Meira Quest (Part 3)

[Hanzo K.]

>"Wow....hey, look at all these carvings!"
>They really are detailed aren't they? Wonder if there's any Tanuki or Kitsune?

[日巫子]

>"Wow....hey, look at all these carvings!"
>They really are detailed aren't they? Wonder if there's any Tanuki or Kitsune?

> You pause to look for any tanuki or kitsune in the carvings.  You think you see one tanuki amongst what appear to be cave paintings.

> _

[Hanzo K.]

>Let's have Kouyoshi take a look!
>"Hey, Kouyoshi! I think I found a Tanuki here in the carvings! Come and take a look!"

[日巫子]

>Let's have Kouyoshi take a look!
>"Hey, Kouyoshi! I think I found a Tanuki here in the carvings! Come and take a look!"

> You beckon for Kouyoshi to come over.  She trots over and crouches down, studying the engravings.
> "Oh, she does have a raccoon tail," Kouyoshi says.  "I don't know who that is, though."

> _

[Hanzo K.]

>"Neither do I really, but I figured that it would be nice for you to see it."
>Let's get a better look at those cave paintings that are carved there!

[日巫子]

>"Neither do I really, but I figured that it would be nice for you to see it."
>Let's get a better look at those cave paintings that are carved there!

> "Oh."
> You take a look at the cave paintings.  There are birds, all identical in shape and size and flying in an ark above the tanuki.  Deer scamper along the lower half of the wall, and even little people-shaped figures are marching forward towards an army of real men, all holding spears.  There's one monk among them with a bow and arrow at the ready.  In the background, there's some strange, beast-like shape there.  You can make out the shapes of claws, fangs, and a single eye, but not much else.

> _

[Hanzo K.]

>...Maybe it's like the Kitsune that burned home down...
>"...Hey, Kouyoshi. Take a look at that."
>Point out the beast-shape.

[日巫子]

>...Maybe it's like the Kitsune that burned home down...
>"...Hey, Kouyoshi. Take a look at that."
>Point out the beast-shape.

> You don't want it to be that...
> "Eh?"  Kouyoshi frowns a little at the beast behind the tanuki and cave paintings.  "I don't know what kind of youkai that is."

> _

[Sect]

> "Oh... um, I wonder what all of these carvings are for."
> Let's go ahead and continue across the bridge.

[日巫子]

> "Oh... um, I wonder what all of these carvings are for."
> Let's go ahead and continue across the bridge.

> "Decoration, probably."  Kouyoshi stands up and keeps walking across the bridge.  You follow her across, soon reaching the walls that surround the castle.  Strangely enough, there's no gate.
> When you go past the walls, you see the road you're on continuing towards a huge pair of oak doors.  From the main path branches off many others, twisting around each other and dipping down into staircases and creating little bridges.  This part is almost completely covered in vines and other greenery.

> _

[Sect]

> "Woah... it's like a maze!" We're going to have to explore this place!

[日巫子]

> "Woah... it's like a maze!" We're going to have to explore this place!

> "A maze, huh..."
> This place is so huge, it'd be a shame to not look around for a bit.

> _

[Sect]

> Wait, we gotta find this girl, first. Hm... those doors look important! Run up to the oak doors and pound on them! "Hello!"

[日巫子]

> Wait, we gotta find this girl, first. Hm... those doors look important! Run up to the oak doors and pound on them! "Hello!"

> No matter what you're going to do, you're going to find the girl with the monster, first.  You run to the front doors and knock as loudly as you can while calling out.
> No one answers.

> _

[Sect]

> Push on the doors. If that doesn't work... then pull?

[日巫子]

> Push on the doors. If that doesn't work... then pull?

> You push the doors.  They budge a little bit, but they're so heavy...
> Kouyoshi walks over and tries pushing them as well.
> "Hrghh."  She struggles for a few moments before slumping against the door.  "Heavy."

> _

[Sect]

> "Aaaaah! Open up!" Kick the door!

[日巫子]

> "Aaaaah! Open up!" Kick the door!

> You kick the door in anger, but it doesn't do much.

> _

[Sect]

> Puff up our cheeks. "Okay! We're gonna find you!"
> Walk back to where we see a branch from the main path. "Come on, Kouyoshi! Let's explore!"

[日巫子]

> Puff up our cheeks. "Okay! We're gonna find you!"
> Walk back to where we see a branch from the main path. "Come on, Kouyoshi! Let's explore!"

> Enough with the door!
> You head back to the branch in the path and start going down that way.  You and Kouyoshi can explore some other way.
> Kouyoshi looks back at the door one last time before heading after you.
> "Fair enough."

> _

[Sect]

> Let's go! Go where ever looks most interesting!

[日巫子]

> Let's go! Go where ever looks most interesting!

> You pick a random direction, and go towards a stairwell leading down.  The opening is covered with vines and other weeds that grow out of the cracks of the wall.  Looking down the stairs, you see that it goes pretty deep.  There's a lot of grass down there.

> _

[Yonowaaru]

>How far down can we see? Is there anything special down at the bottom?
>Either way, start heading down the stairs, carefully, with our katana in hand.

[日巫子]

>How far down can we see? Is there anything special down at the bottom?
>Either way, start heading down the stairs, carefully, with our katana in hand.

> You can see to the bottom of the stairs.  You don't really see anything there except grass, and moss growing out of the walls.
> You start walking down the stairs with a hand on your katana.  The stone steps are loose at some parts, but they're sturdy otherwise.

> _

[Sect]

> Go all the way down and look around.

[日巫子]

> Go all the way down and look around.

> You finish descending the stairs and take a look around.  You're standing in a pathway of grass, going straight ahead for a while before branching off into north, west, and east.  Above are more rocks, with light peeking through and covered in vines and flowers.  Kouyoshi hops down the stairs after you and looks around, tail waving.

> _

[Sect]

> This is just like Zork!
> Let's try... um, north!

[日巫子]

> This is just like Zork!
> Let's try... um, north!

> Who in the what, now?
> You walk straight.  The path keeps going on, until you reach more stairs going down.  The curve around a corner, going out of sight.

> _

[Sect]

> Let's go down!

[日巫子]

> Let's go down!

> You head down the stairs, and it starts getting darker as you pass under the stone floor.  There are lanterns lighting the walls, eliminating the need to conjour up any fire.  Kouyoshi follows behind at a much slower pace, as the staircase is rather narrow.
> There's a wooden door at the end of the stairwell, at the very bottom.  The stone around it has been engraved into more pictures.

> _