Nue Quest Vth Vanguard: A Z-Machine Adventure

[Hello Purvis]

> "Is there a way to dispel it? Or is it too likely founded in his beliefs?"

>"I don't know," says Patchouli. "I've not seen it with my own eyes. But if it's his main defense, I imagine he would have put his all into it."

>"Actually, I'm not sure how that would tie into it at all..."

>"Huh?" says Patchouli.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "Well, I can't really describe it any better than that. The best bet at this point would be if you experienced it for yourself."

[E-Nazrin]

>"I mean, I'm not sure how he caused that 'arrow paradox' effect with that faith power whatever he's working with."
>Glance at Byakuren. "And even if the brute force solution is on the table, right now Rinnosuke probably has the cash to bribe a good quarter of Gensokyo into fighting the rest. I don't know how much he's thought ahead about covering any weakness in a fight he might have, but I wouldn't entirely count on facing him alone."

[Hello Purvis]

> "Well, I can't really describe it any better than that. The best bet at this point would be if you experienced it for yourself."

>Patchouli nods. "Given we are largely venturing off of what I dearly hope are educated guesses, this is to be expected."

>"I mean, I'm not sure how he caused that 'arrow paradox' effect with that faith power whatever he's working with."
>Glance at Byakuren. "And even if the brute force solution is on the table, right now Rinnosuke probably has the cash to bribe a good quarter of Gensokyo into fighting the rest. I don't know how much he's thought ahead about covering any weakness in a fight he might have, but I wouldn't entirely count on facing him alone."

>"I would think it's a kind of theft prevention," says Byakuren, "while still allowing the goods to be on display."
>"I don't think he'd use the money for that," Patchouli says, "Not if his obsession is over working without it. That would definitely be taboo for him."

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "I'm not as sure. From what I could tell, he already has a pretty damn good theft prevention system, well..."
> Grin a bit.
> "...on his hands."

[Hello Purvis]

> "I'm not as sure. From what I could tell, he already has a pretty damn good theft prevention system, well..."
> Grin a bit.
> "...on his hands."

>"That was in terrible taste," says Byakuren, shaking her head and smirking just a bit despite her words.
>"If we could break that, though," says Patchouli, "I imagine it would be all over for him."

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "Right. But that'll take time, and we don't know if we have that time. Although...how long did this quick fix take to concoct?"

[E-Nazrin]

Dunno how to get to it, but Unzan seems like the only other person enlightened/meditative enough to be considered faithful in that sense, that I can come up with. But it probably wouldn't be enough.

>"So how did he make that arrow paradox thing work?"

[Hello Purvis]

> "Right. But that'll take time, and we don't know if we have that time. Although...how long did this quick fix take to concoct?"

>"Not terribly long," says Patchouli. "As I said, it's just a general spell to block out curses. Really, it's a lucky thing that it worked, or we would probably still be researching now."

>"So how did he make that arrow paradox thing work?"

>"Likely the same way he made everything else work," says Patchouli.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "Do you suppose his anti-theft curse stacks upon itself as someone gradually steals more and more?"

[Hello Purvis]

> "Do you suppose his anti-theft curse stacks upon itself as someone gradually steals more and more?"

>"That's an interesting question," says Patchouli. "Judging from what I've seen, it shouldn't need to. But, there certainly is the possibility that it would be set off, anyways, which would be bad for the charm holding it back now."

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "Probably, yeah. Could another one be made in its place, though?"

[Hello Purvis]

> "Probably, yeah. Could another one be made in its place, though?"

>"Once the original is gone," says Patchouli. "That said, don't expect to be able to get just as many as you please. And, well, should you break it elsewhere, you're likely out of luck anyways."

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "I can't think of anywhere else I might break it, so that shouldn't be a concern. I have no real intention of fighting anyone else right now."

[Hello Purvis]

> "I can't think of anywhere else I might break it, so that shouldn't be a concern. I have no real intention of fighting anyone else right now."

>"I would think breaking it in that basement would be more than enough to qualify as out of luck," says Patchouli.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "So just wrecking his stuff until he gives up is out. Ugh, there's gotta be some trick we can feel really good about going into that basement with...I'm not going back down there without a really comfortable plan."

[Hello Purvis]

> "So just wrecking his stuff until he gives up is out. Ugh, there's gotta be some trick we can feel really good about going into that basement with...I'm not going back down there without a really comfortable plan."

>"I quite agree," says Patchouli. "Just charging back down there would be foolish."

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Sigh.
> "I gotta admit, I'm running low on ideas here. If that weren't obvious enough already from that stunt an hour ago."

[Hello Purvis]

> Sigh.
> "I gotta admit, I'm running low on ideas here. If that weren't obvious enough already from that stunt an hour ago."

>"Then we take some more time to consider the situation," says Patchouli.
>"If we've accepted that Rinnosuke is insane," says Byakuren.
>"Which is a given, at this point," Patchouli says.
>"Then, it may be possible to use it against him," Byakuren. "That is, if he's not thinking correctly, there are things he may have overlooked, or things we can exploit. After all, a proper shrine maiden has to attend to her shrine at some point, so one can infer she would have to be there some of the time... There may be some kind of behavioral quirk we can exploit."

>_

[GuyYouMetOnline]

>"I still think the mind and faith angles are worth pursuing. Kanako and Suwako don't know that Rinnosuke's behind this, or even the real nature of what happened, so the fact that they haven't done anything about it yet does not necessarily mean they can't. And as for Satori, I really don't see why you're convinced she'd refuse to help. She's been approachable enough throughout this incident, and I'd only be asking her another question or two. I'm pretty sure she couldn't plant an idea in someone's mind, anyways; I simply think that she might know if it's possible or not, and there's also a chance that she might know of someone who could do it."

[Hello Purvis]

>"I still think the mind and faith angles are worth pursuing. Kanako and Suwako don't know that Rinnosuke's behind this, or even the real nature of what happened, so the fact that they haven't done anything about it yet does not necessarily mean they can't. And as for Satori, I really don't see why you're convinced she'd refuse to help. She's been approachable enough throughout this incident, and I'd only be asking her another question or two. I'm pretty sure she couldn't plant an idea in someone's mind, anyways; I simply think that she might know if it's possible or not, and there's also a chance that she might know of someone who could do it."

>"You may have something with the Moriya deities," says Patchouli. "They can be oddly helpful. But Satori, I assure you, won't take well to being asked to use her abilities on someone else as you were suggesting before."

>_

[GuyYouMetOnline]

>"I wouldn't be doing that. As I said, I don't think she can do it, anyways. I'd simply be asking her if there is a way to do it; even if she can't do it herself, I can't think of a better person to ask about it."
>"We should probably try the Moriya angle first, though. Less running around and all that."

[Hello Purvis]

>"I wouldn't be doing that. As I said, I don't think she can do it, anyways. I'd simply be asking her if there is a way to do it; even if she can't do it herself, I can't think of a better person to ask about it."
>"We should probably try the Moriya angle first, though. Less running around and all that."

>"If you can get up there," says Patchouli.

>_

[E-Nazrin]

Trying to use Satori will not work, Guy. She hates having that ability and the only way she's able to treat regular people civilly while having it is to carefully keep their secrets, rather than using it against anyone. (Remember how she treated Renko, and her secrets?) Even for the greater good of things, she would be violently opposed to the idea of using it to mess with Rinnosuke, no matter what we do.

For that matter, Satori only really reads minds, rather than being able to manipulate them. Koishi might be able to do something, but Satori would only be able to provide a more precise understanding of his mindset, which wouldn't help very much (and certainly not enough for her to consider leaving the mansion).

We can't use her. Get over it. Pressing it will make things worse.

(Also, I expect Koishi would probably prefer to go along with Rinnosuke's scheme, since it would mean being able to trade away her mind-reading abilities, which seems to be the only thing she wants ever, consequences be damned.)

>"I might be able to pull something," - brandish a seed - "Though I dunno what it's like today."
>"What's a shrine maiden have to do for attending their shrine, usually? Just show up? Or is there some sort of ritual? Perhaps if he doesn't make a ritual exchange with someone on a regular basis..."
>"Then again, I doubt he'd be hiding away beneath his house if he had to do that more in order to fulfill this scheme..."

[GuyYouMetOnline]

Okay, what part of this isn't clear? I'm simply saying we should ask her for information. And no, I'm not thinking of bringing Koishi into this (I'm actually thinking of Yukari; she might be able to gaphax something in). Also, the only Z-Machine quests I've read are this one, Utsuho's, and Iku's, so no, I don't know what happened with Renko.

[Hello Purvis]

>"I might be able to pull something," - brandish a seed - "Though I dunno what it's like today."
>"What's a shrine maiden have to do for attending their shrine, usually? Just show up? Or is there some sort of ritual? Perhaps if he doesn't make a ritual exchange with someone on a regular basis..."
>"Then again, I doubt he'd be hiding away beneath his house if he had to do that more in order to fulfill this scheme..."

>"Ah, so that's what they look like," says Patchouli as you display one of your seeds.
>"I think you're taking me too literally," says Byakuren. "I only meant it as an example of something a shrine maiden would have to do that a knowledgeable person could predict, and yes, I agree with that reasoning. He seems to be too well dug in to plan on leaving before he's finished."

>_

[E-Nazrin]

>"I guess it would be predictable for him to want to make more exchanges, but I'm guessing each one would give him more power for this scheme, so that's risky."
>"He'd probably also like to attend to his store and whatever other habits he had before this got out of hand, but it looks like he's stuck on his current task too strongly to be distracted."
>Frown. "... although he was open yesterday, even after the money vanished."
>"Is there anyone that knows Rinnosuke particularly well?"

[Hello Purvis]

>"I guess it would be predictable for him to want to make more exchanges, but I'm guessing each one would give him more power for this scheme, so that's risky."
>"He'd probably also like to attend to his store and whatever other habits he had before this got out of hand, but it looks like he's stuck on his current task too strongly to be distracted."
>Frown. "... although he was open yesterday, even after the money vanished."
>"Is there anyone that knows Rinnosuke particularly well?"

>Byakuren nods. "Though your idea of manipulating exchanges to equal nothing may have some merit."
>"Yes, I can't imagine he's going to open the store at this point," says Patchouli, "Unless he could move his defenses with him. And if he could, likely he would have done it already."
>He was open yesterday...one wonders why?
>"I imagine the forest residents would," says Patchouli. "I have some passing knowledge, but nothing really worth offering."

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "In terms of predictability, I did note he was open yesterday, after he did whatever with the money. He was even open all the way to late last night;  I ended up dropping off a shipment of alcohol for him, in exchange for the sword handle and the lockpicks."

[Rin Kagamine]

Hang on, why are we not telling Reimu and Marisa that Rinnosuke isn't such a nice guy and is actually an evil, conniving son-of-a-bitch who stole all their money?