Touhou Lost Word Cherries Wild

Episode 5

When we last left our heroes, they have returned to a trip to Hakugyokurou along their Usual Suspects crawl, and just in time too because the princess of the ghost palace there, Yuyuko Saigyouji was just about to eat a Seal Crystals, which are the subject of the incident Reimu Hakurei and otherlander Magician Amber Merichello are investigating. Fortunately they were able to procure any Seal Crystals from Yuyuko and advert disaster.

It then got late at night, and Reimu decides to continue the crawl in the morning, and at a stop over at Mystia Lorelei's grilled eel cart Amber retires to her stagecoach parked in the grounds of the Hakurei Shrine, but not before touching base with puppeteer Alice Margatroid to discuss how to make her own variant on the Shanghais, as well as Yukari Yakumo with her Shikigamis, Ran and Chen, who relayed a message, and a care package, from Amber's own mistress, Grandmother Nalladrie.

We pick up the action the following morning where the Usual Suspects crawl continues…

Chapter 9

Day 2, Morning
Hakurei Shrine Grounds

The sun rose up in the East, past the unpassable forests at the back of the Hakurei Shrine. Birds are chirping in the trees, squirrels and rabbits scamper in and out of the hedges looking for dropped nuts and berries. And a fairy dressed in an American Flag jester's motley poked her head out of under the shrine where she was hiding to watch the strange new girl in a strange wagon, not yet brave enough to approach her to prank her, but maybe if she noticed her, she'd drop some more of that lembas bread. Clownpiece licked her chops at the thought of tasting more of that confetti flavor of Fairynip. Or maybe it's because of the aroma of heated fruit coming from this Amber Merichello's caldron that's luring her. "She's gotta be luring me closer, she's got to be," the Fairy of Hell muttered. "She probably wants to shake some of my Pixie Dust into some potion, or put me in a jar of some kind and keep me. But uh-huh, little miss Kirisame Marisa wanna be, Clownpiece don't play that!" There was a thud, and a cube linked to a chain entered her view. "Check that, Suika just woke up. Say, maybe she's really trying to lure the drunken oni or something. Maybe that brew's for sobering her up. Tee hee, that would make for a decent prank."

"It's not booze, Suika, in case you're wondering," Amber said as she stirred the bubbling light orange brew.

"I was about to ask ya that," Suika said, sniffing at it. "It sure smells good though, nice and fruity, what is it?"

"It's a morning brew I've been experimenting with for several years now. I have a combination of citrus and berries freeze-dried and powdered to mix with some protein powder, Yaba Mate tea, and expresso coffee beans. It's my Grammie's recipe, and I practically lived on it while under her wing. Wakes you up, fills you up, and keeps you going all day."

Amber even gave Suika a taste. She smacked her lips, licked them, smiled. "Tasty too. I wonder if it mixes well with sake."

"How would I know," Amber replied with a shrug. "I never tried mixing it with booze before."

Suika then pulled up a couple ladles full to fill up a nearby tankard. "I'll let you know then."

Amber had to chuckle as the already drunk-to-the-point-of-walking-like-a-pirate oni stumbled over to a well to fill up her sake gord. She almost expected others to come up and try it so she made a good amount. She can always store it in vials. She already has a dozen of them nearby with corks and a funnel. Just add a different powder and they become healing drops.

"Something smells too good," Reimu's still asleep voice half-groans as she stumbles out the back door of the shrine. "Whutiz that?"

"Morning Brew, Reimu-san," Amber replied as she filled one of those bamboo cups. "Fruit juice, protein mix, tea, and a healthy dose of caffeine. I'll let you try a bit of it, here."

Reimu sniffed at it, felt it fizz in her nose, and tasted the warmed thick fruit punch syrup coat her tongue. It tasted great. In fact, she never expected something that could be called Witch's Brew to be so…pow…her eyes went from still asleep to wide open and aware all at once.

"Whoa!" Reimu replied. "This'll really wakes ya up!"

"Better than getting dunked by a bucket of ice water and slapped by a trout, isn't it?"

"I tried Yaba Mate and expresso before, but not combined like this! I better take it easy on this, or I'll be flying so wired I'd be crashing into everything." She turned to Amber. "And you drink this every day?"

Amber shrugged. "Sometimes I have a more sensible breakfast. Probably go to the Human Village to see what they offer. So, what's the plan for today? We're continuing the Usual Suspects crawl, right?"

"Hai," Reimu said. "But I'd like to have Marisa here first. I just hope Remilia relented this morning and gets her out of that ridiculous amusement park costume."

"Aaaambeeeerrrr…" came the familiar tomboyish and usually boisterous voice of Marisa Kirisame from inside the tent in front of the stagecoach. "Oh Ammmbbeeerrr…I little help here?!"

Both of them groaned.

"Don't tell me she did what I think she did, Reimu."

"We're talking about Marisa here, Amber. So what did she got into this time?"

Amber stood up and turned to the tent. "I have my books rigged with a custom Glyph of Warding for such an occasion. I expected bad guys getting into my stuff. I didn't expect," she ducked inside the tent, "klepto Ordinary Magicians."

And there sat Marisa, back in her usual black and white dress, sitting on a chair, her hands on the armrests and her feet against the legs. She tried to get up, but for some reason. "Something's keeping me stuck here, and I don't know what!"

Amber shook her head and sighed. "I should've warned you about how I protect my books, Marisa. Let me break the spell here." She leaned toward Marisa. "Look in my eye there for a second, that's it." Amber took Marisa's arm and with a good tug, lifted it from the armrest. "And…Now!" When she said that, the invisible binds that Marisa thought she was in let go. She immediately got up.

"Whoo! Thanks, Amber. What on earth was that?" Marisa said, as she reached for the book that was still on the table.

Amber got to it first. "Don't reach for it, Marisa, you'd just trigger it again. My Grammie set up this Glyph of Warding to put thoughts in the would-be book thief's head: A suggestion to return the book, which gets stronger the longer you hold or read at the book. After you do so, you'd be prompted to sit down on a chair and stay there for me to find you, believing that you're bound wrist and ankle."

"Guh!" Marisa said and shuddered as she quickly put the book down. "I'd usually be able to recognize charm magics and try to counter then, but this one just sneaks up to ya."

"That's the idea," Amber said as the trio returned to the cauldron at back.

"Don't you think it's a little bit…you know…"

"Considering that Amber-san here might have encountered worse than you," Reimu said, "I wouldn't blame her. But I gotta ask, Amber. What kind of a magician is your Grandmother to create a that glyph like that?"

Amber sighed as she checked the brew. "That leads to a topic I hoped not to talk about so soon?"

"And that is?" Marisa asked.

"Grandmother Nalladrie Emerisle's specialty is Enchantments, and she's a practicing Mesmerist."

They both blinked. "You mean…" "…like Hypnosis."

Amber nodded. "She was more into that earlier in her life before an accident turned her from an alluring beauty who could get any guy into a gray-haired and wrinkled old woman. She had this line: If there's anyone who could resist being brought under her spell, they deserve to. She taught me the art herself, and I have some skill in it, but I rarely use it for obvious reasons."

"I don't blame you," Marisa said. "Something about taking over someone's mind just gives me the shivers."

"Yeah," Reimu added. "I've seen more than one person, especially otaku, who tried to hypnotize the whole lot of us for one reason or another. It caused more than their fair share of incidents."

"Something I have a vested interest in not doing, just do you know."

"I appreciate your restraint, Amber."

"How many of them were, as I heard some Otaku say, Not Safe For Work?"

Marisa snorted. "It's easier for me to count the hypnosis incidents that were Safe For Work, Amber."

"Heh, I expected that." Amber said. "I am a lot more knowledgeable and ethical when I do it. And I keep things to three categories. Marisa ran into the first."

Marisa humphed.

"The second is for when I run into someone who's a little bit nervous or jittery and I want to have them calm down and be at ease. Nothing too deep or anything, just to get them to chill. But what you'd might really see me do is the third category, Stage Hypnosis. When I demonstrate my capabilities, I usually have some people on stage which become my assistants for the show."

"Well, I don't think any of those three would cause an incident, but please be careful with it."

"Always, Reimu-san." Amber replied before filling another mug with the thick fruity concoction.

Marisa sniffed at it. "That smells good, although it looks weird. What is it?"

Reimu nodded toward the kitchen in the back. "Amber here made some wicked morning brew, you should try it out."

"I'd try anything once, twice if I like it-ze."

"I'm glad you don't look the worse for wear, Marisa," Amber replied. "You were stuffed in that cartoon mouse suit and tossed to Flan as a pet. That must've sucked. Especially with the jingle bells."

Marisa just waved it away as she quaffed a glass. "Flan got tired and let me flop on her bed so she can snuggle me like an oversized stuffed animal. It wasn't the first time she did that to me. We're regular playmates any—whoa! This stuff's great! What you got in it?" Amber filled Marisa in on the contents of the brew as she poured the remainder into vials. "You should save some of that for Meiling. I bet she won't as much as blink for a week."

"I was thinking about it, even though this isn't a strong batch," Amber said as she pulled out a bottle with an eyedropper and a label with a red cross. She put a drop of that liquid in each of the filled vials, turning the color from a bright pink to a shade of red. "I only made it so that I can drink it and turn the rest into healing potions. Can't be too careful." She opened her vest to reveal a strapped corset over her shirt that pushed up her D cup breasts.

She paused to gawk at the wide-eyed Shrine Maiden and Magician.

"They're just boobs," Amber said with a wink. "And yes, I keep them bundled up for a reason: Witch's tits really do get cold."

"Too much information," Reimu deadpanned.

The corset also had loops and pockets for various small objects, such as a series of leather loops along a shoulder strap where she slid in six of the morning brews vials. There was also a small pocket with a few copper wires, a couple pearls, and a gem that was wrapped in a white cloth.

"What's that thing," Marisa asked, pointing to the covered gem.

"Would you believe a crude diamond? You might think it strange always lugging one around, but it's only because it's a component. This is for the very unlikely event that you end up getting killed and you need to be brought back. The spell requires a diamond, and it doesn't need to be refined or cut into shape. That makes things easier because you can just get a rough diamond from the ground like this one. A lot of adventurers keep a diamond on them hoping they'd never have to need it."

Reimu had to blink. "Penumaria's that dangerous?" It didn't occur to her that Amber's homeworld carries with it such a risk of getting killed that people not only talk of resurrection miracles but talk about it so casually. That, and she completely forgot that Amber Merichello didn't hail from the American Midwest, accent of not."

"That's expected when you live in a world with actual dungeons and actual dragons," Amber replied, as she tossed a healing potion to both Reimu and Marisa. "I made too many, here. I know spell card battles are designed to be non-violent, you'll never known when you need something like this."

"In case you crash land, Reimu."

"I do not crash land, Marisa!"

"Oh? And what were you doing last month when Yuugi gave you a good long chug from her Hoshiguma Dish? Eirin had to put your arm in a cast."

Reimu's voice lowered, and her eyes steeled at her friend. "We do not talk about what happened last month, Marisa."

"Speaking of Eirin," Marisa said as she slipped the vial into her own vest. "We're going to Eienti next?"

"That's what I want to talk to you two about," Reimu said. "If you don't mind, I'd like to split up. Some of the usual suspects further down the list are in very dangerous areas and I don't want to get Amber into too much trouble too quickly."

"Like the underground," Marisa asked.

Reimu nodded. "No offense, Amber, but you've only been in Gensokyo for one day, you've yet to know everything here."

Amber nodded. "So we split up, I'm taking the remaining places on the surface?"

"Hai, and Marisa can show you around as well. There's Eientei, and the two other shrines here: The Myouren Temple and the Moriya Shrine." Reimu points toward Amber and Marisa. "You two can hit those places while I jump further down the list, we'll cover a lot more ground. We'll come back here and compile our notes."

Amber and Marisa looked at each other.

Marisa just smiled. "I'd rather have you with me, Amber. Your Master Spark's no joke-kaze."

The two knocked arms.

"But what about you, Reimu? You're going down there on your own."

"No she won't."

That came from someone who was just rounding a corner of the shrine. "Oh, there you are, Reimu. And oh, you in the purple, you must be Amber, and is all that yours? My, this might be the first time anyone came to Gensokyo with a stagecoach!" She was a pink haired girl with Chinese hair buns wearing a dress that resembles a rose. It had a green skirt and in fact there is a rose ornament on top of a maroon tabard just below her collar. Her right arm appears to be wrapped from shoulder to fingers with bandages. Amber winced at first when she seen that, wondering if she broke the arm.

"Amber Merichello has a lot of tricks, Kasen," Reimu said before turning to Amber with rolling eyes. "This is Kasen Ibaraki, she tends to come here whenever she feels she need to wag her jaw at someone."

"I'm not that bad, Reimu," Kasen said as she turned to Amber, while she was in mid-curtsy. "My, how polite. Apparently, someone raised you right." She then held out her right hand, the one bounded like a mummy. "Kasen Ibarakasen, One of the three Sages of Gensokyo—you've probably met Yukari, she's one too—and good friend of the Hakurei Miko, although she tends to find me annoying."

"That's because sometimes you like to talk my ear off," Reimu moaned.

"How else am I going to dispense my wisdom to others?" Kasen turned back to Amber. "It surprises me to find out that you're the primary investigating the Seal Crystals incident, not Reimu."

"I ended up here thanks to one," Amber replied, gulping a bit at the still outstretched hand, "and I intend to stay and see this to the end. Er, I hope I don't hurt your arm."

"Oh, I doubt you will, in fact…"

When Amber grabbed the hand, it felt hollow in her hand. And then she saw it stretch, noticing something resembling a misty shadow contained by the wrappings. That's when some synapses connected in Amber's mind. Kasen noticed her blinking when this happened.

"Whoops! Sometimes that arm unnerves people," Kasen said as she retracted it. "I'm actually an oni, like Sukia. All of my wickedness was in my right arm…until someone hacked it off."

That was enough for Amber to recall a memory from her dusty corner of her mind. She remembered Kazen becoming a Taoist hermit after the dismemberment, residing in the mountains around Gensokyo for a thousand years, gaining knowledge and wisdom until she became a sage. She inwardly cursed herself for not remembering, wondering how long she's been in Penumaria. How long has it been since she seen anything Touhou?

Amber threw up her hands. "Oh, that's all right, that's all right. It's just a bit…unexpected, that's all."

Kasen's smile returned. "I'll be joining Reimu on her journey to the Underdark. It's best that you travel with a partner here. Looks like Marisa'll be your guide for today."

"Yep," Marisa said as he thumbed her chest. "We're going to hit a couple places surface wide and see if we can kick up some clues over these cubes, and maybe have a little fun along the way-ze!"

"I'm going to be learning a lot of new magic while I'm here," Amber replied. "And along the way I'd no doubt get some practice in spell card battling."

Kasen's eyes widened. "I heard that you could get spell cards form the Seal Crystals! That's amazing. Just so happens that I have the official rules for Spell Card Battles with me here." She pulled out a booklet of printed paper folded in half and stapled together. "Something for you to read up on."

"Thanks," Amber said as she took it. Then she said with a smirk, "I'm sure that I'll end up breaking a couple while I'm bumble around like a novice I am."

Kasen chuckled. "Most of the rules are for organized battling, Amber. When you're just fending off youkai, things are a little more freestyle. I'm sure that you'll find some areas we haven't thought of yet. As long as you don't deal lethal damage, there's plenty of room for leeway. I'd like to see what kind of shenanigans you'd pull."

"In between lectures," Reimu muttered.

"Isn't that something only Eiki Shiki does?" Kasen said with the most innocent of looks. "I just harp on people to train them to be better spell card battlers." She patted Amber's shoulder. "I might end up putting Amber here through some paces."

"That's what I'm afraid of," Reimu said as she grabbed Kasen's other hand. "Let's get going before you talk her ear off." She turned to Amber and Marisa. "You two have your spots on the list. We'll get back here once we're done so we can collect notes. After that, I hope we'd have something to work on."

"I hope so too," Amber said, giving Reimu a wave. "Safe Journeys, Reimu-san, Kasen-san."

"You too," Kasen returned as Reimu walked out several paces and then launched herself in the air, followed by the hermit.

Amber just sighed as she locked up her stagecoach, causing some of the glyphs to momentarily glow—for a second Marisa thought the glow had a bit of a menace to it. Certainly, Amber didn't expect Marisa to borrow a book from her Stagecoach? Come on, how many books can you fit in there? She's bound to have a tower of something back in her homeworld—and took her broom from where it hung near the horse driver's seat.

"Would you need a horse or something to pull that if you need to?" Marisa replied. "I'm sure you can bribe Suika with sake to get her to do it."

"I got a ritual to summon a horse for that," Amber said. "So, where we're going first?"

"I was thinking we get to Eientei first, they're the closest, then cross the Human Village where the Myouren Temple is, then we go up Youkai Mountain to pay the Moriya Shrine a visit. My, you got your broom tricked out."

Amber hopped on her broom and hovered a bit. Marisa noticed the rings on the tip and a tube of padding right where Amber sat on it. "I never was one to keep things stock." She gave Marisa a smile and a nod before taking off, making sure to let Marisa catch up so she can lead her to her first destination.

Chapter 10

Day 2, Mid-Morning
The Bamboo Forest of the Lost

"Did you see the look on my face when you flicked that Hakkero at me?" Marisa Kirisame said laughing. "I must've been like a deer in headlights! You really got me dead to rights, Amber."

"I'm surprise you're not mad at me," Amber all. "After all, it was the Mast…"

"Oh, come on, you Spell Card Thief. If I were to be mad on you declaring Love Sign: Master Spark, I be throwing myself under that bus." Marisa snorted as she led Amber down a sharp left turn down the stairs. "I don't know if you know it, but I wasn't the one who created the Magic Spark. I should take you to the Garden of the Sun to meet Yuuka Kazami. She's the creator of the Magic Spark. She fired a hy-uuuuuuuuge laser at me, and afterward I thought it would be really kewl if I learned how to do that."

"Which pretty much explains a good chunk of the spells I can cast." Amber replied with a chuckle, then looked up ahead. "I see bamboo trees, a whole lot of bamboo trees."

From their vantage point of 1250 feet, the forest in front of them seemed to be thick with the tallest bamboo plants Amber ever seen. She didn't even know that bamboo trees were meant to grow that high. It stretched on for as long as she could see. A single Bamboo stalk isn't much to look at, a single stick that can reach up to 100 feet tall and only split out some sparse leaves on top. But they can be dense, a good dozen or two can fit into a square yard, causing those leaves on top to weave with each other to completely cover the ground from Amber's vantage point above.

"I don't see Eientei, though."

Marisa shook her head. "The palace is hidden underneath all the trees, you can't get there from above. I once revealed it during a fight with Reimu, but the trees grew back. Fortunately, they have a path. Let's go-ze!"

The pair swooped down into the sole path going into the Bamboo Forest of the Lost.

At first, the opening was big enough for floating through on the broom. But then the bamboo just got thicker and thicker which lowered the ceiling to the point that they both have to get off their brooms and walk. Amber looked around to see darkening forest in all directions, the sound of chirping birds sounding like they came from everywhere at once. It would've completely disorient the unwary, since everything beyond thirty feet would've been drowned out by the birds, leaves, breeze, and scampering of forest critters. Off the corner of one eye, Amber could've sworn she seen something dart away. A little girl in a dress? A rabbit? Who knows?

But at least Eientei was sensible enough to provide a path to follow. The path was covered in wood chips to differentiate it from the dirt of the forest floor, and every ten feet or so there was a ribbon around a bamboo tree on each side. "As long as you stay along this path you won't get lost," Marisa said. "But not everyone follows it, since it tends to wind around everywhere, so even with this path we still have people who get lost here and couldn't find a way out. Fortunately, there are people here who help those they discover find their way out. One of them's a hermit who lives here. I'm surprised that she's not around…"

"…and I'm surprised that there's two of you, Marisa."

Amber turned to find a young woman a foot and a half taller than her walk up to her and Marisa, oh so nonchalantly, hands in the pockets of her red pants with all those ofudas Amber is now familiar with, with a loose-fitting button-down shirt, and the longest white hair she has ever seen. The hair almost touched the ground, and it was bound in several strands by ribbons. She had a spaced-out expression, almost as if she was bored. Or stoned. But not stoned enough to not notice the different color of dress and markings on the pointy hat. "Oh, my mistake, I thought Marisa cloned herself again." She then let out a smile and held out her hand. "You must be that new girl. Name's Fujiwara no Mokou."

"Amber Merichello," Amber said, shaking it. "Pleasure."

"They told me that you're collecting Spell Cards," Mokou said. "Thank goodness we feed all the copyright lawyers to the youkai."

"It's because of those Seal Crystals that you might've found," Marisa said. "You heard if the Princess has any of them?"

Mokou just yawned. "I wouldn't care less about 'im, but there's no doubt they'd have their hands on some. Come on, I'll walk ya both to 'im."

"Appreciate it, Lady Fujiwara."

"Oh, just call me Mokou, Amber, everybody does. How many spell cards did you get?"

"Let me see here." Amber reached for her Chronicle, popped out the pocket, and pulled them all out. "I got some new ones this morning."

All three looked at the pile. Amber had them separated by Attack and Defense Cards:

Spirit Sign: Fantasy Seal – Easy (Two of them)

Illusion Sign: Killing Doll – Easy

Love Sign: Master Spark – Easy

Fire Metal Sign: Saint Elmo's Pillar – Normal

Divine Spear: Spear the Gungnir – Easy

Esoterica: Gray Thaumaturgy – Easy (Two of them)

Large Ring: Hello Forgotten World – Easy

Freeze Sign: Perfect Freeze – Normal

Silver Sign: Silver Bound – Normal

Flowery Soul: Swallowtail Butterfly – Easy

"Got me a couple more good ones," Amber said.

"Even though one of them's from Cirno," Marisa snickered. "Wait til you see her, Amber. She's a hoot, she's a real hoot."

"You got some duplicates there," Mokou said. "What do you intend to do to them?"

"That's a good question," Amber said, scratching her head. "I have no idea what to do with them? I doubt anyone is trading them. Or if there's any way I can use them to upgrade. And I'll still be needing a Last Word as well. That's the card you save for last, right? They're rarer than I thought. Perhaps I might need to learn more about these…"

Amber's right ear twitched to hear some sobs.

"Did ya hear that?"

Marisa and Mokou craned their ears.

"Someone's crying," Amber said.

"Could be a lost child wandering in here," Mokou said. "Maybe even a fairy. I know a couple of them who keep wondering in there."

"Or it could be the rabbits here pulling a prank," Marisa added.

Amber raised an eyebrow.

"You haven't met Twei yet."

At the next sobbing wail, she had to sigh, her heart being pulled a bit too much. Especially when she saw something stir in the bushes.

"Well, if it's some prankster, I have ways to prank back. But I can't just leave behind a lost child if that's the case. Here goes nothing."

Amber bounded no less than a dozen paces.

"Amber, hold up," Marisa tried to warn her. "Don't you think you should…"

And the ground gave way and swallowed Amber up.

"…hover on your broom? Whoops."

The sobbing turned into giggles, and then laughter, as a child with short black hair, a pink sundress, and a pair of white floppy ears popped out of a bush.

"Twei!" Mokou shouted.

The rabbit child started to dance a gig in celebration. "Bwa-hahahahahaha! You fell for it! Finally caught you, Marisa Kirisame! I knew it was only a matter of time until…"

She looked up to see the black and white magician, giving a wave and a toothy smile. She didn't let the Message cantrip show. 'Let me guess, Marisa, that was Twei?' 'Sure is, Amber.' 'Well, I'm gonna prank back.' 'Go for it, Amber.'

"Wait a minute. Hold up. If you're Marisa…" She looked down on the tiger trap, "Then who did I…"

Twei's question of who did I lured into… was answered by the atonal melody of an old witch's cackle. Her eyes stayed transfixed on the edge of the tiger pit as a hand, green skinned, cracked and warty, with uneven nails, stretched out to grab the edge. Followed by the other one.

Twei froze in fright as she saw a pointy hat poke out as a crone's voice sang out a "Little bunny foo foo, hoppin' through the forest, scooping up the field mice and…"

Amber waited til that moment to pull herself out of the pit, only when she did, her face matched her arms. Green skin, her nose longer and crooked, eyes yellowed and wicked, teeth discolored, and hair matted. "…bopping 'im on the head!" Her voice sounded like broken glass and her expression had an evil grin, fill of malevolence.

Twei only went "Gaaaah!"

"And what, my pretty, do we have, heeeere?" Amber murred as she got the rest of the way out. Even Marisa and Mokou was impressed at the counter prank. "Such a a-dor-a-ble little bun bun."

"Whoa," Mokou had to say, "That's a good disguise."

The hag Amber turned into moved closer, hand held out in a claw, as Tewi backed away, horrified. "Bua-bua-bua-Gomen Nasai, Miss Old Witch! I didn't intend on trapping you. Wh-why are you getting closer?!"

"Would you be good for my pot? No, you're too small for a stew…"

"I-I don't taste good at all!"

"Maybe I can keep you as a pet, tee hee hee!" Amber thought she was having a bit too much fun with her, but by now she remembered what Twei Inaba is known to do. Annoying little turd. "I'd cast a spell on ya an put ya in a hutch, so that I can pet you on my hap...Or maybe I should just weave a curse…and turn you into a GOOOOOOON!" Amber made a mock lunge for Twei, who turned around and bolted. Running and screaming away from an ever-rising cackle that turned into an uproarious laughter from a witch older than the bamboo trees.

A cackle that turned into a youthful chuckle as Amber reached up to her face, and as she look like she was holding something, her face and arms returned to their normal color. A few seconds later, Amber pulled away a mask of the old green hag's face.

She turned back to a surprised and impressed Mokou and Marisa, holding the mask of a green witch's face.

"One of my favorite disguise spells. I have it stored in this mask so I can put it on my face and activate it," Amber said with a sly grin. "You'll be surprised how often I use it. Oh, and kudos on the tiger pit, that lure and cover was top notch. I would've done the same on those who invaded my Forest of Magic."

"How'd you do that, Amber?" Mokou said. "I've never seen magic like that before!"

"That magic's commonplace in the world she's from," Marisa replied. "She knows a lot of tricks, some of them I'd like to pick up myself."

"You're more than welcome in learning them, Marisa. Although I would suggest that you copy from my books over at the stagecoach instead of straight up borrow ze'ing."

Marisa elbowed Mokou. "She's got a couple bookshelves in her mobile home, each of them warded with some crazy juju."

"I take it you found that out the hard way, Marisa?"

Marisa blushed. "errrr."

"Wait til you see what I do with mushrooms." Amber pointed to where Twei is running. "Can I assume that Eientei's that way or is that a counter prank to my counter prank."

"That's the general direction, Amber," Mokou said as she walked ahead. "Follow me."

Chapter 11

Day 2, Mid-Morning
Eientei

"There she is, Reisen!" Twei said hanging off the long leg of a taller rabbit girl in an office lady dress, shirt down to her knees, with flowing purple hair that goes down to her knees, long white rabbit ears that bend halfway up, and a huge cotton tail at the rump of her back. "She's an old witch who tried to put me into a stew! That cute girl is just a disguise I know. She's here to lure some rabbits to snatch 'im, I know it!"

The older rabbit just sighed, completely frazzled by the little rabbit's outburst. "I apologize for Twei, ma'am. She sometimes doesn't know when to stop when it comes to pranking. She does crap like that to me all the time."

"Oh, it's all right, Reisen is it?" Amber waited til Reisen nodded.

"Reisen Udongein Inaba, ma'am. You must be the Amber Merichello my superiors talked about."

Donk.

Amber curtseyed, "Princess Amber Merichello of Penumaria, practicing witch, student of danmaku…" She winked at Twei who shrunk behind Reisen. "…and practical joker."

Twei just shot back a look as if to say, 'Oh, it's so on."

"So this is Eientei," Amber added, looking out past the two rabbit youkai to marvel the Japanese palace behind them. With the sliding panels, pagoda roofs, and that thing off in the corner that goes…

Donk.

"If I knew you two were coming, I would've gone into the forest entrance to meet you."

Amber humphed. "Now I'm told."

"Even if we did know, Reisen," Marisa replied. "I doubt any of us could contact you in advance."

"Oh?" Reisen looked confused. "Why not?"

"We're in the infamous Usual Suspects crawl, Miss Inaba," Amber said.

Reisen gulped so hard, if she had an Adam's Apple, it would have bobbed. "You…you're here about the Seal Crystals, are you."

Donk.

Amber noticed how nervous and fidgety the rabbit has become. She gave her a sympathetic sigh. "I'm afraid so, Reisen. Reimu broke off to go to other places that are beyond my depth at this time."

"Everyone who has these Seal Crystals have their own agendas with them," Marisa added. "They've all been trying to use them for nefarious stuff."

"That's rather rude of you, Marisa Kirisame," rang out the voice of one Alice Maragatroid as she appeared just inside the front gate. "I wasn't planning anything nefarious with them. I just want to have one empower my Goliath Doll. You should go see Remilia Scarlet, she was looking for an alternative source of energy for the mansion and lining the household budget. Amber here's getting spell cards out of them and hopes to collect them all," she pointed toward Marisa, "I don't want to know what you would be planning."

"Hey!"

"But if you really want to see someone who'd make an incident with the Seal Crystals, go see Lady Yuyuko; she tried to eat one."

Donk

Reisen smacked her head. "Yuyuko-sama. Figures!"

"I've been trying to network with the other groups so that I can keep a line of communication open." Reisen looked over to Alice who nodded as Amber continued. "If your superiors have some, I'd like to know more about what they're doing, it'll be a great help in my cause of getting to the bottom of how these buggers came to be. If anyone has skin in resolving this incident it's me."

Reisen let out a light 'Eep,' and shivered a bit. "I…don't think they know you, miss."

"That's why I came here, Reisen. I knew Eientei would be next on the crawl list, so I went ahead of her to vouch for Amber." Alice turned to Amber and smiled. "Reisen's master Eirin and Princess Kaguya is expecting you. Come with me."

Donk.

Reisen let out a weary sigh as she saw Amber walk up to the front door. "I-it's as you suspect, though. My master and the princess have a few Seal Crystals. They're researching their nature, since it's clear they're made of something special…It's…a bit over my head, to be honest."

"At least they didn't make Eientei go boom." Marisa said as she followed the others. "These crystals have a tendency to explode when you don't handle them right."

That nearly made Reisen's skin turn as white as her ears. "E-explode?!"

Donk.

"A word of warning though," Alice told Amber. "Princess Kaguya tends to be a recluse, so she might be a bit…off…in social graces. Just recently she got into a Roleplaying Group in the Human Village for some social experience, though."

"What kind of Roleplaying, may I ask?"

[[[=========]]]

"Th-this might come as a surprise, Princess," Amber tried to stammer out the words to a very enthusiastic girl in a flowing kimono worthy of a typical Japanese Princess, with long black hair in the proper matching hairstyle, "but you'd think that a world that looked like it could be in Dungeons & Dragons would actually have the game there. However, I don't think I even heard of that game…"

The nurse to the side of the pair in the red and blue dress with a long silvery braid raised an eyebrow. Never heard of Dungeons & Dragons? With her accent? If she didn't witness this newcomer's use fo magic herself, she'd be calling Amber Merichello on her bluff.

"Oh, Gomen me, Amber-san, I thought you would," Kaguya's voice was a perfect balance between politeness and enthusiasm as she settled down and backed a step. "You see, that's the game I started to play with a group formed by Miss Heida. She's the Dungeon Master. We use 3.5 Edition because she sneers at Fourth Edition. I head there's a Fifth Edition, but it hadn't arrived here in Gensokyo yet. We alternate between Suzunaan, the Scarlet Devil Mansion, several other places, and here in Eientei. We'd love to have you join us, I'm sure you have a lot of stories to tell about your homeworld of Penumaria!"

"Well," Amber replied. "Since my world does have both Dungeons and Dragons…perhaps I could think up something. I've known to tell stories to kids, using my magic to illustrate it as I go...perhaps I could bring that here."

Kaguya clapped her hands together. "Oh, that would be perfect!"

The nurse cleared her throat.

"Ulp!" Princess Kaguya rubbed her head. "Gomen me again, I got a bit carried away. I'll let Eirin here bring you up to speed over what we're doing. It's why you're here, after all, isn't it?" She then bade Amber, Marisa, and Reisen to sit down while she did so as well. Without missing a beat, Alice made her dolls bring down a full tea set while the nurse, Yagokoro Eirin, addressed the group.

"Darjeeling with Jasmine, Alice?" The nurse said. "I'm surprised that you were able to find it. Did you find it over at Kourindou?"

"I keep a bit stash of it, and I sometimes make some blends when I'm bored."

That caused some chuckles before Eirin began.

"For the record, Amber, yes, we have been studying these Seal Crystals. As you know they've been showing up everywhere at the same time as you have." Eirin looked over at Amber. "I would guess that Yukari did something to one of those crystals and summoned you here."

Amber sighed. "That's what I heard. I just found one of these strange crystals and it brought me here. I've been looking for a why or wherefore ever since."

Eirin nodded. "Thought so. That would be that Gap Youkai's speed."

"That's my Eirin," Kaguya mused, "She's so smart."

"Oh, please, Princess, you're teasing me." Eirin blushed for a second. "I knew there was some kind of connection. At the start, the two of us," she pointed at Kaguya and herself, "was going to be researching how to handle these crystals safely, here in Eientei, and also find a way to send you back home too, Amber. But then we found out that you, Amber, stepped up and started to investigate this Seal Crystal incident on your own accord, before either Reimu or Marisa could even consider it!"

"It won't be my first Incident I addressed, Lady Eirin. I have experience." Amber rubbed her head. "I hope I didn't come off as too presumptuous, but I thought that Reimu and Marisa here were already up to their armpits in Youkai shenanigans that I didn't want to…"

"Oh, no no no, Amber." Kaguya held Amber's wrist. "You taking the initiative is to be commended." She nodded. "We'll help. We're very capable. We've done things like these Seal Crystals before. We can easily relay the results and add to your research."

Amber looked over to Marisa and shared a couple pensive looks, it was almost as if whole books of information was being transferred between the two. Neither of them said anything, but in Reisen's ears…

these people have their own Agendas, Amber. This might be more than you could chew…

I know, Marisa. I was pondering this ever since I walked out of the Scarlet Devil Mansion. I'm trying to get several groups who would otherwise be rivals in the same table.

It's tricky. But as you said, you pretty much have to.

Yeah. I don't know a thing about what's going on. I need to as many brains working on this as I can, and that means keeping a whole lot of different people close to the vest. I just hope it doesn't blow up in my face all at once…

Reisen's eyes were wide as she blinked, surprised that she was able to pick that up with her ears. Being from the Moon, she knows that Moon Rabbit's ears can transmit and receive telepathic messages. Could Amber be psionic?

"Alice here told us about you making a connection with Remilia Scarlet to share information and will be keeping in touch with her people," Eirin said. "We'd like to do the same. Do you have something akin of a home base?"

"That's something I'd be looking into in a couple days," Amber said. "All I have now is my stagecoach."

"You should see it," Marisa replied. "It's Patchy's library on wheels."

"But I will be needing something more stationary with enough room to research with," Amber said. "Maybe in the Human Village, maybe elsewhere, not too far off any beaten paths."

"There's a lot of places in Gensokyo that just appear here because they are forgotten in the outside world," Eirin replied. "I'm sure any of us or a friend, can direct you to any place. In the meantime, I'd like to open up relations by providing a liaison between you and us." She then went over to Reisen and stroked her shoulder. It made her jump as if shocked. Even Amber had to flinch. "Reisen dear."

The rabbit youkai snapped to attention the best she could without having to stand up. "Hai!"

"I'd like you to be that liaison," Kaguya replied. "She might need someone to keep a watch on this 'stagecoach,' and we'll relay your messages intended to Amber. We might call on you to deliver packages for her as well. Maybe even excess Seal Crystals because I know Amber would need to find more Spell Cards." She then turned to Amber. "Reisen here is quite capable and will defend your mobile home from any pesky fairies, and the occasional youkai, that regularly plague the Hakurei Shrine on occasion."

"Hai…Shisho" Reisen bowed with enough nervousness to just tug at Amber's heartstrings. The poor girl looked like the butterflies in her stomach have butterflies in their own stomachs. As Reisen looked at the witch with a tinge of apprehension, Amber touched her arm. There was a flinch, but Amber kept the touch, its gentle content causing the nerves and muscles in the forearm she touched to loosen after a few seconds.

"It'll be all right, dearie," Amber said with a smile to Reisen. "I'll treat you right. Take your time getting whatever you need together before you go to the Hakurei Shrine. My stagecoach won't be hard to miss."

"Thank you, Amber-hime." Reisen said with a bow. "I'd probably be there when you get back then, Amber," Reisen said to Amber's nodding approval.

"I wish you good luck then," Kayuga said, but then she blinked. "Oh, if you're going to the Moriya Shrine, be careful. I've heard rumors that they've heard of you Amber, and the Shrine Maiden…I heard that she isn't liking you that much."

"Sanae?" Marisa said. "What did Amber do to Sanae? They haven't even met yet."

"The deities there have been keeping an eye on the Hakurei Shrine ever since they appeared on top of Youkai Mountain. They must've saw you, Amber. And from what I've seen, you do have Sanae's spell card."

The two magicians looked at each other. They body sighed.

"Sanae. Well," Marisa breathed, "I'm sure that you copying Spell Cards would've pissed off somebody. This would've happened sooner or later."

"I'm just surprised it's not with you," Amber added. "But I'll deal with her when I get to her, I heard that you're quite a physician, Miss Eirin. If you don't mind, I'd like to check out your wears."

Chapter 12

Day 2, Noontime
The Myouren Temple near the human village

"I didn't think you could turn Lilly of the Valley poison into something that can actually heal, but that youkai doll proved me wrong." Amber flew over the bamboo forest with Marisa. Getting out of the Bamboo Forest of the Lost is considerably easier than going in provided you could fly; just go straight up through a hole in the canopy. "And Lady Eirin really proved her mettle. She knew how to make healing potions and an antitoxin that she suggested I get, and while she didn't know the drow version that's common in my world, she did make an effective sleeping potion." Amber winked over to her witch on her wing. "Most ladies I know keep a spray of this stuff, to keep perverts at bay."

"Heh, that's Medicine Melancholy for you. The poor ventriloquist doll was left in that Lilly of the Valley flower bed for too long, and it shows. I'm surprised that she was cordial toward you, Amber. She's not one to welcome strangers, especially humans."

"Probably sensed the magic in my blood," Amber replied. "She thought I'd pass as a youkai."

Alice nodded and hummed. "There's the Myouren Temple down there, let's stop over and check that box off while we're here."

"Sounds like a plan-kaze!" Marisa said as she spiraled her way down to the temple with the sprawling roof, red banners lining the way from the main road just outside the village, and a rather large bell that let out a goooooooooooonnnnnnnnnnnnn when someone banged at it with a suspended log.

[[[=========]]]

About this time…
Eientei

"When Amber and Marisa looked at each other, I picked up a bit of a conversation," Reisen told Eirin, "I didn't expect Amber to be psionic."

Kayuga gasped. "Could it be the Message cantrip?" She then looked over at Eirin and cleared her throat. "I wouldn't think about it, but when I heard her spellcasting is similar to a wizard in D&D, it just came to mind."

"If it weren't for her actually showing her magic such as that disguise mask she used on Twei," Eirin replied. "I would've called her out on passing as a magician, with that Midwestern American accent of her's."

The princess blinked a couple times. "She's an American?"

"What?!" Reisen was surprised. "She's from the Outside World?"

"I would've thought so as well, but she flew on a broom, altered her appearance to prank Twei, and she made her own healing potions. That is not what you'd expect from some Otaku from the Outside world." Eirin nodded. "I might have never heard of this Penumaria, but Amber proved that her story's legit."

"She must've had quite a fascinating journey, Eirin," Kayuga mused. "I'd love to hear all about it."

"In that, we agree, Princess," Eirin said. "However, we have to be cautious. We don't know what she's fully capable of, and parts of her craft might also be dangerous." She turned to the exiled moon rabbit. "Try to learn as much as you can about her and where she's from and send us regular reports. We need to keep an eye on her."

"Hai, Shisho."

[[[=========]]]

Myouren Temple

"You have Buddhism in your world, Amber?" The Buddhist nun with the long purple and faded hair, flowing dress with the prayer beads and the large cone-like cap on her head didn't bother getting up from her meditation mat. "That's a surprise from a world that resembles something from those Lord of the Rings books."

"Penumaria's got this quirk, Lady Hijiri. We might have deities and faith and clerics and paladins and things, but all our Celestials agreed on one thing: No organized religions. They cause more trouble than they're worth. So the Celestials—that's what we call the deities there—had to get creative. A good number of them just brought in some of the non-deity based religions from the Outside World, such as Buddhism, Shinto, Taoism, and my own belief, Wicca."

"How are they relating to each other, may I ask? I'm asking this because sometimes those first three religions tend to clash in Gensokyo."

"Surprisingly, they get along pretty well. Sure, you might get some friendly rivalries among Shinto, Buddhism, and Taoism, but they don't clash. I can assume that they do here?"

Byakuren Hijiri sighed. "Afraid so, apparently some of Gensokyo's practitioners have a proverbial chip on their shoulders. Especially some Taoists. You'd think you'd only get this sort of grief in America's Bible Belt."

There was a raising of an eyebrow and a glint of recognition in Amber, but it faded before Baykuren noticed, or showed her notice.

"You said that you're a Wiccan, Amber."

"Some call the practice of Witchcraft that."

Byakuren Hijiri's eyes widened a bit. "That's an arcane based faith, right? I learned arcane magic, some of which might be similar to your own, or so I heard. You draw in mana right?"

Amber nodded.

"You can see Octarine?" Byakuren illustrated by pointing up and then moving that finger in a circle that created a small filament with a color that constantly changed. Orange to Blue to Purple to Green to Pink and so on. Only Amber, Alice, and Marisa could see it, everyone else in the room just saw a wagging finger.

"Like it's part of the rainbow. In fact, you have Octarine in your entire aura." Amber blushed. "I didn't want to embarrass you."

"Oh, that's all right, my dear."

"How did you connect yourself to the mana here in Gensokyo. I've already noticed that the flow is different here. I need to study more of this particular Weave."

Byakuren nodded. "I found my own way that works with my beliefs." She pulled out what looked like a scroll on two wooden rods, or at least Amber assumed was a scroll, until she unrolled a section. The sheet was transparent; and so clear that the text appeared to float in mid-air between the rods. "One day, when I was mourning the loss of my brother, I found this. I never saw a scroll that was on paper you could see through, and I thought it was a prayer scroll."

"It's not?" Amber's head was tilted as she saw that scroll. "I've never seen a scroll like that, and we use a lot of scrolls in my world."

Byakuren nodded. "While there were some prayers in it, it's not a prayer scroll. It's a spellbook."

That got Amber's attention, she leaned forward.

"It's named the Sorcerer's Sutra Scroll. Not only does it have details on various spells, but it also has a technique on how to meditate your way into connecting with the Weave. There's a good number of spells in there, as well as some ways to extend your life without resorting to becoming undead, which you'd admit is dreadful."

"Tell me about it," Amber replied, as she looked closer to the scroll. It was in a language she wasn't aware of.

"Only I can as much as open it, much less read it. You could say that the Sutra Scroll chose me."

"It's partially why she isn't much on friendly terms with the Human Village," Marisa said. "If people stop believing in magic, magic'll go away and all of the long life she has goes away. She'd age into ash right where she sits."

Byakuren sighed. "I found out that keeping the existence of Youkai around is enough to keep that from happening. However, it did cause me to get sealed away in a stone prison until my youkai friends freed me. One of them was Captain Murasa here, who allowed me to be in her ship for a while until she decided to turn it into this Buddhist temple." She nodded to a black-haired girl in the sailor uniform with a large anchor over her shoulder, who approached the group and sat on one of the free cushions. "Oh, speak of the ghost. This is Minamitsu Murasa, Amber. This is the Amber Merichello everyone's talking about, Captain."

"Pleasure," Murasa said with a tip of her hat, which Amber reciprocated. "Nice to know you have a good team, Byakuren."

"I sure do." Byakuren mused. "I tend to a lot of youkai here, especially those who want to be in peace with the humans. That of course got me in trouble, but someone has to do it. If nobody did, they would either tear through the Human Village eating everyone in it or they simply die off and become extinct. Either way, faith goes away after that and with it, magic. Or at least that's how the magic here works, what about your world?"

"In my world, magic comes in a naturally flowing energy named 'Mana,' which flows throughout the world like the wind and water, which we call 'The Weave.' I draw on Mana for my spells, and I'm surprised I can draw on Gensokyo's Weave."

Byakuren nodded with a smile.

"Not only is it something I'd like to work on, but I'm glad I could. I'm going to need it if I'm going to deal with these Seal Crystals."

"I see. I haven't seen much about these Seal Crystals, Lady Amber. If any of my kids here find one, I'll just have them find you and hand it over." She sighed. "Keeping these youkais on the straight and narrow can be a full-time job."

"I'm not that bad, Byakuren," Murasa said as she leaned against an anchor as big as her.

Byrkuren chuckled. "I was referring to the more rambunctious ones around here, Murasa-kun. I didn't know I was that high up on the Usual Suspects crawl, Marisa. My incident was further along the timeline."

"We were splitting the suspects between Reimu," Marisa said. "Reimu's got the ones who are Underground, while Amber here's picking up the rest of the ones on the surface."

"We're not doing it in any order as well," Alice replied. "You were just along the way between stops."

"Once I get to know almost everyone, I can move on to the investigation proper," Amber replied. "I just need to find a home base to work in."

"Oh?" Byakuren turned to Amber.

"When I found myself here, I only had my wagon." Amber gave a smirk. "It's kinda like a mobile home. I need to find a place where I can form a home base where I won't be a bother to the Hakurei Shrine Maiden."

"We always have some building or another just appear in Gensokyo just because they're forgotten in the Outside World." Alice added, then turned to Amber. "There's always some home or school or even an abandoned village. I even know of an amusement park that just popped in here. I think Remilia Scarlet is looking into that. There's plenty of places where you can simply move in and take up shop."

"I'd refer you to Miss Kiene, Amber," Byakuren said. "Pay her a visit over at the Human Village."

"Sure thing, Byakuren? Where can I find Lady Kiene?"

Chapter 13

Day 2, Early Afternoon
The Human Village, Terakoya school.

"I think I've heard of something that Amber here can use, if she needed something other than the Hakurei Shrine," said the tall woman with brown eyes and long silver hair with blue highlights. She wears a hat that looks like some Japanese building with a red ribbon on top and glyphs inscribed along its side. Her dress is dark blue with white short sleeves, and a red ribbon is tied to the bottom of the collar. "Every now and then we get an abandoned building that gets transported here from elsewhere. I thought I saw an abandoned school building, just a small one, probably from a village in Japan where everyone who moved on. I'm sure you can re-purpose it as your home base, Amber."

"As good as any, Miss Kamishirasawa." Amber tried to keep herself friendly, but her body language proved that she was nervous. She crossed her arms, her voice didn't have as much inflection, and she was looking back and forth on the walled off building with a front hall with several pairs of shoes on them. A group of kids were playing in a side yard and some of them had noticed this 'Not Marisa' talking to Kiene-sensei.

The body language was not lost on Kiene. "Let me guess, Amber," she said with a slight smile. "You had a bad experience with school?"

"What?" Amber's mouth went dry as every nerve of her body sparked up for an eyeblink. "Oh, sorry about that, ma'am. It's just that..." She gulped to swallow her stomach back in place.

"I've met a lot of kids who end up here who had problems with the schools in the Outside World," Kiene said. "Young people who were dismissed as delinquents or degenerates when they were out there, but I always find out that they are capable of learning."

"School got in the way of a decent education?" Amber replied. "Grammie often said that."

Kiene nodded with a smile. "I noticed that you had the same wary expression, Amber-san."

"I did?" Amber sighed. "It was so long ago. I got myself homeschooled by my Grammie. She taught me the basics while she was teaching me magic."

"Really? I thought you spent some time in some academy like this Hogwarts I keep hearing."

"Hard pass!" Amber said throwing up her arms. "I've heard of liches that are still paying their student loans."

Kiene laughed at that. "At least you got your head together, or so Reimu told me. I have a lot of kids here talking about you, a magician who's collecting spell cards."

Alice nodded. "It's because of the Seal Crystals. Amber found her way here because of a Seal Crystals and she's been investigating them ever since."

"Ah, so that's explains it." Kiene nodded. "I was trying to figure it out myself so I can tell the kids about it, but maybe, once you settle in, maybe I could get you to explain the Seal Crystal incident. Maybe even show more about your magic to them, I'm sure they'd be crazy interested in hearing of another magician." She then touched Amber's shoulder. "Think about it. Until then I'll find that building and let you know about it."

"Thank you, Miss…"

"Oh, just call me Kiene, Amber. You're not a student here."

"Heh, right."

Amber didn't let out her sigh of relief until she left the school ground and rounded a corner. "Ugh! I didn't expect to feel that again." She glanced over to a concerned Marisa Kirisame and Alice Margatroid. "My time at School while I was still in the Outside World was rather rough. Had a principal who had it out for me for one reason or another, and was looking for something to expel me over. He finally got his excuse when I couldn't forgive an unapologetic asshole who ruined a dress I wore. I found myself having to teach myself for a time. But it wasn't until Grammie taking me in that I really got a decent education."

Marisa nodded. "School got in the away of an education."

"I'm very sorry to hear that, Amber," Alice added. "That would really explain why you've been acting strange around Kiene-sensei."

Amber nodded and blushed. "I really didn't want to go off like that."

Alice just patted Amber on the shoulder. "Let's move on to more important things, people. Since we're still in the Human Village, let's check out a couple shops I go to. I needed to show you the woodworking shop and the seamstress I go to for doll supplies."

"Still interested in making your own dolls, Amber?" Marisa asked.

Amber nodded. "Something I'll be doing along the way. You never know when you'll need a minion."

She was about to follow Marisa and Alice when something pinged the back of her mind.

"Wait a sec, what's that?"

She turned around, glanced down the alleyway, her eyes narrowed with intent.

"Something the matter?"

"I just thought there was someone following us," Amber said. "Or maybe I'm just being skittish." A couple more seconds and she just shrugged. "Nothing that lunch won't fix. Wait up."

As the three magicians went along their merry way.

There was a sigh of relief coming from behind a trash can one block out, where a shadowy figure wearing a cloak crouched behind. A hood over their head revealing only their lower jaw. The figure braved a look again toward the Not Marisa and jotted something on their notebook:

"So, this Amber Merichello's no ordinary visitor. And thank God, she's no Mary Sue by any account. My contacts said that she's not only letting Reimu continue her own investigations, but she's also networking with others. We didn't expect her to do that. I don't think she could…"

This figure then noticed a semi-transparent blue-haired girl in an overpocketed blue dress with a green backpack as big as she was. She ducked behind a crate in the block between this figure and Amber. She accidentally kicked a can, which made the sound that pinged the otherworlder magician, and even though she thought she was invisible enough, she panicked. When the not-Marisa turned back and rejoined her friends, this girl braved a peek out and then ventured ahead.

"So she was noticing the kappa. I thought she noticed me."

The figure breathed a sigh of relief. It wouldn't do to cause an incident in the Human Village. But still…

"This Amber's going to become a problem. She can pull spell cards from the Seal Crystals. She's already got both the Fantasy Seal and the Master Spark. She also has the Scarlet Devil's Gungnir and God knows what else she might have collected. If she breaks open enough Seal Crystals, she could have access to every possible Spell Card in the entire history of Gensokyo. And God help us if she finds an alternate world…which she will, judging by that the Red Crystals are about to come into play.

And that. Is on top of the Vancian Magic she brought here! That alone will be a problem to our cause.

The Moriya Shrine is next on Amber's list, and they're expecting her. That would be the first major test of her staying power.

We must deal with Amber, sooner rather than later. Drive her back to this Penumaria if possible.

Exterminate her…if necessary."

Liner Notes

There'll always be a decent reason, or at least a half-brained excuse, over why there may be some gaps between episodes. I have two.

The first one deals with the upcoming Substack project, Tales of Penumaria. This is a worldbuilding blog where I set up the RPG setting where Amber comes from, with plenty of material to work with Dungeons & Dragons Fifth Edition (as well as a series of customizations which I call Swifttail D&D.) It is my hope that those who are disillusioned with where Wizards of the Coast is taking their campaigns—or those who want to have a place to build their own campaigns—would give Penumaria a good look over.

Those two months also included National Novel Writing Month, (which occurs every November) where I took the opportunity to write the first parts of Amber of the Woods, which is Amber's origin story.

I was just about to get everything ready for Tales of Penumaria to be launched over the holidays when the second reason why I was away reared it's ugly head.

A tooth abscess. Which started at Christmas Eve!, and only gotten worse throughout the entire holidays until the fourth, where the dentist appointment could be made! And by that time, I had to be sent to the hospital for a drain surgery (and a couple teeth extractions.)

This is why I'm wary of making deadlines. Far too often, Murphy's Law gets the best of me.

I got back home this week (Jan 10) and is still in recovery. There's only a little bit of a swell left, and it's no doubt going to take the longest to go away. But I've recovered enough to get back into the swing of things. Here's hoping that Episode 6 doesn't take so flipping long.

In the Next Episode

The first challenge for our heroines awaits over at the Moriya Shrine as well as the first Spell Card Battle. It's Shrine Maiden vs Magician, it's Faith vs Science, it's Divine vs Arcane, as the otherworlder witch's staying power gets tested. At the Defense: Sanae Kochiya. At the Attack: Amber Merichello. En Garde.

Also, the Nitro Fusion 2.0 comes into play!