(Skyseas of Gensokyo) Nazrin Quest (Part 2)

[Kips McKipzerson]

>Sigh. Just walk in calmly. If you try not to make any funny moves, and explain what happened, maybe they wont bother you?
>Try to mention Cirno if possible.

[Hello Purvis]

>Actually, don't mention Cirno. She may not be well liked here. Save that until we know how she's regarded.

[DracoOmega]

>Sigh. Just walk in calmly. If you try not to make any funny moves, and explain what happened, maybe they wont bother you?
>Try to mention Cirno if possible.

>Actually, don't mention Cirno. She may not be well liked here. Save that until we know how she's regarded.

>You sign and continue walking calmly towards the settlement. The fairy, unencumbered by such things as terrain, quickly speeds away from you despite not actually moving particularly fast. As she gets closer to the bulk of the houses, you see other fairies start to rise up into the air, drawn towards her flying wail. She doesn't seem to be making any attempt to articulate herself better than this.
>You consider mentioning Cirno, then decide that you ought to keep quiet on that until you know how she's regarded.
>There are around a half dozen fairies within sight now, many of them looking at the fleeing fairy, and a couple in the general direction she came from, but you don't think any of them have spotted you yet.

[Hello Purvis]

>Give a friendly wave.

[Kips McKipzerson]

>Give a friendly wave.

>I am not the mouse you are looking for...
>Try not to attract too much attention, we dont know if they're hostile or not.

[Hello Purvis]

>Belay that. We want to attract attention, so they'll be listening to us and not the alarmist. So make it a good wave. If they're hostile, we've already lost.

[DracoOmega]

>Give a friendly wave.

>You give a friendly wave, and try to make yourself obviously visible. The couple fairies looking in your direction catch sight of you, and shout and point. The other fairies turn their eyes towards you. The flying intruder alarm continues mindlessly and noisily forward.
>The attitude of the crowd seems mixed and hard to gauge. One of them just points at you, like she's waiting for someone else to say something. Another whispers something to her neighbor. One starts to approach, and another grabs her by the shoulder.

>I am not the mouse you are looking for...

>"She's not the mouse we're looking for," one of the fairies says.
>Her neighbour gives her an odd look. "We were looking for a mouse?"
>The other fairies shrug.

[Hello Purvis]

>"Hi everybody! I'm just a friendly seeker passing through, had a few questions that I hoped you could answer. Then I'll probably be on my way. Mind if I come in?"

[DracoOmega]

>"Hi everybody! I'm just a friendly seeker passing through, had a few questions that I hoped you could answer. Then I'll probably be on my way. Mind if I come in?"

>"A seeker?" one of them says. "I thought you were a youkai."
>"She is a youkai," another one of them says decisively.
>"She's trying to trick us!" a third cries, throwing up her hands and turning tail.
>One of them takes a step forward, hands on her hips. "Whadda ya want, anyway?"

[Hello Purvis]

>Answer the one first. "I am a youkai, but also a seeker."
>Smile to Handhips. "Just looking to get a job done, so I can get back to helping my friends in Braston. There's a group of faeries there who need a kitty for their secret hideout, and I can't go find them one until I gt this stupid job done. You know how it goes, yeah? Have you seen any horses around here?"

[DracoOmega]

>Answer the one first. "I am a youkai, but also a seeker."

>One of the fairies in the rear throw you a dubious expression. "How's that work?"
>"Does that work?"
>"What's a seeker look like, anyhow?" another chips in. There is a chorus of shrugs. The fairy in front stares at you impatiently and more than a little confrontationally. Wail fairy continues to demonstrate the Doppler effect.

>Smile to Handhips. "Just looking to get a job done, so I can get back to helping my friends in Braston. There's a group of faeries there who need a kitty for their secret hideout, and I can't go find them one until I gt this stupid job done. You know how it goes, yeah? Have you seen any horses around here?"

>"A kitty!" one of them cries, almost as soon as you mention the word.
>Her companion gives her an elbow. "This is important!" she hisses at her, under her breath.
>"Horses?" The fairy in front gives you a wary look as you finish explaining. "Whadda ya care about horses?"

[Kips McKipzerson]

>"Part of my job. Gotta find some stuff that was stolen from a man. You guys know anything about it?"

[Oldmansour]

"Just trying to get them home, where they belong. Old farmer that looks after them's real worried about them, too. Soon as I find them, and the goods they were with, I can be on my way."

[Hello Purvis]

>"Because the guy who has me out here lost his, and I can't get back to that other job until I find out about them."
>"As for seekers-"
>Tap the badge. It possible, try to catch the light with it.
>"That's how you can tell."

[DracoOmega]

>"Part of my job. Gotta find some stuff that was stolen from a man. You guys know anything about it?"

>"Well, there-" one of the fairies begins.
>"Don't know nothing," the fairy in front says firmly, cutting her off.

"Just trying to get them home, where they belong. Old farmer that looks after them's real worried about them, too. Soon as I find them, and the goods they were with, I can be on my way."

>A small blond-haired fairy towards the back seems to frown. "They're f-"
>"I said we don't know nothing," the fairy repeats, scowling.

>"Because the guy who has me out here lost his, and I can't get back to that other job until I find out about them."
>"As for seekers-"
>Tap the badge. It possible, try to catch the light with it.
>"That's how you can tell."

>"But the kitties!" one of the fairies cries in dismay.
>You tap your badge and do your best to catch the light with it though the fog. You hear murmurs of realization sweep through the fairies.
>"So Seekers are shiny?" one of them asks.

>Wail fairy seems to be finally running out of breath, her voice fading even faster than her distance would cause. It sounds rather more like a squeak at this point. A few more fairies are joining the group in front of you.

[Hello Purvis]

>"Don't know anything, huh? Hey, you mind if I invite myself in and get something to drink? Take a load off? Been out all day, you know."

[DracoOmega]

>"Don't know anything, huh? Hey, you mind if I invite myself in and get something to drink? Take a load off? Been out all day, you know."

>A chorus of contradictory responses answers your question.
>"Sure!"
>"Hell no!"
>"Do Seekers like tea?"
>"This is our place!"
>"Did you say you had a kitty?"

>"Yeah, we mind," the fairy in front says, more authoritatively than the others.
>"But she likes kitties..." one of them says plaintively.
>The scowling fairy thrusts a finger towards her left. "There's a lake over there."
>"The water's great!" one of them chips in helpfully.

[Kips McKipzerson]

>"Hey, Fairy-in-front, I'm guessing your the leader of the group, right? Are you 100% sure you dont know anything? Because the sooner I know what I need to know, the sooner I can leave you all alone."

Not entirely sure if this is the right approach, but its the best I can come up with.

[Hello Purvis]

>Instead, address hands-on-hips
>"You keep this place together, don't you?"

[DracoOmega]

>Instead, address hands-on-hips
>"You keep this place together, don't you?"

>You address the grumpy looking purple-haired fairy in the front.
>"That's right!" she says. "These guys wouldn't know how to-"
>"Oh, put a sock in it, Hyacinth," another interrupts. You hear murmurs of complaint from among the other fairies, and a few frowns.
>Hyacinth rounds on her. "Hey! No backtalk! You want her to eat you?"
>One of the fairies in the back yelps and dash off, wailing "She's gonna eat us!"
>"...did she say if she likes tea?" you hear a small fairy near the rear ask her neighbour.

[Kips McKipzerson]

>"What would make me think I'd eat you anyways? Any youkai with a mind would know that fairys respawn, and it'd be extremely painful if you guys were to respawn in my stomach."
>"I'm here purely on bussiness, I mean you no harm, etc etc."

[Sect]

>"What would make me think I'd eat you anyways? Any youkai with a mind would know that fairys respawn, and it'd be extremely painful if you guys were to respawn in my stomach."
>"I'm here purely on bussiness, I mean you no harm, etc etc."

> Hold off on this. Do fairies respawn?

[DracoOmega]

> Hold off on this. Do fairies respawn?

>Fairies are beings of natural magic, a minor manifestation of some facet of nature itself. If a fairy sustains sufficient injury, they deconstitute and effectively vanish, but the essence which forms them remains in the world. After some time, this essence reconstitutes and the fairy reappears, looking not much the worse for wear. You think the length of time this takes can vary, although you don't know if this is influenced by the force with which they're dispatched - you don't specifically understand the magical mechanics involved. You don't think they necessarily reappear at the same spot they vanished from, either. But as best you know, it's essentially impossible to do any long-term harm to a fairy.

[Sect]

Okay, just making sure continuity's not accidentally broken. Feel free to continue, Kips.

[Kips McKipzerson]

>"What would make me think I'd eat you anyways? Any youkai with a mind would know that fairys respawn, and it'd be bad if you guys get some sort of eternal grudge against me for eating you. That wouldn't be fun."
>"I'm here purely on bussiness, I mean you no harm, etc etc."

Should we mention Cirno? Chances are she's either an outcast and would involve an awkward answer, or that she's a well known person in the village for good reason.

[DracoOmega]

>"What would make me think I'd eat you anyways? Any youkai with a mind would know that fairys respawn, and it'd be bad if you guys get some sort of eternal grudge against me for eating you. That wouldn't be fun."
>"I'm here purely on bussiness, I mean you no harm, etc etc."

>"Yeah!" one of the fairies cries. A couple of the others echo the words, although the looks on some of their faces makes you wonder if they're certain exactly what they're agreeing with.
>"Ha!" Hyacinth cries, crossing her arms. "A likely story. You think we're going to believe that?"
>The chorus of "Yeah!" repeats itself, many of the fairies looking even more lost than the fist time.

[Hello Purvis]

>"Mice don't eat faeries, that's just silly. Besides, I already have my lunch with me."

[DracoOmega]

>"Mice don't eat faeries, that's just silly. Besides, I already have my lunch with me."

>"Whatcha got?" a smaller brown-haired one pipes up, flitting a few inches towards you before someone grabs her.

[Hello Purvis]

>"Some trail food, a bit of day old pie for desert."
>Can we get some idea how large the village is from here?

[DracoOmega]

>"Some trail food, a bit of day old pie for desert."

>"Pie?" several of them seem to say at once.
>"What kind of pie?" one asks.
>Another fairy near the front holds an arm out. "Don't forget that she's still an intruder." A couple of the newcomers yelp.
>"I got this," a familiar voice calls out from the rear. "Everyone else get clear." There's a chorus of recognition from the crowd, and several of them do start to scatter. Hyacinth grumbles.

>Can we get some idea how large the village is from here?

>Although the trees are thinner here than along most of the path from the road, there's still plenty of them about, which interferes with your sight lines. Many of the houses seem to be built either in or around the trees, so it's hard to estimate their numbers. Judging from how far out you can see houses, you think there must be at least several dozen fairies living here. Maybe more.