexy) youkai around.
> "At any rate I hope this cold starts to affect him, it's certainly working on me."
> "Could either of you hold out for a couple of minutes down here? I need to upstairs for a moment to change but I'd rather not leave her here alone with him."
> "Great. Back in a flash."
> Zip back up the stairs.
> "He refuses to trade right now, but it's getting really damn cold down there. Even though ice isn't actually forming beyond the Arrow Paradox spell, the cold is everywhere. His breath is visible, and near as I can tell, Cirno's just getting started. I also get the feeling you're going to be invaluable as a warm body for those of us that don't control fire."
> "You can probably feel for yourself."
> Balance the 'capelet' on one arm again, and reach out our now-free arm to Byakuren.
> Tense up for a moment.
> "I...just thought of something. Patchouli said that an act contrary to his beliefs could disrupt what he's doing. I pointed out to him that he's effectively buying his new economy, and he said it was a necessary evil and that he'd made peace with it. What if him personally making peace with it doesn't matter?"
> "It could be a huge problem. He says he can't harvest sparks from exchanges he's not in, which reduces what he can do a fair amount, but it still would leave him at a huge advantage. And now we have the problem of his simply eradicating Gensokyo's economy instead of altering it."
> Put the 'capelet' on the ground.
> "Please make sure this doesn't get ruined. I need to go back down there. Things are about to get really hairy."
> Try to duplicate our hair all along our exposed skin other than our face. Lay it on fairly thick, so it retains warmth better.
> "I'll send someone or someones back up when I get back down there, just so they can warm back up."
> Grin.
> "Yeah, I know it looks weird. But function over form right now. Be back soon."
> Assuming Byakuren does not object to our departure, turn around and fly back down the stairs.
> Look at Renko and jerk a thumb toward the staircase.
> "Head on upstairs and warm yourself up."
> Grin.
> "What, you gonna make me hug you to keep warm?"
> Well, we could always grow shorter hair underneath our clothes...
> How does the area around Rinnosuke and the money seem to be faring in contrast with the rest of the room?
> "Anyway, we have another potential disaster on our hands related to this. A thought occurred to me while I was upstairs. Patchouli told me a good deal about the faith-y magic that's at work here, and pointed out that someone employing this kind of magic will lose control over it if they do something that runs counter to their beliefs."
> "Now this guy here, his beliefs are firmly rooted in the beauty of exchange. He sees currency as a pretty damn ugly thing, practically heretical. So he took Gensokyo's existing capitalist economy, which you see all around this place, and he wants to exchange it for an economy predicated completely on exchange, one where currency doesn't even exist."
> "So we have faith-based magic that'll fizzle once the user does something that runs counter to the rules defined by the faith, and this particular faith is about how exchange is great and currency is terrible. And we have someone trying to use this faith-based magic and a big heaping wad of cash to get what he wants. Let's say he actually succeeds in trading away all this currency. When the anti-money rules notice that their magic is being used in conjunction with money to buy a new economy, what do you think is gonna happen?"
> Turn to Rinnosuke.
> "And what makes you say that?"
> "A whole bunch of money."
> "I'd say what makes it money is the value people put into it. Value they still do put into it, regardless of its location."
> Chuckle a bit.
> "For someone so enamored with exchange, you have a bizarre concept of ownership, if you think theft constitutes a change in ownership. Possession, sure, but not ownership."
> How's Renko holding up?
> Well, if this guy's that far off the deep end, there isn't anything words are going to accomplish.
> Watch Cirno's work unfold while growing some more hair to cover the skin underneath our clothes. Don't make it quite as long as the hair over the exposed skin, of course.
> "I'll see you two soon."
> Look around at the room, including inspecting how Rinnosuke is holding up.
> "You okay?"
> Try floating toward Rinnosuke, to see how far we can get.
> "Impressive work, Cirno."
> Try to float up and above the unseen stoppage, to see if the spell is a bubble or wall effect.
> How does the ceiling right above our heads look to be holding up?
> Fly back down to Cirno.
> "You want some help getting back up the stairs, or are you good?"
> That's not a bad idea. Not like there's anything we can do around here.
> Head back upstairs. Be careful not to go barreling through, though, since we're liable to bowl Cirno over if we go too fast.
>Hold on that. Maybe we should stay and watch in order to be sure it works.
> Spend a minute watching Rinnosuke. Pay close attention to the coloration of his face.
> "Gotta fight for what you believe in, no matter what anyone else tells you, right? I think we can both agree on that, at least."
> "I assume I don't get to know what it is until I answer one way or the other? Because the offer's intriguing, but I also gotta say you don't look so hot right now."
> "If that's the case, then yeah, I'm listening."
> "Huh. Had a feeling it'd be something along those lines. Would this be permanent or just while I'm down here?"
>"I make a counteroffer. For the cards you took from me, I should be permitted to go a third of the way. Then perhaps we can negotiate how much my danmaku is worth?"
> "If I give it 'in exchange', does that mean it'd be yours to actively use instead?"
> Frown.
> "...Wait a minute. Wouldn't this give you more sparks?"
> "It most certainly does. For all I know, those last two or three sparks will be all you need to finally complete what you're doing before I can get to you, whereas if you don't get them, the cold will get to you before you can finish."
> "I'm not sure your skin color entirely agrees with your words."
>"Especially when you wait until it becomes a problem to make your offer."
> "If you see my desire, why offer things up in thirds?"
> "I think you mistake my motivation. I am an interested buyer, perhaps even an eager one. But I am not a desperate one. You're a businessman; you must know that the best way to get a transaction is to make your offer more appealing than the other available options, in any of the litany of ways this is possible to do. What you have proposed is appealing, I will certainly grant you that. But there are sufficiently many factors that stay my hand just a bit, and when combined with the presence of a second appealing possibility, I am not sold yet."
> "Of course."
> "Except I don't wish for a third of the way there. A third of the way is useless by itself, we both know that. I am interested in all of the way there. And, of course, I say I am interested knowing that 'all of the way there' would entail tacking on whatever other exchanges you had planned for the remaining two thirds."
> "Then I should tell you there are things you may ask for that are completely not for sale. Things where I would rather die or suffer through your world than give them up. And with no reassurances that you will not ask for these things, I am having a difficult time accepting what is presented."
> Chuckle a bit.
> "Think what you will."
> Lounge around in the air for another minute. Contemplate the pros and cons of growing a beard while watching his skin color.
> "Suppose I might as well ask, worst you'll say is nothing. Will you be asking for anything related to the relationships I have with my friends?"
> Do we have any knowledge of Byakuren magically lifting buildings into the air?
> Is the floor around Rinnouske still unblemished, or is it covered in ice?
> What do we know of Suika Ibuki?
>What about Komachi Onozuka?
>Do we know of her power?
> Did we pull out the sword pieces in the basement when we were in it the last time, before we needed to be escorted from the premises?
> What's the status on the translation of the sword runes, again?
> Was her assistant working on it at all?
>"You claim that you're doing this for the good of everyone, correct? Not for your own benefit?"
>If yes: "Then proove it. Proove that you're not doing this for your own benefit."
>When he asks how to do so: "Simple. You can proove it by right here, right now, trading away your ability to benefit from this change. You can do it by trading away your ability to harvest the sparks."
> Is that the first time Rinnosuke has changed his expression?
> Take a look at Rinnosuke's hands as best we can from our current position.
> We can't tell the color of his hands from here?
> "So...if I do decide to do this exchange thing to get to you, would you allow an audience member?"
> "Yeah, I'd expect as much. I just wanted to know if you'd have a direct objection for some reason."
> "All right. I doubt you'd ask for the thing I'd want someone down here for anyway, given your stated lack of interest in other things."
> "And while I'm thinking about it, after this is over, regardless of the result, would you object to some more alcohol in return for that Tiger? I'd understand if you didn't trust comestibles coming from me, but it's probably the most useful thing to you I have to offer. Unless you're a decent lockpick, I guess."
> "Okay, I'll make restocking those a priority. Any flavor preferences?"
>"I never said that you would not benefit from this change. If everyone benefits, then you obviously would as well. My concern, though, is that you're doing it because of the benefits it would offer you, not because of those it would offer others. After all, you would be the only one able to fully use your new system, at least for a while. That makes your claim of motive a bit suspicious. If you truly care more about the change's overall benefits then you do about its benefits to you, then trade me your ability to benefit from it. If you do that, I will accept what you say, and will not act against you any further."
>"That's not the point. What I want is a demonstration. I intend to return the ability to you once I am satisfied, but you, of course, don't know if I'm telling the truth. So think of it as a show of resolve. Are you willing to sacrifice your own position in your new system in order to bring that system about?"
>"No, you miss the point. And of more than one thing, incidentally. I simply want proof of your motives. And I must say, it's quite interesting that you haven't actually given me an answer. Let's stop playing around and just have a straight yes-or-no answer, shall we?"
>"Whatever. Fine, than. How's this: in exchange for your ability to benefit from this change, I don't let you freeze to death."
>"Interesting. So you're not willing to risk your own benefit for your 'ideal'. And in addition, you hide behind this protection of yours. How strong can your resolve be if you are not even willing to fight for your goals?"
>"I'm taking action right now. Or haven't you noticed the whole freezing thing?"
>"And as for what I've been saying, well, your failure to actually give an answer tells me what I need to know. So I ask you this not for me, but for you. I don't want you to just give me an answer, either; I want you to ask yourself this question, which is: are you truly doing this solely for the benefit of others?"
>"You know full well what I'm getting at, so let's cut the bullshit, okay? Stop deliberately misinterpreting what I say and ask yourself the damn question already."
>"Fine, be that way. I'll be here if you decide you'd rather not freeze to death."
>Don't confirm that offer rebuffed. We need to think about this.
>Hrm, well, so far our thoughts seem to be about whether taking his offer is the best way to treat the entire situation rather than just band aiding it. We also are considering he might be mistaken about this not ending with his death. Though, something else to consider is if he dies, the money will have to be returned manually. Defeating him with faith makes it more likely the entire spell gets reversed.
Then again, considering that the deal was presented at all is pretty much proof that we should take it. So uh, w/e
> Did Tewi ever reference any sort of organization as being behind her actions?
> Mentally recap what we know and have learned about the status of and circumstances surrounding our spellcards, from the time Tewi "lost" them in the human village to the time Rinnosuke used them to do whatever voodoo hoodoo he did to get Gensokyo's money.
> Frown, then shake out head a bit.
> "...No, not yet. There's still some other stuff I want to think about."
> "A few things. For instance, for someone that despises what currency stands for, I'm curious as to how you got so good with the market values of so many precious stones."
> "Someone gave up a stack of spellcards for a price list of precious stones? That seems rather lopsided."
> "Oh, you meant a part of the money-for-jewels exchange?"
> "Huh, I see. ..Though now I'm rather curious what the cards were worth, if not that list."
> "All right. Don't suppose you could tell me how much longer you plan on taking instead?"
> Shrug.
> "Wouldn't know unless I tried, right?"
> "Sorry, phrased that wrong. I was saying I wouldn't know if you'd tell me unless I asked."
> Has rinnosuke's condition changed?
> Are there any temperature measuring devices in Rinnosuke's shop? Are there any in this room?
> "All righty. Listen, I'll be back in a few. Don't go anywhere, okay? And don't worry, I know you'd prefer the two of us to be alone, should I choose that path."
> Fly back upstairs.
> "I don't know. I'd know better if we had any idea how much of this conversation he could hear."
> "First one sounds good, since you seem pretty comfortable."
> Close the door to the basement.
> "I don't know how much that sort of thing would be necessary. I don't really know much of anything about what's going on here. I think the cold is working, but he seems to think it won't beat him, and he's still down there doing his thing, despite looking pretty pale and starting to shiver."
> "I guess. But there's still a myriad of questions surrounding the situation. And while it was just me and him down there, he gave me this really bizarre proposition...he would let me "a third of the way" in exchange for my danmaku ability."
> "Not explicitly, but based on a couple of other things he's said, I'm pretty sure he wants it as something to sell. And he probably also wants it to disarm me further, should I eventually actually reach him."
> Shake head.
> "Nah. But...I've been giving it serious consideration."
> "Well, let's say we freeze him out. Or he just sits there and turns into a humanoid popsicle. What do those accomplish on a faith level?"
> "Yeah. I'm not convinced it would solve the real problem. The offer he made he made as a clash of ideals, testing his faith against mine. And I haven't thought of another way to get at him, since the only person we know that knows about the problem and has the knowledge and resources to fix it apparently deemed it not worth her time."
> "I figured that's the reason Patchouli didn't come with us. Is there more to it than that?"
> Frown.
> "If something happens in her house that is so unpleasant that it necessitates a lockdown and a second gate guard, I'd have to wonder what obligations she'd have that supercede resolving that something."
> "Hmm. Maybe we should have asked the Scarlet Devil for permission to borrow her mage to get their house's money back."
> "You think what he's doing to ward people off is faith-based, rather than magic-based?"
> Frown.
> "Then what do we do? We have no guarantee freezing him will change his mind on the overarching issue, and the only known way to get at him involves giving up something of great magnitude just to get a third of the way to him."
> "You think we'll be able to get past that barrier, even if he decides to freeze himself into unconsciousness?"
> "I guess we wait this out, then. Hopefully he's not fanatical enough to kill himself over it."
> "...Not really, no. I had intended to stay here however long I needed to, just to make sure the problem is squashed."
> "I've figured out that it's basically a solid wall, rather than a sphere of influence. Beyond, that, though, I've no idea how it works. If it wouldn't cause serious structural damage, I'd wonder if we could get at him from directly above or directly below."
> "A 'wall' is the best comparison I can think of. Basically, think of it as that there's more or less a line that runs across the floor that you can't get by, no matter how low or high you are. It's like the collection all the points you can't go past form a surface that runs orthogonal to the floor. If it were a sphere of influence, you'd be able to get a little closer to him horizontally by moving up or down away from him, because it would be him keeping people at a fixed distance away from him."
> "I don't know if he though to include a roof or a ceiling to these barriers, though. And clearly the walls stop somewhere, because we can walk around above the place freely."
> "What about a floor?"
> The floor of the basement was dirt, wasn't it?
> Do we know any good diggers?
> "Do you know any good diggers?"
> Frown.
> "So we can't get through from above, and we can't get through from below. That doesn't leave very many options."
> "I don't know too many things you can do with dirt other than dig it or build with it."
> "Do you think we have the time? Neither you nor Patchouli seemed to think we had the time to drum up a full curse removal."
> "Well...what if we started excavating a tunnel, and then heated the basement to melt the ice once we were ready to excavate upward?"
> "Oh. I was thinking of starting the digging outside."
> "So either we try to freeze him out, or we try to dig him out."
> "Mmm. The major thing I don't like about digging in front of him is that he'd know it was coming. He might not be able to control the temperature, but he might be able to shift his screens."
> Frown.
> "I suppose that's also true. This is making freezing him sound like the more desirable option."
> "Ah, okay, yeah. That would be good. I was thinking digging instead of freezing for some reason."
> "Nor would I. But with no real information on what exactly we're working against, we're kinda stuck."
>"You think we should just wait it out, then?"
> "Do any of the magicians know any earth moving spells? If they could just turn the dirt to mud or something it would make tunneling easier."
> Do we have any large burrowing forms? How quickly would be we able to dig?
> Have we ever been a mole?
> How much time is "a bit"? A few minutes or a few hours?
> How about if we wanted to mix forms, say to make a mole-bear hybrid for extra muscle power?
> "I wonder if we could forgo the need for a large excavation project and just have me turn into some burrowing animal."
> Put our hands on our hips and stare at Byakuren with a look of mock offense on our face.
> "I think that'd be doable. I'd need a bit of prep-time, though. It's been a while since I did anything resembling a mole."
> "I can think of a few things. Like I said, I'm out of practice, so if it speeds up the process, I may need you to carry me back downstairs."
> Is Byakuren sensitive about her size?
> "Well, we'll see. Oh, I should probably also say that a journalist tengu may show up some time soon. Depends on how slowly that not-very-well-oiled machine runs."
> "I'm not sure yet. Where everyone else have been helpful, the tengu have been decidedly obstinate and time-wasting. I'm not particularly inclined for one of them to come in and start being a journalist."
> "Yeah. I'm not sure what I'd say to her once she gets here, though. Might be best to just make sure she doesn't leave until I've had my say with her."
> "If she gets antsy about leaving, remind her that it's her money I'm trying to save, and that my recent experiences with the tengu haven't much endeared me to them."
> "If she wants to stick around, great. Gives me more of a chance to talk to her afterward."
> "Also, we probably want Mokou's help warming up a small enough patch of dirt so that I can actually dig."
> "Oh yeah. Here's hoping those jewels stick around after this is fixed."
> Inspect our nails in a non-chalant way.
> "Just a little part of the fun of being Nue."
>Do we have any experience actually digging tunnels as a burrowing animal?
>What was the approximate apparent distance from the outside of Rinnosuke's field to Rinnosuke himself?
>Could we estimate how long it would take us to dig this distance, assuming no supernatural interference?
>Do we think we could accurately gauge distance while underground, such that we actually stop fairly close to underneath him?
>For that matter, what sort of offense could we reasonably mount in such a form, without taking the 15 minutes to shift back?
>Presumably going mole-like would not necessitate us also crippling our own eyesight in a similar manner to the natural creature we'd be emulating?
> How large would we be after such a transformation?
> Would we need to lose our outfit and items?
> What about the trident?
>Consider nearby places to strip (for transformation.)
>I'll use the front room
>Is anyone currently in there?
>If so "I think I have a plan, but I'm going to need to take off my clothes to properly transform"
>If not, just do it.
>Call out to Byakuren: "Watch my stuff...once I finish the tunnel I'll be back for the trident"
>Transform into the discussed burrowing mode
>Go downstairs.
>Are we able to speak in this form?
>Can I fix that?
>Is Byakuren currently with me?
>Edit vocal cords to regain speaking ability.
>"Yeah, fine, sorry. Forgot my vocal cords. Could you get Mokou to melt the floor down there?"
>Curse?
>"Yeah, could you melt the ice down there? I'm going to dig under."
> "Only a tiny patch, though. Enough to dig. Should keep the rest of the room frozen."
>"Thanks."
>Wait for that to be a thing
>Can we as we are?
>If so: "Yeah, give me a bit. Stairs are fiddly"
>If not: "Uh...Mokou, could you carry me down?"
>"Not fat, just big boned."
>"Oof...this is cold. Could you handle this quickly?"
>Try to endure, add some belly hair
>"Yeah, perfect"
>Project a path to under Rinnosuke
>Scoot on over and start digging.
>All right. Let's head back and dig downward a bit, as well as widen the entrance hole.
>If we need to melt ice: "Mokou, could you melt a little more of it?"
>Fling some dirt out of the hole and then continue tunneling.
>Hmm...can we move any more dirt out of the tunnel to run less of a risk of difficulty?
>We'll kick some more dirt out, either as much as we can or enough to keep the tunnel as a tunnel.
> Would it be possible to dig upward without ruining the structural integrity of the tunnel?
>All right. Let's stoke ourselves up for this. This is gonna be a thing.
>Start digging upward, leaving a little bit of dirt between us and him
> If we were to crawl through in our normal form, would we be able to bring the trident with us?
>Don't dig all the way through, though in retrospect we can't really shift until the tunnel is done, can we?
>All right, I'll complete the tunnel
>Once the dirt clears, open eyes again and see if we got to the right place.
>Retreat back through the tunnel.
>Head back up to the side where we started digging.
>If Mokou is still there: "Can you take me back to my stuff?"
>If not, check to see if anyone besides Rinnosuke can see us
> "Almost. We'll talk upstairs."
> Wait for her to take us up
>"I managed to get close to Rinnosuke, so yes. I'm not sure if he didn't notice me, though."
> "Right. We need to grab some air freshener or something. It stinks something bad in there."
> "Sounds like a plan. Need a private moment to be me again, though."
> Assuming no objections, trundle on back to the room where we changed the first time and turn back into ourselves.
> Whoops! Thought we left that in the other room.
> Trundle on back to Byakuren and sheepishly take our dress back, then trundle back into our impromptu changing room and revert back to our normal selves.
> Nah, we can leave those out. Add the insulating hair back, though.
> Sacrifices must be made. We needed to get cleaned up after not washing or changing our clothes this morning anyway, so no real harm done.
> Head back out to the other room. Walk if we have our shoes, float if we do not.
> Float on over and put them on.
> "Possibly. When I got in there, I was able to see what he's been holding in his clasped hands. He's got my cards there. And if he considers them his legal possessions...we might need to get me a second countercurse."
> "We could go back up the mountain, to the green-haired woman."
> Did we ever get that woman's name?
> Turn to look in the direction of the front door.
> Frown.
> "We don't talk about this."
> Where is the rest of our stuff?
> Walk over and grab the trident.
> "Let's just get this over with."
> Take the bundle.
> What did we ask her for, again?
> "All right. There's a very real possibility I'll be screaming in agonizing pain later. If that happens, Byakuren will be here and she'll be quite helpful, but I may need all the support I can get to get out of here, and you're best suited for the cold. You up for that?"
> What was our assessment on what of our things we thought we could bring through the tunnel, again?
> Would we be able to crawl through the tunnel with the bag of pine needles in one of our hands?
> Store the bundle in our purse.
> "All right then. No time like the present, eh?"
> Float back downstairs.
> The things we do for people...
> Steel ourselves for what we're about to do, then position our inventory so that it is best suited for getting through that tunnel along with us.
> Go ahead and crawl through that hole.
> Oh boy, here we go.
> Exit the tunnel.
> Shake ourselves off athe littibe bit, then float on over to him and his table.
> Does the table still have a cloth?
> Feel the cloth on the table. Grab a loose part if we can: otherwise just rub it a little bit.
> Pull out the bag of pine needles and set it on the table.
> "Figured the place could use some freshening up. With all due respect, I think ya may need to wash up."
> "Yeah, I figured. Lucky you got me, huh?"
> "So what now?"
> Frown.
> Walk over and put a hand on Rinnosuke's shoulder non-aggressively.
> Pull the hand back.
> "Huh. Thought you wouldn't react at all to that."
> "Right, right."
>Do we think we could drag an unconscious Rinnosuke through the tunnel?
>Hrm...is it a problem of strength or the size of the tunnel?
>Hrm...actually, since we're IN his field, do we think we can drag him across the room? Might scrape him a bit, but yeah.
>Would the ice help significantly?
> Is there a place at the table to have such a seat?
> Walk around to the other side of the table, but don't sit down yet.
> "I gotta admit, I'm at a bit of a loss here. If I could just put a hand on your shoulder, I could probably do something far worse, but here you sit regardless."
> Inventory
Wait a tick.
> Is there any money in the immediate vicinity?
> If not, how far away is the closest pile?
> Float over to the nearest one.
> Reach out and try to touch, not grab, one of the coins.
> C'mon, his faith's gotta be beginning to waver. We already got past one of his major defenses!
> Keep pushing toward the coins until either we stop, touch one, or feel discomfort in our hands.
> Withdraw our hand.
> Cock our arm back, then slam it forward, as if we were throwing a punch straight forward, in an attempt to force our hand close enough to be able to touch a coin.
> Pull our arm back again.
> Grab our trident. How cold is it?
> How quickly do we experience diminishing returns on adding muscle mass for increased strength purposes again? Can we get any sort of benefit at all?
> How long would the process take to add muscle mass to our arms, based on past experience?
> Would our "coat" interfere with the process?
> Look back at Rinnosuke to make sure he's not doing anything notably different.
> If he is, don't follow the next command.
> If he is not, spend five minutes adding muscle mass to our arms. Keep watching him, though, and be prepared to stop should he do anything interesting or unusual.
> Turn back to the pile of coins.
> Throw another punch at it. It seems like swinging harder last time got a tiny bit closer, so harder and harder swings should get even closer.
> Good, good. We're making progress.
> Pull out our trident, grab it with both hands, turn a little bit to the side so we're not exactly directly facing the coin pile but can still see it easily, and baseball swing the trident at the pile as hard as we can.
> Let's break this sucker down. Swing a couple more times, putting everything we can behind it.
> Mmm, idea.
> Put the trident away.
> Throw another punch at the pile. When we can tell our fist has stopped, unclench it and splay our fingers out to see if they can cover the final bit of distance.
> Pull our arm back again.
> Can we grow feathers?
> What if we only needed a single one?
> Time consuming like five minutes to grow one coming out of our wrist out across the back of our hand like a feral?
> What about simply growing a select small patch of hair quite long?
> Let's do that, then. Grow several hairs, about four our five, from our right wrist area, palmside. Grow them long enough that we could comfortably grab them in our right hand (I.e. we're not yanking them out of our arm) and the hairs would still extend a couple of inches beyond where we have grabbed them,
> Function over form. As desirable as the latter is right now...
> Float back over to Rinnosuke, getting right up next to him.
> Grow out four or five matching hair strands on our left arm.
> Grab our right arm long hair in our right hand so a couple of inches are still sticking out beyond where we grabbed. Do the same with our left arm hair and hand.
> Take the tips of our right wielded hair and tickle Rinnosuke's nose.
> Take careful note of his hands. If he lets those cards go...
> Pursue his nose with our hair and keep tickling.
> "Better than shooting you."
> Keep pursuing his nose with our hair. While tickling his nose, use our other wielded hair to tickle at his closest ear. Switch the two hair assaults if it means easier positioning.
> Does he still have both hands on the cards?
> %rom where wewe are standing, aim a kick, using the side of our foot (or toe, if it's more convenient), at the back leg of the chair so that we are kicking it toward the table (and thus also at his legs). Don't boot it with all the energy we can muster, just with enough force to disrupt him and throw him off balance. Make sure he has actually started lifting himself off the chair before we make contact.
> Sitting on the ground? At a table?
> How was he sitting previously? Cross-legged?
> Are his knees still bent?
> Is he leaning forward or backward to assist himself up?
> Keep tickling his nose and closest ear as long as they are in range, but keep an eye on his lower body.
> When Rinnosuke has propelled himself upward (in the act of standing up) sufficiently that his forelegs are straight enough to not still be directly in front of his shins, hook toe bottom of his closer shin (basically where the shin starts turning into the ankle) with one of our feet and yank his lower leg backward away from him. This should be a pull rather than a kick.
> Throwing out his what?
> Hey, it was important to be sure!
> Where are our cards now?
> Quick! Dive for the cards on the ground!
> Look over at him. What happened to the card that fell on his pouch?
> Is his body currently oriented toward or away from us?
> Is the card he's picking up on our side of him or the other side of him?
> Can we immediately feel how much energy is in our cards without taking the time to look at them?
> Do we have any immediately convenient pockets on our dress?
> Dash (or fly, if we're still airborne) straight at him. While moving, quickly jam the cards in our hand into the most convenient pocket.
> Aim for Rinnosuke's side and giving it a running/flying/whatever shoulder tackle.
>Did that impact loose any more spellcards?
> Give chase! Aim for the arm that holds the majority of our cards and try to grab on to it, preferably around the wrist!
>Gut punch attack!
>Take the cards while Rinnosuke has the wind knocked out of him.
>"I'd rather you just give me my cards back, but this is an acceptable alternative."
> "You can put it on the tab of whoever stole my cards from Tewi."
> Frown.
> "Since when has any of that mattered? I don't recall you being around to take my money, and I don't recall agreeing to sign it away."
>"Don't try that with me. Anything I gained passed from you to me freely. No agreement was made. I owe you nothing for what you said freely and by your own choice. Besides, you owe me for the whole spellcard thing, so yeah, not buying it."
>Press the attack. Try to knock him out.
>"You gave no price, asked for nothing. You can't simply decide that I owe you without telling me; I'm afraid that's not how it works. Not everything has a price, and if you wanted your words to have one, well, you should've done that before giving them to me."
>Go for the head, and don't hold back.
>Inventory
>Do we have the trident?
>If he is in range, knee him in the groin, and follow up with a strong uppercut that he should be doubling over into.
>If he is not in range of a melee attack, unsheathe the trident quickly and catch his legs with the tines and twist.
>Do we still feel that feeling of dread?
> Where did that come from, anyway? Did it feel natural for us? We're supposed to be the unknown terrorizing one, after all...
> Take out the trident and poke him in the side with the pole end.
> Turn back toward the entrance to the basement and raise our voice to a shout.
> "HOOOOOOOOY!"
> Return those extra-long wrist hairs to regular fur-coat length while waiting for any sort of response.
> "Just get someone down here!"
> Walk over to Rinnosuke's limp body if it's not immediately next to us.
> While keeping the pointy end of the trident trained on him, retrieve our cards.
> Check which two cards we grabbed earlier.
> Check drainage status of our cards.
> Keep the trident trained on Rinnosuke's body while watching the entrance for someone's arrival. Periodically flick our eyes over to him to make sure he doesn't stir.
> That asshole. If we have to remake these things from scratch...
> Keep the trident trained on Rinnosuke's body while watching the entrance for someone's arrival. Periodically flick our eyes over to him to make sure he doesn't stir.
> Give a passive glance toward the prone body, then turn back toward Renko.
> "Personally, I think this is the best this room has looked all day. Either of you want to try coming over here to see if those barriers are down?"
> Frown.
> "I don't suppose you're slowing of your own accord?"
> Did Patchouli mention knocking Rinnosuke out as a method to counter his magic?
> Frown and look back at the body.
> "How unfortunate."
> "Shouldn't be a huge problem if that wall only works one way. Might as well find out now."
> Put our cards back in our purse.
> "The more important question is what to do with him after that."
> "I'm not sure it'll be quite so easy. But I want to talk to Byakuren as well regardless, so I guess we can decide after that."
> Given the current state of our arms, what do we think is the best way to cart him around?
> "All right, let's give this a shot."
> Grab Rinnosuke somewhere draggable and non-sensetive and try dragging him back over to where Renko and Mokou are.
> "Fantastic. Let's get the hell out of here, the less time I spend down here the better."
> Keep on draggin' him.
>"Yeah, but..."
>"Well, I think he was about to try to do to me whatever he did to Tewi. I knocked him out before he could, but... well, there's no garuntee he couldn't do it when he wakes up, whether I'm actually present or not, and I'd rather not find out. You know any sleep spells? Something we could use to keep him from waking until we've dealt with the greater situation?"
>If we haven't given Tewi's name yes (I can't remember), just call her 'the one who took my spellcards'.
>If she doesn't: "We should ask Patchy, then."
>"As long as he stays asleep."
>Keep heading outside, getting rid of the extra hair as we do.
EDIT: Something I just thought of: if merely telling us things is enough to get us to owe Rinnosuke, then any action that he benefits from would mean he'd owe whoever took that action, right? And I'm pretty sure that Byakuren's done a lot that he's benefited from, since, well, that's the kind of thing she does (if nothing else, her efforts to help people would mean that Rinnosuke has more potential customers staying alive, though I'm sure there's something a bit less indirect from that.
But what I really want to do with the spellcards is destroy them. As far as I can tell, this scheme uses them as a focus, so getting rid of them would screw it nice and hard. It shouldn't be that tough either; even if Rinnosuke protected them with his faith, we have a new friend that specializes in destruction. So we can trade them to Flan for whatever then have her pop them. We can draw up new copies after this business is over with.
I think we should break the barrier before we go anywhere, since it's guarding the center of where Rinnosuke was doing this ritual, and the barrier itself might be what he was doing, making it expand to reject all currency maybe?. The barrier seems to be linked to the coins themselves. Purvis said there were no coins around Rinnosuke, correct? If we dig under them from the one-way side of the barrier and disturb the way they're laid out, it might either open the barrier or break it completely.
> "Do you think we can get him to the temple before he wakes up? We have some stuff to talk about, and the less of it done around his ears, the better."
> "..I can't tell, does it seem like whatever Rinnosuke was doing down there is still, well, set to go off? Some kinda power surge or stopper or something?"
> "Yeah, let's have you take him, then. But we're going to want to act fast, because if he wakes up and I' around, I think I may end up endangering everyone."
> "I don't know. It would depend on what he wants to do with me."
> Go with them.
> "Don't think so. But I want to check one more thing."
> Turn to Mokou.
> "Hey, Mokou. You know Tewi, right? In your experience, how easily intimidated is she?"
> Grin at Renko.
> "Welcome to Gensokyo, kid. Most of us still don't fully understand how you even got here in the first place. But things have a funny way of working out. I'll be sure to let you know when and how you can help out."
> Did we verbally commit to returning to the temple?
> What happened to that apron?
> "Catch you both later."
> Take flight and zoom up after Byakuren.
> Let's give her a minute, juuuuuust in case.
> Make our way toward Ichiro's.
> How strange. Gonna have to investigate that wedge at some point.
> ...And give it a good thrashing for almost killing us.
> Alight in front of the jewelry store.
> What are they doing?
> So is it more or less a "do not disturb" situation?
> Does the door have a mail slot?
> Best leave them alone for the time being, then. Shuuei's still potentially very useful, and it wouldn't due to upset her.
> Head back out to the main road of the village. See if we can spot Mystia or anyone from the temple.
> Make our way over to Mystia's hat.
> We do? Didn't we ditch that hair already (http://www.shrinemaiden.org/forum/index.php/topic,10609.msg723556.html#msg723556)?
> Take at glance down at our limbs.
> "Oh. Fancy that."
> Finish ditching the hair.
> Nah, let's revert back to regular glorious us.
> "It's a complicated story, but yeah, I'm fine. How did things go here?"
> Hah. Good for you, Biggun, you've been in this village for all of three or four years with a full-youkai 'staff' and you're already the town's rock.
> "Yeah, sorry about needing to drag her away. She's back now, though. How did your trip to the jeweler's go?"
> "Thanks."
> Take our bracelet and put it back on.
> "Ichiro's a good man. I figured he might appreciate it. What about Shuuei?"
> Well, imagine that. She thought to ask. We're even greater than we thought we were.
> Nod.
> "Yep. Got here fine."
> Grin.
> "Can't say as much for the other guy."
> "He's actually here. Over at the temple, presumably. Last I saw Byakuren, she was walking back toward the temple and not struggling with him. Think she's brewing something up to keep him out for a while longer."
> "Gave him the ol' one-two."
> Pantomime a knee to the groin and an uppercut in beat with 'one-two'.
> "Not sure. He can do some pretty strange things. I don't know how effective keeping him locked up would actually be."
> "Only thing we can. Find a way to fix things."
> Frown.
> "Though we might want to keep someone stationed at his place, because the tengu are likely to be nosing around it sooner rather than later."
> "No, just thinking out loud. I can figure that out back at the temple. You're welcome to join us there, by the way."
> "'Kay. If you're ready, we can go anytime."
> "Sounds good."
> Walk on over to the temple.
> "The guy somehow set up impassable barriers all over the place in his basement. I couldn't get at anything the normal way, so I dug my way through."
> "We'll see. Those barriers were hardly the only trick he had up his sleeve. Remember that he got Tewi to work for him against her will. Call it a hunch, but I don't think we've seen the last of that kind of threat from him."
> "I can tell you this much; he seems to operate on whatever debt he can inflict on a person, be it monetary or even just metaphorical. He claims I'm indebted to him just because he told me all about what's going on, and because I dug up his floor, and he seems to think he can use this against me."
> "I think he started to try using it on me, but any man's going to lose his concentration when he gets knocked around that way. Doesn't guarantee he won't wake up at some point and try again, though."
> "Kind of. I think we need to do more research and studying than anything else right now, though. I've no idea how to reverse what happened."
> Do we remember where the hakutaku is around here?
> Thinking as fellow jewelers, was Ichiro's response to Mystia a message for us, or was it nothing deeper than what it appeared to be on the surface?
> Frown.
> "I just thought of something, just to be safe. I'm gonna hate myself for even considering this, but...you go on ahead inside. See if you can find Byakuren, she should be preparing something. Tell whoever you meet that I sent you along and I'll be behind you shortly."
> Where might Byakuren have taken Rinnosuke?
> "Not off the top of my head. Might be in a guest room or a store room. More than likely, though, if there's anyone milling about inside, they'll know where you should go."
> Deep breath. This is gonna suck.
> Make our way back over to the schoolhouse.
> Head up to the front door and ring the bell.
> "She's on her way back. I'm sure she'll be glad to tell you tales of how I went out and embarrassed myself for the greater good."
> "I might. You ever worked with the shopkeeper before?"
> "Good."
> Take another deep breath.
> Pull out our cards.
> "Hide these."
> "Because he was using them as a catalyst for a greater scheme that literally insane. He's warping feality by believing in things that aren't true so hard he's actually making them true. He knows my stance on the Yamato, too. You're the last person he'll think has them."
> Frown and narrow our eyes.
> "Believe me when I tell you that every fiber of my being is screaming at me just for standing here right now. This is not a joke. You can ask Byakuren yourself if you like, she was there for the conversation with Patchouli."
> "I'll want 'em back once the danger has passed. We have him at temple. Make sure you don't give them to anyone other me or one of the temple regulars."
> "Great. Get back to work, then."
> The hell you think we're doing? Whatever, let's get out of this place before we vomit from the stench of cowbeast.
> So he was apprenticed at the charms shop, huh? Head back that way.
> Can we see inside?
> Might as well...
> Enter the store.
> "I've heard Rinnosuke Morichika used to have an apprenticeship here. Is that true?"
> "Well...it turns out he's responsible for the money incident."
> "Yeah. We've more or less detained him, as much as a temple will detain anyone. But we have no idea how to reverse what he's done. I was hoping you might know something helpful abut him."
> "That might be true. Patchouli and Byakuren did say he'd need more than what we knew he had to pull this off..."
>"A thief and a liar, too."
>"So perhaps there is a business deal here. The question then becomes, of course, that of who he's doing business with."
>"A thief and a liar, too."
>"So perhaps there is a business deal here. The question then becomes, of course, that of who he's doing business with."
> "He was here this morning?"
> "Oh. Huh. I do remember seeing a Jacinth Tiger there...though not much of anything else that looked like it might have come from a charms shop."
> "Aha. Makes me wonder how the jeweler came into a bunch of spellcards, though. Maybe they belonged to his little ghost girl?"
> "Yeah, I suppose that's true. Anyway, thanks for your help. Hopefully we'll be able to reverse what he did with everyone's money."
> "I think so, unless you have something to offer. I suspect you'll know when I succeed, just like everyone else."
> Frown.
> "Well...if it helps, he did it because he genuinely thinks he can make a better world by eradicating the current economy."
> "Figured. The Gensokyo he was trying to create had an economy 100% based around bartering."
> "Well, we do have him here now, like I said earlier. If you wanted to hear about this from him, I guess."
> "All right. I'm gonna head back that way myself now, unless you have anything else."
> Nod.
> "Sorry about this."
> Assuming the shopkeeper doesn't object, leave the store and head back to the temple.
> Take our own shoes off and place them as appropriate.
> Is there any obvious activity anywhere?
> Make our way to the second floor.
> Make our way down the hall, but not far enough to come into view of people around the corner.
> Stop and listen. Do we recognize the voices?
> Turn the corner.
> "He is and isn't. Or something. I don't really get it myself too well. It seems ludicrous that someone can warp reality just because they believe it's possible really hard, but it's what Patchouli said, and she knows better than me."
> "Yeah, I've come to learn this has apparently gone on for quite a while. Seems he used to apprentice at the charms shop, and even back then he wasn't very interested in money."
> "Maybe, but it didn't stop..."
> Blink.
> "Wait, Mr. Kirisame? Really?"
> "I'm rarely up here at all, so..."
> Shrug.
> "Interesting to know. I told him what happened and who was responsible. He seemed disappointed. I wonder if Marisa will feel the same way when she learns. Or maybe she'll feel something a bit more proactive than he did."
> "Do Marisa and her...father? Grandfather? Do they not get along, or what?"
> "Shame. I would have liked to get her in on this whole debacle. It turns out Mr. Kirisame was the one who gave my cards to Rinnosuke...but I'm pretty sure he was used by Rinnosuke, and possibly also the person from whom he acquired them, for this purpose."
> "Besides the fact that I think he was genuinely disappointed? The fact that he came out and told me who he got the cards from and to whom he gave them, with a minimal amount of prompting. Not to mention that I'm about 99%to sure the person who sold him the cards lifted them from Tewi. And don't worry about this other person, I'd rather deal with them on my own. There's no need for a group of people to get involved with this person."
> "They needed mine specifically. It was part of Rinnosuke's greater plan. What he really needed was the energy of a shapeshifter, like me. My cards just happened to be the easiest vessel for it, because the alternative would be using me."
> "I'll do my best to make sure it doesn't happen again. To be honest, I'm not convinced Rinnosuke didn't have his hand in that as well, like he did with Tewi."
> Nod.
> "If I'm around, we can give it a go, yeah."
> Turn to Byakuren.
> "How's the thng you're making coming along?"
> Frown.
> "So we wait? Don't like waiting much. What can we do in the meantime?"
> "Yeah, but as crazy as it sounds, that's on the back burner right now. The thief isn't going to make a move right now, I promise. We still need to get someone to cover Kourindou, and I'm wondering if it's also worth positing my theories to Mr. Kirisame. Never mind the fact that we need to reverse whatever did this."
> "Someone to stand there and not let people in until we get back. Since you've been around a whole bunch with me, I'm actually less inclined to leave you there, because you need less explained to you. If we could get Reimu or Marisa standing guard there, that would be great, since they don't immediately need to know more than the bare minimum and no one's going to get by them."
> "Well, there's other stuff that can be done. We could tell Mr. Kirisame everything, since this was his apprentice and he was unwittingly a part of the process that threatened to make this permanent. We could drag Tewi out of hiding, since Rinnosuke said her job was basically finished. And we could ask Patchouli if she's made any progress in her studies, as well as keep her informed about our happenings."
> "She could probably tell us more than she was able to before. And I know you're annoyed with her, but apparently she had no idea what the greater plan was."
>"It may also be worth a trip to the mountain, even if all I can do is arrange a meeting with Sanae again. What we're dealing with is apparently similar to faith, similar enough that Kanako thought it was faith. She may be able to do something about this whole situation."
> "Maybe. But if she hasn't moved, we actually do know where she is."
> How good or bad are we with rain?
> "All right. I think it's best if we get moving, then. First thing to decide: do we tell Mr. Kirisame everything or not?"
> "All right. I suppose we could always tell him when we got back anyway."
> "So that leaves leaving first. This place got anything that works as rain gear?"
>Kidnap Kogasa.
>"I don't suppose there's anywhere nearby I could get something, is there?"
> Grin.
> "C'mon, you know me. You don't do what I do for as long as I've done it without developing a knack for getting into places you're not wanted. If Shou's place has some stuff, then that'll work fine."
> "Don't worry, I'll be sure to lock up when I'm done. I'll even dry whatever I find before I return it."
> "Great."
> Turn to Mystia.
> "How's this, then? You go find someone to guard Kourindou, then come back here. I'll head out and drum up whatever help I can."
> "Reimu would be ideal if she's back, with Marisa a close second. After that, I don't really know for sure. Anyone that isn't a tengu would do."
> "Because they'd rather nose around in the area and serve themselves instead of doing what's best for everyone."
> Shrug.
> "If they have a different collective attitude, they sure haven't shown it the past two days."
> "Can't think of anything. Can either of you?"
> "Guess that settles it, then. You want some rain gear?"
> "All right, we'll we what we can do."
> Turn back to Byakuren.
> "For the record, I'm not terribly happy for having to do it this way."
> "Right. Be careful with him if he wakes up somehow, he's somehow able to add to someone's debt to him as he tells them things, or as they presumably are a hindrance to him in some fashion. I have no idea how he could possibly quantify it, but get enough of it, and who knows what he can do to you."
> "Ideally."
> Give Mystia a c'mon-wave.
> "Let's get to work."
> Head back down to the main entrance to retrieve our shoes.
> "I think we can reconnect here, since I suspect the main problem will need to be solved here as long as he's here."
> Do they look familiar?
> "Let's make this quick."
> Float outside, close the door behind us after Mystia gets through, then zip our way over to Shou's Clothes.
>Get our kit out and pick that lock.
> Browse for stuff that would make for decent rainwear. Try to find something on the less expensive side; we're already going to have to tell her about the apology to Miss Trumpet Ghost, it'd probably be best not to piss her off even more.
> Point the umbrellas out to Mystia.
> "They're not coats, but would those work?"
> Head on over to the umbrella pot.
> How much is an umbrella?
> Grab the two tiger-striped umbrellas. Hand one to Mystia.
> "Might as well get Shou some free advertising, as long as we're borrowing her stuff."
> "At least half of advertising is lying your ass off. Try as much as you can to look like you like it if anyone asks."
> "Anyway, I've had an idea. Would you be up to heading back to that vampire mansion with me?"
> "Since they have a very vested interest in making sure they get their money restored smoothly, and they seem to have an extra gate guard to spare these days, I'm wondering if we can get someone from there to station themselves at the shop. It could save you from looking all over creation, at least."
> Grab a third umbrella, one on the less expensive end.
> "'Kay. Whoever we get, they may appreciate one of these as well, even if it's just to get there."
> Frown for a moment, then put the second umbrella back.
> "I suppose. Hopefully they can spare someone, then."
> "All right, let's get this party started."
> Head back over to the front door, lock it, and step back outside with Mystia.
> Open up our umbrella, then take flight and start heading toward the vampire mansion.
> "I'm wondering...maybe I should investigate that grey wedge next time I'm close to it."
> "Yeah. Kinda hoping it'll come to me somehow."
> "Right. Just thinking out loud."
> Swoop down to the gate guards.
> "Right, of course. Pretty sure I don't need to get in right now. But I thought I should ask; how committed is your mistress and your house to fixing the money incident if it may involve one or more of the residents of this mansion to travel elsewhere?"
> "Long story short: I found and subdued the culprit. They have been moved elsewhere, with the money still sitting in giant piles where they took it. The thing is that I have no idea how to undo what they did, and while the money is behind some bizarre pseudomagic barrier, it's not completely unreachable for someone that really wants to get at it and knows what they're doing. Like me. And I don't know what effect someone disturbing the money would have on the possibility of redistributing it correctly to everyone in Gensokyo."
> "It needs a guard, yes. I'm not positive disturbing it will ruin our change at reversing what happened here, but I don't think it's worth the risk. I could also use someone that stands a chance of figuring out how to reverse it."
> "If not her, then whoever might know anything. I'm completely out of my league on this one."
> "Yeah. If Patchouli doesn't want to come, I'm open to ideas on who to consult instead, as long as they don't require me to go up the mountain."
> "Maybe, if I can get there. Not the easiest place to find."
> "Patchouli already knows a whole bunch about the circumstances. We tried to freeze the culprit out since we couldn't get directly at them, but they resisted even that. When I thought about how the floor was dirt, I had the pyro from the bamboo melt a small part of it, turned into a molish form, and dug my way underneath the barrier. Tried to annoy them into submission. When that didn't work, well, kneed their groin and clocked their jaw. Went down like a sack of potatoes."
> Call after her.
> "That's fine!"
> Turn back to Miss Hong.
> "Well, that's one problem solved."
> "Could still use a guard. We can try to find someone else if we need to, but I figured it was worth asking, since it looks like your house might have one to spare."
> ...Did she? I don't remember anything.
> "Oh. Oh! No, my bad. This needs two people. One to investigate how to reverse things and one other to not let people in that shouldn't be getting in."
> "As long as she can stop a tengu reporter, it's all good."
> "Can her familiar do it? I suspect Patchouli will be kinda busy."
> "Works. I think that's it, then. Thanks for the help."
>"Also, I have a present for both of you"
>Shank Flandre then break off a crystal from her wings to shank Meiling, then shank the SDM in the nose