Yukari Quest - A Z-machine Adventure

[Yaersulf]

>We can't fly at the moment can we?

[Hello Purvis]

>We can't fly at the moment can we?

>You have not had any luck with flight since waking up here.

>_

[Yaersulf]

>Reach through and around the doorframe to see what is behind it... through it.

[Hello Purvis]

>Reach through and around the doorframe to see what is behind it... through it.

>You cannot see with your fingers. However, you do feel there is nothing around the doorframe, it seems to be as unsupported as it is on this side. What you saw must be further back.

>_

[Yaersulf]

>Test whether or not the doorframe will fall over if we rest our weight on it.
>If it passes the structural safety check then lean through and around, grasping the doorframe tightly, and get a look at what it was that we saw.

[Hello Purvis]

>Test whether or not the doorframe will fall over if we rest our weight on it.
>If it passes the structural safety check then lean through and around, grasping the doorframe tightly, and get a look at what it was that we saw.

>The door seems to hold your weight, you don't feel as though it's in danger of falling over.
>You lean around the door, holding tightly onto the frame, and look behind it. In the distance, floating in the middle of the blackness, is a mass of pale aqua crystal in the middle of the blackness. There are no hard edges to it that you can see, the crystal is piled up upon itself, stretching left and right. The crystal forms into numerous shapes, many of them spheres and ovals, while other parts project from it like old icicles or seem to be caught in a kind of flow like newly hardened lava. You can see a bit of iridescent shine alone some of the crystalline curves and distensions. You think you can see small points of darkness dotting the crystalline mass, which suggest something like doorways or windows to you.  You can't determine how large it is, but it feels like it should be quite immense, easily the size of a small mountain. Nor can you determine how far away it is, whether it is yards or miles, but you feel it would take time to by air.

>_

[Yaersulf]

>Remove ourself from the doorframe and give flight another shot. That... thing looks promising!

[Hello Purvis]

>Remove ourself from the doorframe and give flight another shot. That... thing looks promising!

>You try to fly, but have no more luck than before. You are starting to wonder if that and the weak borders are related? Hmm, probably not directly, but perhaps the cause of one causes the other?

>_

[Hello Purvis]

>You suspect you will have to concoct a test that allows you to see how things interact beyond the door without going through it yourself, throw caution to the wind, or leave it altogether.

[UncertainJakutten]

I'm voting throw caution to the wind here, any objections?

[Yaersulf]

I was thinking check out the other side and come back if we can fly at some point in the future (assuming we can find this place again). If you do want to do a Leeroy Jenkins then at least throw the rock through first though.

[Yaersulf]

>Ok why the hell not, let's throw one of the plants through the door.

[Hello Purvis]

>Ok why the hell not, let's throw one of the plants through the door.

>You pluck one of the feathery plants, and toss it through the door like a dart.
>It flies through the threshold normally. Then it begins to slow down, until it stops in midair, a couple feet inside the door, and hangs there, its fronds swaying slightly but otherwise motionless.

>_

[Yaersulf]

>Well then, grab a hold of the doorframe and swing out into the ~void~.

[Hello Purvis]

>Well then, grab a hold of the doorframe and swing out into the ~void~.

>You grab into the doorframe and swing yourself out into the darkness. You kick the frond, sending it spinning further out, then feel a sudden and unprepared shock as your feet settle down on solid...something in the darkness.
>The frond travels a few more yards in before coming to a stop.

>_

[Yaersulf]

>Feel around on the "ground" with our hands.
>Crawl around feeling with our hands as we go, to make sure there isn't a sudden drop around.

[Hello Purvis]

>Feel around on the "ground" with our hands.
>Crawl around feeling with our hands as we go, to make sure there isn't a sudden drop around.

>You let go of the doorframe and feel around the darkness with your hands. The ground, as it were, feels solid. You progress forward a bit into the darkness. feeling around. You don't feel anything that breaks up the perfect smoothness of the surface you're moving upon; nor does it seem to be any hotter or colder than the air around you. You can't quite place the texture, it is smooth but you can't tell what sort of smooth. It feels practically like a solid barrier rather than anything physical.

>_

[Yaersulf]

>Examine the door on this side.

Also, a gopher, why a gopher? o~O

[Shadoweh]

> Take the frond with us as a tester for the barrier just in case.

[Hello Purvis]

>Examine the door on this side.

>Checking the doorway on this side, it it is still the same silvery frame, with a hint of the door itself at the right edge.  Through it, you can see the plain of feathery plants, and the orange sky. A mote of pink light winks into existence near the door, then vanishes.

> Take the frond with us as a tester for the barrier just in case.

>You move over to the front and take it in hand. It's not quite long enough to make a good testing rod, but you can at least tap the ground in front of you if you hunch over a little.

>_

[Yaersulf]

>Begin walking toward the giant crystalline structure.
>Turn around to make sure that the way we came is able to be seen from a distance.

[Hello Purvis]

>Begin walking toward the giant crystalline structure.
>Turn around to make sure that the way we came is able to be seen from a distance.

>You begin to walk toward the crystalline structure, brushing ahead of yourself with the frond. Glancing back, you don't feel you'll lose sight of the doorway anytime soon, it glows just as brightly here as it did on the other side; and its light stands out better against the darkness than it did against the fronds. You can also sense another gap in the light, this one very indistinct.
>Walking through the darkness, the crystalline structure looms ahead and dominates your thoughts. Contemplating its shape, you can see no pattern to it. Larger spheres and ovals seem to be predominant shapes, with bridges like icicles running between them. Shapeless crystal masses largely seem to congregate under the smaller ones, making you think of thick pudding-like liquid that flowed there. You cannot find anything on it that looks like a hard edge or corner, you'd almost think it was somehow smoothed to a polish in an immense river.
>It draws closer and closer as you travel, until you are some yards from it. Your initial estimates might have been a bit much; while it is huge, it is not quite on par with a mountain. It is certainly large enough to match any palace that you have seen, though. You are closest to a shapeless mass of crystal stuff, twisting up some yards above you and flowing into a sphere as large as a house. Underneath, below the level of your feet, you see ice-like protrusions of crystal hanging from it at various angles. Glancing back, you can see the light of the doorway quite clearly, the whole trip took perhaps fifteen minutes.

>_

[Yaersulf]

>Hmm, can we see those door/windowesque things on it that we saw before?
>Can we see a way to scale it?

[O4rfish]

>Gotta be polite. "Hello, is anyone home? It's Yukari."

[Hello Purvis]

>Hmm, can we see those door/windowesque things on it that we saw before?
>Can we see a way to scale it?

>You can see one near the base of the sphere, on the right side.
>You think you can climb up the shapeless mass in a couple spots. One to the right offers numerous but shallow handholds, while one of the left seems to have fewer, but sturdier-looking ones. In either case, you would need to free your hands for the task. There is a spot where you make be able to make your way up with your hands occupied, but it is rather sheer.

>Gotta be polite. "Hello, is anyone home? It's Yukari."

>You decide to avoid discourtesy and announce yourself. You do not hear any reply.

>_

[Yaersulf]

>We got out underwear back right?
>See if we can holster our screwdriver in our underwear.
>Unfortunately we'll have to leave our trusty rock behind for now.

[Hello Purvis]

>We got out underwear back right?
>See if we can holster our screwdriver in our underwear.
>Unfortunately we'll have to leave our trusty rock behind for now.

>You have.
>It is a little unpleasant and annoying, but you sheath your screwdriver through your undergarment's waistband by your left hip, and set your rock down.

>_

[Yaersulf]

>Begin climbing the left way, the one with fewer but solid handholds.

[Hello Purvis]

>Begin climbing the left way, the one with fewer but solid handholds.

>You make your way up the left side of the formless crystal. It is hard to hold onto, it feels like pearl under your fingers, and your socks do not provide as much traction as you would like. The handholds, however, are solid and provide a shape that is easy enough to grip. It helps that the crystal here isn't too steep, either. Still, it takes some time and effort to pull yourself up, but it is rather nice to not have to worry about any cuts from sharp edges; your hand and shoulder are protesting enough as it is.
>Reaching the top of the shapeless 'cliff', you find yourself beside the house-sized sphere that you were looking at earlier. It should be easy to walk around it and approach the opposite side. Beyond it the shapeless crystal continues to rise upward; the mass of twists and whorls slightly bringing to mind a collection of drippings from melted wax. Several spheres dominate the hillside, some of them apparently fused together. A few icicle-like protrusions arise from the mass, the spheres to the hillside and two of them bridging the expanse between two separate rises between the formless mass of crystal. You can see a few possible paths leading further upward by following wide distensions in the mass like a mountain trail.

>_

[Yaersulf]

>Any of those doors or windows at this elevation?
>Examine the paths.