Iku Quest Cztery: A Z-Machine Adventure

[Hello Purvis]

> Nod.
> "All right, I won't."
> "Actually, I'm looking for someone myself. Have any of you seen someone with white hair and a fancy blue coat recently? They have a brocade collar, too."

>You decide not to worry about this.
>"How recently?" asks one of the faeries.
>"I saw her a few days ago," says the small one.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "I heard she was somewhere near here a few hours ago, but if you've seen her at all, that's still good. When you saw her, what was she doing?"

[Hello Purvis]

> "I heard she was somewhere near here a few hours ago, but if you've seen her at all, that's still good. When you saw her, what was she doing?"

>"Um, I think she was just hiding, watching things," says the small faerie. "I think she's kinda like the karakasa, but without the pranks."

>_

[Suwako Moriya]

> "Hmm, interesting. And no one has seen her since?"

[Hello Purvis]

> "Hmm, interesting. And no one has seen her since?"

>"Not me."
>"Uh-uh."
>"Nope. Maybe one else did?"

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Nod.
> "All right. Thank you for your help, and good luck in your adventures with the Hakurei Shrine."
> Assuming no fairies try to stop us, head back south to the tracks we just spotted.

[Hello Purvis]

> Nod.
> "All right. Thank you for your help, and good luck in your adventures with the Hakurei Shrine."
> Assuming no fairies try to stop us, head back south to the tracks we just spotted.

>None of the faeries try to stop you, and you make your way back toward the tracks.
>"I guess she's not a big secret, is she?" says Tenshi. "So, what'd you think they're going to do, anyways?"

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "Dunno. Here's hoping they don't actually run into Reimu, for their sakes."
> "Anyway, I'm perfectly happy with this stranger not being much of a secret anymore. The more we can learn about her, the better."
> Follow the tracks west.

[Hello Purvis]

> "Dunno. Here's hoping they don't actually run into Reimu, for their sakes."
> "Anyway, I'm perfectly happy with this stranger not being much of a secret anymore. The more we can learn about her, the better."
> Follow the tracks west.

>"I guess," says Tenshi as you share your thoughts about the faeries/
>"Yeah, I guess it's something to follow."
>You follow the tracks; they meander to and fro, drawing close to bushes and such, leading you to believe they belong to the same person you were following early today. Unfortunately, they are also as unreliable as the tracks from before, as leaves are not the best medium for holding footprints. After awhile, they fade out. Looking around, you have a slight sense of familiarity with this area.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Where do we seem to be?

[Hello Purvis]

> Where do we seem to be?

>You look around a bit more. Hmm, those three trees over there look kind of familiar. As does that rock...ah, this is where you met those three faeries who were looking to buy Yamame for a pet!

>_

[DracoOmega]

>Can we see any other signs of larger people about? That were not, in all likelihood, ourselves?

[Hello Purvis]

>Can we see any other signs of larger people about? That were not, in all likelihood, ourselves?

>Not immediately. But you suspect, with a little effort, you could find the trail that led you to this place originally.

>_

[DracoOmega]

>May as well have a look for it, then

[Hello Purvis]

>May as well have a look for it, then

>Now that you have some sense of your bearings, it doesn't take you too long to find the old trail. It looks more or less how you remember it.

>_

[DracoOmega]

>Continue along the part of this trail that we never walked along, the first time

[Hello Purvis]

>Continue along the part of this trail that we never walked along, the first time

>You follow it as it meanders and loops eastward.
>Soon you find yourself some yards from where the second trail faded out.

>_

[DracoOmega]

>Does that mean it appears that the two trails may be the remnants of a single connected path, just with this section missing?
>We started at the absolute end of this second path, as near as we could see at the time, correct?
>Have another search around our immediate environment

[Hello Purvis]

>Does that mean it appears that the two trails may be the remnants of a single connected path, just with this section missing?
>We started at the absolute end of this second path, as near as we could see at the time, correct?
>Have another search around our immediate environment

>This is what it seems to imply.
>If by second path you mean the one that was near the faeries plotting revenge, then no. It went southward. The one from the battlefield, you followed until it died out. You were pretty sure it wasn't the end of the person's course, just that you could find no more trail.
>You look around a bit, and find you and Tenshi have done a lot to unintentionally distort things.
>"You know," says Tenshi, "I don't think she's going anywhere in particular."

>_

[DracoOmega]

>"Well, we haven't exactly been looking too much in particular, either. It just seemed like there might be a chance that one of these paths connected with where she currently was. It would be nice if we had a way to actually track her, but I don't see anything better than to wander about, do you?"

[Hello Purvis]

>"Well, we haven't exactly been looking too much in particular, either. It just seemed like there might be a chance that one of these paths connected with where she currently was. It would be nice if we had a way to actually track her, but I don't see anything better than to wander about, do you?"

>"I know, it just kinda hit me," says Tenshi. "But if she's not going anywhere, what the hell is she doing?"

>_

[DracoOmega]

>"Wandering? Looking about? Searching for something herself, perhaps?"

[Hello Purvis]

>"Wandering? Looking about? Searching for something herself, perhaps?"

>"Maybe," says Tenshi. "But if she's just wandering or looking around, would she have wanted a piece of Lunasa so bad? Well, maybe. I guess we all have moods and stuff."

>_

[DracoOmega]

>"I rather suspect there's something more to this poltergeist and what she's doing here that is apparent. Whether this ties in with why she drove Lunasa away so forcefully, I cannot say. I'm not sure I could even hazard a guess, to be honest."

[Hello Purvis]

>"I rather suspect there's something more to this poltergeist and what she's doing here that is apparent. Whether this ties in with why she drove Lunasa away so forcefully, I cannot say. I'm not sure I could even hazard a guess, to be honest."

>Tenshi nods. "Yeah. It's just these footprints are going everywhere."

>_

[DracoOmega]

>"They do seem to meander a fair bit. Either she cares not where she goes, or doesn't know where she's going. I'm beginning to wonder if there's much to be gained by following them, frankly."

[Hello Purvis]

>"They do seem to meander a fair bit. Either she cares not where she goes, or doesn't know where she's going. I'm beginning to wonder if there's much to be gained by following them, frankly."

>Tenshi nods. "Yeah. It might be better to try and figure out where they end and go there."

>_

[DracoOmega]

>Don't the tracks seem to go in more or less in no particular direction, though? With multiple paths heading differently?
>What points of interest do we know of, in the forest?
>Was the direction the fairy by the tree said the poltergeist left in, and the direction Lunasa said she encountered it, roughly the same?

[Hello Purvis]

>Don't the tracks seem to go in more or less in no particular direction, though? With multiple paths heading differently?
>What points of interest do we know of, in the forest?
>Was the direction the fairy by the tree said the poltergeist left in, and the direction Lunasa said she encountered it, roughly the same?

>You aren't sure if there's multiple paths, but they certainly have been going all over the place.
>You know of Kourindou, The Misty Lake, and Mystia's Stand as major points of interest. Marisa's House and Alice's House are there as well; and you've noted the Old Stone Bridge in the southeastern forest. Renko and Maribel's home stands just outside it, as does Scarlet Devil Mansion. You've heard stories of a few places filled with mushrooms, but you've not seen any of these yet. There are probably other interesting things out there, too.
>Very roughly; Lunasa seemed to indicate it was more west of what the Faerie under the bush did. But both were North Westish.

>_

[DracoOmega]

>Are we currently still northwest-ish, as best we can figure?
>Are any of the mentioned places northwest-ish?