Let's continue in spirit of ice hockey fouls: High-sticking! Stabbing! Cross-checking! Unsportsmanlike conduct! Wait, scratch the last one. That goes beyond spirit of the game.
After that's done, I suppose I could let him surrender. Or let Lee stab him, if it turns out he doesn't want to live.
[The Gordie Howe Hat Trick: 5 vs. 3-
1]
Well, first there's the high-sticking, and then you do a combination of stabbing and cross-checking. Since the referee doesn't really say anything, you do it a couple more times, effectively disabling your opponent after about twenty seconds' worth of some of the best hockey you've ever played. The stoatman, now quite beaten and given up all hope of victory, seems to have conceded this day to your superior sportsmanship.
You look over at Lee, the ultimate question implied but not said aloud. To stab or not to stab? Lee appears to have no strong feelings on the matter, going for the falchion lying on the ground, grabbing it and giving it a thoughtful practice swing. Seemingly satisfied, she asks whether you want it, already heading up the stairs.
I call the ravenous guards over to help me clear the pile.
"Hey, this pile of junk looks especially... filling? I bet a person could just walk off with a hefty serving of this loot." If anyone is looking I gnaw on some canvas to appear more credible.
[An Appetizing Pile: 1]
You find a nearby trio of guards currently biting the heads off of plucked crows they've fished out of a barrel of pickling solution, and point them to your fine pile o' loot. They seem skeptical, mostly due to the fact that there's nothing apparently edible in there, but your gnawing on the canvas gets them interested enough that they approach to get a closer look at least. One of them pokes the pile slightly, pulling out and disapprovingly examining a spear before stabbing it back into the pile. There is a sudden shifting of the pile, and you hear the barest of whimpers escape it, and it seems the guards do as well.
It takes a moment before one of the guards walks up and pulls the spear out decisively, causing another slight shift, and examines the tip. Aha, she says, noticing the distinct shape of red it appears to have turned. There
is something good in that pile, she tells the other two. The smell of blood appears to excite them a little, and the other two fetch spears as well. Should be easy enough to fish it out in chunks, one of them, a short and slightly chubby woman proposes, and starts to stab the spear down into the pile, searching for where her quarry might be. The others quickly join her.
"Oh. I missed that, I was in the shrine thingy next to the chapel ... praying. You could call it praying.
And as for what I've been doing, I've mostly been running errands for the blacksmith - I'm doing one right now, actually. Haven't really had time to bother with getting clothes, y'see. Do you know where the blacksmith is, by chance? I'm unfortunately suspective that he's wandered into a secret tunnel in the castle over thereabouts, but the fellow helping me look for him hasn't come out yet, which leaves me idle until then."
I suppose I could just take a connection from somebody and ask the well where he is, but I'll go through regular channels first.
Evasive, but mildly informative. She supposes that'll do for now.
[The Guards Have Ears: 6]
Anyway, she doesn't know where the blacksmith is exactly. She was frankly surprised to see him climbing naked over his own roof, even if it was for the typical reason, since he had mostly confined himself in his quarters thus far. However, he was sighted walking across the courtyard with a skull in hand in the direction of the chapel, though the guard who saw it seems to have perplexingly thought nothing of it at the time, so more information is not forthcoming.
As for your other questions, you were looking for "humans of El"? Strangely specific. The "Wondrous Land of El", the commander offers with sarcastic air quotes, that's somewhat far away. About two hundred miles south and west, actually, though if it's just a man from El you're looking for, you may run into a merchant or, god forbid, one of their "traveling alchemists". Though admittedly these days the difference between them is becoming increasingly thin, or at least it was when the country wasn't completely ruined. Her intel of the outside world is a little lacking.
Speaking of, she can't help but notice you've got a certain air of menace about you. It's scratching at her temple as she speaks, she notices in a way that makes you draw it back with mild embarrassment, having let your murder wander a little while you were listening. And you
were also looking for stoatmen, weren't you? Depending on when Mr. Minstep or anyone trailing him gets back and what they have to say, you may have an opportunity to meet some in an advantageous circumstance if you're interested.
Thomas sighed. "I don't think a bit of rope is going to hurt you."
Go on, then. Finish up the untangling and the affixing and the whatnot.
That sort of thinking is exactly what let the rope get the drop on him like that, he says.
Never again.[Master of Knots: 6]
Well, not all of the knots are within your ability to untie, you're sad to say. However, with the assistance of the Worm-knight you eventually manage to get six segments of 5 meters, one of 11 meters and another of a single meter, an unusual trick of physics if you've ever seen one. Retying these into a serviceable rope is fortunately much easier, even if it gets a little knobby and stiff in the process. You test it out, and find it to be suitable for attaching a grappling hook to, which is quite fortunate as you'd really be quite put out if you just wasted all this time for nothing.
Leif Erikson, Miner
- A Word: INEVITABLE
- Wounds: 3
- Improvised Quarterstaff
- Body Count: 1
- All Broken Up: A Clear Path
- 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)
- Inauspicious Day: Rather Stabbed
- 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)
- The Queen's Guard: An Alignment of Interests
- 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: Deep Into That Darkness Peering
- 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
- Excellently shaped grappling hook (42 meters of rope attached)
- 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: A Noble Mission
- Make A Man Out Of You: A Crowning Achievement
- The New Queen: Awkward Savior
- Tower of the Mind: Advice Given
- The Obsolete Class: Let Them Be
- Cruelty-Free Foods: Treats Survived
- The One They Fear: A Satisfactory Contract
- A Place In History: Finding Glory
- Body Count: 2
Oscar Wilde, Chemistry Teacher
- A Word: REVELATION
- 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: Lovely Little Hideaway
- 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