Nue Quest 10 - The Lost Levels: A Z-Machine Adventure

[Kilgamayan]

> "She's really impressionable. You'd love her."

[Hello Purvis]

> "She's really impressionable. You'd love her."

>"I didn't think you had a soft spot for children, to be honest," says Mamizou.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "Kids are only ever pompous buffoons in ways that don't actually matter. And this one isn't that anyway. The wings help, too."

[Hello Purvis]

> "Kids are only ever pompous buffoons in ways that don't actually matter. And this one isn't that anyway. The wings help, too."

>Mamizou laughs.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> 'I hope she appears again outside at some point while we're up here. She's worth meeting at least once. Just don't try to go inside without permission while she's around."

[Hello Purvis]

> 'I hope she appears again outside at some point while we're up here. She's worth meeting at least once. Just don't try to go inside without permission while she's around."

>"I do get the feeling that manor isn't very welcoming if one isn't invited," Mamizou says. "Perhaps it is the walls and the guard."

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "I may try sneaking in at some point, just to see what happens. Not much appeal to it beyond the sense of accomplishment, though."

[Hello Purvis]

> "I may try sneaking in at some point, just to see what happens. Not much appeal to it beyond the sense of accomplishment, though."

>"I am surprised that you wouldn't find much appeal in helping yourself to whatever valuables you could get your hands on," says Mamizou.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "Well, unlike days of yore, I'm not a hard woman to find. I could go into hiding if I really needed to, but it'd be a rather large inconvenience, and I could hold them off in a fight, but that would also be a rather large inconvenience."

[Hello Purvis]

> "Well, unlike days of yore, I'm not a hard woman to find. I could go into hiding if I really needed to, but it'd be a rather large inconvenience, and I could hold them off in a fight, but that would also be a rather large inconvenience."

>"You've acknowledged a possibility of getting caught," says Mamizou. "It seems you really have made progress while here."

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "There's a possibility Byakuren or one of the others would notice, depending on what I lifted. Even if they didn't, if that place let word out that stuff was gone, even if they didn't know who did it, I'd be near the top of the list of people that would get asked about it. Something similar happened a few winters ago where shenanigans were afoot, and in that case I legitimately wasn't responsible for it. For all that I expect I'd have no problem pulling it off as it happened, it wouldn't be worth the aggravation down the line."

[Hello Purvis]

> "There's a possibility Byakuren or one of the others would notice, depending on what I lifted. Even if they didn't, if that place let word out that stuff was gone, even if they didn't know who did it, I'd be near the top of the list of people that would get asked about it. Something similar happened a few winters ago where shenanigans were afoot, and in that case I legitimately wasn't responsible for it. For all that I expect I'd have no problem pulling it off as it happened, it wouldn't be worth the aggravation down the line."

>"I suppose it is a bit more difficult when you can't reasonably flee the country," says Mamizou. "Which, in retrospect, may well explain the gap youkai's opinions on having a way to Avalon from here."

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "Yeah, I'll admit I thought about it after the fact, and it's probably for the best that there isn't permanent easy access from here to there or vice versa."

[Hello Purvis]

> "Yeah, I'll admit I thought about it after the fact, and it's probably for the best that there isn't permanent easy access from here to there or vice versa."

>The tanuki nods.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "Also, I should warn you now that even if the hole is still open, I won't be able to go back to Arzas with you. Doc fixed me up pretty good, but my upper blade wing is sprained, so it's stuck where it is. Me showing up there would only cause consternation, and I imagine it'd be easier for you to finish your business without that distraction."

[Hello Purvis]

> "Also, I should warn you now that even if the hole is still open, I won't be able to go back to Arzas with you. Doc fixed me up pretty good, but my upper blade wing is sprained, so it's stuck where it is. Me showing up there would only cause consternation, and I imagine it'd be easier for you to finish your business without that distraction."

>"Ah, I'll keep that in mind," says Mamizou. "Should I expect you to linger at the door?"

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "I could probably linger on the forest path with the town in sight."

[Hello Purvis]

> "I could probably linger on the forest path with the town in sight."

>"Hmm, perhaps," says Mamizou. "If you prefer, I could probably handle things on my own, and let you finish up whatever business you have to deal with, it shouldn't be too hard to find my way back to the shrine."

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "I'll at least see you to the door, in case something unfortunate happens. I think most of my day's business is actually taken care of, though I could always go back underground and check on the folks there."

[Hello Purvis]

> "I'll at least see you to the door, in case something unfortunate happens. I think most of my day's business is actually taken care of, though I could always go back underground and check on the folks there."

>"I don't mind if you follow," says Mamizou, "But it won't be very fast. I would feel bad if you ended up getting stuck there with me."

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "Then someone will need to make sure neither of us gets stuck there."

[Hello Purvis]

> "Then someone will need to make sure neither of us gets stuck there."

>"And how do you propose to do that?" says Mamizou.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "A peaceful delay would be nice. But I'll take the gap youkai on if need be."

[Hello Purvis]

> "A peaceful delay would be nice. But I'll take the gap youkai on if need be."

>"I see," says Mamizou. "Well, I don't envy you that position, but if it comes to such, I'll do what I can to help."

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "I imagine that if things come to that, you'll be too busy tying up loose ends. But you don't need to worry about me, I can handle myself."

[Hello Purvis]

> "I imagine that if things come to that, you'll be too busy tying up loose ends. But you don't need to worry about me, I can handle myself."

>"Oh thank heaven," says Mamizou, "I was briefly afraid you'd take me up on that."

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Smirk.
> "Of course not. If I actually decide to take her on, I can't saddle myself with any liabilities."

[Hello Purvis]

> Smirk.
> "Of course not. If I actually decide to take her on, I can't saddle myself with any liabilities."

>"You may saddle yourself with whatever you please, as long as I'm not in the way," says Mamizou.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Could we comfortably give directions from this area of the forest to the entrance to the underground?
> Is the trip from the entrance to the oni village more or less a straight shot, or are there branching pathways along the way?
> "Just try not to dawdle too much."

[Hello Purvis]

> Could we comfortably give directions from this area of the forest to the entrance to the underground?
> Is the trip from the entrance to the oni village more or less a straight shot, or are there branching pathways along the way?
> "Just try not to dawdle too much."

>You can give alright directions, but it would involve a decent amount of having to hunt around for the entrance cavern.
>Once you get into the tunnel, there's only one real branch one would notice. You are aware that there are some others, but one has to go out of their way to find them.
>"I have no plans to," says Mamizou.

>_