Iku Quest Deka: A Z-Machine Adventure

[Suwako Moriya]

> "All right."
> Take the lead and correct the course toward Mystia's.
> Make a game note when we reach the edge of the forest, though.

[Hello Purvis]

> "All right."
> Take the lead and correct the course toward Mystia's.
> Make a game note when we reach the edge of the forest, though.

>You take the lead, and steer toward Mystia''s.
>Soon enough, you reach the edge of the forest.

>_

[Suwako Moriya]

> Stop and turn to Momizi.
> "Okay. Do you think you could find your way to the stand from here?"

[Hello Purvis]

> Stop and turn to Momizi.
> "Okay. Do you think you could find your way to the stand from here?"

>"Yeah," she says. "I might have to do a little bit of searching first, though."

>_

[Suwako Moriya]

> "That's okay. The important thing is that we enter separately, so my presence lulls her into a sense of security. Once we've been talking for a little bit, you should be able to catch her off guard."

[Hello Purvis]

> "That's okay. The important thing is that we enter separately, so my presence lulls her into a sense of security. Once we've been talking for a little bit, you should be able to catch her off guard."

>Momiji nods. "Got it. I'll wait for you to get there first, then."

>_

[Suwako Moriya]

> "Okay. Give us a minute, and then enter yourself. And remember, for the time being, we only want to talk."
> Pat our purse once.
> "I really think I can get her."

[Hello Purvis]

> "Okay. Give us a minute, and then enter yourself. And remember, for the time being, we only want to talk."
> Pat our purse once.
> "I really think I can get her."

>Momiji nods. "I understand."

>_

[Suwako Moriya]

> "All right. Good luck, and may both of our endeavours succeed."
> Gesture to Tenshi.
> "Shall we?"
> Head toward Mystia's along the road. Make a game note when we're about halfway there,if we feel we're mostly out of earshot of Momizi.

[Hello Purvis]

> "All right. Good luck, and may both of our endeavours succeed."
> Gesture to Tenshi.
> "Shall we?"
> Head toward Mystia's along the road. Make a game note when we're about halfway there,if we feel we're mostly out of earshot of Momizi.

>You head onward. Soon, you are reasonably sure you're out of Momiji's range of hearing, probably.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> While walking, turn to Tenshi and lower voice.
> "You ready?"

[Hello Purvis]

> While walking, turn to Tenshi and lower voice.
> "You ready?"

>"I think," she says. "You just want me to get her picture while she's not paying attention, right?"

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "Yes. I should be arguing with Aya and Momizi in the air at the time. Make sure you're not noticed."

[Hello Purvis]

> "Yes. I should be arguing with Aya and Momizi in the air at the time. Make sure you're not noticed."

>Tenshi nods. "I'll do my best."

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "Good. Let's do this."
> Continue on to Mystia's stand.

[Hello Purvis]

> "Good. Let's do this."
> Continue on to Mystia's stand.

>You head toward Mystia's stand. You're fairly familiar with the location now, so it is not too difficult to pick it out from the air. A lack of leaf cover makes it significantly easier.
>Descending down into the forest, you find the area around the stand about as it was before; maybe some more leaves have fallen since this morning? A crow on top of the stand starts cawing as you land.  There seems to be an active convervation from the stand; you can see a distinctive pair of sling-slat geta beneath the stand's curtain, as well as the very edge of a black skirt.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Smile and wave at the crow.
> Can we hear any part of the conversation?

[Hello Purvis]

> Smile and wave at the crow.
> Can we hear any part of the conversation?

>The crow doesn't appreciably react.
>You might have, but it's stopped now. Aya peeks around the curtain. "There you two are," she says.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "Yes. Yesterday's happening were a bit...unanticipated, shall we say. Suffice it that I would have been here yesterday were I actually able to get here. How have you been?"

[Hello Purvis]

> "Yes. Yesterday's happening were a bit...unanticipated, shall we say. Suffice it that I would have been here yesterday were I actually able to get here. How have you been?"

>"Wonderful," she says. "It's be great to be back in action again! And to actually see all this stuff I kept hearing about. Like that Yukari look-alike? Couldn't even tell the difference when I saw her, expect she had that friend with the hat."

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "The resemblance is quite jarring, yes. I admit I am still curious as to how they came here, but at this point I have mostly given up hope of ever really finding out. The Dragon refuses to talk about it, as do most of Gensokyo's higher powers that seem to know what happened, so I guess I will have to live with not knowing."

[Hello Purvis]

> "The resemblance is quite jarring, yes. I admit I am still curious as to how they came here, but at this point I have mostly given up hope of ever really finding out. The Dragon refuses to talk about it, as do most of Gensokyo's higher powers that seem to know what happened, so I guess I will have to live with not knowing."

>"It's on the list," says Aya.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Half-smile.
> "If you wish to confront Lady Yakumo on the issue, or return to your home and brethren to speak with Lady Yasaka instead, you are most welcome to do so, but I would not advise it."

[Hello Purvis]

> Half-smile.
> "If you wish to confront Lady Yakumo on the issue, or return to your home and brethren to speak with Lady Yasaka instead, you are most welcome to do so, but I would not advise it."

>"No need to bother with them," says Aya. "But we'll worry about that later."

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Lose the smile and nod.
> "If you say so. I am curious, though; do you really think the ankles of one of your rival journalists are a proper subject for space in your releases? It seems like that area could have been better spent on something people might want to know more about. Such as those two girls, for example."

[Hello Purvis]

> Lose the smile and nod.
> "If you say so. I am curious, though; do you really think the ankles of one of your rival journalists are a proper subject for space in your releases? It seems like that area could have been better spent on something people might want to know more about. Such as those two girls, for example."

>Aya opens her hands and gives a little shrug. "I needed to fill space. And I think my readers will find interest in a wide variety of stories."

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "This is true. But the same reasoning could be used to write about just about anything, regardless of how eclectic or mundane the subject is. Surely more of a profit could be made by keeping that same variety of stories, but using subjects that are more likely to appeal to your demographic? Just off the top of my head, you could have filled that same space with a story about a day in the life of the human village school teacher."

[Hello Purvis]

> "This is true. But the same reasoning could be used to write about just about anything, regardless of how eclectic or mundane the subject is. Surely more of a profit could be made by keeping that same variety of stories, but using subjects that are more likely to appeal to your demographic? Just off the top of my head, you could have filled that same space with a story about a day in the life of the human village school teacher."

>"I think you ought to leave the paper to me," she says. "Trust me, I know the readers."

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "I'm speaking now as a reader. One that sees an opportunity to get a better overall product, because of a new addition to the market that, as near as I can tell, hasn't been there in a long time, if ever. The newspaper market in Gensokyo has competition now, and people are going to choose their side based on a number of things, one of which is product quality. Now, obviously, I am only one reader, but I do have to wonder how many others in your reader base would be interested in hearing about something they could see for themselves in the five seconds it would take for your competition to arrive on their doorstep and offer her own paper, as opposed to something that would take significant time to research and isn't nearly as accessible for the average person."

[Hello Purvis]

> "I'm speaking now as a reader. One that sees an opportunity to get a better overall product, because of a new addition to the market that, as near as I can tell, hasn't been there in a long time, if ever. The newspaper market in Gensokyo has competition now, and people are going to choose their side based on a number of things, one of which is product quality. Now, obviously, I am only one reader, but I do have to wonder how many others in your reader base would be interested in hearing about something they could see for themselves in the five seconds it would take for your competition to arrive on their doorstep and offer her own paper, as opposed to something that would take significant time to research and isn't nearly as accessible for the average person."

>"Given I don't deliver to Bhava-Agra," says Aya, "And you don't really fall in line with most of my readers on a lot of things, forgive me if I don't fall over myself to ignore all the evidence to the contrary."

>_