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

It's a mystery! Sneak around and see if you can figure out the truth!


You have a mystery on your hands, and it's up to you to solve it! Probably, anyway; still, investigation is required! You lean back and stare toward the sinking sun, planning your moves. Unfortunately, you're probably going to have a hard time really sneaking into places, since they have such big doors and don't leave them open, so any time you go inside it'll be obvious. You blink and cock your head to the side; Hatate is pouting at you. "You're thinking about something," she says accusingly. You look back at the sunset, then nod.

"Mm. There's something weird about this place, and I was trying to figure out what to do about it." You smile and shake your head as Hatate looks around. "No, no, I mean the people, the atmosphere. I don't think there's anything wrong with the place itself." She settles down, relieved, then jerks around to look toward the village.

"Wait, if something's wrong with the people -" You pat her shoulder gently and sit her back down.

"Mario and the others will be fine, I'm sure. Nothing seems dangerous, at least not yet; just strange. It's just that the way they build around here, it's hard to listen in from outside, and almost impossible to sneak in." Hatate scowls at you.

"Why not just ask them what's going on? Why sneak, instead of just talking and listening and understanding? Aren't you a reporter?" You snort and poke her forehead.

"Hrmph! Sneaking is more fun! And it's getting dark, so even though we're strangers who pretty much just arrived, asking people why they're so weird isn't exactly normal behavior. What would I do if they say there's nothing odd about what they do? No, the proper method is to observe them while they aren't aware of my presence!" … Not that you won't do the proper investigating and talking if you can't find anything more discreetly, of course. "Anyway, do you want to stay here for a while, or do you want to see if we can find you a room at an inn?" She gives you a look.

"You're saying there's something weird about this place, and then suggest I go to sleep? Besides, even you can use someone watching your back, right?" A bit of a surprise, actually, but one you don't mind. You nod and hop to your feet, then offer Hatate a helping hand. It's good to see her with her confidence back, too. You walk quietly back to the town, carefully examining the potential hiding places and gently pulling the winds toward you. The large shed first, or the rest of the town? You test the latch as you pass the door, but it's securely locked. The windows have been boarded over from the inside, though, so whatever is in here is something they want kept private. Somewhere to come back to later, if the rest of the town doesn't give you anything to work with. If only this place weren't so large and open, though …. "You're right. Places with people living there shouldn't be this – empty. Do you really think we shouldn't tell the others?"

"For all we know, this could actually be normal," you whisper back. "We might just be finding it weird because it doesn't match our conceptions of what a town should be like -" You break off as a figure leaves the building with the spinning star in front. Geno. He looks around, then starts walking toward you – or the stairs leading up to the waterside, at least. He doesn't notice the two of you, pressed against the side of the building. "Hello," you say, and he spins toward you, wooden wrists folding down to reveal black barrels, then snapping back into place when he recognizes you.

"... Sorry," he says as you stare at him with an upraised eyebrow. "You feel it, don't you? There's something wrong here." You glance at Hatate, who shrugs, and turn back to the possessed doll.

"Do Toadstool and Mario agree? They are the ones familiar with this place, after all." He looks uncomfortable and shrugs.

"I didn't ask. I just said I was going to make sure you two know that's the inn, and the innkeeper said the rooms are free." You trade skeptical glances with Hatate again; an innkeeper at a resort town offering free rooms? Definitely suspicious.

"Did he seem normal, or did he sound like he was reading from a badly written script?" His face is remarkably animate for being made of wood, and possessed or otherwise magically enhanced, you wonder what Alice would think of it. Then again, she usually just goes for bomber dolls, instead of hidden-weapon dolls, so maybe she'd consider it something of a frivolity on most dolls. "So, we have a weird town, populated by odd villagers who don't seem to be able to act like normal people. We were going to sneak around a bit, try to figure things out; did you have a plan?" Geno nods.

"I was going to find the mayor and demand that he explain what is going on." The direct approach has its upsides, true, but it's not necessarily the best choice even in most cases. And in this one, where you don't know anything about the situation, it's probably not a particularly good one. Hatate shakes her head sadly.

"No, no, Geno, that's no good! What if it's someone strong, or someone with hostages? Aya's right, we have to investigate first, to discover as many surprises as we can before revealing what we know to whoever's in charge around here." Geno frowns thoughtfully as he considers Hatate's argument, then slowly nods in agreement.

"Yes, I think I see your point. And it could also be nothing at all, or at least nothing we need to be worried about. But if it isn't … I will return to the others and stand guard. If you find anything we need to know, please tell us before doing anything." You nod and he swiftly turns around and returns to the inn. You turn to Hatate. Time to investigate.




Initially, you find nothing. Rather, nothing changes. As time passes and night falls completely, however, none of the shops close down, and while you can't hear anything through the thick doors and glass panes, you can see through the windows, and the shopkeepers stay right where they are behind their counters. None of them close their shops, or even so much as sit on a chair instead of standing perfectly still behind their counters, as if a customer could come in at any time. Much like a perfect resort, really, where the staff exist purely to serve the needs of the customers, and aren't really people themselves. Did someone somehow manage to use a Star Piece to make a wish like that? Is it even something that's possible?

Then you move past the shops to the small cluster of homes. None of the doors are locked, but only one has lights on, and after a brief discussion, you and Hatate check two of the unlit homes. Like the rest of the village, things are perfectly orderly; the only difference is that no one is there. Tables are set, but no food is made or in the process of being made. One cupboard holds a small photo album – pictures from a wedding and a growing family, and you frown suspiciously. Admittedly, you might not have seen all the shopkeepers and vendors, but none of the ones you have seen look like these two Toads … and in fact resemble each other to a quite similar degree, even for Toads. And you hadn't really noticed it before, because their tones were so oddly similar, but the 'shopkeeper' and 'customer' you talked to sounded almost identical, too.

It really is starting to remind you of the times when youkai tried setting up 'villages,' either in order to understand humans better or simply to set a trap for them. They were always very good at getting the basic similarities right, but it never felt like a real village with real people in it. This village is the same way; it has the right outward appearance, but scratching the surface pops the illusion.

The one house that has lights on also has an occupant, one who is also quite distinct from the other 'Toads' in the village. He even moves around, pacing by a table, apparently talking to himself. But the door is still thick and closed, the windows unbroken … but as Hatate points out, there is a chimney, and chimneys usually mean fireplaces. It might be a bit tricky doing it without getting his attention, but ….

"It's Mario, he'll get it for us, just have to wait. Don't want to rust, can't fight him. What's taking them so long? What are they doing in that inn? Hurry up, hurry up! Can't go see them, have to keep up appearances." You share a glance with Hatate; something is definitely up, you just don't know what. And what do you do about it?


What do you do?

[ ] Keep listening.

[ ] Report back to Geno and the others.

[ ] Enter the house and talk to the fake Toad.

[ ] Other?

Keep listening.


You settle down to wait, and the Toad continues muttering for several minutes, apparently arguing with himself about the merits of going to see Mario right now compared to waiting for him. At no point does the fact that it's night and Mario is probably asleep come up; instead, the debate is primarily over the cost of failure and advantage of sending Mario early. Hatate frowns, puzzled by the fake Toad's behavior.

"... So I will tell him … hm. Well, he's a hero, right? Won't he just do it because I ask him to? Maybe he won't need anything else. Hm, I'll just tell him … for my superiors? No, no, then he might ask questions. No, I'll just tell him … it's for … a certain purpose. Yes, that should do nicely! Obviously, if I were allowed to tell him, I would, but since I didn't then I can't! And since I'm obviously the Elder of this town, why, it can't be for any nefarious purpose. Hmhm!" You shake your head; surely Mario wouldn't fall for that! Hopefully Mario wouldn't fall for that. "Of course, it is a Star Piece, very valuable. He might want payment! But, well … that's what the insurance and the Blade are for. Why, yes, it's so perfect!" You shake your head again; he sounds like someone entirely too caught up in how clever they're being that they can't recognize how stupid they are. Maybe you should go in there and get him to talk?

Hatate pokes your shoulder and gestures back down toward the village. A Toad is struggling along the path, almost like he's having a fit of some kind. His feet seem badly coordinated with each other, and it really seems like he'd have an easier time of it if he slowed down. The fake Elder continues chuckling to himself at his cleverness until the new Toad pushes open the door. "We can't … find them …." Hatate shivers at the Toad's clunky voice.

"What?! You can't find Mario? Everyone was told to keep a close watch on them! How could you lose him?" You wonder how close a watch they're keeping; if you went into the inn, would you find the innkeeper watching him sleep? Probably not. Most fairies aren't that literal, after all … and have too short an attention span, besides.

"No … the others. With wings." Your eyes narrow. Why would they be looking for you?

"Oh, them." The fake Elder sounds relieved – and, to your annoyance, dismissive. "We don't really need to worry about them, I think. They have wings, so they obviously can't swim, so the Star Piece is safe from them. And the shed is locked tight, so they can't get in there, either! Hmhm! … Still, I don't like leaving things unaccounted for. When you find them, bring them here. I want to figure out how much of a problem they'll be. If nothing else, we can lock them in the shed with the others." You choke back a chuckle. Whoever this guy is, he has no idea what he's dealing with, and is already making plans for containing you? Either there's some kind of really weird magic holding that shed closed, or he's severely underestimating you!

"Aya?" You glance back at Hatate's whisper. "Just checked my notes. He said something about a 'Blade' earlier, right? That's what the Axem Rangers called their ship." You stare at her for a moment, then your eyes narrow in thought as you look down at the roof. It's possible there's a coincidence going on, but it's more likely that this fake Elder is working for or with Smithy. And if he and the other fake Toads were merely weapons masquerading as Toads, it would explain their peculiarities quite well. On the other hand, you might have a hard time convincing Mario about this – all you really have is a possibly coincidental term being used, and all the fake Elder has to do is claim he never said anything like that to deflect your accusation. And Mario and Toadstool should be suspicious of you after that, since there's no way you would have been able to hear him unless you're doing exactly what you're doing.

On the other hand, you could simply break into the shed and see what's in there. If there's incriminating evidence in there, that should bolster any claims you make against the impostors. Or … you could not do anything, or just walk in and talk to him. You aren't here to save the world, after all ….


What do you do?

[ ] Break into the shed and try to find evidence of any wrongdoing.

[ ] The mystery is sort of solved; just sit back and see how things play out.

[ ] Go into the house and talk to the fake Elder.

[ ] Other?

Break into the shed and try to find evidence of any wrongdoing.


Well, you're probably not going to get anything else out of this guy unless you talk to him directly – but the mystery isn't solved yet. You're not supposed to talk to the villain until you've discovered everything except the 'Why?' Well, you already know that, probably, but the point is that you haven't extensively cataloged the things he's done wrong, and that means …. "Right, let's go see that shed of his," you whisper to Hatate. She frowns, then nods quickly, and the two of you rise silently into the air. There's only one building in the town that really qualifies as a shed, and it was certainly locked the last time you passed it by.

"You're not just going to break the door down, are you?" You shrug at Hatate as she waits on the shed's roof, keeping a lookout while you study the door. The lock seems simple enough, and you don't feel any magic … but your experience in lock-picking is basically nothing. Locks in tengu society are, at best, a bad idea – if you're actively hiding something it must be gossip-worthy, of course – and when dealing with humans it's a lot easier to get a magician to charm the lock open than it is to dirty your hands with physically handling a lock. No, you've just read a lot about it, so even if some people, even humans, can unlock a simple door lock with a few hair clips or something silly like that, you don't have remotely enough experience to try. Instead, you circle the building, looking for any other easy openings, but it's either the door or the small, boarded-from-the-inside windows, so you wind up back in front of the doors again and sigh. At least this door opens in … although it would certainly be a lot easier if there were two doors. You set your things down near the shed and set your shoulder against the door, just to the inside of the knob and lock. You take two steps back – then slam into the door, shoulder first. Hatate hisses in sympathy as you step back, rubbing your shoulder. "Aya?" You wave off her question and study the door. No visible damage around the lock, so the wood must be sturdier than you thought. Fine.

You step back and draw the wind around you. You probably can physically break the door down, but it might raise some questions you don't want to answer, and if there happens to be something valuable in here then bashing through the door might damage it. Especially if they're standing in the way. The wind curls at your command, a tiny, tightly-swirling spiral, and you creep the tiny tornado forward until it reaches the door – and yanks the knob right out of the wood, shattering the locking mechanism inside. You pull the tornado back and disperse the wind, letting the lock fall to the ground, then step forward push the door open. "Oh, dearie me, have you come to rescue us?" You freeze and stare to your left. Yep, that's a mole. And there are quite a few Toads in the shed, too.

"Ah … actually, I just came here to investigate. The, ah, fake Elder, I guess, said there was something important here. You're all the people who live here, right?" The Toads are all asleep, leaning against walls or boxes, and the mole takes a few cautious steps forward to peer around outside. She gasps and jumps back when Hatate drops next to you.

"Oh, dea-! You frightened me. Well, everyone else will be glad for the fresh air, I suppose … will we be able to get back to our lives right away?" Hatate gives you a look.

"Well, Mario is in the inn right now, so he ought to be able to do something," come to think of it, he did want to be informed before you did anything. Whoops. "Hatate, go make sure they're up and know about this." She nods and darts toward the inn. The mole gasps again.

"My, but she's fast. Must be the wings, huh?" You smile.

"Come on, let's get everyone awake. It shouldn't take more than a couple minutes for everyone to get here, but everything'll go more smoothly if everyone's awake first." The mole nods in agreement and joins you in waking the slumbering Toads. You shouldn't even need to interview anyone! Mario and the others will be curious about what happened, so the townspeople will tell them, and you can just record their statements.

"Well, well, well." The Toad you just finished waking up opens her eyes wide and squeaks before hiding behind the mole. Not a good idea, since she decides to back up quickly, and she trips over the Toad. "I see we should have kept a closer eye on you. You're causing quite a lot of trouble, you know, breaking into people's property like this." You sigh and turn around, and there indeed is the fake Elder, along with four of the other fake Toads. You're too good at this to glance at the inn, but Hatate should have woken everyone up by now. And it's not like she could have anticipated this guy being able to perform Villainous Movement so proficiently! "But at least you haven't managed to actually get anyone out of there. I guess I'll just have to lock it back up, with you inside as well." He manages an okay-looking villainous smirk before his supporters … writhe, then flow into him. Hmm. First they had a Sentai Team, now someone's combining – or does this count as a transformation sequence? Bah. As long as he doesn't grow to a hundred meters, though, you should be fine. Indeed, the final form of the fake Elder is a lanky thing not quite three meters tall, with a spear in its right hand and some kind of windmill growing out of its right shoulder. The spear lowers and the ruffian aims toward you.


What do you do?

[ ] Try to talk to the living weapon and get it to stop its attack. Bring up the Axem Rangers and Exor.

[ ] Try to fight defensively and draw out the fight until Mario and the others can get here and deal with it.

[ ] Other?