Nue Quest 7 - Serpent Isle: A Z-Machine Adventure

[Kilgamayan]

> Look to Tewi, then back to Kana, then shrug with a small grin of our own.
> "Just checking."

[Hello Purvis]

> Look to Tewi, then back to Kana, then shrug with a small grin of our own.
> "Just checking."

>Tewi gives a small shrug in response.
>"Okay!" says Kana, as she resumes sneaking toward the large doors at the end of the hall.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "Give them our regards. Y'know, after they're over wanting to throttle you."
> Head back outside.

[Hello Purvis]

> "Give them our regards. Y'know, after they're over wanting to throttle you."
> Head back outside.

>"Okay!" Kana says again, as you for the front room.
>Opening the front door, you hear the pots clang together, and are pretty sure you hear Rikako cry out something that involves a profanity.
>"It's been like that since I've been here," says Tewi.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Step outside.
> "I asked her about it last night. Apparently it's pretty fun."
> Grin.
> "Doesn't bother me. She doesn't live with me, after all. Seems to fit the poltergeist mode of existence, though. She found what she likes to do,  so she just does it."

[Hello Purvis]

> Step outside.
> "I asked her about it last night. Apparently it's pretty fun."
> Grin.
> "Doesn't bother me. She doesn't live with me, after all. Seems to fit the poltergeist mode of existence, though. She found what she likes to do,  so she just does it."

>You step back out into the rain, putting your borrowed umbrella to use. Tewi runs over to thickly branched tree tree and takes refuge under it's boughs.
>"Yeah. Anyways, seeya!"
>And with that, she disappears into forest.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Take flight ourselves and head back to the Scarlet Devil Mansion gate.

[Hello Purvis]

> Take flight ourselves and head back to the Scarlet Devil Mansion gate.

>You take to the air again, and make your way back toward Scarlet Devil Mansion. The rain has not let up, and you get the feeling it's probably going to be wet all day. The faeries are still decently active, as far as you can see, but it seems most of them have taken refuge under the forest canopy. Approaching mansion gates, you see Miss Hong and Flan in their usual spots, the latter with a steaming mug in the hand not carrying the umbrella.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Is the wedge visible?
> Can we alter our hearing so we go deaf without irreversibly damaging our hearing?
> Swoop back down to the two gate guards.

[Hello Purvis]

> Is the wedge visible?
> Can we alter our hearing so we go deaf without irreversibly damaging our hearing?
> Swoop back down to the two gate guards.

>Looking around, you see it some distance to the west.
>You can can eliminate your hearing temporarily. Although you've actually done it before, you don't think it should be difficult.
>You approach the guards. "Hi!" says Flan as you approach.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Was it still pretty far away?
> "Hey. Got some new important information for anyone heading to the culprit's house. Apparently he can remind you of past purchases you've made from him, and use this reminder to make you feel like you still owe him for them. Once he's done that, he can make you do whatever he wants to make up for this fictitious new debt - with, of course, no guarantee that he won't just manipulate you again when he needs to."

[Hello Purvis]

> Was it still pretty far away?
> "Hey. Got some new important information for anyone heading to the culprit's house. Apparently he can remind you of past purchases you've made from him, and use this reminder to make you feel like you still owe him for them. Once he's done that, he can make you do whatever he wants to make up for this fictitious new debt - with, of course, no guarantee that he won't just manipulate you again when he needs to."

>Not quite so far as last time. You're not really sure where it would be in relation to the terrain there; somewhere over the Bamboo Forest.
>Miss Hong nods, and Flan says, "You should tell Koa-koa! She's there right now!"
>"Definitely going to have to tell Sakuya to stay away from him, then..." Miss Hong mutters.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "Yeah. Anyone that's bought something from him needs to stay away if they can. Or maybe just plug their ears. Hopefully that'll be enough. I'll head over to his shop and warn those that are there already."

[Hello Purvis]

> "Yeah. Anyone that's bought something from him needs to stay away if they can. Or maybe just plug their ears. Hopefully that'll be enough. I'll head over to his shop and warn those that are there already."

>"I'll make sure it's spread around," says Miss Hong.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "All right. I'm off. Best of luck to all of us."
> Take flight and head back toward the part of the forest where Rinnosuke's shop is. If we see the wedge headed our way or in the nearby vicinity, however, let's chase after it.

[Hello Purvis]

> "All right. I'm off. Best of luck to all of us."
> Take flight and head back toward the part of the forest where Rinnosuke's shop is. If we see the wedge headed our way or in the nearby vicinity, however, let's chase after it.

>"You too," says Miss Hong.
>"Don't forget to tell her!" says Flan as you depart.
>You make your way over the forest, following along the road. As you pass over Alice's home, you notice a few of her dolls working to bring a large bucket which you assume is full of water. Watching the wedge, it moves toward the north, significantly faster than you. You're starting to suspect it is largely going in a big circle now.
>You approach Rinnosuke's shop, and find the the front door is hanging open.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Didn't Flan say Koa was there?
> Enter.

[Hello Purvis]

> Didn't Flan say Koa was there?
> Enter.

>You walk into the front room. It is still empty, save one one thing. Sitting against the wall is a red-haired woman in a long black skirt and matching vest over a white collared shirt. A part of bat wings extend from her head, with another larger pair extending from her back. She seem to be sitting on top of a brown-haired tengu who is laying on her stomach on the ground. Her arms are at a strange angle; it takes you a moment to notice her wrists are bound, as are her legs. She notices you walk in the door, and cries, "Get this maniac off me!"
>"Look what I found!" says the bat-winged youkai, smiling proudly.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Grin.
> "Oh ho! So now the tengu decide it worth their time to get involved!"

[Hello Purvis]

> Grin.
> "Oh ho! So now the tengu decide it worth their time to get involved!"

>"What're you talking about?" she says, "Get this crazy person off me!"
>Yes, you definitely recognize this one; it was a little hard to tell at first, what with having a youkai perched on her back, but this is definitely Hatate. You observed this one in the middle of the night on Iku's behalf last fall, and impersonated her to help take some candid photos of Aya. As well, you're distantly familiar with a newspaper she publishes.
>"Boss said that I can't do anything fun with her," says the bat-winged youkai, "But she didn't say that I couldn't take her as a pet!"

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "Well, the thing is, there's been an internal emergency, and my borders, uh, I mean, my ability to help people with girls on their backs has been closed. I'd like to undo those ropes for you, but it can't be helped. I'd be glad to listen to whatever information you have and then send you back home empty-handed, though."

[Hello Purvis]

> "Well, the thing is, there's been an internal emergency, and my borders, uh, I mean, my ability to help people with girls on their backs has been closed. I'd like to undo those ropes for you, but it can't be helped. I'd be glad to listen to whatever information you have and then send you back home empty-handed, though."

>"I have no idea what you just said," says Hatate, "But whatever. Fine."

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Look up at Koa.
> "If one of the tengu are already here, the black-haired voyeur probably won't be too far behind. Feel free to keep her as a pet too. I don't know how Guard Doggie feels about this one, but I know she's close with the other one. Maybe domesticating a few of their people will knock some sense into them on the whole."

[Hello Purvis]

> Look up at Koa.
> "If one of the tengu are already here, the black-haired voyeur probably won't be too far behind. Feel free to keep her as a pet too. I don't know how Guard Doggie feels about this one, but I know she's close with the other one. Maybe domesticating a few of their people will knock some sense into them on the whole."

>"Hee hee!" says the youkai.
>"Oh for the love of..." says Hatate, before giving up and ending in a groan.

>_

[Hello Purvis]

> Look back down at Hatate and frown.
> "You really don't know, huh? I guess Guard Doggie wouldn't have bothered to say anything. She probably wasn't even programmed to think this way. But I know you're a journalist, so you probably have a better appreciation of Gensokyo on the whole, rather than just what's your territory versus what isn't."

>"Let me guess," she says in a deadpan voice. "There's an emergency, and for some reason you thought you could go wherever you pleased, and now you're all in a snit because you couldn't. And now for some reason it's my fault. Am I right?"

>_

[GuyYouMetOnline]

>"No. The mountain gods may be able to fix everything, but your people told me to fuck off. The tengu are preventing me from even talking to the ones who could best work to reverse what was done, and they're really being dicks about it, too."
>But do they let their own up freely? Let's find out, ideally without it being apparent that's what we're doing. Just make it sound like a natural part of the conversation. With Hatate indisposed, this may give us an opportunity.
>"I bet they don't even let their own go up unchallenged, do they? They probably even give you shit."

[Kilgamayan]

> "It's not your fault per se. Not you specifically, anyway. But, well, perhaps this is better explained in story."
> Walk closer to the tengu on the ground while talking.
> "I don't know if your people noticed, but everyone's money was replaced by gems. Not just yours, everyone's. So I've spent all of yesterday and today searching around for clues as to who's responsible. I'm a businesswoman, I know full well what effect this will have on Gensokyo's economy. But getting everyone's money back is hard to do when everyone's been victimized. Doesn't leave very many places to look, only tons of people to ask. Of course people will say whatever they know and help in whatever way they can, because they want their money back, right? And throughout yesterday and today, I've been getting help from all those people. Everywhere I've gone. I've been helped by the Myouren Temple. The human village. The kappa village. The goddesses at the foot of the mountain. The Earth Spirit Palace. The rabbit house in the Bamboo Forest. The outer world kids. The red-white shrine maiden. The green-white shrine maiden. The black-white witch. The blonde puppeteer. The Scarlet Devil Mansion. The ferrywoman of the dead. The swordswoman of the netherworld. A band of celestials that happened to come down to the surface for some training. I even found some heretics that helped me out. Everywhere I went, people helped, often without question. Everywhere."
> Squat down while balancing on the balls of out feet to get a close look at Hatate's face. Fold our hands together in front of us and grin.
> "Everywhere. Except...for one place. One place was not only decidedly unhelpful, they were actively detrimental. They impeded an investigation into why their money was missing, an investigation that has yielded fantastic results, as much as it has not concluded.  Can you guess what place that might be?"

[Kilgamayan]

Oh, well, fuck me, then.

[Hello Purvis]

>"No. The mountain gods may be able to fix everything, but your people told me to fuck off. The tengu are preventing me from even talking to the ones who could best work to reverse what was done, and they're really being dicks about it, too."
>But do they let their own up freely? Let's find out, ideally without it being apparent that's what we're doing. Just make it sound like a natural part of the conversation. With Hatate indisposed, this may give us an opportunity.
>"I bet they don't even let their own go up unchallenged, do they? They probably even give you shit."

> "It's not your fault per se. Not you specifically, anyway. But, well, perhaps this is better explained in story."
> Walk closer to the tengu on the ground while talking.
> "I don't know if your people noticed, but everyone's money was replaced by gems. Not just yours, everyone's. So I've spent all of yesterday and today searching around for clues as to who's responsible. I'm a businesswoman, I know full well what effect this will have on Gensokyo's economy. But getting everyone's money back is hard to do when everyone's been victimized. Doesn't leave very many places to look, only tons of people to ask. Of course people will say whatever they know and help in whatever way they can, because they want their money back, right? And throughout yesterday and today, I've been getting help from all those people. Everywhere I've gone. I've been helped by the Myouren Temple. The human village. The kappa village. The goddesses at the foot of the mountain. The Earth Spirit Palace. The rabbit house in the Bamboo Forest. The outer world kids. The red-white shrine maiden. The green-white shrine maiden. The black-white witch. The blonde puppeteer. The Scarlet Devil Mansion. The ferrywoman of the dead. The swordswoman of the netherworld. A band of celestials that happened to come down to the surface for some training. I even found some heretics that helped me out. Everywhere I went, people helped, often without question. Everywhere."
> Squat down while balancing on the balls of out feet to get a close look at Hatate's face. Fold our hands together in front of us and grin.
> "Everywhere. Except...for one place. One place was not only decidedly unhelpful, they were actively detrimental. They impeded an investigation into why their money was missing, an investigation that has yielded fantastic results, as much as it has not concluded.  Can you guess what place that might be?"

>"Wow, I can't imagine why we wouldn't want someone like you in our territory," says Hatate.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Frown again, then shrug, stand back up and turn to Koa.
> "I guess that's that, then, if they can't admit when they're the problem. If the doctor from Eientei comes by, let her through. She's with me on request. I'm gonna go check on Patchouli and relay some important info I recently learned. Then we can set into figuring out how to redistribute everyone's money."