(Skyseas of Gensokyo) Nazrin Quest (Part 12)

[Hello Purvis]

Eh, it's rent.

>"You want those, Kyouko?"

[DracoOmega]

>"You want those, Kyouko?"

>"Maaaaybe," she says, leaning towards another set of planters with small clusters of blue bellflowers.

[Oldmansour]

>Glance around, see if there's anything in the vicinity in the price range of 5 guilders.

[DracoOmega]

>Glance around, see if there's anything in the vicinity in the price range of 5 guilders.

>You take a quick glance around, but none of the prices you see in your immediate vicinity are less than 8.

[Oldmansour]

>Are any of the 8 rangers nice looking and smelling?
>If so, wave to Kyouko and point out the one in question, "What do you think of this one?"

[DracoOmega]

>Are any of the 8 rangers nice looking and smelling?
>If so, wave to Kyouko and point out the one in question, "What do you think of this one?"

>You're not sure you're the best judge of this, particularly for the tastes of someone you don't know that well. The scent of fresh greenery filling the air ranges from gentle to potent and the flowers themselves from subtle shades of peach and mauve to brilliant yellows and reds. Hmmm... that one doesn't look too bad. You guess. If you had to pick one.
>"Are you looking for anything in particular?" the gardener asks as you scan her wares intently.
>"Not really!" Kyouko replies, looking up from her own browsing just long enough to answer.

[Oldmansour]

>Open mouth to answer, then shut. Better keep it a surprise.
>Gesture to the girl our head, a 'let's talk over here' headjerk.

[DracoOmega]

>Open mouth to answer, then shut. Better keep it a surprise.
>Gesture to the girl our head, a 'let's talk over here' headjerk.

>You step aside, the beckon the woman over with you head. With just a hint of puzzlement on her face, she follows after you, then looks at you expectantly.

[Oldmansour]

>Quietly, "What do you have in the range of five guilders or so?"
>Jerk head in Kyouko's direction. "Somethin' that'd suit her."

[DracoOmega]

>Quietly, "What do you have in the range of five guilders or so?"
>Jerk head in Kyouko's direction. "Somethin' that'd suit her."

>The woman glances back in Kyouko's direction for a moment; the yamabiko is still merrily engaged in her browsing and takes no notice of your question.
>"Is it for a special ocassion?" the woman asks softly. "Or just a little something to brighten her home?"

[Oldmansour]

>"More like... a thank you."

[DracoOmega]

>"More like... a thank you."

>"Hmmm..." The woman nods thoughtfully then pauses for a moment. "Well, bellflowers are considered symbolic of gratitude in the language of flowers. Those over there are 7 guilders." She indicates the spot where Kyouko had just been looking a few moments before. "But we may have some others elsewhere that are a little cheaper. Not quite the same variety, of course."

[Oldmansour]

>Blue.... Maybe purple?
>Bah. Color coordination of flowers to people is what professionals are for.
>Thoughtfully, "Do they come in a light purple?"

[DracoOmega]

>Blue.... Maybe purple?
>Bah. Color coordination of flowers to people is what professionals are for.
>Thoughtfully, "Do they come in a light purple?"

>"I do think we have something in that shade," the woman replies. "Over this way?"
>She starts to lead off among the rows of flowers to your left.

[Oldmansour]

>Parouse as we follow, see if something nice (and cheap) catches our eye. Or nose.

[DracoOmega]

>Parouse as we follow, see if something nice (and cheap) catches our eye. Or nose.

>You follow after the woman, scanning the rows of flowers with both eyes and nose as you do so. There is certainly a great variety of plants to be seen, large and small, brilliantly colored and subdued. The price of many is partially concealed beneath their own foliage, at least too much so to see at a passing glance, though most of those that can are in a similar range as the others, if not more expensive. And really, you feel like you're not the right person to be judging which flowers are most pretty - somehow the entire concept makes you feel a little silly, even.

>"Here they are," your guide says, rotating a small pot containing a solitary cluster of larger bellflowers, pale mauve in color. She leans in towards them for a moment. "...6 guilders, these are."

[Oldmansour]

>Cheap, not terrible looking, fine way to show appreciation for free roam and board.... Sold.
>Wait, sample their scent first. Can't give someone something that smells bad.

[DracoOmega]

>Cheap, not terrible looking, fine way to show appreciation for free roam and board.... Sold.
>Wait, sample their scent first. Can't give someone something that smells bad.

>You take a closer sniff of the bellflowers before you decide to purchase them. It is difficult to put into words exactly their scent; it is fairly subdued compared to some of the other flowers here, with just a faint hint of something woody. While you are hardly a floral connoisseur, you would rate the scent as fairly unremarkable.

[Oldmansour]

>Good enough.
>Beckon Kyouko over.

[DracoOmega]

>Good enough.
>Beckon Kyouko over.

>You left the yamabiko several aisles back. You could possibly call out to her, but you can't actually see her clearly from here and you assume the inverse is true as well.

[Oldmansour]

>Hate to spend money on something we're not sure the other person will like.
>On the other hand, she'd probably enjoy the surprise, and it IS only 6 guilders.
>"Deal."

[DracoOmega]

>Hate to spend money on something we're not sure the other person will like.
>On the other hand, she'd probably enjoy the surprise, and it IS only 6 guilders.
>"Deal."

>The gardener smiles at you. "Well, pick out the one you like, and we'll go get you checked in."

[Oldmansour]

>One we like, eh. Do we look like flower people?
>No matter. Select one that appears healthy and fuller in color. The go get checked in.

[DracoOmega]

>One we like, eh. Do we look like flower people?
>No matter. Select one that appears healthy and fuller in color. The go get checked in.

>Grumbling inwardly just a little, you select the plant that looks healthiest and most full in color, then take it in hand. The gardener nods approvingly and heads off towards the other end of the greenhouse. You follow, juggling bittercress in your right and bellflower in your left.
>You soon approach a small counter of sorts, practically lost among the height and green of its surroundings. The woman steps around and withdraws a weighty ledger from beneath it, scribbling something hastily in the next blank space.
>"That'll be 6 guilders, then," she says.

[Oldmansour]

>Pony up the dough.

[DracoOmega]

>Pony up the dough.

>You pay the woman 6 guilders. She accepts the coin with a smile, then makes another note in her ledger.
>"I'm sure she'll like it," she says. "Just make sure to give it plenty of light."

>You now have 344 and 1/2 guilders

[Oldmansour]

>"Gotcha."
>Glance around. "Now where'd she go..."

[DracoOmega]

>"Gotcha."
>Glance around. "Now where'd she go..."

>You turn and glance around for the absent yamabiko. While you cannot see her head above the rows of greenery, you can faintly detect the strains of her humming to herself, not too far from where you parted ways.

[Oldmansour]

>Just as a reminder, we checked this place yesterday for information on Yuuka and her garden, right?
>Approach the yamabiko.

[DracoOmega]

>Just as a reminder, we checked this place yesterday for information on Yuuka and her garden, right?
>Approach the yamabiko.

>You did visit this place yesterday, and asked about Yuuka's garden while you were here, but no one you spoke with was familiar with it.
>You follow the source of the humming and soon find Kyouko once again, cheerfully examining a row of pansies. She leans in and takes a deep sniff of the flowers, then gives a carefree smile.