Yukari Quest II - A Z-Machine Adventure

[Kilgamayan]

> Let's keep heading down the path, then. Who knows what else we'll find?

[Hello Purvis]

> Let's keep heading down the path, then. Who knows what else we'll find?

>You continue down the path. The trees come progressively less like proper trees as you continue onward. Branches and barks twist in odd ways, leaves take on shapes like no leaf you have ever seen. Still, there are trees that are less alien and merely unfamiliar in form. The forest does not seem to become any more or less thick as you continue on. It is still quiet as ever, you cannot feel anything like wind to rustle the branches, nor is there any kind of cry from an animal or an insect.
>After a few more minutes of walking, you note a tall tree with rough bark and numerous branches tipped with diamond-shaped leaves, which seems to stretch higher than many of its neighbors. It seems like it should be suitable to climb.

>_

[Mr. Sacchi]

> Take a deep breath and carefully remember everything we can about climbing something.

> Then get to it!

[Hello Purvis]

> Take a deep breath and carefully remember everything we can about climbing something.
> Then get to it!

>You take a moment to steady yourself and try to recall all the little tricks about positioning your feet just so and feeling out a branch that is going to properly hold your weight, then begin to scale the tree.
>Despite this, and despite your dress, the tree is not a particularly hard one to scale. You are quite happy, in fact, that you took the time to pick a good one. It takes you a couple minutes, some of them slightly more awkward than you'd like, before you scale high enough to see over many of the trees. Looking around, you can see many mountains, some miles in the distance; tall and blocky things that extend up into the air like natural plinths; you've seen many of their like on the mainland; the proper name of them eludes you at the moment. Looking upward, the sky seems to be a pastiche of swirled, unmoving colors, which nary a cloud or a sun that you can see.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> How does it compare to the frond field sky?

[Hello Purvis]

> How does it compare to the frond field sky?

>They don't really compare. The field of fronds had a sky that was pale orange near the horizon, darkening to blackness as it extended upwards, then giving way to nothingness.  Here, the sky seems to be complete, as far as you can see, and a swirled rainbow mess. 

>_

[Mr. Sacchi]

> Any landmarks of note besides mountains and trees?

[Hello Purvis]

> Any landmarks of note besides mountains and trees?

>Looking around, you note there appears to be a small valley to the 'northeast', which seems to run diagonally across the land.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Does our pseudopath run in that direction?

[Hello Purvis]

> Does our pseudopath run in that direction?

>It's hard to tell, the trees don't always allow for a clear view of it. If the path continues as it does, it seems as though it will miss the valley,

>_

[Kilgamayan]

Are we good to climb down? I don't know what I was hoping to see, but I know what we got wasn't it.

[Kilgamayan]

Might as well try one thing while I wait.

> Raise our voice.
> "Hello out there!"

[Hello Purvis]

Might as well try one thing while I wait.

> Raise our voice.
> "Hello out there!"

>You call out, and receive no answer. The land is quiet.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

Yeah, I think we're done here.

> Carefully climb back down the tree. Don't want to hurt ourselves.
> Once we reach the ground, continue on the current path.

[Hello Purvis]

> Carefully climb back down the tree. Don't want to hurt ourselves.
> Once we reach the ground, continue on the current path.

>You carefully make your way down the tree, which isn't much worse than making your way upward. You did take the time to choose a good one after all.
>You continue to travel northward after settling onto the ground again.  After some minutes, you begin to hear what sounds like flowing water, a bit to the east.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> We didn't see a body of water when we climbed the tree, did we?
> Does the path keep heading northward?
> Take a look to the east. Can we see water?

[Hello Purvis]

> We didn't see a body of water when we climbed the tree, did we?
> Does the path keep heading northward?
> Take a look to the east. Can we see water?

>You did not, but it's conceivable that the trees could obscure such.
>It seems to be; and maybe a bit westward as well.
>You look toward the east and you cannot see the source of the sound directly. But you do see the land incline downward, which suggests there could be a creek over there.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> How dense are the trees? Is heading east off the path a reasonably viable option?

[Hello Purvis]

> How dense are the trees? Is heading east off the path a reasonably viable option?

>The floral is dense enough to be irritating, but not so much as to be impassible.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Given we're stilll barefoot, how visible is the ground?

[Hello Purvis]

> Given we're stilll barefoot, how visible is the ground?

>It is not very visible, you will have to take time to pick through the underbrush. Your stick should help with that, you hope.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Eh, why not? Let's go stickpicking east in search of this water. Here's hoping there are no buried roots of death.

[Hello Purvis]

> Eh, why not? Let's go stickpicking east in search of this water. Here's hoping there are no buried roots of death.

>Using your stick to test the path, you carefully make your way eastward. Even though the plants don't seem to be innately harmful, you're quite happy you have more to wear than your blanket here; otherwise your legs would be a mass of scratches. Thankfully, you find no roots as you pick your way forward and the flora gets thicker.
>Soon, you reach the edge of hill, and can see a small, clear stream babbling along it. There are quite a few flowers around the banks, while the stream itself seems to be no more than afoot deep and maybe twice that much across, if you had to estimate. You see no signs of animal life in it at a glance.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Get fairly close to the stream, but don't fall in!
> Once we're closer to it, take a look up and down it.

[Hello Purvis]

> Get fairly close to the stream, but don't fall in!
> Once we're closer to it, take a look up and down it.

>You make your way to the stream, taking care not to fall into it. Looking along its length, you can see that it stretches northward, then curves northeast in one direction, seeming to grow more narrow. In the opposite direction, it curves slowly to the southeast. The banks are a little too steep to easily walk upon, though you can likely manage it with your walking stick. The plantlife along it is fairly thick and tangled. with several flowers of various unfamiliar kinds among them. You can also pick out the distinct form of a large root to the north, which gives you a bad feeling the moment you set eyes upon it.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Oh, son of a bitch. Well, at least it's kind enough to not hide itself in the underbrush.
> Still no sign of sentient life, eh?

[Hello Purvis]

> Oh, son of a bitch. Well, at least it's kind enough to not hide itself in the underbrush.
> Still no sign of sentient life, eh?

>You've seen nothing that suggest an animal of any kind.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Nothing interesting in the forest across the river?

[Mr. Sacchi]

> Have we noticed a pattern at all to where the roots appear?

We haven't seen roots at all in this forest up until now, so it has to be there for a REASON. Aside from that, I'm stumped.

[Hello Purvis]

> Nothing interesting in the forest across the river?

>Nothing across the river seems to have especially grab you attention.

> Have we noticed a pattern at all to where the roots appear?

>Thus far, about the only thing you've noted about their placement is that they seem to be in the ground. This aside, they seem to come and go. There seem to be a common factor or two, but all of those seem to have notable exceptions.

>_