[x] Come clean. You went to go see some ancient youkai about a deal, and made one.
“I'm sure it's obvious,” You say, “But 'scouting' only covers half of it. I apologize for having Patchouli lie to you, but I thought it necessary at the time.”
Everyone except for maybe Makoto and Kyou probably guessed that that's what you did, and you'd rather not start off your first dealings with this Alice on a lie. There's no shame in what you did, even if others may think so.
Alice gives you a cold smile. “Well, we all have our ways. What was the other half?”
“I had a meeting with Yukari Yakumo, on top of the mountain behind the city,” You say, “Have you heard of her?”
Alice's smile fades fairly quickly upon hearing that name. “One of the founders of Gensokyo?”
“Yes,” You say, “We struck a deal while I was there. In return for some real, hard data on Makai's army, she's having me deliver some messages for her.”
Alice, like she suddenly came down with a headache, rubs her brow while she thinks of how to take this.
Patchouli, on the other hand, seems not to miss a step. “Then, you did make a deal with her. Where are the messages to?”
“The first was to Yuugi, an oni running an in-city resistance group,” You say, “It... well, it was a forgery. Yukari had it written, but it was signed from the Guildmaster. The letter promised a reward of whatever the Guildmaster could reasonably grant, but Yuugi didn't seem very interested in it.”
“How large was this group?”
You give a rundown on what you saw at the warehouse - the tengu families, and the various other players of note. The fact that they assumed that the Guild had all but abandoned them - but, after having that message delivered, that they'll now almost certainly be under your command.
Alice remains silent throughout all this, with Patchouli asking simple questions.
“The other letter,” You continue, “Is to the Guildmaster herself. It's signed with Yukari's name and seal.”
“Did you read it?”
“Both were enchanted against reading,” You shrug, “That, and I was told not to.”
“Your ways are... troublesome,” Alice finally speaks up. “These are troublesome times, but this... it's too much.”
“It is how it is,” You say, “It can't be undone now.”
“Even more troubling,” She sighs, leaning back in her seat. “She would never deal with you if she wasn't getting something much more valuable out of it. If she's giving us our city, our country, back...”
Alice trails off, opting to let that thought finish itself. She's right, too, but you don't agree.
“Did you see anything else of note?”
“Shinki is indeed here,” You say, “But, it seems that neither her nor Yukari will directly act.”
“That,” Alice says, “That is good news. But isn't Yukari acting by making a deal with you?”
“They're...” You think of the best way to describe what you got from your little meeting, “I think this whole thing is a game between them. Neither one is acting directly because then it would just be a battle between them.”
“They would annihilate all opposition,” Patchouli confirms.
“So, they're... making deals with mortals, and generally being shady. Not acting, but not exactly being completely passive either.”
Alice just shakes her head. “Let's talk about something else. I think I've had about enough of this topic.”
“I will have questions for you later,” Patchouli says to you, “But, yes.”
“Fine by me,” You say, “What's been going on since morning here?”
“You already know, but we found out pretty quickly that communication with the Guildmaster was impossible,” Alice says, seeming more at home with this topic. “I sent Marisa out to do some scouting of her own. The lines between all the rally points are cut, as well, so we've had to use pigeons to relay messages. Had your body arrived thirty minutes later, we would have been locked into our failed attack for today.”
“Who's the leader, then?” You ask, “I recall the Guildmaster assigning one.”
“Keine Kamishirasawa and Akyu Hidea,” Alice says, seemingly comfortable with that, “They're acting jointly.”
“Ah... I think I've heard of them before.”
“I've worked with them before. Neither is a particularly good mage,” Alice says, “But Keine is a fine leader, and Akyu is a walking library of knowledge.”
“Yes,” Patchouli nods, “I have spoken with Akyu on many topics.”
“You had no trouble convincing them to hold off?”
She shakes her head. “They verified it with their own diviner. I guess that when they tried to enter the city center, they got... stuck, or something, and had to have another diviner forcefully pull them back.”
“Were they able to divine any of the rest of the city?”
“No,” Patchouli answers, “Their astral bodies would not be safe.”
Alice nods. “They didn't want to risk it, given the list of demons that your group compiled.”
Ah... so, that list did come in handy, then. “Well, I'm glad it was of use. We should send them a message informing them of our new allies in the city. Given how easily they were able to move around, with some coordination we can be pretty much everywhere at once.”
“Didn't you say that they would only probably help?” Alice asks, “Will they, then?”
“It seemed like there was a lot of infighting to quell,” You say, “But... I don't think there would be a problem. Aside from a few tengu clans, they all seemed willing, if reluctant, to help.”
“We should send that message, then,” Alice says, turning to Patchouli. “Could you draft one?”
“Certainly.”
“Tell them that the barrier over the center city will drop tomorrow, too,” You say, “I don't know when, though, so they may want to get some diviners working on that.”
“Yes.”
“And... leave out Jack's meeting,” Alice says, “That matter is far above our heads. We should let the Guildmaster deal with it.”
A nod.
“So, how many mages did you bring with you?” You ask, while Patchouli writes away, “I suppose you've already met my team.”
“Not as many as I would have liked,” She sighs, “I brought three mages - those were all I could find.”
There's a pause, as you think of something else to ask.
“How are the youkai that I traveled here with doing? I haven't had a chance to look for them yet.”
“... they'll all live, according to Rikako,” Alice says, “But, aside from Ichirin, they're all recovering right now. It was quite shocking, actually. Ichirin and Toshi showed up with a cart containing the rest of you - although I'm still not sure how that tengu was managing to move. Sheer force of will, I suppose.”
Did things really go that badly once you dropped from the fight? It's amazing you made it back at all.
“I have finished.”
Patchouli is incredibly fast, as always. Being a magician has it's perks, you suppose. “You included all the numbers I gave you and everything?”
“Yes.”
“Well, good.”
You expect Alice to reach for the letter - she seems to be looking at it - but instead, a small doll leaps up from under the table and into her lap. To be honest, it startles you a bit. You already knew about the dolls, but... seeing one just appear like that is a little disturbing.
The doll snatches up the letter, and hops back on the ground. Alice stands up as well.
“Then,” She says, “I don't have anything else to talk about now. I'll go deliver this letter to the bird-keeper. For now, I think that all we can do is wait.”
[ ] Accompany her, if she doesn't mind. You'll be working together, so you'll want to get to know her.
[ ] You should go check in on your team. You're sure that they'll want to know that you're awake.
[ ] You should go check in on Nitori, Ichirin, and the others. You owe your life to them.
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>>43970 >>43971 Ah... sorry, I didn't see these before I started writing. Next time you vote, try to do it earlier if you can so I don't miss it.
