Iku Quest - A Z-Machine Adventure

[Hello Purvis]

>"I'll be as cautious as I reasonably can. Thank you for the warning, and good day to you."
>Exit the shop
>Head east

>"Good day, Miss Nagae," says Rinnosuke, "Perhaps I'll have something more to your liking later today."
>You leave the shop and head east.
>You follow the bend in the well-worn road. It bends toward the south again after some yards of twisting around Rinnosuke's property, and continues on toward the Misty Lake. To southeast, you see a fairly sizable floating island. It has a few small peaks, and is heavily forested. You believe there is a small Celestial community there, as well as many faeries. Looking at, there seem to be some faeries flying around it; and a few flashes of danmaku. Obvious exists are west and south.

>_

[DracoOmega]

>So, a significant number of fairies live on this island, even at its normal height?
>Are the fairies around it firing towards the island?
>Does it seem any worse than the random fairy skirmishes that sometimes break out from time to time?

[E-Nazrin]

>Are random fairy skirmishes common in Heaven as well?

[Hello Purvis]

>So, a significant number of fairies live on this island, even at its normal height?
>Are the fairies around it firing towards the island?
>Does it seem any worse than the random fairy skirmishes that sometimes break out from time to time?

>They do. Faeries are, at heart, aspects of nature. They can be found just about anywhere.
>You aren't sure if they're firing toward the island, but there is definitely fire between the faeries.
>In Gensokyo terms, it doesn't seem so. Among Bhava-Agra's faeries, such things tend not to happen.

>Are random fairy skirmishes common in Heaven as well?

>No.

>_

[DracoOmega]

>Try to get a little closer look without getting so close as to involve ourselves.

[Hello Purvis]

>Try to get a little closer look without getting so close as to involve ourselves.

>You fly a bit toward the island.
>From what you can see, there are quite a few faeries in the air. You can tell the two types apart mostly by their choice of fashion, Bhava-Argan faeries dress more like Celestials. Some of them are fighting, others appear to be whizzing around in various patterns. It doesn't seem that the whole cloud is fighting, though.

>_

[DracoOmega]

>Do there appear to be any non-fairies involved in the fighting?

[Hello Purvis]

>Do there appear to be any non-fairies involved in the fighting?

>There doesn't seem to be.

>_

[DracoOmega]

>Well, if there doesn't seem to be genuine harm being done that we can see, it may be best to leave things be.
>Continue south

[Hello Purvis]

>Well, if there doesn't seem to be genuine harm being done that we can see, it may be best to leave things be.
>Continue south

>You decide to leave that situation alone.
>You continue southward. Up ahead you can see the banks of the Misty Lake. A sizable mountain Island hovers not too far to the southeast of it, visible primarily due to its size.
>In the meantime, there is a fair amount to travel through to get to it. Nothing really seems to stand out to you, though you definitely can hear some faeries here and again, going about their business.

>_

[DracoOmega]

>What other locations are further south of us now, that we know of?
>What amount of contact have we had with the residents of the Scarlet Devil Mansion?

[Hello Purvis]

>What other locations are further south of us now, that we know of?
>What amount of contact have we had with the residents of the Scarlet Devil Mansion?

>You know Scarlet Devil Mansion is in that direction. Past it, you're not sure.
>You've met Remilia; she was one of the first people you delivered your message to during the Scarlet Weather incident. There was a fight, of course. But you think that you must have caught at a poor time, as she did not give you that much trouble. The gate guard let you right in that day. You've also met Sakuya; she was one of the people to chase after Tenshi during that time. She was very driven, by her own admission.

>_

[DracoOmega]

>Move towards the mansion
>Hope that, in light of Rinnosuke's warning, Sakuya has not decided to come out of 'retirement'.

[Hello Purvis]

>Move towards the mansion
>Hope that, in light of Rinnosuke's warning, Sakuya has not decided to come out of 'retirement'.

>You continue to move toward the mansion.
You reach the shores of the lake. Typically you would expect to see some faeries around it, but it seems deserted right now. Looking toward the mountainous island, you see that it is not too far from Scarlet Devil Mansion. You also notice something black, or rather someone clad in black, is flying away from and in your general direction at top speed.

>_

[DracoOmega]

>Oh boy...
>Does it seem clear that we've already been spotted?
>If not, if there anything nearby we can discretely use for cover?

[Hello Purvis]

>Oh boy...
>Does it seem clear that we've already been spotted?
>If not, if there anything nearby we can discretely use for cover?

>You thought that she lived around here...
>You don't know if you have or not.
>You are at the edge of the forest. While it has lost a lot of its leaves to Autumn, there ought to be enough foliage cover for you to hide under. But you do not know if it would suffice.

>_

[DracoOmega]

>Casually step inside the forest and walk a bit deeper. Don't let our pace make it obvious that we're trying to avoid being noticed, in case she's already seen us.
>Try to keep an eye on her out the corner of our eye

[Hello Purvis]

>Casually step inside the forest and walk a bit deeper. Don't let our pace make it obvious that we're trying to avoid being noticed, in case she's already seen us.
>Try to keep an eye on her out the corner of our eye

>You causally walk into the forest, stepping through a mostly leafless bush, and hide under a tree that still has most of its canopy.
>You keep a nervous eye on the oncoming magician. She continues to fly in your direction. Perhaps she's missed you? Perhaps she'll dip down at the last moment to catch you off guard? Maybe she'll look down and see you as she passes overhead? What if she just decides to bombard you from on high, in blatant disregard of all tact and decency?
>Marisa flies past you and continues northward. You resume breathing.

>_

[DracoOmega]

>Wait another minute or two, just to be sure. Let her be basically out of sight
>Resume travel towards the SDM

[Hello Purvis]

>Wait another minute or two, just to be sure. Let her be basically out of sight
>Resume travel towards the SDM

>You wait another minute or two, then resume your trip toward the mansion.
>The Misty lake is presently in your path. Its waters are still and placid, mirroring the sky above perfectly. to the east, you can see a comfortable-looking cabin near the banks, while the west seems to be devoid of anything but plains and more forest. Which direction will you take?

>_

[DracoOmega]

>Take the east path

[Hello Purvis]

>Take the east path

>You walk along the eastern path. As you, it takes you past the cabin. You see Alice Margatroid sitting on a comfortable-looking chair on the porch, fiddling with something. while looking toward the island floating by Scarlet Devil Mansion. She glances toward you.
>Having a closer look at the island now, you think you can see something faintly red atop the central peak.

>_

[DracoOmega]

>Something faintly red? Can we tell what it is?
>"Good morning, Alice. I don't suppose you've been standing outside for any length of time now?"

[Hello Purvis]

>Something faintly red? Can we tell what it is?
>"Good morning, Alice. I don't suppose you've been standing outside for any length of time now?"

>You cannot tell what it is, but you think it is moving in place.
>"I've been out since that bit of Bhava-Agra descended," says Alice. "Am I right in thinking that is a sufficient length of time for you?"

>_

[DracoOmega]

>"Yes, I imagine it would. Have you seen Tenshi fly past here at any point?"
>"And do you know what that red thing on top of the mountain over there is?"

[Hello Purvis]

>"Yes, I imagine it would. Have you seen Tenshi fly past here at any point?"
>"And do you know what that red thing on top of the mountain over there is?"

>"I've not seen Tenshi, no," says Alice.
>"That? I am pretty sure it is a flag that Remilia planted there."

>_

[DracoOmega]

>"A... flag? Seriously?"
>If we squint at it, does that seem a plausible explanation for its form?

[Hello Purvis]

>"A... flag? Seriously?"
>If we squint at it, does that seem a plausible explanation for its form?

>"It would be a fun joke, in retrospect, but no. I am quite serious."
>You squint, and see it could be waving in a manner similar to a flag.

>_

[DracoOmega]

>"I suppose of all the ways Remilia could react to it, that's more harmless than most."
>"And I guess if you've been out here since the island fell, and I didn't see Tenshi, I guess she probably didn't come this far. She was sighted traveling south-ish past Kourindou, but I have no idea where she was headed."

[Fightest]

>"It would be a fun joke, in retrospect, but no. I am quite serious."
>_

> I see what you did there.

>"I suppose of all the ways Remilia could react to it, that's more harmless than most."

> That's actually going to be very tough to get around. As far as Remilia is concerned, the place is now her property. Arguing property rights with her is going to end in violence.
> "It's the Rebels, sir. They've brought a flag."