Maribel Quest Abridging - A Z-Machine Adventure

[communist unity (comm-unity)]

(worst case situation we could go down and try to get alice to run into flan, but that's probably a very terrible idea and we shouldn't do it)
(like "marisa, remi, sakuya, etc want our head on a plate terrible)

[Hello Purvis]

>Wait another moment
>If there is no further sign of activity, take out the floating stone and throw it at the door
>Wait a moment to see if there's any response

>You wait a little longer, then take the floating stone out.
>The door is below you. There is a staircase in the way.

>_

[DracoOmega]

>Move to where we can expect to hit it, and do so
>Duck back into cover right afterwards

[Hello Purvis]

>Move to where we can expect to hit it, and do so
>Duck back into cover right afterwards

>You move to the edge and toss the stone. It displace a curious property of not really arcing or curving, instead flying straight forward. It hits the door with a little knock.
>You duck back behind the stairs.
>Nothing seems to happen.

>_

[E-Nazrin]

Draco, please explain what you are intending to accomplish with this.

[DracoOmega]

>Did the clock tower have roof access from what we could see when we went up here earlier?

Draco, please explain what you are intending to accomplish with this.

I'm concerned there is an exploding (or multiple exploding) dolls next to the door. I was hoping there might be a chance that proximity or motion or impact might result in some of them being triggered (if it seemed we might be next to the door)

[E-Nazrin]

Since when does Mary have any reason to expect exploding dolls? :V Panicing for fear of point-blank danmaku after retreating is plausible, but I'm not sure that idea's come up yet.

We aren't going to be of any use slowing her down unless we're actually interfering in a meaningful way, even if it's not by direct means. And we need to have an eye on her to know when to back up Patchouli, or whoever else remains in good enough shape to help with her.

EDIT: Oh yeah - Alice seems to be striking me as the paranoid/ruthless sort, so no, I wouldn't put it past her to bring out Goliath just for insurance, even if Mary's the only remotely viable threat in the mansion.

... wait. Koakuma's still standing, isn't she?

... awwwww shit.

[DracoOmega]

My original hope in stepping in here is that she would either just stall (which benefits us) or come up after us (which allows us to get in melee range)
But enough time has passed now that we really need to do something else.

>What sort of handle mechanism does the door have?

[Kilgamayan]

I'd, uh, like to raise the concern that we've left Alice a clear path to the library, and she's probably already taken advantage of it.

[Hello Purvis]

>Did the clock tower have roof access from what we could see when we went up here earlier?

>You believe so. There was that balcony that Remilia used, at least.

>_

[DracoOmega]

I'd, uh, like to raise the concern that we've left Alice a clear path to the library, and she's probably already taken advantage of it.

I'm well aware of that, especially now that this much time has passed.

I'm leaning towards quickly flying out the outside exit and coming back in the front. We avoid any traps or dolls left by the door, and stand a decent chance of coming up behind her. Of course, this also takes more time than just coming back out the door. Other's thoughts?

[E-Nazrin]

Yeah, I was gonna say the wisest tactical move would be to flank her to snipe and harass until we can either ambush her close enough for the oil or rustle up some backup - but again, with Alice being ruthless, she might have already gone to kidnap Renko for insurance instead.

Not the best plan :V

Actually, I'm not sure she'd have trapped the door - that doesn't seem like her style, and after Mary ran away odds are good Alice is confident that sheer strength will be enough to intimidate her without having to resort to traps (especially if she brings out Goliath to bolster that). Dolls will be watching it, certainly, but they'll be watching the front door, too.

>Are we aware of any other routes to the library?

[DracoOmega]

Well, by 'trap' I meant dolls. Even the non-exploding type. But you think she's still leave a bunch by the front entrance as well? She called in the ones that she left their earlier, so she would have had to set some back in anticipation of us (or someone) taking that route in.

[E-Nazrin]

To be fair, she might not have as many by the entrance, and they're likely not as prepared for a fight. But with a doll army like that she'll have eyes everywhere.

Which we don't, when we need information about what the hell's going on, and fast. I can buy hit-and-run, but this isn't accomplishing anything.

>Are there any open windows that would make it easy to get out unexpectedly and loop around to the front?

[Hello Purvis]

To be fair, she might not have as many by the entrance, and they're likely not as prepared for a fight. But with a doll army like that she'll have eyes everywhere.

Which we don't, when we need information about what the hell's going on, and fast. I can buy hit-and-run, but this isn't accomplishing anything.

>Are there any open windows that would make it easy to get out unexpectedly and loop around to the front?

>There are no open windows, but there are a couple facing northward that seem like they should be able to swing open.

[DracoOmega]

My vote is for going through the windows and swinging around, unless anyone else has some objections to raise?

[UncertainJakutten]

My vote as well.

[E-Nazrin]

I'm leaning towards just charging back in, even though I should probably be on the fence about it - while I usually like being a little sneaky about combat strategy, subtlety goes out the window when you're actively trying to be a distraction to stall for time or protect something important by making yourself a bigger nuisance. Even those 10 or 20 seconds to loop around are significant. But Alice is hard enough to take on even terms, let alone when she's expecting us...

[DracoOmega]

I suspect (/hope) Patchy will still provide at least a momentary obstacle to Alice, if she tries to raid the library.
Worst comes to worst, we can probably still catch Alice on the way out, but I doubt she'll have gotten what she's come for that quickly.

[E-Nazrin]

Assuming Renko gets to Patchouli before Alice gets to her, of course.

[DracoOmega]

But Renko already made it in the library. And Patchy was probably already in there anyway.

[E-Nazrin]

And assuming Sakuya left the windows unlocked while expecting an attack.

>Try the nearest window, see if it opens easily.

[DracoOmega]

>Approximately how much time has passed since we closed the door?

[Hello Purvis]

>Try the nearest window, see if it opens easily.

>You test the one of windows, and find that the panes swing open on two sets of hinges easily. You should be able to climb out without problems.

>_

[E-Nazrin]

>Climb out and circle around to the front entrance. Stay close to the wall and keep an eye out for whoever might see you in the meantime.
>If there's no one significant/conscious around, try to approach the front door from above and see if there are any dolls keeping watch there to ambush.
>In either case, get the Oil of Vibration more readily accessible, since we're currently unmolested anyway.
>Would Byakuren's branch still help us at this point? We should really return that...

[DracoOmega]

>About how much time passed since we shut the door and took cover the second time?
>We still have the partially unrolled bolt of silk ready, correct?

[E-Nazrin]

I wouldn't bother with the silk, really. It's not good bondage material for combat.

[DracoOmega]

Well, I think UK's original idea was to just wrap it around her face after using the vibration oil during the time stop. And if we have time to do it, I imagine it would be a pain to remove with wildly trembling hands.

[UncertainJakutten]

Yeah, blinding her really only works to our advantage, which is why I got the silk in the first place.

[Hello Purvis]

>Climb out and circle around to the front entrance. Stay close to the wall and keep an eye out for whoever might see you in the meantime.
>If there's no one significant/conscious around, try to approach the front door from above and see if there are any dolls keeping watch there to ambush.
>In either case, get the Oil of Vibration more readily accessible, since we're currently unmolested anyway.
>Would Byakuren's branch still help us at this point? We should really return that...

>You climb out and fly around the house, keeping close to the wall or roof as appropriate. There doesn't seem to be anyone of note on the grounds.
>You approach the front door, and see a doll by it. Unfortunately, she sees you as well, and darts off.
>You get the the Oil of  Vibration as ready as you can without fear of spilling it, though you may want to be careful.
>You don't think so.

>About how much time passed since we shut the door and took cover the second time?
>We still have the partially unrolled bolt of silk ready, correct?

>You aren't sure, about a minute.
>It is completely unrolled and in your off hand at the moment.

>_