Iku Quest Sechs - A Z-Machine Adventure

[Hello Purvis]

> Wow, those fairies are pretty damn daring.
> "Well, Sakuya's as good as Remilia, I guess. My issue is with that house in general, sans Patchouli. They seem to have claimed one of Bhava-Agra's islands as their own and have enslaved many of my people to work in their mansion. It's on my list of things to take care of, but given the immediate threat, I've had to put it on the back burner. Possibly for a few days."

>They really were. And they were lucky this place was empty.
>"Personally, I don't care what they do with it," says Reimu. "I'm more concerned about the problem with those islands."

>"I'm glad to hear she's alright... I need to find her and let her know I'm ok. Well, perhaps not 'ok', but still in one piece."
>"A word of caution: whatever the poltergeist did to me, she did without warning or motion, while bound. I'm not sure there's a defense against it. She said she planned to make everyone disappear. I expect she is fully capable following up on that threat. No matter how defenseless she might seem, you cannot underestimate her for a moment. Not even you."

>Reimu nods. "I'll keep it in mind, and ask questions later."

>_

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "Even if you haven't believed anything else you've heard from either of us today, believe me when I say you're not he only one concerned about the problem with Bhava-Agra."
> "Anyway, I believe I need to go and find Tenshi. I have some ideas where she may have gone. Unless you still think I'm responsible for this and wish to prevent me from leaving?"

[Hello Purvis]

> "Even if you haven't believed anything else you've heard from either of us today, believe me when I say you're not he only one concerned about the problem with Bhava-Agra."
> "Anyway, I believe I need to go and find Tenshi. I have some ideas where she may have gone. Unless you still think I'm responsible for this and wish to prevent me from leaving?"

>"You've sort of dodged around the whole Eientei part, I've noticed," says Reimu. "I think you better reassure me about all of this if you intend to leave under your own power."

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "To be honest, I expect you won't believe me on those grounds anyway. But, okay, if you wish to know what I've been told, and what I've speculated since."
> "In my searchings, I had the misfortune of running into Marisa after she had...I don't really want to say 'talked' to Eirin, since Marisa doesn't talk so much as blow things up, but I'm sure you know what I mean. They were on one of our islands when I first saw her laser. I managed to lose her in the Bamboo Forest and made my way back to that island, to find Eirin still recovering and aiding the injured. She told me she lied to Marisa in order to save her own home - she was certain that, if she continued to deny knowledge of this incident, Marisa would run roughshod over Eientei, where Reisen had currently fallen ill. Apparently she was at our island looking for ingredients for medicine to cure that illness. Given how Marisa accosted her out of nowhere in the first place, I can't say I disagree with her theory on how Marisa would behave upon guilt denial, as much aggravation as her lie has caused me and my people."
> "I imagine she maintained the same lie in that same interest when you came to discuss things with her in whatever way you carry yourself in that sort of situation. I can't imagine what you and Marisa would do to her or her house if her story didn't add up between the two of you, especially given how Marisa conducted herself the first time around."
> "So there you go. Eirin was the victim of an unfortunate circumstance, and was forced to lie and cast blame onto me in order to save her friend from the Gensokyo problem solver that had shown up with guns and unsubstantiated accusations blazing. This is why Marisa thinks I am responsible, and I imagine why you think I am responsible as well. I obviously have no proof of this - I don't even know for sure that Reisen is sick, not having been to Eientei today myself - but I imagine Eientei hasn't gone anywhere, and that you could head over there to check for yourself if you so desired."

[DracoOmega]

>"For what it's worth, I have never even been to Eientei."
>We'd never even spoken with Eirin before, correct?
>Assuming so: "And before this morning had not even ever spoken to Eirin at all."

[Hello Purvis]

> "To be honest, I expect you won't believe me on those grounds anyway. But, okay, if you wish to know what I've been told, and what I've speculated since."
> "In my searchings, I had the misfortune of running into Marisa after she had...I don't really want to say 'talked' to Eirin, since Marisa doesn't talk so much as blow things up, but I'm sure you know what I mean. They were on one of our islands when I first saw her laser. I managed to lose her in the Bamboo Forest and made my way back to that island, to find Eirin still recovering and aiding the injured. She told me she lied to Marisa in order to save her own home - she was certain that, if she continued to deny knowledge of this incident, Marisa would run roughshod over Eientei, where Reisen had currently fallen ill. Apparently she was at our island looking for ingredients for medicine to cure that illness. Given how Marisa accosted her out of nowhere in the first place, I can't say I disagree with her theory on how Marisa would behave upon guilt denial, as much aggravation as her lie has caused me and my people."
> "I imagine she maintained the same lie in that same interest when you came to discuss things with her in whatever way you carry yourself in that sort of situation. I can't imagine what you and Marisa would do to her or her house if her story didn't add up between the two of you, especially given how Marisa conducted herself the first time around."
> "So there you go. Eirin was the victim of an unfortunate circumstance, and was forced to lie and cast blame onto me in order to save her friend from the Gensokyo problem solver that had shown up with guns and unsubstantiated accusations blazing. This is why Marisa thinks I am responsible, and I imagine why you think I am responsible as well. I obviously have no proof of this - I don't even know for sure that Reisen is sick, not having been to Eientei today myself - but I imagine Eientei hasn't gone anywhere, and that you could head over there to check for yourself if you so desired."

>"For what it's worth, I have never even been to Eientei."
>We'd never even spoken with Eirin before, correct?
>Assuming so: "And before this morning had not even ever spoken to Eirin at all."

>Reimu nods as you tell your tale and try to add as much distance between yourself and Eientei as you can. "I'm not wholly convinced," she says. "But I'm not wholly unconvinced either. We'll just say this. I'll let you go now and if things get worse? You better have an invincible alibi. Otherwise I will seal you up so bad that Hijiri will think she got off lightly. You have no idea how much I am not in the mood anymore."

>_

[DracoOmega]

>"Oh, I think I have some idea. But I promise you, I will be doing everything in my own power to keep things from getting worse. I did not swear that lightly. I do not intend to let another person fall victim to this poltergeist, if there is a thing I can do to prevent it."
>"On that note, I think I will bid you good night. I hope the rest of the evening passes peacefully for you. And for all of us."
>Leave and fly off to Nitori's

[Hello Purvis]

>"Oh, I think I have some idea. But I promise you, I will be doing everything in my own power to keep things from getting worse. I did not swear that lightly. I do not intend to let another person fall victim to this poltergeist, if there is a thing I can do to prevent it."
>"On that note, I think I will bid you good night. I hope the rest of the evening passes peacefully for you. And for all of us."
>Leave and fly off to Nitori's

>She nods. "I'm going to see if there's some blankets I can scrounge up."
> You leave the Hakurei Shrine, and make you way toward Youkai Mountain. The flight, thank heaven, is a peaceful one. You're still hungry, cold, wet, sore, dirty and bedraggled, but at least things are peaceful enough to let you meditate on these issues, rather than adding new ones.
>You reach kappa town without problems, and find there is barely any activity at this time. There are some lights in the windows of the warehouse, though.

>_

[DracoOmega]

>Go knock on Nitori's door

[Kilgamayan]

> Put on a 'tired and annoyed' face.
> What is Bhava-Agra's stance on profanity?

[Hello Purvis]

>Go knock on Nitori's door

>You knock on the door.

> Put on a 'tired and annoyed' face.
> What is Bhava-Agra's stance on profanity?

>This does not take much effort at all.
>You really shouldn't, but the problem isn't words so much as the emotions behind them.
>The door opens, and Utsuho looks out. "Oh, hi," she says, frowning. "You look awful, what happened?"

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "Everything and then some. Who's here?"

[Hello Purvis]

> "Everything and then some. Who's here?"

>"Just me and Nitori right now," says Utsuho. "Parsee is walking Yuugi home, then she'll be coming back."

>_

[DracoOmega]

>"So, Tenshi never came here? What about Renko, Maribel, and Kogasa?"

[Kilgamayan]

> Facepalm.
> "Ugh. This is the worst day ever."
> Look back to Utsuho.
> "Okay, I'm going to be completely straight with you. Things have changed over the course of the day. A lot of very important things. Some very dangerous things. To make a long story short, there was a second shadow attack on Kogasa, I know who the culprit is, everyone is in a lot of danger from this culprit, and I'm pretty sure fate wants me dead, along with a few choice individuals throughout Gensokyo and elsewhere. Everyone I just named knows about Nitori and please don't get riled up about that because it's important that we stick together and share knowledge and firepower. The longer Nitori is a secret and we stay splintered, the greater the risk this culprit presents to everyone."

[Hello Purvis]

>"So, Tenshi never came here? What about Renko, Maribel, and Kogasa?"

>She shakes her head.

> Facepalm.
> "Ugh. This is the worst day ever."
> Look back to Utsuho.
> "Okay, I'm going to be completely straight with you. Things have changed over the course of the day. A lot of very important things. Some very dangerous things. To make a long story short, there was a second shadow attack on Kogasa, I know who the culprit is, everyone is in a lot of danger from this culprit, and I'm pretty sure fate wants me dead, along with a few choice individuals throughout Gensokyo and elsewhere. Everyone I just named knows about Nitori and please don't get riled up about that because it's important that we stick together and share knowledge and firepower. The longer Nitori is a secret and we stay splintered, the greater the risk this culprit presents to everyone."

>She frowns. "I'm sorry...?"
>You try to explain things quickly. Utsuho just continues to frown. You suspect you've lost her to some degree.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Deep breath.
> Speak a bit slower.
> "I know who stole Nitori's shadow. They've also stolen Kogasa's shadow. They also almost stole mine, and that wasn't the worst of what they did to me today. We need to gather a group together for self-defense, as well as to find this person and put a stop to their antics."

[Hello Purvis]

> Deep breath.
> Speak a bit slower.
> "I know who stole Nitori's shadow. They've also stolen Kogasa's shadow. They also almost stole mine, and that wasn't the worst of what they did to me today. We need to gather a group together for self-defense, as well as to find this person and put a stop to their antics."

>Utsuho nods. "Alright, I understand. So who was it? And, you told others about Nitori? I suppose it was inevitable. Just, let me break it to the others, they'll be more angry than disappointed about it..."

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "I kept it a secret until it became detrimental to keep it a secret. I apologize for telling others of Nitori's condition, but more important now is that people know this is happening, especially since it has happened to Kogasa, and possibly others."
> "As for who did it? It was a poltergeist, but she's more than just that. How much do you know about how poltergeists come to be?"

[Hello Purvis]

> "I kept it a secret until it became detrimental to keep it a secret. I apologize for telling others of Nitori's condition, but more important now is that people know this is happening, especially since it has happened to Kogasa, and possibly others."
> "As for who did it? It was a poltergeist, but she's more than just that. How much do you know about how poltergeists come to be?"

>"They're kind of like evil spirits, right?" asks Utsuho.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "I don't know if they're evil per se. This one acts like she could be, but...well, better to just explain how this works."
> "A poltergeist comes to be through sheer force of will and belief. When something is believed so hard the people believing it can't comprehend the idea that it's not true, that idea is manifested as a poltergeist. I understand the Prismriver Sisters were created this way, by a fourth sister from long ago. This particular poltergeist was created through the mass belief that there's something out there, something linked very strongly to shadows, something that wants to hide itself at all costs."
> Pull out the picture of the hogtied 'geist.
> "This poltergeist is the Brocken Spectre."

[Hello Purvis]

> "I don't know if they're evil per se. This one acts like she could be, but...well, better to just explain how this works."
> "A poltergeist comes to be through sheer force of will and belief. When something is believed so hard the people believing it can't comprehend the idea that it's not true, that idea is manifested as a poltergeist. I understand the Prismriver Sisters were created this way, by a fourth sister from long ago. This particular poltergeist was created through the mass belief that there's something out there, something linked very strongly to shadows, something that wants to hide itself at all costs."
> Pull out the picture of the hogtied 'geist.
> "This poltergeist is the Brocken Spectre."

>You explain, then show her the picture.
>"Wow..." she says. "Is this a joke? That doesn't look anything like what the Brocken Spectre ought to have looked like."

[Kilgamayan]

> "Dead serious. Tenshi has seen her in action, but...I don't know where Tenshi is right now."
> "Basically, this girl can hurt you by kicking and punching your shadow. She can also absorb a shadow into herself, which is what happened to Nitori and Kogasa, and then change her shadow to match the shadow of something she's absorbed so as to take on the properties of that thing. I fight with electricity, so she morphed her shadow into that of a stone. That was rather unpleasant to deal with."
> "I have also found that she can just up and absorb a person whole into her shadow, because she did this to me. It dumped me into some weird shadow void, where I managed to make contact with Nitori and learned a few important things about her. I don't really know how, but somehow I escaped from there, though Nitori was left behind for some reason - my nearest guess is that it was because Nitori was in the void in shadow form, whereas I was in the void as entirely myself."
> "You can see what having a shadow stolen does to a person just by looking at Nitori. This girl is strong enough to do that and worse to someone of my caliber, and given she was believed to be hiding herself at all costs, she has resorted to stealing the shadows of people that see her in order to keep herself hidden. This is why she is so dangerous."

[DracoOmega]

>"I only managed to drag myself back to Gensokyo a few minutes ago, so I'm not sure what has happened in my absence. Renko and Maribel were taking Kogasa with them, and supposed to meet us here, before I got swallowed. I'm worried why they never showed up."
>"When the spectre sent me into that shadow, she did so without touch or gesture, while still bound. She said that she intended to make everyone disappear. Given what she did to me, I have no doubt that she's capable of making good on this threat."

[Hello Purvis]

> "Dead serious. Tenshi has seen her in action, but...I don't know where Tenshi is right now."
> "Basically, this girl can hurt you by kicking and punching your shadow. She can also absorb a shadow into herself, which is what happened to Nitori and Kogasa, and then change her shadow to match the shadow of something she's absorbed so as to take on the properties of that thing. I fight with electricity, so she morphed her shadow into that of a stone. That was rather unpleasant to deal with."
> "I have also found that she can just up and absorb a person whole into her shadow, because she did this to me. It dumped me into some weird shadow void, where I managed to make contact with Nitori and learned a few important things about her. I don't really know how, but somehow I escaped from there, though Nitori was left behind for some reason - my nearest guess is that it was because Nitori was in the void in shadow form, whereas I was in the void as entirely myself."
> "You can see what having a shadow stolen does to a person just by looking at Nitori. This girl is strong enough to do that and worse to someone of my caliber, and given she was believed to be hiding herself at all costs, she has resorted to stealing the shadows of people that see her in order to keep herself hidden. This is why she is so dangerous."

>"I only managed to drag myself back to Gensokyo a few minutes ago, so I'm not sure what has happened in my absence. Renko and Maribel were taking Kogasa with them, and supposed to meet us here, before I got swallowed. I'm worried why they never showed up."
>"When the spectre sent me into that shadow, she did so without touch or gesture, while still bound. She said that she intended to make everyone disappear. Given what she did to me, I have no doubt that she's capable of making good on this threat."

>She nods, looking rather serious now. "That sounds pretty bad. And, I've not seen or heard anything about those people, sorry. But, you said you saw Nitori?"

>_

[DracoOmega]

>"Yes. I met Nitori's shadow, inside the world that the spectre cast me into. To me, she looked like just a shadow along the ground, but her consciousness was there. We spoke to each other at length about what had happened to her and what she'd seen. I couldn't hear her - she was just a shadow, after all - but she traced messages on the ground to me."
>"That hill you found her on? The night before, she'd gone out for a walk, and happened to see the spectre sneaking around there. Nitori called her out on it - apparently she thought she was up to no good - and the spectre attacked her, and ended up tearing her shadow away from her. Since then, she's been in that shadow world."
>"She seems to have partial memories of other experiences, though, in the physical world. I think what her body experiences seems like a distant dream to her. She wasn't even sure it was real, until I explained I don't think she can remember much of it."
>"More interestingly, though, are memories she has of what the spectre has been doing since then. I'm not entirely sure why, but I have a suspicion. During our battle, the spectre's shadow changed into Kogasa's. I wonder if the person whose shadow it is can sense things, while they're being manifested in the physical world? In any case, she saw the spectre in a cave that she thinks is in the mountainside here, somewhere. She also saw the spectre drinking with Suika, on what I think is Guest Island, currently on the side of the mountain. I find this even more puzzling, since the spectre's been hostile to everyone else she's dealt with, that I know of. But I intend to try and find out, now that I'm back in Gensokyo."
>"For what it's worth, Nitori seemed to be in fairly good spirits, despite what's happened to her."

[Hello Purvis]

>"Yes. I met Nitori's shadow, inside the world that the spectre cast me into. To me, she looked like just a shadow along the ground, but her consciousness was there. We spoke to each other at length about what had happened to her and what she'd seen. I couldn't hear her - she was just a shadow, after all - but she traced messages on the ground to me."
>"That hill you found her on? The night before, she'd gone out for a walk, and happened to see the spectre sneaking around there. Nitori called her out on it - apparently she thought she was up to no good - and the spectre attacked her, and ended up tearing her shadow away from her. Since then, she's been in that shadow world."
>"She seems to have partial memories of other experiences, though, in the physical world. I think what her body experiences seems like a distant dream to her. She wasn't even sure it was real, until I explained I don't think she can remember much of it."
>"More interestingly, though, are memories she has of what the spectre has been doing since then. I'm not entirely sure why, but I have a suspicion. During our battle, the spectre's shadow changed into Kogasa's. I wonder if the person whose shadow it is can sense things, while they're being manifested in the physical world? In any case, she saw the spectre in a cave that she thinks is in the mountainside here, somewhere. She also saw the spectre drinking with Suika, on what I think is Guest Island, currently on the side of the mountain. I find this even more puzzling, since the spectre's been hostile to everyone else she's dealt with, that I know of. But I intend to try and find out, now that I'm back in Gensokyo."
>"For what it's worth, Nitori seemed to be in fairly good spirits, despite what's happened to her."

>You have the suspicion she doesn't really get it, but she nods. "It's good to hear she's kind of okay."
>After a moment, she adds, "You think that poltergeist can do this to anyone, right? Then, is it a good idea to corner her like this? If she's trying to stay hidden, and you tell a bunch of people, doesn't that make it more likely she'll just go after people? Or, go after anyone at all?"

>_

[DracoOmega]

>"She already said that she planned to make everyone disappear, and people have had their shadows taken for simply bumping into her. It's possible that spreading knowledge of her may provoke her, yes. But people need to be warned. And we need to find a way to restore the shadows she has taken. I don't think we can simply hope that if we'd left her alone, she'd leave others alone. Look at what's happened already, when no one knew of her."
>"She's even taken shadows from inanimate objects. I have no idea why, yet.
>Show her a picture of the shadowless tree
>"Certainly it cannot be because a tree knows too much about her. I don't know how to explain why she took down Bhava-Agra, either."

>"She needs to be stopped. And we need to find a way to restore the shadows she has taken. I'm not sure how to do either, yet. But they must be done."

[Hello Purvis]

>"She already said that she planned to make everyone disappear, and people have had their shadows taken for simply bumping into her. It's possible that spreading knowledge of her may provoke her, yes. But people need to be warned. And we need to find a way to restore the shadows she has taken. I don't think we can simply hope that if we'd left her alone, she'd leave others alone. Look at what's happened already, when no one knew of her."
>"She's even taken shadows from inanimate objects. I have no idea why, yet.
>Show her a picture of the shadowless tree
>"Certainly it cannot be because a tree knows too much about her. I don't know how to explain why she took down Bhava-Agra, either."

>"She needs to be stopped. And we need to find a way to restore the shadows she has taken. I'm not sure how to do either, yet. But they must be done."

>"I guess your right," says Utsuho, as she looks at the picture of the tree. "Is there anything I can do?"

[DracoOmega]

>"Tell the others, when you see them. Both the good and bad news. And make sure to emphasize how dangerous she is. Even if she looks incapacitated, she may still be able to imprison you at will. I don't know how she did it, or how it can be prevented. I wouldn't count on being able to get out again on your own; I'm not even sure how I did."
>"I'm going to go to Guest Island. I've heard that Suika's still there, and I need to speak with her."
>"If Tenshi, or anyone else I mentioned drops by the meantime, tell them where I've gone. I'll return when I'm finished, just to let you know if I've found out anything more. If you think I've been gone too long, well... you know where I've gone. Use your own discretion. But these are times where people involved need to stick together, I think. It may be dangerous to be alone, if she's on the move."