Iku Quest Cztery: A Z-Machine Adventure

[DracoOmega]

>"Well, it was light out when the islands fell. I suppose we don't know if the symptoms happened immediately when the shadows were taken, or if it took some time to develop."
>"Hmmm... and I don't suppose she found signs of anything strange around here then, other than what we can see now?"

[Hello Purvis]

>"Well, it was light out when the islands fell. I suppose we don't know if the symptoms happened immediately when the shadows were taken, or if it took some time to develop."
>"Hmmm... and I don't suppose she found signs of anything strange around here then, other than what we can see now?"

>"Oh," says Sunny. "Wait, what does that have to do with anything?"
>"She...uh...um..." Sunny frowns. "I didn't ask..."

>_

[DracoOmega]

>"What does what have to do with anything?"
>"And might it be possible for us to ask her? Just in case there was something?"

[Hello Purvis]

>"What does what have to do with anything?"
>"And might it be possible for us to ask her? Just in case there was something?"

>"The sky falling," she asks. "I don't know why you brought that up..unless..."
>Her eyes go wide. "Was it you that took it?! Are you returning to the scene of the crime like they always do!?"

>_

[DracoOmega]

>"No, no, not at all. But the islands have lost parts of their shadows, too. It's why they fell. They've gotten sick, like this tree has. Someone or something stole the shadows from both places."

[Hello Purvis]

>"No, no, not at all. But the islands have lost parts of their shadows, too. It's why they fell. They've gotten sick, like this tree has. Someone or something stole the shadows from both places."

>"Oooooh..." says Sunny. "That makes sense."
>She frowns. "Um...You wanted to see Luna, right? Um..."
>She cups her hands to her mouth. "Hey Luna! Get out here!"
>There is silence.
>"Luna!"
>"She's not here!" comes a voice from a bush nearby.
>"Okay!" says Sunny. She looks to you and says, "She's not here." She gives a sage nod, crossing her arms.

>_

[DracoOmega]

>"Hmm... do you have any idea where I might be able to find her, then? If she noticed anything else, it could be rather important to fixing both our problems."

[Hello Purvis]

>"Hmm... do you have any idea where I might be able to find her, then? If she noticed anything else, it could be rather important to fixing both our problems."

>"She might be out looking for more moon stuff..." says Sunny, rubbing her chin. "No, she only does that at night. Um... Maybe she's fishing! ...No wait, she doesn't like fishing. Uh...I know! She's at the lake! That's where all the cool people are."
>She nods sagely again, then starts westward.

>_

[DracoOmega]

>Follow along

[Hello Purvis]

>Follow along

>You follow Sunny westward, back over the stone bridge, and through some thicker parts of the forest. There's some faeries about along the way, but not so many as you would expect. You see the walls of Scarlet Devil Mansion not too far from you at one point, and think you catch a glimpse oft the back of Alice's home.
>Soon, you emerge near the northern banks of the lake, reasonably sure that you can trace your way back to the shadowless tree from the ground. Looking around, you can see a ground of faeries on the ground near the western shore of the lake, engaged in some kind of general roughhousing.

>_

[DracoOmega]

>"So, does it look like Luna's here?"

[Hello Purvis]

>"So, does it look like Luna's here?"

>Sunny scruntizes the group of faeries. "Uh...no, wait yes! Wait...maybe...Oh, there she is. Yeah, she's there."
>The faerie points to another faerie, about the same size as she, with blonde hair and wearing a white dress with black ribbons. "Hey Luna!" Sunny calls, "Come over here for a moment!"
>Said faerie approaches, giving you a curious look. "Do you have a new plan, Sunny?" she asks.

>_

[DracoOmega]

>"A new plan? To do what?"

[Hello Purvis]

>"A new plan? To do what?"

>"Oh just-" Sunny begins
>"For the next big prank, of course!" Luna says.

>_

[DracoOmega]

>"Did you... have a particular big prank in mind? Or were you just wondering if we did?"

[Hello Purvis]

>"Did you... have a particular big prank in mind? Or were you just wondering if we did?"

>"I was just wondering if Sunny had a new idea that involved you somehow," ays Luna, frowning.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "No, we've only been asking her about that tree with no shadow."
> "But if it's a prank idea you're looking for, I may have an idea..."

[Hello Purvis]

> "No, we've only been asking her about that tree with no shadow."
> "But if it's a prank idea you're looking for, I may have an idea..."

>"Oh," says Luna. frowning.
>Sunny  looks up at you with a small frown. "What, really?"

>_

[DracoOmega]

>"I may, actually... there were a couple things I wanted to ask first, though."
>"Luna, you were the first one who noticed that the tree's shadow was missing, right? Did you see anything at else odd around there, at the time? Signs that anyone strange had been there? Anything out of the ordinary, really."

[Hello Purvis]

>"I may, actually... there were a couple things I wanted to ask first, though."
>"Luna, you were the first one who noticed that the tree's shadow was missing, right? Did you see anything at else odd around there, at the time? Signs that anyone strange had been there? Anything out of the ordinary, really."

>"I think I saw a ghost around there," says Luna.
>"Wait, you did?" says Sunny. "Why didn't you tell us?!"
>"You never asked!"
>Sunny puts a hand to her head, mouth slightly agape and eyes staring at nothing around her.

>_

[DracoOmega]

>"A ghost? Really? What did it look like?"
>"Did it seem to be doing anything?"

[Hello Purvis]

>"A ghost? Really? What did it look like?"
>"Did it seem to be doing anything?"

>"Um, it was one of those ghosts that looks like people," Luna says. "She had white hair, and weird sort of fancy clothes. She looked like she was thinking about something, she was just sitting in the middle of a bush, so I left her alone."

>_

[DracoOmega]

>"And this bush was near that tree?"
>"Are you sure she was a ghost?"

[Hello Purvis]

>"And this bush was near that tree?"
>"Are you sure she was a ghost?"

>"It was kinda close by," says Luna, "And yeah, she was a ghost! But not the normal kind, the kind that look more like people."

>_

[DracoOmega]

>"I'm curious; if it looks like a person, how can you tell?"

[Hello Purvis]

>"I'm curious; if it looks like a person, how can you tell?"

>Luna frowns at you. "You can just tell, can't you?"
>You've not had much experience with nonstandard ghosts, to be honest, save for meeting the princess of Hakugyokurou and her servant. You did recognize Yuyuko as a ghost right away, but she wears her ghostly nature on her sleeve so to speak. Youmu, she attacked before you had time to determine much.

>_

[DracoOmega]

>"Hmmm... do you think you could give me a more detailed description of her? And the clothes she was wearing, possibly?"

[Hello Purvis]

>"Hmmm... do you think you could give me a more detailed description of her? And the clothes she was wearing, possibly?"

>Luna grimaces. "It was a really long time ago. Um...she had white hair, and it was cut kind of short. I couldn't really see what she was wearing, there was a bush in the way."
>She wrings her hands. "Um...her clothes looked fancy. I think they were blue. ...Or was it green? Maybe... It wasn't a very bright color, at least. And I think she had a collar with the fancy sewing on the edge, um..."
>"Brocading?" Sunny says.
>"What's that taste like?" asks Luna.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "You saw her hair. Did you see if she had anything on her head?"

[Hello Purvis]

> "You saw her hair. Did you see if she had anything on her head?"

>"I don't think so..." says Luna. "Maybe it was small? Or she took it off? I didn't pay much attention."

>_