Kisume Quest II - A Z-Machine Adventure

[Hello Purvis]

> "Some farmer-looking guy came down to the city. Ran all over the place. Managed to avoid capture, despite a lot of oni trying. No idea what his deal is. I learned from the harvest goddess that none of her farmers have gone off running around in oni territory lately, which makes me want to know what's up all the more.

>"Huh," says Wriggle.
>Tokiko frowns, as she gathers a large double-handful of meat and tosses it onto the the grill, then goes to grab another. "Did he have silvery hair?"

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Raise an eyebrow.
> "He did. You know something?"

[Hello Purvis]

> Raise an eyebrow.
> "He did. You know something?"

>"I saw a weird person like that last night," says Tokiko. "I was leaving here, and saw him walking through the forest. Not the road like most humans do, the forest. He was very quiet, I don't think I could have heard him. He was looking around, and I think he was trying to keep from being seen. I only saw him in the distance, and I hid as quick as I could. But I definitely remember him."

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "In which direction was he going?"

[Hello Purvis]

> "In which direction was he going?"

>"Um, I was on my way home," says Tokiko, as she throws more meat on the grill, enough to make several skewers like yours. "So I was close to the forest, um, and I think he was heading north? Yes, I'm sure of it. I thought maybe he was heading home, and he was actually a hunter or something like but. But now that you mention it, he wasn't carrying any anything to hunt with that I could see..."

>_

[GuyYouMetOnline]

>"Anything notable north of here?"

[Hello Purvis]

>"Anything notable north of here?"

>"There's the human village," says Tokiko. "I'm not sure what's part that, to be honest."
>"Jam past that and you'll mouse around the flower fields," says Wriggle. "After that, word has it you'll find Higan. Never did a run that way."
>You're well aware of where Higan is...

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Do we remember where the entrance to the underground is from here?

[Hello Purvis]

> Do we remember where the entrance to the underground is from here?

>You can probably find it; it's easy to navigate when you can go in straight lines and get anywhere. It's to the east and a bit south.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Frown.
> "Anything notable in the flower fields?"

[Hello Purvis]

> Frown.
> "Anything notable in the flower fields?"

>"That's where the flower youkai calls home," says Wriggle. "That girl's a BA, don't even think of messing with her. Even Yukari doesn't jam with her."

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "Oh, I think Nue mentioned something about her. Green hair, parasol?"

[Hello Purvis]

> "Oh, I think Nue mentioned something about her. Green hair, parasol?"

>"Got it, chummer," says Wriggle.
>"I've never seen her myself," says Tokiko as she starts to season all of the sizzling meat in front of her. "But I hear she has a terrible temper, and can hide it and smile like a snake while preparing to beat someone senseless! I don't know if she's ever actually done that, though."

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Frown slightly.
> "...Would she happen to have red eyes, too?"

[Hello Purvis]

> Frown slightly.
> "...Would she happen to have red eyes, too?"

>"Sounds right," says Wriggle.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "I think I might have run into her already, then. There's a red-eyed, green-haired youkai selling plants in the human village right now."

[Hello Purvis]

> "I think I might have run into her already, then. There's a red-eyed, green-haired youkai selling plants in the human village right now."

>"Huh," says the Wriggle. "Good job not getting mashed into paste, choomba."
>"Oh, I'll have to warn Mystia, then," Tokiko says, as she rolls a couple smaller pieces of meat over on the grill.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "You two really think she'd cause a scene in the human village?"

[Hello Purvis]

> "You two really think she'd cause a scene in the human village?"

>"Yes," says Tokiko
>"Totally!" Wriggle says at the same time.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Frown.
> "Maybe it's not the same person, then. She was perfectly polite to me. Even told me where the Hakurei Shrine was, in case I wanted to tell the red-white about this guy."

[Hello Purvis]

> Frown.
> "Maybe it's not the same person, then. She was perfectly polite to me. Even told me where the Hakurei Shrine was, in case I wanted to tell the red-white about this guy."

>"Maybe you just got lucky?" says Tokiko.
>"Hey, are you gonna tell her?" Wriggle says.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "Tell the red-white? Probably."

[Hello Purvis]

> "Tell the red-white? Probably."

>Wriggle nods. "I'd link in the Moriya Shrine for you, but they wouldn't cred it unless it was an incident, probably."

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Shrug.
> "Whatever topside thinks is best. Frankly, all I want to do is find this guy, learn what's up, and get back underground as quick as I can."

[Hello Purvis]

> Shrug.
> "Whatever topside thinks is best. Frankly, all I want to do is find this guy, learn what's up, and get back underground as quick as I can."

>"Oh, you can't want to leave that quickly," says Tokiko.  "You just got up here!"

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Shake head.
> "Open air ain't for me. Much prefer the confines of the tunnels."

[Hello Purvis]

> Shake head.
> "Open air ain't for me. Much prefer the confines of the tunnels."

>"Surely it isn't that bad," says Tokiko. "Isn't it nice to have all the trees and grass and things?"

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> How often do we speak of our past, heritage, etc, and why do we speak of it that much?
> Shrug.
> "They're fine, I guess. They just don't have the confined coziness you get from the tunnels."

[Hello Purvis]

> How often do we speak of our past, heritage, etc, and why do we speak of it that much?
> Shrug.
> "They're fine, I guess. They just don't have the confined coziness you get from the tunnels."

>You generally don't speak of it idly. Life's easier if people don't give you pity you don't want for "falling so far." Nor do you really want people trying to curry a Yama's favor by trying to butter you up. Not that it'd work, but it'd be irksome and transparent. You're not going to hide behind their name. However, you're perfectly content to speak about your experiences living underground.
>"I suppose so," says Tokiko, "But there's no room to fly in there, is there?"
>"Don't cred Tokiko, Wriggle says, giving you a friendly nudge with an elbow. "Can't expect a bird to chip into a nice little hole in the ground to veg out in."

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Give a small grin.
> "Well, I guess there's plenty of room to fly around in the Ancient City. If you like dealing with evil spirits and getting potentially negative attention from the oni, of course."