Nue Quest 3rd Impact: A Z-Machine Adventure

[Hello Purvis]

> Stop moving.

>You stop moving.
>The creature withdraws it's head from the bush and looks at you. It's head is somewhat like that of a dog, but larger and topped with two round ears. You also note its paws have some very nasty-looking claws on them.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Keep looking toward the creature.
> Take a step back, toeing around with our foot behind us to make sure we don't trip or step on something that could cause us to tumble over.

[Hello Purvis]

> Keep looking toward the creature.
> Take a step back, toeing around with our foot behind us to make sure we don't trip or step on something that could cause us to tumble over.

>You take a step back, and feel Mystia behind you.
>"What is it?" she says in a low voice.
>The creature rears up onto it's hind legs, revealing a white crescent of fur on its otherwise black-furred chest. You note its upper legs are quite a bit more muscular than its lower, making it look rather top-heavy. It makes a sort of deep throaty hiss noise.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Keep a low voice ourselves.
> "Don't know. Move back for your safety."
> Unsheath our trident and slowly bring it in front of us so it is across our body rather than pointing at the creature.

[Hello Purvis]

> Keep a low voice ourselves.
> "Don't know. Move back for your safety."
> Unsheath our trident and slowly bring it in front of us so it is across our body rather than pointing at the creature.

>You tell Mystia to move back, and hear her do so.
>You unsheathe your trident and bring it across, while the creature trundles toward you on it's rear legs, it's upper legs raised in the air. It's pace isn't that fast, but it seems to be pretty good at balancing like this.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Can we tell what type of creature it might be?
> Take another step back, then take flight so that we are hovering a new inches off the ground.

[Hello Purvis]

> Can we tell what type of creature it might be?
> Take another step back, then take flight so that we are hovering a new inches off the ground.

>You're quite certain this is a bear.
>You take a step back and hover. The bear trundles forward, picking up a bit of speed, and is getting very uncomfortably close, growling.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> How tall are we compared to the bear now?
> Can we add height to ourselves while floating backwards?
> How long does the heightening process take, say, per inch?

[Hello Purvis]

> How tall are we compared to the bear now?
> Can we add height to ourselves while floating backwards?
> How long does the heightening process take, say, per inch?

>It's probably a few inches taller than you. And easily a good hundred or more pounds heavier.
>You could, but it could be slow in both respects.
>Hard to say, it's fiddly. While on the move, it could take anywhere from thirty seconds to a minute and a half.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Keep a low voice.
> "Keep backing up. Stay behind me. I have a plan."
> While speaking, continue floating backward, speeding up a bit.
> Also while speaking, pull out a rice ball (taking a hand off the trident if need be) and hold it in front of us, further out than the trident.

[Hello Purvis]

> Keep a low voice.
> "Keep backing up. Stay behind me. I have a plan."
> While speaking, continue floating backward, speeding up a bit.
> Also while speaking, pull out a rice ball (taking a hand off the trident if need be) and hold it in front of us, further out than the trident.

>Mystia doesn't reply. But you fail to back into her when you speed up, so you expect that she's listened.
>The bear growls and continues to give chase, while you fish out a rice ball.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Frown.
> Wiggle the rice ball a bit while still backing up.
> "Get in a tree. I'll lure it past you."

[Hello Purvis]

> Frown.
> Wiggle the rice ball a bit while still backing up.
> "Get in a tree. I'll lure it past you."

>You wiggle the riceball. The bear seems more interested in growling and advancing on you.
>"Doing one better!" says Mystia, her voice going upwards and the boughs overhead rustling. You see the bear look upward briefly.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Turn around and start flying back along the path at a quick pace.
> While escaping, return the rice ball to our purse.

[Hello Purvis]

> Turn around and start flying back along the path at a quick pace.
> While escaping, return the rice ball to our purse.

>You turn and fly! You hear the bear coming after you!
>However, you're reasonably sure you can outspeed him like this. The difficulty comes with the fact that you're speeding down a narrow trail in a fairly thick forest. Branches and fronds whip at your face, arms, and wings, and it's only a matter of time before a branch catches one of your wings. As well, you're not sure how well you'll be able to take the curves, you're not sure you even remember them properly.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> How much direct motor control do we have over our wings?

[Hello Purvis]

> How much direct motor control do we have over our wings?

>Your reddish wings are fairly limited; they have a range of motion akin to a bird's wing, but are stiffer and do not fold well. Your blue wings are fairly pliable. You can draw them close easily. You don't have a lot of dexterity with them and they are not prehensile, but you can use them as crude and unsteady appendages for some tasks.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Fire some danmaku behind us without looking, at about a 45 degree angle toward the ground.
> Slow down and fly upward as well as forward until we're about six feet above the ground.

[Hello Purvis]

> Fire some danmaku behind us without looking, at about a 45 degree angle toward the ground.
> Slow down and fly upward as well as forward until we're about six feet above the ground.

>You fire off some danmaku toward the ground, it's barely a challenge. You hear the bear roar out, sounding more angry than pained. You're not sure if you hit it.
>You slow down and ascend, bringing yourself into more tangled territory.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Take a quick look. Is there a relatively clear path through the canopy that won't shred our wings?

[Hello Purvis]

> Take a quick look. Is there a relatively clear path through the canopy that won't shred our wings?

>You look upward, and find one that should work. You'll get some scratches probably, but it shouldn't break anything.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Cover our face as necessary and make for that upward escape tunnel, folding our wings in behind ourselves as best we can.

[Hello Purvis]

> Cover our face as necessary and make for that upward escape tunnel, folding our wings in behind ourselves as best we can.

>You make your way through the opening, covering your face with your arms and cursing your lack of sleeves. Leaves and branches whip past you, leaving a few bruises and scrapes, but you manage to clear the canopy and return to open skies without too much trouble. You can hear the bear making that deep hiss noise at you from before.
>Mystia approaches you from the south. "You okay?"

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Nod.
> "Yeah, I'm good. How about you?"

[Hello Purvis]

> Nod.
> "Yeah, I'm good. How about you?"

>"I'm fine," she says. Then she puts her hands on her hips. "And I told you I didn't know if it was human or not!"

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> In which direction was the path headed before we met the bear? South?
> "That you did. I don't blame you a bit. Really, I shouldn't have pushed forward so fast. Would've been better to stop for a few minutes so I could get bigger than it, then scare it off that way."

[Hello Purvis]

> In which direction was the path headed before we met the bear? South?
> "That you did. I don't blame you a bit. Really, I shouldn't have pushed forward so fast. Would've been better to stop for a few minutes so I could get bigger than it, then scare it off that way."

>You were following it southward.
>"Would you have had time for that?" says Mystia. "Bears can be pretty aggressive."

>_

[E-Nazrin]

>By our estimate, how difficult would it have been to just danmaku the bear into submission?

[Hello Purvis]

>By our estimate, how difficult would it have been to just danmaku the bear into submission?

>You've never actually fought a bear, but you know that shooting them with arrows has more of a tendency to send them coming after you than scaring them away. You imagine it probably could have taken some punishment.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "If it hadn't noticed us, probably. I'd only need a few minutes. Actually, do you think it's worth trying that now? That path was our only thing even close to a directional lead out here."