Reisen Quest Still: A Z-Machine Adventure

[E-Nazrin]

>shake head
>"It's a set of magical artifacts I gathered, actually. Once used by a human queen of sorts in defending her town, a long time ago."

[Hello Purvis]

>"Huh," says Alice. "Well it looks pretty neat, just floating along behind you like that. As you can see, Hina is fine. She's just resting up more before she heads home."
>Hina waves to you, using her restored limb.

>_

[Serela]

>Oh, ask Alice and Hina if they would like to see the play the rabbits at Eientei are going to preform.

[E-Nazrin]

>thank her for the compliment, tell Hina you/we're glad she's okay
>"Unfortunately, it looks like there's something else that wants to gather them that's been giving me a little trouble... but I think it might interest you."
>forward story about the apparition, make a point of the "artificial" part
>try to recall if Patch said the 'lockpick' might have been a curse of some kind?

[Hello Purvis]

>Oh, ask Alice and Hina if they would like to see the play the rabbits at Eientei are going to preform.

>"A play?" asks Alice, raising an eyebrow. "Huh. Well, I didn't expect that... Sure, I guess."
>"I'd be delighted," says Hina.

>thank her for the compliment, tell Hina you/we're glad she's okay
>"Unfortunately, it looks like there's something else that wants to gather them that's been giving me a little trouble... but I think it might interest you."
>forward story about the apparition, make a point of the "artificial" part
>try to recall if Patch said the 'lockpick' might have been a curse of some kind?

>You thank Alice for the compliment, she waves it off.
>You start to tell the story of the Apparition to the two. Alice's interest is definitely piqued when you mention its artificial nature. "That's something," says Alice. "Wish I knew about those gems, though. They sound nice. Oh well, you win some, you lose some."
>You don't recall Patchouli declaring it to be a curse, just an enchantment meant to jimmy open a magical lock in some way.

>_

[E-Nazrin]

>"What may make that apparition more interesting is that, due to its aggressive nature and tendency to vanish after taking a beating, I'm somewhat tempted to try and seal or capture it. Even if that's not an option, I'd like your advice on anything to try and do while dealing with it, should it show up again."

[Hello Purvis]

>"You've gone to Patchouli with this, right?" asks Alice, "She's got a better perspective than I do. But if you want my thoughts... Well, it sounds like what you're doing has worked so far. I dunno if you can seal it. The only kind I know how to do is putting animating force into a doll, and that's something that takes hours. You could do with the same with a soul or a ghost, but getting a specific one would require you to already know where it is and keep it there the whole time. Might wanna ask one of the mikos about sealing it. They've got better ways, I'm sure. Reimu especially."

>_

[E-Nazrin]

>Wait... what if it's Iria?
>nod
>"I should definitely look into the UFO thing some more, then. Thanks, Alice."
>let 'em know when the play is
>bid farewell and head to Eintei to get more info and maybe replace shoes/stockings

[Hello Purvis]

>Wait... what if it's Iria?
>nod
>"I should definitely look into the UFO thing some more, then. Thanks, Alice."
>let 'em know when the play is
>bid farewell and head to Eintei to get more info and maybe replace shoes/stockings

>If it's Iria, you don't want to know what would have happened to her to make her into that...
>"Good luck with that," says Alice.
>You tell them to show up sometime this evening, just around sunset. "I'll be there," says Alice.
>"Me too," says Hina.
>You say your goodbyes and depart for Eientei. Leaving Alice's house, you find the wolf digging a hole in the presently empty flower bed to the side of the house. He looks up from his work when you exit, and falls in behind you again.
>You return to Eientei without any problems. The wolf settles himself some yards from the front doors.

>_

[E-Nazrin]

>"Stay."
>give him a quick pat
>head in and look for Eirin - or Tewi, if she shows up first

[Kasu]

> Head for Eirin's office.
> Ask for some updates on the various things.

[Hello Purvis]

>"Stay."
>give him a quick pat
>head in and look for Eirin - or Tewi, if she shows up first

>He seems happy to listen. You pat him.
>You head inside.
>At the entry hall, three rabbits are busy cleaning up. They give you simple greetings; you can tell they are staring at the gems in wonder.

> Head for Eirin's office.
> Ask for some updates on the various things.

>Seeing no sign of Tewi, you head toward Eirin's office. The rabbits cleanining the hall start whispering excitedly as you leave.
>Entering the office, you find Eirin at her desk, running some instrument you do not recognize over the shard that you gave her from Patchouli. She looks up as you enter, and smiles. "Welcome back, Udonge. I see you've found the last one, good work. Are you alright? Tell me how it went."

>_

[E-Nazrin]

>give her the full story, and admit to the stupid mistake of wandering into the water

[Hello Purvis]

>give her the full story, and admit to the stupid mistake of wandering into the water

>You tell the story. You admit to going into the river. Eirin frowns and says, "Hold it. Off with those shoes and stockings, and get on the bed. I need to make sure you're alright."
>Will you be mentioning details of the internal conflicts, and leaving those out?

>_

[Kasu]

> Might as well mention the internal conflicts.
> Get on the bed.

[E-Nazrin]

>If there's anyone to trust with such worries, it'd be her.

[Hello Purvis]

> Might as well mention the internal conflicts.
> Get on the bed.

>If there's anyone to trust with such worries, it'd be her.

>You follow Eirin's instructions, and continue your story as she examines your feet and lower legs, and trying to ignore how chilly they are. In light of earlier events between the two of you, it's honestly a bit embarrassing.
>"You look fine, thankfully," she says as you finish describing the Apparition's defeat. "But wearing those soaked shoes didn't do you much good. Here, let's get some blood flowing a bit." She then starts to rub your feet. It feels...quite nice, aside from the hot feeling in your face from blushing. "Carry on with the story."
>You finish up, your feet feeling much less miserable thanks to Eirin's treatments. "Well," she says, as she keeps at it, "I can't say I am pleased with the mental struggles you've had. But, you seem to have come out of it well enough. I suppose the worst is over, in those regards. What are you going to do now?"

>_

[Kasu]

> "Hopefully I can get to the bottom of the apparition business and finish up the business between the Reimu and Byakuren."
> Ask about the shard and the rabbit.

[Hello Purvis]

> "Hopefully I can get to the bottom of the apparition business and finish up the business between the Reimu and Byakuren."
> Ask about the shard and the rabbit.

>She nods, keeping up her treatment of your feet. It feels very nice. "If there is anything I can do to help, please let me know."
>"I have Tewi out gathering information now about the rabbit. It was a little difficult to convince her, she was very concerned about snitching on others. But I'm confident she'll find what is there to be found. Regarding the shard, I've not found much else yet. As well, I have an idea I would like to discuss. Would you be amenable to letting me examine your gems for a little bit?"

>_

[Kasu]

> "Uh...  Sure.  Do what you need to do."

[Hello Purvis]

> "Uh...  Sure.  Do what you need to do."

>"Just set them on the desk," says Eirin. "I'm just going to examine them for a little bit. You can rest here, if you like."

>_

[UncertainJakutten]

>"I think I'd have to, though it might not be a bad idea to quickly test if they'll follow me no matter what"
>Set the gems down and try to walk away from them telling them to stay.

[Hello Purvis]

>"I think I'd have to, though it might not be a bad idea to quickly test if they'll follow me no matter what"
>Set the gems down and try to walk away from them telling them to stay.

>You set them down on Eirin's desk, then leave the office. They don't seem to follow you, you don't feel them move at all. If you recall correctly from your fight with the Oni Eater, you can get them a good 20 yards away before they won't go any further.
>Unfortunately, that wouldn't even get you fully across the courtyard. It looks like you will have to stay around while Eirin looks at them.

>_

[E-Nazrin]

>Take a seat and watch for the moment
>consider where else within range we could go, if there's anything useful/important

[Hello Purvis]

>Take a seat and watch for the moment
>consider where else within range we could go, if there's anything useful/important

>You return and have a seat, while Eirin sets to examining the gems. If nothing else, it's good to have a place to sit and take some weight off your feet.
>There is one of the locked storerooms, which you're not supposed to get into, and a large general purpose room. You think the rabbits might be putting on their play there, they like to use it when the weather is too bad for to use the courtyard.

>_

[E-Nazrin]

>:yukkuri:

[Hello Purvis]

>:yukkuri:

>You don't get the text part of text adventure, do ya buckaroo?

[Zemyla]

> See if we can see through the gems like we can feel through them.  If so, we can see what Eirin is doing with them.

[Hello Purvis]

>You close your eyes and try to see through the gems. It doesn't work. You suspect it is something akin to trying to see through your hands. Oh well, it is an interesting thought. Every so often, you do feel a slight prod or tickle, as Eirin examines them using various techniques. It's a little irksome, but hardly a real problem.
>A few minutes pass, before Eirin looks up from her work. "I've confirmed a suspicion of mine," she says. "Before I share it, please don't draw any hasty conclusions yet."
>She gives you a moment to process that, then says, "I am quite sure that the crystal from that sword Patchouli wanted me to examine and these gems of yours are artificially made, and that they were formed using the same method."

>_

[E-Nazrin]

>raise an eyebrow
>"And what would that imply?"