(Skyseas of Gensokyo) Nazrin Quest (Part 9)

[Oldmansour]

>Except for the one that Ren still had in her back, assuming it's still there, are all three of our remaining kunai present?
>Leave the weapons where they are, anyway, not like they're gonna do us much good, now that we've well and truly lost. Well, assuming we ever even had a hope in hell in the first place. Just grab up our pack.
>Check it for missing items.

[DracoOmega]

>Except for the one that Ren still had in her back, assuming it's still there, are all three of our remaining kunai present?
>Leave the weapons where they are, anyway, not like they're gonna do us much good, now that we've well and truly lost. Well, assuming we ever even had a hope in hell in the first place. Just grab up our pack.
>Check it for missing items.

>Everything you would expect to be here appears to be here.
>You pick up your pack and take a moment to make sure the contents haven't been looted. Nothing appears to be missing here, either.

>"You know..." Aya says, leaning in towards you and speaking quietly. "If you wanted to speed things up, you could help us look for it."

[Kilgamayan]

> Keep our voice quiet, but raise an eyebrow with an otherwise neutral expression.
> "Somehow, I'm not surprise you'd endorse betraying one's friends to save oneself."

[DracoOmega]

> Keep our voice quiet, but raise an eyebrow with an otherwise neutral expression.
> "Somehow, I'm not surprise you'd endorse betraying one's friends to save oneself."

>"I'm hurt!" she says, doing a passable job of looking likewise. "I always keep my promises. But who, exactly, would you be betraying? We're going to find it sooner or later; wouldn't you rather it be sooner? I think that better for everyone involved."

[Kilgamayan]

> "Well, among absolutely everything else wrong and horrible with that thought process, if the thing were actually here, and helping you find it didn't matter to them, don't you think they would have told you where it is already?"

[DracoOmega]

> "Well, among absolutely everything else wrong and horrible with that thought process, if the thing were actually here, and helping you find it didn't matter to them, don't you think they would have told you where it is already?"

>"People are stubborn," she says casually. "Keeping their lips sealed isn't going to change anything in the end, but that doesn't mean they'll want to admit it. I thought maybe you'd be more interested in being practical, that's all."

[Kilgamayan]

> "I am being practical. I'm not doing that to them when they're my ride to Val Razua. I'd be better off dead in that case."

[DracoOmega]

> "I am being practical. I'm not doing that to them when they're my ride to Val Razua. I'd be better off dead in that case."

>"Oh, you think they'd have to know?" She glances towards your dowsing rods. "I'm sure you can work those out of anyone's sight. Just because you didn't catch it the first time doesn't mean you wouldn't if you knew for sure there was something here to find. You'd be doing yourself and them a favor."

[Kilgamayan]

> Narrow our eyes.
> "The only person I'd be doing a favor is you. This isn't about giving me a better chance or doing anything for them, this is about you getting your meathooks on this thing faster while absolving you of the responsibility of compensating me for the damage you've done to my chances at saving myself by offering a fake solution to a problem only you actually have. I'm not going to inflate your already over-bloated ego. You can take your 'advice' and shove it."

[Oldmansour]

Now normally, Kilga, the thought of doing anything to help Aya tastes even worse to me than vodka. But, in this case, there MIGHT be an opportunity here to help the Maiden crew. We offer to speed up the process, and in exchange, Aya doesn't steal anything else, like she's threatened.
And if she refuses, then we can tell her to go take a flying leap into a tornado.

[Kilgamayan]

If you think this line of conversation will result in her making good on that threat (which I missed but am not surprised happened), then countermand what I've put out there and I'll say no more. You know what we talked about in private a while back, and it has since come to pass, and I have not forgotten about it. If this is how things are going to be, then I would at least rather not do any further damage.

[Oldmansour]

I'm not sure I understand. She's already said she's going to make good on that threat. Twice. This I think would be our only chance to try and talk her out of it. The way I see it, there's no harm in making the proposal. How could we do any further damage at all? Worst thing she can do would be refuse, and we'll have lost nothing.
Matter of fact, we could call her on that as well. She and her crew said they only came for one thing, and now the story's changed. So she's already broken her word once.

[Kilgamayan]

Then you deal with it. I refuse to be a part of such a path.

[Oldmansour]

As you wish.

> "I'm not going to inflate your already over-bloated ego. You can take your 'advice' and shove it."

>Hold off on just this part.
>"However, I may be loyal to my friends, but that doesn't mean I can't see opportunity to help them, and myself, when it's there. If I knew what I was looking for, I might just be able to find it faster than your rabbit. So I'll make you a deal. I'll give you my services as a Seeker, if you refrain from stealing anything else from the Maiden, or her crew, like you've threatened."

[DracoOmega]

> Narrow our eyes.
> "The only person I'd be doing a favor is you. This isn't about giving me a better chance or doing anything for them, this is about you getting your meathooks on this thing faster while absolving you of the responsibility of compensating me for the damage you've done to my chances at saving myself by offering a fake solution to a problem only you actually have."

>"However, I may be loyal to my friends, but that doesn't mean I can't see opportunity to help them, and myself, when it's there. If I knew what I was looking for, I might just be able to find it faster than your rabbit. So I'll make you a deal. I'll give you my services as a Seeker, if you refrain from stealing anything else from the Maiden, or her crew, like you've threatened."

>The corner of Aya's mouth curls upward and her eyes take on a sharp glint as you state your conditions. "Well, that's certainly a gutsy offer. I like your style, but I'm afraid any help you could give doesn't come close to making up for the damage to the Bunbunmaru. You're going to have to come up with something a lot more appealing than that if you want to change my mind."

[Oldmansour]

>"How about the added benefit of proving you're good on your word, since you seem to have gone back on it here."

[DracoOmega]

>"How about the added benefit of proving you're good on your word, since you seem to have gone back on it here."

>She cocks an eyebrow. "Oh? And what word would that be?"

[Oldmansour]

>"That'd be the one where you and your crew said you just came here for just one thing. Assuming this Ren of yours is as honest as you claim to be. Now, instead of 'just one thing', it's 'just one thing, plus whatever we feel like.' Sound about right?"

[DracoOmega]

>"That'd be the one where you and your crew said you just came here for just one thing. Assuming this Ren of yours is as honest as you claim to be. Now, instead of 'just one thing', it's 'just one thing, plus whatever we feel like.' Sound about right?"

>"Ah, ah, ah," she says chasteningly. "That was before their captain tried to smash the Bunbunmaru in half. Fixing damage like that is expensive! We're just making up for our losses. Now, if you have some idea on another way to do that...?" She looks at you expectantly.

[Oldmansour]

>"Losses you had to expect. You and your lot said as much, 'we came prepared'." Pause a moment to grin. "Though I gotta confess, even I didn't think they'd be able to do that much damage. That was a good show for them."
>Look a touch dissapointed. "But I guess I'll take this as a sign that Aya Shameimaru's word is only good until someone hurts her bottom line. NOW you sound like a pirate. And I was almost starting to expect something more from you."

[DracoOmega]

>"Losses you had to expect. You and your lot said as much, 'we came prepared'." Pause a moment to grin. "Though I gotta confess, even I didn't think they'd be able to do that much damage. That was a good show for them."
>Look a touch dissapointed. "But I guess I'll take this as a sign that Aya Shameimaru's word is only good until someone hurts her bottom line. NOW you sound like a pirate. And I was almost starting to expect something more from you."

>"Compensation for damage is standard operating procedure," she says with a faintly amused expression. "I'm sure you'd want us to make it up to you if those dowsing rods of yours got snapped in half, no? Now try multiplying that by a couple hundred. And we hadn't even done anything at that point but try to save you from your captain's recklessness." She does an irritatingly good job of playing the innocent party.
>Then her expression relaxes and she shrugs. "But if thinking that makes you feel better about what's happened, I can't force you to think differently."

[Oldmansour]

Well, Kilga, I tried.

>Throwing you into one of those turbines a few times, that would make a mouse feel better.
>"Is that what you wanted to have that 'little chat' about? You wanting my help finding what you came to steal?"

[DracoOmega]

>Throwing you into one of those turbines a few times, that would make a mouse feel better.
>"Is that what you wanted to have that 'little chat' about? You wanting my help finding what you came to steal?"

>"Well, you were the one worried about us holding you up," she says. "I figured we could make this better for the both of us. But if you don't want to..."
>She shrugs and starts to turn away, then stops and throws you a sidelong glance. "I don't suppose you can read the writing on that sword of yours?"

[Oldmansour]

>Give her a scowling yet curious look, as if to say, 'What's it to you?'

[DracoOmega]

>Give her a scowling yet curious look, as if to say, 'What's it to you?'

>"That's a 'no', isn't it?" she asks lightly.

[Oldmansour]

>"I wouldn't have thought you could. Steal many things with this kind of writing on it, then?"

[DracoOmega]

First of all, I want to apologize profusely for the extreme delay of this update. Around the time of the last posts, I became aware of a plot snarl developing behind the scenes and since then have spent a very considerable amount of time and effort attempting to wrangle it back into shape. Hopefully the matter has been sufficiently resolved by now and this sort of delay will have no cause to occur again before the game is complete. Rest assured, I had not simply abandoned Nazrin Quest, nor do I have any intention of doing so (despite potential appearances to the contrary). Sorry, peoples.

>"I wouldn't have thought you could. Steal many things with this kind of writing on it, then?"

>Aya sketches a wounded look; she's either a surprisingly good actor or genuinely believes her own propoganda. "Hey! Is it really so hard for you to accept that I might have come across it honestly? We're pirates, not kleptomaniacs."
>"But yes, I have seen that kind of writing more than a few times before," she continues in a more relaxed tone. "I might even be able to read a little of it for you, if you'd like. And," she adds with the faintest hint of a grin playing at the corners of her mouth, "I'd be more than happy to have Karu take a look at your sword, too. You want to know how it ticks, right? She's good at stuff like that. Might even be able to help you find the answer you're looking for."
>The tengu's expression is all business. "Provided, of course, that you're willing to reciprocate."

[Oldmansour]

>Think back. No one we'd met before was able to translate any of the writing on our sword, were they?

[DracoOmega]

>Think back. No one we'd met before was able to translate any of the writing on our sword, were they?

>None you had personally met, though Professor Kamishirasawa did suggest in her letter that at least a partial translation may be possible. However, she also stressed that modern understanding of the language was fragmentary and that any translation would be a time-consuming process. You also vaguely recall the student you spoke with at the Brass Lantern saying that some of the characters in your inscription do not show up in any previously known examples of Freelands Archaic, though you don't know how extensive these gaps would be.

[Oldmansour]

>And she was reputed to be one of the best in the field.
>Taking that into consideration, is it a fair assumption that miss Freebooter here and her crew of thieves might be a better chance of getting the writing translated than we might find in Val Razua?