[X] Irresistible
[X] Charming

[X] Hex of Weakness

This character will be a lover, not a fighter.

[Q] Charming
[Q] Attuned to the Flow
[Q] Potent Misfortune

Was tempted to go with "all charisma all the time", but common sense slapped me upside the head and said "Hey! if you grow faster you can do that whenever you want!"

[X] Charming
[X] Lady Killer
[X] Potent Misfortune

Optimizing stats so that non-combat is still an effective way to gain strength, and non-combat solutions are always viable.

Potent Misfortune as an excuse for possible sidequest interactions with Hina and Suwako, and subsequent seduction of both.

[x] Charming
[x] Attuned to the Flow
[x] Potent Misfortune

[x] Charming
[x] Attuned to the Flow
[x] Potent Misfortune

[x]Hot-Blooded
[x]Indomitable Will
[x]Curse of Ineptitude: +1 Difficulty in non-combat checks
I think that Faith is not used to level up, but to use soul-related powers. If it does is EXP, change I. Will for Attuned TTF.

Also: why does everyone always go for lovers? Fighters are good too!

[x] Charming
[x] Lady Killer
[x] Potent Misfortune

There had better be some Hina.

I didn't mention this but, Faith is basically EXP. You don't gain levels you just spend Faith directly on Faith Powers that will do... stuff.

I should've probably mentioned this, my mistake.

>>118093

Speaking of which, what is used for magic? Do we have any kind of MP or something?

>>118095
Real quick before I run to work.
It mostly applies to danmaku and spellcards. You don't start with either, but you will probably want to get them later.

It has some other uses to, such as the mentioned magic. Again, you don't start with any of this so it's more useful later.

Early on you'll be doing mostly melee combat, but you do get some help so...

[x] Hot-blooded
[x] Attuned to the Flow
[x] Potent Misfortune

[x] Charming
[x] Attuned to the Flow
[x] Potent Misfortune

Faith-gathering maximum.

[ø] Charming
[ø] Attuned to the Flow
[ø] Potent Misfortune

It felt good to feel the wind on my skin, and the feel of grass underneath my fingers again. It did not however feel very good to be busy trying to empty an already empty stomach again. I was no master of sealing magic, but I was sure it wasn't supposed to induce vomiting when you got out of it; then again, Sela's sealing magic tended to be one-way, you got in and never got out. Maybe that's why I was vomiting, but I wasn't really thinking about it too much.

Weakly getting to my feet, I take a moment to look over my surroundings. Let's see, a tree, a tree, a tree, another tree, and oh guess what! Another tree. Definitely a forest if I ever saw one. The only thing out of ordinary was the fact a few of the trees had jagged, splintered holes punched through them and others had a rock embedded deep inside them. Seems the sealing stone had broke rather violently then, sure hope I didn't inadvertently kill anything during that whole experience...

Mostly because I didn't want to piss anything off right now. As feeling began to return to my body I noticed something immediately – weakness. It's hard to describe, but it's like if your whole body was partially numb yet it moved just fine yet you knew it was slow. Maybe not the best description but you'd have to experience it firsthand to really get it. Still, it wasn't a pleasant experience, having something you were used to taken away from you was hardly good – then again, being sealed up for who knows how long wasn't good either. Guess Sela had planned on the seal breaking perhaps, or maybe it was just meant to drain me of my powers... guess it wasn't important right now, I couldn't get that power back even if I grinded the sealing stone fragments into powder I think, it was probably released into the air when it broke.

No use crying over split milk and all that, have to think of something... even if the stone shards didn't hit anything, I doubt it didn't at least attract attention from the noise, or possibly some youkai catching wiff of the sudden release of energy. Well, that and staying here would do me no good, have to find some kind of shelter.. .and food, food would be nice. I'm starving now that I think about it, food would be good.

But... which way to go? The tree cover was extremely thick and I could only make out some sunlight poking through, so I knew it was morning at least, but I couldn't tell where I was. My knowledge of Gensokyo was rather poor, perhaps I should've studied it a bit more... but, I had to guess this was either the Forest of Magic or perhaps the forest at the base of the mountain. Either one was a bad place to be if memory served me right, wild youkai would be quite the threat to me about now...

- - -

[ ] Wait, maybe I should take a moment to examine the area, who knows what I could find? Might be a good idea to check myself over either, maybe I'm not just numb from weakness.
[ ] Marching blindly into a forest isn't ever a good idea, some of the trees have to get above the cover so maybe if I climb up one I can figure out what I am.
[ ] The longest journey starts with a single step! Best to get going, no time to waste. Food, food, food.

This is my first time writing first person so I apologize for any errors and if it seems awkward. I'll post up the current stats of our Exile for now, although from now on it'll probably only be at the start or end of a day or when requested.

Charming
Attuned to the Flow
Potent Misfortune
---
+25% Faith (Social)
+25% Faith (Combat)
+1 Relationship Point
-1 to all checks
---
Grace: 1
Soul: 1
Allure: 1
HP: 5
Armor: 0
---
Inventory
o Short Kimono: While this is based on the traditional kimono design, it only bares a passing resemblance as it lacks much of the legcover of an actual kimono. It is made of silk and the inside is dyed black, while the trim is golden. It looks rather expensive, but it's not really very valuable...
o Sarashi: Essentially bandages. Worn as a form of undergarments by tightly wrapping them around the breasts. Can also be worn as undergarments for the lower body, though this tends to resemble shorts made of bandages.
o Scabbard: Made of a lightweight wood and coated in lacquer on the outside, this is made to hold a sword. It however, is currently empty, the contents likely taken.

Also first time writing actual item descriptions so uh, bare with me a bit.

[x] Wait, maybe I should take a moment to examine the area, who knows what I could find? Might be a good idea to check myself over either, maybe I'm not just numb from weakness.

You might want to post that you started new story in your RiG thread (or words/thread). For does of us who don't check for new stories and simply F5 threads.

[x] Wait, maybe I should take a moment to examine the area, who knows what I could find? Might be a good idea to check myself over either, maybe I'm not just numb from weakness.

[ ] Wait, maybe I should take a moment to examine the area, who knows what I could find? Might be a good idea to check myself over either, maybe I'm not just numb from weakness.

Let's make sure we're not forgetting something, like the sword that goes with the scabbard.

[Q] The longest journey starts with a single step! Best to get going, no time to waste. Food, food, food.

With our boosted growth ability, we get five steps for the price of four! Hahahahaha!

[x] Wait, maybe I should take a moment to examine the area, who knows what I could find? Might be a good idea to check myself over either, maybe I'm not just numb from weakness.

[x] Wait, maybe I should take a moment to examine the area, who knows what I could find? Might be a good idea to check myself over either, maybe I'm not just numb from weakness.

Baby steps.

[c] Wait, maybe I should take a moment to examine the area, who knows what I could find? Might be a good idea to check myself over either, maybe I'm not just numb from weakness.

I like this one.

[x] Wait, maybe I should take a moment to examine the area, who knows what I could find? Might be a good idea to check myself over either, maybe I'm not just numb from weakness.

There was an old saying, was it humans or youkai who made it? Eh, not important right now. But the saying went 'Haste makes waste', and I did like to quote and use the occasional saying from time to time. My empty scabbard was bugging me, I was pretty sure there was a sword in there but it was definitely empty right now, still it might make a decent improvised weapon... but it would be nice if Sela had sealed me up with the sword too.

Then again, that might just be a little too convenient... still, no harm in looking around a bit. I wasn't sure how large the sealing stone had been to start with, but judging by the amount of holes blasted through trees it must've been rather small, or most of it had just been turned into powder. A few good chunks however were still laying in the grass, after prodding one with the tip of my scabbard a bit (just to make sure it wouldn't blow up or anything you know?) I pick it up. It's roughly the size of my fist, and it feels pretty light... unusually light in-fact, but judging by the holes in the trees it must either be magically-enchanted to be light, or there was some serious force put out by it shattering.

Picking out a tree relatively close by, I take aim and hurl the shard at the tree. The results aren't very impressive, it didn't even go through the tree and it shattered into dust upon impact but... it did seem to dent the tree pretty nicely. Would probably make another good improvised weapon, although I'd only get one shot with it. However, I did lack any good way to really carry a sizable amount of shards, so I'd need to get creative to figure out a way to... hmmm, maybe I could just tuck them into my kimono, the shards didn't seem to have any adverse effects anymore so them contacting my bare skin shouldn't matter.

Actually now that I thought about it, numbness wasn't always a good thing. People always complained about how much pain hurts, how much it sucks, etc. etc... but it's actually a good thing! It tells you you're alive and alerts you to injuries, the fact my body still was feeling numb might mean I was hurt and wouldn't realize it until full feeling returned – or I found a bone sticking out my leg or something. A quick check was all it took to notice something amiss – I could see scars. It had been a while since I had seen them really, it wasn't very difficult to make those go away, but I had to guess with my lack of energy that they had returned... I felt around my left eye, noting the scar there had returned as well.

Sigh, guess I'd just have to deal with it. Could be worse, I could've had my body start to degenerate or something so I guess having old scars show up again is a pretty small thing. However, as I went about picking out some good sized shards, something dawned on me when I was checking my body for wounds. My sarashi had felt awfully loose and there seemed to be quite a bit of slack, now that shouldn't be right unless...

Oh fuck. No fucking way. That god damn bitch.

Great, not only was Sela content with sapping all my powers it seemed to have an adverse effect on me overall, not only causing some wounds to re-appear, but it seemed to have also made me basically flat-chested. I wasn't really mad at her too much before, but now that bitch was going to... no, no calm down, don't get mad. Besides, she could bat me away like a fly right now. Think of what I'd do to her some other time.

After taking a moment to readjust my sarashi to make it fit more snugly without... sigh. Anyway, it did leave me some impromptu bandages if I needed it, who knew when that could come in handy? I had rummaged up a few good shards too, I had tried to get some out of the trees but they were wedged in there pretty good and nothing short of probably chopping the tree down and carving out a section would get them out. Or have a lot more strength I guess.

No sign of my sword however, I didn't think Sela would've left me with it after all but it would've been nice. Alright now that I had searched the area I guess I had best get moving... but where to – wait, what was that? I thought I heard a cry or sorts off in the distance, not the cry of an animal but it sounded vaguely human – or humanoid youkai at least – might be worth investigating.

~

It wasn't hard to track the source of the noise, it had only been a cry at first but as I started to follow I could begin to make out more sounds – the sound of fighting. Creeping quietly through the forest, even finding a nice bunch of bushes to crawl around in, I advance close enough to make out shapes in the distance. It looked like... faeries? They looked odd though, I hadn't seen too many but they always looked rather neat and tidy, wearing simple but well-maintained clothes.

These faeries had wild, tangled hair with dirt and other stains in them. Their clothing was battered, torn and crudely patched too... plus they had claws. Now I was pretty sure all youkai had those, even faeries, but they never had used them. The only reason they could possibly be using them is if they had given into some pretty feral instincts.

On the other side was an injured tengu, a wolf one I think. One of her arms hung uselessly at her side, blood oozing from a wound, while the other she wielded a shield that she was using as an improvised weapon. Her clothing was rather simple, but it had been torn in a few spots and blood was stained on it as well. I would have to say she wasn't doing too well.

The tengu side-stepped a charging fairy, then quickly whirled around to bring her shield down on it's back. There was a loud cracking sound and the body hit the ground with a dull thud, the fairy didn't get back up. Ok, so maybe she was doing pretty good but on the other hand she looked pretty winded...

- - -

[ ] I should probably help her. If she gets killed in front of me, that's just not going to sit well on my mind...
> Enemy group: Three Deranged Fairies (3HP, Difficulty: 2, Attack: 1, Damage: 1)
> Guest group: Wounded Wolf Tengu (5/7HP, Might: 3, Soul: 1, Allure: 1)
[ ] She seems to be out to kill them, but I could just try to rough up the faeries enough so they're no threat... (Subdue, +1 Difficulty)
[ ] I'm a bit close, but I bet I could throw one of these shards before they notice me...
[ ] Maybe it's not best to get involved... if she wins, I can just say I wandered in recently. If she dies, I guess she won't be needing that shield or anything anymore...
[ ] Play Devil's Advocate, help the fairies!
- - -
Inventory (Gained items)
o Sealing Stone Shards (x5): They make a good throwing weapon, pretty light but it seems to fly straight and true enough. Shatters on impact though oddly. (One-use, +1 damage. Cannot be used to Subdue)
o Extra Sarashi Wrapping: Makes a good improvised bandage. Sigh...

Now for a little combat info. Also yes Might is just Grace, it just differs for some characters. Enemy Difficulty is a 'to hit' check, you need to roll above that or equal to it to hit the enemy. Attack is how many attacks the enemy gets on their round, and damage is how much they deal if they hit. Enemy attacks only hit on a 6, unless otherwise noted.

Grace is how many attack rolls you get per round, in the Exile's case she only gets 1. Our injured Tengu friend (or not) gets 3 rolls per round. Successful attacks also deal 1 damage, unless modified. I won't have combat play out in a round-by-round thing, as they're pretty short. I'll probably play out most combat actions the entire way through unless something comes up during the fight, such as an ally is near death or you're dying or something or another.

Now as for Subdue, this is a different kind of fighting. Instead of fighting to kill, you fight to injure and disable. If you don't pick a Subdue option in a fight, you're assumed to be aiming to kill and you will indeed kill. If you Subdue you instead just render the enemy unconscious, this can prove helpful in some situations. However, it makes fighting more difficult since you have to hold back and pick your blows, where as your enemy can just hit you as hard as they want, where they want.

[Q] I should probably help her. If she gets killed in front of me, that's just not going to sit well on my mind...

Attack, attack, attack. We didn't take a combat penalty purely so we could do this.

[Q] I should probably help her. If she gets killed in front of me, that's just not going to sit well on my mind...

We need the EXP.

[x] I should probably help her. If she gets killed in front of me, that's just not going to sit well on my mind...

Fairies respawn anyways, and it might cure them of their feral-ness.

[x] I should probably help her. If she gets killed in front of me, that's just not going to sit well on my mind...
While I don't mind you writing a new story, I'm a bit worried that this overtly gamistic style is just going to harm the writing. It's still not too late to turn this into a regular CYOA.

[X] I should probably help her. If she gets killed in front of me, that's just not going to sit well on my mind...

Fairies can respawn, and the tengu might appreciate the help.

[X] I should probably help her. If she gets killed in front of me, that's just not going to sit well on my mind...

good to know the enemy stats before hand. good intel is good

[c] I should probably help her. If she gets killed in front of me, that's just not going to sit well on my mind...

[X] I should probably help her. If she gets killed in front of me, that's just not going to sit well on my mind...

Also, due to our misfortune we need to roll 3 or higher, so its basically 50/50 chance...

>>118160
You apparently haven't read Dr.Q's story in /border/ and how well it's doing.

>>118160
>harm the writing

You say this like there are people who read CYOAs for the writing.

>>118166

That hurts, you know. It cuts me deep.

[X] I should probably help her. If she gets killed in front of me, that's just not going to sit well on my mind...
-[X]I'm a bit close, but I bet I could throw one of these shards before they notice me...
-[X] Use a rock!

It's always the right time to use a rock!

>>118186
Haha i like this.
Add to throw shard rock first.

>>118160
I considered it but by this point it would require a... lot of tweaking. I've done my best to keep the game element while still retaining a good story feel to it.

Not all checks fall into a very "you win!/you FAIL" mentality and various things will be taken into consideration. Of course this is all in theory, I couldn't see how well this system would do without actually testing it.

>>118189
Fair enough I suppose, but don't feel that you need to continue using the mechanic if you ever start to think it's become a burden, pretty sure nobody (apart from the ocassional troll perhaps) will attack you for it.

>>118202
Perhaps. I'd like to though as it makes things easier on my end for tracking character progression.

It might be a lazier way yes, but it just seems easier for me. There's some character customization in it too.

Also, offhand, RiG2 won't have a system like this. It'll be more modeled after Harvest Moon I think or maybe Princess Maker a bit. Not very video game, but adding a few things to the mix.

No updating tonight I'm afraid, long day at work and I feel pretty tired. Votes always welcome!

>>118166
You must be new here.

Like, really, really new.

>>118212
People don't read CYOAs because the writer uses punctuation well or because he makes a story with realistic interactions or provocative ideas. People read CYOAs because they have GAR, moe, amusing choices or characters that they like. That's how it is, and there's nothing wrong with it.

>>118216
>People don't read CYOAs because the writer uses punctuation well
All right, that much is true--

>or because he makes a story with realistic interactions or provocative ideas.
Ahahahahaaaaaa.
Oh you.

>>118218
You laugh, but the most popular story on the site right now doesn't have those things.

>>118219
Which would be.."

I'm playing the card of “I'm the author” to make you use the rock. Sorry if you object.

- - -

I guess I couldn't very well just sit here, eat popcorn (figuratively speaking of course, though I sure could go for some...) and see how this all unfolds. It's just bad taste! After all if the tengu got killed, I'd feel pretty guilty about the whole thing. There was no reason to go blindly rushing into help her yet though, I wasn't noticed yet and I did have those shards from earlier... why not see what kind of punch they pack against a living target?

Digging into my kimono I pick one at random, pick out a target fairy, and hurl it. The results are quite satisfying as it impacts square in her back, the shard exploding into powder on contact and sending the fairy straight into the ground with a loud thud. She doesn't get up from it, and judging by the blood pooling around her motionless body, she wouldn't be getting up again.

The remaining two faeries look about in bewilderment, noting their dead companion. The tengu doesn't miss a heartbeat, quickly getting to her feet and hurling herself at the nearest fairy. She slams her shield down on the fairy's head once they hit the ground, and a second blow is all it takes for a sickening crack to resound in the forest.

Damn, she's violent..., I probably don't want to get on her bad side.

The tables had turned in a heartbeat, the lone fairy deciding to strike at the tengu. Even as the fairy's claws cut deep into her defenseless backside, she hardly so much as whimpered at the pain. I wasn't about to just crouch here and watch though, dashing from my concealment I rush over to the downed tengu's side. Without a formal weapon, I'm forced to improvise, gripping the scabbard in one hand and raising it above my head before bringing it down with a satisfying crack on the fairy's back.

The fairy lets out a howl of pain, whipping around to face me, her expression one of rage. If looks could hurt, or kill, I'd either be dead or in some serious pain right now. Well, I could've been in pain if the fairy ever got to move again, but she didn't. The injured tengu's shield sounded out in the forest again, the fairy collapsing onto the forest floor after the blow to her head.

Well, that wasn't too bad really. Then again, they were only faeries, and even if they were feral and insane, they didn't prove too difficult. I guess in a big group though, they could be rather threatening.

“Hey, are you alright?” I offer casually, tucking the scabbard back into my sash.

The white-haired tengu regards me with a glare, her shield arm now clutching her bloodied right arm, “Who are you and what are you doing here?”

“No need to be so hostile, I'm not an enemy.”

She gives me a quick glance-over, her expression still looking rather hostile, “Just because you helped me doesn't mean you're not an enemy. You're not a human from the village, nor one of the local youkai.” she gets to her feet, “Identify yourself, and state where you come from. You trespass in the lands of the tengu, and we don't take kindly to trespassers.”

My, my she sure took her job very seriously didn't she? Racking my memory for what little I could remember of Gensokyo I had to figure I was in the forest around that mountain I had thought of earlier. I think they just called it 'Youkai Mountain'. In hindsight, it made sense. That mountain was easily the tallest thing in Gensokyo and it's peaks could reach into Heaven itself, so Sela sealing me within it's outskirts would make sense.

It's a lot less work then say, sealing me over in some lake or in the underworld or something. Still, this wasn't all very good news. The Youkai Mountain was inhabited by the tengu, as she mentioned, and there were two of them: Crow Tengu and the White Wolf Tengu. This one was obviously of the White Wolf, and they were the scouts and soldiers of the mountain I think... so to her I probably looked like some kind of invader.

But I couldn't very well tell her where I came from, or my name. At least not my real name, I guess a made-up one would work. Giving out your 'real' name wasn't something we really wanted to do, it gave people all kinds of control and power over you. And I don't mean a 'real' name as in what your parents name you at birth but your real name. It's a bunch of mystical, magical stuff that us higher-ups seem to always get cursed with, but I'm not really all too knowledgeable on the subject.

“Don't try my patience,” growled the tengu, she seemed to be busy looking for something as she kept an eye on me, “answer me!”

- - -

[ ] Maybe if I'm really careful I can just avoid answering her questions... (Allure, Difficulty: 5)
[ ] Well if she needs a name...
- [ ] Make one up! (write-in)
- [ ] Hmmm, there was some nickname Chiko had for me... nanashi or something?
[ ] She looks pretty beat-up, I could probably use this extra sarashi to patch her up a bit.
[ ] Well if she's in a asking mood, maybe she wouldn't mind answering me something (write-in)
[ ] Other (write-in)

- - -

Battle Report:
Faith gained: 19 (+4 from Attuned to the Flow)
No items were found
Lost 1 shard

[Q] She looks pretty beat-up, I could probably use this extra sarashi to patch her up a bit.

No answers, just help.

[c] She looks pretty beat-up, I could probably use this extra sarashi to patch her up a bit.

[x] She looks pretty beat-up, I could probably use this extra sarashi to patch her up a bit.
[x] Well if she needs a name...
- [x] Hmmm, there was some nickname Chiko had for me... nanashi or something?

[x] She looks pretty beat-up, I could probably use this extra sarashi to patch her up a bit.
[x] Well if she needs a name...
- [x] Hmmm, there was some nickname Chiko had for me... nanashi or something?

[x] She looks pretty beat-up, I could probably use this extra sarashi to patch her up a bit.
[x] Well if she needs a name...
- [x] Hmmm, there was some nickname Chiko had for me... nanashi or something?

Nicknames are fine. They won't do any harm when we indentify ourselves before spellcard battles.

[X] She looks pretty beat-up, I could probably use this extra sarashi to patch her up a bit.
[X] Well if she needs a name...
- [X] Hmmm, there was some nickname Chiko had for me... nanashi or something?

Now I'm wondering how Iku and Tenshi Chiko will react to the MC.

[x] She looks pretty beat-up, I could probably use this extra sarashi to patch her up a bit.
[x] Well if she needs a name...
- [x] Hmmm, there was some nickname Chiko had for me... nakadashi or something?

[x] She looks pretty beat-up, I could probably use this extra sarashi to patch her up a bit.
[x] Well if she needs a name...
- [x] Hmmm, there was some nickname Chiko had for me... nanashi or something?

How are we going to use our gained faith?
Do we wait till we reach certain number of them or..."

>>118251
It's spent at night. So at the end of a day. It's an involved process!

[X] She looks pretty beat-up, I could probably use this extra sarashi to patch her up a bit.
[X] Well if she needs a name...
- [X] Hmmm, there was some nickname Chiko had for me... Nanashi or something?

Tengu patchin' games.

[X] She looks pretty beat-up, I could probably use this extra sarashi to patch her up a bit.
[X] Well if she needs a name...
- [X] Hmmm, there was some nickname Chiko had for me... Nanashi or something?

>>118240
She might not recognize us, seeing how one of the effects of being sealed was a flat chest.

Even injured the wolf tengu didn't look like she would make idle threats, I bet if I didn't listen to her she would probably try to kill me. Maybe. On the other hand, she was wounded and while it wasn't life-threatening (I think, I'm no doctor though), she was still steadily losing blood, even for a youkai that was never good.

In fact, since she was still bleeding that was a very bad sign. Youkai have rather robust bodies and we enjoy being able to recover from injury rather quickly, the fact her injuries showed no sign of healing meant there was something amiss here. Sarashi wrappings weren't really made for it, but I did have extra now (*sigh*) and it would be better then leaving a wound exposed to the open air for a possible extend period of time...

“Look, calm down ok? I'm not going to hurt you, really. You're hurt, let me just patch you up a bit alright?”

The tengu glances at her wounded arm, “I've had worse. This is no concern of yours outsider, just tell me what I asked and get out of the forest.”

I shake my head and sigh, “No, no, no. That's not how it's going to work. You're hurt, I have some... bandages, and I'm going to patch you up. Then we can have a nice, civil talk without you looking like you want to bite my head off or something.” I point at her arm, “Or if you prefer, I can just stand here and wait for you to bleed out. That arm doesn't look like it's going to fix itself anytime soon and you'll get low on blood eventually.”

Of course I didn't mention I might pass out from hunger long before that wound caused her to lose enough blood to pass out herself. The wolf growled and glanced from her arm, then to me. With a deep sigh, she seemed to relax a bit and I took it as a cue to move forward.

When I pulled out the spare sarashi wrappings from inside my kimono, she gave me an odd quizzical look noting the fact the 'bandages' was just some extra sarashi wrappings. She didn't ask about it, and I didn't really feel like answering. I was still a bit sore on the subject, damn Sela.

“So, I'm Nanashi, will that suffice?” I offer casually as I tend to her wounded arm.

It wasn't really my name but it was a nice nickname Chiko had given me. Mostly because I kept avoiding her questions on my actual name. It was kind of fun and the nickname stuck so I never did bother to give her a name, not my real name of course.

The tengu seemed to mull this over for a moment, rolling her eyes, “An obvious alias if I've ever heard it. But very well, it shall suffice for now I suppose. I need a name to put down on the report at least.” she looked back to me, my she had some pretty red eyes, “And then where do you come from?”

Ah. Well, I couldn't very well tell her that! Well, maybe I could actually I don't think anything bad might happen. Then again, it might. Gensokyo and Heaven had some pretty odd rules about intervening and such. We mostly kept to ourselves, and Gensokyo kept to itself. There were some exceptions of course, but as a whole we had done pretty good.

“Oh, well you know... around!”

Her gaze hardened as she fixed me with an annoyed look, “Very well then outsider. I suppose I can just label you as a lost traveler.” she took a moment to inspect my handiwork, “Crude, but it works I suppose. You're no doctor, that's for sure. Well then nanashi, despite your help I must ask you to come with me. You will be detained at camp until you are released, I trust you won't object?”

I consider it for a moment, “Do you have food?”

~

The wolf tengu spoke few words during the trek to her camp, only occasionally pointing out a trap or an environmental hazard. I didn't think she liked me much, or maybe she just was one of those serious soldier-types who didn't talk much. She hadn't even offered me her name! Then again, it might be a sort of 'revenge' for me not giving her an actual name. Oh well.

I noticed as we moved deeper into the forest, it felt like we were beginning to move upwards, when I asked about this she mentioned the forest encompassed not only the base of the mountain but also it extended a fair ways up the mountain as well. Her camp wasn't too high up the mountain, she mentioned it was just a forward camp made for the scouts to rest during their missions, but it would have something to eat. That was some of the best news I had heard all day.

Her arm seemed to be doing alright, it still was bleeding of course but she seemed to have regained use of it. She did lament losing her sword however, it wasn't a personal weapon of course, but it seems it had somehow been lost in the scuffle with the faeries. She theorized there were more faeries and one had found it, stolen it, and fled the fight. When I asked if this had been happening a lot recently, she didn't answer me.

Eventually I began to catch the smell of smoke and... something, something like... food? Fish maybe, or meat? Probably cooking over an open fire, not something I got to try in a while. Didn't care, smell good, food probably taste good. I could make out a clearing up ahead, a few tents and a campfire going, yeah looked like a camp that's for sure.

Suddenly we were halted by a trio of tengu, all dressed similarly to my companion (only without the blood and tears), however they dispersed after a brief chat with the wounded one. When we entered the camp proper, I could feel eyes watching me. I couldn't see who was, but I had that unnerving feeling of being watched. There were probably wolf tengus hidden in the trees or brush, keeping their eyes peeled for intruders and since I was a stranger they were all keeping tabs on me now too.

“Wait in that tent there,” she pointed off towards one of the tents, “a guard will be posted and you will not be allowed to leave until told otherwise. Food will be brought to you shortly. Should you attempt to leave without permission, your guard is authorized to use deadly force. And she will, so be good.”

Well, comforting thought to know. The only important part was that I was finally going to get some food!

~

It wasn't an extravagant meal, just some meat on a bone and some water, but it was very appreciated and very tasty. Definitely was made over an open fire though, and could maybe use some kind of sauce... I didn't imagine I'd find any though, it wasn't exactly common stuff. I could hear chatter around me from time to time, but I couldn't make sense of it, in fact it seemed to be an entirely separate language. The wolf tengu probably had made their own code or maybe a racial language to use around outsiders in their camp in order to prevent the chance of leaked information, or maybe they just did it to annoy me, who knows?

After my meal was done, I waited patiently in the tent for some time, maybe a few hours? I didn't know, I didn't really have a watch before I heard the flap to the tent open and the wounded tengu from earlier reappeared. I noticed the bandages on her arm had been replaced with cleaner, and much more properly done handiwork.

“You're free to go outsider, the report has been written I do not foresee any need for you to stay here. I will provide an escort to guide you away from the mountain to a location of your choosing, so long as it is local. If you do not have a destination in mind, you will simply be guided to the human village.” she tossed a small pouch towards me, it made a distinct jingle sound as it hit the ground, “And there is payment for services rendered. It isn't much, but consider it my thank you for your assistance earlier.”

I pluck the pouch from the ground and turn it over, several coins pouring out into my palm. Currency then? Well, couldn't be a bad thing really. Wait, did she 'services rendered'? Almost sounded like mercenary work or something, you usually don't pay people for helping you, you just call it a gift or something.

“Services rendered, you hire out mercenaries?”

The tengu frowned, as if realizing her slip up of words, “Occasionally. Our Lord does not generally appreciate it but lately we've found it is handy. There is much land to patrol and we cannot cover everywhere at once. You don't strike me as a mercenary stranger, you do bare scars... but you do not carry a weapon. I have not heard of one using their scabbard in such a matter,” she cocks her head to the side, “then again, I did have to use my shield earlier. I suppose one must improvise when required.”

“It's better then your bare hands, right? And well, no I guess I'm not one,” I think I did do that line of work at one point or another, “but I could always be persuaded I suppose.”

She chuckled and shook her head, “I'll not sway you with a persuasive speech. You will be allowed to wander around the camp for now, however I expect you either gone within the hour or under our employ. If you wish to leave, merely tell a guard and she will gladly have you gone. If you wish to speak about employment, merely seek me out. Good day stranger.”

- - -

[ ] Well a job couldn't hurt right? Money makes the world go round or something like that.
[ ] Maybe I should see about going somewhere... although I don't really know any location nearby, so I guess that'd be that 'human village'?
[ ] This whole place seems tense, maybe someone will tell me why...
[ ] Other

- - -

>Gained 10 Mon

- - -

This picture is of an older design. Like you don't have a tail for starters, or wings.

[X] Well a job couldn't hurt right? Money makes the world go round or something like that.
[X] This whole place seems tense, maybe someone will tell me why...

Money is always needed, and beggars can't be choosers.

[X] Well a job couldn't hurt right? Money makes the world go round or something like that.
[X] This whole place seems tense, maybe someone will tell me why...

This seems the ideal choice. We will get money, food, faith and allies.

[x] Well a job couldn't hurt right? Money makes the world go round or something like that.
[x] This whole place seems tense, maybe someone will tell me why...

[X] This whole place seems tense, maybe someone will tell me why...
[X] Maybe I should see about going somewhere... although I don't really know any location nearby, so I guess that'd be that 'human village'?

Eh, call me the odd one out, but it seems like the human village would be a better source of employment. We've already seen insane faeries, and the tengu are tense, so I think it reasonable to assume that something is going on. The human village is less militarily active than the tengu are, generally, so whatever services we can offer in that line will probably turn a bigger profit down there. Plus, there will actually be other jobs to go around.

[Q] Well a job couldn't hurt right? Money makes the world go round or something like that.
[Q] This whole place seems tense, maybe someone will tell me why...

Accepting missions~

>>118314
I agree. Especially considering that tengu aren't really friendly folk.

[X] This whole place seems tense, maybe someone will tell me why...
[X] Maybe I should see about going somewhere... although I don't really know any location nearby, so I guess that'd be that 'human village'?

[X] This whole place seems tense, maybe someone will tell me why...
[X] Maybe I should see about going somewhere... although I don't really know any location nearby, so I guess that'd be that 'human village'?

So we're an Angel Youkai? A Celestial?

And who the heck is this Sela person?

yes, that intrigues me as well.
Is there some backstory from another cyoa we are missing (lurking failure?) or are we just "in medias res"?

>>118323
In Media Res, I'm sure we'll find out more as the story goes by.

[X] This whole place seems tense, maybe someone will tell me why...
[X] Maybe I should see about going somewhere... although I don't really know any location nearby, so I guess that'd be that 'human village'?

>>118323
>>118325
I actually had to look that word up. At first I thought you were referring to the /shrine/ story of the same name.

But yes, all will be revealed in due time... I'll be updating this later, but first RiG is overdue.

Please wait warmly.
Also how is the art cutting it for all of you? I'm unsure if I'm gonna be able to get this artist again.

>>118333
It's a bit bland I'm afraid, not going to miss it.

>>118335
I see... I like her art in she's usually pretty good and quick with her work. I'm trying to find a more detailed artist though, since this is mostly conceptual designs.

Counted the votes and we have a tie if I'm not mistaken. I'll wait about an hour or so I think, if nothing breaks it I'll just flip a coin or something.

[x] Well a job couldn't hurt right? Money makes the world go round or something like that.
[x] This whole place seems tense, maybe someone will tell me why...

And this should be the tiebreaker.

Well a job offer was a job offer, and given the situation I really did need a job... I wasn't even sure if the coins she gave me before was considered a lot of money or not. I was pretty out of touch with this whole economy concept, didn't really have that problem in Heaven, up there you just have what you need. And everyone's too damn lazy to do any work but us, especially Celestials, they just lazy around all day getting drunk and stuff.

Speaking of getting drunk I could really use a drink... ah, worry about it later. No time to dwell on wanting luxuries right now. Alright best to get off my lazy butt and seek out the tengu I had helped earlier, speaking of which I should've really gotten her name. It's awkward having to refer to her as that wounded tengu or just a tengu in my head, would be easier if I had a name to go with it. Maybe she'll tell me when I find her.

But hey, instead of wandering aimlessly around the camp and poking my head into tents at random, I could just ask my guard! That would save me a lot of time, trouble, and possibly awkward situations.

“Excuse me but, ah do you know where I could find uhm...” damn, I wish I knew her name, “the tengu who just left this tent? I'm afraid I never got her name.”

The white wolf tengu cocks her head to the side, “Captain Inubashiri? Her tent is over there ma'am.” she points to a particular tent amongst a few identical-looking ones.

Thanking her for the directions, I set off to meet this 'Captain Inubashiri'. Now that I thought about it, lots of these white wolf tengu were rather similar. The clothes being the same made sense, it was probably a sort of uniform, but they looked rather similar appearance-wise even. White hair was very common, though I guess that's why they're called 'white wolf' tengu, there was some variety in eye color however, and in their hair styles.

When I arrived I cautiously poked my head into the tent, spotting the tengu busy looking over some paper on the table – I noticed these tents were a lot larger then the one I had been in before, probably for the higher-ups or perhaps command tents or something. She looked up from the table and motioned for me to sit.

“I guess this means you're willing to do a bit of mercenary work then? It isn't a formal contract so don't expect long-term employment, consider it under the table.” she frowns, “Only without the seedy implications. Interested stranger?”

“Well if I wasn't interested, I wouldn't be here right now would I? I would've just been escorted off... somewhere.”

Inubashiri gestured for me to join her by the table, the paper turned out to be a map, “Very well then. It's not anything too flashy, it's more or less a scouting job. I can't have my own troops do it as it falls outside our jurisdiction. As you're a independent, well... I trust you understand?”

“Since I'm not technically affiliated with you, if something goes wrong or something, no one can blame it on you all right? Even if I say you hired me, there's no proof in paperwork.”

She smirks and nods her head, “Exactly stranger, exactly. To put it bluntly, you're expendable. Still I do not foresee any problems with this, of course I cannot say this with absolute certainty. Anyway, lately there has been increased movements of the faeries, which we've grown used to by now, but some of the scouts have been tracing some tracks back to this point,” she points to a spot on the map, “and they aren't fairy tracks. They're more humanoid. I don't imagine the village would move against us, but... I need information. Even if it isn't the village, unaffiliated humans are still a danger.”

I frown as I look at the spot she's pointing too, it falls well within the forest surrounding the forest and to my understanding that was within the control of the mountain, “Isn't that within your territory? I was under the impression the entire area around this mountain belonged to you.”

Her expression hardens as her smirk turns into a scowl, “Not anymore. We've been told to give up portions of our territory, I do not agree but it is a soldier's duty to obey their command. This is why I need an independent source to investigate. You'll have to go it alone as well, the best I can give you is a guide up to a point, then she'll have to break off and return.”

“I see... well, what do you need me to do exactly? Poke around basically?”

“In simple terms? Yes. You just have to gather some info and report back to me. I don't expect there to be any hostilities, unless it's bandits. If that's the case just gather what you can and return. If you're dead you won't be telling me anything.”

“Well, what makes you think it isn't faeries or something? You seem pretty insistent on this being something out of the ordinary.”

“As I'm sure you noticed, faeries tend to be bare-foot and even if they were rags for shoes, they have a tendency to float instead of walking.” she shot me a glance, “Do you understand now?”

Ah, I get it now. She said her scouts had been tracking, well, tracks. This means something was walking around down there, and it had been leaving noticeable footprints. Humans tended to do that, and I doubt the tengu would bother to investigate the tracks of wild youkai like wolves or something. Still, it could be nothing but wild humanoid youkai, but if Inubashiri wanted to be paranoid and offer money for it, who am I to say no?

“Seems easy enough. I'll see what I can find out boss.”

“Don't go do anything stupid now. If you do run into trouble... run back towards the mountain, if they chase you into our territory, we'll deal with it. Again, I don't imagine there should be any trouble. Now then, who can I spare to guide you...” she searches on the table for another paper, probably a roster, and runs her finger down it, “well, take Toshishai with you. She's the guard posted outside your tent, and she's not currently assigned to anything else.”

“Alright boss, I'll be seeing you later then.”

At least I hoped so. Would be kind of crappy to get killed, but hey it was just a simple little job right? Then again... isn't that how it usually goes in stories and stuff? Some kind of seemingly easy job always turns out disastrous... nah, this isn't a story after all. That only happens in stuff like that anyway.

~

Toshishai was rather quiet like Captain Inubashiri as well. She didn't seem to like the idea of escorting me out so far, but like a good soldier she wouldn't disobey an order from her superiors. Still I wasn't just going to walk out there without at least trying to ask her some things. I had wanted to in the camp, but I guess I may have jumped too eagerly on the job offer. Oh well, I doubt I would've gotten much more information at camp anyway.

“So, Toshishai right? You mind if I ask you some things?”

The tengu looked over shoulder at me, I noticed her eyes were blue unlike Inubashiri's red, “I don't see why not ma'am. I may not be able to answer some questions of course.”

“I'll do my best to avoid compromising questions. Well, how about something simple... like your name? Beyond your family name I mean.”

“Toshishai Kaori, ma'am. To expand upon that question, I'm only newly enlisted into Captain Inubashiri's unit. This is only one of my first missions, if you could call it that.”

“Well it's nice to meet you, would you mind if I call you Kaori?” she shakes her head to signal her approval, “Very well Kaori, well this one is a bit more general but well, when I was in camp... it just seemed everything is very tense. You know, unseen guards and the chat with Captain Inubashiri...”

She frowned, “It's difficult to explain ma'am. We're not supposed to talk about it to outsiders I'm afraid but... from what I hear things are getting tense all over Gensokyo. Faeries are going feral in locations and even some wild youkai, it's not very serious I think though, these things just happen sometimes. Still, it just seems... different somehow.” the tengu sighs, “To speak freely, I find it odd that the lord tengu would abandon any of our land. It doesn't feel right, and... no, this is unbecoming of a soldier. Please don't tell Captain Inubashiri...?”

I offered her a smile, “Don't worry, it'll be our secret. I was just curious is all. Is it much further until you have to turn back?”

“It's a bit further ma'am, if you have anything else on your mind you have time to ask.”

- - -

Hmmm, well...
[ ] She probably can't tell me much, but maybe she could tell me more about the faeries.
[ ] Captain Inubashiri mentioned bandits, are those common around here?
[ ] There's gotta be something... (write-in)

- - -

Gained Companion: Toshishai Kaori
Toshishai Kaori
HP: 4/4
Might: 2
Soul: 1
Allure: 1
Equipment: Patrol Sword (+1 damage), Patrol Shield (25% block rate, 5/5 durability)

- - -

Durability in Kaori's case is how many times her shield can sustain blows until it breaks just so you know.

[Q] She probably can't tell me much, but maybe she could tell me more about the faeries.
[Q] Captain Inubashiri mentioned bandits, are those common around here?

Oooh, ally~

[X] She probably can't tell me much, but maybe she could tell me more about the faeries.
[X] Captain Inubashiri mentioned bandits, are those common around here?

The tengu are pulling their borders back? Either they're expecting an invasion and consolidating their forces or they've been forced to turn over the land to someone else.

[X] She probably can't tell me much, but maybe she could tell me more about the faeries.
[X] Captain Inubashiri mentioned bandits, are those common around here?

Hmm, i think we should have at least asked for some basic equipment...

[X] She probably can't tell me much, but maybe she could tell me more about the faeries.
[X] Captain Inubashiri mentioned bandits, are those common around here?

[x] She probably can't tell me much, but maybe she could tell me more about the faeries.
[x] Captain Inubashiri mentioned bandits, are those common around here?

I just checked /words/ and I found this when I went through the topic for this CYOA

> Negative traits get progressively worse and if you actually don't do anything about it, you will end up reaching a Bad End that would require a significant rewind.

> Fixing the negative isn't very difficult though, it will require some work, but there's a rather large timeframe.

We need to remove that negative trait as soon as possible, as it's a loaded Bad End on a timer.

[x] She probably can't tell me much, but maybe she could tell me more about the faeries.
[x] Captain Inubashiri mentioned bandits, are those common around here?

[x] She probably can't tell me much, but maybe she could tell me more about the faeries.
[x] Captain Inubashiri mentioned bandits, are those common around here?

>>118407
Of course in this case the negative trait is one without any physical markings, so you can't actually go out and fix it without metagaming.

Save just randomly running into the right people of course. But don't fret right now, there's time. Lots of time.

>>118410
FUCK

[x] She probably can't tell me much, but maybe she could tell me more about the faeries.
[x] Captain Inubashiri mentioned bandits, are those common around here?

“Well you know my head is just practically bursting with questions, I'm a bit new around here so I guess I'm out of the loop.”

It was only half a life. I was new to here yes, but I was new to here as a whole, but that sort of revelation would just turn out bad, I don't think the tengu appreciate folks from Heaven. Most of Gensokyo doesn't, especially that one sage... what was her name? I know she was involved in the creation of this place, but her name... well, I don't think I have to worry. I hope not, the Lord and her did not get along in the least bit, in fact I don't think she got along with Heaven in general.

“I'll answer what I can ma'am – watch that root there.”

“So about the faeries, they did seem a bit odd. They usually don't look like that... when did they start to look like deranged little girls and all that?”

Kaori shrugged, “I'm not too sure ma'am. It's not too unusual to find the occasional feral fairy, but now they're almost the majority. I can't think of the last time I've seen a normal one around here. Early on it wasn't much of an issue, but their numbers keep increasing, I worry about their resurrection.” she pauses to look over her shoulder, “You know about that ma'am?”

I nod, “Yeah, faeries resurrect when they die. It's supposed to return them to a normal, perfect state or something right?”

“Correct ma'am, some of us worry this feral state might be becoming permanent. So when you kill one, instead of getting a normal fairy, it still comes out feral. Of course, not even the kappa really understand how the whole process works, it has seemed to been delayed though. They used to almost resurrect right on the spot, now we can actually find corpses laying in the forest.”

Come to think of it that was true, when the feral faeries had been killed they didn't just get back up and run away. They stayed dead, this wasn't a good thing at all. Faeries were some kind of incarnation of nature, could perhaps the land itself be tainted? But that didn't make sense, everything looked pretty healthy and normal around here. Quite the mystery...

“Well they're still just faeries, though I guess there's always a danger in numbers... well, at least they're not very smart.”

Toshishai laughed and nodded, “I agree ma'am, if they started to get intelligent and organized, I might be a bit worried. As it stands, they're only a threat if you're alone and caught by surprise. More of an annoyance then anything.”

“Well feral faeries aside, how about bandits? I wasn't aware humans or youkai would turn to such a lifestyle. I was under the impression there wasn't the environment for it.”

“Not true ma'am, there have always been bandits. Perhaps not in the traditional sense, it was mostly just a sort of... thing they did for fun. You know, steal stuff for the sake of stealing. But it was a very niche thing, and it was usually done by younger folks and they'd grow out of it and give everything back. But now... they're more like full-fledged bandit groups around Gensokyo I hear.” the tengu sighed and shook her head, “They're all rather small and unorganized, but they're presented hazards never before seen to traders. These bandits are also rather violent and destructive, it hasn't been good news.

“Of course we've experienced no problems here ma'am, but I hear the humans aren't taking it very well. I think it's also odd for them having to face danger from their fellow humans, although there are youkai bandits as well. I don't believe any of the faeries really qualify as bandits either.”

“Still, this is troubling news... Gensokyo is starting to sound like the outside world in the old days, bandits and all that good stuff.”

Kaori looked over her shoulder at me, her eyes glinting with curiousity, “Have you been... outside ma'am? I've really only heard about it but I've never actually got to... well, you know.”

Oops. Maybe I said a little too much there, it had been ages since I'd been in the outside world. It just wasn't fun in the modern days anymore, the outsiders were so reliant on their technology and they had no belief in the unknown or magical anymore.

Plus guns really hurt. I missed the old days of swords and all that, it was much more exciting. Nowadays you get shot and few humans ever present a challenging in real combat anymore.

“A long time ago, I'm afraid I couldn't tell you much Kaori.”

“Could you... perhaps tell me about it sometime ma'am? D-don't tell the Captain, but... we don't really have a lot of books for us white wolves to read about it. I hear the crows and kappas do, but they don't really like sharing...”

“I guess I can tell you a story or two Kaori, but not right now. After all, I've got a job to do, and so do you right?”

“Of course ma'am! We're almost there,” she paused to look up through the foilage, “it looks to be getting close to noon as well. Hopefully it won't take you too long, or else you may be stuck out in the forest at night...”

Trying to find my way through this forest at night would be a disaster, I'd be practically navigating it blind. Plus at night is when the youkai really liked to come out to play, and they were much more dangerous then faeries.

“If you happen to get stuck outside at night ma'am, I'd recommend finding a way to signal us. I wouldn't recommend anything crude like fire, that's a disaster waiting to happen but...” the tengu dug into her pockets and pulled out a whistle, “use this ma'am, we have rather good hearing and if we hear this, someone will come to investigate.”

It was a pretty nice whistle actually, I hadn't notice Inubashiri carrying one or using it, perhaps she had lost hers or didn't have one?

I frown, “Don't you need this yourself Kaori? I don't imagine they just hand these out to strangers.”

The tengu reached inside her shirt, where she pulled a whistle attached to her necklace, “I carry a spare ma'am. I'm ah... not supposed too, so if anyone asks you just found it. We've misplaced a few recently so it should be believable...”

“Sticking your neck out a bit for a stranger Kaori, but I appreciate the thought. I'll only use it if I really have too.”

Suddenly Kaori held up her head, a common signal for halting and crouched down, she seemed to be examining the ground. I couldn't really make out what she was looking at, so I settled for just looking around the immediate area, but I couldn't really see anything unusual. Though I didn't exactly live here or grow up here, the white wolves had probably patrolled these forests since they were old enough to walk, they'd know something was amiss in an instant.

“Something passed through here recently...” she seemed to be sniffing the ground now, “not many... some faeries, I can smell that but... something else. Humans? Maybe, possibly youkai. They... must've been only an hour or so ago, very fresh tracks. Some are a bit more defined, possibly boots or at least footwear. Then these ones... fairy tracks I think. They're a bit more noticeable then usual, perhaps carrying something heavy.”

“I'm afraid I can't really grasp all this Kaori, I'm not much of a tracker I'm afraid.”

She shook her head, “Sorry ma'am, just thinking aloud. It helps, I'm actually kind of nervous... see, I'm not all that great with this yet, so I could be off... these tracks are very fresh. I could only say they're about an hour old, they could be older. Or, much more recent.”

More recent? That would be bad, that could mean we were walking into a trap... or standing in it already. The ground at my feet didn't seem disturbed, and there didn't seem to be any alterations in the immediate area.

“What do you recommend then?”

“I can't say ma'am, just give me a moment... I need to confirm something. Please, stay here ma'am.”

~

As it turned out she took a moment to check the immediate area, her searching revealing there were indeed more directions heading in the direction of the area Captain Inubashiri had wanted me to investigate – only Kaori pointed out there was still a bit of distance until the official end of the white wolf's area.

We would gain nothing by standing around so the two of us continued forward, but much more cautiously. It didn't take long to see where all the tracks had been leading too. It was a camp of sorts, carefully built amongst the forest. They had managed to only cut down a select few trees, so as to not disturb the natural tree cover and then putting up their own mock foilage in some spots where they needed the room.

It seemed like something you'd notice in a heartbeat if you were familiar with the area and had been watching it, but it seemed to be a very small, subtle change so you wouldn't notice in a casual look, which is how they probably had been managing to do it. The camp fell barely within the tengu's territory, or so Kaori thought anyway she reasoned it might be just a bit outside as well and she may have stepped over the border, but there was no clear indication.

Still this was without a doubt something Captain Inibashiri would want to know. The inhabitants of the camp surprised me, and my tengu ally as well. There were mostly feral faeries, but there was also without a doubt humans as well. Something just seemed strange about the whole setup, they had a campfire going but the smoke never seemed to breach the treetops nor did it emit much of a scent. I think I could faint make out the sound of a ironwork from one of the camps, but when I brought this up my friend seemed baffled – she couldn't hear a thing.

Perhaps some kind of magic was at work, something specifically designed to dampen the white wolves natural senses? It would explain how they could make all this noise without being found.

“Ma'am... what should we do? I think Captain Inubashiri has to know about this. There's a lot of them, and we can't possibly fight our way through them and if they find us...”

It was admirable really, she was doing her best to sound confident and tough, but I could detect the nervousness and fear in her hushed whispers. She was actually probably terrified, if they captured us, they'd probably kill her since she's a white wolf tengu and an obvious threat. Me though? Probably not, but they would probably not be kind to me in the least bit.

I didn't feel like I wanted to leave just yet though, this would be a very boring report. More intel would be more useful to the tengu as a whole instead of just a “Yeah, there's a camp over there full of faeries and humans.”

- - -

[ ] Need to gather more info, something seems wrong about this whole set-up.
- [ ] Kaori might be a risk though, perhaps its best if I send her back...
[ ] Maybe it'll be good enough for Inubashiri, my own nagging be damned.

- - -

Gained White Wolf Whistle – This whistle is standard issue for scouts I guess, if I blow on it it's supposed to signal the white wolf. I guess they use it in case of emergency or something

[Q] Need to gather more info, something seems wrong about this whole set-up.

Detective time~

[X] Need to gather more info, something seems wrong about this whole set-up.

This is interesting.

> Guns really hurt. Nowadays you get shot and few humans ever present a challenging in real combat anymore.

We went for efficiency when it came to killing. It's much easier to shoot something from afar than to charge straight at it with a sharpened piece of metal.

[x] Need to gather more info, something seems wrong about this whole set-up.

[X] Need to gather more info, something seems wrong about this whole set-up.

I like this information gathering job.

[x] Need to gather more info, something seems wrong about this whole set-up.

[x] Need to gather more info, something seems wrong about this whole set-up.
- [x] Kaori might be a risk though, perhaps its best if I send her back with a basic report.

[x] Need to gather more info, something seems wrong about this whole set-up.
- [x] Kaori might be a risk though, perhaps its best if I send her back with a basic report.
Just in case, you know, something goes wrong, we would at least have a chance of getting rescued.

[x] Need to gather more info, something seems wrong about this whole set-up.
- [x] Kaori might be a risk though, perhaps its best if I send her back with a basic report.

And it's better than sending her with nothing.

No, no turning back now. I told her I'd get her some dirt on this camp, or area, or whatever and a simple report of a location and inhabitants just didn't feel right. There was something else at work here, just this entire place felt... wrong. The tengu were very observant, and they'd probably even notice a subtle change in their forest, there had to be something else at work.

“Well, what do you think we're going to do?” I flash her a grin, “We'll poke our noses around a bit and see what else we can dig up. The more dirt we dig, the more Captain Inubashiri gets to know.”

Kaori frowned, “Very well ma'am. However, I will have to point out I'm a scout. I'm not particular trained in the art of espionage, that would be something the crows are better at. However, I know enough to notice some flaws with your plan.”

She stops to point at her own clothing and hair, “One. White doesn't blend into any natural environment at all. Two,” now she's pointing at me, “blonde hair doesn't blend into anything either. Though I guess your clothes are at least dark so that shouldn't be much of a problem...”

Those were some good points. There was a lot of brush and stuff around to hide in, but we weren't exactly outfitted for a sneaking mission, no way to break up our outlines either. My tengu ally seemed to have a plan though, she grabbed a handful of dirt and flashed me a smirk.

“I hope you're willing to sacrifice looks for stealth ma'am.”

~

It didn't take too long to get a good helping of dirt and rub it all in my hair. I'm sure it wasn't perfect, but it should at least hold up to a casual look. From what I could tell, no one in the camp seemed very attentive so they probably weren't on the lookout for intruders.

“Not to doubt you ma'am, but I hope you know what you're doing.” commented Toshishai, finishing rubbing some dirt into her clothes

“That makes two of us. Now we'll just stay down close to the ground, in the brush too... we'll need to keep quiet, this is a sneaking mission after all right?”

I think she just rolled her eyes at me. Oh well, can't I make a joke or two once in a while? Well with our impromptu camouflage taken care of, now it was time to stick our nose into other people's business. Now I have to say being a spy always seemed like a fun job in books, but I'll say from my own experience it kind of sucks. Having to stay low to the ground, crawling, was murderous on your knees and we kept having twigs from bushes poke us, and the occasional rock deciding to be in the way.

Still, it was much more efficient then forcing our way into the camp. It did seem to be made mostly of faeries, I did see the occasional human – oddly most seemed to be men, there was the occasional woman here and there – but all in all, it looked like faeries compromised most of this “bandit” force. But they didn't seem like bandits, true they the few that owned any equipment did own some pretty hand-me-down stuff that you'd associate with bandits, but that wasn't what seemed wrong.

What seemed wrong was there wasn't any loot. No stashes of goods, nothing. It may have been stored in a tent, but there didn't seem to be any large enough to store any large amount of goods, unless they all slept with a box or something. Perhaps they stored their stolen goods elsewhere? A possibility, but that didn't seem likely, if these were 'bandits', they seemed to be more focused on just disrupting traffic in the area.

I couldn't risk actually getting into the camp itself, they had cleared away all the trees and growth, so little beyond grass remained. They didn't even have boxes stacked around the area to hide behind, and the tents wouldn't hide a shadow in this light.

“Ma'am, I think we should head back. My eyes are better then yours and I've noticed a few things of interest.”

Nodding my head we begin to head back, “Well, like what? All I saw of interest was, well, the lack of anything interesting. Like loot.”

“I noticed that as well ma'am, they don't appear to be bandits. They also have a good operation going in forging equipment, it was the constant sound you kept hearing. It looks like a small operation, but they are still forging weapons. That isn't something bandits would typically do, particularly with the absence of any stolen goods.”

“Not unless they intend to stay a while and their stuff is breaking or...” I frown, this wasn't a happy thought, “they need to arm more 'bandits' for something bigger. Like a settlement... there are a lot of faeries, but they were all unarmed... if you give them all a weapon though, well heck, they might be crappy warriors but you have sheer numbers on your side.”

Kaori nodded, “Correct ma'am. I don't believe they would attack the mountain directly, however given... the unknown variables involved, I fear they may be targeting us.”

“I think you might be right. For one, I doubt you are all careless enough to not hear, smell, or see what they're doing. They might only be cutting down a few trees, but you would surely notice it or at least hear the fall of trees. They have some kind of outside help, probably magic or something.”

“I agree ma'am. We have to hurry and inform Captain Inubashiri, if they have some sort of mage helping them, or magic... this could be bad news.”

“Keep moving maggot!” yelled a voice off in the distance.

We halted in our tracks, Kaori's ears perked up as she tried to zero in on the sound, she gestured off in the distance – it was back towards the camp and we had put some ground between us and the 'bandits', so it would be worth investigating.

Creeping up quickly, yet quietly we found the source of the yelling. A single bandit, along with a duo of faeries... and a badly beaten, and bleeding tengu. She wasn't a white wolf tengu, and I could only guess she was one by the silly red hat she wore.

“It's a crow tengu ma'am.” pointed out my companion matter-of-factly.

She seemed to be in a lot of pain, and judging by all her wounds, she had been beaten with more then just blunt instruments. The bandit walked up to her and kicked her hard in the gut again, the crow let out a cry of pain.

“Scream all ya want, no one is gonna find you! Now get to your feet, you're wasting my time!”

The crow, nor the bandit group had noticed us yet. I could see in Kaori's eyes the need to want to help her, they were after all comrades in a sense right? But she hadn't made a move yet... probably because I was in charge, so she didn't wish to take action without my approval, even if her instincts were screaming at her to do so.

- - -

[ ] I can't just walk away from this, judging from her injuries she'll probably die without help.
> Enemy Group: Two Deranged Faeries (3HP, Difficulty: 2, Attack: 1, Damage: 1) and One Bandit (5HP, Difficulty: 3, Attack: 1, Damage: 1)
> Guest Group: Wounded Crow Tengu (Non-combatant)
- [ ] The bandit might know something, so maybe I shouldn't kill them... (Subdue, +1 Difficulty)
- [ ] Use a rock!
[ ] This isn't right but we can't afford to linger.

[x] I can't just walk away from this, judging from her injuries she'll probably die without help.
- [x] Use a rock! (on a bandit)

That picture is much better. Did our protagonist look like that before the sealing?

[X] I can't just walk away from this, judging from her injuries she'll probably die without help.
- [X] The bandit might know something, so maybe I shouldn't kill them... (Subdue, +1 Difficulty)

Maybe he can tell us what they're really up to.

>>118620

I think I'm seeing the edge of a nipple there...

[X] I can't just walk away from this, judging from her injuries she'll probably die without help.
- [X] The bandit might know something, so maybe I shouldn't kill them... (Subdue, +1 Difficulty)

Kill the fairies, capture the bandit for interrogation.

>>118622
Perhaps, perhaps... I'm about to run out of art drawn of her soon, and since we're not doing much with canon Touhous yet, I might switch to just random images.

[x] I can't just walk away from this, judging from her injuries she'll probably die without help.
- [x] Use a rock! (on a bandit)

[x] This isn't right but we can't afford to linger.
Better come back in force, absolutely no point in trying any lame heroics, especially when we were directly told to avoid confrontation.

I like to point out to all that vote for subdue.
Bandit default difficulty 3, +1 from subdue, +1 from misfortune = 5.
We get hard to hit enemy.

[x] This isn't right but we can't afford to linger.

[x] This isn't right but we can't afford to linger.

[x] I can't just walk away from this, judging from her injuries she'll probably die without help.
- [x] Use a rock! (on a bandit)

The crow tengu would have observed something, and it's a good thing we still have Kaori around; we'll definitely need her help.

Or we can go for fairy lethally while Kaori tries to subdue the bandit. She should have better luck with it.

[X] I can't just walk away from this, judging from her injuries she'll probably die without help.
- [X] Use a rock! (on a bandit)

Aim for the balls.

>>118678

Silly anon, thinking that Kriss would write male characters, even as enemies.

Update?

Well THP is back up, but the update isn't done yet. It's almost there, I've hit a few stumbling blocks but I've almost got them done... it should be done by tomorrow, either morning or afternoon.

I don't make any promises though, but I don't expect it to unless my internet craps out or something.

“I'll take care of the bandit, if you want to get the faeries...” I whisper over to Kaori, going for one of the shards,

The tengu nodded, “Yes ma'am.” she placed her hand on her sword hilt, “... Thank you.”

Shrugging slightly I set my sights on the bandit, stand up and hurl the shard at him. As before, when it impacts into his body it shatters violently – but unlike the time I threw it at a fairy, it didn't have fatal results. The faeries looked about in shock, the crow tengu weakly lifting her head to see what was going on, as the bandit reeled from the impact; if I didn't know better that rock had hit pretty hard, and blood was seeping from a wound on his chest.

Awesome.

“W-what the hell was...!?” gasped the bandit.

Before he could finish speaking Kaori had already jumped from her cover, her blade drawn. As commanded, she ignored the wounded bandit for now – he was further away from her anyway – and instead focused on one of the faeries. Even if the fairy wasn't in shock, I doubt she would've stood much chance against Kaori.

I wished I had an actual weapon though. Using this sheath was a bit odd, and it was hardly a very effective weapon but... no time to worry about that now I suppose. My tengu companion might be an armed warrior but even she probably wasn't keen to fight three opponents at once, and besides I still had to finish off that bandit right?

Dashing from out of cover, I draw the sheath and lash out at the bandit, whom to my surprise sidesteps the blow. Seems the wound on his chest wasn't going to be slowing him down any.

“You bitch!” roars the bandit, his leg lashing out to try to land squarely in my gut.

Now if I wasn't so damn weak, I bet I could just take the hit, it might tickle a little. But I wasn't about to risk it in this frail body – I doubt all the muscles on his body were for show. I duck beneath his kick, which gives me a pretty good opening at his body. I'm not one to pass up on a good opportunity and my sheath impacts solidly into the shard wound, he howls in pain as he staggers back.

“When I get my hands on you I'll - “

He doesn't even get to finish his sentence. His eyes bulge as Kaori's blade appears through his stomach, then it withdraws and goes clean through his neck. The headless corpse slumps to the ground as the tengu returns her bloodied sword to its scabbard. Damn, that girl didn't mess around at all. Her uniform is notably stained, but it looks all external... looking around me a moment I notice the bloodied and cut corpses of the faeries. My, she was very efficient.

“You need to get yourself a proper weapon ma'am, trying to kill anything with that is going to take too long.” commented Kaori, rushing to the wounded crow's side,

“It's on my list of things to get I'll admit...”

~

It took up the last of my extra sarashi wrapping, but I at least was able to cover up all the crow's bleeding wounds. She was rather weak, and I didn't doubt if left in the care of those 'bandits' she wouldn't have survived the night. Still without proper aid, some good rest and food, she might still die.

“If you two weren't around I... I don't know what I'd do. Thank you, thank you, thank you.” repeated the crow tengu, bowing her head each time.

“Really, you don't need to keep reminding me. I only did what was right after all, can't just leave you in the care of those bandits... they roughed you up pretty good.”

Kaori frowned, “Ma'am... you could've worded that a bit more kindly...”

The crow shook her head, “No, she's right... I don't know how they did it either. I mean, I should've been able to recover from these kinds of injuries, but... they just didn't heal.”

Come to think of it... she had a point. Youkai were pretty much only seriously hurt by blessed weapons and I'm pretty sure bandits couldn't exactly steal those. Well, I guess they could but I wouldn't think a blessing works if it's stolen or... something. I'm not a shrine maiden dammit. Was this perhaps related to magic? It's possible, almost anything is with magic... make weapons in such a way as to stunt or disable a youkai's natural regenerative abilities... a troubling thought, that would make even a normal human a threat to a youkai, considering a youkai rarely takes a human seriously.

“That is a troubling thought... but let's not dwell on bad memories eh? Nothing good ever comes from that, for now we better get moving right? I don't imagine Kaori wants to guide us through the forest in the dark.”

“It would make an interesting challenge since we hadn't prepared for it. Captain Inubashiri is probably waiting for your report as well,” she helped the crow to her feet, “that reminds me, we haven't introduced ourselves yet. Toshishai Kaori.”

“And well, you can call me Nanashi if you like.” I add.

“Akiyama Rina, it's ah... nice to meet you both, even under such odd circumstances. I probably should report to your captain as well Toshishai...”

The wolf nodded, “I wasn't going to ask, but if you agree it would be appreciated. I know it was a traumatic time, but anything you can tell her will be of use to us.”

“Maybe not the right time but I'm kind of curious myself... how did they catch you anyway?” I ask, my tengu companion shot me a glare.

Rina chuckled and shook her head, “I was careless is how. I was just supposed to well... I can't say to an outsider I'm afraid. But the gist is I let my curiosity get the better of me. Before I knew it, they had ensnared me and beat me... I thought they were going to kill me, but they didn't. I'm... not sure why really.” the crow casts a worried glance towards me, “Will that suffice? I... there's more but... I'm sorry, you're an outsider Nanashi.”

I nod my head, “I understand. You tengu sure are some secretive people.”

“Perhaps you're just a very open youkai ma'am.” countered Kaori matter-of-factly, “Speaking of which... I've been kind of wondering... where are you from anyway? You don't look like a local youkai, especially with those horns on the side of your head...”

Uh oh, now she's getting a little overly curious.

“Oh you know I'm just a... youkai. Yeah. Hey when did this turn into question the outsider time anyway?” I reply with a nervous chuckle.

“Very well, if you don't want to speak about it ma'am...” replied the wolf calmly.

The crow looked me over with a slight frown, “I've never met a youkai who is so defensive about their race before. I guess it was bound to happen sooner or later.”

Maybe I was starting to overstay my welcome. They were starting to get a little... too curious for my tastes. Might be best to get my money and see about finding employment elsewhere, if these two have thought about it, it's more then likely Captain Inubashiri has as well.

~

The white wolf captain frowned as she studied her map, looking up at me slowly, “I see. I didn't know they were so close... I would like to take action now but...”

“I imagine there's some kind of political red tape or whatever you want to call it?”

“More or less. It's my duty to protect our lands, and yet I feel sometimes the higher-ups try to make this as difficult as possible.” she sighed and shook her head, “But enough of that. I thank you, not only for your service on my behalf, but also on the rescue of the crow. You didn't need to do that, so I must thank you for that as well.”

“Don't mention it really, I wasn't about to leave her to die out there. Kind of hard to walk away from someone in need right? Imagine if I didn't help you out this morning.” I commented with a grin.

The wolf shook her head and smirked, “I would've been fine, thank you very much. It's the thought behind your actions that count, as well as you doing them of course. Now, I do have bad news for you friend.”

“Always my favorite kind.”

“Fortunately it has good news attached. The good part is, I won't have to kill you.” the tengu chuckled, “The bad news is, you cannot stay here. I will offer you a place to stay for the night, but come the morning I will have to ask you to leave. I hope you'll go willingly, or we can always opt for the option where we beat you into submission, blindfold and gag you then dump you wherever we feel like it.”

Well, I wasn't much of a masochist, nor into that whole bondage thing... sounded kind of unpleasant as well. I somehow imagine it turning into a sport, getting dumped somewhere in the forest and the scouts seeing how long a tied up and blindfolded outsider could survive.

“Very well then, I guess if I don't have a choice in the matter... I bet even having my stay the night is stretching it isn't it?”

The tengu smirked, “We're not uncivilized and stranding people in the wilderness at night isn't as much fun as you think. In the morning, you'll be escorted to the border and provided a map towards the human village, after that do what you will. With an exception: do not return. I am thankful for what you have done, but we will handle our own affairs.”

Seems the tengu's legendary stubbornness hadn't changed in the slightest... not all too surprising. The oni were at least more agreeable, though that may due with their heavy drinking activities... fun times that.

“Very well, very well. If you'd get someone to show me to my tent for the night...?”

“Of course. I will have your payment in the morning, I would have it now but I feel you deserve a little extra. Well, good night stranger, meeting you has been...” she paused to consider her words, “interesting.”

“I'll have to say the same captain, it's been a bit profitable as well.” I reply with a grin, “It's been nice knowing ya, maybe we'll meet again sometime.”

- - -

[ ] May as well get a good night's rest, probably be quite the walk tomorrow.
[ ] Perhaps I should return Kaori's whistle, it might be a spare but still...
[ ] I never got to really talk to that crow did I? Maybe after her 'debrief' she'll be more willing to talk...
[ ] Oh whoops, there was something I wanted to ask Momiji... (write-in)
[ ] Other (write-in)

- - -

Faith gained: 21 (+4 from Attuned to the Flow)
Lost 1 Shard

- - -

Captain Inubashiri's quest completed
Faith gained: 38 (+8 from Charming)
Other reward(s) pending...

- - -

Lost companions: Toshishai Kaori, Akiyama Rina

- - -

Total Faith: 78

Faith Powers
Fundamentals (Tier One)
Personality: Increases Allure by 1. Purchasable up to 3 times (Personality I, Personality II, and Personality III). Cost: 10
Movements: Increases Grace by 1. Purchasable up to 3 times (Movements I, Movements II, and Movements III). Cost: 10
Awakening: Increases Soul by 1. Purchasable up to 3 times (Awakening I, Awakening II, and Awakening III). Cost: 10
Increased Threshold: Increases HP by 1. Purchasable up to 3 times (Increased Threshold I, Increased Threshold II, Increased Threshold III). Cost: 15
No Pettanko!: Cup sized increased to B. Cost: 5

Vote on Faith Powers. They won't take effect until the next morning however. Also as this is a CYOA, and not a video game so there's no guides, I will advise you to not use all your Shards. They have other, non-combat uses.

You can get more later, but you'd have to actually go back to the “start” to get more. And we know no one likes backtracking! Kaori and Rina are temporary companions as well, so they didn't gain any Relationship Points – these are essentially “Faith” for your companions which are used to make them better. Actual relationship levels are tracked completely differently.

I will also mention that while they are temporary, they may or may not play roles later. Same goes for Momiji. And about your Negative Trait, don't fret too much about it. Unlike any of the others – which have physical signs to let you know in-story something is wrong – this one is more unnoticeable, and as such won't really become something you could fix (without metagaming) for a while. And even when you can, it's not going to kill you anytime soon.

Don't worry about it too much.

[Q] I never got to really talk to that crow did I? Maybe after her 'debrief' she'll be more willing to talk...

Traits:
[Q] Increased Threshold
[Q] Movements
[Q] Personality
[Q] Awakening
(Total cost is 45/78, leaving us with 33.)

We are flat because of efficiency!

[X] Perhaps I should return Kaori's whistle, it might be a spare but still...
I doubt the crow will be any more willing to talk.

[X] Increased Threshold
[X] Movements
[X] Personality
[X] No Pettanko!
We don't have any magic yet, so not much need for Awakening.

>>119023
Sorry, I don't like a flat characterization.

[x] Increased Threshold
[x] Movements
[x] Personality
[x] Awakening
[x] No Pettanko!

Yes, we don't have magic, but no reason why we shouldn't work on it. I can imagine that soul isn't just for using/casting spells.

Oh and:
[x] I never got to really talk to that crow did I? Maybe after her 'debrief' she'll be more willing to talk...

[X] Personality
[X] Movements
[X] Awakening
[X] Increased Threshold
[X] No Pettanko!

We have the Faith for it, so we might as well purchase everything. Especially that last one.

... I wonder if we can get a Faith Power that increases the effectiveness of using rocks?

[x] I never got to really talk to that crow did I? Maybe after her 'debrief' she'll be more willing to talk...

[x] Increased Threshold
[x] Movements
[x] Personality
[x] Awakening
[x] No Pettanko!

[x] Perhaps I should return Kaori's whistle, it might be a spare but still...
[x] I never got to really talk to that crow did I? Maybe after her 'debrief' she'll be more willing to talk...

[x] Increased Threshold
[x] Movements
[x] Personality
[x] Awakening
[x] No Pettanko!

She may like the Oni some, but I think she doesn't want to be compared to Suika. That and B's not a terribly inconvenient size.

[x] I never got to really talk to that crow did I? Maybe after her 'debrief' she'll be more willing to talk...

[x] Increased Threshold
[x] Movements
[x] Personality
[x] Awakening
Pettanko is cool.

[x] I never got to really talk to that crow did I? Maybe after her 'debrief' she'll be more willing to talk...

[x] Increased Threshold
[x] Movements
[x] Personality
[x] Awakening
[x] No Pettanko!

Nothing about returing the Whistle?

>>119052
We may be able to use it in some future event. We are going alone from now on, unless returning it kind gets us Kaori points?

>>119064
I suspect she might let us keep it anyways, but it's important to show the thought behind it.

[X] Update.

hopefully soon...

>>119833
Go molest Kriss on #THP. It's good fun, and you may just convince her to write an update. Two birds with one stone.

Going to find Rina wasn't all too difficult, I didn't even need to ask for directions! All I had to do was look for the only non-wolf in the encampment, it also kind of helped that she had those black crow wings. Plus she wasn't wearing that exact uniform everyone else was wearing so... yeah, not all that hard. She seemed like a nice enough person and maybe she'd be more willing to talk to me now, or at the very least I'd get to kill some time anyway, not quite ready to get some sleep yet.

When she saw me approaching, she smiled, “Ah Nanashi, it's nice to see you again. I heard you'll be leaving in the morning, politics eh?”

“Can't fight the system right? Even if I could, there's way too many tengu for me to pick a fight with all of you.” I reply with a grin.

“I think only the wolves would actually get annoyed, but that's not the point is it? You probably came to ask about what I couldn't answer before eh? I'm afraid I still can't tell you, politics and all that.”

Well, dang that was what I had in mind to ask her about... so much for that plan.

“Ah oh well, guess I'll just need to squelch my curiosity. Although now I'm not sure what to really talk about... er, well how are you?”

The tengu shakes her head, “Sorry to deprive you of a prime conversation choice. But I'm doing very well, or well, as well as one can do under the circumstances. At least they were nice enough to give me a few days of rest before I have to get back to work.”

“Work? What is it you do for a living around here? If that's not classified.”

“I'm a reporter of sorts I guess. I don't actually write up a newspaper like Himekaidou though, not that her paper is all that good but... actually, this is kind of a nice lead-in to a request I have for you.”

I cock my head to the side, “A request? Well, I'm all ears.”

“Keep it kind of low profile but... back in the day, Captain Inubashiri had a superior named Aya Shameimaru, she wad kind of a famous, or infamous depending on how you look at it, crow tengu around here. The two of them had some clashing views on things, but they were always considered pretty close friends all things considered.” Rina frowned and seemed to be thinking on what to say exactly, “But well... Shameimaru has... I guess, for the lack of a better word, been exiled from here. I... can't really say on the details, but let's just say she rubs the higher-ups the wrong way and she's a pretty diehard reporter.”

Judging by the atmosphere around here, I had to guess she may have been poking her nose around into things and maybe was going to write about it? Maybe, I wasn't too keen on the whole tengu society much. Beyond that they fancied themselves the ruler of this mountain for a while now.

“So I get the feeling what you want me to do is keep my ears open and my eyes peeled for this Shameimaru? But what is it you want me to do if I find her exactly?”

“If you could, ask her to come back. At least to see Captain Inubashiri. She won't admit it, but I'm sure she misses her terribly. And if she won't come back well... if you ever find a way to come back, or send a message, just let me know.” the tengu dug around in her pocket, pulling out a slip of paper, “If you have to send me a message I've written an address here. Mail is one of the few things we allow in here without much thought, just don't send me a package or anything.”

I tuck the paper away carefully, man I wish I had some pockets that would probably work better then stashing it in my kimono...

“Alright, I'll see what I can do Rina. Uhm... actually, what does she look like?”

“Well, if you find a crow tengu away from the mountain it probably is her. But, she's about oh... this tall and has red eyes and ah... kind of short black hair too. Her outfit is kind of distinct too, it has this leaf pattern on one half. Really, she shouldn't be that hard to notice. Uhm... thank you for doing this Nanashi. Please don't tell Captain Inubashiri though.”

“My lips are sealed. I'll see if I run into her, no promises though of course.”

Rina smiled and nodded, “That's all I ask. Well, I should probably get going and you should get some rest. The human village is a bit of a walk and I doubt the wolves will be kind enough to lend you transport so you'll be walking the distance.” she glances down to my feet, “Probably should've bought a nice pair of boots.”

“I think I'll manage, it was nice meeting you Rina. Maybe we'll meet again one day eh?”

“I'd like that. Have a safe trip Nanashi.”

~

Lots of people, or youkai, in Gensokyo always seemed to have some kind of special power. Well, I had one too although I wasn't really sure what you'd call it. But it just so happened to suit my particular situation quite nicely. In a nutshell, I could use 'Faith', I guess you'd call it a sort of energy youkai need to survive, to get... well, stronger.

In essence I could un-do the sealing effects on my own body! But that takes time, and concentration. It was usually something I'd consider doing while I slept, you know, start the process then kind of let it do it's stuff while I sleep. It's cool that way. Still, I never really understood how it works or anything, I just know it works.

With my first day in Gensokyo done, and finally a place to sleep, it was time to get the old skills working again... I hadn't used it in centuries I imagine. I kind of hit a stopping point, or rather I just ran out of energy to use. But here in Gensokyo? There's Faith everywhere... it'll take time, but I'm pretty sure I can get back to my old self... and then some maybe. An interesting thought there...

Now that I had peace and quiet though, a thought had crept into my head. What was I doing here? I can't seem to remember anything. I remember where I'm from and my name, stuff like that but... I don't know why I woke up down here, or why I was sealed up. Very odd. I bet Sela had something to do with it though, but... ah, too much thinking. No information, I'll have to worry about it some other time. I'm sure my 'awakening' hasn't gone unnoticed so I bet they'll send someone to investigate sooner or later.

Hopefully someone who knew what was going on and not just some lackey.

~

“Alright, here you go stranger.” the white wolf captain lightly tossed a satchel at me, “I put your money inside, along with some food for your trip. You even get to keep the bag.”

Looking into the bag I can see the pouch containing the money, drawn shut so I couldn't even get a peek at how much, and then there were a few carefully wrapped packages. Those probably contained the food, considering it was probably soldier's rations it probably wasn't all that tasty but it would last a long time at least.

“I've outlined a route for you to take as well,” she gestured to the map laid out on her table, “it's more or less a straight shot. Just stay on the south side of the Misty Lake and you'll do fine.”

“Why the south side? Something up in the north side?”

The tengu pointed to the map, “Well, it's more that on the northern side of the lake is the Scarlet Devil Mansion. I guess you could go past it on the way there if you really wanted but... well, we don't know much of what's been going on beyond our borders lately so I can't say if it's safe or not.”

“And what's to say the south side is safe?” I ask with a grin.

“I never said it was, I'm just betting on it being more safe and direct then the northern route. Either way will work, well... except a straight line. Don't try swimming across the Misty Lake. It's pretty big, and you'd probably freeze to death.”

“Alright, sounds easy enough. Just follow the river down to the lake... then I guess there's a bridge or something?”

Inubashiri shrugged, “I think. Either way you could probably get across on foot if you had to, it's not that bad or cold. It's just the lake itself that is cold. I'll have Kaori escort you to the border, then you're on your own from there. Have a safe trip stranger, and thank you for your help.”

“Hey don't mention it, I was glad to lend a hand.”

Now that I thought about it, didn't she have something special to give me or something? Didn't seem like she was bringing up the topic though, and it would be kind of rude to ask her about it... oh well. I bid her farewell once more and departed with Kaori. Unlike my previous trips into the forest, this time we seemed to be going in a different direction, and it did seem much more 'under control'. We even ran into the occasional other patrol, and not even a single deranged fairy or bandit.

It didn't take us long to finally reach the edge of the forest, and my companion bid me her own farewell as well.

“It was very nice knowing you ma'am, I wish you a safe trip and a good life.”

I offered her a smile as we shook hands, “Have a good one too Kaori.”

With that she turned and strode back into the forest, giving me one last wave before disappearing amongst the trees. Looking down at my open palm, I noticed she had somehow managed to slip a scrap of paper into it during the handshake. Opening it, I noted it only contain a simple message of 'Dig up the mound behind you.', it was unsigned but I had to guess this may have been that special something the captain had wanted to get.

Looking behind me, there was indeed a small bit of the ground raised. No shovel though, so guess I'd have to get my hands dirty to see what was buried here. Buried not too deep below the ground was a dirt-covered, wrapped object. Unwrapping it and tossing the packaging aside, I was pleasantly surprised to find a sword underneath the wrapping. There was a note wrapped around the hilt, it was also unsigned but it was most likely from the captain.

“I guess you just happened to find a conveniently misplaced weapon. I'm afraid it's a bit old, but it'll do better then your scabbard. It should also fit quite nicely in it as well. Have a good day stranger.”

Well, well this was a pretty good gift. Giving the blade a good look over I could confirm it was useable, it did seem to have been used some but it was still in a very serviceable shape. The edge was still sharp and there were no real signs of wear... all in all, a good blade with some history behind it probably. Perhaps an old sword of her's? A possibility.

Fit perfectly in my scabbard to boot! And it was free, really a good deal. Finding a good sword was always somewhat of a challenge... then again, I'm not too certain on the sword-making skills down here in Gensokyo. There weren't too many back home... not that they had any need for weapons in centuries so they only made them for ceremonial use really.

Alright now I was armed, had some storage capacity, and had some food for the road. Now the question was... should I do what I was told and head south towards the village, or take the northern path instead that would lead me near, or past this 'Scarlet Devil Mansion'?

- - -

[ ] Best to just head to my goal, right?
[ ] Two roads diverge... and I'll take the one less traveled by!
[ ] Screw this, straight line, go, go, go!

[x] Two roads diverge... and I'll take the one less traveled by!

I guess this is one of those choices that determines with what characters we will interact?

[x] Best to just head to my goal, right?
Direct route, ja?

[x] Best to just head to my goal, right?

[x] Two roads diverge... and I'll take the one less traveled by!

[Q] Two roads diverge... and I'll take the one less traveled by!

'straight line' calls to me, but I'll wait until we're stronger.

[x] Two roads diverge... and I'll take the one less traveled by!

[X] Two roads diverge... and I'll take the one less traveled by!

What, no mention of having a bigger cup-size?

> I had to guess [Aya] may have been poking her nose around into things and maybe was going to write about it?

I think Aya may have a better understanding of what the heck is going on right now, and was exiled so as not to induce panic.
Anyway, we have our first Secondary Objective! Lets find Aya.

[X] Best to just head to my goal, right?

Sensible movement for the current situation.

Besides, with how jacked up this Gensokyo appears to be, we might want backup before tackling a dangerous unknown like the SDM. Not to mention a base of operations to fall back to.

>>119959
Yeah I kind of forgot, my bad. I was just kind of pissed at myself for taking so long to update and a few things were slipped as a result.

I'll include them in the next update.

[x] Best to just head to my goal, right?

>>119960
sometimes a side trip is a good way to gain allies/etc.

[x] Best to just head to my goal, right?

Enough with SDM already.

Requesting tie breaker. I'll check back in a few hours.

[x] Two roads diverge... and I'll take the one less traveled by!

>>120023

It's been a few days. Where are you?

>>120061
Just got done updating RiG, will update this later today.

While I was no expert on Gensokyo, this “Scarlet Devil Mansion” wasn't something I was familiar with. Considering the nature of Gensokyo, it isn't farfetched to imagine something new just suddenly appearing and it had piqued my interest quite a bit... and it was along a route to the village anyway, so a short detour couldn't hurt right?

Well, I hope not anyway. That 'devil' in the name wasn't too inviting but I couldn't imagine a very dangerous place being so close to the village, had it been dangerous the humans would've likely attacked it to safeguard their village. Unless they had grown incredibly lazy or something in the last few generations, which given the rumors I've heard of increased outsiders appearing in Gensokyo, might be possible but... I'm sure I'll be just fine.

Last night's little... “session”, I suppose seemed to have worked. At least somewhat, I certainly wasn't any kind of walking engine of destruction or anything silly like that, but hey progress is progress! I even had managed to, well, ahem “fix” Sela's little... work with my body. In the chest area. Felt good! Even if I wasn't really back to “normal”, but... yeah, progress.

During the trip to the mansion I had noted the road towards the mountain was falling into disrepair, it was little more then a dirt road but it was starting to have grass and weeds growing, and there were no signs of obvious footprints or the like. It really did seem like the mountain was a taboo place to travelers and merchants, and it meant the Tengu themselves were really restricted to just their own lands. Still as I left the Tengu's lands, the road started to show some more signs of use... but this was also worrying as the road would still only inevitably lead to the Youkai Mountain.

Perhaps there was a trade route unmarked they were taking that happened to come this direction? Or there really were gangs of bandits out there... still, I wasn't expecting any trouble. Bandits wouldn't bother to rob a single person on the road whom wasn't wearing anything particular expensive-looking. Or so I hoped anyway, even with my work from the night before, a gang of bandits could mean a lot of trouble for me.

~

The mansion was of a design I had never seen before, but it certainly confirmed my suspicion that it wasn't a native structure to Gensokyo. Perhaps some design from the outside world? I had to suspect it was an older design, my knowledge of the outside wasn't vast, but I knew they at least seemed to stray from building anything that looked, well... fancy or anything.

It was ringed by a tall, stone wall that stopped any of my attempts to see what the grounds looked like. There only seemed to be one gate, and it was only staffed by a single woman in a very unusual, probably foreign clothing. She probably would've spotted me if she wasn't asleep however. I could very well just continue down the road towards the village, but... my curiosity wasn't satisfied enough, and if I was taking an out of the way path to the human village, why not take in the sight along the way?

“Are you going to keep hiding in the bushes? I know you're at least intelligent, or you would've done something stupid by now.” spoke up a voice suddenly.

Seems the gate guard was only faking her sleep, even with only one eye cracked open, her gaze was hard and steady. I shrug and emerge from the bushes, my hands held above my head to reassure her I was unarmed.

“Well, I was just coming along this way and decided to take a look is all...”

The red-haired woman looked me over carefully, I noted her gaze lingered on the horns on my head, and at the scabbard at my side, “A youkai... but not a local one, nor one I've seen around here before... what are you doing here?”

“I just happened to be on my way to the human village and decided to go this way is all ma'am...”

“Towards the village? Well, this is certainly a route to it but...” she pauses and eyes me curiously, “did you come from the mountain then? You don't look like a tengu or any of their agents. A mercenary then perhaps? Even then... to come from the mountain? That's quite unusual.”

“What makes you think I came from the mountain?”

The woman smirks and gestures in the direction I came, “Don't play around, the only thing of interest in that direction is the Youkai Mountain. There's no human settlements and you're certainly not a ghost. Had you come from that direction,” she points down the road, “I may believe you were coming from the village... except for the fact you said you were heading there, so there's no where else you could've come from.”

“I suppose there's no way I can argue against that. And yes, that's indeed where I came from. I really am just on my way towards the village and opted to take this route instead of the south one.”

“There's nothing wrong with that, both routes are just about the same distance... I can't vouch for the safety of the southern route, but I can say this way is mostly safe. At least around here, I can't say how safe it is further down the road, but I'm confident you would have no problems.” the redhead's eyes drifted back to the horns on my head again, “However... something seems odd about you. I'm rather familiar with a large number of youkai species... but, I can't seem to place you...”

Uh oh, someone getting a little overly curious here... come to think of it, the tengu never really seemed to bother me about it too much, perhaps they know..."No, can't be, they just probably didn't care either way. Still, this could turn into an awkward situation if she kept bringing up the topic...

“Meiling, is there a problem, or are you just in the mood to pester a traveler?” interrupted a cold, sharp voice.

The guard flinched noticeably as I suddenly noticed a silver-haired woman sitting atop the mansion's walls, in one of her hands was several knives... despite that maid uniform, I get the feeling her job wasn't limited to just household chores...

“I-I'm sorry, it's just she's... different. I mean - “

The maid held up her free hand to indicate silence, “Yes, yes I've heard your conversation for some time now, and the mistress has been informed.” her gaze flickers towards me, “She wishes to extend her greetings to you, and invites you inside. We are about to have lunch in fact, and I imagine if you've been walking from the mountain you must be tired and hungry no?”

- - -

[ ] I think it's a rule of life to not ignore the invite of a knife-wielding maid...
[ ] Maybe I should just hurry on to the village now...
[ ] … Attack, they'll never see it coming!

- - -

> Gained 30 Mon
> Received Scout's Sword: Standard issue sword for the White Wolf tengu scouts, this one seems a bit used but it's still in a very useable state. (+1 damage on any successful attack)
> Received Scout's Satchel: A bag to carry things in, often used by scouts. (Holds items)
> Received Scout's Rations: Carefully prepared jerky, will stay good for some time. (Foodstuffs)

[Q] I think it's a rule of life to not ignore the invite of a knife-wielding maid...

[X] I think it's a rule of life to not ignore the invite of a knife-wielding maid...

Lets see what this Remilia is like.

> [] … Attack, they'll never see it coming!

Leeroy Jenkins we are not. We would be dead in a few rounds.

> Last night's little... “session”

The way you say that makes it sound like something else.

Which gives me delicious ideas

[x] I think it's a rule of life to not ignore the invite of a knife-wielding maid...

It'd be rude to refuse.

[x] I think it's a rule of life to not ignore the invite of a knife-wielding maid...

[x] I think it's a rule of life to not ignore the invite of a knife-wielding maid...

[x] I think it's a rule of life to not ignore the invite of a knife-wielding maid...

[x] I think it's a rule of life to not ignore the invite of a knife-wielding maid...

With those knives in her hand, I felt it was probably not in my best interest to decline, nor try anything stupid. While perhaps testing the resilience of this new body might be an interesting experiment, I imagine it would prove useless in the end – knives hurt.

Plus, come on, free food? That sounds pretty nice. I'm sure the travel rations will be fine, but a fresh meal is always better then rations. I was also a bit curious as to this place, so really it was in my best interest to accept.

“Very well, I guess I could go for a meal and see your mistress.”

The silver-haired woman nodded, “Of course, now then Meiling open the gate and follow me traveler.”

The gatekeeper hastily threw the gate open, bowing slightly as I walked past her into the mansion's courtyard. The courtyard of the mansion nearly made my blood run cold, and I felt a shiver creep up my spine.

While there were many beautiful plants and flowers, and even the grass was well tended too, the courtyard was also littered with knife-ridden corpses. They mostly seemed to be faeries, somewhat similar to the ones you saw at the Youkai Mountain yet... different. They had a different variety of hair colors, styles, and their clothing (while still ragged) was also different.

The maid seemed to take notice of my looking around the courtyard, and she shrugged casually, her knives vanishing from view with the flick of a wrist.

“The faeries have been growing restless lately. Meiling is quite capable of handling them of course, but in sheer numbers they can make it over the wall. Most of these have been here for some time now, I'm surprised they haven't vanished or anything yet.”

“I... see. I guess you're quite talented with those knives, huh?” I ask casually, trying to lighten the mood.

The woman grins wickedly as she opens the door and gestures inside, “I could've cut you down before Meiling saw you. In addition, I could've done it without hitting any vital organs leaving you to die most painfully. Now, this way traveler, the mistress is eager to meet you.”

I'm starting to wonder what this mistress is like... judging from the red everywhere, it was easy to see why this was called the “Scarlet” Devil Mansion. I could only imagine the mistress is what gave it the “Devil”. This may have not been the best decision...

The inside took me a bit by surprise, it seemed quite more vast then it had appeared on the outside. It also seemed to lack many windows, light mainly being provided by candles. Interestingly, the mansion also seemed to be staffed by faeries, well rather fairy maids to be precise. However, they didn't seem to be engaged in any very maid-like activites, mostly just floating about trying to look busy – especially when they saw the silver-haired maid.

I couldn't help but notice that a lot of them were armed as well with various weapons. This place was starting to seem more like a fancy fortress then a mansion... even the servants were armed! Eventually we reached a set of large doors, which despite their size easily yielded to the silver maid's push, and into a large room with a throne at the end.

The room itself was also quite fancy and rich, and interestingly featured a lot of crosses, heck, behind the throne was a large cross-looking thing, although it seemed to have some odd-looking wings floating near it or something. Kind of hard to describe, you'd have to see it in person.

Seated on the throne itself was... a little girl? The wings she had were even larger then she was it seemed like... was she the “Devil” of this place?

“I have brought the traveler as requested my lady.” spoke the maid, curtseying before her mistress.

The young girl nodded her head, “Thank you Sakuya, will you fetch the tea then? And get lunch prepared as well.”

The maid, named Sakuya apparently, nodded her head and curtseyed once more before... vanishing from sight. Well, now that's a neat trick, how did she pull that off? With the maid gone, my attention was focused solely on the young girl before me, whom seemed busy looking me over closely. Her gaze, I noticed, was particularly drawn to my horns.

“Just as she said, you're quite... different. Not only do you look different from any youkai I've seen, you just seem to give off some kind of... aura, I guess. I can't even read your fate at all! Most interesting indeed...”

“Excuse me miss, but... what do you mean by 'read my fate'?”

The girl shook her head, “Now, now no need to be so formal. Please, call me Remilia. As for your question, well... let's just say it's a talent of mine. You however, are like a void... there are no lines drawn to you, nor any coming from you. It is most unusual, as even the most common fairy has something for me to see, yet you do not.”

I scratch the back of my head nervously and chuckle, “Well, I guess I'm special or something eh? Maybe I just don't have a fate or something!”

“I shall agree that you are special. But, everything has a fate dear traveler, and you can't be an exception... I've never encountered anything in Gensokyo that has somehow managed to elude my power. I simply must have you stay for a time! I'm sure Pache will be interested in meeting you as well...”

“Pache?”

Remilia nods her head, “The local librarian and a close friend of mine. She's quite the powerful magician actually, and I'm curious if she can gleam anything else from you... but my, where are my manners? I imagine you only accepted my invitation for the food...”

“Ah, well I will admit that was a factor... there was also your maid. Those knives didn't look very friendly.”

“Intimidation? I wouldn't expect her to do that willingly... likely a reflex at approaching anyone she doesn't know, I assure you she wouldn't so much as harm a fly that did not threaten me, her, or this mansion. Of course, should you try to threaten anything, well... I wouldn't really recommend that.”

Thinking back to all those knifed faeries, I was all too happy to agree. I'd probably be turned into some kind of knife cushion or something...

“I whole heatedly agree. I didn't come here to cause trouble or anything after all.”

“Of course, you were just a traveler from the Youkai Mountain heading to the human village, correct? Tell me, what were you even doing on that mountain? I know for a fact the tengu have become quite hostile to outsiders, and you are no tengu, nor any youkai native to it.”

“Oh, you know just... stuff. They wouldn't let me stay around any longer, so I thought I'd seek work in the village.”

The noble woman rose an eyebrow, “Work? Well, I can't imagine the tengu having use for a common worker... ah, I see, you must be a mercenary of sorts? It seems to be the only explanation.”

“I wouldn't call myself one officially I suppose but... well, money is a useful thing to have and I guess I can't really be too picky about ways to get it. So I guess, yeah, mercenary will do.”

“Well then mercenary, I hope you will enjoy your stay within the mansion. Perhaps even I could think of some work for you to do... good help is so hard to find these days, and you can't depend on faeries for anything.” Remilia paused and cupped her chin as she considered me again, “That aside, while lunch is being prepared, perhaps you would like a tour of sorts? I'm sure Sakuya can spare the time, or perhaps you would like to meet Pache?”

- - -

[ ] I'm actually kind of hungry... I'd prefer to just wait for food.
[ ] This place does seem rather huge, perhaps a tour wouldn't be a bad idea.
[ ] Just who is this 'Pache'?
[ ] Whoa hold your horses missie, did I hear something about work?
[ ] … She's just a girl, ATTTTAAACK.

[x] This place does seem rather huge, perhaps a tour wouldn't be a bad idea.

We can talk about possible work and Patchy after eating.

> [ ] … She's just a girl, ATTTTAAACK.

U mad?

[X] This place does seem rather huge, perhaps a tour wouldn't be a bad idea.
[X] After that, ask about this 'Patche' and work.

[x] This place does seem rather huge, perhaps a tour wouldn't be a bad idea.

[X] This place does seem rather huge, perhaps a tour wouldn't be a bad idea.
[X] After that, ask about this 'Patche' and work.

[Q] This place does seem rather huge, perhaps a tour wouldn't be a bad idea.
[Q] After that, ask about this 'Patche' and work.

[x] This place does seem rather huge, perhaps a tour wouldn't be a bad idea.
[x] After that, ask about this 'Patche' and work.

[x] This place does seem rather huge, perhaps a tour wouldn't be a bad idea.
[x] After that, ask about this 'Patche' and work.

[X] This place does seem rather huge, perhaps a tour wouldn't be a bad idea.
[X] After that, ask about this 'Patche' and work.

This place was huge. I'm pretty sure I mentioned that before, but damn, I felt I had to remind myself this place was huge. Now it wasn't like I hadn't seen a big buildings before, there were some vary grand buildings back home and all, but the difference was they looked big on the outside too.

This mansion hadn't looked nearly that big on the outside, yet on the inside I swore it was like a village built within a mansion. I kept expecting Sakuya to round a corner into a hallway and reveal some kind of town square, or a hallway lined with faeries manning merchant booths or something.

Actually, speaking of the faeries there seemed to be quite a few of them. Enough to probably qualify as a small army almost, although considering the combat skills of faeries this probably didn't really amount to much. They all wore maid uniforms, but many were carrying various weapons – ranging from spears, halberds, and swords – and some even had bits of armor on their uniforms. It was all very bizarre and unusual, it was almost like they were expecting some big battle to break out soon.

“Is there any need to have all these faeries geared up like this?”

The chief maid glances in my direction, “It is merely a precaution traveler. Besides, it helps settle their nerves to think they can help, it doesn't make them work any harder, but it at least prevents them from slacking off even more. I find that reason enough to give them this small liberty.”

Sakuya holds up the tour a moment to have a group of armed faeries float past, “If the faeries have been going feral around here, is it safe to really staff the place with them? I mean, what if they go feral too?”

“The concern has been raised. Lady Patchouli assures us there is no danger, she cannot determine what makes the faeries go feral but she believes it is something on the outside. So long as they stay within the mansion, they are fine.”

“Oh. Well, that's a good thing. There are certainly a lot of faeries here...”

The chief maid gestures to a large set of double doors before us, “This is the Voile Library, where Lady Patchouli lives. I will come to get you when the food is prepared, please try not to wander the halls too much. I understand if this tour did not give you a firm grasp of the mansion, it can take some time.”

To be honest, I didn't even know how we got here. I just remember a lot of hallways, a lot of rooms, and a lot of faeries. And I swore the place kept changing, I'd look over my shoulder and swear that the hallway led to a different one now. I really had no intention of getting lost anytime soon.

“Thank you for the tour, I'll be looking forward to that food.”

The maid nodded her head, pushing a door open and gesturing you inside. Within was another surprisingly large room, one that again didn't seem possible to exist within this mansion. There were gigantic bookcases everywhere, the walls themselves were literally bookcases and every space on the shelves was crammed with books.

As I tried to squelch my awe, I turn over my shoulder to ask Sakuya where to find this Patchouli in all these books, only to see her close the door before I could say a word. Great, just great, how was I supposed to find my way around here?

“Excuse me, what are you doing here miss? I can see you're not one of Lady Remilia's faeries...” asked a voice curiously.

The voice belonged to a rather tall, curvy, well-endowed, and red-haired woman. One whom happened to have some black wings from her head, and even her back. I think she even had a little tail. A demon? The first one I've seen in the whole place... well, I guess a vampire might kind of qualify but...

“I'm just a traveler, I happened to come along this way and well, I was kind of invited in...”

The devil cocks her head to the side, “Ah, I see you are the traveler Lady Patchouli has mentioned. She has been anxious to meet you, would you please come this way miss? Stay close and don't wander, it can be difficult to find a lost person in here.”

The red-haired devil headed down one of the aisles, and I followed occasionally glancing at the spines of the books on the shelves. Most of them seemed to be me of a magical nature, although there was the occasional mundane-looking book of course, I hadn't even seen so many books in one place before... just how much knowledge was stored in this place? Sela would probably love to explore this place and dig through all these books, of course me and her were not going to be on speaking terms if we ever met again.

Much like Sakuya's tour of the mansion itself, this devil's guide through the library didn't help me at all in figuring out how to navigate it, all I knew is eventually we reached a spot where there were tables and chairs, and another woman with long purple-haired was seated. She seemed totally absorbed into her book and didn't notice our arrival.

“Excuse me, Lady Patchouli?” the purple-haired woman perked up and looked up enough to acknowledge our existence, “The traveler is here.”

Patchouli looked at me slowly, her expression betraying nothing at all. In fact it was almost like her mouth was stuck in a permanent small frown and her eyes were locked in a neutral, uncaring expression. It was kind of unnerving really. Eventually she nodded and waved in the devil's general direction, whom bowed and quietly left the area, once she had left the purple-haired magician gestured to the seat across from her.

“Just as Remilia says, you're not from around here. Nor can I identify you by your appearance, in fact you almost look entirely human...” she lifted a finger to point to the horns on the side of my head, “if it weren't for those. Horns are a common trait of Oni, however your horns are not in a location I have seen for an Oni before. Your horns are also small, and you do not appear to be carrying any sort of drink, nor do you appear to be intoxicated. I must rule out Oni as your origin I suppose.”

“Well, yeah I'm not an Oni I can tell you that. Did you ah, only want to see me to try to figure out what I am?”

“Of course.” replied the librarian, her tone flat and uninterested, “Did Remilia suggest otherwise? I only appreciate knowledge, you represent something I do not know. This makes you interesting to me from an intellectual point of view, but I do not see reason to go further then that. If you seek employ, Remilia is likely to have something for you. If you seek companionship, I suppose my familiar is more... apt to that.”

I shake my head quickly, “No, no I didn't mean to imply any of that. I just was kind of wondering why you wanted to see me and ah... well, I guess if we could have a chat or something. Kill time, you know?”

“Very well. I can entertain your curiosity for now, so tell me traveler, what is on your mind? In exchange, I want to know what is going on in the outside. A fair deal?”

“Well, I guess that's fair enough, I don't really know a whole lot though...”

“Anything you know will suffice. I do not often leave Voile, nor has Remilia told me much of the outside recently, nor has Sakuya for that matter. I know you came here from the mountain, so surely you know at least something.”

- - -

[ ] What do I want to know anyway? (write-in)

- - -

Look it's like RiG again with a completely write-in vote! Yay!

Anyway the MASSIVE delay is due to me pondering over the state of Exile. I'm also re-working the Faith tree again (no refunds, nothing you guys got was changed anyway) to get rid of “multiple” ranks in powers, in favor of singular ones with more use. Giving the Exile an overall lower stat total in the end, but I think that will be more fun.

How do you all feel on the stat system anyway? Be honest.

I like stats. Especially things that are easy to understand but not limited.

>>121039
I second this.

>Write-in option.
I don't know what to write, so I'll wait for others.

[x]Ask her about general political/power situation of gensokyo (we need to at least get our knowledge of things up to modern standards, even if its not updated).
[x]Show her one of the shards and ask her what she thinks of it.
[x]Also, if possible, ask her to do magical scan on us, looking for curses or lingering aftereffects.
-[x]in exchange you can tell her what you know of the mountain situation (the bandits, tengu, etc).
-[x]still if asked where we are from, try to be evasive (or change the subject/focus of conversation).

That's all i can think of right now. Not sure if we need anything else.

[x]Ask her about general political/power situation of gensokyo (we need to at least get our knowledge of things up to modern standards, even if its not updated).
[x]Show her one of the shards and ask her what she thinks of it.
[x]Also, if possible, ask her to do magical scan on us, looking for curses or lingering aftereffects.
-[x]in exchange you can tell her what you know of the mountain situation (the bandits, tengu, etc).
-[x]still if asked where we are from, try to be evasive (or change the subject/focus of conversation).

Come on people, vote.

[x]>>121197

[X] Ask her about general political/power situation of Gensokyo (we need to at least get our knowledge of things up to modern standards, even if its not updated).
[X] Show her one of the shards and ask her what she thinks of it.
[X] Also, if possible, ask her to do magical scan on us, looking for curses or lingering aftereffects.
-[X] In exchange you can tell her what you know of the mountain situation (the bandits, tengu, etc). Within reason of course (Don't go back on your word)
-[X] Still if asked where we are from, try to be evasive (or change the subject/focus of conversation).

I have some unfortunate news, after some thought I have decided to drop this CYOA... for now.

When I think over it and look over it, something bugs me about it. For one, I had wanted to avoid areas I had focused on in RiG and try to focus on other locations in Gensokyo. Instead I kind of well, ended up going to often-used places.

Plus I've been busy trying to re-do the Faith system and stuff, and I've run into problems with the plot. In RiG, I kind of made it up as I went along... this approach doesn't work in Exile too well.

Expect it to be rebooted at a later time, once I put some more tweaks and such into it. This will cause a full restart of the story I'm afraid, but I'll change it up enough to make it feel new again.

I apologize if this angers any of you, I'll probably think up some kind of CYOA to tide you all over until I get RiG2 ready or some such.

Second time is the charm for me it seems!

>>121317
How about just focusing on these two? We don't need another AD or HY littering the place with dead stories.

I'm sad to see this go.

I'd second >>121324's suggestion, starting another one isn't a great idea. I'd suggest trying short stories. Or H-scenes.

>>121324
If I did another CYOA in between, it'd probably be something short and not full-fledged CYOA.

Something like Hakurei Shrine of Cards. Easy and simple.

>>121328
Oh you.

Its sad, but having this story restarted in better format? That's a plus at least.

Oh well, ill read whatever you write, so be sure to inform us in this thread where and what you post.

>>121329
But those are infamous last words, along with "I'll write this small story to get back into the habit" then never update it. Isn't it sad, ShotaHaku and LoliYuyu?