Maribel Quest - A Z-Machine Adventure

[Serela]

>"The boundaries here are... strange. Is that because of all the spirits?"

[E-Nazrin]

>"Whoa..."
>"What are they, more specifically? Lost souls? How does Orin collect them, and what does she do with them?"

[Hello Purvis]

>"The boundaries here are... strange. Is that because of all the spirits?"

>"Are they?" says Satori. "It may be the spirits."

>"Whoa..."
>"What are they, more specifically? Lost souls? How does Orin collect them, and what does she do with them?"

>"They are what happen when a youkai steals away the body of the deceased before they face judgment. As youkai who do those kind of things tend toward the more unpleasant sorts of people, the name stuck. As for Orin, she collects corpses, and puts the spirits to work tending to Blazing Hell. The ones here, though, are remnants of the time before this city was ceded to the oni, and was a part of Hell as well."

>_

[E-Nazrin]

>"We're in Hell?!"

[Serela]

>OH MY GOD WE'RE DEAD AND WE'VE BEEN BANISHED TO HELL

[MysTeariousYukari]

> "Hell... Please tell me you are kidding... your not kidding are you?"
>"That is quite a surprise. I always thought of Hell as full of suffering, evil, mayhem cruelty and such. Not city filled with Oni who are willing to leave others alone, and a kind mind reader with lot's of pets living in a rather beautiful home.

[Hello Purvis]

>"We're in Hell?!"

>"Former Hell," says Satori. "Don't panic. You're not in any more danger than you were before. But, don't bother the evil spirits if you can help it. They're ornery."

> "Hell... Please tell me you are kidding... your not kidding are you?"
>"That is quite a surprise. I always thought of Hell as full of suffering, evil, mayhem cruelty and such. Not city filled with Oni who are willing to leave others alone, and a kind mind reader with lot's of pets living in a rather beautiful home.

>"I'm not kidding." says Satori.
>"What's left of Blazing Hell was like that. But they don't use it anymore. And the oni are only leaving you alone because I'm here."

>_

>_

[E-Nazrin]

>Swallow hard.
>"I... I see. Uh... do I want to know why Orin... collects corpses? Or what the... spirits do in Blazing Hell?"

[Hello Purvis]

>Swallow hard.
>"I... I see. Uh... do I want to know why Orin... collects corpses? Or what the... spirits do in Blazing Hell?"

>"Don't worry, you're fine," says Satori. "But it is good to be cautious."
>"She does it for fun, really. As to what they do, I think they keep the fires stoked. Really, though, she's not been so passionate about it in the last couple years."

>_

[E-Nazrin]

>"... for fun?... Er, what sort of corpses does she collect...?"
>please don't be human please don't be human

[Hello Purvis]

>"... for fun?... Er, what sort of corpses does she collect...?"
>please don't be human please don't be human

>"Whatever she can find, I imagine," says Satori.
>The Evil Spirits are starting to gather overhead.

>_

[E-Nazrin]

>"Alright then. Um... maybe we should go. The spirits are moving a little..."
>"Why do they have this place, though?"

[Hello Purvis]

>"Alright then. Um... maybe we should go. The spirits are moving a little..."
>"Why do they have this place, though?"

>"Yes, lets," says Satori. She starts heading back north.
>"The oni let them live here so they won't be a nuisance elsewhere."

[E-Nazrin]

>follow and nod
>"That sounds fair."
>"What are, um, oni usually like, anyway? They sound like they can be a little dangerous from what you've said, but I'm not entirely sure how."
>First guess: Muscles of Huge.

[Hello Purvis]

>follow and nod
>"That sounds fair."
>"What are, um, oni usually like, anyway? They sound like they can be a little dangerous from what you've said, but I'm not entirely sure how."
>First guess: Muscles of Huge.

>You follow her back toward the intersection.
>"They aren't bad people," says Satori. "They're very forthright and honest. It's just, they're a little raucous as well. But, if you can-" Satori looks back. "Excuse me?"

>_

[E-Nazrin]

>Is she looking at us, or beyond us?
>If at: "Er, was it the muscles thing? I noticed that and it seemed like an okay first guess about how oni can be dangerous..."
>If beyond: She must have mind-read something behind us! Step forward and turn to see!

[Hello Purvis]

>Is she looking at us, or beyond us?
>If at: "Er, was it the muscles thing? I noticed that and it seemed like an okay first guess about how oni can be dangerous..."
>If beyond: She must have mind-read something behind us! Step forward and turn to see!

>She is looking beyond and kind of behind.
>You step forward, and turn to see a large black-haired oni running toward you!

>_

[Prody]

>Panic

[Hello Purvis]

>Panic

>You panic! You even add in a lovely screech for effect!
>The oni doesn't seem impressed! Or maybe she is, and she's just too busy reaching out to grab you by the waist to notice.

>_

[DracoOmega]

>Dash and try to put Satori between yourself and the Oni before it can reach out and grab you

[Hello Purvis]

>Dash and try to put Satori between yourself and the Oni before it can reach out and grab you

>You try to dash aside. But really, this turns more into diving aside as you trip over your own feet and fall to the cobblestone road. Ow...
>Still, you hear the oni pass you by, cursing in the process.

>_

[DracoOmega]

>Scrabble to your feet, or at least knees, and try again to hide behind Satori. She DID say she was the reason the Oni were leaving you alone, right?

[Hello Purvis]

>Scrabble to your feet, or at least knees, and try again to hide behind Satori. She DID say she was the reason the Oni were leaving you alone, right?

>You start getting to your feet.
>The oni skids to a halt nearby. You note she is dressed somewhat in the manner of an import samurai or magistrate, in reds and grays. She grins at you, "Good dodge! Keep it up!"
>She then approaches again, moving quickly, but not at the full out run from before.

>_

[DracoOmega]

>Try to keep moving towards Satori
>Keep on eye on the Oni, and if we can, shift quickly at the moment she gets near us (but before being in arm's reach)
>"Why are you doing this?"

[Hello Purvis]

>Try to keep moving towards Satori
>Keep on eye on the Oni, and if we can, shift quickly at the moment she gets near us (but before being in arm's reach)
>"Why are you doing this?"

>Not being quite on your feet yet, you crawl toward Satori.
>You try to keep an eye on the Oni, and jerk aside as she tries to grab the back of your dress.
>"What? You're the first human I've seen in down here in ages!" says the oni.
>A couple rings of light fly over your head and toward the oni, forcing her to duck and taking her attention from you.

>_

[DracoOmega]

>Try to keep moving where we're going
>But look towards where the rings came from to determine their source

[Hello Purvis]

>Try to keep moving where we're going
>But look towards where the rings came from to determine their source

>You keep crawling toward Satori, who is now floating in midair, and seems to be the source of those rings.
>It takes you a moment to stop staring. She seems a lot more youkai-like now! The sound of something like a knife being pulled from a cover draws your attention, though.

>_

[DracoOmega]

>Does the knife sound seem to be coming from the oni's direction?
>Either way, scrabble to our feet and turn to face the noise
>Be ready to dodge/stumble out of the way, again, on a moment's notice

[Hello Purvis]

>Does the knife sound seem to be coming from the oni's direction?
>Either way, scrabble to our feet and turn to face the noise
>Be ready to dodge/stumble out of the way, again, on a moment's notice

>Yes, yes it does.
>You get back to your feet, and look back to see the oni facing Satori, with a straight-bladed katana in hand, grinning as she ducks around another ring that Satori tossed. "Did you just challenge me on my own turf?" she asks.
>Thankfully, the oni doesn't seem to be paying attention to you.

>_

[DracoOmega]

>Back away to a somewhat safe distance, without getting too far away from Satori that it might be dangerous
>Hope that Satori can hold her own, here

>Inventory