Nue Quest 7 - Serpent Isle: A Z-Machine Adventure

[Kilgamayan]

> "Yeah, I heard. And as luck would have it, they made their way from him to the last place they needed to go, their target destination from when they were first picked from me."

[Hello Purvis]

> "Yeah, I heard. And as luck would have it, they made their way from him to the last place they needed to go, their target destination from when they were first picked from me."

>"Ah, really?" says Ichiro. "Mmm. Well, thinking on it, I don't quite know what to make of it."

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "Well, there is one other thing I'm curious about. Morichika mentioned obtaining a list of prices for precious gems some time ago. Did he get that from you?"

[Hello Purvis]

> "Well, there is one other thing I'm curious about. Morichika mentioned obtaining a list of prices for precious gems some time ago. Did he get that from you?"

>"Guilty as charged," he says. "An unusual request for him, but I never could say no to him."

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Frown.
> "That's precisely what I'm afraid of. When did this happen, and what did you get for it?"

[Hello Purvis]

> Frown.
> "That's precisely what I'm afraid of. When did this happen, and what did you get for it?"

>"It was a couple months ago," says Ichiro. "I did it as a favor during a lull. I suspected he had some buyer lined up that he was trying to squeeze a little extra out of."

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Raise an eyebrow.
> "You did it as a favor? Did he ever return it?"

[Hello Purvis]

> Raise an eyebrow.
> "You did it as a favor? Did he ever return it?"

>He shakes his head. "I don't typically see him anymore, since he left town."

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "Interesting, very interesting...so if you saw him again, it wouldn't be any particular problem, would it?"

[Hello Purvis]

> "Interesting, very interesting...so if you saw him again, it wouldn't be any particular problem, would it?"

>"Well, he never leaves the forest anymore," says Ichiro, "And I would rather not risk being a faerie's plaything. But those things aside, I wouldn't consider it a problem to pay a social call."

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "What if he was already here in town?"

[Hello Purvis]

> "What if he was already here in town?"

>"Then I would be most suspicious," says Ichiro. "While it can't be said he left our town with any bad blood, it is rather clear he had no real desire to come back, and has worked through proxies, when needs be, to avoid it."

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Uncross arms.
> "Well...that would imply he came here of his own accord. Or conscious."

[Hello Purvis]

> Uncross arms.
> "Well...that would imply he came here of his own accord. Or conscious."

>"Oh dear," says Ichiro. "So you were dancing around something after all."

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "A lot more than that. Now, I've been around a whole lot today, so I've forgotten at this point who knows and who doesn't. Do you know, at this point, that he's responsible for the missing money?"

[Hello Purvis]

> "A lot more than that. Now, I've been around a whole lot today, so I've forgotten at this point who knows and who doesn't. Do you know, at this point, that he's responsible for the missing money?"

>"I haven't a clue," says Ichiro, frowning.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "Okay. Well, yeah. It was him. Incidentally, this is what he wanted that precious stone price list for. He needed market value for proper jewel-for-money exchanges. He was going to use the inherent energy of me in my cards to transform Gensokyo's economy as a concept - all currency would vanish for good, and it would be entirely based around bartering. Now, I don't know how anyone else would react, but I gotta admit I might've lost my cool a little bit at learning my cards and money were stolen so they could both be used to rob me for good. So he's kinda sorta slightly less conscious than he was 24 hours ago."

[Hello Purvis]

> "Okay. Well, yeah. It was him. Incidentally, this is what he wanted that precious stone price list for. He needed market value for proper jewel-for-money exchanges. He was going to use the inherent energy of me in my cards to transform Gensokyo's economy as a concept - all currency would vanish for good, and it would be entirely based around bartering. Now, I don't know how anyone else would react, but I gotta admit I might've lost my cool a little bit at learning my cards and money were stolen so they could both be used to rob me for good. So he's kinda sorta slightly less conscious than he was 24 hours ago."

>"I...would say that I see," says Ichiro, frowning as he folds his hands on his desk, "Except, well, I rather don't."

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Smile.
> "You wouldn't be the first. He told me himself and I've heard about this sort of thing from an intellectual and I still have a hard time believing it myself. It's a fairly long explanation of a story. At this point, though, I'm wondering if you and Kirisame mightn't join me at the Myouren Temple, where we currently have him resting, hopefully for a long while. One of the few things I haven't yet figured out how to do is stop him for good, but you two present an interesting opportunity to at least disable him for a while. And, well, you two would know him much better than we would, and we'll take anything we can get that might have the slightest chance of helping."

[Hello Purvis]

> Smile.
> "You wouldn't be the first. He told me himself and I've heard about this sort of thing from an intellectual and I still have a hard time believing it myself. It's a fairly long explanation of a story. At this point, though, I'm wondering if you and Kirisame mightn't join me at the Myouren Temple, where we currently have him resting, hopefully for a long while. One of the few things I haven't yet figured out how to do is stop him for good, but you two present an interesting opportunity to at least disable him for a while. And, well, you two would know him much better than we would, and we'll take anything we can get that might have the slightest chance of helping."

>"Disable him in what way?" he asks. "You're not hurting, well, continuing to hurt him, I hope?"

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "It'd be best if it didn't need to come to that again. But no guarantees."

[Hello Purvis]

> "It'd be best if it didn't need to come to that again. But no guarantees."

>He shifts his frown a little bit. "What would you have me do, then?"

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "It's...a bit outlandish, I understand. But it appears that Morichika has the ability to retroactively add debt onto prior exchanges where he was involved, depending on the use you got out of whatever he gave you. He can somehow use this retroactive debt to...I'm not even sure how to describe it, if it's some sort of weird guilt trip or coercion, or is outright mind control, but he can make you repay the favor to compensate for the debt he more or less arbitrarily decided you owe. I'm wondering if this will work in reverse. He used that price sheet of yours to great effect, far more than I imagine you could have thought would be done with it, AND he's got that outstanding favor with you. Not to mention that he's gotten more out of my cards than I imagine Kirisame would have anticipated. I'm wondering if he has to obey his laws of debt in both directions. The two of you might be able to cast some debt-based influence over him."

[Hello Purvis]

> "It's...a bit outlandish, I understand. But it appears that Morichika has the ability to retroactively add debt onto prior exchanges where he was involved, depending on the use you got out of whatever he gave you. He can somehow use this retroactive debt to...I'm not even sure how to describe it, if it's some sort of weird guilt trip or coercion, or is outright mind control, but he can make you repay the favor to compensate for the debt he more or less arbitrarily decided you owe. I'm wondering if this will work in reverse. He used that price sheet of yours to great effect, far more than I imagine you could have thought would be done with it, AND he's got that outstanding favor with you. Not to mention that he's gotten more out of my cards than I imagine Kirisame would have anticipated. I'm wondering if he has to obey his laws of debt in both directions. The two of you might be able to cast some debt-based influence over him."

>"I agree," he says, his frown wavering for a moment. "That is outlandish. Are you completely sure we are talking about the same person?"

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "If you like, I can dig up several witnesses more trustworthy than me that can confirm at least one, if not more than one, aspect of what I have told you. Some would be handier to get than others, but there are a fair number of them. In terms of ease of access, the fire woman from the bamboo forest can confirm Morichika has the money, and Byakuren can confirm both that and his stated plans in terms of what to do with it. Or we can travel to his shop so you can see it for yourself. I have a guard stationed there from the Scarlet Devil Mansion, but I'm sure I can get you in without a problem."

[Hello Purvis]

> "If you like, I can dig up several witnesses more trustworthy than me that can confirm at least one, if not more than one, aspect of what I have told you. Some would be handier to get than others, but there are a fair number of them. In terms of ease of access, the fire woman from the bamboo forest can confirm Morichika has the money, and Byakuren can confirm both that and his stated plans in terms of what to do with it. Or we can travel to his shop so you can see it for yourself. I have a guard stationed there from the Scarlet Devil Mansion, but I'm sure I can get you in without a problem."

>"Well, I wouldn't expect any kind of scheme," says Ichiro. "But, I suppose I should go and see what I can do. Shall I get my hat?"

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "Please do. I think we'll be stopping at Kirisame's first, though. Hopefully that won't be a problem."

[Hello Purvis]

> "Please do. I think we'll be stopping at Kirisame's first, though. Hopefully that won't be a problem."

>"Not at all," he says, as he stands up, and heads toward the back.

[Kilgamayan]

Oh whoops, I forgot to spit one more out before I went to bed. >_>

> Admire the store while waiting for him to return.

[Hello Purvis]

> Admire the store while waiting for him to return.

>You look around the shop while vaguely listening to Ichiro putter around in the back. It's a rather small place, really, but the jeweler makes good use of his space and keeps it clean. You wouldn't be surprised to find that the living quarters were a different story.
>You don't have much more time to look around, as Ichiro steps back into the front room, with a straw hat in hand. "My apologies for the wait. By all means, lead the way."

>_