Nue Quest 3rd Impact: A Z-Machine Adventure

[DracoOmega]

>What do we know of Shinki?
>Do we know anything at all about Alice's relationship with her?

[Oldmansour]

>Do we know if Byakuren was conscious at any point during her time sealed in Makai?

[Hello Purvis]

>What do we know of Shinki?
>Do we know anything at all about Alice's relationship with her?

>Practically nothing.
>No.

>Do we know if Byakuren was conscious at any point during her time sealed in Makai?

>She has been reluctant to talk about it.

>_

[DracoOmega]

>"Well, Sanae seemed confident that the god responsible was somewhere in Gensokyo. Either they're saying this in good faith, which means it isn't Shinki, or they're lying to cover their own involvement, which means it isn't Shinki. Well, they could also honest and wrong, I guess, but..."

[Hello Purvis]

>"Well, Sanae seemed confident that the god responsible was somewhere in Gensokyo. Either they're saying this in good faith, which means it isn't Shinki, or they're lying to cover their own involvement, which means it isn't Shinki. Well, they could also honest and wrong, I guess, but..."

>"I think we can probably rule out Shinki," says Marisa. "If she came to Gensokyo, we'd probably know about it. She's not very subtle."
>A doll places a plate of strawberry shortcake beside you.
>"You know," says Maribel, "Replacing money with gems does seem unusually honest, it's own strange way. Do you think an oni may be behind it?"

>_

[DracoOmega]

>Would oni code consider surreptitiously replacing an object with another of equal value to be the same as conventional theft?

[Hello Purvis]

>Would oni code consider surreptitiously replacing an object with another of equal value to be the same as conventional theft?

>You think it would be a gray area. However, doing it under the cover of stealth would likely be a problem. Unless it wasn't meant to be harmful, in the manner of a practical joke or surprise party. Your instincts really lean against the idea.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Do the oni have gods?

[Hello Purvis]

> Do the oni have gods?

>Not that you know of. If anything, Oni are probably among the least faithful people out there.

>_

[DracoOmega]

>"Hmmm... I dunno. Kinda don't think so, though. They'd probably still think it was wrong to do it all stealthy like, and besides, oni have about the least faith of anyone around here."
>"Oh, there's something else, too. I had Nazrin dowse for the missing money, and she said something was blocking her, like noise or something. Didn't know what it was, had never felt anything like it, either. But she's pretty sure it's on the surface, and all in one place, somewhere."

[Hello Purvis]

>"Hmmm... I dunno. Kinda don't think so, though. They'd probably still think it was wrong to do it all stealthy like, and besides, oni have about the least faith of anyone around here."
>"Oh, there's something else, too. I had Nazrin dowse for the missing money, and she said something was blocking her, like noise or something. Didn't know what it was, had never felt anything like it, either. But she's pretty sure it's on the surface, and all in one place, somewhere."

>"Hmm," says Alice. "defenses against detection are not terribly uncommon. I am reasonably sure that Patchouli has set a number of them around Scarlet Devil Mansion. And I'd be surprised if Eirin hasn't done the same for Eientei."
>"I suppose it wouldn't be oni, then," says Maribel.
>"Well, you can't overlook that Suika does gather things," says Marisa. "But I dunno where she'd find all the gems at. Unless she figured out some way to punch rocks so hard that they turn into gems...hmm..."

>_

[DracoOmega]

>"Gather, maybe. But distribute?"
>"And if defenses against detection are as common as that, I wonder why Nazrin seemed so baffled by this? Maybe it's something different than most of them? Of course, I don't really know how she does what she does, or how detection prevention is supposed to work in the first place, so..."

[Hello Purvis]

>"Gather, maybe. But distribute?"
>"And if defenses against detection are as common as that, I wonder why Nazrin seemed so baffled by this? Maybe it's something different than most of them? Of course, I don't really know how she does what she does, or how detection prevention is supposed to work in the first place, so..."

>"Yeah, don't know about that one," says Marisa.
>"I assume Nazrin doesn't typically search for things that would be under that kind of protection," says Byakuren. "She does tend to hunt for mundane, overlooked things."

>_

[DracoOmega]

>"Hmmm... that's a point, I guess."
>"Actually... would different detection prevention measures feel different, somehow? Like, if you tried to look for something inside the Scarlet Devil Mansion, or inside Eientei, and they were both blocked so that you couldn't, do you think this 'noise', or whatever it is, would feel subtly different if you compared them?"

[Hello Purvis]

>"Hmmm... that's a point, I guess."
>"Actually... would different detection prevention measures feel different, somehow? Like, if you tried to look for something inside the Scarlet Devil Mansion, or inside Eientei, and they were both blocked so that you couldn't, do you think this 'noise', or whatever it is, would feel subtly different if you compared them?"

>"Patchouli would be the one to ask about that," says Renko. "She does the most of that among us."
>"I'm not sure," says Byakuren, frowning. "I've not spent much time using detection on protected things, myself. I would think a sufficiently knowledgeable person could tell. I suspect Nazrin could, with a little exposure."

>_

[DracoOmega]

>"Well, Eientei might be at least a little suspicious at the moment, right? Not making accusations, just saying. What if we had Nazrin dowse for something distinctive that we knew was in Eientei? And then compared that feeling to the one she was getting looking for the money to see if they're at all alike? Do you think that could work, maybe?"

[Hello Purvis]

>"Well, Eientei might be at least a little suspicious at the moment, right? Not making accusations, just saying. What if we had Nazrin dowse for something distinctive that we knew was in Eientei? And then compared that feeling to the one she was getting looking for the money to see if they're at all alike? Do you think that could work, maybe?"

>"That would be worth trying," says Alice.
>"Yeah, really," says Marisa. While the others nod along.
>"Hmm," comes a voice from the darkness. "Agreement. How exceedingly rare."

>_

[DracoOmega]

>Look towards this new voice

[Hello Purvis]

>Look towards this new voice

>You see a smallish, purple-haired woman in striped pajamas floating toward the table, looking fairly unamused with life. Patchouli, it seems, hasn't changed.

>_

[DracoOmega]

>Give a little wave
>"Evening there. Glad you could make it."

[Hello Purvis]

>Give a little wave
>"Evening there. Glad you could make it."

>"I didn't expect to see you here," says Patchouli as the approaches the table and takes a seat that you assume was set up for Eirin. "I expect you're looking for answers, like everyone else?"

>_

[DracoOmega]

>Nod
>"Pretty much. I've been looking around Gensokyo more or less all day."

[Suwako Moriya]

> "Though I've found I've had more answers than most I've met today. But if you kno who might be responsible, I'd certainly be happy to hear."

[Hello Purvis]

>Nod
>"Pretty much. I've been looking around Gensokyo more or less all day."

>"And I've been researching tirelessly," says Patchouli, accepting a cup of tea from one of the dolls. "Mistress took the time to personally make certain of this. It took quite a bit of arguing to convince her to let me attend."

> "Though I've found I've had more answers than most I've met today. But if you kno who might be responsible, I'd certainly be happy to hear."

>"That is what I hope to pare down," says Patchouli. "Have you discovered how the act was done? That would be very helpful."

>_

[DracoOmega]

>"Sanae said that her goddesses believe it was a work of another god. They don't know who, or how, but it felt like some great act of faith."

[Hello Purvis]

>"Sanae said that her goddesses believe it was a work of another god. They don't know who, or how, but it felt like some great act of faith."

>"They're wrong," says Patchouli flatly, after sipping her tea. "It wasn't faith they felt. It was similar, but not the same. An easy enough mistake for them to make, I suppose. They most certainly would be inclined to identify it with faith. It was no god that did this."

>_

[DracoOmega]

>"Then what was it?"

[Hello Purvis]

>"Then what was it?"

>"If I knew I would have already said," says Patchouli. "I haven't found what the bloody name for it is."

>_

[DracoOmega]

>"But you're certain a god couldn't have done it, just the same? I assume this means you know at least something of the nature of the effect, right?"

[Hello Purvis]

>"But you're certain a god couldn't have done it, just the same? I assume this means you know at least something of the nature of the effect, right?"

>"I know at this point that it isn't a divine act," says Patchouli. "I've experienced my share of those. I suspect, however, that it is based on some other aspect of the mind and soul. At this point, I cannot prove it as a certainty."

>_