(Skyseas of Gensokyo) Nazrin Quest (Part 6)

[Oldmansour]

>If no openly hostile sounds or smells present themselves, advance, slowly.

[DracoOmega]

>If no openly hostile sounds or smells present themselves, advance, slowly.

>You hear nothing much at all from the tunnel, so you start to slowly advance. In fact, it would be rather difficult to advance in any other fashion, though the going isn't particularly uncomfortable. Soon enough, you make it to the bend in the tunnel and peer around the side, raising the lantern as much as you can in this confined space. Beyond it is another bend, perhaps 10 feet away. The tunnel between here and there looks the same as ever, without any new distinguishing features or clues.

[Oldmansour]

>Is the scent getting any stronger?
>Proceed, nevertheless.

[DracoOmega]

>Is the scent getting any stronger?
>Proceed, nevertheless.

>Slightly, though not markedly.
>You continue onward, past this new bend and then beyond. The tunnel continues in this manner for a sizable distance, turning one way and then another. Wherever it leads, you cannot imagine this was the most direct route between points. Every now and again you spot what might be traces of a small footprint, and along the whole distance, claw marks continue to be evident on the surface of the tunnel. Still, you hear no sounds that would indicate the presence of anyone or anything else, and see nothing else of note.
>Eventually, you spot what appears to be a considerable widening of the tunnel in the distance. The scent of wine is notably stronger by this point.

[Oldmansour]

>Stop and have a listen.
>Did those footprints seem human-sized or fairy-sized?

[DracoOmega]

>Stop and have a listen.
>Did those footprints seem human-sized or fairy-sized?

>You stop and listen. You hear no sounds of motion or activity of any kind. At most, you hear a very slow drip somewhere in the distance.
>You'd say they were closer to fairy-sized, though none of them were very well-defined.

[Oldmansour]

>Does the tunnel increase in ceiling clearance as well as width? If so, try and return to a vertical base when we reach that point.

[DracoOmega]

>Does the tunnel increase in ceiling clearance as well as width? If so, try and return to a vertical base when we reach that point.

>It looks like it does. In fact, as you approach, you find that it actually widens into something of a small underground chamber, though high enough for you to stand upright only with your head cricked down. You can still see claw marks at points along the walls and other surfaces, though it looks almost as though effort has been made to smooth them out and make the earth look more finished. Several tunnels branch off from this point, one of them ascending sharply, with two others looking roughly level and forking at about a 45 degree angle to your entrance.
>In the corner of the chamber lies a deep green bottle, rolled onto its side; a small trickle of rich red liquid has pooled on the ground by its open lip. The smell you had been detecting early is almost certainly from this.

[Oldmansour]

>Examine the label.
>Watch from tripwires or other traps.
>Do we see any evidence of tools?

[DracoOmega]

>Examine the label.

>You roll the bottle over to examine the label. It is largely of plain design, traced with a simple gold filigree. Half of it is wrinkled and tinged with spilled wine. It reads:
>Bavario and Umehara, vintners. Sweet Merlot. 504.

>Watch from tripwires or other traps.
>Do we see any evidence of tools?

>You keep an eye out for tripwires and other traps, but see absolutely nothing of the sort. In fact, the place looks quite bare if not altogether flat.
>You also do not see any tools present, however on this second pass, you spot the bottle's cork a short distance away the bottle itself. The numerous rough gouges in it suggest it was removed with something far cruder than a corkscrew.

[Oldmansour]

>Does the label match what the tavern lady said was swiped?
>Do the marks in the cork appear similar to the marks on the wall?
>Is our treasure sense pinging down here?

[DracoOmega]

>Does the label match what the tavern lady said was swiped?
>Do the marks in the cork appear similar to the marks on the wall?
>Is our treasure sense pinging down here?

>She hadn't specified the exact contents of the case. This is fairly old, at least, but you're no wine connoisseur.
>It's a little hard to tell given that parts of the cork seem to have partially disintegrated under the gouging, but you're inclined to think not. For one thing, each claw mark on the tunnel looks about as wide as the whole cork itself.
>Not particularly.

[Hello Purvis]

>Do we feel we have room to turn around in here?

[DracoOmega]

>Do we feel we have room to turn around in here?

>Easily so; you can almost stand.

[Oldmansour]

>Examine the tunnels, see which one shows the most claw marks, and/or the most obvious signs of repeated travel.

[DracoOmega]

>Examine the tunnels, see which one shows the most claw marks, and/or the most obvious signs of repeated travel.

>You examine the other tunnels. It's not clear that any of them have distinctly more claw marks than any other, though if you had to pick one on that front, it would be the upward sloping tunnel. However, the ground in a different tunnel is smoothed in a way that could possibly imply either repeated use, or more care taken in making it.

[Oldmansour]

>Being wary of our surroundings, travel down that tunnel.
>And put away our kunai. No need to look overtly threatening.

[DracoOmega]

>Being wary of our surroundings, travel down that tunnel.
>And put away our kunai. No need to look overtly threatening.

>You put away your kunai and head down the smoother-looking tunnel. This meanders in a fashion not unlike the first one you traveled down, sometimes seeming to have a direction in mind and other times not. After what feels like quite some minutes, you emerge in another chamber, this one more spacious and also apparently furnished. You can see a couple wooden cupboards, built directly into the earthen walls such that little more than their doors protrude. The walls and floor of the chamber also seem to be carefully smoothed, and are free of any visible claw marks.
>Several more tunnels extend from this chamber, most of them looking similar to the one you just emerged from, but one appears large enough for you to walk upright. The earth there is also finished-looking, clearly having been constructed with a skill and care not applied to much of what you've so far seen.

[Hello Purvis]

>Sniff the air.

[DracoOmega]

>Sniff the air.

>You take a sniff of the air. You still smell primarily earth, but there is also a whiff of wood and metal, vaguely industrial-smelling oil and... potatoes? Raisins and walnuts, too. Neither the scent of wine nor the floral scent you detected earlier are evident here.

[Hello Purvis]

>Follow that potato scent.

[DracoOmega]

>Follow that potato scent.

>You're fairly certain the scent is coming from one of those cupboards.

[Oldmansour]

>That'd explain the potato crate, then.
>Do we still smell the wine scent?

[DracoOmega]

>That'd explain the potato crate, then.
>Do we still smell the wine scent?

>You think it would take a little more than just this to explain why someone put a hole in a crate in the basement of a restaurant half a mile away, but they may well be related.
>Not especially, by this point.

[Oldmansour]

>Do we detect the wine scent from any of the tunnels connected to this room?

[DracoOmega]

>Do we detect the wine scent from any of the tunnels connected to this room?

>It is most prominent down the one you just came, though quite faint that this distance, even there.

[Oldmansour]

>Hm. Might just be coming from the one broken bottle, then.
>Does this room, or any other, appear to have their own sources of illumination, or is our lamp the only source of light down here?

[DracoOmega]

>Hm. Might just be coming from the one broken bottle, then.
>Does this room, or any other, appear to have their own sources of illumination, or is our lamp the only source of light down here?

>Perhaps.
>The last chamber was mostly bare, but this one appears to have a pair of oil lanterns hanging from the wall. They are presently unlit.

[Oldmansour]

>So whoever lives down here must not be able to see perfectly in the dark, either.
>Look down the other tunnels, see what we can see and hear and smell.

[DracoOmega]

>So whoever lives down here must not be able to see perfectly in the dark, either.
>Look down the other tunnels, see what we can see and hear and smell.

>This would seem to imply that.
>You look down the other tunnels. Again, you cannot see very far before they turn one way or another, and nothing of any interest. There is little of interest to smell in most of them, either. There are few distinct scents other than the earth itself, and perhaps the faint traces of someone who had recently passed through them (although it does not resemble the scent you found near the entrance). Down one, you believe you can smell... raisins and walnuts and a few other foods, you think. The scent of a person's passage is most distinct along the larger tunnel.