Sakuya Quest 4 - A Z-Machine Adventure

[Hello Purvis]

> "Indeed. Unfortunately, if the Lunarians are hiding there, the list of people who know the way and are accessible to outsiders is exceedingly short."

>"That would be the status quo," says Alice. "Is that what you were asking of the rabbit?"

>_

[Suwako Moriya]

> Nod.
> "It was my hope that Eientei's fall was relatively recent."

[Hello Purvis]

> Nod.
> "It was my hope that Eientei's fall was relatively recent."

>"I couldn't tell you when," says Alice. "They've been withdrawn for...some time. Since the establishment of Enkyo, at least. I imagined the world just left them behind, so to speak."

>_

[Suwako Moriya]

> "I wonder how close to that Reisen's passing was."

[Hello Purvis]

> "I wonder how close to that Reisen's passing was."

>Alice frowns for a second. "I don't know, actually."

>_

[Serela]

>"And Mokou is gone, as well. I wonder who else would know the bamboo forest... if not the rabbits, a youkai, perhaps?"
>Can we think of anyone like that?
>Peek at the pearl.

[Hello Purvis]

>"And Mokou is gone, as well. I wonder who else would know the bamboo forest... if not the rabbits, a youkai, perhaps?"
>Can we think of anyone like that?
>Peek at the pearl.

>"Perhaps someone who resides in the forest?" says Alice.
>You know that Reimu was able to find her way there, but you have no idea if she could actually retrace her steps, or if she would be interested in it at all.
>Glancing at the pearl, it has taken on a green tinge.

>_

[Serela]

>"Ah! Time has done the trick, after all. The pearl has changed color. That leaves only the millenia-old item from my era to locate... perhaps Reimu will know something, or have a tip about Eientei. If there's anywhere to find an old item, it'd be Eientei, after all. Ruin or not. Well then, I believe that concludes our business here... next stop is the Hakurei Shrine, yes?"

[Hello Purvis]

>"Ah! Time has done the trick, after all. The pearl has changed color. That leaves only the millenia-old item from my era to locate... perhaps Reimu will know something, or have a tip about Eientei. If there's anywhere to find an old item, it'd be Eientei, after all. Ruin or not. Well then, I believe that concludes our business here... next stop is the Hakurei Shrine, yes?"

>"If you choose," says Alice. "I am merely here to assist."

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Before we leave, how deep is the tinge?

[Hello Purvis]

> Before we leave, how deep is the tinge?

>It is noticeably green.

>_

[Suwako Moriya]

> "Very well. Let us head that way. And, ah, please correct my flight path if I make any mistakes."
> Crest the canopy again and head in whatever direction we remember the Hakurei Shrine being relative to our home.

[Hello Purvis]

> "Very well. Let us head that way. And, ah, please correct my flight path if I make any mistakes."
> Crest the canopy again and head in whatever direction we remember the Hakurei Shrine being relative to our home.

>"Very well," says Alice.
>You take to the air, and make your way toward the Hakurei Shrine. More than anything, it is the distance that throws you off. Alice offers a slight correction now and again, and after second-guessing the distance a couple times, you see the edge of the Forest of Magic, and the farmlands leading up to Old Hometown. From there, it is relatively easy to find the forest where the Hakurei Shrine lays, and easy enough to find the shrine itself.

>_

[Suwako Moriya]

> Juza is still out cold, yes?
> Head to the Shrine.

[Hello Purvis]

> Juza is still out cold, yes?
> Head to the Shrine.

>Yes.
>You make your way to the shrine. Descending down, you see Kaori seems to be trimming the lawn with a long-handled tool. Several people are gathered the the shrine, talking amongst themselves and offering prayers; you note Minoriko is among them.

>_

[Suwako Moriya]

> Make our way to Kaori, she's less crowded and less busy and we don't want to cause undue stress on the general populace.

[Hello Purvis]

> Make our way to Kaori, she's less crowded and less busy and we don't want to cause undue stress on the general populace.

>You do so. You do note a couple people in the crowd watching you.
>The tall priestess looks over as you approach, and frowns. "Who're you carrying?" she says.

>_

[Suwako Moriya]

> Frown ourselves.
> "It would be best to speak about this inside, away from the crowd. With Reimu, if possible, as well as you."

[Hello Purvis]

> Frown ourselves.
> "It would be best to speak about this inside, away from the crowd. With Reimu, if possible, as well as you."

>Kaori makes an annoyed noise, one you would normally associate with Reimu, and motions for you to follow her.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Follow!

[Hello Purvis]

> Follow!

>You follow Kaori around the back of the shrine, and into what seems to be a storeroom full of lawn tools, spare furniture, and holiday decorations. She gestures toward a rolled up futon and says, "Lay that on top of the banner crates and you can rest what's her name on it. I'll be back with Lady Reimu in a moment."

>_

[Suwako Moriya]

> Nod.
> "Thank you."
> Take the futon and unroll it where instructed, then look to Alice.
> "I suppose I should have outright asked if you wanted to see Reimu again or not."

[Hello Purvis]

> Nod.
> "Thank you."
> Take the futon and unroll it where instructed, then look to Alice.
> "I suppose I should have outright asked if you wanted to see Reimu again or not."

>"I have no especial reason to avoid her," says Alice, as you set out the futon.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "Does that mean you're okay with her having a general idea of where you might be? I would like to respect your need for privacy, but Juza here was looking for Lady Patchouli's work, and I, of all people, showed up here having knocked her out with that as her motive, and you just happen to have suddenly reappeared with me. It won't be hard to put two and two together."

[Hello Purvis]

> "Does that mean you're okay with her having a general idea of where you might be? I would like to respect your need for privacy, but Juza here was looking for Lady Patchouli's work, and I, of all people, showed up here having knocked her out with that as her motive, and you just happen to have suddenly reappeared with me. It won't be hard to put two and two together."

>"Let's just not mention how or when we met, then," says Alice.

>_

[Suwako Moriya]

> "Of course."

[Hello Purvis]

> "Of course."

>Alice nods and lays the unconscious woman on the futon as directed.
>A few moments later, Kaori reappears, ducking under the top of the door frame. Reimu follows her in, and immediately looks toward Alice. "Huh, so you are still around."
>"I am," says Alice, "I've been busy."
>"Yeah, I bet," says Reimu. Then she looks to you and Juza. "So, what happened?"

>_

[Suwako Moriya]

> Gesture toward Juza.
> "This is Juza Takusan, scout of one Mikoto Teru. I found her camp near the old grounds of my home, and after defending myself properly, learned she was here on a mission to retrieve whatever of Lady Patchouli's works she could find."

[Hello Purvis]

> Gesture toward Juza.
> "This is Juza Takusan, scout of one Mikoto Teru. I found her camp near the old grounds of my home, and after defending myself properly, learned she was here on a mission to retrieve whatever of Lady Patchouli's works she could find."

>"Huh," says Reimu. She glances toward Kaori and grins. "Looks like you have more competition than Sachiko, eh?'
>"Maybe," says Kaori, frowning a bit.
>"So what're you two lugging her around for?" says Reimu.

>_

[Suwako Moriya]

> "I thought it best to get her away from her camp, and since you had first mentioned concern over the Warlord, this place seemed the most logical place to bring her to determine what to do with her long-term, if anything. Her plans before passing out were to return home and report her failure, but allowing that didn't seem too prudent."