(Skyseas of Gensokyo) Nazrin Quest (Part 13)

[Oldmansour]

>"Okay. Maybe a little first aid might be in order."
>"Oh, right, you'd probably know Yuuka better by 'Verdant Demon'."

[DracoOmega]

>"Okay. Maybe a little first aid might be in order."
>"Oh, right, you'd probably know Yuuka better by 'Verdant Demon'."

>Grapefruit produces the bandages again and sizes you up as if debating where best to stick them, then suddenly stops dead when your words finally click in her mind.
>"Her help?!"

[Oldmansour]

>"There's a certain flower I need to make a medicine for someone suffering from an otherwise incurable disease. And as far as I can tell, Yuuka's the only one who might have that flower, at least that's close enough to find before it's too late."

[DracoOmega]

>"There's a certain flower I need to make a medicine for someone suffering from an otherwise incurable disease. And as far as I can tell, Yuuka's the only one who might have that flower, at least that's close enough to find before it's too late."

>The fairy's eyes light up. "A noble quest! Are you, perchance, a fellow knight? I do not recognize your colors." She scrutinizes your clothing with a thoughtful hum.

[Oldmansour]

>Blink. Think. Oh yeah, it did kinda sound like we were on a quest, the way I said that, didn't it?
>Might be just as well. It'll get her on side.
>"Wouldn't mind being a knight, then I'd have had a horse out here. But no, I'm a Seeker."

[DracoOmega]

>Blink. Think. Oh yeah, it did kinda sound like we were on a quest, the way I said that, didn't it?
>Might be just as well. It'll get her on side.
>"Wouldn't mind being a knight, then I'd have had a horse out here. But no, I'm a Seeker."

>"A horse? A horse??" Grapefruit draws herself up to her full height. "I'll have you know that a horse makes a far inferior steed. Could a horse walk straight up the side of a mountain? Why, of course it couldn't! A goat is truly the most noble and faithful of companions." She scratches Thelonious gently between the ears. "Isn't that right, Thelonious?"

[Hello Purvis]

>"I'm too big for goats, so I gotta work with what's there."

[DracoOmega]

>"I'm too big for goats, so I gotta work with what's there."

>"Oh." She looks you up and down, then glances at Thelonious, then back to you again. "Oh. Um... are you sure? I've seen some pretty big goats before."

[Oldmansour]

>"Maybe I'll have a look at my options after this job's done. Or quest, if you want to call it that."

[DracoOmega]

>"Maybe I'll have a look at my options after this job's done. Or quest, if you want to call it that."

>"If, after your quest is fulfilled, you wish to become a squire of our house, I can sponsor you," she says gravely.

[Oldmansour]

>"Very generous. But the first thing I'm doing after I have that medicine made is head back to Easthaven. My home. I left a... situation there unresolved."
>"But before I can do that, I have to find Yuuka."

[DracoOmega]

>"Very generous. But the first thing I'm doing after I have that medicine made is head back to Easthaven. My home. I left a... situation there unresolved."
>"But before I can do that, I have to find Yuuka."

>She nods repeatedly. "Of course, of course. When you are well enough to proceed, I shall lead the way!"

[Oldmansour]

>Blink. "Lead?"

[DracoOmega]

>Blink. "Lead?"

>"Of course!" she repeats. "If I can aid another on a noble quest, then I must!"

[Oldmansour]

>A fairy with delusions of knighthood and a fixation on goats is going to guide us to Yuuka?
>Is this some cruel God's idea of a joke?

[DracoOmega]

>A fairy with delusions of knighthood and a fixation on goats is going to guide us to Yuuka?
>Is this some cruel God's idea of a joke?

>That is at least what the fairy in question appears to be claiming!
>Yes.

[Oldmansour]

>All right, be logical. Given the state we're in, and the fact that we're going to get worse before we get where we're going, do we honestly feel that we would be served well by having her and her goat as companions?

[DracoOmega]

>All right, be logical. Given the state we're in, and the fact that we're going to get worse before we get where we're going, do we honestly feel that we would be served well by having her and her goat as companions?

>You would certainly be well-served someone showing you the way! If indeed she does know it.

[Oldmansour]

>"Well, let's start with something simpler, if you don't mind."
>Produce our map.
>"Can you show me where it is?"

[Hello Purvis]

>Let's also check up on our botanical buddy.

[DracoOmega]

>"Well, let's start with something simpler, if you don't mind."
>Produce our map.
>"Can you show me where it is?"

>You take out your map, sketchy additions and all, and show it to Fearless Grapefruit. The fairy apprises it with a dubious frown, turning her head one way and then the other. She looks up at the trees behind you, then back again, as if hoping they would provide some kind of insight. She taps a finger on the chin of her helmet, looking increasingly distressed. When she speaks again, her voice is uncharacteristically small. "Um... where are we now?"

>Let's also check up on our botanical buddy.

>You root through your possessions to examine the state of your bittercress. There's a thin crack in the pot and part of it seems slightly squashed, but damage to your possessions overall seems very minimal; you guess they were padded well enough to avoid the worst of the impacts.

[Hello Purvis]

>Gonna have to wrap something around that pot when we feel better.
>"I wish I knew..."

[Oldmansour]

>Assuming we can tell, point it out.

[DracoOmega]

>Gonna have to wrap something around that pot when we feel better.

>Fortunately, you think the cracks are superficial rather than structural; you don't anticipate the pot breaking and spilling its contents anytime soon.

>"I wish I knew..."

>Assuming we can tell, point it out.

>Considering you do know - at least approximately - you point out your current location on the map. This does surprisingly little to dispel Grapefruit's uncertainty. She peers at it from the left, she peers at it from the right, she even tries to peer at it upside-down, her helmet threatening to fall off as she does so. Eventually, she just points a finger off somewhere into the trees with a small sigh.
>"That way."

[Oldmansour]

>How rough does the terrain look between here and there?
>How rough does the terrain look around where she pointed?
>Have we had lunch?

[DracoOmega]

>How rough does the terrain look between here and there?
>How rough does the terrain look around where she pointed?

>You have no idea how far into the distance she is indicating, though the terrain generally in that direction is not too dissimilar than anywhere else northward - away from the mountains and back among the trees. It's all fairly rugged and difficult in absolute terms, but no different than you've been tackling for a while up to now.

>Have we had lunch?

>You've had lunch and supper and snacks beyond; it's late enough that you would really be thinking about bed right now, were it not for this whole affair with Grapefruit.

[Hello Purvis]

>"I...really need to rest, okay?"

[DracoOmega]

>"I...really need to rest, okay?"

>"Of course! Thelonious and I were about to make camp for the night before we heard your cry of distress. Though we have little to offer, you are more than welcome to share it. We can lead you to the Demon's Garden come the morn."

[Oldmansour]

>So about what time do we make it for now?
>How long should it take us to travel to where she'd indicated on our map?

[DracoOmega]

>So about what time do we make it for now?
>How long should it take us to travel to where she'd indicated on our map?

>A little after midnight, you think.
>A key problem of your previous exchange seemed to be that she couldn't indicate a location on your map. She merely pointed in a direction. You have no idea how far away it is, and you're not certain she could quantify it, either.