Obliviously step inside the cell to look for someone.
"Hello?"
You step inside, and the turnkey closes the door behind you, plunging you into near-complete darkness as the door locks, and you are left alone. Or are you? You call out, your voice stifled by the tight quarters, and you feel a little silly for a second. It'd be strange if there was anyone else in here, you alone can hardly fit in-
Hello, you hear a voice reply from above. You were looking for her, yes? You hear something shuffle lightly along the wall, two bare feet planting lightly on the ground slightly in front of you. You were also looking for something else?
"Hmm. How about the sacrificial stone thing over by it?"
Doomstone armor?
Could work, the blacksmith guesses. It is fairly decent stone. Though you'd hardly want a coat of it, he suspects. Maybe something else could be arranged, such as-
At this moment Mr. Wilde turns to you and the blacksmith, his information having come in. He tells you that you made some kind of silence, and did it through a Word, that it's unstable and of "external provenance", whatever that means, produced by physically compromised, supernatural material. So far, so much shit you mostly already knew. And then he mentions it being useful to take a sample of the focusing entity.
You don't seem to be the only one slightly underwhelmed by the result. Not the most useful of insights, the blacksmith admits. Probably will need to take that sample, he says as he looks at you.
"That guy has pretty good balance."
Following Lee's example Leif raises his hands and gives the welcoming party happy wave. Does the backpack know anything about these folks?
You raise your hands, and your backpack smiles awkwardly as he does the same. The sentries continue to observe you for a little while longer, then one of them climbs out of the ditch. He's a tall fellow, wearing the same beaked mask and feathered cloak as the man on the pole, who seems to be pointing at you still, performing an excellent impression of a wind vane for intruders. You, your backpack and Lee are collectively sized up, and after a few moments he turns toward Lee. She spreads the pseudo-wings on her dress for a moment, and the man spreads his winglike cloak, and they exchange a handshake. What does she want, the man asks a bit forwardly. To pass unmolested, Lee replies.
[Polite Welcome: 6]
The man laughs. Glad that's over with. He never could get used to being rude to strangers. In addition, does she want anything else? Food? Drink? A spare infant? Moths are their friends, after all.
Lee maintains a passive expression for the moment. She would like the same privilege extended to the two others with her. The Stork touches his finger to the long beak of the mask. Oh. She means those
aren't offerings? That may make for a more difficult pitch, truth be told. Hm. Does she strictly need both of these outsiders, the man asks after a moment in a bargaining tone. Lee looks over at your backpack, who seems to have been trying and failing to understand to conversation happening with a suspicious eye, then checks with you wordlessly, raising an eyebrow and nodding very slightly in his direction.
"I've got a number of tricks up my sleeve," I mutter. "Watch out, this will be loud."
I create an explosive cyst and throw it into the woods somewhere a night gaunt seems to be. Hopefully that will at least scare it.
[A Fistful of Explosives: 4 vs. 5]
There is a traveling chill and tingling, as if your arm were falling asleep as you focus on the creation of an explosive cyst, extruding one on your palm, one handing your greatsword as you loose it into the forest where you hear the cackling and chiming come from - it flies into one of the trees and blows a good chunk of it to splinters, the tree creaking as its balance is upset and the remains of its trunk snap in half.
[Big Bang Hypothesis: 1]
Birds take flight in a mile's radius, and the cackling suddenly stops, as does the chiming. There's a stunned silence as the forest suddenly seems empty of life, only for the stillness to be pierced by a fluting, metallic coo, the curiosity of the gaunts very much piqued by this display of sorcery. Not only their curiosity, mind. The stoatman also seems very impressed. That there was magic, right, he says with a sense of wonder. Feckin' hell, he's never seen anything like that. Though, come to think of it, neither has he seen a night gaunt before. They say you actually don't until they eat you, to be honest.
Relate the insights to Nately and Daniels.
"... I'm slightly confused by the 'sampling of focusing entity' bit, though. I thought you said it didn't work on living things?
Oh, by the by, how did you come by that word, Daniels? I assume it was yours. "
Nately and his questionable associate listen carefully, but seem ultimately less than impressed, having a moment's conference on the results as presented.
And, well, Nately offers, consider a man, a REGULAR man, mind you. Say you lop off his finger, or cut out his heart, even, is the finger alive? And though the heart may beat for a couple of moments if you do it well enough, is the heart alive? The idea is more to not try and stick a whole living person in there. He is fairly sure that might interfere with the internal mental workings of the thing. He certainly saw the great white sea react poorly to the proximity of sentient beings, that's for sure. So you would want to avoid such unpredictable occurrences.
Leif Erikson, Miner
- A Word: INEVITABLE
- A Word: APOCALYPSE
- Mead of Poetry (6 shining revelations remaining)
- Enders' Friend: The Grave of Red Clouds Parting
- Small brass box
- Body Count: 1
- All Broken Up: Saved, Recreated!
- Reappropriated, Clean Skirt
- Inscribed Wooden Stylus
- Iron spear
- 1.03 gp
- The Box: ?
- Induced Lucidity: the Aftermath, or the New Beginning
- Compatibility: Minding
- Tricks of the Mind: Perception, Memory
- Tricks of the Mind: Engagement, Negation, Abstraction, Prestige
- Tricks of the Mind: the Self, the Other
- Gods of the Underground: Did You Just What
- The Voracious Dark: Two Deals Made
- The Voracious Dark: The Promised Sixth
- Moth's Flight: Quest for the North
Eileen Minett, Vinyl Collector
- In Living Memory: Honest Companion
- 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
- The Voracious Dark: Three Connections Given
- Tower of the Mind: There's Something To Remember
- The New Queen: And Something To Forget
- Body Count: 1
- The Impromptu Prophecy: ?
- Sweet Little Children: Fond Farewell
Jack Daniels, Karate Man
- Red and gold vest and breeches combo (worn)
- Leather boots (worn)
- 14033 gp (in sack)
- The Queen's Guard: Unusual Troublemaker
- 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 Winding Path of Inspiration: A New Direction
- 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
- 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 Majordomo: A Great Divide Between Us Now
- The Voracious Dark: Decreasing Demand
- The Voracious Dark: More Specific Requests
- The Good Doctor: A Recommendation
- Body Count: 3
Thomas Minstep, Insurance Agent
- Troubles In Anglefork Town: Bearer of the Sword
- 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: Sunday, July 25th, 409 S.D.
- The Majordomo: Busy Morning
- The Good Doctor: House Call
- The Queen's Guard: A Reward Well Earned
- Make A Man Out Of You: A Crowning Achievement
- The New Queen: Lasting Gratitude
- Tower of the Mind: Advice Given
- The Obsolete Class: Let Them Be
- The One They Fear: A Satisfactory Contract
- A Place In History: A Worthwhile Associate
- Body Count: 2
Oscar Wilde, Chemistry Teacher
- A Word: REVELATION
- Time-ender's measure (wrapped, yawning)
- 10 m of rope
- Half a candle
- This Is The End: A Grim Prophecy
- 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: the Denouement
- The Doom Guard: The Inquisition Moves On
- Tower of the Mind: An Interruption
- The Voracious Dark: Backed Away
- The Winding Path of Inspiration: Future Hopes