Sword Quest IX - A Z-Machine Adventure

[Hello Purvis]

> Can we examine the unseen nature of the air?
> Can we examine the unseen nature of ourselves?

>You can try.
>That would require meditation.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Inspect the air as we inspected the trees.

[Hello Purvis]

> Inspect the air as we inspected the trees.

>You take a closer look at the air. By and large, it seems to be normal air. But it does seem to care a sort of murmur of a desire to it, a bit too weak to actually hear.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> When we tried to listen to the desires in the air earlier, would it have been possible to make them out if we had tried listening harder? Or were we already paying as much attention as we could?

[Hello Purvis]

> When we tried to listen to the desires in the air earlier, would it have been possible to make them out if we had tried listening harder? Or were we already paying as much attention as we could?

>You might be able to try a bit harder? This is kind of new territory, usually you have the opposite problem.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Remove the earmuffs and listen more closely.

[Hello Purvis]

> Remove the earmuffs and listen more closely.

>You remove your earmuffs and listen to the desire in the air. It is still muffed and muted beyond comprehensibility, but you get something of a better sense of it. For lack of better terms, something seems to be muffling it, there's something between you and this desire.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Can we tell what that thing is?

[Hello Purvis]

> Can we tell what that thing is?

>Not immediately...

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Give ourselves some time to listen to it and study it.

[Hello Purvis]

> Give ourselves some time to listen to it and study it.

>You try to discern more about this. After a bit of time, you are sure the desire isn't emanating from the air itself, but rather from...outside of it? Beyond it? You aren't certain what to make of that...

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> How do we get to it?

[Hello Purvis]

> How do we get to it?

>That is an excellent question.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Do we feel like we'd be able to glean any more information about how to get to wherever these desires are emanating from through further study of the air? Or have we likely reached the limit of usefulness there?
> How sugary is Tojiko's konpeito?

[Hello Purvis]

> Do we feel like we'd be able to glean any more information about how to get to wherever these desires are emanating from through further study of the air? Or have we likely reached the limit of usefulness there?
> How sugary is Tojiko's konpeito?

>At least via the method you are using as you are using it. Outside of that, who knows?
>Very.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Open our remaining bag of konpeito and eat three pieces. Hopefully we'll get some temporary energy from the boost in sugar.

[Hello Purvis]

> Open our remaining bag of konpeito and eat three pieces. Hopefully we'll get some temporary energy from the boost in sugar.

>You have three pieces of candy. They are pleasingly sweet!

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> ...Pop one more, than put the bag away again.
> Now that we have those in our system, let's go for it. Get in proper position and begin meditating, but we must absolutely not let ourselves fall asleep.

[Hello Purvis]

> ...Pop one more, than put the bag away again.
> Now that we have those in our system, let's go for it. Get in proper position and begin meditating, but we must absolutely not let ourselves fall asleep.

>You have one more, then have a seat on the mountain and begin to meditate.
>You have a surprisingly easy time of it, really. Usually it takes some time to really tune the world out, but you manage to do rather quickly this time. Turning your thoughts inward, you can feel there is definitely something affecting you. As well, you can hear the desire around you more clearly, which is something of a problem when you are trying to tune out the world.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> What is the desire around us?

[Hello Purvis]

> What is the desire around us?

>Do you wish to focus on this rather than meditating?

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Maybe, but's check something first. Is this desire around us now the same one we couldn't hear earlier, because it was 'outside' this realm?

[Hello Purvis]

> Maybe, but's check something first. Is this desire around us now the same one we couldn't hear earlier, because it was 'outside' this realm?

>You aren't sure, but you feel it is likely.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Let's focus on it, then. At the very least, if we know more about it, it may be easier to tune out.

[Hello Purvis]

> Let's focus on it, then. At the very least, if we know more about it, it may be easier to tune out.

>You focus on it. It is definitely a desire to quietly drawn those around in under its control. There's no other ambition to this that you can feel, no reason for it. It simply wants this.
>Your meditative focus is broken, but for several seconds, you still don't feel anything. Then you get a sense of the rock underneath you.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Interesting. No desire to put us to sleep? Hmm...
> Would we normally have felt the rock underneath us immediately?

[Hello Purvis]

> Interesting. No desire to put us to sleep? Hmm...
> Would we normally have felt the rock underneath us immediately?

>Perhaps that is how it controls? Or perhaps it is unrelated altogether.
>Yes.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> So it was slow to react to our meditation and investigation into its desire...huh.
> Resume meditation.

[Hello Purvis]

> So it was slow to react to our meditation and investigation into its desire...huh.
> Resume meditation.

>You resume meditating, and find you have an unusually easy time of it again. All you can feel around you is that desire in the air.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Push it to the side and continue meditating.