Yukari Quest IV - A Z-Machine Adventure

[Validon98]

So we can be sure that the roots have something to do with the unstable nature of some of the areas in whatever the hell place we've been exploring.
Also I have no objections to the color gap if that's the only safe gap to explore.

[Mr. Sacchi]

It's less about being the only safe option and more about being the only option. We can't even backtrack since Mary brute forced her way through one of the gaps we had to use to get here.

Now, I'm going to leave the actual part of telling Mary we need to go back to someone else, I'm pretty sure she's gonna ask about it and stuff and frankly I'm not exactly fit to wear the parenting hat.

However...

> Despite what we felt before, Mary is still human, right?
>> If so, could it be that the roots only affect youkai?

At first I thought the roots were gap-related, but since Mary can't feel anything from them, this is the only conclusion that I can draw.

[Hello Purvis]

> Despite what we felt before, Mary is still human, right?
>> If so, could it be that the roots only affect youkai?

>Maribel's humanity is threatened, but still intact.
>That could be a reason why you are affected by them and she is not.

>_

[Mr. Sacchi]

Or nobody could try and wear the parenting hat in my place, :V

> "Huh."
> Wait for Mary's obvious "what is it" or something along those lines.
> "I don't think we should try this one... There's something... Inherently wrong with it."
> Sigh
> "Guess that colorful space is our only option as far as gaps go."

Please feel free to belay this if you so wish. Please.

[Hello Purvis]

> "Huh."
> Wait for Mary's obvious "what is it" or something along those lines.
> "I don't think we should try this one... There's something... Inherently wrong with it."
> Sigh
> "Guess that colorful space is our only option as far as gaps go."

>Maribel reacts precisely as you expect: "What's are you "Huh"ing at?"
>Once you explain, she frowns. "That sounds different, what's wrong with it?"

>_

[Mr. Sacchi]

> "Too many things, so much that I can't really give an exact definition of what's wrong with it. I can only say that something is affecting it from the outside."
> Glance at the roots for a second.
> "I have encountered gaps affected by outside forces before, yes, but none quite like this. It's hard to even make out the slightest detail about it. What I can say though, is that it's giving me a really bad feeling."
> Look at her for a second and put on our characteristic grin, "And my intuition is never wrong."

Guys I have zero experience on being a father someone help.

[Hello Purvis]

> "Too many things, so much that I can't really give an exact definition of what's wrong with it. I can only say that something is affecting it from the outside."
> Glance at the roots for a second.
> "I have encountered gaps affected by outside forces before, yes, but none quite like this. It's hard to even make out the slightest detail about it. What I can say though, is that it's giving me a really bad feeling."
> Look at her for a second and put on our characteristic grin, "And my intuition is never wrong."

>She follows your eyes toward the roots, then seems to chuckle despite herself at your reassurance. Gallows humor is better than none, you suppose. "So, can it be fixed?" she says.

[Mr. Sacchi]

Alright, this is what I had in mind, I'm not really sure about it though, input from other players would be appreciated.

-"I suppose so... But considering that I can't make out much from it, fiddling with it wouldn't be the smartest idea, I would be going in pretty much blind, after all."
-Smile
-"Who knows, I might end up tearing it apart by mistake."

This sounds a bit off-character to me, though.

(And just to make this clear, this ain't a command purvis )

[Validon98]

An alternate way of saying it, I suppose (note this is not an action yet either):

-"It is possible, but since I cannot precisely make out the exact cause of the influence, it would essentially be like fixing a car engine with a blindfold on, with the added risk of harm to both of us."
-Laugh softly
-"Again, my intuition is never wrong. It would be better to make use of a gap that does not pose risks unlike this one. I have a good feeling that further investigation of the color-filled gap will be worth our time."

[Mr. Sacchi]

The last part would contradict the what we told her earlier about the color world though.

Anybody has any objections? Otherwise I'm inputting the command.

[Validon98]

I have no objections.

[Mr. Sacchi]

Then we might as well get this going!

> "It is possible, but since I cannot precisely make out the exact cause of the influence, it would essentially be like fixing a car engine with a blindfold on, with the added risk of harm to both of us."
> Laugh softly
> "Again, my intuition is never wrong. It would be better to make use of a gap that does not pose risks unlike this one. I believe that the color-world gap is our only option in that regard."

[Hello Purvis]

> "It is possible, but since I cannot precisely make out the exact cause of the influence, it would essentially be like fixing a car engine with a blindfold on, with the added risk of harm to both of us."
> Laugh softly
> "Again, my intuition is never wrong. It would be better to make use of a gap that does not pose risks unlike this one. I believe that the color-world gap is our only option in that regard."

>She nods. "That's fine, I thought there was more to find there, anyways. But, what do we do about that gap?"

>_

[Mr. Sacchi]

> Assuming she means the gap we're pretty much standing beside right now...
> "I believe it's best we leave it be. Unless something changes, I don't think it'll be safe to use it, or do anything with it.

[Hello Purvis]

> Assuming she means the gap we're pretty much standing beside right now...
> "I believe it's best we leave it be. Unless something changes, I don't think it'll be safe to use it, or do anything with it.

>She nods. "Alright."

>_

[Mr. Sacchi]

> Is it safe to create a gap here? If so, make one that takes us back to the color-world gap, and step through it.

[Hello Purvis]

> Is it safe to create a gap here? If so, make one that takes us back to the color-world gap, and step through it.

>It should be safe to make a gap here. Or at least it shouldn't be especially dangerous.
>"Hey," says Maribel as you open the gap, before giving a few dry coughs. She then points eastward. "Before we go, do you see that, or is it just me?"

>_

[Serela]

>"Hrm?"
>Look to where she's pointing.

[Hello Purvis]

>"Hrm?"
>Look to where she's pointing.

>You look in that direction, and only see more arches; one that's about twice as tall as you, and several nearby that you would have to duck under.
>"In the mountains," Maribel rasps.
>Looking further, you can see the mountains in the distance, though the arches do obscure them a bit. After a few moments, you think you can make out a shape among them, rather like a face.
>Now that you've noted it, the shape is quite clear. It is nestled among the mountains, only slightly dwarfed by the surrounding peaks. The shape of it is not quite human, having a round, bulbous kind of head and narrow eyes with slit-like nostrils. You can't make out much more from here. Despite being, you believe, some kind of sculpture it feels as though it is watching you in some manner.

>_

[Mr. Sacchi]

> Alright, that officially takes "weird" to a whole new level.

> Take a deep breath.

> "Will the wonders ever cease with this place..." Say this in a sarcastic tone.

> Briefly look at Mary, assess her condition.

> "You wanna check it out?"

[Hello Purvis]

> Alright, that officially takes "weird" to a whole new level.

> Take a deep breath.

> "Will the wonders ever cease with this place..." Say this in a sarcastic tone.

> Briefly look at Mary, assess her condition.

> "You wanna check it out?"

>You weren't expecting an edifice of that scale, certainly.
>You take a breath and marvel at the wonders. "It's better than more barren rock, I think," says Maribel.
>Looking over Maribel, she has clearly seen better days. Her nightgown is filthy, as is she. She doesn't seem to be particularly hurt than you can tell, and the affliction on her humanity doesn't seem to have noticeably worsened. You suspect she'd look a lot better with some water and perhaps some more rest.
>"I suppose we could," says Maribel.

>_

[Mr. Sacchi]

> Examine the mountain again, for a few seconds longer this time. Let's just hope it's not actually alive.

[Hello Purvis]

> Examine the mountain again, for a few seconds longer this time. Let's just hope it's not actually alive.

>You watch it for a few moments, and it doesn't seem to display any real signs of life. You suppose it could be very still.

>_

[Mr. Sacchi]

> Close that gap we had opened back to the color-world gap, and make another to get closer to the mountain.
> "I suppose it wouldn't hurt to take a closer look."
> Step through.

Also, gonna sleep and then I have school in like 2 hours, so if anybody wants to take command of this quest while I'm gone, feel free.

[Hello Purvis]

> Close that gap we had opened back to the color-world gap, and make another to get closer to the mountain.
> "I suppose it wouldn't hurt to take a closer look."
> Step through.

>"Alright," says Maribel. "I hope there's some water there."
>The face in the mountains seems to be some miles away. How much closer do you intend to get?

>_

[Yaersulf]

>200 or so meters away from it should be good.

[Hello Purvis]

>200 or so meters away from it should be good.

>You step through the gap with Maribel in tow.
>You emerge into a valley, surrounded by mountains. Your eyes are quickly drawn to a faint glow emanating from the ground. There, you see the ground is littered with hundreds of long thin shards of softly glowing rock. Some are haphazardly laying in messy piles, while others are scattered alone on in pairs. They vary in length, the shortest being about half along as long as you, while others  are nearly three times as tall. The shards softly illuminate the bare rock, and cast shadows all over the ground. Not far from where you appeared, you can see a wide circular dais of knee-high of rock some yards in diameter, its top flat and without any signs of cracks, just some markings.
>The valley is perhaps fifty yards across at it's widest point, ringed by mountains. Before you some two hundred yards is a sheer cliff face, extending upward to loom thousands of feet over you, its surface bare and smooth, rounding off gently at its peaks to make a kind of soft plateau. There other mountains to your sides equally steep, though only a few of them are quite as tall. Narrow valleys run between them, some climbing rather precipitously in height as the mountainsides come together significantly higher than the floor of this valley.
>Stepping out after you, Maribel pauses to stare at the glowing shards.

>_

[Serela]

>Investigate the dais.

[Hello Purvis]

>Investigate the dais.

>You walk over to the edge of the dais and peer over it. Its surface is smooth and level, without so much as a hint of warping. The sides are as rough as all the rest of the stone that you've seen here. Much of its surface is blank, save for some markings that are congregated in the western section.  The markings appear to be a number of straight lines, none of them the same length. At a glance, they are arranged to form a kind of irregular pentagon with an equally irregular trapezoid connected at one of the corners.  The fact that none of the lines are the same length reminds you of the shapes you've seen and drawn on astronomical charts. Aside from those markings, there is nothing to mar the surface of the dais.
>You note Mary moving toward one of the piles of glowing shards while you investigate the dais.

>_

[O4rfish]

>Does the pattern resemble any star chart we have made?