Sword Quest V - A Z-Machine Adventure

[Hello Purvis]

>"Likewise. There is great strength and confidence in your strikes."
>Slowly approach her again. Try to bait her into making the first move, but make sure we position ourselves to be able to better-dodge any sudden attacks than we could the last one.

>She doesn't respond, instead shifting the angle of her weapon. It's difficult to read precisely what she wants to do, but the angle of the blade makes it seem that she is intending to strike low.

>_

[DracoOmega]

>Continue to slowly approach in a defensive stance
>If she does strike low, try to turn the blade towards the ground, then follow forward along the point of contact between our blades. Use both of them crosswise to parry if the angle presented for this is good.
>If she does not strike by the time we are inside our own effective range, make a quick slash or two with Roukanken, aiming high. Do not commit too heavily, but rather try to bait out an unideal response with her own weapon that we can then capitalize against.
>Meet any other less expected attack with our maintained defensive stance.

[Hello Purvis]

>Continue to slowly approach in a defensive stance
>If she does strike low, try to turn the blade towards the ground, then follow forward along the point of contact between our blades. Use both of them crosswise to parry if the angle presented for this is good.
>If she does not strike by the time we are inside our own effective range, make a quick slash or two with Roukanken, aiming high. Do not commit too heavily, but rather try to bait out an unideal response with her own weapon that we can then capitalize against.
>Meet any other less expected attack with our maintained defensive stance.

>You stay defensive and she strikes low as you anticipated. You lash out with Roukanken to try to force the weapon downward. Instead you find it has reversed direction with a greater speed and precision than you could imagine, coming directly toward you! You throw yourself back, having little other option, and just feel it pass by your nose. You are off balance now, the oni seems to be advancing.

>_

>_

[DracoOmega]

>Try to pull back slightly and regain our footing, keeping whichever sword is more convenient interposed between the oni and ourselves defensively.
>If she comes abroad of us before we have recovered, respond with a quick slash of our other weapon - the intent less to injure than to dissuade aggressive follow-ups

[Hello Purvis]

>Try to pull back slightly and regain our footing, keeping whichever sword is more convenient interposed between the oni and ourselves defensively.
>If she comes abroad of us before we have recovered, respond with a quick slash of our other weapon - the intent less to injure than to dissuade aggressive follow-ups

>You hold Hakuroken between  the two of you, and she seems pleased enough to bat it aside with her weapon. You slash out at her with the other one, but it is not a strong or a well-aimed one, and she easily moves around it. However, this buys you enough time to regain your footing, though you left arm has been knocked wide and throbs slightly from the force of her deflection.

>_

[DracoOmega]

>Move forward and slash laterally with Roukanken - try to aim beneath her weapon as we bring Hakurouken back around

>Does the terrain near here present us with anything obvious we could use to our advantage?

[Hello Purvis]

>Move forward and slash laterally with Roukanken - try to aim beneath her weapon as we bring Hakurouken back around

>Does the terrain near here present us with anything obvious we could use to our advantage?

>You move forward and slash again, but she easily blocks it and stops your blade cold, then moves hers along its base again.
>What kind of advantage are you looking for?

>_

[DracoOmega]

>Shift forward along the point of contact, keeping our blades crossed. Feel out which direction she wishes to turn the blades, then rather than contest this, turn them with her and make a quick lunge towards the opposite side and strike with Hakurouken

[Hello Purvis]

>Shift forward along the point of contact, keeping our blades crossed. Feel out which direction she wishes to turn the blades, then rather than contest this, turn them with her and make a quick lunge towards the opposite side and strike with Hakurouken

>You shift forward...and so does she. Before you can lunge at her, the hilts of your blades meet and lock, and suddenly it feels as though a bull had just slammed into you, You are going to fall to your knees , or possibly onto the ground!

>_

[DracoOmega]

>If we released Roukanken, do we think we could twist away from her charge rather than being forced down by it - and then strike at her side with our other weapon while the oni's momentum carries her forward?
>If so, do this

[Hello Purvis]

>If we released Roukanken, do we think we could twist away from her charge rather than being forced down by it - and then strike at her side with our other weapon while the oni's momentum carries her forward?
>If so, do this

>It's worth a shot.
>You let Roukanken go, and have to dodge around it as much as the oni herself. The oni has doesn't quite stumble, but she does have to regain her footing. You do not allow her the opportunity, forcing her to stumble to your right and away from Hakurouken. The blade still manages to cut into her side a bit, drawing an intake of breath from the oni. Unfortunately, it also allows her time to level a quick horizontal slash at your chest!

>_

[DracoOmega]

>Is her slash high enough to duck beneath?
>If so, duck, then shift forward and slash again with Hakurouken. Try to push the oni away from where we dropped our other sword.
>If not, then parry in an attempt to deflect her blade higher so that we can shift beneath it, sliding Hakurouken along her blade as much as it takes to prevent it being battered aside. Then try to sweep this motion into an attack, once we are clear of her blade.

[Hello Purvis]

>Is her slash high enough to duck beneath?
>If so, duck, then shift forward and slash again with Hakurouken. Try to push the oni away from where we dropped our other sword.
>If not, then parry in an attempt to deflect her blade higher so that we can shift beneath it, sliding Hakurouken along her blade as much as it takes to prevent it being battered aside. Then try to sweep this motion into an attack, once we are clear of her blade.

>You attempt to bring your blade up to knock hers higher. The weapons meet and ring out, it feels like you're trying to wedge our a boulder. But it does move a bit, and you just slip under her weapon, your left arm now in a bad position to strike or try to defend your body.

>_

[DracoOmega]

>Can we reach Roukanken from here?

[Hello Purvis]

>Can we reach Roukanken from here?

>You might be able to, but it would be a stretch.

>_

[DracoOmega]

>To use our Companion skill, do we need to have physical contact with the sword we wish our ghost half to wield before it can wield it? Or can we essentially command it to reach out for it itself, if it is very near by?
>Do we think we could tumble forward without heavily exposing ourselves to reprisal as we lose contact with the blade behind us? As in, would the angle make it difficult for the oni to follow us with her sword (or just kick us with her foot) immediately?
>And could we then grasp Roukanken from that position?

[Hello Purvis]

>To use our Companion skill, do we need to have physical contact with the sword we wish our ghost half to wield before it can wield it? Or can we essentially command it to reach out for it itself, if it is very near by?
>Do we think we could tumble forward without heavily exposing ourselves to reprisal as we lose contact with the blade behind us? As in, would the angle make it difficult for the oni to follow us with her sword (or just kick us with her foot) immediately?
>And could we then grasp Roukanken from that position?

>You need to have it in hand.
>You could try to do this, but you are not precisely an acrobat. You have no idea whether you could tumble and safely grab your sword, or not tumble into the blade. It would be a matter of luck, and you feel the odds are against you.

>_

[DracoOmega]

>Can we simply pivot around the point of contact between our blades, moving essentially into the inside of her blade, then slide Hakurouken away and slash with it?

[Hello Purvis]

>Can we simply pivot around the point of contact between our blades, moving essentially into the inside of her blade, then slide Hakurouken away and slash with it?

>Her blade has already moved on.

>_

[DracoOmega]

Then clearly I'm not visualizing something properly about the current situation.

>Brief outline of the relative positions of things. How close are we to the oni? What direction is Roukanken from the both of us, and her blade? Is the arm wielding Hakurouken essentially behind us at the moment? Are we even in a position to see what she is doing with her sword?

[Hello Purvis]

>Brief outline of the relative positions of things. How close are we to the oni? What direction is Roukanken from the both of us, and her blade? Is the arm wielding Hakurouken essentially behind us at the moment? Are we even in a position to see what she is doing with her sword?

>You are about a yard from the oni. Roukanken is to your right, a bit more than a yard. She is swinging from your left to your right. Your left hand is above you and to the left, it is not in a good position to try and attack. You can see the blade mostly by following her arms. You are currently ducking under her weapon, and not really in a good position for anything in terms of proper swordsmanship.

>_

[DracoOmega]

>Can we perform our Companion skill with a blade that we are currently holding engaged, and have our ghost half manifest holding it in the same position that we were, as we move away? Or does it require a more dedicated motion?
>Can our ghost half do anything else useful on command, normally?
>Do we receive any injuries sustained by it, either while in Companion mode or otherwise?

[Hello Purvis]

>Can we perform our Companion skill with a blade that we are currently holding engaged, and have our ghost half manifest holding it in the same position that we were, as we move away? Or does it require a more dedicated motion?
>Can our ghost half do anything else useful on command, normally?
>Do we receive any injuries sustained by it, either while in Companion mode or otherwise?

>It requires a more dedicated motion, and a fair deal of focus.
>Potentially yes, but realistically no. The reason it is useful in this case is due to your own mastery of swordcraft and ability to focus. Gardening just doesn't do the same thing.
>It depends on the injury. It is a ghost, so it and you will be harmed by things that harm ghosts.

>_

[DracoOmega]

>Does that mean that a normal sword could pass through it, even in Companion mode, and not cause any injury?

>Can we not even reach her arms with Hakurouken from where we are, or a minor adjustment forward? Legs?

[Hello Purvis]

>Does that mean that a normal sword could pass through it, even in Companion mode, and not cause any injury?

>Can we not even reach her arms with Hakurouken from where we are, or a minor adjustment forward? Legs?

>In theory!
>You could reach them, the question is whether you are in a position to do anything useful.

>_

[DracoOmega]

>Does that mean that we have never actually had any mundane physical objects try to attack our ghost half before?
>Isn't 'force her to move unless she wants us to hit her' at least somewhat useful? Is there some other complication?
>Which limb is closest to us?

[Hello Purvis]

>Does that mean that we have never actually had any mundane physical objects try to attack our ghost half before?
>Isn't 'force her to move unless she wants us to hit her' at least somewhat useful? Is there some other complication?
>Which limb is closest to us?

>No. Typically you are attacked by less than mundane objects.
>You're not in a position to deliver a hit with any force or precision, as your arm is in a bad spot after hitting her blade and knocking it off course. You can try anyways, but it is a matter of luck and the odds are against you.
>Your right. in her case, her right by a hair.

>_

[DracoOmega]

Well, I still can't seem to reconcile some of this spatial stuff with what I thought was happening and how things seem to have ended up, and don't have any bright ideas that haven't been either vetoed or termed highly impractical. But doing something is presumably better on the whole than nothing at all, so....

>Try to bring Hakurouken back around as we shift forward and to the right, while keeping a low profile
>Then slash out at the oni's arms, aimed with the hope of pushing her in the direction away from Roukanken, then quickly lean down, reach out, and try to pick it up again

[Hello Purvis]

>Try to bring Hakurouken back around as we shift forward and to the right, while keeping a low profile
>Then slash out at the oni's arms, aimed with the hope of pushing her in the direction away from Roukanken, then quickly lean down, reach out, and try to pick it up again

>You move forward and keep low as the oni completes her. As you try to ready a strike, she responds by turning a shoulder toward you and darting forward as well. While she is too tall to shoulder ram you, her arm instead connects with your face. It doesn't hurt that much, really, but the force behind it is enough to send you stumbling back. Then you fall back onto your butt as your balance finally gives.
>As you gather your senses, the oni, now a few yards way, calmly advances to put herself between you and Roukanken and returning her her proper stance.

>_

[DracoOmega]

>How open is the area around us? Is it reasonably possible to circle around the oni without her outright blocking our ability to reach our lost sword?
>Is there anywhere nearly with confined enough space to make it difficult for her to use her longer sword properly while still allowing us to use our smaller one effectively?