Immortal Quest - "Death" is a Slap on the Wrist!

[Evil_Nazgul0616]

>"... It's a really long story. The thing is, we're in a bit of a troubling situation, and we need your help. Could you spare some time?"
>Be as polite as possible. We don't need more enemies in this state.

>"Sure, I guess." says Alice, "You might as well come inside. Would you like some tea?"
>_

[Randomizer]

>"Yes, please."
>Look around the house while Alice prepares tea.

[Evil_Nazgul0616]

>"Yes, please."

>"Alright then." Alice replies, "Shanghai, go fetch the teapot please."
>The doll by Alice's shoulder nods before flying off do a different room.
>"I'll be back shortly." she says before doing the same.

>Look around the house while Alice prepares tea.

>You step through the door and enter Alice's front room, Kaguya follows shortly after.
>You look around the room, there are some shelves on the wall with vases with intricate patterns spaced evenly upon them, a few dolls armed with dusters are autonomously and efficiently cleansing shelves. Underneath the shelves is a window. In the far corner of the room is a small, fully stocked bookshelf. Next to it is a low, wooden desk, with a framed picture resting on top of it. Across from the window is a small sofa and a couple of chairs.
>"Hey! Cut it out! I'm just looking at it!" You hear Kaguya exclaim.
>You turn around and see Kaguya and one of the duster dolls fighting over a vase, presumably taken from one of the shelves. The doll is repeatedly striking her with the duster in an almost comedic fashion.
>_

[Randomizer]

>"... What the hell are you doing? Put it back."
>Sit down and wait for Alice to bring the tea. Laugh at Kaguya.

[Evil_Nazgul0616]

>"... What the hell are you doing? Put it back."

>"I was just getting a closer look! Ow!" Kaguya responds, as the doll hits her with the duster again, "Alright, alright! I'll put it back!"
>Kaguya places the vase back on a nearby shelf. The doll the proceeds to strike Kaguya with the duster one last time, this time on the top of the head, before promptly resuming its cleaning duties.

>Sit down and wait for Alice to bring the tea. Laugh at Kaguya.

>You sit yourself down on one of the chairs, and take the time to laugh at Kaguya's plight.
>"Shut up! It's not funny!" says Kaguya as she rubs the top of her head.
>After a moment Kaguya walks over to the sofa and unceremoniously lays herself on top of it.

>A few minutes pass before Alice enters the room carrying a small tray with some teacups upon it. The doll she called Shanghai is following her, carrying a teapot. Alice sits herself down on the remaining chair and sets the teacups on a nearby desk. Shanghai proceeds to pour the tea from the kettle into the cups, set the kettle down, and deliver Alice and Kaguya's cups. The doll then comes by with your cup and holds it out to you.
>_

[Randomizer]

>Take the cup, take a sip from it.
>"Thank you. Now then - what we needed help with."
>"We wanted to know if you had any idea about Medicine's whereabouts. We were attacked and have some weird substance in our bodies, and to neutralize it we need a sample of the substance. It's possible that Medicine has got some useful knowledge about our attacker and possibly the substance."

[Evil_Nazgul0616]

>Take the cup, take a sip from it.

>You take the cup from Shanghai and proceed to take a sip of hot tea. You nearly burn your tongue!

>"Thank you. Now then - what we needed help with."
>"We wanted to know if you had any idea about Medicine's whereabouts. We were attacked and have some weird substance in our bodies, and to neutralize it we need a sample of the substance. It's possible that Medicine has got some useful knowledge about our attacker and possibly the substance."

>"Ugh, Medicine..." Alice replies, her expression gaining some hints of annoyance at the mention of the doll's name, "I don't know exactly where that... annoyance... lives. I know she used to live on the Nameless Hill, but she moved from there a while ago. However, I do have a rough idea of where she's currently hiding. She has a hideout somewhere on the other side of Youkai Mountain, where she's attempting to amass an army of dolls, I know this because some of the ones currently in her ranks... well... they used to be mine..."
>_

[Randomizer]

>Put the cup down and let it cool off.
>"I see, I'm sorry if I asked something insensitive."
>Show Alice Eirin's list.
>"The second thing we need help with is if you could give us any more information about these ingredients that we need to make another dosage of the Hourai Elixir."
>Have a look at what Kaguya's doing.

[O4rfish]

>Don't say "to make another dosage of the Hourai Elixir."  She doesn't need to know what we are going to do with them.

[Evil_Nazgul0616]

>Put the cup down and let it cool off.

>You set the cup on a nearby table.

>"I see, I'm sorry if I asked something insensitive."

>"No, it's fine. It's just that I'm fed up with Medicine converting my dolls to her side... That's all..." says Alice.

>Show Alice Eirin's list.
>"The second thing we need help with is if you could give us any more information about these ingredients that we need to make another dosage of the Hourai Elixir."

>Don't say "to make another dosage of the Hourai Elixir."  She doesn't need to know what we are going to do with them.

>You omit the last part of what you were going to say.

>Alice takes the list and studies it.
>"I say that you're better off asking Patchouli Knowledge about most of these ingredients," she says, "she's a magician who lives in the Scarlet Devil Mansion, which is located on a ridge at the edge of the Misty Lake, which is about a half-hour's flight west of here. However, I do know what lapis lazuli is. It's a deep blue, semiprecious mineral. It's quite abundant in Makai, where I come from. Here, however it's somewhat rarer, you'll probably find some deposits deep underground if you look hard enough. At least it's not hard to miss."
>Alice hands the list back to you.

>Have a look at what Kaguya's doing.

>Kaguya is sitting on the sofa sipping her tea. She appears to be just barely paying attention.
>_

[O4rfish]

>"Do you know how she did it?"

[Evil_Nazgul0616]

>"Do you know how she did it?"

>"It started with one doll, a failed experiment of mine," says Alice, "when that doll chose Medicine, she started coming back to kidnap more dolls, who in turn became allied with Medicine. And then they started coming back to kidnap more dolls and so on. Now I have to resort to locking all my dolls behind a protective seal at night..."
>_

[Randomizer]

>"What could her motive be...? And when did she start amassing this army of dolls?" It's possible this is related to our case.

[Evil_Nazgul0616]

>"What could her motive be...? And when did she start amassing this army of dolls?" It's possible this is related to our case.

>"It started a couple of months ago." says Alice, "I'm not entirely sure what her motive is, but it definitely can't be anything good."
>_

[Randomizer]

>"Do you have any intention to take back your dolls and attack their army?"
>Ponder the possibility of getting Alice to help us with the ingredient hunting if we help her get her dolls back.

[Evil_Nazgul0616]

>"Do you have any intention to take back your dolls and attack their army?"

>"Even if I knew exactly where they're hiding and I was able to forcibly take my dolls back, it wouldn't matter," Alice replies, "some of them would likely still be loyal to Medicine after I took them back, meaning they'll likely cause a revolt and result in the loss of even more dolls. The only other option are to simply fight back... potentially destroying some of them... or try to convince them to come back to my side, which would be extremely difficult to do."

>Ponder the possibility of getting Alice to help us with the ingredient hunting if we help her get her dolls back.

>If you could manage to convince Alice to help you, her dolls could come in handy, since they can cover a wide area of Gensokyo relatively quickly. However, considering what Alice told you, trying to get Alice's dolls back sounds like it would be a significant hassle.
>_

[O4rfish]

>"Mind-controlling dolls ... well it's not the weirdest incident we've had in Gensokyo."

[Evil_Nazgul0616]

>"Mind-controlling dolls ... well it's not the weirdest incident we've had in Gensokyo."

>"You're right, but I have an odd feeling that this is only the beginning of some larger plan..." says Alice.
>_

[O4rfish]

>Ask Shanghai, "What do you think about this?"

[Evil_Nazgul0616]

>Ask Shanghai, "What do you think about this?"

>The doll shrugs.
>Alice giggles.
>"You know she can't speak, right? I'm still working on a way to give her a voice." she says.
>_

[O4rfish]

>"Can she write, or maybe use an Ouija board?"

[Evil_Nazgul0616]

>"Can she write, or maybe use an Ouija board?"

>"She probably could write," Alice replies "I just don't know how well..."
>_

[Randomizer]

>"Might as well try."
>Locate pen and paper. Give Shanghai pen and paper.

[Evil_Nazgul0616]

>"Might as well try."
>Locate pen and paper. Give Shanghai pen and paper.

>You get up and begin searching the room for pen and paper. You eventually find some in the desk by the bookshelf.
>You give the pen and paper to Shanghai, who then looks to Alice.
>"Go on." says Alice.

>Shanghai begins industriously applying the pen to the paper, Alice is watching the doll's work intently.
>"Oh my!" Alice comments before placing a hand over her mouth to stifle a laugh.
>The doll, once thoroughly satisfied with her penmanship, hands you the paper.
>_

[O4rfish]

>Read it.

[Evil_Nazgul0616]

>Read it.

>You read the note.
>This is an unintelligible scribble.
>_

[O4rfish]

>"I see. Well, once we run into them, we'll take that into consideration."

[Evil_Nazgul0616]

>"I see. Well, once we run into them, we'll take that into consideration."

>Shanghai nods, as if she were saying "Okay".
>_

[Randomizer]

>"How about trying to use magic to convince your dolls? Even if it's not your specialty, that witch you told me about earlier is quite knowledgeable, correct?"

[Evil_Nazgul0616]

>"How about trying to use magic to convince your dolls? Even if it's not your specialty, that witch you told me about earlier is quite knowledgeable, correct?"

>"If I wanted to use magic to bring them back to me, I would have done it a while ago." Alice began, "It's kinda hard to explain, but doing that to those particular dolls just doesn't feel right to me, and I wouldn't be comfortable with having someone else, like Patchouli, doing it for me either... Besides, if I forcibly brought them back under my control with magic, it would only support what Medicine believes about me."
>At this moment, Kaguya lets out a rather rude yawn.
>_