(Skyseas of Gensokyo) Nazrin Quest (Part 7)

[Oldmansour]

>Have we seen any signs of cats, or other mousers, since we came aboard?

[DracoOmega]

>"And if there's nothing here, we'll see the galley."

>She grunts quietly, a sound somewhere between an acknowledge and avoiding a response.

>Follow the captain.

>You follow Murasa to a large and heavy-looking door at the rear of the hold. She grabs hold of it and, with a small grunt of exertion, slides it open. Immediately a gust of chill air wafts out at you.
>It's somewhat hard to gauge the dimensions of the space on the other side, so crammed with crates and barrels it is, nearly to the ceiling in several places. All of those you can see are packed with fruit and the smell of it is thick in the air. The distinctly cold air.
>"Might need to climb on top of stuff if you want to try getting at the back," Murasa says with a frown. "But, uh... at least try not to step on any of the goods. No one wants a pear with footprints in it. Oh, and get inside so I can close the door. Don't want this mess costing me any more than it already has."

>Have we seen any signs of cats, or other mousers, since we came aboard?

>You've seen no animals of any sort, so far.

[Oldmansour]

>Does the door look thick enough to allow us to speak, or shout, through it?
>Does it lock from the inside or out?
>Check quickly for signs of our rodent brethren from here.

[DracoOmega]

>Does the door look thick enough to allow us to speak, or shout, through it?
>Does it lock from the inside or out?
>Check quickly for signs of our rodent brethren from here.

>You're sure it would muffle it quite a bit, but you imagine you could still make yourself heard.
>It doesn't look like it has a conventional locking mechanism that you can see.
>You don't see anything suggesting their presence and do not note an obvious rodent smell, though it's possible all the fruit is masking it; their scent has grown quite pungent in the confined space.

[Oldmansour]

>Step inside and, quickly but carefully move through the room, seeking out our brethren.

[DracoOmega]

>Step inside and, quickly but carefully move through the room, seeking out our brethren.

>You step inside and Murasa follows after you, closing the door behind with a firm slam.
>The room itself is as cool as you expected from the air outside - not precisely frigid, but you wouldn't want to spend too long here without a sweater; you are inclined to share Murasa's opinion that no mouse would voluntarily hole up in here when there are far more hospitable locales next door. Nonetheless, you're not about to turn around without a closer inspection. Navigating the shoehorned cargo takes a little care and finesse, but you manage to scrabble up and over the mass of fruit without stepping on anything but wood. Squeezing yourself through gaps in the top of the piles of containers near the ceiling, you disappear towards the back of the room.
>The space turns out to not be very large once you can see the other end of it, but clearly they've put nearly as much fruit into it as it could possibly hold. You can see some metal pipes and vents running along the walls, towards the ceiling. Cold slowly radiates from them. You've rarely seen a mechanical cooling system, even in places that deal with food which needs to be kept cold; perhaps some of the subtle snazziness of the engine design is also reflected in the interior, even if most of the ship has seemed plain so far.
>You spend a little more time contorting yourself around the cargo, sniffing one end of the room and then the other, but no traces of rodents are evident. By this point, you're frankly not particularly surprised.

[Oldmansour]

>Okay, fine, then. Maybe enough's enough.
>Well... Maybe not. Examine the vents for signs of rodent life.

[DracoOmega]

>Okay, fine, then. Maybe enough's enough.
>Well... Maybe not. Examine the vents for signs of rodent life.

>You start to head back, then decide that perhaps you should check the vents for signs of rodents, just in the name of thoroughness. You crane yourself around enough to see in a little, but are unsurprised to find them bare of any sign of mice; frankly, with as cold as it seems to be on the inside of this, the little things would probably freeze to death before long.

[Oldmansour]

Think we'll have any better luck in the galley?

[Hanzo K.]

Maybe, give it a shot.

[Hello Purvis]

Likely. Opened containers.

[Oldmansour]

>"Okay, ssso you run a clear hold, captain. Near as I cccan tell, you're rodent free down here."

[DracoOmega]

>"Okay, ssso you run a clear hold, captain. Near as I cccan tell, you're rodent free down here."

>"Good to hear it," she says, looking rather less cold than you feel. "Well, uh, I guess."

[Oldmansour]

>"Mind if I lllook around the galley?"

[DracoOmega]

>"Mind if I lllook around the galley?"

>"Done down here, then?" she asks.

[Oldmansour]

>Have we left any stone unturned down here, metaphorically speaking?

[DracoOmega]

>Have we left any stone unturned down here, metaphorically speaking?

>You didn't go over the entirety of the open section of the hold with a fine-toothed comb, but focused primarily on the places where food was stored; that being said, you think you'd have still picked up the scent of any mice that had recently spent time in the rest of the space. You also did not investigate any of the other partitioned rooms.

[Oldmansour]

>Oops, forgot the other rooms.
>"I suppose it wouldn't hurt to check the other rooms down here."

[DracoOmega]

>"I suppose it wouldn't hurt to check the other rooms down here."

>"If you want, I guess," she says with a small shrug. "Not much to see, though. Mostly spare parts and junk, some piping, couple animal pens that haven't been used in ages... No more food back there, anyhow."

[Hello Purvis]

>"Do people go back there much?"
>Gesture for her to lead the way.

[DracoOmega]

>"Do people go back there much?"
>Gesture for her to lead the way.

>You gesture for Murasa to lead the way, and then the pair of you make a merciful departure from the frigid storeroom. Murasa seals the door behind you. For her part, she looks about as unfazed by the chill as if she'd been lounging in the sun, but the brush of warmer air once you reemerge is nearly enough to draw a pleasant sigh from you, if you weren't busy being professional.
>"Well, when someone needs something outta one of the storerooms," she says as you walk. "Been thinkin' of scrapping those pens and reclaiming the space, but haven't gotten around to doing it yet. Kind of a failed experiment, y'know? But... who knows when that'll happen. Always something or other to work on."
>She jerks a thumb back to a heavy door on the far wall. "Engine room's back that way, too. Ishi's kinda territorial, though."
>Murasa pauses in front of a small wooden door set in a row of small enclosures built along the wall of the hold, then swings it open. Beyond is a small storeroom, little more than a closet, really. The walls are lined with shelves littered with all manner of small and large metal parts. There doesn't seem to be any apparent organization to them, and the purpose of most of them is completely lost on you. Murasa gives the room a very cursory scan, then glances in your direction.
>"Be my guest."

[Hello Purvis]

>Have a look around for mouse signs.
>Walk without rhythm

[DracoOmega]

>Have a look around for mouse signs.
>Walk without rhythm

>You take a look around the room, shifting a few enigmatic hunks of metal around the shelves to get a better look at the walls and corners as you do so. Eh, that one still had oil on it... You grimace slightly and try to wipe some of it off against the underside of the shelf. The sharp tang of metal and industrial oil hangs in the air, but you smell no hint of rodents, nor spot any sign that one has been here. To be honest, there probably isn't much in this space to attract one.
>You shuffle around the space with careful irregularity. The last thing you need on top of all of this is a shipworm attack.

[Hello Purvis]

>"Nothing here. But once in awhile you get a clever one that'll hide in a place like this. Let's see the galley now, we'll check other places later."

[DracoOmega]

>"Nothing here. But once in awhile you get a clever one that'll hide in a place like this. Let's see the galley now, we'll check other places later."

>"Fair enough," she says, then turns back the way you came. "Gally's back upstairs."

[Oldmansour]

Welcome back, Draco.

>"I'm guessing it hasn't seen a lot of use since you came into port?"
>Follow the cap'n.

[DracoOmega]

>"I'm guessing it hasn't seen a lot of use since you came into port?"
>Follow the cap'n.

>"Eh, a bit," she says. "Still good for snacks when you're around the place, and Miyuki's been puttin' in fresh supplies while we're here. Thought we'd be on the sky days ago, remember."
>You follow Murasa back across the length of the hold and up the stairs onto the middle deck. She heads downs the hallway and you keep pace, moving past a couple of the doors along its length. Then you pause, frowning slightly. You sniff. Murasa carries on to the t-junction at the end of the hall before noticing that you've fallen behind. She turns and gives you a curious look. You sniff again. There's... almost certainly been a mouse past here, and quite recently at that.

[Hello Purvis]

>"Found something."
>Zero in on that odor.

[DracoOmega]

>"Found something."
>Zero in on that odor.

>"You have?" Murasa looks uncertain whether she should be pleased or bothered by this.
>You take a few more sniffs and lean closer to the floor, following the concentration of scent. You believe you can smell a trail extending down the hallway where Murasa was headed, but you think it's actually strongest by the base of the door next to you.

[Hello Purvis]

>Gesture at the door.
>"What's in there?"