Sword Quest VI - A Z-Machine Adventure

[Hello Purvis]

> Give the key a second, ever-so-slightly disgusted look.
> "How do you know this? No one I have asked about this key today has known anything about it, beyond the most general of information."

>You give it a second look. It doesn't feel odd...
>"Because it's plain to see," she says.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Look back at the dancer.
> "...May I ask who you are? I am new to this land, and I do not believe we have met."

[Hello Purvis]

> Look back at the dancer.
> "...May I ask who you are? I am new to this land, and I do not believe we have met."

>"I am Hina," she says, "It's my pleasure."

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Give Hina a slight bow.
> "Well met, Hina. I am Miko, a simple Taoist hermit."
> Look back at the key.
> "I am afraid that whatever you see in this key is beyond my capabilities to detect, however. It seems an ordinary iron key to me."

[Hello Purvis]

> Give Hina a slight bow.
> "Well met, Hina. I am Miko, a simple Taoist hermit."
> Look back at the key.
> "I am afraid that whatever you see in this key is beyond my capabilities to detect, however. It seems an ordinary iron key to me."

>"Oh, it is," says Hina.

>_

[Suwako Moriya]

> "Then what is this doom of which you speak?"

[Hello Purvis]

> "Then what is this doom of which you speak?"

>"It carries a doom upon it," Hina says. She pauses her motions to squint at it. "Hmm, very hazy."

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Frown.
> "That mouse will hear about this. What can you tell me about the doom surrounding this key?"

[Hello Purvis]

> Frown.
> "That mouse will hear about this. What can you tell me about the doom surrounding this key?"

>"Very hazy, quite old," she says. "Mmm. Mmmmmmmm...."
>She pirouettes around you, never seeming to take her eyes from it. "I may have seen it before."

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> What was Hina's tone with that last line? Did she sound genuine, or is she angling for a favor that would help jog her memory?

[Hello Purvis]

> What was Hina's tone with that last line? Did she sound genuine, or is she angling for a favor that would help jog her memory?

>She sounds genuine.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "Would that be hundreds of years, or perhaps thousands?"

[Hello Purvis]

> "Would that be hundreds of years, or perhaps thousands?"

>"No no no, much more recently," she says, as she turns her attention to her dance. She chuckes. "My memory isn't that good by far!"

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "Strange. The key's design is not very new. I wonder how long it has spent in that shop?"

[Hello Purvis]

> "Strange. The key's design is not very new. I wonder how long it has spent in that shop?"

>"That, I cannot say," says Hina. "But, I do not travel too often, so I can't imagine where I would have seen it."

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "Is it possible it originated from this area?"

[Hello Purvis]

> "Is it possible it originated from this area?"

>"I don't see what makes it impossible," says Hina.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "Is there such a manufacturer in the area?"

[Hello Purvis]

> "Is there such a manufacturer in the area?"

>"Oh, well," she says, "The kappa make all kinds of things, and so do the tengu."

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "I see. Would they have anyone capable of inflicting doom upon a material object such as this?"

[Hello Purvis]

> "I see. Would they have anyone capable of inflicting doom upon a material object such as this?"

>"Who knows?" says Hina. "Doom comes in many forms. History is not to be ignored so lightly."

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Frown slightly.
> "I suppose that is true. It is interesting to know this much about this key, at least, even if this knowledge seems to have created more questions than it answers."

[Hello Purvis]

> Frown slightly.
> "I suppose that is true. It is interesting to know this much about this key, at least, even if this knowledge seems to have created more questions than it answers."

>"Such is the nature of knowledge, they say," replies Hina.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "I...don't suppose you can discern the nature of this doom? Or if it even has a nature?"

[Hello Purvis]

> "I...don't suppose you can discern the nature of this doom? Or if it even has a nature?"

>"Well, I imagine it has to do with whatever this key unlocks," Hina says.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "Ah. A shame, for I have not an inkling as to what that may be."

[Hello Purvis]

> "Ah. A shame, for I have not an inkling as to what that may be."

>"Something quite momentous, I imagine, to have such a doom on it." Hina says, as she disappears behind you again.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "I can only hope that makes the origin easier to find."

[Hello Purvis]

> "I can only hope that makes the origin easier to find."

>"I wish I could remember more," she says, "But I think, if I remember it at all, it must have been around here at one point, no?"

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Nod.
> "That is the most logical conclusion, yes. Are there perhaps others local to this area that may also recognize it?"