(Skyseas of Gensokyo) Nazrin Quest (Part 5)

[Oldmansour]

Or even slow transport. It was said we weren't really up to that walk back to town, so even if we have to jack another cart, might not be fast, but it'd serve the purpose. Not that we have any time to waste, but I suppose beggars can't be choosers.

>To the Harvest's Bounty, and the goddess within.

[Hello Purvis]

>Take note of things in along the way.

[DracoOmega]

>To the Harvest's Bounty, and the goddess within.

>Take note of things in along the way.

>You exit the orphanage and make your way towards the village center and the Harvest's Bounty. The sky is a mottled tapestry of dull grey and blue, and the air is muggy; you honestly can't tell whether you should expect rain in the afternoon or clear skies. As you make your way into the more populated areas, you dryly wonder if the weather has decided to match the mood of the village. Things seem more or less as they should, though you sense a faint undercurrent of tension to the interactions you witness. Sadly, you can't be entirely sure how much of that is you simply viewing normal conversations in light of your own doubts and misgivings. One thing you are sure of is that your presence is drawing more glances and murmurs than the last time you walked through here. Word about what happened to you has no doubt spread, though it's any guess how accurate it is.
>A short while later, you arrive at the Harvest's Bounty itself. Stepping inside, you find it less crowded than the other day, though with it being on the cusp of lunchtime, you imagine that won't last very long. You easily spot Minoriko, studiously cleaning one of the tables with a damp cloth. She is back-on, but your presence is certainly noted by several of the other patrons, accompanied by the sort of looks you've now come to expect.

[Oldmansour]

>Keep an ear open for gossip and talk pertaining to us, then approach Minoriko.
>"Howdy. Got a minute?"

[DracoOmega]

>Keep an ear open for gossip and talk pertaining to us, then approach Minoriko.
>"Howdy. Got a minute?"

>You try to eavesdrop on any chatter involve you. There isn't too much, despite the looks you received, though you catch a few snatches. Most of it is pretty general and about what you'd expect: people surprised to see you, questioning whether what they heard about your fate was right, and some opinionated speculation on whether this means the spiders are less threatening than some other people have been saying. At least one person seems to have thought you were already dead, or at least a lot closer to death's door than you've been told.
>Minoriko quickly turns around as you address her. The expression on her face is one of genuine surprise, quickly giving way to a wide smile darkened just a bit by unmistakable traces of uncertainty and... sadness?
>"Nazrin!" she says, her voice warm. "It's good to see you. Of course I can spare you a minute."

[Oldmansour]

>Heh. Get a good look folks. Can't keep a good mouse down.
>"I was hoping to get some more... details, on that little problem I've got."

[DracoOmega]

>Heh. Get a good look folks. Can't keep a good mouse down.
>"I was hoping to get some more... details, on that little problem I've got."

>Being more alive than people expect is a strangely empowering feeling at the moment. Take that, death!
>Minoriko's smile eases away, leaving something of a concerned frown. "...right, of course. Come with me."
>She turns and walks towards her rooms.

[Oldmansour]

>Follow behind her.
>Keep our voice down, "Try not to look too concerned. I do at least feel better."

[DracoOmega]

>Follow behind her.
>Keep our voice down, "Try not to look too concerned. I do at least feel better."

>You follow along as she moves past the tables and customers and into the hallway beyond.
>"I'm glad to hear it," she says, though without much mirth in her voice. "It's just, well..."
>You arrive at the door to Minoriko's place. She unlocks it and steps inside, gesturing for you to enter.

[Oldmansour]

>"Yeah. 'Well'."
>Enter, and find a seat for ourselves.
>"I wanted a word before I headed out of town, wanted to know a bit more about what I was up against."
>"And some.. odd coloring I found around my wounds. I suspect they're part of whatever that youkai infected me with, but I wanted to make sure."

[DracoOmega]

>"Yeah. 'Well'."
>Enter, and find a seat for ourselves.
>"I wanted a word before I headed out of town, wanted to know a bit more about what I was up against."
>"And some.. odd coloring I found around my wounds. I suspect they're part of whatever that youkai infected me with, but I wanted to make sure."

>Minoriko frowns uncomfortably, but says nothing.
>You enter and seat yourself on a well-cushioned chair. Minoriko closes the door behind you.
>"Yes, that's..." she trails off for a moment. "That's what I recognized when they first called me to look at you. It is... the surest sign."

[Hello Purvis]

I'm not certain we should be leaving town, save as a last resort.

>"Ichirin mentioned that you remembered some things..."

[DracoOmega]

>"Ichirin mentioned that you remembered some things..."

>"...yes," she replies, visibly uncomfortable.

[Hello Purvis]

>"Well, I've heard the worst of it. So it's all downhill from here."

[Oldmansour]

>"Ichirin mentioned that there were some things about it that you didn't want to say. But anything you could tell me would be helpful."
>"She said that this affected crops, too. Was it a natural disease, then, or was it created?"

[DracoOmega]

>"Well, I've heard the worst of it. So it's all downhill from here."

>"That... may be so," she says in a heavy voice, then shakes her head. "I'm very sorry, Nazrin."

>"Ichirin mentioned that there were some things about it that you didn't want to say. But anything you could tell me would be helpful."
>"She said that this affected crops, too. Was it a natural disease, then, or was it created?"

>"I... can't," she says, frowning tightly. "I'm sorry, but I can't. Please believe me when I say that none of it would change things. I don't know how to save you. I don't know that anything can."

[Oldmansour]

>"Lest we forget, Minoriko. I'm a Seeker. If a cure can be found, I can find it. I just need to know where to start, and a decent place might be the history of this disease, at least as much as you can tell me. Or, if you can't, then you might know someone else that could tell me, or some records of that time."
>"I have one lead, this sword, and if that's all I have to work with, so be it."

[DracoOmega]

>"Lest we forget, Minoriko. I'm a Seeker. If a cure can be found, I can find it. I just need to know where to start, and a decent place might be the history of this disease, at least as much as you can tell me. Or, if you can't, then you might know someone else that could tell me, or some records of that time."
>"I have one lead, this sword, and if that's all I have to work with, so be it."

>Minoriko smiles weakly. "I'm glad to see you so spirited. Whatever is to come, at least you will still have this much. The faith in that weapon is truly enduring."
>"But... even if I were free to tell you, it wouldn't help. If there's anyone else who would know, I..." She pauses a moment. "...I have no idea where to find them. It was a very, very long time ago."

[Oldmansour]

>"So I gathered. I presume records from that era are hard to come by, too."
>"About how long ago, if I may?"

[DracoOmega]

>"So I gathered. I presume records from that era are hard to come by, too."
>"About how long ago, if I may?"

>"I'm sure they would be," she says.
>"I... don't know if even I can say for sure." She shakes her head. "Old. Very old. Older even than that," she says, pointing at your sword.

[Oldmansour]

>"The disease predates this sword?"
>Glance at it.
>"Or blight. Whichever you prefer."
>Wait, faith...
>"If the source of this sword's effects on those spiders is based on faith, is this blight, as well?"

[DracoOmega]

>"The disease predates this sword?"
>Glance at it.
>"Or blight. Whichever you prefer."
>Wait, faith...
>"If the source of this sword's effects on those spiders is based on faith, is this blight, as well?"

>Minoriko frowns, this one more surprised than resigned. "Is the blight based on faith? No more than you are, I think," she says, shaking her head. "It may be beyond an ordinary illness like you are beyond an ordinary mouse, but it's still ultimately a disease."

[Oldmansour]

>Oh, god! A disease youkai! Save us, Lancer!
>"Well, I suppose that's good news and bad. Means I don't have to find the 'right god to purge this', or something. But it does leave me at square one."
>"Look, Minoriko. I understand it isn't easy for you to talk about this stuff. But can you at least tell me why? I mean, this IS my life we're talking about here, and I'm not about to lie down and die. And if you can't tell me what I want to know to help me cure myself, I'd at least like to know why."

[DracoOmega]

>Oh, god! A disease youkai! Save us, Lancer!
>"Well, I suppose that's good news and bad. Means I don't have to find the 'right god to purge this', or something. But it does leave me at square one."
>"Look, Minoriko. I understand it isn't easy for you to talk about this stuff. But can you at least tell me why? I mean, this IS my life we're talking about here, and I'm not about to lie down and die. And if you can't tell me what I want to know to help me cure myself, I'd at least like to know why."

>You've got a fever. And the only cure is... MORE GAE BOLG!!
>"I'm sorry..."
>"Nazrin..." she breaths, looking at you earnestly. "Prayer is a sacred trust. The prayers that people make to me... they are shared in the profoundest confidence. I simply can't violate that. I can't. But I swear to you that nothing I know from them could help you. Names and faces of those who died? Stories of parents crying for their children, people starving, everyone and everything dying? I'm not withholding an answer. I've done everything I can think of..." Her expression is one of profuse regret.
>"I'm no brilliant healer," she says. "I'm just an herbalist of modest skill. I know the usual remedies and perhaps a few unusual ones, but..." She shakes her head. "Maybe someone out there does know how to cure this. I would very much like to believe they do. I don't want to see another person die from it, not after so many years."

[Oldmansour]

>"That trick you pulled with the sword and the seeds was pretty clever, I''ll give you that."
>"And I'm not saying you haven't tried; clearly, you have. And believe me, I do appreciate it. I'm also not asking you to tell me anything about what people prayed to you for. That's private, that's fair enough. But is there nothing you can tell me about this blight itself? Or how it spread in the first place? I can't imagine everyone was infected by a spider youkai."
>".. Or were they? Was that the war she told me about? The youkai that infected me, she talked about a war between her kind and ours, people that live on the surface. Was that it?"

[DracoOmega]

>"That trick you pulled with the sword and the seeds was pretty clever, I''ll give you that."
>"And I'm not saying you haven't tried; clearly, you have. And believe me, I do appreciate it. I'm also not asking you to tell me anything about what people prayed to you for. That's private, that's fair enough. But is there nothing you can tell me about this blight itself? Or how it spread in the first place? I can't imagine everyone was infected by a spider youkai."
>".. Or were they? Was that the war she told me about? The youkai that infected me, she talked about a war between her kind and ours, people that live on the surface. Was that it?"

>"I just did what I could," she says. "None of it would have mattered if you hadn't found that."
>Minoriko is silent while you continue to question, though you get the distinct impression that her uncomfortableness is growing as you near the end of your line of inquiry. She remains silent for several moments after.
>"I... can't answer that," she says at last. "I wasn't there in the way that I'm here now. I saw what I saw only through the prayers of the people who lived there. It's not the same thing. But I swear that nothing I saw there offers you an answer."

[Oldmansour]

>Offer a small sigh. Not of vexation or annoyance, but one of a woman accepting that she's hit an impasse.
>"All right, then. I'll just have to hope that Rinnosuke's up on his history of old swords."
>"But, just because you can't tell me about this disease, doesn't mean I can't tell you something about the spiders that might help if there's fighting to come while I'm away. Obviously you know of the acid spitters, but there's at least two more kinds of spiders that use a toxin of sorts. The little green ones can paralyze with a bite; one of them got my arm, but it can probably do worse if it gets a better bite. Another kind has a bite that causes almost blinding pain. I don't think it has any lingering consequences, but I might not have gotten a big dose of the stuff."
>"There's also a grey one that can spit some kinda glue, so you might wanna have some kinda solvent prepared, or something. Those are the only ones I did any fighting with, although there are more kinds of spiders in there. It ain't much, but it's something to start with, in case you need to make simpler remedies for people soon."

[DracoOmega]

>Offer a small sigh. Not of vexation or annoyance, but one of a woman accepting that she's hit an impasse.
>"All right, then. I'll just have to hope that Rinnosuke's up on his history of old swords."
>"But, just because you can't tell me about this disease, doesn't mean I can't tell you something about the spiders that might help if there's fighting to come while I'm away. Obviously you know of the acid spitters, but there's at least two more kinds of spiders that use a toxin of sorts. The little green ones can paralyze with a bite; one of them got my arm, but it can probably do worse if it gets a better bite. Another kind has a bite that causes almost blinding pain. I don't think it has any lingering consequences, but I might not have gotten a big dose of the stuff."
>"There's also a grey one that can spit some kinda glue, so you might wanna have some kinda solvent prepared, or something. Those are the only ones I did any fighting with, although there are more kinds of spiders in there. It ain't much, but it's something to start with, in case you need to make simpler remedies for people soon."

>You let out a sigh. Minoriko frowns and offers another apology.
>"I hope so as well," she says. "Perhaps that sword may still hold a chance for you..."
>Minoriko listens attentively to your description of the spiders you've encountered, frowning in particular at the mention of 'blinding pain', and otherwise nodding along.
>"I think I've seen the green one's you're referring to, although I'm not so sure I would call them 'little'..." She grimaces a little. "Lunasa brought me a dead one to look at, in case I might know whether it was poisonous or prepare an antidote to it."
>She sighs. "I know the traits and uses of countless plants, but I'm afraid that doesn't mean I know the properties of an unknown animal's venom by looking at it, or even how to directly cure it better than any human herbalist of modest experience might. I have a few general remedies I can try if it comes down to it. Hopefully it won't be necessary."

[Oldmansour]

>"I got a dose of both of them. If there's any of that toxin still in my system, would a blood sample help you learn more?"
>Pause. "But then again, between the blight and two poisons mixing, probably wouldn't do you much good, would it."

[DracoOmega]

>"I got a dose of both of them. If there's any of that toxin still in my system, would a blood sample help you learn more?"
>Pause. "But then again, between the blight and two poisons mixing, probably wouldn't do you much good, would it."

>"If you're feeling better, I doubt there could be much of anything left in you," she says. "Anyway, it wouldn't be nearly as concentrated as from the spider itself which I... already have." She grimaces a little again.