Maribel Quest More - A Z-Machine Adventure

[Hello Purvis]

>"Well, treasure or no treasure, I'm sure we can find something to do around here that would keep us fed."
>"And yeah, it does, doesn't it? Pretty random collection of merchandise inside, too. Boringly normal stuff, and exotic magical stuff. ...sometimes hard to tell which is which, to be honest. Anyway, let's go inside."
>Go inside

>Renko nods. "Yeah. But I don't wanna have to walk underground for every meal. And some furniture would be nice."
>You head inside. As you open the door, you find Rinnosuke only a few steps from it. "Ah, you're just in time," he says. "The store will be closing in approximately ten seconds. Do come in."

>_

[DracoOmega]

>Step inside
>"Does that mean we only have ten seconds to get what we came for?"

[Hello Purvis]

>Step inside
>"Does that mean we only have ten seconds to get what we came for?"

>You step inside.
>"Given you've been a rather good customer today, I feel inclined to allow you more time," says Rinnosuke. "Do try not to tarry."
>The store contains
>Broken Sword Handle
>Iron Key
>Jeweled Box
>Introductory Nuclear Physics by Kenneth S. Krane.
>Nightlife (Extended)
>Bar of Baker's Chocolate
>Bottle of Wine
>Lacquered Chopsticks
>The Histories by Herodotus
>Stick of Insect Incense
>Bag of Birdseed
>Green Glass Rod
>Purple Ball
>Large Pillow
>Clear Crystal
>Deck of Cards
>French Horn
>Loaf of Wheat Bread
>Bottle of Soft Light
>Bonsai Tree
>3 Caramels
>Turtle Statue
>Vial of Sand Grains
>Large Ball of Yarn
>Stethoscope
>Pocket Clay Sculpting Set
>Bottle of Ethanol
>Asha Figurine
>Silver Necklace
>Bottle of Irritated Bull Sake
>Stuffed Platypus
>Can of Alphabet Soup
>Bag of Glittering Powder
>Jar of Corn Kernels

>_

[DracoOmega]

>"I'm interested in the Bottle of Soft Light. What would you accept for it?"

[Hello Purvis]

>"I'm interested in the Bottle of Soft Light. What would you accept for it?"

>He considers your belongings for a moment, while Renko looks around at the various items in the story.
>"I would be willing to let you have it for the Star Armlet, or the Spellcard, or the Silver Rabbit Figurine and the Silk Flower."

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Review assessment of how Renko and ourselves would look wearing the Star Armlet, both in our current outfits and in our normal outfits.

[Hello Purvis]

> Review assessment of how Renko and ourselves would look wearing the Star Armlet, both in our current outfits and in our normal outfits.

>You typically do not wear short sleeves, so without some alteration to your sense of fashion, it would be wasted on you. Renko used to not wear them either, until she favored this sun dress. Now it would simply class with the riot of colors.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

Anyone have any objection to dumping the Star Amulet? I would rather not hawk the Spellcard or the Rabbit Figurine.

[DracoOmega]

I have no objections whatsoever. I'm kind of sentimentally attached to the spellcard, given its history, too.

[UncertainJakutten]

Star armlet sounds fine to give. Especially since it was supposed to be a gift for Renko, and we're trading for...a gift for Renko.

[Kilgamayan]

> Trade the Star Armlet for the Bottle of Soft Light

[Hello Purvis]

> Trade the Star Armlet for the Bottle of Soft Light

>You hand over the Star Armlet to Rinnosuke. "Thank you very much," he says.
>You obtain: Bottle of Soft Light.
>"Where are you getting all this jewelry?" Renko asks.

>_

[DracoOmega]

>"Same place, actually. I helped them with a rat problem. I got a discount."
>"Thanks again!"
>Leave the shop

[Hello Purvis]

>"Same place, actually. I helped them with a rat problem. I got a discount."
>"Thanks again!"
>Leave the shop

>"Huh," says Renko.
>"You are welcome," says Rinnosuke, "May you have the most pleasant evening."
>"Wait!" Renko says, putting a hand on your arm then looking toward Rinnosuke, "How does this work?"
>"You extract the light using whatever method you'd prefer," the merchant says.
>"And if the bottle breaks?"
>"About the same thing as if you broke a bottle of milk."
>She grins. "Now we can leave."

>_

[DracoOmega]

>Nod
>"Have a pleasant evening as well."
>Exit the store

[E-Nazrin]

To be fair, what the SDM's residents wanted was to have the fairy maids back - if it means after getting beaten up by them for respect in order to satisfy Renko, then in a roundabout way they still get what they want. Just not the way they anticipated it.

... should we give her the potion, as well, or save that for ourselves to intervene if things get out of hand?

I'm also inclined to bail Renko out if either the SDM or Alice get unreasonable with her. But.

[DracoOmega]

I've been debating about the potion. It would be nice to have a trump card left for ourselves, which we might well need. Although it seems like it would also be a good anti-Sakuya tool. She'd need precise limb control more than the other combatants probably would. ...to be honest, I also feel kinda bad giving it to Renko to use on her, since it seems like it would be downright unpleasant thing to do to someone unless absolutely necessary. So I'm still torn.

And yes, I think we're going to be the neutral observer. If things get out of hand, we do what we can.

[Hello Purvis]

>Nod
>"Have a pleasant evening as well."
>Exit the store

>You nod, and make your way out of the store. Rinnosuke follows you long enough to remove the sign from the door.
>"So, what now?" asks Renko.

>_

[DracoOmega]

>"Well, I think the only big thing left on my to-do list for the day at this point might be Byakuren. I've gathered all the materials she said were required."
>"What about you? Any plans other than taking it easy, and resting up for the big day tomorrow?"

[communist unity (comm-unity)]

Yeah, giving it to Renko would be nice, but I suspect time magic probably gives I LOVE BEING STRONG!Maribel an edge over I LOVE BEING STRONG!Renko too, so we'd be able to match Sakuya/Alice/Remi better.

Alternatively to standing by until shit goes down, we help Renko fight the SDM from the start. I'm pretty sure that would count as "going back on our word", though.

[DracoOmega]

It definitely counts as going back on our word. We said we'd try to put a stop to this, and we did. We even managed to avert the most negative aspects of this whole plan. At this point, we're just there to make sure nothing else goes terribly wrong.

[Suwako Moriya]

At work, can't do much, but would suggest offering Renko the ring before we split up for the day.
 
I want the first enhancement for us, because we'll be the only line of defense if a fresh Alice comes calling.

Also worth mentioning the idea of teaching a non-science at the university.

[Hello Purvis]

>"Well, I think the only big thing left on my to-do list for the day at this point might be Byakuren. I've gathered all the materials she said were required."
>"What about you? Any plans other than taking it easy, and resting up for the big day tomorrow?"

>She nods. "You've pretty much summed up my plans."

[E-Nazrin]

>Make out
>"Hm, there was another girl at the mansion, I think... she sounds really dangerous, but the others didn't want her to fight. Do you know about her?"

How comfortable are we with getting a ghost from the graveyard, at this point? I wouldn't have felt too guilty about trapping one of those aggressive ones from the abandoned house, but if most of them are still benign and sentient...

Would it be completely insane to ask Youmu if some of the spirits would be willing to hang out in occupied homes during the summer to help keep things cool? Not forced, but requested? Some ghosts might want to get out some. That'd probably interfere with things too much for her to consider it, but it'd be an easy solution to the actual heat problem.
---
And yeah, agreeing that openly and directly helping Renko would be a little much as long as the SDM is being reasonable. If they try to enslave Renko, threaten her with Flandre-kyuuing, try to kidnap Mary for emotional blackmail, or something else stupid like that, THEN we're justified, but as it stands we do owe it to them not to completely stab them in the back.

I didn't mention it, but I personally consider Mary's observation role to include keeping an eye on Renko - if she goes off the deep end like Utsuho, then we're best qualified to gently bring her back into line.
---
Also, am I remembering wrong, or did Sakuya basically threaten to kill us if we told anyone how her ability works?

[DracoOmega]

Sakuya said that her own ability was well known, but that we couldn't reveal that OURS worked that way. So, telling her what it looks like inside would kinda count, because how could we have seen it otherwise? She didn't directly imply what she'd do, but I really, really don't think we should test that theory.

And I'm opposed to helping capture a ghost at this point (unless we bump into another seriously hostile one, maybe). Can't really justify keeping something sentient in a bottle so that it can cool a home down. As for asking if they'd just hang out, anyway, I have no idea. Can ghosts even leave Hakugyukurou once they're there? And would any want to?

[Hello Purvis]

>Make out
>"Hm, there was another girl at the mansion, I think... she sounds really dangerous, but the others didn't want her to fight. Do you know about her?"

>She'd probably be down with that.
>"Oh, Flandre?" says Renko. "Yeah, the maids told me all about her. But they also told me their top priority was to make sure she never got involved with things like this. If she does get involved, honestly, I doubt the army would hold together. I don't even think I'd try for it. Back when I had Alice for support, I would have. That's why I was counting on that secret weapon of hers."

>_

[E-Nazrin]

>Nod.
>"That sounds about right. And what I'd want you to do. I don't think I want to see her try to 'break' you, especially among the confusion of all the fairies that she apparently can 'break' without too much consequence..."
>Perhaps warning the SDM so that they keep Flandre out of the way themselves is a good thing in the end...
>Wonder how late we can afford to stall before visiting Byakuren. Helping Renko with that relaxation bit for a while might be nice.

[DracoOmega]

>Perhaps warning the SDM so that they keep Flandre out of the way themselves is a good thing in the end...

We already essentially did this. It was mentioned to Sakuya, and she made it clear Flandre would not be involved. We can't TELL Renko we know this, of course.

[Hello Purvis]

>Nod.
>"That sounds about right. And what I'd want you to do. I don't think I want to see her try to 'break' you, especially among the confusion of all the fairies that she apparently can 'break' without too much consequence..."
>Perhaps warning the SDM so that they keep Flandre out of the way themselves is a good thing in the end...
>Wonder how late we can afford to stall before visiting Byakuren. Helping Renko with that relaxation bit for a while might be nice.

>"Yeah, I wouldn't try for it unless I was sure I could do it. And, I don't foresee that kind of assuredness happening.
>You did warn them, hopefully they have considered that part as well.
>It's early evening yet. You could probably stall a little while longer before you became annoyingly late.

>_

[E-Nazrin]

We already essentially did this. It was mentioned to Sakuya, and she made it clear Flandre would not be involved. We can't TELL Renko we know this, of course.

More a note of self-comfort that it should also help Renko, in a roundabout way. Actually...

>"Wait - whose top priority was it that Flandre stay out of trouble? The mansion's, or you guys for the attack?"