Kisume Quest IV - A Z-Machine Adventure

[Hello Purvis]

> Nod.
> "Yeah, I figured. Is there anyone else here that can help out? I don't think I can catch him on my own."

>"Not on a permanent basis," says Keine, shaking her head. "There may be someone at the tavern... I don't think you could convince Tenshi to help quickly, but perhaps one of the patrons. Or there's the temple..."

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Where is the tavern from here, again?

[Hello Purvis]

> Where is the tavern from here, again?

>It is a little ways to the west, at the end of the road you're on.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "I'll try the tavern, I think the temple is stretched right now. Thanks for the help!"
> Get up high enough that we won't smack into anyone, then zoom on over to and into the tavern.

[Hello Purvis]

> "I'll try the tavern, I think the temple is stretched right now. Thanks for the help!"
> Get up high enough that we won't smack into anyone, then zoom on over to and into the tavern.

>"You're welcome," she says, as you depart.
>You fly toward the tavern and into the tavern, practically battering the door down in your haste.  Inside, you can see it is fairly busy; many of the seats are filled with various people, and Tenshi is quickly bustling about with trays in hand. Many people pause in their dining and drinking to glance toward you, but thankfully the room doesn't go silent, and people resume what they were doing a moment later.
>Glancing around, note the crowd is largely mundane. There is a tengu sitting at one of the booths that you don't recognize, a woman wearing her brown hair in ponytails and a plaid skirt, fiddling with some squarish thing you don't recognize. You also note a green-haired woman in shrine maiden's garb sitting at one of the booths, talking with some farmer. She seems familiar...thinking on it, you are reasonably certain you robbed her in the past.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> What do we know of tengu society and habits?

[Hello Purvis]

> What do we know of tengu society and habits?

>Not a lot, save that they tend to be fairly isolationist and have a reputation for being full of themselves.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Bounce on over to the shrine maiden, then.

[Hello Purvis]

> Bounce on over to the shrine maiden, then.

>You bounce toward the shrine maiden. You note that she has a weird-looking sword sitting in the booth beside her, with an elongated hand guard that doesn't look like anything you've seen. She glances toward you, and frowns for a second, before saying, "Hey...I remember you! You're that thief!"

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> What do we normally do when someone remembers us?

[Hello Purvis]

> What do we normally do when someone remembers us?

>Typically you ignore them or you run, depending on the circumstances.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Frown.
> "There's more important stuff going on right noww than losing a couple of thin ones."

[Hello Purvis]

> Frown.
> "There's more important stuff going on right noww than losing a couple of thin ones."

>"What are you talking about?" she says.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "The guy running around posing as a farmer, running all over Gensokyo. Including underground."

[Hello Purvis]

> "The guy running around posing as a farmer, running all over Gensokyo. Including underground."

>"I have the feeling you're starting me off in the middle of the story," she says. "Is this person causing trouble?"

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "He might. He's not actually a farmer, but he's posing as one, so who knows where he got the clothes. And he managed to avoid all the oni while he was down there, despite a whole lot of them taking interest and trying to get him."

[Hello Purvis]

> "He might. He's not actually a farmer, but he's posing as one, so who knows where he got the clothes. And he managed to avoid all the oni while he was down there, despite a whole lot of them taking interest and trying to get him."

>"That does sound suspicious, when you say it like that," she says, frowning.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "Now, I'm not sure I agree with her on the matter, but the harvest goddess is worried that the oni will take this as a challenge, and maybe some will come up topside and come looking for farmers to hunt down and capture."
> Shrug.
> "I don't know how likely that really is. But maybe she has different experiences with this sort of thing then me."

[Hello Purvis]

> "Now, I'm not sure I agree with her on the matter, but the harvest goddess is worried that the oni will take this as a challenge, and maybe some will come up topside and come looking for farmers to hunt down and capture."
> Shrug.
> "I don't know how likely that really is. But maybe she has different experiences with this sort of thing then me."

>"Well, Oni sure do like to capture people," she says, "I can tell you that for sure. But I don't think they'd come to the surface and cause trouble..."

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "Either way, I had just spotted him here in town, but he's too quick for me. He's already a decent distance south of town. I need some help cornering him so we can get answers on what he's up to."

[Hello Purvis]

> "Either way, I had just spotted him here in town, but he's too quick for me. He's already a decent distance south of town. I need some help cornering him so we can get answers on what he's up to."

>"Mmm, alright," she says.
>She grabs the sword and looks to the person she was talking to and says, "Sorry, we'll have to continue this later."
>"I know, I know," says that person, a grizzled-looking old man wearing a wide-brimmed hat. "You go do what you need to do. I'll pay you back later."
>"Lead the way," says the shrine maiden to you. "Um...I didn't catch your name."

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "Kisume."

[Hello Purvis]

> "Kisume."

>She nods. "I'm Sanae. So, lead the way."

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "All righty then."
> Exit the tavern, take flight, and head south out of town at a brisk pace.

[Hello Purvis]

> "All righty then."
> Exit the tavern, take flight, and head south out of town at a brisk pace.

>You lead out of town, Sanae following close behind you.
>The retreating figure has gain some noticeable distance in this time, you fear you've lost him at first and have to strain your eyes before you can see him near the edge of the Forest of Magic, or at least you think that you see some motion.
>"So what are you wanting to do with this guy?" says Sanae.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Change our course toward the forest motion and pick up the pace.
> "Find out why he ran all around the oni city. And where a piece of granite he dropped came from. And why he never talks, come to think of it. Haven't heard him say a word yet."

[Hello Purvis]

> Change our course toward the forest motion and pick up the pace.
> "Find out why he ran all around the oni city. And where a piece of granite he dropped came from. And why he never talks, come to think of it. Haven't heard him say a word yet."

>"Wow, that's pretty mysterious," says Sanae, as she speeds up to keep up with you.
>Despite speeding up, you're painfully aware that there's no way you're going to catch him before he gets to the forest.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Can we at least see enough of him that we can tell it's him?

[Hello Purvis]

> Can we at least see enough of him that we can tell it's him?

>You really can't. You really couldn't beforehand, either. Distance makes gathering details like that very difficult.

>_

[GuyYouMetOnline]

>"Don't suppose you've got any way to speed us up, do you?"