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Coin flip: heads!
[X] Find Larva at the hideout for an explanation.
Larva should have the best idea of what the effects of the cookie are. If the problem persists or Larva doesn't know what to do, we can always look for Eirin a doctor then.
I like this story a lot, so I hope it will continue!
[X] Find Larva at the hideout for an explanation.
-[X] Try to be reasonable and calm. She did warn you, after all, so it's probably not a mean prank.
First CYOA I'm participating in here, I've just commented on a few other threads.
This CYOA in particular looks very fun!
Then again, Fairies are always fun.
[X] Find Larva at the hideout for an explanation.
Oh no. Aunn is one of those overachiever types. You force yourself to break away from her sincere puppy-dog eyes. That mention of an armory is also powerfully tempting, but no, a more pressing matter needs to be figured out first. Right now, your priority must be your missing powers. Besides, the sheriff’s office should still be there when you're finished. It’s yours now, after all.
“Sorry Aunn, I want to go with you, I really do, but I’ve really gotta find a pal of mine first.”
“Really? Can’t you find a better time to play around?” she questions, sounding disappointed.
“No! That’s not it! She’s actually the one who made that cookie, which messed up my abilities and my wings. I need her to fix what happened!” you explain.
“In that case, I guess it’s all right. If I found my horn missing, I- well, I wouldn’t even know where to start.” She thoughtfully rubs the gray cone atop her head, producing a stony scratching. Then she puts both hands on her hips. “But you better stay focused! Remember what the Mayor said, you’re the sheriff now. That means you’re a public servant with obligations! Duty!”
“Yeah, yeah. The sooner I get my power back, the sooner I can stop the bad guys in their tracks.” you declare.
“It’s more than just that. The mayor is making the whole town know about your appointment, so what if someone actually stops by to see you?” Aunn says.
“Like tonight? Are things really that urgent?”
Aunn hesitates before answering, “Honestly, I think so. There’s been a few issues this past week and I already know of a few names that might visit when the news breaks.”
“Err… that is a problem, you’re right.” You make a hasty promise, “In that case, how about I come back before sunset?”
Aunn accepts it. As you jog off, you start to realize that perhaps a job isn’t all that it’s cracked up to be, with this “duty” concept to contend with. You start to have a flicker of understanding for those sour-faced humans lined up outside their shops and factories, wind or rain at the crack of dawn. Then, a few steps later, you also remember that you’re supposed to be the boss figure in this arrangement. You’ll have to work on that–it’s a big reason you took this job–but the thought restores to you a small amount of cheer.
###
The sun’s perceptibly lower and your feet are tired from a healthy amount of backtracking on the trails earlier, but at least you’ve reached the cliffside, the final obstacle to the secret fairy hideout. Thankfully, you were still able to boost yourself, just weaker, making the climb a merely fingernail bending and leg dangling struggle, rather than laying in a pile of your own broken bones impossible. At the top, you slap the clingy orange dirt off your clothes before using the inside edge of a sleeve to delicately polish off your badge. Presentable, you immediately head beneath the shaded trees.
Sheltering within, a couple of fairies you don’t recognize are napping peacefully, wings stirring gently in the light breeze. But someone you do know is awake, sitting in a puddle of light and leaning against a tree, busy scratching a stick of charcoal in a scrappy notebook. It’s Lily White, probably working on more verses praising her favorite season.
“If you’re looking for Eternity, she’ll be in the garden,” she helpfully directs you. She settles back down to her writing, but then has a double take, eyes wide. “Hey… what happened to your wings?”
Stomping past some more trees, you catch flashes of cheery yellow between the patches of foliage, the speckled flaps catching the light falling in the clearing. At the middle of the garden plot, Larva is kneeling, her hands in the dark soil, but quite aware, turning around the instant you pass into the clearing. She lowers a bulbous yam into her basket and then stands up .
“You’re finally back! I thought things were taking a while so I was going to check in on you on my next trip to town.” She looks away, awkwardly pretending to not notice your obvious lack of wings. “So… how’d everything go?”
“It was fine, until the end. But to beat that dumb test, I had to eat the cookie you gave me.” You wave your arms, swiping out a snow-angel in the air. “And now I don’t have my powers! I don’t even have my wings anymore! I can’t even walk around without feeling front-heavy.”
“That’s odd. How can your body feel different if your wings weren’t attached in the first place?” She does a loop around you, looking thoughtful.
“Huh? I dunno, that’s just how it is. Just tell me why the heck they’re gone in the first place!” you demand, turning to keep up.
“Well, those must be part of the side effects. I did warn you, but don’t worry, they should be temporary!“ She reaches over with both arms and presses downward on your shoulders, steadying a bobbing on your toes that you hadn’t noticed.
“How long is ‘temporary’?”
“Let’s give it, say… three days?” she semi-confidently proposes. “Yes, that sounds about right. Three days should be plenty of time for it to wear off. ”
“Three days!? But that’s like forever!” you protest, kicking at a twig on the ground.
“Well… ‘good things come to those who wait,’ right?”
“You promise?”
“Sure! I’ve never seen it last longer than that before! And if it does… we’ll just figure it out, but it shouldn’t!”
“Fine,” you grumble. No more confidence can be gotten from Larva, at least for this topic. But three days should be alright, you guess. You both walk over to the shade and sit on the ground, savoring the first rest since leaving town. Stretching your legs and leaning backward, relief flows through your limbs as you reminisce about the incredible power you had possessed just earlier this morning. “Awww… The cookie effect felt so awesome at first… I didn’t know a fairy could affect another fairy’s power directly. How’d you even make something like that?”
“Sure! It’s just a little bit to explain.” Larva stands back up, back straight and raises a finger in a classic lecturing pose: “Okay, see…”
“Uh huh. Yup.” You nod along.
“...normally we fairies are tied to a specific element or ‘part’ in nature, right? But some of these elements are closely related to one or more of the four seasons, like butterflies in summer.” Larva points to herself and then at you. “Or ice in winter. We’re much stronger in the right season, and weaker out of season, but there’s a lot of power between the seasons too. When seasons transition a lot of things can happen, like caterpillars growing up into butterflies as spring ends and summer starts. When winter comes, even huge lakes and mighty rivers will freeze. So basically that cookie I made can trigger the changing between the seasons within us and let us use that energy while it lasts.”
“Gee, you sure know a lot about this. You could’ve said something beforehand!” you grumble. “But why did the cookie run out so fast? Like, in the test I felt like I could freeze anything and everything! I mean, I even froze a fire! But that was only for a few minutes, and now I can’t even make a snowflake for three days straight.”
“The power between the seasons is naturally temporary. But, as for why it was so short for you, my guess is that warm seasons are stronger than cold seasons around here. Our winters are pretty weak and sometimes there’s not even snow.” Larva sheepishly says.
“So it’s this damn weather again!” It’s oppressed you since arrival, and is apparently ruining your power boosts now. You mull it over in silence. Larva’s explanations do make sense and on top of them, maybe you just used a little too much power for too long in that stressful moment and caused your ability muscle to take a strain. It’d be a lot like the exhaustion you once felt after an aborted attempt to freeze the Lake on a summer day.
It’s funny, worrying about the topic of health and spirit had previously seemed to be a uniquely human obsession. Larva’s knowledge and your current affliction seem to be making the topic much more relevant.
“Hey now, look on the bright side, the cookie did help you complete the test. And it looks like you got a nice badge out of it!” Larva bends forward to poke at the gleaming star on your chest.
“Woah! Don’t just smudge it!” You squirm away from the offending hand.
“Whoops, sorry!” Larva unapologetically says, pulling back. “But you’ve got to share, what else happened after the test?”
After vigorously cleaning off the dirt-lined fingerprints and delicately re-aligning the now unblemished six pointed star, you show off your badge to Larva with pride.
“Oh yeah! So after I beat the test, the mayor officially made me sheriff! She gave me this badge too. I guess she’s pretty cool after all.”
“Ehh… Did the mayor say anything to you?” She coughs into her fist. “She didn’t ask any weird favors of you, did she?”
“Nah, she just told me I got the job, that I’ve got to help people out, and gave me some laws or something to read.” You try to recall further. “I guess she did say she might give me some tasks to do… but, it sounds normal to me. She did hire me after all.”
“Hmmm… that’s true.” Larva puts on a look of resolution. “I know, that you know, that I don’t trust her, but that’s between me and her, not you. I won’t bug you about the mayor anymore, I promise. Just be careful and don’t get into anything shady, okay? Mayor or not.”
“Don’t worry, no one’s getting one over me.” You reassure her, “And it’s not like Aunn would ever let me get away with doing anything weird.”
“...Aunn?”
“Right, you wouldn't know. There’s a lot more…”
You do most of the talking now, excitedly telling her of the rest of the developments so far. How you have your own office, a jail to put bad people in, and the armory with your own weapons. And of course, you tell her about your very own deputy, Aunn, who will basically work for you.
By now, Larva had shed her earlier reluctance, and is as invigorated as yourself. “That’s incredible! We should celebrate! We’ll have a party after dinner.”
“A party! Didn’t we have one yesterday?”
“Then we’ll just have to have two parties in a row!” Larva says, eyes sparkling.
“Now you’re talking!” As you leave the garden, you remember that Aunn is still expecting you. Lifting your arm up, you fit your full hand between the sun and the nearest rocky outcrop. It takes a few adjustments, but the result is satisfactory. You have a few hours more, definitely.
“Cirno, is something wrong?” Larva looks back with concern.
“Nope! Just making sure that I’m not going to be late,” you reply, “I have to go back to town for sheriff business with Aunn.”
“If you’re the sheriff now, then of course you must be busy… if it’s a bad time, we can celebrate later.”
“What are you saying? I’ve got plenty of time!” You’re the sheriff anyways, so it’s time to enjoy the fruits of your labor. “Also! I’ve got to make sure everyone knows I’m sheriff so they can come to me if they have any problems! I’ll probably head out after that.”
Your new friends live in the town too, technically, but you know the mayor would overlook the fairies so you’d say this counts as putting in work. Plus, how can you not be confident now that your ice abilities will be returning in a few days?
Larva is taken aback, but recovers and grins. “Okey-dokey, Miss Sheriff! Then we better invite as many people as we can!”
###
A clack rings out into the clearing, followed by the sound of a light object hitting the ground. The quivering of over a dozen pairs of wings makes the space vibrate like a busy beehive.
“Great shot!”
“And that’s checkmate! Yippee!” The victor raises her arms up, drinking in the scattered giggles, cheers, and clapping. Despite a valiant effort by her opponent, an orange-haired lichen fairy, Helia the sunflower fairy triumphs with a single green disc still standing on the board.
“Nooooo… so close!”
“What a narrow match, back and forth until the end!”
“I wanna play next!”
You munch on some grapes, watching the players set up for another round. More active spectators flutter about, handing over pieces recovered off the ground.
After you, Larva, and the others had gathered and finished eating, someone brought forth the greatest game you’ve ever played. Spilling forth from a wrinkled leather case, a cascade of green and red chips bounced on the tree stump table’s surface, most bouncing off into the undergrowth. Initially mistaking them for a candy of some sort, you had leaped into the scramble to help recover the precious discs. With moderate disappointment soon replaced with curiosity, you watched as all the painted wooden discs were returned to the middle and assembled in a criss-cross pattern on a scratched board of alternating brown and white squares. Now understanding everything was for a game, one everyone else was eagerly circling in to join, you simply had to watch at least one round. It’d be smart to know how to play now so you could be prepared in the future.
The rules were actually pretty simple. After a quick bout of frog-slug-snake to determine who goes first, the players would alternately flick one disc of their color at their opponent’s discs. Any pieces knocked off the board entirely, or more often the table, were out of play, regardless of color and turn. Whoever had the last pieces on the board at the end of this process of attrition would be the winner and would receive glory, adoration, and the privilege to play as green for their next game. This was important because the green set of discs had an extra piece compared to red, and this advantage was considered to be by far the most precious reward. Great heartbreak was felt whenever a winning streak was ended by bad luck or overconfidence.
After remaining with the audience for a few rounds, one of the winners invited you–having made a few snarky comments at her shooting earlier in the match–as her opponent. You had a good sense of what was going on and why constrain yourself to watching the game when a practice round could be had right now? So you took your seat at red’s position expecting nothing and winning thoroughly. And if you’re already sitting down, playing, why not keep going? You emerged victorious four whole times before a series of unfortunate miscalculations forced you back to spectating.
Each player seemed to have their own way of playing. Helia’s signature technique was using her sunflower’s stem to shoot the discs with both accuracy and power. Lily could break clusters of discs in a way to shake up the whole board with mostly advantageous results. Larva would leave a thin layer of shimmery powder on the board ahead of her pieces to affect their trajectories, allowing her shots to curve and dance. Trying too hard to do something unique with your own style may have contributed to your eventual defeat.
The sun had dropped significantly further in the sky by this point, but it should be fine, you think, there’s enough time for a quick break before you head back to town. The effects of waking up at sunrise and all of today’s action are finally catching up to you.
The game is underway again, but you stay where you are, sitting against a tree with a folded sack as padding. Since leaving the mayor’s place, you can feel the heat, but it doesn’t bother you in the same way yesterday, possibly the one advantageous side-effect from losing your ice ability.
Your grand announcement went over quite well, you think. Earlier, when everyone had first gathered, but before eating, you broke the news to cheer and praise:
“Great work, Cirno!”
“Giant leap for all fairykind!”
“The next step now is to run for president!”
“I really like your badge!”
For the first time in a long time, you felt unstoppable. If only there was some way of sharing the good news with Dai and to be able to hear her reaction! You really do miss Dai and the others.
You had also offered as the sheriff to help out with any big problems someone might have. But really, what kind of problems would the fairies of Sage Springs even encounter? The nature of the desert moves at a slower pace, but is vibrant in its own right. Also a lot healthier than your own home, you grudgingly admit.
Happy voices and the clatter of wooden pieces drift over a cool breeze. The shade speckled with the orange light of the afternoon makes everything look so soft. Falling asleep right about now would be the easiest–
“Hey! Hey!” A new arrival cries out. Her voice, after a drowsy moment, you connect to Aka’s and indeed, the pink-ish fairy and her blue friend, Ao, have arrived. “Oh great, everyone’s already here! Cut playing around, we’ve got a big problem!”
The stressed pitches of her voice batter through your sleepiness. You manage to wobble over, linking up with the rest of the curious group now surrounding the arrivals. These two were some of the more glaring absences that Larva mentioned earlier, now that you think of it. It wasn’t for fun: you observe a big bruise on Aka’s forehead and a light burn on her arms.
“Are you guys okay?” Larva asks.
“No! There’s been an invasion! Our favorite cave is being ransacked!” Aka says. “And worse, the person doing it made Ao cry.”
“I’m fine now.” Ao says, her voice soft. Her face is dry, but her eyes and cheeks are red. “But our rock collection isn’t! It’s all stored inside that cave, but when we were coming back from one of the mines, we found a stranger inside going through our stuff.”
“I told you two so! That old pit of yours was far too close to the mines. It’s dangerous there.” Someone from the crowd voices their own opinion.
“Sienna, you duck every time the train whistles so I’d take that tengu news-lady’s safety advice over yours,” Aka snaps back.
“R-rude! That’s really rude!” Sienna backs away in offense, a hand over her heart.
This brief exchange of hostilities is enough to start a fire in the crowd. Formerly joyous voices descend into bickering uproar. In this sudden free-for-all shouting match, people take the opportunity to settle week-old grudges, or to start new ones. A few escalate the noise in futile attempts to restore order, and some just want to be loud.
“Okay, what I said was kinda mean! I’m sorry!”
“What do you meeean, ‘kinda mean’!?”
“Please! Everyone, let’s calm down!” Larva shouts, struggling to be heard. She moves to seize the high ground, dodges a couple of stray limbs, and hops onto the table, stepping around the abandoned game pieces.
You’ve got to take part in this cacophony too. “Yeah, what the heck is this fuss about… we were just enjoying some nice peace and quiet!” you yell. You’ve missed these kinds of moments too.
Eventually, the calm-downers overpower the rest and everyone quiets down. All eyes are back on Aka, who takes over on the table and quickly launches into an explanation before the still-bubbling crowd can explode again.
“So, yeah, some stranger took over our cave and was stealing our best rocks. When we tried to stop her, she beat us both in a second. She’s hella strong!”
“Uhh, if she’s like a youkai... you can’t ask us to go get crushed on your behalf.” Puff says, nervously bouncing a tumbleweed between her hands.
“No, she’s a freaky fairy of some type. She’s dressed like a juggler or something. If we all work together, I think we can take her!” Aka reassures her.
“She has a scary torch too.” Ao adds in. “Purple flames and all.”
“But isn’t this your guys’ cave?” another voice asks.
“She told us to scram and never come back, so it’s for sure a territory grab! And when she’s done eating our rocks or whatever she wants, no one else’s place is safe! Look, what if she discovers and tries to take over our garden?!”
Heads nod slowly with this new, grave understanding.
“Aka and Ao, did you know Cirno’s the town sheriff now!” someone finally volunteers.”She’ll help you!”
“Huh? Really!” Aka turns to directly address you. “Oh wait, that’s what you and Larva were doing this morning! We’d really appreciate your help against this, this lunatic. She’s a thief and a bully, a super criminal!”
You would gladly lend your aid, no prompting necessary, except… that stupid promise you had made to Aunn about returning to town has come back to bite. Night is falling soon, and there’s no telling how long this new crisis might take to resolve.
Larva senses your hesitation, and she whispers to you, “Cirno, you said that you had to go back into town before sunset. If you need to go, go! We’ll be fine, honestly.”
“What about this cave invader business?” you mutter back.
“It’s probably just a misunderstanding.” Larva shrugs. “It won’t be the first time I’ve had to sort something like this out. But the sheriff has to put the town’s wellbeing first, don’t they?”
As you decide, under Aka’s urging, the group shuffles into a mob ‘formation’, and there begins a murmuring side debate about what weapons to bring. Some fairies peel off, picking up branches or stones, but others are ultimately uninterested, hanging around gossiping or making ready to leave the clearing. Long shadows and longer faces make the scene much more dramatic than it has to be. In the darkening sky, a lone wispy cloud passing overhead is tinged with bleeding red.
[ ] “Sorry everyone, I do need to go back. I’ll come back as soon as I can.”
[ ] “The town’s wellbeing is right here!”
[ ] “Lead the way, Aka!”
[ ] “Follow me, everyone!”
[X] “Lead the way, Aka!”
Elaborate political science dynamics are now at play
[X] “Sorry everyone, I do need to go back. I’ll come back as soon as I can.”
It's a difficult decision, but I think keeping our promise to Aunn is the most important thing to do, especially since Larva understands Cirno's position, and Clownpiece probably won't do them any serious harm, but the townsfolk don't know us well yet and it wouldn't be good if Cirno gave them a bad first impression as the sheriff.
[X] “Sorry everyone, I do need to go back. I’ll come back as soon as I can.”
I messed up the formatting for the votes.
They should look like this:
[ ] “Sorry everyone, I do need to go back. I’ll come back as soon as I can.”
[ ] “The town’s wellbeing is right here!”
----[ ] “Lead the way, Aka!”
----[ ] “Follow me, everyone!”
>>69716's vote works out as the 2nd option with the 1st suboption
[X] “Sorry everyone, I do need to go back. I’ll come back as soon as I can.”
I always enjoy reading the updates for this story.
Promises, promises, promises. Can the strongest keep them all?
[X] “Sorry everyone, I do need to go back. I’ll come back as soon as I can.”
Got to make a good impression on the civvies.
Might as well go and get a gun later for cases like this, when our ice powers are weaker than usual.
[x] “Sorry everyone, I do need to go back. I’ll come back as soon as I can.”
Got to keep the sheriff position in good standing, especially to the animals.
Love the fairy games by the way. It some cozy writing.
[X] “Sorry everyone, I do need to go back. I’ll come back as soon as I can.”
What a stinking decision to have been forced into. By yourself, nonetheless. Too late to realize that, if you had left earlier as you should have, you could’ve escaped this dilemma entirely.
The deciding factor was a fear that had wormed into your mind: What if the mayor heard about you slacking and you lost the job? You’ve heard all sorts of ugly fates awaiting those who drew the bosses’ wrath: “axed”, “canned”, and the worst, “fired”. You have no interest in being hacked into pieces, turned into food, or melted in a kiln. It couldn’t kill you, obviously, but would be exceptionally traumatizing.
“Don’t worry, they'll understand, I’ll make sure of it. But we’re going to have to work on your sense of time.”
“I… I guess so.” Maybe you really should pick up a watch somewhere. “Thanks, Larva.”
Larva nods at you once before she joins the group. A few glance at you curiously, but their attention is now fully consumed by the mysterious invader. Fantastic speculation and ghostly stories abound. Though Aka’s injuries looked pretty serious, you trust Larva’s word that it’ll work out fine, especially if their opponent is another fairy. You figure if you’re the strongest and Larva is just a little weaker than you, then the group should have little trouble if it comes to real blows.
Feeling a little better, you run out of the woods ahead of the others, carefully slide-hopping down the cliffside, and then re-tracing the trail back into town. Cloaked in blue shadows, the empty trail gives you ample time by yourself. You come to the resolution to be more careful in the future about what you promise. Promises apparently suck when people actually hold you to them.
###
Luckily, despite forgetting to get directions, the sheriff’s office was easy to find, nestled right on main street and a block away from the town hall. Unlike the abandoned buildings around it, the deck is clean, the windows mostly intact. Two identical statues of a polished greenish stone, carved to look like funny lion-like creatures, flank the steps before the office’s front deck. Finally, it helps that Deputy Aunn herself stands outside on a stool, precariously reaching upward with a match to light one of the cast iron lanterns hooked under the facade’s eaves.
She manages to get the oil to catch and begins to lower herself down when you reach the steps, panting.
“Oh, Miss Cirno! I–Whoop!” She almost topples over, but her arms grab onto the head of the nearest statue. “Whew, I saved myself there.”
“Aunn, I’m back! As I promised, before sunset!” As you finish speaking, the last sliver of sun dips behind black sides of the mountains, leaving behind a splash of red and purple in the sky. The very brightest stars have already come out to dance, twinkling down from their celestial ball.
“Well, I can see that! But it’s good you came, there were a bunch of people earlier and they had a lot to say. I’ve taken it all down, but a bigger problem is that one of them stayed behind. She’s the persistent type and she really wants to meet you.” Aunn frowns as she pushes aside the heavy door. It creaks on its hinges. “And she says she has an important message to give directly to you.”
The room is slightly smaller than it seemed from the outside. It’s all oranges and browns, cut with blacks from the shadows. Opposite the front door is a sturdy brick wall, containing an even more solid-looking door with crooked signboard, the word “JAIL” engraved on it. That must be where the rest of the building’s footprint is hiding.
To your right, a staircase ascends to a shadowy upper floor. The rest of the space is well furnished. A metal stove huddles in one corner, nurturing a weak flame nibbling away at the charcoal within. The uneven lighting flickers over a couple desks, some cabinets, and a bunch of waiting chairs. A swaying pendulum clock adorns the side of the staircase while numerous old papers plaster the other walls, crumbly yellow husks that have long lost their identities to time.
In a chair in front of the bigger desk–what must be your desk–is a woman sitting with one leg crossed over the other, thoughtfully reading from a well-annotated notepad. She wears a pressed white shirt and a black skirt, tapping the long tooth of her red shoe in sync with a pencil in her hand. But at the sound of your approach, she immediately perks up. Her voice is precise, ringing with a bell-like quality.
“Welcome back, Miss Deputy. It looks like you’ve finally brought me the star of the show.”
“I told you she’d be in later,” Aunn grumbles.
She rests the pencil on her curled lips, dark crimson eyes boring into the badge on your chest, then moving to match your own curious stare. There’s a discomforting sensation, something between being a small creature circled by a bird-of-prey and a freshly minted coin under the greedy eyes of a raven.
To get away from those overly fascinated eyes, you shift your vision over to her hat. A red hexagonal hat with fluffy pom-poms hanging off it sits atop a cap of neat jet-black hair. You’ve seen the shoes and hat around town before, but can’t make out any sense of them. The hat offers no protection from the sun and the shoes would just make you topple or snap your ankles. Perhaps it’s some fashion fad?
“I‘m Cirno,” you remember to introduce yourself. “I’m the sheriff and I heard you wanted to meet me?”
You fumble with your hands. Humans do handshakes with each other, don’t they? And fairies when they play being businessmen. But what about youkai, who you’d bet the half-melted candy stick still in your pocket that this woman is?
Moving faster than you can catch, she stands up to answer that question, covering your hand firmly within hers. Tilting your head back to look up at her eager face makes you realize what the stilted shoes are good for. She gives your arm a mighty but controlled shake, giving you the feeling she could've flung you straight through the ceiling and the floor above if she so desired. When she finally lets go, you take an unconscious step back.
“It’s an absolute pleasure to meet you, Cirno! My name is Aya Shameimaru, but just ‘Aya’ is fine. Your deputy never provided your description, so I’m honestly surprised. You look a little young...”
“I-I’m a fairy! You’re the one who’s young to me!”
“Hoh! In that case, even I, one of the tengu, must accept my juniority, haha!” Her laugh is sharp. “Yes, you’re hiding your wings, but I can see now you aren’t some ordinary human girl.” She lowers her voice, eyes curious. “Still, sheriff? That’s a rather serious role for a fairy to play as, isn’t it?”
How annoying! Is being sheriff not enough for people to start taking you seriously? And this is one of the famed tengu youkai, in the flesh? You hope they’re not all so weird.
“Miss Cirno’s here now, so just give us the message from your boss.” Aunn demands before you can fire something back. You can fully understand Aunn’s irritation at this person, especially if Aunn had to keep her company before your arrival.
“Two obligations have brought me here tonight. One for duty and one for truth,” Aya announces, holding both her hands up. “As the fine deputy wishes, I can start with business. But please, both of you, take a seat. A cool and pleasant evening like this is perfect for friends to begin a long discussion into the night.”
“Uh, we’re friends now?”
Aya just laughs again. She stoops over to retrieve something from one of the satchels by her chair.
You take your place at your desk, plopping onto the threadbare cushions of a chair that might’ve been fancy at some moment in the last century. It’s too big; your legs dangle off the edge and putting your elbows on the padded rests only makes your arms more tired. You’re just barely able to see over the desk and its lone occupant, a tea set on a tray.
Aunn pulls up a chair on the other side of the desk, facing Aya, who had retaken her seat and now holds a slip of paper between two outstretched fingers.
“Here is the message addressed to you from my chief, Lady Iizunamaru, and our company, the ‘Great Mountain Mining Company’. First, we have a short letter, a memo really. If you would like me to read it…”
“No, gimme the letter. I’ll read it myself!” You yank it from her hand. Unfolding the page, you squint at a wall of elaborately dense cursive. It takes a significant muster of your mental resources to parse the loopy lines, but after a minute or so, you start to read it out:
To the Sheriff of Sage Springs,
We of the Great Mountain Mining Company (hereafter referred to as the “Company”) offer our sincere congratulations on your new appointment. We hope you will enjoy a long and fulfilling career.
As a leading stakeholder in the Sage Springs territory, we express our desire for cooperation in the betterment and safekeeping of the town and her people. It is to this harmonious goal that we warmly communicate to you a few reminders of note:
We wish to remind you that all Company mines, workshops and offices are on private land and are not legally within town jurisdiction. You may be relieved to know that you need not trouble yourself over law enforcement on Company property.
Rest assured that a detachment of our most elite White Wolves will hold a vigilant watch around the clock to keep our personnel and property safe.
If you desire access to company facilities for whatever purpose, you must ask for permission ahead of time. We will give your request the utmost consideration it deserves.
Our most capable Shameimaru shall humbly serve as your primary liaison with the Company. She will accept any requests or questions you may have and will be more than happy to advise you on the interests of the Company.
If emergencies arise, particularly any dangers to the Company, you are encouraged to find Sergeant Inubashiri through any of the White Wolves.
We appreciate your understanding and hope this friendly reminder will help us avoid future misunderstandings.
To a prosperous and mutually beneficial relationship,
Chief Iizunamaru, Great Tengu
PS: The Great Mountain Mining Company also provides financial services! Our most popular offerings include bank accounts, money orders, and loans! Also available are exciting investment opportunities, hassle-free and with generous returns! If you are interested, please ask Miss Tenkyuu at the company store for more details!
<a drawn symbol of a rainbow> <a drawn symbol of a smiling face>
Some of the longer words are a little long, the tengu chief’s name almost massacres you at the end, and there’s a trip up at the end when the handwriting inexplicably changes. Aya claps for you. “You really are no ordinary fairy!”
“So this means…” you start to mentally unwind the knot of words in your head. There’s so much fluff, but cut through it and focus on the important parts…
“I can have my own bank account!?” Banks were some of the most forbidden places for fairies, belonging to the same weight class as government buildings, hospitals, and candy stores. You get a little giddy when you remember that you’ll have money to put in it, too! But wait, did the mayor ever tell you how much you make?
Aunn had taken the letter from you and read through it quietly. She says flatly, “This is a warning, isn’t it.”
“Oh yeah, that too!” you say, indignant. “Sounds a lot like you’re cutting into my authority!”
“Oh dear, oh dear…” Aya looks hurt. “Whatever gave you such negative impressions? The letter is only a formality. But we really do share the same goal for the town to prosper and its citizens to lead full and healthy lives, just with different means. It’d be much better for us to work together, or at least not step on each others’ toes.”
Aunn speaks warily. “More than two-thirds of the people in the town are miners and each one works for you. You run the town’s sole remaining bank and newspaper, all protected by your own soldiers. That’s a lot of toes.”
Aya waves Aunn down. “You say it like that and it all sounds so sinister All I can say is this: we merely offer the services, other people accept them. But that leads me to our second point: if you’re so concerned with the health of the town, and we know you’re not the only one, why hasn’t anyone done anything about the mayor?”
“What are you getting at?” Aunn asks, uncertain.
“A good mayor provides leadership and should use their power wisely and for the good of the people. Yet, as families flee and the town falls to ruins, what is the mayor’s response?”
“Miss Matara has had to deal with those Beast Gangs and she can’t just put gold back into the mines.”
“True, there’s some things one can’t control. But what about the things one can?” Aya turns her head slightly, thoughtful. “When our Company first began operations in Sage Springs, we had to buy land and construct our initial facilities. Ordinarily, these things require some simple paperwork in any locality, but here and only here, getting approval was like flying into a headwind, or perhaps a window pane. And then we started hearing about the others who had tried before us… Prospectors for silver, copper, and lead. Some archeologists planning to try a dig. Even a scheme to tap into the underground springs as irrigation for crops. All denied. It’s as if after the gold had run out, the mayor just gave up… or is hiding something. We can only guess, she’s not particularly communicative these days.”
“The mayor clearly didn’t block your company.”
“Well, we are persistent and are good at advertising ourselves. And we have other ways to overcome these kinds of obstacles. Lady Iizunamaru may be my boss, but she has a boss too. And even mayors have to answer to someone else. There’s always a higher peck, after all.”
“Very kind of you to let us know all this.” Aunn says dryly.
“Keeping people well informed is my specialty!” Aya beams. “So, if you’ve followed along, we have some cause to distrust the intentions of the mayor. Among the fellow townsfolk I’ve spoken to, that feeling is widespread. Surely you’ve both felt this.”
You nod. Aunn does the same after some hesitation.
She lightly shakes her head. “Look, we admit that so far, there is no evidence, only conjecture. Yet this specter of doubt choking the town can only be a bad thing, especially at a time when we must all close ranks against bandits and evil-doers.” Aya leans forward. “As the sheriff, you have a unique privilege to work with and observe the mayor directly. Why not do a little investigating for us? Discreetly, of course. If the mayor is innocent, the town can heal. And if the mayor isn’t, truth and justice can prevail!”
Aunn looked shocked. “You’re asking us to spy on the Mayor!”
“We already know how you stand, komainu. The person being asked is Cirno, specifically,” Aya replies. “You’ve been pretty quiet so far. Any thoughts?”
“Uh… it’s my first day,” you manage, mind swirling. “I’m definitely listening though!”
”That’s fine.” Aya says, scribbling in her notepad. “We can make it worth your while. We understand that you and your deputy have been working diligently to investigate recent events, but we have a much bigger network. The wind has ears, they say. We have vast material resources, as well. All things that could help you in this case, and in future cases.”
Now you feel like you’ve missed something, but her intent is unmistakable. “What happens if we don’t want to help you?” you ask.
“It would be disappointing, but nothing much really.” Aya shrugs. “But consider, if the mayor’s reputation sinks further and with you and Aunn so close to the mayor, naturally there might be… repercussions, misunderstandings. Public opinion can be fickle and cruel and that would be a shame, wouldn’t it?”
“Huh?”
“And we’ve invested so much into this town… if it comes down to it, replacing a couple public officials is comparatively cheap.”
“Wait, what? You mean us? You can’t just do that!” you cry out.
“We can’t?” Aya’s eyes narrow and smile stiffens. “If you insist on a demonstration.”
Faster than flipping a page, Aya is towering over you both, and a sudden buffeting gust causes you to cringe. The desk is enveloped by shadows, as if two broad wings had extended from the tengu’s back to cover you both, yet there’s no physical wings, nothing at all should be blocking the light. The flames in the stove flicker wildly, silhouetting Aya’s angular frame and reflecting in her red eyes.
Also, you’re in the air, dazed, the tengu’s strong fingers around your throat. “We can always see if the next sheriff will be more cooperative.” Aya whispers. She gives your neck a brief un-assuring squeeze.
“Let me go!” You pound her arm to no effect. Fortunately, you can breathe fine. Her hand braces your head in a way that doesn’t hurt, physically at least.
“Hey–” Aunn goes for her gun, but her hand only smacks against empty leather.
“Tsk tsk. In the world of gun duels, speed determines the winner.” Aunn’s pistol is being twirled around a finger on Aya’s other hand. Aunn recoils in surprise.
Except the vampire’s maid, you’ve never seen anyone move that fast before. You could still try to reach Dai’s bomb in your pocket, but even if Aya doesn’t notice and close her hand like a vice, the distances are just too close. If only you could freeze her arm off and free yourself! You can only glare as hard as you can.
“This isn’t even loaded.” Aya raises an eyebrow as she turns Aunn’s gun over in an inspection. She notices the handle, scratched and dented from its recent service as a club, and shakes her head. “Please treat your guns well. Life can be hard enough without immature firearm tsukumogami running about.”
An awkward silence reigns. Looking between the two of you, Aya sighs. “Since you both look like you’ve understood the demonstration, I’m going to put you back down now, okay?”
You both slowly nod. It’s a little difficult without full neck motion. Aya gently places you back on your chair, then hands Aunn the gun back, handle first, which she gingerly takes.
“What was that about!?” You blink away a few tears.
Suddenly, Aya bows. Idly, you wonder what keeps her hat from slipping off her head. “Forgive me if I appeared too harsh. I personally am a big believer in the pen over the sword, but sometimes you’re not given a choice in these things.” She rights herself and returns to her chair. “Think about the proposal some more. And look at this how I see it, the mayor, for reasons unknown to anyone else, has entrusted the safety of an entire town to a week-old komainu and an outsider fairy, backed by nothing but a half-baked truce between the gangs. It’s all a delightful scoop of course, but not exactly an enviable position to be in. You need friends, not enemies.”
You mull over her words. In your leap to the top, you had forgotten to consider that this town is swarming with powerful youkai. Aya may not have intended to actually hurt anyone and you still aren’t at full strength, but it worries you how easily that could’ve gone super badly.
“Friends sure do like giving each other good frights.” Aunn mutters.
Aya brushes off her shirt and crosses her legs, perfectly at ease. After sipping from her cup of tea, she starts speaking again. “Okay, okay, that’s all for the official boring stuff. Let’s move on! In case you're not already aware, I write and edit the Bunbunmaru Newspaper, a weekly paper headquartered right here in Sage Springs. It’s the premier publication on the eastern frontier, the shining beacon of truth in our chaotic age! And to quash a misconception, Miss Deputy, my Bunbunmaru is not affiliated or entangled with any other organizations in the town or elsewhere. I would never allow the spirit of independent journalism to be tainted in such a base way.”
“Uh–huh. But didn’t you just deliver a message for the Great Mount–”
“I’ll have you know I take the separation between my two jobs very seriously!” Goodness, Aya has two jobs! She continues, “Moving on! Right now, a series of recent events have prompted me to prepare an extra edition for tomorrow. Struggling shops hit by a plague of burglary! Readers demand answers! But with new challenges comes a new sheriff!” She pauses to catch her breath, acting even livelier than before. “Cirno, would you mind answering a few questions?”
So many interviews. But at least this time it’s from a newspaper! “Sure! Are my words really going to be printed for everyone else to read!?”
“Yes! That’s how the newspaper works,” Aya says. “Let’s begin with just yourself…”
The questions start pretty normal, Aya scritching away with her pencil. She touches only briefly on personal topics, and a bit more your new status as sheriff. “Easterners care more about what you can do, not where you’re from or who you once were. Remember, you got appointed sheriff by the mayor, but it’s the people who’ll keep you there,” Aya explains. “Alright. Let’s get to the main course. What are you going to do about the Great Burglary Incident?”
You stare at her blankly, “The what?”
Aya furiously jots something down rapidly and opens her mouth, but Aunn quickly cuts in. “Cirno, the cases of theft are what I meant to tell you about earlier. I’ll show you my notes when a certain disturbance is gone, but the short version is this…”
Theft. A lot of theft. In fact, almost every shopkeeper in the town had had something stolen from them, some of them reporting multiple incidents. Aunn had been keeping track of it over the past week since becoming deputy, but it had started as mostly small items, originally chalked up to the recent influx of strangers. But in the past few days, incidents had shot up dramatically and had even started seriously affecting some businesses. Your appointment had brought out the rest of the complaints in one big rush earlier this afternoon.
The mystery perpetrator, the Ghost Thief, most called it, haunted around only at night, could avoid any number of posted guards, and reach through locked containers like they weren’t even there. All that was known was that they were good. No one had managed to catch a glimpse of the Ghost or even heard them in the act, even when stealing impossibly heavy objects.
There was no pattern to what exactly had been stolen. Aya had looked curious at the mention of the town jeweler, who reported the loss of only a few spare jewelry boxes, but no actual jewelry. Slightly more severe was a disaster at the town’s biggest general store, Mountwoods Trading Company. Entire batches of goods had been vanishing nightly at a growing rate, adding up to total losses in the thousands of dollars. Nitori, the kappa inventor, had paused tearing her hair at some missing prototypes to joke that at that rate the entire company, warehouses and all, would be gone in another week and a half.
Businesses of all shapes and sizes had reported anything between those three marks. A saloon, the Sand Whale, was reporting catastrophic hits to their alcohol stockpiles. The Komakusa Hall of Fortune, a fun-sounding place known as a ‘gaming hall’, said some of their dice and other game pieces had been spirited away. A blacksmith was put out of commission when their last hammer finally joined the missing others, taken from under her pillow. The town doctor had thankfully only lost some cosmetic medicines he had in reserve. The town peddler, a calico cat, claimed crippling losses: two boxes of fancy cigars and a basket of cotton socks. And so on. And apparently Mystia had visited, complaining about her missing notebook, convinced it was stolen and that it was destructive to her own saloon.
Nothing was known about the Great Mountain Mining Company. Aya claimed to know nothing about the operations or store divisions of the company.
“Oh! So that's what happened to Mystia! That’s awful.” you remark at the end of the exposition.
“Now that you’re up to speed, is there anything you’d like to say?” Aya asks.
[ ] Explain that you will be gathering more information yourself and that the perpetrators will be caught.
[ ] Politely ask for the thieves to return the stolen items and to stop.
[ ] Issue an open challenge!
[ ] No comment.
[X] Issue an open challenge!
The numbers don't lie, and they spell disaster for you!
[x] Politely ask for the thieves to return the stolen items and to stop.
If you do crime, you'll go to hell after you die... Please.
>“This isn’t even loaded.”
Did they give her a gun without bullets?
>Friends sure do like giving each other good frights
Real bonding, maybe even throat grabbing quality.
[X] Issue an open challenge!
Full of bluster and bravado.
Considering who the Ghost Thief is stealing from, I'm surprised that a trap hasn't been set up yet. The true question is where all the stolen stuff is being taken to?
[X] Issue an open challenge!
Seeing as how we're the strongest sheriff this town has ever seen, there's no way we're losing to a ghostly thief, thieving ghost, or any other ghost-thief combination.
But since we're such a nice sheriff, we'll even give them three days to turn themselves in first. Totally just so they have time to read our challenge in the newspaper, gather up the stolen items to be returned and all that, and definitely not for anything else that might take up to three days to happen.
[X] Issue an open challenge!
>alcohol stockpiles
>dice and other game pieces
>hammer
>fancy cigars and a basket of cotton socks
That suggestion someone made earlier about the Fairies of Light being responsible for the theft of Mystia's notebook is starting to sound more plausible. We already know Clownpiece is around and making a mess, and while I'm not sure if she would be capable of pulling off all these burglaries unseen, she is friends with the FoL in canon, so she could be working with them.
The only thing that does not really fit with the fairies is the "stealing impossibly heavy objects", because that does not really match their powers, and would suggest a more powerful culprit like e.g. Seiga (or Marisa, if she wasn't already a bounty hunter in this continuity), but the stolen items seem too random and silly for someone like her (particularly since the actually valuable jewellery was not stolen).
Thus, the culprit is most likely some combination of the FoL and Clownpiece, who Cirno definitely can take on a fight – as long as her powers return in time, that is. But even before then, she has Aunn with her, so I also think confronting the thieves head-on is the best option.
Also, I liked how Aya's role was portrayed; the haughtiness and hierarchism of tengu matches well with the corruption of Gilded Age monopolists. Poor Cirno, though – it seems a fairy's fate is to always be used as a pawn by more powerful youkai, isn't it? Maybe a revolution will be needed to change that...
[X] Explain that you will be gathering more information yourself and that the perpetrators will be caught.
I wonder if some of these incidents are actually unrelated, but if it's just one, I'd guess tanuki, sudden tsukumogami transformations, or oni.
[X] Issue an open challenge!
You’re feeling pumped up again. As the strongest of the Misty Lake, fairies had often gone to you to help with their issues. Now it’s starting to dawn that a much bigger circle is depending on you.
Plus, while you can’t say stealing isn’t a funny prank, what kind of boring person does nothing but steal? Someone afraid to fight openly, that’s who. You’ll have no problem keeping your promise. You need the strongest language humans use.
“Whoever this thief is needs to be stopped, so I’m gonna do it,” you announce. “I declare WAR on the Ghost Thief!”
“A very forward response. Short and direct.” Aya’s pencil spins tornadoes on her page. “Is it fine if I quote you on that?”
“Sure!”
“Great, I would like to ask for more detail… but it might not be necessary. Perhaps I’ll save it for next week’s regular. Yes, that’ll be better.” Aya says to herself, before putting her notes and pencil away. “Okay! All I need now is to take a photograph!”
“A photo-what?”
“A photograph. It’s a way of creating a perfect image without needing to draw or use magic!”
“Uh, okay.” You’re still a little confused, but she seems quite eager to get started.
“Right. Give me five minutes to set this up.” Aya fetches her bags, but also reaches for a couple of contraptions leaned against a cabinet. “Good thing I already planned how this’ll look.”
You had noticed the contraptions before, but their tall, spindly shapes made no sense at first. Somehow, these must be the ‘photograph’ makers. The bigger object has most of its length made up by a frame of three crutches, atop of which perches an accordion-like box, a capped tube jutting out from one flat end and a dark woolen blanket dangling off the other. The thinner one is a simpler mixed form, a polished scoop head on a wrought iron pole supported by its own lamp base.
“See, this is my camera.” She pats the side of the boxy head with obvious affection. “It’s what I use to produce the photographs.”
Aya nimbly lifts the ‘camera’ with one hand and carefully uses the other to open the three-legged frame like the petals of a flower. She plants it on the ground at a predetermined spot and, once satisfied with its stability, sets up the lamp stand a few paces away.
From her bag, Aya draws out a pack of mysterious bottles and some tools. Using the smaller desk as a workspace, she uses a mortar and pestle to diligently mix various colored powders and grains poured from the bottles. For a few minutes, the only sounds that can be heard are the grinding and scratching of her spontaneous alchemy.
“Flash, check. Without this, there wouldn’t be enough illumination for a good picture.” She pours the mix into the scoop of the lamp. The wait allows the day’s exhaustions to surface with a yawn, but Aya seems to briefly stiffen up. She sighs as she wipes down her temporary station. “It’s a tiresome process, but it’s worth it, I promise you! You just can’t rush these things. There’s another crow, a hatchling really, who has this cheat talent called psychic photography. It allows her to basically make photographs with her mind from a distance. But because it’s so easy, she lives a slothful existence indoors and never talks to people or does anything else!” Aya drops the bottles back in her bags with a thunk. “And they still gave her her own paper! Meanwhile, the rest of us have to actually work for the good things in life.”
Aya returns to the camera and faces the front of it directly at you. A paper tag with a red leaf symbol dangles from a string tied around the protruding cylinder. “Alright! Cirno, you should have your hat on for this, it’ll make you look taller. Here’s how you two should pose…”
With the help of Aya’s directions and some prodding, you and Aunn arrange yourself until she nods to herself and vanishes under the blanket. Her hands occasionally reemerge to twist several knobs and levers, adjusting the angles between the camera and its supporting frame.
“We’re all set!” She says, muffled from behind the cloth. She pops back out. “Hold that pose! Ignore the light and keep your eyes fixed to the leaf! Just don’t move! Don’t move at all! Pretend you’re a statue, or a kitten is sleeping on your head!”
Aunn twitches a few times, but settles down and remains perfectly still. Your eyes fixate on the tag as you breathe shallowly, waiting for what’ll come next.
There’s a delay, sounds of tinkering from under the cover. Then Aya’s arm emerges from the cover, strikes a match, and drops it in the pile of dust. The mixture crackles before igniting in a bright, bright white flash.
It’s hard to see anything past the sparkling glare, so you hold your head towards where you’re pretty sure the leaf had been. An acrid bitter smoke clogs your nose and you contain the urge to sneeze.
5… 10… 15… seconds pass painfully slowly. You’re starting to wonder if the light had already stopped and you were just permanently blind now.
But in a few more seconds, the light thankfully wears off, dulling down and then sputtering out entirely, leaving behind a chalky smoldering pile. The tube at the front of the camera had been uncovered during your blindness. For a brief moment, your distorted self stares back from the almost liquid eye of glass tucked inside, blocked when Aya replaces the cap over it. She remains under the blanket, working on what you guess is more alchemy judging from the clinking of more bottles and pouring water. It seems like there’s nothing to do but to wait for Aya to finish. Photography sure takes a while. Only the scent of smoke remains… and doesn’t seem to go away.
It spurs you to full alertness. “Something’s burning!”
“There!” Aunn points out a spot near the lamp. Some residue from the flashing powder must’ve landed on the floor and was currently burning into the wood like termites from hell. Thin wisps of smoke twirl upward.
You start stomping furiously on the spot, an image of being trapped in a burning shrine building flashing through your mind. Aunn’s right with you, feet working away. The embers are stubborn, but you seem to be making progress. Yet the smokiness appears to be getting worse…
“It's in the ceiling!” you screech. Aunn moves to reach for a broom by the door.
Aya pokes her head out from whatever she was doing. “Ah. Guess I put too much magnesium in the flash mix. Oops.”
With a gesture of her hand, a powerful gust sweeps through the room. Furniture squeals against the floor and the windows rattle. Dust falls from the ceiling and rises from the floorboards. The movements of unnatural wind trapped inside the room feels like being inside a giant lung, breathing in and out.
“Woah, hey stop that!” Your hands are forced to keep your skirt under control. Undefended, your hat flies off in rings around the room.
Whatever trickery with the wind it was, it’s at least effective. The burning patches fizzle out, leaving behind charred scars and the smoke is completely flushed out.
The wind doesn’t discriminate; the fire in the stove gets smothered too, dropping the room in darkness. Aya gestures once more and the gale softens to a much weaker breeze that swirls about one last time. The stove re-ignites, returning its warm glow to the room. Your hat spins gracefully to land on the hooks by the door.
Your office almost burnt down the same day you got it! And the culprit is humming away under her woolen cover!
“Hey! You–” Youkai or not, you can’t help it. You step forward to drag the annoying tengu out from her cover, but she emerges by herself without warning, almost knocking you over.
It’s done~! It turned out perfectly!” She holds out a flat object. Dark stains cover her fingers. “Take a look at this!”
“Wha…” You peer closer at the thin glass plate. It’s small, about the size of a human hand, but the dimness of the room and a sheen of water on the surface cannot hide the remarkably crisp image on the glass.
“That’s us!” Aunn, peering over your shoulder, is amazed too.
The photograph depicts both of you standing in front of the desk. You’re standing up straight, arms on your hips and by your side is Aunn with her arms crossed. The shadows and the concentration on staying still had given your face a rather tough, stern look. The picture is more detailed than any drawing or painting you’ve seen, the folds of fabric and woven strands of straw in your hat undisrupted by sketched lines or brushstrokes. There’s no clue at all how Aya created it. It’s just like a miniature version of you, frozen on the glass plate.
“My apologies about what happened earlier, but those are the risks of new technology. I’ve tasked one of the kappa with making me a more consistent source of light, but she’s one of those project juggling types so there’s no promises…”
You’re barely listening. No wonder why the photograph excited you so. This is it! The frozen reflection! Something you had tried seeking so long ago. When water is completely frozen, it keeps its shape and everything floating inside of the water stops moving too… except for reflections. No method you had tried in the past could get the freeze perfect, no matter how cold or quick you made it. You had thought an hours-long slow freeze worked, the ice as smooth and clear as a sheet of diamond, until you pre-maturely celebrated and the reflection celebrated back. Freezing a handheld mirror didn’t work either. The lake is too big to freeze, the sun is too high up, and air is too thin, but you’ve always been stumped on why reflections were so resistant, eventually giving up the experiments. But today, Aya had shown you that the unfreezable could be freezable!
“This is… amazing!”
Aya seems overjoyed. “It’s about time someone around here, fairy or not, appreciates photography! Half of the people I take pictures of accuse me of stealing their souls, or privacy, or other baseless accusations. As a matter of fact, you can keep it!”
“Really?! But I thought you needed this for your newspaper?”
“I always expose extras!” Aya reveals two identical photograph plates in her other hand.
“The pictures in the Bunbunmaru don’t really look as good as this,” Aunn points out.
“Unfortunately, that’s because the Yamabushi are the ones who do all the printing work. They take descriptions and drawings, and in my case, photographs, and make engravings of them so they can set those with the letters for printing. Even so, photography allows for more realistic engravings. But by Tenma’s tokin was it an ordeal for them to even accept my photographs in the first place!” Aya stops work and raises a fist in the air. Her voice takes on an exaggerated pitch. “‘There’s not enough contrast!’ You damn hermits need to let a little sunlight into the room then! ‘How am I supposed to carve these details out?’ Figure it out, that’s literally your job! ‘These images are without heart,’ No ‘heart’, my feathery ass!” She breathes heavily, but mostly regains her composure.
“Sounds tough. Why do you bother?” you ask.
“With photography, reporters like myself can finally capture the truth and nothing but the truth. The tyranny of the artist can finally be abolished! And my Bunbunmaru will be leading the charge!”
You look back down at the photograph in your hands for a second look. Since this office was yours, this picture would make an excellent decoration. It’s just missing something. Your wings, yes, but Aya’s enthusiasm gives you the feeling there’ll be no shortage of photographs in the future. Then, looking downward, the blue of your clothes against the imaged glass makes you realize what it is. “Where’s the color?”
“Sadly, cameras cannot see color.”
“Why?”
“Well, that’s just how it–no, you’ve given me a good question… Why can’t my photos be in color? I’ve so meekly accepted the status quo, but now I shall demand an answer from Nitori! In fact, I’ll do so tonight! She’s solved the indoor lighting issue already. My Bunbunmaru with color pictures!? The mind cannot conceive of a force in news publication more formidable! Then the question becomes how I would get them printed… considerations, considerations.” Aya coughs. “Excuse me.”
You move out of her way as she rapidly tears down her camera setup. Soon she’s hefting her bags with the camera and lamp securely tucked under one arm.
“I thank you both for hosting me tonight. As a gift for such cooperativeness, here’s last week’s Bunbunmaru, to help the sheriff get up to speed!” Aya gives two copies of the newspaper to Aunn. “I’ll be coming by for updates on the mystery thief! Expect me often! And don’t forget our other offer!”
Aya uses her leg to open the door, and, giving one last wave, jumps straight up… and continues up. Incredibly, she’s soaring off, flying freely through the night sky. Two dark wing shapes blot out the stars. You gawk for a bit before Aunn closes the door. When you both return to the desk, she puts the newspapers by the tengu letter. You set the photograph down as well.
“I can see how Aya gets the pictures for the newspaper now. But honestly, I think her articles are what need more work, not her photographs.” Aunn says as she checks the tea pot. “Sorry, I should’ve offered tea to you earlier, if Aya hadn’t… aww… whatever wind thing she did made the tea cold.”
“I’ll have some!”
“No problem, I’ll heat back up, right away!”
“Wait, no!” You pull on her sleeve.
Aunn does end up heating the tea again for her own cup, but you enjoy a refreshing cup of cooled tea, with a double helping of sugar. No one could stop you from putting more in, but you have to maintain appearances for your subordinate.
“Oh yeah, my powers should come back in a few days,” you say after finishing up.
“So you were able to get that figured out, I’m glad!”
“And I think I have an idea on the thief!” You relay to Aunn the confrontation probably happening right now between the fairies.
“A fairy thief?” Aunn ponders. “No one’s been able to get a description of Ghost Thief, so I suppose it’s possible. But what kind of power could they have to steal all those things?”
“Yeah, that’s why I’m going to find out and help out my friends.” You stand up.
“You’re going after them tonight? Are you sure you know how to find where your friends are?”
You sit back down glumly. You’ve made it to the hideout at night yesterday, but only with Larva’s expertise and a dim magic light she created. And that was for a known location, not the mines. There’s no choice but to find out what’s happening tomorrow. The frustration causes you to yawn again. Aunn does too.
“We should start investigating tomorrow, when we’re rested. There are bedrooms upstairs. I haven’t finished cleaning all of them up, but they should be usable.”
You’re too tired to disagree. Upstairs, even by candlelight, it’s clear this floor has not been inhabited in a long while. One room is locked, but the others are normal human bedrooms. There’s a dusty cradle on wheels and a bunk bed in one room, which looks fun, but Aunn guides you instead to a reasonably clean room with a wardrobe and a wide bare mattress.
It’s a truly novel feeling laying completely flat on your back to sleep. When you turn your head, the oversized bed seems to stretch forever into the distance.
###
The light pouring through the room’s window is intense. Still a little drowsy, you roll over onto your side, trying to shield your face. The unexpected sound of something crunching, however, wakes you right up.
Right there on top of the bed, are six frosty impressions of your wings surrounding where you had been sleeping. Half of them are crushed, and as you watch, all of the fine ice crystals give way to dew drops on the tough mattress surface. But you know what it means.
“Yahoo!” A few snowflakes fly out of your palm in excitement. Nature is finally healing. “Yes!”
But after calming down, you can sort of remember the events of last night, learning about your new opponents, some Ghost Thief and some evil fairy messing with your friends, who may or may not be the same person. Your ice is returning bit by bit, but you’ll need more power, something that won’t be hampered by weather or changing seasons or anything else. You head downstairs to start the day.
Aunn is sitting at the small desk, writing some notes. “Good morning!”
Two copies of Aya’s extra are already on your desk, adding to a growing pile of papers. You skim-read through the front and then the back page while slowly chewing your way through a flavorless breakfast of hard bread. You make a mental note to get Larva to visit the office on her shipments. The newspaper is much more pleasing, your own words gloriously rendered in the bold headline: “SHERIFF DECLARES WAR ON BURGLARY INCIDENT, PROMISES DECISIVE ACTION”, the printed version of your photograph right below it. There’s some more interviews with storekeepers affected by the burglaries, too, fear and anger apparent in their words.
Washing the last of the doughy mass with some tea, you’re ready to finally review all the resources available to you. “Aunn, show me the arsenal!”
“Huh? Oh, right away!”
It’s apparently upstairs, right next to the room you had slept in. It’s a little disappointing, not much bigger than a closet and a thin layer of dust covers every exposed surface. There aren’t many actual guns left and they all give a strong impression of age and unwantedness. Many dull metal bits and tools on a standing bench, and some small crates are stacked up in the corner. Prying one open, you discover a grid of brass cylinders, rounded at the tip. Allowing you space, Aunn returns downstairs.
From what you can figure from past fairy hearsay and your own exploration, the gun is basically a metal tube that launches small pellets called bullets at a very high speed. Somehow, pulling the lever inside the hoop at the bottom of the thing causes this. However, the levers on some of the guns here don’t budge or are missing entirely, and even the ones that seem functional, you just can’t get to work. There’s usually an upper lever on top that retracts with a click and swings back when the lower lever is used, but you can’t find any parts like a slingshot or bow that need to be stretched.
Aunn doesn’t know how to shoot either, but there should be others who do! Larva perhaps, and Aya definitely seemed to know, though you feel a little leary turning to her for help so soon. There’s also the mayor, and really, anyone else you’ve seen carrying a weapon. When you’re investigating, maybe you’ll have a chance to ask.
But which gun to take with you?
The biggest gun is what you think is called a ‘rifle’. You bring the gun out of its cabinet and hold it vertically, resting its wooden wing on the floor. Standing on your toes, you can just make out the hollowed tip of the barrel. Unfortunately, it’s awfully heavy and unwieldy. Even with a solid grip on its worn body, you aren’t quite able to keep the far end level from shaking without feeling a burn in your arms or tipping over entirely. Waddling around with it, you accidentally slam it into the door knob, launching a plume of dust off the door. The jolt rings through the barrel, your ears, and your bones for a solid minute.
“What was that?” Aunn calls from below.
“Nothing!” You decide to try something else, putting the long gun back.
Nothing really seems to be made for fairy-sized hands here, but are three that seem workable. It’s just too bad all of them would require both hands to be held properly!
One has the same general form as the big rifle, but is much shorter and lighter. It’s the newest-looking gun of the collection, the metal shining after you rub the dirt layer off. After fiddling around, you’re able to pull the entire loop around the shooting lever away from the body, bringing a block of metal downwards and exposing the rear opening of the barrel. There’s a flippable metal tab that looks like a ruler on the top part of the weapon.
One is even shorter, but is the heaviest. It has two short but wide barrels. The entire thing breaks open at a hinge, letting you easily stick your entire thumb inside one of the two large openings. Putting it back together is very simple.
Finally, there’s a proper revolver, the lightest and smallest gun. It’s still a solid amount of weight and a little rusty, though. The rotating section has five chambers, exposed one at a time from a slot in the side. You have some fun with the cylinder, hearing it click as it turns.
[ ] Smaller Rifle
[ ] Two Barrels
[ ] Revolver
[X] Revolver
Simple and easy to maintain, perfect choice for a baka.
[X] Smaller Rifle
-[X] Revolver
Carry two?
[X] Two Barrels
The revolver being rusty makes me a bit concerned it will stop working at a crucial moment. Of the other two, it seems Cirno has an easier time understanding how to use this one.
[X] Revolver
The smaller rifle could be a good idea once we've figured it out properly, but for now we need one that Cirno can just point and shoot. And while the double barrel is simple, it's also very likely to knock Cirno on her ass if she fires it. Not to mention, those guns weren't designed for easy carrying, doubly so if you're fairy-sized. They were designed with the intention that you'd have them in your lap when literally "riding shotgun" on a wagon.
Meanwhile, a revolver is simple and reliable, so as long as it's not rusted all the way through it should still work just fine. It only has three major moving parts that could fail; the drum (which works), the trigger (which we can assume works since Cirno probably didn't rotate the drum with her fingers just for fun), and the hammer (which is the most likely to have made the funny clicking, plus Cirno was looking for a gun that works and having a functioning hammer is the absolute minimum for a working revolver).
The biggest issue I see with it is that, based on the description, this is one of the early models of revolver where you had to manually eject each individual spent cartridge, by poking a small medal rod through a hole in the front, before you could load new bullets.
But on the other hand, as always:
If you can't solve the problem with a full drum of bullets, a reload isn't likely to change much.
And figuring out how to reload it is something Cirno can do when she comes back home.
[X] Revolver!
Really, you would’ve taken all the guns if only they weren’t so obnoxiously heavy. After some thinking, you finally decide on the revolver. It’s the most convenient to carry around and also the most common weapon you’ve seen so you can’t go wrong with that.
You very quickly encounter a problem: the revolver might be the smallest, but it’s still too big for fairy-sized pockets. Thankfully, some more searching around produces extra equipment in a different cabinet. You pick out the narrowest belt and the most suitable holster for the pistol, strapping everything together around your waist. The weight is unfamiliar, but something that must be gotten used to. A few poking adjustments help to prevent the thing from thumping against your side when walking.
With this, it should be time to go back downstairs, but the glint of metal returns your attention to all those brass cylinders inside their crates. There has to be a purpose for all these round pieces to be here and, having messed around with all these guns close up, you’re starting to get some ideas. All the guns have round openings, which can’t be a coincidence. You take out your revolver again and inspect the empty chambers inside the rotating element. Circular pegs… round holes… hm.
You pick up a long cylinder with a rounded tip and shake it. It’s heavy and dense, definitely not hollow. When you try to insert it in the revolver’s rear slot, only the tip can fit, the rest sticking out. You toss it back. The fatter, flat-topped cylinders obviously wouldn’t fit so you pick up one of the smallest ones. You find the slim metal slides into the rear slot of the revolver like a ferret slipping into a warren.
Yet nothing happens when the bottom switch is pulled. After some more experiments, you find that forcing the upper lever back makes it stick and even turns the drum for you, moving the filled hole one space over. Pressing below again makes the lever return with a loud snap, but nothing else really happens. But you eagerly set the gun such that the brass filled hole is in the spot next to the barrel and repeat the steps. Click. And finally, with another squeeze of both fingers and…
BANG
…you’re on your back, ears ringing and eyes trying to focus at the wobbling ceiling.
A distant cascade can be heard from outside, of objects falling and wood breaking, punctured by the yowl of a cat. Much closer, it must be Aunn rushing up the stairs.
You vigorously rub your aching nose and sit up. The revolver lies smoking on the floor by your splayed legs. It must’ve jumped backward out of your grip and smacked you in the face. Thank goodness you had been pointing at nothing but the closet’s outer wall. The planks there now sport a neat round hole, light shining through it and catching on the dust swirling above you.
Your deputy enters the room, breathing hard. “Cirno, are you okay?!”
“Yup.” You shakily pick yourself off the ground. Exaltation begins to replace the shock vibrating through your nerves.
She takes in the scene with caution, sniffing at the air. “What happened?”
“I think I just figured out how to shoot! I’m a genius!”
“In here!? That’s very dangerous! Guns can kill people! You can’t… ahem, I strongly advise you to wait to find someone to teach us.”
“Aww! I’m pretty sure I got it down!” Instantly deflated, you brush yourself off and put the pistol into its new home at your hip. “Do you even know anyone else who can show us the right way to shoot?”
“Not right now, but that’s what the mayor said to me,” Aunn says. “She warned me to not worry about learning how to use firearms until a sheriff can be found. But in this case it probably holds for us both.”
Taking care to avoid a few stray splinters around the edge, you peer through the small hole in the wall. There’s a narrow view of the splotchy brown rooftops down Main Street. You suppose Aunn is right; this hole could’ve been in your body as easily as it is in the wall and your nose still throbs a little, but just in case, you secretly pocket a few of the working small pieces.
On the stairs, Aunn glances at the door to the jail and stops. You almost bump into her. The deputy slaps her forehead and turns to face you. “Oh, right! Almost forgot to tell you, but yesterday there was one complaint that wasn’t for the burglary. This one gentleman brought an old doll that he claims is cursed and was following him around. It just smelled kinda funny but I took it anyway because the guy was a little pushy and I wanted to get to the rest of the people. I just left the doll in one of our cells.”
“Oh yeah, we can lock people up now!”
“Responsibly.” Aunn adds. “We only have two cells and the doll is taking one of them up now. I don’t think it’s related to the burglaries either so we could deal with it later. If you don’t mind, I’d like to show you the information I’ve collected about the thief and discuss strategy.”
You shrug. Work calls already. You follow Aunn to her desk, where a bunch of papers are neatly organized.
“Apparently, there were more thefts last night,” she continues speaking. “As usual the Mountwoods Trading Company got stolen from again. Then, a shipment of liquor for some of the affected saloons went missing after unloading from last night’s train. The lady who works the good-fortune booth says she lost some spare tools. That’s pretty much it. It’s just hearsay right now so further investigation could be helpful.”
Aunn moves aside some notes to clear off a complete map of the town.
“I’ve been marking out all the burglaries that’ve happened to date. There’s more patterns I think this data could…”
The underlying map is some kind of printed survey, detailed blocks representing buildings sitting on a field of squiggly lines and further intermeshed with handmade markings and notes. Eye-catching red dots with a tiny date and time by them mark out incidences of theft on different buildings. You think about it. Do you really want to stare at paper all day?
[ ] Yes, this strategy meeting is important.
[ ] No, check out the incarcerated doll.
[ ] No, Start field work right away: (Two can work faster than one! Mark 2 destinations with [A] for Aunn and [C] for Cirno, or [AC] for both to visit 1 location)
----[ ] Mountwoods Trading Company
----[ ] The Sand Whale
----[ ] Blinding Ballad
----[ ] The train station
----[ ] Fortune booth lady
----[ ] Catch up with the fairies (Cirno only)
[X] Yes, this strategy meeting is important.
[X] Yes, this strategy meeting is important
Figure out a plan first and foremost
[X] Yes, this strategy meeting is important.
Putting those reading skills to work.
A cursed doll that smells funky. Somehow taking up an entire cell. Must be big.
[X] Yes, this strategy meeting is important
Maybe we can grow some wrinkles in that noggin of ours.
[X] Yes, this strategy meeting is important.
It's not as if we can't check in on Medicine (I assume, "doll that moves on it own and smells funny" sure sounds like it's her at least) later, and searching for our culprit will go easier if we have some kind of plan.
Besides, I want to see Cirno get bored and turn this into a wild conspiracy theory with red string pinned to the map, connecting unrelated events to reach some crazy conclusion.
(Captcha says "Hijiri", so clearly Byakuren is the secret mastermind behind the thefts. And Remilia too.)
[X] Yes, this strategy meeting is important.
-(X) Ask the doll for its input and help, more friends means more options of attack!
[X] Yes, this strategy meeting is important.
“...particularly since only a few places seemed to get stolen from repeatedly. Especially the Mountwoods Company. ” As Aunn explains, she taps a pencil on a large square, filled with a swarm of red dots within.
“Right, right!” You nod rapidly. “Shouldn’t we investigate?”
“We definitely will, but we have to make sure we have as much figured out as possible.”
“Okay…” You’re still not exactly sure how just talking and drawing dots would help with catching thieves, but you’re still a little drowsy this morning so a break is fine too. Taking a seat, you slouch over the desk, elbows grazing the edges of the map.
The lines and dots pile up in your head, abstract patterns bubbling up in your mind, accompanied by Aunn’s voice. “Some of the relationships are pretty obvious. The victims are all shopkeepers of some sort, and the only things taken are needed for their business. There’s not been a single report of anything personal lost nor has anyone’s home been broken into. The biggest unknown is why certain businesses are being hit harder than others, and I think the key lies in this!”
Aunn picks up and shows off a stack of grayish paper that crinkles in her hands. It is a collection of various newspapers, all older editions.
“M-more papers!?”
“I’ve been trying my best to catch up on things since the Mayor made me into the deputy. While doing so, I couldn’t help but notice that what’s been happening now matches the methods of certain known criminals hanging around town. Groups of them, in fact. I say it’s the Beast Gangs who are the ones behind the Ghost Thief! Their motive is most likely trying to extort the shopkeepers for protection money.”
She tabs through the stack, showing off several of the headlines. Each involves people or towns attacked by one of the three Beast Gangs. The first paper’s front page has an illustration of cloaked figures with animal masks surrounding a burning farmhouse.
You poke at the image. “Huh. But everyone says those guys are tough and scary. Why would they be sneaking around?”
“Remember, the Mayor’s truce means they agreed to not do anything violent while in town. Something underhanded like this is the only way for them to exercise muscle.”
“But some places are being stolen from less?”
“Obviously, the shops willing to cooperate aren’t being hit anymore. Maybe it’s a poorly disguised attempt to throw people off their trail.”
You give the information a brief moment to be digested before bouncing up from your seat with fist squished into palm. “So! When do we fight the Beast Gangs?”
“Uhh… fight the Beast Gangs?” Aunn asks, looking concerned.
“Yeah? Don’t we need to go after the bad guys?” you answer, a little confused.
“Well, yes… but like, head on?”
“Yeah!”
A pause. “I don’t mean to cause offense… But they might be a bit too much, even for you.”
Not a bad point. “True. We just have to wait until my ice comes back.” You settle back down.
“That’s not… Instead, how about this: maybe we can build up a case and get some help before a direct confrontation.” Aunn moves her head forward. “I actually spoke to the mayor about this before, but she says there’s no proof and so she can’t do anything. Now that you’re here, we can get some evidence to help get back the stolen goods and get rid of the gangs.”
This plan kinda makes sense to you, but it seems all this new evidence is bugging you.
“Cirno?”
“Huh? I’m just thinking that I remembered something important…” Your mind races. Stolen goods, huh?
Your eye catches on the list of the missing items and you slide the memo over to help refresh yesterday night’s memories. It’s well sorted and written in Aunn’s structured and crisp handwriting, items grouped up by type and origin. There’s alcohol to chug, game dice to toss, hammers to swing, and even fancy cigars to try. All this stuff is pretty sweet loot. To be honest, this Ghost Thief has excellent taste and you feel a twinge of jealousy at the skill of the prankster. What a mighty trick, played out like this on a whole town and never caught, and still going and going.
Wait…
A deeper search through yesterday’s crowded events brings you back to that weirdo fairy, the one who had been stealing precious rocks from Aka and Ao’s cave. Fairy pranks in town and now a known fairy thief lurking about. It’s the final piece; a coincidence like this can’t actually be a coincidence! Scratch skilled prankster, you’ve caught them right in the act!
You lean forward on the table. “Ha! Forget the Beast Gangs. Remember what I told you last night: the Ghost Thief is actually a fairy! I even know who they are!”
“Oh, yes… you did mention something along those lines yesterday. You really think all this is the work of a single fairy?” At your vigorous nods, Aunn asks, “But why would a fairy want to steal all this stuff?”
“Hah! Don’t you know? When things get lost, it’s because of the fairies! It’s a classic kind of prank that every fairy strives for.” You pump your fist.
“I-I see…” She hesitates. “It’s all just a prank? I’m not sure if that’s good or bad…”
“Normally, I’d like to get in on the action, but I suppose we have to play the cops this time.”
“Cirno, we are the cops,” Aunn complains. “And about this mystery fairy… I’m concerned about some things. For one, they don't sound very stealthy. It doesn’t match what the thief’s done so far.”
“I dunno. Maybe they got overconfident.” You shrug.
“Okay… but how would a lone fairy move all the stolen goods. We’re talking about furniture and large barrels of alcohol.”
“Err.” You think on it, quickly. “Magic?”
Aunn looks unimpressed. “Isn’t this all far too convenient?”
“Hey! All these questions… it’s like you don’t believe me. Hmph”
“No,” Aunn waves her palms at you. “I’m just a tiny bit skep–very curious about your theory and would like to understand it better.”
“What’s there to understand? There’s thefts and there’s a thief so of course they are related. Besides, Larva and the others have probably beaten them up already. They went after the thief last night so we can just go over and pick them up right now! Then we can force them to show us where the stuff is hidden. Easy peasy.” You finish with arms crossed.
“There’s no way it can be that simple! Even I know that and I was born a week ago!”
“What? Really?” That's incredible news. You thought only weeds and bugs could grow up that quickly.
“Uh, yes.” Aunn blinks several times. “I guess the Mayor didn’t–”
“O-hoho. Then how can you be so sure about the Gangs doing this?” Fingers stroke an invisible mustache. “You’re just a wee youngster, after all. Easy to stray and culpable to flights of fancy.”
“That’s not fair!” Aunn jumps out of the chair, the wooden legs screeching. “I’ve done research! I’ve thought through this a bunch! The Beast Gangs are the only people with the skills and motives to be doing this, and stores being stolen from the most are the ones most likely to know something! That’s why we have to follow up with them, let them know it’s safe so they can be witnesses to the extortion plot! Besides, we should focus on helping the townspeople getting hurt!”
“What? Fairies are being hurt too! And at least we’ve seen the thief.” Now you’re standing up, using your own chair in order to match Aunn’s eyes at level.
“There’s still no proof whoever they saw is the thief. It makes sense only in the most accidental, strung together way. And even if your friends did so, that was last night, so where’d we even find them now?” She challenges back.
“Well… b-but,” you stammer.
This back-and-forth seems to be endless. You’re the one who’s right, you know it, but Aunn’s fierce insistence sows doubt despite your best resistance. However, at the end of the day, you’re the sheriff here and you’re the one calling the shots.
[ ] “I’m the sheriff, so my way goes!”
[ ] “Fine, whatever! You win.”
[ ] “Okay, then let’s split! First person to catch the Ghost Thief wins!”
[ ] “...What if we’re both right?”
[⑨] “...What if we’re both right?”
Conspiracy spiral time! Gangs hired fairies? I don't quite know what rabbit hole this will lead our duo down.
Wouldn't be the wisest of ideas in my reckoning to split up and bickering with your deputy isn't great for success.
>You thought only weeds and bugs could grow up that quickly.
How long does a fairy take to grow? Anyways file this away for potentially getting more stony deputies. Charisma measured by how many underlings one has.
[X] “...What if we’re both right?”
[X] “Okay, then let’s split! First person to catch the Ghost Thief wins!”
Divide and conquer.
[X] “...What if we’re both right?”
This story always makes me smile. :)
[X] “...What if we’re both right?”
[X] “...What if we’re both right?”
“What do you mean by that?” Aunn cautiously asks.
You put your newest idea out: “I mean, what if that weirdo fairy was the Ghost Thief and was working for the gangs at the same time? Right?”
“I guess that is a possibility…” Aunn ponders for a quiet second. “No, you’re definitely not wrong. I only thought about the motives and behaviors without thinking about who exactly might be carrying out the gangs’ plans. There’s no reason we can’t both look at patterns and also track suspicious individuals to fix this situation.”
“Yeah! So the best way now is for us to find the Ghost Thief and have her confess the goods!”
“Not so fast,” Aunn blocks you again, but her tone is friendly. “We don’t even know where that fairy is. If they are hiding somewhere after last night, then it’ll be impossible to find them.”
She waves towards the hazy window and the maze of brownish mountains in the distance. There’s really no way around that, is there? Only Larva and the others would know, but you were hoping for an opportunity to catch up with them later today anyways.
She pushes forward, “Instead, if they really were fairies working for the gangs, I believe evidence might be found closer in the town.”
“There’s so many people affected, though,” you complain, looking at the spread of dots on the map. “It’ll take so many forevers to get through all of these!”
“That’s true, but we can split up the work to focus on specific patterns,” Aunn proposes. “Say we put the business hit the hardest in one group, which would be Mountwoods and the saloons. Then we can say the stores that only lost a few things can be in a second group, and so on. This way we can focus on seeing if any details match up between the different victims.”
“Ah, I see it now!” By combining the related items together, instead of visiting a dozen locations, you only need to go to a group or two. It really does feel like there’s less work! You eagerly jump into sorting out the jumble of names and numbers into something manageable. It takes quite a bit more discussion, but you both eventually arrive at five separate groups that would be convenient to work on as a batch of cases.
The first and most obvious group was as Aunn had already laid out: the Mountwoods Trading Company, The Sand Whale, and The Blinding Ballad, all places that had lost a lot of product and were greatly damaged because of it. She was convinced there had to be a good reason why. Calmer now, you realize it would also be nice to make sure Mystia was doing okay.
Just as easy to figure out was the second group. These were a bunch of places not affected too badly, including the fortune booth lady, the jeweler, and the town doctor, as well as–most distinctly–the fun-sounding Komakusa Hall of Fortune. It was an open question whether they had good security or a secret deal with the Gangs, or something else going on.
The third group was slightly more nebulous, determined to be the two individuals who didn’t seem like true businesses. They were Nitori Kawashiro, the kappa inventor who you’ve already seen and heard so much of, and a peddler cat. You and Aunn agreed that they were both awfully upset despite not losing anything particularly valuable or having much of a business to lose at all. But there were victims, and so deserved some investigation, at least to rule out any accidental losses. It might be tricky tracking them down, however.
An even more nebulous fourth group and technically the biggest of them all were the combined Great Mountain Mining Company and the town’s mine workers. You were the one to bring it up as, thief or not, no prim and proper fairy could’ve left something as tempting as the literal biggest organization in town alone. You’re sure they’ll have plenty of interesting things to look at. Maybe they’ll even let you put in a complaint for Aya’s behavior last night! Aunn agreed that the lack of reports from the mine workers and their families was something to look into. Even if the Tengu were too scary to mess with or weren’t sharing any information, would that really be the same case for all their hundreds of workers settled all around town?
Adding to this fourth group, Aunn brought up an additional place, the town’s train station. That was where you first landed in town, merely two incredibly busy days ago. It’s owned by yet another organization with too many letters in their name: the Union Celestial Railroad Company, apparently also very big and rich and powerful. They not only ran the trains, but also controlled the town’s mail and a “telly-graffy” machine, which was explained to you as something like mail, but much faster and cheaper. Sounds redundant to you, but what humans like wasting money on isn’t your problem.
Finally, at your insistence and tempered by the fact the round trip alone would consume significant time, the fairies living on the outskirts got a fifth group all to themselves.
Whew, it feels like you’ve already moved a mountain! The heat from the morning sun is just starting to bleed through the windows and gaps in the walls, a little taste of your first full day on the job to come. But now, armed with an idea for the Ghost Thief’s identity, a plan to root them out, and even a new weapon to beat them with, you’re feeling highly confident. Now all that’s needed is to do the work and find the evidence that proves yourself right!
You choose to first investigate…
[ ] Group 1, the biggest losers
[ ] Group 2, sweating the small stuff
[ ] Group 3, the odd ones out
[ ] Group 4, the stones left unturned
[ ] Group 5, catching up with friends!
[X] Group 4, the stones left unturned
What secrets lay with the whispering winds and rumbling rocks?
More seriously, it might give our duo some insights due to those folks' sheer workforce. Having feathers in every pie. Though I could be swayed to the 1st group.
[X] Group 5, catching up with friends!
[X] Group 4, the stones left unturned
[X] Group 1, the biggest losers
[X] Group 4, the stones left unturned
“Let’s start by meeting with the miners and the train people!”
Aunn agrees readily, and files away her papers. She hangs onto a notepad and a pencil, while you need nothing more than your hat, gun, and brand new badge.
And so you both set out, joining with the other people out and about on their morning tasks. Unlike the night crowd, everyone’s subdued, keeping to themselves and you can’t help but get a strong impression of walking in streets just a little too large and surrounded by buildings slightly too big, like putting on oversized clothes.
You give out waves and greetings to those you pass at first, as isn’t that what a good officer of the law is supposed to do? A young-looking human couple only stares at you with confusion. Some youkai in overalls and carrying a stack of metal buckets, gives a hesitant nod. A short-haired girl in a dapple-patterned brown cloak and cap pulling a cart, shoots you a suspicious, hostile look.
You complain to Aunn. “Hey, what’s going on with all the mean people?”
“Don’t worry, Cirno, it’s not you. People are just worried about making do.” Your deputy tries to reassure you.
After that, you decide to purely focus on your destination. It’s easy to find: three maroon brick chimneys high in the sky.
The hike takes you across town, away from the main thoroughfare and zig-zagging through much emptier side streets, reaching the bubbling stream and crossing over a footbridge. And after passing another row of decaying facades and a fence collecting a pile of tumbleweeds, the Great Mountain Company’s headquarters comes into view.
No signs are needed to let anyone know that the tengu are staying here, in a mighty compound on a hill. What you can see of the buildings are freshly painted with clean gray-tiled roofs, but most of the structures are hidden away by an enclosing wooden palisade. Blocky towers break up the massive wall and occasional glimpses of white figures can be spotted patrolling atop the fortifications.
“This is like a whole castle!” You struggle to reckon how much it would’ve cost to build.
“Yes, and defended like one too,” Aunn mutters.
You both trudge up an inclined path to where a barred gate blocks your way further in. Two guards flank the entrance, each heavily armed. They have curved swords, sheathed and hanging from their hips, along with round shields on their left arms. Both also have what looks like a long rifle strapped over their opposite shoulders.
You and Aunn share a worried look. But you need to get through so it can’t be helped. The two guards have obviously seen you, glaring over the distance.
They stand perfectly at attention, wearing matching white uniforms decorated with pom-poms over black dress pants with red highlights. These guards must be a type of tengu too, since they have those red caps and a single raised leg under each boot. They stand so still it’s like they’re part of the gate itself.
Do they blink? By looking at their noses, you can avoid their uncomfortable eyes. Unfortunately, with your attention taken up, you step on a misshapen rock and almost trip. Aunn supports your arm, but no obvious reaction comes from the watchdogs, though you’d swear their pale eyebrows shifted.
A little closer, you can see that their crisp white and black uniforms don’t hold up well against the encroaching tan dust. Even more interestingly, are those bags under their reddish eyes? Is it possible they’ve been standing out here over the entire night? Nah, there’s no way a job could suck that bad.
It’s up until when you can see the laces on their formerly polished boots that they actually say anything.
“Halt!” The tengu on the right barks first. “Who are you, and state your business.”
“You guys don’t know? I’m the sheriff! We need information!”
He shakes his head. “This is company property. We can’t allow any unauthorized individuals onto the premises. Please leave.”
“Aw come on. There’s no way your boss doesn’t know me. She wrote a letter yesterday!”
“Sorry, little misses. Orders are straight from the Sergeant. We can’t let you in and that’s that.” The guard on the left sneers, showing off her sharp teeth.
Aunn tries her own appeal. “Please, we’re working on an important problem. We just want some information on catching the Ghost Thief who’s been stealing from the townspeople.”
The male tengu snorts. “Ghost thief? Isn’t that…”
“Yup, sounds like that bird’s shitty paper actually suckered some people. They definitely look silly enough.” The two share a laugh. The female turns towards you, her hand on her hilt. “We have nothing to do with the affairs of the town. You can always play around elsewhere. Now scram!”
You ball your fists up “What’s that supposed to mean? You wanna fight!?”
“Pfft. As if. I could swat you half-way across the territory with just my sheath, fairy who whatever you are. Still want to be a problem?”
Aunn places her hands on your shoulder and drags you back several paces. She whispers into your ear, “Cirno, these guys aren’t budging. Maybe we can come back another time…”
A shadow falls over you. Stupid gates and their stupider keepers. This was all a big waste of your time. Unless maybe you can sneak your way in…
“Ha, wow, I’ve never seen a line outside this gate before!” A new, powerful voice, directly from behind!
Startled out of your devious thoughts, you spin around, only to see a gray torso. You look up, and gape in wonder at the stranger looming over you. This breathing colossus is tall, at least two heads above either the tengu, and they’re wearing stilted boots while she has nothing but dirt underfoot. If she stretched her long, lean arms overhead, she could probably touch the tip of the wall posts and lift herself over. She’s not nearly as wide a bulky circus strongman, but what her dark work clothes doesn’t cover is firmly muscled, and she grasps a heavy pickaxe, nearly comically small in her grip.
The two guards flinch when they recognize the newcomer.
“Miss Foreman, greetings.” The female tengu bows stiffly, followed by her partner. “I apologize for you having to see this. Please excuse us and give us just a moment to remove these interlopers.”
“Oh I see.” The corner of the newcomer’s mouth curls upward. She looks thoughtful for a moment, finger on her chin. Her dark pupils gleam like polished basalt. “My bad, I just remembered: actually, them two gals are with me.”
“W-what? B-but…” the male tengu stutters.
She shrugs. “I said what I meant.”
“Excuse me, but I was not informed that the Chief would be expecting additional visitors. If you want, we can call over Sergeant Inuba–” The tengu can’t finish her sentence before the giant shakes her head.
“If Izzie has a problem, she can tell me in this important meeting I should be having with her right ‘bout now!” The miner frowns. Small pebbles learn to hop as she taps her foot impatiently. “Look, one of us is opening that gate and it'll be a lot easier if you do it, I’m sure.” She flexes the fingers in her free hand.
“Uh, yes! We understand completely!” A key is quickly produced and soon enough, the gate glides open on well-oiled hinges. His partner fumes, but stays silent.
Aunn and yourself remain standing, still stunned at this rapid turnabout.
“C’mon!” A mighty pat on the back nearly sends you sprawling. “I heard you needed information so I’ll show you where the Chief’s office is, ‘cause that’s where I’m headed.”
“Heck yeah! Bweh!” You stick your tongue out at the guards, who both give you the stink eye in return. Aunn blinks and follows you. This is an amazing window!
And just like that, you’ve gotten into the sanctum of the tengu! The gate opens into a wide courtyard. It’s kinda empty; apart from red and blue banners with tengu script flying from the towers, the only movement is from a couple of Aya-like tengu who turn to stare at the party and a synchronized line of the white tengu repeatedly pushing themselves off the ground for some reason. To your right, behind the pushers, is a stout and narrow log building. Some straw dummies are set up in a row outside, which makes you shiver a little. On the left, the chimneys are based from a hulking brick structure which is connected to something like a barn or storehouse. And in the middle is a stately mansion with graceful curved roofs, three stories tall.
The stranger steers towards the main building and you trail closely behind. She’s definitely not one to keep up with fashion. Her working clothes have seen better days: heavily washed out, patched over, and held together with looping stitches of green and orange and yellow. Loose ends from the colored yarn fall like a rain of tassels from her body. Her blueish-iron hair is tied back in a messy ponytail that drops to waist level. Most curiously, orderly columns of shiny coppery ribbons are banded around onto each pant leg and shirtsleeve.
She turns to look at you. “Ah yeah, just call me ‘Momoyo’. The only people squealing this ‘Foreman’ crap are the ones who’ve done something wrong. And you better hope you ain’t doing something wrong. So just ‘Momoyo’, thank you.”
“A-are you alright doing this?” Aunn questions, catching up. “We appreciate the help, of course, but won’t there be trouble?”
“Eh… nah. The tengu can be stuck up, but they know strength.” Momoyo rests her pickaxe on her shoulder as she walks. “Anyhow, it’s healthy to be messed with from time to time.”
“What’s with all the ribbons on your arms?” you ask.
“Safety, ‘course. Even when it’s dark, people need to watch out when I’m busy swingin’.” Momoyo notices the badge on your dress. “Oho, so you’re the new sheriff in town!”
“Yes I am!” you proudly announce. “If you have a problem, I’ll fix it!”
“You never back down, do you? I like that spirit,” she responds heartily. “And if I ever need something in the crawl-spaces, I know who to call on.”
“Yeah! Wait... no!” You become glum. “You’re also not taking me seriously.”
Momoyo laughs. “That’s harsh! And it’s a bit true, I admit. But that’s how it works for a new face.”
“What do you mean? I thought the Mayor told everyone I was the sheriff already.”
“Well, the Mayor might like you–not a good thing in my humble opinion–but titles don’t mean much. They call me foreman, but my miners listen to me ‘cause we work well and I always try to do right by ‘em. And ‘course, if they want to make trouble, I can always hit back twice as hard, and they know it. But between strangers, there’s not any trust, y’see? That stuff takes time and work.”
“But getting other people to like me seems hard!”
“But who said anything about being liked? I said trust, but that comes from lotsa things. Take Iizunamaru–that’s Izzie’s full name–she’s what they call a ‘Great Tengu’ and she’s also the Company’s chief. Very fancy, right? But she can back it all up and then some. She’s an absolute brawler. She’s fast and she’s a master of the bludgeon. But she's always fair and cool-headed. Her looks ain’t bad either, to be frank.” Momoyo runs her hand through her hair. “All in all, her underlings both love and fear her, which was something she’s said to me before. How it’s better to be feared than loved, and best to have both! See, I kinda already knew that, but apparently she read it in a book. But that’s the chief for ya, she knows a lot, too, and likes to read books. Pretty amazing, huh?”
You nod. The only other person who reads books for fun is your teacher from way back then, who you now realize also taught that lesson on love and fear well. Your frustration remains that building trust sounds like a long long process to get anywhere.
Shortly, you reach the cool shade of the front awning. Momoyo pushes past double stained-glass doors, letting everyone into a lavish interior. Passing a wall lined with fancy paintings and miniature trees, avoiding a purple-capped tengu with twintails lugging a bulging briefcase, the miner expertly navigates through the hallways before reaching a set of stairs. A brisk climb to the top floor and another flurry of passages leads to a large lounge room.
The only person here is a fox youkai sitting behind a desk of rich mahogany, who closes her book and neatly sets her glasses on top when you arrive.
“A fine morning to you, Miss Foreman.” The fox-woman stands and bows towards Momoyo. Momoyo nods politely back, but says nothing.
She then turns to you and Anun without missing a beat. “Miss Sheriff, Deputy. Warmest welcomes to the headquarters of the Company. I’m Tsukasa, I serve as Lady Iizunamaru’s secretary. I hope everyone had a pleasant time getting here today.”
You’re about to say something about your getting here, but the secretary’s already moved on in her song-like voice.
“I must apologize to everyone. Lady Iizunamaru’s last meeting is running a tad bit late. I hope you understand and she should be ready shortly.” With a dainty bounce in her movement, she gestures towards a set of sky-blue cushioned chairs. “In the meanwhile, please, have a seat! While we wait, could I interest you in some coffee or perhaps tea?”
Momoyo sips away at a steaming mug of coffee while Aunn gratefully accepts the tea. Tea is just too bitter so you decide to try out the coffee. You get the briefest impression of spark of something in Tsukasa’s eyes, but it must be your imagination.
The porcelain mug depicts a pretty little scene of a frozen mountain with speckled stars against a blue night sky. You stare at the black liquid inside with uncertainty. It certainly smells nice and earthy.
“Black coffee? Impressive,” Momoyo comments.
“Cirno, be careful-” Aunn’s warning comes a tad too late.
The taste almost strangles you. It’s hotter and bitterer than tea could ever be!
“Oh my, are you alright, Miss Sheriff?” Tsukasa asks, looking as concerned as the other two. “We have sugar and milk if you’d prefer.”
You nod, and she takes the cup. When she comes back, whatever she did made it a bunch lighter, but it’s not enough. You cringe as you barely avoid spitting out the second mouthful of liquid death. Your sore tongue will probably be feeling this for another week.
“Wy didthn'th you wern me?”
“Oh! My deepest apologies. I merely didn’t want to be rude with someone whose tastes I don’t know. I shall correct my mistake right away!”
Tsukasa brings over a tray with a small jug of milk and a sugar bowl and gives you a spoon. Eventually you get the coffee to be somewhat drinkable, but the drink has almost inverted in color entirely. Oh well. At least it’s cold and sweet.
Suddenly, the office door opens. And of all people to emerge, it’s Aya! But unlike the composed, arrogant face from last night, the photographer and messenger’s cheeks are puffy and red, still crying softly. She says nothing, not even noticing you. Like a wind-up toy, she mechanically cuts to the nearest free chair and plops herself on it. Dark spots start to appear on the blue fabric. She only moves once after that, to accept a handkerchief from Tsukasa which she squeezes in her hands on her lap.
Tsukasa doesn’t give the sobbing tengu a second look. “Lady Iizunamaru, are you looking to install a new fountain in the office? Excellent taste as always.”
The ‘Lady’ Iizunamaru had followed Aya out, but remained at the doorway. She’s slender and dressed in a well-fitting blue uniform and skirt. Even without her boots, raised on deep purple stilts, she’d still be incredibly tall. Her hair’s very similar to Aya’s but not nearly as disheveled and she even has a silky black cape that billows behind her.
“Be nice,” she groans, rubbing her temple. “Problems bounce between my dear crows and our prism of a goddess like Newton’s rocker!”
Tsukasa moves to massage Iizunamaru’s back.
“Thank you.” She sighs and surveys the room. “What a crowd! Oh, Momo!”
“Heya, Izzie!” There’s an audible screech and bang as Momoyo exits her chair. The two gravitate towards each other and start chattering excitedly.
You remember now that this tengu was the one who wrote that condescending letter. But here, she looks relaxed and excited. A couple of golden chains hang from gold decoration thingies on her shoulders, crossing each other and glimmering against the blue clothes as she chuckles. She’s nicer than you thought at first, but you have to be cautious around tengu.
“You wanted some information from me ‘bout what the lads found?” Momoyo says.
“Aye, I did.” The tengu gives you a quick, appraising glance before ushering the forewoman into her office. The door shuts with a gentle click.
Tsukasa moves back to her desk. “Unfortunately, you and your deputy might have to wait a little while longer. These two can be rather chatty about their mine business.”
[ ] Prepare with Aunn
[ ] Chat with Tsukasa
[ ] Cheer up Aya
[ ] Twiddle thumbs
[X] Cheer up Aya
Might of been quite a dressing down or something. Anyways time to strike while the neck squeezer is in distress. A test of our sheriff's charisma.
Besides I think foxes are foxes. Preparing might be good considering how structured the Company seems, but Cirno is Cirno.
[X] Cheer up Aya
As the sheriff, we obviously can't leave a lady in distress.
[X] Cheer up Aya
You finish your coffee and put the cup and tray on a nearby side table. There’s not much else to do. Aunn seems to be busy writing in her notes all while giving nervous peeks at the crying tengu, and the secretary is engrossed in her own papers.
Only one other person isn’t preoccupied with scraping rocks on dead trees. But she’s not exactly in a mood for idle chatter. You do notice a shelf with books against the wall, but it’s lined with such obscure volumes as Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica, An Essay on the Principle of Population, Chronicles of the Tengu Nation. Absolutely nothing thinner than your arm.
You approach the crying tengu.
“Uh, Photo Lady?”
Aya doesn’t seem to have heard. She’s calmed down somewhat, but still not completely present. You reach out and give a timid poke on her knee.
“...Are you okay?”
She twitches, actually responding now. “S-sheriff, is that you?”
“Yeah!”
“H-how are you even here? Maybe all this is just a nightmare?” Aya’s shoulders relax.
“Momoyo let us in! She’s the really cool person and has a pickaxe.”
“Ah, I see…” She sounds disappointed. “Sorry about this, you’ve caught me at a bad time. I’ll get better. Just let me swallow the fact that I’m going to be signing scouting reports and approving requisition forms until the mountains dissolve and the stars extinguish! Aaaa–”
She again breaks out into tears. Ouch. Maybe you could back off now?
But no, you can’t just stand by while someone’s crying like this, even if they're an untrustworthy acquaintance. As you think of how to handle this, in the mostly quiet room, both Aunn and Tsukasa start writing again. You’re not sure what moving the pencil in circles over the same spot is supposed to produce, but they both look too busy to lend any assistance.
You need more information, first of all. “Uh… could you start from the beginning?”
“I was born–”
“Today! Of today!”
“Right. Sorry.” Aya takes a moment to re-compose herself. “Even before photography, I knew my calling is that of a journalist, to expose the truth for all the world! But all the tengu publications back west are established, ancient organizations. It can take centuries to even be accepted as an assistant. And if your boss thinks your feathers are prettier than theirs and sticks you in delivery, forget it!”
You take a seat, criss-cross on the fine carpeted floor.
“My chance came when Chief Iizunamaru announced a new company she was setting up in the frontier. Of course, it was trivial for someone of my experience and skill to get a place in administration, and I would run the town paper and nurse the flames of the photography revolution in my off-hours.” Aya dabs away some tears. “People were suspicious of us moving in such force, so the golden moment finally came: the Chief decided a new tengu news organization was to be set up entirely from the ground up in Gensokyo City, the territory capital! I volunteered immediately. I like Sage Springs, honestly, but this town isn’t exactly headed to a great place.
Chief Iizunamaru called me to a meeting today, so I thought this was it. But she went on and on about planning for an event in town to be sponsored by the company. So I asked her about it directly and… and she told me it was going to be filled by someone else.” Aya sniffles, her eyes watery, but still focused on the door. “It’s still a little blurry, but I definitely protested. I even tried to bring up my photography, since the Chief is pretty open minded for a great tengu, but she told me that while new innovations are important, it’s ‘impossible to explore every path in a forest at once.’ Finally she claimed I was too useful and she needed me here, but I understood her meaning completely! All this sunburn, sweat, and sand in my geta for nothing! I'll never get my lucky break.”
“What happened to the Gensokyo City thing?” Your curiosity overrides caution.
The reaction is immediate: she collapses into a chair for a second before springing back up, limbs tense. “I hate this the most! The new position’s been given to that hatchling, the damned Himekaidou girl! Oh! I still can’t believe it! The rag she has was picked over my Bunbunmaru! How can Chief Iizunamaru actually believe that runt’s stale articles are superior to my pure and honest words? And the age-ism! Why are only ‘promising young individuals’ being ‘provided with opportunities’? Augh!” Her face falls into her hands as the energy leaves her body. “This is the worst case scenario.”
She seems to be pretty tapped out, but at least she’s stopped crying. Now Aya just looks depressed.
[ ] “Oh, okay.”
[ ] “There’ll be more chances in the future, I think.”
[ ] “Why not just do the news thing on your own?”
[ ] “It’s not that bad…”
[ ] This is awkward… tickle attack!
[X] “There’ll be more chances in the future, I think.”
-[X] Bluster and brag you'll be it.
Obviously that big break is Cirno. Folks love stories of revolutionary individuals tripping themselves with bootstraps into victory despite the odds. Our hero surely has enough pride to make such a claim. Just has to defeat the Ghost Thief, Beast Gangs, and then the Vampire.
Honestly I'm interested to see if this just makes the bird's mood worse because some nine-counting dummy is claiming to be super duper cool...or maybe the bird will be truly desperate and latch on.
[X] “There’ll be more chances in the future, I think.”
-[X] Bluster and brag you'll be it.
[X] “There’ll be more chances in the future, I think.”
-[X] Bluster and brag you'll be it.
“And you’re so sure of that?” Aya challenges, voice sullen. “What do you know about journalism or newspaper business?”
“Uh, you write down important things that are going on?”
“Er, that—fine.” Aya grumbles onward, “Would you know of any important things that happen around this place?”
“Well, me!” You hop back up on your feet, stabbing your thumb to your chest.
She looks unimpressed and waves you away. “Barely half a page on a single extra.”
“That’s pretty good, right?”
She just shakes her head.
A moment of quiet follows. Why the heck is Aya so upset anyways, when she can do stuff like make photographs and fly and spin up mini-tornadoes? Oh damn, if this town reporter gives up, then who else would be able to take pictures of you and write about you in the newspaper?
A mighty leap takes you on top of the coffee table, ratting the tray of porcelain as you balance yourself. “Oh yeah?! Well, that’s just the start! You’d need a full textbook for what my plans involve!”
Aya follows you with her head, raising one eyebrow in a disbelieving stare.
You stare back.
She blinks first, breaking into a fit of giggling. “And what does our brave heroine hope to accomplish?”
“Well first, you already know I’ll nab the Ghost Thief, but I’ll be taking on the Beast Gangs next! Then once I get enough money, I’ll finally crush that red vampire! Maybe even hire her as a maid. And then, I’ll turn Whiterock Mountain into a paradise for all fairykind!.” You pause only to catch your breath. “So that’s why I need you to photography all that, and write big stories about me.”
Aya’s expression softens from outright ridicule to amusement, then rests on something unreadable. She slaps her cheeks before rising with a slight stagger. Her face seems to regain color. “How unsightly it is for a tengu such as I to be cheered up by tales spun by an impulsive fairy.”
“Are you going to keep making the newspaper?”
“It’s not like my situation’s changed any. By the way, photograph would be the proper term for ‘using photography’.”
“Wha–, really?”
“Thank you, for reminding me to stop putting off my actual work. I’ll be following up with your investigation later. Farewell.” Aya takes her leave from the lounge, muttering to herself, black dress swishing down the hallway. “Fairy sheriff, huh? Perhaps there is a reporting opportunity here…”
With the tengu gone, you ease yourself off the table. Some yellow footprints remain on the polished surface, which Tsukasa eyes unhappily, but that can’t be helped. Shoes are dirty after all. Aunn whispers over to you when you pass, “That was very kind of you, Cirno.”
“Huh? I really do need Aya to record my adventures.”
“Oh…” Aunn blinks. “I… suppose.”
She droops back into her notes. The excitement over, you again wrestle with the strange custom of waiting for things to happen. Giving into the temptation, you start to poke at the heavy volumes on the shelf, trying to guess which ones have the best pictures. But, you’re saved from having to actually pry out the heavy books when the office door finally opens, emitting a cheery-looking Momoyo.
“Can the next customers please step up?” The forewoman holds the door open, precariously pointing inside with her pickaxe.
“Finally, that’s us!”
Momoyo pats Aunn on the back when she passes. “No need for the long look: she'll treat you alright.”
Aunn nods, but still looks apprehensive as you lead the way into the tengu chief’s office. Momoyo softly closes the door before she whistles off.
You’re not exactly sure what to expect, but it all appears so plain at first. Polished but undecorated wood boards furnish the entire square room. It’s awfully tall, too, making it closer to a cubical chamber. But it’s the ceiling that captures your eyes, straining at first to make sense of what exactly is above your heads, then widening in marvel.
The ceiling… looks open. An infinite black depth presses down from above, against which gem-like projections flash and twinkle. And in the very center of the illusionary night sky is set the moon, a crescent glowing with ferocious softness, keeping the rest of the room at twilight while directing most of the brightness onto the surface of Iizunamaru’s desk. Despite the morning outside, this office is shrouded in night.
“I enjoy seeing people’s reactions. Everyone’s slightly different. A tad bit dark for an introduction, however.” The chief speaks from behind her desk, and you self-consciously close your mouth.
With the sound of shuffling papers, she finishes putting away a handful of cream-color folders into a small complex of cabinets at the edge of the desk. The desk itself is a simple construction of two thick boards supporting a broad platform covered in even more papers, each crammed with the tiniest letters and abstract diagrams. The open bottom reveals the basic tripod stool that she sits on with one leg crossed over the other. The only ornament on the desk is a clay platter with a handful of mis-shapen pearls, softly spilling out a mysterious, rippling iridescence.
“I can adjust the phase of my moon with this knob here, to make the room brighter.” She demonstrates how with a slow twist of her fingers, the dark blotch inside the lamp shrinks, flattens out, then bends away as it retreats, the lamp becoming a perfectly round and pale dollop.
With the room completely lit, a single unbroken plane of glass is exposed, stretching the entire ceiling. It’s artfully stained with blue swirls and soft rifts, and embedded with imitation stars. The walls are revealed to be dense with more books, stacked like vertical bricks, alongside countless files and several boxes, also filled with files. The window behind the chief is hidden behind velvety curtains.
Aunn squints at the lamp as the tengu chief restores the light to fullness. “It’s a skylight!”
“Oh, very good! You have observant eyes.” Iizunamaru compliments.
“What happens if there’s clouds?” you wonder aloud.
“We do have electricity installed—quite handy at night—and there’s a backup after that.” She gestures in the rough direction of the sooty lamp tucked away in a bottom shelf.
“It’s awesome!” you comment.
“It is impressive.” Aunn agrees.
“Thank you, you’re both very kind. Others have called it… extravagant, luxurious, even wasteful?”
“That’s mean of them!” you respond.
“Thank you, but fair to them, it'd be true, if it weren’t necessary for me. For the longest time, I slept at day, waking only at sunset—” Megumu’s eyes flicker as she contains a yawn. “Excuse me! Nowadays, my life seems to have moved beyond natural schedules entirely, so I sleep whenever I can. Only this office keeps me anchored.
But forgive me! As dear as my office is to me, I doubt that you’ve come all this way just to be entertained by mechanical trinkets. I am Megumu Iizunamaru, and I have the substantial pleasure to represent the Great Mountain Mining Company.” She rises, and steps forward around the desk. Bending slightly, Megumu firmly shakes your hand, then Aunn’s.
“Please, sit!” She pulls over two plush chairs before the desk as she returns to her own seat. “And of course, I also apologize for what happened earlier. I really do hope my subordinate didn’t disturb you. Youngsters these days can be, well: emotional. So! What brings our town’s new sheriff here on such short notice?”
Aunn takes the lead in explaining your purpose to Megumu. Her eyes glance between the two of you.
“Yes, I have heard of this Ghost Thief. I want you to know that the Company, along with myself, wholeheartedly support your mission to capture such a notorious criminal. Someone that plagues the town during difficult times like these is truly a menace.”
“Then, have they stolen anything from the Company? Surely you have some information on them,” Aunn asks hopefully.
Megumu sighs as she confirms your initial suspicions. “Unfortunately I do not. They must be cowards, for not one piece of Company property has been reported missing lately. Neither have I heard any complaints from the miners.”
You both instantly deflate.
“If my people hear of anything, I will be certain to let you know.” Megumu adds.
“Really? Thanks!” you respond. Sucks that it took so long to wait just for such a simple answer.
“Please, a moment before you leave! I understand that your current priority is catching the Thief and that you have other places to investigate, but if you could spare a few extra minutes, I would like to bring up our working relationship in the future.” The tengu chief loosely clasps her hands.
“What do you mean?”
“I’m personally confident you are more than capable of finding this Ghost Thief, but what about beyond that? The fact is, the Company is a powerful economic player in Sage Springs. We have resources and influence, even outside the town. We could greatly assist you in local security and community revitalization!” Megumu leans forward, intense ruby eyes focused on yours. “But none of this is possible without the Mayor’s approval. What we would like is a bridge between us and town hall, so we can better understand each other.”
Sounds kind of reasonable, and this Iizunamaru lady seems much cooler than Aya or her letter. You open your mouth, but Aunn moves first.
“Miss Iizunamaru, you can’t buy us out that easily!” Aunn counters. “We already refused Aya yesterday about this. If the Mayor’s suspicious, it’s for a good reason!”
The tengu tilts her head slightly, seemingly unbothered. “Very well. I’m saddened, but it is true that trust must be built up over time.”
“Is there anything else?” Aunn growls.
“Hear me out just one last time. To show my openness and willingness for cooperation, I will let you know of an issue that we ourselves are perplexed by.” Megumu pauses for a moment before continuing. “Among our employed miners, there are rumors giving people a false impression of our Company. These rumors claim a secret treasure is buried under the town.”
“T-treasure!?” Your legs start to kick. Now this is captivating news to you!
“Yes. Despite our best efforts, these rumors persist. It leads us to believe that someone is intentionally spreading this false information around.” At Aunn’s suspicious look, Megumu probes her directly. “I’m certain you’ve heard of this. It’s been going on longer than the Ghost Thief.”
“I-I have heard of people talking about treasure a few times.” Aunn admits. “But is it that much of a problem?”
“It is. The treasure rumors have disrupted work and sowed distrust between our people,” Megumu answers firmly. She then puts down her second offer. “Sheriff, simply put, help us with our problem, and we’ll help with yours. In fact, I’d be willing to offer the direct assistance of some of my best in apprehending the Ghost Thief, and even beyond that.”
“Hmmmm…” That’s pretty neat, honestly. And there’s treasure!
“Cirno, careful!” Aunn whispers to you, almost hissing. “There has to be a bad reason the Tengu are trying to get close!”
Megumu just gives you a friendly smile.
[ ] Accept.
[ ] Refuse.
>Some yellow footprints remain on the polished surface, which Tsukasa eyes unhappily, but that can’t be helped.
Spiting foxes is a win in my book.
>I’m personally confident you are more than capable of finding this Ghost Thief
politician
>“Cirno, careful!” Aunn whispers to you, almost hissing. “There has to be a bad reason the Tengu are trying to get close!”
It's good to see that Aunn is also distrustful of the Establishment despite being only a week old. I must question the judgement of saying all this in earshot of Big Tengu. Still, if your superior was Cirno, subtle warnings don't work.
[X] Accept.
A fairy cannot resist a treasure hunt, even a fake one. Perhaps the company's lack of theft is interlinked. Maybe those snake oil sisters are involved. Or it's all one big goose chase, and the Company is up to something—like an actual golden goose. Fey friends might be able to help if we could find them and they haven't been beaten seven shades by the juggler.
> But she went on and on about planning for an event in town to be sponsored by the company.
Probably should ask about this
[X] Accept
Aunn sighs.
“Oh, don’t look like that, Miss Deputy. You act as though this were some deadly oath, or a marriage. We’ve merely agreed on a friendly partnership for now.” Megumu says.
“Fine. But we are only helping you for this rumor matter. Right, Cirno?” Aunn nudges you in the arm.
“W-wha?” You snap out of a gold-plated daydream, sitting back up. “Yeah, we’re only looking into this treasure, and nothing else! Easy-peasy!”
“That’s the spirit! To be honest, I know the rumors are rather nebulous. Could be nothing more than a string of spontaneous gossip gone too far.” Megumu explains, setting some terms. “Regardless, I honestly appreciate another pair of eyes on this! I’d like to hear from you, say… one week from now. Just to see if you can come up with anything we could not. And for my part, there are a couple of my best I’ll assign to support your investigations. You’ve met Aya already, so you can let her know if you need them.”
From across the desk, Megumu shakes your hand a second time, and much more thoroughly. Her hand completely eclipses yours, fingers brushing your wrist. “If only we had some sake to celebrate with! But I’m sure you have many other places to be.”
“We want to talk to some of the mine workers about the Thief!” you chirp.
“I can certainly help with that, too.” Megumu stands, and beckons you both to follow her. She then leads you both out, back into the lounge. The chief calls on her secretary, “Oh~ Tsukasa! Are you busy?”
“Like a worker bee, Lady Iizunamaru! Right now, I’m finishing up on those requisition orders for the printing department, and there’s the postage—”
“Well, set that aside for now. Can you please show our two officers to the miner’s village?” Megumu holds up a hand when Tsukasa opens her mouth. “Ah, that’s right! On top of that, take them to the company store there. I’m sure our manager has an opinion or two about these recent thefts!”
Both of them chuckle to themselves. Megumu then turns back to you for her farewell. “Tsukasa is my trusted secretary and advisor. She’ll guide you to some people who, hopefully, you can find helpful. Good luck, Sheriff, Deputy, and don’t forget to look into those rumors!”
###
Out from the tengu company’s base, and after a second round of passive-aggressiveness with the gate guards, the two of you follow the secretary back into the field. Despite having been pulled off what sounded like a lot of paperwork, she seems to be in a fine mood, swaying with a lightheartedness in her walk and swishing her brass-colored tail, flashing when it catches the sunlight. It’s almost hypnotic to observe. She wears a pure white uniform and short dress with a few green ribbons peeking between layers of lacy frills.
The youkai workers were apparently housed in a section separated by a hill from the rest of the town, like a little offshoot village. Tsukasa initiates some small talk during the walk, humming as she trades rather basic questions. The group quickly reaches the outskirts of town and passes by an aging fence, where a fresher trail seems to have been carved straight through.
“So, how long have you two been working together?”
“Since yesterday!” you boast.
“Really? You mean you became sheriff just yesterday?”
“Mhm.”
Tsukasa claps her hands together. “I didn’t know! You must be a natural! The demands of a whole town… so many people and tasks to manage! It can’t be an easy job to handle. Yet you look so confident and energized.”
“You really think so?” Praise, and so soon! Yippee!
“Of course! I feel that Miss Sheriff is cut from the same cloth as Miss Iizunamaru. You just give me that style, that feeling. Decisive leadership, but also takes her companions seriously! Keep it up. Unless Miss Deputy here has a complaint!” Tsukasa jokes cheerfully.
Aunn blinks rapidly and gives her a side-eye glance. “No, it’s… all working very well. Sorry, Miss Tsukasa, we’ve just met, but you seem… really excited about us.”
“I’m invested! I’ve been working with Lady Iizunamaru here for several seasons already. We’re all doing our part to make things better around town and I’d love to see the results of it. Nurturing good people is part of that.”
You finish the soft climb up the hill before your destination. Curiously, at the top, there’s a square foundation and tracks and construction refuse everywhere, filling out the contours of a ghost of a building. A basic wooden gate with two overhanging horizontals is the only thing standing tall, which you had seen from below the hill, but didn’t really understand until now. Visible between the gate, two empty stone pedestals too heavy to be recovered only display cracks and dust.
You keep following Tsukasa down the slope, towards a neat and orderly block of homes. The dirt path transitions to a street paved with smooth cobbles and the buildings are capped by tin roofing painted a brilliant red.
“Wow, it is nice here!” you remark. It’s nothing like the dusty old office you currently have.
“I’m glad you think so!” Tsukasa proudly shows you both around, gesturing at things of note. She claimed each and every building was a pre-constructed template that could be shipped in pieces across the country by rail. It’s apparently a cheaper and easier method of building which seems unbelievable to you. You visualize houses with wheels zipping across the land, driven like some herd of metal cows.
Neither had expenses been spared with the decorations. Pretty planter boxes house purple and green succulents while the regularly spaced public benches are shaded from the sun by a frame construction of taut canvas. A communal water pump had been installed in the central square, producing gushes of sparkling clean water.
“What you see here was all first built by the Company: a new, experimental model of a harmonious working community,” she continues, lecturing. “Unfortunately, we couldn’t get any of the humans to live here, so you’ll have to find them in the rest of town with your own resources!”
“That’s no problem for us,” Aunn replies. She mentions to you, “I know where most of the original mining families live in the main part of town, and we can head there afterward.”
“The problem is that most of the miners are working now, and I doubt you two care much for a trip down those shafts. Always so muddy! Still, there ought to be a few individuals on an off-day or part of the auxiliary staff.”
The group makes its way through the small neighborhood and approaches the last row of houses on the edge. Here, a second, slimmer stream runs right by and the houses closest to it are rather… different.
Uniformity has been broken, shattered by heavy modification. Creaking waterwheels and spinny flywheels, shuddering boxes and air-wobbling radiators, entire new extensions made of bricks demonstrate the disorganized engineering of the kappa units. You get close to a bolt riddled pipe, ducking when a valve above starts hissing steam.
“The kappa on our crew are technically individual contractors,” Tsukasa comments, seemingly unbothered at the violation of code.
Tsukasa brings you both over to a nearby pair messing with something on a collapsible table. They’re the first people you’ve seen here so far. Behind the two is a giant warehouse or workshop of some kind, erected right between two of the houses and towering over them both. Built from corrugated iron and warped boards and white-washed in splotches, it stands out like a blue apple even among the other architectural abominations.
Facing away from you sits an unfamiliar youkai in a brown work outfit with a black ribbon holding together a bun of dirty blonde hair. Tools and pouches hang from an apron and multiple yellow belts that stripe her bulky pants.
Her opposite is dressed like Nitori was, back in the Blinding Ballad, but sports glasses, a lighter blue hair, and a thick plaster shell over one arm. The uncovered hand taps on the table, before moving a familiar disc on an even more familiar checker-pattern board.
You closer at what draws their focus. It’s that game they’re playing, the same thing as what you tried with Larva and the fairies yesterday! Or, at least some weirdo thing that looks alike. As you watch a little bit longer, they’re just hopping the pieces between the squares on the board, and using nothing but their fingers to take the opposing pieces. Zero style, quite low-brow stuff, really.
“Why, hello! Greetings!” Tsukasa introduces herself, then you and Aunn.
“Miss Kudamaki! And a buncha strange folk! Whacha doin’ here?” The brown apron grins at the additional company.
You make your case to them. “We’re looking for anything you know about the Ghost Thief! Do you, uh, know anything?”
“Ghost Thief? I heard ‘bout of that trouble. Nothin’ we can do though, we’re not lackin’ anything and none of the gals have said anything either!”
The kappa with glasses finally speaks. “That’s the culprit who Nitori was ranting about! Something about having a bunch of prototypes and blueprints stolen, right?”
“Do you know more?” Aunn eagerly pounces in. “She’s reported to me before, but we’re still missing a lot of details.”
The kappa leans away, shaking her palms. “H-hey… Really now, it’s not a big deal I think. Nitori loses as much stuff as she makes. You know you could ask her yourself if you're curious?”
“Woah! That’s kinda harsh,” her partner says. “If this Nitori… red beads ‘n aqua hair, right? She did look pretty darned upset.”
“Yup. I’m pretty sure I know which blueprint she’s actually cares about though: it’s her ‘magnus opus’, the ‘game-changer’, the ‘every-machine’. Super cool but won’t show anyone anything about it. Oh well. That burglar probably wanted a nice cucumber-scented wallpaper.” The kappa scratches her plaster stump, flicking away a white sliver. She gives a hollow knock against the wall of the big workshop. “Good thing, too. With it missing, she’s had no choice but to work on her assigned part for the big surprise.”
“Speakin’ of that, uhh…” The blonde youkai leans in. “Can’t I just have a quick ‘lil peek? Pleeeease?”
“Nope! Still top secret ‘til next week! Or if you can actually beat me…”
There’s nothing else new that the two are able to tell you. No choice but to let them return to their game.
“Don’t look so down!” Tsukasa comforts you. “There’s still one more person here you must see.”
Back at the middle of the neighborhood, one of the houses had been rebuilt with a larger veranda and a giant sign blazoned with: Company Market.
A Closed sign hangs behind the window on the door. Set on the wall by the door is a rather long list of rules spread across multiple bulletins.
Reminder: Customers must wear shoes, shirts, pants, ‘+ under-garments’ to be served! Take off all hats. No smoking, loitering, pranks, or consumption of liquor on premises. Your cooperation is requested and required.
Company Dollars are preferred for all purchases. A 10% fee will be added onto all direct money purchases.
Barter handled case-by-case. We do not accept small pieces of string, or leaves, or spent casings.
A rainbow loop, or halo, with words under it: Respect the marketplace and be respected in return.
Operating hours change weekly, please refer to the table below. Information is updated every Monday at 11pm.
You point at the entry for today’s date. “Uh, what the heck are these rules? Store was only open from one to five in this morning?”
“Oh, yes!” Tsukasa nods as she unlocks the door. “Miss Chimata Tenkyuu is a lover of rules. It’s how she keeps our company’s commerce department so tidy!”
“I wouldn’t call a schedule this scrambled ‘tidy’,” Aunn says.
“You are free to argue with her on that point.” Tsukasa holds the door open. “A–hem! Miss Tenkyuu? Are you there?”
“Tsukasa? What do you want now?” A new figure reveals herself from the shadowy interior.
“Not me, today. Rather, I have with me two officers of the law. They just wish to speak to you.”
“...What do they want?”
“They’re investigating, but they’ll let you know.” There’s a clock on the wall, which Tsukasa squints at. “Ah, I must get back. It has been an absolute pleasure to meet with you both! Now, in you go~”
She strolls off and the doors shuts, leaving only the two of you in the dark store with Chimata.
“Let me get some light. Hold on.” She loosens a curtain on her side of a long counter, letting in a rectangle of white light. The store is indeed quite tidy, with little booths and stands shaped like miniature outdoor stalls displaying all sorts of goods, from the life-sustaining to the plain entertaining. Extra stock is tucked away wherever it fits, canned food pyramids braced against the wall, and a dazzling variety of more fun stuff, like wines and tobacco, stored safely behind the counter.
Chimata is revealed in her glory of colors, wearing a woolen shawl with a kaleidoscopic swirl of abstract patterns that stretches down the length of her body. Her hair is shiny deep blue and she has a headband made of some opal-like substance.
“I do not like that fox. She’s the kind of weasel that sneaks around rules like they’re just dead words, not things of great meaning.” She returns to the cash register at the counter and signals for you to come closer. “Alright. The market is not open, but I’ll hear you two out. First, though, can the shorter one please take off her hat? We’re indoors.”
“Oops, okay.” You quickly do so. You’ll just hold on to it, as attempting to hang the straw hat off your holster isn’t as stable as it would seem.
“Thank you.”
“Have you heard anything about the Ghost Thief? Any lost stuff?”
“Hah! So that’s what this is about. Robbers! No robber crosses a market god and lives. Since I have no smote corpse to hand you, I can safely say there’s been no Ghost Thief around here.” Chimata smugly crosses her arms. A moment of silence passes. Her headband catches the light and emits a faint glow around her head.
“Very… good.” Aunn says. “But would you happen to know anything about them? Maybe information from other shopkeepers?”
“I do not converse regularly with the town’s merchants, though I’ve done direct business with a few.” Chimata suddenly looks suspiciously at you. “Hold it. It’s a good disguise, but you’re a fairy aren’t you? Fairies are robbery prone individuals!”
“No! I’m here to catch robbers! I’m the sheriff! Look.” You urgently show her your golden badge.
“I… see. I apologize. That was hasty of me, but this talk of robbers puts me on edge. I have an excellent sense for them, you see.” Chimata thinks for a moment. “The company sources as many supplies locally as possible. And I do remember some complaints about theft, but attributed that to the influx of recent ne'er do wells.”
Aunn and Chimata begin to compare notes, but it slows quickly. Ultimately, the supposed market goddess could only corroborate what was already known, and many of the businesses are simply outside her experience.
“Okay, biggest for last: how about Mountwoods Trading Company?” Aunn flips through.
“Mountwoods! The yamawaro’s shop, isn’t it? I do not like that business. They give me the same ick a robber does… I admit their wholesale deals are excellent, however. Still, this is an unkind thought, but I must confess it: they brought their woe on themselves.” Her voice drops to a deep timbre.
“What?” you ask. “How?”
“Look at this filth: it’s Mountwoods’s new mail order catalog.” Chimata spat, pulling out a paper pamphlet. She flips through the two-tone pages. “An infernal device to allow them to sell things at a distance. ‘Anytime, anywhere’, as printed right here in fancy, fancy letters. How trite.
How can the buyer have faith in these caricatures of products? How can the seller establish a relationship of trust and goodwill with such a distant customer? It’s a soulless form of business, an attack on the sacredness of mutual transaction. And it’s just one of the many offenses that have been happening.”
The yamawaro store seems to have put Chimata on a roll now, like an angry avalanche crushing down an alpine ridge. You surreptitiously lean on a nearby crate to rest your legs.
“Nowadays, bankers flaunt gold they don’t have, farmers promise wheat still green in the fields, and builders sit on fertile lands only to be left fallow. And look at the results! Speculation! Panics! Recession! Is there any wonder why the world is in such chaos?
Of course, greed and foolishness begets only further idiocy. So called ‘reformers’ demand to do away with the concept of markets and ownership entirely. What barbarians! Do they want to return to the dark nothingness of knapping rocks and blood rituals? Without divine guidance, mankind is so easily led astray!
I mean, you saw the uncompleted shrine on the hill getting over here, didn’t you? No more gold so no more gods, but no one realizes it’s the other way around!” Chimata takes a deep breath and seems to shrink into herself. “I… well… had to get that off. I apologize again.”
That’s a lot of words and you understood a percentage of it, so you leave it at that. But Aunn looks sympathetic, especially after hearing the last part. “So… why’d you still work for the tengu?”
“Same reason as everyone else: Sustenance. Survival.” Chimata shrugs. “Now, I’m sure you’ve had your fun listening to a fading god rage against the unfeeling world. I’ve got my own work to attend to. Unless there’s something else?”
[ ] Push for more information on the Mountwoods Traders.
[ ] …Heard anything about treasure?
[ ] Tell us more about working with the tengu!
[ ] Nah.
This god doesn't strike me as the most stable, definitely has beliefs tho. Though, I think our heroine is shielded in part by her intelligence from such mental attacks like Recession, Speculation, and Panics.
[X] Push for more information on the Mountwoods Traders.
What this about a remote selling?
[X] Push for more information on the Mountwoods Traders.
[X] Push for more information on the Mountwoods Traders.
[X] Push for more information on the Mountwoods Traders.
Now that I think about it, if all this is interconnected and there's some big mastermind, Cirno might get her big moment stolen by bounty hunter Marisa who is in town.
[X] Push for more information on the Mountwoods Traders.
“Yes there is!” you state, getting up the counter. “Tell us more about the Mountwoods Trading Company! You said they were robbers!”
“No, I did not. I specifically mean that the first impressions I got from their people were very much like robbers... much like what happened with yourself.” Chimata raises an eyebrow. “They—or you—may have only helped with robbery, or did the deed in the past. That black stain takes quite some time to wear off, but the markets are generous and allow for second chances—”
“Y-your sense was wrong about me. Never stole a thing in my life, yuuup.” You ignore the spotlights of doubt cast by the others’ eyes. “I mean, why would the mayor make me sheriff if I were a bad person?”
Aunn changes the topic. “Cirno, you seem curious about the yamawaro. Do you have a hunch about something?”
“That’s because I have a new theory!” you say, hands on the back of your head. “What if the Traders are actually the Thieves?”
“What?” Aunn is taken aback.
“These yamawaro folk, what if they were the one’s actually stealing everything?”
“Err… is that really the right conclusion? Monutwoods is the business getting stolen from the most!”
“Ah, but my dear Deputy, that’s just a trick to take the suspicion off. No one suspects the victim, after all! This is a technique well-known among master thieves—and, uh, also master thief-catchers!”
“Oh, I hate when you talk with that tone…” Aunn mutters, before countering. “That’s still an outrageous theory! And didn’t you say before that a weird fairy was the prime suspect?”
“No reason there can't be multiple suspicious people!”
“We need more evidence than conjecture and someone’s bad feelings.” She responds flatly.
“Okay, but you need to show me evidence that the Trading Company was actually stolen from in the first place and they’re not just lying to us.”
“...” Aunn opens and closes her mouth several times, making no sound. Instead, it’s Chimata who speaks, head turned slightly upwards in remembrance.
“...I’m not saying I agree with the sheriff…” Chimata ponders. “...I got a little distracted when you mentioned the yamawaro business, but I do recall this one strange moment involving them. About three months ago, the town’s furniture shop was closing and the owner had most of his remaining stock on clearance. Iizunamaru and I visited and she was highly interested in this giant vase decorated beautifully with dragons, but that was the one thing he could not part with, as it was unique and the pride of his collection. I believe the owner eventually left with the money he could salvage along with the vase and took a wagon train heading back west.
The strangeness comes in barely two weeks ago: at the station, where I was supervising the unloading of some freight off the train. The Trading Company was going to load their own goods into the same car and their boss, a girl, was there. As they were moving a cart on board, the canvas slipped, and what I saw was most certainly looked like the same giant dragon vase! I almost tripped, it was such a surprise. That girl immediately covered the vase back up, and I was dragged away on a different matter.”
You pump your fist. “Busted!”
“Let’s hold off on judgment for now. Hmm… Miss Chimata, I trust your memory, but is such a vase truly unique? Or could it be a similar vase?” Aunn questions.
“Yes… Iizunamaru laughed it off as that and it’s what I settled on too. It was too sudden to say anything at the time and there’s no other proof. Besides, despite my distaste of their methods, Mountwoods is an established and successful business, with no reason to be prowling the wastes like lowly bandits.”
“So, it’s still inconclusive.” Aunn shakes a finger at you.
“I believe so too, but I can’t shake that odd feeling so I had to share. I am sorry if it’s not that useful.” Chimata shakes her head. “This robber mess is for you to actually deal with, anyhow.”
You both thank her for her help. The sun’s pretty high up by now so you both opt to have a break.
Chimata is surprisingly okay with selling some food, but only under a specific condition. You have no money, but Aunn still has her first week’s pay so she agrees.
It’s a quick little ritual, where she hands over the reds and blues of real paper money for a few white, iridescent bills. There’s no denomination, just that rainbow halo symbol from outside the store.
For the first time since coming in, the market god smiles. Her pale and gaunt fingers complete the exchange, tapping away at the cash register. “Thank you!”
###
“Great, now I have nothing but these ‘Company Dollars’” Aunn complains. She chews on a sausage wrapped in a corn-based dough. There’s no shortage of open benches, and you’ve picked one deep in the protective coolness of the veranda.
You fish out another sliced peach from the can, all gummy and sweet. The can is a little warped from where you had to use Aunn’s horn to pry the tin lid open. You slurped up as much of the nectar you could as it had spilled, losing only a few precious drops to the ants swarming underfoot.
“Don’t you think the Trading Company is suspicious?” You say before gulping down the rest of the sugar syrup. After throwing the can in the waste bin, you attempt to clean sticky hands against your dress.
“Let’s hold off on that for now, we still just need more information.”
Back in the regular part of town, Aunn seems to already know the general area still inhabited by the original human prospectors. Unfortunately, the human families are scattered thoroughly in a broad range straddling Main Street, from the town hall to the distance from the tracks where the buildings don’t get shaken too badly.
Most of the people are working and away. The only sound is the whistle of wind through the deserted streets, and an occasional crinkle of yellowly posters or bang of loosened flaps. You speak to some rather bored home-tenders, more concerned about their hanging laundry or outdoors tasks, but some actually do seem to cheer up at the company.
Ultimately, while they seemed to care about the shopkeepers’ plight, none reported any thefts from households or anything else new.
You feel a little frustrated at the slow pace. “Well, well, well… how’s that ‘more information’ coming along?”
“We’re at least ruling out possibilities. That’s tightening the noose on our culprit.” Aunn fires back.
The patrol passes through the middle of town for the ninth time. It’s surprising how the novelty of a new place wears off so quickly. The local climate plays its part too.
“Ugh, we’ve been walking around this whole dang day!”
“That’s our job. We’re supposed to be doing this, having a presence so people feel safer!”
Your presence is eventually brought to a shady alley where a gaggle of human children surround a tall figure. The children are sitting cross-legged or kneeling on the ground while the person in the middle sits on a pile of lumber, face concealed with a silky gray hood.
Suspicious… very suspicious! You approach them in a huff. “Hey, you kids! What are you doing here?”
They all turn around with a start, faces turned towards you like curious sunflowers. In their grubby little fingers are small chalkboards and chalk. The giant raises its head, parting the waterfall of silver hair. Oh no!
An involuntary step back almost takes you stumbling into Aunn. She’s surprised. “What’s wrong? Oh, afternoon Miss Nemuno!”
It’s that person, from that night outside the Komakusa Hall of Fortune. Nemuno must be the name to go with her terrifying face. No giant cleaver in sight here, thankfully. Even in the shaded alley, dark lines run across her face like the bark of a hickory tree. Crimson eyes glower from beneath eyebrows that droop to her cheekbones.
“Deputy.” The old lady acknowledges Aunn with a nod. “And this lil’ one?” She points to you.
“I-I am the Sheriff! Who the heck are you supposed to be?” You cautiously step forward again.
“You can’t talk to Miss Nemuno that way!” One of the kids stands up, a lanky boy, who points his chalk stick at the top of your head. Disturbingly, his arm is angled downwards. “And besides… sheriff? Of what? Inchling-ville?”
Your face reddens as all the little brats start giggling. You’re about to put the punk within an inchling of his life, if Aunn didn’t put a grip on your shoulder. “C’mon Cirno, they’re just children!”
“Tom. Si’ down!” Nemuno flaps her massive hand downward. “No laughin’.”
Her gravelly voice quiets the kids down immediately, but the boy sinks back down with an undisguised grin.
Her other hand cradles a peeling, leathery book, El-ment-ry Reader -nd Compos-tion. The familiarity sets off a phantom throb on your forehead. You’ve seen it before… somewhere back home, perhaps.
Nemuno asks Aunn. “We ain’t heard of any new sheriff. This true?”
“Yes, Cirno was appointed to lead the sheriff’s office by the Mayor yesterday morning.” Aunn answers respectfully.
“Tom, tha’ was mighty rude. Ya better ’pologize to Miss Sheriff.”
The boy stands, mutters his apology, “I’m sorry. Didn’t mean it.”
He retreats after a stiff bow, then sits again with a single corkscrew motion. You cross your arms, already feeling better. Maybe this scary lady isn’t so bad? “Apology… accepted!”
Another kid, a girl points at your empty revolver. “Sheriff? Will you shoot all the bad guys?”
“Yeah! I’ll shoot them lots! And I’ll be doing this to them too!” You raise your hand high above your head, aiming towards the blue sky. “Ice Bomb!”
The temperature briefly drops a smidge and a handful of fluffy snowflakes swirl outward from your palm. They float daintily until they melt from hitting the walls, exiting the shade, or falling into outreached palms. Dang it. You lower your head in shame.
“SNOW!” The kids squeal as they jump up and down. “Again, do it again!”
They start to mob you. “Woah! Hey, leggo!”
“Well, you dun’ it now.” Nemuno sighs. “Y'all are dismissed! Keep practicin’ those big letters!”
As the remaining kids clear out, you finally remember where Nemuno’s book was from: the first reader from the series of night classes at the temple school you attended months ago. “Are you a teacher?”
“She’s the security staff for the Komakusa,” Aunn informs you.
“Mhm, but the Madame usually handles herself purty well. ‘Bit smokey tho’” Nemuno explains, “My off-hours are for doin’ what schoolin’ I can. Not much’a reader myself, but can’t be havin’ these young'uns runnin’ around all silly.”
It checks out, looking further down, a sliver of the Hall of Fortune’s red and gold facade peeks over where the alley meets the street. The door behind Nemuno must be the side entrance. It’s sealed tight with a heavy lock and crossing metal bars.
“Sorry to interrupt your lesson,” Aunn apologizes. “But, we do have some important questions for you, if you have the time.”
“‘Bout the Thief, ain’t that right?” Nemuno continues after the nods. “Not much I can say, honestly. I keep the peace and guard the ‘portant stuff, not spare gamin’ pieces. Madame’s the one who takes care’a the game stuff.”
“Oh. I guess that makes sense.” Aunn scratches out something in her notes.
“I’ve… actually got my own request to make outta both ya.” Nemuno withdraws a small bottle from her fiery woolen dress. It’s red, and has Miracle Tonic in decorative font on stained wrapper. “See this? Nothin’ in here but sugar and water and a mix of herbs tha’ even buckwheat noodles won’t make taste good. It ain’t good for the kids or anyone else.”
“I’ve seen this!” you remark, instantly recalling the smooth talking lady from that night. “It’s sold by a fancy dress lady, around there, somewhere!”
“Yeah, that’s one of ‘em. They’re a pair, and the other’s a scamp in rags with blue hair.” Nemuno flicks the bottle from one hand to the other. “They’ve tried to pull some funny business wit’ the games before, so I know ‘em. I’d love to show ‘em the big iron again, closer this time. Issue is, they keep their distance and work at night, when I gotta stay wit’ the Hall. But maybe you two can do something ‘bout this.”
Another request already? Holding public office is hard.
[ ] “We'll try to catch these crooks!”
[ ] “We can’t make any promises.”
Maybe Aunn is the Kim Kitsuragi
[9] “We'll try to catch these crooks!”
Promises, promises, promises.
Everyone will be punished by the long arm of Cirno. Besides the scammers might know what the rumors of treasure are about, if our heroic duo can even catch them in the first place.
[X] “We'll try to catch these crooks!”
[X] “We'll try to catch these crooks!”
That's our duty.
[X] “We'll try to catch these crooks!”
[X] “We'll try to catch these crooks!”
Nemuno nods. “Good, those troublemakers need to learn their lesson. When ya get ‘em, if you’d be kind ‘nough to let me, I’d like to see ‘em in your jail one day.”
After saying farewell, it’s time to move on. By the time you reach the next stop, the train station, the sun is well on the decline, and lamp light shines from the windows.
Apart from the afternoon shadows, the station interior seems exactly the same since the first time you’ve seen it, all clean and neat. There is something new, which your nose picks up first, a subtle but fresh sweetness that suffuses the room. And there’s the stationmaster, at the same counter, humming to herself as she fusses over the source of the fragrance: seven peaches snugly fit in a hexagonal scarlet carton. They’re probably the prettiest peaches you’ve seen: flawlessly round and dressed in delicate white and pink fuzz that almost seem to glow. The canned peaches from lunch may as well have been jellied eels in pond water, and that’s just from a distant glance!
She closes the lid with a crisp snap. The carved lacquer outer cover depicts jagged mountains cloaked in clouds, and lush groves of peach trees. A rope motif with solid strips runs along the sides of the box. She puts the box under the counter and brushes her sleeves, before finally noticing you.
“Ah, the secretive one again. I’m pleased you appear to be in a much better mood.”
“Yeah, I’m back!” You haven’t forgotten her offer of help as you wave at the station lady. You rest your hand on your chest. “I’m Cirno and I’m the town sheriff now!”
“I see. You’ve done well for yourself.” The woman bows. “Iku, of the Nagae family.”
“Oh, and this is Aunn, my deputy.”
By the end of introductions, you learn Iku is one busy person, managing both the station and apparently serving as a “telegraphic messenger”, all for the Union Celestial Railroad Company.
“How may I be of service?” she asks.
“We’re chasing after the Ghost Thief! Have you seen them? Or lost anything?”
Iku shakes her head. “I have heard about this disturbance affecting the town… Our freight is always carefully accounted for. There have been no discrepancies that I can report to you.”
“That’s good to hear… but a little frustrating for our investigation.” Aunn scratches off another line in her pad. “We really haven’t gotten far today.”
“I’d be happy to help—” A chime rings out from nowhere, a tiny bell with a lingering note. Iku reacts with a slight perturbation. “My apologies. I must attend to this new message first. Please excuse me for one moment.”
The stationmaster turns to the side in a swish of silk, facing that strange beeping machine. The device shares an inset in the wall with a small working desk. Above it, hangs a printed sign: Domestic telegram: 5¢. An additional fee may be charged for international destinations.
Iku grabs a pen and, after dipping it in ink, holds it above a sheet of paper already in place. She rests two fingers from her free hand on an exposed copper wire, as if she were taking a pulse.
Usually these kinds of contraptions make unintelligible patterns of beeps or clicks, but you don’t hear or sense anything happening. Yet after a brief delay, the twinkling silver tip of Iku’s pen begins a gliding dance on the page, probably tracing out some equally elegant cursive line.
“What’s a ‘telegram’?” you whisper to Aunn, pointing at the sign.
“I think it’s a way of sending mail quicker, using lightning.”
Mail, but quicker… It seems cool, but you’ve never needed regular mail anyways. And of course, like everything else, it costs money. You wonder if “Fifth tree from the second bench on the left fork of the gravel trail that starts by the fountain, Misty Park” would even be considered a valid destination.
The sound of her writing stops just half a minute later. Iku then seals the message in an envelope with a wax stamp before slipping it into a labeled cubby in the adjacent wall. She resets the writing set, wiping the wire with a cloth, and leaves the workspace almost sparkling before she returns to the counter.
“Are you the only one here?” Aunn asks.
“Yes. There had been others, but due to the level of service demand, only I was elected to remain.”
“That’s… kind of sad,” the deputy remarks.
“Some days can pass rather slowly, but my responsibilities keep me occupied enough.” Iku smiles. “Although, I personally prefer the quieter times.”
She continues. “And yes! As I was saying, I might be able to help with this investigation. Please, tell me more about these thefts.”
As Aunn describes the repeated nighttime burglary incidents in greater detail, Iku frowns. “It is very concerning. Here, I… could you give me until tomorrow? I have some research I can do, which should provide you with more information into this situation.”
“You’d do that? Thanks!” Too bad it’s not now, but you’ll gladly accept some actual help!
“But I have a favor I must ask of you, sheriff.” She looks a little more serious, maybe even a hint tenser.
Iku preempts your reaction, “And please! I assure you I am not asking you to do any extra work. If, and only if, you encounter a girl who wears peaches, or expect to, you must let me know. If she causes trouble, I ask that you let me handle her as I will certainly be of assistance in that case.”
[ ] Accept gladly.
[ ] Accept, but press for more information on peach girl.
[ ] Refuse: no special treatment!
[X] Accept gladly.
Stationmaster has been nothing but kind to Sheriff. Though a name and appearance of the truant would be helpful.
>Domestic telegram: 5¢.
Send a message to folks back home?
>They’re probably the prettiest peaches you’ve seen: flawlessly round and dressed in delicate white and pink fuzz that almost seem to glow.
I want it. Gut feeling these fruits might end up stolen.
[X] Accept gladly.
Why not? Tenshi is rather fun.
[X] Accept, but press for more information on peach girl.
We need to know what we're dealing with.
[X] Accept gladly.
“Sure! We’ll tell you if a peach girl shows her face.” Though, to be honest, you’re not exactly sure what she means by the mention of peaches. Some badge or symbol, perhaps? A tattoo? Surely, she couldn’t mean the physical fruit?
Aunn agrees, as the arrangement seems harmless enough.
“Thank you. It doesn’t seem obvious, but it is a favor that I appreciate greatly.” Iku bows. “Come me any time past sunrise, and I’ll let you know what I find.”
By the time you leave the station, the shadows are long, straining eastward. The first outside lamps are starting to come on, like fireflies lining the gold-paved street.
Back in your office, you and Aunn sit around your desk for a debrief.
“We didn’t really find anything!?”
Her notes are well organized and easy to consume, which you look over for a second time, hoping to find something that you missed, but it all matches with what you remember having happened. There had been a rumor of something weird going on with Mountwoods, but it was spotty. The stationmaster promised her own help, but it would only be ready by morning. Aunn did seem to have recorded a lot of extra information, mostly about the workings and layout of the tengu headquarters, but it’s not really relevant.
In the end, however, you ended up getting a bunch of tasks tacked on while all the original questions remain unanswered. It’s a little frustrating.
“Yeah, today’s round wasn’t the most helpful. At least we know now that the Thief is only going after the shopkeepers,” Aunn says. “Why that’s so is still unknown. I guess we’ll have no choice but to talk to the victims.”
With it getting dark soon and the both of you feeling quite tired, you agree to save any further investigation for tomorrow, except for one thing that your deputy ponders. “I’ve been thinking, Mountwoods gets stolen from every night. It’s one of the few things that’s consistent.”
You catch on quickly. “You think we could try to nab the Thief as they strike!”
“It’s kind of a long shot, I know the yamawaro have been posting their own night guard, and they have a lot more people. We don’t know when exactly the burglaries happen other than at night, so we’d have to keep watch the whole time, too.”
“Ugggh…” The thought of staying up the entire night just to do work makes your eyelids heavy. “We’ve already done so much today…”
“Well, there’s the saying: early to bed, early to rise…” Aunn recites, sweetly.
Or you could just do something else with these precious last drops of the afternoon. Preferably something fun, and away from the town’s streets.
[ ] Rest now, then patrol Mountwood’s warehouse tonight.
[ ] Just break for the day, investigate more tomorrow.
----[ ] Just hang out with Aunn.
----[ ] Feels like an Eternity since you've seen her.
----[ ] Didn’t we have something in the jail?
----[ ] Need to practice shooting.
[X] Rest now, then patrol Mountwood’s warehouse tonight.
Cirno needs her sleep, then she can go back to being the sheriff who this town is not big enough for.
Is it not possible to check out that fumigating doll in the jail and also patrol tonight? Like the jail is literally right down the hallway in our office.
>>69860
My thoughts were that either Cirno rests up enough to patrol at night, or she decides to (from her opinion) goof off until night, then sleep normally until the next day.
If that doesn't sound reasonable, I'm happy to change up the options.
>>69863
>goof off
Oh okay, that makes sense. Fairy brain. I was thinking Cirno would just take ten to look at the doll then get to resting for the patrol.
My vote
[X] Rest now, then patrol Mountwood’s warehouse tonight.
[X] Rest now, then patrol Mountwood’s warehouse tonight.
>“Oh yes!” Her voice gains strength as she describes to you how she had joined up with a gang of bandit magicians. Throughout their misadventures, they would use magic to both steal from various places without alerting the authorities.
Wait a second, is Larva the answer that's been staring us in the face the entire time?
[X] Rest now, then patrol Mountwood’s warehouse tonight.
[X] Rest now, then patrol Mountwood’s warehouse tonight.
“Cirno.”
“No… Dai… I didn’t eat… your slice…”
“What?”
“Believe… me…”
“No, Cirno, wake up!”
“Huh?” You awake to see Aunn looming over you in the dark. “What’s going on?”
“You’re one deep sleeper.” Her almost-whisper is hard to reconcile with the demonic visage cast by the candle-based lamp in her other hand. “C’mon, it’s just past midnight. We have to get going.”
That lamp is the only thing that saves you from flailing around blindly as you grab your hat, badge, and gun. The stairs are a treacherous descent, and the creak of the door sends a shiver shooting down your spine. The nighttime air, however, is delightfully cool and you freshen up quickly.
Outside, a sky of stars and a quarter-filled crescent moon glistens off the still street like a gossamer coat of frost. Surrounded by the inky impressions of darkened buildings and the mountainous land beyond, you feel small and conspicuous. Not a cricket or ribbit, or even a howling wolf disturbs the night, only the wind, free of entangling leaves, accompanies the patter of your boots on the dirt. No voice greets the swaying flame that Aunn carries.
But there is still life in the town. Much further down the street, a couple of saloons look to be sticking it out into the night, orange from their windows leaking into the street. A red dot wobbles, the cigar of a figure braced against a fence post. Each puff of smoke causes the single cone of yellow light from the closed station building to flicker.
Creeping forward together, you and Aunn head south, away from the stream and the tengu holdings, angling slightly towards the tracks. Where the weak moonlight can’t reach is void, parts of the world that might not exist in the first place. Shamefully, you’ve forgotten how dark it can get without streetlamps. Apparently some youkai can see in darkness like this, which is an ability you’ve never been more jealous of until now.
Soon enough, the buildings clear out, black blocks slowly replaced by black blobs of bushes and cacti in the crusty hills. The plants look almost soft, but a stray contact proves they are just as vigilant as ever.
In the open, your target is obvious. The Mounwoods Trading Company is housed in something that looks like a warehouse and a store, pretty much an enormous barn with a shop facade and porch at the front. There are no windows, or they’re boarded up and indistinguishable from the walls, bathed as they are from every side by spaced-out lamps. These must be heavy-duty and custom-made, their conical beams completely washing out any possible large shadow. There’s simply no way to sneak up on this place without being seen. But you also don’t see any guards.
“Do… we just walk in?” you whisper to Aunn.
“I guess so.”
You both proceed down a wide lane that links the warehouse to the rest of town, avoiding gouges driven in from heavy wheeled traffic. Getting closer lets you pick up on a complete set of triple wire fencing around the perimeter, right outside the circle of lamps. The posts look new and unpainted. There is still no one else, even as you approach the gate in the fence.
“Halt!”
The girl's voice rings out of nowhere, freezing you mid-stride. There’s is someone out there!
You spin around in a panic, but there’s nothing but inscrutable shadowy blurs. You blink hard, trying to get the illuminated warehouse out of your eyes, but it’s still hard to see anything.
“Who’s there!?” you yell into the dark.
“Shut up and stay still… or do you want help with that?”
Several ominous clicks ring in the night. Then silence.
“Hold your hands up.” A different girl’s voice, from behind you, but somehow familiar. “Good.”
Light, almost inaudible footsteps from behind. Out of the corner of your eye, a black spectre emerges. It steps in front of you.
You flinch as she shoves a lamp towards your head, immediately blinding you again. She passes by, then does the same with Aunn.
“Ease, everybody.” The figure’s glove hand does a cutting motion. “Back to your positions!”
You’d like to think you heard some light shuffling. Aunn pleads to your ambusher, “We’re not thieves! I’m the deputy, and this is Cirno, the new sheriff!”
Blinking away the sudden light, you can feel that, despite the cloak, the person seems much more relaxed now. She pulls off the hood and holds the lamp up to her face. The boss of the yamawaro and their Mountwoods Trading Company, Takane, studies you with an amused expression. Some gritty dust, charcoal or something, is smeared all over her face and hair. Only a shred of the yamawaro’s brighter, desert patterned outfit peeks out of the neck of the cloak of dull wool.
“Shush already, I know. No way the Ghost comes in swinging with a candle, or—” She waves her pistol, also darkened by a matte black coat, at something behind you. “—looking like that”
Your wings had reformed and you hadn’t even noticed! They’re a little sickly looking, more like icicles than the solid crystals you’re used to, but it’s a good sign! Unfortunately, they’ve always been difficult to hide, catching and scattering light. Your ambushers would’ve seen you coming all the way from town, even if Aunn hadn’t been carrying the candle lamp.
“Would’ve been nice to know beforehand that you were coming. Would’ve been a shame to end our new sheriff’s career so soon! Though, I heard fairies can’t actually die… is that true?” Takane laughs. “Nah, just kidding. Everything dies when you shoot ‘em enough. Especially this Ghost bastard once I get ‘em.”
Her good cheer warms up the rest of the tension, but it and the charcoal face paint can’t hide the redness in her eyes and the gauntness in her cheeks. She holsters her gun in one smooth motion.
“So!” Takane glances between you and Aunn. “Fine night, but I assume you’re not here on a stroll.”
“We’re on patrol and we’re hoping we can catch our thief red handed.”
“Ha! You and I both, Miss Dep!” Takane laughs again. “They better hope you get ‘em before I do. I’m gonna test the Roly-Poly on ‘em, make some chunky mash.”
“Uh… I think I understand where you’re coming from,” Aunn says. “But we’d like to help out. I know no one’s been able to even see them directly, but have you been able to find any other traces?”
“That’s the crux of this whole Ghost nonsense, isn’t it? Figuring out what they actually are,” she responds. “In short, no. We’ve put guards inside, but they either don’t see anything, or they… uh… fall asleep. Either way, stuffs gone, like it just evaporated into air. Randomly too, like a box here and there.”
“Wait, the guards fell asleep?” you ask, baffled. “Really?!”
“Yup, knocked out clean. That’s all they can tell me, coming out of sucking their thumbs and muttering about green mountains or milk soda.” Takane massages the bridge of her nose. “But it even happened to me last night, so I guess it’s less laziness and more the Ghost Thief has some kind of sleep touch. No injuries, no one else hears anything.”
“That’s concerning news to us,” Aunn says. “They have some kind of sleep-causing ability too?”
“We’d have been happy to share these things sooner if you’d swung by during proper hours, but ah well.”
“What are you guys doing outside?” you ask.
“Right. So, we still have a group inside, but they’re in a tight formation. At least two pairs of eyes on each person at all times, but that leaves a lot fewer eyes on the goods, unfortunately.” Takane explains her plan with pride, “But this bastard still has to get in and out! So that’s why we’ve rigged the whole place like a giant trap and encircled it. I mean, I hate to be skulking around like bandits around my own damn building. But that’s what it’s come down to. We see ‘em coming and fight ‘em in the open, or they leave us alone.”
“That’s a lot of effort…” you remark offhandedly.
Takane looks taken aback. “Um, yes? The stuff they’re taking is money to us, important money, gone! And the way they get away with it all is insulting at this point. And if I can’t get…” She lightly shakes her head, looking annoyed. “...basically, we could lose the whole business. That should be obvious.”
“Aren't you concerned, telling us all this?” Aunn questions.
Takane scoffs, shifting her weight. “Don’t take this too hard, but you guys are a little too soft to play that kind of game. Besides, the Thief won’t need help figuring this much out.”
“Anything we can do to help?” you ask.
“Well…” The yamawaro girl pauses, thinking. “Not much use for you in the bushes. I guess you could just hang out by the front entrance, like a mascot, or something!”
“There’s gotta be more we can do!”
“Yeah, I just can’t trust you two that much. This is still a business operation, y’know. Customer privacy and trade secrets and all that.”
[ ] Promise to work together to catch the thief and cooperate for now.
[ ] Press Takane about her business, and to see inside the warehouse.
[ ] Nothing can be done here, head back to the office.
[X] Promise to work together to catch the thief and cooperate for now.
Cirno! Sheriff of justice!
[X] Press Takane about her business, and to see inside the warehouse.
They wouldn't happen to have vases?
[X] Press Takane about her business, and to see inside the warehouse.
[X] Press Takane about her business, and to see inside the warehouse.
[X] Press Takane about her business, and to see inside the warehouse.
“I wanna see inside the building!” you demand. “That’s where the Thief is going to be tonight.”
“I told you, no one’s seen the thief.” Takane crosses her arms. “Unless you have some kind of ability you’re keeping secret, there’s no use having you mess up all our prep work.”
“I won’t know if I can’t see the Ghost Thief until I try!”
“Scoping out where multiple crimes have already happened would also allow us to better understand what they are capable of.” Aunn backs you, but she seems hesitant.
“You can come back tomorrow for that.”
“Why can’t we just look inside now? Unless you’re hiding something!” you blurt, impatience exploding. Takane’s fists immediately tense, lips curled to retort.
“We’re not accusing you of anything!” Aunn hastily cuts in. You get a strong feeling the yamawaro boss isn’t her main target here. “We just think we could be of more help if we could see inside for a little bit!”
Takane lowers her fists. Her annoyed expression doesn’t change, but she finally sighs, rubbing her eyes. With shoulders in sloop, the yamawaro boss looks exhausted.
“One says one thing, the other says something else! But alright, if you two insist...” She recovers quickly, beckoning you to follow her. “Just come with me.”
As you walk towards the front entrance, Aunn discreetly pulls you further back, speaking with a lowered voice. “Cirno, I want to raise a concern. I think it was very rude to accuse Miss Yamashiro of something there’s no proof of.”
“She was rude first! She wasn’t taking me seriously!” you angrily whisper in return.
“That’s no reason to be saying things like that. You’re the sheriff so you should act more mature.”
“What are you, a teacher?! I’m the sheriff and I’m gonna solve all these problems!”
The bickering is cut off when Takane brings you up a couple steps and onto a normal-looking storefront porch. There’s some chairs and benches scattered around, and a big round table for outdoor meetings. The powerful spotlight from behind blasts the wooden deck with contrasting highlight and shadow, like the fur of a calico cat. The group’s own shadows waver and shrink as the front wall gets closer. It really stings having your own deputy challenge your decisions.
Takane hits the door, a quick and specific pattern of knocks. The counter response comes shortly. She whispers something through the mail slot before turning to grin at you, but there’s no friendliness behind it. “We’ve gotta disarm some traps first.”
A few minutes later, the lock is unbolted with a ka-chunk and the door swings inward, allowing you passage.
Inside, Takane is greeted by a group of four yamawaro in their normal outfits, one holding a cast iron lantern. They exchange a few words with their leader, glance at you and Aunn, and return further inside, forming and moving in a diamond-like formation.
“It’s dark in here!”
“All the lamps are outside, ‘course.” Takane returns, but narrows her eyes at you. “I want no touching, not even breathing on anything. This is my store and my merchandise.”
Your eyes again are forced to adjust inside and with the help of Aunn’s candle, resolve shapes from the dark. The front door opens into a large floor space, at least twice and half that of the Mining Company’s store. Also unlike Chimata’s place, there’s no decoration or frills, just pillars to hold the roof and pallets to hold the goods, which are stacked everywhere, rows upon rows of sacks of dry foodstuff and racks of clothes and piles of materials.
It reminds you of peeking through the window of that new department store by the lakeside boardwalk, just less colorful and way dustier. “Who buys all this stuff?”
“Town was a bigger place a few years ago.” Takane shrugs. “Whenever you're finished window shopping, I can show you to the stock storage.”
The group passes an outer ring of counters, with display cases and tall shelves showing off the finer goods. Even in the dark, you recognize the shapes of pistols, knives, and jewelry arranged in the cases. Longer guns and fur coats are hung up behind, alongside bottles of liquor and wine. You also notice blatant gaps in these displayed items, the first clear trace of the Ghost Thief’s invisible fingerprints.
Further past the front section’s false wall, is the storage. It’s a complete maze of wood and ropes, a dizzying purgatory of crates and barrels. Here, the meticulous yet apparently ineffective work of the yamawaro can be seen most clearly. Thin metal wires are strung all across at multiple heights, from ground hazards to waist-level to high above the floor, guarding every channel around the towers of goods. An attempt at more spiritual countermeasures can be seen with lines of salt poured across the floor, crisscrossing like a spider’s web. A light floats in the darkness, the inside patrol passing by on an upper, overlooking level.
“Okay, seen enough? All this and the Ghost can still sneak a bag of bells through without a trace. You two think you can come up with something better?” Takane challenges.
“I see…” Aunn ponders aloud.
Takane points out that wires are rigged to flash harmlessly on contact; a fire would be disastrous here, afterall. It’s impossible to get far into the warehouse without tripping something, making the idea of stealing so much, so stealthily, incredible. There’s not really anything suspicious, much less anything else to say at this point. Takane looks almost excited as she takes you back out.
But there’s a part of the store between the storage and front sections that you missed on the first pass. It’s a little out of the way and you take a little detour to get a better look. The first thing you make out are large shed doors that would have to lead outside with a wagon packed with goods set before one of the doors.
Takane notices you have stopped following her. “That’s our wagon loading and workshop area.”
“A workshop? To make stuff?” There are also an array of tools on the walls, and several workbenches and stools in this corner of the building. Odd bumps poke through a couple of tarps covering parts of the benches. There’s also a tarp on the wagon, but it’s too small for everything it's supposed to cover.
“No, to fix rather… we run a pawn business at the front too, y’know.” She hesitantly comes over, bringing Aunn.
“A pawn… business?” You express curiosity at the unfamiliar term.
“Pawnbrokers buy used items from customers, or provide small loans with an item as collateral—you lose the item if you can’t pay. The store resells the used items they get,” Aunn says.
“Right! So, we run a little workshop to fix some things up so they can be resold.”
“That makes sense!”
“Sure does.” Takane sighs, before asking in a monotone voice, “Any other questions for your friendly tour guide?”
“I heard about this ‘mail order’ thing you guys do…”
She bites her tongue before sighing again and starting an explanation on how mail order works. Apparently it’s pretty simple: her company sends out catalogs of their available items across the frontier towns, and customers send back a letter with what they want, along with the payment. Then, the yamawaro would send the items out, by train or wagon. Many hundreds of unique things can be ordered this way, and delivered directly to the customer’s front door. How convenient!
“It’s the future of retail!” Takane glows with a brief spark that quickly sputters out. “I promise, I’d be more than happy to talk about this with you in the morning, but right now—”
“There’s a family photograph in this picture frame.”
Aunn stands by an uncovered corner of the wagon, her lantern held close to a small but impressive frame, decorated with gilt flowers. And in the middle with a brownish tint, just like the image Aya had made for you before, is indeed a photograph showing a bearded man, a woman, and four children.
“And this one has the same woman.” She points at a second photograph nearby that shows the woman in a different dress, surrounded by a frame of opal with a dolphin motif.
“Don’t touch!” Takane yells, almost pleadingly as she awkwardly moves Aunn’s hand off the wagon. She clears her throat, recovering her composure somewhat. “S-sorry, I thought you were gonna damage that. Well, what about these frames? They’re pretty nice, aren’t they?”
“Is there a reason you carry frames with personal pictures in them?” Aunn asks, gently but firmly.
Takane’s eyes glare towards something deeper in the warehouse, then dart back. “W-well they might’ve been pawned off and left by mistake. We also do custom requests through the mail order, could be that, even. We’ll be shipping it out tomorrow!”
“This wagon also is pointed inward. That sign up there says ‘receiving’.”
“I don’t manage everything directly, so I’d have to check in with the crew… but here’s a good reason for this, I’m sure! ”
“I don’t agree with hasty accusations, but this is definitely irreg—” Aunn stiffens, raising her voice in shock: “There’s someone inside!”
“What?” Multiple voices mix as one in bafflement.
Aunn usually looks either helpful or worried, like a puppy, honestly, but now she looks stunned, plain confused. Takane raises an eyebrow at the non-sequitur.
“You can detect the Ghost?” She demands, skeptical.
“N-no…”
“Is this all a joke?” Takane looks pissed now. “‘Course there’s someone inside: that’s us!?”
“No, wait, they’re inside the sheriff’s office! It’s a big… presence, and they appeared out of nowhere, in the jail I think!”
A pause.
“There’s someone new! They feel small, but they’re in the jail too!
Aunn faces the wall in the rough direction of the town, with a faraway look in her eyes.
“They’re running around the rooms now!”
Aunn’s play by play would be exciting, if only it weren’t happening inside your office! “How do you know all this!?”
“I just do!”
“They can’t just trespass in my place like that! We gotta catch them!” You’re already sprinting towards the door, Aunn’s footsteps right behind you. Whatever locking mechanism hadn’t been set, so you explode back outside, into the blinding lights.
“They split up and left! I can’t feel them anymore!”
“What? They got away!?”
“I’m sorry. All I know is the big one was headed towards the hills, the small one was heading towards the tracks. It was so quick…” Aunn’s pace falters.
You redouble yours. “I’m gonna intercept them!”
You –
[ ] Intercept the small presence.
[ ] Intercept the big presence.
And you also –
[ ] Split up.
[ ] Stick together.
There's definitely something big in that warehouse those traders have stolen.
[X] Intercept the small presence.
[X] Stick together.
Got a bomb but magic isn't fully back yet.
>Aunn stands by an uncovered corner of the wagon, her lantern held close to a small but impressive frame, decorated with gilt flowers. And in the middle with a brownish tint, just like the image Aya had made for you before, is indeed a photograph showing a bearded man, a woman, and four children.
Obviously this is Takane's husband or dad!
[X] Intercept the small presence.
[X] Stick together.
[X] Intercept the small presence.
And
[X] Stick together.
“Aunn, follow me! We’re chasing after the small guy first!”
“Right!” your deputy shouts.
The stars above are a blur as you run, leaving the yamawaro’s shop in the dust. Aunn catches up, the sound of her slightly longer legs puttering from behind, and the two of you head towards the tracks, weaving around dark obstacles.
The tracks are ahead of you, and soon enough, your boots are crunching on the gravel bed. The top of the metal rail is smooth, polished by countless passing carriages, and under the weak moon, it glistens like strips of silver arcing off into the distance. They take you past a working yard full of looming forms, then back to the station. But you find nothing except shadows and silence.
You finally reduce your pace, breathing heavily. “What direction did they go?”
“If they kept going in a straight line, close, I think. But I stopped feeling anything the instant they left the office,” Aunn says.
“So they could be anywhere?”
You keep moving, slower now, following the tracks north. To your left is the boxy spread of the resting town with the occasional light. To the right is the oily darkness of empty dunes. But you see no movement apart from an occasional lizard or bug.
A gurgling sound trickles into your hearing. This is about where a bridge for the train should be, you remember. The ground around the tracks sinks as it approaches the point where the railway crosses water, and you can see the stout, cross-beamed structure up ahead.
It’s a solid wooden construction, yielding only a dull tap as your step on the boards. You’re not sure how much longer you want to keep searching for one of the fleeing intruders, but you can’t let them get away like this!
“I hear you moving!”
Then, silence. That’s not a voice you recognize.
After waiting a few seconds and swiveling all around for another ambush, you both loosen slightly, eyes wide and blinking at each other. The words came from below, girlish and bent with bitterness?
“Get back in bed. You’re a sick girl, sweetie.” The voice is softer this time, and definitely under the bridge. It’s followed by several splashes.
Stepping with toes and breathing light, you creep over to the edge of the bridge. It’s not elevated much and you see only wet stones and water catching the moonlight.
Lowering yourself, holding back a wince as your palms brace on the rough wood, you strain to look all the way under. Perched on the gloomy rocks beneath, at the edge of the stream, is a strange girl. She’s kneeling in the water, soaking through the bottom of a puffy, dark dress. Her skin is pale, and so smooth it bounces the second-hand light from the bubbling water. And the water is bubbling as a small object is sunk into it, lowered under the surface by the girl. She raises it back up, revealing a dripping doll, decorated in the same image as its holder.
“Unbefitting! Playing with dolls at your age…” She mutters to herself.
Utterly self-absorbed, she delicately traces a stain on the arm of the doll with her finger. The few drops of water left on the doll fall away, fizzling. The stain remains, however.
The girl’s face twists in rage. “You didn’t take your medicine again! Stupid girl. Put that filthy doll away! Take your medicine. Your medicine medicine medicine medicine!”
She makes a choking noise, shuddering and almost stumbling into the water with her doll. Short golden curls bounce on both as they convulse. The girl herself looks clean, except for dark lines that encircle her elbows, wrists, and neck, all the places a doll would have joints.
You as well as Aunn, who had the same peeping idea as you, crawl backwards slowly, feeling a little more than unnerved.
“That girl, she looks just like the doll! The one the man gave me!” Aunn almost breaks her whisper in surprise. “I… forgot about that doll after I put it in the cell.”
“She’s holding the doll, I think?” After thinking some more, you put forward a suggestion: “Can we just call her ‘Medicine’?”
“Medicine! Your medicine. Medicine…” she wails from below.
“...I guess,” Aunn quietly agrees.
“Great. Medicine must’ve been the small presence you felt!” You softly pound fist in hand.
“I think so too. She was nothing like this two days ago, however. This could be the case of a newborn youkai.” Aunn advises, “I’m not sure what the best course of action is. She might be dangerous.”
[ ] Greet her and chat.
[ ] Scare a confession out.
[ ] Subdue first, ask questions later.
Oh, a crazy. Where's the bounty hunter when you need her?
[X] Greet her and chat.
It's night in the desert, so it's probably cold. Medicine is standing in water. If it comes down to violence, our hero might be able to freeze the water so that Aunn could club. That's if Medicine doesn't end up spewing toxic fumes.
[X] Greet her and chat.
Nothing can go wrong!
[X] Greet her and chat.
“I think we should just talk to her.”
“Just like that?”
You nod. “What’s the worst that could happen? She might be a doll youkai, right?”
“If she’s anything like the other… oh, nevermind.” Aunn follows as you quietly retrace the steps off the bridge.
“We’ll do it slowly, so we don’t scare her away!”
Staying cautious, perhaps overly so, you backtrack some distance from the doll dunking girl. Aunn relights her candle with a match and hands it over to you. It would be best to send you first, one person being less threatening. Aunn would retake a spot on the bridge to hide and could step in if needed.
With your deputy still hidden above by the rails, you make the approach, navigating the stony slope and stepping into the water. The doll notices, standing up shakily and pivoting her body to face you in a rigid jerk. She has a blank expression, and two piercing blue eyes that look like glass orbs. Her doll is clutched protectively to her chest. But she does nothing alarming.
“Uh…” You clear your throat and give a half-hearted wave. “Hello!”
Her mouth opens and closes, as if gulping something. Then, “Hello!”
“I—” you point a thumb at yourself “—am Cirno.”
“I am Cirno?”
“What? No, you’re not. That’s me.” You shake your head. “What’s your name?”
“Your name?” she says, with the same unnerving stare.
“No, not my name. You’re just repeating me!”
“I am just repeating you!”
“I know.” At least she’s honest. Time to have a little fun. “I am an idiot!”
“You are an idiot!” She actually moves her expression, just to mirror your grin!
“W-what!?” You stop smiling. Rats, she’s good. In the upper corner of your eye, Aunn shakes her head.
Fine then. “Is your name ‘Medicine’?”
“Name is Medicine?”
“Yes, Medicine!” You point at her.
“Medicine…” She puts a hand on her face, then slowly stretches it towards you. “You’re Cirno!”
“Great! Perfect!” You pump your fist. “Now we’re making progress!”
“Progress!”
“So, Medicine, what were you doing in my office?”
“I was in your office?”
“Yes.” You wait for her to respond. It takes a while and you shuffle your feet around the submerged pebbles. “I am asking, what happened before, uh, now?”
You point downward, then wave in the general direction of the office. She tilts her head. “Playing with dolls… Put that filthy doll away! Medicine! Medicine~!” She makes a low scream thrice, then slaps her arm a bunch more times, producing a clap with an edge of clinking.
You narrow your eyes, feeling a second wave of frustration. It was weird and creepy watching her from the bridge, but now it’s just weird and dumb.
“Cirno, I think I understand what’s happening.” Aunn skips down from the bridge and walks up beside you. “Let me try.”
The doll says nothing, but stares extra intensely at the deputy, head locked on target. She suddenly feels… irritated?
“Hello?” Aunn feels it too, and hesitantly follows up with a wave. “I’m a friend of Cirno. You haven’t been awake long, have you? We can help each—”
The girl points at Aunn mid-sentence, glaring, and recites in a flat tone, “The doll won’t bother you again, I promise.”
“Huh?” The deputy backs away one step, confused yet widening her eyes in recognition.
“Get back in bed! Get! Take your medicine!” She explodes in anger. You nervously step back, braced for something to happen next. The doll stretches out her left arm to the side, fingers splayed, and walks a yard closer, right hand still cradling the doll.
A light, acrid smell hits your nose, tickling it slightly. Aunn sneezes. You sniffle and blink. Then the pain hits like a shovel of embers thrown at your face.
“Ah!” You cry out involuntarily, eyes stinging. You rub at them vigorously, but the tears only scorch your hands. Instinctively, you try to back off, but a growing stiffness in your arms and your feet feel like rubber, slowing you down. Each painful breath has to be choked down.
“Cirno!” Aunn sounds close, then passes before you. “Stop that! Get away from the sheriff!”
“It’s some kind of poison!” You cough at the exertion of speaking. It’s like a barrage of wasps, all over your body and in your throat.
You manage to retreat even further, far enough from the girl that the pain isn’t getting worse. You bend over, blindly cupping and tossing handfuls of water to cool your burning face. It seems to help, you start to see again through teary eyes.
“Get away! Stop that!” Medicine shrills, but you barely make out what’s happening behind the dark, almost purple haze that surrounds the two.
The gas swirls around the little deputy like a vortex, but she seems unaffected, and for the first time, the doll-like girl’s face shows surprise, glassy eyes boggling, right before Aunn tackles her back into the water. Her doll goes flying off.
They wrestle, splashing about. Aunn has size and weight and skill and she easily pins her opponent down.
The trapped girl squirms and yells out. “Take your medicine!”
The water around them bursts into steaming froth. Aunn yelps as she recoils, hastily scrambling out of the water. By the grace of the lucky fallen lamp, lodged between a few rocks above the stream, you see swaths of swellings on her arms and legs, almost as red as her shirt, which hadn’t escaped unscathed either. Part of Aunn’s left sleeve bubbles and smokes, threads falling away, whatever foul poison the doll conjured eating clean through the fabric and leaving behind painful-looking trails of welts all the way to her shoulder.
Aunn retreats to join you. You’re both injured and completely soaked, but at least now your face only feels hot and puffy, that pumping, tense fighting feeling helping wash away the pain from within the skin. In the darkness ahead, Medicine seems to be panicking, crawling on the stream bed looking for her doll. It gives you time to breathe, very heavily.
“Are you okay?” Aunn asks.
“Yeah, I’m doing good,” you wheeze. “How are you?”
“Uh, holding on. What now?”
“Why did she attack us outta the blue like that?” There has to be something going on, she seemed peaceful at first. “....Do you remember anything about that doll?”
“Right, the doll! A man brought it in yesterday. He said they were trying to get rid of it, but it would appear back no matter where he threw it away. The doll was stuffed in a bird cage and really dirty when I first saw it, and I put the whole thing in the cells because there was a line of people asking for the new sheriff.” Aunn keeps a wary look at Medicine. “Thinking back on it, I heard about the man’s family before... they were considered a little odd. They had a sick child who passed on recently and they were going to return west soon. That… might’ve been tonight, actually.”
“Other than that, nothing really about the doll.” She tries to put her arm down, but winces as it rubs against her side.
“Damn.” Medicine seems to have found the doll, squealing in triumph. You switch to tactics. “She has a really nasty poison mist. We can’t even get close!”
“Her first attack only tickled my nose, but that trick in the water caught me off-guard.” Aunn studies you with concern, but you can’t possibly look worse off than her, right? “Should we… retreat?”
“No!” You face back towards Medicine, who had gotten back up, tightly holding her doll. You keep noticing how rigid and unbalanced her movements are, as if pulled by a clumsy puppeteer, hampered further by the flowing stream and uneven stones. Hopefully, your sore, shaky limbs will be able to do better.
Clearing your runny nose on your sleeve, you place the other hand on your holster. “We can deal with her!”
[ ] Open fire!
[ ] Open ice!
[ ] Try to talk her down.
[X] Open ice!
We can try talking with her when she's no longer a treat.
[x] Open ice!
-[X] Hucking ice!
Well we can't really approach without getting poisoned and we're surrounded by water with an opponent unsteady on her feet. With good enough throws perhaps knocking her over and maintaining fire will kick her out of commission or clog her fume joints.
>>69891
>when she's no longer a treat.
a treat, huh?
I mistyped, i meant threat.
[X] Open ice!
Diplomacy was never an option.
[X] Open ice!
It's self-defense!
[X] Open ice!
“If she’s a new youkai, then she won’t expect this!” You eagerly reach for and grab hold of the coldness at your core. It’s not fully back but what’s there feels responsive and ready to be unleashed.
To test, you launch a misty shot right by Medicine’s feet. A cloudy puff leaves behind an icy film that’s rapidly broken up by moving water.
The girl only gives the ice a dismissive glance. But you grin, the poison-inflicted pains and aches eased by this victory. Frozen droplets glitter like tiny diamonds as they drop off your flexing fingers. You feel more like yourself than ever, at least for the past couple days.
“Time to take your medicine! Cirno!” Medicine again gathers the poison haze to herself.
“Come on then!” You beckon her to get closer. She takes the bait, charging forward like an angry purple swarm of bees.
A second, stronger shot freezes the stream right under her feet. She slips, almost flipping in the air. But right before landing onto her face, her arms shoot out, arresting the fall at the last moment.
She pushes herself back up, just in time for a ball of slush to collide with her head, knocking her over completely. Stunned, she loses control of the poison, the purple haze slowly dispersing.
Thank goodness that hasty attack hit as condensing that out of the air took a lot out of you. Wait… you’re literally standing in a channel of water! You nearly smack your forehead at the realization. But that thought also inspires a plan to finally restrain this girl.
You move closer to her prone body, holding your shirt up to cover your nose and mouth. The last of the miasma bites at your exposed skin and eyes, but it’s bearable.
“Did you get her?” Aunn has her gun out, a tight grip on the barrel.
Medicine suddenly rolls over. “Get away! Get—”
You freeze the water on her face, making an icy mask with what’s left of the slush. She shudders, then tries to punch the ice, but you just chill her hands, which get stuck to the growing blob. Impressively, her scrambling legs almost find their purchase on the slick stones. That toxic foam bubbles up on the water again.
“Push her over!”
Aunn obliges, toppling Medicine before she can fully rise and allowing you to fully cover the downed girl in a layer of frost. The liquid poison ceases, but immediate fractures form around her straining joints.
“Can you keep putting water on her? And keep rolling her… yeah! Just like that.”
How frustrating it is to not freeze someone this small in one go! Tiring fast, you resort to working little by little, building up layers the same way a baker would fashion a multi-layered cake on a spit. While taking care to avoid hitting your assistant’s hands, you sweep back and forth, freezing the water gathered as Medicine is rotated, wrapping her in a cocoon of ice. The ice is sturdy and compact, yet pure enough to clearly see the prisoner within. The layers immediately around her skin have a suspicious discoloration, like a menacing purplish aura, but the deadly toxins remain as stuck as their controller.
“Uh… can she still breathe?” Aunn timidly asks. She warms her hands under her inflamed arms. Medicine glares angrily, but the entrapped girl is solidly not a threat anymore.
You put both palms on the surface of the ice. Interestingly, her body is quite a bit cooler than most humans or youkai, closer to something like an amphibian or a fish. It makes the next step easier as you knead away the remaining bumps in temperature, smoothing out the internal conditions in the ice. Slow and steady, so nothing cracks.
“No need to! That’s my signature hibernation technique.” You step back, proudly gesture like a showman. “Sleeping Beauty here’ll wake up perfectly fine after the ice melts. I used to do it all the time to the frogs.”
Aunn looks like she has another question, but holds back. You snap your fingers at Medicine’s face. Her unhappy eyes remain fixed towards where her doll had fallen. “See!”
The deputy walks over, cautiously pokes at the worn toy, then picks it up unharmed. She collects the lamp too. With the struggle finished, exhaustion starts to pool in your bones, a tiredness so strong to even kill the jitter in your extremities. Aunn proposes saving the other mystery intruders for later and you gladly agree. They’re probably deep in the canyons at this point.
You and Aunn arduously roll Medicine back to the office, drag-carrying her up the porch. You’re dimly aware of how handy it is for all the doors to be open already, before locking the girl in a cell and then passing out somewhere.
###
Awakening is an unkind experience. An ache bounces up and down your bones as you reactivate control of your limbs. Your ears and eyes feel stuffy and each swallow is a sore gulp.
You mope around on the bed feeling miserable. How did things end up like this? Is it a fever? You’ve seen humans and even some of the other fairies catch colds, but you’ve always prided yourself on your resilience of health. And not even the aftermath from that lucky score of whiskey felt this terrible.
The only comfort is in feeling your diminished but definitely recovering wings. Nothing can be taken for granted these days, absolutely nothing.
Now you remember: it’s all Medicine’s fault. Good thing you got her in a cell and all frozen up so she can’t use that deadly poison. She won’t be doing any croaking until she thaws, and honestly you feel jealous: she’s getting to stay all nice and cool on a hot, hot day like this... oh no. You shoot up and out of the room.
A warm breeze prickles sensitive skin as you reach the stairs.
“What in the world?!”
You carefully step your way down into a complete mess on the first floor. Something had snapped a length of railing off, scattering wooden splinters over the stairs. The broken edges are charred, and some narrow scorch marks pit the wooden supports. The damage isn’t too deep, but those same black lines and dots scar the walls too, and even more so on the door to the jail.
Whatever happened had knocked the chairs over and scattered papers everywhere. The window right by the stairs had been cracked before, but now it’s just straight up blown out, as if someone had thrown themselves clean through. Dry air swishes through the rectangular opening, spreading dirt and ruffling the fallen papers.
Aunn is curled up under her desk, head resting on a bandaged arm, completely motionless. You rouse her, urgently shaking her shoulder. “Aunn! Say something!”
“Oh…!” Aunn blinks bleary eyes as she croaks out a greeting. She’s not dead, just tired having stayed awake a little longer than you. More bandages cover her legs and neck. She quickly brightens up with a smile. “I’ve got good news! I think the Ghost Thief slipped up!”
“Okay, but what about Medicine?” you anxiously demand. Her doll lays on the desk. In the daylight, you can see its poor condition. The tiny maroon outfit is clean after the tumble wash it endured last night, but there’s tears and loose threads and a few burnt holes, much like the marks on the wall right above it.
Your worries about the doll’s owner are thankfully unfounded: the jail section is built of heavy bricks and only has a single tiny window, keeping things cool and shady. Medicine remains tucked away, eyes open but unconscious in a slick but still sizable chunk of ice. The cell itself looks fine with inch thick bars and the door is locked tightly. Whoever freed the doll simply had unlocked it. Aunn apologizes for her carelessness in leaving the keys in the office, promising to never let it happen again and she hands you the ring of keys, which you add to an increasingly heavy belt.
You linger; it’s the first look inside this part of the office. The cells are equipped with just a standard bucket and a rough-looking cot, but only one of the two remains free for use. Only a few pots and a chair decorate the rest of the dusty plank floor. The only real color here comes from worn paper tags with obscure red calligraphy that line the perimeter of each cell. It’s some kind of old spiritual defense system commissioned by the old sheriff and still active too, lashing out with a spark as you try to touch the metal bars.
Sucking the affected finger, you let Aunn take you back to the main room. “Come, I’ll show you some neat evidence the Thief left behind. I think it might be our big breakthrough!”
“How do we know it was the Ghost Thief?”
“First, this.” She first picks up a wooden rod with a newspaper strung to it, very much resembling a flag.
“Wait… that’s!”
You recognize yesterday’s headline: SHERIFF DECLARES WAR ON BURGLARY INCIDE. The bold mark of wax pastel cuts off the remainder. The intruder had drawn three giant symbols over the paper: a shining sun in orange, a crescent moon in yellow, and a five-pointed star in blue.
“They messed up my picture!” In the corner, grotesque disfigurements in black ink had been committed to your portrait. There’s a ridiculous mustache and googly glasses, and a jester cap, and other rude, demeaning things.
“You must’ve offended them with that challenge,” Aunn remarks. Easy to be casual when one’s image isn’t deformed.
“No…” The pigment smears under your fingers as you grip the page. “More than that! This banner—” you cough from the poison and excitement “—is a formal declaration of war used by fairies, for fairies! The Ghost Thief meant to leave this for me! ”
“I didn't know it went that deep.” Aunn raises an eyebrow. “I guess it’s like throwing a gantlet?”
“Of course you wouldn’t understand. This is a traditional and serious ritual between fairy folk. But these cowards didn’t leave anything to identify themselves…” you growl.
“There is also this.” She hands you a small white cap.
You play with it in your hands. Aunn had found it in the destroyed window, a gash present where the hat had caught on a jagged edge. It’s slightly stretchy and two black ribbons pop from opposite sides. It would be a snug fit over your own head… a fairy’s hat.
Aunn looks excited herself now. “And finally, look at this! It was hidden inside the hat.”
You lean over to squint at a tiny note at Aunn holds up:
Keep up the good work stealing from these yamawaro schmucks. We’ll hit them harder than ever tonight!
All their goods rightfully belong to the Gouyoku Alliance!
Your boss,
Toutetsu
“Does that mean…”
“Yep! Finally concrete proof the beast gangs are involved!” Aunn seems a little too cheery. “Specifically, the Gouyoku Alliance, the so-called ‘Eagles of the East’. Toutetsu is their boss. She keeps a low profile and seems to prefer making backdoor deals, but what is also said is that she’s a terrifying fighter when provoked. This is really concerning, but it’s key information we can work with.”
“Okay…” You poke a thumb through the gash in the hat, wiggling it around like a worm. “But just look at this hat. The Ghost Thief has gotta be a fairy!”
“I guess we were both right,” Aunn says. “But whoever they are, I’m confident they’ll be striking again at Mountwoods tonight!”
“How can you be so sure?”
“I asked all the shopkeepers to come to us first thing in the morning to report if they’ve been stolen from. It’s about 11 o’clock and you’re the first person to wake me up. That definitely wouldn’t be the case if the Thief was doing their usual work.” Aunn continues to explain her theory, “I think the Ghost Thief and Medicine ran into each other here last night. Whatever the reason, if they got hit with poison like we did, they might not have been in shape to complete Toutetsu’s job last night. That means they’ll have to try again, this night!”
You’re convinced. Ultimately, action is naturally more fun than not. You also have to get back at the Ghost Thief for that insult, and to avenge your office. “We’re going to need to prepare then!”
A day with a thousand labors starts with but a single task:
[ ] Get some actual medicine.
[ ] Get a fuller picture from the prisoner and figure out what to do with her.
[ ] Request backup… (one at a time)
----[ ] …from the tengu.
----[ ] …from the fairies.
----[ ] …from the mayor.
[ ] Investigate the yamawaro further.
[ ] Pick up the information from the stationmaster.
[ ] Practice shooting and fighting together.
[ ] A second strategy meeting: discuss the gangs and what we know so far.
What kind of boss signs their own notes? Is this a red herring or the fairies really needed that praise?
[X] Get some actual medicine.
Ain't exactly in a fighting state. Besides, the doc might give insight about Medicine's past given his role. I sort of feel we need a second deputy to send off to third tasks.
[X ] Pick up the information from the stationmaster.
It should be ready by now. Would be best to have the full picture before rushing off to fight.
[X] Request backup…
----[X] …from the fairies.
Fairy Wars! Fairy Wars!
[X] Request backup…
----[X] …from the fairies.
All call signs, chick in.
[X] Request backup…
----[X] …from the fairies.
Takane has teams of yamawaro. Megumu has an entire company of guards, assistants, and workers, enough people to lend them out without a thought. Even that Mayor who hasn’t asked once on your progress so far has two helpers of her own to your one. You need more hands for the upcoming confrontation, many more hands. Especially since deep down, even you have to acknowledge the four you have now are not in the best shape.
The first thought of who could help is Larva. She has two hands herself and she seemed to be prominent among the local fairies, who hold an innumerable amount more.
Aunn opted to stay behind to clean up the mess, which is fine by you. No matter how helpful she is, you aren’t fully comfortable trusting her with the location of the fairy hideout. You do take the flag and hat with you.
It’s about noon by the time you scale the cliff and reach the garden clearing. It’s quiet, the others off gallivanting somewhere. Only Larva and Lily are there. They stand around a giant fern, discussing some matter with intensity.
“Our failures are an omen.” Lily seems serious. “There are limits to nature. We are warned to turn back, and we should heed it.”
“I’m not doing anything wrong: I’m just making what exists a little bigger.” Larva giggles. “It’s already grown anyways, the only reason we can’t pull it out is lack of muscle… until now!”
Larva’s wings twitch as you get close. She turns. “Well, look who’s back. We thought you forgot about us!”
“Nah, I’ve just been too busy sheriff’ing.” You sigh. “I’m only here for work, too.”
“We’ve got plenty of work. Hold here and pull!”
Closer, it’s not a fern at all, but the leafy top of some giant vegetable. You grab hold of one rope-like stalk. Larva and Lily take their own stalks.
“Pull!” Larva shouts. You grip as hard as you can, knuckles white. Straining and straining the three of you pull but to no avail.
“It’s stuck. Let’s wiggle it like a worm!” you suggest.
The new strategy helps. The vegetable, a huge red root of some kind starts to poke through the clod, slowly eased out. When it’s about a third uncovered, a POP sends the three of you sprawling. A watermelon-sized radish rolls slightly, freshly freed from the brown earth.
The exertion causes you to enter a coughing fit.
“Cirno? Are you alright?” Larva says as she and Lily help you up.
“Yeah, I’m good.” You wave them back.
“Are you sick?”
“No, I am not.”
“You look sick, and sound sick…”
You relent. “It’s actually poison I got from battling a terrifying youkai last night. We beat them good, but she still got me a little.”
“I have some detoxifying herbs. I could make something—”
“No way! I’m not losing my powers again!”
“It wouldn’t do that…” Larva hops up to hang off the single ripened branch of a flowering plum tree. “Whatever. You still trust the fruit, I hope?”
She tosses a few plums down and you and Lily scramble to catch them. When your arms are full, Larva returns to the earth in a flutter of leaves, sending the picked clean branch bouncing. The three of you enjoy a fruity lunch, catching up on each other's misadventures.
“...so I froze her up like a frog just like that.” You pound a fist into your palm. “We’ll be squeezing information from her like juice from a lemon. Later, dunno when.”
“Wooow.” The two softly clap at your story. You take a bite from a plum. It’s perfect, skin’s not too tart.
“By the way… how did you grow a radish this big?” The giant vegetable was too large for any basket and was left leaning on a trunk. Clumps of dirt remain on the fuzz of the massive carnelian root.
“That’s a story and a half. I’ll start with the story.” Apparently it was related to the weirdo fairy two nights ago. Larva recounts the mis-adventure, but doesn’t seem too upset, even if it seemed the expedition met with disaster. “She waved her magic torch and a bunch of us freaked out or something. But I took an opening and stole it!”
“Stole what? The torch?”
“No, her fire! Look.” Larva says mischivously. She snaps her fingers and a tiny violet flame springs to life on her fingertip. The wavering wisp is almost hypnotic… kaleidospoic red and purple shapes dancing within… there’s visions of—a flick cuts off the fire. You blink, but the others didn’t seem to notice anything. Eternity continues as if no time had passed at all.
“She got mad and panicky and knocked me out with the rest of the torch. So I dunno who she was; she never gave her name. But she’s strong: really really really strong.” She cautions.
“I should’ve been there.” You regret not helping your friends and missing an encounter against a worthy foe.
“She heaving boulders like an amazon berserker of myth!” Lily chimes in.
“Yeah, they told about that. And I’m better now—” Larva rubs her forehead and then stretches her neck “—but her blow near took my head off.”
“What?” Actually, you feel pretty good. “Is she some oni fairy hybrid? What happened after?”
“We losh, duh. Everyone ran when the big rocks started flying. She then made off with some nice gems from Aka and Ao.” Larva tosses a plum into the air. “But no one’s seen her again, so Ao is rebuilding the collection inside the cave right now. So I guess we won as well.”
Larva continues. “The half is that I’ve been exploring the power of this flame. It allows lifeforce to become powerful, almost crazily so. The result is big radishes, and maybe more to come!”
“How do you always do stuff with that? This life and season magic stuff is so weird and amazing!” You might not try any of Eternity’s cookies, but it’s still impressive.
“And dangerous,” Lily adds.
“Ah, well… y’know…” Larva blushes, then looks at something behind you. “Oh hey! Your wings are already back! You should be completely back to normal tomorrow.”
Lily rolls her eyes, but you remember what you came for. “Oh yeah! That’s the problem. I need to stop the Ghost Thief tonight, not tomorrow.”
“You’re expecting a fight with the Ghost Thief?” Larva has a gleam in her eye. “We can help you out!”
“Yes! That… that would be awesome! Because it’s more than just some burglar now,” you exclaim. You finally reveal the evidence to your new allies. “Some sneaker left these in my office last night. That torch fairy, did she have any symbols like these? Or wear something like this?”
“That star on the left, she was wearing a bunch of stars like that on her shawl! But she had a spotted clown hat, not a cap.” Larva studies the two items. “You said you found these last night, but I can’t imagine her as the sneaky type. At all.”
“Dang it,” you mutter.
“But this…” She takes hold of the flag. “War is coming! I understand why you came for us.”
“Oh, no… I’m a poet, not a warrior.” Lily sniffed, backing away.
“You’ve been drafted.” Larva pats the spring-loving fairy on her back with one hand, anchoring her arm with the other. “Don’t worry: pens are a kind of sword too!”
“What about the others? Can I expect their aid too?” you eagerly inquire.
“I’m not so sure about that, unfortunately. They were quite freaked out by the torch fairy last time.” Larva lets Lily go, who stays put, seemingly accepting her fate.
“Bah! We don’t need them anyways!”
“I hope this is a decisive battle. I think Misty and some of the other saloonkeepers are in big trouble if they aren’t stopped.”
“It will be! We’ll end their threat once and for all! Victory over the Ghost Thief” you proclaim. Bellies full, plum blossoms above, you three fairies ethusiastically swear to vanquish the Ghost Thief forever.
“Meet me at the sheriff’s office at sundown.”
“It’s a promise!” Larva gives a thumbs up.
You have more preparation to get to, and so you let the two resume their gardening work.
“How do we get this down the cliff…”
“That’s why radishes are supposed to be small…”
Leaving the squabbling butterfly and poet behind, you’re forced to take a less strenuous path down the cliff, lest a bout of dizziness sends you dashing into the ground below. As you return to town, walking barefoot in the little river to keep cool and ease your feet, you decide to…
[ ] Get some actual medicine.
[ ] Get a fuller picture from Medicine and figure out what to do with her.
[ ] Request backup…
----[ ] …from the tengu.
----[ ] …from the mayor.
[ ] Investigate the yamawaro further.
[ ] Pick up the information from the stationmaster.
[ ] Practice shooting and fighting with Aunn.
[ ] Discuss with Aunn about the gangs and what is known so far.
[X]Pick up the information from the stationmaster.
>three fairies ethusiastically swear to vanquish the Ghost Thief forever.
Oath of the Plum Garden
>She heaving boulders like an amazon berserker of myth!
Well treating her like a Classical Hero seems apropos. Violent fits of rage and monstrous might is unhealthy to confront. cuneiform doesn't seem adverse to deadly outcomes for characters considering his last story.
Larva keeps on dodging questions like a champ
[X] Pick up the information from the stationmaster.
peaches
[X] Get some actual medicine.
Maybe we shouldn't put this off?
Getting the fairies was a good choice. Nice to see Cirno has some ride-or-die homies to stir up trouble with.
[X] Get some actual medicine.
OP is clearly hanging this Sword of Damocles over us. We are already not at full Power, so starting battle poisoned is a recipe for disaster.
Also, there's no point in getting the information if our sheriff won't be in any condition to use it.
>>69908
>poisoned
Don’t suppose the Ghost Thieves are also suffering from poison. Admittedly I don’t know how fast the medicine will get our heroes back into shape. I sort expect Larva to hard carry with her new power.
If they were poisoned, we could potentially score some free intel by asking if the clinic had any other conspicuously poisoned patients recently.
[X] Get some actual medicine.
The sun is just past its zenith and you enter the shade of the office’s porch with relief.
Aunn had swept out most of the glass and wood debris and put boards on the broken window. The furniture remained bare bones, but it was all standing upright now. And you also noticed all the old papers had been pulled off the walls. It made the room much tidier, but also emptier, deprived of character in a way. Perhaps you could decorate once things were settled.
Fewer, but fresher papers are pinned on the boards. There’s some boring legalese, some maps, and a clean copy of the Bunbunmaru with your article. A whole section is devoted to ranger-issued bounties for various gangs, dated a year ago. There’s a lot of members of the three Beast Gangs in particular, and a lot of zeros next to the dollar signs by those names, you observe. Only a “Saki Kurokoma” has a detailed image: a fearsome-looking wide-shouldered woman with a broad hat and massive wings, towering over the point of view of the picture. Toutetsu and a “Kicchou” only have spotty images. You sort of make out horns for both of the other bosses, and fancy clothes, but not much more.
The cleanest papers at the end are two simple homemade wanted posters, one for the Ghost Thief, the other for the tonic saleswomen, both done in Aunn’s handwriting.
“We’ll need paint for the walls.” Aunn comments at you looking at the pitted planks. She had switched into a new set of clothes, but the old bandages remain.
After reinforcing the ice on Medicine, you linger a moment in the cooled cell trying to ignore a fuzziness in your head. You tell Aunn about the fairy help, which she seems to be more pleased than nervous about. You planned to do something useful, maybe even pick up that information from the station lady. But as you try to say so, you feel a hollowness in your limbs and the feverish siege pressing from within and without on your body.
The very thought of going back out tires you. Moving around at first seemed to improve things, but the return hike from the fairy hideout was scarily strenuous. It sucks.
“We don’t happen to have anything like medicine—the good medicine—around here, do we?” you sheepishly ask Aunn.
“No, we don’t...” Aunn also seems relieved at the suggestion. “But there is the town doctor!”
Aunn guides you to the doctor’s office, two side streets away from your place in the southern part of town. This area is less built up, mostly being houses and yards, and you almost mistake your destination for a regular home.
The front of the house has some signs of wear but nothing’s been allowed to fall apart completely. The porch is freshly swept and the windows are clean, signs of life still holding steady against abandonment. Aunn swings a bronze knocker on the door.
An old man greets you. All his hair must’ve migrated under his bushy eyebrows, forming into a glorious mustache and snowy beard.
“Ah, Miss Deputy. And you must be the sheriff!” He bends to shake your hand. His palm is rugged, but warm. “It’s clear my services are needed.”
He ushers you into a much more doctor-y interior. There’s paneled cabinets and lots of fancy boxes. He has you and Aunn sit on a cushioned cot each. The smell of an odd mix of herbs and incense suffuses the room.
He takes your temperature, confused as the mercury drops and drops, shriveling at the bottom of the tube. He discards the result and instead, he merely asks you how you feel.
“I’ve not treated a fairy before, but the symptoms of toxic gas exposure are obvious. It’s a common complaint among the miners, but not often this severe. Still, I have just the medicine for you.”
He gingerly unwraps Aunn’s left arm. It looks pretty bad. No blood, but the skin is bitten through in patches. The blotchiness and puffiness from inflammation strikingly reminds you of an antique park statue’s melted face from decades of scarlet rain and wind. Aunn winches as the bandage comes off.
“This… this is an injury from a powerful acid. This is not common at all!” The doctor’s face became stern. “Young ladies, what sort of trouble did you both get into?”
You retell part of the encounter with Medicine last night, and the toxic gas and water that had been used against you.
“A youkai… doll?” He looked apprehensive, brow furled deeply. “...What did this doll look like?”
“Curly yellow hair, blue eyes, a dark red dress…” Aunn describes.
“So it is…”
“Did you know something about the doll?” you ask.
“Treatment first.” He first lights an upright rod in a bowl, the source of the heavy incense. He then unlatches and slowly opens a chest. A pungent sour odor punches past the incense. He reassures you, “The medicines produced by kappa are highly regarded for their healing, not for their fragrance.”
He places a small pot of greenish paste on the counter before he continues to take off Aunn’s old bandages. “I do apologize if I’m overly talkative. Most of those I see are young workers, who desire to rest with their families or to rush back into the mines to break themselves further. It doesn’t give me much company.”
“We don’t mind at all!” She promptly answers. The two of you idly chat with the genial doctor as he deftly applies the kappa medicine with a rolled swab to Aunn’s arms and legs.
“It’s funny how things work out. I was afraid when the big mining company reopened the mines, that injuries would increase. But it’s much easier to get medicine from the kappa they brought over, which makes healing easier.”
You point at a small collection of fishing rods on the wall. “Are those for getting things out of people’s bellies?”
“Oh, heavens no! Those are exactly what they appear to be. See, I used to be an army surgeon. After that experience, I wanted a simpler life as a fisherman. For years, I wandered many uncharted waterways, but I fell in love with the fishing here. I still get some practice when I can, but when the town needed a doctor more than fish, I had no choice but to serve again.”
You almost laugh. “What kind of fish live in the desert?”
“I had that reaction when I heard the rumors, myself. But the catches do not lie. There are vast pools in the mountains that lead to submerged caves. The most queer creatures one can find in the world live under this very floor.” He taps his foot several times and counts his fingers. “Blind fish, glass eels, stone fish… ”
Right, didn’t Mystia’s saloon serve fried fish? You hope she’s serving actual food. Maybe you should try a skewer just to make sure.
“If you’re ever interested, I can ask a fellow fisher of mine to show you. She’s been here much longer than even I have.”
With Aunn’s injuries completely covered in the paste, he lets her lie down on the cot and turns to you. He brings out another kappa concoction, a dark green, foul smelling liquid, and scoops out a measured portion of jelly-like substance. “This medicine is standard for treating mine gas poisoning. Conditions should improve in… say, three days?”
“Again!? No way!” You push the spoon away, wobbling the jelly.
“I beg your pardon?”
“I need to be 100%, 10 outta 10, or 1 by tonight! We’re expecting big trouble!”
“I-I see.” He chuckles. “If the need is that urgent, I may still have the medicine for you.”
“On the topic of the Ghost Thief,” Aunn says, looking up from lying down. “Have you lost any more things?”
“I already told you about perfumes and cosmetics?”
She nods.
“I did not mind the loss, honestly.” He leans in with a mischievous whisper. “They belonged to the old doctor…”
Aunn’s head tilts with an understanding you don’t seem to get.
“Nothing else has been stolen since. I’m thankful the burglar has the good sense to spare the most vulnerable of us. That doesn’t absolve them of the suffering caused to the shop owners, mind you.”
From one of the cabinets, he brings out a polished lacquer box with an intricate bamboo motif. Inside are four rows by five columns of smaller boxes and compact bottles. He pulls out a padded container near the corner. The nested box itself is separated into smaller compartments containing thin vials, at least several dozen, all filled with a transparent red liquid. He finally takes out one vial.
Unlike the kappa medicine, a sweet scent wafts over when it is unscrewed. The vial is about the size of a candy cigar, and tastes like it too, a yummy syrup sweetness with a floral hint. If bitter medicine is good, then this stuff is even better! The soreness in your throat eases the instant it passes through. You feel the curative effect emanating outward inside of you.
“Why the heck didn’t you bring this out in the first place?” you complain.
He holds his palms up. “I mean no ill intent. But I truly must use this medicine sparingly. It has only one source, and I do not know when he may return to us.”
“Who’s that?” Curiosity quickly overtakes outrage.
“He’s a travelling medicine seller. A young man of the rather quiet type, perhaps a little flighty? Fine old fashioned style, very nostalgic for me. Startling red irises, however,” the doctor says. “It was actually the first time I’ve seen him, but he said his pharmacy is expanding to the outer towns. For that, I’m truly grateful. When I first encountered kappa medicine, I was astounded. But the pharmacist behind this level of medicine… It's almost miraculous. Other medicine-makers should be afraid of going out of business, I say. Even the shinigami ought to watch out!” He guffawed.
“Where’d he go?”
“He left by train two nights ago heading north. We’ll not see him again anytime soon, I reckon.”
Dang. That guy would’ve been helpful for Larva’s cookie burnout.
“Here, you still seem curious.” He places the precious medicine box on a wheeled cart by you. “It’s certainly no ordinary medicine. You can take a closer look if you please. Just take the utmost care!”
You both pick through the bottles with his guidance. Pills of all colors and shapes, of ruby stars and chalky gumdrops, and glittering powders and oozing syrups. Some of the vials glow when shaken, others when your hands are cupped over it. Your stomach growls. The association with candy here is way too strong. The old doctor explains the effects, the dosages, and the few cases he’s used them for so far.
One bottle is quite different: it seems to have nothing in it.
“Butterfly… Dream Pill?” The label is in fanciful cursive. You recall seeing an advertisement for some kind of “bow placing drug” back west, a kind of medicine that wasn’t real, but had the effects of medicine. “Is this one of those invisible medicines?”
“Surely not— it is!” The doctor gapes, struck mute by the empty bottle.
“Cool!”
“No, the Butterfly Dream Pills are missing!”
“Maybe they only appear in your dreams?” you offer.
“No, I assure you they come in pills. The size of your littlest nail, pink and teal colored.”
“Then it was probably stolen,” Aunn remarks from her cot.
He shakes his head. “It’s a powerful sleep medicine, intended as a cure for nightmares and disturbed sleep. This could be troublesome.”
“Cirno! Putting people to sleep…”
“But it’s a pill, right?” You also picked up on the coincidence. “How do they sneak a pill into someone’s mouth without them knowing?”
The old man offers his own thoughts. “I know of therapies where medicine can be vaporized. But it requires a skilled pharmacist or even an alchemist.”
“We’ll get that medicine back,” you assure him.
“I would be thankful, even if I assume the worst has already occured.” The old man bows his head. “I am mistaken and I apologize for my carelessness. It appears I did have something of great value stolen. It would put me at great ease if you could at least find out what happened to those pills.”
The doctor puts the medicine box away, muttering about replacing the locks. He provides Aunn with fresh bandages, which he helps wrap her arms with. The swelling is already looking better, though Aunn smells a little funny. You’re feeling energetic, healthy, and ready to get back out.
“One last thing, can you tell us more about the doll?” Aunn asks. “We have the youkai contained for now, but we’ll have to deal with them eventually.”
“That… that is not a happy story.”
“Then we need to know. The doll youkai seems… disturbed.”
“Very well…” The doctor sighs. “My perspective on this is far too personal, but it may be the only one left.
“The doll belonged to a young girl, Susan, the youngest of her family’s five children. Like so many others, father had foolishly sold their stable farm to chase a new life in the east. During the trip over, the young daughter became sick, and never recovered. She became insensate and mute at times, and hard to care for. The family settled into town right as the gold ran out, but became stuck with the girl too sick to travel. I took over as doctor around this time, but the condition had become complex and I lacked the skill and power to treat her. There were hard words given, and deserved.” The doctor shakes his head.
“But I put the blame of inflictor on the charlatan, a woman who wears a jewel for every hole in her heart. Over the desperate months, she stole the trust of the young wife, and twisted her. They abandoned all proper care and forced quack herbs and bogus rituals onto little Susan, who only had the doll for comfort. In her moments of clarity, Susan had told me how the old doll was her grandmother’s, and passed down long ago. A family heirloom, though it was obvious Susan was the only one who still treasured the old thing.
“When the medicine seller arrived, I had new hope. But by this time, the conwoman had stolen every cent from the family and disappeared, and they could not afford the expensive medicine the seller said Susan would need. I myself tried to intervene, but the fates are truly cruel, for I later learned at that last hour, the medicine seller had a change of heart and offered the treatment for free to the family, but was rebuked.” The doctor clenches his hands, blinking his eyes. “Susan died that night, and the family made plans to leave. I heard they did so just last night. I imagine they tried to dispose of the doll, leaving the aftermath to you.”
“That means that man was…” Aunn looks dazed. “...The doll was already starting to awaken.”
The three of you dwell in silence. The old man was sorrowful. Aunn looked lost. You’re mostly confused and kind of angry. Humans are weird! They refused the medicine for their kid, and it was for free!
“I didn't mean to send you home in low spirits.” The doctor sighs again.
“No, that's fine,” Aunn says halfheartedly. You watch with growing curiosity as the doctor opens his medicines back up.
He hands over two objects: another vial of the special antidote for you, and a wrapped pot of kappa paste for Aunn. “Here, if you really are going to work with the doll further.”
“We’ll pay you back as soon as we get paid!” Aunn promises.
He rapidly shakes his head. “Please! I could never charge our sheriff or her deputy for injuries sustained while protecting the town. Just, only if you possibly can, please treat that doll kindly.”
You leave the doctor’s office feeling light on your feet, but heavy at heart. But the sun is starting to lower, and you still have more preparations to make:
[ ] Get a fuller picture from Medicine and figure out what to do with her.
[ ] Request backup…
----[ ] …from the tengu.
----[ ] …from the mayor.
[ ] Investigate the yamawaro further.
[ ] Pick up the information from the stationmaster.
[ ] Practice shooting and fighting together.
[ ] Discuss about the gangs and what is known so far.
[X] Pick up the information from the stationmaster.
Knowledge is power.
[X] Pick up the information from the stationmaster.
I'm tempted to ask either Tengu or Mayor for help considering that the Thieves seem to have knockout gas, but maybe this info will give the needed edge.
Maybe Medicine can be made into a second deputy, Aunn was born a week ago and she's done quite a job. That or we find someone who'll take care of a living doll.
>bitten through in patches
What?