Iku Quest P?t: A Z-Machine Adventure

[Kilgamayan]

> As best we can muster proper vision without straining ourselves, quickly look around for any sizable rocks that we could still hold in one hand.

[Hello Purvis]

> As best we can muster proper vision without straining ourselves, quickly look around for any sizable rocks that we could still hold in one hand.

>You look around. It hurts, but the hurting is ebbing away a little. The tears still make everything blurry. These and the leaf cover makes it rather difficult to pick out any stones of that nature.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

Nothing for it, then.

> Maneuver ourselves so the poltergeist's head is right in front of us.
> While maneuvering, tightly clasp our hands together in front of us and bring them high above our head, gathering any remaining electrical charge in them.
> Bring our clasped hands down onto the back of her head as hard as we can.

[Hello Purvis]

> Maneuver ourselves so the poltergeist's head is right in front of us.
> While maneuvering, tightly clasp our hands together in front of us and bring them high above our head, gathering any remaining electrical charge in them.
> Bring our clasped hands down onto the back of her head as hard as we can.

>You are already in front of her, so this is not too difficult.
>You clasp your hands together, gather electricity into them, and prepare to clobber her when you feel a sudden sharp pain in your chest.
>"Gotcha," says the poltergeist in a low voice, as a sharp jerk from...somewhere suddenly pulls you off balance.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> In which direction did we get pulled off balance?

[Hello Purvis]

> In which direction did we get pulled off balance?

>It feels like your feet were jerked forward; rather akin to having a rug pulled out from under you. You are in danger of falling backward or sideways.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Try to take flight backwards.
> While trying to take flight, fire off our remaining charge right in front of us, aimed a little bit down.

[Hello Purvis]

> Try to take flight backwards.
> While trying to take flight, fire off our remaining charge right in front of us, aimed a little bit down.

>You try to take flight! It feels like you're being held to the ground and simply cannot get into the air.
>This and the pain in your chest are disconcerting enough to keep you from really focusing on electrical discharges.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Look at the poltergeist. What exactly is going on here?
> Kick at the poltergeist's head.

[Hello Purvis]

> Look at the poltergeist. What exactly is going on here?
> Kick at the poltergeist's head.

>She seems to be digging her fingers into your shadow; and the leaves below it, and pulling against it.
>You lift your foot to kick her in the head. Unfortunately, being off balance as you are, the practical effect of this is that you fall backwards and land on your rear unceremoniously.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Try to ignore the chest pain. She's the one causing it, and we need to hit her to stop it. We can't end up like Nitori or Kogasa! If she gets our power on top of everything else she's stolen, who knows what she could do to Gensokyo then! What she could do to Tenshi!
> Whip her in the face with our shawl.

[DracoOmega]

>Do we have enough power in ourselves for make at least a momentary, rather bright flash between us? Not enough to worry about blinding anyone, but enough to possibly switch the bulk of our shadow to behind us for just a moment, from the light it gives off?
>If so, do so, and try to immediately get to our feet and back off in the momentary respite it provides.

[Hello Purvis]

> Try to ignore the chest pain. She's the one causing it, and we need to hit her to stop it. We can't end up like Nitori or Kogasa! If she gets our power on top of everything else she's stolen, who knows what she could do to Gensokyo then! What she could do to Tenshi!
> Whip her in the face with our shawl.

>You do your best to ignore the pain. Unfortunately, it seems to have little interest in ignoring you. But you fight it.
>You strike her in the face with your shawl; at this distance there isn't much she can do about it except take the hit. She growls, and the pain in your chest redoubles and spreads. You feel a little lightheaded as well.

>Do we have enough power in ourselves for make at least a momentary, rather bright flash between us? Not enough to worry about blinding anyone, but enough to possibly switch the bulk of our shadow to behind us for just a moment, from the light it gives off?
>If so, do so, and try to immediately get to our feet and back off in the momentary respite it provides.

>You aren't sure; but you doubt it would be enough to really overwhelm the sun.
>You try to stand; the pain and lightheadedness make this difficult.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Did we actually succeed at standing, even just to the point of a wobbly half-stand?
> Are we in any condition to declare a spellcard, as long as we don't move around very much?

[DracoOmega]

>Did we happen to glance the poltergeist's shadow while we were charging her?
>If so, or if our own isn't covering it wholly at the moment, was it still rock-shaped?

[Edible]

>It's P?t

>Apologize profusely

[Hello Purvis]

> Did we actually succeed at standing, even just to the point of a wobbly half-stand?
> Are we in any condition to declare a spellcard, as long as we don't move around very much?

>You're working on it; the tugging hasn't stopped either, which makes it very hard.
>Maybe. Concentration will be difficult, to say the least.

>Did we happen to glance the poltergeist's shadow while we were charging her?
>If so, or if our own isn't covering it wholly at the moment, was it still rock-shaped?

>Not really; but you think it was more person-shaped.

>It's P?t

>Apologize profusely

>Czech it out Czech it out Czech it out Czech it out Czech it out Czech it out Czech it out Czech it out Czech it out Czech it out

>_

[DracoOmega]

>Attempt to declare "Acanthodii of the Thunder Clouds"
>Tackle/fall on top of the poltergeist, if we manage to get the lightning shield active

[Kilgamayan]

>Tackle/fall on top of the poltergeist, if we manage to get the lightning shield active

> If we do this but we're not quite up high enough to actually fully fall on top of her, fall forward toward her as much as we can and latch onto her with our hands and arms. Only use one hand and arm if the other hand is required to hold the spellcard while using it, though.

[Hello Purvis]

>Attempt to declare "Acanthodii of the Thunder Clouds"
>Tackle/fall on top of the poltergeist, if we manage to get the lightning shield active

> If we do this but we're not quite up high enough to actually fully fall on top of her, fall forward toward her as much as we can and latch onto her with our hands and arms. Only use one hand and arm if the other hand is required to hold the spellcard while using it, though.

>You fight the pain and lightheadedness as well as you can, produce "Acanthodii of the Thunder Clouds", and declare it.
>It is a struggle to focus enough to let the card work, but you feel the electricity sure around you, even as you feel the pain increase. Distantly, you hear a scream. That's the poltergeist, you think. You think you got her. You aren't really sure what's going on, just that it hurts and that you are having a very difficult time holding the shield in place.

>_

[DracoOmega]

>Use every last ounce of will to keep that shield going. Do not let it slip away. This may be all that stands between us and living death, and we swore that we would stop her before she hurt another soul. Keep it going. Force her to stop.

[Kilgamayan]

> Hold it together, Iku! You're done for if you don't! Take her out! Save yourself! Save Gensokyo! Save Tenshi! Remember that Tenshi will be on her way back if you don't turn up! And surely she saw that flash! She can't run into this girl after your power has been stolen! Tenshi won't be a match for her at all! She'll be doomed to the same fate! You can't let that happen, Iku! For Tenshi's sake, hold the fuck on!
> Can we see anything?

[Hello Purvis]

>Use every last ounce of will to keep that shield going. Do not let it slip away. This may be all that stands between us and living death, and we swore that we would stop her before she hurt another soul. Keep it going. Force her to stop.

> Hold it together, Iku! You're done for if you don't! Take her out! Save yourself! Save Gensokyo! Save Tenshi! Remember that Tenshi will be on her way back if you don't turn up! And surely she saw that flash! She can't run into this girl after your power has been stolen! Tenshi won't be a match for her at all! She'll be doomed to the same fate! You can't let that happen, Iku! For Tenshi's sake, hold the fuck on!
> Can we see anything?

>You try to keep in mind why it's so important to keep this going. You can't stop now...
>You really can't see much over the pain and the dizziness and the glow. This card takes a lot of focus to begin with, and you really don't feel at your best at the moment.
>You feel the electricity ebb away. You'll need a moment of focus to recharge it, you're not sure if you have it in you right now.

>_

[DracoOmega]

>Given that the glow has died down, take a very quick moment to try and access the situation
>Or, if we still can't really see, can we at least feel how much of a struggle the poltergeist is putting up, beneath us?

[Hello Purvis]

>Given that the glow has died down, take a very quick moment to try and access the situation
>Or, if we still can't really see, can we at least feel how much of a struggle the poltergeist is putting up, beneath us?

>You look around. It seems you've fallen over. And you are sore everywhere.
>You see the poltergeist is some distance away; getting to her feet. She doesn't seem to be doing too well.

[Kilgamayan]

> Can we get to our feet?
> Can we see her shadow?
> Can we see ours?

[DracoOmega]

>Do our thoughts feel at least a little less cloudy and distant at the moment?
>Where is our shadow, compared to hers?
>Try to drag ourself to our feet

[Hello Purvis]

>Do our thoughts feel at least a little less cloudy and distant at the moment?
>Where is our shadow, compared to hers?
>Try to drag ourself to our feet

>You're dizzy and sore, and having to put a lot of effort into keeping this spellcard going.  You aren't sure where you or her shadow is, but you really don't feel like trying to stand with all the effort you're having to put into things already.

>_

[DracoOmega]

>Is is possible to temporarily drop the recharging of the shield, and resume it again later, without ending and consuming the spellcard entirely?

[Kilgamayan]

> Is she getting to her feet under her own power, or using something to balance herself?