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

Accept the frog's offer.
- Ask the frog questions in the morning.
- - How his information network works? It looks like most of his people can't exactly move around on land.
- - What does he know about magic?


You wait for a moment, in case Toadstool wants to say something, but she simply turns her head slightly to look at you hopefully. Bowing, you say, "It would be a great help. Travel at night can be so confusing when you aren't used to it." The frog nods as Toadstool faces him again, maybe smiling behind his great white beard.

"Of course, of course – tadpoles, have you made the arrangements yet?" You hide a smile as his underlings hesitate; you understand that tone. You're not sure if the frog is a 'bad boss' or just clever, but that's the voice that says 'if they aren't good enough, I will be displeased.' After a few seconds, one of the tadpoles swims back to the point closest to land.

"Your Highness, if you'll please come this way?" Toadstool bows to the frog.

"Thank you, Frogfucius. Have a pleasant night." She withdraws gracefully, and you and Hatate both bow politely before turning to follow her back across the bridge of tadpoles. Toadstool looks around for her bag, and Hatate holds it out for her. "Thank you, Hatate." She turns back to follow the tadpole along the water's edge, and you roll your eyes at your companion's cheerful grin as you both follow her. The tadpole chatters away as you follow it, talking about Mario's recent adventures with someone named Mallow – bringing back a wonderful treat for the frog, defeating some kind of great beast, riding a barrel down the waterfall, and even drove Bowser away from a place called Rose Way. Toadstool oohs and ahs appropriately at her hero's adventures, and the tadpoles form another bridge to what is clearly a house built on the water.

"We don't usually have visitors, except Toadosfsky, but we keep this for when we do. Don't worry, it's perfectly safe, and if you need anything, there'll be a tadpole waiting by the door." Toadstool almost misses a step.

"What, all night?" The tadpole following along nods.

"Yep! It's alright, no one will be on duty for more than an hour, and a lot of us sleep at odd hours, anyway." Toadstool looks like she wants to say something about that, then shakes her head and smiles at the tadpoles.

"I see. I don't expect that I will be wanting anything before breakfast, but thank you." The tadpoles look at you and Hatate expectantly, but you just wave demurely … and Hatate rubs her hands together, looking altogether too gleeful before you clear your throat noisily and give her an absolutely cheerful smile. Her wings droop sorrowfully, and you pat her shoulder before turning to the tadpoles.

"Have a pleasant night. Hatate, don't stay up late." Hatate meeps hopefully at you, and you wave Toadstool ahead of you; as the two of you walk into the house, you hear a gleeful squeal, and you pity the poor tadpole on first watch, just a little. The princess looks back.

"Er, is everything alright?" You nod absently.

"She just finds them cute, for some reason." The princess takes the best room, of course, and retires immediately. You wander through the house before selecting a large room that's open to the morning sun. You quietly move a mattress and bedding in, then sit down to write down your impressions so far of Tadpole Pond, then double-check them for any implications that you didn't intend for there to be. It's not frogs in general that are doing it, you think; Suwako is more tolerable than the other goddess, although that's not really the same thing. It's probably just your reaction to the frog's attitude and persona as a 'wise old one.' You get enough of that back in Gensokyo, you'd rather not put up with it here. Proto-articles written – there's no immediate rush, so you can make sure to take the time to clean them up later – you flop onto your bed and listen to Hatate question the tadpole at the door. At least she's not just gushing about their appearance, and she takes your warning to heart. She is a good subordinate, after all ….


You rise with the sun and just sit on your mattress for a few minutes, enjoying watching the sun creep into view. Only then do you stretch and beckon the wind to bring you the news. Someone is trying to work on music, it seems, with the help of some tadpoles. Some tadpoles are gossiping about you and Hatate, wondering if you're from a 'Monstro Town' and betting on how long it takes you to catch up to Mario. Ah, and the frog is awake, too, complaining about being old and worrying about Mallow and making sure the tadpoles and other frogs in the area have put together a proper meal for his guests. Your opinion of him rises a few notches, and after listening to inconsequential minutia for a few more minutes, you change and silently float downstairs. Neither of your companions are awake yet.

"Oh, good morning, Miss! Breakfast should be ready soon." You smile warmly at the tadpole.

"Actually, I was wondering if I could talk to Frogfucius for a little, ask him a couple questions. Do you know when he'll be awake?" The tadpole stares at you, apparently taken aback by your request, but then looks around.

"He should be awake already, actually, but – oh, wait just a second!" He darts away, intercepting another tadpole, and relays your request before swimming back to you. "If he can see you, we'll find out in a few minutes." You nod and take a deep breath; it certainly smells like a lowland pond, nothing like the pond on the mountain, or the lake on top, or even the Misty Lake. Of course, that just plain makes sense …. You glance down at the tadpole, but he wiggles sideways, showing that he doesn't want to ask the questions that are running through his brain. A few minutes later, as he said, another tadpole zips through the water to the step. Your guard sighs and burbles in the water.

"Hi-hi-hi! You wanted to talk to Grandpa, right-right?" You glue the smile on your face and nod, but before you can say anything the tadpole swims in a circle. "Do you need a bridge? Everyone says you flew yesterday, and you've got wings, but you're so big, so I don't know if that's true, but I can get a bridge for you if you want, or if you need it, so let me know if you do, okay-okay? Hm? Hm-hm?" You shake your head, but before you can say anything the tadpole figure-eights in the water. "Okay-okay! This way, come-come-come!" Then she dashes away, skipping over the surface and making arcing loops to see if she needs to slow down. She almost seems surprised that you manage to keep up, though, and picks up speed, accelerating even more as you keep up easily, until she rams headfirst into the frog's lily-pad island and skitters along the top, drawing stares not only from her fellow tadpoles, but also from the cloud-dwellers and the frog himself. She squeaks apologies, wriggles upright, and squirms back into the water and zooms away. You wait for the frog to recover his composure and face you before landing.

"Good morning," he says, still affecting the wise old man tone, and you nod politely, fingers itching to take your pen and notebook from your pouch. "Come, sit at my table." You follow and gracefully fold to a sitting position that puts it at a useful height without being uncomfortable for you. If the frog is surprised, however, he conceals it well. "Did you wish for advice?" You smile and shake your head.

"Thank you for the offer, but my questions were rather more practical in nature. The first – well, I am a reporter, someone who writes newspapers to distribute news to people who can't learn about things any other way. If it's not prying too much, would you mind telling me a bit about your information network?" The frog seems to smile behind his beard and spreads his arms as wide as he can.

"Why, the waterways of the world congregate here. From the Mushroom Kingdom to Bean Valley, rivers, streams, and everything in between flows down to Tadpole Pond. Anything that happens on land, the water hears about it, brings it here, and we learn about it." You nod, but keep a frown on your face regardless.

"That makes sense – but how does it make it to the water in the first place? Not everything happens near water, and, your pardon, your people don't seem the most comfortable away from water." That's definitely a grin, and he chuckles.

"Well, we frogs and tadpoles aren't the only ones who hear things, true. But some of those people talk, and some of those people talk near the water. And, of course, we don't hear absolutely everything – but the important events? We know about those." You nod, wondering how many of the people who talk near water do so deliberately and how many are just accidental informants – but you're hardly so ill-mannered as to ask. "If I may pose a question of my own? Your companion, Hatate. Is it true that the device she possesses is a camera? It seemed far too small a device to be one." You smile wryly and nod.

"It is, and I can't tell you how it was made. Another group of people where we live made it for her – a water-dwelling group, as a matter of fact. She's bragged before about how it's waterproof." He nods, and you take out your own camera. "This one is mine, and I could tell you how it's made -" He waves you off.

"That is quite alright; cameras like that are uncommon, but not unknown. Hers, however – so small, there's nowhere to store the film, and …." He remembers himself and clears his throat before he rambles on. You give him a moment, then move on to your next question.

"How much do you know about magic?" He frowns, and you shake your head. "I mean, is there anywhere that studies it, or utilizes it extensively? How common is it here?" He frowns, eyes opening for the first time, and strokes his beard contemplatively. Have you perhaps made a mistake, asking about it?

"Magic itself is … somewhat common. Many creatures are able to create unique effects: summoning fire or lightning, making it rain, blasts of energy. Those are normally inherent abilities, or the result of an item of some kind – usually one of the many special flowers that are common on the island. The only group that actually studies magic, that I know of, is the Koopa Troop." You frown; everything seems to be nudging you in that direction, but if what the frog said earlier, you won't even be able to track Bowser down easily, since he's been driven from his castle. How irritating.

"Are you a user of magic?" You blink, focus on the frog, and shake your head, smiling.

"I'm not, no. The magicians of my people said I wasn't any good. I guess my home is a lot like yours – lots of people have special abilities of some kind, but there aren't a lot of people who actually study magic." He nods, then looks to one side.

"Ah, your breakfast is ready; you should go back and eat. You'll need the energy to catch up to Mario." You smile and rise as gracefully as you knelt down.

"And I should make sure Hatate is awake, or she'll complain about missing seeing your grandkids." Something like a laugh escapes his throat, and you walk back to the edge of the lily-pad island and hop off, flying back to the stilt-house in time to keep Hatate from getting in the way of the two young frogs setting up breakfast. Toadstool seems to think it's endearing, at least – but then, she doesn't have to live with Hatate for much longer.


What do you do?

[ ] Go to Rose Town.

[ ] Go to Moleville.

[ ] Other?

Go to Rose Town.


"So, are we going to Rose Town next?" You glance at Hatate as she dives back into the mushroom soup, then look at Toadstool.

"Frogfucius did say that Mario had arrived there," you say, and the princess nods quietly, sipping at her drink as she thinks. After a moment, she nods firmly.

"Yes, Rose Town seems to be the next logical stop." You smile and nod; even if Mario isn't there, he shouldn't be too far ahead of you, and if you did go toward whichever town is next on the path, you would have to wait with Toadstool until Mario came along. Toadstool finishes her drink and stands up. "Do you mind if we leave immediately?" You nod.

"I don't have any problems. Hatate?" Your companion shakes her head as she scoops out the last bit of soup, licking her spoon. You shake your head, and Toadstool chuckles as she withdraws.

"Hey, Aya? Um, can – would it be alright if I carried the princess today?" You freeze in mid-stretch and look at Hatate, and she squirms uncomfortably. "I mean, it's just that today is probably the last day we'll be with her, and, and I – I mean, I've never carried a princess, but you probably have before, and even if you haven't then you just did, and, well, I'm, I …." Her eyes meet yours and she stops moving, then slumps forward, looking downcast. You shrug.

"Sure." Hatate stays slumped over for another few seconds, then her head jerks up and she smiles at you before diving forward, hug-tackling you to the ground.

"Ohh, thank-you-thank-you-thank-you!" She squeezes you tightly for a moment, then stops and pulls her face far enough back from yours to look at you, and you fight down the amused smile that wants to spread across your face as she slowly blushes. Hesitantly, she unlocks her hands from around your back and sits back, face reddening all the while, and when she's back to a sitting position, you snatch your camera from your pouch and snap a picture. Only then, when she's blinking away the flash, do you let yourself smile and chuckle. Hatate's cheeks puff out like a gorging chipmunk's, and you sit up and pat her head before heading upstairs to get the bags.

Hatate recovers while you're up there, though, and while Toadstool is surprised to see that Hatate will be carrying her and not you, she accepts it gracefully and doesn't even look at you for confirmation. Hatate looks immensely pleased to have the 'more important' job; you're a bit relieved to not have an intelligent young lady able to pester you when you don't have a good way to shut her up. Toadstool says goodbye to the tadpoles and the frog, promising to visit again and to let Mallow know that everyone is waiting to hear more about his journey. And then you leave, a bit later than the princess had wanted, but still rather early in the morning, and you turn your eyes to the ground. You don't have Momiji's sight, but you're hardly flying so high that you can't make out most of the things below you. Living plants and creatures that resemble Booster's Snifits, only wearing red, seem to be the most common creatures below you, with the occasional giant spider setting up a web or going hunting. Not much that makes for a good picture, though.

As you suspected, Toadstool talks quietly with Hatate, and Hatate bubbles right back. She doesn't reveal anything she shouldn't, though, and you're pretty sure that Toadstool can't piece together anything particularly useful from the answers she does get. And then the forests thin and make way for rolling fields, and the small town ahead is dotted with pink and red rosebushes. More interestingly, there seems to be some kind of festival – the inhabitants seem to all be outside in one of the fields, and the wind brings you exclamations of joy at being outside. A period of bad weather, perhaps? Or – the frog did say that some of Smithy's minions had been seen there, so perhaps they had been locked up and are celebrating their freedom? You descend and land on the path a short distance from the sign proclaiming the village's name, and Hatate sets Toadstool down next to you. Even without calling the wind to you, the sounds of celebration can be heard easily. A small pack of children, chasing each other incomprehensibly, spill out from behind a house as the three of you walk into the town, but it's not until they almost run over Toadstool that they realize that someone else is around. When they do stop and look at their visitors, however, they're awestruck for a moment before giving a very good impression of Hatate. Some of them peel off and rush back to the larger gathering, but the rest swarm around the princess and start trying to drag her along with them, chattering inanely.

"W-Wait, a moment, please! Did you say Mario is here?" Half of the runts shake their heads at Toadstool's question, and the other half nod as you stand back as unobtrusively as you can and take a few candid photos.

"Mario went into the Forest!"
"Gaz got to play 'Rescue the Princess' with Mario!"
"Thanks to Mario, we can go outside again!"

"W-Wait, is Mario here, or -?!" You shake your head as the brats' chattering overwhelms the princess and they succeed in dragging her toward the celebrations, at least until a couple adults come racing along and break up the kidnapping.

"Your Highness! Oh, such a wonderful day! Not only are we free from those terrifying arrows, but to have you visit? We – we'll have to make a brand new memorial day for this!" The somewhat elderly-looking Toad babbles like an alderman for a good thirty seconds before a nice young woman whacks him over the head.

"You're as bad as the gardener when you get going! Go on, get back there and tell everyone that the kids were just being excitable, like always!" With the adults and children alike shooed away, she turns back to the three of you and smiles before curtsying politely. "Good morning, Your Highness. Please, come this way; the inn is pretty deserted right now, so it's a good place to catch your breath and get situated." You gently nudge Toadstool to follow her, and after everyone is inside the young woman starts making tea after gesturing for you to take your seats in the cozy main room. Barely a minute passes before she comes back from the kitchen, smiling warmly. "My Gaz gives me headaches, sometimes, with his imagination going all over the place, so I usually have some ready. Now, how can I help you?" You take a cup gratefully; it's not terribly good, but it seems to calm down Toadstool a bit.

"... Do you know if Mario is here?" The princess's shoulders slump as the innkeeper sighs.

"He left yesterday, as a matter of fact. Came back from the Forest with a strange man dressed up like one of Gaz's toys and left not long after. Very nice man, he even played with Gaz when he first arrived." You look at Hatate and shrug, and she shrugs back. If you're that close to Mario, you could probably catch up to him before he reaches whatever his next destination is – or you could stay here and get some more information about things. Toadstool probably just wants to – yep, those are very determined eyes she's giving you. It's not enough to actually make you go, of course, but it'll be difficult to get her to agree to stay for too long ….


What do you do?

[ ] Leave right away and catch up with Mario.

[ ] Get Toadstool to listen to Gaz's story, then go after Mario.

[ ] Try to get Toadstool to see the celebration.

[ ] Other?


Note: Just as a head's up, I'm not entirely sure when I'll be able to update on Friday. I might be able to get it done on time, it might not be until late.