Nue Quest Vth Vanguard: A Z-Machine Adventure

[Hello Purvis]

> Can we float around while it's active without breaking it?

>You doubt it.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Frown and turn to Mystia, then put a finger up to our lips in a "no noise" gesture.
> Turn back to the stairway, begin hovering a couple of inches off the ground, and start floating our way down the stairs. Don't go charging into the landing area, however; once we get really close, get up against the wall that serves as the "inside track" for the turn in the stairway, and carefully poke our head around it while hiding our body behind it as best we can.

[Hello Purvis]

> Frown and turn to Mystia, then put a finger up to our lips in a "no noise" gesture.
> Turn back to the stairway, begin hovering a couple of inches off the ground, and start floating our way down the stairs. Don't go charging into the landing area, however; once we get really close, get up against the wall that serves as the "inside track" for the turn in the stairway, and carefully poke our head around it while hiding our body behind it as best we can.

>You signal to Mystia to be quiet. She looks away from the door, her eyes wide and lips drawn into a grimace, and nods.
>You float down the stairs, and peek around the landing.  The stairs make a ninety degree turn, and continue down toward another landing.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Continue floating down the stairs to the next landing and peek around the next turn as with the first one.

[Hello Purvis]

> Continue floating down the stairs to the next landing and peek around the next turn as with the first one.

>You proceed further and peek around the next landing.
>At the bottom of the stairs, the wooden stairs give way to bare dirt, ahead you can see a basement chamber. The low ceiling prevents you from seeing very fair into the basement, but you can tell the light is coming from there.

>_

[GuyYouMetOnline]

>How easily could we alter our coloration to blend in with the wall?

[Hello Purvis]

>How easily could we alter our coloration to blend in with the wall?

>You probably could do it with a couple minutes concentration. But given your clothes don't change and you're still a three-dimensional person, it wouldn't actually be very good camouflage.

>_

[GuyYouMetOnline]

>It'd be better than nothing, though. And we're not trying to avoid being seen, just to avoid being noticed. If we just move in enough to see into the room and stay still (and are unclothed), it should work well enough, right? especially since anyone in the room wouldn't suspect we're there in the first place.

[Kilgamayan]

> Wait, we're stripping? When we have an ally present, and who knows what downstairs?

[Hello Purvis]

>It'd be better than nothing, though. And we're not trying to avoid being seen, just to avoid being noticed. If we just move in enough to see into the room and stay still (and are unclothed), it should work well enough, right? especially since anyone in the room wouldn't suspect we're there in the first place.

> Wait, we're stripping? When we have an ally present, and who knows what downstairs?

>You weight the pros and cons of an idea. There is also the fact it wouldn't change that you're still a human-sized and human thick person; being the same color as the wall would not help you hide in almost all situations.

>_

[Rin Kagamine]

Nudity is for sexy times (or protecting Remilia) and this is not sexy times.

> Float back up the stairs to Mystia.

[Hello Purvis]

> Float back up the stairs to Mystia.

>You float back up to Mystia. She starts a little as you round the corner, and seems to have to forcibly keep herself from crying out.
>"What did you find?" she whispers as you approach.

>_

[Rin Kagamine]

> Land quietly
> "Sorry about that.  There's some kind of basement down there and there's some light showing through, so I think someone may be down there.  But first I want to check something."
> Return to the second room crouch down near some of the dust free squares.
> About how big are they?
> Aside from our footprints are there any other disturbances in the dust around the squares, like they'd been moved or dragged?

[GuyYouMetOnline]

Nudity is for sexy times (or protecting Remilia) and this is not sexy times.

Just considering all the options.

[Hello Purvis]

> Land quietly
> "Sorry about that.  There's some kind of basement down there and there's some light showing through, so I think someone may be down there.  But first I want to check something."
> Return to the second room crouch down near some of the dust free squares.
> About how big are they?
> Aside from our footprints are there any other disturbances in the dust around the squares, like they'd been moved or dragged?

>You check the squares, though by and large they are more rectangles.  Most are about eight inches to a bit over a foot on their long side, and about half that on the short side.  There is one, in the corner, though, that is a bit over six feet long and a but under three feet wide. Looking at the dust, you can see trails that seems to have got between the rectangles in a rather haphazard manner. You don't see any signs of dragging or other kinds of movement. However, you do see other footprints besides your own, some partially dust-covered themselves. They seem to be from feet somewhat larger than yours.

>_

[Rin Kagamine]

> Are our feet big or more average sized?
> "Well, whatever was in here it looks like it was light enough to pick up and carry instead of drag.  Looks like various things though, probably storage huh?"
> Head back to the stairs.

[Hello Purvis]

> Are our feet big or more average sized?
> "Well, whatever was in here it looks like it was light enough to pick up and carry instead of drag.  Looks like various things though, probably storage huh?"
> Head back to the stairs.

>You have average-sized feet.
>Mystia nods. "Yeah, that makes sense."
>You return to the stairs. They are still empty.

>_

[Rin Kagamine]

> Inventory
> Unsheath trident
> "I'm gonna head back down.  You wanna follow or stay up here?"

[Hello Purvis]

> Inventory
> Unsheath trident
> "I'm gonna head back down.  You wanna follow or stay up here?"

>Your inventory contains:
>Black dress
>A short number that draws attention low, and has a lovely bit of frills around the neck. It's made to accommodate your wings, and is is quite stretchy, very useful when you need to change shapes on the fly.
>Black Stockings
>They keep your legs warm and clean. They can stretch to accommodate some shape changes.
>Black Bracelet
>A simple accessory that plays off the asymmetry of your natural form.
>Red shoes
>A cute pair of shoes that stand out against your stockings.
>Rose Quartz x2
>A common gem with a pinkish hue. Worth about 15-25☼.
>Black Pearl x2
>A rare and precious kind of pearl, easily worth 100-130☼.
>Red Spinel x2
>A lovely but low value gem that the uninitiated may mistake for a ruby. Worth 50-80☼.
>Green Glass Bead x15
>Cheaply made, but kind of pretty. Worth 1☼. at most, and you'd quickly expect a bulk discount.
>Loose Cobblestone
>This seems to have been taken from the streets of the Ancient City
> Seeds of Nonidentification x2
>These snake-shaped seeds allow you to cloak people and objects in powerful illusions.
>Brown Jasper
>An ornamental gem worth 30-40☼
>Aventurine
>A greenish stone that worth 20-25☼.
>Banded Agate
>A layered stone you would value at 7-11☼ 
>Carnelian
>A common brownish red decorative stone that you price at 7-11☼
>Hand Mirror
>A small sturdy mirror for on the go use.
>Trident
>Your trusty weapon and fishing tool.
>Broken Sword Blade
>Wrapped in cloth, and bearing odd glyphs on its blade.
>Broken Broadsword Handle
>This seems to be the handle of a broadsword, with about an inch and a half of blade.
>Riceball x3
>Filled with grilled vegetables and wrapped in cloth.
>Mahogany Scrap
>A bit of wood about two inches long and a quarter inch thick.
>Black Skirt
>A knee-length skirt to made your dress, for when you need to be larger than modesty would allow in your normal attire.
>Jeweler's Scope
>An eyepiece used to see the fine details of gems; indispensable for cutting gems.
>Lockpicks Masquerading as a Pocket Clay Sculpting Set
>You suppose they could sculpt clay, too...
>Tewi's Dress
>A pink dress belonging to Tewi Inaba. It is full of wrinkles due to rough treatment.
>Freshwater Pearl
>A common, low value pearl worth 7-8☼
>You take your trident in hand and ask Mystia if she intends to come.  "I'd...um...just, you know..." says Mystia. She sighs. "I'm scared, okay? I didn't think we'd be doing this kind of thing...

>_

[Rin Kagamine]

Totally got something to say to her but first

> About what time is it
> About what time did we see Rinnosuke last night?

[Hello Purvis]

> About what time is it
> About what time did we see Rinnosuke last night?

>It's fairly late in the morning now. Probably not quite eleven o'clock.
>The last time you saw him was well into the evening. Thinking back, you don't quite recall when.

>_

[Rin Kagamine]

> "You figured we'd be doing more cracking skulls than investigating or are you uncomfortable with looking inside Kourindou?"

[Hello Purvis]

> "You figured we'd be doing more cracking skulls than investigating or are you uncomfortable with looking inside Kourindou?"

>"Breaking into here," she says.

>_

[Rin Kagamine]

> "Initially I just wanted to check and see if he was here but look around, something has clearly happened.  I saw Rinnosuke pretty late last night and everything in here was fine, and overnight everything has gone missing.  From the looks of it, there's only been one other person in that back room so unless our money thief has taken to disappearing furniture and useless things, someone came in last night an made off with everything.  I'd say this definitely warrants an investigation, Rinnosuke could be in trouble down there."

[Hello Purvis]

> "Initially I just wanted to check and see if he was here but look around, something has clearly happened.  I saw Rinnosuke pretty late last night and everything in here was fine, and overnight everything has gone missing.  From the looks of it, there's only been one other person in that back room so unless our money thief has taken to disappearing furniture and useless things, someone came in last night an made off with everything.  I'd say this definitely warrants an investigation, Rinnosuke could be in trouble down there."

>Nystia nods. "Yeah, you're right..."

>_

[Rin Kagamine]

> "The way I see it, we have a really nice opportunity to poke around right now that we may not get later.  As such, I'm going to go take a look."
> "I don't want to force you to stick around if you don't want to, but I'd really appreciate having you around, even if you just keep watch up here.  You still in?"

[Kilgamayan]

> Can we sharpen our hearing like we did our eyesight?

[Hello Purvis]

> "The way I see it, we have a really nice opportunity to poke around right now that we may not get later.  As such, I'm going to go take a look."
> "I don't want to force you to stick around if you don't want to, but I'd really appreciate having you around, even if you just keep watch up here.  You still in?"

>"I'll keep watch," she says.

> Can we sharpen our hearing like we did our eyesight?

>You can. It carries similar risks, but it's not quite so difficult to pull off; you have a better understanding of how an ear is constructed and what makes it work.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "Great. I'll head back down there and see what I can learn without getting caught. I'll report back if I need to. If I yell to run, then, well, yeah. Don't forget the front door is locked again."

[Hello Purvis]

> "Great. I'll head back down there and see what I can learn without getting caught. I'll report back if I need to. If I yell to run, then, well, yeah. Don't forget the front door is locked again."

>"Got it," says Mystia.

>_