(Skyseas of Gensokyo) Nazrin Quest (Part 13)

[DracoOmega]

>See if those mallets are still lying around. Couldn't hurt to have one of those on hand.

>Yes, what if you needed to hit something, too? Always need to be prepared. Can never be too prepared. You grope around the moss with one lethargic and stiff hand - it hurts to bend, for some reason. Must be the mallets.
>That's an awfully fuzzy mallet.
>...did that mallet just lick you?

[Oldmansour]

>A multipurpose mallet? Cool.

[DracoOmega]

>A multipurpose mallet? Cool.

>That's handy and all, but does it really need to be so... wet?
>"Oh, have you woken?" a voice calls out brightly. Honestly, you're not so sure you have.

[Oldmansour]

>"... maybe?"

[DracoOmega]

>"... maybe?"

>"It is a beautiful morning, is it not?" Someone has a great deal more enthusiasm than you do right now.

[Hello Purvis]

>"I want to murder everything with a face..."

[Oldmansour]

>Or perhaps, rather than frighten and alienate the fairy with delusions of chivalry...
>"I'll take your word for it."
>Are we dead yet?
>No? Fine, then sit up.

[DracoOmega]

>"I want to murder everything with a face..."

>Or perhaps, rather than frighten and alienate the fairy with delusions of chivalry...
>"I'll take your word for it."
>Are we dead yet?
>No? Fine, then sit up.

>You nearly groan out a general complaint at the world before considering the chance of Grapefruit actually taking you seriously. You reply non-committally instead, then slowly drag yourself to your feet. That hurts more than you'd hoped; you feel like someone wedged rocks in half your joints while you were asleep.
>In contrast, your fairy companion appears to be performing calisthenics, with a sunny smile on her face. And the day is sunny; you have to shield your eyes with a hand as soon as you try to open them.
>"Good morning!" she chimes without breaking stride.

[Oldmansour]

>"Yeah, 'morning."
>Might as well rise ourselves. Food and medicine ain't coming to us.
>Assuming that goat didn't eat them on us.

[DracoOmega]

>"Yeah, 'morning."
>Might as well rise ourselves. Food and medicine ain't coming to us.
>Assuming that goat didn't eat them on us.

>"I hope you're feeling better," she chirps happily. "It's too grand a morning for frowns."
>Her sentiments notwithstanding, you try and force your body to start the day. You are actually in better shape than you were when you went to bed, you think, though that isn't saying a lot at the moment; you are leaden and sore and weary and hurt whenever you make a handful of basic motions. But you are still mobile, and also rather hungry. You take your morning dose of medicine and start to chew on some raisins.
>You survey your pack for any goat-related damage while you eat, but it fortunately seems untouched. Thelonious himself appears to have conveniently wandered off to nibble on a distant bush and allow you to eat unmolested.

[Oldmansour]

>Knight or no, there's no doubt she's a fairy.
>"I've been worse."
>Morning exercises.... Mm. Would that help?

[DracoOmega]

>Knight or no, there's no doubt she's a fairy.
>"I've been worse."
>Morning exercises.... Mm. Would that help?

>"Good to hear it, good to hear it!"
>Some gentle stretching would probably help, though there's no way you can manage to be as vigorous as Grapefruit is right now. She's... surprisingly flexible.

[Oldmansour]

>Something's better than nothing.
>Once we finish our breakfast, let's give that a shot.

[DracoOmega]

>Something's better than nothing.
>Once we finish our breakfast, let's give that a shot.

>You allow yourself a leisurely breakfast as Grapefruit works her way through stretches and cartwheels and some kind of complicated half-aerial twist you would be helpless to replicate even in peak condition; it looks a little like trying to perform push-ups and rhythmic dance at the same time without fully understanding either, but it seems to leave the fairy in good spirits nonetheless. Your own stretching regimen is far more modest and also more uncomfortable; within moments, it's clear you're going to have to be very gentle with yourself today, no matter how much of a rush you may be in. Still, a few minutes of gentle stretches does manage to replace some of the rust in your joints with a slightly smaller amount of rust, though you're left a little uncertain how you should take the encouragements Grapefruit insisted on chanting in your direction while you were at it.

[Oldmansour]

>Do we know the cost of a set of wings is? Assuming that's a magical enhancement that's available.

[DracoOmega]

>Do we know the cost of a set of wings is? Assuming that's a magical enhancement that's available.

>There are certainly magical means that can allow a person to fly, though you're unfamiliar with something permanent on that sort of scale - at least something that could be operated without magic of your own. If it's possible at all, you'd imagine it would be quite complicated and commensurately expensive, though if there's anywhere in the world it could be done, you'd bet on Val Razua.

[Oldmansour]

>Note to self: Check market price on wings once we get back to town. If expensive, use loot from eventual revenge on Aya.
>So then. Fed and watered. And about as limber as we can get. Then we can move out.
>Once Grapefruit and the goat are ready

[DracoOmega]

>Note to self: Check market price on wings once we get back to town. If expensive, use loot from eventual revenge on Aya.
>So then. Fed and watered. And about as limber as we can get. Then we can move out.
>Once Grapefruit and the goat are ready

>You make a mental note, then let Grapefruit know you're ready to go. She calls Thelonious over, mounts up, and then your curious brigade is underway for the day.
>The fairy sets a casual pace once you make it clear how little speed you're capable of at the moment. But despite the not-quite-ignorable pains that come with every step you take, something about this day feels bright. The sun is warm, the sky is clear, the birds are singing cheerfully, and maybe - just maybe - if Grapefruit is right, you'll get your flower today. It's a glimmer of hope to hold onto.
>"You know," Grapefruit says after a few moments, "I never caught your name last night."

[Oldmansour]

>"I- Oh. Sorry about that. It's Nazrin."

[DracoOmega]

>"I- Oh. Sorry about that. It's Nazrin."

>"I am honored to meet you, Nazrin." The fairy sketches a graceful bow in your direction and nearly falls off her goat in the process - saved only by a quick flurry of motion from her wings.

[Oldmansour]

>"Likewise." Return the motion. Without the falling and the fluttering.
>Fairy or no, this is the first time we've met a proper knight, isn't it?

[DracoOmega]

>"Likewise." Return the motion. Without the falling and the fluttering.
>Fairy or no, this is the first time we've met a proper knight, isn't it?

>You return the bow, to the protestation of your ribs. Grapefruit smiles at you.
>You don't know if you'd exactly call her 'proper', even if she does seem to be wearing actual House Pardicas colors - at least as best you remember them. Thought she certainly seems to have the spirit of the enterprise down pat.

[Oldmansour]

>Presumably she is the first fairy we've seen who fits the bill, though, right?

[DracoOmega]

>Presumably she is the first fairy we've seen who fits the bill, though, right?

>Well, that ice fairy you tangled with back near Easthaven certainly styled herself a noble swordsman who did good deeds. Her execution... might have left a few things to be desired compared to Grapefruit's disposition, though. Either is certainly pretty atypical.

[Oldmansour]

>Cirno seemed to be cut from a different bolt. Warrior, yes, Knight, no. Unless she was some kind of prestige class.
>"Do you mind if I ask you something, Grapefruit?"
>Assuming 'yes', "How did you come to follow the path of a knight?"

[DracoOmega]

>Cirno seemed to be cut from a different bolt. Warrior, yes, Knight, no. Unless she was some kind of prestige class.
>"Do you mind if I ask you something, Grapefruit?"
>Assuming 'yes', "How did you come to follow the path of a knight?"

>Clearly she's a Cold Iron Warrior.
>"Of course not."
>"It is a calling that comes from one's heart," she says solemnly, placing a hand upon her chest. "But if you are asking how I came to be a retainer of this noble house, one of their seneschals noticed my bond with Thelonious and was so moved by it that he inducted me on the spot. A paragon of caprine brotherhood, he said." The fairy looks rather proud of herself.

[Oldmansour]

>That's awfully erudite for a fairy. Didn't she just use more big words than Daiyousei?
>"So you and Thelonius here go way back, eh?"

[DracoOmega]

>That's awfully erudite for a fairy. Didn't she just use more big words than Daiyousei?
>"So you and Thelonius here go way back, eh?"

>That other fairy in the library used a lot of big words too - you're not certain this is always an indication of understanding what they're repeating. Or maybe this one's just practiced in reciting knightly things?
>"We do!" She rubs the goat's head affectionately.

[Oldmansour]

>Oh right, brainy fairy. What was her name again?
>"Did you meet in the city?"

[DracoOmega]

>Oh right, brainy fairy. What was her name again?
>"Did you meet in the city?"

>Dai called her Shady, you think? 'Brainy' is dubious, but she was certainly wordy.
>"I've only been to the city once," she says. "It was waaaaay over that way." She points vaguely eastward.