Kisume Quest IV - A Z-Machine Adventure

[Hello Purvis]

> Head toward the manor by the lake.

>You leave the cabin, and follow the footpath around the lake to south. Soon it takes you along the walls, a sturdy-looking thing made of carefully cut and fitted stone, with little bits of moss clinging to it here and there.
>Soon you reach the gate. Standing there is a tall youkai with long red hair.  She wears a green cheongsam, and a matching hat suspiciously similar to the one that raspy-voiced customer in the graveyard wore.  Behind her are a pair of intricate wrought iron gates that hang wide open at the moment. You can see a little house off to the side, built into the wall.
>"Hey kiddo," says the youkai, looking your way and smiling, "You here for the exhibit?"

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "The what?"

[Hello Purvis]

> "The what?"

>"The exhibit," she says. "Heh, I guess not, if you don't even know what it is."

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Shake head.
> "I'm only hear because I hear there's someone here that can help find a renegade farmer-lookin' human."
> Pull out the shuriken in a non-threatening fashion to show it off.
> "The blue-white shrine maiden learned that he doesn't take too kindly to danmaku."

[Hello Purvis]

> Shake head.
> "I'm only hear because I hear there's someone here that can help find a renegade farmer-lookin' human."
> Pull out the shuriken in a non-threatening fashion to show it off.
> "The blue-white shrine maiden learned that he doesn't take too kindly to danmaku."

>"Oh wow," she says, leaning over to get a better look at the shuriken. "That's pretty nasty looking. Nothing like what we have around here."

>_

[GuyYouMetOnline]

>"It belongs to the guy I'm looking for. I was wondering if a magician could use it for some sort of locator spell or something."

[Hello Purvis]

>"It belongs to the guy I'm looking for. I was wondering if a magician could use it for some sort of locator spell or something."

>"Oh, probably," says the red-haired youkai. "Not that I'll promise she's interested in it."

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "Figured as much. But I gotta try."

[Hello Purvis]

> "Figured as much. But I gotta try."

>"Sure, just head on in," says the woman. "You'll find her in the library. Head straight from the front doors and under the balcony. Feel free to have a look around, any door that's open and any way that isn't blocked is fair game today."

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "All right then."
> Head on inside, following the stated directions.

[Hello Purvis]

> "All right then."
> Head on inside, following the stated directions.

>You head through the gates and down a stone path toward the front doors of the mansion, which are open. You note a statue garden to your left and an old fountain to the right as you float along, the latter seeming to have been neglected for ages.
>Heading inside, you find yourself in an expansive hall.  A huge balcony dominates the far side of the room, with two staircases winding down gracefully from its edges. Large, framed paintings cover the walls, while a few life-sized marble statues of bearded men stand on the floor  the floor. Two sets of set of alien-looking armor, made of metal and designed to cover from head to toe, flank the stairways.  Red banners hang from the ceiling, dangling down to just a few yards over the floor, complimenting the bright red carpets and soft red walls. Below the balcony are a set of open double doors, while a similar set of doors opens to the west. A third set to the east stays closed.  You note a red-haired woman in a purple kimono looking at one of the armor sets.  Obvious exits are North, South, South 2, East, and West.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Head through the double doors under the balcony.

[Hello Purvis]

> Head through the double doors under the balcony.

>You proceed across the room and under the balcony. Through the doors, you see row after row of shelves filled with books. Shelves of books line the walls, reaching up to the ceiling, some distance above, lining numerous landings that run along the edges of the chamber. As you look around, you see one of the books fly through the air from one shelf and settle into a different one.  The shelves on the floor tower over you, forming a natural line of corridors. Many of the rows between the shelves, you not, are roped off with a lengths of velvet. You can't shake the feeling that this room is seems rather large, compared to the rest of the mansion. The air here is very dry, you get the feeling you could spit and it wouldn't have time to hit the floor.
>A green-haired woman in a curious maid's costume approaches you. It seems reasonably normal in design, but with looser sleeves than you'd expect, and a flying raiment drifting with it that seems more evocative of celestial clothing than anything else. Regarding her for a moment, you aren't sure what she is, she's definitely neither human or youkai... She bows toward you, then says, "Welcome to our library.  Please feel free to browse as you like, but do not take any of the books from the premises, and please do not venture into the areas that we've cordoned away, they are dangerous."

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "Um...okay. I'm actually here on pseudo-business, though. I'm looking for...Patchouli, I think the blue-white and gate guard said her name was?"

[Hello Purvis]

> "Um...okay. I'm actually here on pseudo-business, though. I'm looking for...Patchouli, I think the blue-white and gate guard said her name was?"

>"You will find her in the middle of the library," says the maid, gesturing down the corridor formed by bookshelves.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "Okay, thanks."
> Head down said corridor of shelves.

[Hello Purvis]

> "Okay, thanks."
> Head down said corridor of shelves.

>"You're very welcome," says the maid as you depart.
>Making your way down the corridor, you glance down the isles every so often. At one point, you note a tengu with a wolf's tail and ears, looking at some book she seems to have taken from a shelf. The room is quietly, leaving you a little bit wary of landing too hard and disturbing it.  Near the center of the room, which is arranged in such a manner that you the shelves remind you of threads on a spider web, you see a series of tables and a woman in striped purple robes sitting at one of them. She looks familiar, you are reasonably sure you tried and failed to rob her at some point in the past. She is busy pouring over some small book her her hands. Without looking up, she says, "Welcome to the library, so on and so forth, enjoy your time, don't damage anything."

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "Are you Patchouli?"

[Hello Purvis]

> "Are you Patchouli?"

>"I'm Nue," she says. "I always look like this on the first of spring."

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "I hear you know how to locate people."

[Hello Purvis]

> "I hear you know how to locate people."

>"I seldom leave this mansion," she says. "So I am probably one of the last people who would know where anyone is. I don't even know where the chief maid is right now, probably the gallery?"

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "Magical locator, then. At least, that's what the blue-white shrine maiden said when she suggested I find you."

[Hello Purvis]

> "Magical locator, then. At least, that's what the blue-white shrine maiden said when she suggested I find you."

>"Hm, so she did?" says Patchouli, looking up from her book. "Very well, what to do you need found?"

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "A human male dressed as a farmer. 'Dressed' in the sense that he isn't actually one, or at least the harvest goddess has no clue who he is. He's very slippery and very suspicious, and when the blue-white tried to stop him with some warning danmaku..."
> Pull out the shuriken in the same non-threatening display-ey manner as before.
> "...he didn't take it so well."

[Hello Purvis]

> "A human male dressed as a farmer. 'Dressed' in the sense that he isn't actually one, or at least the harvest goddess has no clue who he is. He's very slippery and very suspicious, and when the blue-white tried to stop him with some warning danmaku..."
> Pull out the shuriken in the same non-threatening display-ey manner as before.
> "...he didn't take it so well."

>"Hm," says Patchouli, considering the shuriken.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "I don't know if you would need this thing for whatever it is that you can do, but if you do need, the blue-white wants it back as evidence if possible. I also have a piece of granite that I'm reasonably sure came from him, but the shuriken is definitely his rather than probably."

[Hello Purvis]

> "I don't know if you would need this thing for whatever it is that you can do, but if you do need, the blue-white wants it back as evidence if possible. I also have a piece of granite that I'm reasonably sure came from him, but the shuriken is definitely his rather than probably."

>"Unless you feel that granite has real value to him, I wouldn't bother with it," says Patchouli. "The shuriken have have some use."

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "Shuriken it is, then."

[Hello Purvis]

> "Shuriken it is, then."

>Patchouli nods. "And Sanae realizes that in doing this, I consider all debts to her paid?"

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "That didn't come up, but I guess she would have said something if she wanted a different deal."