Iku Quest Otto - A Z-Machine Adventure

[Suwako Moriya]

"She's been looking to pick a fight ever since yesterday morning, and she and the gate guard almost went at it yesterday. She doesn't have to come, but the guard has enlisted an apprentice from our enslaved people, and the fight will keep them both distracted. The other option is that I go in alone and you wait at the edge of the forest for me to return. This keeps you hidden, but it slso keeps you out of the library."

[Hello Purvis]

"She's been looking to pick a fight ever since yesterday morning, and she and the gate guard almost went at it yesterday. She doesn't have to come, but the guard has enlisted an apprentice from our enslaved people, and the fight will keep them both distracted. The other option is that I go in alone and you wait at the edge of the forest for me to return. This keeps you hidden, but it slso keeps you out of the library."

>The poltergeist furrows her brow in irritation. "Don't tell her I'm here!"

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Sigh.
> "That won't work, then, because she'll invariably see you as you enter, if she's fighting to get Meiling to face away from you. Hmm. The shadow entry we talked about earlier - this is stuff you've known since birth, or stuff you've tested?"

[Hello Purvis]

> Sigh.
> "That won't work, then, because she'll invariably see you as you enter, if she's fighting to get Meiling to face away from you. Hmm. The shadow entry we talked about earlier - this is stuff you've known since birth, or stuff you've tested?"

>"Urgh. Fine," says the poltergeist. "But I am not going to reveal myself to her. And both; I don't fully understand all the peculiarities, I think it depends on the individual shadow."

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "Huh."
> Gesture toward the large rock.
> "So, for example, if you tried to enter the shadow of this rock, what would happen? Would you just get stopped, because you can't physically be inside the rock, or would you be stuck inside it and unable to move, or would you appear on top of it, or something else? I realize a success is unlikely, but if we can avoid getting Tenshi involved, so much the better for you, and I managed to discover something new of my own yesterday after so many years, so I figure it's at least worth looking into."

[Hello Purvis]

> "Huh."
> Gesture toward the large rock.
> "So, for example, if you tried to enter the shadow of this rock, what would happen? Would you just get stopped, because you can't physically be inside the rock, or would you be stuck inside it and unable to move, or would you appear on top of it, or something else? I realize a success is unlikely, but if we can avoid getting Tenshi involved, so much the better for you, and I managed to discover something new of my own yesterday after so many years, so I figure it's at least worth looking into."

>"It's hard to tell," she says. "I might the able to appear on top of it, but most likely it just wouldn't work at all"

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "Why not give it a shot, then? The worst thing that should happen is nothing, and we have to think of something else. It's not like failure would be you embarrassing yourself in front of me, even being able to touch the shadow is already more than anything I could do."

[Hello Purvis]

> "Why not give it a shot, then? The worst thing that should happen is nothing, and we have to think of something else. It's not like failure would be you embarrassing yourself in front of me, even being able to touch the shadow is already more than anything I could do."

>"If it'll make you happy," says the poltergeist. She walks onto the shadow, and closes her eyes. Nothing seems to happen. After a minute, she shakes her head. "I don't think you could have lifted it anyways."

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "Probably not, no, but that was intended to be an experiment anyway, to see what would happen, if the rock's shadow was more like a locked door or like no door at all, but a solid wall instead."

[Hello Purvis]

> "Probably not, no, but that was intended to be an experiment anyway, to see what would happen, if the rock's shadow was more like a locked door or like no door at all, but a solid wall instead."

>"I can still sneak in if you can provide the distraction," says the poltergeist.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Why doesn't anyone just sneak over the wall out of sight from the game at the Scarlet Devil Mansion?
> "Yeah, that may end up being the way we have to go. But...I think I might still want to at least try it, one more time. And not with a solid inanimate object this time."
> Gesture at our own shadow.

[Hello Purvis]

> Why doesn't anyone just sneak over the wall out of sight from the game at the Scarlet Devil Mansion?
> "Yeah, that may end up being the way we have to go. But...I think I might still want to at least try it, one more time. And not with a solid inanimate object this time."
> Gesture at our own shadow.

>You honestly don't know why they don't. Then again, you aren't sure how well she can climb.
>"I can already tell you it won't work," she says. "I can't enter into the shadows of living things."

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Sad frown.
> "You've tried?"

[Hello Purvis]

> Sad frown.
> "You've tried?"

>She nods. "With trees and such."

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "Mmm. And my being a sentient creature doesn't make a difference, then?"

[Hello Purvis]

> "Mmm. And my being a sentient creature doesn't make a difference, then?"

>She shakes her head. "It'd make it even less likely."

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "How frustrating. It does make me a bit curious as to how I was able to enter yours if you can't enter mine, but I'm guessing that's not information you're willing to divulge."

[Hello Purvis]

> "How frustrating. It does make me a bit curious as to how I was able to enter yours if you can't enter mine, but I'm guessing that's not information you're willing to divulge."

>"You entered Bhava-Agra's shadow" she says.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "Oho, so that was what was going on. Well that's a shame on the whole, then, but nothing we can do about it, I guess. Sneaking in it is."
> "Before we go, though, there are a couple of things we need to make sure we have accounted for. The first is how we can communicate while I'm talking to the librarian. This is largely why I was hoping you could get inside me, so maybe we could have some dialogue in my head where you could tell me what you wanted to know based on what she says."

[Hello Purvis]

> "Oho, so that was what was going on. Well that's a shame on the whole, then, but nothing we can do about it, I guess. Sneaking in it is."
> "Before we go, though, there are a couple of things we need to make sure we have accounted for. The first is how we can communicate while I'm talking to the librarian. This is largely why I was hoping you could get inside me, so maybe we could have some dialogue in my head where you could tell me what you wanted to know based on what she says."

>"You didn't figure it out?" she says, frowning.
>She shakes her head. "I don't think we'll be able to."

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "I wasn't sure, because I didn't think you could cast the shadow of all the islands at once, despite having drained them all at once. I figured it was just another mysterious ability of yours. Indeed, I still don't know the extent of what you can do, and I suspect I never will."
> "Anyway, the second problem, even larger than the lack of communication, is actually traversing the mansion. The place is littered with both fairy maids and enslaved celestials, and then there's the head maid, who is very diligent in her work, and capable of stopping time and throwing legions of knives every which way. Not to mention the vampires in charge of the whole place. You would have to avoid all of them in our journey to the library, because who knows what any one individual in this mansion is doing at any time."

[Hello Purvis]

> "I wasn't sure, because I didn't think you could cast the shadow of all the islands at once, despite having drained them all at once. I figured it was just another mysterious ability of yours. Indeed, I still don't know the extent of what you can do, and I suspect I never will."
> "Anyway, the second problem, even larger than the lack of communication, is actually traversing the mansion. The place is littered with both fairy maids and enslaved celestials, and then there's the head maid, who is very diligent in her work, and capable of stopping time and throwing legions of knives every which way. Not to mention the vampires in charge of the whole place. You would have to avoid all of them in our journey to the library, because who knows what any one individual in this mansion is doing at any time."

>"Tell me how to get there from the entrance, and I will get there," says the poltergeist.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> We can trace out a proper path from the gate to the library, right?
> If so, give the poltergeist the directions from doing so.

[Hello Purvis]

> We can trace out a proper path from the gate to the library, right?
> If so, give the poltergeist the directions from doing so.

>It is practically a straight go; the library is just past the foyer that you enter in, opposite of the doors.
>"It should not be a problem," she says.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Nod.
> "Understood. One other small question, though. What if you were to scale the outer wall, out of view from the gate?"

[Hello Purvis]

> Nod.
> "Understood. One other small question, though. What if you were to scale the outer wall, out of view from the gate?"

>"I don't think it would be very smart..." she says, frowning.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "Well, you're not planning on getting caught, are you?"

[Hello Purvis]

> "Well, you're not planning on getting caught, are you?"

>"That's why I don't think it's very wise..." she says. "I don't like those walls."

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Put on a look of bemusement.
> "...Huh? I'm afraid I don't understand. What's wrong with them?"

[Hello Purvis]

> Put on a look of bemusement.
> "...Huh? I'm afraid I don't understand. What's wrong with them?"

>"There's just something about them," she says, shaking her head.

>_