Kisume Quest VII - A Z-Machine Adventure

[Kilgamayan]

> Oh, those things.
> How close is the nearest soldier?
> How many soldiers can we see?
> Can we see the exit from here?

[Hello Purvis]

> Oh, those things.
> How close is the nearest soldier?
> How many soldiers can we see?
> Can we see the exit from here?

>Those things, indeed.
>There's two soldiers now, the nearest one is only a couple yards from you.
>You cannot see the exit, that wall is in the way.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Zip at the nearest one, aiming bucket for head!

[Hello Purvis]

> Zip at the nearest one, aiming bucket for head!

>You toward the nearest one, as he brings his weapon toward you. Speed favors you, and you force him onto the defensive before he can fire on you. He scrambles back and ducks under your attack, but another wave of danmaku passing beneath you draws a cry from him, while the other soldier ahead of you is too close to Kasen to escape it himself.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> So this guy is below us now?

[Hello Purvis]

> So this guy is below us now?

>He is, though that will be changing momentarily as you fly past him.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Keep flying forward and aim bucket-to-head for the guy we saw get caught by Kasen's bullets.

[Hello Purvis]

> Keep flying forward and aim bucket-to-head for the guy we saw get caught by Kasen's bullets.

>You keep going, but see him collapse before you get there. It seems that Kasen's danmaku was enough to get the job done.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Quick, locate the other guards.

[Hello Purvis]

> Quick, locate the other guards.

>A quick glance around reveals no other soldiers in sight, but you can definitely hear them down the little entry corridor.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Is Kasen already at that corridor?

[Hello Purvis]

> Is Kasen already at that corridor?

>No.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Hurry toward that corridor, then!

[Hello Purvis]

> Hurry toward that corridor, then!

>You hurry toward that corridor, and look out the door to see several soldiers entering, and weapons at the ready, They are equally aware of you, as several swing their weapons in your direction.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "Whoa!"
> About face and chase ourselves back down the corridor!

[Hello Purvis]

> "Whoa!"
> About face and chase ourselves back down the corridor!

>You do an about face and try to go back, as the deafening noise of the weapons drowns out everything else. The world explodes into pain and darkness.
>Dimly, you are aware that you've fallen on the floor, you can feel the coolness of it against your cheek, and you desperately wish you could move this coolness somewhere else. Your side is on fire. you can feel that you're bleeding. Strangely, you feel a pang of regret for getting blood all over Chiyuri's clothes. You can hear footsteps around you, and more danmaku. Something crunches under those footsteps; you dimly realize they must have broken the mirror, too.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Son of a bitch.
> Hope Kasen is okay...she's all we have now.
> ...Probably best to act dead right now, too.

[Hello Purvis]

> Son of a bitch.
> Hope Kasen is okay...she's all we have now.
> ...Probably best to act dead right now, too.

>You decide to play dead, while hoping Kasen is okay. You don't hear her, but you don't believe that she's been stopped, someone has to me causing all that glass to crunch and be the source of the angry and surprised shouts, then the panicked ones.  You'd smile, but it hurts too much to smile right now.
>The noises die down, and you hear someone rush over. "Um, hold still," comes Ruukoto's voice. "You have glass all over you..."

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Let out a groan and don't move.

[Hello Purvis]

> Let out a groan and don't move.

>You groan and hold still while you feel someone, Ruukoto you imagine, pick bits of glass off of you. You hadn't noticed them until now, but you suppose it isn't surprising, all things told.
>"Move, Ruukoto," comes Yumemi's voice. "Mmm, ah, it seems to have gone through. Good, good good. Now, I want you to close your eyes and do your best not to bite your tongue. This will not be pleasant after a moment."
>She doesn't give you time to respond. You hear her pulling something out of her pockets, then suddenly your side feels a whole lot worse! There is no pressure, just the pain gets more intense! It is difficult not to scream, and you can see well why Yumemi warned you about your tongue, you jaw hurts now, gritting your teeth against the pain as you feel pressure on the wound.  You want to thrash about, but you realize that someone is holding you down. That's probably for the best.  You aren't really aware of what's happening, but it at one point you are picked up. Finally, the pain dies back down to previous levels. "There," says Yumemi.
>"Do you think you can sit up, Kisume?" Kasen asks.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Might as well try.
> Give sitting up a go.

[Hello Purvis]

> Might as well try.
> Give sitting up a go.

>You open your eyes, and seek out a safe spot to place your hands. Glass falls off of you as you push yourself up. Your side protests, and you have to keep Yumemi's warning about your tongue in mind. But you succeed, flopping your borrowed bucket upright.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "...Safe?"

[Hello Purvis]

> "...Safe?"

>"We need to move soon, but yes," says Yumemi. "You did well, all told. They had only begun to radio for help when you appeared, and that distracted them long enough for Kasen and I to finish the job."
>You feel Ruukoto start to pick bits of glass out of your hair.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "...Hurts."
> Very gently move our body around a little bit, just to test the limits of what we can do before we set ourselves on painfire again. Try not to shake too much; don't want to scatter glass more than it already is.

[Hello Purvis]

> "...Hurts."
> Very gently move our body around a little bit, just to test the limits of what we can do before we set ourselves on painfire again. Try not to shake too much; don't want to scatter glass more than it already is.

>"That's what firearms do," says Yumemi. "You're lucky this is mostly just a side would, I don't think it hit anything important. It's been cleaned and bandaged, so you'll not have to worry about that."
>"Judging by these holes, you were lucky that only one of the shots hit you," says Kasen.
>You move a bit, and just about everything hurts. However, you can move your torso a bit without it becoming unbearable. You'll want to keep off the ground while moving, at least. Hopefully this will fade before too long...

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "...Okay...give me a moment."
> Close our eyes again. Take a couple of breaths in the hope that they help us relax instead of making the pain worse.
> "...On the chance you see this...please...don't blow my cover...just listen to me...for once in your life...play along...for everyone's sake...don't blow my cover..."

[Hello Purvis]

> "...Okay...give me a moment."
> Close our eyes again. Take a couple of breaths in the hope that they help us relax instead of making the pain worse.
> "...On the chance you see this...please...don't blow my cover...just listen to me...for once in your life...play along...for everyone's sake...don't blow my cover..."

>You take a few breaths. It's not an pleasant experience, but it's not stupendously painful to compared to other things you've done so far.
>"...Who are you talking to?" says Yumemi.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "...No one...here right now...let's find Chiyuri..."

[Hello Purvis]

> "...No one...here right now...let's find Chiyuri..."

>"Let's," says Yumemi.
>"Um, I could carry you, if you want," says Ruukoto.

>_