Maribel Quest Followthrough - A Z-Machine Adventure

[DracoOmega]

>"The evidence is circumstantial, but more than sufficient for me to be concerned. I've already spoken with Sakuya about this. But this is why I want to find her, so that I can either confirm or deny her involvement, or better still, put an end to it."

[Hello Purvis]

>She sighs, then puts down the quill. "Very well. I presume, then, you have some hair or skin of hers, or a precious object of hers that I can use to trace her?"

>_

[DracoOmega]

>"Um, no I don't. Remember, I don't know how any of this works, or if what I was asking about is even possible. I can try to get something, though."

[Hello Purvis]

>"Um, no I don't. Remember, I don't know how any of this works, or if what I was asking about is even possible. I can try to get something, though."

>"It's only logical," says Patchouli, picking up her quill again. "Let me know when you do."

>_

[DracoOmega]

>"Ok, thank you."
>Leave the mansion
>Ponder whether Patchouli expects rather too much understanding from someone who only learned magic exists this morning

[Hello Purvis]

>"Ok, thank you."
>Leave the mansion
>Ponder whether Patchouli expects rather too much understanding from someone who only learned magic exists this morning

>She nods, as you depart.
>You really hope she's expecting too much, you don't want to be too dim about these things...
>Leaving the Mansion, you find Meiling where you left her, but doing sit-ups now.

>_

[DracoOmega]

>Wave as we pass, and head back to the Moriya Shrine

[Hello Purvis]

>Wave as we pass, and head back to the Moriya Shrine

>You wave as you pass Meiling, who waves back, and begin the trip to the Moriya Shrine.
>Thankfully the faeries do not seem to be very active on your way out of the forest, and Shizuha doesn't come after you this time as you make your back up the mountain. Momiji doesn't hassle you this time on your way up the mountainside, and you land outside the tengu town without trouble. You notice the woman selling newspapers seems to have moved on. You come to the gates of the Moriya shrine, and find Sanae on the front porch, drinking something.

>_

[DracoOmega]

>"Hello, Sanae. Is Kanako around? I'm sorry to ask something of her again so soon, but something urgent has come up."

[Kilgamayan]

> "What's that you're drinking, by the way?"

[Hello Purvis]

>"Hello, Sanae. Is Kanako around? I'm sorry to ask something of her again so soon, but something urgent has come up."

>"Oh, she's inside. I don't think she'll mind if you come inside. I think she's in the sitting room, first door on your left."

> "What's that you're drinking, by the way?"

>"I found a packet of hot cocoa mix lurking in the cupboard while looking for the tea," she says, grinning. "While you're here, did you find your friend?"

>_

[DracoOmega]

>"I did, yes. I'm afraid it wasn't quite the reunion I expected. It's why I'm here, in fact. I think someone may have been messing with her head. I can tell you more later, but for the moment I think I may be short on time."
>Go into the sitting room as indicated

[Kilgamayan]

> Breaking News: I think we should refrain from directly accusing Koishi from this point forward, starting with Kanako. Finding her should still be a high priority, as she is likely to help us put the puzzle together, but I am no longer any sort of sure she's the mysterious benefactor.

[DracoOmega]

I don't think we've said to anyone that we have anything more than circumstantial evidence. But in the absence of any other obvious leads...

[Hello Purvis]

>"I did, yes. I'm afraid it wasn't quite the reunion I expected. It's why I'm here, in fact. I think someone may have been messing with her head. I can tell you more later, but for the moment I think I may be short on time."
>Go into the sitting room as indicated

>"Oh...well, alright," she says, as she scoots aside so you can get to the door more easily.
>You head inside, and find yourself in a hallway with wooden floors and plain paper walls. You can see the rafters above pretty plainly, but they only seem to add to the simple, understated effect of the building. There is a hall running along the side and several doors up ahead. You follow Sanae's directions and go through the first door on the left.
>You enter a simple sitting room. A few wall scrolls in pale ink offer a splash of color to the otherwise plain room. There is a shelf of books in the corner, and a low table in the middle of the room. Kanako sits there on a large and cushy-looking mat, reading the paper. It is a little hard to believe she is a goddess. She looks up at you and says, "Welcome back, Maribel."

>_

[Kilgamayan]

I don't think we've said to anyone that we have anything more than circumstantial evidence. But in the absence of any other obvious leads...

I think she's still important, and that we do want to meet her, but now I want to meet her to ask her for information, not to accuse her of messing with Renko. If we go around telling as many people as we can that we think she did it, she's less likely to want to help us.

Maribel might not be able to think of an alternate suspect like I have (even if that guess is wrong), but she has seen and heard enough to come to the conclusion that Koishi may not actually be responsible after all.

[DracoOmega]

Do you think it's wrong to voice our suspicions to Kanako, though? I can make it clear that we're not certain, just worried

[Kilgamayan]

I think we can get the info we want from Kanako without expressing suspicion of Koishi, or, at worst, saying that we initially suspected her but now we're not so sure.

[DracoOmega]

And the harm of expressing our worries to Kanako is...? She seems like she can be trusted not to spread it around. What other reason would we have to even ask her to do so on short notice?

[Kilgamayan]

It's not Kanako I'm worried about, it's Koishi. We don't know what she'll be able to read off of us.

I'm not sure I understand the nature of the question. If you're looking for a reason for Kanako to help, well, she was willing to offer up finding Renko for free.

[DracoOmega]

Well, as far as I see it, if Koishi can read us, she'll already know that we have suspected her, whether we changed our minds or not. So I think it's too late to avoid that bit, now. Because until we find out for certain, one way or the other, I'm pretty sure we'll still have doubts in our heart, etc.

Anyway, here's what I had typed. Feel free to object, if you wish.

>"Hello, again, Kanako."
>"I'm sorry to come seeking a favor again so soon, but something has come up that I'm very concerned about. I managed to locate my friend, and... well... she doesn't seem herself, in a number of ways. She's organizing a giant fairy army to take over the Scarlet Devil Mansion, and seems convinced that this is a perfectly normal sort of thing to do, just because it interests her at the moment. She won't really listen to me."
>"I feel bad about suggesting this, considering that I have no proof, but... I'm concerned that Koshi may be involved with her, somehow. It's extremely circumstantial, but... you said that you spotted her in a very similar location earlier this morning, Renko spoke about a mysterious youkai who's been working with her, but who doesn't want to be identified or described to anyone else. She said she was a bit paranoid, she was also familiar with Orin. And Renko really doesn't seem herself."
>"You said that you can sometimes find her, if you try. Would you be willing to try for me? I want to be able to confirm or deny her involvement, and try to stop all of this before it goes too far."

[Kilgamayan]

I wouldn't mind too much if Koishi reads us and finds out we did suspect her but have since started doubting that feeling.

What you've written should work. The one change I might make is "Koishi may be involved with her, or at least know something, somehow".

[Hello Purvis]

>"Hello, again, Kanako."
>"I'm sorry to come seeking a favor again so soon, but something has come up that I'm very concerned about. I managed to locate my friend, and... well... she doesn't seem herself, in a number of ways. She's organizing a giant fairy army to take over the Scarlet Devil Mansion, and seems convinced that this is a perfectly normal sort of thing to do, just because it interests her at the moment. She won't really listen to me."
>"I feel bad about suggesting this, considering that I have no proof, but... I'm concerned that Koshi may be involved with her, somehow. It's extremely circumstantial, but... you said that you spotted her in a very similar location earlier this morning, Renko spoke about a mysterious youkai who's been working with her, but who doesn't want to be identified or described to anyone else. She said she was a bit paranoid, she was also familiar with Orin. And Renko really doesn't seem herself."
>"You said that you can sometimes find her, if you try. Would you be willing to try for me? I want to be able to confirm or deny her involvement, and try to stop all of this before it goes too far."

>Kanako listens to you, nodding slightly from time to time. "So you would rather that I find Koishi now? Very well. I shall do that instead.."

>_

[Kasu]

> "Thank you so much.  Again, I'm sorry for having asked so much of you today."

[Hello Purvis]

> "Thank you so much.  Again, I'm sorry for having asked so much of you today."

>"It is nothing." she says. "Return this evening, and I will share what I've found."

>_

[DracoOmega]

>"I mean no presumption, but I'm concerned that their attack on the mansion will already have begun by the evening. I want to try to avert it before anyone gets hurt in the process."
>Around what time is it now, anyway?

[Kilgamayan]

> "On an unrelated note, I also have...an idea, a venture you may be interested in pursuing, concerning Sanae."
> "I talked to her for a little while earlier, and I learned about her love for jets. She talked about what she remembered in the dream, and how being a test pilot was a lot of fun. Now, given the kappa are in an inventing frenzy, I am wondering if it may be possible to make a jet here, in Gensokyo."

[Hello Purvis]

>"I mean no presumption, but I'm concerned that their attack on the mansion will already have begun by the evening. I want to try to avert it before anyone gets hurt in the process."
>Around what time is it now, anyway?

>"I would not worry so much about it," says Kanako.
>It's pretty firmly into midafternoon.

> "On an unrelated note, I also have...an idea, a venture you may be interested in pursuing, concerning Sanae."
> "I talked to her for a little while earlier, and I learned about her love for jets. She talked about what she remembered in the dream, and how being a test pilot was a lot of fun. Now, given the kappa are in an inventing frenzy, I am wondering if it may be possible to make a jet here, in Gensokyo."

>She chuckles. "So I see. Sanae would enjoy that. But, I've learned over time that it is a little difficult to get the kappa to design exactly what you want. That said, it's possible."

>_

[DracoOmega]

>"And why do you think I shouldn't worry about it? I have a friend of mine plotting to take over someone else's home just because it's there, and she may just have the resources to do it, too. There are hundreds of organized faeries, and some other mysterious youkai arranging for a secret weapon, whatever that means. It's... very disturbing to see someone you're so close to suddenly acting in a way that you can't understand, and can't condone."

[Hello Purvis]

>"And why do you think I shouldn't worry about it? I have a friend of mine plotting to take over someone else's home just because it's there, and she may just have the resources to do it, too. There are hundreds of organized faeries, and some other mysterious youkai arranging for a secret weapon, whatever that means. It's... very disturbing to see someone you're so close to suddenly acting in a way that you can't understand, and can't condone."

>She nods. "Perhaps you should say this to her?'"

>_