Iku Quest On Iki - A Z-Machine Adventure

[Hello Purvis]

> "This poor girl's situation leads into the second unusual situation. It seems some of Gensokyo's residents assumed our fall to be an invasion, where our people were a warring force. One party in particular took it upon themselves to launch what they assumed were counterstrikes and conquered two of our islands. Knowing we were innocent, I...lost sight of what was important in the face of anger at the injustice I had seen, and so I made some mistaken assumptions of my own. The other party feels the mistaken assumptions on both sides compensate for each other, and desired that the poltergeist take responsibility for embarrassing them. Due to the poltergeist's faith, however, she  cannot take responsibility, as the recompense would almost certainly be indenturement. So...I have taken responsibility on her behalf. I did this assuming the other party would request recompense the poltergeist was capable of providing, but they have instead requested recompense of me as the Dragon Palace Messenger. Their request is...not one I feel comfortable approving, for a variety of reasons on both a professional and personal level, so they have requested an audience with you to present their case. As near as I can tell, they wish to retain control of the islands they have conquered."

>You feel a sensation of attentiveness; as though you could watch the flames for even the tiniest detail. You know that The Dragon is watching her. You suspect she may be in The Dragon's chamber with you; you aren't certain. If she were here, in these flames, you would never know. But you don't think she is that close. You feel you and she are in different places. As well, you feel a sense of curiosity, what is motivating that woman, exactly, to make such demands?

>_

[Suwako Moriya]

> "I am not entirely sure what motivates her, though based on what I know of and about her, I supposed I could speculate. She is the head of a large household. She is very prideful, taking greater offense to embarrassment than just about anything else. Her constant use of royal plurals also suggests this. And her house and herself were recently attacked and defeated by two humans from the outside world in charge of an army of fairies, some of which seemed to be former employees. It is possible that she has a general prideful ambition to expand her influence, both in terms of political power and in terms of what she considers 'improvements' to land. It is also possible that she seeks to build manpower resources to replace what was lost in those rebellious fairies, though this may be less likely, given how she has claimed she will treat the people whom reside on the conquered islands. It is even possible that this was her goal from the start, and that she knew if I was telling her the truth in regards to my poltergeist friend, that there would never have been any outcome to her demand for recompense other than my protecting her due to Fightest's Illusion of Choice concept I'M ON TO YOUR SHENANIGANS,  PARSER and thereby giving her this opportunity."

[Hello Purvis]

> "I am not entirely sure what motivates her, though based on what I know of and about her, I supposed I could speculate. She is the head of a large household. She is very prideful, taking greater offense to embarrassment than just about anything else. Her constant use of royal plurals also suggests this. And her house and herself were recently attacked and defeated by two humans from the outside world in charge of an army of fairies, some of which seemed to be former employees. It is possible that she has a general prideful ambition to expand her influence, both in terms of political power and in terms of what she considers 'improvements' to land. It is also possible that she seeks to build manpower resources to replace what was lost in those rebellious fairies, though this may be less likely, given how she has claimed she will treat the people whom reside on the conquered islands. It is even possible that this was her goal from the start, and that she knew if I was telling her the truth in regards to my poltergeist friend, that there would never have been any outcome to her demand for recompense other than my protecting her due to Fightest's Illusion of Choice concept I'M ON TO YOUR SHENANIGANS,  PARSER and thereby giving her this opportunity."

>You feel a sense of agreement; which is odd, agreeing with yourself. You feel the suspicion that Remilia was hedging her bets either way in this regard.

>_

[Suwako Moriya]

> "Ideally, I would like to not give away our islands or our people's allegiances. I do not even consider those things to be things I could give away. But, if hers is a thirst for influential expansion, I am not in a position to offer anything else, either, as I have no influence over Gensokyo...though...perhaps she would be interested in other lands, lands which I cannot actually give away, but lands about which I am in a position to inform her, lands that she may have otherwise assumed were inaccessible...lands whose access was restricted, but are now available due to less-than-benevolent decisions made by the leader of those lands..."

[Hello Purvis]

> "Ideally, I would like to not give away our islands or our people's allegiances. I do not even consider those things to be things I could give away. But, if hers is a thirst for influential expansion, I am not in a position to offer anything else, either, as I have no influence over Gensokyo...though...perhaps she would be interested in other lands, lands which I cannot actually give away, but lands about which I am in a position to inform her, lands that she may have otherwise assumed were inaccessible...lands whose access was restricted, but are now available due to less-than-benevolent decisions made by the leader of those lands..."

>You get a mental image of the goat pasture in Makai, alight with a battle not too dissimilar to what you saw when Orchard Isle was under attack. Then you get the feeling there is a simpler answer.

>_

[Suwako Moriya]

> Hmm...what other communities are present in Gensokyo? There is the human village, the kappa village, the tengu village, the oni village underground, the bamboo forest mansion...are we forgetting any?

[Hello Purvis]

> Hmm...what other communities are present in Gensokyo? There is the human village, the kappa village, the tengu village, the oni village underground, the bamboo forest mansion...are we forgetting any?

>The faeries have kind of a community in the Forest of Magic.

>_

[Suwako Moriya]

> This is also true. But none of those communities would just up and relinquish their autonomy and allow Remilia authoritative access to their lands, especially with her reputation. Argh...we have to be overthinking this...

[Hello Purvis]

> This is also true. But none of those communities would just up and relinquish their autonomy and allow Remilia authoritative access to their lands, especially with her reputation. Argh...we have to be overthinking this...

>You ponder for a bit. You can't imagine any other community allowing Remilia to take over. You find yourself remember the list of possible needs you just went over.

>_

[Suwako Moriya]

> The list of possible needs? The one where we were trying to figure out Remilia's motivations for annexing our islands?

[Hello Purvis]

> The list of possible needs? The one where we were trying to figure out Remilia's motivations for annexing our islands?

>The very same.

>_

[Suwako Moriya]

> "Hmm...perhaps she is merely looking to improve her image in general? She likely looked very bad after the fairy incident, and conquering a group of innocent, peaceful people, a very spiritual people to boot, would have done nothing to improve that image. Maybe she wants the opportunity to show that she is someone to be respected, by demonstrating that she is not only capable of leading a group of a much more spiritual group of people, but is even capable of improving their lives, a feat sure to earn respect when accomplished by a person of lesser spirituality, both amongst our people and Gensokyo's people."

Anyone else have any ideas? Purvis is in bed, so we have a good chunk of time to think on it.

[GuyYouMetOnline]

I think I agree with your idea. We should probably start thinking about other ways for her to improve her image. I, for one, would say that voluntarily releasing land she's staked a claim on would be a big step in that direction, so we might want to think about including that as part of whatever we suggest. Aside from that, though, I don't have any other ideas right now.

[Shadoweh]

> Consider that if the islands are run by commitiees or empowered individuals she could be appointed by The Dragon to be the one in charge of the islands.

[GuyYouMetOnline]

...Okay, that's an even better idea. I doubt Remilia''ll go for it, though. I don't think she'd want there to be an authority above her. Of course, as I've said before, I didn't think she'd be willing to negotiate at all, so maybe I'm wrong here, too. It's certainly worth a try, at least. So I say we go with Shadoweh's idea, and try something else if that doesn't work.

[GuyYouMetOnline]

>"A thought occurs to me. Instead of Remilia retaining control over the islands in the manner she's proposed, perhaps she could instead be appointed to be in charge of them in the manner by which we oversee them."

[Hello Purvis]

> "Hmm...perhaps she is merely looking to improve her image in general? She likely looked very bad after the fairy incident, and conquering a group of innocent, peaceful people, a very spiritual people to boot, would have done nothing to improve that image. Maybe she wants the opportunity to show that she is someone to be respected, by demonstrating that she is not only capable of leading a group of a much more spiritual group of people, but is even capable of improving their lives, a feat sure to earn respect when accomplished by a person of lesser spirituality, both amongst our people and Gensokyo's people."

>You consider what she ultimately wants out of this. You feel a sense of warmth in response, The Dragon concurs with you.

> Consider that if the islands are run by commitiees or empowered individuals she could be appointed by The Dragon to be the one in charge of the islands.

>"A thought occurs to me. Instead of Remilia retaining control over the islands in the manner she's proposed, perhaps she could instead be appointed to be in charge of them in the manner by which we oversee them."

>You feel the urge to chuckle a little as you propose this; The Dragon is definitely amused by the idea. Then you start to think back to when the tribunal to deal with Tenshi was formed, how celestials met to select the people they felt were best suited for the task.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "So...perhaps a situation where our people work with her instead of for her may be best for all parties involved. A joint effort toward a project, one that is both noticeable and beneficial, where she can look back on it and take pride both in the fact that she helped accomplish it and the fact that our people found her a worthwhile co-worker, even given all that has happened to all of us."

[Hello Purvis]

> "So...perhaps a situation where our people work with her instead of for her may be best for all parties involved. A joint effort toward a project, one that is both noticeable and beneficial, where she can look back on it and take pride both in the fact that she helped accomplish it and the fact that our people found her a worthwhile co-worker, even given all that has happened to all of us."

>You have a feeling that would work out for the best. But, you also find yourself thinking back to the things you've seen in and around Scarlet Devil Mansion: an immense house, artworks of all sorts, servants, and general trappings of wealth. Remilia is a materialistic person, as well You get the sense that she won't readily agree without some creative presentation on your part.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> This is true, materialism and pride related thereto need to be taken into account. That may be tough, as we cannot allow our people to be permanently subject to whatever expansion ambitions Remilia may have.
> "Mmm...would it be too deceitful if an agreement was arranged such that all appearances suggested, even to Remilia herself, that Remilia was in charge of a joint project and had celestials working directly for her, where in reality they would be serving a Bhavagran purpose?"

[Hello Purvis]

> This is true, materialism and pride related thereto need to be taken into account. That may be tough, as we cannot allow our people to be permanently subject to whatever expansion ambitions Remilia may have.
> "Mmm...would it be too deceitful if an agreement was arranged such that all appearances suggested, even to Remilia herself, that Remilia was in charge of a joint project and had celestials working directly for her, where in reality they would be serving a Bhavagran purpose?"

>You have the feeling Remilia is probably smart enough to see through that. But, she might accept it anyways if presented in the correct way.

>_

[GuyYouMetOnline]

Okay, I'm going to bed. If we finish up with Remilia, don't forget about going underground to find Nue.

[Kilgamayan]

> "Well...regardless of how our people would come to work on whatever project she has in mind, it is important to make sure it happens in Gensokyo, rather than here. If nothing else, once our lands are restored, it will be a major hassle for her to continue operations here, and the materialistic payoff in reputation will be dulled because very few people will be able to see whatever it is. Certainly no one in Gensokyo, other than whomever of her own workers are fortunate enough to find themselves ordered up to us."

[Hello Purvis]

> "Well...regardless of how our people would come to work on whatever project she has in mind, it is important to make sure it happens in Gensokyo, rather than here. If nothing else, once our lands are restored, it will be a major hassle for her to continue operations here, and the materialistic payoff in reputation will be dulled because very few people will be able to see whatever it is. Certainly no one in Gensokyo, other than whomever of her own workers are fortunate enough to find themselves ordered up to us."

>You feel a warm sense of agreement, and a sort of curiosity. The Dragon wonders if there is more to ask.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "Of Remilia? Almost assuredly. I asked very little of the details of her ambitions, as I did not want to upset her into deciding the poltergeist's demonstration was indeed a very elaborate trick."

[Hello Purvis]

> "Of Remilia? Almost assuredly. I asked very little of the details of her ambitions, as I did not want to upset her into deciding the poltergeist's demonstration was indeed a very elaborate trick."

>You feel a sense of anticipation now; you believe The Dragon is asking if you are prepared to carry on.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "I believe I have thought through things enough now that I can at least steer her away from the idea of island occupation or permanent celestial conscription. But there is one other thing about which I need to ask. The Eldest Daughter...I have learned much about her, and why she does the things she does that seem designed purely to run counter to her fellow celestials. There are some...rather unfortunate issues, in the sense that I am upset I had not noticed them before, and am quite sympathetic to her feelings. Her spirituality is unquestionable, but I believe she may need some emotional guidance, guidance my position in our society does not allow me to give her, as I am inherently untrustworthy as an authority figure, one who could get her punished based on a misunderstanding or even personal distaste. Not that I would ever try to do either of these things, but...would it be possible for her to meet with you, so she may find greater inner peace than what she now holds?"

[Hello Purvis]

> "I believe I have thought through things enough now that I can at least steer her away from the idea of island occupation or permanent celestial conscription. But there is one other thing about which I need to ask. The Eldest Daughter...I have learned much about her, and why she does the things she does that seem designed purely to run counter to her fellow celestials. There are some...rather unfortunate issues, in the sense that I am upset I had not noticed them before, and am quite sympathetic to her feelings. Her spirituality is unquestionable, but I believe she may need some emotional guidance, guidance my position in our society does not allow me to give her, as I am inherently untrustworthy as an authority figure, one who could get her punished based on a misunderstanding or even personal distaste. Not that I would ever try to do either of these things, but...would it be possible for her to meet with you, so she may find greater inner peace than what she now holds?"

>You feel a warm since of fairly uncharacteristic pride in your chest. You find yourself thinking back to when you found Tenshi in that abandoned storage room, and how things have progressed from there. You can feel The Dragon is pleased with how you have made use of that unfortunate time to improve things with Tenshi. Thinking on that, you wonder if meeting with The Dragon would really help with that situation; you know this reflects The Dragon's feels. But, you can feel the possibility is still open; The Dragon seems to be considering it.

>_

[Suwako Moriya]

> "...Yes, there is surely still progress I can make. I will do the best I can to help her along a better path than the unfortunate one she travels now. I truly appreciate your intervention consideration, though."

[Hello Purvis]

> "...Yes, there is surely still progress I can make. I will do the best I can to help her along a better path than the unfortunate one she travels now. I truly appreciate your intervention consideration, though."

>You feel a sense of calmness within in yourself, The Dragon seems to have confidence in you.

>_