Maribel Quest More - A Z-Machine Adventure

[DracoOmega]

>"Well, presumably because you chose them, and shaped them in the way that they are, unlike other arbitrary piles."

[Hello Purvis]

>"Well, presumably because you chose them, and shaped them in the way that they are, unlike other arbitrary piles."

>"Why would I do that?" asks Yuyuko, as she very gently prods at a twig. "Then it would be a picture of me."

>_

[DracoOmega]

>"Are you implying then, that they're a portrait of the world because they came from the world?"

[Hello Purvis]

>"Are you implying then, that they're a portrait of the world because they came from the world?"

>"If no one else moved them, then it must have been the world, don't you think?" says Yuyuko. "Who else could have done it?"

>_

[DracoOmega]

>"Well, someone must have moved them if they ended up on the table, mustn't they?"

[Hello Purvis]

>"Well, someone must have moved them if they ended up on the table, mustn't they?"

>"And after that?" Says Yuyuko.

>_

[DracoOmega]

>Did the sticks looked woven together in a way that would only be the result of someone's deliberate action?
>If so: "Well, it seems unlikely they would end up in that configuration without someone having arranged them that way."

[Hello Purvis]

>Did the sticks looked woven together in a way that would only be the result of someone's deliberate action?
>If so: "Well, it seems unlikely they would end up in that configuration without someone having arranged them that way."

>You don't think someone would have had to personally arranged the stick by stick. But it's likely someone dropped them.

>_

[UncertainJakutten]

> "Hmm...after you drop them on the table the world takes over, perhaps?"

[Hello Purvis]

> "Hmm...after you drop them on the table the world takes over, perhaps?"

>Though still not looking up at you, Yuyuko raises a single finger. "Aha."

>_

[DracoOmega]

>"So... it's not a portrait of the world, in the sense that someone made it to resemble the world, but a portrait of the world in the sense that the world itself created it."

[Hello Purvis]

>"So... it's not a portrait of the world, in the sense that someone made it to resemble the world, but a portrait of the world in the sense that the world itself created it."

>Yuyuko repeats the gesture, and says "Aha," again.

>_

[DracoOmega]

>"That's a... way of looking at things that I suppose I hadn't considered."
>"But... about what I came here for. Are you amenable to it?"

[Hello Purvis]

>"That's a... way of looking at things that I suppose I hadn't considered."
>"But... about what I came here for. Are you amenable to it?"

>"Why did you come?" asks Yuyuko, "Was it for dinner?"
>"She wished to find Essence of the Netherworld, Lady Yuyuko," Youmu says.
>"Oh, how dull," says Yuyuko. "Very well then. Show her along, if you would?"
>"This way," says Youmu. "I presume you know what you are looking for?"

>_

[UncertainJakutten]

> "...uh...yeah...it's a fog like thing, right?"
> When we're sufficiently far away from Yuyuko
> "Um...what just happened?"

[Hello Purvis]

> "...uh...yeah...it's a fog like thing, right?"
> When we're sufficiently far away from Yuyuko
> "Um...what just happened?"

>"In a sense," says Youmu. "It is a particularly thick kind of fog. You'll recognize it when you cup of it into your hands, and it will hold that shape for a few moments after you let it go.
>You wait until Youmu has led you away from Yuyuko, then ask what just happened. "I'm sorry?" Youmu replies.

>_

[UncertainJakutten]

> "Um...does she usually forget things like that? I mean, it just seemed kinda odd that she'd forget what I came for..."

[Kasu]

> Compliment the garden.

[Hello Purvis]

> "Um...does she usually forget things like that? I mean, it just seemed kinda odd that she'd forget what I came for..."

>"Lady Yuyuko is far too wise to be bothered remember every little thing," says Youmu.

> Compliment the garden.

>You compliment a garden as you pass it.
>"Thank you," says Youmu. "It's my primary job here."

>_

[DracoOmega]

>"I'm curious. What do you remember about the dream, if you don't consider it too private."

[Hello Purvis]

>"I'm curious. What do you remember about the dream, if you don't consider it too private."

>"I was part of a band of soldiers," says Youmu. "My job was to protect a very secret place, no one could know that it existed. I was well paid, but I had to keep many, many secrets. No one could know what I did, or how. That is what I remember."

>_

[DracoOmega]

>"That... sounds like it might have been a lonely life."

[Hello Purvis]

>"That... sounds like it might have been a lonely life."

>"I don't think it was so," says Youmu. "I don't remember my fellow soldiers at all, but they were friends. And, there were the people who worked there. It was a small community, but not a bad one."
>As you walk, she gestures toward a ghost flitting around one of the halls. It starts to follow the two of you.

>_

[DracoOmega]

>"I'd think... having to keep that many secrets would feel like a burden, after a while. At least for me."
>"You can communicate with these ghosts, can't you?"

[Hello Purvis]

>"I'd think... having to keep that many secrets would feel like a burden, after a while. At least for me."
>"You can communicate with these ghosts, can't you?"

>"I can't remember how well I dealt with it," says Youmu, "But I think I agree with you."
>She nods. "They are phantoms, actually. Though the differences are mostly unremarkable. But yes, I can speak with them."

>_

[DracoOmega]

>"Forgive me if the question is ignorant, but do these phantoms have a similar degree of consciousness and awareness as a living being?"

[Hello Purvis]

>"Forgive me if the question is ignorant, but do these phantoms have a similar degree of consciousness and awareness as a living being?"

>"Of course they do," says Youmu. "They're just those who have passed on. That said, being done with life, they are often quite different than living people."

>_

[DracoOmega]

>"I see. I guess... I'm just not used to the idea of seeing people who've passed on in a tangible form. And since they didn't seem able to communicate with most people..."

[Hello Purvis]

>"I see. I guess... I'm just not used to the idea of seeing people who've passed on in a tangible form. And since they didn't seem able to communicate with most people..."

>"It's an honest mistake to make," says Youmu. "But understand, ghosts and phantoms are people."
>You approach a door. Youmu opens it, leading to a vast garden filled with berry-laden cherry trees. "Fly forward from here. This phantom will be your guide if needs be. The far edge of Hakugyokurou seems distant, but you will be there shortly. The Essence of the Netherworld can be found within. Once you find it, you may leave the same way you returned. You need not check in with us if you don't wish to."

>_

[DracoOmega]

>"Thank you very much, Youmu. Have a pleasant day."
>Head forward in the direction indicated
>Keep an eye on our phantom guide