Sword Quest XI - A Z-Machine Adventure

[Hello Purvis]

> "Excellent. There is one last thing I should take care of before we leave, however."
> Walk over to the donation box and toss in 10 more of the local currency.

>You donate 10☼
>"Thanks, we appreciate it!" says Suika.

<)

[Kilgamayan]

> Look to Miss Ibuki. "You are most welcome. Money may be immaterial to us, as it is missing its power over all who follow the Tao, but I can certainly understand its necessity to the daily functions of others. I am quite happy to assist this establishment as I am able. Fare thee well, Miss Ibuki."
> Look back to Futo and Tojiko. "With that complete, let be off. Our destination is the mountain."
> Take flight and head to the foot-entrance to Youkai Mountain.

[Hello Purvis]

> Look to Miss Ibuki. "You are most welcome. Money may be immaterial to us, as it is missing its power over all who follow the Tao, but I can certainly understand its necessity to the daily functions of others. I am quite happy to assist this establishment as I am able. Fare thee well, Miss Ibuki."
> Look back to Futo and Tojiko. "With that complete, let be off. Our destination is the mountain."
> Take flight and head to the foot-entrance to Youkai Mountain.

>You take flight, your followers behind you.
>Compared to before, the fields between the shrine's forest and the foot of Youkai Mountain seem almost barren. There are definitely a few faeries around, enough to make Tojiko a little nervous, but nothing like the numbers you had to deal with beforehand. Few of them even seem particularly active now, let alone dangerous. As such, you reach the mountain without any worries. Things there seem largely peaceful, as well, though you note the patrols along its upper reaches seem a bit heavier than before.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Begin walking up the mountain, heading for the Kappa Village.
> While proceeding, pull the key back out. Quick mental check: the insect youkai claimed to have found this in the forest southwest of the kappa village?
> "So. Our goal is to investigate the origins of this key, and the doom it carries. It is my understanding that it was found in the forest near the kappa village."

[Hello Purvis]

> Begin walking up the mountain, heading for the Kappa Village.
> While proceeding, pull the key back out. Quick mental check: the insect youkai claimed to have found this in the forest southwest of the kappa village?
> "So. Our goal is to investigate the origins of this key, and the doom it carries. It is my understanding that it was found in the forest near the kappa village."

>"Seems like there's a whole lot of forest here, Crown Prince," says Tojiko, and you make your way toward the Kappa village, following the road leading there, and entering into the beautifully colored forest where you met Shizuha beforehand.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "Indeed there is. But with three of us starting at the village, we will cover a lot of ground in the areas most likely to contain what we seek."

[Hello Purvis]

> "Indeed there is. But with three of us starting at the village, we will cover a lot of ground in the areas most likely to contain what we seek."

>"So we are to split up, then?" Futo says.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "That may be for the best. We can make a proper decision once we have arrived, however."

[Hello Purvis]

> "That may be for the best. We can make a proper decision once we have arrived, however."

>Futo nods absently, and the three of you continue on. The forest is quiet pleasant to travel through, really, and the lowering sun casts some fascinating colors through it. Your companions comment on it now and again. At one point, you swear that you get a glimpse of Shizuha in the distance through the trees, but only for a moment, before you can focus. Then the forest grows heavier and darker as you draw closer to the village. However, for all its heavy atmosphere, you find little worth worrying about. In fact, you see no signs of Hina along the way.
>Reaching the village, you find the streets are empty. Looking around, you can see no sign of any kappa around. The half-submerged houses and such seem undisturbed, but everything is quiet and still.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "I am glad you two enjoyed the colors. I was fortunate to spy a local goddess painting the leaves those colors. She gave me the fantastic idea to have a picnic in that part of the forest; we should do this within the next few days."

[Hello Purvis]

> "I am glad you two enjoyed the colors. I was fortunate to spy a local goddess painting the leaves those colors. She gave me the fantastic idea to have a picnic in that part of the forest; we should do this within the next few days."

>"That sounds like it would be pleasant," says Futo, as she looks around idly.
>"There's supposed to be kappa here, right?" Tojiko says.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "There certain were previously. I wonder if they are in hiding from the fairy storm?"

[Hello Purvis]

> "There certain were previously. I wonder if they are in hiding from the fairy storm?"

>"That would be reasonable," says Futo.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "Perhaps they will resurface while we work."
> Head toward the southwest corner of the village.

[Hello Purvis]

> "Perhaps they will resurface while we work."
> Head toward the southwest corner of the village.

>You make your way toward the southwest corner, which really only involves walking southward along the edge of the village. The houses here are a big more sparse than elsewhere, and there is a bit less in the way of little creeks or ponds. The houses themselves are a bit more irregular shaped and don't seem to blend quite so well with the territory as the ones closer to the river. Of particularly interest is a large, weeks-old scorch mark near one of them. The forest runs along the edge of the town, or perhaps the town simply conforms to the forest.  Only a couple of the homes come within less than a handful of yards from it.
>There isn't really a corner, as such, so much as a point where the village proper curves away from the village.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Did any of the dwellings look active as we passed by them?

[Hello Purvis]

> Did any of the dwellings look active as we passed by them?

>You think you saw motion in one of them. In some places, the muted sound of desires was a bit stronger.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> How does the forest in this area look? Are there any obvious footpaths?

[Hello Purvis]

> How does the forest in this area look? Are there any obvious footpaths?

>It's still quite dark and gnarled. The trees are fairly dense, but the undergrowth does not seem to be as bad. You see a couple animal trails.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Are there animal trails large enough for us to reasonably use?

[Hello Purvis]

> Are there animal trails large enough for us to reasonably use?

>More or less.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> How dense is the forest?
> How long do we likely have before the sun goes down properly?

[Hello Purvis]

> How dense is the forest?
> How long do we likely have before the sun goes down properly?

>Reasonably dense, but there is little undergrowth.
>No more than an hour, you imagine.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "Mmm. Perhaps it would be better to stay as a group, given how little time there is left before dark, and how dense the forest is."

[Hello Purvis]

> "Mmm. Perhaps it would be better to stay as a group, given how little time there is left before dark, and how dense the forest is."

>"That might be wise," says Tojiko. "We don't really have a good way to keep in contact."

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "That was my rationale, yes. Come, let us begin."
> Enter the forest using the closest animal trail.

[Hello Purvis]

> "That was my rationale, yes. Come, let us begin."
> Enter the forest using the closest animal trail.

>You begin into the forest.
>"So, what are we searching for, exactly?" Futo asks.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "This, I admit, is the challenging part. This key must go to something, but beyond a rough guess at the size of the keyhole, I am not sure what that something may be. In that vein, I suppose anything out of the ordinary is worth looking into."

[Hello Purvis]

> "This, I admit, is the challenging part. This key must go to something, but beyond a rough guess at the size of the keyhole, I am not sure what that something may be. In that vein, I suppose anything out of the ordinary is worth looking into."

>"That isn't much to go on, Crown Prince," says Futo. "Have you any idea how to find this thing other than wandering randomly?"

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Did Hina have anything useful to say about that?