Yukari Quest II - A Z-Machine Adventure

[Kilgamayan]

> Sigh.
> Let's up and head back to the path, then keep heading north. Hope we don't run across a root along the path.

[Hello Purvis]

> Sigh.
> Let's up and head back to the path, then keep heading north. Hope we don't run across a root along the path.

>You return to the path, finding it a little easier now that you've picked your way through it once, and continue northward.
>The path seems to be dying away into thicker and thicker foliage. The trees grow less and less like any natural trees; are now built like immense stalks or rice or maize, others are so thoroughly covered in needles that no bark can be seen at all. The plants on the ground are much the same way, you see some with stalks that double back into the ground to form a ring, and others that look uncomfortably like splayed vegetative hands. You diligently keep a vigil for the roots, and thankfully come across none. As the path comes to a close, you can see an old stone column ahead in the trees.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Oho, an interesting thing. Investigate!

[Mr. Sacchi]

And just as a joke command.

> What do we know of Hata no Kokoro?

 :getdown:

[Hello Purvis]

> Oho, an interesting thing. Investigate!

>You go to investigate this column. It seems to be granite, chiseled with a number of interlocking mosaic designs that look vaguely like blade-shaped leaves. The designs are not fit together neatly, instead forming a number of shapes that don't seem as though they should fit together without distorting the whole design, but you can't see where it does distort at a glance. It is about a foot and a half in diameter, and reaches a little over 15 feet into the air coming to a sudden end where it has broken off. Mosses grow on the lower portions of the column, and some ivy-like vines bearing evergreen-like needles wraps around the lower portions. There is something amiss with the borders here, but you cannot quite determine what.

> What do we know of Hata no Kokoro?

>Purvis Hobotech does not claim speed in database updates.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Put our hand on the monolith. Maybe that'll help us figure out what's up with the borders.

[Hello Purvis]

> Put our hand on the monolith. Maybe that'll help us figure out what's up with the borders.

>You touch the column. The cold stone mingles with your gap sense, leaving you with a sense of bewilderment. Something about it is incorrect, as though someone put two pairs of coins together, and somehow got three or five. It is not right, but it is not right in such a way that you can't quite tell how it got there. The effect doesn't seem to extend beyond the column itself, as far as you can tell.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Is the the stone itself or the gaps of the stone that are in error? Or both?

[Hello Purvis]

> Is the the stone itself or the gaps of the stone that are in error? Or both?

>You aren't sure, but it feels like there's something about the stone's interaction with the borders, as shoddy as they are, that is simply wrong. But upon closer inspection, you think there is a gap within it.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Give the stone a small shove.

[Hello Purvis]

> Give the stone a small shove.

>You give the column a little shove. It does not move.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Inspect  the monolith for physical faults. If we can't move it to get at the gap inside it, maybe we can break it.
> Or would it be possible to pull the gap out of it?

[Hello Purvis]

> Inspect  the monolith for physical faults. If we can't move it to get at the gap inside it, maybe we can break it.
> Or would it be possible to pull the gap out of it?

>You inspect the column. The mosaics on it bother you, they really shouldn't fit together as they do, but you can't find where they would contort to allow for the shapes that are there. The shapes are predominantly waves and swirls and formless shapes that seem to flow from one into another. Here and there, however, you can see distinctive shapes of five rays coming from a central point, something your prior experiences today have lead you to see as hands.
>You cannot find any real physical faults in the column. The surface is heavily weathered, but it seems to have mostly worn away the details of the leaves that make up the mosaics. You think, though, it may be possible to bring the gap out, or to manifest it through the column.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> What's standing in the way of us pulling the gap out, and how can we overcome it?

[Hello Purvis]

> What's standing in the way of us pulling the gap out, and how can we overcome it?

>The convoluted nature of this pillar seems to be the main obstacle. It would be easy to unravel if you had your magnifying glass here to see the finer details.  As it stands, it seems you'll need to open a few gaps in the pillar itself to allow for it to open. The gaps will have to be strongly defined ones between borders within it, which will be placed to nudge the gap within outside. It would be best to start with one and see what effects it has.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Let's open one such gap, then, and see what happens.

[Hello Purvis]

> Let's open one such gap, then, and see what happens.

>What will this gap be opened between?

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> What are our available options within the monolith?

[Hello Purvis]

> What are our available options within the monolith?

>You are pretty much limited by your imagination. Anything that you can think of about this column to place a gap between can work. Obviously, strongly associated  concepts are difficult to separate, while weakly associated ones are so easy to separate the gap will fail to take hold. The trick is to find a spot that is closely established enough that the two sides are clearly related, but not so much that separating them is more work than it's worth.

>_

[Yaersulf]

>Could examining the patterns and suchlike on the outside of the pillar help us work out where to make such a gap?
>If so, do so.

[Hello Purvis]

>Could examining the patterns and suchlike on the outside of the pillar help us work out where to make such a gap?
>If so, do so.

>It may not hurt, though you would still need to define what sort of gap you intend to make.
>You examine the patterns a little more closely.  The hand patterns stand out clearly now, some grasping toward the heavens or the earth and some reaching outward.  Other shapes are harder to discern any meaning or form to from. Many seem to almost resemble something, but terribly distorted. One, for instance, you could almost see as a yin and yang symbol, if said symbol were made of taffy and stretched into a hook-like shape. As it stands, you can't be sure how many of them are actually a distorted shape, and how many of them are just patterns your mind is trying to put to them to make sense of things. More maddeningly, you are also certain all these shapes should not be able to be placed together like this in a mosaic, but you cannot find where the tiles would distort to allow it. Are some of them imperceptibly larger or smaller than others? You cannot tell. Regardless, in the surface alone, there's definitely several good candidates for distinguishing the borders needed to make a gap.

>_

[Yaersulf]

>Would the border between the two halves of the yin-yang be too strong for what we're thinking?

[Hello Purvis]

>Would the border between the two halves of the yin-yang be too strong for what we're thinking?

>You don't think so.

>_

[Yaersulf]

>Excellent, let's start with that then.

[Hello Purvis]

>Excellent, let's start with that then.

>You do so, using that gap to ply at the twisted internal borders of the column.  The gap pushes against them and shifts them, revealing a somewhat clearer picture of the situation. The boards are folded and impacted upon themselves in a curious way. It doesn't quite explain why the whole thing feels so strange, but you think you should be able to prod the gap open and usable by propping it up with a weak gap within the pillar, and two strong ones to force it and shatter the weak gap at the appropriate time. From there, you should be able to open and use it without issue.

>_

[Yaersulf]

>Could we do this with the information we have, or do we need to find places for these gaps?

[Hello Purvis]

>Could we do this with the information we have, or do we need to find places for these gaps?

>You have enough information to place them.

>_

[O4rfish]

>Is the surface of the stone smooth? Also, have we seen anything in this area that could be used as paint?

[Yaersulf]

>Execute the gap maneuver then.

[Hello Purvis]

>Is the surface of the stone smooth? Also, have we seen anything in this area that could be used as paint?

>The stone is quite smooth and weathered. You could probably use some sodden dirt as paint.

>Execute the gap maneuver then.

>How will you define these three gaps?

>_