Patchy Quest One More Time: A Z-Machine Adventure

[Toasty]

>These aren't normal bees. Don't have them hurt rumia.

[E-Nazrin]

> Once a bee stings something, it's stinger is torn off, along with most of it's organs, and it dies shortly after. Try to get the bees to sting something(other than yourself)

>these are magical cosmic horror bees. Try not to assume too much.

[Kuma]

>these are magical cosmic horror bees. Try not to assume too much.

> Shave your armpits.

[Hello Purvis]

>Continue to scoop bees off of Rumia and insert them into the box until she is as bee-free as we can realistically get her.

>look around for other containers to steal for bee-gathering, since they'll escape each time the same box is opened
>look at how many bees remain on Rumia
>"Iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitttttttt'sssssssss paaaaaaaaaatchhhhhooooooooooooliiiiiiiiiiii."

>This prediction comes true, you cannot reasonable put more than one ladleful of bees into the box without them escaping.
>The alley is relatively clean. But given you are in a town, it shouldn't be too hard to find other containers.
>You estimate Rumia has about six ladles worth of bees on her face. However, it's going to be hard to get them all off this way after first few scoops.

> Once a bee stings something, it's stinger is torn off, along with most of it's organs, and it dies shortly after. Try to get the bees to sting something(other than yourself)

>These aren't normal bees. Don't have them hurt rumia.

>these are magical cosmic horror bees. Try not to assume too much.

>You wonder if they would die like normal bees, and quickly decide that they probably have ways of cheating around that.

> Shave your armpits.

>You don't really have time for that.
>"This is hurting my mind..." Jeff mutters, his cloudy form having a lot of images of bees within it.

>_

[Serela]

>"Jeff, do you think you could help me locate some containers to scoop these bees into? I'd really like to get them off of Rumia's face..."
>Being searching for things we could scoop bees into

[Hello Purvis]

>"Jeff, do you think you could help me locate some containers to scoop these bees into? I'd really like to get them off of Rumia's face..."
>Being searching for things we could scoop bees into

>"The bar's probably got a lot of things," says Jeff, the images of bees fade into the background in favor of images of places. "Oh, and the school has some pencil boxes and stuff. Pretty sure most houses would have a couple boxes; I think the Scarlet Devil Mansion probably has a lot in the storeroom. I think the Moriya shrine does, too. They got a lot of leftover junk from before they came here."

>_

>_

[Kuma]

> go to the Moriya shrine, they don't need that rice cooker...

[E-Nazrin]

>"Did Sanae bring a vib... no, don't answer that."
>"Is this hurting your mind from bad memories, or could there be something else?"

[Hello Purvis]

>"Did Sanae bring a vib... no, don't answer that."
>"Is this hurting your mind from bad memories, or could there be something else?"

>"Okay, I won't," says Jeff. The images flashing through him are too nondescript to properly answer that.
>"Just bad memories," he says. You note a scene of Rumia eating bees in a dark place flashing through him. "Not one of my best moments, you know?"

> go to the Moriya shrine, they don't need that rice cooker...

>You decide to borrow something from the Moriya Shrine, possibly as a small payback for all the trouble they've caused you today.
>You appear on the grounds, and find that Wriggle and Sanae were sitting on the front steps of the shrine, talking among themselves happily, before time froze. You also notice the hum is quite strong here, as well, and a lot more like buzzing.


>_

[E-Nazrin]

>"... oh damnit why didn't we think of Wriggle."
>pause
>"Wait... Suwako acted a little suspiciously when I mentioned you... you prayed to her once, right...?"
>"Do frogs eat bees?"

[Serela]

>See if you can find anywhere the buzzing is particularly strong, or if you see any bees anywhere.
>Also, make sure you pick up any suitable containers you find while searching for the noise

[Hello Purvis]

>"... oh damnit why didn't we think of Wriggle."
>pause
>"Wait... Suwako acted a little suspiciously when I mentioned you... you prayed to her once, right...?"
>"Do frogs eat bees?"

>"Suwako?" says Jeff. "Yeah, I did. A bunch of times. And, I think they do. That's how we dealt with...it last time, really."

>See if you can find anywhere the buzzing is particularly strong, or if you see any bees anywhere.
>Also, make sure you pick up any suitable containers you find while searching for the noise

>It seems to be coming from the area of Suwako's pond.
>You don't see any in the front grounds of the temple.

>_

[E-Nazrin]

>"I don't suppose you ever tried talking to her?"
>have spellcard ready
>look around for an appropriate weapon; where'd that rebar go?

[Serela]

>"...last time? Lemme get this straight; stuff that's eaten bees now has bees around it in this messed up world. I saw your memory of Rumia eating bees... and it sounds like there are more in Suwako's Pond, you said frogs ate the bees last time."
>"What happened "last time", anyway?"

[Thata no Guykoro]

>Examine Sanae and Wriggle
>Attempt to pick up nearby objects.
>Are Sanae and Wriggle holding anything? If so, try to take it.

[E-Nazrin]

>contemplate kidnapping Rumia to bring here

[Hello Purvis]

>"I don't suppose you ever tried talking to her?"
>have spellcard ready
>look around for an appropriate weapon; where'd that rebar go?

>"She never came down to that house," Jeff says. "And no one hears me away from it, normally, not even you."
>You ready Earth Sign: Rage Trilithon High Level
>You left the Rusty Piece of Rebar at the Sun. But you do have Youmu's Short Blade. Also, you note a mop leaning against the side of the shrine.

>"...last time? Lemme get this straight; stuff that's eaten bees now has bees around it in this messed up world. I saw your memory of Rumia eating bees... and it sounds like there are more in Suwako's Pond, you said frogs ate the bees last time."
>"What happened "last time", anyway?"

>"Looks like it's that way," Jeff agrees. "Oh man...I never thought about what that might have done to Suwako."
>"Okay, here's the short version. I said the words. Don't ask me what they are, you probably already know. And, well, I summoned It into Eientei. We, that is, me, Mystia, Rumia, and Kaguya, got drug into some other place. Kinda like this, but it was all dark and ruined. And it was there. There wasn't much I could do about it, I mean it was a huge swarm of evil bees! So I prayed to Suwako. And...it worked. Frogs manifested out of the darkness and started eating the bees. And Rumia, being the little ditz she is, decided to do it too. And she was pretty much stuck talking funny because of it, she just made weird noises instead of words, but I don't think she ever noticed it."

>Examine Sanae and Wriggle
>Attempt to pick up nearby objects.
>Are Sanae and Wriggle holding anything? If so, try to take it.

>Sanae and Wriggle seem like they were both having a pleasant conversation while watching the sun set.
>You try to pick up the mop, and have no problem doing so.
>Wriggle is holding a cup of tea. You try to pluck it from her hands, but it seems to be frozen there; her hands are wrapped around it and don't seem to want to give, much like with Aya's camera and Youmu's other sword.

>contemplate kidnapping Rumia to bring here

>You wonder if this is possible.

>_

[E-Nazrin]

>on further consideration, a sword is probably even better. What were we thinking?
>"Jeff, I don't suppose you have any way to fight in your current condition? I have a bad feeling about this, and Suwako isn't very happy with me today."

[Serela]

>"Do you think it'd be safe if you just spelled the words out loud? I'd ask if you could write them but... I suppose you probably can't in your state."
>Check out Suwako's pond

[Thata no Guykoro]

>"Apparently, objects that are just lying around I can interact with fine, but not objects being held by people. Jeff, any idea what this means?"
>"How similar is where we are now to whereever you wound up with the cosmic horror thing?"

[Hello Purvis]

>on further consideration, a sword is probably even better. What were we thinking?
>"Jeff, I don't suppose you have any way to fight in your current condition? I have a bad feeling about this, and Suwako isn't very happy with me today."

>"I don't think so," says Jeff. "I can't touch anything. I tried when you said you saw me as a cloud. I guess if they can see or hear me, I can get in their face."

>"Apparently, objects that are just lying around I can interact with fine, but not objects being held by people. Jeff, any idea what this means?"
>"How similar is where we are now to whereever you wound up with the cosmic horror thing?"

>"Maybe it's got something to do with 'em being stuck in time like statues?" Jeff suggests.
>The images within Jeff become much darker for a moment. "A little, but not really. It's not dark, there's that rainbow stuff in the sky, everything's still intact instead of being all ruined. I think Kaguya said that whatever It made was spreading, and she was keeping it from doing that. But yeah, this only kinda sort looks like where we got taken, then."

>"Do you think it'd be safe if you just spelled the words out loud? I'd ask if you could write them but... I suppose you probably can't in your state."
>Check out Suwako's pond

>"I could," says Jeff. "but I kinda don't wanna unless you really need me to."
>You go to investigate Suwako's Pond.
>It is more or less as you remember it, a pond covered with lily pads. The buzzing is quite loud here and you can see why instantly: A large swarm of bees is circling the pond. In particular, they are gathered around a lily pad that Suwako is sitting on, with her knees  gathered to her chin. She is slowly sobbing as the bees circle around her; she seems to be moving in slow-time like Rumia was, but only somewhat slower than you are. She is surrounded by frogs as well, who are doing their best to eat the bees.

>_

[Chaore]

>PATCHY PAWNCH. Wait you can't really punch can you.

[Serela]

>Call out to Suwako
>Judge how well the frogs are doing against the bees

[Hello Purvis]

>PATCHY PAWNCH. Wait you can't really punch can you.

>You could punch her. If you wanted to swim out to her.

>Call out to Suwako
>Judge how well the frogs are doing against the bees

>You call out to Suwako. She doesn't seem to hear you. As she currently her face buried into her arms and knees, you doubt she has seen you, either.
>The frogs are tearing into the bees pretty quickly. But, you quickly notice that it seems more bees are appearing, emerging out from Suwako's hair and clothing to join the swarm around her.

>_

[Chaore]

>THis isn't good. Would water kill cosmic horror bees, actually, Toss water on a few to test that.

[Seian Verian]

> Could we use fire on the bees?
> Then again, if they swarm us, we're pretty much screwed...

[Thata no Guykoro]

>"Wait, Jeff. It seems that the bees affect who's able to move - Suwako and Rumia have bees and can move while the others are all frozen. Why might this be? And who else is likely to have bees?"

[Hello Purvis]

>THis isn't good. Would water kill cosmic horror bees, actually, Toss water on a few to test that.

>You try to toss some water, but with your bare hands, you are only able to get a few drops of it in the air, and you doubt it bothers the swarm much.

> Could we use fire on the bees?
> Then again, if they swarm us, we're pretty much screwed...

>You wonder if they would burn. Then you wonder what they would do to you if you tried it.

>"Wait, Jeff. It seems that the bees affect who's able to move - Suwako and Rumia have bees and can move while the others are all frozen. Why might this be? And who else is likely to have bees?"

>"Um...uh..." A number of faces and face-like shapes blink through Jeff's cloudy form. "I don't think anyone else," he says, "Only Mystia and Kaguya were there, too. Lemme check on them."
>He vanishes for a few moments, then returns. "No bees on them. They look frozen, too."

>_

[Serela]

>"Well, do you have any ideas on how to stop these bees?"
>Could we easily capture some of these bees in a container? And is there too many for it to matter if we can?

[Hello Purvis]

>"Well, do you have any ideas on how to stop these bees?"
>Could we easily capture some of these bees in a container? And is there too many for it to matter if we can?

>"Ummm. Well," says Jeff. "They're not being actively angry, at least. I guess the best thing would be to lure them away from Rumia and Suwako."
>You could probably scoop them out of the air pretty easily, if you could get to Swuako's lily pad. But, there are literally enough to of them to fill a large barrel.

>_