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

[Kilgamayan]

> "And what are you forced to do on their behalf that would get her that riled up? I didn't take you as the type that could be forced to do anything by anyone, aside from maybe Satori."

[Hello Purvis]

> "And what are you forced to do on their behalf that would get her that riled up? I didn't take you as the type that could be forced to do anything by anyone, aside from maybe Satori."

>"Not forced," says Utsuho. "I did it all because I wanted to. But she's thinks it's all their fault, which is right, but harping that doesn't fix anything."

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Nod.
> "All right. So the relationship that sprang out of nowhere, as far as the rest of us were concerned, resulted in a severe mentality shift out of nowhere from Parsee, centered around an event that happened some time before the two of you got together, an event that resulted in you doing things she thinks you shouldn't have had to do even though they're things you wanted to do and likely didn't actually have to do given what you could most likely do to anyone that tried to make you do something you didn't want to do."

[Hello Purvis]

> Nod.
> "All right. So the relationship that sprang out of nowhere, as far as the rest of us were concerned, resulted in a severe mentality shift out of nowhere from Parsee, centered around an event that happened some time before the two of you got together, an event that resulted in you doing things she thinks you shouldn't have had to do even though they're things you wanted to do and likely didn't actually have to do given what you could most likely do to anyone that tried to make you do something you didn't want to do."

>"It's not that much of a shift," says Utsuho, frowning. "Parsee's like that for anyone she cares about."

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "I don't mean that. I'm sure she does. I mean going from not caring about surface dwellers to wishing repeated death on a handful of them for something that happened a couple of years before she got with you."

[Hello Purvis]

> "I don't mean that. I'm sure she does. I mean going from not caring about surface dwellers to wishing repeated death on a handful of them for something that happened a couple of years before she got with you."

>"That;s just how she is," says Utsuho, chuckling. "She throws herself into things wholeheartedly like that."

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Frown.
> "You'd think she'd at least consult with you first and find out that everything was actually ultimately okay before she goes off and gets that like that."

[Hello Purvis]

> Frown.
> "You'd think she'd at least consult with you first and find out that everything was actually ultimately okay before she goes off and gets that like that."

>"She did," says Utsuho, frowning. "Parsee's not stupid. That's just how she felt about the whole thing. She still went along with it."

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "Ah. I think I see what you're getting at now. So how would life be different if this whole machine thing never happened?"

[Hello Purvis]

> "Ah. I think I see what you're getting at now. So how would life be different if this whole machine thing never happened?"

>"Well, who knows?" says Utsuho with a shrug that reaches to her wings. "I can't say for sure."

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "I suppose that's true."
> "Though, in thinking about it, there's still some small curiosity. Originally I had asked about that bad blood you mentioned earlier possibly coming from you getting what you got from them, and you said Parsee had wanted to burn down the shrine in retribution, presumably for them doing this to you. Now it seems you're implying that she doesn't actually care about that because you told her it was fine, and that she's instead that extremely upset with them over the idea of making the machine as a peace offering."

[Hello Purvis]

> "I suppose that's true."
> "Though, in thinking about it, there's still some small curiosity. Originally I had asked about that bad blood you mentioned earlier possibly coming from you getting what you got from them, and you said Parsee had wanted to burn down the shrine in retribution, presumably for them doing this to you. Now it seems you're implying that she doesn't actually care about that because you told her it was fine, and that she's instead that extremely upset with them over the idea of making the machine as a peace offering."

>"She still cares," Utsuho says, frowning, "just she won't because I asked her not to, you see? Aren't you sort of making this more twisted than it is?"

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Look over at Utsuho with a passive expression.
> "I'm just trying to make sense of it in a way I can understand. Those folks on the mountain are folks I consider friends. If I started telling you about how Rin had wronged me in the past and my story had a few aspects to it that seemed incongruous to you, wouldn't you be curious to get to the bottom of it?"

[Hello Purvis]

> Look over at Utsuho with a passive expression.
> "I'm just trying to make sense of it in a way I can understand. Those folks on the mountain are folks I consider friends. If I started telling you about how Rin had wronged me in the past and my story had a few aspects to it that seemed incongruous to you, wouldn't you be curious to get to the bottom of it?"

>"Yeah, I guess," she says. "Just you're also saying a lot of weird things about Parsee that don't make any sense."

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "If that's the case, then it's because the stuff you've said about her is the stuff that seemed incongruous to me."

[Hello Purvis]

> "If that's the case, then it's because the stuff you've said about her is the stuff that seemed incongruous to me."

>She shrugs again. "If you say so. It's really not as complicated as you're saying, though."

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Look back to the city.
> "It's entirely possible it is. I obviously don't know everything about everything. I guess it's just a bunch of weird things mixed together. Like the only reason I though to keep asking in the first place, before I was even aware that there was stuff between you and them, was because the two of you popping up out of nowhere coincided with that dream, the one where the jet idea came from. It's a strange coincidence, if nothing else."

[Hello Purvis]

> Look back to the city.
> "It's entirely possible it is. I obviously don't know everything about everything. I guess it's just a bunch of weird things mixed together. Like the only reason I though to keep asking in the first place, before I was even aware that there was stuff between you and them, was because the two of you popping up out of nowhere coincided with that dream, the one where the jet idea came from. It's a strange coincidence, if nothing else."

>She nods. "Yeah, it's strange. But really, Parsee's just really loyal. When she learned about things, she was completely on my side and completely against theirs. And even though she didn't really change her mind, she still helped out, because I wanted it. If I changed my mind and decided to go with her ideas, you better believe she'd be right there with me. You see?"

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "Yeah, I get that."

[Hello Purvis]

> "Yeah, I get that."

>Utsuho nods. "And that's why she cares."

>_

[Hanzo K.]

>"Sure don't find many people like that anymore, do you?"

[Hello Purvis]

>"Sure don't find many people like that anymore, do you?"

>She nods. "Sure don't."

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "Anyway, I hope she's happy now that her money was back. You should have heard her screech when I first told her to check yesterday."

[Hello Purvis]

> "Anyway, I hope she's happy now that her money was back. You should have heard her screech when I first told her to check yesterday."

>She laughs. "I can imagine! I was about to ask if that had been fixed or not. Satori hadn't checked yet when I got home, and Orin ran me up here to keep watch before I got three steps inside."

>_

[Hanzo K.]

>"Yeah, that's all squared away and stuff. Had to break that antique dealer's mind to do it though. Guy went cuckoo with faith power, and tried to make the world trade-based instead of cash-based."

[Hello Purvis]

>"Yeah, that's all squared away and stuff. Had to break that antique dealer's mind to do it though. Guy went cuckoo with faith power, and tried to make the world trade-based instead of cash-based."

>"Him?" she says.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "Yep."
> Snicker.
> "That's been everyone's reaction so far."

[Hello Purvis]

> "Yep."
> Snicker.
> "That's been everyone's reaction so far."

>"Huh," she says.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "Is him being responsible really so much more surprising than me being the one that fixed things? I really have lost my touch."

[Hello Purvis]

> "Is him being responsible really so much more surprising than me being the one that fixed things? I really have lost my touch."

>"Well, I was taking it one thing at a time," she says.

>_