Kisume Quest VIII - A Z-Machine Adventure

[Hello Purvis]

> Do we know anything about any strange artifacts in the forest very near the Sanzu River?
> "Among other things, I was gonna ask if you were going to bring extra soldiers given the change of plans, but after hearing about your supplies situation I guess you've all already thought that through more than I would."

>You think you vaguely recall something like that...
>"What you see will be our entourage," says the Emperor.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Do we remember anything about them, other than they might be there?
> "All right. Assuming you're still interested in seeing Higan's paperwork on Sariel, it should be okay to have the Yama retrieve it, but ask the ferrywoman to read it for you."

[Hello Purvis]

> Do we remember anything about them, other than they might be there?
> "All right. Assuming you're still interested in seeing Higan's paperwork on Sariel, it should be okay to have the Yama retrieve it, but ask the ferrywoman to read it for you."

>Thinking on it, you are reasonably sure they are things left by the departed, things they were strongly attached enough to they tried to take it with them. It's been ages since you've really considered it at all.
>"I will keep this in mind," says the Emperor.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Nod.
> "Also, my memory may be a bit fuzzy on this, but I'm reasonably positive the part of the forest closest to the river has a bunch of artifacts in it. I think they were left there by those souls that were really attached to them for whatever reason. If you have any interest in them for any reason, it might be worth asking the ferrywoman about them, just to be cautious before disturbing them."

[Hello Purvis]

> Nod.
> "Also, my memory may be a bit fuzzy on this, but I'm reasonably positive the part of the forest closest to the river has a bunch of artifacts in it. I think they were left there by those souls that were really attached to them for whatever reason. If you have any interest in them for any reason, it might be worth asking the ferrywoman about them, just to be cautious before disturbing them."

>The Emperor nods, then looks to the Agent. "Did you encounter anything like this?"
>"I may not have gone to the right places," he says.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "It's also possible I'm misremembering. It has been ages since I had to think about it."
> Look to Kasen.
> "Is there anything final you can think of? You know the topsiders better than I do."

[Hello Purvis]

> "It's also possible I'm misremembering. It has been ages since I had to think about it."
> Look to Kasen.
> "Is there anything final you can think of? You know the topsiders better than I do."

>"I think you have told them all of the basic things," says Kasen. "There's dozens of possible things that could happen, but this is always true. I would be sure to emphasize that once we are north of town, it is important not to wander off. To the west is Yuka's domain, and to the east is the Nameless Hill, humans tend not to be welcome in either."

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Look to Sombraluz.
> "Either of those names mean anything to you?"

[Hello Purvis]

> Look to Sombraluz.
> "Either of those names mean anything to you?"

>"Not as such," says the Agent.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Look back to Kasen.
> "Maybe you'd better describe those things to him in more detail, then."

[Hello Purvis]

> Look back to Kasen.
> "Maybe you'd better describe those things to him in more detail, then."

>"Yuka's doman is not hard to recognize," says Kasen. "It is a field full of many kinds of flowers, though I suppose any would just be sprouts right now.  She guards them zealously, and is powerful enough not to tempt. As for the Nameless Mound, it is full of lilies of the valley, and is home to a doll youkai who does not have a favorable opinion of humans."
>"So, we should be aware of large fields of flowers," says the Agent.
>"I suppose you could say it like that," Kasen says, frowning slightly.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "Hey, you got hundreds of machine people that are all the same person, we got dangerous flower fields. Fair's fair."

[Hello Purvis]

> "Hey, you got hundreds of machine people that are all the same person, we got dangerous flower fields. Fair's fair."

>"I suppose so," says the Agent. You swear you see a small grin on VIVIT's lips.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Look back to Kasen.
> "Anyway. Is there anything or anyone else?"

[Hello Purvis]

> Look back to Kasen.
> "Anyway. Is there anything or anyone else?"

>"Short of people wandering around, I don't know of any," says Kasen.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "Which is impossible to account for no matter what."
> Turn back to Canus.
> "Anything else you or your team wants to know?"

[Hello Purvis]

> "Which is impossible to account for no matter what."
> Turn back to Canus.
> "Anything else you or your team wants to know?"

>"This should be sufficient for our purposes," says the Agent.
>"Do you feel you'll be able to help us deal with unforeseen events?" The Emperor says.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "I don't see why not. I can't think of any pressing personal emergencies that would require my immediate attention once I get back home."
> Turn to Kasen.
> "What about you? You think you could stick around and help deal with anything unexpected that might come up while we're on this mission?"

[Hello Purvis]

> "I don't see why not. I can't think of any pressing personal emergencies that would require my immediate attention once I get back home."
> Turn to Kasen.
> "What about you? You think you could stick around and help deal with anything unexpected that might come up while we're on this mission?"

>"Um, I'll try to," she says. "But, depending on what's happened, I may not be able to stay the whole way through..."

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Come on, Kasen, pick up on at least one of these prompts!
> Raise an eyebrow.
> "What might have happened?"

[Hello Purvis]

> Come on, Kasen, pick up on at least one of these prompts!
> Raise an eyebrow.
> "What might have happened?"

>She must really be bad at lying when put on the spot...
>"I could think of any number of things," she says, frowning a speaking a bit less firmly than usual. "I do tend to keep the company of a number of exotic animals who will want my attention. And there are still devotions that I need to attention to, and who else knows what might have happened while I was away..."

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Nod.
> "Anything else outside of at-home stuff that you think needs to be addressed? Maybe like letting the red-white know you're no longer indisposed, or something like that."

[O4rfish]

>Have we heard her lie at all?

[Hello Purvis]

> Nod.
> "Anything else outside of at-home stuff that you think needs to be addressed? Maybe like letting the red-white know you're no longer indisposed, or something like that."

>She nods. "Yes, that as well. Possibly some more personal matters to tend to."

>Have we heard her lie at all?

>Not that you know of.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "All right, then."
> Turn back to Canus.
> "Yeah, we can pitch in."

[Hello Purvis]

> "All right, then."
> Turn back to Canus.
> "Yeah, we can pitch in."

>"Very well," says Canus, as he turns toward the Model Seven and starts to walk toward it. "I see no reason to delay any longer."

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Look over to Sombraluz.

[Hello Purvis]

> Look over to Sombraluz.

>He looks toward the soldiers who have been escorting you and speaks in Kosan.  "Put them along the back and just keep  an eye on them." Then he looks toward both of you and says, "Toward the back," in your language.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "Okay."
> Head on in!

[Hello Purvis]

> "Okay."
> Head on in!

>You head into the machine, finding it really hasn't changed much since your last visit. The Emperor has claimed one of the seats in the middle already, and you see VIVIT moving toward one of the ones in front. Your escort leads you toward the back, where you find yourself forced to land on the cot that you awoke on, initially. Kasen takes a seat beside.  Your escort takes positions close to you. For the first time, you don't have weapons pointed at you, which is nice.  More and more soldiers file inside, and the room becomes fairly crowded. You start to see that there would be a logistics probably in moving a large amount of soldiers, unless they found a way to make the Model Seven larger, or deal with its need to rest.
>As everyone enters the machine, and the Agent takes a seat at the front with VIVIT. The two of them begin to fiddle with the machine console, talking among themselves while doing so. At first you wonder if they're doing anything at all. Then you begin to hear some mechanical hums and whirs start to sound.  Still, time passes, and you don't have much of an idea of what is going on. A couple the soldiers fidget and look around, but no one really talks. You cannot tell what the Emperor is doing, the seat obscures him.

>_