Nue Quest Alter Code 6: A Z-Machine Adventure

[Kilgamayan]

> Is there a place at the table to have such a seat?

[Hello Purvis]

> Is there a place at the table to have such a seat?

>You could easily sit across from Rinnosuke, or to either side if you don't mind it being a little cramped.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Walk around to the other side of the table, but don't sit down yet.
> "I gotta admit, I'm at a bit of a loss here. If I could just put a hand on your shoulder, I could probably do something far worse, but here you sit regardless."

[Hello Purvis]

> Walk around to the other side of the table, but don't sit down yet.
> "I gotta admit, I'm at a bit of a loss here. If I could just put a hand on your shoulder, I could probably do something far worse, but here you sit regardless."

>"Just so," says Rinnosuke.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Inventory

Need a blunt object, maybe...

[Hello Purvis]

> Inventory

>Your inventory contains:
>Black dress
>A short number that draws attention low, and has a lovely bit of frills around the neck. It's made to accommodate your wings, and is is quite stretchy, very useful when you need to change shapes on the fly.
>Black Stockings
>They keep your legs warm and clean. They can stretch to accommodate some shape changes.
>Black Bracelet
>A simple accessory that plays off the asymmetry of your natural form.
>Red shoes
>A cute pair of shoes that stand out against your stockings.
>Rose Quartz x2
>A common gem with a pinkish hue. Worth about 15-25☼.
>Black Pearl x2
>A rare and precious kind of pearl, easily worth 100-130☼.
>Red Spinel x2
>A lovely but low value gem that the uninitiated may mistake for a ruby. Worth 50-80☼.
>Green Glass Bead x15
>Cheaply made, but kind of pretty. Worth 1☼. at most, and you'd quickly expect a bulk discount.
>Loose Cobblestone
>This seems to have been taken from the streets of the Ancient City
> Seeds of Nonidentification
>These snake-shaped seeds allow you to cloak people and objects in powerful illusions.
>Brown Jasper
>An ornamental gem worth 30-40☼
>Aventurine
>A greenish stone that worth 20-25☼.
>Banded Agate
>A layered stone you would value at 7-11☼ 
>Carnelian
>A common brownish red decorative stone that you price at 7-11☼
>Hand Mirror
>A small sturdy mirror for on the go use.
>Trident
>Your trusty weapon and fishing tool.
>Broken Sword Blade
>Wrapped in cloth, and bearing odd glyphs on its blade.
>Broken Broadsword Handle
>This seems to be the handle of a broadsword, with about an inch and a half of blade.
>Riceball x3
>Filled with grilled vegetables and wrapped in cloth.
>Mahogany Scrap
>A bit of wood about two inches long and a quarter inch thick.
>Black Skirt
>A knee-length skirt to made your dress, for when you need to be larger than modesty would allow in your normal attire.
>Jeweler's Scope
>An eyepiece used to see the fine details of gems; indispensable for cutting gems.
>Lockpicks Masquerading as a Pocket Clay Sculpting Set
>You suppose they could sculpt clay, too...
>Tewi's Dress
>A pink dress belonging to Tewi Inaba. It is full of wrinkles due to rough treatment.
>Freshwater Pearl
>A common, low value pearl worth 7-8☼

[Kilgamayan]

Wait a tick.

> Is there any money in the immediate vicinity?
> If not, how far away is the closest pile?

[Hello Purvis]

Wait a tick.

> Is there any money in the immediate vicinity?
> If not, how far away is the closest pile?

>It is not in the immediate vicinity, the piles are all around Rinnosuke in this little clearing. The closest is about a yard and a half away.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Float over to the nearest one.

[UncertainJakutten]

Regarding knocking him out, wouldn't danmaku work well enough? No use adding blunt trauma that could do unfortunate stuff, especially in his fragile condition.

[Hello Purvis]

> Float over to the nearest one.

>You approach the nearest pile of coins. You have no difficulty in doing this.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

I suppose that's true.

> Reach out and try to touch, not grab, one of the coins.

[Hello Purvis]

> Reach out and try to touch, not grab, one of the coins.

>You reach out toward the pile of money, and find your hand slows as you draw near, requiring more and more effort from you to push it forward.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

Also, new operating theory: I think the antitheft curse is only active on those items Rinnosuke intends to sell. I'm suddenly willing to bet the cards are okay, because of the the stretched resources thing, and him not expecting to sell them or get caught.

[UncertainJakutten]

Do you want to risk it?

[Kilgamayan]

I'd like to poke them at some point, yeah. Not about to grab and dash, though.

[Kilgamayan]

> C'mon, his faith's gotta be beginning to waver. We already got past one of his major defenses!
> Keep pushing toward the coins until either we stop, touch one, or feel discomfort in our hands.

[Hello Purvis]

> C'mon, his faith's gotta be beginning to waver. We already got past one of his major defenses!
> Keep pushing toward the coins until either we stop, touch one, or feel discomfort in our hands.

>You try to force your hand through the protection and reach a point where no matter how hard you push, you don't feel that you're getting any closer. You aren't sure, but you suspect it may be a  few fractions of an inch closer than it was the last time you tried it. At this point, there are only a few fractions of an inch between you and the coins.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Withdraw our hand.
> Cock our arm back, then slam it forward, as if we were throwing a punch straight forward, in an attempt to force our hand close enough to be able to touch a coin.

[Hello Purvis]

> Withdraw our hand.
> Cock our arm back, then slam it forward, as if we were throwing a punch straight forward, in an attempt to force our hand close enough to be able to touch a coin.

>You try to, for all intents and purposes, punch the pile.
>The process of slowing to a stop happens again, albeit more quickly that before. You're left with the curious sensation of having punched a wall, but without the actual feeling of impact.
>Comparing the results to last time, you are sure you've gotten a hair closer than before.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Pull our arm back again.
> Grab our trident. How cold is it?
> How quickly do we experience diminishing returns on adding muscle mass for increased strength purposes again? Can we get any sort of benefit at all?

[Hello Purvis]

> Pull our arm back again.
> Grab our trident. How cold is it?
> How quickly do we experience diminishing returns on adding muscle mass for increased strength purposes again? Can we get any sort of benefit at all?

>You draw your hand back.
>Your trident is a little chilly to touch, but it will hardly be a problem.
>You can get some benefits; enough that you were able to get your chest of drawers upstairs by yourself with a lot of effort when there was no one around to help out. Mind it was an unpleasant experience and you wouldn't want to repeat it again.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> How long would the process take to add muscle mass to our arms, based on past experience?
> Would our "coat" interfere with the process?

[Hello Purvis]

> How long would the process take to add muscle mass to our arms, based on past experience?
> Would our "coat" interfere with the process?

>Depends on how much you intend to add. You really start to note the drop-off after working on it for ten minutes.
>It shouldn't, unless you try to push it further than it's really worth for mere strength gain.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Look back at Rinnosuke to make sure he's not doing anything notably different.
> If he is, don't follow the next command.
> If he is not, spend five minutes adding muscle mass to our arms. Keep watching him, though, and be prepared to stop should he do anything interesting or unusual.

[Hello Purvis]

> Look back at Rinnosuke to make sure he's not doing anything notably different.
> If he is, don't follow the next command.
> If he is not, spend five minutes adding muscle mass to our arms. Keep watching him, though, and be prepared to stop should he do anything interesting or unusual.

>You have the feeling that he is watching you, but you've not seen him shift aside from shivering every so often when he exhales.
>You spend the next five minutes bulking up your arms. This is a complicated procedure, but you have done it enough over the centuries that it's gotten fairly familiar. Still, you have to take your time; you've had your share of incidents where you've inadvertently damaged your motor abilities. But, despite the presence of Rinnosuke, you about as relaxed as could be expected.  Soon you have arms that are visibly out of proportion to the rest of you, though the hair hides it well.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Turn back to the pile of coins.
> Throw another punch at it. It seems like swinging harder last time got a tiny bit closer, so harder and harder swings should get even closer.

[Hello Purvis]

> Turn back to the pile of coins.
> Throw another punch at it. It seems like swinging harder last time got a tiny bit closer, so harder and harder swings should get even closer.

>You turn back to the mound of currency, and take another swing at it. Again, it feels as though you hit a wall, without actually hitting a wall, and your fist just hovers there. Taking a closer look, it is definitely closer than the first two times. About a finger's thickness of air rests between your fist and the frosted-over money.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Good, good. We're making progress.
> Pull out our trident, grab it with both hands, turn a little bit to the side so we're not exactly directly facing the coin pile but can still see it easily, and baseball swing the trident at the pile as hard as we can.

[Hello Purvis]

> Good, good. We're making progress.
> Pull out our trident, grab it with both hands, turn a little bit to the side so we're not exactly directly facing the coin pile but can still see it easily, and baseball swing the trident at the pile as hard as we can.

>You swing your trident with all you might toward the pile of coins, and feel the wall without a wall sensation yet again. It's a little difficult to tell at the distanced needed to swing it like a bat, but you're sure it has gotten at least as close as your last attempt.

>_