(Skyseas of Gensokyo) Nazrin Quest (Part 6)

[DracoOmega]

>Any indication of a price involved here?
>Pick up the sheathe.
>Take a closer look at the weapons in plain sight around here, see how their quality matches up with what we saw back at the shop.

>None that you can see.
>You pick up the sheath. It is of very plain design, but it does look like the dimensions and curvature at least approximately match Kumokirimaru's
>You examine a few of the weapons that you can see and compare them with those from the weapon shop from earlier. While those at the shop were certainly not bad - in fact, they were of solid quality - you definitely feel that the craftsmanship on display here matches their top-end work at the very least. Unfortunately, most of what you can see are very obviously works in progress - blades without mountings, part of what appear to be a pair of spiked gauntlets, and so forth.

[Oldmansour]

>Best not experiment with the scabbard when we're alone, so keep the blade in hand for now. Well, tail, use our hands to belt on the scabbard.
>Do we know if Yuugi has a store in town?
>Take a close look at the weapons setting off our treasure sense, and memorize that sensation, so we can recognize it in the future.

[DracoOmega]

>Best not experiment with the scabbard when we're alone, so keep the blade in hand for now. Well, tail, use our hands to belt on the scabbard.
>Do we know if Yuugi has a store in town?
>Take a close look at the weapons setting off our treasure sense, and memorize that sensation, so we can recognize it in the future.

>Juggling the sword between appendages, you don the scabbard.
>You do not.
>You take a closer look at the weapons to be more certain of what you're sensing and where you're sensing it from. On closer inspection, you're quite certain there is an appreciable amount of orichalcum in the greataxe - one of the few pieces that appears finished - and likely at least some in several of the other weapon components. This probably accounts for most of what you're sensing, though you think there may be something else that's hard to put into words. You do your best to memorize the sensation.

[Oldmansour]

>Flip over the note, and write, "I'll kick one for you, too." Then put it back where we found it.
>Depart, and, making sure there's someone on the street in case we fall over black in the face, place the blade in the sheathe. But don't take our hand off the hilt.

[DracoOmega]

>Flip over the note, and write, "I'll kick one for you, too." Then put it back where we found it.
>Depart, and, making sure there's someone on the street in case we fall over black in the face, place the blade in the sheathe. But don't take our hand off the hilt.

>You flip over the note and add your own comment to it, then return it to where you found it.
>You exit the smithy and position yourself within sight of passersby; this isn't especially difficult to do at this time of day. Then you unwrap the blade from its increasingly tattered covering, take a deep breath, and slide the naked blade into the sheath. Nothing in particular appears to happen, nor do you feel any different for this gesture. Absently, you note that the fit is a touch on the loose side, but pretty good considering the sword itself wasn't on-hand when the sheath was being crafted.

[Oldmansour]

>Rest our left hand on the hilt, then remove our right hand.

[DracoOmega]

>Rest our left hand on the hilt, then remove our right hand.

>You place your left hand on the hilt and remove your right. Nothing appears to happen.

[Oldmansour]

>With our hand, or elbow, whichever's more comfortable, resting on the hilt, head towards the Brass Lantern to see if that woman from the arch crew is still in.

[DracoOmega]

>With our hand, or elbow, whichever's more comfortable, resting on the hilt, head towards the Brass Lantern to see if that woman from the arch crew is still in.

>Keeping your hand on the hilt, you proceed south towards the Brass Lantern.
>After a short while, it becomes clear that this new arrangement is quite a bit more awkward than holding the sword freely had been this past little while. Try as you might, there seems to be no way to truly compensate for the reduced range of motion. It's fine enough for short periods, but you suspect that if you need to go around like this all the time, your arm is going to end up seriously cramped.
>Soon enough, you find yourself outside the inn once more.

[Oldmansour]

>Enter and ask the receptionist if Sasha, that woman from the excavation, is still in.

[DracoOmega]

>Enter and ask the receptionist if Sasha, that woman from the excavation, is still in.

>You enter and in ask the receptionist if Sasha is still in.
>"I think she left to go back to the dig early this morning," she replies, then gives a little sheepish smile. "People stay here long enough, you start to know their routines."

[Oldmansour]

>"Didn't mention anything about her boss coming back this way, did she?"

[DracoOmega]

>"Didn't mention anything about her boss coming back this way, did she?"

>She shakes her head. "I didn't really speak with her, sorry."

[Oldmansour]

>"'s fine. Thanks."
>Back to the guildhall. If she's gone, maybe she left a message with Sashiko while we've been out.

EDIT:
>No, wait. Head back to that weapon shop, pick up a set of three kunai, THEN go check in with Sashiko.

[DracoOmega]

>"'s fine. Thanks."
>Back to the guildhall. If she's gone, maybe she left a message with Sashiko while we've been out.
>No, wait. Head back to that weapon shop, pick up a set of three kunai, THEN go check in with Sashiko.

>She repeats that sheepish smile. "Sorry."
>You start to head back to the guildhall, but decide to detour to the weapon shop instead and purchase the set of kunai that you examined earlier today. Unsurprisingly, their inventory has not moved in the past hour or so, and you complete the purchase without incident, departing the shop 48 guilders poorer and 3 kunai richer - an equitable trade if you can manage not to expend these as quickly as the last set. Then you return to the guildhall.

>Sashiko gives a quick nod to you as you enter, then turns her attention back to whatever it was she was working on a moment before.

[Oldmansour]

>"Still no messages for me?"
>How hungry are we feeling?

[DracoOmega]

>"Still no messages for me?"
>How hungry are we feeling?

>Sashiko grins a little. "Getting antsy, are you? But nope, nothing. Sorry."
>You didn't have a very copious breakfast, so a decent lunch certainly wouldn't go astray.

[Oldmansour]

>Then let's avail ourselves of the guild's larder.

[DracoOmega]

>Then let's avail ourselves of the guild's larder.

>You head towards the guild's kitchen to scrounge up lunch for yourself. As is typical of this time of day, there are multiple apprentices and even a full Seeker or two already here, either in the process of preparing themselves lunch or eating it. Despite the number of people who use the facility, the guild doesn't employ a cook, instead expecting people to take care of their own meals; self-reliance is one of the key traits they try to foster, after all. It doesn't necessarily foster good cooking skill, but at least you get used to doing things for yourself.
>You exchange a few brief greetings, and then root through the pantry. It is usually well-supplied - they may expect you to cook, but they do at least provide the food - but the food gets eaten through and restocked often enough that you can never be quite sure what you'll find. Still, it isn't hard to rummage up something you wouldn't mind eating.
>You find part of a cured ham in the icebox, and fresh bread and cheese , and set to making yourself a sandwich. Cutting the ham and bread is a surprisingly  awkward task with only one hand able to move freely, though you do your best to somehow position one limb to rest on Kumokirimaru and secure the ham in place at the same time.
>"Expecting an ambush to leap out at you from the cupboards?" a nearby apprentices asks, himself in the process of getting lunch. Evidently your display was less subtle than you'd hoped.

[Oldmansour]

>Quip back, "I've had stranger things happen."
>Screw it, now's as good a time as any.
>Release Kumoru, but keep our hand micrometers away from it in case we feel any deliterious effects.

[DracoOmega]

>Quip back, "I've had stranger things happen."
>Screw it, now's as good a time as any.
>Release Kumoru, but keep our hand micrometers away from it in case we feel any deliterious effects.

>"Everyone would have to be getting awfully slack to let someone to slip in here, don't you think?" His tone is friendly and mild. "Unless one of the instructors got it in their mind to torment us poor students, I guess."
>You decide now is as good a time as any to see how necessary this really is. You release your contact with the hilt ever so slightly and brace yourself. You're.... pretty sure you don't feel any differently than you did a moment ago. Right? Certainly nothing obvious happens.

[Oldmansour]

>"I can think of someone that sure would..."
>That'd have you written over it, Mari. Heck, now you've even got Honey to sneak into small places.
>Take a few moments to ensure taking our hand off the blade isn't at least going to immediately kill us, then continue lunch preparations.

[DracoOmega]

>"I can think of someone that sure would..."
>That'd have you written over it, Mari. Heck, now you've even got Honey to sneak into small places.
>Take a few moments to ensure taking our hand off the blade isn't at least going to immediately kill us, then continue lunch preparations.

>"I'd still like to think I could see it coming, but what do I know, eh?" He gives a little smile and goes back to chopping his tomato.
>Marisa never did much actual formal instruction - she was always far too on the go to be stable for it - but you have to imagine that if she ever does some day, her teaching methods would be... unorthodox. And possibly terrifying. You wonder whether the guildhall would survive them.
>You take a few more moments to process any unusual sensations and convince yourself that you aren't about to collapse in convulsions at any moment. Nothing appears to happen. In fact, you cannot sense any change at all that isn't attributable to justified paranoia. Eventually, you feel mostly satisfied that you're okay, at least for the moment. You finish up your sandwich.

[Oldmansour]

>Find a piece of fruit to add to our meal, and a drink, then sit and munch.
>Do we feel any different when the hilt isn't touching our torso?

[DracoOmega]

>Find a piece of fruit to add to our meal, and a drink, then sit and munch.
>Do we feel any different when the hilt isn't touching our torso?

>You find a pear, and pour yourself a glass of orange juice, then sit down at a table and start to eat lunch.
>Not as far as you can notice. At least, you're pretty sure there's no difference...

[Oldmansour]

>Keep our ears open for anyone talking about the jobs currently posted. Or for anyone talking about someone with a fast ship.

[DracoOmega]

>Keep our ears open for anyone talking about the jobs currently posted. Or for anyone talking about someone with a fast ship.

>You keep your ears peeled while you eat in the hope of hearing something you can use. Unfortunately, the conversation in the room seems to be mostly small talk, or discussion of past and upcoming work assigned to the apprentices. One or two of the job postings does come up in passing, but no one says anything about them you don't already know or surmise. No one mentions ships at all.

[Oldmansour]

>Finish eating.
>Grab a piece of fruit for the road, then head to the tavern with the stolen wines.

[DracoOmega]

>Finish eating.
>Grab a piece of fruit for the road, then head to the tavern with the stolen wines.

>You finish your meal, then grab another pear for the road and head out to investigate the stolen wines.

>This tavern is located far from oni territory, near the heart of the commercial district. It's also a rather obviously more classy establishment;  the the dining area is spacious and the furniture well-crafted, with a simple yet tasteful aesthetic of dark-stained wood accented by wrought iron filigree. A display behind the bar showcases a a variety of drinks in an array of differently shaped bottles. This is clearly a far cry from some of the dives you've seen.
>At the moment, there are several patrons dining, though the establishment seems only sparsely populated at the moment. A middle-aged woman is sitting behind the bar, idly watching the room.

[Oldmansour]

>Swanky. Smell for cheese with the wines.
>Approach the woman. "I'm from the Seekers. I understand there was a request put in at the guildhall?"