Yukari Quest III - A Z-Machine Adventure

[Kilgamayan]

> Nod.
> "Very well. Follow me. I suggest closing your eyes before you step through, though, and not opening them until I say so."

[Hello Purvis]

> Nod.
> "Very well. Follow me. I suggest closing your eyes before you step through, though, and not opening them until I say so."

>"Right, got it," says the kasha.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Step on through the gap.
> Once we're on the other side, leave enough room so the kasha can step out and not bump into us.

[Hello Purvis]

> Step on through the gap.
> Once we're on the other side, leave enough room so the kasha can step out and not bump into us.

>You step through the gap, and leave the dimly lit hall behind to emerge among fresh air and morning sunlight. All around you are the towering remains of dead brown bamboo, interlaced with fresh green shoots that already reach as tall as you are. Before you is a pair of dark oaken doors, immaculately cut and paneled, set into a recessed gateway in a long whitewashed wall that continues for many yards in either direction. A low, curving roof of beautiful jade-green tiles runs along the length of the wall. You can also see several youkai rabbits in various places along side the wall, cleaning it with long-handled mops.  Several of them stop as you appear and watch warily.
>You step aside to allow the kasha through, while a half dozen youkai rabbits watch you with obvious wariness and trepidation, and others begin to notice your precise. "Umm..." says stout blonde one a few yards away, frowning and searching for more words.

>_

[O4rfish]

>"Hello, I have a patient for Doctor Yagokoro here."

[Hello Purvis]

>"Hello, I have a patient for Doctor Yagokoro here."

>"Oh," says the rabbit. She shifts her shoulders and takes one hand into another, almost but not quite ringing her fingers. "Does she, uh, expect you?"

>_

[O4rfish]

>"What? No, I'm not the patient. The patient is ... "
>turn and look behind us

[Hello Purvis]

>"What? No, I'm not the patient. The patient is ... "
>turn and look behind us

>"Uh, any of you, I meant," says the rabbit.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Gesture to Satori.
> "It's her. It's a bit of an emergency, she just entered this state a few minutes ago."

[Hello Purvis]

> Gesture to Satori.
> "It's her. It's a bit of an emergency, she just entered this state a few minutes ago."

>"Well, um..." says the rabbit, frowning and definitely wringing her hands. "It's just...kinda, um, we're not supposed to let anyone in."
>"Can I open my eyes yet?" says the kasha.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "Yes dear, you may."
> Turn bacck to the rabbit.
> "I can wait here if need be. I suspect Doctor Yagokoro will at least be mildly curious as to why I've brought the Komeiji matriarch to her doorstep in a catatonic state, enough so to grant me an audience."

[Hello Purvis]

> "Yes dear, you may."
> Turn bacck to the rabbit.
> "I can wait here if need be. I suspect Doctor Yagokoro will at least be mildly curious as to why I've brought the Komeiji matriarch to her doorstep in a catatonic state, enough so to grant me an audience."

>"Okay!" says the rabbit, darting off and through the doors.
>You prepare yourself to wait, when the rabbit reappears a few seconds later, looking rather sheepish, followed by the doctor herself. "I suspected you were around," Eirin says as the rabbit scurries away, grabbing her brush and moving some distance down the wall.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "Oh, you're just saying that to be nice."

[Hello Purvis]

> "Oh, you're just saying that to be nice."

>"Quite," says Eirin, as she looks at the motionless satori in the Kasha's arms. "I expect that would be your work?"

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Shake head.
> "Near as I can tell, she did it to herself."

[Hello Purvis]

> Shake head.
> "Near as I can tell, she did it to herself."

>She waves you for to follow her inside, saying, "Can you tell me what she did, exactly?"

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Follow.
> "An intrusive scan, at my request. Things seemed to be going fine until she went completely motionless after a few minutes. Now she's that."

[Hello Purvis]

> Follow.
> "An intrusive scan, at my request. Things seemed to be going fine until she went completely motionless after a few minutes. Now she's that."

>Eirin leads you into the somewhat familiar halls of Eientei. It's been awhile, but you remember the elaborately painted paper walls and clean wooden floors well. It makes you think of a slightly less tasteful Hakugyokurou, in many ways. You can hear subdued activity through many of the open paper doors.
>"And nothing else unusual happened?" says Eirin.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "If it did, it escaped my notice."

[Hello Purvis]

> "If it did, it escaped my notice."

>"Hmm," she says, "That's not very helpful. I assume you weren't doing anything strange while she was trying to read your mind?"
>She turns into one open doorway as she finishes that question.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "Never."

[Hello Purvis]

> "Never."

>You follow her into a large room with shelves laden with various flasks and alchemical equipment, as well as large herb chests with dozens of drawers each. Several futons are laid out on the floor near an open window; she gestures toward one and says, "Lay her there."
>As the kasha moves to do so, Eirin gathers up a few tools from a counter and says, "You've not given me much to work from, so I will need awhile to do some examinations. Will you want to remain here for them? If not, I'll tell the rabbits to let you back in at your convenience."
>"I'll stay," says the kasha.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "I have business to take care of, so I must depart. Not to sound cold, but I am in a bit of a time crunch, and I am now down a lead."

[Hello Purvis]

> "I have business to take care of, so I must depart. Not to sound cold, but I am in a bit of a time crunch, and I am now down a lead."

>Eirin gives a nod as she approaches Satori. "Well, I imagine you'll just come back in here, so I won't bother the rabbits."

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Do we know where we could find Nagae's pet poltergeist these days?
> "Of course."

[Hello Purvis]

> Do we know where we could find Nagae's pet poltergeist these days?
> "Of course."

>She tends to hang around the jewelry store in human town. Otherwise she likes to lurk in the Forest of Magic. You don't think she normally goes outside of those places unless someone makes her.
>Eirin says nothing, and begins to feel for Satori's pulse.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Open a gap to the jewelry store in the human village and step on through.

[Hello Purvis]

> Open a gap to the jewelry store in the human village and step on through.

>You open a gap to the jewelry store and step through.
>You emerge in the middle of a modest room with old wooden floors and walls. Wooden stands and tables line the walls, covered with silk and bearing ornaments that glitter in the morning light which streams though the windows. A poster on the wall bears caricatures of Reimu and Marisa, reminding people that it is a bad idea to try and rob the place.  Oppose of the door, you see a counter and several benches, as well as the familiar blue-coated form of the poltergeist in question, presently leaping to her feet. She wears a porcelain noh mask depicting an oni which obscures her face, save for her short shock-white hair. Her coat bears some elaborate brocading along its seams, and conceals the simple white blouse and trousers she wears underneath.
>"Wha-?" she exclaims, her voice betraying emotions that her mask conceals.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Frown.
> "Hmm, not quite where I meant to land. Sorry for the shock, dearie."

[Hello Purvis]

> Frown.
> "Hmm, not quite where I meant to land. Sorry for the shock, dearie."

>There is a moment of silence before she says, "Alright. Well, you can look around at your leisure. If you need to know something about any of the pieces here, just ask me and I'll tell you what you want."

>_