Maribel Quest Latterly - A Z-Machine Adventure

[E-Nazrin]

>"Team? What're you guys playing?"

>Go with the flow.
>"Awesome. What's the game today?"

[Hello Purvis]

>Go with the flow.
>"Awesome. What's the game today?"

>"Team tag!" says the faerie who claimed you. "And you got all kinds of reach, so you're gonna be awesome!"

>_

[E-Nazrin]

>"Sweet! I dunno how long I can play though, I got some stuff to deliver later. Actually, I better make sure that doesn't spill."
>Zip up the bag.
>"And now..."
>Go after the fairy that said you weren't fair! See if she is correct.

[Hello Purvis]

>"Sweet! I dunno how long I can play though, I got some stuff to deliver later. Actually, I better make sure that doesn't spill."
>Zip up the bag.
>"And now..."
>Go after the fairy that said you weren't fair! See if she is correct.

>"Then we'll have to win quick!" says the faerie who claimed you.
>You zip up the bag, then go for the one who said you weren't fair!  She sees you coming, and quickly zips out of the way. The rest of the faeries burst into motion and it quickly becomes bedlam around you!
>You will need a strategy for this, if you don't intend to drag down your team.

>_

[DracoOmega]

>Judging by who's moving which way, do we even have any idea who's on our team?

[Hello Purvis]

>Judging by who's moving which way, do we even have any idea who's on our team?

>You quickly realize you have no idea who is on your team.
>This quickly proves not to be as crippling of a disadvantage as it sounds like, as the faeries apparently don't know, either. At least from the arguments that quickly break out suggest it.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Quickly scan for any fairies that are in really heated arguments, and beeline for one that doesn't have you in their line of vision. Make sure we don't go after the one that picked us, since we know we're on her team.

[Hello Purvis]

> Quickly scan for any fairies that are in really heated arguments, and beeline for one that doesn't have you in their line of vision. Make sure we don't go after the one that picked us, since we know we're on her team.

>This doesn't take long to find, and you quickly begin to take advantage of arguments to tag whoever isn't looking, getting several points to your name.
>Unfortunately, you also find the faeries are perfectly happy to use your size to their advantage, hiding in your blind spots and poking you in the back and the like.

>_

[DracoOmega]

>Oh well, it's good clean fun, at least
>Keep it up, and see if we can be a little more evasive of any incoming faeries, since it's probably safer to assume that none of them are on our team

[Hello Purvis]

>Oh well, it's good clean fun, at least
>Keep it up, and see if we can be a little more evasive of any incoming faeries, since it's probably safer to assume that none of them are on our team

>Indeed!
>You keep it up, trying to be more evasive. You also decide to presume no one is on your team.
>Time passes. You find you have one advantage; the faeries tend to know what team your own, so about a third of them don't bother you (the remainder seem confused as to what team they're on.) You also quickly learn how to roll and cover your blind spots better, which lets you deal with a few opportunistic faeries. You lose count of how many times you were tagged and how many you tag, but you also cease to care. It's just fun to loop and fly around and twist in midair. There is a moment when you pull a twist to cover your back, and accidentally whack a faerie with your messenger bag (this doesn't count as a tag, you learn), and another when a faerie accidentally slams into your behind headfirst (which did count as a tag. But overall, things go well.
> After twenty minutes or so, the faeries seem content to argue over who won, and descend to the northern shore.
>You feel significantly more confident in your aerial maneuverability!

>_

[Janitor Morgan]

> Wait, we whacked one with the bag?
> Check bag's contents for damage after we land

[DracoOmega]

>Follow them down
>"Well, that was a lot of fun, guys! I'm glad you let me play with you."

[Hello Purvis]

> Wait, we whacked one with the bag?
> Check bag's contents for damage after we land

>You sure did!
>You check the contents, and don't see any obvious damage.

>Follow them down
>"Well, that was a lot of fun, guys! I'm glad you let me play with you."

>You follow them to the north bank.
>"You're only saying that because you won!" says one tiny faerie, not quite a foot tall.
>"No she didn't!" says another. And then most of the group falls into bickering again. A few on the sidelines seem to be content to talk among themselves.

>_

[DracoOmega]

>Go talk to some of the calm ones
>"Hey, I don't suppose you heard about all the maids that ran away from the mansion?"

[E-Nazrin]

>Go talk to some of the calm ones
>"Hey, I don't suppose you heard about all the maids that ran away from the mansion?"

>Careful.
>"Hey, what's up?"

[Hello Purvis]

>Go talk to some of the calm ones
>"Hey, I don't suppose you heard about all the maids that ran away from the mansion?"

>You approach a calm faerie, a three foot tall one in a frilly seafoam dress wearing a bonnet.
>She frowns as you ask her about the maids. "The maids ran away?!" she says. "This is very serious!" She then crosses her arms and scowls. "Proceed. I am ready."

>_

[DracoOmega]

>"I was just wondering if anyone here knew where they went, or why? Or maybe you know someone I could ask? The other maids are all overworked, now that so many left all at once. It's kinda mean of them, isn't it?"

[Hello Purvis]

>"I was just wondering if anyone here knew where they went, or why? Or maybe you know someone I could ask? The other maids are all overworked, now that so many left all at once. It's kinda mean of them, isn't it?"

>She nods, continuing to scowl at nothing. "This is a serious problem. Maybe you could ask Lemon Drop? She knows everything."

>_

[DracoOmega]

>"Where is Lemon Drop? Is she here?"

[Hello Purvis]

>"Where is Lemon Drop? Is she here?"

>Her brow furrows and her scowl deepens. "I do not know where to find Lemon Drop. She lives in a bush somewhere."

>_

[E-Nazrin]

>"D'ya know if her bush is near anything else big?"

[DracoOmega]

>"Do you think anyone else here might know where she is?"

[Kilgamayan]

> "Oh dear, that is a problem. Well, what about Daiyousei? I heard about her from the mansion people. I hear she's important - would she know?"

[Hello Purvis]

>"D'ya know if her bush is near anything else big?"

>"There's trees..." She says, furrowing her brow deeply enough you wonder if she'll give herself a headache.

>"Do you think anyone else here might know where she is?"

>"Hey," she cries suddenly, "Any of you guys know where Lemon Drop is?"
>"No!"
>"Who?"
>"You weren't on my team!"
>"Anyone have any apples?"
>She gives you a shrug.

> "Oh dear, that is a problem. Well, what about Daiyousei? I heard about her from the mansion people. I hear she's important - would she know?"

>"I'm not supposed to talk about Daiyousei," she says.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Rule #1 of Fairy Club: Don't talk about Fairy Club.
> "Really? Why not?"

[Hello Purvis]

> Rule #1 of Fairy Club: Don't talk about Fairy Club.
> "Really? Why not?"

>You feel kind of ashamed of yourself to thinking this. Is this what Patchouli meant when she mentioned difficulty with instincts?
>"She said so," the faerie scowls again.
>"Wait!" says one of the faeries. "Lemon Drop? She was the big boss, right?"

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> To first fairy: "Do you know why she said so?"
> To second fairy: "She sounds like it, yes."

[Hello Purvis]

> To first fairy: "Do you know why she said so?"
> To second fairy: "She sounds like it, yes."

>The first faerie gives a deep, "Hmmmmm," then says, "Probably because Dai doesn't want people to know."
>"Oh, I remember her!" says the second faerie, a slender ginger-haired one. "She lives in the tea bush near the old stone bridge."

>_

[DracoOmega]

>"Where's the bridge?"

[E-Nazrin]

>"Where's the bridge?"

>That's probably Parsee's bridge. Let's change the topic, quickly.
>"Oh. That's a good reason."
>"Hey, you know what a bellows is?"