Okuu Quest Subsequently - A Z-Machine Adventure

[DracoOmega]

>"You know, it bothers me that mugging her is the first thing that came to my mind when I said that, too. What in the world has happened to me in the past two days to be seriously considering that? I don't want to hurt anyone. Although I'm pretty sure what we're planning is still plenty criminal, no matter how you slice it. Argh..."

>"And, yeah... I hate to say it, but you're kinda right. She can sense some things that we can't, but that hasn't been too useful any of the times it happened, yet. I'm still hoping that she'll eventually stumble into something big and important that we wouldn't have found without her. She... well, I think she kind of apologized for that earlier today, actually, when we were talking with the people in the park. Remember, she wants to solve this mystery just like I do. But that doesn't mean she has any more of a clue about what it is than me."

>"I suppose I could ask her, though..."
>Ask Stargazer if she has any abilities that we don't know about. If she doesn't seem to understand, try to communicate the idea that we mean things she can do which she hasn't seen any of us do before. Other than the appearing / disappearing thing

[Hello Purvis]

>"You know, it bothers me that mugging her is the first thing that came to my mind when I said that, too. What in the world has happened to me in the past two days to be seriously considering that? I don't want to hurt anyone. Although I'm pretty sure what we're planning is still plenty criminal, no matter how you slice it. Argh..."

>"And, yeah... I hate to say it, but you're kinda right. She can sense some things that we can't, but that hasn't been too useful any of the times it happened, yet. I'm still hoping that she'll eventually stumble into something big and important that we wouldn't have found without her. She... well, I think she kind of apologized for that earlier today, actually, when we were talking with the people in the park. Remember, she wants to solve this mystery just like I do. But that doesn't mean she has any more of a clue about what it is than me."

>"I suppose I could ask her, though..."
>Ask Stargazer if she has any abilities that we don't know about. If she doesn't seem to understand, try to communicate the idea that we mean things she can do which she hasn't seen any of us do before. Other than the appearing / disappearing thing

>Parsee nods. "Well, it's either that or break into her house while she's asleep."
>You successfully confuse Stargazer yet again. When you try to elaborate, she doesn't seem to think she can do anything else that that you can't. She's not sure why you're asking.

>_

[DracoOmega]

>Ask Stargazer if she can interact with physical objects in any way. Is she capable of moving anything in any fashion?
>Ask her if her movement is limited by our location. Basically is she 'stuck' to us, or can she venture some distance away, if there was a reason to?

[Hello Purvis]

>Ask Stargazer if she can interact with physical objects in any way. Is she capable of moving anything in any fashion?
>Ask her if her movement is limited by our location. Basically is she 'stuck' to us, or can she venture some distance away, if there was a reason to?

>She can, but its a little difficult.
>She doesn't think she can get very far from you. Not more than a few yards. Maybe more.

>_

[DracoOmega]

>Ask her if this means it would be possible for go through a door, and pass something small out from underneath it? Try to frame this in very simple terms that she might be able to understand.
>Similarly, could she pass through a locked door and undo a bolt or other simple thing like that from the other side?

[Hello Purvis]

>Ask her if this means it would be possible for go through a door, and pass something small out from underneath it? Try to frame this in very simple terms that she might be able to understand.
>Similarly, could she pass through a locked door and undo a bolt or other simple thing like that from the other side?

>She doesn't understand the specific things you're asking in your first question, but she thinks she could do this.
>She doesn't understand what you mean by locks, bolts, and so on.

>_

[DracoOmega]

(Well, I know she wouldn't understand that. I meant to describe it in terms she would. I guess I'll be more explicit next time ^^;)

>"Ok, Parsee, I'm going to see if I can test something, here."

>Assuming Parsee's bathroom door locks, go there, show Stargazer how it turns to lock/unlock it.
>Then ask Parsee to go in and lock the door behind her while we remain outside
>Ask Stargazer to move through the door, and move the lock like we demonstrated
>Tell her that we're testing this since she may need to do this later, in order to help us get into places we couldn't otherwise. Place we need to go to search for the wrongness.

[Hello Purvis]

(Well, I know she wouldn't understand that. I meant to describe it in terms she would. I guess I'll be more explicit next time ^^;)

>"Ok, Parsee, I'm going to see if I can test something, here."

>Assuming Parsee's bathroom door locks, go there, show Stargazer how it turns to lock/unlock it.
>Then ask Parsee to go in and lock the door behind her while we remain outside
>Ask Stargazer to move through the door, and move the lock like we demonstrated
>Tell her that we're testing this since she may need to do this later, in order to help us get into places we couldn't otherwise. Place we need to go to search for the wrongness.

>You demonstrate how locks work to Stargazer, then ask her to pass through and unlock it.
>She would rather not. She doesn't want to appear in front of a stranger.

>_

[DracoOmega]

>"Oh, so you need to be visible to move things?"
>"Would this be possible if there was no one on the other side?"

[Hello Purvis]

>"Oh, so you need to be visible to move things?"
>"Would this be possible if there was no one on the other side?"

>She does. It takes a lot of concentration.
>She thinks so.

>_

[DracoOmega]

>To Parsee: "Well, that might be able to get us into Okazaki's place, anyway. Of course, more mundane means probably could have worked just as well, in that case. I suppose it doesn't matter if she won't do it while there's someone to see her on the other side, since we wouldn't want to be walking in if there WAS someone on the other side."

[Hello Purvis]

>To Parsee: "Well, that might be able to get us into Okazaki's place, anyway. Of course, more mundane means probably could have worked just as well, in that case. I suppose it doesn't matter if she won't do it while there's someone to see her on the other side, since we wouldn't want to be walking in if there WAS someone on the other side."

>"Yeah, that sounds nice," says Parsee, "But I wouldn't take her word for it until we see it. And can I stop being locked in the bathroom now?"

[DracoOmega]

>"Haha, oh yes, sorry, you can come out."
>"Actually can you lock that door without actually locking yourself in in the process? Like, lock it and then close it from the outside?"
>If this is possible, try to get Stargazer to do it this time, with nobody on the inside to see her

[Hello Purvis]

>"Haha, oh yes, sorry, you can come out."
>"Actually can you lock that door without actually locking yourself in in the process? Like, lock it and then close it from the outside?"
>If this is possible, try to get Stargazer to do it this time, with nobody on the inside to see her

>"Yeah, I can," says Parsee as she steps out. "but she better be able to make good on that, or we're gonna have to yank the knob out."
>Stargazer agrees this time. She steps through the door, and you hear the lock click, and the door open. With it comes a significant wave of surprise from Stargazer. She feels that was much easier that it should have been.

>_

[DracoOmega]

>"Easier than it should have been? How? It's usually harder than that?"
>"Do you have any idea why that could be?"

[Hello Purvis]

>"Easier than it should have been? How? It's usually harder than that?"
>"Do you have any idea why that could be?"

>She feels it should have been heavier. And she has no idea why it isn't.

>_

[Kasu]

> "At least now we have a better idea of what Stargazer is capable of."

[Hello Purvis]

> "At least now we have a better idea of what Stargazer is capable of."

>"Yeah," says Parsee, "We could do a lot with that!"
>She frowns. "Um...you think she's capable of strangling us in our sleep?"

>_

[DracoOmega]

>"Um, well, I suppose it's possible... but you know she's not hostile. As long as you're not worried that I"LL strangle you, I don't think you need to worry about her. So far, she actually seems considerably LESS dangerous than any random person."
>"I wonder if there's anything else she can do that I haven't thought of... I don't know what's 'normal' for a ghost's abilities, and Stargazer seems to have no concept of what is or isn't normal to be able to do. I wonder if it's even occurred to her yet that WE can't walk through walls or turn invisible..."

[Hello Purvis]

>"Um, well, I suppose it's possible... but you know she's not hostile. As long as you're not worried that I"LL strangle you, I don't think you need to worry about her. So far, she actually seems considerably LESS dangerous than any random person."
>"I wonder if there's anything else she can do that I haven't thought of... I don't know what's 'normal' for a ghost's abilities, and Stargazer seems to have no concept of what is or isn't normal to be able to do. I wonder if it's even occurred to her yet that WE can't walk through walls or turn invisible..."

>"Sorry," says Parsee, looking away. "You just wonder about these kinds of things. I mean, if she doesn't like me enough to even want to be seen by me, like you said, it's hard not to be a bit suspicious about the other things she might do because she doesn't like me..."
>"Maybe you should ask her? Sounds like you need to have some long talks with her anyways."

>_

[DracoOmega]

>"I don't think it's that she doesn't LIKE you, as such. She's just incredibly shy, and doesn't feel comfortable being seen by you. Although, now that I think about it, I can imagine it must be creepier for you, not being able to feel her like I can. I can't imagine she'd hurt you. I have a hard time imagining she'd hurt anyone, actually."

>"Well, I did try earlier, but it's pretty hard to get her to understand some stuff. I suppose I can try to think of another way to put it."

>Ask Stargazer if she understands that we, being human, are not capable of passing through objects, or making ourselves invisible?
>Ask Stargazer if she is capable of interacting with the material world in any way besides moving things. Can she alter things? Can she protect things? Can she make other things invisible?

>Ask Stargazer if she's met any other spirits somewhat like herself. Or even other spirits fairly different from herself?

[Hello Purvis]

>"I don't think it's that she doesn't LIKE you, as such. She's just incredibly shy, and doesn't feel comfortable being seen by you. Although, now that I think about it, I can imagine it must be creepier for you, not being able to feel her like I can. I can't imagine she'd hurt you. I have a hard time imagining she'd hurt anyone, actually."

>"Well, I did try earlier, but it's pretty hard to get her to understand some stuff. I suppose I can try to think of another way to put it."

>Ask Stargazer if she understands that we, being human, are not capable of passing through objects, or making ourselves invisible?
>Ask Stargazer if she is capable of interacting with the material world in any way besides moving things. Can she alter things? Can she protect things? Can she make other things invisible?

>Ask Stargazer if she's met any other spirits somewhat like herself. Or even other spirits fairly different from herself?

>"Yeah, admittedly, until she unlocked the bathroom door, I was kind of taking it on faith that she was doing anything at all. Not that I didn't believe you, just it was an act of faith. But okay, if you say she isn't going to do anything, I guess that's how it is. Hey, I'm gonna order some Chinese takeout, you want anything?"
>You ask Stargazer if she understands you limits as humans. She seems to. She understands that you can't remove yourselves from sight or move through objects like she can. And that you can make noises and communicate in really complex ways she can't really understand.
>She isn't sure now. She's pretty sure she can affect things more or less like you do, although things like the laptop or the cell phone you were using make her feel a little funny, so she's tried to keep away from them. She isn't sure what you mean by protect things, but she could probably try to stop someone from attacking you. He can't make other things invisible, or at least doesn't know how.
>She doesn't know of any other kind of spirit, but you say there's another one with you and she doesn't feel you're making it up.

>_

[DracoOmega]

>"Actually, Chinese sounds great. I haven't had that in ages. Not feeling terribly picky about what, though. If there's any sort of meal combo with egg rolls and sweet and sour pork, just order one for me."

>"And that be as much as I can think of to ask Stargazer to do at the moment. Maybe something will come to me later."
>"I'm actually kind of surprised that Stargazer has never met any other spirit of any kind, ever. I mean, WE know that they exist in some fashion or another. Must be lonely being the only one of your kind that you've ever known in your whole lifetime..."

>"Actually, Stargazer, now that I think of it, do you have any idea how old you are?"

[Hello Purvis]

>"Actually, Chinese sounds great. I haven't had that in ages. Not feeling terribly picky about what, though. If there's any sort of meal combo with egg rolls and sweet and sour pork, just order one for me."

>"And that be as much as I can think of to ask Stargazer to do at the moment. Maybe something will come to me later."
>"I'm actually kind of surprised that Stargazer has never met any other spirit of any kind, ever. I mean, WE know that they exist in some fashion or another. Must be lonely being the only one of your kind that you've ever known in your whole lifetime..."

>"Actually, Stargazer, now that I think of it, do you have any idea how old you are?"

>"Sure thing," says Parsee, as she fishes a chinese menu out from amidst the mess of her apartment, and gets her cell phone. "And I'm sure you'll think of some things."
>While Parsee makes the call, you ask Stargazer about her age. The concept is one she never really considered before, especially given she seems to have only a vague understanding of counting. She has to consider it a little bit. She doesn't remember how long ago she came to be, she seems to have problems remembering back too far. She feels she's been around more summers than she has digits to display, including her toes, but she doesn't have many memories of being active until the last few cycles of the moon.

>_

[DracoOmega]

>"Being active? Do you mean that you were asleep for most of that time?"
>"Is the reason that you were more active these last few moons of your own choice? Or was it just a result of the world becoming 'wrong', somehow?"
>"I talked to someone whose mother seemed to have seen you in the forest, once. That would probably be many years ago, now."

[Hello Purvis]

>"Being active? Do you mean that you were asleep for most of that time?"
>"Is the reason that you were more active these last few moons of your own choice? Or was it just a result of the world becoming 'wrong', somehow?"
>"I talked to someone whose mother seemed to have seen you in the forest, once. That would probably be many years ago, now."

>It is like how she was when you asked her to hide. She doesn't remember much of these times, just some distant fragments of dreams. It wasn't quite so strong as when she was within you; she thinks you have a stronger will than a tree, so it forces her down further.
>She thinks it's her own choice. She isn't sure if her realization awoke her or not.
>She doesn't remember that far back very well. She might have been seen and not known it.

>_

[DracoOmega]

>"You know, it occurs to me that even if we can arrange plausible circumstances to enter the facility, pretty much whatever gear Ace would want to bring into the place would be caught by the metal detector, wouldn't it? I don't know if SHE has a way around that one. Well, we might need to deal with the guards more directly than talking our was past them, anyway.... Oh, hell, this is way over our heads, isn't it?"

>"You know what? My brain's tired. I feel like I've been making it do push-ups for half the day. I'm just going to flop on the couch and wait for food. We don't need to solve this tonight. I'm not even sure we CAN."

[Hello Purvis]

>"You know, it occurs to me that even if we can arrange plausible circumstances to enter the facility, pretty much whatever gear Ace would want to bring into the place would be caught by the metal detector, wouldn't it? I don't know if SHE has a way around that one. Well, we might need to deal with the guards more directly than talking our was past them, anyway.... Oh, hell, this is way over our heads, isn't it?"

>"You know what? My brain's tired. I feel like I've been making it do push-ups for half the day. I'm just going to flop on the couch and wait for food. We don't need to solve this tonight. I'm not even sure we CAN."

>"I suppose we could turn them off," says Parsee in between making the order, "Or sneak around them, or something. I dunno..."
>Parsee finishes the call and heads toward the kitchen as you flop down on the fold out bed and wait. As you do, lettig your mind clear, you can seen Stargazer roving about invisibly, wondering some of the knick-knacks in Parsee's apartment. You also notice the lamp you bought earlier today, resting on an end table.
>Parsee approaches from the side, and wordlessly offers you a glass of water.

>_

[DracoOmega]

>You mean, we can see where in the room she is, despite her being invisible?

>"Thanks"
>Take the water, and have a drink

[Hello Purvis]

>You mean, we can see where in the room she is, despite her being invisible?

>"Thanks"
>Take the water, and have a drink

>No, but you can feel it pretty precisely. The closest thing you can liken it to is following a card in a card-switching game. Even though you can't see it, you know which one it is if you follow it correctly. You can't see her, but you feel where she is.
>"No problem," she says as you take a drink, finding yourself more parched than you suspected. She has a seat at the foot of the fold out bed, near your feet, looking out the window.

>_