Yukari Quest, continued?!

[Darkoda]

>Don't mention Nitori yet. Might cause more trouble than its worth later on.
>"If it will satisfy you though, I'll accept payment after finding Kaguya...... but that will cost you one extra favor that I'll cash in when needed."
>Having a backup in case Nitori can't fix Utsuho or someone else loses a limb would be wise.
>"Is that more acceptable?"

[Dormio Ergo Sum]

>"You can do it, can you not? Mending an arm would be easy for one of your expertise."
>"I am aware of the kind of times we are living in, and, believe it or not, I am actually working to restore Gensokyo to it's former glory. Why, I've already found the sweet little kappa who made it possible for this whole mess to start and I've rescued both the crew of the Palanquin and the Moriya Shrine's inhabitants from our sweet little miko's hands. Believe me, I am but trying to help you, but  mending an arm is slightly above my current abilities."

>"Whether or not I could do it is not the question. Why would I accept your deal when I have no guarantee that you will keep your word?"
>"And you expect me to simply believe this?"

>_

[GuyYouMetOnline]

>"Then treat Ran after I have found Kaguya. If you doubt that I will fulfill my end of the bargan, then I shall do my end first."

[Darkoda]

Hey, did you just ignore my entire post? <_<

[Dormio Ergo Sum]

Hey, did you just ignore my entire post? <_<

Uni sucks. I missed it, soz.

[Dormio Ergo Sum]

>"Then treat Ran after I have found Kaguya. If you doubt that I will fulfill my end of the bargan, then I shall do my end first."

>"If it will satisfy you though, I'll accept payment after finding Kaguya...... but that will cost you one extra favor that I'll cash in when needed."
>Having a backup in case Nitori can't fix Utsuho or someone else loses a limb would be wise.
>"Is that more acceptable?"

>"Very well. Then we have no more business with each other until you deliver."

>_

[Darkoda]

>"Fair enough. I'll be back~"
>Off to the human village, might as well ask about Alice while we're out here.
>Put all our stuff in a pocket gap before meeting the guards. Put Ran's and Chen's stuff in there too, like hell we're letting them touch any of our shikigami's things either.

[Dormio Ergo Sum]

>"Fair enough. I'll be back~"
>Off to the human village, might as well ask about Alice while we're out here.
>Put all our stuff in a pocket gap before meeting the guards. Put Ran's and Chen's stuff in there too, like hell we're letting them touch any of our shikigami's things either.

>Eirin leaves you, heading back into Eientei without so much as a word.
>With nothing better to do, you decide that you might as well head off to the human village.
>You spend the next hour flying  to the human village, relocating your possessions into you small gap whilst doing so.
>You find yourself standing in front of the gate to the human village.
>You can see a different set of guards standing outside the gate.

>_

[GuyYouMetOnline]

>"Hi."

[Darkoda]

>"Would any of you have happened to have seen Alice about? Puppeteer, short blond hair, always has a couple of dolls around her...."
>If they don't know Alice, describe her in more detail.

[Dormio Ergo Sum]

>"Hi."

>"Hello."
>The two guards watch you.

>"Would any of you have happened to have seen Alice about? Puppeteer, short blond hair, always has a couple of dolls around her...."
>If they don't know Alice, describe her in more detail.

>"Yeah, we saw someone with short blond hair the other day. I don't think that there are that many with blond hair, so it's probably the person you're looking for. Why do you ask?"

>_

[Yonowaaru]

>"I was looking for her since I couldn't find her at her house. I was wondering where she went, and thus I came here."
>"If you saw her, do you happen to know where she went as well?"

[Dormio Ergo Sum]

>"I was looking for her since I couldn't find her at her house. I was wondering where she went, and thus I came here."
>"If you saw her, do you happen to know where she went as well?"

>"Well, we only saw her briefly. No idea where she was headed, though she was with a man. You know the shopkeeper that lives around the forest? Yeah, she was going somewhere with him."
>"Hey, you sure we should be telling a stranger all this?"
>The first guard shrugs.
>"Not like there's much better to do."

>_

[Darkoda]

>So she didn't kill Rinnosuke. Damn
>"Could you point me in the general direction they went?"
>If they do, what do we know of that lies along that path?
>Do we know anyone good at tracking people?
>Does Alice's dolls or that Grimoire of hers count as a treasure for Nazrin to follow?
>Since we can just go get materials now, can we perform a tracking spell to hunt down Alice and Rinnosuke?
>If we can, what would we need to do so?

[Dormio Ergo Sum]

>So she didn't kill Rinnosuke. Damn
>"Could you point me in the general direction they went?"
>If they do, what do we know of that lies along that path?
>Do we know anyone good at tracking people?
>Does Alice's dolls or that Grimoire of hers count as a treasure for Nazrin to follow?
>Since we can just go get materials now, can we perform a tracking spell to hunt down Alice and Rinnosuke?
>If we can, what would we need to do so?

>It would have made things so much simpler.
>"They were heading towards the Hakurei shrine, far as I could tell. What anyone would want to be doing there, heaven knows..."
>Ran and Chen are both rather adept at tracking. A remnant from their time as beasts.
>You know that most tengu are rather skilled at tracking, with Momiji being especially gifted.
>Reimu always seemed to be able to find what she was looking for through the use of her intuition.
>As long as somebody truly desired them, Nazrin could track them.
>If you so desired, you could.
>The only thing that you would not have ready access to is something intimate belonging to either of them.

>_

[Darkoda]

>She's at Hakurei shrine? Bah.
>Wait, how did we not notice her when we were there yesterday evening? And Sanae would likely have told us when we asked about events.
>Something's screwy here.
>Do we need the intimate object to hunt down Rinnosuke?
>Would Ran or Chen be capable of finding him if we get a scent off his shop?

[Omba]

> Do we remember if there was anything left in Rinnosuke's shop that would classify as an intimate item of his?

[Dormio Ergo Sum]

>She's at Hakurei shrine? Bah.
>Wait, how did we not notice her when we were there yesterday evening? And Sanae would likely have told us when we asked about events.
>Something's screwy here.
>Do we need the intimate object to hunt down Rinnosuke?
>Would Ran or Chen be capable of finding him if we get a scent off his shop?

>That is rather troublesome.
>You did enter the shrine, you found nobody other than Sanae and Kisume there.
>Sanae should have noticed someone entering the shrine, right?
>Something seems strange.
>Unless you are able to deduce his location through other means, you would.
>Since much time hasn't passed, they likely would be able to.

> Do we remember if there was anything left in Rinnosuke's shop that would classify as an intimate item of his?

>You do not believe that he left anything behind.

>_

[Darkoda]

>Thank the guards (this pair was far less jerkish than the other two) and head to Rinnosuke's to get a scent for Ran and Chen. Dude lived there for decades, his scent should be over everything
>Then its Rinnosuke hunting time. Give Ran and Chen their stuff back and pull out the umbrella.
>How did Chen end up as Ran's shikigami by the way?

[Dormio Ergo Sum]

>Thank the guards (this pair was far less jerkish than the other two) and head to Rinnosuke's to get a scent for Ran and Chen. Dude lived there for decades, his scent should be over everything
>Then its Rinnosuke hunting time. Give Ran and Chen their stuff back and pull out the umbrella.
>How did Chen end up as Ran's shikigami by the way?

>You give the guards thanks for their help before taking your leave.
>Before you leave for Kourindou again, Ran stops you.
>"If you wish to find the owner that store, I have already memorized his scent from when we were there previously."
>You get your parasol back from the gap.
>Ran wished to test how much more powerful she had become after having spent a while in a contract with you, and decided that the best way to judge this would be to create a shikigami of her own. That was when she found Chen. All in all, it was a rather benign affair.

>_

[Yonowaaru]

>"My, my, Ran, you keep on proving yourself time and again. This will simplify things."
>"Are you able to pick anything up from here?"

[Dormio Ergo Sum]

>"My, my, Ran, you keep on proving yourself time and again. This will simplify things."
>"Are you able to pick anything up from here?"

>"I am always at your service."
>Ran gives a short bow in your direction.
>"It is a bit faint, but yes, his scent is here. It seems as though he was, indeed, heading towards the Hakurei shrine."
>"Yeah. I can smell it too, master. They definitely went that way."
>Chen points in the general direction of the Hakurei shrine.

>_

[Darkoda]

>"Then where did he vanish to between yesterday and when I showed up?"
>Gap charge.
>"Ah well, nothing to do but follow the trail. We'll just have to be careful if we end up getting close to the shrine."
>Follow that trail with caution. Still don't want to deal with Reimu yet but we can't just leave Alice alone.

[Dormio Ergo Sum]

>"Then where did he vanish to between yesterday and when I showed up?"
>Gap charge.
>"Ah well, nothing to do but follow the trail. We'll just have to be careful if we end up getting close to the shrine."
>Follow that trail with caution. Still don't want to deal with Reimu yet but we can't just leave Alice alone.

>"I do not know."
>You should be able to open up a gap if you so desired.
>Ran nods, and the three of you walk past the forest of magic and towards the Hakurei shrine.
>As you begin to approach the Hakurei shrine, Ran stops.
>"From what I can tell, master, he appears to have gone past the shrine."

>_

[Darkoda]

>Wait, does Ran mean he went into the shrine, or went by it and kept going?
>"Is there any other scent with him?"
>If its the latter, where would you end up if you kept going past Hakurei shrine?
>If its the former, ask Ran if she can pick up if he left the shrine, and the path he took heading back.

[Dormio Ergo Sum]

>Wait, does Ran mean he went into the shrine, or went by it and kept going?
>"Is there any other scent with him?"
>If its the latter, where would you end up if you kept going past Hakurei shrine?
>If its the former, ask Ran if she can pick up if he left the shrine, and the path he took heading back.

>You assume that she meant that he went past the shrine.
>"There is. It is another scent that I had found at the store."
>If you continued past the shrine, the only place of note would be the newly constructed mansion.

>_

[Omba]

> Imagine scene in the mansion's basement.

If they really went to Reimu's mansion, I think we should probably leave it be for now. We could of course go and try to save Alice anyway, but that would most likely end poorly.
Also I'm guessing that Reimu now knows that we're back. Which means we might not have all that much time left before she comes to find us.

[Dormio Ergo Sum]

> Imagine scene in the mansion's basement.

>Your mind wanders, considering the possibilities of what could be occurring within that mansion's basement.
>You can see the events with Reimu, Rinnosuke, and Alice in a dark basement unfolding before your mind's eye...
>[The following segment has been removed.]
>You shudder violently.
>"Is something the matter, master?"
>Ran and Chen look at you curiously.

>_

[Darkoda]

Reimu likely knew we were back the moment Marisa saw us. It's more like staying out of her way so she doesn't bother with us; if nothing else, she still doesn't seem motivated to deal with stuff until it becomes major, and she knows full well what will happen if we don't fix the border. On that note, this is a lost cause until we get full power back and can actually fight Reimu. Ah bother.

>Note: Brain bleach that scene from our minds.
>"That scent would be Alice."
>Sigh "Well this is as far as we can go now. Hopefully Reimu hasn't fallen far enough to let Rinnosuke continue his behaviour."
>Gap back to Rumia's room, we said that we'll pop in on her.

[Dormio Ergo Sum]

>Note: Brain bleach that scene from our minds.
>"That scent would be Alice."
>Sigh "Well this is as far as we can go now. Hopefully Reimu hasn't fallen far enough to let Rinnosuke continue his behaviour."
>Gap back to Rumia's room, we said that we'll pop in on her.

>What scene?
>"I see."
>"I suppose that it would not be wise to press on with you in your current state, master."
>You open up a gap that leads to the inside of Nitori's laboratory, to the room you left Rumia in.
>Your immediate thought after stepping through the gap is that it is rather dark.
>Yuuko appears to be in the room with Rumia, talking about trivial things to her. She appears to have not noticed your entrance.

>_