Iku Quest Sedem: A Z-Machine Adventure

[Hello Purvis]

> "Oh. Sorry."
> Look back mostly toward Tenshi, but angle ourselves so that we can still see the Poltergeist out of the side of our eye.
> "Anyway, Tenshi, I meant her camera, but not for those reasons. I've been thinking about what happened in there, and something has been bothering me. Something other than the obvious, of course."

>You can see she is still flipping back and forth through the pages, pausing every so often.
>"What's bothering you?" she asks.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "Do you remember how she did that...unpleasant thing I asked her to do without questioning it, but when I asked her to leave you alone, she refused to the point of being willing to stay in the jail cell? Doesn't that strike you as odd? Why would those types of photographs of other people be more objectionable than, well, doing that unpleasant thing herself?"

[Hello Purvis]

> "Do you remember how she did that...unpleasant thing I asked her to do without questioning it, but when I asked her to leave you alone, she refused to the point of being willing to stay in the jail cell? Doesn't that strike you as odd? Why would those types of photographs of other people be more objectionable than, well, doing that unpleasant thing herself?"

>"I think she's just weird in the head," says Tenshi.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Can we tell how the Poltergeist is behaving now?
> "Maybe. But she also kept trying to make the differentiation between a work of art or a cheap pinup, as much as she was willing to lie there and let me do what I wanted. And, to be honest, that foible of her personality aside, she seems to be mostly level-headed."
> "I actually think it might be something else at play. I don't think she does it because she enjoys reveling in simple improper naughtiness. That doesn't gel with what she told us in the prison. I wonder...I think she does it simply to prove superiority to others. To show that she can do it, and that we can't stop her."

[Hello Purvis]

> Can we tell how the Poltergeist is behaving now?
> "Maybe. But she also kept trying to make the differentiation between a work of art or a cheap pinup, as much as she was willing to lie there and let me do what I wanted. And, to be honest, that foible of her personality aside, she seems to be mostly level-headed."
> "I actually think it might be something else at play. I don't think she does it because she enjoys reveling in simple improper naughtiness. That doesn't gel with what she told us in the prison. I wonder...I think she does it simply to prove superiority to others. To show that she can do it, and that we can't stop her."

>Out of the corner of your eye, you can definitely see her flipping through the book more frantically.
>"Huh, maybe?" says Tenshi. "I dunno. I think she's just weird. Like how Yuka is weird about flowers and things."

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "I suppose the only way we'll ever know for sure is if we inquired further into her so-called 'art'. But I think I like the idea of her trying to prove superiority, in a way. We've both been victimized by her in the past. Wouldn't it be nice to get her back by beating her at her own game?"

[Hello Purvis]

> "I suppose the only way we'll ever know for sure is if we inquired further into her so-called 'art'. But I think I like the idea of her trying to prove superiority, in a way. We've both been victimized by her in the past. Wouldn't it be nice to get her back by beating her at her own game?"

>"Oh, you mean get pictures of her?" she says. "Sure, I guess."

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "It would be a fitting response, as it were. And I think I know how we can do it. Momizi told us to let us know anything we learned about Aya's whereabouts. Well, we know where Aya will be this afternoon, and we know she's enlisted Momizi's help in the past. I'm willing to bet Momizi would be willing to help us in exchange for tipping her off on Aya's whereabouts. All we need to do is wait for Aya at the appointed place, wait for Momizi to show up not long thereafter, let them get into a shouting match over the escape, and grab a picture or two while she's distracted."
> Check in on the Poltergeist again, without turning our head.

[Hello Purvis]

> "It would be a fitting response, as it were. And I think I know how we can do it. Momizi told us to let us know anything we learned about Aya's whereabouts. Well, we know where Aya will be this afternoon, and we know she's enlisted Momizi's help in the past. I'm willing to bet Momizi would be willing to help us in exchange for tipping her off on Aya's whereabouts. All we need to do is wait for Aya at the appointed place, wait for Momizi to show up not long thereafter, let them get into a shouting match over the escape, and grab a picture or two while she's distracted."
> Check in on the Poltergeist again, without turning our head.

>"Oh yeah, that'd totally work!" says Tenshi.
>The poltergeist is still flipping back and forth between pages, more forcefully now. You can't quite see her face, but you get the feeling it's rather expressive at the moment.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Nod and smile.
> "I sure hope so. I can't imagine it failing."
> Can we hear the pages of the book flipping?

[Hello Purvis]

> Nod and smile.
> "I sure hope so. I can't imagine it failing."
> Can we hear the pages of the book flipping?

>"Wait, won't Aya be pissed we sold her out, though?" asks Tenshi.
>You can definitely hear the pages if you listen for it.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "She might be, but she doesn't have to know. Besides, I imagine Momizi will come alone. She really didn't want to question us that much; her questions were pretty dodgy and she never actually asked if we were responsible or not. To be honest, I imagine she's somewhat glad Aya's free, even if she won't admit it to her superiors. I'm sure those two will work something out that keeps Aya free while making Momizi still look good."

[Hello Purvis]

> "She might be, but she doesn't have to know. Besides, I imagine Momizi will come alone. She really didn't want to question us that much; her questions were pretty dodgy and she never actually asked if we were responsible or not. To be honest, I imagine she's somewhat glad Aya's free, even if she won't admit it to her superiors. I'm sure those two will work something out that keeps Aya free while making Momizi still look good."

>"I dunno," says Tenshi. "I figured she just didn't want to go and outright accuse you; you know, scandals and stuff."

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "I suppose that's possible as well. I felt like my answers were equally dodgy, though, and that she should have picked up on something being off. I dunno, maybe I'm just imagining things."

[Hello Purvis]

> "I suppose that's possible as well. I felt like my answers were equally dodgy, though, and that she should have picked up on something being off. I dunno, maybe I'm just imagining things."

>Tenshi shrugs. "So what now?"

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "We wait to see what the apparent trouble is."
> Wait in silence for the poltergeist to do anything other than flip through pages in silent frustration.

[Hello Purvis]

> "We wait to see what the apparent trouble is."
> Wait in silence for the poltergeist to do anything other than flip through pages in silent frustration.

>You wait. The minutes pass by. Finally, with a snarl, she slams the book to the ground, and stalks away. You feel the weight lift from your arms, and a sudden weight on your chest that knocks the wind from you!

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Try to catch our breath.
> Look back at our shadow.
> Did the poltergeist actually leave? In which direction did she go?

[Hello Purvis]

> Try to catch our breath.
> Look back at our shadow.
> Did the poltergeist actually leave? In which direction did she go?

>You try to  catch your breath. Looking at your shadow, it seems fine.
>She is actually leaving, stalking off rather quickly to the west.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "Wait! I can teach you the thing you told Suika about!"
> Try to follow her.

[Hello Purvis]

> "Wait! I can teach you the thing you told Suika about!"
> Try to follow her.

>You call out to her, but she doesn't seem to acknowledge you.
>You follow; she continues westward. If she's not oblivious of you, she is intentionally ignoring you.

>_

[Marokuu]

I feel like following her now might be a moderately bad idea now that she's calmed down, however halfway through typing this I realised what you were thinking about and I guess you if anyone can talk to her :ohdear:

[Kilgamayan]

> "Tenshi, can you go get that book and then come back to me? I'll keep this up, but hurry."
> Keep following the poltergeist.
> What is west of here?

[Hello Purvis]

> "Tenshi, can you go get that book and then come back to me? I'll keep this up, but hurry."
> Keep following the poltergeist.
> What is west of here?

>"Yeah, got it," says Tenshi.
>You follow the Poltergeist. She is stalking away at a brisk walk; you could probably catch her if you wanted to.
>All you know of being west of here is the Bamboo forest.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Fly after her, a little bit faster than she is walking.
> Visually inspect our left arm by quickly bringing it up into our line of vision, then dropping it back down. Does it look weird in any fashion?
> Use our left hand to feel around our stomach, where we felt that final blow, for any abnormalities.

[Hello Purvis]

> Fly after her, a little bit faster than she is walking.
> Visually inspect our left arm by quickly bringing it up into our line of vision, then dropping it back down. Does it look weird in any fashion?
> Use our left hand to feel around our stomach, where we felt that final blow, for any abnormalities.

>You fly after her, catching up bit by bit.
>You check your arm and your stomach. You feel the latter might get a bruise on it from the lingering soreness; but it's really nothing to worry about.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> No abnormalities, then? That's encouraging, at least.
> Look back behind us quickly. Is Tenshi still visible?

[Hello Purvis]

> No abnormalities, then? That's encouraging, at least.
> Look back behind us quickly. Is Tenshi still visible?

>None that you notice.
>You can see Tenshi, working to catch up with you. This isn't really a high speed chase; the poltergeist is merely walking away briskly.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Look back at the Poltergeist.
> "Please, let us help you!"

[Hello Purvis]

> Look back at the Poltergeist.
> "Please, let us help you!"

>"Why would I reveal anything to the likes of you?" she says, not looking back.

>_