Nue Quest 10 - The Lost Levels: A Z-Machine Adventure

[Kilgamayan]

> "Then let's consider that my real favor request, as the one that got K her money back. Leave him alone as long as he's in the temple. I have no problem turning a blind eye to giving him what he's got coming to him if he's anywhere else. But if someone from down here thinks they can start something in that temple, it'll be their problem before they even get there. I don't care if it's you or K or Yuugi or anyone else."

[Hello Purvis]

> "Then let's consider that my real favor request, as the one that got K her money back. Leave him alone as long as he's in the temple. I have no problem turning a blind eye to giving him what he's got coming to him if he's anywhere else. But if someone from down here thinks they can start something in that temple, it'll be their problem before they even get there. I don't care if it's you or K or Yuugi or anyone else."

>"You'll have to take that up with her," says the oni. "But I'll pass it along."

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "I'll be happy to tell her myself tomorrow morning."
> "Anyway, the guy responsible is the owner of the antique shop in the forest. Total non-combatant, so if K's intent on breaking something it shouldn't be hard."

[Hello Purvis]

> "I'll be happy to tell her myself tomorrow morning."
> "Anyway, the guy responsible is the owner of the antique shop in the forest. Total non-combatant, so if K's intent on breaking something it shouldn't be hard."

>The oni nods. "Thanks, I'll pass it on."

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "Anything else you need?"

[Hello Purvis]

> "Anything else you need?"

>"I think we got it covered," says the oni.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "Got it. I'll see K tomorrow morning, then."
> Assuming no objections to leaving, hoof it back to our place.

[Hello Purvis]

> "Got it. I'll see K tomorrow morning, then."
> Assuming no objections to leaving, hoof it back to our place.

>"Sure thing," says the oni.
>You depart, and return to your bar. Thankfully, it hasn't taken any further damage since last time.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Enter!
> Take a quick look around to take visual stock of the place, then, barring an obvious disaster or emergency, commence a search for the spare futon.

[Hello Purvis]

> Enter!
> Take a quick look around to take visual stock of the place, then, barring an obvious disaster or emergency, commence a search for the spare futon.

>You walk inside, and are pleased to see that no one seems to have broken in and finished a brawl with one of your tables. Aside from some cleaning, you should be able to open for business without any problems once you restock.
>You head to the basement to get the spare futon, and notice that your cash box seems to have exploded and its the continents have spilled out the across the shelf and onto the floor. It is, sadly, not quite so impressive as the other piles of money you've seen today, but it's still quite pleasing.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> That should be good enough to get Mamizou to make a mess on the floor.
> Come to think of it, did the two of us ever bed together?
> Return some of our cash on-hand to the pile so we have 100 left over on our person.
> Find and grab the futon and bring it upstairs to our room.

[Hello Purvis]

> That should be good enough to get Mamizou to make a mess on the floor.
> Come to think of it, did the two of us ever bed together?
> Return some of our cash on-hand to the pile so we have 100 left over on our person.
> Find and grab the futon and bring it upstairs to our room.

>You add your excess coins to the pile, pleased to see that it only makes an marginal increase to the size of it, while musing on Mamizou's reaction. Then you go to gather up the spare bed and place it along the wall in an empty spot near the window.
>You and Mamizou have never been more than friends. You're quite certain that she's not interested in you in that way.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> We should be all set here, then.
> Leave the tavern and make our way in the general direction that we think Yuugi's place is.

[Hello Purvis]

> We should be all set here, then.
> Leave the tavern and make our way in the general direction that we think Yuugi's place is.

>Content with your preparations, you leave your tavern and head toward the western part of town.
>It takes a little wandering around, and dodging around a raging brawl and a group of oni putting out a raging fire. The streets are fairly empty despite all this, and it's not too hard to get around. It doesn't take you long to find Yuugi's home, it's one of the few places in the city with more than a single story; a sizable manor taking up much of a block. Normally, it would be rather impressive and beautiful, but several of the windows have been knocked out, one of the walls has a sizable hole in it, and a few of the columns holding up the front porch had been knocked over or broken. A line of red lanterns litters the road.
>Looking around, you don't see any evidence of activity here.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Head up to the front door and knock on it.

[Hello Purvis]

> Head up to the front door and knock on it.

>You go to the front door and knock on it. After a few moments of no response, you knock again. You repeat this process a few times, and get no answer.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Must not be here. Eh, whatever.
> Take flight and head to the Earth Spirit Palace gates.

[Hello Purvis]

> Must not be here. Eh, whatever.
> Take flight and head to the Earth Spirit Palace gates.

>Oh well, a Deva must have a busy life.
>You take to the air, and head toward the Palace of the Earth Spirits. Along the way, you have to weave around the occasional plume of smoke. Below, you can see the streets are much like the ones you've traveled through already, littered with debris and dotted with the occasional brawl.
>As you draw close to the Palace of the Earth Spirits, you notice some movement on the ivy-covered roof. Looking at it, you see Utsuho is sitting there, resting her chin on her knees.  She waves as you approach.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Wave back.
> "You come up here often?"

[Hello Purvis]

> Wave back.
> "You come up here often?"

>"Sometimes," she says. "It's a good view."

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Redirect our flight path toward Utsuho.
> "I can imagine. Probably not that great today, though."

[Hello Purvis]

> Redirect our flight path toward Utsuho.
> "I can imagine. Probably not that great today, though."

>You approach the roof of the palace, while Utusho takes a moment to stretch and reposition herself in a more relaxed position.
>"No, but a good view is good for other reasons."

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Gesture next to her.
> "Mind if I?"

[Hello Purvis]

> Gesture next to her.
> "Mind if I?"

>"Sure," she says.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "Thanks."
> Take a seat next to Utsuho, propping ourselves up on our arms to our sides and slightly behind us.
> Take a moment to look out over the city.

[Hello Purvis]

> "Thanks."
> Take a seat next to Utsuho, propping ourselves up on our arms to our sides and slightly behind us.
> Take a moment to look out over the city.

>You have a seat, then look out over the city. It is not a very good view, to be honest; the damage from the riots is obvious, and city is oddly dark. The lack of music underscores this, making the city seem dead.
>"Parsee says you've been busy," Utsuho says.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "Yeah. Sanae says the same about you."

[Hello Purvis]

> "Yeah. Sanae says the same about you."

>"Heh," says Utsuho. "Yeah, kinda."

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Smirk.
> "Yeah. I'd love to tease you about how your 'busy' almost got me killed. But my 'busy' almost got me killed, too, so I don't really have a leg to stand on."

[Hello Purvis]

> Smirk.
> "Yeah. I'd love to tease you about how your 'busy' almost got me killed. But my 'busy' almost got me killed, too, so I don't really have a leg to stand on."

>She chuckles. "Sorry about that, I guess. Parsee didn't tell us anything, so I didn't know, you know, until just a little bit ago."

>_