Iku Quest Sechs - A Z-Machine Adventure

[Hello Purvis]

>"Well, she was still muttering threats at me as I left her, although thankfully from flat on the ground. I suspect she's back to lording over her domain already."
>"...although I am not in a hurry to return and test this theory, let me tell you."

>Tenshi nods.

>_

[DracoOmega]

>"As for today, assuming nothing else has changed while we slept, I think our first stop should be Renko. We can see if she learned anything from the book, and take it with us, in case we encounter the spectre in our investigations. And then we can head to Youkai Mountain, and ask the Tengu if they spotted her there several days ago, and whether they know of any caves in the mountain that might match the one the spectre visited. Then we look around the cave itself."

[Hello Purvis]

>"As for today, assuming nothing else has changed while we slept, I think our first stop should be Renko. We can see if she learned anything from the book, and take it with us, in case we encounter the spectre in our investigations. And then we can head to Youkai Mountain, and ask the Tengu if they spotted her there several days ago, and whether they know of any caves in the mountain that might match the one the spectre visited. Then we look around the cave itself."

>"Got it," says Tenshi.

>_

[DracoOmega]

>Are there any other tasks we would normally want/need to attend to in the palace in the morning?
>Would any of them still be relevant, given the current situation?

[Hello Purvis]

>Are there any other tasks we would normally want/need to attend to in the palace in the morning?
>Would any of them still be relevant, given the current situation?

>Typically you would meet with your subordinates to deal with the daily affairs of the palace. But given you are on a mission from The Dragon itself, you imagine that has been superseded. You do still have morning devotions to do, but that can be done any time before you begin your day.

>_

[DracoOmega]

>Are such devotions standard practice for everyone here?
>If so, do we know how dutiful Tenshi is on that front?

[Hello Purvis]

>Are such devotions standard practice for everyone here?
>If so, do we know how dutiful Tenshi is on that front?

>Yes.
>You honestly don't know. You assume she is.

>_

[DracoOmega]

>"Well, I think I should tend to my devotions, and then I believe I should be ready to leave. Is there anything else you wanted to take care of first?"

[Hello Purvis]

>"Well, I think I should tend to my devotions, and then I believe I should be ready to leave. Is there anything else you wanted to take care of first?"

>"I should probably get changed and stuff," Tenshi says. "Meet up in front?"

>_

[DracoOmega]

>"Sounds good. I'll see you shortly, then."
>Attend to our devotions once Tenshi departs
>Then exit the palace

[Hello Purvis]

>"Sounds good. I'll see you shortly, then."
>Attend to our devotions once Tenshi departs
>Then exit the palace

>You and Tenshi part ways. You tend to your devotions, taking some time to center yourself. Then you depart.
>The palace hasn't changed much from last evening. Some more of the debris has shifted around, but not enough to make a significant impart. More celestials are working on it now, creating a decent crowd, but there is nothing akin to the crowd there was yesterday before this whole tragedy started. There are a couple songs in the air, but it is a pale shadow the usual babble of voices and music.
>A few minutes after you exit, you see Tenshi emerge from a nearby corridor. She walks toward you, passing by a celestial carrying some debris and shooting her a rather nasty look as they get close to each other. "Sorry about the wait," she says. "Took a bit to find some socks."

>_

[DracoOmega]

>"No worries. It's a wonder anyone can find anything after the mess that was made of this place, yesterday."
>"Shall we be off, then?"
>Assuming no objections, depart and fly to Renko's

[Hello Purvis]

>"No worries. It's a wonder anyone can find anything after the mess that was made of this place, yesterday."
>"Shall we be off, then?"
>Assuming no objections, depart and fly to Renko's

>You receive no objections, and depart.
>It's a nice day out, a little chillier than the prior one, making you glad that you dressed more warmly. You fly southward toward the edge of the Forest of Magic. Passing over the human village and its outlaying farms, it seems that business is as usual there. It is almost like they are simply taking no notice of Orchard Isle floating overhead. The Isle itself seems fine, though a glance reveals that the trees are depressingly bare compared to yesterday.
>Soon enough, you reach Renko's home. It seems to be in the same condition as yesterday., which is encouraging.

>_

[DracoOmega]

>Knock on the door

[Hello Purvis]

>Knock on the door

>You knock on the door. After a few moments, it opens and Maribel stands in the threshold. "Welcome back, Iku, Tenshi," she says. "You'll be pleased to know nothing happened last night. Please come in, we think me may have found something in the book, too. It's not much, but Parsee is convinced it's key to what drew the poltergeist to your home."

>_

[DracoOmega]

>"Really? That sounds hopeful."
>Step inside

[Hello Purvis]

>"Really? That sounds hopeful."
>Step inside

>You step inside. The front room is practically empty now, without the people from before. The book rests on the table, a bookmark stuck into its pages. Maribel opens it and hands it to you. "Read the third paragraph of the intro," says Maribel. "Parsee's convinced that's why she went there."

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "Out of curiosity, where is she?"
> Read the third paragraph of the intro.

[Hello Purvis]

> "Out of curiosity, where is she?"
> Read the third paragraph of the intro.

>"She and Utsuho are asleep right now," says Maribel. "They did the last shifts of watch last night."
>You open the book, finding the Bhava-Agra entry and go to the third paragraph. It reads:
>"Oh verily, ye credulous reader, I tell you truly of this most marvelous land that floats in the skies our mortal realm, giving neither sight nor shadow of itself to the people of this blind earth. Upon it dwell a people most pure, our ancestors that have freed themselves of the cares that bind you and I to this woeful cycle of suffering. There they dwell, supping upon the sweetest fruits and the choicest nectars, living in gratitude of that which would inspire only indolence and contempt among the baser peoples. This land of Bhava-Agra is home to the very demiurge that to whom we owe our beautiful world, dwelling in a palace many thousands of cubits in size, looking upon all as it pleases. The enlightened flock to it, rejoicing in its presence with their hearts most pure in a manner worthy of envy. Yet to us, this land is as removed as the firmament itself, a place only for the enlightened that they might distance themselves from their greatest pleasures and truly leave this binding life."

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "You know, this makes us sound like the perfect place to hide from anyone you thought might care about finding you. And, well, if you're from the surface world, I suppose it's true."

[Hello Purvis]

> "You know, this makes us sound like the perfect place to hide from anyone you thought might care about finding you. And, well, if you're from the surface world, I suppose it's true."

>Maribel nods. "That's true, but it's not the part that Parsee noticed. Did you see it?"

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "...It's The August One. She's afraid of The August One, isn't she? One who looks upon all as it pleases. She can't hide from it."
> "But her attempts at silencing The August One cannot succeed. Even ignoring the vast difference in their power, it is not confined to flesh and bone, and may simply choose to exist as pure will, in which case it will not cast a shadow. I suppose she would not have known this, however."

> Does The Dragon's Quarters have door guards?

[Hello Purvis]

> "...It's The August One. She's afraid of The August One, isn't she? One who looks upon all as it pleases. She can't hide from it."
> "But her attempts at silencing The August One cannot succeed. Even ignoring the vast difference in their power, it is not confined to flesh and bone, and may simply choose to exist as pure will, in which case it will not cast a shadow. I suppose she would not have known this, however."

> Does The Dragon's Quarters have door guards?

>She ponders for a moment. "That may be true, but not really what Parsee noticed. She was thinking about the line mentioning the shadow."
>It does not. There would be no need for such anything, and there has never been a desire for it.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "That Bhava-Agra does not cast one? Hmm...is it possible she was merely curious about such a place? Or did she drag us down to the ground to prove a point?"

[Hello Purvis]

> "That Bhava-Agra does not cast one? Hmm...is it possible she was merely curious about such a place? Or did she drag us down to the ground to prove a point?"

>"It seems to follow that someone whose into shadows would be really interested in that, I think," says Maribel, though a you can hear some uncertainty in her tone now.

>_

[DracoOmega]

>"She might be, yes. Perhaps it would even be enough to draw her all the way from her hiding place? I'm not sure I could say. Although, I still don't see this suggesting why she would have attempted to steal its shadow."

[Kilgamayan]

> "Please do not feel unsure of yourself on account of my musings, though. It's entirely possible I am missing something important. Tenshi can attest that I have been a bit scatterbrained recently."

[Hello Purvis]

>"She might be, yes. Perhaps it would even be enough to draw her all the way from her hiding place? I'm not sure I could say. Although, I still don't see this suggesting why she would have attempted to steal its shadow."

>"Didn't you say she took a whole bunch of them without having any reason for it?" asks Maribel. "It kinda seems true to form, really."

> "Please do not feel unsure of yourself on account of my musings, though. It's entirely possible I am missing something important. Tenshi can attest that I have been a bit scatterbrained recently."

>"The things I've seen..." says Tenshi, shaking her head.

>_

>_

[DracoOmega]

>"Well, I'd been hoping more that there was a reason, and we simply had not found it yet. In fact, I was hoping that we might be able to learn something significant about her if we could only figure out what it was that drove her to do it. Perhaps they truly are arbitrary. I cannot say. But it seems like one less point to use to reason with her, if that is so."

[Hello Purvis]

>"Well, I'd been hoping more that there was a reason, and we simply had not found it yet. In fact, I was hoping that we might be able to learn something significant about her if we could only figure out what it was that drove her to do it. Perhaps they truly are arbitrary. I cannot say. But it seems like one less point to use to reason with her, if that is so."

>"Well, I did kind of tell you it wasn't much..." says Maribel, frowning a little.