Yukari Quest - A Z-machine Adventure

[Hello Purvis]

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

>There is one trio of fused bubbles that has an obvious window you can climb through. You've seen one on the bubble to your immediate right.  You think one near the top of the rise before you may have one, but it's hard to tell from this angle.
>One of the ersatz paths wends along the outer edge of the rise, passing close to a few bubble before vanishing. Another wends close to one of the icicle-like bridges then comes to an end in what seems to be something like a hollow near the top.  A third would take you close to a different bridge, and then near the fused trio of bubbles that you noted earlier.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Can we tell what material this crystalline construct is?
> Does it not come off as unusual to any of our senses, be it good unusual or bad unusual? Similar to how we could tell those roots are bad juju just by looking at them.

[Hello Purvis]

> Can we tell what material this crystalline construct is?
> Does it not come off as unusual to any of our senses, be it good unusual or bad unusual? Similar to how we could tell those roots are bad juju just by looking at them.

>You aren't certain what it is. It feels like pearl under your fingers, but you're well aware that pearl doesn't make formations like this. It is distinctly different from glass; it's too opaque and the feel isn't quite right. You suspect it is less brittle than glass, but this is just a gut feeling. But beyond that, you can't answer what it is.
>This structure doesn't give you any unusual feelings in and of itself. You certainly don't feel wary of it like you do the roots, and the fact you have touched it without hurting yourself seems to indicate they are different things entirely.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> From our vantage point, is there anything else visible in the swath of darkness other than the structure and the door we used to get here in the first place?

[Hello Purvis]

> From our vantage point, is there anything else visible in the swath of darkness other than the structure and the door we used to get here in the first place?

>Aside from that, you have seen nothing but the occasional star-like light in the darkness.

>_

[Yaersulf]

>Take the third path and investigate that window!

[Hello Purvis]

>Take the third path and investigate that window!

>You follow the path toward the fused bubbles. The path is curved and slick, making the going slower than you'd like. Periodically you have to slow to an awkward shuffle or hold onto a piece of terrain as the slope becomes too steep to easily balance upon. The air is quiet and still, without any hint of an odor.
>As you crest a blob-like distension of crystal, you reach the spheres. They are arranged in a triangular pattern, fused in the middle. One of the spheres is about half subsumed into the fusion, while the other two are less so, maybe only a fifth of the way or so. They are about the same size, perhaps fifteen feet in diameter. Their surfaces are perfectly smooth, as the whole crystalline mass has been. You cannot see anything like a seam or mar along them, even where the spheres fuse together. The window is nearby, at about chest level to you, shaped like a rough oval and a bit over two feet across. At a glance, from your current position, you cannot see much inside, but you note the spheres seem to be hollow. The walls seem to be about half a foot thick and rounded at the edges of the window.

>_

[Yaersulf]

>Throroughly examine the window and determine how easy it would be to get open.

[Hello Purvis]

>Throroughly examine the window and determine how easy it would be to get open.

>There is no pane or glass in the way that you can see. Rather, it is more of a window in the sense of being a small opening that is too small and too high up to be a proper door.

>_

[Yaersulf]

>Ah right, evaluate how easy it would be to climb through the "window" before us.

[Hello Purvis]

>Ah right, evaluate how easy it would be to climb through the "window" before us.

>You could easily climb through it, you think, but you'd likely have to readjust your bedsheet afterward if you're not careful.

>_

[Yaersulf]

>Well then, let's do that. Climb through the window.
>Adjust bedsheet toga if necessary.

[Hello Purvis]

>Well then, let's do that. Climb through the window.
>Adjust bedsheet toga if necessary.

>You duck under the frame of the window and rest your stomach on it for a moment before pushing yourself further inside and catching yourself with your hands on the smooth, curved floor. From there, it's easy enough to pull yourself inside and catch yourself before falling gracelessly as you ease your lower body through.
>Standing up, you take the time to properly adjust your bedsheet and look around. The merged spheres have formed a three room structure, devoid of any features or objects of interest save for a pit in the where the spheres would meet. The floor curves downward, keeping with the shape of the spheres. This will make it a bit more irritating to get back through the window, but you think it should still be within your abilities. The surface here is as smooth and unmarred as the crystal you've seen outside. Glancing at the pit, you note that it it doesn't seem to fall straight downward.

>_

[Yaersulf]

>Investigate the pit.

[Hello Purvis]

>Investigate the pit.

>You make your way over to the pit, taking care to maintain your balance on the curved floor. Falling just the wrong way could well send you tumbling straight down into it. The slope becomes less harsh as you draw close to the lip of the pit, allowing you to peak down into it without too much worry.
>The first thing you note is that the pit's crystalline walls are not nearly as flat as those of the room, instead they are gnarled and wrinkled and resemble layers upon layers of melted wax, rather like the slope outside. You also note that it is not a pit at all, but rather a tunnel that cuts under the floor; you couldn't see the entrance to it from the window. The tunnel slopes downward slightly, quickly disappearing out of sight and heading deeper into this place. There is a bit of a drop to get down to the tunnel, a good five feet or so, but that shouldn't be difficult. However, given the rough ground and the slope of the tunnel, merely leaping down would probably be a bad idea.

>_

[Yaersulf]

>Does it look like we could maintain our balance once we were down there?

[Hello Purvis]

>Does it look like we could maintain our balance once we were down there?

>As far as you can see. While the uneven floor will make it easier to fall, it will also allow for better footing as long as you are careful.

>_

[Yaersulf]

>Lower ourself carefully over the edge feet first. With our front facing the lip.

[Hello Purvis]

>Lower ourself carefully over the edge feet first. With our front facing the lip.

>You lower yourself down feet first without any real difficulty, finding easy purchase on a fold of crystalline material.

>_

[Yaersulf]

>Begin walking down the tunnel carefully, we won't have to crouch or anything will we?

[Hello Purvis]

>Begin walking down the tunnel carefully, we won't have to crouch or anything will we?

>You begin to make your way down the tunnel, happy to see that this one is large enough to walk down. It slopes downward, deeper into the crystal mass. The walls and ceiling bear the same kinds of folds and thick formless protrusions as the floor and outside. You cannot find a pattern to them, but you want to liken it to a mass of bunched-up cloth, a glass-making accident or possibly some sort of organic material. The aqua color of the crystal lightens and darkens every so often, seemingly at random. In its own way, it is rather attractive. You might even have been rather plased to see it in a better situation.
>At first you find the ceiling is a little close to the top of your head for comfort, but as you travel a little ways in it raises a foot or so. The slope is gentle, but noticeable, while the floor is uneven enough you can't quite walk careless without risking a fall or a twisted ankle. At first, the tunnel is reasonably straight, but it begins to curve to the left. As you pass by a rather large distension in the floor, you hear a brief faint noise, so faint you cannot really tell any details aside from its existence. After a few seconds, you hear it again.

>_

[Yaersulf]

>Put our ear up against the walls and floor to see if we can hear it better, if not continue along the tunnel until we can.

[Hello Purvis]

>Put our ear up against the walls and floor to see if we can hear it better, if not continue along the tunnel until we can.

>You put your ear to the wall, and the sound doesn't seem to be any clearer the next time that you hear it. You then kneel down and put your ear to the floor, and get the same result.  The sound remains constant, coming once every few seconds.
>You continue down the tunnel as it begins to curve a bit to the right.  The sound is still distant, but after some moments, you are fairly certain it is the sound of water dropping into a pool. Then, as you progress a little further and the corridor starts to curve to the left again, the sound disappears.

>_

[Yaersulf]

>Water!
>Continue along the tunnel until anything else of note occurs.

[Hello Purvis]

>Water!
>Continue along the tunnel until anything else of note occurs.

>You could certainly do with a drink right now, hopefully it is clean...
>You continue to follow the tunnel as it curves to the left, hoping to pick up the sound again. As you have to walk around a large distension on the floor, you can just hear it again, as the tunnel curves rightward again up ahead.

>_

[Yaersulf]

>Continue along the tunnel, toward the sound.
>There haven't been any splits in the path have there?

[Hello Purvis]

>Continue along the tunnel, toward the sound.
>There haven't been any splits in the path have there?

>There have been no splits that you've noticed.
>You continue along the tunnel, the sound growing a bit more clear before it vanishes again. The tunnel begins to curve leftward, and you start to hear the water dropping once more as you reach another large distension of crystalline mass on the floor. It is so faint that you can't really identify it as water anymore, but the timing of it makes it unmistakable. Up ahead, the tunnel curves to the right.

>_

[Yaersulf]

>Hmmm, have we always heard the sound near these distensions?

[Hello Purvis]

>Hmmm, have we always heard the sound near these distensions?

>Thinking back on it, it has happened all three times.

>_

[Yaersulf]

>Thoroughly investigate the nearby distension!