Maribel Quest More - A Z-Machine Adventure

[DracoOmega]

>"What kind of ideas? That they'd go there and get in trouble or something?"
>"And... I really don't think I'd be better off talking to Alice right now. Or, put another way, I don't think I'd be comfortable enough to try it. Or trust what she had to say."

[Hello Purvis]

>"What kind of ideas? That they'd go there and get in trouble or something?"
>"And... I really don't think I'd be better off talking to Alice right now. Or, put another way, I don't think I'd be comfortable enough to try it. Or trust what she had to say."

>"Yep," says Marisa. "We have a kind of truce with them. Reimu just doesn't want people going in there and causing problems."
>"Oh Alice is a sweetheart, don't worry about her. But, I can see how she might put you off. Why don't you answer me a question, why'd you want to be a youkai, anyways?"

>_

[DracoOmega]

>"I'm afraid I really can't reconcile 'sweetheart' with what happened earlier today, sorry. Maybe she's different with people she's actually friends with, I don't know."
>"And, well, I was curious what it would be like, although that's not reason in and of itself. Byakuren offered to enhance my magical potential, and this would be a side-effect of that. Magic is the sort of thing I've spent a lot of my life looking for, and I'd like be able to work it as much as I can."

[Hello Purvis]

>"I'm afraid I really can't reconcile 'sweetheart' with what happened earlier today, sorry. Maybe she's different with people she's actually friends with, I don't know."
>"And, well, I was curious what it would be like, although that's not reason in and of itself. Byakuren offered to enhance my magical potential, and this would be a side-effect of that. Magic is the sort of thing I've spent a lot of my life looking for, and I'd like be able to work it as much as I can."

>She laughs. "She's all bark, don't worry about her."
>"Ah. Well, Byakuren probably means well. But, that's not the only way to be good with magic, you know?"

>_

[DracoOmega]

>"Well, I understand that practice and training also helps. I wasn't planning this in lieu of that, certainly, and I'm sure I'll be putting a whole lot of time into this in the future. But Byakuren was pretty explicit about how this raises the upper level of what you would be capable of in a way that no amount of training and practice can replicate."

[Hello Purvis]

>"Well, I understand that practice and training also helps. I wasn't planning this in lieu of that, certainly, and I'm sure I'll be putting a whole lot of time into this in the future. But Byakuren was pretty explicit about how this raises the upper level of what you would be capable of in a way that no amount of training and practice can replicate."

>Marisa reaches into her pocket, and produces a curious object. "Take this. Be careful with it, don't drop it or chip it or anything. Draw on it and conjure up some familiars, just like I taught you to today. The danmaku kind."

>_

[DracoOmega]

>Take the mini-hakkero object carefully
>Conjure some danmaku familiars, using that object as a power source

[E-Nazrin]

Seeing as Marisa has reason to suspect that we angered Alice during events of today and that we'd rather not speak with her again so soon (out of empty fear or otherwise), we might be able to ask her to talk with Alice about her experiences for us - mid-late tomorrow morning, of course.

And if that seems too forward, we could at least make a point of admitting that we're a bit afraid of what she might do to us for upsetting her (again, with something we've tried to settle by swearing not to give details about) to get a clearer picture from Marisa of how actively Alice is likely to respond to that in the near future. Or perhaps how best to make it up to her, as a diversion from the real explanation (and not a terrible long-term idea either way).

>Take it carefully.
>"... so, drawing on magical items instead...?"
>Try some familiar shenanigans!

EDIT: Going to bed. May want to let this conversation linger onto tomorrow afternoon IRL for proper coverage. Not sure what I'd insist on covering at this point.

EDIT 2: "Why not both?"

[DracoOmega]

I'd considered asking Marisa to drop in on Alice during that time period (for other reasons), but I realized that it might be a bad idea. You can see the SDM from Alice's house, I believe. And if Marisa notices Patchouli being mobbed by faeries while unable to cast magic... I don't know that she'd try to intervene or not, but there's a risk it could also blow up in Renko's face.

[Hello Purvis]

>Take the mini-hakkero object carefully
>Conjure some danmaku familiars, using that object as a power source

>Take it carefully.
>"... so, drawing on magical items instead...?"
>Try some familiar shenanigans!

>You take the object in hand. It is an octagon made of polished wood.
>"Yep," says Marisa. "Patchy thinks it's cheating, but she'd do it too if she had something to good to draw on.
>You take a moment to look at the Starlight Incantation Slip and remind yourself of the spell, then cast it. It only takes you two tries to get it right this time! You draw upon the object, and suddenly feel flushed as power races though your your body for a split second. Then the feeling is gone, as familiars appear in front of you, nine of them.
>"See," says Marisa as she holds her hand out. "and you're not even used to using it."

>_

[DracoOmega]

>"Wow, that's... a pretty big difference."
>"And do you use that all the time for the stuff you do? Or, at least the stuff that needs a lot of power behind it."
>"But, that does raise two issues. One: they're clearly pretty rare, or Patchouli, with all the resources in her library, would also have something suitable. And two: the fact that she could benefit as well suggests it stacks with other forms of augmentation, rather than replaces it."

[Hello Purvis]

>"Wow, that's... a pretty big difference."
>"And do you use that all the time for the stuff you do? Or, at least the stuff that needs a lot of power behind it."
>"But, that does raise two issues. One: they're clearly pretty rare, or Patchouli, with all the resources in her library, would also have something suitable. And two: the fact that she could benefit as well suggests it stacks with other forms of augmentation, rather than replaces it."

>"Sure is!'
>"And yeah, anything big, I use it. Can I have it back, please?"
>"Not as much as you think," says Marisa. "It's a relative kind of thing, and when you have enough natural talent, there's a lot of artifacts that just aren't worth it. It's just adding a drop to a puddle. But for someone like you, the same things would be pretty useful. That's why Patchy doesn't bother with any old thing, and thinks of it as cheating."

>_

[DracoOmega]

>"Oh, of course, sorry."
>Hand it back
>"Hmm... any idea where I might be able to find something at least moderately helpful to me, at this point?"
>"And, out of curiosity, does that artifact have enough power that it would be worth Patchouli's while, were it hers?"

[Hello Purvis]

>"Oh, of course, sorry."
>Hand it back
>"Hmm... any idea where I might be able to find something at least moderately helpful to me, at this point?"
>"And, out of curiosity, does that artifact have enough power that it would be worth Patchouli's while, were it hers?"

>You hand it back. "Don't worry. Just you're still new at this, and accidents can happen."
>"Want to find something for yourself? Hmm. Well, I got this from Rinnosuke. You might luck out and find one there. Oh, haven't you been doing a lot of favors for Byakuren? Maybe Patchy or Alice might have a spare something you can use? Or you could look around for one. Mind, you weren't even using my Mini-Hakkero right, so once you learn how, you'll probably get some pretty good results whatever you use." She frowns and raises her eyebrows. "Hey. Actually...I bet I could make one that'd do you okay."
>"Oh yeah. She made me promise to will it to her."

>_

[DracoOmega]

>"Make one? I'd appreciate that a lot. Is there anything I could do to help with that? Stuff you'd need, or something along those lines?"

[Hello Purvis]

>"Make one? I'd appreciate that a lot. Is there anything I could do to help with that? Stuff you'd need, or something along those lines?"

>"Actually..." Marisa says, not really looking at you and seeming distracted. "You still have that potion I gave you? I might just be able to make this work..."

>_

[DracoOmega]

>"Yeah, I still have it."
>Offer it to her

[Hello Purvis]

>"Yeah, I still have it."
>Offer it to her

>"Don't worry," says Marisa, accepting your Striped Mushroom Potion of Enhancement. "I'll get you another one. Just it's easier than brewing up a fresh one for this. Yeah, this is going to be interesting. Hey, what's your favorite kind of jewelry?"

>_

[DracoOmega]

>"Shall I assume that what you're making would be in the form of this, then? Does the size of it matter?"

[Hello Purvis]

>"Shall I assume that what you're making would be in the form of this, then? Does the size of it matter?"

>She nods. "I guess if it's too small, it might be a problem."

>_

[DracoOmega]

>"So, I guess a ring or something wouldn't work?"
>"Does the object need to actually be held physically in the hand to use it, or just worn?"

[Hello Purvis]

>"So, I guess a ring or something wouldn't work?"
>"Does the object need to actually be held physically in the hand to use it, or just worn?"

>"Oh, if you're rather have something you'd have to hold," says Marisa, "I could do that too. I thought that it'd be nice if you could wear it. And, I can try a ring. But have a second choice if it won't work?"

>_

[DracoOmega]

>"Oh, being able to use it just by wearing it is more convenient, if there's no difference in the magnitude of the effect. I don't really know how these things work, remember."
>"Well, if you think a ring wouldn't work as well, or be weaker, or have some other caveat, I'm not married to the idea."
>"If something larger would work better, maybe a bracelet?"

[Hello Purvis]

>"Oh, being able to use it just by wearing it is more convenient, if there's no difference in the magnitude of the effect. I don't really know how these things work, remember."
>"Well, if you think a ring wouldn't work as well, or be weaker, or have some other caveat, I'm not married to the idea."
>"If something larger would work better, maybe a bracelet?"

>She nods. "So your second choice is a bracelet, got it. Okay. I think this is going to be great!" Marisa grins. "Come back in the morning, I'll certainly have it ready by then. This is the best idea I've had in ages, I'll be up all night on this!"
>"So, anything else you wanted to ask? It'll take me a bit to get ready to start, so you don't have to run off right now."

>_

[DracoOmega]

>"Actually, here's another semi-random question. What's your opinion on karma? And do you think becoming a youkai is bad for it?"

[Hello Purvis]

>"Actually, here's another semi-random question. What's your opinion on karma? And do you think becoming a youkai is bad for it?"

>"I don't even know if there is karma, really," says Marisa. "I guess it probably would be, though. At least the way youkai tend to cause problems from time to time, and don't do well with seals and stuff." She shrugs. "It's not something I worry about."

>_

[DracoOmega]

>"Well, the way Byakuren talked about it, it wasn't because youkai caused problems. And there was nothing inherently negative about being a youkai. The issue was becoming something that you were not born as. ...I wasn't sure how much of that might have been fact, and how much of it might have been belief."

[Hello Purvis]

>"Well, the way Byakuren talked about it, it wasn't because youkai caused problems. And there was nothing inherently negative about being a youkai. The issue was becoming something that you were not born as. ...I wasn't sure how much of that might have been fact, and how much of it might have been belief."

>"Oh," she says. "Well, that makes sense. I suppose it must be right." Marisa punctuates this with another small shrug. "I don't worry much about things like that."

>_

[DracoOmega]

>"What happens happens, I guess?"

[Hello Purvis]

>"What happens happens, I guess?"

>She nods. "I guess it would have to be a bad thing if all the priest and shrine maidens and stuff say it is, but I've never really bothered with it."

>_