I struggle for control of my senses and/or actions.
[Put The Beast Down: 1]
When you struggle, you do not struggle with an equal foe. The power of the substrate is without rational limit. It cannot be overpowered, or beaten down - this is simply not possible, for your interaction with it is not based on superiority in strength or power of assertion.
As such, your pleas fall on deaf auditory antennae. You cannot restrict, you can only allow. And you have allowed far too much already, even if mostly against your own will.
"Yeah, know what, that's probably a reasonable conclusion to come to- hold up a second. When the hell did I become so cowardly? I could probably literally rip someone in half with my bare ... hand right now. Wouldn't be much of an obstacle to me.
...
I think I am still hurt from that while ago, though. And I seem to have this crossbow bolt stuck in my throat. Should fix that."
Sit down and ... meditate upon healing, I suppose? Make my wounds go away! Also extract that crossbow bolt without further hurting myself if possible.
[Don't Leave It In: 2]
You tug at the crossbow bolt in your throat as you begin to meditate. It starts bleeding a little again and hurts decidedly more than a little, which is about as much confirmation as you need that messing with it without appropriate tools and expertise is likely a poor idea.
The fact that you are presently bleeding and in a little pain also happens to put something of a damper on your meditation.
Well, at least I can hear a little, even if said hearing raises more questions than it answers. Sight could solve them, though, if it weren't for the darkness... Speaking of which, this is my mind after all - perhaps some adjustments are in order?
Fiat Lux.
[Let There Be Sense: 1]
There is no problem as far as you can tell. Your body seems to have a perfectly sensible goal ahead of itself, and that is to eat the treacherous Ms. Minett before it is eaten in turn.
Perhaps when that's done you could be consulted for more input. For now, relax! It's going to be all right.
"Allright, kidnapping it is. Like, seriously. Better stay on outskirts, I think, less trouble to run away when things inevitably go south."
I have this another scanning method, the INEVITABLE one, though let's not focus on parts where things go sour. Share results of violating causality with Lee and proceed with plan "Kidnap someone helpful".
Really, as long as you can keep resting and/or slaughtering any resistance, you don't see how this could fail. Thus accomplishing your mission is all but
INEVITABLE
[Word: 5]
You let the inexorable future roll into your mind in great waves of potential, unsuccessful forays canceling each other out as the corpses pile up and chaos mounts, until the whole of the town is aflame once again... and then it comes to you.
There is a vineyard in the outskirts, with a winery attached. Within is a collaborator, somewhat damaged, and several soldiers who are not taking part in the siege. Half a dozen soldiers, specifically, and four guards beside that. He is the last of their prisoners, and will help you if found. No kidnapping required, though some murder will be necessary. The slow response time of the rest of the town in this event, however, will be very handy. And if you fail, which occurs to you as an outlying possibility, retreat is still very possible.
Focus on the counterattack!
[Glorious Counterattack: 4 vs. 2]
Having been on this ride once, you dare say you have a good idea of what's about to happen next. So you're hardly surprised when one's final step toward you extends further than it should, landing right behind you. Suffice to say, it is not a trick that works twice.
You turn around with a sweep of the blade. It meets no resistance in one's flesh, cleaving it along the waist easily as you put your back into the swing. You read one's next step perfectly, and bring the backswing through his splitting body again in a diagonal cut from hip to shoulder, and meet one's following stumble with a final slice along its neck, sending one's head rolling along the ground. Why not go the distance, you suppose. Seems like he's a sturdy sort, he ought to be able to take decapitation.
You observe curiously as the cut-off legs begin to run in one direction, each arm and torso fragment in another, and the head rolls in a circle for a bit as it tries to shepherd the parts together, each of the wayward bits whimpering as they try to get together again. You approach, blade at the ready, as one assembles oneself once more, standing before you more than a little unsteadily, the grayness giving way in places to an underlying heart of darkness.
Quite the duel, one has to admit, head lolling a little as one's parts have visible trouble staying together. Shall the two of you see it through to the conclusion?
Leif Erikson, Miner
- A Word: INEVITABLE
- Wounds: 1
- Improvised Quarterstaff
- Body Count: 1
- 4 large red berries
- Damp and moldy fuel
- The Queen's Guard: A Roaring Good Time
- Reappropriated, Clean Skirt
- Inscribed Wooden Stylus
- Iron Spearhead
- 1.03 gp
- Anglefork Castle: A Free Man
- The Box: ?
- Tower of the Mind: Convenient Relocation
- Induced Lucidity: A Concert For The Gods
- Elongated Affairs: Cheerio!
- Compatibility: Minding
- Tricks of the Mind: Cormick's Condescending Riddle
- Tricks of the Mind: Perceptual Rebuke
- Tricks of the Mind: Erikson's Inexplicable Grapefruit
- Tricks of the Mind: Speak With The Mob
- Tricks of the Mind: Headfirst Dive
- Tricks of the Mind: Lend Them Your Limbs
- Tricks of the Mind: Out of Sight, Out of Mind
- Party in the Courtyard: Celebration in Earnest
- Never In: Swallowed By The Pit
- Gods of the Underground: Did You Just What
- Labyrinths of Anglefork: Tunnel-Literate
- The Voracious Dark: Two Deals Made
- The Voracious Dark: The Promised Sixth
- Moth's Flight: The Second Try
- Troubles In Anglefork Town: More Lethal Than Anticipated
- The Secret Life of Stoats: Harnessing Potential
Eileen Minett, Vinyl Collector
- Wounds: 3
- Marvels of the Substrate: Superfluous Template
- Traces of Mischief: A Bubbling Scar
- Reclaimed Hooded Robe (worn, torn)
- Giant White Mushroom
- A Word: SEA
- A Word: HUNGER
- A Word: CHAOS
- A Weapon: Explosive Cysts
- Rat Pantheon: Disliked
- Origins: Witness to Dissolution
- Tower of the Mind: There's Something To Remember
- The New Queen: And Something To Forget
- The Queen's Guard: Bringer of Doom
- Touch of Flame: the Secrets of Flammability
- The Voracious Dark: Three Connections Given
- Stone's Glory: An Uncivil Disagreement
- Body Count: 1
- Never In: Change of Priority
- Labyrinths of Anglefork: Tunnel-Literate
- The Flip Side: Crippling Indecision
- The Impromptu Prophecy: ?
- Sweet Little Children: Fond Farewell
- The One They Fear: Three Magic Words
Jack Daniels, Karate Man
- Naked
- Wounds: 2
- Powers of the Beyond: Gardener of Thoughts
- Dusty Wooden Speaking-Trumpet
- Crossbow Bolt (in throat)
- A Word: REND
- A Word: SILENCE
- A Weapon: Murder-Thought
- Traces of Mischief: A Bisected Left Kidney
- Traces of Mischief: Ruined Left Hand
- Uncoupled: Strength
- Wooden Door (held)
- The Majordomo: ?
- The Winding Path of Inspiration: the Armor of God
- The Winding Path of Inspiration: A Master's In Chemistry
- The Winding Path of Inspiration: A Sliver of Perfection!
- The Winding Path of Inspiration: The Beauty of the Material
- Tower of the Mind: Endless Well of Mystery
- Induced Lucidity: A Garden Well-Tended
- Elongated Affairs: Enemy of the New State
- Doomstones: ?
- A Place In History: Vastly Unreliable
- Anglefork Castle: the Great Serpent
- The Obsolete Class: Suggested Victims
- 2 rats, crushed
- 1 rat, strangled
- 1 rat, live
- Touch of Flame: the Second Degree
- Travels In The Fourth Dimension: Sunday ± 2 Days
- The Impromptu Prophecy: There's A Mountain Higher Than We Knew
- The Voracious Dark: A Source Provided
- The Voracious Dark: More Specific Requests
- The Good Doctor: A Recommendation
- Labyrinths of Anglefork: Suspended Above
- Body Count: 3
Thomas Minstep, Insurance Agent
- Wounds: 2
- A Word: ABSENCE
- Sea-Sword
- Traces of Mischief: Nausea's Depths
- A Bowl, Black and Knobby
- Anglefork Castle: From Another Time, Another Land
- Gross Incandescence: Partly Illuminated
- Tight Leather Pants (worn, wet)
- Incredibly Tight Blue Dress (worn, mutilated, mildly provocative)
- Travels In The Fourth Dimension: Saturday, July 24th, 409 S.D.
- The Majordomo: Busy Morning
- The Good Doctor: House Call
- The Queen's Guard: Space Among The Ranks
- Make A Man Out Of You: a Test of Worth and Skill
- The New Queen: Strategic Meeting
- Tower of the Mind: Advice Given
- The Obsolete Class: Let Them Be
- Cruelty-Free Foods: Treats Survived
- The One They Fear: Asymmetrical Warfare
- Body Count: 2
Oscar Wilde, Chemistry Teacher
- A Word: REVELATION
- Marvels of the Substrate: Duel of Equals
- Wounds: 2
- 1 rat, skinless and smoked
- 6 gp
- Poor Misshapen Dice
- Lock of Hair (unidentified)
- Iron nail, unused
- An Inauspicious Key
- Burlap Foot Wrappings (worn)
- Burlap Hand Wrappings (worn)
- Moth-Eaten Hat (worn)
- Respectable Brown Skirt (worn)
- Old Brown Waistcoat (worn)
- Bright Yellow Tunic (worn)
- Blue Shards of a Probable Bottle
- Blue Glass Shiv
- A Wealth of Burlap Ribbons
- An Obsolete Class: Trustworthy Individual
- The Flip Side: A Strange Day In The Making
- The Doom Guard: the Inquisition
- Tower of the Mind: An Interruption
- A Frightening Door: An Understanding
- The Voracious Dark: Backed Away
- The Winding Path of Inspiration: The Measure
- The One They Fear: Unthinking Bystander