(Skyseas of Gensokyo) Nazrin Quest (Part 10)

[DracoOmega]

>"This 'blackening of the veins' sounds about right. And I think the time period might be right, too. But, I thought information on this era was fragmentary, all but lost. Where did this book come from?"

>"The author was most likely from Hanashibara," she says. "Or what's called Hanashibara now - this was written long before it existed. We've had the book since before I came to this place; I'm not sure how we acquired it. There's also many this old or older, and even more written of the period. However you came to believe they were lost, you're wrong."

[Oldmansour]

>"Then if this blackvein written of here is the same thing as was discovered in Easthaven, that means it wasn't confined to Estval after all. At least not then."
>"Is this the only book that mentions that condition?"

[DracoOmega]

>"Then if this blackvein written of here is the same thing as was discovered in Easthaven, that means it wasn't confined to Estval after all. At least not then."
>"Is this the only book that mentions that condition?"

>"Not if the author knew of it," she says. "Though they don't name their sources."
>"I haven't read them all yet," she replies in such a natural tone that you'd think reading an entire library was just something one did. "But this is the only one I know of. There may be others."

[Oldmansour]

>"One's a sight better than none. It may be all I need, assuming this one's talking about the same disease."
>"And assuming this flower even exists, after all this time. Or the regions it's found in."
>Nod towards the ingredients mentioned in curing blackvein. "What about the other liquids listed here, athran's vigor and aqua viritae. Are they... alchemic mixtures?"

[DracoOmega]

>"One's a sight better than none. It may be all I need, assuming this one's talking about the same disease."
>"And assuming this flower even exists, after all this time. Or the regions it's found in."
>Nod towards the ingredients mentioned in curing blackvein. "What about the other liquids listed here, athran's vigor and aqua viritae. Are they... alchemic mixtures?"

>She nods. "The book mentions them several times, and so do some others. I don't know the details well."

[Oldmansour]

>"I assume that would be the sort of thing to consult the alchemy department on for more details, then."
>"What about the regions mentioned here, the kappa lands and the two others. Are they located here, on this landmass?"

[DracoOmega]

>"I assume that would be the sort of thing to consult the alchemy department on for more details, then."
>"What about the regions mentioned here, the kappa lands and the two others. Are they located here, on this landmass?"

>She nods again.
>"There are three others," she corrects. "Kokuryuuji was a province of Old Higan, now the Wild Lands. The Aokage is probably in Hanashibara if kappa lived there. I don't recognize the rest."

[Oldmansour]

>"I think I have to assume they're on this continent. If the flower only grows on this landmass, then it's no wonder Estval wouldn't know of a cure, assuming this recipe here is the only cure. And if Minoriko knew of this flower before, she would have told me before I left the village."
>Frown. The way things have gone, it's far from a guarantee that the alchemy department here would have all the ingredients in stock, nor would any alchemist or healer outside the academy.
>"About how far is it from here to Hanashibara? Or that part of the Wild Lands?"

[DracoOmega]

>"I think I have to assume they're on this continent. If the flower only grows on this landmass, then it's no wonder Estval wouldn't know of a cure, assuming this recipe here is the only cure. And if Minoriko knew of this flower before, she would have told me before I left the village."
>Frown. The way things have gone, it's far from a guarantee that the alchemy department here would have all the ingredients in stock, nor would any alchemist or healer outside the academy.
>"About how far is it from here to Hanashibara? Or that part of the Wild Lands?"

>"Hanashibara is more than one landmass," she corrects coldly.
>There does seem that possibility, but who knows how common some of this stuff is? There's a lot of alchemy mumbo-jumbo that you're only passingly aware of.
>"You could reach the border in one or two days," she says, "What was once Kokuryuuji would take at least another week, even if you manage not to get lost or ambushed."

[Oldmansour]

>"I'm a bit new to this part of the world."
>So we end up having to travel to complete the fetchquest find a cure, kappaland's a better bet.
>"Is that days travel on foot, or via transport of some kind?"

[DracoOmega]

>"I'm a bit new to this part of the world."
>So we end up having to travel to complete the fetchquest find a cure, kappaland's a better bet.
>"Is that days travel on foot, or via transport of some kind?"

>She nods.
>Well, it's simultaneously closer and safer, though the text wasn't entirely decisive on whether it actually grew there or not.
>"You can reach Hanashibara by foot, airship, or riverboat," she says. "In the Wild Lands, you're on your own."

[Oldmansour]

>"Well, I'll cross that river when I get there. For all I know, the alchemy department on this campus has everything make this cure, if it IS the cure we'd need."
>Still, while we're here, it wouldn't hurt to cover another base, if we can, assuming this cure turns out not to be what we're after.
>"I don't suppose any of these books down here mention the spider people, or giant spiders, that I mentioned before, do they? That you know of, I mean."

[DracoOmega]

>"Well, I'll cross that river when I get there. For all I know, the alchemy department on this campus has everything make this cure, if it IS the cure we'd need."
>Still, while we're here, it wouldn't hurt to cover another base, if we can, assuming this cure turns out not to be what we're after.
>"I don't suppose any of these books down here mention the spider people, or giant spiders, that I mentioned before, do they? That you know of, I mean."

>"They may. They're well-provisioned."
>Knowledge is power and all that.
>"Not that I know of," she says. "There are some mentions of spider youkai, but not by that name, and not from that place. I've read many of them, but not all."

[Oldmansour]

>"'Not from that place'? What about other places?"

[DracoOmega]

>"'Not from that place'? What about other places?"

>"Some have been seen in the Wild Lands," she says. "There are descriptions in both old and more modern books. Mostly solitary. I can show you one, if you want."

[Oldmansour]

>"Please."

[DracoOmega]

>"Please."

>The librarian stands up and moves off to another book cabinet, somehow leaving you with the impression that she's keeping an eye on you, even with her back turned. Only a moment later she returns with a smaller tome, bound in textured burgundy leather and looking in considerably better condition than the last. Embossed on its cover in gold lettering is the title ''Sojourns on the Edges of the Empire'.
>"This is the most detailed in this room," she says, opening the book to its later third and quickly examining pages. "Though also old. There are newer books in the main library that might be better for you."
>She pauses at one of the pages, then hands the open book to you. "Here."

[Oldmansour]

>Take the book, but be careful with it.
>"We'll see what this one has to say first, of course."
>Examine the opened pages.

[DracoOmega]

>Take the book, but be careful with it.
>"We'll see what this one has to say first, of course."
>Examine the opened pages.

>You carefully accept the offered book; the librarian's stare is palpable.
>Then you examine the section it is opened to:

>Jorogumo - Perfidious Spider of the Wilds

>Another rarely seen inhabitant of the lesser-tamed regions is the jorogumo. One of the rarest of the beast youkai, they are deceitful and predatory creatures who shun civilization and prey upon those who stray from it. Capable of weaving elaborate illusions, they often take the form of a beautiful and seductive woman so as to better lure the innocent and unwary to an early death. For this reason, one need take care at any unexpected encounter with such a woman in the wild - assume always that a conniving harlot may lurk beneath her comely facade.
>Like the lesser spiders they are born from, jorogumo are patient creatures, but if one manages to see past their illusions, they are capable of turning savagely upon their victim. Fortunately, they are slow-moving and possess no greater physical prowess than a human, though their lairs may be strewn with webs and other traps, and they are not above using poisons and other means to subdue their prey when their illusions have failed.
>In their natural form, the jorogumo possess the bulbous black abdomens of their lesser kin while retaining their womanly appearance from the torso up, though without any pretense of modesty or the other mores of the civilization they reject. Some claim that even these scant semblances of humanity are naught but another layer of illusion. It seems to me that this is very likely.
>Jorogumo are solitary creatures and often build their lairs within hidden crevasses in rocky valleys or near waterfalls. On the rare occasion they meet another of their kind, the encounter will inevitable end in one of their deaths. The loser is then consumed - yet another sign of their vulgar nature.

>Here the text digresses into into a cautionary moral tale about an encounter between a virtuous centurion and a jorogumo. It is rather ham-handed in lauding the virtues of the former which protect him from the beguiling wiles of the latter and eventually allow him to slay her; it doesn't seem particularly credible.

[Oldmansour]

>The spider youkai we met, she had a lower torso like a human, didn't she?

[DracoOmega]

>The spider youkai we met, she had a lower torso like a human, didn't she?

>Her dress was rather poofy in that area, but the legs extending below it looked perfectly human. You came uncomfortably close to cutting straight through one, even, and the consequent collapse from the injury looked quite real to you. She did have several arachnid limbs extending from the back of that general area, though.

[Oldmansour]

>Thoughtful noise.
>"The spider youkai in near Easthaven had normal legs, well, human-like, anyway. But she did produce extra arms, arachnid shaped. It's possible she may be related to these jorogumo, but the species would seem to be different."

[DracoOmega]

>Thoughtful noise.
>"The spider youkai in near Easthaven had normal legs, well, human-like, anyway. But she did produce extra arms, arachnid shaped. It's possible she may be related to these jorogumo, but the species would seem to be different."

>"Perhaps."

[Oldmansour]

>"It also doesn't mention the black cloud she produced, but that may be unique to that particular youkai, not to her species. Does this book mention any other spider-related youkai, or any youkai that produces disease clouds like that?"

[DracoOmega]

>"It also doesn't mention the black cloud she produced, but that may be unique to that particular youkai, not to her species. Does this book mention any other spider-related youkai, or any youkai that produces disease clouds like that?"

>"No."

[Oldmansour]

>"Well, at least now I know one race to look out for if I ever end up in the Wild Lands."
>Hand her back the book.

[DracoOmega]

>"Well, at least now I know one race to look out for if I ever end up in the Wild Lands."
>Hand her back the book.

>You hand the poltergeist back her book; her eyes linger on your hand with just a little more scrutiny than necessary as she accepts it. Then she takes another careful glance at where the pages are opened and shuts the book up neatly.
>"Is there anything else you need to see down here?" she asks coolly.

[Oldmansour]

I can't think of anything else, how 'bout the rest of youse guys?

[Hanzo K.]

Me either, you wanna try checking the Alchemy Department for the rest of the stuff though?

[Oldmansour]

Definately. I just wanted to make sure we had all of our bases covered here. It's still possible this cure might not be what we want, and if that's the case, I want to be prepared.