Yukari Quest V - A Z-Machine Adventure

[Hello Purvis]

> "By more illusions?"

>"Doesn't even need to be more illusions," says Maribel. "Just a part of the one that made it seem like you were going anywhere, if this is right."

>_

[Mr. Sacchi]

> Have we or Ran had dealings with other fox youkai in the past? Particularly grudges or anything of the sort.

[Hello Purvis]

> Have we or Ran had dealings with other fox youkai in the past? Particularly grudges or anything of the sort.

>Quite a few over the ages. Typically they weren't able to achieve much against you, though.

>_

[Mr. Sacchi]

> Besides fox youkai, do we know of anyone capable of making illusions? Especially if they held grudges before. Think even of the people who we think could not have pulled off an illusion of this magnitude.

[Hello Purvis]

> Besides fox youkai, do we know of anyone capable of making illusions? Especially if they held grudges before. Think even of the people who we think could not have pulled off an illusion of this magnitude.

>You've known a number of illusionists, but they are mostly dead or sealed away now. Offhand, you're not sure if anyone you know who is still around or active that can pull that kind of thing off. Certainly not anyone with a grudge that you know about.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Frown.
> "This is most troublesome, to consider that something has the ability to create such an elaborate fake. Particularly given how mindlessly that one sorry excuse for a gap back in the wasteland was created...we may be dealing with more than one perpetrator."

[Hello Purvis]

> Frown.
> "This is most troublesome, to consider that something has the ability to create such an elaborate fake. Particularly given how mindlessly that one sorry excuse for a gap back in the wasteland was created...we may be dealing with more than one perpetrator."

>"I wouldn't know," says Maribel.
>You are drawing close to the front steps of the central temple now.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "It even successfully faked my shikigami connection with Ran. I'm not sure I like what that being an illusion implies."

[O4rfish]

You know, the fake gensokyo could just be an imperfect copy of Yukari's memories created by a thing rather than a person. This could perhaps explain why Satori blue-screened rather than improvised.

>"However, since none of the illusions were able to travel through the gap to the adjacent world, I feel confident that who or whatever designed the fake Gensokyo is not also responsible for these other worlds, or for bringing us here. "

[Hello Purvis]

>"However, since none of the illusions were able to travel through the gap to the adjacent world, I feel confident that who or whatever designed the fake Gensokyo is not also responsible for these other worlds, or for bringing us here. "

>"I think that sounds reasonable," says Maribel. "Or at least the effect has a different cause."

> "It even successfully faked my shikigami connection with Ran. I'm not sure I like what that being an illusion implies."

>"Well, I can't say one thing or another about that," says Maribel. "I know practically nothing about shikigami..."

>_

[O4rfish]

The roots are part of the final boss: Saigouji Ayakashi. Actually ...

>What do we know about the Saigyouji Ayakashi tree?

[Kilgamayan]

> Now that we're up closer and personal, let's have a better look at this temple.

[Hello Purvis]

>What do we know about the Saigyouji Ayakashi tree?

>It is not an entity to be taken lightly. given that until it was sealed, few if any could resist its allure and would be lured into a peaceful but irresistible demise. It's rare that you turn against a youkai merely for being itself, but there was little to nothing good about that tree and you are not sorry to see it sealed.

> Now that we're up closer and personal, let's have a better look at this temple.

>As you approach the front steps of the temple, not that it is raised a couple yards over the rest of the structures by a stacked blocks of stone, weathered and no longer the straight angles they once were. Many of the columns rise proudly into the air, barely touched by the ages and holding the roof aloft. In other places, the pillars have fallen, but the roof still holds strong. However, while the roof hasn't fallen, looking upward reveals the occasional small hole in it. The floor is littered with debris, some of it from the columns, some of it from the roof, and some of it harder to identify. At a glance, you don't see anything like walls or doors, merely columns and the roof making a kind of outdoor structure. Looking into the structure, the pillars and such form a vast airy hall that stretches for some yards; the pillars making it difficult to see diagonally. Some distance ahead, the floor seems to descend downward into a lowered floor.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "Regardless, now that we're here, let's get back to the matter at hand."
> Make a sweeping gesture to indicate the temple with a soft smirk.
> "Is it everything you dreamed it would be?"

[Hello Purvis]

> "Regardless, now that we're here, let's get back to the matter at hand."
> Make a sweeping gesture to indicate the temple with a soft smirk.
> "Is it everything you dreamed it would be?"

>She looks into the structure and frowns. "I don't know... It's impressive, though. Wonder if there are any statues?"

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "We can find out the old-fashioned way."
> Head into the hall-ish area, aiming toward where the floor seems to descend.

[Hello Purvis]

> "We can find out the old-fashioned way."
> Head into the hall-ish area, aiming toward where the floor seems to descend.

>You head into the hall, walking between the rows of columns. Glancing around, you begin to take note of walls made of cut stone, places between the columns so that they would be difficult to see from outside unless approached straight on. At regular intervals, you note empty niches in the those walls, some that reach to the floor and others that are smaller and set like shelves. A few of the niches seem to serve as home to debris that has fallen haphazardly into them.
>Up ahead, you can see the the floor descends down a set of broad, shallow stairs that lead to a lowered area. This recess is free of columns, though it is still has its share of debris. The recess forms a square, many yards to each side, ringed by broad and shallow stairs. In the middles of this formation, you note a single white tile laid into the ground, barely a splash of white against the stone gray floor.

>_

[O4rfish]

>Examine white tile. Is it exactly in the middle?

[Hello Purvis]

>Examine white tile. Is it exactly in the middle?

>It seems to be in the middle, yes. At a glance, you think it is made of marble. It's difficult to determine more at this distance.

>_

[Serela]

>Cautiously approach the white tile and then examine.

[Hello Purvis]

>Cautiously approach the white tile and then examine.

>You draw closer to the white tile, Maribel following behind you. Your footsteps echo more strongly here as you walk into the empty space, but otherwise nothing catches your eyes until you are within a couple yards of the tile. Around it, you can sense that the borders are significantly less unstable than the rest of this temple, as well as the presence of a gap that seems to be hovering just above the tile.

>_

[O4rfish]

>The borders are less unstable, but there's a gap?

[Hello Purvis]

>The borders are less unstable, but there's a gap?

>Yes.

>_

[O4rfish]

>Are they stable enough to calibrate instruments?

[Serela]

>Examine the gap. Is it usable?

[Hello Purvis]

>Are they stable enough to calibrate instruments?

>Unlikely, but it is remarkably calm. Taking a closer look at it, it seems to be about on par with what you've felt within the disembodied music.

>Examine the gap. Is it usable?

>The gap seems fairly stable. You will need to apply your pliers to draw some aspects of it together, perhaps, but it should be usable.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "Interesting. Amidst all of this chaos, we have a functional gap."
> Take out the Magnifying Lens and examine the gap.

[Hello Purvis]

> "Interesting. Amidst all of this chaos, we have a functional gap."
> Take out the Magnifying Lens and examine the gap.

>"Is there?" says Maribel. "It just all feels like a windstorm to me."
>You examine the gap more closely with your Magnifying Glass. Nothing seems especially unusual about it, it should be perfectly functional and work as you expect. The area around it seems to be holding onto its relative stability by a thread, so to speak. The chaotic borders around it are worrying away at it slowly, you doubt it will remain for more than a couple days. Likely, the borders will deteriorate outward as well, but that is harder to estimate with that large of a system. You imagine the whole place would need a miracle to go more than a month before all of its borders degenerate into this state.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "It is difficult to notice, and it will need some work before it is ready for use, but it is here, yes. Of course, this assumes we want to use it at present. There is still plenty of temple left unexplored."

[Hello Purvis]

> "It is difficult to notice, and it will need some work before it is ready for use, but it is here, yes. Of course, this assumes we want to use it at present. There is still plenty of temple left unexplored."

>"I'll go with your instincts on that," says Maribel.

>_