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

[Kilgamayan]

> Do we still have the sword connected, or are we holding the two pieces separately?
> Give an uncertain frown of our own.
> "I would if I could, sir."

[Hello Purvis]

> Do we still have the sword connected, or are we holding the two pieces separately?
> Give an uncertain frown of our own.
> "I would if I could, sir."

>You are holding both pieces separately.
>He signs for a moment. "Should I prepare myself to hear naught but seelie babble until you get bored, then?"

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Do we have anything in our inventory with writing on it where we could show off said writing?

[Hello Purvis]

> Do we have anything in our inventory with writing on it where we could show off said writing?

>The gems have writing in them, but displaying it would be an issue. Aside from that, the closest you have is the Disguised Apron, if you took the disguise off of it.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Crap.
> Inventory
> Open our eyes a little in slight worry while shaking our head back and forth and waving our hands in front of us, as well as we can without dropping either piece of the sword or cutting ourselves.
> Walk over to the man and show him the side of the blade with the writing on it.

[UncertainJakutten]

>Wait, we've been alive thousands of years, right?
>Do we recognize the language he used at all? And if so, what time period was it in?

[Hello Purvis]

>Wait, we've been alive thousands of years, right?
>Do we recognize the language he used at all? And if so, what time period was it in?

>You've seen your share of centuries, but a fair amount of that time has been spent being sealed underground. You do not recognize this language at all.

> Crap.
> Inventory
> Open our eyes a little in slight worry while shaking our head back and forth and waving our hands in front of us, as well as we can without dropping either piece of the sword or cutting ourselves.
> Walk over to the man and show him the side of the blade with the writing on it.

>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 x2
>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☼
>Disguised Apron
>One of Marisa's aprons with a Seed of Nonidentification applied to it, it seems to be a capelet.
>You do your best to communicate with the metal-clad man. He doesn't say anything, but he watches you closely as you start to approach. "That is far enough," he says. Then his eyes drop to his sword, and narrow. "Why do you have that?"

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Shrug and shake our head again.
> Point the broken handle at the writing on the blade and wave the handle back and forth in line with the writing, as if we were underlining it, then point the handle at our mouth, make a few jabbing motions toward our mouth (but not close enough to actually touch our face) and shake our head again.

[Hello Purvis]

> Shrug and shake our head again.
> Point the broken handle at the writing on the blade and wave the handle back and forth in line with the writing, as if we were underlining it, then point the handle at our mouth, make a few jabbing motions toward our mouth (but not close enough to actually touch our face) and shake our head again.

>"You need not tell me any more about that blade," he says. "And are you trying to pantomime to me that you lay claim upon it now?"

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Shake head again with the slightly-wider-open-than-normal eyes.
> Stick the handle of the blade into the armpit of the arm with the hand holding onto the blade and clamp it to the side of our body to hold it in place. Obviously, don't clamp it in such a way that we cut ourselves.
> Use our now free hand to vigorously tap the writing on the blade several times, then point right at our mouth, then mimic a mouth talking in the man's direction with this hand.
> "I do not speak this language."
> Jab at the writing a couple more times, then point at our mouth again and shake our head.

[Hello Purvis]

> Shake head again with the slightly-wider-open-than-normal eyes.
> Stick the handle of the blade into the armpit of the arm with the hand holding onto the blade and clamp it to the side of our body to hold it in place. Obviously, don't clamp it in such a way that we cut ourselves.
> Use our now free hand to vigorously tap the writing on the blade several times, then point right at our mouth, then mimic a mouth talking in the man's direction with this hand.
> "I do not speak this language."
> Jab at the writing a couple more times, then point at our mouth again and shake our head.

>You do this, taking care not to put any bladed parts close to your flesh. He watches this display, then says. "Look at your feet for a moment."

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Raise an eyebrow.
> Pause for a moment, then look down.

[Hello Purvis]

> Raise an eyebrow.
> Pause for a moment, then look down.

>"So you do understand what I'm saying," he says. "So, either you've been cursed or this is some sort of game. And, for some reason, you're carrying around part of the bloody prince's regalia. Let's be generous and pretend it's the former. What do you expect me to do about it?"

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Look back up.
> Grab the handle with our free hand again, then frown and shrug.
> Look back and forth between the handle and blade, and connect them again.

[Hello Purvis]

> Look back up.
> Grab the handle with our free hand again, then frown and shrug.
> Look back and forth between the handle and blade, and connect them again.

>"Yes, they do fit together," he says. He frowns. "Are you suggesting that it should be fixed?"

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> None of the regular sensations?
> Look down at the blade and frown.
> "If it can help you understand me."

[Hello Purvis]

> None of the regular sensations?
> Look down at the blade and frown.
> "If it can help you understand me."

>Oh yes, the tingling sensation of it being together is still present.
>As you speak, you feel your tongue and lips move in odd ways, and the words that come out are not the ones you said, but they are the ones you want him to understand, as you speak in that strange language.
>"Oh, so you do speak in something other than seelie nonsense," says the red-haired man. "Good, that makes this easy. You can tell me why one of your number finds it fit to carry the bloody prince's banner."

>_

[GuyYouMetOnline]

>"Because I found the two pieces and got curious."
>"I know nothing of this blade's history. Could I ask you to enlighten me?"

[Hanzo K.]

>Hang on just a cotton-pickin'..!
>When the sword's not brought together, it's like talking to a normal fish. But when it is, we can talk to him in what he considers a normal way.

[Hello Purvis]

>Hang on just a cotton-pickin'..!
>When the sword's not brought together, it's like talking to a normal fish. But when it is, we can talk to him in what he considers a normal way.

>These two things do seem to correlate. Not to mention you felt yourself saying things you didn't physically try to say.

>"Because I found the two pieces and got curious."
>"I know nothing of this blade's history. Could I ask you to enlighten me?"

>"Do you expect me to believe you've never heard of Prince Edmund?" says the man, frowning and giving you a hard look.

>_

[Hanzo K.]

>"It's a long story. But to summarize it, you've pretty much hit the nail on the head."
>find a spot to sit down comfortably.
>"Mind if I tell you how I got myself into this mess?"

I'm thinking that since he's got armor, he's probably a knight of some sort, and if knights are anything like samurai, it's best to just be upfront with 'em.

[Hello Purvis]

>"It's a long story. But to summarize it, you've pretty much hit the nail on the head."
>find a spot to sit down comfortably.
>"Mind if I tell you how I got myself into this mess?"

>"A long story indeed," says the armored man. "Let us hear your tale, seelie."

>_

[Hanzo K.]

>"Alright, and tell me about this whole 'Seelie' business as we go okay? It's something I'm pretty certain I've never heard about."
>"Anyhow, it all started one day back at the tavern I run back home. And to be honest, I'm pretty sure this place isn't a part of it either."
>"But as I was saying, I went down to get things set up for the morning rush, and I come to find that all the coins I had were turned into gemstones. I figured out after a little while that the value of the gems matched with the coins that vanished."
>Wait for his response, then continue on when he motions for the rest.
>"So then, it turns out that I'd also been robbed of some pretty important cards that really only I can use properly...Or so I thought until later on."
>Oh yeah, we left the spellcards with Keine didn't we?
>"Anyhow, after a long while of mystery-solving, I find the blade of this here sword in the possession of some musicians who regularly perform at my tavern. Few errands later, they give it to me."
>"I also found the hilt of the sword back in an old secondhand shop that doesn't really get too many customers outside of the residents near the forest where it is. A few barters and haggles later, I come away with the rest of the sword."
>Wait for his response again.
>"But that's not the end of the story, not by a long shot. Turns out that the shopkeeper from that same shop was behind who whole coins-into-gems incident. And my place wan't the only one affected, it was all over the land I call home. He used to be a pretty even-tempered, if strange guy. Always made good on his word. So anyhow, he wanted to get rid of the whole idea of buying and selling things, hoping to implement a barter system in it's place."
>Sigh. "By now I'd guess he's probably fuming in a cell after I had to knock him out before he could get any further with that crazy scheme of his. It around that same time that I found out that my cards had ended up in his possession, and he was using them as a catalyst how he was going to go about overwriting the buy-and-sell order with a barter system. Really bugs me how some people can get so into things that they think they're a god or something."
>Wait for his response yet again.
>"But anyways, after I managed to get him under wraps, I figured I'd try to find out more about this sword. I eventually found myself directed to a northern part of the forest where the shop was. I found this weird stand of trees, and started messing with the sword. Putting it back together somewhat, focusing on it, everything. Then things got weird, and I ended up here where we ran into each other. And that's pretty much the whole story. Give or take a few small parts at least."


(Phew...I'd say that's the abridged version....Is this how it feels for you Kilga? Gotta say, took me a while to get this all typed out.)

[Hello Purvis]

>"Alright, and tell me about this whole 'Seelie' business as we go okay? It's something I'm pretty certain I've never heard about."
>"Anyhow, it all started one day back at the tavern I run back home. And to be honest, I'm pretty sure this place isn't a part of it either."
>"But as I was saying, I went down to get things set up for the morning rush, and I come to find that all the coins I had were turned into gemstones. I figured out after a little while that the value of the gems matched with the coins that vanished."
>Wait for his response, then continue on when he motions for the rest.
>"So then, it turns out that I'd also been robbed of some pretty important cards that really only I can use properly...Or so I thought until later on."
>Oh yeah, we left the spellcards with Keine didn't we?
>"Anyhow, after a long while of mystery-solving, I find the blade of this here sword in the possession of some musicians who regularly perform at my tavern. Few errands later, they give it to me."
>"I also found the hilt of the sword back in an old secondhand shop that doesn't really get too many customers outside of the residents near the forest where it is. A few barters and haggles later, I come away with the rest of the sword."
>Wait for his response again.
>"But that's not the end of the story, not by a long shot. Turns out that the shopkeeper from that same shop was behind who whole coins-into-gems incident. And my place wan't the only one affected, it was all over the land I call home. He used to be a pretty even-tempered, if strange guy. Always made good on his word. So anyhow, he wanted to get rid of the whole idea of buying and selling things, hoping to implement a barter system in it's place."
>Sigh. "By now I'd guess he's probably fuming in a cell after I had to knock him out before he could get any further with that crazy scheme of his. It around that same time that I found out that my cards had ended up in his possession, and he was using them as a catalyst how he was going to go about overwriting the buy-and-sell order with a barter system. Really bugs me how some people can get so into things that they think they're a god or something."
>Wait for his response yet again.
>"But anyways, after I managed to get him under wraps, I figured I'd try to find out more about this sword. I eventually found myself directed to a northern part of the forest where the shop was. I found this weird stand of trees, and started messing with the sword. Putting it back together somewhat, focusing on it, everything. Then things got weird, and I ended up here where we ran into each other. And that's pretty much the whole story. Give or take a few small parts at least."

>He does not say anything at the points you pause, leading you to continue to prevent the uncomfortable silence.
>"Do you play this prank knowing that I ride under the banner of King Pendragon?" he says at length.

>_

[Hanzo K.]

>Do we know who he's talking about?

[Hello Purvis]

>Do we know who he's talking about?

>You have never heard this name before.

>_

[Hanzo K.]

>"I've never even heard that name before. And for the record, I gave up doing anything like that ages ago. Y'might say I had it beaten right out of me by the very folks who ended up becoming some of my best customers. Word of advice, The Oni do not like liars."
>Grin ruefully at the last part.
>"Everything I told you is true, what sort of proof do you want if you don't believe me?"

>Inventory (D'oh.)

Unless anyone else has a better idea.

[Kilgamayan]

> "Or perhaps I can make this explanation a little simpler another way. Am I correct in thinking this language we are speaking is Celtic?"

[Hello Purvis]

>"I've never even heard that name before. And for the record, I gave up doing anything like that ages ago. Y'might say I had it beaten right out of me by the very folks who ended up becoming some of my best customers. Word of advice, The Oni do not like liars."
>Grin ruefully at the last part.
>"Everything I told you is true, what sort of proof do you want if you don't believe me?"

>"I would like some proof that you are not, in fact, some supernatural retainer of Prince Edmund's, for one thing," he says.

> "Or perhaps I can make this explanation a little simpler another way. Am I correct in thinking this language we are speaking is Celtic?"

>"It's close enough," he says, "But I shall thank you not to mistake anyone here for a Celt, lest you wish you put that trident to use quickly."

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "I'll do my best. But I ask because this is not my native tongue, or even a language I know. I don't right know where I am at all, to be honest, but I am from the Asian country of Japan, and speak Japanese natively."