Sword Quest III - A Z-Machine Adventure

[Hello Purvis]

> Give Yuyuko a bow.
> "By your leave."
> Head back Gensokyo-ward, aiming for the Hakurei Shrine. We should run as far as the top of the stairs and then fly the rest of the way.

>"Bye bye!" says Yuyuko, waving as you bow.
>"Byeeeee!" says Yoshika through a mouthful of cherry.
>You dash to the stairs, then take to the air and leave the Netherworld behind. Emerging from the mountains, you turn toward the south and follow the foothills until you come across a woodland. A bit older and a bit more cluttered than the woods you here in previously, it is still a fairly inviting and friendly place compared to the Forest of Magic further south. It doesn't take you long to find a particular pond among the trees, and a particular shabby shrine near the pond.

>_

[Yaersulf]

>Approach shabby shrine.

[Hello Purvis]

>Approach shabby shrine.

>You draw close to the shabby-looking shrine. It is hard to guess how old it must be, but its darkened timbers give it an air of antiquity that you cannot quite place. Small and unassuming among the trees, it would be easy to overlook entirely were it not for the cleared out grounds around it, currently filled with a number of seats and tables. As you land, you note Yukari relaxing on the porch, dressed in her favorite purple dress. You also note Reimu and Suika are currently in the process of moving a table around; and you note a green-haired faerie, not much larger than than your hand, sitting on that table.
>"Hello, Youmu!" Yukari calls out, in that tone that tells you she's up to no good.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Gotta put on our best poker face here.
> Give Yukari a bow.
> "Good day, Yukari-sama. I have come on behalf of Yuyuko-sama to ask a small favor of you."

[Hello Purvis]

> Gotta put on our best poker face here.
> Give Yukari a bow.
> "Good day, Yukari-sama. I have come on behalf of Yuyuko-sama to ask a small favor of you."

>You put on your best dealing-with-Yukari face.
>"Oh, hey Youmu," Suika says.
>"Hello," says Reimu, then she looks back to the oni and says, "Suika, help me move this."
>"What does she need?" Yukari says.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Give Reimu and Suika a nod.
> "Good day, Reimu, Suika."
> Turn back to Yukari.
> "I caught Seiga Kaku performing some kind of ritual in front of the Saigyou Ayakashi. We have reason to believe she is now siphoning power or energy from it, and Yuyuko-sama also believes the tree is now dying. Seiga escaped, but we managed to capture her jiangshi minion, and we would like to sequester her away where Seiga cannot get at her without revealing herself. Do you have any ideas?"

[Hello Purvis]

> Give Reimu and Suika a nod.
> "Good day, Reimu, Suika."
> Turn back to Yukari.
> "I caught Seiga Kaku performing some kind of ritual in front of the Saigyou Ayakashi. We have reason to believe she is now siphoning power or energy from it, and Yuyuko-sama also believes the tree is now dying. Seiga escaped, but we managed to capture her jiangshi minion, and we would like to sequester her away where Seiga cannot get at her without revealing herself. Do you have any ideas?"

>"Wait, WHAT!?" Reimu dropping the table and sending the faerie tumbling off with a shriek.
>"Do calm down," Yukari says.
>"That was mean!" the faerie cries from the ground, obscured by the table.
>"If Yuyuko needs me," Yukari says, paying the faerie no mind, "Then I shall be happy to assist."

>_

[Suwako Moriya]

> Nod.
> "Thank you very much. I only came across Seiga at the very end of what she was doing. She had laid down many talismans before setting them all on fire at once. She then told me that she was 'just taking a little taste', before her minion charged at me and she ran away. Yuyuko-sama is currently at the base of the tree, using the captured minion as a chair."

[Hello Purvis]

> Nod.
> "Thank you very much. I only came across Seiga at the very end of what she was doing. She had laid down many talismans before setting them all on fire at once. She then told me that she was 'just taking a little taste', before her minion charged at me and she ran away. Yuyuko-sama is currently at the base of the tree, using the captured minion as a chair."

>"You mean Yoshika?" says Reimu.  "Well, I suppose this is another incident. Sorry, Yukari, but you're tournament thing's off."
>"Is it?"says Yukari. "I would think that it wouldn't be an incident until humans are involved."

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "Do not worry, Reimu. I will handle this."

[Hello Purvis]

> "Do not worry, Reimu. I will handle this."

>"Surely you can have faith in Youmu," says Yukari. "I'll be sure to look into the matter myself, as well,"
>"That's not reassuring," says Reimu, giving Yukari a look.

>_

[Suwako Moriya]

> "Yuyuko-sama and I are confident in Yukari-sama's ability to help."

[Hello Purvis]

> "Yuyuko-sama and I are confident in Yukari-sama's ability to help."

>"I don't like this," says Reimu, frowning but less forceful than before, "It'll be a real problem if that stupid tree gets out of control..."

>_

[Yaersulf]

>"Dammit Reimu, will you just let me be the protagonist for once? Geez!
>"Oh, I had something to ask you Reimu. I'm looking for people matching these descriptions for a play that Yuyuko-sama has written."
>Repeat our play recruitment schpiel.

[Hello Purvis]

>"Dammit Reimu, will you just let me be the protagonist for once? Geez!
>"Oh, I had something to ask you Reimu. I'm looking for people matching these descriptions for a play that Yuyuko-sama has written."
>Repeat our play recruitment schpiel.

>"Shut up, you're just a level 5 boss."
>"Uh, isn't the tree thing a bit more important?" says Reimu.

>_

[Yaersulf]

>"Yes, but I may as well ask you while I'm here."

[Hello Purvis]

>"Yes, but I may as well ask you while I'm here."

>"I don't know," says Reimu. "I'm kinda more concerned about this tree thing at the moment."

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Frown.
> "If you're really worried about the Saigyou Ayakashi going 'out of control', then you can rest assured that, if anything, the opposite is going to happen. It does not appear that Seiga is controlling the tree, only that she is killing it."

[Hello Purvis]

> Frown.
> "If you're really worried about the Saigyou Ayakashi going 'out of control', then you can rest assured that, if anything, the opposite is going to happen. It does not appear that Seiga is controlling the tree, only that she is killing it."

>"Yeah, but that's bad too, isn't it?" says Reimu. "I mean, there's a reason you guys never just cut the thing down."

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Oh, that may be true. Is there?

[Hello Purvis]

> Oh, that may be true. Is there?

>From what you understand, killing the tree may only serve to free its dangerous nature from its current immobile state.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> 'May'? Not 'will'?

[Hello Purvis]

> 'May'? Not 'will'?

>It's not something that can really be tested.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "Mrr...I suppose that is true. Still, Yuyuko-sama does not seem very worried about the situation..."

[Hello Purvis]

> "Mrr...I suppose that is true. Still, Yuyuko-sama does not seem very worried about the situation..."

>"Yuyuko wouldn't worry about being cut in half," says Reimu.
>"Do not worry," says Yukar, as she opens a gap, "I'll have it under control. You just get things prepared here."

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "Ah! Yukari-sama, there is one other thing. There are currently a few living guests in Hakugyokurou. Due to the circumstances of their presence there, I must request they be given their privacy."

[Hello Purvis]

> "Ah! Yukari-sama, there is one other thing. There are currently a few living guests in Hakugyokurou. Due to the circumstances of their presence there, I must request they be given their privacy."

>"We'll see," says Yukari, before she steps through the gap.
>"So, we done 'ere?" Suika says to Reimu.
>"Yeah, you can go take a break if you want, I guess," Reimu says.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> How has our opinion of Reimu been over the years, anyway? We're what, the #3 or #4 incident solver at this point? We must have had sufficiently many run-ins with her, both incident and not, to form a proper opinion.

[Hello Purvis]

> How has our opinion of Reimu been over the years, anyway? We're what, the #3 or #4 incident solver at this point? We must have had sufficiently many run-ins with her, both incident and not, to form a proper opinion.

>Reimu is a strange person. She preaches a lot of hate against youkai, but seems to enjoy their company. Usually she is too lazy to be a real worry, and left to her own designs she seems content to spend her time at the shrine while entertaining the odd guest. However, from time to time she gets inspired and seamlessly shifts into a busybody with boundless energy and passion for whatever has caught her attention. She takes the defense of gensokyo and humanity with terrifying seriousness. You aren't sure what really drives her, but you suspect she really is a lot more altruistic than her exterior lets on. She is usually a nice person to spend time with, if sometimes brusque, presuming there's nothing going on.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Give Reimu a pleading look.
> "Please, Reimu, let me handle this. Seiga attacked my home and made a fool of me in her escape. I want to take her down myself."