Sword Quest V - A Z-Machine Adventure

[Kilgamayan]

> Look to Kotohime specifically.
> "Hmm...I actually have a proposition for you, if you are willing to listen."

[Hello Purvis]

> Look to Kotohime specifically.
> "Hmm...I actually have a proposition for you, if you are willing to listen."

>"You do?" she says.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "Yes. My mistress, Lady Yuyuko Saigyouji of the Netherworld, is looking to put on a play here in this village some time in the future. I have been charged with casting. One of the roles requires a 'medium-sized person with red hair'. Would you be willing to be that person?"

[Hello Purvis]

> "Yes. My mistress, Lady Yuyuko Saigyouji of the Netherworld, is looking to put on a play here in this village some time in the future. I have been charged with casting. One of the roles requires a 'medium-sized person with red hair'. Would you be willing to be that person?"

>"Sure!" says Kotohime.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Give Kotohime a slight bow.
> "Excellent. Thank you very much. I will meet with you again once casting is complete and Lady Saigyouji is ready to meet with everyone. Is there somewhere specific in this village where I should go to find you?"

[Hello Purvis]

> Give Kotohime a slight bow.
> "Excellent. Thank you very much. I will meet with you again once casting is complete and Lady Saigyouji is ready to meet with everyone. Is there somewhere specific in this village where I should go to find you?"

>She frowns, then raises a hand to her lips.
>"...I should probably show you where I live," she says.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "All right."
> Look back to Kyouko and the nun.
> "I will return to speak with your matriarch when I can. Hopefully, by then, I will have found our last player."

[Hello Purvis]

> "All right."
> Look back to Kyouko and the nun.
> "I will return to speak with your matriarch when I can. Hopefully, by then, I will have found our last player."

>"Okay!" Kyouko says, as Kotohime starts to walk away.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Follow!

[Hello Purvis]

> Follow!

>You follow Kotohime as she leads you northward, out of town. For a little bit, you suspect she must live out in the countryside, among the farmhouses. However, she soon leaves those beyond as well, and turns northwest as the tilled fields give way to wild grassy fields.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Toward what general region of Gensokyo do we seem to be headed?
> "I did not realize you lived this far outside the village."

[Hello Purvis]

> Toward what general region of Gensokyo do we seem to be headed?
> "I did not realize you lived this far outside the village."

>A fairly empty one. Though if you go far enough, you would hit the Garden of the Sun.
>"I moved awhile ago," she says.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "Not to the Garden of the Sun, surely?"

[Hello Purvis]

> "Not to the Garden of the Sun, surely?"

>She shakes her head, as she journeys into the tall grass. "Someday I'll bring that criminal to justice."

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Raise an eyebrow.
> "If you must try, I would be exceedingly careful when you do. She is very, very dangerous."

[Hello Purvis]

> Raise an eyebrow.
> "If you must try, I would be exceedingly careful when you do. She is very, very dangerous."

>"She is," Kotohime agrees.
>Then she stops in front of a metal trap door. With hesitating, she slides it open to reveal a set of metallic steps leading beneath the earth.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> !?
> Get a quick look around the surrounding area, trying to pick out anything useful for identifying when we're at least in this area again, if/when we need to return to this place.
> Once our observation is complete, head into the trap door. (Obviously, do not run Kotohime over while doing this.)

[Hello Purvis]

> !?
> Get a quick look around the surrounding area, trying to pick out anything useful for identifying when we're at least in this area again, if/when we need to return to this place.
> Once our observation is complete, head into the trap door. (Obviously, do not run Kotohime over while doing this.)

>There  really isn't much to signify the landmark, other than than a number of footpaths that the tall grass conceals. And the obvious metal trapdoor.
>You follow Kotohime down the stairs. The dirt is plainly visible, but held in place by glass and metallic supports. The architecture is naggingly familiar, it feels as though it would be something that you would have seen the brief time that you and Yuyuko were trapped on the Lunar Capital. As you descend, the trap door closes quietly behind you. Strange circles of glass provide light without heat. You can see the dirt and clay give way to natural bedrock through the glass as you descend, and the glass and metal soon give way to a natural cavern tunnel, the floor covered with a strange smooth white material that has more of the disk-like lights set into it at regular intervals.
>Soon the tunnel widens to a natural cavern. The lights are set into the wall here, and strange metal walls are set into the floor near the entrance, getting in the way. Kotohime seems to have placed lengths on wood on them, turning them into makeshift tables with flowerpots atop them. A simple wooden table sits in the middle of the floor, while several mundane chests and cabinets are placed against the walls, and cushions of varying quality litter the floors, none matching the others. A futon takes up one corner, not far from a range and oven. Mismatched curtains hang over what you assume are doorways.  The walls are lined with wooden shelves set into the walls, and the shelves are loaded with a variety of objects; you pick out silk flowers, tools, half-melted candles, and a variety of other things.
>"This is where I stay," she says. "There's no point in knocking on the trapdoor, just call out when you're coming down."

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Are there any swords here? Boy, the look on Miko's face if she found that this is where her blade wound up...
> "This place is...quite impressive. You would not happen to be from the moon, would you? The architecture has a rather Lunarian feel."

[Hello Purvis]

> Are there any swords here? Boy, the look on Miko's face if she found that this is where her blade wound up...
> "This place is...quite impressive. You would not happen to be from the moon, would you? The architecture has a rather Lunarian feel."

>You look around, and see a few knives, but no swords. However, in looking around for a sword, you note several of the shelves have a rather ominous feel; every item on them seems to be heavy with a feel of death about them.
>"Of course," she says. "Couldn't you tell? I'm a princess!"

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Well, that's an unexpected answer. Give a look of mild shock.
> "Ah, I see. Oh, wait, your name. Hime. Of course. Please forgive my impertinence. What brings you to our lands, princess?"
> What do we know about the Watatsuki Sisters?

[Hello Purvis]

> Well, that's an unexpected answer. Give a look of mild shock.
> "Ah, I see. Oh, wait, your name. Hime. Of course. Please forgive my impertinence. What brings you to our lands, princess?"
> What do we know about the Watatsuki Sisters?

>"I live here," she says.
>You know of them. You didn't get many details during the moon incident, as you were too busy laying low and trying not to be caught, but you got the idea that they were fairly important figures.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "Well, um, yes. I meant, what prompted you to leave the moon?"

[Hello Purvis]

> "Well, um, yes. I meant, what prompted you to leave the moon?"

>She gives you a curious look, as if she were expecting you to grow a second head, then instead makes her way over to the range. "Would you like some tea?" she says.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "Ah, yes, certainly. Thank you."
> Head over to one of the shelves of death and inspect the contents more closely.

[Hello Purvis]

> "Ah, yes, certainly. Thank you."
> Head over to one of the shelves of death and inspect the contents more closely.

>You make you way to a shelf, while she fiddles with a kettle.
>The shelf is full of mundane-looking objects. To untrained eyes, it would all look like a bunch of random junk, as much of the collection does. However, you can see the common thread between these items, death clings strongly to them all. Some are obviously remains, a rat skull, a bone that seems to have come from a large dog, what you think are old fingerbones... Many others feel they were merely in the proximity of death; perhaps they were important objects to someone now deceased, or something they had with them in their final moments. Others have the feeling of many deaths about them, in particular several knives and arrowheads. You suspect these were once used by hunters or butchers to ply their trade. A few others are unfortunate, an aura of violence clings to them and clearly distinguishes them as murder weapons, which includes a large rock, a particular knife, a length of old string, and a candlestick with a half-melted candle in place.
>Kotohime places a pair of unmatched cups on the table, and plops down onto a cushion.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Make our way over to the part of the table with the cup Kotohime has left for us and have a seat ourselves.
> "That is quite the collection you have there. Where did you obtain all of those things?"

[Hello Purvis]

> Make our way over to the part of the table with the cup Kotohime has left for us and have a seat ourselves.
> "That is quite the collection you have there. Where did you obtain all of those things?"

>You have a seat on a threadbare but undeniably comfortable cushion in front of your teacup.
>"I find them all over," she says. "There's so many little fascinating people will just throw out or give away! They turn up in markets, I'll find them on the ground, every day is an adventure sometimes!"

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "Some of them seem to be tools. Do you ever use them yourself?"
> Sip.

[Hello Purvis]

> "Some of them seem to be tools. Do you ever use them yourself?"
> Sip.

>"Some of them," she says, sipping her tea. "But most of them are just for looking at."
>You sip the tea. It is way too strong and way too sweet. It's almost charming in how incorrectly made that it is.

>_