Sword Quest III - A Z-Machine Adventure

[Suwako Moriya]

> "Ah, forgive my rudeness, but I am only looking for companions of mine. Have you need a woman in white and a ghost in green pass by here today?"

[Hello Purvis]

> "Ah, forgive my rudeness, but I am only looking for companions of mine. Have you need a woman in white and a ghost in green pass by here today?"

>"Oh," says the oni, her voice descending sharply from its prior jaunty bounce. "I might've. Wasn't paying any real attention to the crowds as a whole."

>_

[Kilgamayan]

Oh, crimony, this nonsense.

> Inventory

[Hello Purvis]

> Inventory

>You inventory contains:
>Regal Clothing
>Strong enough for a monarch, simple enough for a hermit.
>Shaku
>A ritual baton that is part of any ruler?s regalia. You keep it as a symbol of your old office.
>Harmony Earmuffs
>This does much to cut down the babel of voices you can hear from other people. Particularly strong desires can still get through.
>Travel Bag
>A sack for keeping your things in.
>Used Clothing
>Regal, but in need of a wash
>Bag of Konpeito x2
>Apparently it is regarded as good manners these days for a royal to give these guests and such, they didn't have such things in your day!
>Bag of Curry Powder
>A donation from a potential follower. Quite fresh!
>Iron Key
>A simple ring-handled key made of iron.
>Bundle of Incense
>This is a bundle of incense; it it unlabeled.
>Steel Trap
>This trap features steel jaws and a powerful spring mechanism with a plate trigger. A bit of chain extends from it, ending in a long metal stake.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Give a slight frown.
> "Ah, that is unfortunate. I suppose it would be difficult to keep track of individuals in busy streets over the course of a work day."

[Hello Purvis]

> Give a slight frown.
> "Ah, that is unfortunate. I suppose it would be difficult to keep track of individuals in busy streets over the course of a work day."

>"Yep," she says. "They ain't much concern to me unless they want shrimp or mushrooms, or they're about to come hurtling into my stand. But sorry, I ain't seen 'em."

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "I see. My apologies for hassling you. Have a pleasant day, and best of luck with your business."
> Continue northward.

[Hello Purvis]

> "I see. My apologies for hassling you. Have a pleasant day, and best of luck with your business."
> Continue northward.

>"Yeah, sure," says the oni.
>You continue northward, walking deeper into the market. The food stalls give way to oni dealing in assorted wares, particularly second-hand and pawned goods. Shoppers and shopkeepers loudly barter between each other over a variety of goods. Related to this, you witness several more fights, both of the physical and danmaku variety. Some of the oni eye you, and the babble of desires around you is nearly cacophonous. Ahead, the street dead ends close to the far wall of the cavern. Another street runs west and east along the cavern wall. Obvious exits are South, East, and West.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> East

[Hello Purvis]

> East

>You make your way eastward, along the wall. The market stalls give way to more homes; though you note several of those homes run small stores from their front doors. These houses are smaller than the ones you saw before, more run down and often built into housing blocks. Many of them are empty, others are missing roof tiles or sections of their paper walls, or have a door that's only partially intact. There are fewer people here, and you note there are more of those white wisps around. Those you do see are older, and oni who strike you as looking less feisty and more wary than those you saw before. As well, you note a few animals here; a snake coiled under an empty porch, some birds here and there, a couple of stray cats... The street continues eastward, toward the far wall. On the northern side of it, some distance ahead, you notice a large blocky sort of building, the size of a manor and covered in creeping plants of all kinds. Obvious exits are east and west.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Well, that's certainly different.
> Head to the manor.

[Hello Purvis]

> Well, that's certainly different.
> Head to the manor.

>It definitely stands apart from the rest of the buildings of this city.
>You approach the manor. You note a pair of large wooden doors on the southern side of it, and no other obvious ways inside. The place reminds you rather of a fortress made of stone, its basic shape is blocky and seemingly devoid of architectural beauty. The vines and creepers on its walls do much to soften its appearance. As near as you can tell, it seems to be composed of a large rectangular forward section, attached to a larger squarish rear section that you suspect may include a courtyard of some kind. You can pick out a couple balconies along the rear part of the manor, which likely offer a nice view of the city. You also note the eastern wall of the cavern looming ahead, not far from this manor; a street runs along it. Obvious exits are North, South, and West.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Make our way to the doors. If nothing unusual is present, knock.

[Hello Purvis]

> Make our way to the doors. If nothing unusual is present, knock.

>Approaching the doors, you see nothing particularly unusual.The doors are heavy, wooden things, stained deeply with age. Set above them is some kind of stone carving, completely obscured by vines save for its protrusion, where a swallow is roosting.
>You knock on the doors. After a minute, they open a crack, and you can see just someone peering out of them. "Hey, you need something?" she says.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "Hello, yes. I am looking for companions of mine. Have you need a woman in white and a ghost in green stop here today?"

[Hello Purvis]

> "Hello, yes. I am looking for companions of mine. Have you need a woman in white and a ghost in green stop here today?"

>"Nope," she says. "But I did see 'em in town a little bit ago."

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "I see. What were they doing?"

[Hello Purvis]

> "I see. What were they doing?"

>"Tryin' not to get in any more scraps with oni, probably," she says. "I told 'em how to get to the clinic, though."

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Blanche a bit.
> "They...oh dear. May I ask for the same directions to the clinic?"

[Hello Purvis]

> Blanche a bit.
> "They...oh dear. May I ask for the same directions to the clinic?"

>"I don't think they were going, but it's just west of the city entrance," says the speaker. She lets the door open a bit, allowing you to see that she is a red-haired youkai wearing a green dress.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "Curious...did they say anything about where they were going instead?"

[Hello Purvis]

> "Curious...did they say anything about where they were going instead?"

>"Not really," says the red-haired youkai. "Just they didn't want anything to do with the Buddhists running the clinic."

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Were we aware of a Buddhist clinic here underground?

[Hello Purvis]

> Were we aware of a Buddhist clinic here underground?

>Vaguely. Now that you think on it, you may have heard something like that.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "Oh. I see. All right, thank you very much for your time and information."

[Hello Purvis]

> "Oh. I see. All right, thank you very much for your time and information."

>"Sure thing, sis," says the youkai. "Anything else you wanna know?"

>_

[Suwako Moriya]

> "Hmm...ah, yes. Did you notice if they had a long thin wrapped-up object with them, or perhaps a white-blue rod with wings that is about a foot and a half long?"

[Hello Purvis]

> "Hmm...ah, yes. Did you notice if they had a long thin wrapped-up object with them, or perhaps a white-blue rod with wings that is about a foot and a half long?"

>"Yeah, the ghost definitely had that first thing," says the youkai. "Didn't see any wands, though. Not that I was looking."

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "All right, that is good. I believe that is all I need to know, unless there was anything unusual you noticed about them."

[Hello Purvis]

> "All right, that is good. I believe that is all I need to know, unless there was anything unusual you noticed about them."

>"They were kinda dressed funny and talked funny," says the youkai, giving a shrug.

>_