Sword Quest X - A Z-Machine Adventure

[Kilgamayan]

> "And there is the noble in question, where I left her earlier."
> Make our way back over to Meira, not moving too quickly so as to allow for avoiding any errant petals.

[Hello Purvis]

> "And there is the noble in question, where I left her earlier."
> Make our way back over to Meira, not moving too quickly so as to allow for avoiding any errant petals.

>"Ah, I see," says Tojiko.
>You head for Meira, stopping once to allow some petals to blow past. Taking a closer look, she has picked up a few more superficial cuts.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Let go of the umbrella and offer the now-free hand to Tojiko.
> "May I assume you would prefer an exit more dignified than your entrance?"

[Hello Purvis]

> Let go of the umbrella and offer the now-free hand to Tojiko.
> "May I assume you would prefer an exit more dignified than your entrance?"

>You let go of the umbrella, and it floats by your side.
>"Yes," says Tojiko, who has no hands free to take it.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Reach into the bag carefully, find Tojiko's hand, and gently pull her out.

[Hello Purvis]

> Reach into the bag carefully, find Tojiko's hand, and gently pull her out.

>You withdraw Tojiko from the bag. She floats away and straightens her dress, trying to salvage some kind of dignity.
>"What are we going to do now?" she says, as she straightens her hat.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Float on over to Meira.
> "I wish to conduct a quick experiment, before we return to the issue of the tree."
> Grab Meira and stuff her into the bag.

[Hello Purvis]

> Float on over to Meira.
> "I wish to conduct a quick experiment, before we return to the issue of the tree."
> Grab Meira and stuff her into the bag.

>You place Meira in the bag.
>"I see," says Tojiko, looking out toward the storm again.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Well damn. We should have just done that to begin with.
> Does Tojiko know the same fire-conjuring charm that we know?

> "Oho! This is fortuitous. Now I no longer need to worry about leaving this woman behind alone while she is unconscious."
> Pull out a green umbrella that matches the shade of Tojiko's dress and hand it to Tojiko.
> "Here, please take this. The petals are dangerous to the touch, as you may have gleaned from the number of cuts on my body. These umbrellas may not be perfect shields, but they serve fairly well in providing shelter from the storm. As long as you keep your wits about you, you should be safe, and will no longer need this sack for protection."

[Hello Purvis]

> Well damn. We should have just done that to begin with.
> Does Tojiko know the same fire-conjuring charm that we know?

> "Oho! This is fortuitous. Now I no longer need to worry about leaving this woman behind alone while she is unconscious."
> Pull out a green umbrella that matches the shade of Tojiko's dress and hand it to Tojiko.
> "Here, please take this. The petals are dangerous to the touch, as you may have gleaned from the number of cuts on my body. These umbrellas may not be perfect shields, but they serve fairly well in providing shelter from the storm. As long as you keep your wits about you, you should be safe, and will no longer need this sack for protection."

>So it seems.
>You don't know actually.
>You produce an umbrella for Tojiko. She takes it, clearly a little confused by what just happened.  "Alright..." she says. "I confess I still only vaguely understand what is happening, or why. You are trying to set fire to that tree for some reason, yes?"

[Kilgamayan]

Mmm, gonna try something else now. A shame we are sleeveless and seemingly pocketless, since it limits options.

> Nod.
> "This tree you see here is a manifestation of the stolen Netherworld tree's life force. It is currently resisting my transfer ritual, and, in uprooting itself, is trying to break free from the ritual entirely and let itself loose upon the land. It seems I will need to subdue it before it succeeds in this, because this life force is a tremendous danger that must be safely confined. As I am not a woodworker, however, it seems to me that setting it on fire stands a decent chance of suppressing it."
> While speaking, try to conjure another two fire charm talismans in our hands, without reaching into the bag. If (and only if) that does not work, once we are done speaking, try pulling two fire charm talismans out of our mouth.

[Hello Purvis]

> Nod.
> "This tree you see here is a manifestation of the stolen Netherworld tree's life force. It is currently resisting my transfer ritual, and, in uprooting itself, is trying to break free from the ritual entirely and let itself loose upon the land. It seems I will need to subdue it before it succeeds in this, because this life force is a tremendous danger that must be safely confined. As I am not a woodworker, however, it seems to me that setting it on fire stands a decent chance of suppressing it."
> While speaking, try to conjure another two fire charm talismans in our hands, without reaching into the bag. If (and only if) that does not work, once we are done speaking, try pulling two fire charm talismans out of our mouth.

>"I see," says Tojiko, who doesn't seem to react as you conjure a pair of talismans into your hand.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "Hmm. Here."
> Hand the talismans over to Tojiko.
> "Do you happen to know this particular charm?"
> Tightly roll up and fold our bag so it becomes much easier to store, then stuff it down the front of our blouse to get it out of the way.

[Hello Purvis]

> "Hmm. Here."
> Hand the talismans over to Tojiko.
> "Do you happen to know this particular charm?"
> Tightly roll up and fold our bag so it becomes much easier to store, then stuff it down the front of our blouse to get it out of the way.

>You roll up your bag as Tojiko looks them over, then tuck it away.
>She shakes her head. "I am sorry, Crown Prince," she says.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Nod.
> "Very well. Here, let me have those back, and take this instead."
> Conjure up another machete in our hands, and then carefully hand it over to Tojiko, while retrieving our talismans from her.

[Hello Purvis]

> Nod.
> "Very well. Here, let me have those back, and take this instead."
> Conjure up another machete in our hands, and then carefully hand it over to Tojiko, while retrieving our talismans from her.

>You give Tojiko a machete that you've conjured and take back your talismans. "Okay..." she says, looking at the tool with obvious confusion.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "We will be ascending into the branches again in a moment. I will be burning as many as I can. To help me with this task, you can use that to cut away branches that impede our ascent, or any that are not on fire as we pass. This will make our passage easier while further harming the tree."
> Frown.
> "Though the machete may perhaps be awkward to wield with the umbrella in one hand...may I try another experiment with you, dear?"

[Hello Purvis]

> "We will be ascending into the branches again in a moment. I will be burning as many as I can. To help me with this task, you can use that to cut away branches that impede our ascent, or any that are not on fire as we pass. This will make our passage easier while further harming the tree."
> Frown.
> "Though the machete may perhaps be awkward to wield with the umbrella in one hand...may I try another experiment with you, dear?"

>Tojiko frowns, then nods. "Against my better judgment, Crown Prince."

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Put on a sympathetic expression and soften our tone lightly.
> "If the experiment succeeds, but you do not feel comfortable with the results, I will reverse them and we shall continue on as we are. Is that fair?"

[Hello Purvis]

> Put on a sympathetic expression and soften our tone lightly.
> "If the experiment succeeds, but you do not feel comfortable with the results, I will reverse them and we shall continue on as we are. Is that fair?"

>She nods. "Just do what needs must," says Tojiko. "I'll bear with it."

>_

[Suwako Moriya]

> "Very well. Would you please hold your arms straight out to your left and right?"
> Assuming Tojiko does this, gently place our hands on the sides of her torso, one hand on each side, about an inch below the bottom of her armpits. Once this is done, pull our hands away from those spots and conjure a second set of functional arms for Tojiko, one each protruding from the spots on her sides where our hands were. They should come with sleeves that are a part of her dress, and be independent of her existing arms.

[Hello Purvis]

> "Very well. Would you please hold your arms straight out to your left and right?"
> Assuming Tojiko does this, gently place our hands on the sides of her torso, one hand on each side, about an inch below the bottom of her armpits. Once this is done, pull our hands away from those spots and conjure a second set of functional arms for Tojiko, one each protruding from the spots on her sides where our hands were. They should come with sleeves that are a part of her dress, and be independent of her existing arms.

>You produce an extra set of arms for Tojiko. You've never seen her make that expression before, to say the least, but it is somewhere between curious, mortified, and confused. It is a challenge not to laugh, honestly.
>"Crown Prince," she says, as she experimentally moves her new limbs, "Once this is over, you have a great deal of explaining to do, and you are not going to tell anyone about this."

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "Absolutely, my dear. I have the distinct feeling that no one will ever be able to see for themselves what has transpired here. Although I suppose I should not ask you to do something I was not willing to do myself..."
> Repeat the arm-conjuring process upon ourselves.

[Hello Purvis]

> "Absolutely, my dear. I have the distinct feeling that no one will ever be able to see for themselves what has transpired here. Although I suppose I should not ask you to do something I was not willing to do myself..."
> Repeat the arm-conjuring process upon ourselves.

>You do so, and the feeling is a very strange one indeed. But you come out with a functional pair of extra limbs. Tojiko crosses her lower set, while holding things in her upper set, then she glances down at the gesture and frowns.
>"So, what now?"

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Move our new arms and hands around for a few moments, to test them out.
> "Now we commence our journey back upward, into the branches of this infernal tree, and bring flame and blade to whatever is not already burning."

[Hello Purvis]

> Move our new arms and hands around for a few moments, to test them out.
> "Now we commence our journey back upward, into the branches of this infernal tree, and bring flame and blade to whatever is not already burning."

>You move them. They are...strange, to say the least, and you feel there is a high chance these will get in your way if you aren't careful.
>"And you would have me lead the way, Crown Prince?" she says.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Nod.
> "That would do splendidly. Use your umbrella as a shield from the falling petals, keeping watch for the occasional petal that passes through. Once we start reaching branches, you should cut away enough to allow us further upward passage, and I will follow behind, setting any remaining branches aflame."

[Hello Purvis]

> Nod.
> "That would do splendidly. Use your umbrella as a shield from the falling petals, keeping watch for the occasional petal that passes through. Once we start reaching branches, you should cut away enough to allow us further upward passage, and I will follow behind, setting any remaining branches aflame."

>She nods, then glances around. "Where shall we begin, then?"

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Take a look back toward where we most recently descended below the roots. How's the petal coverage over there?

[Hello Purvis]

> Take a look back toward where we most recently descended below the roots. How's the petal coverage over there?

>There are some wafting in, but it should be manageable.

>_