Reimu Quest (Part 2)

[Hello Purvis]

>Does that match with our recollections?
>Look around

[日巫子]

>Does that match with our recollections?
>Look around

> It does.
> You look around and see, farther ahead, a clearing and the murky outline of a large something.

> _

[Hello Purvis]

>Swim toward it. But be ready in case that large something is an unfriendly fish that needs to be needled.
>What happens if we try to fly underwater?

[日巫子]

>Swim toward it. But be ready in case that large something is an unfriendly fish that needs to be needled.
>What happens if we try to fly underwater?

> You weave through the tree trunks and emerge into the clearing you barely recognize as Alice's house.  It appears to have been overtaken by a myriad of colorful...plants?  Stones?  Their shapes are organic, and some clearly are plants that wave their tendrils in the water, while others are sedentary.  You see that the flowers in her front yard have not been affected at all: in fact, they seem to be flourishing.  Colorful fish flit around the blossoms like butterflies.
> You catch movement in one of the windows of the house, but it disappears before you can discern what it was.  Above you, a light blue glow shines through the surface of the water.
> Flying underwater is doable, you'd think, but the water puts up a great deal of resistance.  You'd be worn out pretty quickly.

> _

[Hello Purvis]

>Let's try to figure out what that glow is, give it a good staring.

[日巫子]

>Let's try to figure out what that glow is, give it a good staring.

> You swim up towards the glow.  It seems natural at first, but when you get closer, it feels almost artificial.  Will you surface?

> _

[Hello Purvis]

>Surface just a bit.

[日巫子]

>Surface just a bit.

> You poke your head out of the water, and find that it resists you, almost like a piece of fabric.  Still, it doesn't take much to push through it.  The water around you is glowing, and the gentle waves toss you around a bit.  Sitting in the center of the blue glow is a disgruntled-looking girl with short blonde hair and a long blue dress.  She's a bit damp, and a few dolls are huddled under her capelet.  She's sitting down on top of the water as if nothing is wrong, with a thick book open in her lap.  The book appears to be the source of the glow, and she's tracing her finger along the pages.  She hasn't noticed you yet.

> _

[Dizzy H. "Muffin" Muffin]

> "Hey Alice!"

Want to let her know it's us, instead of surprising her ... um ... any other way.

[日巫子]

> "Hey Alice!"

> "Hm!"  Alice gives a squeak of surprise, and the glow goes out like a snuffed out candle.  She falls into the water with a small splash, taking the book with her.  The dolls fall out of her capelet and start sinking at a slower rate.

> _

[Hello Purvis]

>Does she seem to be able to swim at all?

[O4rfish]

>Rescue the Alice.
>How are our sleeves doing, are they sodden?

[日巫子]

>Does she seem to be able to swim at all?

> No.  She is flailing her arms and legs as she sinks, but to no avail.

>Rescue the Alice.
>How are our sleeves doing, are they sodden?

> How will you be rescuing her?
> Your sleeves are thoroughly soaked.

> _

[Jq1790]

>If the sleeves are weighimg us down too much, try discarding them. 
>Swim to where Alice is flailing and, despite the difficulty, try to fly out of the water with her so that we can both fly through the air to someplace drier

[Kilgamayan]

>If the sleeves are weighimg us down too much, try discarding them. 

>Don't do this. The last thing we need is to lose our entire inventory to the depth.

[日巫子]

>If the sleeves are weighimg us down too much, try discarding them. 
>Swim to where Alice is flailing and, despite the difficulty, try to fly out of the water with her so that we can both fly through the air to someplace drier

>Don't do this. The last thing we need is to lose our entire inventory to the depth.

> Your entire inventory--including several items of sentimental value--is in your sleeves.  You feel somewhat reluctant to just throw them away.
> You follow Alice down into the water.  Bubbles stream from her mouth and nose as she struggles.  Perhaps it's her youkai resilience, but her movements have not grown weak enough that she cannot suddenly swing her arm out and punch you in the face.

> _

[O4rfish]

>Grapple her, then kick for the surface.

[日巫子]

>Grapple her, then kick for the surface.

> Ignoring the blood coming from your nose, you seize Alice around the waist and begin your slow ascent to the surface.  It's a difficult climb: Alice doesn't seem to have come to her senses enough to recognize that it's you, and continues to struggle.  Still, you're able to keep her from hurting you again, or herself.
> By the time the two of you have broken through the water, Alice's movements have weakened somewhat.  The two dolls she had with her flutter over and circle around her as she starts to cough up water.
> Your nose is a bit sore, and you feel blood trickling down over your lips.  There shouldn't be any lasting damage, though.

> _

[Hello Purvis]

>"How did you forget you can fly, Alice!"

[日巫子]

>"How did you forget you can fly, Alice!"

> Alice continues to vomit up water.  Between heaves she makes noises like she's trying to answer you, but to no avail.

> _

[Kilgamayan]

> Do we consider Alice a mere acquaintance or more of a friend?

[日巫子]

> Do we consider Alice a mere acquaintance or more of a friend?

> Somewhere between acquaintance and friend.  A friendcquaintance.  While it's true that you two get along, she's closer to Marisa.

> _

[Kilgamayan]

That's enough of an excuse to care for me.

> "Oh, sorry. Take your time. I've got you."

[日巫子]

> "Oh, sorry. Take your time. I've got you."

> Alice sputters out what's probably the last of the water, and starts taking deep breaths.  Now that she's able to breathe properly, she stops struggling and opens her eyes a crack.
> "...It's...you?" she gasps.  Her brow furrows in confusion.

> _

[Kilgamayan]

> "It's me. Take your time."

[Hello Purvis]

Yeah. my comment was more annoyance at being hit in the nose than anything.

>"I got you, don't worry."

[Kilgamayan]

Right, I figured as much. I just wanted to be sure caring was in-character before I started doing so.

[日巫子]

> "It's me. Take your time."

>"I got you, don't worry."

> Alice's eyes open a little more, and her expression relaxes.  She continues to take deep breaths for some moments, before she starts to return to normal breathing.  The dolls drift down and perch on her head.
> "Phew...th-thanks...where's...where's the Grimoire?" Alice mutters, glancing at her immediate surroundings.

> _

[Kilgamayan]

> "I think it's in the water. Once you can hold yourself up, I'll go look for it."

[日巫子]

> "I think it's in the water. Once you can hold yourself up, I'll go look for it."

> Alice groans at this.  "I think I should be able to float out of the water..."

> _