(Skyseas of Gensokyo) Nazrin Quest (Part 7)

[DracoOmega]

> Frown and shrug.
> "Well, when I'm dead in two weeks and you're all still alive and not diseased, it won't really matter all that much. I don't know what to do here, I don't exactly get served a death sentence every day."

>"No, I suppose not...." She frowns in silence for a few moments.
>"Is there anyone in town that could confirm your story? A healer of some sort, maybe? Please don't take this the wrong way, but it's a very serious matter."

[Kilgamayan]

> Are there?

[DracoOmega]

> Are there?

>None of the doctors that you consulted in town recognized your condition or the markings on your skin, even the one who spent a considerable time searching through his own library for some reference to it. The mage alchemist did claim to have some greater understanding of it than the rest, but also left you with the impression that she may have been peddling snake oil. None of them commented on your contagion, and you imagine they probably couldn't without having more familiarity with the disease than they did.

[Kilgamayan]

> "If you're worried about the contagion thing, I don't think so. Like I said, Minoriko's experience with this is from some time ago. No one I talked to had any knowledge of it, and I'd be surprised if any of today's medical practitioners had experience with it. If you only want to know that I have it at all, though, that's a lot easier to do."

[DracoOmega]

> "If you're worried about the contagion thing, I don't think so. Like I said, Minoriko's experience with this is from some time ago. No one I talked to had any knowledge of it, and I'd be surprised if any of today's medical practitioners had experience with it. If you only want to know that I have it at all, though, that's a lot easier to do."

>Her antennae shift upward slightly. "It is?"

[Kilgamayan]

> "Yeah. But it's not very pretty."

[DracoOmega]

> "Yeah. But it's not very pretty."

>"I... see," she says, frowning.

[Kilgamayan]

> Grab the sleeve of our visibly infected arm with our other hand, but don't roll the sleeve up yet.
> "Up to you if you want to see it or not. For what it's worth, Louise mostly maintained her composure."

[DracoOmega]

> Grab the sleeve of our visibly infected arm with our other hand, but don't roll the sleeve up yet.
> "Up to you if you want to see it or not."

>You grab your right sleeve.
>Neu takes a deep breath. "Go ahead."

[Kilgamayan]

> Nod.
> "For what it's worth, Louise maintained her composure pretty well."
> Roll up the sleeve as much as necessary to expose the mark while angling our arm so it's 'aimed' toward Neu.

[DracoOmega]

> Nod.
> "For what it's worth, Louise maintained her composure pretty well."
> Roll up the sleeve as much as necessary to expose the mark while angling our arm so it's 'aimed' toward Neu.

>You roll your sleeve up to reveal the patch of ragged black on your upper arm and angle it towards Neu. Ah, dammit... you're pretty sure it's larger than it was this morning - not by very much perhaps, but some.
>For her part, Neu reacts little, though you see her frown subtly deepen. Her antennae angle downward and shift apart slightly, and she is silent for a moment.
>"Is that... painful?" she says, eventually.

[Kilgamayan]

> "I'm doing okay."
> Point at Kumokirimaru with our sleeve-holding arm.
> "This blade here? It's about as old as the blight, and about as mysterious. It's helping keep the blight at bay somehow, both in terms of lifespan and just generally being able to function."
> Give a half-frown.
> "Neither of us wants a demonstration of what happens when I don't have it with me."

[DracoOmega]

> "I'm doing okay."
> Point at Kumokirimaru with our sleeve-holding arm.
> "This blade here? It's about as old as the blight, and about as mysterious. It's helping keep the blight at bay somehow, both in terms of lifespan and just generally being able to function."
> Give a half-frown.
> "Neither of us wants a demonstration of what happens when I don't have it with me."

>You gesture to Kumokirimaru and explain its role in keeping you alive. Neu's frown deepens, and she closely examines the inscribed guard as well as the blighted marking on your arm.
>"You weren't exaggerating when you said that you'd be dead in two weeks," she says in a knowing tone. "Were you?"

[Kilgamayan]

> Shake head.
> "There's another mark on my leg, and a couple more under my shirt. I'm hoping this isn't what they meant by 'beginner's luck'."

[DracoOmega]

> Shake head.
> "There's another mark on my leg, and a couple more under my shirt. I'm hoping this isn't what they meant by 'beginner's luck'."

>Neu takes another deep breath. "Please don't take this the wrong way, but it takes a lot of trust to accept that you're not a risk to the people around you, if the disease you carry is as lethal as this. I've known you for less than an hour, and you say no one else can back you up on the claim that you're not contagious. It's... a lot to take on faith, especially when you're asking to stay on board the same ship with us for half a week. It would be a lot easier to say no."

[Kilgamayan]

> "No, I understand where you're coming from. Believe me, I wish I had a second opinion that was less than 6 hours away."

[DracoOmega]

> "No, I understand where you're coming from. Believe me, I wish I had a second opinion that was less than 6 hours away."

>She slowly nods. "It's the captain's decision to make, in any event. I will be informing her of this, you understand?"

[Kilgamayan]

> "Of course. I expect no less. She'll probably want to know what other information we have about this place, too, whether or not it gets me a ride to Val Razua."

[DracoOmega]

> "Of course. I expect no less. She'll probably want to know what other information we have about this place, too, whether or not it gets me a ride to Val Razua."

>"Oh, of course," Neu replies. "I think she'll be pleased, actually. This is the first time we've found some actual evidence of things being amiss."

[Kilgamayan]

> "Indeed. There's something else amiss, too. When I looked at your captain's door, the lock had been picked. But when I inspected the door of the finance records room, there was nothing unusual about the doorknob. There were alarm enchantments active in the room, too, and Louise said nothing suspicious had happened there recently."

[DracoOmega]

> "Indeed. There's something else amiss, too. When I looked at your captain's door, the lock had been picked. But when I inspected the door of the finance records room, there was nothing unusual about the doorknob. There were alarm enchantments active in the room, too, and Louise said nothing suspicious had happened there recently."

>"Well, we always knew the thief had to be very good to make it past the deck watch without being spotted," she says. "But are you saying you think they were someone from inside the customs office?"

[Kilgamayan]

> Nod.
> "If they're not, they're good enough to get past governmental alarm enchantments without being detected. Which seems pretty incongruous with needing to pick the lock of your captain's door. With all due respect, of course."
> Roll our sleeve back down.
> "It's the other half of why I showed her the mark on my leg. She seemed to be taking pleasure in your captain's anger, and she was doing her best to rush me along without answering too many questions. Figured it was worth an extra little test."

[DracoOmega]

> Nod.
> "If they're not, they're good enough to get past governmental alarm enchantments without being detected. Which seems pretty incongruous with needing to pick the lock of your captain's door. With all due respect, of course."
> Roll our sleeve back down.
> "It's the other half of why I showed her the mark on my leg. She seemed to be taking pleasure in your captain's anger, and she was doing her best to rush me along without answering too many questions. Figured it was worth an extra little test."

>"No offense taken," she says. "That does make sense."
>You roll your sleeve back down.
>Neu frowns. "If Miss Saint-Claire is complicit in this, she did a very good job of being surprised at the missing records."

[Kilgamayan]

> "There is that too, yeah. And I don't know why she wouldn't just replace the records with your transaction wiped from it, just in case this sort of thing happened. As much as she seemed delighted to watch your captain throw a fit, I would have a very time believing she's involved."

[DracoOmega]

> "There is that too, yeah. And I don't know why she wouldn't just replace the records with your transaction wiped from it, just in case this sort of thing happened. As much as she seemed delighted to watch your captain throw a fit, I would have a very time believing she's involved."

>"Well, if she isn't involved, then she may be the best positioned to find out who is, assuming it really is someone inside her own department. She does strike me as extremely methodical."

[Kilgamayan]

> "Wonder if she'll let us around to help."

[DracoOmega]

> "Wonder if she'll let us around to help."

>Neu frowns a little. "I'm inclined to think no, actually. She's very 'by the book'. But moreover, I don't know that it would be wise for you to have any further involvement with her, after what happened today. It might make things... complicated."

[Kilgamayan]

> Frown.
> "I guess. If that ends up being the case, I only hope you don't need me to find those records."

[DracoOmega]

> Frown.
> "I guess. If that ends up being the case, I only hope you don't need me to find those records."

>"If she's not involved in the theft, then she has the best resources at her disposal to track an internal problem. And if she isn't, well..." She frowns. "Then I don't think she'd let someone outside have a look, in any case."
>She lets out a small sigh. "Given your... situation... I'm sure this isn't too reassuring, I think it might be best to let her handle it. At least give her some of tomorrow and see what happens. Unless you can suggest a better idea, of course."

[Kilgamayan]

> Could we dowse for a certain kind of object, given the presence of other similar objects?