Iku Quest Sedem: A Z-Machine Adventure

[DracoOmega]

>Without Hakurei Barrier to seal Gensokyo and preserve them, magic, youkai, and the like would probably eventually cease to exist entirely, correct? Just as is currently mostly true in the outside world?

[Hello Purvis]

>Without Hakurei Barrier to seal Gensokyo and preserve them, magic, youkai, and the like would probably eventually cease to exist entirely, correct? Just as is currently mostly true in the outside world?

>Very much so.

>_

[DracoOmega]

>"Whether you agree there is a difference or not, you cannot deny that countless beings would never have existed if people did not expose themselves to each other. Nor would the creations of those people exist. That book of yours could never have existed. You could never have gained its knowledge."
>"Gensokyo itself could not exist. It took people working together to erect the Hakurei Border and preserve this land. It could never have been done without sharing of knowledge and skill. And without the barrier, fairies, youkai, magic, and all the things that make this place what it is would cease. There would be no youkai. There would be no poltergeists. You would not exist. The world as you know it would not exist."

[Hello Purvis]

>"Whether you agree there is a difference or not, you cannot deny that countless beings would never have existed if people did not expose themselves to each other. Nor would the creations of those people exist. That book of yours could never have existed. You could never have gained its knowledge."
>"Gensokyo itself could not exist. It took people working together to erect the Hakurei Border and preserve this land. It could never have been done without sharing of knowledge and skill. And without the barrier, fairies, youkai, magic, and all the things that make this place what it is would cease. There would be no youkai. There would be no poltergeists. You would not exist. The world as you know it would not exist."

>"It wouldn't need to exist if people like you didn't exist," she says. "People who seek to expose others. And, in the end, that's what you are."
>She starts to approach you.
>"I don't think there's anything more to be said. It may be that you truly as sincere in what you say about wanting to help, but someone so terribly misguided cannot possibly help me."

>_

[Suwako Moriya]

So if everything is doomed to dust, what of the necessary exposure when it comes time to for a soul to be judged?

[Suwako Moriya]

> Start backing away.
> Begin charging.
> "And what of the Yama, then, if we are all doomed to return to dust?"

[Hello Purvis]

> Start backing away.
> Begin charging.
> "And what of the Yama, then, if we are all doomed to return to dust?"

>You start to back away, and rebuild a charge.
>"What of the Yama?" she asks, continuing to approach.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Keep on backin', keep on chargin'.
> "Once the body is dead and gone, her job is to expose the soul, is it not?"

[Hello Purvis]

> Keep on backin', keep on chargin'.
> "Once the body is dead and gone, her job is to expose the soul, is it not?"

>You continue to back away, she continues to close in.
>"I suppose I'll find out if I meet her," she says.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Keep on backin'. We remember approximately how we got to the point, right? Try to avoid backing into any trees we remember going by.
> "You don't need to wait that long, I can tell you right now that she does. And given she has interacted with poltergeists before, I would say it's a question of when, not if."

[Hanged Hourai]

Guys, do we want to break out the grey box?
It seems like a wild card, but who knows?

[Hello Purvis]

> Keep on backin'. We remember approximately how we got to the point, right? Try to avoid backing into any trees we remember going by.
> "You don't need to wait that long, I can tell you right now that she does. And given she has interacted with poltergeists before, I would say it's a question of when, not if."

>You do remember how you got here; and the way behind you should be moderately clear. You do have some risk of backing into the stream to your left, or stumbling over a stone.
>"Then I'll deal with her, too," says the poltergeist.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Keep backing and charging unless the poltergeist stops advancing on us.
> "She is impossible to reach without getting a boat ride from her shinigami."

[Hello Purvis]

> Keep backing and charging unless the poltergeist stops advancing on us.
> "She is impossible to reach without getting a boat ride from her shinigami."

>"Then she's not my problem!" says the poltergeist, as she suddenly dives at you!

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Dive to the right!
> "So that's it, then? You have absolutely no needs other than privacy and clothing?"

[Hello Purvis]

> Dive to the right!
> "So that's it, then? You have absolutely no needs other than privacy and clothing?"

>You dive aside! This brings you close to the tree line. You increase the distance between yourself and her, but she moves to close it, drawing her right back back.
>"I want to be left alone, and you won't let me have that!" she cries.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Is she running at us, or our shadow?
> We were facing west, as our shadow was to our front, correct? So we much have dove to the north. If the poltergeist ran due north from her current position, would she cross our shadow?

[Hello Purvis]

> Is she running at us, or our shadow?
> We were facing west, as our shadow was to our front, correct? So we much have dove to the north. If the poltergeist ran due north from her current position, would she cross our shadow?

>You are pretty sure she's going for the latter.
>Yes, you were face west and dove north. She would have to go more northeast to reach your shadow, due north alone would not be enough.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Keep hurrying north.
> Keep charging.
> "And there is really nothing else in existence you need?"
> Are there spaces in the tree line where we can run right up next to a tree and let our shadow fall into it without running smack into another tree?

[Hello Purvis]

> Keep hurrying north.
> Keep charging.
> "And there is really nothing else in existence you need?"
> Are there spaces in the tree line where we can run right up next to a tree and let our shadow fall into it without running smack into another tree?

>You keep backing away, building up a charge and looking for a gap in the tree line. There are many, it is hardly impenetrably dense, but not all of them would suitably cover your shadow.
>"No!" she shouts, diving in your direction.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> So she's actually leaving her feet this time?

[Hello Purvis]

> So she's actually leaving her feet this time?

>Yes.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Quickly jump to the west, take flight, and zip upward and westward as fast as we can for a couple of seconds to get our shadow moving westward quickly!
> While jumping, launch a dense cloud of normal danmaku as cover fire at where our shadow was when we were still on the ground.

[Hello Purvis]

> Quickly jump to the west, take flight, and zip upward and westward as fast as we can for a couple of seconds to get our shadow moving westward quickly!
> While jumping, launch a dense cloud of normal danmaku as cover fire at where our shadow was when we were still on the ground.

>You take to the air and fly westward! As you do, you feel a sharp pain in your hip. Following that, you hear a loud crash splashes, and the poltergeist cry out in mingled anger and surprise as the pain in your hit fades.
>Looking down, you see the land has been torn up, what was once flat ground has become a line of small plateaus and crags. The Poltergeist is sprawled out atop one.
>"Man, I'm glad you guys talk a lot," comes the voice of Tenshi from the south.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Stop flying.
> Keep our eyes on the Poltergeist, but take a happier tone.
> "Tenshi! Where did you come from?"

[Hello Purvis]

> Stop flying.
> Keep our eyes on the Poltergeist, but take a happier tone.
> "Tenshi! Where did you come from?"

>You land a bit to the west of the poltergeist, while she tries to get back to her feet.
>"Maribel's house," says Tenshi. "Never said I was going to stay there. I figured this was going to go bad sooner or later."

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Can we see Tenshi?
> Can we see the Brocken Spectre?
> If we can see Tenshi, grin at her.
> "Well, as peaceful as I'd hoped this would be, I'm very glad you're here! In fact, you've given me an idea."
> If we can see the Brocken Specter, turn to look at her. If she's too high, turn to look upward to the column of earth she's on.
> "Poltergeist! If you hate your searchers for trying to expose you for the sake of their own curiosity, why did you expose all of Bhava-Agra for the sake of your own curiosity?"

[Hello Purvis]

> Can we see Tenshi?
> Can we see the Brocken Spectre?
> If we can see Tenshi, grin at her.
> "Well, as peaceful as I'd hoped this would be, I'm very glad you're here! In fact, you've given me an idea."
> If we can see the Brocken Specter, turn to look at her. If she's too high, turn to look upward to the column of earth she's on.
> "Poltergeist! If you hate your searchers for trying to expose you for the sake of their own curiosity, why did you expose all of Bhava-Agra for the sake of your own curiosity?"

>You can; she is on the south side of the stream, which is now experiencing some flow problems following Tenshi's attack.
>You can see the poltergeist; she is picking herself up and is clearly a it surprised at the terrain reaching up to bite her.  She's about eye level with you.
>"Because it's just a place!" she says, glaring daggers at you, then at Tenshi. Tenshi grins back. "You don't need to know anything else!"

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "But you knew it wasn't just a place! You read about the people that lived there! You knew they were there and exposed them anyway!"

[DracoOmega]

>"But people live there! Hundreds of people. People who could not have been seen or known by those on the surface until you did what you did. You exposed every single one of them."