Maribel Quest Perpetuation: A Z-Machine Adventure

[Hello Purvis]

>Try lining ourselves up with this path exactly, and moving forward, a little ways past the last mark we saw.

>You line yourself up and continue on, trying to keep on the general path.
>"Here, let me help," says Renko as she puts a hand on your shoulder, and another on your back. "You're going too far south..."
>After a minute or so, you nearly trip when step of some unusually flat and hard ground, which makes a hollow metallic thump as you step on it.

>_

[DracoOmega]

>Investigate this ground

[Hello Purvis]

>Investigate this ground

>You look at the ground. It looks completely and absolutely mundane, and there is nothing unusual about it at all.
>Save that you leg has passed through the grass and some of the dirt as though it weren't there at all. You now seem to have several blades of grass growing through your leg. Despite this, you feel nothing unusual; at least not tactilely.

>_

[DracoOmega]

>Move leg out of said grass, then back in
>Try stepping down again, with that foot. Does it still make a metallic sound?
>Assuming everything seems fine, try reaching down and touching it

[Hello Purvis]

>Move leg out of said grass, then back in
>Try stepping down again, with that foot. Does it still make a metallic sound?
>Assuming everything seems fine, try reaching down and touching it

>You remove your leg from the landscape, and now everything looks perfectly fine.
>You step down again, and your foot passes through the landscape and hits something hard, making a metallic sound.
>"Holy hell..." Renko says as she watches the display.
>You position yourself a bit better, and kneel down. You hands pass through the terrain, and you can feel smooth metal under your fingers.

>_

[DracoOmega]

>"There's something metal down here. I can feel it."
>Feel around for any discernible features in, or around the metal.

[Hello Purvis]

>"There's something metal down here. I can feel it."
>Feel around for any discernible features in, or around the metal.

>"Yeah, I think I heard it," says Renko.
>You feel around, and feel some small gaps running along the surface of the metal in straight, parallel lines. After a moment, you also find a handle.

>_

[DracoOmega]

>Grab the handle and attempt to pull in whatever direction seems to have some give

[Hello Purvis]

>You experiment with the handle, and find that it turns outward on an single axis. You do so, turning it about 90 degrees or so.

>_

[DracoOmega]

>Does the panel itself move in any other direction now?
>Actually, try leaning our head into the fake grass and see if we can make out what we're doing any better

[Hello Purvis]

>Does the panel itself move in any other direction now?
>Actually, try leaning our head into the fake grass and see if we can make out what we're doing any better

>You try to move the panel, and find it slides westward.
>You put your face into the insubstantial grass, and see nothing. Apparently light does not pass through it. You hear Renko giggle behind you.

>_

[E-Nazrin]

>"Was worth a shot."
>Try not to sound too embarrassed.
>Pull the panel aside as far as possible, and feel around to see what that revealed.

[DracoOmega]

>"Yes, well, it seemed like a good idea at the time. Does it look like my head's decided to start growing vegetation?"
>Slide the panel as far westward as it goes
>Can we feel anything underneath it?

[Hello Purvis]

>"Was worth a shot."
>Try not to sound too embarrassed.
>Pull the panel aside as far as possible, and feel around to see what that revealed.

>"Yes, well, it seemed like a good idea at the time. Does it look like my head's decided to start growing vegetation?"
>Slide the panel as far westward as it goes
>Can we feel anything underneath it?

>"I know, I know," says Renko, "It was just funny."
>You move the panel aside, and feel empty air underneath it.

>_

[DracoOmega]

>"I opened a panel of some sort. There's a hole down there, now."
>Cautiously lower ourselves into the hole that we feel, while hovering so that we don't just fall down who knows how far
>Try to descend in an orderly fashion

[Hello Purvis]

>"I opened a panel of some sort. There's a hole down there, now."
>Cautiously lower ourselves into the hole that we feel, while hovering so that we don't just fall down who knows how far
>Try to descend in an orderly fashion

>"I thought so," says Renko.
>You try to lower yourself into the hole, and your feet quickly hit something solid and metallic. Stairs?

>_

[DracoOmega]

>Try to find our footing on them
>If we feel stable: "Renko, there's stairs down here."
>Follow them down
>It's not still pitch black down here, is it?

[Hello Purvis]

>Try to find our footing on them
>If we feel stable: "Renko, there's stairs down here."
>Follow them down
>It's not still pitch black down here, is it?

>It takes you a moment to properly center yourself. As you do, you tell Renko what you've found.
>"I'll follow you down," she says.
>You walk down the stairs, and there is a moment of darkness as your head passes through the grass. Then you see light again, artificial light that feels almost harsh after two days of sunlight, braziers, and candlelight. Looking around, you see you are in a shaft descending downward. The walls are glass and lined with white metal, you can see the dirt and soil through them, as well as the roots of the grass and what seems to be some animal's burrow. Looking ahead, it seems the shaft leads into a rocky tunnel.

>_

[DracoOmega]

>"I'm going to guess this is it."
>Continue onward, cautiously

[Suwako Moriya]

> "Artificial light? I wonder what's powering it?"
> "And if this place is supposed to be abandoned, why is power still running?"

[Hello Purvis]

>"I'm going to guess this is it."
>Continue onward, cautiously

>"I'd be a little frightened to consider what this is if this wasn't it," says Renko, as she starts to feel for the stairs herself.

> "Artificial light? I wonder what's powering it?"
> "And if this place is supposed to be abandoned, why is power still running?"

>"No idea," says Renko as she follows you down. "Do you think it's electricity, or something magical? And, well, I guess it means either someone is still using this place, or they forgot to shut the lights off, or they can't shut them off.
>You descend down tunnel, as passing by the clay and bedrock of the land. As you do, you hear a quiet sliding noise behind you, followed by a click. Was that the shutter closing?

>_

[Blitzer]

>Check if the shutter can re-open.
>If not: "Well. Crap."

[DracoOmega]

>If it's the shutter, presumably it also opens from the inside or there's an alternate way out.
>Continue onward

[Hello Purvis]

>Check if the shutter can re-open.
>If not: "Obviously something hates us."

>You turn around to check the shutter, moving around Renko.
>As you walk up a step from Renko, it slides open again.

>If it's the shutter, presumably it also opens from the inside or there's an alternate way out.
>Continue onward

>Satisfied that this is true, you continue onward.
>You descend down into a natural cave tunnel, leading you to wonder if you've just found some other entrance to the Underground. After descending a few more yards, the tunnel opens up to an oblong cavern. It looks something like the chambers you've seen on the way to the Ancient City. The floor is covered by what seems to be a sheet of plastic, colored gray to match the rocky walls. More lights have been set into the walls. Near the far end of the cavern, you can see curious-looking metal things that make you think something of gun bunkers you've seen in movies, not far in front of three tunnels. Two of those tunnels are clearly artificial, having been bored into the rock to resemble arched hallways. The last one, leading southward, seems to be a natural corridor.

>_

[DracoOmega]

>Take the first, artificial-looking corridor

[Hello Purvis]

>Take the first, artificial-looking corridor

>You head for the nearest artificial corridor, which leads to the north. Walking past the barriers, you can see it continues for a few yards before ending in what seems to be a slab of featureless steel.

>_

[DracoOmega]

>Move right up next to the steel slab
>If nothing happens, try feeling around it, for a seam or anything else. We mightn't be able to entirely trust our eyes here.

[Hello Purvis]

>Move right up next to the steel slab
>If nothing happens, try feeling around it, for a seam or anything else. We mightn't be able to entirely trust our eyes here.

>You approach the slab, and nothing happens.
>Feeling around it, it seems to be exactly what it is supposed to be; a featureless slab of metal.

>_

[DracoOmega]

>"I wonder... did they seal over something here?"
>Go back to the junction and take the second artificial looking tunnel

[Hello Purvis]

>"I wonder... did they seal over something here?"
>Go back to the junction and take the second artificial looking tunnel

>"Maybe," says Renko.
>You take the second tunnel, this one leading west and at the far side from the entrance. It is a bit longer, but ends just the same in a metal slab. This one, you noticed, has an old ink picture of what seems to be a Yin Yang symbol and some faded writing beneath it. You think it says something akin to "Gotcha," bu it's hard to tell.

>_