Tengu Reporter Quest (Touhou) (World 7 - Wheel of Time)

Snap a picture
- Then explore the city a bit.


You shake your head – enough contemplating, it's time for action! Your camera is already out, and you fish out a notebook and pen as you start taking pictures. You are not going to interview Giselle about this, but you will correctly report her words to your readers! You will have to learn more about Apostles, and Giselle in particular, before you decide which way to spin the article, though …. Once you're finished, you step back and put away the camera. The notebook stays out, of course, and you take a few steps back into the room before turning back to Hatate. "I'm going to go take a look around the city. Are you coming, or do you want to stay and rest with our new friends?" She looks at the crows huddling against the interior wall, then back at the dragons in the courtyard. Then she nods.

"I'll come along," she says quietly, and you murmur quietly to the birds. Acknowledging your command, they carefully file out through the door with you, except for two that land on your and Hatate's shoulders. Once the dragons are out of view and there's a clear flight path, the remaining crows take to the air, waiting for you to escape the building as well. You get quite a few looks – and then second and third looks – from the priestesses as you proceed through the halls, and you stop by a relatively slender wolf-woman who seems to be standing guard.

"We're just going to take a walk through the city for a while. Is there any time we're supposed to be back, or that the main doors close?" She shakes her head, flinging her shaggy braids from side to side, and grins – wolfishly, of course.

"Priests get messengers and visitors whenever they arrive. Used to be there'd be cases when something important'd get delayed because of closings, so now the important ones don't close." You nod approvingly; it's a very sensible arrangement.

"Thank you – oh, yes. Why are there so many priestesses compared to priests? Do men not have the right talents here, or something?" The priestess's golden eyes widen, and you'd swear you can see a hint of color through her fur, and she looks around nervously – but all of a sudden, the hall is empty of people without anything to do.

"Um, well, Hardy likes women, not men, and most people know that, right? So, everyone expects that there's only priestesses serving Hardy. But it's not like that, really – she doesn't care much about what equipment her worshipers have. But since people are expecting the white dresses and don't have the expectation of male priests … and it, it just sort of happened?" You nod again; because of Hardy's preferences, people assumed she would only want priestesses, and so get confused when they see priests, especially here in the main temple.

"I suppose there are more priests in lesser temples and the like?" Your informant nods, and you reach up to pat her shoulder. "Thank you, you're very helpful!" Your crow croaks its thanks as well, and then you turn away and keep moving, jotting notes as your eyes dart across the crowd.

"So where are we going to start?" Hatate has her notebook out, too, but isn't writing nearly as much as you are.

"Someplace our friends think is comfortable," you say, and the crows caw quietly as Hatate glances up at the birds wheeling overhead, circling in a particular direction. You make your way through the wide city streets, admiring the white buildings – some plastered, others made of marble or limestone or other kind of stone – and, at least in your case, very carefully pretending to not notice the priestesses keeping a sometimes subtle eye on you. Now, are they watching you to make sure you don't get troubled, or because they're suspicious?

Hatate holds you up precisely once, when she gets too curious and begins questioning a reptilian fellow about its wares – a huge variety of stones and metals. The fellow hisses appreciatively and briefly explains their purposes: most of the stones are of value to mages in various fields, while the metals have different structural properties that make them more or less desirable as construction materials, whether for buildings or weapons or even clothes. When the explanations are finally finished, Hatate thanks the merchant and, rather sheepishly, rejoins you. You ruffle her hair and continue following your avian guides. Perhaps not unexpectedly, they lead you to the lake – and more specifically, to one of several groves of trees that dot the lakeside. A young man waits there, willowy and graceful, with hair even more golden than Flandre's and long pointed ears. His eyes widen as he sees the crows on your shoulders.

"Hello, there! It's not often winged women come this far down," he says. And then the rest of your flock dive at him, cawing raucously and sending him tumbling from his perch on a half-broken tree branch. "Ahh! Gah! Ow! I'm – I'm sorry! Ow!" You cluck sharply and they peel off him, landing in the branches overhead. Hatate giggles as he picks himself up – he isn't harmed, at least apart from his pride and dignity, and he smiles good-naturedly at you. "Heh. They're a bit territorial … but I guess you've made friends with them."

"Yes, we get along with these pretty well," you say, scratching your rider's beak gently. In turn, it preens your hair, at least until you blow on it, at which point it squawks indignantly and hops off, leading to three crows trying to take its spot, only for one of the pied ones to take it, laughing at its fellows. "Are you a priest here?" The young man shakes his head at your question and looks at you.

"A pri- oh, yes, a priest. Sorry, I was just … I've never seen them do that before. Yes, I'm a priest of Wareharun. Not the head priest – he's sleeping in the lake right now – but I help oversee the groves here. Not that there's ever been any problems, but Wareharun is a bit possessive of them. It's not a bad way to spend a decade or so, I guess, but I do wish more elves came here. I mean, not that the dark elves aren't elves, but – I mean -!" You tilt your head slightly, a move copied by all the crows, and the young man's flustered blush brightens. Hatate covers her face, and you have a hard time keeping your own laughter from escaping, but you're an experienced reporter.

"So what do you do, overseeing the groves? Make sure no one cuts them down?" He nods quickly and takes several deep breaths to calm himself.

"Ah, yes, that is part of my duties. Again, that isn't usually an issue, but there have been overzealous worshipers who think that the trees are holy due to growing at Hardy's temple, and they try to remove or damage the trees. Also, Bubbles -" he blushes again at your look, and gestures at the lake, "I'm sorry, no one's been able to pronounce his name, and apparently part of it means 'bubbles,' so for the past few centuries, that's what he's been called. I know it doesn't sound dignified, but there's not much I can do about it." You nod and he calms down again. "Anyway, he manages affairs between Hardy's priests and Emroy's priests when the latter are in a grumpy mood, which happens fairly regularly now that she's trying to poach Emroy's Apostle. Even Her Holiness Giselle doesn't like to get him angry." You look out at the lake, wondering what sort of being would be powerful enough to make the Apostle of a deity wary of angering it even in the Apostle's home temple.

"When does Bubbles usually wake up? Or is he more of a private person?" The priest looks up at the sky thoughtfully.

"Hmm … if he wakes up this week, it'll probably be either tonight or tomorrow night." The crows all caw raucously at the announcement, and the priest sighs as they rise into the sky once more. "It seems they don't like him much, either." You eye your guides suspiciously, then shrug and smile at the priest.

"Well, they're showing us around the city right now, so I suppose we'd better follow them. Thank you for talking with us." He bows politely.

"It was my pleasure." After making sure the crows are actually gone, he nods again, then hops nimbly back onto his perch and starts humming softly to himself and swaying in the wind.

"Really, you guys, what's wrong with him that you have to do that?" Hatate taps her rider's head and glares at the pied one on your shoulder, and they croak something angrily. Something about whatever's in the lake? You share a look with Hatate, and she shrugs. "So, onto … food? Hm." She frowns, and you have to wonder just what the crows in a city like this eat. Granted, there are a lot of vendors selling a lot of food, but there are also a lot of people. Still, the crows at least seem to have some good taste, as they wind you along a path that does have some of the better-smelling vendors – and, after a few pleadings from Hatate, it turns out that they taste as good as advertised. Your crows, however, laugh at your meal.

A large number of armed priests and priestesses of Hardy stand watch over the small walled complex. The gates are open, but guarded by two rather large humans in heavy armor and carrying great axes. Shouts and the clash of arms ring out from within, and your friends join a rather large number of their kin on the buildings overlooking what must be an interior courtyard. It doesn't actually smell like you'd expect it to, based on the number of birds up there … but maybe they're why it doesn't smell. Can't rot if it's been eaten, after all. You glance at the priests, then walk up to the gate. The guards cross their weapons in front of it as you approach. "Sorry, can't enter right now – duel going on. Once it's done, the priest'll make sure everything's fixed with the shrouded ladies over there, and then you can see what's in there if you want. Not much to it, though." You nod and look for any identifying marks, but nothing on the exterior stands out.

"What is this place, anyway?" The other guard snorts.

"Emroy's embassy, it's called. If you want a sanctioned duel, you have it here. If you want weapons training, you have it here. If you want to listen to some loon preach about how the only good death is one in battle, you have it here." The first guard nods and relaxes, leaning against the corner of the gateway.

"And there is only the one loon. He's actually quite reasonable, for someone who worships Emroy, but I half-believe the only reason anyone even gets in the door is 'cause of the priestesses."

"And the Reaper."

"She's a priestess." The second guard snorts again, and the first one shrugs. "We just get paid to make sure anyone wanting to come in and kill somebody fills out the paperwork, and to make sure no one enters during a duel." He sighs. "'Course, there was the one time that lady snuck in to murder the priest, and that was a big mess until the dragon lady showed up and cleared things up." The second guard nods, then looks at you.

"So why're you here?" You smile.

"The crows were showing us where they get food." The guards actually take that as perfectly reasonable and nod.

"Yeah, between the duels and the combat training and the executions – right, they also handle a lot of the punishments here, especially the ones that involve people dying – I suppose the damn things would get a lot of food." A loud bell tolls, and the guards shrug. "Well, duel's over. If you want to go in there, you can. Like I said, though, not much to it." Hatate gives you an uneasy look; well, she probably hasn't seen a battlefield, or even a little bitty murder or assassination, so it's probably not something she's had experience with.


What do you do?

[ ] See what's inside Emroy's temple.

[ ] Keep exploring the city.

[ ] Head back to your room.
- [ ] Until tonight, then see if Bubbles is awake.
- [ ] Talk to Giselle about dragons.

[ ] Other?

Rough Draft Article - Apostles

*Insert Picture of Giselle*

Ayayaya! Pure and Honest Aya here, coming to you from the distant world of Falmart! Pictured above is Giselle, Apostle of Hardy, and this article is going to explain why that is important!

Apostles are the favored servant of one of the local gods. The enacter of her gods will in the mortal realm and even a vessel for her gods spirit should her god desire to lend a personal touch to a project. And in return for her efforts, after a thousand years of service, the Apostle ascends to godhood; usually taking minor aspect of their patron from themselves.

Contrary to what you might be thinking, an Apostle is not a spiritual leader. When asked about the practices of her religion, Apostle Giselle openly admitted that the priests and priestess under her knew more about her faith than she did. So for a Gensokiyan comparison, Apostles are more Reimu than Sanae.

---


Because we, the players, are supposed to writing Aya's articles, apparently. Not sure is this is good enough, but if anyone else thinks they can do better, than they're very much welcome to go ahead and try.

See what's inside Emroy's temple.


If she hasn't had much experience, though, then this is the perfect time to acquaint her with some good old bloodshed! Well, except the duel is already over. "Do we need to do anything before we enter?" The guards look at each other, their eyes seeming to show surprise for a moment before they shrug simultaneously, and the first one reaches into a small cubbyhole and withdraws a pad of paper, an inkpot, and a quill pen. He takes a moment to remove his armored gloves, revealing well-groomed fingers, and prepares the pen.

"Names?"

"I'm Aya, this is Hatate." He hesitates for a moment, then shrugs again and writes the names down.

"Are either of you carrying any weapons or instruments that can be used for violence?" Hatate shakes her head.

"Hmm … do pens count?" The guard looks up and Hatate freezes. "I've got … five pens with me," you continue, holding them up, and Hatate takes out three of her own. The guard reaches for one and studies it, then shakes his head.

"No, those look fine. No knives or anything like that? Then … have either of you killed anyone before?" Hatate shakes her head while you nod. The guard looks at his paper, but before he can continue – if he has any more questions – a small procession heads toward the gate from inside the temple. The man in front is well-groomed, his dark hair glossy and his mustache neatly trimmed, and his robes appear to be quite good quality. The first man behind him cradles one arm, possibly broken, while the rather stupid-looking man behind him seems unharmed. The guards motion you and Hatate to back out of the way and step out of the entryway. The leading man, presumably the priest, draws up just outside the temple and glares at Hardy's followers across the street.

"Let it be known!" You and Hatate aren't the only ones to wince at his grating voice, and a small flock of crows land on the wall to caw loudly, drawing a glare from the priest. "In the matter of the judicial duel that has just been completed, the victor – Jormoran – allowed his opponent – Oloroso – to keep his life." Some of the priestesses snarl quietly at the news, and the priest of Emroy shoos the warriors out of the temple. The pretty man with the broken arm is almost overrun by eight of the priestesses, while the victor simply shrugs and walks the other way. The priest frowns at you and Hatate. "What are these two after?" The first guard shrugs and hands over a sheet.

"Asked if they could come in," he says, and the priest studies the paper intently.

"Bah! Come in, if you wish, to the dwelling of this most disgraced and humiliated priest of almighty Emroy! I, who have been banished here due to the hate of an undeserving wretch, and – greh!" The priest's diatribe is cut short by diving crows, and you nod at the guards as you follow the priest. The poor man – possibly quite deranged – is attacked by crows the whole way through, allowing you to gather a clear impression of the interior courtyard. For one thing, it's quite clean, and two workers are already sweeping and scrubbing the rough stone arena in the middle of the courtyard. Except for the outer walkway, the rest of the courtyard appears to be sand over stone. The priest manages to duck into a building, and you and Hatate follow him in without issue. It, too, is clean and well-kept, with simple black curtains over the windows, and no ornaments anywhere. The priest settles behind a plain desk and slips on a pair of glasses. "Greetings, Aya, Hatate. My name is Wincarnis, and I am Emroy's ambassador here. Have you need of the Dark One's services?" You look around uncertainly, then smile at the priest.

"Actually, we were wondering what it was like inside a temple to the god of violence and insanity. It's very … clean." Wincarnis harrumphs and brushes a hand through his hair.

"Indeed it is, for in that undeserving wretch's hatred of me, I was forced to come here alone, without any of the trappings of my station, to serve as great Emroy's ambassador to the hated and reviled loathsome witch of the earth, she who steals souls rightfully our lord's! It is only through his eternal wisdom that her priesthood is not slaughtered and she made to serve under him, as is the rightful way of things." You nod, then look around again, and he sighs. "My predecessor, unfortunately, was quite a bit mad. Not unheard-of, you understand, but he thought that our priesthoods could try to mend the rift between our deities! There is madness, and there are blasphemous, heretical, terrible, no-good, very bad thoughts! Of which that man's predilections must surely count! Imagine – listening to the preaching of the underworld's harlots without once challenging them to a duel by righteous combat!" Frankly, if Wincarnis is supposed to be one of Emroy's sane priests, you have to wonder if he has any organized worshipers at all ….

"Um, who is the 'undeserving wretch' you keep referring to?" Hatate asks another pertinent question, but Wincarnis slams his hands against the desk and leans forward threateningly.

"It's undeserving wretch, you silly girl, not 'undeserving wretch!' The accent and emphasis are absolutely required. As for her name – she is Rory Mercury, Rory the Reaper, Rory the Apostle of Emroy!" Yup. Definitely bonkers. "It was nine hundred fifty years, two months, and three days ago that that – that … that displayed herself as the Apostle of Emroy, by decapitating my great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-..." he pauses to take a much-needed breath, then shakes himself and looks a little confused. "... Anyway, my most illustrious ancestor, for the petty misconduct of trying to execute some young priestess to cover up his own crimes and corruption. And ever since then, over the centuries, that undeserving wretch has worked her vile wiles and wicked ways to ruin my family line! Culminating in my exile to this loathsome abode. Did you know there hasn't been a war fought in this area in over three thousand years? How can a man commune with his god if there aren't any battlefields around?" He huffs imperiously, then looks around.

"... Do you mind if we look around the temple?" He blinks and focuses on you, frowning, then looks down at the paper the guard gave him.

"Hmm … well, this Hotatay," you and Hatate both wince, and the worst part is that you can't tell if his mispronunciation is intentional or not, "she'll need to be escorted by you. Can't have those without blood on their hands dragging muck through the temple. Unless they're insane, of course. Oh, and do be careful in the red wing. Some of the more insane members of society are kept there for health and safety purposes. Obey any staff orders you're given if you're in that area. Hmm … oh, yes, if you want to kill anyone, you'll have to see me and fill out one of the forms. Apart from that … no, I don't think there are any problems with you taking a look around." You and Hatate nod quickly, thank him, and withdraw from the building.

"Well, let's see what our friends think," you say, and you both look up at the waiting crows. They look around for a moment, seemingly considering what to show you, then several swoop low and swing around behind the buildings. You and Hatate shrug at each other and follow them, and you're met with an arena a bit larger than the sandy one in front, but made only with earth instead of sand and stone. Against one of the complex walls are a series of tall posts with several crossbars at alternating angles. Fortunately, the purpose of the strange 'trees' is clear by the occupants of the farthest one: corpses. Hatate grimaces in disgust and looks away; you're reminded of the cages you sometimes saw in Europe, that you were told were for exposing criminals, but these are likely purely for the benefit of the crows. Probably. At the far end is a single building, unlocked, which reveals itself to be an armory. Hatate watches as you study both the armors and the weapons, and while you're no expert, you're pretty sure that most of the pieces are both old and of unexceptional work even for humans. Granted, even Hatate would be able to kill the two guards with her bare hands if she needed to, but if the majority of local warriors are using materials like these, then coming here will definitely be a reversion to the 'good old days' where even weak beast youkai were considerably dangerous to humans.

Following that, you make your way to another open building. A reptilian woman with red scales looks up from a desk in the corner. "Looking for someone in particular? Or hoping for admittance?" You frown at her in confusion, but the worn-through and fading red fabric covering the walls gives you an idea of where you are even before she sighs and leans back in her chair, thick tail slapping the side of the desk in minor irritation. "This is the so-called 'Red Wing,' labeled so by our illustrious madman-in-charge. Just don't try to open any doors and we'll be fine." You look down the hallway at the dozen doors, with a staircase going up and down at the end.

"Are you a priestess?" The woman recoils and shakes her head wildly.

"No, no! I'm just here serving my penance, which should be up in … four more years? I hope that's all. Belnago's nice, and all, but I've long since grown tired of keeping everyone calm. I guess that's what I get for inciting a riot, though …." She looks up at an outraged shout and a modest crashing sound. "And 'Her Holiness' is awake now. And unlike everyone else, she's a pain to put to sleep...." She grumbles to herself and makes no move to get up. Hatate shrugs and follows you as you wander down the hall. The first two rooms are empty, but are still reasonably well-furnished, with what look like soft beds and cushioned walls. The windows are high on the wall, nearly to the ceiling, presumably to prevent easy escape. Apart from the bed and a strange, tall cylinder in one corner, the rooms are unfurnished. The next two have sleeping humans, while the third you examine has an alert inhabitant: a handsome-looking female with a feline lower body and a human upper body. She giggles in a high-pitched manner, then stiffens entirely and falls to her side. "Don't mind her," the receptionist calls from her desk. "She'll be fine as soon as you move away." You look at her sidelong, but she still doesn't appear to be interested in moving.

"Hey! Let me – out of here!" Another crash sounds from the end of the hall, and you and Hatate walk towards it. Inside the final room is a young human girl, rubbing her shoulder. When she notices you, she perks up and jumps to her feet. She looks quite a lot like Kaguya, although of course not nearly as beautiful, and the Lunarian would never be caught wearing such a provocative outfit. "Finally! Look, you've got to get me out of here! I don't know how they're doing it, but I can't communicate with Emroy in here! Hardy, either, and this is her temple! Come on, help me get out – once I'm free, no one will be able to stop me getting to Hardy, and then two gods will be more favorably disposed to you!" You look at her, wondering how you're going to take care of the receptionist – then yank Hatate back from the door. The girl snarls and lunges forward, driving her shoulder against the door, and whimpers as she bounces off. You step forward to look down at her from the viewing cage, and she whines to the two gods, asking for salvation and wondering where she went wrong. You head back to the receptionist, an unhappy-looking Hatate in tow. As she said, the feline-hybrid woman is back to sitting naturally, seemingly no worse for wear.

"So what's her story? And when did she learn how to hypnotize people?" The woman starts to smile, then jerks forward at your second question and frowns down the hall.

"... That's not good. It makes some sense with some other things, but …." She shakes her head and looks up at you. "Don't know who she is, where she's from, any of that. She arrived here a few years ago, claimed to be Rory Mercury wanting to marry Hardy, tried assaulting the temple, and was thrashed by Giselle, and sent here. She is abnormally strong and she does heal, so she probably could have passed as an Apostle anywhere else, but she can't match the real thing, it seems. She has some magic training, too. No idea why they don't just put her out of her misery, or have the real thing come deal with her, but the priest in charge just said to lock her up and he'd deal with her at some point. Except he avoids any discussion of her when he checks on everyone else, completely ignores her even if he has to walk past her to visit other inmates. I've sent letters to Hardy's temple, since she does seem to want to see Hardy, and if she is an embarrassment, actually taking care of things would put them ahead of Emroy. No idea if they're just slow getting things through, if I'm not important enough to be taken seriously, or if they just want to keep her alive, though." She sighs and stands up. "Well, I'll have to get some things to deal with her for now, so you'll have to leave so I can lock up." You nod and walk out, leaving her to her work.

The remaining buildings are food storage and kitchen, guard quarters – woefully understaffed – and a better-quality set of rooms, probably for the clerical staff. All fairly well-maintained and -kept, at least from the unlocked areas you could enter. Crows drop onto your shoulders as the sky begins fading into twilight, looking at you questioningly. You could probably get one more round of exploration done before it gets too dark and most places close up – assuming that holds true here, anyway – but maybe you should just head back and get some rest instead ….


What do you do?

[ ] Continue exploring Belnago.

[ ] Head back to your room.
- [ ] Until tonight, then see if Bubbles is awake.

[ ] Other?

Head back to your room.
- Until tonight, then see if Bubbles is awake.


"Hmm ... let's head back for now," you say quietly, and Hatate nods. Your passenger-crow cocks its head at you, and you scratch its beak affectionately as you start walking to the exit. The guards nod respectfully, seemingly not noticing the crows, and you are the specific point of attention for several of the priestesses of Hardy that are waiting and watching from across the street. So, some to watch over the temple, some to watch for the result of the duel, and some to keep an eye on you and Hatate. Maybe you should play a game, you and Hatate splitting up and using the crows to keep track of each other while trying to give them the slip, and see how they react? Ah, not in these clothes, though ....

"What are you thinking about?" You glance at Hatate as you pick your way through the thinning crowds. There are a number of things on your mind right now - local politics, how most youkai would react to gods being local mind-readers like the satori, what would happen if Reimu met Hardy - but there's one thing in particular that you keep coming back to.

"Wondering if Remilia is going to bring the mansion through with anyone else who comes here, if this world ends up being where we choose to go," you say, and Hatate frowns. "On the one hand, Illyasviel's Berserker seems like he'd be an excellent fit with Emroy's crowd, but on the other ... Flandre." Her eyes widen at the realization, and you nod. Given how violently she reacts to insinuations that she might not be completely stable, her relationship with Emroy's temple would certainly be spectacular. And, of course, the perfect question: can she kill these gods? If she can ....

"They might not come through, though, right? I - I thought I heard them talking about moving somewhere else, a couple times." You nod again. Remilia isn't stupid, and she knows that the mansion's ability to open access to new worlds is going to exacerbate some of the tensions other youkai factions have - a lot of them already think she's too powerful, has too many concessions made to her, and even if the portals are limited in scope to what you've seen and experienced, that still gives her the potential for a massive boost in personal power. It's almost impossible for her to remain in Gensokyo for much longer, not unless she makes full use of other worlds and outright conquers Gensokyo, which you're pretty sure she doesn't actually want.

"... But that's all tangential to what we're supposed to be doing here." Your passenger-crow caws and hops over to Hatate, and both of them start preening her wings. You reach over and pat her head gently. "Relax, calm down. That's none of our business, and it won't affect us in any way." She takes a shuddering breath and some color returns to her cheeks. It's too bad what alcohol you've seen here isn't all that good; if you could get her good and drunk she might be able to relax a bit more easily. Sure, there's the stuff Remilia let you have, but it probably won't get her properly drunk the way real beer will. And you don't have that much of it, anyway.

The crows stop their pampering of your assistant by the time you return to the place you're staying at, although they do stay on Hatate instead of transferring one back to your shoulder. Not that you're jealous, and she can certainly use the comforting more than you need it .... One of the priestesses - yet another new face - curtsies in front of you, nearly tipping over in her haste. "Would you care for your meal in your room, or a table?" Hmm.

"Ah, our room for now. Some things we need to work on, and we might be going out later." The priestess curtsies again and scurries away, and you smile and shake your head at the image of a grown woman with as much authority as that one had scurrying. Humans are so interesting sometimes - but how would they act if they knew how strong you, or even Hatate, were when you were actually interested in being taken seriously? Once you get back to your room, Hatate plants herself on the bed facedown, and the crows clamber over her wings, preening them methodically. You take a seat at the table and set out your notebooks. Let's see, you have ... Italica, Rondel, Belnago, Hardy, Giselle, Emroy. Hopefully you'll get something useful on - Wareharun tonight. General notes on fitting in, little cultural things like courtesy and etiquette, walking style and speaking patterns, swearing and cursing ... not much on those, you haven't been here long enough to get anything really in-depth, but enough that people think 'that person's weird' and not 'obvious foreigner.'

You take another couple of the strange pear-like fruits as you stand up and stretch. Hardy's priesthood certainly don't skimp on hospitality - although given the gluttonous nature of the Apostle, perhaps they're simply used to it? You tap Hatate's head as the half-dozen crows waiting on the half-wall descend on the leavings of your meal. "Come, Hatate! The moon is bright, and we have a lake to visit!" She growls at you and turns her head so she can glare with one eye. The crows on her back laugh as you cross your arms. "Up, up! Incidents and Events wait for no reporter." She groans.

"Sure they do. How could I have gotten anything done if they didn't?" Despite her response, however, she pushes herself off the bed and carefully spreads her wings as the crows move to her shoulders. The two pied ones occupy your shoulders and croak at their fellows. Leaders, perhaps? The crows here are a bit different from any you've met before, but whether that's because the crows themselves are different, or because of the proximity to Hardy, you certainly can't tell. She grumbles quietly - the seasonings used here are a bit too different from what she's used to, and stronger than what you had in Italica - but silences herself once you actually enter the hallway. The priestesses bow as you pass, and you wave casually at the wolf-woman you spoke to when you left before.

"Yes, yes, friends, we're going to the lake," you tell the crows as they look around cautiously. The moon and stars are bright enough for you and Hatate, but there probably aren't enough torches and oil lamps lit even this early for them to be comfortable. "You'll be able to roost there if you like." The one on your right shoulder gives you an indignant look before turning back to its watch. Do they really think something is going to happen?

You reach the lake without incident, and the priest there waves familiarly. "Welcome again, friends! I forgot to mention it earlier, my name is Harp." You and Hatate bow.

"I'm Aya, this is Hatate. Does it look like Bubbles will wake up tonight?" Harp grins and waves toward the lake. Nothing happens for a moment - and then a huge fountain of water surges into the air. Hatate gasps, but your first reaction is to take out your camera and take a picture. It should be bright enough ... and then you stare at the surface of the lake and what must be Bubbles. He ... you frown and tilt your head, trying to figure out what the flowing shape is, and Harp chuckles.

"He'll come to the shore soon enough, don't worry." He twitches as a dart whistles toward you, and jerks his head toward the thing on the lake, then grabs you and Hatate and pulls you behind a tree. "Oh, come on, Bubbles, they're not doing anything!" He blushes embarrassedly as you look at Hatate leaning against him, and then you hop back to take a picture of them, and Hatate blushes furiously.

"Aya!" Another dart whisks by overhead, and your crows raise their wings threateningly as you face the thing on the lake. Harp hisses and tries to grab you, and Bubbles launches two more darts - not aimed at you, but at your passengers. You casually deflect the darts with surges of wind and glare at Bubbles. He stops approaching the shore, stops flowing, and you walk toward the shore. Hatate follows you, and you wait for the thing to come within speaking distance. You nod to yourself as it gets close enough for you to study: the strange 'shape' isn't an actual body, but a frequently-bubbling mass of leaves and mud flowing within a contained shell of water. Once it beaches itself, the shell pulls back, revealing a writhing mass of leathery tentacles. Some kind of sound erupts from within - a sort of bugling belch, and then the water flows up to form a blurry 'Greetings.'

"We greet you in turn, High Priest Bubbles. Although I do wish you would discontinue your attacks on the birds." Another trumpeting call sounds, and the word changes to a blunt refusal.

"Hmm ... Hatate, don't change any settings or anything, okay?" She blinks at you, and Harp cocks his head in confusion - he can't understand Japanese, after all. You finger your necklace. Remilia said it could be used to understand a specific language ... or anything a particular individual says. "Can you understand me?" A bored, monotone voice answers you.

"Of course I can understand you, why does everyone ask me that? Do I look stupid, or something? Is it my face? Am I crooked? Do I look like I'm upside down, and this is how people ask if I'm supposed to look like that?" The blurred words spell out 'Yes,' and Harp mumbles something, but you just smile and take out your notebook.

"Well, maybe if you stop hiding behind all the tentacles, I'll be able to see your face and tell you if it's crooked or looks like it's upside down." Nothing happens for a long moment, and you glance at Harp, but he just looks confused. The tentacles freeze for a moment, then explode into motion.

"OhmyIdidn'tknowyouactuallyunderstoodmehowcanyoudothatareyoufromhomehowismamadoingdoyouhaveanydalmabreadIamsohungrynothingheretastesgoodandIwannagoback!" Harp and Hatate both slam their hands over their ears and drop to their knees, and the crows squawk angrily, but you just blink at the sudden outpouring of words.

"Ah, a few things - I'm probably not from wherever your home is, could you slow down your speech a little, and why were you trying to kill the crows?" Bubbles is quiet for another few seconds, and his voice responds to you more calmly.

"Oh, I see. I'm sorry about that. It's just ... no one here has ever been able to actually understand my language except the gods, and whenever a more mortal race tries to touch my mind, they start screaming and flopping around and leaking. Ah, just a moment ...." The tentacles wriggle more calmly, and a ... skeletal structure that looks sort of like a massive centipede face emerges. Bonier protrusions emerge - the darts from earlier - as it looks down at you. You take a step back to take in the whole of it - Bubbles is positively enormous, rivaling the smaller dragon you saw earlier even without the tentacles - and a dart shoots out into a tree. "I can't stop them from growing, not entirely, and it's just so boring shooting into the ground all the time, and the mortals mind me shooting at birds less than they do me shooting at them. And if I get lucky, maybe one will hatch and I won't be so lonely! Also, it's more fun, because the little birds especially dodge better." You nod, and Harp stares at you dumbfounded as Hatate looks back and forth between him and you. You finish your sketch of the creature, then look at the lake and the groves of trees.


What do you do?

[ ] Ask Bubbles about his relationship with Wareharun.

[ ] Ask Bubbles about his personal life - what he does, what he is, etc.

[ ] Other?