Shai-shai 2012/09/11(Tue)10:54 No. 453613 ID: e1359e
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>>453604
Uh, yes... p-play.

>>453567
"I was tra-"

>"Where did your friends go?"

"I don't have any friends!" I blurt. I now realize that I should have said 'I don't have any friends WITH ME'.

>"Well, that's very sad, ma'am. There were two sets of tracks with yours. If you're alone, you're very stupid to travel here."

"Will you be here...? For a while, I mean. Uh, to..."

>"I can stand guard here, but eventually I need to return to the Platform. You are welcome to come along."

>He notices the bag at my feet, along with my lute. "What's in the bag?" he asks.

It's just like clothes and stuff. nuttin' special.

Shai-shai 2012/09/11(Tue)11:24 No. 453617 ID: e1359e
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"J-just clothes..."

>"Planning a long trip?"

"Uh, no."

>"I'd like to have a look in the bag, ma'am."

Uh do you know anything about law? I mean, do you HAVE to show him your bag? Does he need a warrant or something?

If you don't know just say something like "I don't want you taking my things :I"

Shai-shai 2012/09/11(Tue)12:12 No. 453623 ID: e1359e
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I don't know anything about the law! Nnnnggggg, hnng

"I don't want you to steal my things..."

>"Have you come across people trying to steal from you?"

"Well, no, but-"

"Did you notice an overturned boxcar on your way? It must have been hard to miss. Your tracks go right by it."

"..."

>"Someone had rifled through its contents. I can't help but feel like that was related to the killings. Tell me what you know. If there is a killer on the loose, I need to stop them."

His voice is very deep. It's not like the girls at the Peephouse. I can't just interrupt him when he talks!

Actual contents of the bag:

-Kwan, Lilao, and Shurquai
-The three chunks of incense
-The Death Row Sermons of The Prophet Jerem with the knife closed in the pages
-My clothing, including my torn skirt

start crying, "he.. he had a gun.. he.. was going to shoot us! my friend stopped him, used a knife, but he killed the other man, said they were friends then shot him, i knew he would shoot us too!" and don't let up the waterworks.

>>453625
There is no such thing as excessive waterworks!

Shai-shai 2012/09/11(Tue)12:39 No. 453629 ID: e1359e
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I have kind of been trying not to cry this whole time anyway!

"They said they were friends, and and and"

>"Who?"

"The men! He shot that guy, and then, and then my friend k-k-killed him!"

>"What? Calm down. Is there any reason that you did not tell me this before?"

"because, because i don't want my friend taken from me!"

Well we sure don't want to go back that way ever and you're kind of scary

Also be sure to emphasize that he was gonna shoot you too--it wasn't like Shan-ha up and stabbed'em unprovoked

>>453629
Well, yeah. You were taught not to trust men. Heck, this guy's the first you've held a conversation with.

Say you're all orphans looking for a city to make lives in and that the guy was pointing a gun at you and your other friend. Shan-ha killed him to save you.

>>453632
He is oh so very scary!

Shai-shai 2012/09/11(Tue)20:45 No. 453781 ID: e1359e
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>self-defense

"My friend st-sta-stabbed the man because he was going to sh-sh-sh..."

>"Shoot you? Listen, I will take your word for one reason. I found a ledger of opium sales on the man who had been shot. Those two were not up to any good."

I nod. I don't really want to tell him that he is scary, even though he is really scary! It just seems rude.

>"I need to decide what to do with all of that opium. If I burn it, the Lilies will be after my hide. If I let them retrieve it..."

"...what?"

>"I don't like what it is doing to this land."

"Opium?" I ask.

>"It doesn't concern you. You and your friends should return home. You'll be killed out here. What are you thinking?"

>>453654

"We are orphans," I mutter. He doesn't hear me, so I repeat it louder.

>"I don't think I can help you. I have my hands tied simply watching over this stretch of tracks. I work for the Royal Guard, but I haven't heard from my superiors in two years. I've all but lost faith in the Khan."

"Uh, uh..."

>"Don't get yourself killed. Just wise up. Don't be an 'adventurer'. You're just a kid, and you'll end up full of holes in the rain if you keep going on out here. Find somewhere safe to be."

that went surprisingly well

"Um, ok."

give him the 'incense' you looted. and say it looked like incense

>>453781
Thank the man and have him direct you to the nearest city.

>>453786
The nearest city that is not the one you just came from, that is.

>>453784
I don't see any reason to do this. He isn't likely to search your bag at this point and we can dispose of it ourselves if need be. Only possible issue is if he decides to return it and the Lilies blame him for the missing amount.

Shai-shai 2012/09/12(Wed)12:10 No. 453923 ID: e1359e
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>>453784
>>453795
>"Ponyin is about four day's walk north. Maybe five or six at your pace. The tracks go through the mountains, and the lowland passes are home to banditry. Ponyin was the marine capital of the old empire. I haven't been there in almost a year, and what I saw even then was not pretty."

I nod. It all sounds very scary. I have never walked this far in my life, let alone seen so much outdoors.

>"Why did you leave Narang, anyway? It is not paradise, but it's safer than Ponyin."

"it was something to do with my friend set to be taken by a man to his master. and the madame got real scared, even though she is normally always angry."

ask if there is a less bad city around, if not go for the city he suggested

Shai-shai 2012/09/12(Wed)13:39 No. 453935 ID: e1359e
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>>453924
I explain the entire situation. He doesn't appear to know what I am talking about.

>"Calm down. You're not helping anyone by panicking."

Hnnnn

>>453929
I ask him if there is anywhere else that he knows of.

>"There aren't any other cities within walking distance. You could go out east onto the plains, but the Toglaat raiders own that land. Looks like your friends headed in that direction. Just hope they don't go beyond the woods."

"..."

>"I am Toglaati, but I'm not one of them. Is that what you are thinking?" He seems slightly annoyed, but just shakes his head. "It's your choice. I can't babysit you for long."

"i understand. we'll go to ponyin. hopefully we meet someone else as kind as you."

Ponyin, but try and evade the bandit mountains.

You can't leave without Chenhua and Shan-ha. They told you to stay here, but it might be better to go and find them; ask Toglaati if he has the time to accompany you.

>>454279
this

>>454279
We are clearly bothering this man with our naivete. Even if he did have time enough, I doubt he would want to go so far out of his way to help some emotionally fragile girl he just met. Thank him for the advice, and apologize for inconveniencing him/being all blustery.

Shai-shai 2012/09/13(Thu)20:09 No. 454420 ID: e1359e
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"I understand. We'll go to P-Ponyin. Hopefully we meet someone else as kind as you."

>"Don't count on it." He tips his head back, and I can see his face for the first time. He's brown and speckled, like Jorta. Toglaati are not very colorful. I think I saw him smile, but I'm not sure.

Just to be safe, I laugh. "HahahHAHA! Aha"

>He clears his throat. "Like I said, I can't leave my post for long - that doesn't mean I want to find you and your friends dead on the road to Ponyin. Girls like you don't last long."

"G-girls like me?" I am almost offended, but I'm too scared to make him mad! To my surprise, he looks caught off guards.

>"Eh... pretty ones." He coughs. "They attract the attention... of bandits. Just don't be stupid. Watch out for yourselves. I'll be at Platform One if you need help, but you and your friends can't stay for more than a night. I don't have that much food."

I nod. He turns to leave. I guess he can't stay to help. "What's your name?"

>"Kwiwude."

That's a weird name!

Hnnnn

Wait until my dolls hear about this!

A while after Kwiwude is gone, I can hear Shan-ha and Chenhua returning. I can hear Shan-ha from a mile away. She's never quiet.

Should I tell them about what happened?

WAIT, HE JUST CALLED YOU PRETTY!

anyway, start with you don't think the stuff you got was incense.

>>454420
Probably be best to inform them of everything that has happened, while.. "embellishing" on some of the facts.

You've never heard of Opium? It's basically the worst drug. Only give it to people who are dying. It makes you feel good and puts an end to pain, and in exchange it kills your ability to feel good without it, and you're in pain all the time without it. Then it stops working to help even that, and you just die of pain.

Chenhua 2012/09/14(Fri)11:51 No. 454528 ID: e1359e
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"Hello, Shai-shai!"

>"Idiot. I should've known you wouldn't do anything while we were gone. Were you sleeping?"

Shai-shai looks excited. She even ignores what Shan-ha said to start talking.

"The next city is a four-day walk! It's really dangerous, because of bandits."

There is an uncomfortable silence.

>"Ok. Congratulations. Want a sweetroll? Better make that three."

"How do you know, Shai-shai?"

"Nnnn. Hhhh- I was out here... looking around, and a guy came and tol-told me. His name was like... Kw- koo- Kwiwude. That was it."

>Shan-ha rolls her eyes.

"Oh! He... he also said that the stuff we found wasn't incense. It's something called 'open 'em'."

Shai-shai sure is acting weird. Maybe it was a ghost she saw. Or a dream. As much as I hate to consider it, Shan-ha was probably right. Shai-shai was more tired than any of us.

Anyway, we found some wild carrots, cabbage, eno berries, and pyunzin mushrooms. There was also a small stream where we filled up our water.

Bandits are a good thing to concern yourselves about, though. Maybe think of ways to look not as pretty?

While you're not too sure about how real what Shai-shai said is, there is still the risk of bandits spotting you three out in the open. Best move out of sight, just inside the forest, and stop to eat and drink. Eat whatever would spoil the soonest. Ask Shai-shai to share more on this guy she saw, to try and figure out if he's real or imagined.

Chenhua 2012/09/22(Sat)18:22 No. 456981 ID: 07a50b
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"He was really tall. As tall as me, at least. I don't know, he was wearing a big hat. He had a deep voice LIKE THIS."

Shai-shai lowers her voice, which makes me laugh. She proceeds to describe his appearance, and the things that he said. I don't really have a reason not to believe her. I'm glad she is ok!

>"Are you idiots done?" Shan-ha shouts. She'd been sitting there with her back to us for a while. "How can you laugh? We are lost, and probably days away from death. Why don't you take yourselves a little more seriously and grow up for once?"

Psh we are not lost there is a city four days or so that way, gosh. We just have to get there without getting killed ok.

Oh yeah? Why don't you not murder bloody... thing yourself?

>>456981
Someone should tell her with that attitude, they will die.

Exactly, the most appropriate time to enjoy yourself is when death comes near.

These are our lives, Shan-Ha. If we don't enjoy them now, when will we?

Chenhua 2012/09/23(Sun)09:50 No. 457260 ID: 07a50b
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>>457102
>>457176
>>457050

Shan-ha walks up to me and smacks my face with the back of her hand.

>"Who is the oldest here?"

"You are..."

>"Who is the undisputed leader of this group?"

I don't say anything.

>"Just as I thought. Haha! Grow up and find your head. This isn't The Boudoir."

Chenhua 2014/06/25(Wed)22:59 No. 581205 ID: bac58f
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[It has been nearly two years since I have updated this quest, and I am initiating a quick reboot. Because of this, I recommend that everyone brush up on the quest from the beginning. It is not long so far.]

Previous thread:
http://tgchan.org/kusaba/questarch/res/413345.html

Shai-shai, seemingly shaken by Shan-ha's sudden aggression, chimes in. "Uh, g-girls, well... that guy that talked to me said that it would be safer to go back where we came from," she says.

"Oh, like hell we are going back to that place," says Shan-ha.

A) Listen to Shan-ha. Keep going north to Ponyin. The journey is very long, and the road is quite dangerous.
B) Listen to Shai-shai and the possibly-not-real man she was talking about. Return south to Narang. This is the home of where we fled from originally.

stick with Shan-ha, she is a strong and powerful leader.

also your home town was the pits, never look back

>>581209

Seconding, same reasons.

>>581205

Narang is a shitheap nowadays. The Khanate has gone to shit and lets criminals control everything in the capital. You already know how awful it is in Narang, and people might even be looking for you there; maybe Ponyin and its mariners are a little better. Shan-ha is a bitch, but she's right in keeping to Ponyin.

Chenhua 2014/06/26(Thu)17:12 No. 581363 ID: bac58f
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"I'm sorry Shai-shai, but I have to agree with Shan-ha. If we go bath there, they'll probably catch us and put us back into the Boudoir."

"Next time you think about trying to argue with me, why don't you close your mouth instead?" Shan-ha says, leering at Shai-shai. She then turns to me and says, "The same goes for you, Frumpy Queen."

The signs leading north branch into two separate paths.

A) Pedestrian path - this is a narrow, paved walking path that leads to a high trail through the bamboo forest.
B) Trade road - This is a wide dirt path that loosely follows the train tracks.

Trade road seems a more likely mark for bandits, pedestrian path seems the safe route
as a plus it'll probably keep your shoes cleaner too

Pedestrian seems safest, aye. If it's the road less traveled, there's probably more food, too.

just walk the train tracks. It's more direct, eventualy you might be able to jump a train.