Okay so. That worked. Thank's Sun. Let's just. find an out of the way place out of sight and. lay down for a bit.
[A Place of Rest: 3]
You roll uphill lazily, your body mostly incapable of exerting more effort than that, and come to rest under a nearby scorched tree. Crawling a little further, you think you're mostly shielded from prying eyes as long as people don't question a pair of feet poking out from behind the trees.
Fortunately, while your miniature sun does improve visibility, it's not quite bright enough to provide more than low moonlight at this distance, so you don't foresee yourself being easy to find. You let out a massive sigh and try to relax. Feels good to not have to move for a while, you admit.
[Lounger's Fortune: 6]
A rather large crow lands on your stomach, picking at the bits of your much-abused nightgown that still have traces of fresh-killed stoat on them. Its pecks bother you slightly, but not quite enough to get up just yet.
Thomas shrugged. Well, it wasn't really up to him; he was just advice. "Well, you don't have to settle for the first place you find, certainly. The keep does have its merits; a sturdy foundation I am sure that will be proof against earthquakes and windstorms. Fire exits are a thing that can be remedied later. Perhaps we should visit the keep?"
Perhaps we should visit the keep?
The girl agrees quite heartily - this place sucks, better get a place in the keep instead. A quick nip through the courtyard takes you there, and you find that it is no less dark within for the most part than it is outside. Perhaps darker, actually. You're not sure how that's possible.
Not that this is a terrible inconvenience, since most of the important parts (with the notable exception of the steps on the staircase) are quite visible to your deprivation-enhanced senses.
[A Good Place To Set Up: 5]
The guard chips in again with some useful advice - the lord's quarters ought to be free, he thinks, since the lady of the castle has... different arrangements. And also some other rooms, he supposes, since a number of the more fragile castle staff have undergone tragic expiration. The lord's quarters ought to be the largest accommodations available, however. You suppose this to be reasonable, and head up the stairs and to the right, where you eventually find a rather large bedroom that seems to have been entirely deserted for a very long time. It's certainly much less cluttered than that storage area, if a bit bare - most of the furniture seems to have gone missing, although a respectable fireplace still stands on one side of the large room.
The girl likes the look of these accommodations overall. Perhaps a little furnishing might be in order. The guard is pleased to hear this - living on the keep's second floor also means that she's practically a neighbor of the queen, which is about as convenient for practical purposes as he can possibly imagine. You suppose it is a tad unproductive to have overly long commutes, isn't it?
"What? Yes, that's a question, but no, I'm not giving any connections for it, if that's what you are asking for. The word did no reality altering of any kind unlike you promised, meaning you failed to provide fullfilment, yet you claim I'm incorrect and do not explain why this the case! Keep your promises, damn it, switch the word for another that actually fullfills my desire unlike INEVITABLE, or give the damn connection back!"
INEVITABLE
[Word: 3]
Not the right word to describe this situation. Close, but not quite. The word can only barely be heard over the overpowering, hungering silence, and you feel it draw closer for a moment, reaching out as if to touch you...
... not yet, however. Not a productive choice. Neither are your complaints. One cannot return something that was eaten, to use familiar terms. Not as what it used to be, at least. And neither can your choice be rescinded. Only further expenditure may amend your perceived flaws, whether through explanations or more direct methods. Alternatively, you could try and figure it out yourself.
"No, I'm certain this is the house. I know everything's completely different, but it's exactly where it was. Exactly, I say!"
Continue to search. Potentially disbelieve the truth so hard it becomes false.
Blacksmith? Blacksmith! He's in here somewhere! Blacksmith!
Blacksmith![Willful Ignorance: 3]
... yeah, this isn't working. And it's almost definitely not the right house. There
is room for doubt, granted. It's just decreased to microscopically small rather than merely uncomfortably tight.
Gah. There's magic involved here. As usual.
I turn to the guard. "Tell the queen to go to the courtyard if she wants this darkness to go away. If she doesn't believe me, I'll try to send someone more charismatic."
Then I leave in search of either a mason or one of my minder-summoned friends.
[Negotiation by Proxy: 6]
Darkness? Yes, you say. World-ending, all consuming darkness, that's about the gist of it. Oh dear. The guard seems quite distressed. It's saying that the world is ending, he tells the queen. Oh dear, she echoes. It's some sort of apocalyptic wraith, then? It would appear so, he says.
The queen looks at the window. Doesn't
sound like the world is ending. Maybe that's the way it is, the guard somberly relates. Not with a bang, but with a whimper. The queen nods sagely. You remind the guard that the queen's supposed to go to the courtyard now. He asks what for, and you tell it's to make the darkness go away.
Well, he says, isn't the world ending? No, you say, the darkness is potentially world-ending. It's not really the apocalypse. Well, he reiterates, it's awfully dishonest of you to scare the queen by maintaining otherwise. Besides, isn't it supposed to be dark out anyway? It is the nighttime.
No, no, this is magical darkness, you explain. Deeper. More horrible somehow. There's no moon or stars, for one. Oh, he says. Sounds terrible. Is there anything that can be done about that, you think? Yes, you say with exasperation! Go outside with the queen and speak with the priest. He'll know what to do.
The
priest, he says incredulously. What's the priest going to do? Sing the dark away? The queen, quite curious as to what this conversation the guard is having is, asks him what you're saying. He says it's some nonsense about singing at the dark along with that gobshite priest, if the queen will pardon the honest truth. Mystical mumbo-jumbo. Nothing unexpected from a doomwraith, in any case. The queen furrows her brow and tries for a moment to make you out where she suspects you might be standing. She looks a tad disappointed when this produces no results.
Eric Codeburn, COMPUTISTICS SPECIALIST
- Wounds: 3
- Body Count: 62
- Floral Nightgown (worn, burnt, wet)
- A Word: SUN
- A Word: MOON
- Anglefork Castle: Minister of Moronic Affairs
- Sweet Escape: the Correct Side At Last
- 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
- Army of the New State: 455 Stoatmen
- Army of the New State: To Shoot The Sun
- The Good Doctor: the Solitary Candidate
- The Birds: Delicious and Immobile
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
- Origins: Witness to Dissolution
- Tower of the Mind: There's Something To Remember
- The New Queen: And Something To Forget
- 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: Agreeable Quarters
- Body Count: 1
Did I get rid of the darkness everywhere?
I tried to mention it in your turn, but just in case it's still unclear, no - while your false sun is about as bright as what you've seen of the real one, it also happens to be only like two feet across and rather low above the ground - so most of its really productive and useful radiation is aimed downward at the river.