Okuu Quest Next - A Z-Machine Adventure

[Hello Purvis]

>"Do I have a choice?"
>"...to be honest, sometimes I think I'm just growing numb to it all. It's almost too much to process, you know?"
>"Every now and then, if I let the events of yesterday sink in a bit, I just want run away and cry and pretend that none of it happened. But I can't. I know that unless I find out what is wrong with... with everything, none of this is going to go away. I just have to keep going."
>"Oh, Orin... Am- am I going to be ok?"
>Give her a hug.

>You pout your heart out, and give her a hug. She returns it with almost painful tightness, enough to distract you from the lingering tingling in your shoulders.
>"I don't know. But, you need to talk to someone! And, you need to keep this secret! I mean, if word of this got out, who knows what would happen to you! And, if this is what happens when you take off that charm... Well, I don't know. Do you think it is a good idea?"

>_

[DracoOmega]

>"Well, talking about it and keeping it a secret at the same time is kind of hard to do when the only other people I can think of talking about this to, I don't even know if I can trust. But I think I probably have to try."
>"And I'm honestly not sure whether taking the charm off is a good or a bad thing, at this point. I don't know why the spirit is following me. Maybe it's trying to tell me something, but it can't quite reach me? Of course, if it's actually trying to harm me, somehow...."
>"I think I should still meet my appointment with Tenma. But after that... maybe I should try dealing with this spirit situation immediately. Wish me luck, sis. Or pray for me, even. I seem to be treading in the realm of the kami at this point."
>"And if anything at all unusual happens, give me a call. Promise?"

>Finish getting ready
>Before we leave, check our email, on the off chance Ace has any new and relevant info for us before we meet Tenma
>Head to City Hall
>Take the charm with us, but don't put it on, yet

[Hello Purvis]

>"Well, talking about it and keeping it a secret at the same time is kind of hard to do when the only other people I can think of talking about this to, I don't even know if I can trust. But I think I probably have to try."
>"And I'm honestly not sure whether taking the charm off is a good or a bad thing, at this point. I don't know why the spirit is following me. Maybe it's trying to tell me something, but it can't quite reach me? Of course, if it's actually trying to harm me, somehow...."
>"I think I should still meet my appointment with Tenma. But after that... maybe I should try dealing with this spirit situation immediately. Wish me luck, sis. Or pray for me, even. I seem to be treading in the realm of the kami at this point."
>"And if anything at all unusual happens, give me a call. Promise?"

>Finish getting ready
>Before we leave, check our email, on the off chance Ace has any new and relevant info for us before we meet Tenma
>Head to City Hall
>Take the charm with us, but don't put it on, yet

>"I'll call you first thing if I see anything weird. And yeah, I think I'll pray for you. Just...well, how many times have I said be careful in one way or another now?"
>Orin leaves you to finish getting cleaned up.
>As she does, you see the greenness start to manifest in front of you again. Your shoulders are still tingling; it has still placed its hands within them.

>_

[DracoOmega]

>Try to remain calm
>"Can you communicate with me somehow? What do you want?"
>Wait for some action on the spirit's part

[Hello Purvis]

>Try to remain calm
>"Can you communicate with me somehow? What do you want?"
>Wait for some action on the spirit's part

>You try not to panic. It's not too hard now. As strange and alien as this thing is, you don't think it's hurt you; aside from that tingling.
>You speak to it. It doesn't seem to respond.
>It moves closer to you, until its intangible form is mingling with yours. Then...it vanishes, along with the tingling. You feel...like you should be apologizing. You don't know why. Or for what...

>_

[DracoOmega]

>Finish getting changed
>Don't put the charm back on, but take it with us
>Ask Orin to take another photo of us, to see if the thing's gone altogether, or just settled back into its old, less-visible position

[Solais]

>Apologize.

[Hello Purvis]

>Finish getting changed
>Don't put the charm back on, but take it with us
>Ask Orin to take another photo of us, to see if the thing's gone altogether, or just settled back into its old, less-visible position

>You try to ignore this feeling, and finish up.
>This continues on for about long enough for you to undo one button, before the Forest Spirit steps out of you again. With ti goes the feeling of apologeticness. Instead, just by looking at it, you can tell it has has that feel itself. It's rather like reading the face of a close friend, just...you have no idea how you're reading it. It faces you again, and you can detect a kind of friendliness from it. You don't think it means any harm.

>_

[DracoOmega]

>Try to smile at it
>"Well, uh, we seem to have gotten off on the wrong foot, here, but let's try again. I don't mean you any harm if you don't. Deal?"
>If we can detect an emotional aura from it, perhaps it can detect ours? Focus on trying to 'project' our own non-antagonism
>Can we sense anything more specific from the spirit if we concentrate as hard as we can?

[Hello Purvis]

>Try to smile at it
>"Well, uh, we seem to have gotten off on the wrong foot, here, but let's try again. I don't mean you any harm if you don't. Deal?"
>If we can detect an emotional aura from it, perhaps it can detect ours? Focus on trying to 'project' our own non-antagonism
>Can we sense anything more specific from the spirit if we concentrate as hard as we can?

>You try to smile at it. You think you succeed.
>You speak to it, and feel a sense of agreement from it.
>You try to project your own good intentions. You have no idea if it works. It seems to be a little bemused.
>You try to detect more from it by concentrating hard. You don't feel anything, but it still seems a tad bewildered.

>_

[DracoOmega]

>"Maybe you don't understand me any better than I understand you?"

>Well, as interesting as this might be, we still have business to attend to. Our guest doesn't seem to be going anywhere.
>Finish getting cleaned up.
>Check our email
>If there's no email, head to City Hall

[Hello Purvis]

>"Maybe you don't understand me any better than I understand you?"

>Well, as interesting as this might be, we still have business to attend to. Our guest doesn't seem to be going anywhere.
>Finish getting cleaned up.
>Check our email
>If there's no email, head to City Hall

>You sense it agrees with that sentiment.
>You say to hell with it, and get cleaned up. It is really difficult to get a shower when a ghost is watching you. You really can't pretend it isn't  standing there, watching you. But the sense you get from it is one of confusion. You don't think it understands what you're doing.
>You get dressed and leave the bathroom. As you do, the Forest Spirit fades away. You...think it's still there, but you can't feel it anymore. Orin is sitting on the couch, reading something.
>You check your email, and see nothing of interest.
>You leave the house and head for the bus stop again. You are reasonably sure the Forest Spirit is still with you, but you can't tell anything else.

>_

[DracoOmega]

>Grab the bus towards City Hall
>What time is it?

[Kasu]

> Is the crow still on our head?
> Take a few deep breaths.
> Ponder how Parsee'll react to this new "discovery" we made.

[Hello Purvis]

> Is the crow still on our head?
> Take a few deep breaths.
> Ponder how Parsee'll react to this new "discovery" we made.

>You completely forgot about that, in the excitement of the other one! Returning to the bathroom, you can...kinda see it on your head. It is just a dim outline.
>You take a few breathes. It's alright now, things are better. Sorta.
>You have no idea. But you expect she'll find some way to be irritated about it.

>Grab the bus towards City Hall
>What time is it?

>You wait alone at the bus stop, keenly aware of your unseen ghostly stalker. Eventually it comes, and you find it is fairly empty, not terribly surprising for 9:30 or so, given post rush hour.
>You have a seat, the only other person on a blonde woman with a red hairband reading the paper. You can feel the Forest Spirit linger nearby.
>Soon the bus reaches your stop downtown, at about 9:40 or so.

>_

[Seian Verian]

>Exit bus
> Try to think what to do until it's time for our appointment

[Hello Purvis]

>Exit bus
> Try to think what to do until it's time for our appointment

>You leave the bus, and find yourself lost and ignored among the hustle and bustle of Downtown. It doesn't seem much has changed from yesterday.
>You have about 20 minutes til your appointment. You could probably go visit the Moriya Shrine, or maybe have a very quick look around the Museum. You could also make some phone calls, if you have any to make. Or you could just linger around until it's time. You still have your textbooks with you, as well.

>_

[DracoOmega]

>How long would it take to get to the Moriya shrine and back from here?

[Hello Purvis]

>How long would it take to get to the Moriya shrine and back from here?

>Just a couple minutes, if you hustle.

>_

[Kasu]

> Consider going back to the museum as we seem to be a magnet for things that shouldn't exist.

[Hello Purvis]

> Consider going back to the museum as we seem to be a magnet for things that shouldn't exist.

>You might have some results, you do have at least one active ghost following you around now.

>_

[DracoOmega]

>If anything interesting or paranormal happens at the shrine or museum, there's a good chance it could take more than 20 minutes. Probably best to check them out after the meeting
>Go into the building, check in with whatever receptionist is required, and wait patiently for your meeting time
>May as well read a little while we wait

[Hello Purvis]

>If anything interesting or paranormal happens at the shrine or museum, there's a good chance it could take more than 20 minutes. Probably best to check them out after the meeting
>Go into the building, check in with whatever receptionist is required, and wait patiently for your meeting time
>May as well read a little while we wait

>This is an excellent point.
>You head for City Hall. At the desk, you see a blue-haired young woman in a very modest suit sitting at the desk. "May I help you?" she asks.
>You ask about your appointment. "Ah, very well. Commission Tenma's office is on the third floor, just take the stairs to the right. You'll see an office with frosted glass windows and some chairs outside. Just wait outside, the receptionist will call you in when it's time. I'll let her know you're here.
>You follow the directions. As you wait alone in the elevator, the Forest Spirit appears beside you. You get the sense that it's very confused.

>_

>_

[DracoOmega]

>"Not used to being out of the forest much, I guess?"
>"You probably ought to keep your head down while we're here. Of course, you've already been pretty good at staying out of sight when other people are around."
>"What is it about me, I wonder?"
>Continue towards the waiting room

[Hello Purvis]

>"Not used to being out of the forest much, I guess?"
>"You probably ought to keep your head down while we're here. Of course, you've already been pretty good at staying out of sight when other people are around."
>"What is it about me, I wonder?"
>Continue towards the waiting room

>It cautiously agrees with your inquiry.
>It seems confused about your request for it to keep its head down, but it agrees. You sense it is also very anxious. Even moreso than you are, given you may well be meeting someone masterminding against you.
>It seems confused when you what it was about you.
>You exit the elevator, and quickly find the place that the receptionist mentioned. The Forest Spirit fades to a thin outside of itself, you can still comprehend it, to some extent, but it is harder now.

>_

[DracoOmega]

>Take a seat outside the office we were instructed to wait by, and wait

[Hello Purvis]

>Take a seat outside the office we were instructed to wait by, and wait

>You have a seat and start to study. The Forest Spirit lingers, distantly you can feel its anxiety, before it fades away like it had before.
>After about fifteen minutes, the door opens, and the red-haired receptionist from behind looks out. "Mr Tenma will see you now," she says.

>_

[MysTeariousYukari]

> "Thank you."
> Head into the office and when we meet Tenma, give a polite bow. First impressions are the biggest after all.

[Hello Purvis]

> "Thank you."
> Head into the office and when we meet Tenma, give a polite bow. First impressions are the biggest after all.

>You thank the receptionist, and head inside. The outer part of the office is full of shelves with numerous files in them, and a desk where the receptionist works.  Some windows let in the morning night. Moving further in, you find yourself in an expansive office at the corner of the Manor house, with two of the walls covered in windows that allow the light to come in. The other walls bear paintings of placid beach scenes, you think you recognize one of them as the beach you were at yesterday.  Sitting at a large mahogany desk is a bald black man regarding you with a grin. Despite his suit, you can see he is quite powerfully built. You notice a statuette of a white horse on his desk, matching a picture on the wall.
>"My lady," he says, his voice smooth, "Come in. Sit down. Tell me what is on your mind."

>_

[Seian Verian]

> Sit down