"Well, thanks for the effort. I guess I'd better go back and check the seige camp for anything else useful."
Go back outside the castle and see if the stoats had anything I could use.
[Slipping Out: 6]
You head on outside and take a look around the castle island. The guards still seem hard at work looking for food and various other things that vaguely resemble food, with several guards having also arrived on the scene to try and dissuade them from giving the whole game away just yet. It becomes something of a circus as the seemingly quite strangely affected wandering guards and their much more sober friends try to convince each other of the urgency of their respective needs. You pay them little mind, instead going straight for the more densely occupied of the siege camp areas and looking for goodies still unstolen.
[Artifacts of the Gray Purge: 1]
For some reason, though, there isn't much in the way of climbing supplies as far as you can tell. Or, indeed, much of anything useful. Mostly food. A barrel of lard. A box full of salty, unidentified chunks of undoubtedly something. All of these are sampled by your companion, secreted in a pouch along her belt. And though she helps you search, a short bit of investigation reveals to her and you in equal measure that this was probably the wrong place to look, seemingly being the mess hall of sorts.
As you come to this discovery, a sober guard, a man with long black hair and a pencil mustache, comes over and inquires as to why you are looting outside the keep. This is not permitted, he states. Return inside immediately.
Okay, I feel more optimistic. But maybe I should tackle this with a little preparation.
I grab something nearby to use as a flotation device, then try to swim across the river. Time is of the essence so I don't spend much looking.
[The Cream Inevitably Rises: 4]
Well, there is a sizable tree branch nearby, seemingly blown across from a tree that must have exploded on the other side. Not quite balsa wood, but it'll do. You chuck it in the river and dive atop it, figuring you'll at least have something to hang onto this time. And it kind of works, in that you are not dragged under and swept away. That still leaves you with navigating the river itself, however.
[Unleash the Duck: 5]
You are washed downriver a tad as you cross, but not very far, utilizing your branch for stabilization as you put your mammalian instincts to use and tread the waters with resolute and consistent strength. It's not long after that you wind up on the other side, quite safe, sound and also next to what looks like the main road to Anglefork Town.
Jack strides up to the captain.
"Strange unnatural hunger, you say? I can answer that question. A woman/demon/whatever like myself, named Minett. Might have a fancy dress, bubbly scar. I wouldn't directly confront her about it, she has some rather dangerous magic at her disposal. Just try and make her feel guilty about it if you do find her, she seems to have held onto her morals remarkably well. Now then, maybe you can help me. There was this guard woman who was organizing some kind of expedition into the village now that all the stoatmen are gone or whatever happened. Can you help me find her?"
You walk up to the conversing duo and interrupt the report with a helpful bit of information. The guardswoman stops relaying her report as she turns to you, seemingly wondering why you've turned up naked with such relevant facts. That... does sound like someone she's seen, says the guardswoman. She tried to free a stoatman that had survived the upheaval, and it probably got away in the confusion when there was, erm, a clash of interests, so to speak.
Very relevant information, says the captain, giving a glance in your direction, but he would prefer it if the guardswoman were to not suddenly turn away mid-conversation. It's not proper protocol when speaking to a superior officer, and engenders harmful rumors of madness spreading through the ranks. The guardswoman turns toward him in response, directing her attention away from you.
Hm, says the captain. Now,
what sounds like someone she's seen? The guardswoman turns her head in your direction confusedly, but is quickly disciplined with a hearty tut-tut, at which point she relays a vague description of Ms. Minett. Good intelligence, the captain remarks. Good intelligence indeed. Now, he tells the guardswoman, continue along with the report, which she does, though at a slower pace now.
Oh wait, I bet the electric talking sword can fix this. "One moment, gentlemen; I have a talking sword that I think can settle this for you. Not violently, of course!"
Let the sword do the talking. Literally, not figuratively.
They don't seem to believe you. Or maybe they have talking spears that have something to add to the discussion. Not as impressive as your sword, of course. You pull it out and display it side-on, letting the full breadth of the blade's special effects sink in on the observers, its neutral grayness the same color and immediately identifiable crispness regardless of the lighting conditions.
[Talk To The Sword: 3]
Their leader starts to shiver. A couple of the others look to her questioningly. She motions for them to prostrate themselves. A few look at the blade for but a few seconds before it seems to convince them to do the same. They all start to collectively mutter and fold in on themselves, trying to make themselves smaller. The Worm-knight looks upon your sword, but does not seem similarly affected. Neither does the guard, for that matter. They both just seem vaguely confused, although the guard wastes no time in suggesting that you should probably move along.
Waiting for tomorrow to come. Or dreaming?
[Echoes of the Reacharound: 3]
You dream of the grave of Red Clouds Parting. It is a place of considerable vagueness, sitting at the foot of a steel spire of uncommon construction, gleaming in the light of the midday sun. You dream of an appointment kept, and inevitability followed through with.
Red Clouds Parting - he died as he lived, chasing impossibility.
Leif Erikson, Miner
- A Word: INEVITABLE
- Enders' Friend: The Grave of Red Clouds Parting
- Small brass box
- Wounds: 1
- Sturdy Falchion
- Improvised Quarterstaff
- Body Count: 1
- All Broken Up: A Miracle of Alchemy
- Damp and moldy fuel
- Reappropriated, Clean Skirt
- Inscribed Wooden Stylus
- Iron Spearhead
- 1.03 gp
- The Box: ?
- Tower of the Mind: Convenient Relocation
- Induced Lucidity: A Concert For The Gods
- 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: Preparations For The Return
- Troubles In Anglefork Town: More Lethal Than Anticipated
- The Secret Life of Stoats: Harnessing Potential
Eileen Minett, Vinyl Collector
- Wounds: 2
- The Doom Guard: Consorting With The Enemy
- Exotic serrated zweihander
- Reclaimed Hooded Robe (worn, torn)
- Inauspicious Day: Off Into The Horizon
- Giant White Mushroom
- A Word: SEA
- A Word: HUNGER
- A Word: CHAOS
- A Weapon: Explosive Cysts
- 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: A Different Tack
- Tower of the Mind: Endless Well of Mystery
- Induced Lucidity: A Garden Well-Tended
- Elongated Affairs: Enemy of the New State
- 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
- Doomstones: So High Up But Such A Bitter View
- The Voracious Dark: Decreasing Demand
- 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)
- Troubles In Anglefork Town: Only Submission Is Acceptable
- Wounds: 3
- 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
- 10 m of rope
- Half a candle
- This Is The End: A Grim Prophecy
- Inauspicious Day: So Far Away
- 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)
- A Wealth of Burlap Ribbons
- An Obsolete Class: Trustworthy Individual
- The Flip Side: Procurement and Provisions
- The Doom Guard: Inadvisable Location
- Tower of the Mind: An Interruption
- A Frightening Door: An Understanding
- The Voracious Dark: Backed Away
- The Winding Path of Inspiration: The Process
- The One They Fear: Largely Irrelevant