"Endless questions indeed, and answers in such short supply. Anyhow, I'm off to find the blacksmith, who hopefully hasn't died in whatever happened up here. Wish me luck!"
Attempt to use my memory of how things are laid out and possibly whatever I can see to get to the blacksmith's place.
[Seeking the Path: 1]
Of course you remember the way clearly. Take a sharp left, then steady on for a bit, left until you reach the wall, just like that, then a little bit more until you find the corner. Now, what's really important now is that you don't go into the conveniently open doorway, since you don't recall there being one the last time you came this way. Instead look around for a house, walking in circles for a minute or two. You will find a window. Knock on that, maybe somebody will open. And when nobody does, wander around in search of a door. Knock on that. When there's still nobody home, remove door from frame with preternatural strength and move along inside. There you go. You think you've found the right place.
On one hand, it doesn't sound like that would help at all. On the other hand, this guy did have something to do with the magic that caused this in the first place. And his church has some sort of strange chaos nexus on it, so... it's got to be worth a shot.
"I'll see what I can do." I run out of the church and start shouting to anyone in the courtyard. "People of Angleford! I bring news of light in this darkness! The child of the sun and moon has forsaken us, and he has taken his parents with him. But we do not need him! The sun and moon shine for us, not him. If we remind them of this then they will shine upon us once more. So call to the sky! Show your love and dedication and they will repay you!"
You wander out and try an inspirational speech. Maybe whoever you can rustle up in here will be sufficient.
[Apocalyptic Appeal: 5]
You circle the courtyard once, keeping one hand on the castle wall, and repeat your appeal a full three times for all to hear on the way.
INEVITABLE
Roused by your words, the unsettling mood set by the other word grips the minds of the wandering and the confused, and they begin to fall into line behind you. You seem to know what you're doing, unlike them. And while the matter is gravely serious, you offer hope in the same breath as you do the apocalypse. You do not see your flock as you come back in front of the chapel, but the noise they make as they move is considerable.
The priest, meanwhile, seems to have crawled out of the chapel. And as he hears your speech, you imagine he is proud. You also imagine he is less than pleased when you nearly step on him while you're coming back. People of Anglefork, he calls in echo of your own speech, it is good to have all of you here. Is
everyone here?
The crowd shuffles a little. You suspect they don't know who's here, really. Just a lot of people. Has the queen come as well, the priest asks more specifically. There is no response. The queen will need to be here, the priest relates to you a little more quietly. All people great and small must join together in prayer and song, and only then will the Sun hear the people in their entirety, and know the will of humanity to be in favorable accord, he says with the utmost enjoyment. The crowd, too, seems to agree, which sets the priest off even more.
Not my fault, you bastards! The sun is a little yandere twat!
I tried like five times to call it off!
Can the MOON create like... a dust barrier to divert the water from one half of the river? Or another floating platform. That could work too.
You have a friend in the moon, and by god you're going to put it to use.
MOON
[Word: 1]
The proximity of the moon invites many things. But when pointed at water, one thing seems most sensible of all. It pulls. Perhaps the water ebbs nearby. Here, though, at the center of its activity, the tide rises. It flows over your ankles. You consider your options.
[Unleash the Dolphin: 1]
You really don't like this current. It covers your hips. You guess you could swim to the other shore. The water blasts over your shoulders. You lose your footing. You tumble along the river, trying to somehow propel yourself in a direction. Your limbs, however, can't seem to agree on which specific direction it should be. So you tumble to the bottom of the rough riverbed, and then tumble further still along the depths like a startled bottom-feeder.
[The Inviting Depths: 3]
The similarity ends, however, when you are rudely reminded that you cannot, in fact, breathe water. And you do try. You weakly flop to the surface, the stream madly driving you forward as you suck air and try to cough out the copious amounts of water from your lungs. The cold gets into your bones. You don't think you can take much more of this, you think as you try your best to keep afloat. It sorta kinda barely works. You're not really drowning anymore, but you are perhaps not entirely conscious, if the sense of discontinuity between the moments you blink is any indication.
"Alien? Hidden... ugh, no. And I resent that; I know much of actuarial tables and insurance policy. For example, that tower of yours, do you know why it can't be insured? To start with..."
Explain why the minder tower is uninsurable. Give detailed examples.
[Actuarial Concerns: 6]
That tower over there, you maintain, is quite possibly the unsafest structure you have had the nigh-uninsurable risk of stepping into. There's no way to get down, for pete's sake. The fire marshal could get her for this, you know. What if a fire breaks out? Is she going to wave her hands and special effects will take care of the flames? You suspect if the pattern holds true, what you've seen already merely scratches the surface. The rest of it's not any safer, you bet.
... now that you mention it, the girl says, that's kind of a good point. She doesn't actually know how to extinguish flames with her mind. Or make any, for that matter. Flight's about as far as she got, and even that's not enough to, say, get into the private sanctums of her superiors. Some of the deeper corners she can get into get a little puzzling too, truth be told. She can't tell you how many times she's gotten lost in the fourth floor corridors. They don't even make sense half the time.
Insufficient signage and confusing layouts, yes. It's also a very old building, you suppose? When was the last time it was restored? Has it been earthquake-proofed? Have people checked the foundations? It's looking a little crooked. The girl looks at the tower. Shit, she thinks you might be right on that. Uh. And those are good questions.
Your point, you intercede, is that insurance helps those who help themselves. Can't very well bet on the safety of someone who's hell-bent on getting themselves killed by squatting in deathtraps, can you? It's reasonable risks that you can reasonably protect people against. And that tower is distinctly unreasonable in every possible way. It'd need to be reconstructed heavily to even consider the possibility of insuring it properly in line with property regulations.
Or, she mentions, she could just get a regular house to conduct her important business in. Yes, you say. That would also be an expedient alternative. Like one of these handsome courtyard houses, you sweep your hand about at the darkness. Those you'd have no qualms about insuring. At least you can be certain that the bloody doors work and that, failing that, you can safely dive out the first floor windows in case of a fire. She looks around, and you see the silhouettes of the courtyard dwellings emerge from the dark.
Your point, she admits, is well taken. She probably ought to take these students somewhere a little less dangerous for their continued well-being. Like one of the houses. She's sure the residents won't mind. The guard chips in, mentioning that it would be pretty convenient to be able to see the minders whenever they are needed as well, something the old tower wasn't very good at providing in his experience.
Anyway, the girl says, would you care to come along? You seem to have an eye for these things. Well, you say, it is sort of your job. Though whether you're the kind to provide a pro bono consultation is another question.
"Oops, sorry about that reflexive slap. But this darkness is a bit annoying. Instant return of normal night lighting conditions is INEVITABLE."
Wording, mind you.
Perhaps a single word can fix this. There is only one way to find out.
INEVITABLE
[Word: 4]
What is truly inevitable? Not light. All things end in darkness, of this one must be well aware. The sun will eventually go out and the moon will break free of its orbit. You look at the dark of the sky, and find it much akin to the moon. While its disappearance is inevitable, true... your disappearance is much a sooner inevitability, is it not? You become keenly aware of the impermanency of all things around you. The dark can outlast you. And if you give it the opportunity, it most certainly will. You feel the night grow colder and deeper as you assert the inescapable nature of it.
But then there are also other inevitable things you can kindle here. The hope of humanity trying to deny its lack of a future right up to the bitter end. Two inevitabilities in collision. You hear a rising commotion from beyond the walls, and a lowering commotion within as Ms. Minett's rousing speech gathers more and more interested parties.
Adjectives tend to modify. Nouns tend to bring about things. Verbs are best when combined with corresponding actions.
Eric Codeburn, COMPUTISTICS SPECIALIST
- Wounds: 4
- Body Count: 62
- Floral Nightgown (worn, burnt, wet, stoat-stained)
- A Word: SUN
- A Word: MOON
- Anglefork Castle: Minister of Moronic Affairs
- The River: I Hear A Voice Calling
- The Impromptu Prophecy: Child of the Sun and Moon
- Adherents of the Great House: Enemy of Memory
- Well and Truly Narked Upon: 1
- Friends in Low Places: a Successful Transaction
- Orbiting Moonstone (3 tons, darkened)
- Army of the New State: 455 Stoatmen
- Army of the New State: Is That Who I Think It Is?
- The Good Doctor: the Solitary Candidate
Leif Erikson, Miner
- A Word: INEVITABLE
- Wounds: 1
- Reappropriated, Clean Skirt
- 1 gp
- Anglefork Castle: A Free Man
- The Box: ?
- Tower of the Mind: a Lack of Patience
- Induced Lucidity: An Example Realm
- The Prison Stone
- Elongated Affairs: A Noble Task
- Elongated Affairs: The Numbers of the Stoat
- Compatibility: Minding
- Tricks of the Mind: Cormick's Condescending Riddle
- Tricks of the Mind: Perceptual Rebuke
- The Voracious Dark: Two Deals Made
- The Voracious Dark: The Promised Sixth
Eileen Minett, Vinyl Collector
- Wounds: 1
- A Word: HUNGER
- A Word: CHAOS
- A Weapon: Explosive Cysts
- Rat Pantheon: Disliked
- Traces of Mischief: Mouthful of Blackness
- The New Queen: ?
- Origins: Witness to Dissolution
- Tower of the Mind: There's Something To Remember
- Gross Incandescence: Crumbling Shell
- Touch of Flame: the Secrets of Flammability
- Inscribed Brick ('Water')
- The Voracious Dark: Two Connections Given
- Body Count: 1
- Never In: the Obvious Candidates
- The Impromptu Prophecy: the Sensible Solution
Jack Daniels, Karate Man
- Wounds: 1
- Voluntarily Naked
- Uncoupled: Strength
- Wooden Door (held)
- Flawless Direction: Beyond the Margin of Error
- The Winding Path of Inspiration: the Sword of Destiny
- The Winding Path of Inspiration: Something Priceless?
- The Winding Path of Inspiration: Something Purple?
- The Winding Path of Inspiration: A Profane Megalith
- Tower of the Mind: Endless Well of Mystery
- Induced Lucidity: A Garden Well-Tended
- Doomstones: ?
- A Place In History: Emergent Abomination
- Anglefork Castle: the Great Serpent
- 2 rats, crushed
- 1 rat, strangled
- 1 rat, live
- Touch of Flame: the Second Degree
- Gross Incandescence: Unilluminated
- Travels In The Fourth Dimension: Sunday ± 2 Days
- The Impromptu Prophecy: ?
- The Voracious Dark: Two Connections Given
- Body Count: 2
Thomas Minstep, Insurance Agent
- Anglefork Castle: From Another Time, Another Land
- Traces of Mischief: Sandy Groin
- Gross Incandescence: Partly Illuminated
- Tight Leather Pants
- Travels In The Fourth Dimension: Friday, July 23rd, 409 S.D.
- The Majordomo: Happy to Help
- The Queen's Guard: Okayed by the Queen
- The New Queen: Spearheading the Inquiry
- Tower of the Mind: Bowing to Better Judgment
- Body Count: 1
Author
Topic: Our Salvation: It Is Written (Read 259336 times)