(Skyseas of Gensokyo) Nazrin Quest (Part 13)

[Oldmansour]

Probably not. I admit, it's a reach. Probably too convenient.

[DracoOmega]

>"You've heard of the legendary flower garden, right?"

>Kagerou's brow knits tighter. "Legendary?"

[Oldmansour]

>"A grandiose term, I admit, but not an inaccurate one, I don't think."
>"See, I've heard that somewhere out here... Well, there, I suppose," Indicate the map area we think the garden might be. "is a garden that stays in bloom all year 'round, rain or shine, snow or drought. I need to find this garden, but so far, I haven't found anyone that knew where it was, or how I could go about finding it."

[DracoOmega]

>"A grandiose term, I admit, but not an inaccurate one, I don't think."
>"See, I've heard that somewhere out here... Well, there, I suppose," Indicate the map area we think the garden might be. "is a garden that stays in bloom all year 'round, rain or shine, snow or drought. I need to find this garden, but so far, I haven't found anyone that knew where it was, or how I could go about finding it."

>"Well, I don't either," she says firmly, then gestures at your map. "No better than this, anyway." A moment's pause - hesitation? Lips seem to open, then close again, but all she says is "I'm sorry."

[Hello Purvis]

>"I didn't think you'd really know where it is. What I'm trying to do is figure out where it isn't, and what kind of obstacles there are out there. See...it's kind of important. I mean, enough to make me show up at your house in the middle of the night unannounced important."

[DracoOmega]

>"I didn't think you'd really know where it is. What I'm trying to do is figure out where it isn't, and what kind of obstacles there are out there. See...it's kind of important. I mean, enough to make me show up at your house in the middle of the night unannounced important."

>She frowns tentatively. "May I... ask why?"

[Hello Purvis]

>"Because I need to find a flower that blooms only once every few years to make a cure for someone who is suffering from an obscure plague caused by by an obscure youkai. They have about a week left, according to the best estimates."

[DracoOmega]

>"Because I need to find a flower that blooms only once every few years to make a cure for someone who is suffering from an obscure plague caused by by an obscure youkai. They have about a week left, according to the best estimates."

>Kagerou's scarlet eyes grow suddenly serious. "A week?" She glances at the map again, then back up to you. "But it would take most of a week just to get there and back again!"

[Hello Purvis]

>"I don't anticipate much sleep, no."

[DracoOmega]

>"I don't anticipate much sleep, no."

>"Even so...." She stares intently at the map again.
>"Is this person back in the village?"

[Hello Purvis]

>Shake head.
>"I don't anticipate much sleep."

[DracoOmega]

>Shake head.
>"I don't anticipate much sleep."

>She frowns. "How... far?"

[Hello Purvis]

>"Far enough. Right now, let's focus on cutting that travel time, shall we?"

[DracoOmega]

>"Far enough. Right now, let's focus on cutting that travel time, shall we?"

>"R- right." Kagerou returns her eyes to your map, slowly tracing up one side and down the other as a worried frown plays upon her face. She says nothing. In fact, you can scarcely hear her breathing over the crackle of the fire in the background. After a few moments, she starts to fidget inattentively with the nails on one of her hands, flicking one against the other - nervous habit? You think you can hear the kettle starting to simmer.
>"...how well can you swim?"

[Hello Purvis]

>"...Passably. But I've had some bad experiences. What do you have in mind?"

[DracoOmega]

>"...Passably. But I've had some bad experiences. What do you have in mind?"

>"Somewhere around, um... here, I think-" she lays a finger upon a protuberance of the Grau to the west "-there's a grotto. It exits... here. Or, uh, thereabouts, I'm pretty sure." She circles a small spot to the northwest. Notably, this is on the other side of a ridge of rugged terrain marked as impractical to cross. The most obvious route on your map is appreciably more circuitous, as you round the ridge from the northeast then double back.
>"The entrance on this side is... underwater." She grimaces slightly. "Not very far; just a couple feet, really. I'm sure this wasn't what you had in mind," she adds apologetically.

[Hello Purvis]

>"...For that kind of time savings, it's worth it. Tell me more about it."

[DracoOmega]

>"...For that kind of time savings, it's worth it. Tell me more about it."

>"Well, the grotto's mostly one long straight path, so you shouldn't need to worry about getting lost in it - I don't have any map I could give you. It's open to the sky in places, just... too narrow to-" She pauses, then frowns in your direction. "You... can't  turn into a mouse, can you?"

[Hello Purvis]

>"Never could figure out how to do that."

[DracoOmega]

>"Never could figure out how to do that."

>She gives a little smile. "Fair enough. Anyway, like I was saying, the grotto isn't completely enclosed, but the only exits a normal person could get through are on either end. I don't know exactly where it comes out," she adds pensively. "But it's definitely somewhere in this general area. The entrance on this side is... Well, along this bank here is mostly sheer rock." She traces a finger along the area she said the grotto was located. "The entrance is... just a little more than halfway between this bend and the other end of the pond. There's a spot where two parts of the cliff butt together like this?" She holds her hands together at an angle. "There's a seam of smoky quartz right down the middle - it looks a bit like a big 's'. Kind of. The grotto entrance is about... hmmm... 15 or 20 feet further up. You duck right under the rock and come up in a little pool. You probably only need to hold your breath for 6 or 7 seconds if you're going the right way."

[Hello Purvis]

>How much of our stuff can we expect to get uselessly soaked on such a venture?
>"I'll have to keep this in mind. Something of a side question, does the name Yuuka mean anything to you?"
>Where have we narrowed down the likely locations of the garden to, based on the data we've gotten so far?

[DracoOmega]

>How much of our stuff can we expect to get uselessly soaked on such a venture?
>Where have we narrowed down the likely locations of the garden to, based on the data we've gotten so far?

>Your pack is thoroughly waterproofed, so hopefully nothing. Sadly that won't stop your clothing getting soggy.
>Sekibanki indicated a (still admittedly fairly large) area about 3 day's journey to the west. This is well beyond any of the places Kagerou has mentioned so far.

>"I'll have to keep this in mind. Something of a side question, does the name Yuuka mean anything to you?"

>"That's..." She frowns in thought. "That's that name of the woman whose garden you're looking for, isn't it?"

[Hello Purvis]

>"Yep. Sounds like you know something?"

[DracoOmega]

>"Yep. Sounds like you know something?"

>Kagerou shakes her head. "No, not really. I've just heard her name before. I heard she's supposed to be dangerous," she adds in a concerned tone.

[Hello Purvis]

>"Me too."

[DracoOmega]

>"Me too."

>"I suppose you know what you're getting into better than I do," she says.

[Hello Purvis]

>"I desperately hope so."
>Indicate the region(s) where we think the garden may be. "Can you tell me anything about this, at all?"

[DracoOmega]

>"I desperately hope so."
>Indicate the region(s) where we think the garden may be. "Can you tell me anything about this, at all?"

>Your response does little to dispel the worry from Kagerou's face.
>"About any of that?" she asks, peering at your tracing of the furthest reaches of the Isir's Cross charts. It's pretty sparsely detailed and sketchy, but the original honestly wasn't much better.

[Hello Purvis]

>"Yeah. Have you been there? Heard anything about it?"

[DracoOmega]

>"Yeah. Have you been there? Heard anything about it?"

>"I don't... think I've been out that far," she says. "...maybe?"
>Kagerou picks up that part of the map and stares at it, a distant cast falling across her eyes. She slowly nods. "Yes, maybe. Once or twice. This hill here." She points at one. "I think I may have been there. I could be wrong!" she adds hastily. "But the way the edge curves in there looks familiar; there's a really good view from the top of that hill, and the tree cover is thinner along the north. One side of it was covered in poppies; it might be too late in the season for that now, though." The memory of a smile plays upon her face for a moment.