Keine Quest (Part 2): Broken History

[DracoOmega]

>"The Hell Raven, who made the crater I'm hoping to use to get down there. And yes, she probably could, if she caught them before they could stop her."

>"And let me guess, this also played out entirely differently in the world you remember?"

[MysTeariousYukari]

> "Very. The Shrine Maiden Reimu Hakurei and the Witch Marisa Kirisame entered the Underground through a tunnel and beat up Utsuho before she could start much of anything. But with Hakurei being gone for so long, and Kirisame having disappeared after the Scarlet Mist incident but before the Long Winter... no one to properally stop her..."

[DracoOmega]

> "Very. The Shrine Maiden Reimu Hakurei and the Witch Marisa Kirisame entered the Underground through a tunnel and beat up Utsuho before she could start much of anything. But with Hakurei being gone for so long, and Kirisame having disappeared after the Scarlet Mist incident but before the Long Winter... no one to properally stop her..."

>"Those two again, huh? Do they go around fixing everything where you come from, or something? Any idea what became of her here? You said we're headed to some sorta crater she made."

[Hello Purvis]

>"Not everything. But, practically everything. They've had help from others in the past.  And, I don't know. I am hoping the fact she hasn't tried it again means she's calmed down, like she did in my version of events."

[DracoOmega]

>"Not everything. But, practically everything. They've had help from others in the past.  And, I don't know. I am hoping the fact she hasn't tried it again means she's calmed down, like she did in my version of events."

>"Here's hoping. If she has half the power you say she does, I'd rather not have to deal with her. Gotta have something left for Kaguya, y'know?"

>You fly on in silence for another while. You're over wide open grasslands, now, and drawing quite near to the general area Sanae described the crater as being. You don't notice it at first, given the lighting, but after a while you think you can see patches of discoloration to the northeast.

[Hello Purvis]

>Northeastward!

[DracoOmega]

>Northeastward!

>You head towards the patches of discoloration... and it soon becomes evident that they were only the mildest traces of the devastation in front of you. Huge swaths of the ground are scorched and blackened. No plant life at all grows there. There are burn marks and rubble-strewn trenches cutting back and forth across the terrain like scars. You see one lonely tree cling to life among the dead husks of its neighbors. And in the center of it all is a large crater, at least 20 feet deep.
>"...the hell?" Mokou eventually spits out. You think you hear Rumia whimper quietly.

[Hello Purvis]

>"This is why one does not take Utsuho lightly."
>Descend into the crater.

[DracoOmega]

>"This is why one does not take Utsuho lightly."
>Descend into the crater.

>"...no kidding." Mokou says, surveying the devastation.
>"Rumia doesn't want to ever meet hell raven lady!" Rumia adds, definitively.

>You descend into the crater. Despite the occasional blast mark and rubble, the surface of the crater is smooth, melted and fused by the heat that created it. It's rather chilling just standing there. What must this battle have been like? Near the very center of the crater is a fairly small pit of some sort. It descends into blackness out of sight.

[E-Nazrin]

>Do we have a light?
>... well, aside from Mokou, at least.

[DracoOmega]

>Do we have a light?
>... well, aside from Mokou, at least.

>Familiars can give a little light. Mokou can probably do better than that, though.

[Hello Purvis]

>"Care to light the way, Mokou?"

[DracoOmega]

>"Care to light the way, Mokou?"

>"We going down that hole over there, then?" She gives it a look. "Kind of a tight squeeze." She conjures a sphere of bright fiery light in her palm, and tosses it down the hole. You see it descend for a least a hundred feet or so before it winks out of sight. From what detail you can gather, the walls are quite straight and free of any obvious obstacles all the way down. You didn't see the bottom, however.

[Hello Purvis]

>"It seems to lead where we need to go."
>Is it large enough to sate fears of getting stuck? If someone with a wing span came through it...

[DracoOmega]

>"It seems to lead where we need to go."

>"Well, it leads down, anyway... I just hope whatever came up through this isn't resting at the bottom of it, now."

>Is it large enough to sate fears of getting stuck? If someone with a wing span came through it...

>It's more than large enough for any of you to comfortably fit in, but you'll probably be forced to travel in single file

[E-Nazrin]

>It's more than large enough for any of you to comfortably fit in, but you'll probably be forced to travel in single file

>Even Remilia?
>"Let's go take a look, then."
>take Rad-X
>head down!

[Hello Purvis]

>"Worse comes to worst, I'm sure you could take her, Mokou. And we'll be there to assist."

[DracoOmega]

>Even Remilia?

>Her wingspan may be large, but you think she could just fold them around her as she descends.

>"Worse comes to worst, I'm sure you could take her, Mokou. And we'll be there to assist."

>"....maybe. Just hope we don't have to. Would be a giant pain in the ass."

>"Let's go take a look, then."
>take Rad-X
>head down!

>"May as well."
>You let Mokou take point and descend into the shaft. She conjures some more fiery light in front of her so that she can see where she's going. You can't really get a view of much ahead of you; Mokou's body itself blocks most of your sight, and much of the light too, casting long shadows upon the walls. However, the shaft appears to be almost entirely straight. And long. You're not certain how far you descend, but you're almost beginning to question if you've overshot the underground entirely when you hear Mokou call out: "I can see the bottom."

[Hello Purvis]

>Ponder if it may be possible to contract Utsuho to be our miner instead, assuming she's still around.
>"Have a look around before you leave the shaft. Be ready in case something strikes."

[DracoOmega]

>Ponder if it may be possible to contract Utsuho to be our miner instead, assuming she's still around.

>Well, if the shaft is any indication, she does quality work

>"Have a look around before you leave the shaft. Be ready in case something strikes."

>"Sure." After a pause. "I don't see anything. Looks pretty empty down here."

[Hello Purvis]

>"Good. I'll follow you out into the cavern."
>Presuming Rumia followed us in and now above us. "Try not to ram into me, Rumia."
>Proceed.

[DracoOmega]

>"Good. I'll follow you out."
>"Try not to ram into, Rumia."
>Proceed.

>"Sure," Mokou replies.
>"Ok~" Rumia says.
>Mokou descends out of the shaft, and you follow her out. True to her promise, Rumia manages not to bump into you.
>You appear to be in a very large cavernous chamber, made of featureless dark rock. The floor is still 30 or 40 feet below you; the shaft seems to have been burned through the ceiling. The only source of light in here at all is from Mokou, and it's not strong enough to allow you to see the far edges of the chamber, such is its size. It's rather chilly and damp.
>"Well, kinda emptier than I figured," Mokou comments.
>"Oooo...." Rumia makes a note of wonder, as she looks wide-eyed around the chamber. "Rumia had no idea there was anything like this under the ground!"

[E-Nazrin]

>find and pick mushrooms
>get high

>"That doesn't surprise me too much. I think the oni mostly keep to their city. Now we just need to find it."
>Do we know where it was in our time?

[DracoOmega]

>"That doesn't surprise me too much. I think the oni mostly keep to their city. Now we just need to find it."
>Do we know where it was in our time?

>"Well, lead on. I sure as hell don't know where we're going, down here."
>You knew generally where it was, but certainly not from this improvised entrance. It would probably somewhere far to the northeast. Whether or not there are tunnels that lead directly from here to there is anyone's guess.

[Hello Purvis]

>Go Northeasterly
>Can we identify this place?
>Get closer to the floor.

[DracoOmega]

>Go Northeasterly
>Can we identify this place?
>Get closer to the floor.

>The place is pretty featureless, although the look and shape of the rock suggests it might not be an entirely natural cavern. Of course, that could just be Utsuho's doing. It doesn't seem readily identifiable to you.
>You land and head towards the northeast, with Mokou following you. The chamber continues for quite a way before narrowing down to a wall in the north. You follow along the wall and eventually see a large tunnel heading eastward.

[Hello Purvis]

>Eastwards are as good as anywards. Take the tunnel.

[E-Nazrin]

>As good a place to start as any. Any identifying features near the tunnel?
>Actually, is there any indication of the place we came down from?

[DracoOmega]

>As good a place to start as any. Any identifying features near the tunnel?
>Actually, is there any indication of the place we came down from?

>You don't see any identifying features. It is made of similar material as the large chamber, although the stone is perhaps somewhat rougher.
>The place you came down from was just an open field, as best you can tell, and not especially close to any important sites.

>Eastwards are as good as anywards. Take the tunnel.

>You continue into the tunnel and walk for a significant distance. It twists south, and then east again, and eventually northward for a while. There are no side tunnels that you can see, or any other points of interest for that matter.
>Wait, you think you can see a couple tiny points of dimly flickering light in the distance.

[E-Nazrin]

>The place you came down from was just an open field, as best you can tell, and not especially close to any important sites.

>Will the hole leading back up easy to locate again?
>Get a little closer and observe.