Nue Quest: A Z-Machine Adventure

[DracoOmega]

>"I don't suppose you know the last time you saw actual money go into that box? Or took a look inside it, yourself?"
>"For that matter, did anyone at all out of the ordinary drop by at any point?"

[Hello Purvis]

> "I have no idea. But this is really weird. The rest of us, none of us had our money boxes in our line of vision all night like you did. So someone is capable of changing cash into gems without needing to touch them or even open the cash boxes. And they're smart enough to know general conversation rates, since my gems, at least, roughly matched up to my money total."
> "It seems that Priority One should be letting Byakuren know what happened. I sure as hell don't have any solution ideas, and I imagine if any of you lot would know how it happened or how to fix it, it'd be her."

>Nazrin nods. "We definitely should tell her."

>"I don't suppose you know the last time you saw actual money go into that box? Or took a look inside it, yourself?"
>"For that matter, did anyone at all out of the ordinary drop by at any point?"

>"I emptied it out last night," says Nazrin. "And there wasn't anyone weird, no. Just the usual oni."

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "Can you leave this place on its own for a while to tell her? I kinda have to scoot back to the pub since I'm accepting gems in place of cash, otherwise I'd head topside for you."

[Hello Purvis]

> "Can you leave this place on its own for a while to tell her? I kinda have to scoot back to the pub since I'm accepting gems in place of cash, otherwise I'd head topside for you."

>"I dunno," says Nazrin, "It sounds like things are going to get bad, and I should probably be onhand..."

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Frown.
> "I guess I'll probably have to find a way to close the pub down for the day, then. In the meantime, though, is there any way you could relay a message to the Komeiji manor? If anyone in the Underground would know how or why their cash was mysteriously replaced with gems, it would be Satori. If she got hit, she might have very useful information."

[Hello Purvis]

> Frown.
> "I guess I'll probably have to find a way to close the pub down for the day, then. In the meantime, though, is there any way you could relay a message to the Komeiji manor? If anyone in the Underground would know how or why their cash was mysteriously replaced with gems, it would be Satori. If she got hit, she might have very useful information."

>"Maybe I could slip in for you for a bit?" says Nazrin. "If you get someone done here in my place."

>_

[DracoOmega]

>Is standard currency here minted in precious metal?
>Do we have any idea how good a dowser Nazrin is?

[Kilgamayan]

> How far is Parsee's bridge from the clinic?

[DracoOmega]

>For that matter, how long a trip is it from here to the Myouren Temple and back again?

[Kilgamayan]

[00:57:04] <Reisen-Udongein-Inaba> Mmm, interesting proposal on her part
[00:57:11] <Reisen-Udongein-Inaba> I'd say go for it if we can think of someone
[00:57:20] <DracoOmega> Well, anyone from the temple
[00:57:30] <Reisen-Udongein-Inaba> That might take too much time
[00:57:43] <DracoOmega> True... were you planning to close up shop, otherwise?
[00:58:05] <Reisen-Udongein-Inaba> That would be ideal, but I think it will be very hard considering I imagine we're the only establishment that takes gems
[00:58:36] <Reisen-Udongein-Inaba> Nazrin probably knows her jewels, so I wouldn't mind her working the pub for a day
[00:58:41] <Reisen-Udongein-Inaba> Or half a day or whatever
[00:58:47] <DracoOmega> Yeah, I'd feel fine with her doing that
[00:58:59] <DracoOmega> I wonder if at least one place being open is contributing to city stability? ^^;
[00:59:25] <Reisen-Udongein-Inaba> I wonder if we could get Parsee down to the Clinic, since she's most assuredly aware of what's going on at this point.
[00:59:46] <DracoOmega> I wonder if she'd be willing to help out there, though. It doesn't quite seem her thing
[01:00:37] <Reisen-Udongein-Inaba> She would only need to be there long enough for us to run above ground to get someone from the temple. I don't want to abandon the clinic entirely in the name of grabbing someone from the temple, but if we can get a fill-in in the meantime who can at least do temp crowd control, I'd be fine with that.
[01:00:53] <DracoOmega> Yeah, that might work
[01:01:19] <Reisen-Udongein-Inaba> And if we tell her that we're doing it because we're headed out to solve the mystery (and thus help ease what is invariably a Yuugi headache), that may make the idea more appealing
[01:01:27] <DracoOmega> Yeah
[01:01:57] <Reisen-Udongein-Inaba> Okay, I'll post this short clip for the reference of others and then go to bed

Was talking to Draco since I knew he was around, but input from others is more than welcome!

[Hello Purvis]

>Is standard currency here minted in precious metal?
>Do we have any idea how good a dowser Nazrin is?

>A variety of precious metals, whatever people bring in to be minted, but yes.
>She's pretty good at it as far as you know; you've never had the occasion to really give her a good test, but she did manage to sniff out the Pagoda that was used to free Byakuren.

> How far is Parsee's bridge from the clinic?

>It's only a couple minutes away.

>For that matter, how long a trip is it from here to the Myouren Temple and back again?

>It'd take the better part of an hour.

>_

[DracoOmega]

>"Hey, Naz, a thought occurs to me. Let's just say someone used some trick to make off with all these coins and leave gems in their place. That's an awful lot of money taken, and if they'd gone to all the trouble of getting it, maybe even all in the same place now. If there was that much precious metal in one spot, do you think you might be able to sniff it out?"

[Shadoweh]

I think it's a good plan. We need to talk to Parsee anyways to find out if she saw anyone come in or out. Trying to get Nazrin to dowse for the money's a good idea too, but I think it'll end up proving what I suspect about the money instead. If not then bonus!

[Hello Purvis]

>"Hey, Naz, a thought occurs to me. Let's just say someone used some trick to make off with all these coins and leave gems in their place. That's an awful lot of money taken, and if they'd gone to all the trouble of getting it, maybe even all in the same place now. If there was that much precious metal in one spot, do you think you might be able to sniff it out?"

>"If it's really as much as it sounds like," she says, "It ought to be a snap. Let me get my rods and I'll meet you outside."

>_

[DracoOmega]

I think it's a good plan. We need to talk to Parsee anyways to find out if she saw anyone come in or out. Trying to get Nazrin to dowse for the money's a good idea too, but I think it'll end up proving what I suspect about the money instead. If not then bonus!

Yeah, I'm not banking on it working, but I figured it was worth a shot.

>Nod
>"Thanks, Naz."
>Head outside and wait for her.

[Hello Purvis]

>Nod
>"Thanks, Naz."
>Head outside and wait for her.

>You give Nazrin your thanks, and head outside.
>After a few moments, Nazrin joins you in the streets, carrying her two metal rods with her. "Precious metals, huh?" she says as she stretches her arms out, and begins to visibly concentrate. She frowns after a moment. "What in the...? There's so much noise!"

>_

[DracoOmega]

>"Noise? Like what? Would other precious stuff interfere with that? Like, say, all those gems out there? Or is it more specific than that?"

[Hello Purvis]

>"Noise? Like what? Would other precious stuff interfere with that? Like, say, all those gems out there? Or is it more specific than that?"

>"Kind of," says Nazrin, "But it's not that. There's just, I don't know. That gold and such is out there. But it's like looking through fog, you know? I think it's up, probably on the surface..."

>_

[DracoOmega]

>"Ok, so it's definitely still out there then?"
>"Do you think this is something intentional, to block people tracking it? Does it interfere with you searching for anything else?"
>"Can you tell anything about it other than that? Like, is it all in one place? Even a general direction?"
>"Uh... sorry for giving you 20 questions and all, here... It's just, well, every little bit helps."

[Hello Purvis]

>"Ok, so it's definitely still out there then?"
>"Do you think this is something intentional, to block people tracking it? Does it interfere with you searching for anything else?"
>"Can you tell anything about it other than that? Like, is it all in one place? Even a general direction?"
>"Uh... sorry for giving you 20 questions and all, here... It's just, well, every little bit helps."

>"I know, I know," says Nazrin. "Let me try a few other things."
>You spend a minute waiting, as she moves the rods around. "Some other things are foggy, too, but not nearly that foggy. It's like, I don't know, loud crowds or a really strong smell. You know. It's just sorta blocks out things. I am pretty sure this isn't natural at all. It's not so bad with the other things I tried, but that money, ugh... I can't tell you if it's in one place or not. But I am pretty sure it's on the surface."

>_

[DracoOmega]

>"Meaning there's probably someone either blocking the location of the money specifically, or it's a side-effect of the process that somehow got it there in the first place, and it's having spillover effects. I kinda doubt that the fact that it's worse with money than other things is accidental."
>"Have you ever bumped into anything like this before? And, uh, I don't suppose you have any idea on some way we could help you see through it? Like, would it be easier if you were on the surface? Or is there some way to, I dunno, supercharge the process? I mean, I don't really know how you do it, anyway."

[Hello Purvis]

>"Meaning there's probably someone either blocking the location of the money specifically, or it's a side-effect of the process that somehow got it there in the first place, and it's having spillover effects. I kinda doubt that the fact that it's worse with money than other things is accidental."
>"Have you ever bumped into anything like this before? And, uh, I don't suppose you have any idea on some way we could help you see through it? Like, would it be easier if you were on the surface? Or is there some way to, I dunno, supercharge the process? I mean, I don't really know how you do it, anyway."

>"It's got to be intentional," says Nazrin. She shakes her head. "I've never really dealt with this kind of thing, most of the things I look for are just lost, not especially hidden. There's no real way to supercharge it I know about, it's all about clarity of mind and you can't fake that. I don't know if it'd work better if I was on the surface or on top of it or anything."

>_

[DracoOmega]

>"Hmmm.... yeah, I really need to get topside. See if this has happened up there too, or if anything else is up. At this point, who knows? Whoever could pull this off is probably capable of a lot more, too."
>"So, you'll cover for me at the bar a bit, if I can get someone to cover for you? I trust you can appraise gems well enough to tell what's worth the price of what they're trying to buy with it?"

[Hello Purvis]

>"Hmmm.... yeah, I really need to get topside. See if this has happened up there too, or if anything else is up. At this point, who knows? Whoever could pull this off is probably capable of a lot more, too."
>"So, you'll cover for me at the bar a bit, if I can get someone to cover for you? I trust you can appraise gems well enough to tell what's worth the price of what they're trying to buy with it?"

>Nazrin nods. "Yeah, I can value gems alright. Comes with the trade, you know? Um, I'll have to kind of estimate on the drinks, though. I don't know 'em like you do."

>_

[E-Nazrin]

>How many different types of drinks do we have available, roughly?

Since she won't be encountering new types of drinks, but don't know what new types of gems will show up, labeling some of the drinks for her to estimate off of would be viable, wouldn't it? Unless there's like two hundred...

[DracoOmega]

>Particularly, do we have anything whose value is appreciably greater than it might appear to an untrained eye? Like a special vintage of something? If we have anything like that, it would be a shame to find it sold off for cheap when we get back.

Edit: And ballpark figures are probably fine. Barter is approximate, anyway, as long as Nazrin's close enough to the true value.

[Hello Purvis]

>How many different types of drinks do we have available, roughly?

>You have a lot, but you price a lot of them in the same range.

>Particularly, do we have anything whose value is appreciably greater than it might appear to an untrained eye? Like a special vintage of something? If we have anything like that, it would be a shame to find it sold off for cheap when we get back.

>You do have about a dozen of those sitting around; pricey special occasion stuff, or rare enough that they are practically more for collecting than actually drinking (though oni would do this anyways while giving it proper respect).

>_

[DracoOmega]

>Are those special drinks kept in a separate location that would be easy enough to point out to Nazrin without actually showing her them in person? Or is there something else that she could reliably use to identify them?

[Hello Purvis]

>Are those special drinks kept in a separate location that would be easy enough to point out to Nazrin without actually showing her them in person? Or is there something else that she could reliably use to identify them?

>You keep them in a cabinet, on display behind the bar.

>_

[DracoOmega]

>"Hmm... point. Here, let me give you a quick run-down, just to make sure you're in the ballpark, anyway."
>Give her a quick run-down on general price ranges, in broad enough terms that she's likely to remember it, without making an imposition out of precision.
>"And the stuff in the display cabinet behind the bar is special stuff, not for regular sale. If anyone asks, tell them to wait until I get back."
>"I wouldn't be asking this of you if I didn't think that having some place open that'll take payment from them wasn't doing at least a little bit to keep things calmer down here. Well, I hope. I certainly don't want to see this go further south than it already has; I'm sure you can imagine."