Yukari Quest IV - A Z-Machine Adventure

[Mr. Sacchi]

> Does it seem like the stream we found last time?

[Hello Purvis]

> Does it seem like the stream we found last time?

>Thinking on it, seems to be flowing in the proper direction, at least. Aside from that, it's hard to tell. It's certainly smaller.

>_

[Mr. Sacchi]

> Can we follow the stream's path?

[Hello Purvis]

> Can we follow the stream's path?

>Looking around, you should be able to follow the stream, more or less, but it will be slow going for Maribel.

>_

[Mr. Sacchi]

> "Do you mind if we follow this stream, dear?"
> If she doesn't, do so.

[Hello Purvis]

> "Do you mind if we follow this stream, dear?"
> If she doesn't, do so.

>"I suppose not," she says. As you start down it, she adds, "Where are we going?"

>_

[Mr. Sacchi]

> "Honestly? No idea. I don't think I've been to this exact spot last time."

[Hello Purvis]

> "Honestly? No idea. I don't think I've been to this exact spot last time."

>"Huh," she says, as she carefully follows your footsteps. "So even Yukari can get lost."

>_

[Mr. Sacchi]

> "The wonders never cease with this place, eh?"
> Laugh
> "Still, I'm not completely lost, I think I've seen this creek before, so I'm trying to find familiar ground here."
> Keep an eye out for any familiar ground, particularly see if the creek gets any larger, more to the side of the creek that we found last time.

[Hello Purvis]

> "The wonders never cease with this place, eh?"
> Laugh
> "Still, I'm not completely lost, I think I've seen this creek before, so I'm trying to find familiar ground here."
> Keep an eye out for any familiar ground, particularly see if the creek gets any larger, more to the side of the creek that we found last time.

>"I see," says Maribel. "Well, that's better than what I thought."
>You continue to follow the stream, moving southward and not quite so fast as you'd like with Maribel in tow. Minutes pass, and the stream becomes more calm, though no wider than before.  Then the trees ahead thin a bit, before giving way to another, larger stream that the one you are following flows into.

>_

[Mr. Sacchi]

> Approach this new stream, does it seem like the one we found before? If so, does this place seem familiar?

[Hello Purvis]

> Approach this new stream, does it seem like the one we found before? If so, does this place seem familiar?

>You do not recognize this immediate area, but the new stream is about as wide and deep as you remember. It flows in a roughly southwestern direction, which matches your memories as well. You feel there is a very good chance this is the stream you found and crossed beforehand. If it is, then you would be on the same side of it as the shrine.

>_

[Mr. Sacchi]

> Well then!

> Keep following the stream until we find the path we used to get to the shrine.

[Hello Purvis]

> Well then!

> Keep following the stream until we find the path we used to get to the shrine.

>You keep following the stream, pleased to find the banks lighten a bit in terms of foliage. You are less pleased to see several of the roots along the bank, reaching into the water just as you remembered them doing previously.  Maribel's relative slowness gives you an excuse to discreetly watch your step. While you cannot pick it out directly, you are also quite certain that you pass by the point where you first found this stream and the proof that the awful roots were in this world, too. The stream swells as you continue southwesterly, then simply southward, as other small brook feed into it. Thankfully, none on this side of the stream are hard to walk across. Along the way, Maribel is mostly quietly, periodically pointing out some new odd plant here or there.  She does not remark upon the presence of the roots, either.
>Perhaps twenty minutes to half an hour of this passes before you catch sight of the tree you knocked down to cross the stream originally. Now you are quite confident in your location, the shrine should be to the east, and the gap to the Field of Fronds to the west. North of the latter, you should find the disembodied music, and then the gap that brings you to the shrine at the shrine's scale.

>_

[Mr. Sacchi]

> "There we go, we're back to familiar territory."
> Point at the tree we knocked down.
> "I had to knock that down to cross the stream."

> Did we manage to get anything done with the disembodied music?
> Was there anything left to explore in the Field of Fronds? Particularly the Crystal Palace.
> What about the Shrine? Both at normal-scale and tiny-scale.
> The Shrine had a gap to a mountain, right? Was there anything left to explore there?
> And the caves?

[Hello Purvis]

> Well then!

> Keep following the stream until we find the path we used to get to the shrine.

>It only takes you a few more moments to reach this path. Maribel looks at the fallen tree, and says "Did you knock that over?"

>_

[Mr. Sacchi]

> "There we go, we're back to familiar territory."
> Point at the tree we knocked down.
> "I had to knock that down to cross the stream."

> Did we manage to get anything done with the disembodied music?
> Was there anything left to explore in the Field of Fronds? Particularly the Crystal Palace.
> What about the Shrine? Both at normal-scale and tiny-scale.
> The Shrine had a gap to a mountain, right? Was there anything left to explore there?
> And the caves?

> Did you miss this, Purvis? :V

[Hello Purvis]

> Did you miss this, Purvis? :V

>Imma whup ya.

> "There we go, we're back to familiar territory."
> Point at the tree we knocked down.
> "I had to knock that down to cross the stream."

> Did we manage to get anything done with the disembodied music?
> Was there anything left to explore in the Field of Fronds? Particularly the Crystal Palace.
> What about the Shrine? Both at normal-scale and tiny-scale.
> The Shrine had a gap to a mountain, right? Was there anything left to explore there?
> And the caves?

>"Couldn't you have gapped across it?" says Maribel.
>You managed to find another piece of disembodied music and merged it with what was there. Otherwise, you have managed to achieve little with it.
>As far as the Field of Fronds is concerned, the only thing you could think of would be looking at the occasional tree. You think you've seen all the crystal palace had to offer, save for that one gap that you still need to find a tool if you wanted to open safely.
>You aren't sure what else there is to see about the shrine when you are normal sized, but while to scale with it, the mystery of that cave painting has yet to be solved.
>You looked over the mountain that the gap under the shrine led you to pretty thoroughly, as least as much as you could on foot. It did reveal to you that the forest is quite large, and you've only seen a fraction of it. As well, there were many other mountains ringing it.
>Which caves?

>_

[Mr. Sacchi]

> The caves we woke up in.

[Hello Purvis]

> The caves we woke up in.

>About the only thing you can think of in there that you've overlooked is a small border anomaly you've known about since yesterday in the vast corridor filled with the statures.

>_

[Mr. Sacchi]

 > Didn't we investigate that and end up in the strange-ruined-buildings-of-the-outside-world place?

[Hello Purvis]

> Didn't we investigate that and end up in the strange-ruined-buildings-of-the-outside-world place?

>That would be the larger anomaly, which was further in.

>_

[Mr. Sacchi]

> Also, mary is right, couldn't we have gapped across it?

[Hello Purvis]

> Also, mary is right, couldn't we have gapped across it?

>There was pretty much no reason you couldn't. You just elected not to.

>_

[Mr. Sacchi]

> WELP.
> Mentally curse ourselves for the momentary brainfart.
> Curse the spirits controlling us.
> QUICK CHANGE THE SUBJECT

> "There's something else I wanted to check at that Shrine I mentioned earlier, try to find out about that painting I told you about."
> "The Shrine is this way."
> Points in the direction of the Shrine
> "...But the gap to get to it on its own scale is this way."
> Points in the direction of said gap.
> Onwards to said gap, gap across the stream if necessary.

[Hello Purvis]

> WELP.
> Mentally curse ourselves for the momentary brainfart.
> Curse the spirits controlling us.
> QUICK CHANGE THE SUBJECT

> "There's something else I wanted to check at that Shrine I mentioned earlier, try to find out about that painting I told you about."
> "The Shrine is this way."
> Points in the direction of the Shrine
> "...But the gap to get to it on its own scale is this way."
> Points in the direction of said gap.
> Onwards to said gap, gap across the stream if necessary.

>Sometimes you really are a silly bugger, Yukari.
>"Okay," says Maribel. "Lead the way."
>You gap across the stream, and being retracing yesterday's path. It isn't too difficult now, especially with both of your shoes in place. Maribel keeps up nicely, remarking upon the gap to the field of fronds as you pass it.  Once you draw near the disembodied music, however, she slows down near the edge of it and frowns in its general direction.
>"Mmm, there's something here."

>_

[Mr. Sacchi]

> "Ah, that would be a bit of disembodied music I found."
> Approach it, we might as well examine it and see if anything's changed in the time we were away.

[Hello Purvis]

> "Ah, that would be a bit of disembodied music I found."
> Approach it, we might as well examine it and see if anything's changed in the time we were away.

>"I don't hear anything," says Maribel. "I guess it only plays...inside, for lack of a better word?"
>Looking it over, it seems that nothing has changed about it on the outside.

>_

[Mr. Sacchi]

> "Indeed it does."
> Enter it.

[Hello Purvis]

> "Indeed it does."
> Enter it.

>Entering the border requires opening a gap into the side of it, which you do without any difficulty.  Step through, you find the borders within are still marginally but noticeably less chaotic than the ones outside.  The gentle music of a shamisen and a harp fill the air, the sounds not really blending nor clashing with each other. It doesn't feel like anything has changed.
>"It feels a bit safer in here, don't you think?" says Maribel as she follows you in and looks around.

>_