Sword Quest - A Z-Machine Adventure

[Hello Purvis]

> Give the hill a fairly wide berth as we circle around it to the path that will take us to the village.

>You give the hill a wide berth, keeping close to the trees to the south. Looking toward the hill, you do think you see a little motion among the lilies, but it's hard to be sure at a distance; maybe something small, or a person laying down?
>As you skirt along the edge of the woods,, you can heard a curious sound within. ...Is that a horse running around?

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Strange! Horses should not be running willy-nilly around in forests. Investigate.

[Hello Purvis]

> Strange! Horses should not be running willy-nilly around in forests. Investigate.

>You make your way into the woods. The trees are reasonably light, compared to some of the other forests in the region, and the undergrowth is reasonably manageable. You note that a few of the leaves are just beginning to turn, perhaps a little prematurely.  As you make your way in, a small deer hops away in the distance. Dozens of insect trills blend together into a kind of background hum, punctuated by various birdcalls. Continuing toward the sound, it is definitely getting louder; a horse is running around fairly hard, and in a fairly small area.
>After a few minutes, you catch a glimpse of it ahead! A brown horse, dashing between the trees toward the west; someone on its back!

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> How clear is the ground for us to go running?
> How adept are we at dodging between trees during high-speed travel?

> Can we discern any meaningful features of this person?
> "Oy!"

[Hello Purvis]

> How clear is the ground for us to go running?
> How adept are we at dodging between trees during high-speed travel?

> Can we discern any meaningful features of this person?
> "Oy!"

>Reasonably. There's some chance of tripping, but not terribly so if you aren't completely careless.
>Fairly good, you'd like to think. As long as they don't pull any dirty tricks like grouping up so your perspective is weird.
>At a glance, they seem to be wearing something other than a dress, and has long purple hair. But a glance is all you get before the disappear.
>You call out, but the rider has already passed. However, you think you hear a change in the hoofbeats.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Pursue, post-haste!

[Hello Purvis]

> Pursue, post-haste!

>You give chase! Dashing ahead, you dodge neatly around a few trees, and burst into a small clearing. There you can see the rider in the process of turning her horse around. She is dressed in the finery of a samurai, wearing a white hakama with a red and white kamishimo that flares impressively over her shoulders. The ends of her sleeves and pantlegs are slashed with red triangles. Her hair is long and purple, pulled back into a serviceable ponytail. You note a sword at her side. Though she is impressive at a glance, you quickly note old dirt stains in her clothes, too stubborn for basic laundering, and some frayed edges here and there. You stand in a clearing some tens of yards across, the ground mostly bare.
>"Who are you?" says the rider.

>_

[Suwako Moriya]

> Is there any sort of proper greeting or meeting ritual between two swordmasters?

[Hello Purvis]

> Is there any sort of proper greeting or meeting ritual between two swordmasters?

>Not particularly, though it is generally a good idea to be no more belligerent than you feel like backing up.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Bow to the unknown woman.
> "Youmu Konpaku, retainer, gardener, and guardian for Lady Yuyuko Saigyouji of Hakugyokurou. And you are?"

[Hello Purvis]

> Bow to the unknown woman.
> "Youmu Konpaku, retainer, gardener, and guardian for Lady Yuyuko Saigyouji of Hakugyokurou. And you are?"

>She nods her head. "Meira. What brings you here?"

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Gesture to Meira's horse.
> "The curiosity of unknown horse noises coming from the forest. I may not live here, but I've been here enough to know that horses in the forest aren't too common."

[Hello Purvis]

> Gesture to Meira's horse.
> "The curiosity of unknown horse noises coming from the forest. I may not live here, but I've been here enough to know that horses in the forest aren't too common."

>She smirks. "This is a rather recent acquisition, I must admit."

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "Not bad. How has the horse handled so far?"

[Hello Purvis]

> "Not bad. How has the horse handled so far?"

>"Quite well," she says, as she hops off the saddle. "A rather fine animal, I must say."

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> How many Gensokyan sword users do know of?

[Hello Purvis]

> How many Gensokyan sword users do know of?

>There's not too many. Yourself, Miko, Tenshi, some of the tengu, this person... If you expand the score to people who carry arms, you could include Sakuya's knives. Remilia Scarlet has also proven to have an exceptional amount of skill with one, though she typically does not use one. You would not be surprised to find others.

>_

[O4rfish]

>Does Eiki count as a sword user?

[Kilgamayan]

> Did Tenshi and her gang ever come after us like Nue warned?

[Hello Purvis]

>Does Eiki count as a sword user?

>Not quite.

> Did Tenshi and her gang ever come after us like Nue warned?

>They did not, but you imagine she tried and either got bored before finding you or her band mutinied.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Gesture to Meira's sword.
> "Speaking of the uncommon, I haven't seen too many swordmasters outside of maybe the Tengu village. How long have you wielded yours?"

[O4rfish]

>Is Lady Yuyuko considered a civil servant, nobility, or both?

[Hello Purvis]

> Gesture to Meira's sword.
> "Speaking of the uncommon, I haven't seen too many swordmasters outside of maybe the Tengu village. How long have you wielded yours?"

>"Long enough," she says. "It's one of the few birthrights I still have these days."

>Is Lady Yuyuko considered a civil servant, nobility, or both?

>Bit of both. She is essentially the ruler of the netherworld, but she is also a part of the celestial bureaucracy and expected to conform with certain standards. You aren't sure what those standards are or how well she follows them, but she hasn't been replaced yet, so you assume they must be pretty lax.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Give a slight frown.
> "That sounds maybe like why you didn't say where you're from."

[Hello Purvis]

> Give a slight frown.
> "That sounds maybe like why you didn't say where you're from."

>"I'm from right here," she says. "I'm not the sort to pile honorifics onto my name, I'm afraid."

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "Oh, I see."
> "Where are you headed, then?"

[Hello Purvis]

> "Oh, I see."
> "Where are you headed, then?"

>"Nowhere," says Meira. "Just riding for pleasure, and getting used to being back in the saddle. I live just over that way."
>She points a thumb toward the south east, while the horse begins to idly nose around for some grass.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> What's in that direction? Anything notable?

[Hello Purvis]

> What's in that direction? Anything notable?

>As far as you know, more woods. Then eventually the Hakurei Shrine if you are liberal enough with what's in that direction.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "Wow. I didn't think anyone was out there."