Maribel Quest - A Z-Machine Adventure

[Hello Purvis]

>"Thanks."
>Hold out our arms

>You follow orders like a well-trained terrier. Byakuren walks behind you.

> Think 'Is that so?' in our heads while holding arms out.

>Why would you think this? It is incredibly sil-Oh god she just grabbed you under the arms and OH GOD YOU'RE FALLING UPSIDE DOWN!
>The ground zooms away from your feet, Byakuren hugging you tightly against herself. She begins to fly in a wide circle.
>"Just close your eyes," she says, talking softly despite the roar of the wind. "Feel the weight slip away from you. Don't let anything pull you down."

>_

[E-Nazrin]

>take a deep breath, close eyes, relax, become tanasinn

[DracoOmega]

>Close our eyes
>Remember, we're already broken the laws of physics once today. Second time should be even easier. Right?
>Try to visualize ourselves just floating weightless in midair.

[Hello Purvis]

>take a deep breath, close eyes, relax, become tanasinn

>Close our eyes
>Remember, we're already broken the laws of physics once today. Second time should be even easier. Right?
>Try to visualize ourselves just floating weightless in midair.

>You follow her directions. It's not hard to close your eyes. It keeps you from seeing all the real estate below that will reach up to give you a big kiss if Byakuren's grip slips.
>Once you do, it becomes rather easy to forget that you're so high up. It's kind of relaxing, aside from being forcibly snuggled against Byakuren.
>"Now, hold onto that feeling, and will yourself forward," says Byakuren. "And only forward."

>_

[DracoOmega]

>Will yourself forward
>Remember, Byakuren can always catch you, so there's no need to worry...

[Hello Purvis]

>Will yourself forward
>Remember, Byakuren can always catch you, so there's no need to worry...

>You do so, remind yourself you have the big woman to catch you.
>Your velocity changes, moving forward rather that a circle, and suddenly Byakuren is no longer holding you and oh god this is frightening!
>"Keep going forward!" Byakuren shouts, "Don't stop!"

>_

[DracoOmega]

>Keep going. We can do this!

[Hello Purvis]

>Keep going. We can do this!

>You keep going, and...it doesn't feel like you're falling at all. The wind is rushing through your hair, but not from below.
>"There, you have it," says Byakuren, close to you. "Open your eyes!"

>_

[DracoOmega]

>Open eyes
>Remind self not to panic when we see the ground. There's a reason we're still up here, and that's not going to change just because we can see where here is

[Kilgamayan]

> If R. Kelly can do this, so can we!
> Open eyes without concern for orientation.

[Hello Purvis]

>Open eyes
>Remind self not to panic when we see the ground. There's a reason we're still up here, and that's not going to change just because we can see where here is

>You open your eyes, and see a lot of clouds.  No panicking.

> If R. Kelly can do this, so can we!
> Open eyes without concern for orientation.

>This person will be put to shame.
>"Keep looking that way," says Bykauren, "And tell yourself to slow down, a bit at a time. Until you've stopped."

>_

[DracoOmega]

>How fast do we seem to be moving?
>Slow ourself down gently

[Hello Purvis]

>How fast do we seem to be moving?
>Slow ourself down gently

>It's really hard to tell your speed when there's no landmarks to compare to.
>You slow yourself to a stop, managing to do it smoothly.
>"You've got the basics down," says Byakuren. "The trick is just to get over the fear of falling. Once you can accept the weightlessness in your heart, the rest comes naturally. When you're ready, look down. It won't be a problem for you now. You're not moving at all. You won't start for something like that."

>_

[DracoOmega]

>Look down
>Don't panic

[Kilgamayan]

> Deep breath.
> Look down, look down. Don't look 'em in the eye. Look down, look down, we've got to learn to fly.

[E-Nazrin]

>Don't panic

>wonder where you left that copy of the Guide

[Hello Purvis]

>Look down
>Don't panic

> Deep breath.
> Look down, look down. Don't look 'em in the eye. Look down, look down, we've got to learn to fly.

>You take a deep breath, and look down.
>Huh.
>It's kind of like standing on top of a very tall building. Only, without the railing, or the floor beneath. You can see a blue splodge where the ship is, and a hodgepodge of brown shapes not far from it, which must be the village. It's rather pretty. And it doesn't seem to be rushing up toward you.

>wonder where you left that copy of the Guide

>You think you'll miss your Pratchett more.

>_

[DracoOmega]

>"Would it be safe for me to try moving, again? The same way I was doing it before?"

[Hello Purvis]

>"Would it be safe for me to try moving, again? The same way I was doing it before?"

>"You may move any way you like, now," says Byakuren. "Nothing will pull you down unless you let it, and only as long as you let it. When you're ready to land, just approach the ground, and slow down. Don't land too hard, or you'll hurt your legs."

>_

[DracoOmega]

>Try floating around gently
>Then, when that feels comfortable, try moving a little faster
>And then, if we feel comfortable with that, let's see how fast we can go

[E-Nazrin]

>fly around at the same height a little to get more of a feel for it, first.
>"Would flying backwards be safe...?"
>If it comes easily, "... or maybe a loop-the-loop?"

[Hello Purvis]

>Try floating around gently
>Then, when that feels comfortable, try moving a little faster
>And then, if we feel comfortable with that, let's see how fast we can go

>You try to float around gently. This is a little hard, your motions are kind of jerky.
>Moving faster is easier, you can smoothly adjust you speed more easily like this.
>Then you try for your top speed. You...don't really know what it is, but it feels pretty darn speedy! It's also difficult to keep up for long. You start to run out of breath. But oh god, is it fun!

>fly around at the same height a little to get more of a feel for it, first.
>"Would flying backwards be safe...?"
>If it comes easily, "... or maybe a loop-the-loop?"

>"Of course it is," says Byakuren, "But do be careful unless you have eyes in the back of your head."
>You test it out and it comes easily.
>"You can do them, too. But do be careful. It's easy to lose track of yourself doing that. I wouldn't recommend that you try it close to the ground. Oh, and the tighter the loop, the more likely you'll dizzy yourself.

>_

[DracoOmega]

>"This is amazing. Really!"
>Seriously, is this the best day ever, or what?

>"Is there anything else I should be aware of, about this flying thing? Other than the obvious?"

[E-Nazrin]

>What underwear are we wearing? This may be important in light of recent developments.

[Kilgamayan]

> Try to slowly descend a little bit. Not too far, just enough to make sure we have control and don't go dropping like a stone.

[Hello Purvis]

>"This is amazing. Really!"
>Seriously, is this the best day ever, or what?

>"Is there anything else I should be aware of, about this flying thing? Other than the obvious?"

>It really is. You might end up going into a glee coma at this right.
>"Try not to fly too high," she says. "The air gets thin, and won't hold you up anymore. Aside from that, I think you understand the basics well enough."

>What underwear are we wearing? This may be important in light of recent developments.

>Some good white panties...and yeah, you're gonna have to be careful. Thankfully you have a long skirt. Though maybe it's time to consider some petticoats...

> Try to slowly descend a little bit. Not too far, just enough to make sure we have control and don't go dropping like a stone.

>You let yourself descend. It's a little scary at first, and you're very glad you saved it for this far in the course of things, but you think you have it! You're not going to fall any faster than you want to.

>_

[E-Nazrin]

>Before descending, take in a birds-eye view of this new Gensokyo.

[Hello Purvis]

>Before descending, take in a birds-eye view of this new Gensokyo.

>You try to get a good view of things. To the north, you see fields that give way to plains and hills. Northwest to west, you see a lot of rough grasslands. Southwest, the grasslands give way to the forest you came from, which dominates the whole southern vista. To the east, you can see another woods not far from town, and mountains in the distance; you think the entrance to Underground is to the Southeast from here.
>You're aware there's likely a lot of fine detail you're missing.

>_

[DracoOmega]

>Descend and land, heeding Byakuren's caution about taking the last part of the distance slowly, so as not to injure yourself.

[Hello Purvis]

>You land not to far away from the ship-cum-temple. Byakuren lands beside you.
>"Now that you understand how to fly, you should be able to take off without much trouble. You have to remove the idea that you should be on the ground from your mind. It can be a little tricky when you're rooted down, but since you have tasted flight, it shouldn't be hard. If you like, I can make you a focus to help with that, as well."

>_