Iku Quest Drei - A Z-Machine Adventure

[DracoOmega]

>"Given that all the islands seem to be affected in the same way, I'm not certain it matters. The one right here should be fine; and of course there are peaches, if you'd care for any."
>"Unless you think that such a curse might have its source elsewhere, on some specific island through which it touches the others, rather than affecting each one individually? I really don't know the mechanics of such things, sorry."

[Hello Purvis]

>"Given that all the islands seem to be affected in the same way, I'm not certain it matters. The one right here should be fine; and of course there are peaches, if you'd care for any."
>"Unless you think that such a curse might have its source elsewhere, on some specific island through which it touches the others, rather than affecting each one individually? I really don't know the mechanics of such things, sorry."

>"Well," says Hina. "I suppose it could be either way. But if they are all affected, then I suspect that they would all bear some taint. I was intending to collect a few peaches, though, so it should be fine."

>_

[DracoOmega]

>"Great, thank you. I'll leave you two to your meal, then. How should I get in touch with you afterward to see if you found anything?"

[Hello Purvis]

>"Great, thank you. I'll leave you two to your meal, then. How should I get in touch with you afterward to see if you found anything?"

>"If you're willing to wait a little bit," says Hina, "I'll go look into it. I suppose if you have to run, you can find me around my home or Alice's."

>_

[DracoOmega]

>"I don't mind waiting, but there is a brief something I think I should attend to in the meantime. I'll go and return shortly. You may be finished your meal by that point, but don't feel obliged to wait up for me. Otherwise I'll see you again in a little while, ok?"

[Hello Purvis]

>"I don't mind waiting, but there is a brief something I think I should attend to in the meantime. I'll go and return shortly. You may be finished your meal by that point, but don't feel obliged to wait up for me. Otherwise I'll see you again in a little while, ok?"

>"Very well," says Hina.
>"Hmm," says Alice, "how about you leave a note with Nazrin?"

>_

[DracoOmega]

>"I don't expect I should be long, but it's been a day full of unexpected problems already. If I'm not back in time, that would be appreciated, thank you."
>Head off towards the village granary

[Hello Purvis]

>"I don't expect I should be long, but it's been a day full of unexpected problems already. If I'm not back in time, that would be appreciated, thank you."
>Head off towards the village granary

>Hina nods. "Still, I think I'll do that if you don't get back soon."
>You start to leave, when Parsee says, "Hey, you, Dancer. Come here for a minute."
>Utsuho hisses something to her in response to that, but you don't hear it.

>_

[DracoOmega]

>Raise eyebrow
>Walk over to her
>"Yes?"

[E-Nazrin]

>Shank Parsee first

[Hello Purvis]

>Raise eyebrow
>Walk over to her
>"Yes?"

>You raise an eyebrow and approach.
>"We couldn't help but overhear," Utsuho says, "But you were talking about shadows with them, weren't you?"
>"Why?" Parsee asks.

>_

[DracoOmega]

>"The shadows being cast by the islands are wrong; they're much weaker than they should be for such a large amount of solid rock this close to the surface. I don't know why this should be the case."

[Hello Purvis]

>"The shadows being cast by the islands are wrong; they're much weaker than they should be for such a large amount of solid rock this close to the surface. I don't know why this should be the case."

>The two look at each other for a moment, something unspoken between them.
>"Good, you noticed too," says Parsee. "Most people don't pay any attention to that kind of thing. Thought I was the only one who noticed it."
>"Most people aren't as paranoid as you are," Utsuho says.
>"Hey..." says Parsee.
>"What, you saying I can't keep you protected, and you still have to jump at shadows? I bet you're even wearing that bracelet still."
>"...Maybe, but that's beside the point," says Parsee. She looks back to you. "So, have you found any other missing shadows, then?"

>_

[DracoOmega]

>"Not that I've noticed. Have you?"

[Hello Purvis]

>"Not that I've noticed. Have you?"

>"One," says Parsee. "Nitori's."

>_

[DracoOmega]

>"What?!"
>"Do you know when this happened? Is she ok otherwise?"

[Hello Purvis]

>"What?!"
>"Do you know when this happened? Is she ok otherwise?"

>"Don't shout!" Parsee hisses.
>"We're trying to keep this quiet," Utsuho explains. "We don't want Incident solvers knocking on our door. And, no, she's not okay. It happened three days ago. But Parsee only noticed her shadow was weird yesterday. She's...well...listless. Doesn't really do much of anything. Just lays there and watches the clouds."
>"We've been taking care of her, us and Yuugi," says Parsee.

>_

[DracoOmega]

>Frown
>"Oh dear... that's... I'm not sure what to say."
>"And apologies for my reaction. I understand your concern; I've had far more than my share of incident solvers today already."
>"In any case, you say it affected her long before Bhava-Agra fell, which suggests that it wasn't a single event which caused this. But... that could also suggest that whatever is causing this might be continuing to cause it to other things, which is a... disturbing conclusion to draw."
>"In any case, I was asking Hina if she could examine the islands for curses; it was suggested they might be a possible cause."

[Hello Purvis]

>Frown
>"Oh dear... that's... I'm not sure what to say."
>"And apologies for my reaction. I understand your concern; I've had far more than my share of incident solvers today already."
>"In any case, you say it affected her long before Bhava-Agra fell, which suggests that it wasn't a single event which caused this. But... that could also suggest that whatever is causing this might be continuing to cause it to other things, which is a... disturbing conclusion to draw."
>"In any case, I was asking Hina if she could examine the islands for curses; it was suggested they might be a possible cause."

>You frown and express your dismay. "We're pretty much in the same boat," Parsee says.
>Utsuho nods. "Yeah, I know what that's like."
>"I don't know how the two would be related," says Parsee, "But they definitely are."
>"Although you don't have any proof," Utsuho says.
>"Sure I do, I have plenty of it," Parsee replies.
>You suggest it may be a curse. "It could be," says Utsuho. "We really don't know what happened."

>_

[DracoOmega]

>"Maybe I should ask Hina if she could look at Nitori instead? I have to admit I find it more troubling that it could affect a person than a chunk of rock, no matter how many people may have been affected by the latter. Especially if there's a chance others could start to be affected."

[Hello Purvis]

>"Maybe I should ask Hina if she could look at Nitori instead? I have to admit I find it more troubling that it could affect a person than a chunk of rock, no matter how many people may have been affected by the latter. Especially if there's a chance others could start to be affected."

>"We were kind of hoping you'd be able to shed some light on the subject," says Utsuho. "But I guess Hina can help. Just...you know..."
>"We don't need this spreading." Parsee says. "Not even a little bit."

>_

[DracoOmega]

>"I understand what you mean, of course. I can ask her to be as discrete as possible, but I'm not sure it's in Nitori's best interests either to tell no one at all. Particularly if they may be able to help somehow."

[Hello Purvis]

>"I understand what you mean, of course. I can ask her to be as discrete as possible, but I'm not sure it's in Nitori's best interests either to tell no one at all. Particularly if they may be able to help somehow."

>"We know, we know..." says Parsee. "I just saying we didn't even notice this til yesterday, and then all this stuff happens, and the last thing we need is Reimu kicking down the door and throwing those damned needles everywhere."

>_

[DracoOmega]

>"Yesterday I might have said 'surely she won't think you had anything to do with it'. Today... I'm not so sure. I've already been shot at by her and Marisa, and goodness only knows where they are at the moment. I'd just as soon not see them again until we have proof of whatever's responsible for this."
>"Still, I'll respect your wishes, if you really don't want me to mention this to her right now. But if you're willing to try, I promise I'll ask her to be as discrete as possible."

[Hello Purvis]

>"Yesterday I might have said 'surely she won't think you had anything to do with it'. Today... I'm not so sure. I've already been shot at by her and Marisa, and goodness only knows where they are at the moment. I'd just as soon not see them again until we have proof of whatever's responsible for this."
>"Still, I'll respect your wishes, if you really don't want me to mention this to her right now. But if you're willing to try, I promise I'll ask her to be as discrete as possible."

>"Well yeah, I'd shoot at you in their shoes," says Parsee. "You're way too suspicious not to."
>"That aside," Utsuho says, "Just keep it on a need to know basis right now, okay?"

>_

[DracoOmega]

>"Understood. That being said, you're ok with me asking her?"

[Hello Purvis]

>"Understood. That being said, you're ok with me asking her?"

>"No, we absolutely love having to feed Nitori like a baby," says Parsee. "What have we been saying to you?"
>"Calm down, Parsee," says Utsuho, reaching out and patting her on the hand. She looks to you. "Yes, please."

>_

[DracoOmega]

>Frown even deeper
>"She's... that bad?"
>"Did you say she was underground with you now?"

[Hello Purvis]

>Frown even deeper
>"She's... that bad?"
>"Did you say she was underground with you now?"

>You frown more deeply; this is sounding worse and worse.
>"Pretty much," says Utsuho. "It's not that she's knocked out or anything, it's just she doesn't really have the energy to do much of anything."
>"No," says Parsee, "We've been visiting her lately to work on a thing. Few days ago, we go there like usual and she's gone. After awhile, she doesn't come back and we go looking for her. Found her sprawled out on the the hill a few hundred yards away."

>_

[DracoOmega]

>"And you think she'd been there... for days?"
>"Does she remember anything about when it happened? Or does she not really even have the wherewithal to speak about it?"