Kisume Quest IV - A Z-Machine Adventure

[Kilgamayan]

> Shrug.
> "Never came up. I was too busy chasing her. Took long enough to get out from her where she got it. I think she said she was told to do it by a blue woman with a hat, though."

[Hello Purvis]

> Shrug.
> "Never came up. I was too busy chasing her. Took long enough to get out from her where she got it. I think she said she was told to do it by a blue woman with a hat, though."

>"A blue woman with a hat..." says Shuuei.
>"Did she mention anything else?" Iku says, putting on a thoughtful expression.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "Uh...I think she said that 'we' were going to get cake for doing it. She had a friend in the area, but stopped her escape before we got that far. Also, I first ran across her at the Hakurei Shrine, where the other fairy there caught her trying to put the snake in some rice."

[Hello Purvis]

> "Uh...I think she said that 'we' were going to get cake for doing it. She had a friend in the area, but stopped her escape before we got that far. Also, I first ran across her at the Hakurei Shrine, where the other fairy there caught her trying to put the snake in some rice."

>Iku gives a nod., and puts a finger to her chin, considering.
>"Wait a minute..." says Shuuei. "There's only a few people who even knew about this...just you, Iku, and Nue and Tenshi. ...And Tenshi is the only one who favors blue! It was her, wasn't it!?"

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "Eh, I dunno. Wouldn't the fairy have demanded her cake by now? Tenshi's not exactly hard to find today."

[Hello Purvis]

> "Eh, I dunno. Wouldn't the fairy have demanded her cake by now? Tenshi's not exactly hard to find today."

>"It's certainly possible that Tenshi made arrangements about that, if it were her," says Iku. "She can be cunning about these kinds of things."
>"It had to be her!" Shuuei says. "What does she think she's doing, trying to expose me like that?!"
>"Let's set that aside for now," Iku says, shaking her head slightly. "Right now, the question is what do you do next? As we've seen, your disguise is not quite as perfect as we had hoped..."
>"I know, I know," I says Shuuei.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "Huh...come to think of it, why were you waiting in the tavern, anyway? From how urgent this sounded originally, I figured you would have gone running off immediately after Tenshi gave you my message."

[Hello Purvis]

> "Huh...come to think of it, why were you waiting in the tavern, anyway? From how urgent this sounded originally, I figured you would have gone running off immediately after Tenshi gave you my message."

>"I had just arrived and Tenshi had asked me to stay for a bit," says Iku. "And I admit, I was a little distracted by the incident that had been springing up."

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "Oh yeah, present incidents. Is there any way we can work all of this out later? I really need to get back to that pink hermit woman I left in the town. There are shenanigans afoot in the Temple graveyard, and things could get really dangerous if that one guy that's involved starts throwing more shurikens at people."

[Hello Purvis]

> "Oh yeah, present incidents. Is there any way we can work all of this out later? I really need to get back to that pink hermit woman I left in the town. There are shenanigans afoot in the Temple graveyard, and things could get really dangerous if that one guy that's involved starts throwing more shurikens at people."

>"If you can spare a moment, I'd like you to stay," says Iku. "This is important, too."
>"She can leave, Iku, it's fine," Shuuei says.
>"I think you may want to hear some things she'll have to say," says Iku. "Is it really important to use the seed anymore, Shuuei? It's been this long, and you have managed to keep yourself hidden in plain sight, haven't you? No one else has really seen you, have they?"
>"Maybe, but-" says Shuuei.
>"So it hasn't been especially necessary. Just a bit helpful."

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "You really think I'd be helpful with something this personal? I barely know you and I know her even less."
> Raise an eyebrow.
> "...How much do you know about me, anyway?"

[Hello Purvis]

> "You really think I'd be helpful with something this personal? I barely know you and I know her even less."
> Raise an eyebrow.
> "...How much do you know about me, anyway?"

>Iku nods. "Your lack of knowledge is precisely what needs to be understood. As for what I know, not very much. You are a resident of the underground, who waylays people. I don't know much more than that."

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "If you say so. So what's up with this seed thing, then? Why's it so important? And what's with the bird?"

[Hello Purvis]

> "If you say so. So what's up with this seed thing, then? Why's it so important? And what's with the bird?"

>"It's one of Nue's seeds," says Iku. "I think you can probably piece together the rest yourself."

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> What are Nue's seeds?

[Hello Purvis]

> What are Nue's seeds?

>You have a vague idea that they're used to hide things.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "So, what, she was invisible? I don't know much of anything about these seeds."

[Hello Purvis]

> "So, what, she was invisible? I don't know much of anything about these seeds."

>"Ah," says Iku. "May I, Shuuei?"
>"Don't bother," says Shuuei. "It was a disguise I wore."

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "What's wrong with the one you have on now?"

[Hello Purvis]

> "What's wrong with the one you have on now?"

>"It's not enough," she says.
>"I don't think you'll ever have enough in that sense, Shuuei," Iku says quietly.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Look slightly taken aback.
> "Who did you piss off that all that isn't enough? The black-white? The green-haired plant lady? Or did you piss in the red-white's tea or something?"

[Hello Purvis]

> Look slightly taken aback.
> "Who did you piss off that all that isn't enough? The black-white? The green-haired plant lady? Or did you piss in the red-white's tea or something?"

>"No no, it's nothing like that," says Shuuei. "It's just..."
>"She needs to keep her true self hidden away," says Iku. "Not for any sinister reason, it's just part of who she is. But, I think relying too heavily on masks and deceptions for too long might cause worse problems down the road."

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "Sounds like a question for the Yama. She's be happy to beat you over the head with what she thinks is best for you without giving a damn about what you want or think."

[Hello Purvis]

> "Sounds like a question for the Yama. She's be happy to beat you over the head with what she thinks is best for you without giving a damn about what you want or think."

>Iku gives you a curious look for a moment. "Well...I suppose we could ask her. But, I was thinking, moral concerns aside, that it would be more efficient to get by with a bit less. It would be a problem if the seed were taken again somewhere less secluded."

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "Well, what's the problem with just hiding in a cave for the next thousand years or something?"

[Hello Purvis]

> "Well, what's the problem with just hiding in a cave for the next thousand years or something?"

>"It...wouldn't work." says Shuuei.
>"It may be best to explain," says Iku. "I don't think she's gotten a good enough look at you to see."
>Shuuei sighs. "You're right, I suppose. I'm a poltergeist, if enough people don't believe I exist, I disappear."
>"The situation is a little complicated, with Shuuei's feelings on the issue," Iku adds.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Do we know anything about poltergeists, from an afterlife bureaucracy standpoint?

[Hello Purvis]

> Do we know anything about poltergeists, from an afterlife bureaucracy standpoint?

>In the time you spent there, you encountered no mentions of them. You suspect they probably aren't within Higan's purview. Whose purview they would be in, you don't know. Possibly no one's.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "Doesn't sound complicated to me at all. Sounds like exactly what you want."

[Hello Purvis]

> "Doesn't sound complicated to me at all. Sounds like exactly what you want."

>"Me?" says Shuuei.

>_