Murasa Quest Continues 2 - A Z-Machine Adventure

[Kilgamayan]

> Actually, come to think of it...
> As a proper Myouren monk, uh, trainee, how good are we at meditating?

[It's Purvis!]

> Actually, come to think of it...
> As a proper Myouren monk, uh, trainee, how good are we at meditating?

>Reasonably so, you think. Certainly not on the level of the likes of Hijiri, but you can usually do it without falling asleep or cramping up.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Are we capable of anything in particular while meditating?

[It's Purvis!]

> Are we capable of anything in particular while meditating?

>Typically no. But being in this state might well work to your advantage.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Let's give meditation a try, then. Do whatever we normally do mentally, since doing the same physically doesn't seem to be an option at the moment.

[It's Purvis!]

> Let's give meditation a try, then. Do whatever we normally do mentally, since doing the same physically doesn't seem to be an option at the moment.

>You settle down, as much as you can, and clear your mind.
>This comes with surprising ease, when you can't really feel much. There's no sudden itches, no odd cramps or little sorenesses to distract you. It is rather easy to let your mind clear.
>In a way, this helps you focus more sharply. You still don't have a good feel of yourself, but you can feel what is around you is ground. Some of it smooth, some of it rough. You can feel yourself slip into every nook and cranny, but it's hard to focus on any of it. Some of it, you're sure, feels like it was 'built' by 'human hands', though you find it unlikely that anything in this place was fashioned in such a way.
>You also get a better feeling for yourself; somewhat. You feel...intangible. It's not quite right, you are definitely touching things. But you don't feel quite like you're all there.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Can we feel our belongings, such as our dipper and our anchor?
> If we can feel our belongings, can we roughly estimate our relative size from their relative sizes and how much space we can feel we take up? Obviously obtaining a meaningful numerical measurement is impossible, and clearly we have become a large body of water somehow, but there are size difference between, say, a pond and a lake and the unfathomable vastness of the water that has surrounded Japan for ages.
> Can we feel that other entity, either still staining us or as a separate existence (or possibly both)?
> If we can, can we tell if it's still thinking or not? It seemed pretty perturbed by the idea of being sentient.
> Try focusing our meditation on one of the parts of the ground that was 'built' by 'human hands', to see if we can get a more detailed feel for its shape.

[It's Purvis!]

> Can we feel our belongings, such as our dipper and our anchor?
> If we can feel our belongings, can we roughly estimate our relative size from their relative sizes and how much space we can feel we take up? Obviously obtaining a meaningful numerical measurement is impossible, and clearly we have become a large body of water somehow, but there are size difference between, say, a pond and a lake and the unfathomable vastness of the water that has surrounded Japan for ages.
> Can we feel that other entity, either still staining us or as a separate existence (or possibly both)?
> If we can, can we tell if it's still thinking or not? It seemed pretty perturbed by the idea of being sentient.
> Try focusing our meditation on one of the parts of the ground that was 'built' by 'human hands', to see if we can get a more detailed feel for its shape.

>You do not feel your belongings. But judging from the feeling you get elsewhere, you suspect you may be leaning further from pond than closer to the latter.
>You can still feel the stain, you cannot perceive as you did before this, but it is still on you, or perhaps within you is more accurate. You don't feel anything from it; you are pretty sure it is a separate thing from whatever has been invading and overwhelming your thoughts.
>You focus, and you can feel flatness. A wide field of it, filled fluttering things arranged into various sorts of patterns. Curtains, perhaps?

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Curtains, or maybe farm fields? What we've described kinda sounds like a wheat field.
> If the stain is really not the entity that is vast and without form and is rather perturbed to be thinking about even that much let alone everything else, what might the stain be, and where might that entity be?
> Could we consume or absorb the stain, perhaps?

[It's Purvis!]

> Curtains, or maybe farm fields? What we've described kinda sounds like a wheat field.
> If the stain is really not the entity that is vast and without form and is rather perturbed to be thinking about even that much let alone everything else, what might the stain be, and where might that entity be?
> Could we consume or absorb the stain, perhaps?

>You don't think the wavy things are attached to the ground.
>You aren't sure about the stain. But it certainly was giving you a load of sensations and memories that seem to have involved the Human Village. As for this entity...well, it seems to be exactly what you've felt.
>You have no idea.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Can we feel the entity - probably the Formless One Sakuya told us about - anywhere?
> Try swirling the water where the stain is inside us.

[It's Purvis!]

> Can we feel the entity - probably the Formless One Sakuya told us about - anywhere?
> Try swirling the water where the stain is inside us.

>You aren't sure, you think it's-
>You are placid and immobile. You must flow, but something stops you.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Ahh! Get it away, get it away! Focus, focus, focus!

[It's Purvis!]

> Ahh! Get it away, get it away! Focus, focus, focus!

>You do not understand what this is. You should not understand at all. You should flow, nothing more or less.
>...
>You remember now, you're Murasa. You can recall everything. It's...clung to you, you think. Not exactly possession, but something like it?

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Is it clinging in a manner similar to Stargazer did?
> Do we feel anything inside us that feels like one or more humanoids?
> Try swirling ourselves where the stain is, to see if it reacts.
> Try speaking: "What is going on...?"

[Branneg Xy]

>You do not feel your belongings. But judging from the feeling you get elsewhere, you suspect you may be leaning further from pond than closer to the latter.
>You can still feel the stain, you cannot perceive as you did before this, but it is still on you, or perhaps within you is more accurate. You don't feel anything from it; you are pretty sure it is a separate thing from whatever has been invading and overwhelming your thoughts.
>You focus, and you can feel flatness. A wide field of it, filled fluttering things arranged into various sorts of patterns. Curtains, perhaps?

>_

> Is it clinging in a manner similar to Stargazer did?
> Do we feel anything inside us that feels like one or more humanoids?
> Try swirling ourselves where the stain is, to see if it reacts.
> Try speaking: "What is going on...?"

> Keep always present that both Sakuya and Yukari advised us to keep our guard up against this "Formless One",and that it would especially bad for Yukari.

> Are we finding ourselves back within the same Room along the Curtained Hallway ...though.... not alone?

[It's Purvis!]

> Is it clinging in a manner similar to Stargazer did?
> Do we feel anything inside us that feels like one or more humanoids?
> Try swirling ourselves where the stain is, to see if it reacts.
> Try speaking: "What is going on...?"

>You aren't sure, but it doesn't seem that way. Possibly from the sheer vastness of it.
>You don't think so. You do feel...fish in many spots, though. You think they're fish.
>You try to swirl it the stain, and...you're not sure if it did anything.
>You are unable to speak.

> Keep always present that both Sakuya and Yukari advised us to keep our guard up against this "Formless One",and that it would especially bad for Yukari.

> Are we finding ourselves back within the same Room along the Curtained Hallway ...though.... not alone?

>Ah yes, they did say this...
>You think that may be the smooth place that your felt.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Can we hear?
> Assuming the smooth place we felt was the Curtained Hallway, in which room might the stain be in?

[It's Purvis!]

> Can we hear?
> Assuming the smooth place we felt was the Curtained Hallway, in which room might the stain be in?

>You don't know... Is it just quiet, or are you unable to hear?
>You...you aren't sure. Every time you try to feel here or there, it seems different than before.
>...No, you get it now. There were only ever two directions, inward and outwards.Trying to go any other way was the same as standing still. You follow inwards, and can start to feel it, that kind of existential oiliness.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Do we feel affected by the stain in any way other than tactile?

[It's Purvis!]

> Do we feel affected by the stain in any way other than tactile?

>You do not. You suspect it may be a weakness of the entity, which you do not share.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Try again to vortex-swirl the water (ourselves?) where the stain is, now that we've located it.

[Yaersulf]

>See if we can feel a Murasa Minamitsu somewhere within the body of water that we currently are.

[It's Purvis!]

> Try again to vortex-swirl the water (ourselves?) where the stain is, now that we've located it.

>You try to swirl around it, but doesn't feel like much is happening.

>See if we can feel a Murasa Minamitsu somewhere within the body of water that we currently are.

>You...don't think you feel anything like a human shape.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Find a human/fish hybrid shape, assume it's the mermaid in the SDM lake, and ripple the water all along her body to agitate her.
> Move further inwards to be able to inspect the stain more closely. Be ready to move back outwards a bit if we feel The Formless One taking us over again.

[It's Purvis!]

> Find a human/fish hybrid shape, assume it's the mermaid in the SDM lake, and ripple the water all along her body to agitate her.
> Move further inwards to be able to inspect the stain more closely. Be ready to move back outwards a bit if we feel The Formless One taking us over again.

>Do you want Mermaid Rabies? This is how you gt Mermaid Rabies.
>You move to inspect it, as much as you can. You can feel it kind of coating you, but not physically, exactly. Rather, its more like its getting all over your sense of self, the sort of formless you-ness among all this. You can almost sort of imagine it as a like a golden yellow cooking oil mixed in among all this. You are sure it's what was causing you to experience all those vicarious sensations earlier. Now that you think about it, you are probably a lot better equipped to deal with them than the water is.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Can we tell how to interact with it?
> Do we have this entity's memories at all, now that it has stuck to us and taken us over multiple times?
> Do we feel confident in our ability to suppress any further takeover efforts?

[It's Purvis!]

> Can we tell how to interact with it?
> Do we have this entity's memories at all, now that it has stuck to us and taken us over multiple times?
> Do we feel confident in our ability to suppress any further takeover efforts?

>You aren't sure. ...It may be that as you are, you are incompatible with it.
>...Kind of, for what there are of them.
>You aren't sure, but you've certainly gotten better at it, you think?

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Formless One, can you hear me?

[It's Purvis!]

> Formless One, can you hear me?

>There is no reply.

>_