> We don't really have the time (or the energy) to make something "creative" with the tools we have to make a makeshift bed, right?
> If not, pick a spot that seems comfortable enough and get to resting.
> Start making our treck back to Gensokyo.
>Take the shortcuts, but at all times remember which direction the fold is in case we get lost.
> Finally...
> Head on through. Remind ourselves that we have to stay focused while opening it, though; we don't want a repeat of getting lost between gaps.
> Gap ourselves home.
> Head to our room.
> Prepare for sleepage, then settle in and do just that.
>Make a concious effort to observe our surroundings.
> Chilly? We're not back in the cavern, are we?
> So we can't eat and we can't warm ourselves?
> If everyday we lose the ability to do something as basic as eating or getting warmed up...
> Shudder a little at the thought.
> Let's get over it. We have a job to do.
> Take the time needed to wake up fully and properly.
> Surely we can prepare food for ourselves, yes?
> Then let's trundle over to the kitchen and do something about this issue.
> We're in the nightgown now? Maybe that's the temperature problem.
> Head back to our room and change back into the dress we were wearing previously.
> So the nightgown is fake too. How bizarre. How is that even possible?
>Maybe we should just turn this plane inside out and see what remains.
>So we feel rested then?
>For instance, tossing everything in "Gensokyo" through the gap to backstage. Or expanding that gap to cover everything here.
>Theoretically, if this place was real, it would survive passing a gap border, right?
>Maybe we should go through the Hakurei Border into the outside world, and see if it's still the same.
>Isn't the Hakurei Shrine more or less such a point?
>Gap over to the Hakurei shrine and begin searching for place with the potential we're looking for.
>Do we still have our trusty stick?
>Assuming we won't have any trouble opening a gap, open a gap and poke our stick through.
>Pull the stick back out, is it intact?
>Ok then, poke our head through and have a look.
> Is this the normal view?
>Try reaching a hand through and touching the ground.
>This is pretty weird. Can we sense anything like borders or gaps out in this area?
>Has being in Yuyuko's realm or Higan given us a chilly feeling?
>Check the mist for breathability.
>Make our way over to the gap.
>Return to "Gensokyo" and gap over to where we first entered through that gap.
>The entrance to the netherworld should still be open right?
>Gap over to the entrance to the netherworld.
>Is all this gapping around tiring us out?
>Stairs? Gap dat sh*t.
>Check on Yuyuko.
>Call out to her.
>Insight: How could we, if we can, use Yuyuko to determine this Gensokyo's authenticity?
Well then, let's start with the easy bit first.
>"Now this may sound strange, but would you happen to remember what the last meal we ate together was?"
>Oh, right, let's walk over to her and say the above line then.
>Wave up at her, if she doesn't notice then gap up behind her.
>Gap up there.
>"Are you trying to imply that you would ever try to?"
>"Now this may sound strange, but would you happen to remember what the last meal we ate together was?"
>Does what she said match up with our recollection?
>"Yes, it was quite nice."
>See if she reacts to this.
>"No, I just ate it with my eyes. You really looked like you were enjoying yourself."
>"Oh that thing, I'd completely forgotten about it with all that's happened today. To be honest with you I'm not actually sure if you're real or not right now."
>"Yuyuko, I am going through some difficulty. Being who I am, this puts everything in the world in trouble. Can I rely on you to help me get my head straight?"
>"The night we ate together, I woke up in a strange place. Perhaps I was abducted. My tools were missing, although I have recovered a few of them since then. It took me a while to return."
>"The night we ate together, I woke up in a strange place. Perhaps I was abducted. My tools were missing, although I have recovered a few of them since then. It took me a while to return."
continued
>"There are many signs that I am not healthy, or perhaps that the world is not as real as it should be. I can't fly like I should. People and objects from Gensokyo who pass through my gaps simply disappear. I didn't eat until I returned: the food here doesn't satisfy my hunger. The world outside the Hakurei Border doesn't seem to exist, sort of like the places beyond your fog here. I am doubting my senses, and wondering of solipsism. I fear some entity has trapped me."
>"So, what do you think? Is there a way to tell whether this Gensokyo is real or not?"
> Do NOT mention the tools, otherwise continue as normal.
>"Not yet, perhaps that could work."
>What is something we actually don't know?
>"Well then, I'll be right back, I should see if your idea works."
>Go and gap to the human village.
>Open some random doors, ignoring the villagers.
>Hmm, open some more front doors.
>"Is it just me or do all of you villagers have depressinly dull taste in furnishings?"
>"All of your houses, they look so similar."
>Ponder as to whether this is suspicious or not.
>"Well if we're lucky it's my fault anyway."
>Leave the village.
>Is there anywhere particularly of note in Gensokyo that we haven't visited before?
>If we were to wander around some of the more secluded parts of the underground we would be able to gap back if we got lost right?
>Ok then, gap to the entrance to the underground and walk off down some random tunnel.
>Can we see any branching tunnels that we have no knowledge of?
> Proceed onwards until we reach any branching tunnels.
> Do we have any knowledge of Kisume's tendency to mug people? If so, keep an eye out for falling buckets.
> How many times have we been to Higan?
>Northeast.
>Do we notice anything odd?
> Head back the way we came until we run across the earth spider again.
> Do we recognize her?
> "You seem perturbed."
> Smile.
> "Only a few minutes ago down the tunnel and now back up it. Surely that's not very strange?"
> "I suppose that's true. But that's what happens when you have business underground. Unfortunately, I seem to not remember my way to the Ancient City. Could you perhaps be a dear and help me out?"
>"Thank you, I appreciate it. Ready whenever you are."
>Hours later ...
> Follow!
> Nod.
> "Indeed. Thank you for your assistance."
>Head towards the Palace.
>Suddenly, there was a knock on the door.
>The voice of a young beautiful woman called out, "Hello? It's Yukari!"
> Have we ever met the Komeiji matriarch face-to-face?
>"Hello, my name is Yukari Yakumo, and I would like to speak with your mistress."
>What do we recall from the SA incident?
>"The subject of our conversation would itself be a topic of our conversation, assuming we are able to discuss it. For now, you may simply inform your mistress I will be here in about half an hour to have a conversation."
>We need to go to the oni market, to get something to eat and to pick up some sort of visiting gift.
> Are we out of cashmoneyz?
>We could safely gap back here couldn't we?
>Can we do the Logrus thing where we reach through a gap into our stash? If so, retrieve some money.
>Do we not have any money stashes physically within Gensokyo?
>Make a mental note to store some money somewhere within Gensokyo as well, in case something else like this happens.
>Gap back to the house and see if there's any dosh lying around.
>Take a moment to think aboutRan. Will we ever see her again?
>What could be an appropriate gift for Satori?
>How about some food item from aboveground?
>Is there anywhere aboveground that produces high quality food?
>Of those, which do the least trade with the underground?
> Consider the tengu. Is there any food in particular they're known for?
> Onigiri sounds too plain to give as a gift.
> Are there any stores we can buy mochi from? Or do we have to go to the Bamboo Forest and hunt the rabbits down?
> The Human Village sounds like the fastest route. Let's gap over there real quick.
> How much time do we have?
>Is it possible to get rabbit-made mochi in the human village?
>Begin looking around for mochi, but keep an eye out for other possible gifts.
> Take a look at the prices for the mochi.
> How much do we have?
> Maybe it has been a while since we were here...
> Get something along the middle price range.
>Roughly how much longer before we need to be back at Chireiden?
>Let's gap over to Yuyuko and take a breather and enjoy her company for a bit.
> "Not yet. At least, not for you, and I'm not putting you through the only reliable method I've found so far."
> "Oh, that wouldn't be a problem. If you failed that test, you'd vaporize."
>"Though... you might get vaporised if you were real as well."
> :(
>Does Yuyuko know that we may have accidentally destroyed Reimu and Ran?
>Well, Yuyuko is the perfect person to pour our heart out to.
>"Yuyuko, there's something I haven't told you about these recent events."
>"...If... you do turn out to be real... I may have... killed Ran and Reimu."
>Display emotion.
>"That's... good news."
>Don't consider the fact we may have dissapeared their souls as well.
>"As much I loath to do so, I'm going to visit that satori shortly. Hopefully that will help to clear things up."
> "I'm thinking she'll look into my mind and be able to see if what I'm experiencing is the real Gensokyo, or if I'm having a very vivid and drawn-out hallucination. Sometimes you don't really know what's wrong until someone else points it out for you, you see?"
>Hopefully I'll find out soon enough.
>"Either this place is not real, and there is some ... crack in the illusion I can manipulate, or my mind and/or power is malfunctioning. Either way, she has a chance of helping me. And I decided to approach her with some delicacy."
>"I tried what you suggested. I visited some houses in the human village, and they seemed to have less personality than I expected them to. Same with the tunnels between the blowhole and the Underground City."
>"I'm not entirely sure, some humans can be exceedingly boring. As can some caves."
>"Well, I think I'll be going now. Hopefully I'll work out what's happening here soon enough."
>Satori's had long enough, let's gap to her front door.
>Knock on the door.
>"If you would be so kind. I do not know how long this discussion will require."
>Do so, and sit down.
>"Satori, I am sorry to impose on you like this, but I need your help."
>Pause, then if she waits for us to continue, " Something is wrong with me, and I think you can help me determine what it is, and possibly what to do about it."
>Explain. We are hoping she can help us determine what the problem is, and possibly what to do about it.
>"Are you sure? Do you have any way to prove that?"
> "If you think it would do anything."
>"More or less, but I'm sure I can trust my secrets with you, and this situation that I find myself in is very dire indeed."
>Do so, calling upon all our experience with meditation and such practices.
>Keep waiting for a while longer.
>Imagine Satori saying "Clear your mind" to us. If she does, relax and clear our mind. If she doesn't, get worried.
>Explicitly formulate a thought saying "Are you ok?"
> Give it another five minutes.
> Is the third eye still moving?
>Get up and look at Satori.
> Are her eyes open?
> Imagine Satori with a second head.
> Imagine Satori and her kasha dressed in nothing but their unmentionables.
> Throw in the hell raven, for good measure.
> Very well! Have them lose the unmentionables.
> One last time. Add the younger Komeiji to the nude mix, then have her and the two pets be super-affectionate with Satori.
> Interesting!
> Erase all that unpleasantness from our mind.
> "Are you okay, dearie?"
> Lean forward until she is in arm's reach.
> Reach out and set up like we are going to flick her forehead, but don't do it yet.
> Call ourselves crazy, but...can we read her thoughts?
> Hold for a moment, then lean back.
> "Miss kasha? Are you still present?"
>Soo, either we broke Satori, or this world is fragile enough to break itself.
> Stand up.
>Poke Satori.
> Lift Satori up.
> How light is she? Could we reasonably carry her around?
> "Up you go, dearie."
> Sling Satori over our shoulder, being sure to let her keep her lower dignity, at least.
> Head back out of the room in search of the kasha, the hell raven, or any other pets.
> "Ah, excuse me."
> Shake our head.
> "Nothing. I think she broke herself somehow. I thought you would be best-suited to take immediate care of her."
> "A fairly intrusive scan, she said. This was at my request."
> Hand her over.
> We can get to Eientei, yes?
> "I can check to see if the Lunarian doctor is available, if you like, but I obviously cannot guarantee more than that."
> Open a gap to Eientei.
> "Would you like to come with me?"
> Is there generally any advice for anyone that gap-travels with us?
> Nod.
> "Very well. Follow me. I suggest closing your eyes before you step through, though, and not opening them until I say so."
> Step on through the gap.
> Once we're on the other side, leave enough room so the kasha can step out and not bump into us.
>"Hello, I have a patient for Doctor Yagokoro here."
>"What? No, I'm not the patient. The patient is ... "
>turn and look behind us
> Gesture to Satori.
> "It's her. It's a bit of an emergency, she just entered this state a few minutes ago."
> "Yes dear, you may."
> Turn bacck to the rabbit.
> "I can wait here if need be. I suspect Doctor Yagokoro will at least be mildly curious as to why I've brought the Komeiji matriarch to her doorstep in a catatonic state, enough so to grant me an audience."
> "Oh, you're just saying that to be nice."
> Shake head.
> "Near as I can tell, she did it to herself."
> Follow.
> "An intrusive scan, at my request. Things seemed to be going fine until she went completely motionless after a few minutes. Now she's that."
> "If it did, it escaped my notice."
> "Never."
> "I have business to take care of, so I must depart. Not to sound cold, but I am in a bit of a time crunch, and I am now down a lead."
> Do we know where we could find Nagae's pet poltergeist these days?
> "Of course."
> Open a gap to the jewelry store in the human village and step on through.
> Frown.
> "Hmm, not quite where I meant to land. Sorry for the shock, dearie."
> Tap our cheek with a finger in thought.
> "Hmm. Any piece, you say. What if the piece I'm interested in isn't jewelry?"
> Give a low giggle.
> "Oh, you still have much to learn in the art of social subtlety. The person standing in front of me shows me that I am indeed in the correct store, for it is that person whom I wish to see."
> Wave a hand dismissively.
> "You know very well I understand your...concerns, shall we say. I am not here to pry. I have other, more personal business than that."
> Give a small smirk.
> "I merely wish to know when and where we first met."
> "Oh my. I see Nagae has yet to teach you of the concept of gratitute."
> "Then I will say I have most certainly not forgotten. Rather, I ask because I have reason believe you have forgotten. Or, more accurately, you don't know."
> Frown.
> "Dear, if I simply wanted information about you that I already knew, I would simply ask Nagae or perhaps Hinanai instead of trying to pull teeth with you. Your answers specifically to my questions are what is important. Those answers are bigger than either of us. I promise you I only intend to ask things that I already know; with no one else around, you have nothing to lose."
> Nod.
> "Only once is necessary."
> Bend down on one knee so she doesn't have to strain herself reaching our ear.
> Nod.
> Tone our voice down a little bit so we don't shout in her face.
> "Okay. Since you answered, I will give you a choice: I can reciprocate and tell you at least partially why I asked, or I can simply leave and you can continue your work."
> "It certainly is to me, though not on a personal level. It may or may not be to you; I don't know you well enough to answer that."
> "Very well."
> Take a noticable breath.
> "I have reason to believe that this Gensokyo is not the real Gensokyo. That its people are not its real people. That you...might not be the real you."
> "Do you think I would ask you about yourself as a joke?"
> Frown.
> "Even with all the trouble Nagae and I went through for you?"
> Do we have the tools necessary to stabilize the gap in the unstable room?
>"Very well. If this is what you wish to believe, my business here has concluded. Feel free to return to yours."
> Open and step through a gap back to Yuyuko.
> "Only what further irritance feels like. I'm positive this Gensokyo itself is fake, but the people...I'm not so sure."
> "I investigated two people for whom it would be extremely hard, if not impossible, to create believable clones. The first one made me seriously doubt that she was the real deal, but the second one...I still haven't decided about."
> "No, it's another Gensokyo native. I...don't know if I could really bring myself to seriously consider the idea of you not being you."
>"You'll probably understand when I say that your elegant and flippant surface layers are relatively easy to replicate, while your devious self would take much longer to fathom and validate. It's easier to just assume you are as close to being you as you can be."
>"I am en route to try different paths behind the gaps, and so I wanted to let you know of my decision. If ... if you see me again, tell her I'm sorry about Ran and Reimu."
>"If you're real, I hope to see you again soon. If you're fake then, no offense, I hope to never have to see you again. In either case farewell."
> Smile.
> "I suppose that is a better way to look at things."
> "I'll be sure to pass your concerns on to whoever did this before I rip their head clear off their neck."
> "Then I will make a fake me and rip that head off."
> Give Yuyuko a hug.
> "If you never see me again, you were the best fake best friend I've ever had."
> "Any doubts I have about you are only because of the environment."
> Wink.
> "I haven't the foggiest idea what you mean."
> "Ah, if only I had the time, I'd say you should."
> Satori, are you there?
>"I'm afraid I have to insist, Gensokyo, or possibly even I, could be on the verge of collapse."
> Open a portal back to the area of Gensokyo where that interdimensional gap is.
> "I would invite you two to come with me, but after what happened the last time, I'm still not sure that's the best idea."
>"I attempted to get Reimu and Ran to come with me for backup, but when I went through the gap with them.... they... didn't come out the other side. I haven't seen them since."
>"I wouldn't dare try with more people, however anything but this dress that I try to take with me dissappears as well."
>Inventory
>"I've been able to bring things here, such as this stick."
>Demonstrate stick's existence.
>"The trees there are very odd. I'd love to show them to you, but, well, you know why I can't."
>Has anything that we can recall?
>"Not that I've noticed, so likely not."
>Where is that hat we wove, and did we pick up a hat at "our house"?
> "It's at least part of the reason why I believe this Gensokyo is fake. Certainly not the only reason, but part of the reason."
> "The Komeiji matriarch broke herself somehow. Beyond that, not that I've noticed, and she was perfectly fine leading up to it."
>"I asked her to use her ability on me. It seems logical that this is a weakness of the simulation. "
> "I took her to Eientei. I haven't really met anyone particularly notable aside from that, though."
> "Well if she is a created fake, she can't read minds, right?"
> "What do you mean?"
> "Well, yes, but I've been thinking about all of those the whole time, and have no leads on any of them."
> "Such as?"
> "Not a lot. My danmaku has been shut off entirely, and this Gensokyo is the only place where I can still fly, and even then it's incredibly slow and unstable."
> "That other person I'm actually not sure about. She did markedly better than Komeiji. As for anyone else, like I said, I have no leads."
> "I'm not ruling out anyone, certainly. But picking people to investigate amounts to blind guessing at this point."
> Frown.
> "It's too much of a waste of time, when I know of one place outside of this Gensokyo I haven't checked yet."
> "I'm open to suggestions if you have specific people to suggest looking into. But I'm on a time limit and am in no condition to defend myself from someone that gets aggressive. I can't afford to accuse people willy-nilly."
> Do we know anyone in Gensokyo that could have pulled this off?
> "I might be able to run away, but I'd rather not test it. Regardless, I can't imagine anyone in Gensokyo who is capable of doing this to it and to me."
Okay, I genuinely don't know what to do from here. Anyone have any targets they feel like stabbing at?
>If we wanted to, and assuming this world is real enough, could we visit Professor Okazaki in her realm, or visit Avalon?
>or ... we need some sort of tool which we don't have ...
> Inventory
> List of Unused gaps
>Could we make an astrolabe, or an orrery, without the tools we don't have?
>Two of our tools are pliers?
> What kind of materials do we need to make a temporary astrolobe?
> "If I do find out how all of this is happening, it will certainly be easier to solve it."
> Was our failed attempt at using the gap near where we awoke the result of not having a specific tool, or was there something else wrong with it?
>Vice grips are pliers, right?
>So something like http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vise then, not like http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Locking_Pliers
> "Well, in any case, I was thinking I'd go poke around a little more and see what--or who--I can find. Wish me luck?"
>Gap back to the gap that gaps us out of Gensokyo to the strange gap land. Where there are gaps.
>Return to the hall of statues.
> At least, go as far as going through the gap in the frond field that leads to the unstable room in the cavern.
> Make our way over to it and inspect it again.
> That unstable room in the caverns - did it have roots in it? If so, how did they compare locationwise to this gap?
>If the borders on the other side collapsed, what would happen to the gap on this side? Also, what would happen to something partially through?
>Probe it gently to make sure it won't collapse instantly.
>Could the hourglass and/or the screwdriver be helpful in this situation?
>Use the screwdriver to carefully open the gap, then quickly use hourglass to stabilise it.
> Step through, quickly!
>Stout stick, I choose you!
>Use the hourglass to maintain its postion long enough to pass through safely.
>Could we use the pliers to close the gap to a dormant state that could be reopened or would that destroy the link completely?
>Could we use them to bring this gap to a state that wouldn't agitate the borders? Preferably without severing the link.
> Close the gap behind us, if that hasn't happened naturally already.
> Are there any exits in this room that we can reach with our current gravitational orientation?
> Head down that tunnel, back into the larger room with the promontory. These cavern halls had roots them, so be wary of those as we go.
>Go the way that leads to the statue room.
>Search for gap in this room.
>Examine gap.
>How much belonging do spatial gaps in general have to their surroundings? Do they occur naturally, and are there factors which influence their production?
>Open gap with pliers.
>Standard stick test.
> She who hesitates is lost! Step on through.
>Have we heard of the Infernal Battlefield of Acheron?
> Is there no visible ground?
> Are the environmental borders as shot here as they are everywhere else?
>Have we heard of Christopher Nolan?
> Look around. Is there anything that stand out in the sea of destruction?
> Take a peek inside the closest shattered window.
>Is the building we are on connected to other buildings in such a way as to allow us to walk between them?
>If so, is this true for the majority of the buildings?
>Randomly explore buildings.
>Look around for any buildings of note.
>Look around for the nearest vertical oriented building.
>Proceed in its direction, being careful not to put our foot through any windows.
> Close our eyes for a moment, do we still "see" the movement?
> Regardless of the answer, open our eyes again but look straight ahead without actually focusing on anything, can we see the movement from the corner of our eyes at any moment?
> Whenever we do see it, look in its direction and examine whatever is there.
>Closely investigate the area we last saw the motion.
>Examine mirror. Cast Detect Magic.
>Try to fly over there.
>Carefully approach mirror.
>Examine.
>"Well Yukari, this is quite a mess we're in, ara? How are we ever to get home?"
> Walk over to the makeshift ramp and test our weight gently on it.
> Make our way up to the second floor.
> Make our way around the mezzanine. Maybe we'll find something interesting.
> Have we yet seen a single window that wasn't blown out or otherwise destroyed?
> And yet we've run across two mirrors that are perfectly fine. Possibly three, if that instant of motion we saw outside came from another one.
> Shenanigans are afoot! Enter the office and inspect its mirror, including gently placing a hand on it.
> Feel for any border around, especially close to the mirror.
> Press a little harder. Not so hard as to break it, but hard enough to be met with some resistance.
>I am thou are thee stick your hand in theTVmirror do it do it do it do it do it!
>jam it inPass through the mirror.
> Do the four distinct corridors all go in roughly the same direction?
> Are we standing on a mirror?
> Are we standing in a dead end?
> Are there exits to our immediately left and/or right, or are we pinned in by more mirror walls?
> Let's get going, then. Fortune favors the bold.
> Head down the leftmost corridor.
> Keep on going.
> This is the rightmost one from our perspective and not the wall's perspective, correct?
> Inventory
>Out of all the places we've been, which felt the most stable? The wheatfern savannah?
> Consider the possibility of this place looping.
> Inspect the other corridors, but don't enter any of them yet.
>I hope you mean wouldn't be, I'm certainly not forgetting that earlier loop.
>Reach down and attempt to smudge a mirror.
>So the mirrors can be dirtied then?
> Stand up. How visible is the fingerprint?
> Bend back down.
> Leave another fingerprint, pressing a little harder this time, and then stand back up.
> Leave an entire hand print while we're at it, something we can see right away.
> Enter the corridor farthest from where we came from.
>Continue along the path, keeping an eye out for forks or other deviations.
> Check the mirrors on the floors. Is our handprint on any of them?
>Think about the path we just walked along, did we go in a circle?
> Enter the middle-left corridor.
> Inspect the mirrors around the curve.
> If nothing interesting, keep going.
> Take out our walking stick and hold it up to the mirrors.
> Get closer to one of the mirrors and examine the other shapes. Do any of them look familiar to us?
> Press hand against one of the mirrors.
>Seems like many or all of the mirrors in the buildings connect through this space.
>Cast Detect Magic.
>Cautiously enter a mirror at random.
>Back through the mirror.
>Attempt to retrace our steps back to where we entered this mirror maze.
>Carefully turn around.
>Push against the mirror with our hand.
>Breath a sigh of relief and enter the mirror.
>Attempt to find our way back to where we first entered this maze of mirrors.
>Inventory.
>Our stout stick shall prove handy once more!
>Use the stout stick to mark the mirror we used to first enter this maze of mirrors.
>We'll just have to leave it on the ground pointing at the mirror then, hopefully there are no sneak thieves in this strange world!
>Do these mirrors seem to be similar to the way our gaps work?
>Try another mirror at random.
>The second then the first.
>Crap, now we're going to have to watch our step here as well.
>Back through the mirror.
> Can we pinpoint what it was about the root that made us feel uneasy?
>Peer into a couple of mirrors to see if we can see anything interesting.
>Continue peering into mirrors until we see something other than just ruined buildings.
>Peer into mirrors along the side of the hallway that we are facing looking for anything other than ruined buildings, if we get to a fork, stop.
>Can we see it in any of the other mirrors?
>Is it in the room we are in?
>Which room is it in?
>From which mirror does the image of the small white object originate?
>We are the one who taught math to Gensokyo's greatest mathematician. We are the youkai astronomer. Using our knowledge and experience of parallax, vectors, optics, and anything else applicable, perform actions in line with finding the small white object, wherever it is.
I'm not going to enter incremental commands like "Take a step to the right. Wave left hand so our reflection intersects with image of object. Is the object behind us or in front of us?"
> Since the object is near the floor, gently lift on of our legs just a fraction of an inch off the ground and sweep it in front of us so it passes the reflection of the object. Does our leg cover the object or does the object cover part of our leg?
> Move our leg across our body again until it covers up the object again.
> Once that is done, slowly swing our leg backward, trying to keep the object covered.
> Put an arm straight out behind us.
> Slowly walk backward, aiming to keep our leg covering the object. Use our arm to feel for when we're about to hit the wall behind us.
> Look down between our legs, hiking up our dress a little bit if needed to increase our field of vision. Is the object visible under us, perhaps?
> Not even in the reflection of the mirrored floor?
> Comparing how we are angled at the reflections where we are blocking it and at the reflections where we are not blocking it, can we tell where it might be relative to us?
> Can we even tell what it is?
> Look back up to keep using our leg for blocking reference.
> Shift a foot to our left, keeping our blocking leg still blocking the object.
> Are we still blocking the original reflection?
> Interesting!
> Let's walk forward a bit, aiming our blocking leg toward the space between the two mirrors. Eventually the object should be visible in both again: watch for this.
> Slowly move the blocking leg back so that it is fully blocking the two reflections of the object that we are primarily focusing on.
> Once this is done, check around at the other mirrors to see how our leg compares to the object.
> We had them both blocked with a single leg before, yes? Shift our legs so that happens again.
>By this point do we have a decent enough idea of where the object would be if it were in reality as well as in the mirror?
>Feel around with our hand at least in that general area, being as specific as possible.
>Hmm, this place has defied logic enough already.
>Reach into the mirror towards where we can see it.
>Attempt to grab this solid object and pull it out of the mirror.
>What nonstandard uses does this tape measure have when compared to your average non-magical tape measure.
>Could this apply to any of the gaps that we've been unable to open thus far?
>Tool manifest, both possessed and missing.
>Make our way back to where we entered the Maze of Mirrors.
>Exit through the mirror we originally entered.
>See if we can find the gap that we got here through again.
>Return whence we came through this gap.
>Let's get out of this creepy statue room again and head back across the bridge to where that gap we failed to open properly earlier was.
>How much more work would it be to invent a new Tool than to recreate one? I am thinking specifically of something like Scissors or an Awl, which would let us create a gap in a previously-secure border.
>Find that gap again.
>Determine whether we think that the tools we have will permit us to properly open the gap this time.
> Open dat gap.
>Oh crap, we left our stick behind.
>Through the gap, to a new unknown!
>So, we may be standing on a floating island?
> Attempt flight
> Any obvious landmarks on this piece of floating island?
>Walk in one direction until we find an edge to our island.
>If we find an edge, follow it around to get an idea for how much land we have to work with.
>What's a mile? I only know metric.
>Walk around the perimeter of the island, taking care not to walk too close to the edge.
>Could this be the so-called "northern lights?"
>Travel to the point where this "shimmer" seems to originate on this island.
>Probe at it with our hand.
> Compare it to our pieces of Materia Prima.
>Attempt to start walking onto the light.
>Attempt to obtain piece of light.
>Follow this "light bridge" with our eyes, does it reach any of the other islands?
>Other than inside the small woods, what parts of this island have we not seen.
>Investigate the small woods.
>Follow the path.
>If there is a path continue to follow it, otherwise beging following the path of least resistance further into the woods.
>To the left, making our way carefully.
>Make our way towards the boulders and inspect them.
>There was some animal or youkai here. We're not a master tracker, but do we have any way of knowing what kind it was?
>Look closely at the scratch.
>Insepect the nearby groud for tracks other than our own.
>Attempt to follow the tracks, towards where they were headed rather than came from if we're adept enough for that.
>Continue following them to the best of our ability.
>Follow the trail to the edge of the woods, then discern whether it will be possible to continue following it.
>Try to work out in what direction they head into the plains, then begin in that direction whilst keeping an eye out for anything to assure us that we're on the right path.
>Commit the location that the tracks exited the woods to memory, then continue into the field in the direction we were.
>Head over to these ruins.
>Explore ruins for signs of the creature.
>More thoroughly search that area.
>So, some creature without phlanges or fine motor control; either an archaeologist or scavenger or something that just wanted to lay on the dirt without pokey things.
>Have one last quick look around the village for signs of habitation.
>If nothing else is found, head toward the bridge of light.
> Pick up the stone.
>Do we remember clipping a rock with our foot earlier?
>And this rock is also on the way from that village to the bridge?
>Well, I guess it logically follows that whoever tripped on the rock knows of the bridge.
>Use our legs to become at the bridge of light.
>Step upon it and beging walking cautiously away from the island we were on.
>The bridge doesn't branch, does it?
>Walk towards this island, being incredibly careful the entire way that we are putting our next step onto the light-bridge and not thin air.
>What is it a field of?
>Examine trees and rocks.
>Walk around the edge of the island, looking for more bridges of light.
>Make a mental note of this bridge's location and continue around the edge of the island, looking for any more bridges.
>Examine crop circles.
> Follow it at a quick pace.
> Go east.
>Look for more traces of whoever we've been following.
> Walk over to the boulder, and look over the edge.
>Make note of where we found the trail, return to where we left off, and continue around the edge in search of bridges.
>Head over to the bridge we found earlier, keeping an eye out for anything else out of the ordinary on the way.
>Cross the bridge.
>Approach field.
>Sound of Music.
>Any edible plants we can recognize?
> Pick some flowers.
> Can we see to the edge of the field?
> Start walking west.
> How long do we think we can go before needing food and drink?
> Would we be able to gap home from here, or would it be too dangerous?
> Head northwest.
> Inventory
> Carefully start making our way into the lakebed. That hole might have something good in it.
> Get a little closer to the hole, but don't go right up to it. Stay a few meters away.
> Can we see any shapes in the colors? Or does it just look like a mess?
>Does it look like the sky?
>So, it looks like an ordinary hole in the floating island that caused the lake to drain out, and the sky doesn't look closer than otherwise? Or it looks like some sky at the bottom of a well?
> Are there any signs indicating what caused this hole to be formed?
> Where do the footprints lead?
> How big are the footprints? Do they suggest their owner was wearing shoes, or barefoot? If shoes, can we tell what kind?
> And the footprints are only around the hole?
> Let's see how far we can follow the footprints away from the hole. Be careful not to step on any of them.
> Follow the ones departing.
>When we the last time we we at Bhava Agra, and its this place similar?
> Proceed towards the mountain.
>Let's harvest a new stick.
> Let's look for a tall, sturdy one. If there are any extra twigs or leaves, we can strip them away.
> Consider poking the root with our stick.
> Look for escape routes to get away from the root.
> Let's try to walk around it very slowly and carefully.
> Once we're on the other side, look to see if it hasn't done anything yet.
> The bare minimum of close, just close enough for the stick to reach it. Is there a wall of stone we can back up against? We don't want to trip and fall.
> Reach out with the stick.
> Use the very end of it to poke the root, gently.
> Poke it harder.
> ...Let's just keep walking, away from it.
> Continue stripping the branch.
>Look around for more signs of this elusive person we've been tracking, if none are found attempt to climb higher up the mountain.
>Mentally draw a line between the lakebed and this twig.
>Does that trail look to continue up the mountain?
>Good enough, continue up the mountain for now, keeping an eye out for signs of someone passing through.
>Inspect the cliff in greater detail. Specifically scouting out handholds and suchlike.
>Carefully ascend the third path.
> If we were to fall from this ledge, how far would the drop be?
> Start moving across the ledge, slowly.
> Take a sit-down break.
> Wait a little while, until our legs hurt less.
> How big is the forest from up here?
> Wait, we were able to actually rest? Didn't we try that before and fail miserably? I believe we had a nap back at gensokyo.
> Stretch our arms, and start climbing again.
> Does the ledge look stable?
> Do we feel like we have enough energy to keep going the rest of the way?
> Keep climbing, then.
> Are we close enough to step onto it?
> If so, do it.
> Begin ascending the ridge, carefully.
>Climb up to the peak.
>Examine the border-related oddity.
> Is it reparable?
> Is it reparable with our current inventory?
>If we did this would we be unable to return whence we came?
>Open it and jump through quickly.
>Arithmetic is no challenge for Gensokyo's greatest* mathematician. Use the elements in groups: 143, 87, 20; 136, 86, 21, 7; 117, 97.
>Add the 36 degree of stability one to that last group.
> Are there any obvious roads here?
> Do we see anything in the distance or on the horizon that would catch our eye?
>Begin making our way towards that orange light.
> Is there anything for us to hide behind?
> How quiet have our footsteps been?
> Does the figure have a mass of tails, or any visible notable features?
> Get closer to this person, enough that we can make out some features.
> ...Could she be us?
> Let's get close enough to determine if it's us or not, then.
> What do we know of Maribel's supernatural capabilities?
> That could explain that border getting ripped open.
> Make our way to her and the fire. Once we get there, position ourselves so the fire is between her and us and take another look at her.
> Pause for a moment to see if she does anything more.
> Put on a light, as-not-sinister-as-possible tone. The last thing we want to do is make her think we're here to get her.
> "Hello, dearie."
> Give a sympathetic smile and start moving toward Maribel again.
> "I am working on that, dearie, trust me. You look such a state. How long have you been away from home?"
> Her aura is off? Is it possible this isn't really her?
> "Believe me, if that was possible, it would be done already. As things are, I need your help in making it possible."
> "I know where some is, and how to get there from some number of places. This place here is new to me, though. I'm sorry to say that some exploration is necessary to find a way out."
> "Yes, 'here'. This current location. Is this where you first woke up? Or was it somewhere else, like those floating islands?"
> We didn't see any water there either, did we?
> Nod.
> "I've passed through there, yes. It is how I came here. You did a number on the gap between the places, by the way. How did you do that?"
>"Well, we can't go back through that one, but I'm sure we'll find another gap around here somewhere."
>Do we know how to teach people about gap ... using?
>How closely related are black magic and summoning to gap using?
> "How much of this area have you searched?"
> Look wistfully up at the moonplanet.
> "A good question indeed. I wish I had an answer for you."
> "The same way I got to the cavern I woke up in, I imagine."
> "I have learned a few things over the past couple of days. The present problem is that you are very good at asking questions whose answers I fear will frighten or discourage you more than you already seem to be."
> "Quite. Before we go on, however, I must know something. When you first came to Gensokyo, you were met with many potential paths for a supernatural life, each with its own consequences. You made your choice, and after you made it, I gave you a sort of housewarming gift that was indirectly related to one of the paths you did not choose. What was that gift?"
> "And what did it do?"
> Exhale and look back down at Maribel.
> "Good. I suppose that is the best I can do for the time being to make sure you are really you and not someone else in disguise."
> "If she is, I have not found her. I believe we had best start making good use of our time, however. Are you well enough to resume traveling? Or do you still need some time?"
> "We will be traveling through gaps only as we find them. Most of our travel, sad to say, will be on foot."
> "Have you tried any supernatural acts since arriving here?"
> "No more than you."
> Wave our arm to our side, attempting to shoot a wave of danmaku that way. Obviously do not aim in Maribel's direction, just in case.
> "I havve found many places, with gaps useful for traveling between them. I can still do enough to open many of them. But we need to find them first."
> Have we ever told Maribel about that?
> Do our pocket gaps still work outside of Genfauxkyo?
> "Those do still work, at least. I have been unable to travel from place to place without assistance, though."
> Inventory
> Could we carry Maribel in a pocket gap?
> "Hmm...well, let's try this, then."
> Concentrate for a moment, then open a gap back to the ruined gap where we first entered the area.
> "It should be."
> "We need to find another gap."
> Look eastward. Can we see what she's talking about?
> "How far away is it, do you believe? I would rather not let your fire out of my sight, given your condition."
> How easy or difficult would it be for us to carry Maribel around in our arms?
> Could we keep Maribel kind of half-in-half-out of a pocket gap and have the gap itself tote her around? Or would that cut her in half?
> Nod.
> "All right. Before we go on our little adventure, however, there is something I would like to examine."
> Hold out an open hand to Maribel.
> "Would you take my hand, please?"
> Can we feel that aura abnormality any better?
> How could we take that closer look?
> Frown.
> "...Hmm, that's interesting. Pardon me for a moment."
> Give the strange aura some further examination, then. Can we tell how long she has been changed for? How strong the change is? Is there any physical aspect of her that has changed? Any mental aspect?
>Does it line up with, say, someone becoming a youkai?
> Is it possible she has a 'piece' of us?
> Have we felt a little more human recently? Could we even tell?
> Is the process reversible?
> Can we tell how and/or why it is happening?
>"Has anything happened to you in the past day or so?"
>"Other than the thirst do you feel ok?"
>"I don't mean to worry you, but I suspect this place isn't very safe for you to stay in. After we find some water we should get you out of here as fast as possible."
> Don't say that.
> "Hmm hmm hmm. Have you found anything interesting? Anything out-of-place, even for these strange lands?"
> "Anything that clearly didn't belong to its environment, shall we say."
> "I have seen hand patterns in a few things, yes. What form did they take when you saw them?"
> Huh. We probably should pay closer attention to that, should we find ourselves at the floating islands again.
> Nod.
> "All right, then. I think it is time we tried to find that abnormality. Are you ready?"
> Look back eastward and open a gap to a spot a couple of miles away.
> "Stay close. And close your eyes when going through if you have to."
> Gently lead Maribel through the gap.
>Huh. Have we examined our hands recently?
> Look back. Can we still see the fire?
> "Should we not be?"
> Could we gap the fire along and bring it with us?
> What would we need to do to make sure that doesn't happen?
> Shank the moonplanet. Blood for the blood god!