Okuu Quest Next - A Z-Machine Adventure

[DracoOmega]

>"Oh. That's... unpleasant. Were they just a couple of passers-by?"

[Hello Purvis]

>"Oh. That's... unpleasant. Were they just a couple of passers-by?"

>"I guess so," says Nitori. "Been thinking about asking the woman who runs the nursery later on about it."

>_

[DracoOmega]

>"Yeah, it can't be nice to have that happen right outside your place. Heck, it's probably bad for business, too."

[Hello Purvis]

>"Yeah, it can't be nice to have that happen right outside your place. Heck, it's probably bad for business, too."

>"Well, you played it right, it could draw a crowd..." says Nitori.
>Your phone rings!

>_

[DracoOmega]

>Answer the phone
>"Hello?"

[Hello Purvis]

>Answer the phone
>"Hello?"

>"Hey, it's Maribel," says the voice on the other end. "We were wondering if you were doing alright. Sorry it took me so long to check in, we were up til nearly dawn last night."

>_

[MysTeariousYukari]

> Continue working away while talking to Maribel.
> "Yeah, I'm doing ok. Did you find anything out?"
> Is Nitori close enough to us that she could easily over-hear our convorsation?

[DracoOmega]

>"Oh, hey there."
>"Yeah, I'm doing ok. Better than I'd expect actually. I crashed pretty soon after getting home, though. What kept you guys up all night?"

>Is there some place private we can move to take this call so that Nitori doesn't necessarily overhear anything about the ghost incident?

[Hello Purvis]

> Continue working away while talking to Maribel.
> "Yeah, I'm doing ok. Did you find anything out?"
> Is Nitori close enough to us that she could easily over-hear our convorsation?

>You keep at the disassembly while talking on the phone.
>"Nothing, really," says Maribel. "I'm trying to dream up some good tests to run on your extranormal friends right now. Hey, are you going to be available for lunch?"
>Yeah, she probably can. Especially since she's peeking over the edge of the AC Unit she's working on.

>"Oh, hey there."
>"Yeah, I'm doing ok. Better than I'd expect actually. I crashed pretty soon after getting home, though. What kept you guys up all night?"

>Is there some place private we can move to take this call so that Nitori doesn't necessarily overhear anything about the ghost incident?

>"I don't blame you, it must have been some night for you. We were up all night testing stuff, and had a little celebration afterward. This alone justified all the trouble we had in immigrating up here!"
>You could step into the back room, or outside. But she'd suspect something and probably pry.

>_

[Jana]

>"Sorry, we won't be available for lunch, but maybe I can stop by after work?"
>DO NOT forget that we owe Parsee our time!

[DracoOmega]

>"I already have lunch plans booked today, I'm afraid. But maybe we can hook up after I'm off work? Would that work for you?"

>Considering Parsee's reaction to Maribel last night, it mightn't be a good idea to invite her along to lunch, at least this once.

Edit: (I have to laugh at the essentially identical response, here)

[Hello Purvis]

>"Sorry, we won't be available for lunch, but maybe I can stop by after work?"
>DO NOT forget that we owe Parsee our time!

>"I already have lunch plans booked today, I'm afraid. But maybe we can hook up after I'm off work? Would that work for you?"

>Considering Parsee's reaction to Maribel last night, it mightn't be a good idea to invite her along to lunch, at least this once.

Edit: (I have to laugh at the essentially identical response, here)

>"Oh, okay," says Maribel. Does she sound disappointed? Maybe you're just hearing things. "Alright. We'll expect you some time this evening. We'll be pretty busy pouring over every little thing we can find in the meantime. Did you discover anything else?"

>_

[DracoOmega]

>"Yeah, I think you could say that. Look forward to seeing you, later."

[Hello Purvis]

>"Yeah, I think you could say that. Look forward to seeing you, later."

>"Right, right, okay," says Maribel. "Call us if you find anything!"
>She hangs up.
>"When'd you get a mobile?" Nitori asks.

>_

[DracoOmega]

>"Oh, this? Yesterday, actually. A friend ended up loaning / giving me an older one she had lying around."

[Hello Purvis]

>"Oh, this? Yesterday, actually. A friend ended up loaning / giving me an older one she had lying around."

>"Wow, that was nice of her," says Nitori. "So what was that all about?"

>_

[DracoOmega]

>"Oh, that was one of the people whose air conditioner I fixed yesterday, believe it or not. We talked a bunch while I was over their way, and ended up hitting it off."

[Hello Purvis]

>"Oh, that was one of the people whose air conditioner I fixed yesterday, believe it or not. We talked a bunch while I was over their way, and ended up hitting it off."

>"Cool, you made some AC buddies," says Nitori. "That'd be those investigator peoples?"

>_

[DracoOmega]

>"Yeah, them. They seem pretty nice."

[MysTeariousYukari]

> "They are very nice. Proof that you can't make assuptions about people by what they do for a living or what their hobbies are."

[Hello Purvis]

>"Yeah, them. They seem pretty nice."

>"Well, don't keep me in suspense!" says Nitori, "What'd you get into with them? ...Lousy piece of shit heat sink..."
>You hear her banging on something.

>_

[MysTeariousYukari]

> "Heh, Heat sink eh? What's the issue with it?"
> Can't give Nitori the whole story just yet, so if we tell anything, it needs to be vague hinting.

[Hello Purvis]

> "Heh, Heat sink eh? What's the issue with it?"
> Can't give Nitori the whole story just yet, so if we tell anything, it needs to be vague hinting.

>"Not coming out of its housing right," says Nitori. "Now c'mon, let's hear about it!"

>_

[DracoOmega]

>Well, we can probably tell most of the truth without telling anything compromising at this point. After all, it should be easy to get someone to assume there are no ghosts

>"Well, I feel kind of silly about this, but those two are also sort of... ghost-chasers, in their spare time. And they convinced me to tag along on one of their 'investigations' last night, since it was near where I live."

[Hello Purvis]

>Well, we can probably tell most of the truth without telling anything compromising at this point. After all, it should be easy to get someone to assume there are no ghosts

>"Well, I feel kind of silly about this, but those two are also sort of... ghost-chasers, in their spare time. And they convinced me to tag along on one of their 'investigations' last night, since it was near where I live."

>As long as you  things carefully, you think you should be fine.
>"Anything fun happen?" she asks.

[DracoOmega]

>"Well, I had a look at some of the equipment they brought along with them. They had smoke detectors modified into heat sensors with some sort of remote reporting system, which was kinda neat. Metal detectors, Geiger counters. They take this stuff pretty seriously. It was... a different sort of experience, anyway. Although most of it was sitting around and waiting, and chatting. Of course, how much paranormal activity would you expect to find in the Skids, anyway?"

[Hello Purvis]

>"Well, I had a look at some of the equipment they brought along with them. They had smoke detectors modified into heat sensors with some sort of remote reporting system, which was kinda neat. Metal detectors, Geiger counters. They take this stuff pretty seriously. It was... a different sort of experience, anyway. Although most of it was sitting around and waiting, and chatting. Of course, how much paranormal activity would you expect to find in the Skids, anyway?"

>"You could leave a wallet out there, and watch how fast it vanishes into thin air," says Nitori. "So what got those folks into that kind of silly stuff, anyways?"

>_

[DracoOmega]

>"Haha, yeah, that might work. And I'm honestly not sure where this interest of theirs started. I think they may actually have come to Gensokyo in the first place because we apparently have a reputation for that kind of strangeness."
>"But they don't seem like the usual nutbars you associate with this sort of stuff, so I don't really mind."

[Hello Purvis]

>"Haha, yeah, that might work. And I'm honestly not sure where this interest of theirs started. I think they may actually have come to Gensokyo in the first place because we apparently have a reputation for that kind of strangeness."
>"But they don't seem like the usual nutbars you associate with this sort of stuff, so I don't really mind."

>"Bet they're wishing they got a round trip ticket," says Nitori. "But what sets them apart? If they got all that crazy equipment, it sounds like they're pretty typical in the field, trying to pretend they're good science."

>_

[MysTeariousYukari]

>"Bet they're wishing they got a round trip ticket," says Nitori. "But what sets them apart? If they got all that crazy equipment, it sounds like they're pretty typical in the field, trying to pretend they're good science."

>_

> "The 'usual' paranormal people seem borderline, if not, completly insane. Those 2 however, you wouldn't guess that the had anything to do with paranormal stuff, and they definately seem perfectly sane."
> Continue working while saying this.