Thomas nodded, then saluted. That's what military does, right? "Uh... yes! After agreeing to some contract work with one of your fine guards, I was tasked with inspecting the battlements. The apparent leader, or something, of the stout army saw me up, and must have seen something he liked. After I came back down for some more practice, said leader came in the front gate. There was a rather flashy battle with lots of impressive special effects, then I won. Now I have a neat souvenier sword, which your friends here nicely asked me to not take out. What with you being queen and all, I can imagine. I think that sums it up."
Summarize
The queen looks at you a tad skeptically, turning to the guard commander for a second opinion. Is there, uh, verification, she asks. No offense, Mr. Minstep, of course, but your perspective is... er, a little
unique at times. The guard commander replies that the story is highly unusual and is yet to be properly verified, but lookouts have been dispatched and-
An out-of-breath fellow you recognize as the red-headed guard who helped you out in finding the minders arrives at the door, and the troops surrounding you go on momentary alert before permitting him to slowly approach. He whispers to the guard commander, and her face goes from grim to skeptical to seemingly rather enthused. She congratulates the guard on his fine message, and sends him away for a moment, then turns to the queen.
As she was saying, the story is highly unusual, but the current information seems to imply that the besieging force is indeed very much gone. The guards all look her way incredulously, as does the queen herself, and the room is silent for a few seconds.
Does... does that mean it's over, asks the queen. Is the nightmare over at last? The guard commander smiles. She wouldn't say
that, if this is indeed correct. But it may be time for an overdue resupply.
Mr. Minstep, the commander turns to you. Your story makes you out to be more capable than you look. While the situation is better assessed, would you care to accompany two of her guards over to town? This may be an important learning opportunity.
Any gold around here? Wilde mentioned gold. If so, collect gold. If not, go and politely* question Wilde about the lack of gold.
*non-violently
Lots of gold, actually. Quite a lot of it in spilled form. But there is a handy potato sack full of dusty golden coins well within reach, which you lift in one hand without even the slightest effort. You can almost hear your net worth increase exponentially as you do so.
"Why not do it like in movies and cut throat instead? That should make them go down quietly."
Use the spear shaft to knock the screamer out. Then retreat with Lee to some distance into safety.
Once stoats come out check if they are in suitable mindstate for "Speaking With The Mob". If they are, "Lend Me Their Limbs."
Too obvious a target, says Lee as you run in with your spear shaft, ready to administer a caning that'd move a 19th century father to weep with pride.
[Stick It To The Man: 3 vs. 6]
The screaming guard hears you run in and stabs wildly in a panic, unexpectedly catching you right in the chest, the spearhead slipping between the ribs and right into the lung. You look down, mildly surprised, and cough. Blood begins to pool out of the spear as the guard kicks you in the midsection and pulls it out in the same movement. Seeing how little a gaping chest wound appears to impede you, the guard begins to scream a little harder.
[Thousand Knives: 2+1 vs. 3]
Showing unexpected presence of mind, the guard begins to retreat to the side, successfully warding off Lee's advance with her spear as she starts to run away along the side of the winery. You feel this is a good time to retreat, and Lee agrees, although from her somewhat sullen look you get the feeling that she's rather disappointed with her poor luck in this latest offensive.
[Bravely Out Of Danger: 1]
Of course, you aren't really more than ten meters out than guards and soldiers begin to round the corners of the winery, marking the two of you running away almost immediately. And, for that matter, the patrol of two soldiers and a guard seems to be urgently sprinting this way from the direction you up until now were retreating into, the screaming of the guard apparently having spread extraordinarily quickly. The door of the winery begins to open, another soldier shifting out of it, leading the way with a steel saber that no doubt used to belong to a distinguished cavalryman of some kind.
[Speak With The Mob: 3]
Feeling like you're about to find yourself sorely outflanked, you focus on the injured guard, still screaming as she runs away. Such is the art of speaking with groups. You need to find something resonant, something readily identifiable. Something very familiar and urgent. And then what you do, you reason, is add a little personal touch to it. The scream gets louder, more incisive. You feel the stoat guards pause, the voice of their comrade settling in their bones to some degree, and quite a few turn to look her way as she retreats along the fields, still bleeding heavily and counting herself very fortunate if she can somehow be alive come tomorrow. The latter sentiment appears to be shared by the others as well, if without the overwhelming importance that a massive bleeding wound naturally lends it.
They have numbers on their side, this is true. But nevertheless you have made the bravest of them (not a difficult achievement, mind you) stop for a moment, their charge degraded to a mere absent-minded jog in your direction as some internal voice urges them to consider the situation very carefully before proceeding.
I continue resting.
Rest does the mind good, and your body seems to like the recuperation too. On the negative side, as you regain more feeling in your limbs the gravel starts to feel increasingly uncomfortable and scratchy. Sheesh, you didn't know your nerves were so easily spoiled.
Walk over to and enter the building my companion was in.
"You were completly right - never go towards the screaming. On the plus side, the besieging army appears to have been destroyed and it sounds like Minstep killed the demon, so everyone should be safe for the time being."
You need not bother, as your companion seems to have made her way to you of her own accord, simultaneously very interested in what exactly she missed and unusually glad at not being stuck inside that carpenter's workshop for longer than she absolutely had to be. Speaking of, what did she miss? Sounded pretty intense out there for a while and... well...
She trails off in her question, her eyes drawn to the ocean of assorted human-esque parts you're standing in, rats skipping along it as they indecisively attempt to both escape and make off with as much food as they are able. She was completely right, you tell her,
never go towards the screaming. You decide to leave most of the details to her imagination, given how hard at work it seems to be with the scant evidence already presented.
Anyway, you say, the sieging army is gone, and Mr. Minstep seems to have done unusually well in dispatching the demon as well. This seems to snap her into an altogether different state of mind. Wait, she says, that's it? It's done? And
we won? Holy crap, she says, then looks at the gate. She's about to say something else, but before she even begins to speak she cuts herself off as she exhales quickly, then takes a deep breath. Wait,
really?
She starts to laugh from sheer sense of relief, placing both hands on your shoulders. She could kiss you right now, you beautiful bastard. Best news of her life. Tell you what, she'll race you outside. Winner gets freedom and real food. And the loser gets freedom and real food too! She-
-wait, are you all right? You look kind of... vaguely messed up, she says as she looks you over. And there's some... stuff on your back, she says, flicking off a tooth from your shoulder blade as she steps partly around you. And that naked guy gives her the creeps, what's his deal?
Leif Erikson, Miner
- A Word: INEVITABLE
- Wounds: 2
- Improvised Quarterstaff
- Body Count: 1
- All Broken Up: Surrounded And In Trouble
- 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
- Tricks of the Mind: Erikson's Seeds of Discontent
- 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: 2
- 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: Largely Irrelevant
Jack Daniels, Karate Man
- Naked
- 14033 gp (in sack)
- Wounds: 1
- 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
- A Weapon: The Sword They Fear
- 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)
- 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: An Unknown Quantity
- Make A Man Out Of You: A Crowning Achievement
- The New Queen: A Conditional Meeting
- Tower of the Mind: Advice Given
- The Obsolete Class: Let Them Be
- Cruelty-Free Foods: Treats Survived
- The One They Fear: A Satisfactory Contract
- Body Count: 2
Oscar Wilde, Chemistry Teacher
- A Word: REVELATION
- Wounds: 4
- 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 Fine Day To Be Alive
- 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: Largely Irrelevant