Iku Quest Drei - A Z-Machine Adventure

[DracoOmega]

>Walk over to Tenshi
>"Sizing up the produce?"

[Hello Purvis]

>Walk over to Tenshi
>"Sizing up the produce?"

>You approach Tenshi.
>"Not much left," says Tenshi. "Most of them have been picked clean."

>_

[DracoOmega]

>"Oh? That's unfortunate."
>Survey the patch
>Do the Kappa typically sell off the vine, or would there still be other places here to get them after this point?

[Hello Purvis]

>"Oh? That's unfortunate."
>Survey the patch
>Do the Kappa typically sell off the vine, or would there still be other places here to get them after this point?

>You look over the patch. The leaves do a good job of concealing anything under them; you aren't sure what is there to be found.
>You aren't sure how they deal in cucumbers. Judging from the fact that most of the houses have a patch, you suspect that that many kappa grow their own.

>_

[DracoOmega]

>Assuming there appears to no one around: "There was very little gained through my efforts to speak with her, I'm afraid. Not that I'd really expected there would be, but I wanted to see her with my own eyes. She truly seems to be almost absent from her own body. I did manage to provoke her into just barely uttering a single word in response, but then she went silent again, staring out at the window."

[Hello Purvis]

>Assuming there appears to no one around: "There was very little gained through my efforts to speak with her, I'm afraid. Not that I'd really expected there would be, but I wanted to see her with my own eyes. She truly seems to be almost absent from her own body. I did manage to provoke her into just barely uttering a single word in response, but then she went silent again, staring out at the window."

>There doesn't seem to be anyone around.
>"Huh," says Tenshi. "Did you try holding her nose shut?"

>_

[DracoOmega]

>"I... can't say that occurred to me. What do you think that would accomplish?"

[Hello Purvis]

>"I... can't say that occurred to me. What do you think that would accomplish?"

>"Well, um..." says Tenshi. She frowns. "I guess she'd either wake up, or choke."

>_

[DracoOmega]

>"Couldn't she just breathe using her mouth?"

[Hello Purvis]

>"Couldn't she just breathe using her mouth?"

>"Well you cover that too, obviously," says Tenshi.

>_

[DracoOmega]

>"I, uh, suppose I'm not really sure what would happen if one tried that. Although, apparently she is sometimes capable of saying 'no', if she doesn't want to eat something. Maybe she would offer some feeble resistance. I rather doubt it would break her out of whatever is wrong with her, though. Particularly if some part of her has been taken. Pretending to do harm to her can't return that. She may be interacting with the world as much as she is currently capable of."
>"Sadly, we don't really know when or where exactly this happened to her. She was fine one evening, when Parsee parted ways with her. Then, the next afternoon they eventually found her lying on a hill, some distance from town. Her clothes were soaked with dew; it seemed she'd been there for some time. Whether this happened to her while she was there, or whether she wandered there afterwards, it seems hard to say."

[Hello Purvis]

>"I, uh, suppose I'm not really sure what would happen if one tried that. Although, apparently she is sometimes capable of saying 'no', if she doesn't want to eat something. Maybe she would offer some feeble resistance. I rather doubt it would break her out of whatever is wrong with her, though. Particularly if some part of her has been taken. Pretending to do harm to her can't return that. She may be interacting with the world as much as she is currently capable of."
>"Sadly, we don't really know when or where exactly this happened to her. She was fine one evening, when Parsee parted ways with her. Then, the next afternoon they eventually found her lying on a hill, some distance from town. Her clothes were soaked with dew; it seemed she'd been there for some time. Whether this happened to her while she was there, or whether she wandered there afterwards, it seems hard to say."

>"What hill?" asks Tenshi. "Oh, was she doing anything weird before?"

>_

[DracoOmega]

>"Nothing weird that any of them seemed to know about, at any rate. And unfortunately, Nitori's in no state to answer questions. As for the hill, apparently it's nondescript. About half a mile from the village, I think, and not near anything of note. Parsee said she couldn't find signs of a struggle, or anything else of interest. They searched the area a little, themselves."

[Hello Purvis]

>"Nothing weird that any of them seemed to know about, at any rate. And unfortunately, Nitori's in no state to answer questions. As for the hill, apparently it's nondescript. About half a mile from the village, I think, and not near anything of note. Parsee said she couldn't find signs of a struggle, or anything else of interest. They searched the area a little, themselves."

>"Oh, I see," says Tenshi. "I guess that's it, then."

>_

[DracoOmega]

>"You guess what's what, then?"

[Hello Purvis]

>"You guess what's what, then?"

>"What?" says Tenshi, frowning at you. "Can you think of anything else to do with her, because I can't."

>_

[DracoOmega]

>"No, not at the moment, I'm afraid. I'm considering going back to Yukari and asking her about this. Parsee apparently thinks she's the one responsible, although this really doesn't seem her style to me, and Utsuho seems to agree. I just wish we had more to go on."

[Hello Purvis]

>"No, not at the moment, I'm afraid. I'm considering going back to Yukari and asking her about this. Parsee apparently thinks she's the one responsible, although this really doesn't seem her style to me, and Utsuho seems to agree. I just wish we had more to go on."

>"Wait, if it's Yukari, what do you expect her to say?" asks Tenshi. "You think she's just going to throw up her says, say 'You got me', and give it all up? If it's her, all that's going to happen is she'll either lie or she'll disappear you."

>_

[DracoOmega]

>"I didn't mean I would ask her if she were responsible for this. As you say, that would likely be futile at best, or dangerous at worst. But, as I said, I do not believe she is not responsible. I'm simply hoping she may have a better idea of what could do this to Nitori than anyone else so far has, at least in general terms."

[Hello Purvis]

>"I didn't mean I would ask her if she were responsible for this. As you say, that would likely be futile at best, or dangerous at worst. But, as I said, I do not believe she is not responsible. I'm simply hoping she may have a better idea of what could do this to Nitori than anyone else so far has, at least in general terms."

>"Oh," says Tenshi. "Well, I guess that makes sense. Unless it was her, then you're in deep trouble."

>_

[DracoOmega]

>"Possibly. I'm willing to take that risk, though, especially given all that's at stake. And if it ultimately is her, then I would probably end up confronting her sooner or later, regardless. Be she Yukari or no."

[Hello Purvis]

>"Possibly. I'm willing to take that risk, though, especially given all that's at stake. And if it ultimately is her, then I would probably end up confronting her sooner or later, regardless. Be she Yukari or no."

>"I guess," says Tenshi, "Just don't expect me to bail you out again."

>_

[DracoOmega]

>Bail us out again? Do we know what she might be referring to?
>"Then if she did react with hostility, what would you intend to do?"

[Hello Purvis]

>Bail us out again? Do we know what she might be referring to?
>"Then if she did react with hostility, what would you intend to do?"

>Nothing is immediately obvious...
>"Get the hell out of there, obviously," says Tenshi.

>_

[DracoOmega]

>"Well I, for one, do not intend to back down if she is responsible. Except perhaps to get reinforcements. You've made you position on what's happened to the islands clear, but surely you have at least some concern for Nitori's condition? Things cannot remain as they are."

[Hello Purvis]

>"Well I, for one, do not intend to back down if she is responsible. Except perhaps to get reinforcements. You've made you position on what's happened to the islands clear, but surely you have at least some concern for Nitori's condition? Things cannot remain as they are."

>"I didn't say I wouldn't come back, geez," says Tenshi, scowling. "Just we'd have to get her while she's asleep or something."

>_

[DracoOmega]

>"Well, she does spend a great deal of time sleeping, so I hear... In any case, I hope most of this discussion turns out to be strictly theoretical. I guess we'll find out soon enough."
>"Was there anything else you wanted to do here before we left?"

[Hello Purvis]

>"Well, she does spend a great deal of time sleeping, so I hear... In any case, I hope most of this discussion turns out to be strictly theoretical. I guess we'll find out soon enough."
>"Was there anything else you wanted to do here before we left?"

>Tenshi shrugs in response.

>_

[DracoOmega]

>"Well, then I guess that's what we do next."
>Head to Yukari's, via the road

[Hello Purvis]

>"Well, then I guess that's what we do next."
>Head to Yukari's, via the road

>You leave the kappa village, and start down toward the Yakumo residence.
>As you make your way through the forest, a bit of light catches your eye. Glancing back, you see a familiar-looking column of light flying from the peak of Youkai Mountain at an angle toward the sky.

>_