Nue Quest 3rd Impact: A Z-Machine Adventure

[DracoOmega]

>"Well, for what it's worth, I spoke with Satori this afternoon, and she hadn't sensed anything unusual at all. I suppose I don't know if she'd be able to sense something that's just based on an aspect of the mind, rather than involving an actual mind in the room with her, though..."
>"Actually, Ran was the only person I met who said they'd sensed anything at all when the event happened. Just something vague that brushed against her. I think said it was 'almost, but not quite, like magic as we know it'"

[Hello Purvis]

>"Well, for what it's worth, I spoke with Satori this afternoon, and she hadn't sensed anything unusual at all. I suppose I don't know if she'd be able to sense something that's just based on an aspect of the mind, rather than involving an actual mind in the room with her, though..."
>"Actually, Ran was the only person I met who said they'd sensed anything at all when the event happened. Just something vague that brushed against her. I think said it was 'almost, but not quite, like magic as we know it'"

>Patchouli nods. "Satori's words are useful. That would likely rule out a direct mental intervention."
>"I would expect Ran to be able to catch something, if anyone," says Patchouli. "Not quite like magic leaves the topic rather broad, but I wish she would have told me that some hours ago before Mistress started shouting for results before I suspected it myself. Regardless, I'm still working to determine what it is, exactly."

>_

[DracoOmega]

>"Do you think there's anything Ran might be able to do that could help narrow it down? I know she didn't pick up any specifics, but she did still sense something when almost no one else did."
>"For that matter, do you have any ideas on how we could go about narrowing it down, ourselves? People to ask, places to check, that sort of thing?"

[Hello Purvis]

>"Do you think there's anything Ran might be able to do that could help narrow it down? I know she didn't pick up any specifics, but she did still sense something when almost no one else did."
>"For that matter, do you have any ideas on how we could go about narrowing it down, ourselves? People to ask, places to check, that sort of thing?"

>"Possibly," says Patchouli. "It would depend on how much Ran knows. As for you? Well, what else have you found, first?"

>_

[DracoOmega]

>"Well, let's see... you probably already know or have guessed a lot of this, but I'll try to be thorough. The money wasn't turned into gemstones, but was probably taken elsewhere while gems of equal value were left in its place. The money is still probably on the surface somewhere. I asked Nazrin to dowse for it, and something's seriously blocking her when she tries, but she's confident that it still exists and is up here... somewhere. The effect's also extended past Gensokyo, and hit the Netherworld, at least. Elsewhere, I couldn't say. I asked about Higan, but they say they don't use real money there, anyway. The coin on Komachi's belt is still a coin, so obviously the effect makes a distinction for monetary value, and not just 'a coin'."

[Kilgamayan]

> "And then there's that sword, for whatever it's worth."

[Hello Purvis]

>"Well, let's see... you probably already know or have guessed a lot of this, but I'll try to be thorough. The money wasn't turned into gemstones, but was probably taken elsewhere while gems of equal value were left in its place. The money is still probably on the surface somewhere. I asked Nazrin to dowse for it, and something's seriously blocking her when she tries, but she's confident that it still exists and is up here... somewhere. The effect's also extended past Gensokyo, and hit the Netherworld, at least. Elsewhere, I couldn't say. I asked about Higan, but they say they don't use real money there, anyway. The coin on Komachi's belt is still a coin, so obviously the effect makes a distinction for monetary value, and not just 'a coin'."

>"Hm," says Patchouli. "That first part is very important. It means our perpetrator either had access to these gems, or made them somehow. And if the money is still here... Hm. And that is interesting, it wasn't attacking the form of money, but rather the concept of value behind it..."
>"That sounds suspiciously like something Yukari woudl say," says Marisa.
>Patchouli nods. "It does, doesn't it?"

> "And then there's that sword, for whatever it's worth."

>"What does a sword have to do with anything?" says Patchouli, giving you a sudden and sharp look.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Shrug.
> "Don't really know for sure. But it was suspect enough that I found it worth looking into."

[DracoOmega]

>"You saying you think Yukari might have had a hand in this? Well, I guess that makes the question of 'why?' kinda hard to answer. I mean, does anyone ever really know, with her?"

[Hello Purvis]

> Shrug.
> "Don't really know for sure. But it was suspect enough that I found it worth looking into."

>"Very well. Let's see it."

>"You saying you think Yukari might have had a hand in this? Well, I guess that makes the question of 'why?' kinda hard to answer. I mean, does anyone ever really know, with her?"

>"Maybe," says Marisa. "And no, we really don't. There are times I'm pretty sure Ran doesn't get her and just goes along out of loyalty."
>"She's not that bad," says Maribel.
>"You'll see," says Marisa. Alice and Patchouli nod in agreement.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "Well, I thought you might've already seen half of it, but sure. At least now I have the other half."
> Pull out the two Broken Sword pieces and angle the writing on the blade in Patchouli's direction."

[Hello Purvis]

> "Well, I thought you might've already seen half of it, but sure. At least now I have the other half."
> Pull out the two Broken Sword pieces and angle the writing on the blade in Patchouli's direction."

>"Pass it over," she says, holding her hand out.

>_

[GuyYouMetOnline]

>Do so.
>How much do we know about Koishi?

Yeah, that 'aspect of the mind' thing made me think of Koishi.

[Hello Purvis]

>Do so.
>How much do we know about Koishi?

>You still don't know much of anything about her.
>You pass the blade to Patchouli, stretching across the table. "Hm," she says, looking it over. "I do recognize the hilt. This blade is interesting. These runes are Celtic, I think."
>She frowns at it a bit.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "You know the hilt? Where from?"

[DracoOmega]

>"Can you read them?"

[Hello Purvis]

> "You know the hilt? Where from?"

>"I've seen it floating around Kourindou in the past," she says.

>"Can you read them?"

>"No. It would have to take some time to research it. Hm."

>_

[GuyYouMetOnline]

>"But you think you could translate it?"

[Kilgamayan]

> Turn to Renko with a slightly curious expression.
> "Celtic mean anything to you?"

[Hello Purvis]

>"But you think you could translate it?"

>She nods. "If I had the time."

> Turn to Renko with a slightly curious expression.
> "Celtic mean anything to you?"

>"Kinda," she says. "It's some western thing. Uh, culture."

>_

[E-Nazrin]

Of note: Ran's description of events may actually imply clearing Yukari, since either she would recognize her master's own methods or would be more likely ordered to use a different lie if Yukari WAS responsible. Actually, asking the others if they would have recognized Yukari's powers at work would be a good question, once the sword bit is done with...

>Is there any one (type of) location that the replacement gemstones we've encountered could have come from, or at least a large majority of them? What about ways to make or refine them into their current form?

[Hello Purvis]

>Is there any one (type of) location that the replacement gemstones we've encountered could have come from, or at least a large majority of them? What about ways to make or refine them into their current form?

>You can't imagine there are that many gems to be found in Gensokyo. Certainly not enough to replace all the coinage of the Ancient City alone. As for actually processing them, you certainly don't know of any place that could do it in bulk quickly.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "Any idea if something special went into making it? The blacksmith was flummoxed on how to fix it."

[Hello Purvis]

> "Any idea if something special went into making it? The blacksmith was flummoxed on how to fix it."

>Patchouli frowns at the weapon some more, turning it over in her hands. After a moment, she waves a hand over it, lips moving.
>"So," says Marisa as Patchouli fails to say anything quickly, "Whatever we're dealing with ain't gods or magic. As effective as it was, kinda makes you think maybe we're in the wrong business, eh?"

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "Gotta admit I'm feeling just a little bit one-upped, yeah. Gems, transformations and mischief are all supposed to be my shtick, but fuck me if I could ever pull something even remotely close to this off."

[Hello Purvis]

> "Gotta admit I'm feeling just a little bit one-upped, yeah. Gems, transformations and mischief are all supposed to be my shtick, but fuck me if I could ever pull something even remotely close to this off."

>"Yeah, never even thought of it like that," says Marisa, frowning. "Never fun to get beaten at your own game..."
>"Do you think that sword is really related?" Alice says, as she finishes a mouthful of cake.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Who is to our immediate left and our immediate right?

> Does Patchouli have both pieces of the sword?

> Shrug again.
> "Don't know for sure. But it's not like the ground is littered with hints. That thing looks like it's been through five wringers, and the expert on the subject threw up her hands almost immediately. That sounds good enough to me to be worth investigating. It'd be like if I brought you a broken doll joint and you only took one quick look at it before declaring fixing it beyond your abilities. Not even hemming or hawing, thinking about how hey, maybe this could work, or possibly that. None of all that, just immediate resignation."

[Hello Purvis]

> Who is to our immediate left and our immediate right?

> Does Patchouli have both pieces of the sword?

> Shrug again.
> "Don't know for sure. But it's not like the ground is littered with hints. That thing looks like it's been through five wringers, and the expert on the subject threw up her hands almost immediately. That sounds good enough to me to be worth investigating. It'd be like if I brought you a broken doll joint and you only took one quick look at it before declaring fixing it beyond your abilities. Not even hemming or hawing, thinking about how hey, maybe this could work, or possibly that. None of all that, just immediate resignation."

>Byakuren is to your left, and Renko is to your right.
>Patchouli does have both pieces of the sword.
>"I suppose that is a point," says Alice. "I wouldn't imagine it would simply be a poor reflection of said authority's competence."
>"She may be more correct than she knows," says Patchouli, setting the blade down. "There is more to this weapon than it seems. It's not enchanted, exactly, but there is most certainly a power to it."
>"So, one of those master blacksmith things, then?" says Marisa.
>"No, not quite," says Patchouli. "It doesn't seem to be intrinsic to the weapon's design, but something inherited later."
>"Wait," says Alice. "This isn't like-"
>"Nothing like that, no," Patchouli says, shaking her head. "Let's not allow ourselves to be sidetracked by that."
>"Alright, if you say so," says Alice.

>_

[DracoOmega]

>"If it's not enchanted, and it's not an inherent part of the weapon or what it's made from, then... what does that leave?"

[Hello Purvis]

>"If it's not enchanted, and it's not an inherent part of the weapon or what it's made from, then... what does that leave?"

>"Something it inherited," says Patchouli. "Rather than imparted from the quality of its construction, it came from who used it or how it was used. I cannot read very far into it, unfortunately."

>_