Iku Quest Cztery: A Z-Machine Adventure

[DracoOmega]

>Use our hands and brush away more of the leaves

[Hello Purvis]

>Use our hands and brush away more of the leaves

>You start to clear away the leaves, Tenshi quickly joining in.
>Soon you reveal a teal vest, a light aqua skirt, and then a face framed by short teal hair. This seems to be the karakasa that ambushed you earlier. Her eyes are closed, and she seems to be breathing slowly.

>_

[DracoOmega]

>Sigh
>She must be a pretty sound sleeper...
>Ponder whether all the trails we've been following have been hers all along...

[Hanged Hourai]

>What is Tenshi's expression?

[Hello Purvis]

>Sigh
>She must be a pretty sound sleeper...
>Ponder whether all the trails we've been following have been hers all along...

>You sigh. It really would be a pain if this was her trail the whole time.

>What is Tenshi's expression?

>You glance to Tenshi. She has a has a rather powerful grimace on her face, and her eyebrows raised.

>_

[DracoOmega]

>Quietly: "Perhaps it really wasn't the poltergeist's trail we were following this whole time."

[Dormio Ergo Sum]

>Check Kogasa's shadow.

[Hanged Hourai]

>Can we see where her umbrella is?

[Hello Purvis]

>Quietly: "Perhaps it really wasn't the poltergeist's trail we were following this whole time."

>"Maybe..." Tenshi says.

>Check Kogasa's shadow.

>She is still mostly covered in leaves, so you really can't see it so well.

>Can we see where her umbrella is?

>Not at the moment.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Raise eyebrows and an index finger.
> Pull out Aya's camera.
> Show the camera to Tenshi, holding it firmly in one hand.
> Point to Kogasa's skirt with the other. Look at Tenshi after doing this.

[Hello Purvis]

> Raise eyebrows and an index finger.
> Pull out Aya's camera.
> Show the camera to Tenshi, holding it firmly in one hand.
> Point to Kogasa's skirt with the other. Look at Tenshi after doing this.

>Tenshi's mouth falls open a little bit.
>"What....is your problem?" she says, her tone strained.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Shrug.
> "Thought you might still want revenge. Guess not."
> Put the camera back.

[Hello Purvis]

> Shrug.
> "Thought you might still want revenge. Guess not."
> Put the camera back.

>"You find someone knocked out in the middle of the forest, and this is what you think of!?" Tenshi says, "How in the world am I considered the bad one?!"

>_

[DracoOmega]

>"I..."
>Frown, and look away a little.
>"You're absolutely right, of course. I'll not even try to justify this with an excuse about what a terrible day it's been. To think that I..."
>Shake head
>"It was an egregious error in judgment, and it shames me to think that, even for a moment, I would have thought otherwise. Think what you will of my actions; it is probably deserved."

[Hello Purvis]

>"I..."
>Frown, and look away a little.
>"You're absolutely right, of course. I'll not even try to justify this with an excuse about what a terrible day it's been. To think that I..."
>Shake head
>"It was an egregious error in judgment, and it shames me to think that, even for a moment, I would have thought otherwise. Think what you will of my actions; it is probably deserved."

>Tenshi frowns. "You're damn right. So, uh,"
>She gestures toward the karakasa.
>"What're we gonna do about Kogasa, anyways?"

>_

[DracoOmega]

>Does Kogasa appear to be at all roughed up, or injured? Or does it look like she could have just nodded off while lying in wait for someone?

[Hello Purvis]

>Does Kogasa appear to be at all roughed up, or injured? Or does it look like she could have just nodded off while lying in wait for someone?

>She doesn't seem to be injured, from what you've revealed, but she is rather dirty from being in the leaves, which might conceal something.

>_

[DracoOmega]

>"I wonder if she just fell asleep while waiting for someone to wander by, so that she could leap out and surprise them?"
>"I'd almost feel bad to wake her, but I'm selfishly curious to know if she's seen our poltergeist in all her wanderings"
>How concealed is Kogasa, still?

[Hello Purvis]

>"I wonder if she just fell asleep while waiting for someone to wander by, so that she could leap out and surprise them?"
>"I'd almost feel bad to wake her, but I'm selfishly curious to know if she's seen our poltergeist in all her wanderings"
>How concealed is Kogasa, still?

>"Oh, that could be it, couldn't it?" says Tenshi. "Yeah, wake her up. If she gives us any guff, I'll work her torso!"
>You've uncovered her face, right arm, and most of her torso.

>_

[DracoOmega]

>Bend down
>Gently: "Kogasa. Wake up."
>If she doesn't respond, try again, a bit louder
>If still no response, put a hand on her shoulder and shake her gently, while calling her name again

[Hello Purvis]

>Bend down
>Gently: "Kogasa. Wake up."
>If she doesn't respond, try again, a bit louder
>If still no response, put a hand on her shoulder and shake her gently, while calling her name again

>Kogasa does not react until you shake her. Her eyes open, and she looks ahead; upward in this case. She doesn't seem to have noticed you.

>_

[Dormio Ergo Sum]

>Brush aside some more leaves and check her shadow.

[DracoOmega]

>"Kogasa? Are you alright?"
>Lean over into her field of vision, if we haven't already.

[Hello Purvis]

>"Kogasa? Are you alright?"
>Lean over into her field of vision, if we haven't already.

>You lean into her field of vision and ask if she is alright. She does not answer, and her eyes don't seem to react to you leaning over her.

>Brush aside some more leaves and check her shadow.

>You move some more leaves. It would take a little time to clear them all away, but you are reasonably sure her shadow is not there.

>_

[DracoOmega]

>"Oh god... Her shadow..."
>Try to gently pull her out of the leaf pile and sit her upright

[Hello Purvis]

>"Oh god... Her shadow..."
>Try to gently pull her out of the leaf pile and sit her upright

>"Crap..." Tenshi says.
>You guide her from the leaf pile and sit her upright. She doesn't resist you, and stays upright under her own power.

>_

[DracoOmega]

>How long has it been since we saw her last?
>Sift through the rest of the leaf pile. Can we find anything else in there?

[Hello Purvis]

>How long has it been since we saw her last?
>Sift through the rest of the leaf pile. Can we find anything else in there?

>An hour, maybe an hour and a half at the very most.
>You sift through the pile, and find her umbrella. It is closed, and looks quite mundane.

>_

[DracoOmega]

>Give the umbrella to Kogasa, and see if she will actually accept it
>Are we in a similar region of the forest to where the pit trap was, as best we can tell?
>"Hardly any time's passed since we saw her, and yet... I'd hoped fervently that I could keep things from happening to anyone else. And we still don't know a thing more about how it happened, do we?"

[Hello Purvis]

>Give the umbrella to Kogasa, and see if she will actually accept it
>Are we in a similar region of the forest to where the pit trap was, as best we can tell?
>"Hardly any time's passed since we saw her, and yet... I'd hoped fervently that I could keep things from happening to anyone else. And we still don't know a thing more about how it happened, do we?"

>You place the umbrella in Kogasa's hands. They wrap around it.
>You think you're about as far west as you were, but definitely further south.
>"I, um, guess that means whoever we're following did it, right?" says Tenshi. "So, what're we going to do about her?"

>_