Iku Quest - A Z-Machine Adventure

[Hello Purvis]

>You are Iku Nagae, Gensokyo's premier messenger and dancer!
>You are an oarfish youkai in service to the Dragon Palace. As a resident of Bhava-Agra, you bear a status similar to that of a Celestial, and are considered a minor functionary in the Celestial Bureaucracy that makes certain the known universe runs as it should, with all the rights privileges, and duties that come with this position. You are in the service of The Dragon, who reigns quietly as the highest god of this realm, and is among the highest beings in the universe. It regards you well, and you think of it as a guardian.
>While your duties and position suggest your place is in Bhava-Agra, you have a tendency to roam to other places. You somewhat blame this on Tenshi Hinanai, whom you have unfortunately been charged with keeping out of significant trouble, and her tendency to visit Gensokyo whenever possible. You are well-know for your love of dance, and excellence in performing it; oftentimes you've been asked to star in performances given at the Dragon Palace. Others have styled you the Dance Empress, particularly those who would try to claim that title for themselves. You are, as far as you know, well regarded by everyone you know, and are welcome practically anywhere in Gensokyo, save perhaps for Higan. The only real black spot in your days is periodically having to deal with Tenshi's chicanery.
>You are standing in the main hall of the Dragon Palace. The ceiling soars hundreds of feet into the air, with fluffy white clouds obscuring it. The stone walls are lacquered every color of the rainbow, arranged brightly and tastefully. The music of stringed instruments wafts throughout the hall while Celestials move to and fro among its rainbow-colored finery, going about their daily business. The center of the hall is reserved for The Dragon's august personage alone, while the sides are for the various people of the palace. Numerous doors line the hall, leading to various wings of the palace. At the far end are a pair of immense doors made of jade, leading to The Dragon's chamber. Thankfully there is a smaller door off to the side, for the rare times that The Dragon chooses to entertain a guest. Obvious exits are East 1, East 2, North 1, North 2, North 3, North 4, North 5, South 1, South 2, South 3, South 4, South 5, and West.
>You have duties to attend to! You must make certain that the peach orchard is in good condition, and that the next shipment will be ready soon. And you must make sure that Tenshi, whose current punishment is harvesting peaches, is behaving herself.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Saturday night FEVER.
> Resolve to moonwalk everywhere we go, as long as we're reasonably sure no one is watching. And maybe sometimes when someone is.
> Assuming no one is watching right now, check chest for usual growths.
> Inventory
> Skills

[Fightest]

> That status doesn't uphold itself, you know. Plus, we need a good warmup for the day's activities. Bust a shuffle, then break out into some good ol' street dance.
> Only for a bit, though, we're not here to dance-off.

[Hello Purvis]

> Saturday night FEVER.
> Resolve to moonwalk everywhere we go, as long as we're reasonably sure no one is watching. And maybe sometimes when someone is.
> Assuming no one is watching right now, check chest for usual growths.
> Inventory
> Skills

>You cannot keep a thermometer on your person, due to all this fever.
>You have done this in the past. It is fun.
>No one is watching; you check. They're right there where they should be. Your tallness makes them seem a bit smaller than they are, though.
>Your inventory contains
>Wide-brimmed hat (worn as hat)
>Exceedingly Stylish!
>Flamenco Dress (worn as dress)
>Allows both modesty and freedom of movement
>Pink Shawl
>A shawl that represents your status as a part of Bhava-Arga and allows you to defend yourself with devastating techniques.
>Your skills are:
>Shawl-Fu
>When equipped with a shawl, you can be a terror in battle!
>Dancinating
>When equipped with a beat, you can be  a terror on the dancefloor!
>Celestial Bureaucratizing
>You are familiar with the ways that the Celestial Bureaucracy works, and know the proper channels to get minor things done or arrange for meetings with august personages.
>Moderate Danmakutimes
>You know a little bit about this thing they call Danmaku.
>Basic Songsmithing
>No one seems to notice you're a decent singer, too.
>Astronomics
>You are well versed in the various aspects and objects of the night sky.
>Basic Leadershipping
>You can competently direct small groups of willing people and get excellent results.
>Landscaping
>You can design beautiful landscapes of all kinds, and implement them.
>Major Domoship
>You can run a household without difficulty.
>Ink Paintilizing
>You are a decent artist with an ink brush!

> That status doesn't uphold itself, you know. Plus, we need a good warmup for the day's activities. Bust a shuffle, then break out into some good ol' street dance.
> Only for a bit, though, we're not here to dance-off.

>Oh why not?
>You break out a shuffle, then follow up with a little popping and locking. A few celestials stop to watch your display, and applaud as you finish.

>_

[DracoOmega]

>Where is the peach orchard located?
>Head in that direction

[Hello Purvis]

>It is to the west of the Dragon Palace.
>You make your way toward the west, leaving the Dragon Palace.
>You stand upon the road leading from the palace and toward the fields. The edge of the island is not far away; you can see the orchard isle in the distance to the northwest. To the west, you can see well maintained fields of your own design, with celestial homes among them. The sun shines brightly overhead, you'd like to think if you squinted hard enough, you could see its island. The clouds flow around your feet, glancing into the sky you can see some rather puffy ones floating between the islands. To the south you can see another isle, currently not in use and allowed to grow wild and beautiful.Obvious exits are east and west.

>_

[DracoOmega]

>Continue to the orchard
>How does one get to Gensokyo and back from here?

[Pesco]

> Sense for potential earthquakes

[Hello Purvis]

>Continue to the orchard
>How does one get to Gensokyo and back from here?

>You take to the air and head northwest.
>One simply flies up. The trick is much of Bhava-Agra is empty sky. Simply flying upward doesn't mean you will necessarily find anything, especially since many of the islands move. This is why people approaching from the surface, and Celestials unfamiliar with relation between the two, use Youkai mountain as a navigation point; it leads to an island that is stable.
>Looking below you, you can see Gensokyo through the clouds. You aren't sure what is below, as these isles do drift.
>Ahead, you can see the orchard isle. It is full of peach trees in orderly rows, and attractively disorderly clumps here and again. Celestials flit among them, as do some faeries in similar raiments.

> Sense for potential earthquakes

>You sense no earthquakes at this time. But you know the second some chucklehead pulls out that keystone below the Hakurei Shrine, there's going to be a big one and there's nothing you'll be able to do.

>_

[DracoOmega]

>Begin to inspect the orchard and make sure that things are in order
>While we do our rounds, keep an eye out for Tenshi
>What was she being punished for this time, anyway?
>Does Tenshi at least accomplish more than the amount she disrupts, when assigned tasks like this to do?

[Hello Purvis]

>Begin to inspect the orchard and make sure that things are in order
>While we do our rounds, keep an eye out for Tenshi
>What was she being punished for this time, anyway?
>Does Tenshi at least accomplish more than the amount she disrupts, when assigned tasks like this to do?

>You look around, and don't seem any obvious signs of disorder or disarray. It would be a good idea to talk with the forewoman, though.
>You keep an eye out for Tenshi, but don't see her. This is not distressing, there's a lot of places she could reasonably be.
>Really it's just an extension of her original punishment; toil for forsaking enlightened behavior, stealing the Sword of Hisou, and general havoc-causing. Unfortunately, she managed to convince her judges that sending her to the earth to experience their toil would be a good idea. This really just gives her opportunities to make things worse for herself.
>She can be a great worker when she puts her mind to it. Really, if she weren't such a little shit she'd be a credit to Bhava-Agra.

>_

[DracoOmega]

>Go seek out this forewoman
>What is the hierarchical nature of our involvement with overseeing the orchard?
>What became of the Sword of Hisou afterwards?

[Hello Purvis]

>Go seek out this forewoman
>What is the hierarchical nature of our involvement with overseeing the orchard?
>What became of the Sword of Hisou afterwards?

>You start to look for her.
>You are to make sure the peaches are harvested and brought to the orchard on time, you are more or less in charge of the whole operation. But long ago you've learned that in any language that has a word meaning delegation, that word is the sweetest sounding word. You've only had to make periodic inspections, the forewoman has taken care of the rest.
>It has been returned to the shrine from which it was taken.
>Looking around, you find the forewoman picking peaches from one of the more heavily laden trees, hovering around it looking for good places to each in through the thick boughs. She is a brown-haired celestial by the name of Lorelei.

>_

[DracoOmega]

>Approach her
>"Good day, Lorelei. How are things?"

[Hello Purvis]

>Approach her
>"Good day, Lorelei. How are things?"

>You approach her and call out.
>She pauses, glances toward you, then does half a curtsy in midair while balancing her basket against her hit with the other hand. In theory, you're suppose to land before you do those, but there's no need to stand on formalities.
>"It's going well, Lady Nagae," she says. "The north trees are a bit more bare than I'd like, but we'll come through nonetheless. Faeries have been something of a distraction, but they're minding their manners well enough."

>_

[DracoOmega]

>Nod
>"That's good to hear. Fairies are as they are, of course. I'm glad things are going smoothly. "
>"I hope Tenshi has been well-behaved, as well?"

[Hello Purvis]

>Nod
>"That's good to hear. Fairies are as they are, of course. I'm glad things are going smoothly. "
>"I hope Tenshi has been well-behaved, as well?"

>"Not caused a bit of trouble," says Lorelei. "She's been handling the North End. I checked up an hour ago, she was doing a good job. She even had a few faeries doing a sing along with her."

>_

[DracoOmega]

>"That's rather quaint. I'm glad she's been doing well, in any event."
>Does Tenshi sing much that we know of? Can she even sing?
>"Are there any other matters around here that you think could use my attention?"

[Hello Purvis]

>"That's rather quaint. I'm glad she's been doing well, in any event."
>Does Tenshi sing much that we know of? Can she even sing?
>"Are there any other matters around here that you think could use my attention?"

>Lorelei nods. "You and me both."
>Song is quite common in Bhava-Agra. Tenshi isn't exactly top class, but she can carry a tune. Her time in the lower realms, though, has made her less prone to song than many celestials.
>"Not that I can think of," says Lorelei. "The pits on some of these might be a pain, but it's always that way."

>_

[MysTeariousYukari]

> "I suppose I'll check in on Tenshi then, if you have nothing you need my help with."
> Do we know what some things Tenshi finds interesting are?
> Ponder using things like that to bait her to behaving a bit more, or at least causing less trouble.

[DracoOmega]

>Nod
>"Thank you again for keeping things running so smoothly. I think I'll pay a visit to Tenshi myself, now. Good wishes to you and have a pleasant day."
>Head to the north end

[Hello Purvis]

> "I suppose I'll check in on Tenshi then, if you have nothing you need my help with."
> Do we know what some things Tenshi finds interesting are?
> Ponder using things like that to bait her to behaving a bit more, or at least causing less trouble.

>Nod
>"Thank you again for keeping things running so smoothly. I think I'll pay a visit to Tenshi myself, now. Good wishes to you and have a pleasant day."
>Head to the north end

>"No troubles, Lady Nagae," says Lorelei. "I'll keep it all together."
>You make your way toward the northern part of the forest. Along the way, you consider things that she enjoys. You know Tenshi has a strong love for surface world junk foods, things like beer nuts, jerky, cookies, and the like. You really can't blame her; peaches make up much of the diet here. In theory, it's a huge distraction from attaining the next step of enlightenment to have such a focus on taste, but sometimes one craves variety. That would be the point, though. You're fairly certain she's started a black market for such things, but you've never been able to find evidence of it.
>Approaching the Northern part of the orchards, you find that Lorelei's report is accurate; there are not quite so many peaches here as elsewhere. Looking around, you can see Tenshi's distinctive skirt and boots dangling underneath the boughs of a particularly large tree; she much be hovering rather deeply into it.

>_

[DracoOmega]

>Move closer and see if we can see what she's doing, before we announce our presence.
>Assuming she appears to simply be doing her job: "Good morning, Tenshi."

[Hello Purvis]

>Move closer and see if we can see what she's doing, before we announce our presence.
>Assuming she appears to simply be doing her job: "Good morning, Tenshi."

>You approach. She seems to be just hovering there, you really can't see what she's doing in the trees due to the obscuring foliage.
>You call out to her. Tenshi does not respond.

>_

[DracoOmega]

>Can we move up the tree in such a way that we could take a better look, without as much intervening foliage?
>If possible, do so.
>Otherwise, call out again, but louder

[Hello Purvis]

>Can we move up the tree in such a way that we could take a better look, without as much intervening foliage?
>If possible, do so.
>Otherwise, call out again, but louder

>You move closer to to the tree and get a better look.
>Wait, why doesn't Tenshi have an upper body?
>...Oh for the love of...

>_

[DracoOmega]

>Is it just her skirt and boots hanging in the tree, then? And nothing else?
>Frown in dismay and sigh

[Fightest]

> Has Tenshi picked up pranking habits that we know of?
> Either way, those do not belong there. Retrieve skirt and boots.

[MysTeariousYukari]

> Give a little laugh, at least she is being clever... even if it is in order to slack off or pull a prank.

[Kilgamayan]

> Wow, we're pretty fucking awesome.
> And Lady Nagae, huh? We have it made but good.
> Small fist pump in celebration of how great we are.
> Since titles are being thrown around, recall how we normally address Tenshi.
> Recall knowledge of Gensokyo geography and demographic; places and people we know of and know how to get to/visit, etc.
> Recall any known curiosities surrounding Gensokyo since Tenshi first fucked with them.

> Is anyone else around?
> If not...have a peek under that skirt from below. It isn't actually Tenshi, so who cares? Let's see how attentive to detail she was.