Nue Quest 3rd Impact: A Z-Machine Adventure

[Hello Purvis]

>"Well, this looks a little more like it..."
>"Let me know if you can spot anything."
>Keep going, while keeping our eyes out for signs of people, tracks, or other notable things in the vicinity.

>"Yeah, there was definitely a fire here," says Mystia. "Looks like it'd be a couple months old..."
>The area is not very large, maybe a dozen or so yards across. Looking around, you don't see much that suggest anyone's been through here at a glance.

>_

[DracoOmega]

>"Well, the first fairy said Tewi was spotted around here, so let's see if we can find any sign that she came this way. Footprints or whatnot; anything, really."
>Comb the area, looking for tiny details of any potentially relevant sort

[Hello Purvis]

>"Well, the first fairy said Tewi was spotted around here, so let's see if we can find any sign that she came this way. Footprints or whatnot; anything, really."
>Comb the area, looking for tiny details of any potentially relevant sort

>"Right, I'll look over here," says Mystia.
>You start to comb the area, heading for the western edge of the clearing. You note something through the foliage; it seems to be a wall some distance away, with a roof atop it. Both are dull gray in color.

>_

[DracoOmega]

>Can we see any path from here to there?
>Does it look like a house, or some other kind of structure? Approximate size?
>About how far away is it?
>What changes of outfit do we have on us at the moment, anyway?

[Hello Purvis]

>Can we see any path from here to there?
>Does it look like a house, or some other kind of structure? Approximate size?
>About how far away is it?
>What changes of outfit do we have on us at the moment, anyway?

>There doesn't seem to be one, but you imagine it's reachable.
>You examine it, and are pretty sure it's a structure. You can't tell how large it is, but it seems to be fairly sizable.
>It's some yards away.
>You have your pink dress (about rabbit sized), and your black skirt.

>_

[Rin Kagamine]

> Call over Mystia
> "Hey, come check this out."
> Gesture towards the structure

[Kilgamayan]

> How long would it take us to turn into a rabbit that would fit properly into the dress we have?

[Hello Purvis]

> How long would it take us to turn into a rabbit that would fit properly into the dress we have?

>You're fairly practiced at the shape, it shouldn't take more than a few minutes.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Call over Mystia
> "Hey, come check this out."
> Gesture towards the structure

[Hello Purvis]

> Call over Mystia
> "Hey, come check this out."
> Gesture towards the structure

>You call over Mystia. She approaches and looks toward where you are gesticulating. After a moment, she says, "Huh."

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Lower our voice's volume just a little bit.
> "I'd bet that place is pretty important to all this. Certainly doesn't look like your average forest dwelling."
> "Now, we have a couple options here. We could investigate the place as-is, or if we wait a few minutes, I have an Eientei rabbit dress on me, and I could change myself to look like one of their rabbits. My danmaku ability tends to go down the tubes on involved transformations, though, so if things turn south our defense would be almost entirely up to you, at least until I return to normal. Which option would you prefer?"

[Hello Purvis]

> Lower our voice's volume just a little bit.
> "I'd bet that place is pretty important to all this. Certainly doesn't look like your average forest dwelling."
> "Now, we have a couple options here. We could investigate the place as-is, or if we wait a few minutes, I have an Eientei rabbit dress on me, and I could change myself to look like one of their rabbits. My danmaku ability tends to go down the tubes on involved transformations, though, so if things turn south our defense would be almost entirely up to you, at least until I return to normal. Which option would you prefer?"

>"Well," says Mystia, "That place does look pretty important. Do you think Tewi's in there?"

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> How long does it take to come out of rabbit form?
> "Could be, which is why I considered those options. Do you want to try scouting ahead and checking to see who's there and hope she doesn't notice us?"

[Hello Purvis]

> How long does it take to come out of rabbit form?
> "Could be, which is why I considered those options. Do you want to try scouting ahead and checking to see who's there and hope she doesn't notice us?"

>Probably a minute or two.
>"Well," says Mystia. "If she's there, she's either running the place, or the people there are hiding her. So it'd probably be best to be sneaky, right?"

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "This is true. And I suppose they'd probably be hostile and aggressive regardless of who came through their door. All right, let's just sneak around the place as best we can as we are."

[Hello Purvis]

> "This is true. And I suppose they'd probably be hostile and aggressive regardless of who came through their door. All right, let's just sneak around the place as best we can as we are."

>Mystia nods, then holds up a hand. "Wait. Maybe I should stay outside, in case she tries to slip away?"

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "That could be helpful. If I need you inside because things turned sour, I'll give you a loud 'Hoy'. I don't expect it'll be a problem, but there's no reason not to plan for it."

[Hello Purvis]

> "That could be helpful. If I need you inside because things turned sour, I'll give you a loud 'Hoy'. I don't expect it'll be a problem, but there's no reason not to plan for it."

>Mystia nods. "If I hear you, I'll come running."

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "All right. Let's kick some ass."
> Fly our way through the woods toward the wall. Be mindful of the face and wings, as always.

[Hello Purvis]

> "All right. Let's kick some ass."
> Fly our way through the woods toward the wall. Be mindful of the face and wings, as always.

>You carefully make your way toward the structure, taking care not to rush unduly.
>Drawing closer, you can see that he wall is connected to a fairly large, squat, squarish building made of strange gray blocks. The walls are plain and there doesn't seem to be a hint of decoration about the place. You notice a metal door on the western wall, and the occasional window. It's large enough that you have to wonder why you couldn't see if from the air, until you look toward the roof and notice there seem to be tree boughs coming from it. Either trees are growing through this place, or there are some planted up there. Or there are clever fakes.  Obvious exits are West and North.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Fly over to the nearest window, approaching it from the side so that we can't be seen through it. Try not to make a lot of noise crashing through branches as such, if doing so is necessary.
> How long does it take to cannibalize our wings?
> How long does it take to restore them?

[Hello Purvis]

> Fly over to the nearest window, approaching it from the side so that we can't be seen through it. Try not to make a lot of noise crashing through branches as such, if doing so is necessary.
> How long does it take to cannibalize our wings?
> How long does it take to restore them?

>If you're just withdrawing, it takes about a minute. You've gotten very good at removing them in your early years, when you needed to blend in with humanity more easily. It also takes about a minute to restore them.
>You approach a window, happy to find there is enough room between the walls and the forest to walk normally. You reach the window, and find there is a curtain drawn over it.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> How does this building compare to our bar in terms of size?

> Begin the process of withdrawing our wings.
> While going through withdrawal, seek out and head toward another window on this wall, approaching it from the side like before.

[Hello Purvis]

> How does this building compare to our bar in terms of size?

> Begin the process of withdrawing our wings.
> While going through withdrawal, seek out and head toward another window on this wall, approaching it from the side like before.

>It's definitely larger. It you took the second floor and put it beside the first floor, it would be about the same size.
>You start to draw in your wings, and quickly note that Mystia is trying not to gawk at the process.
>Approaching the next window, one right before the door, you notice that has a curtain over it as well, but it is partially open.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Finish drawing the wings in, then flash Mystia a grin and a thumbs-up.
> Sidle along the wall and window up to the opening in the curtain, stopping right before we'd be visible from inside.
> Lean our head toward the opening so we can peek inside.

[Hello Purvis]

> Finish drawing the wings in, then flash Mystia a grin and a thumbs-up.
> Sidle along the wall and window up to the opening in the curtain, stopping right before we'd be visible from inside.
> Lean our head toward the opening so we can peek inside.

>You finish drawing in your wings. You feel oddly light and off balance now, but you'll quickly adapt. There's also a sensation akin to having tied one of your arms behind your back from the loss of appendages, but it too shall pass. You grin at Mystia; see just gives you a strange look.
>You carefully approach the window and peek inside as discreetly as you can. Inside, you can see a wood-paneled floor and a large table covered with unrolled scrolls, writing brushes, the occasional inkstone, and some other objects you can't identify. You think that you can see shelves in back, but you aren't sure. The difference between the interior and the outer wall is pretty jarring.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Are there any people visible inside?
> If not, lean over a little more to get a better look. Pull back if we do see someone, though.

[Hello Purvis]

> Are there any people visible inside?
> If not, lean over a little more to get a better look. Pull back if we do see someone, though.

>You don't see any people, so you move in for a better look.
>You note a doorway against the far wall, and that the shelves seem to hold books and various scrolls. You can't tell what are on the papers on the tables from here, but you think there is some artwork among them. You note an incense burner along one of the walls.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Are there any other windows along the wall that we haven't looked at yet?

[Hello Purvis]

> Are there any other windows along the wall that we haven't looked at yet?

>There is one past the door.

>_