(Skyseas of Gensokyo) Nazrin Quest (Part 5)

[Oldmansour]

>Not here, Lunasa...
>"Well, I suppose it's possible they might have come from somewhere else, but if they did, they did it for a reason."

[Hello Purvis]

We suck at not tipping our hand.

If pressed, say we've seen some old, old, old looking webs in that cave.

[DracoOmega]

>Not here, Lunasa...
>"Well, I suppose it's possible they might have come from somewhere else, but if they did, they did it for a reason."

>Stupid questions you don't really want to answer in public...
>"Maybe they migrated from somewhere to the north of the island," Lunasa muses. "That area isn't mapped very thoroughly, is it?" she says, turning towards the councilman.
>"Not as well," he says, shaking his head, "But it's not exactly unexplored, either. I'm surprised we still wouldn't have heard of them at all."
>She continues to frown thoughtfully. "I wonder if it could be a phenomenon a little like the birth of an animal youkai, except less complete and on a wider scale..."
>Then she glances back to Shiori, who's still standing at the front of the meeting with you. "I'm sorry," she says. "You can go sit down again if you want. And thank you."
>Shiori nods, then quietly moves back to her seat.

[Oldmansour]

>Press our tail to our chin.
>"That's an interesting thought. I wonder if that's even possible. I'll have to ask Rinnosuke about that once I get back to town, after I see Marisa."
>Well, this seems as good a time as any. "But before I hit the road to get that mage, Lunasa, Councilor, can I have a quick word with you two?"

[DracoOmega]

>Press our tail to our chin.
>"That's an interesting thought. I wonder if that's even possible. I'll have to ask Rinnosuke about that once I get back to town, after I see Marisa."
>Well, this seems as good a time as any. "But before I hit the road to get that mage, Lunasa, Councilor, can I have a quick word with you two?"

>You bring your tail around and press it to your chin. Lunasa almost imperceptibly raises an eyebrow at the gesture.
>She nods. "It would be interesting to know, but it doesn't change our current planning. However they got here, they are here now."
>"Can it wait until we're finished here?" he asks.

[Oldmansour]

Now at this point, I feel we've contributed as much as we can to the general meeting. We've added our trove of information to what the villagers' have, we've drawn attention to a few individuals that can help and in what area they can do so in. Lunasa's a very conpetant individual, and I don't think she needs us hovering around to make sure she does everything right. She can handle things without us.
Even if she and her sisters have to leave tomorrow, I believe she'll leave the village capable of defending itself for at least the day it'll take us to get back to Braston and send Marisa back here to mop up. And the sooner we can get going, the better off we'll be, because we'll be that much closer to a cure, and it'll be that much quicker Marisa can get here. I suggest we take council-man and Lunasa aside, tell them about the youkai and the hatchery, and then find some transport for the road.

That said, however, if anyone else has anything to say to the crowd, go nuts.

[Hello Purvis]

I think I'll sleep on it, a bit.

It would probably be good to sit out the meeting, though. It's not like they're done yet, and if we know what they're doing, all the better.

[Oldmansour]

>"It'll only take a minute. It's just a little thing I want to adress before I hit to road to Braston. The sooner I get going, the faster I can get Marisa here."
>To the crowd, "And on that note, does anyone have a spare horse I can use? A cart? Know someone going that way soon? I may have recouped enough to travel, but anything to shave a little time off the trip would be better for all of us."

[DracoOmega]

>"It'll only take a minute. It's just a little thing I want to adress before I hit to road to Braston. The sooner I get going, the faster I can get Marisa here."

>Lunasa gives you an appraising look for a moment, then glances towards the councilman. He shrugs.
>"Alright," Lunasa says, then turns to the crowd. "We should only be a minute. Please wait calmly."
 

>To the crowd, "And on that note, does anyone have a spare horse I can use? A cart? Know someone going that way soon? I may have recouped enough to travel, but anything to shave a little time off the trip would be better for all of us."

>The room goes quiet for a moment as you scan the crowd for reactions. A few people glance somewhat expectantly towards others. Someone coughs. Then an middle-aged man with graying hair casually raises a hand.
>"You can borrow mine," he says. "She'll get you there fast enough."

[Oldmansour]

>Do we know this fella?
>If so, "That's mighty kind of ya."
>If not, "I really apprectiate that, Mr....?"

[DracoOmega]

>Do we know this fella?
>If so, "That's mighty kind of ya."
>If not, "I really apprectiate that, Mr....?"

>He looks vaguely familiar, but isn't anyone you've interacted with since coming back to Easthaven.
>"Kouichi," he says, nodding his head to you. "And don't you worry about it."

[Oldmansour]

>"First things first, though."
>Gesture to the door for the benefit of Lunasa and 'Daisuke?' "Shall we?"
>If they shall, follow them into the hallway.

[DracoOmega]

>"First things first, though."
>Gesture to the door for the benefit of Lunasa and 'Daisuke?' "Shall we?"
>If they shall, follow them into the hallway.

>Lunasa nods.
>"May as well," the councilman says.
>The two of the head into the hallway and you follow after them until you've put a small distance between yourself and the room. Then the councilman comes to a stop and turns to you.
>"So, what is it?" he says.

[Oldmansour]

>"I won't keep you out here long, but there's something else I discovered in that cave. Something I didn't want to announce in a crowded room."
>Look Lunasa in the eye. "You asked me why I thought the spiders had been there a while. One reason for that is, I saw their hatchery."

[DracoOmega]

>"I won't keep you out here long, but there's something else I discovered in that cave. Something I didn't want to announce in a crowded room."
>Look Lunasa in the eye. "You asked me why I thought the spiders had been there a while. One reason for that is, I saw their hatchery."

>Lunasa returns your stare gravely. The councilman mutters a note of disgust under his breath.
>"How large was it?" she asks.

[Oldmansour]

>Inform her of every detail we can remember about the two chambers we opened.
>"I didn't go into the third one. I heard some skittering behind its protective webbing. I felt I was in deep enough, didn't need to find much more."
>"That's another reason I wanted to ask Marisa to handle this. I can't think of anyone better equipped to handle large numbers of... well, anything, even on their own turf, however big or small they are."

[DracoOmega]

>Inform her of every detail we can remember about the two chambers we opened.
>"I didn't go into the third one. I heard some skittering behind its protective webbing. I felt I was in deep enough, didn't need to find much more."
>"That's another reason I wanted to ask Marisa to handle this. I can't think of anyone better equipped to handle large numbers of... well, anything, even on their own turf, however big or small they are."

>You describe the hatchery chambers that you saw, and the approximate size and number of the egg sacs within.
>Lunasa frowns. "Skittering? From hatched juveniles or others guarding them? Could you tell? If these things breed in the same numbers as normal spiders..."
>The councilman lets out a hushed curse.

[Oldmansour]

>"I'm not real sure. Didn't stick around long enough to listen for long. But what I heard didn't sound large. Bigger than an average spider, of course, but nothing like anything we've seen out here."

[DracoOmega]

>"I'm not real sure. Didn't stick around long enough to listen for long. But what I heard didn't sound large. Bigger than an average spider, of course, but nothing like anything we've seen out here."

>"How many?"

[Oldmansour]

>"I only saw the shadow of one through the web wall. I didn't want to open the web to check any closer; 'd been bit enough for one day."

[DracoOmega]

>"I only saw the shadow of one through the web wall. I didn't want to open the web to check any closer; 'd been bit enough for one day."

>"Well, perhaps we're fortunate and they lay only a few eggs," Lunasa says. "Still... We don't want them scattering off into the wilds, or Easthaven could be dealing with this problem for a long time. If some have already hatched, others may be due soon, as well."
>"Can we really afford to wait another couple days for this Marisa person then?" the councilman asks.
>"There's no doubt she can handle the spiders she sees," Lunasa replies. "My concern is that they won't all stay in one place for that to happen. If they start making nests across the woods, we'll probably lose any chance to wipe them out at one go."

[Oldmansour]

>"I don't think they'll spread beyond the caves, at least not so soon. If they were going to, they probably would have done it already. We would have seen more signs of them than we already have. I don't know how fast spiders grow, but I'm pretty sure two days isn't enough growth to let them start roaming around too far from home."
>"Besides, other than waiting for Marisa, what's the alternative? Gather up an army and invade the cave? Yeah, you might win the battle that way, you might kill them all, but you might also lose half the population of Easthaven in the process. Or more than that, even. An all out-war between them and us isn't the answer. Vigilance is. Watch the forests, watch your homes, and watch yourselves."
>Crack a grin. "And, in a couple days time, watch the fireworks."

[DracoOmega]

>"I don't think they'll spread beyond the caves, at least not so soon. If they were going to, they probably would have done it already. We would have seen more signs of them than we already have. I don't know how fast spiders grow, but I'm pretty sure two days isn't enough growth to let them start roaming around too far from home."
>"Besides, other than waiting for Marisa, what's the alternative? Gather up an army and invade the cave? Yeah, you might win the battle that way, you might kill them all, but you might also lose half the population of Easthaven in the process. Or more than that, even. An all out-war between them and us isn't the answer. Vigilance is. Watch the forests, watch your homes, and watch yourselves."
>Crack a grin. "And, in a couple days time, watch the fireworks."

>"I certainly wasn't planning to drag a mob of farmers into the caves," Lunasa replies coldly, actually sounding a little offended. "I would think that goes without saying. But a small group of us might be able to collapse some of the entrances and trap the spiders inside, leaving them to starve. You said yourself that you don't believe them capable of digging."

[Narouge]

>"but you have to be sure you gotten every entrance. Otherwise they still be able to roam around and get out. Nor do we know how far the cave system goes really."

[Oldmansour]

>"That's... really a good idea."
>Suppose we ought to have known her better.
>"Sorry, Lunasa. I was... expecting pretty much an all-out war up here, sooner or later. Guess I was trying to head it off before checking if it was even that far."

[DracoOmega]

>"That's... really a good idea."
>Suppose we ought to have known her better.
>"Sorry, Lunasa. I was... expecting pretty much an all-out war up here, sooner or later. Guess I was trying to head it off before checking if it was even that far."

>While Lunasa may not have made a showy name for herself as a Seeker and has always treated it as a sideline to her main calling, you've never heard her described as anything other than competent, perhaps even stolidly so.
>She lets out a small flat sigh. "It's fine."

>"but you have to be sure you gotten every entrance. Otherwise they still be able to roam around and get out. Nor do we know how far the cave system goes really."

>"This is the biggest problem, of course," she says. "Still, we don't know for certain that each of these entrances connects with any others; some isolated caves are quite possible, even likely. And in any case, the fewer exits, the better watch can be kept over the remaining. Even if that just means there's fewer places left for them to flee from Marisa, all the better."

[Oldmansour]

>"Might even discover another entrance or two while you're working on the others. And even if you bring down every entrance you find, I think we both know Marisa's more than capable of making her own way in. And collapsing it behind her, as well."
>"Plus, any spider caught outside the cave will either lead you to another entrance or another cave on their way back, or be picked off along the way." Give the poltergeist another grin. "You're not bad at this, yknow."

[Hello Purvis]

>Don't endorse the plan just yet.

I was going to suggest collapsing entrances earlier, but given it'd take hours, it would almost certainly invite the spider youkai to get involved...

[Oldmansour]

>"Might even discover another entrance or two while you're working on the others. And even if you bring down every entrance you find, I think we both know Marisa's more than capable of making her own way in. And collapsing it behind her, as well."
>"Plus, any spider caught outside the cave will either lead you to another entrance or another cave on their way back, or be picked off along the way." Give the poltergeist another grin. "You're not bad at this, yknow."

And, for Purvis,
>"Just one thing crosses my mind, though. How'd you plan on bringing the entrances down? The one I saw, at least, didn't seem particularly unstable, and you might get rushed if the process took a while."

[Hello Purvis]

Not to mention if we do pull down one or two successfully, she'll figure out the pattern. Then all she has to do is beat us to one and ambush.