nelson posted:

Explore the city on our own.

Guy Fawkes posted:

Explore the city

Quelling of the Flame posted:

A path runs along the interior of the city wall, the stone as vine-encrusted as the city which it protectively embraces. You follow this, eventually coming to an archway guarded by a loudly snoring guard. Beyond him, a set of four hundred steps zig-zags their way down the side of the hill to the River Doi, where banana-shaped boats have hitched up along the shore in the shadow of a wide wooden bridge that spans the river, must have spanned it for hundreds of years, for it is as vine-wrapped as the city itself. Shaded by colorful awnings, merchants are selling their wares directly from the boats to crowds of enthusiastic shoppers, the biggest gathering you have seen in the city.

Coming up the last few steps is a strange little man. He puffs out his cheeks dramatically with each step, his face red and straining under the exertion of the climb - a chore not helped by the huge pack on his back, at least as big as he is. Sweat runs down his face, plastering a sparse tuft of orange hair over his forehead.

Wafflecopper posted:

talk to him

Wafflecopper posted:

talk to him

Quelling of the Flame posted:

The man stops when you hail him, clearly grateful for the excuse to rest, and listens with a confused interest to your question. "Waking what-now?" the little man asks, scratching a pimple on his chin. "Oh, you must mean the Wakeful Watchers! They sit along the city wall, just keep following the road south and you can't miss them. But if you really want to see something grand, you have no further to look than Yenvir the tinker!"

Before you can say anything else, the tinker unstraps his pack and begins pulling goods out of various pockets and pouches, presenting you with the items listed below. If you have the Art of Wordcraft, you can barter the prices down by 4 Gold Crowns each. Yenvir will also accept a Cat's Eye Gemstone in exchange for any one item:

• Yenvir's Healing Stiletto. This Backpack Item can be used at any time outside of combat to stab yourself, losing 2 ENDURANCE and healing an amount equal to two numbers from the Random Number Table (0 = 0). It is gone after one use. "The blade is imbued with holy blessings and restorative elements!" Yenvir says proudly. "All you have to do is stab whoever needs healing. Don't know why it never caught on." He is asking 6 Crowns for it.
  
• Arrow Snatch. This odd Special Item - part mechanical, part magical - looks like a bronze beetle. "Can snatch an incoming arrow straight outta the sky!" Yenvir declares. "Or at least, in theory. I've never tested it. But you can... for 8 Crowns!"

Wafflecopper posted:

We have no money to spend at the market so let's go to the Wakeful Watchers

Toplowtech posted:

Yenvir's Healing Stiletto is the weirdest item yet. I note that there is no usage limit. How would it work? Would we constantly cut ourselves to stay at max health?

Quelling of the Flame posted:

It is gone after one use.

Tiggum posted:

Quelling of the Flame posted:

Your feet are sore by the time you reach the city's southern wall. Four statues of titanic proportions stand behind the wall, bronze soldiers grimly keeping watch over the city, their hands gripping the shafts of colossal spears. Are these the statues that the woman who was killed in front of you wanted you to find? The statue points the way, she said, just before the arrow claimed her life

You find a place where the great wall was breached at the stone-sandaled feet of one of the soldiers. Whether the result of an ancient assault or some terrible storm you do not know but it has never been repaired, providing a huge window to the outside world. Here you stand and survey the vast jungle below, following the never-blinking gaze of the warrior. There is no gate to the south, no roads. Only wilderness lies that way. The River Doi flows to the southeast, passing through the miserable mire known as the Serpent Swamp. Beyond that, beyond the range of your vision even on such a clear day, is the immense stretch of sea known as the Gulf of Tentarium.



When you turn from the view, a building across the street catches your eye. Ancient bestiaries speak of reptiles called "crocodiles," which used to range Magnamund's rivers and swamps. They were completely wiped out by the Agarashi during the Age of Eternal Night. Now instead those rivers are claimed by Storghs: blind beasts that are always hungry. This structure, however, depicts one of these lost crocodiles, shaped like its head, mouth open wide to form a doorway framed by white teeth. At first you think the structure is made of gold, but it is just a trick of the sunlight and the yellow flowers that bloom on the vines strung all over it. An old man sits on a stool beside the entrance, snoring loudly. Beyond him a sign points to Trynta Street.

nelson posted:

”Wake up old man!”

Toplowtech posted:

Let's wake the old man, just to be mean or maybe to save him from falling from its stool and save his life.

Quelling of the Flame posted:

As you approach the old man you notice a strong smell emanating from a wicker basket resting in his lap. Looking closer you see it is filled with brown sticks of incense. Gently, you shake the old man awake. He stirs and opens eyes foggy with cataracts. When you ask him about the statues he makes several smacking sounds with his lips, savoring the chance to tell a story.

"The Watchers," he calls them. "They've protected Dalobu for time immemorial. There is a legend that they used to come to life to defend Dalobu from Agarashi out of the Gorgoron chasm in the old days. People used to leave fruit and other offerings for them, but that stopped after the fires. I'm afraid the Watchers have gone hungry for about, oh, two hundred years now."

"What happened?" you ask.

"There was plague in the old district. Nasty business, or so it's said. No one knows how the fires started. Maybe a riot by the sick. Maybe the gods sent the fire. Whoever sent it, it were more curse than blessing. It took care of the plague, sure enough, but the fire spread out of control, claimed half the city and a thousand lives, too. Dalobu never really recovered. Who knows? In another two hundred years, only the monkeys might live here. In any case, after the fires, faith in the Watchers was shaken and praying to the spirits became a more secret, quiet thing."

The blind man gestures behind him, to the flower-covered crocodilian structure. "Buy some incense for prayer?" If you wish, you can purchase a Stick of Incense from him for a single Crown - mark it as a Special Item.

nelson posted:

Check out the crocks.

Quelling of the Flame posted:

You step through the crocodile's mouth. Beyond is a large circular chamber filled with the heady aroma of sagebrush. Totems crowd the space, each one carved in the likeness of strange hybrid animals so that beak and carved feathers blend into wood-hewn fur and claw. The only light in the room comes from small braziers set at the base of each totem, lined with softly glowing red coals. The charred, smoky remains of incense sticks dust the coals.

These are not gods being prayed to, but everyday kinds of spirits, spirits of the river and the jungle, of sky and storm. They stir strange feelings in you, feelings of recognition. Two in particular you believe you could almost find names for: a serpentine creature that is depicted peering out between stalks of tall reeds in the far corner of the room, and a heavyset bear with folded wings closer to the entrance.

Though the room is uncomfortably warm and the incense smoke burns your throat, you find that you are very hungry. You have not eaten all day. You must now eat a Meal or lose 3 ENDURANCE from your current and maximum ENDURANCE. When you have finished with this, you may light a Stick of Incense before one of the totems and say a prayer, if you have this Special Item. If you do this, remove it from your Action Chart.

Meals: 1

You end up heading deeper and deeper into Dalobu, lost in your thoughts, until you look up and realize that you are alone in a part of the city which has been completely abandoned to the jungle. Here, the buildings are nought but burned out husks and the trees have grown so tall and leafy that they cast the cracked streets in perpetual shade. Creepers have conquered any two stones left standing on top of each other and large bird-catching spiders have made the alleyways homes for their nests. You pull away vines grown thick as sailor's rope from the side of a mostly intact building and see a bronze plaque underneath, charred by ancient fire. The plaque bears no words but instead a simple design of a half-lidded eye in a triangle of flame. Seeing it gives you a strange feeling, as though you have been here before, touched this before. You can picture this building before it was burned to the ground.

A scream cuts through the air. Birds explode from the trees around you, startled into flight in this otherwise tomb-like place. The cry came from inside the ruined building. You hurry to investigate.

Enough of the walls still stand to provide you cover as you move silently towards the source of the cry. Coming through a half collapsed doorway you see a woman on the ground, bleeding from a gaping wound in her throat. She is dead before you reach her. Whatever beast did this has left its kill uneaten and undefended. More the behavior of a domesticated hunting dog than a wild beast.



Examining the body further, you find on her left forearm a brand of a half-lidded eye enwreathed by fire. You also find the following, any of which you can keep:

• A serrated dagger with a crystal handle. Mark it as a "Crystal Dagger," a Weapon that when wielded deals an additional +1 damage whenever you deal damage in combat.
  
• Skincrawler Poison (Ignore one round's combat damage).
  
• A Compass (Backpack Item).
  
• Ornate Hairpin. This is a Special Item; you can slip it into a secret pocket of your cloak.

An opening in the floor catches your eye. Beyond it is a stairway heading down into darkness. Splatters of blood trail down the steps to a stone tunnel. You decide to follow, your eyes seeking out danger in the dark.

We take all of those, replacing our regular Dagger with the Crystal Dagger.

You put a hand against the wall and follow it slowly, straining your ears to hear anything beyond the stifling silence. You can tell the tunnels are narrow for if you stretch out both hands you can feel both walls. At one point, your hand finds a niche and brushes against something smooth and cool. It takes you a few moments to recognize that you have touched a human skull.

At times you do think you hear something in the dark: whispers and the shuffling of soft footsteps. But whenever you stop to listen you are left with only the sound of your own breathing. You are continuing forward after one of these pauses when the wall you are following abruptly ends and you stumble. At the same time someone grabs your hair and pulls your head back. Light flares to life, causing you to blink in pain.

"Reach for a weapon and I'll water the stones with your blood," a female voice hisses into your ear as a blade is pressed against your throat.

The light grows brighter and a small woman wearing a black tunic with white trim comes forward holding a lantern. Her short-cropped hair has streaks of gray in it and there are crow's feet at the corners of her eyes.

"I'm looking for Nessa, of The Waking Flame," you gasp, feeling the blade rasp against your neck.

At this, the woman comes closer still, peering at you as if you are a particularly interesting passage in a book. You notice that her eyes do not match: one is a forest green, the other daffodil yellow.

"And why do you seek The Waking Flame?" she asks

"First, to warn them. The Twins are coming. They already have killed one of the Order and they nearly killed me."

"We shouldn't trust her," the knife holder hisses, tightening their grip. A bead of blood trickles down your neck.

"Who are you?" the woman with the colorful eyes demands.

Wafflecopper posted:

truth

Wafflecopper posted:

truth

Quelling of the Flame posted:

"People call me the Huntress," you say. "What my real name is, I do not know. What I've come seeking in Dessi is nothing more or less than the truth of who I am. I was told that such secrets lie with The Waking Flame."

Upon hearing your name, the woman takes a step back, raising a hand as if to ward off an attack.

"Nessa, what's wrong?" the knife wielder asks.

"Silence her, quickly," Nessa says.

Before you can say more, the woman restraining you shouts a word that is more than a word and you feel sleep come over you like a smothering blanket, dragging you down into darkness.

Your limbs go limp and your weight pulls you to the cool stone floor. Nessa speaks to the woman who was holding you, an olive-skinned warrior: "There is no time to explain now, Farisia. Gather the others. This woman is not what she seems..."

With that you fall into a sleep without dreams.

Nothing, when you come awake, makes sense. A torch in a wall sconce casts jittery shadows. Iron bars form a cage around you and through them a pool of blood is slowly expanding, following the contours of the floor. The blood flows from further down the hallway but you cannot see it from within your cell. There is a faint tearing sound drifting from that direction.

You have been stripped of everything except your clothing, cloak, and money. Your Backpack, Weapons, and all Special Items have been taken from you, including your Demonic Mask if you had one. The only items left to you, if you had them, are the Ornate Hairpin, the Lucky Coin, Yenvir's Arrow Snatch, and any Fireseeds, which you were able to hide in your cloak.

Wafflecopper posted:

Let’s put those thieving skills to use. pick the lock

Wafflecopper posted:

Let’s put those thieving skills to use. pick the lock

Toplowtech posted:

Yeah, use skills, pick the lock.

Quelling of the Flame posted:

The hairpin was tucked away in a secret pocket of your cloak. You pull it out now and examine the lock to the cell. Thankfully, while large and impressive looking, the lock is not particularly well made, the kind of lock fools use and thieves love. In a very short time you are able to bypass it and push open the doors with a rusty whine.

Hardly have you set foot outside of the cage when you hear a growl. Down the hallway lies a dead woman dressed in leather armor with the sign of the Wakeful Flame branded onto her arm and, crouching over her, a massive black dog. It raises its bloody muzzle from the open midriff of the woman and licks its chops, staring at you through red eyes. Wounds cover its body, probably from the woman it is eating. Despite them, the beast rushes at you, jaws slavering with spit that sizzles as it hits the stone floor.

Injured Plague Hound: ENDURANCE 14

This combat is fought at a Combat Ratio of +3, though the Plague Hound deals +1 damage every time it strikes you, due to its corrosive bite. In the first round of combat you are unarmed. Instead of lowering your Combat Ratio, deal no damage in this round unless you have the Art of Drova Das. After this, you are able to grab the dead guard's Battle-axe.

Quelling of the Flame posted:

The only way out of the prison is a set of wooden stairs. You snatch a burning torch off the wall and climb them to a door. When you shove it open you find yourself staring into the open jaws of another plague hound. It lunges for your face then yelps as a knife embeds itself in its skull. The dog stumbles past you, breaks through the railing of the stairs, and hits the prison floor fifteen feet below with a wet smack. Down the passageway stands the woman who threw the knife, the woman called Nessa. The two of you stare at each other for a long time.

"You tried to warn us," Nessa says at last. "I was wrong not to listen. Whatever else you may have done in the past, you tried to help us now."

"I don't know what I did in the past," you say. "I don't remember my past. That's what I came here to find out."

Nessa considers this. Then at last she points down a corridor to your right. "That is the way out," she says. "I won't stop you from leaving. You should give up your search and return to the life you have made. Be satisfied with it and leave the past alone." Then she turns and goes the opposite direction, from which now drifts screams.

Wafflecopper posted:

help Nessa

Quelling of the Flame posted:

If Nessa is surprised to see you join her, she does not show it.

"Usually I charge a hefty fee for my services," you say. "But in this case, I only want some answers to questions I've long had."

Nessa nods. "If we survive this, we shall talk."

She leads the way through winding tunnels to a high-ceilinged amphitheater. Lanterns illuminate rows of benches overlooking a floor decorated in colorful mosaic tiles, depicting in all the myriad colors of fire a burning, half-lidded eye. The mural is stained by the blood of a half dozen slain women, their bodies broken and scattered. Feeding on the corpses is the largest dog you have ever seen, twice as large as a mastiff. Its skin is full of angry patches of missing fur and pale green tentacles whip in a mane around its face.

In the highest row of benches a figure stirs and rises. You recognize immediately the pale, bald features of one of the Twins.

"I was afraid we'd already killed all of you, and so quickly," the Twin says in a lisping voice wet with phlegm. "There's barely enough to fill Marsuela's belly."



The Twin stops when he notices you standing next to Nessa. His eyes become wide and fill with a wild intensity, like the look a lover gives his heart's desire. "You. We looked for you in the Confluence. For long we dreamed of what we would do if we found you. Now we can take revenge on the Order and you at the same time." Before you can ask what he is talking about the Twin speaks a guttural command. The mutation stops its feeding and bounds for you and Nessa, its face splitting apart into a massive vertically aligned jaw, lined with misshapen, mismatched fangs.

Wafflecopper posted:

never stop looting, even when a mutant demon dog is about to eat our face: search the nearest body

Wafflecopper posted:

never stop looting, even when a mutant demon dog is about to eat our face: search the nearest body