| 5 |
You continue to admire the incredibly large and detailed map for a few more minutes before asking Tsu-Ko if there exists a smaller, simpler version of it somewhere.
Tsu-Ko: "This is the smaller, simpler version. If you wanted the full thing, you'd have to travel to all one hundred provinces, get a map of each one, and stitch them all together."
Honourshine: "What about a blank map of the island? It's not like we can read any of the labels anyway."
Tsu-Ko: "A blank map? Hmm... I think that's what the pilgrims use to plan their journeys. Unless I'm mistaken, the monks should have some to spare. Why not ask them?"
You nod, and remember your sprite companion mentioning that there is a temple in every town.
Tsu-Ko: "That's right; the one in Yinshin-Pintai is on the western edge of the city."
With a new destination in mind, you slowly start making your way out of the castle. Along the way, you pass by several tapestries depicting the royal unicorns who ruled the land over the centuries, along with the mended suits of armour of their champions. You notice that among the princesses, not a single one had wings.
After a pleasant walk in the refreshing alpine wind, you arrive at the local temple: an isolated tower not far from a cliff's edge overlooking a gorgeous view of the surrounding mountain ranges.
Following Tsu-Ko's instructions, you and your friends enter the temple and leave your belongings by the entrance. Shortly after your arrival, one of the monks — a young Kirin mare with a beaded bracelet — comes to greet your unusual party.
Kirinese Monk: "Welcome. What have you come to seek?"
You tell the monk that you were hoping to get a blank map of the island to take with you on your travels.
Kirinese Monk: "Are you on a pilgrimage to Shinzo?"
You shake your head, and say that you are on a quest of your own. The mare ponders this for a moment, eyeing your wings, then she gestures for you to follow. She leads you to a nearby cabinet, from which she retrieves a scroll among many.
Once it is presented to you, you follow Tsu-Ko's instructions and politely grab the scroll in your mouth before bowing in thanks. The monk mirrors your bow.
You get Map of the Kirin Empire!
Kirinese Monk: "The map is yours to do with as you will; may it be of help on your journey ahead."
And with that, you join your party in a low farewell bow before gathering your things and leaving the temple.
You equip Blue Cloak of Feather Fall.
Once back outside, you hop onto a nearby roadside bench and unfurl your new map. You recognize the island from the map room, though its distinctly coloured provinces are now otherwise completely blank.
With the help of your guide, you note down a few known locations, namely Shinzo, the towns of the trigon, and a few bodies of water.
Tsu-Ko: "By the way, it should be morning in Taihon-Nonchan by now."
Moonflower: "Wait, how long's it been? This new sky's got me super confused."
Your pocket watch indicates six o'clock... presumably in the evening.
Enter a comment
- Ask the supervisor/manager of the farmworkers ("foremare"?) on each farm, who probably would know the details of who is employed there, assuming they aren't some noblemare we aren't able to casually get an audience with. I'm preparing to learn the lore of how many farms there are and how they're managed, which will have a lot of social/political implications.
- Asking among the fieldworkers if we can't find the foremare.
- The bar of course would be a good place to ask random people, but it may be closed or a bit empty right now.
- I'm sure we'll find out there are more places there that we can visit or search.
YES! A glorious map tab! The QM answers our wish. There aren't that many points of interest yet, but it started out as a "blank" map.
I wonder if there is some different timekeeping system here, or is it still Equestrian-length days, just with different timezones? If the day length is different, that would suggest the unicorns here have different biology, unless things work differently in this universe.
Two mentions of wings here. I would accuse myself of being conspiratorial, but I think the author is definitely trying to say or tease something. I feel like the former quote could be stated a bit more matter-of-factly; the way it's written feels purposeful, or the way writers write things when they are purposeful. Or is it just trying to convey some incidental lore/Blazer noticed because "princess" seemed inextricably tied to "alicorn" in his head? Also, I feel like the Emperor is potentially going to hear about the fact that we have wings now (we only talked to the last monk with the cloak on) and, if that draws his interest, we will find out in time.
And yes the monk did notice our wings. Since they are the eyes and ears of the emperor and have a better education than the common Kirin they may actually know about Alicorns. So for better or worse the government is going to become aware of our presence.