Kisume Quest VIII - A Z-Machine Adventure

[Hello Purvis]

>Assuming we have space, move closer to Sariel.

> Defining 'having space' as there being no bullets presently directly between ourselves and Sariel.

>The air between the two of you is clear; Sariel is presently creating another ring of exploding bullets, this one to her left.

>_

[O4rfish]

>Range to target?

[Kilgamayan]

I've been dwelling on this a little bit while at work today. I suspect that we may have trouble bucket-bludgeoning as anything other than a finisher equivalent. Sariel's done a fine job of keeping us at her desired range. On the other hand, she's having a hard time dodging swaths of bullets. Getting closer is still an optimal idea, but I'm now thinking that maybe we should be shooting at her in fashions that make it hard for her to lug her wings out of the way. We've clipped one already, and extra bullets is probably all Kasen is good for at present.

[Hello Purvis]

>Range to target?

>She is about four, maybe fave yards away; it seems she moved back a little between the bullet explosions.

>_

[O4rfish]

I'm thinking it's weird she hasn't activated any spellcards yet.
>Assuming bottom of bucket is pointed at Sariel, perform barrel roll, and fire circle of shots to move straight ahead quickly. Follow at moderate speed.
Wait, I just remembered our spellcards evaporated when we got here.

[Hanzo K.]

I do believe they got jacked.

[Kilgamayan]

They got jacked. I think Chiyuri got them back along with the rest of our stuff.

I thought about using the one we have, though we're in a rough way if we need to activate it for her first non-card.

EDIT: Also you've got me curious about this now.

> What sort of experience do we have with barrel rolling as a defensive maneuver?

[Hello Purvis]

>Assuming bottom of bucket is pointed at Sariel, perform barrel roll, and fire circle of shots to move straight ahead quickly. Follow at moderate speed.

>It is not, you don't tend to move around in that fashion normally, since it impedes your vision and greatly increases the chance of dropping things.

> What sort of experience do we have with barrel rolling as a defensive maneuver?

>None. It has never occurred to you that this might have any use beyond making you a bit dizzy.

>_

[O4rfish]

>Does our bucket have a handle?

[Hello Purvis]

>Does our bucket have a handle?

>Yes. A bucket without a handle is a drink without a vessel; it is a tragedy.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Trace a a circle in the air with our non-injured-side arm, about a foot and a half in diameter, with our palm pointed out toward Sariel. Use this hand motion to unleash a circle of arrowheads in Sariel's direction. They shouldn't all go in the exact same direction, but a tiny bit outward away from the center of the circle, so the circle very slowly expands as it travels.

[Hello Purvis]

> Trace a a circle in the air with our non-injured-side arm, about a foot and a half in diameter, with our palm pointed out toward Sariel. Use this hand motion to unleash a circle of arrowheads in Sariel's direction. They shouldn't all go in the exact same direction, but a tiny bit outward away from the center of the circle, so the circle very slowly expands as it travels.

>You trace out a circle of danmaku and send it flying toward Sariel. The circle isn't as neat as you would have hoped, you manage to create it. The shots expand outward slowly, but the expansion is not regular, some go out at more severe angles than others.
>The attack is also not quite so fast as you would like, but Sariel is definitely watching it; she takes a moment to finish conjuring her next ring of exploding shots.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> So she wants to be like that, eh?
> Follow it up with a few speedier shots aimed straight toward Sariel through the center of the circle.

[Hello Purvis]

> So she wants to be like that, eh?
> Follow it up with a few speedier shots aimed straight toward Sariel through the center of the circle.

>You send a  few speedier shots through the circle, but Sariel is already moving away after finishing her bullet ring, moving toward the right.  You see more shots come from beneath you toward her, but you don't have much time to contemplate it as Sariel's bullet ring explodes.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Nothing in the circle hit her? Or did it not get to her yet?

[Hello Purvis]

> Nothing in the circle hit her? Or did it not get to her yet?

>It has not quite reached her yet, but she is already out of the way of it, unless one of the errant bullets from it manages to catch her.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> So what's coming at us now for shrapnel?

[Hello Purvis]

> So what's coming at us now for shrapnel?

>It seems reasonably open in front of you, there are a couple shots that are going to come close. Above that, the bullets are dangerously dense, and there is a lot of difficult to read crisscrossing. Below , the shots are dense but moving reasonably straight.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Head straight toward Sariel, sweeping another horizontal line of arrowheads.

[Hello Purvis]

> Head straight toward Sariel, then, sweeping another horizontal line of arrowheads.

>You head straight toward Sariel, summoning another line of arrows. A couple shots from the tangled mass above you descend down, nearly hitting you. Had you not been moving, they certainly would have connected.
>Sariel, you see, is already in the process of working her away around several lines of curving bullets from Kasen. Your own shots catch her in mid dodge, striking her around the torso. She doesn't react to this too strongly, you see her face twitch just a little before she conjures another wave of beams.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> These are beams like those spammed in her initial attack?
> How close are we now, and where is she relative to us?

[Hello Purvis]

> These are beams like those spammed in her initial attack?
> How close are we now, and where is she relative to us?

>You think so.
>She is about three yards away.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Is she above, below, or on our level?

[Hello Purvis]

> Is she above, below, or on our level?

>She is on your level.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Throw a vertical line of arrowheads at Sariel, then back off a little bit so we have more room to deal with the oncoming beams.

[Hello Purvis]

> Throw a vertical line of arrowheads at Sariel, then back off a little bit so we have more room to deal with the oncoming beams.

>You toss a line of vertical arrowheads, then back away.  The beams come quickly, but backing away gives you a moment to read them. At this distance, they are pretty tangled, but you can see two of them coming diagonally from your right that you can slip between.
>You also note Sariel backing away several yards, as your attack, and another series of curving lines from below close in on her, before she is able to slip around them.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Head a little bit forward and to the right, getting away from our current spot and aiming for gap we noticed. Keep an eye on Sariel's activity, but don't fire anything at her yet.
> Sariel has long hair, yes?

[Hello Purvis]

> Head a little bit forward and to the right, getting away from our current spot and aiming for gap we noticed. Keep an eye on Sariel's activity, but don't fire anything at her yet.
> Sariel has long hair, yes?

>You move forward, and the beams pass you by. There are no more coming just year, Sariel's own dodging efforts have stymied her offense for the moment, but it seems she is about to using her wand again from the way she is moving her arm.
>Sariel's hair is quite long.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Grit our teeth and brace for likely incoming pain.
> Use both arms and hands to trace a large X in the air in front of us, with each hand starting above our head and ending at least level with our waist. Both hands should be firing off arrowheads and moving diagonally downward the entire time without changing direction (aside from what minute adjustments are needed to avoid them smacking into each other).

[Hello Purvis]

> Grit our teeth and brace for likely incoming pain.
> Use both arms and hands to trace a large X in the air in front of us, with each hand starting above our head and ending at least level with our waist. Both hands should be firing off arrowheads and moving diagonally downward the entire time without changing direction (aside from what minute adjustments are needed to avoid them smacking into each other).

>You grit your teeth and prepare for for the worst, then try to create an cross shape of straight bullets. It comes out rather well, somewhat more space than you would like between the shots, but they are properly straight they fly toward Sariel as she brandishes her wand again, sending another wave of purple shots in your direction, the gap in it is some yards to your right!

>_