Sakuya Quest 4 - A Z-Machine Adventure

[Kilgamayan]

> A black gown and steepled hat...could this be Marisa's body, having aged as humans do...?

[Hello Purvis]

> A black gown and steepled hat...could this be Marisa's body, having aged as humans do...?

>It's certainly plausible.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "Ah...I see..."

[Hello Purvis]

> "Ah...I see..."

>You speak out loud to no one in particular.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Inspect each of the three coffins up close.

[Hello Purvis]

> Inspect each of the three coffins up close.

>You inspect Patchouli's coffin, as it is closest. The cold feels moreso near it. Looking closely, you see the coffin is made of several layers of glass, there seems to be a trick to opening them.
>You see motion out of the corner of your eye.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Jerk our head in that direction quickly!

[Hello Purvis]

> Jerk our head in that direction quickly!

>You look over as Alice shifts, then raises her hands.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Raise an eyebrow, but otherwise take on a calm and neutral expression.
> "Alice?"

[Hello Purvis]

> Raise an eyebrow, but otherwise take on a calm and neutral expression.
> "Alice?"

>She does not respond, but her eyes open as she manipulates the glass inside the coffin, sliding something downward, then reaching higher to slight something else.
>The  middle of the outer layer of her coffin splits open, near where her waste is. The upper half slides upward, while the layers of glass past it slide downward. The room grows noticably colder as they all slide away. Alice sits up, seemingly unperturbed by this, and looks at you. Something about here...bothers you. You can't quite put your finger on what, but something about her appearance just seems wrong and bothersome.
>"You are here," she says, her voice calm. "Has the universe progressed to the next cycle?" She frowns a little, looking downward. Before you can answer, she says, "No, that would be silly. But you are here. This is an anomaly."

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "It has been several hundred years, Alice. At least five, I understand."
> Frown.
> "Something seems strange. Are you all right?"

[Hello Purvis]

> "It has been several hundred years, Alice. At least five, I understand."
> Frown.
> "Something seems strange. Are you all right?"

>She slides her legs out from under the lower half of her glass coffin, and turns to sit on the edge of the coffin before standing.
>"It has been nine hundred and eighty-seven years," says Alice, "and approximately fifty-five to eighty-nine days. I am fine, thank you for asking."

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Blink.
> "That is impressively precise."

[Hello Purvis]

> Blink.
> "That is impressively precise."

>"It pleased me to spend time ordering events while resting my mind from weightier problems," Alice says as she closes the glass coffin. The outer layer closes with a soft click, and you can see the inner layers sliding back into place.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "I see. I suppose I should just come out and say it, then. Something is off about you, Alice."

[Hello Purvis]

> "I see. I suppose I should just come out and say it, then. Something is off about you, Alice."

>"You have been absent for nearly a millennium," says Alice, looking up at you as she finishes fiddling with the coffin. "I anticipate a great many things seem off to you."

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "Well, perhaps we can start with why you appear to be more or less the same as you were back then, when Lady Patchouli has demonstrated rather clearly that the magician lifespan is not too terribly long. Ah, I do not mean to sound accusatory, I am merely curious."

[Hello Purvis]

> "Well, perhaps we can start with why you appear to be more or less the same as you were back then, when Lady Patchouli has demonstrated rather clearly that the magician lifespan is not too terribly long. Ah, I do not mean to sound accusatory, I am merely curious."

>"Because I prepared," says Alice. "Let us continue in the front room, before your goosebumps develop goosebumps."

>_

[Monarda]

>Nod.
>"A sound idea."
>Follow !

[Hello Purvis]

>Nod.
>"A sound idea."
>Follow !

>She leads you back to the front room. Following her, she doesn't bother you quite so much, but when she makes her way over to a chair and sits down, gesturing toward another for you, you can't help but feel something is wrong again.
>She looks over toward the corridor. "Ah, you left my guardian intact. Excellent. I was not looking forward to rebuilding it."

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "It has apparently done a fantastic job off keeping out a scout from a potentially-hostile force. I must admit I would have been in serious trouble were I not able to slip around it using my unique talents."
> "So what is it you have done with yourself, anyway?"

[Hello Purvis]

> "It has apparently done a fantastic job off keeping out a scout from a potentially-hostile force. I must admit I would have been in serious trouble were I not able to slip around it using my unique talents."
> "So what is it you have done with yourself, anyway?"

>"I discarded my original body for a better one," says Alice.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "...Huh. ...Does that count as dying or not dying?"

[Hello Purvis]

> "...Huh. ...Does that count as dying or not dying?"

>"It's close enough to the latter as far as I am concerned," says Alice.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "I suppose that means that Reisen has passed on, then."

[Hello Purvis]

> "I suppose that means that Reisen has passed on, then."

>"I cannot say one way or the other," says Alice. "Reisen has little to do with my work."

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "Right, of course. What precisely are you doing down here, anyway?"

[Hello Purvis]

> "Right, of course. What precisely are you doing down here, anyway?"

>Improving on my design," says Alice. "It is not quite perfect yet."

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "And, if I may ask a personal question about your work, what purpose do Lady Patchouli and the body whom I am guessing is Marisa serve toward this?"

[Hello Purvis]

> "And, if I may ask a personal question about your work, what purpose do Lady Patchouli and the body whom I am guessing is Marisa serve toward this?"

>"They are why I need to perfect it, of course," says Alice. "This body is passable, but not yet perfect. It isn't suited for them yet."

>_