To wit; it cannot be gainsaid that the Many Mysteries are well-without the purview of Flegmat, or any other author herein this Canon; truly, it is that they would write of Mysterious Medicine and Healing Arts with the same authority as a Counter-Clerk would of chirurgery! However, here Flegmat wrestles – gainfully, mind – with the long-historied role that those who Delved had on the mundane study of Humorous Nature. His accounting of the rise into good-grace of the Fourfold Theory is well-fleshed, though not novel to anyone passably read. The account of the subsequent fall from good-grace and the too-incremental acceptance of its successor, the Comprehensive Theory - elsewhere named as the Singular or the Singular Comprehensive Theory - is novel, controversial, and in the eyes of some, perhaps even dangerous. As its inclusion was not a decision gently made nor borne, so it may be said that it being rendered here at all is testament to the strength of Flegmat's argumentation, and the butcher's bill that the slow adoption of Singular Theory has needlessly wrought.
- A preface from a Stricken printing of The Canon of Medicine, a collection of writings on medical history by a number of authors. The Fourfold Theory held that for man there is an internal alchemical balance of phlegm, blood and bile - both yellow and black - and that when balance between these four is lost, illness and malady are inevitable. The Comprehensive Theory holds that there is but one 'family' of Humors, not four - hence Singular - and that it is the presence of these Humors, not the balance of them, that are responsible for illnesses. Medical interventions that ascribe to the Comprehensive Theory of Humors are more successful than those that ascribe to the Fourfold Theory, though as the Comprehensive Theory was developed by Witches as opposed to Physicians, its adoption in the fields of Mundane medicine has been slow, partially on account of the inclement association, but primarily as any benefits from implementing the theory in practice were misattributed to Mysterious Medicine, and were assumed to be beyond mundane practitioners.
In Scrimshaw Mount, all graves are shallow. Even on the Promontory, where Nature, through the permutations of the Pattern had placed soil on the otherwise nude basalt of the Mount, the bone white stone was never more than a few feet down, commonly less than one. As such, getting graves to the standard depth of eight feet was simply not practical for those interned in the Mount's public burying grounds. But those that lived their lives and died their deaths on the Mount didn't take overmuch umbrage at their shallow graves. For both the practical and pious among them understood full well that under the panopticonical Gaze of the Patternmaker Above … all things are shallow.
Stage
md5: 7be2890effbf9d68e8f3e71ea19e3bfd
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Your name is Chlotsuintha, and an hour ago, you were already convinced that this was to be the longest night of your life.
That was before you abandoned the stage and team that was so dearly fought for, so important for your escape. That was before you made yourself known by appearance at yet another Public House for no benefit, and ultimately no reason. That was before you found the Mount to be on a level of alert so disproportionate with the supposed cause - a spate of banditry on the roads - that you have to think there is much more to it all. That was before you presented yourself to Guards – to Guards! – at a Gatehouse, having given up on winning your way through the Landward Walls on your own. And that was before those Guards asked you to explain what was in the rough bundle in your arms, the very one which you have secreted your Wand of Head-Knocking in.
You are now increasingly convinced that this is to be the last night of your life.
Having long since worn yourself down to a nub, you cannot think things through. Your instincts to avoid danger, to cut your losses cleanly and early, to take and make compromises - the very instincts that have served you your whole life - now, tonight, seem keen to condemn you. You got scared off by the prospect of either talking or sneaking your way out of Cancer House, so you walked - well, snuck - away. But now you have no idea how you are suppose to extricate your stage and team from Cancer House. You do not even know if you can ... though you have no plan on how to leave the Mount but for to drive yourself out on the stage. And you cannot imagine getting your father's work and equipment - the whole fraying reason you have lingered here so fraying long - out of the Mount on a hired stage. You are going to need that. Your stage, your team. Or, or .... maybe another one ... though tomorrow - which is already today - is Titheday, so finding anyone to do business with and actually doing it is going to be all the harder. Mercy, Mercy, Mercy ...
"Domina?"
Shit! The Guards! You're fraying yourself straight to the Heights of Hell! The bundle, the bundle ... right! If the Guards bought the bill of sale about you being out on the streets to return to your strictly fictitious father at his similarly fictitious accommodations on account of some vague-yet-serious misconduct at some whole-cloth relatives house, then perhaps you may run with it ...
"Proof. It is proof. And I'd ... really rather not speak of it any further."
The look between the Guards, the pregnant pause ... you think you have sold them, but you - you wish you had your wand Socketed. Or that you didn't have it at all. You are not sure which would be better. Was this all a mistake? The story? Trying to talk your way through the wall? Trying ... trying to be a Witch? Trying to be your father's heir? You don't even feel scared at this point, just ... numb. Hollow and numb. Save for your head, which now feels fit to fall off.
Blearily, you stare at the Guards. Waiting for whatever is to come.
"I ... I see. Of course. Ah, if you would follow me, I'll take you to the Watch-Serjant. He'll arrange to get you back to your father."
Arrange. You knew this was coming, and yet you still feel unprepared for this blow. Realistically, there was never any way that you were going to leave this Gatehouse alone. You could convince Nasturtium and Sulphreme - barely, mind - but Guards? Who would be held to account if anything happened to you? Who are on some sort of city-wide alert? Who believe that you have been ... mistreated to some extent? No, you are going to be leaving here under armed guard - one way or another. Unless you try to run for it ... which you don't fancy doing, not in this dress. If they leave you unattended, out of reach long enough, you might be able to make a break for it. But you will be known to the Guard ... and if whatever they are expecting with this alert happens, then you will probably be blamed and hunted for that as well ...
But as you make measured steps towards Gate and Guard, as his 'other half' stands aside, you have to wonder how if your prospects are for talking your way out are much better.
> Please choose ONE of the following:
> You will commit to talking your way out of this, baring threats to your person or ... discovery. You will keep an eye out and an ear cocked for escape routes and opportunities, but that will be the extent of it.
> You will commit to running your way out of this, as soon as the opportunity arises - unless, of course, you manage to talk yourself into being let out onto the Mount before you get an opening to make a break for it.
> You will commit to running your way out of this, as soon as the opportunity arises - unless, of course, you manage to talk yourself into being let out onto the Mount alone before you get an opening to make a break for it.
> Previous thread: https://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/qstarchive/2024/6114716/
> Archive: https://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive.html?tags=eternal+rome
>>6216393>You will commit to talking your way out of this, baring threats to your person or ... discovery. You will keep an eye out and an ear cocked for escape routes and opportunities, but that will be the extent of it.Welcome back
>>6216393>You will commit to running your way out of this, as soon as the opportunity arises - unless, of course, you manage to talk yourself into being let out onto the Mount before you get an opening to make a break for it.The last two options are exactly the same. Did you make an error?
>>6216393> You will commit to running your way out of this, as soon as the opportunity arises - unless, of course, you manage to talk yourself into being let out onto the Mount alone before you get an opening to make a break for it.I am reading this to mean, unless we can somehow talk our way into being released without a guard escort, we plan to run/sneak from the guards (once we are out on the Mount).
>>6216515It is good to be back!
>>6216558No,
>>6216593 has the right of it.
>>6216593To be clear, are you voting for this option, or just explaining it?
>>6216667Both, I guess. I thought I understood the distinction in the options but since I wasn't 100% I wanted to say what I was voting for more clearly
I'm
>>6216593 in case my IP changed
>>6216393>You will commit to running your way out of this, as soon as the opportunity arises - unless, of course, you manage to talk yourself into being let out onto the Mount alone before you get an opening to make a break for it.
Alright, consider this closed. Look for the update in two hours.
If you are any to judge - which you very well might not be, considering all of the trouble you have been walking into lately - you would take a stake that it will prove harder to talk yourself out of the Gatehouse than it was to talk yourself in to it. But ... while you imagine that just looking at the under-over, running would have better odds than talking for springing yourself out of this, you know full well if you do run, then you will be on the run. You won't be able to be out in this dress, not without risk - especially in tightly held spots, like Gatehouses and the Lifts. In fact, given your remarkable height, you doubt that you would be safe in any dress - you might not even be safe dressed as a man with a hooded or otherwise obscured face ... though you imagine that suspicion might not fall so readily on a Leper known to other Lepers and the Middenguard as it might some obfuscated who-body. Unfortunate as all of this may be though, it cannot be gainsaid that running is sure in ways that talking is not. Moreover, by choosing to run, you have the initiative, and with it, hopefully the advantage. And as difficult as it may prove to run in this dress, you cannot imagine than running in harness is much easier. Is any easier, really ... though they will be much fresher than you are. And the Guards here have guns.
Though on that point, there might be a stroke of white luck for you. Only one of the Guards down here is so armed, the other - the one who is to escort you to the Watch-Serjant - was simply holding his awl-pike as one might a gun, at waist height, and so it was that you mistook it at first and even second glance. As the Guard on top of the Gatehouse has not reappeared, you cannot say for sure how he may be armed - though you feel as though you should assume he has a gun as well. Given that he was placed on high, you also imagine that of the two of them, he'd be the better shot.
Swallowing in a throat that feels as if it had never been anything but dry, you start towards the Gatehouse, which sits mostly dark and entirely still. As you feel the stones of the street change to the planks of the lift-gate, you ruefully find that you are in fact not too tired and too care-worn to feel fear. To tell it truly, you now feel as if you have made a serious mistake; you are not ready nor fit to start running, knowing that you cannot stop, not truly, until you are off of the Mount. And yet ... how can you possibly commit yourself to talking your way out of here? Surely, this Watch-Serjant you are being taken to is going to want you to open up this bundle, even if you suggest that it is something ... private and unfortunate. And he is going to want names as well. Your name, your father's name, the names of the distant family you are fleeing from, and most important of all he name of the Public House you are heading to. The thought of all of this lying you must wade through is enough to make head and heart achingly pound.
> Please choose ONE of the following:
> Assuming that the opportunity to run does not present itself before you are taken to the Watch-Serjant, you will make a point to not readily give the name of the Public House you are heading to, in the slim hope that you manage to convince the man to let you out into the city on your own recognizance. This will make convincing and deceiving the Watch-Serjant harder.
> Assuming that the opportunity to run does not present itself before you are taken to the Watch-Serjant, you will name the Blue Boy as the name of the Public House you are heading to, as it is the only House inside the Landward Walls that you know of that is suitable for someone of your fictitious families presumed status to take rooms at. This will complicate things IF you are ultimately escorted to the Blue Boy, as you don't actually have rooms there, and your paths might cross with Eupator, the Tartessian merchant who knows you were the one who knocked down the Euthyphro
> Write-in suggestions for ways to explain away the bundle without having to open it up - assuming it comes to that, which it well might.
Only fifty minutes late! By my standards, I'd go so far to say that is still early. Joking aside, I do intend to post updates more frequently than I have, and on something closer to a schedule. And to do that, I am going to start to roll for tie-breakers. Now, I am going to leave this particular vote up for eight hours or thereabouts, then we will start the run tomorrow. Hope to see you all then!
>>6216872>Assuming that the opportunity to run does not present itself before you are taken to the Watch-Serjant, you will name the Blue Boy as the name of the Public House you are heading to, as it is the only House inside the Landward Walls that you know of that is suitable for someone of your fictitious families presumed status to take rooms at. This will complicate things IF you are ultimately escorted to the Blue Boy, as you don't actually have rooms there, and your paths might cross with Eupator, the Tartessian merchant who knows you were the one who knocked down the Euthyphro
>>6216872>Assuming that the opportunity to run does not present itself before you are taken to the Watch-Serjant, you will name the Blue Boy as the name of the Public House you are heading to, as it is the only House inside the Landward Walls that you know of that is suitable for someone of your fictitious families presumed status to take rooms at. This will complicate things IF you are ultimately escorted to the Blue Boy, as you don't actually have rooms there, and your paths might cross with Eupator, the Tartessian merchant who knows you were the one who knocked down the EuthyphroIt's only going to be a problem if we allow him to escort us all the way, which we won't.
Consider this closed. Look for the update in three hours.
You hem your way into the shadow of the Gatehouse, and you are still hawing as you step under the portcullis. Only once you see the flat blackness awaiting you through the gate do you stop your fretting. If it is this dark, then it can only mean that the twin of this gate, the one that leads out onto the Mount, must be shut up. So it seems that escape is not to be as simple as just ... running away. You are going to need to find where to run to first - which you are not like to get the opportunity to do so. The Guard mumbles something that might have been a lament for forgetting a lantern, though it is hard to tell over the noise of his harness. Having taken a few steps inside, you can now make out some wisps of light, which the Guard is walking towards. You know that there are stairs and even rooms along the walls in this space between the gates, clearly, this where the Watch-Serjant is holed up.
Struck with a sense of foreboding - and just how vulnerable you are down here - you immediately settle for naming the Blue Boy. Anything more sure to get you out of this mess is worth it, so long as you don't actually get escorted all the way to that House. And to tell it true, it might just be worth it even if you are escorted all the way. That said, it is dark enough in here that it might not come to that. If you were to slip away from the Guard in this darkness, then manage to stay out of sight long enough to find a side-door, or a sally port or whatever, then win your way through it. Of course, there is no guarantee that the door wouldn't be locked - or worse, barred from the other side.
> Please choose ONE of the following:
> Attempt to slip away right here, before you are shown to the Watch-Serjant [Requires Rolling]
> Continue on for now, waiting for a better opportunity to arise
>>6216988>Attempt to slip away right here, before you are shown to the Watch-Serjant [Requires Rolling]
>>6216988>Continue on for now, waiting for a better opportunity to ariseI have this funny idea that we should act like a ghost; act super melancholic and mysterious, ask to be taken to our family, and then disappear suddenly when we're being escorted.
>>6216988> Continue on for now, waiting for a better opportunity to ariseI"m not sure if this
>>6217044 is a good idea, but it is certainly funny and worth considering
Consider this closed. Look for the next update in three hours.
Footfall
md5: 32af622d91f6fb9ec3d2473daf179fc0
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No, that ... no. You simply must have something much closer to surety than a vague notion that an exit exists somewhere nearby before you commit yourself to running. You will have to -
Barely, over the clanking din the footfalls from the Guard beside you, you can hear a second set, more distant. You turn, to see the second Guard approaching with a lit peep-lantern in hands and his gun slung over his shoulder. The first Guard stops, and you - not knowing where you are being led - stop as well to wait. The tight beam of the peep-lantern moves towards you, and instinctively, you look away, to spare yourself from being light-blinded. It seems that your escort was not so fortunate, for after a wordless squawk, he cries out into the echoing hollow all around -
"Have a care, you fool, with that damned thing. Er ... pardon my language, Domina."
"And my trespass, Domina, pardon that too. I just saw that my friend was so eager to be off he forgot his light."
Helmeted and still in the gloom of the tunnel, it is hard to see their expressions ... but you feel for a surety that they are looking at you intently. Perhaps ... perhaps they expect you to actually verbally accept their apologies?
"It is ... nothing. Less than nothing."
They nod appreciatively at that, and nothing more. When nothing else is forthcoming from them, you start to feel a bit awkward yourself, so you blurt out -
"Thank you, Goodman Guard, for the light."
"Why, you are right welcome, Domina."
He starts to say something more, but he stops himself short. It is the other one who speaks next.
"We really shouldn't stray so far nor so long from our posts. If it is your pleasure, I'll get you to the Watch-Serjant as quick as can be."
With that, the Guard you followed in - the one with the awl-pike - offers you his left arm.
Setting aside that you are not entirely certain that someone of your presumed status would accept a Guards arm, you have some misgivings about finding yourself being led around like that again. Sulphreme, as caring and proper as he was, really managed to hurt you when he was hanging - dangling perhaps - off of your arm. Though that was more to do his weight being put on the tracks of the Socketing Needle than anything else - with this left arm on offer, those tender spots would be untouched.
> Please choose ONE of the following:
> Accept the offered arm, and continue on.
> Refuse the offered arm, and continue on.
> Refuse the offered arm as politely as you can, and continue on. [Requires Rolling]
>>6217233> Accept the offered arm, and continue on.
>>6217233>Accept the offered arm, and continue on.
>>6217233> Refuse the offered arm as politely as you can, and continue on. [Requires Rolling]
>>6217233>Refuse the offered arm as politely as you can, and continue on. [Requires Rolling]
Rolled 1 (1d2)
On roll of 1; accept
On roll of 2; politely decline
Consider this closed. Look for the next update in three hours.
Unsure of both yourself and what is proper, you hesitate ... but unable to muster up a sufficiently polite refusal on the spit as you are, you gingerly entwine your arm with the one on offer from the Guard with the pike, as you offer him - and his mate - your most winsome smile. And so, in the middling glow of the peep-lantern carried by the Guard with the gun, the three of you push your way through the still air of the Gatehouse. Well-pleased you may be by the Guard at your arm, for all of the care that he is taking to not crush your arm in his, you cannot help but feel awkward being led around like this by someone whose name and face is not known to you. Perhaps, even more than awkward ... though such feelings are entirely unfair. These men have been nothing but polite and deferential. And if there was some ... artifice, some trick to snare you here, set by the Inquisition, or the Guard, or anyone else, then for a surety, it already would have been sprung, right? The moment you walked under the portcullis, it would have dropped and you would have been a pig in poke. At the very least, there would have been more men than these two, and weapons trained on you long before now.
No, numb as you feel - save for your aching head - this is all just nerves. You have bungled so much, so badly that you cannot accept that everything is fine. And the gloom, not entirely being kept at bay by the light off of the lantern, is certainly not reigning your imagination in here. Looking at it squarely, you ... you are in good hands. You are going to see the Watch-Serjant. You are going to tell the Watch-Serjant what you told these nice, kind Guards - going into a bit more detail, naming the Blue Boy. And yourself, you will need to give yourself a name too. You should come up with a new one, one that isn't Dremen. In fact, you should come up with it now, because to tell it true, you feel that if you don't get out of your own way here, you are going to end up doing something stupid, like convincing yourself to bail out of a sure thing, like you did at Cancer House, which is only going to fray you over. Short and long term.
Alright, perhaps Cancer House was not a 'sure thing'. But this is. Definitely.
Right?
> Please choose ONE of the following:
> Yes, this is a sure thing. No, you are not in any danger. And to keep yourself from doing anything stupid, you are going to come up with names to use for your little chat with the Watch-Serjant
> No, this is not a sure thing. You very well could be in danger - and there is something you can do about it. Ask the Guard to stop, so you may batten down your bundle - and use the opportunity to make sure the wand is ready to go. Hopefully you aren't needlessly drawing attention to how suspicious your bundle is, for if you are ... well, you never cared for those stories about those who brought terrible fates on themselves trying to avoid them, but you would imagine that you would like them even less were it to happen to you.
>>6217571> Yes, this is a sure thing. No, you are not in any danger. And to keep yourself from doing anything stupid, you are going to come up with names to use for your little chat with the Watch-SerjantI don't think I agree that it is a sure thing, but I do doubt our capacity to socket our wand without attracting attention.
>>6217571> No, this is not a sure thing. You very well could be in danger - and there is something you can do about it. Ask the Guard to stop, so you may batten down your bundle - and use the opportunity to make sure the wand is ready to go. Hopefully you aren't needlessly drawing attention to how suspicious your bundle is, for if you are ... well, you never cared for those stories about those who brought terrible fates on themselves trying to avoid them, but you would imagine that you would like them even less were it to happen to you.
>>6217571>Yes, this is a sure thing. No, you are not in any danger. And to keep yourself from doing anything stupid, you are going to come up with names to use for your little chat with the Watch-Serjant
Consider this closed. Look for the next update in three hours.
Yes! Yes, damn it all and you besides, this is all oaken, all upright. These are Guards. So long as they don't know your misdeeds, you have nothing to fear from them. You just have a lot on your mind, that's all ... and you are in a dark tunnel with ... two armed who-bodies. It would be cause for concern if you didn't have a little bout of nerves at the prospect, which ... well, admittedly, it took more than a moment, it ... it took actually getting the Gatehouse with them for it to properly occur to you, but you can chalk that up to just being burnt to guttering by way of both ends. The point is ... if you are frayed here, then you are already frayed. And a proper trap would long since have been sprung, so then ... this is all just nerves. Nerves and a headache now a stomachache, but nothing more.
Honestly, how many more times are you going to get half-way through something, something important, something necessary, and the moment, the exact fraying moment that things get just a touch tough, or your not ... well-disposed or perfectly prepared, you bail out? Because if you are telling it true, then tonight, you more than anyone else, more than the Inquisition, more than the Guard, more than even ... just, material necessity, have undermined your schedule, your designs. You need to ... get out of your own way, for once. For tonight. Now, names. You are going to need names. Luss ... Luth? Luthelga? Luthsperga? Luthsperga Luss? No, the alliteration is ... good, but they are just too close to one another. Then perhaps ... Lux. Mind you, it is not much further removed, but if you cannot muster anything better for the Watch-Serjant, then Luthsperga Lux should serve. It -
There are two arches along the wall to your right,. one of which all of the light in the Gatehouse passage that is not coming off of the peep-lantern in the hands of the Guard with the gun slung over his shoulder shines forth from. It is not the one you are being led to. Upon realizing this, you miss a step. The Guard whose arm you are entwined in sighs in good-humor. You can hear - but not see, between the gloom and helmet - the smile on his lips as he explains -
"The Watch-Serjant, he's ... well, not like to let whatever has roused the roost tonight deny him his mid-night kip."
Involuntarily, you look back to the Gate you passed through. It seems very far away, further away than the Walls themselves are thick. The Guard with the light - and the gun - goes first, then the Guard with you in his arm follows. The way is not entirely large enough for you to pass two at a time, so you go at a bit of an angle, him first, and you behind. In spite of how tight everything has gotten, the man has increased his pace - as well as his grip on your arm. All you can think of now is the halls and rooms of the Hooded Heads and the 'Poonist's Perch, and how vulnerable you felt, how vulnerable you were in them, once it was clear how the men who let you in expected you to ... tender payment.
The hall you find yourself in now is not particularly long, nor are there many doors down its length - least that you can see. There is a door that you can smell though, a door to a privy. And if you are any to judge, you'd say you are getting closer and closer. You'd say that is where you are being led. You miss another step - and a heartbeat or three - but the Guard doesn't, and for half a stride you are dragged until you find your feet. When no apology nor acknowledgement is forthcoming, you ... you have to acknowledge you have made a ... a number of mistakes here. First and foremost being that it is not without reason that women are escorted or otherwise chaperoned, especially after dark. The second, you suppose, is the ... level of trust that you put in random Guards. Obviously, you are most familiar with the Middenguard, who while far from the Emperor's finest, are ... are hands-off in their conduct, considering the spiritually and physically Unclean nature of their charges. Somewhere along the line, you must have ... made these observations into assumptions about all Guards. The third is that you were expecting ... institutional traps. Well-thought, well-crafted. The notion of being a ... a target of opportunity never really occurred to you, but ... now that you think of it ... you are out unconscionably late after wandering off from your accommodations for the night, you put the idea in their head that you had already been ... mistreated, and to top it off, there is something ... dangerous happening, hence the state of silent alert. Really, you couldn't think of a more perfect night for someone to be just ... swallowed up by the streets. You have never had issues like that before, traveling around the Mount ... but then again, up until four - or is it five? - days ago, you were always with your father, not making yourself known - at least, not to the point of having conversations with anyone - and never dressed as a woman, especially wearing a 'worn piece' that was worth at least a year or two of wages for a skilled laborer. That ... that must be what - what ... attracted them to ... oh, Pattern's Perdition. Oh, oh no. No. You ... you cannot, this - this - this cannot!
And yet, what else can this really be? Just because you made mistakes earlier by bailing out of this, that and the other thing, it doesn't follow - it - it didn't follow, rather, that this was a sure thing. That this was the one to see through to the end. You fraying idiot! You absolute fraying idiot! Oh, your ... your head. You've gone and done it. You have finally gone and done it, and you barely feel anything. You don't feel numb, it is like ... it just cannot register, it ...
Fraying focus! Focus now, before you are ... getting ... ah, shit! Shit! What do you do? What even can you do? The bundle, the wand and the knife inside of it. Dropping the bundle and stooping to pick it up might have worked earlier, but in the final stretch, it doesn't seem like to work. You drop anything, and it is getting left behind, what with you being hauled away as you are now. The apparent options - such as they are - are to either wrench your arm out of the grip of this Guard or to wait until you are released. Neither of those are appealing. Wrenching your arm away would tip your hand immediately, there wouldn't be any time to put your hands on anything before the Guards knew you were up to something. If you wait until you are released, then there is a chance - a chance, mind you - of an opening to get your hands on wand or blade while they are distracted. Potentially, you might be able to get the bundle so you can dig through with your other hand - though that will be tricky, given the low light, awkward angle and the fact that you are just short of being dragged. Is it worth even considering tripping up or shoving the Guard, instead of wrenching your arm free? It might pass as an accident long enough to buy you a precious second or so ... shoving being more like to work and tripping being more like to be accepted as an accident, or the Guards own fault, but arm in arm as you are, if you aren't careful you could end up going down with the Guard and finding yourself in an ... an even worse ... ah, Mercy. You don't even want to - damn it. Position. The word is position. And that is all it is, just a word. And just a word is all it is going to be. You are getting yourself out of this. Don't dwell Don't fraying dwell! Somehow, you have moved yourself beyond panicking - that may be the only thing that keeps you ... alive, among other things.
Now, after the immediate response, there is then the question of what do next, assuming you are able to get the initiative. The Guards are in full harness, odds are your untrained hand and a pin-stiletto is not going to avail you of anything much against them, but a blade is sure in ways that the Mysteries are not. And in this case, might well be quicker too. If you were willing to risk running around with eyes aglow, then you could dump Strangeness into them deliberately, then Mitigate it away, offensively. Setting aside that you would be using yourself for at least part of the Fuel and all of the Catalyst, you would be risking blowing the tips of your fingers off - or whatever you made contact with. It would be the quickest of your options though, and the only fighting one that didn't rely on you getting into your bundle. You could do it right now, if you liked ... but you would be best served by ... skin-on ... no, just ... the point is, it would be one at a time, like the knife. And course, the Guard with the gun is the one out of reach ...
Now, in such tight spaces, neither pike nor gun will be brought to bear easily - but armor is a weapon, and father always taught you to assume that all men are stronger than you, even the ones that don't look like they would be. Which these men certainly aren't. The surest bet to taking out both of them is with the Wand of Head-Knocking ... but that is not Socketed at the moment. It has a Fuel Nodule in its harness, though. Can you use it without it Socketed? You don't remember anything in your mother's letter about that. From your ... admittedly shaky grasp of the principles of such Witching-Work, you know that a Socketing Needle and the harness for it reduces the amount of Fuel necessary for the Mystery attached to it to reach completion once called upon, by making it easier to Reach and Draw. The issue is that you don't know if the Fuel in an Ounce Nodule is enough to work the wand without a Socketing Needle Socketed, or how the reaction might play out differently, or the survivability of Wand and Needle and harness and Nodule for attempting it. Just getting your hand around the Needle would be better than going just by the grip ... but you have no idea how much better. Getting that Needle into you is the only sure play, but of course, the Wand is dead in the center of the bundle, furthest from reach.
With that in mind, running might serve better than fighting. Except that once you get out of this hall, you are still in a tunnel. A barrel, for all intents and purposes, in which fish like you might be shot at leisure. Could you rely on getting out of sight before the shootist got free of the hall? Hiding in the dark? Not much to stake one's life on, but not nothing. You certainly wouldn't count on getting out of range of the gun on time, but maybe, just maybe you could get out of the Gatehouse and into the Cut, or at least get some stonework between you and him ... if you were able to down the first Guard, to obstruct the way of the second. Another point to consider is that he might not be willing to shoot, or at least more hesitant than he would ... under other circumstances.
Of course, with running, unless you were willing to risk either hiding in or otherwise getting caught in the Gatehouse, all of this would be running out of the Landward Walls, not into them.
There ... there is the increasingly vanishing chance that this is all just a misunderstanding of your overwrought mind ... if you are thoroughly moon-kissed enough to count on that. For a good person, the Pattern would spin this out as a reminder, a caution. For a ... for you, this is like as not another Trial, if not Judgement. Thinking about it, looking at it from tip to tail with the most distant eyes you can manage, you can see how this all bends towards justice, towards inexorable Truth. The clothes you stole to buy made you a target of thieves. The womanhood you denied for years by cross-dressing made you a target of ... of men. Unclean and ... soiled by the death-blood of innocents, you are brought to a privy to be ... relieved. And failure that you are, you don't even get the respect of being killed for being a Witch. There is no acknowledgement of you as ... as a threat. As of having any substance. You thought would have that at least, when it came. Some acknowledgement in your death. But in the end, you it seems the sum of you will not round up. Just a trifle. No wonder your father never bothered to teach you anything.
You still do not even feel numb. You still do not even entirely accept what is happening, what is obviously happening. But at least now the tears have come. Silently, of course. Even now, you know better than to start wailing.
And even now, there is still time to do more than cry. But what?
> Please choose ONE of the following
> You will attempt to wrench your arm out of the grasp of the Guard holding it. [Requires Rolling]
> You will attempt to trip the feet of the Guard that is holding your arm. [Requires Rolling]
> You will attempt to shove the Guard that is holding your arm. [Requires Rolling]
> You will attempt to offensively Mitigate the Guard that is holding your arm. [Requires Rolling]
> You will attempt to position the bundle so that you may unobtrusively rifle through it as you are being dragged, to bring the Wand of Head-Knocking to bear without Socketing. [Requires Rolling]
> You will attempt to position the bundle so that you may unobtrusively rifle through it as you are being dragged, to bring the Wand of Head-Knocking to bear with Socketing. [Requires Rolling]
> You will attempt to position the bundle so that you may unobtrusively rifle through it as you are being dragged, to bring the Pin-Stiletto to bear on the Guard that is holding your arm. [Requires Rolling]
> Assuming that this is ... what you think it is, but leaving the door open for you to be mistaken, you allow yourself to be taken to wherever, looking for an opportunity to get your hands into your bundle.
> Please choose ONE of the following:
> You will attempt to just run away from the Guards and nothing more. Only those who voted for WRENCH, TRIP, and SHOVE may vote for this.
> You will attempt to run away from the Guards after downing the one holding your arm. Only those who voted for TRIP, SHOVE, MITIGATE, SOCKETED, UNSOCKETED, PINNED may vote for this.
> You will attempt to fight the Guards after downing the one holding your arm. ONLY those who voted for WRENCH, TRIP, SHOVE, MITIGATE, SOCKETED, UNSOCKETED, PINNED may vote for this.
> You believe you have completely misread the entire situation, and you are looking to talk things out with the Watch-Serjant. Only those who voted for ASSUME may vote for this.
> If you chose JUST RUN or ONE THEN RUN, please choose ONE of the following:
> You will attempt to hide inside of the Gatehouse [Requires Rolling]
> You will attempt to get through the Gatehouse, out onto the Mount [Requires Rolling]
> You will attempt to get out of the Gatehouse, and jump into the Cut (moat) [Requires Rolling]
> You will attempt to get out of the Gatehouse, and get into cover [Requires Rolling]
> You will attempt to get out of the Gatehouse, and get into the Razes (Outer Cleanport) [Requires Rolling]
> If you chose ONE THEN FIGHT, please choose ONE of the following:
> You will attempt to offensively Mitigate the other Guard [Requires Rolling]
> You will attempt to bring the Wand of Head-Knocking to bear on the other Guard, assuming that the wand is in working order still. Only those who voted for SOCKETED, UNSOCKETED may vote for this. [Requires Rolling]
> You will attempt to bring the Pin-Stiletto to bear on the other Guard. Only those who voted for PINNED may vote for this. [Requires Rolling]
> You will attempt to Socket the Wand of Head-Knocking, then bring it to bear on the other Guard, assuming that the wand is still in working order. Only those who voted for UNSOCKETED may vote for this. [Requires Rolling]
> You will attempt to retrieve the Wand of Head-Knocking from the bundle and turn it on the other Guard, after Socketing it. Only those who DID NOT vote for SOCKETED or UNSOCKETED may vote for this. [Requires Rolling]
> You will attempt to retrieve the Wand of Head-Knocking from the bundle and turn it on the other Guard, without Socketing it. Only those who DID NOT vote for SOCKETED or UNSOCKETED may vote for this. [Requires Rolling]
> You will attempt to retrieve the Pin-Stiletto from the bundle and turn it on the other Guard. Only those who DID NOT vote for PINNED may vote for this. [Requires Rolling]
>>6218168I know. I ended up reworking where I was going to break up updates, which meant I needed to flush out a lot more than I thought I would. Plus, I really wanted to get this passage right, considering that this is potentially the second proper fight of the Quest.
> Gained one Lucky-Tenth Talent (redeemable for one single re-roll)> Currently there are 13 single re-rolls and 10 single auto-passes available.Anyway, this is going to sit overnight. Definitely. I'll be around to answer questions for a while.
Dice Cup
md5: 564bef92bac83a92505dc2c37490d820
🔍
As Reference:
Wand of Head Knocking, 2nd Degree. Unstable. School of Kinesiology. Targets known living organisms with brains, causing the brain of the target to vibrate violently, causing concussions, disorientation, nausea, and potentially unconsciousness or even death. Can be blocked by lead. LIMITATION: The tip of the wand must be in an unobstructed line to head of the target. Range is up to six yards with casting, up to twelve with overcasting. Catalyzed with eighth-charge of salt with casting, or a fourth-charge with overcasting. Fueled with eighth-charge of an ounce-nodule with casting, or a forth of an ounce-nodule with overcasting. Some Strangeness produced on caster and on fuel source with casting, Strangeness in the Second Degree produced on both with overcasting. One-in-one-hundred chance for some Strangeness produced on target with casting, one-in-five chance for some Strangeness with overcasting. Base DC 5 for hammer cast. Base DC 10 for hammer overcast. Base DC (2+1pC) for each standard cast of a chained casting. Base DC (4+2pC) for each overcast of a chained casting. LIMITATION: Chained casts of Head Knocking, Second Degree do not have cheaper casting costs. LIMITATION: Chained casts of Head-Knocking can target up to three separate targets with seven total separate casts – any more than this requires a second action. Hammer casts and overcasts of Head Knocking has a nineteen-in-twenty chance to completely knock the target out cold for thirty seconds or so, and each chained cast or overcast of Head knocking has a thirteen-in-twenty chance to completely knock the target out cold for twenty seconds. The duration of unconsciousness stacks with subsequent successful casts of Head Knocking that also manage to fully knock out the target. Each successful cast of Head Knocking has a one-in-two-hundred-and-fifty-six chance to kill the target, determined independently from the target getting completely knocked out. For every subsequent successful cast of Head Knocking on a target that is currently concussed, the odds of outright killing the target are doubled, and then run again. Example: Chlotsuintha performs seven standard casts of Head Knocking, in a chained cast, all at one target, with no bonuses or maluses effecting her cast. She rolls seven d100 dice each with a DC of 9. She succeeds at six of them, meaning that the spell reached completion six times, and that the target has become concussed. She rolls six d100 dice with a DC of 2 to determine if any Strangeness is produced on the target. She succeeds at all of them, meaning that no Strangeness is produced on the target, though Strangeness is produced on herself and on the wand’s fuel nodule. She rolls six d20 dice with a DC of 8. She succeeds four times, meaning that the target is out cold for eighty seconds. Then the QM rolls one d256 die, one d128 die, one d64 die, one d32 die, one d16 die, one d8 die and one d4 die, all with DCs of 2. Two of the tests fail, target dies.
>>6218184>You will attempt to position the bundle so that you may unobtrusively rifle through it as you are being dragged, to bring the Wand of Head-Knocking to bear with Socketing. [Requires Rolling]>>6218185> You will attempt to fight the Guards after downing the one holding your arm. ONLY those who voted for WRENCH, TRIP, SHOVE, MITIGATE, SOCKETED, UNSOCKETED, PINNED may vote for this.>>6218188>> You will attempt to bring the Wand of Head-Knocking to bear on the other Guard, assuming that the wand is in working order still. Only those who voted for SOCKETED, UNSOCKETED may vote for this. [Requires Rolling]
>>6218191How often does rape happen anyway? Has Chlot ever been warned by father about it?
>>6218184> You will attempt to position the bundle so that you may unobtrusively rifle through it as you are being dragged, to bring the Pin-Stiletto to bear on the Guard that is holding your arm. [Requires Rolling]> You will attempt to fight the Guards after downing the one holding your arm.> You will attempt to retrieve the Wand of Head-Knocking from the bundle and turn it on the other Guard, after Socketing it. I think this seems easiest, killing the guard near us with the knife then using magic to attack the one in front of us. He is looking ahead in a narrow passage, so hopefully he will not immediately notice his fellow criminal die.
Also, I don't think anyone is killing to just accept it, but I can't imagine we would be allowed to remain alive. Trying to rape someone who appears to be the daughter of a wealthy citizen is pretty stupid and risk, but leaving said possible citizen alive is even crazier and riskier.
>>6218228She has been warned about such things by her father, and she has an idea of certain places on the Mount that are less safe than others. The issue here is that Chlotsuintha doesn't really appreciate just how dangerous the Mount - or any late-medieval/early-renaissance city can be, especially to a woman. Her entire frame of reference is the Midden; which is much, much safer than the rest of the Mount (physically, though perhaps not medically). There are a few dozen women Lepers, who are all kept - not married, mind you, as the Priests hold that marriage is for procreation and Lepers are not to procreate - quite tightly. No one has ever approached Chlotsuintha about such an arrangement; it is unnecessary. She is in the unusual position where her father is on hand to protect her instead. Beyond the women, no one really has anything worth fighting over or stealing, and those who might be inclined regardless are frequently overworked or too sick to make problems of themselves. Additionally, the small isolated and heavily policed and controlled population means that in many ways, the Midden is an exceptionally safe - though remarkably poor - walled-in small town.
Even in her jaunts outside of the Midden, she has been in the shadow of her father - or at least dressed as a hooded 6'4" man, which is near enough to a foot taller than average. So, after getting a sense of how safe she was under those circumstances, she more or less started treating the entire Mount as if it was as safe the Midden and taking some serious risks, like getting undressed and changing in alleys or abandoned houses. And while there are good people on the Mount, who have gone out of their way to help her, there are also quite a few who have sought to take advantage of her already.
>>6218255It wasn't as straightforward as it could have been, but Chlotsuintha is clear on that point; that this ends with her 'getting swallowed up by the streets'. The moment she started getting dragged, she knew robbery and murder were on the table - it only took her a moment or more to work out the full and unpleasant implications of her still being alive at this point.
>>6218228On a related topic, does Chlotsuintha know whether cities or the countryside is more dangerous (criminally)?
Asking because I know some places in the Early Modern period, like Britain, had fairly dangerous cities with large vagrant populations, whereas others, like Germany, had fairly safe cities but very unsafe rural areas due to the practice of expelling and exiling criminals
Sorry, I know this is a lot of depth of lore to ask, but the world you've created is so vastly different from our own Early Modern world
>>6218255
>>6218275Chlotsuintha has long had a sense that rural communities are as a rule safer ... though she feels that such safety largely hinges on being part of that rural community. She presumes - reasonably - that as a single, female traveler, she would still be in danger on road, until she put down roots. As far as the factoid goes, that is a fun one, I didn't know the Germans did that. I can say - even as different as things may be - given that some industries are developing or established in cities, ultimately drawing away some of those who would otherwise make up the criminal element of rural communities, the cities would have a 'rougher' character to them.
>>6218383Alright, we have our 2-1 majority here. Consider this closed. I am going to get lunch, then I will pull everything together.
I was so excited to see this back, then I actually read what transpired and I regret ever getting involved with this train wreck. Wrote most of this post before seeing
>>6218397 render it all irrelevant, but I figure I might as well post it since I spent the better part of an hour collecting my thoughts.
Assuming this isn’t Chlot making a mountain out of a molehill, I do think running is the best play- we are fleet of foot, and if these are villains then this affair (and our escape) won’t escalate beyond the Watch-Sargent, and if it does, we’re just a poor idiot Domina scared out of her wits way past her bedtime.
>>6218184> You will attempt to trip the feet of the Guard that is holding your arm. [Requires Rolling]>>6218185> You will attempt to just run away from the Guards and nothing more. Only those who voted for WRENCH, TRIP, and SHOVE may vote for this.>>6218186> You will attempt to get through the Gatehouse, out onto the Mount [Requires Rolling]Escalating will not lead to anything good- I wouldn’t even know how we could contain the consequences that won’t negatively affect us later on, and I’m just tired from all the nonstop time pressures and dangers just messing with our heads.
>>6218397Is it possible to safely remediate ourselves and our possessions, and will there be any complications to getting ‘clean’?
And if we are picking uber-violence as the solution, we are taking that that gun and gun-harness (plus easy to carry valuables) with us. Staging this as some sorta bandit- or better, internal corruption- issue will help muddy the waters, even if we don’t get a clue behind this city-wide alert outta this mess.
>>6218414> I was so excited to see this backGlad to hear it!
> then I actually read what transpired and I regret ever getting involved with this train wreck.Sorry to hear that ...
> I’m just tired from all the nonstop time pressures and dangers just messing with our heads.Assuming we get through this, things will let up a bit.
> Is it possible to safely remediate ourselves and our possessions, and will there be any complications to getting ‘clean’?Yes, Remediating and Mitigating ourselves and our belongings is quite possible. There are no situational drawbacks here - beyond the fact that Chlotsuintha has been burning the candle at both ends for quite some time. As a reminder, there is always a slight risk that a Remediation damages or a Mitigation completely destroys whatever is being Cleansed. At Chlotsuintha's level, she will only have two or three chances to perform a Remediation on a discrete article, after that, she will have to either let it 'come clean' (wait for the Strangeness to dissipate on its own) or try Mitigation, which is easier, quicker and materially cheaper than equivalent Remediation, but will do some damage (save for in exceptional performances). As a final note, the Fuel Nodules are currently beyond her ability to Cleanse safely, she will just need to wait for them to 'come clean' on their own.
I am still not ready for the run, but I figure I should ask anyone in the thread their preference. Do you prefer to get all of the rolling out of the way at once, and then get one big (presumably a bit more polished and coherent) update, or do you prefer getting small updates as the rolls come in?
> Please choose ONE of the following:> Complete rolling, then complete update.> Rolls and updates as they come.
>>6218478>> Rolls and updates as they come
>>6218478> Rolls and updates as they come.
>>6218478> Complete rolling, then complete update.Shouldn’t be as long as the Refinery misadventure, even though that was rad. I really hope our dress doesn’t get ruined, it’s kind of integral to our whole Domina persona.
>>6218478>Rolls and updates as they come.Reading this quest has aged me 10 years
Consider this closed too. Look for the start of the run in two-and-a-half hours.
Just a heads up, running a bit behind ... will start as soon as everything is in order.
>>6218894On the bright side, we'll need all the rerolls and passes we're going to get.
The sense of detachment, of being removed so thoroughly from this fresh spate of goings on that you could not even say that you felt numb - that is all gone now. Panic, mere moments ago so conspicuously absent that you were having second, third and fourth doubts about what was happening, has blossomed once more in your breast. Can this possibly be anything but ... what you fear it to be? Or more to the point, are you willing to risk everything - absolutely everything - that this is all just a misunderstanding, that if you mind your manners and hold your tongue, everything will be fine?
A better bred, or just a more decent woman very well might ... but such a woman would never find herself in such straights. Or any of the other life-and-death struggles you have found yourself these past few nights. She'd never ... never have to decide if, then when and how to fight her way out of something like this. She wouldn't have to decide which weapon to lead with, wouldn't have to decide which Guard she was going to strike down first, and wouldn't have to wonder - assuming she was to survive the fight - how she was going to atone for this.
She wouldn't have been born into the Many Mysteries, for a surety.
You almost lose your feet again, and a trill of fear shoots through you, focusing you once more on the work at hand. The job is clear enough; you are going to need to down these cuirassed churls, though the right tool for the job ... no, that is clear too. You have never tried using Salt-Mitigation offensively, chirurgery and a bit of cooking represents the sum total of your experience with knives, and you cannot possibly count on trying to push around, trip up or otherwise beat down one Guard, let alone two. The wand, it has to be the Wand of Head-Knocking. It is the nearest to sure of all options before you. You will have to get it Socketed though. It is enough already to be using it without salt. You ...
You have to do this. You are sure you do. Absolutely.
Now it is just a matter of getting the wand into your hand - and the Socketing Needle into your flesh - without either of the Guards noticing.
I don't believe this. The second part of the update didn't post. I'm going to finish dinner, then I will re-write it. Look for it in a few hours. Terribly, terribly sorry.
Deftness of Hands: The Desperate Reach
> DC 20: Witchlet Chlotsuintha is well-acquainted with subtle and precise applications of the hand, from picking locks and performing Chirurgery
> + DC 18: Witchlet Chlotsuintha is Restrained in such a way that works quite hard against her purpose [Trebled]
> + DC 10: Witchlet Chlotsuintha is attempting to achieve her purpose without alerting the Guards [Halved by Sneakthief]
> + DC 9: Witchlet Chlotsuintha is now Tired III, and is not moving as quickly or as surely as she might otherwise
> + DC 6: Witchlet Chlotsuintha is now Drained III, and is not moving as quickly or surely as she might otherwise
> + DC 1: Witchlet Chlotsuintha is beset with fears and doubts about her Nature, and of the Wages of her Work [Banes, Halved]
> + DC 4: Witchlet Chlotsuintha is wearing the Worn Piece currently, which impedes her purpose
> - DC 6: Witchlet Chlotsuintha is in a position where she can accurately judge what the Ill-Mannered Guards can and cannot see.
> - DC 4: Witchlet Chlotsuintha is advantaged by the poorly lit hall, as the general lack of light suits her purpose more than that of the Guards.
> - DC 5: Ill-Mannered Guards are distracted, to the point where slight shifting and jostling might not immediately be noticed
> DC 53: Anything lower is a failure. [Auto-pass(es) available, limited by hostile Auto-Fail to 2. Re-roll(s) available]
> No Passes; Stiff Fingers and Empty Hands: Chlotsuintha drops the bundle, the Guards notice it fall but do not stop. Prompts voting.
> One Pass; One Fumbles, One Tightens: Chlotsuintha fumbles the bundle, the Guard mistakes this to be resistance and presses forward faster, paying more attention to her going forward.
> Two Passes; Unfortunately Unencumbered: Chlotsuintha manages to wrest the Wand of Head-Knocking free, but drops the bundle in the process. The Guards do not notice as they press forward.
> Three Passes; Picking Her Own Pocket: [Blocked by Auto-Fail, Requires Two Passes and redeeming an Auto-Pass] Chlotsuintha manages to win the Wand of Head-Knocking free, and is posed to Socket it
> If ONE of the THREE rolls comes up as a Critical or Near-Critical Failure (Roll of 1 or 2) then Chlotsuintha damages a randomly chosen item in the bundle by dropping it.
> If ONE of the THREE rolls comes up as a Critical or Near-Critical Success (Roll of 100 or 99) then Chlotsuintha successfully manages to Socket herself while the wand is still in the bundle. In addition to Auto-Succeeding the Deftness of Hands: The Perilous Pining test, the initiative that Chlotsuintha gains removes the hostile Auto-Fail for the rest of this test-string.
> Standard rules. May our luck run white, and may I have three rolls of 1d100?
Rolled 58 (1d100)
>>6219854>2 Autofails>53 DCIf I’d known this was a potential test I would’ve avoided this situation like the plague.
May our luck run white indeed.
>>6219983> If I’d known this was a potential test I would’ve avoided this situation like the plague.I suppose I could have been a bit clearer on that point, but this is what I was getting at when I said [Requires Rolling]
>2 AutofailsNo, there is only one Auto-Fail active, which limits the number of Auto-Passes that can be used to two. To get 'Picking Her Own Pocket', you need to get three rolls higher than DC 53 and use an Auto-Pass (or two rolls higher than DC 53 and use the Auto-Pass, or one roll higher than DC 53 and use two Auto-Passes, or get the Critical or Near-Critical Success outcome).
If you, or anyone else is still around, feel free to roll.
Rolled 45 (1d100)
>>6219854
Rolled 29 (1d100)
>>6219854>>6220061Alrighty, may our luck run white
So, with only one rolled pass, you can still get the outcome for three passes by using Two-Auto Passes. Currently there are 13 single re-rolls and 10 single auto-passes available.
> Please choose ONE of the following:
> Use two Auto-Passes to get 'Picking Her Own Pocket'
> Accept 'One Fumbles, One Tightens' and continue on
> Write-in alternative count of Re-Rolls and Auto-Passes
>>6220093Use one Auto-Pass and as many rerolls to get the other pass. Though if anons don't want to gamble I'm fine with spending two Auto-Passes
>>6220093>Use two Auto-Passes to get 'Picking Her Own Pocket
>>6220093> Use two Auto-Passes to get 'Picking Her Own Pocket'
Okay, consider this closed. As per the earlier vote, I will write a short update describing what happens, then we will move on to the next test.
With each step seeming to eat more and more of what little remains of the hallway, there simply isn't the time for first thoughts, let alone second. So it is more instinct than any articulate or even conscious plan that moves you to fake yourself losing your footing for a half a stride one more time. Your recovery is quick enough that the Guard on your arm didn't comment or look back, might not even have noticed ... but in that winnowing window where the Guard had to contend with the brunt of your weight, you were able to weasel your held arm into a more suitable ... placement for the work at hand. Still, here more suitable is far afield from suitable, and by any measure this was easiest bit of the job. Actually getting your right hand into the bundle, then getting your wand out, what with yourself held fast by both the Guard and your besotted dress ...
Fraying Hell, whatever happened to no time for thoughts? There is precious little time before -
You spur yourself into action, to preclude further ... mulling as to actually win your way free from all of this. Committing yourself, you contort yourself - or rather, just half of yourself, so that the Guard doesn't notice anything - and you desperately drive your hand home, into the wadded fabric of the bundle. Blessedly, you manage to get your hand into one of the folds of the fabric, and you poke and prod your way through it, careful to keep your ministrations quick and out of sight. The darkness of the hall and the helmet of the Guard are against him in this, but the density of your bundle - and how heavily you have populated it - are against you. And it seems that on the balance, more is against you than for you here. Until, at least, just as bile really starts to rise, you jab your thumb into something substantial. A couple blind gropes are enough to satisfy that this is your wand, not your blade. You are relieved enough to go weak in the knees, but this has taken much longer than you ever intended for it to.
With your breath catching, you work the Wand of Head-Knocking free, wrapped up with its harness. The Ounce Fuel Nodule is already pinned, but the Socketing Needle, gleaming even in the middling light, runs with the length of the wand. For you to have the best odds of Socketing the fraying thing right on the first try - like to be the only try you can count on - you must get the thing running squarely against the length of the wand. Run through with the fresh desperation of someone who has just started to believe that they may yet survive, you place the sum of your attention - and your hopes - on getting the Needle ready to Socket, fighting to keep nervous tremors out of your hands.
Deftness of Hands: The Perilous Pinning
> DC 20: Witchlet Chlotsuintha is well-acquainted with subtle and precise applications of the hand, from picking locks and performing Chirurgery
> + DC 6: Witchlet Chlotsuintha is Restrained in such a way that works quite hard against her purpose [Trebled]
> + DC 10: Witchlet Chlotsuintha is attempting to achieve her purpose without alerting the Guards [Halved by Sneakthief]
> + DC 9: Witchlet Chlotsuintha is now Tired III, and is not moving as quickly or as surely as she might otherwise
> + DC 6: Witchlet Chlotsuintha is now Drained III, and is not moving as quickly or surely as she might otherwise
> + DC 1: Witchlet Chlotsuintha is beset with fears and doubts about her Nature, and of the Wages of her Work [Banes, Halved]
> + DC 4: Witchlet Chlotsuintha is wearing the Worn Piece currently, which impedes her purpose
> - DC 6: Witchlet Chlotsuintha is in a position where she can accurately judge what the Ill-Mannered Guards can and cannot see.
> - DC 4: Witchlet Chlotsuintha is advantaged by the poorly lit hall, as the general lack of light suits her purpose more than that of the Guards.
> - DC 5: Ill-Mannered Guards are distracted, to the point where slight shifting and jostling might not immediately be noticed
> DC 41: Anything lower is a failure. [Auto-pass(es) available, limited by hostile Auto-Fail to 2. Re-roll(s) available]
> No Passes; Pining, Not Pinning: Chlotsuintha knocks the Ounce Fuel Nodule out of the Wand of Head-Knocking's harness. The Guard on her arm takes immediate notice. Prompts voting.
> One Pass; The Unsticking Point: Chlotsuintha manages to completely bungle her thrust, slashing herself with the Socketing Needle instead of getting it stuck in. The Guard on her arm takes immediate notice. Prompts voting.
> Two Passes; The Tripping Point: Chlotsuintha manages to get the Socketing Needle into her left hand, but trips in the process. The Guard's attention is drawn, but he is not immediately aware of the wand. Prompts voting.
> Three Passes; Clean As Can Be: [Blocked by Auto-Fail, Requires Two Passes and redeeming an Auto-Pass] Chlotsuintha manages to get the Socketing Needle into her left hand without issue, and is prepared for casting.
> If ONE of the THREE rolls comes up as a Critical or Near-Critical Failure (Roll of 1 or 2) then instead of dislodging the Ounce Fuel Nodule, she tears the harness of the Wand of Head-Knocking, rendering it unusable until repair or replacement.
> If ONE of the THREE rolls comes up as a Critical or Near-Critical Success (Roll of 100 or 99) then Chlotsuintha manages to Socket herself flawlessly, reducing the DC for using the Wand of Head-Knocking to the base DC, and gaining enough initiative in the process that the hostile Auto-Fail is removed for the rest of this test-string.
> Standard rules. May our luck run white, and may I have three rolls of 1d100?
Rolled 1 (1d100)
>>6220720May our luck run white
>>6220771>day going to shit>feelsfine.exe>rolls nat 1, rendering 2 autopasses and our best means of defense worthless Honestly debating with myself whether it’s better to restart with a fresh everything or continue the downward spiral that is Chlot’s life and my sanity in this quest ngl.
Like, even if we were staying in the Mount (which would eliminate significant source of time pressure and allow us to actually explore the setting instead of wasting our time with diversions), I would start to question whether this was the event horizon in which the trajectory of this quest becomes irrecoverable.
Maybe I’m overwhelmed, but it feels like we’re proper cooked.
Okay, guards still aren't alerted to this scenario so I guess we're going back for the knife and then.... running away after stabbing the first guy?
>>6220806And what, get another rap sheet going if we’re unlucky? This time in what is supposed to be our permanent escape persona?
And we’re still going to be eating autofails for this as well. God, this is such a fucking mess.
>>6220832Well we have to do something. I think knifing the guy is a good plan B.
There are still options. I'll get to writing the update.
>>6220848Unless you’re willing to bet they’d be too embarrassed to talk about it, we’ll need to lethally knife both to avoid our details being broadcast all over the Mount- either that or try to outrun them without them escalating this to something that’ll get the attention of the actual authorities.
I regret ever reading this
Rolled 38 (1d100)
>>6220720
For a vanishingly thin slice of a moment, you give serious consideration to Socketing in the crook of your arm, as you have before - as you were taught to do. But as soon as you take up the idea, you are setting it aside. The crook of your right arm is trapped and pinned underneath arm and armor of a Guard, and the crook of your left arm is still aching something fierce after Sulphreme escorted you to Nasturtium's table. Felt you were taking damned near all of his weight on the punctures and tracks. Moreover, for you to stick yourself properly, you would have to drive the Needle straight through your 'worn piece'. With enough time and the right thread, you could probably do a good enough job closing the holes ... but there would be at least some blood, and you have no idea how to clean anything so fine as your newest dress. Finding yourself with naught but fallow fields, you have to conclude your hand - your left hand - to be the best site for Socketing. The only other spots suitable - sufficiently fleshy, fresh and free from obstruction - would be in your neck or cheek. But as suitable they may be for the Needle, the prospect of Socketing there - especially while moving half-restrained in half-light - is not something you can consider suitable for you.
So then, your hand is forced. Not wanting to tarry any longer, you get the Needle running square against the length of the wand, gripping the Needle tightly to keep the tip steady and true. You allow yourself a deeper breath to steady yourself, and are a little shaken when you hear how thin, reedy and markedly gasp-like it sounds to your ears. At least the Guard does not notice - or at least, does not care. Even so, it is only with great effort that you keep yourself focused. All you are doing here, is threading a needle, except here the thread is the Needle in your hand and the needle in your mind is actually your hand. Just stick it, properly. Do what you just did to get it free, in reverse.
You start to contort yourself, as you had the first time around - only to find your feet stumbling underneath you. Quick as you can, you go rigid, and desperately try to find where your feet are in this irregular half-stride, half-drag. They make themselves known quick enough, and you even feel something that might have passed as relief ... until you lay your eyes on the wand. The harness is hanging free, and the square, nail-evoking head of the Needle is bald.
Mother, you ... you've failed mother. You've failed everything ...
Your eyes lose focus, and a darkness of a stripe much colder and absolute than can be found in this hall begins to crowd in the edges of your sight. It is only the rank smell of the latrine - which even in your dulled, fading mind is able to muster thoughts and fears too terrible to articulate - that keeps you from passing out entirely. You cannot say what keeps you on your feet, however. Still, whatever it may be, it cannot quiet the braying of panic, cannot keep it from nipping at the heels of your mind.
What do you do? What in the Heights of Hell do you possibly do? What ... what even can you do? Is there time to win the Pin-Stiletto free from the bundle and put it to use? Perhaps ... but you didn't have the highest estimation of your knife skills before. Now that you have somehow managed to fail at stabbing yourself, you have even more doubts on that front. An alternative would be to use the Socketing Needle itself as a weapon. Having stuck yourself with it several times now, you can attest that it is large enough to be dangerous if not placed properly. If you could get it into the Guard's throat, or his eyes, you could ... do what? What exactly can you expect to do against two armed and armored Guards? Forget getting just one good stab in to get your arm free while the bastard is distracted, can you count on being able to overcome both of these Guards with just the knife? If it came to a brawl, laying hands on them and using Salt-Mitigation offensively seems closer to a surety, as you would not be limited to targeting unarmored spots, as you would with the knife. Alternatively, you could perform Salt-Mitigation through the Socketing Needle which should definitely be possible, though you ... never have actually tried to do something like that. It would make the casting safer, and perhaps even easier - but it would require you to get the Needle stuck in. There is also the question of salt, a requirement for Salt-Mitigation. Any casting will be markedly more difficult than it needs to be, if the reaction needs to draw the salt out of you. But just like with the Pin-Stiletto, do you have the time to go rummaging around? The hall is clearly a bit longer than you had figured, but the end - and the latrine - is in sight. A dozen strides away? More? Less? You cannot say. But it is much too near.
Of course ... there is another way to parse all of this. Perhaps you are not supposed to fight these men. Already there are ... lives on your conscience. It might just be that you have been saved from further transgressions, and you should satisfy yourself with simply getting away from them and out of this hall - though running will be much more dangerous now, since as you are further down the hallway, it will give the shootist more time to take aim. But ... it might even be that ... you are supposed to ... accept whatever might ... happen.
And you have to acknowledge that there is at least a possibility you have worked yourself up over nothing - or at least, something that isn't as dire as your fears. There are still other doors, along the walls. It might be that you are being hauled into one of them, to await the Watch-Serjant ... though the increasingly callous treatment from the Guards has done much to dissuade you on that point. You want to believe you are wrong. You want to believe that this is just you being a terrible person, assuming everyone else is as bad or as worse as you, and that you are actually going to get out of this just fine. But ... it is just that by the time you will know for sure, you will be much more disadvantaged than you are now.
The only thing you know for sure is that you want to survive this. If for no other reason, so you can fix the Wand of Head-Knocking that mother bequ- that, that she gave to you. Gave, damn it all! And damn you for breaking it!
> Please choose ONE of the following
> You will immediately attempt to wrench your arm out of the grasp of the Guard holding it. [Requires Rolling]
> You will immediately attempt to trip the feet of the Guard that is holding your arm. [Requires Rolling]
> You will immediately attempt to shove the Guard that is holding your arm. [Requires Rolling]
> You will immediately attempt to Mitigate the Guard that is holding your arm by hand without salt. [Requires Rolling]
> You will immediately attempt to Mitigate the Guard that is holding your arm with the Needle but without salt. [Requires Rolling]
> You will immediately attempt to stab the Guard that is holding your arm with the Needle, while not calling upon the Many Mysteries in any way. [Requires Rolling]
> You will immediately attempt to reach into the bundle once more. [Requires Rolling]
> If you chose REACH, please choose ONE of the following:
> You will empty your hand, returning all of the Wand of Head-Knocking to the bundle.
> You will free your hand, returning all of the Wand of Head-Knocking to the bundle - save for the Needle.
> If you chose REACH, please choose ONE of the following:
> You will attempt to withdraw the Pin-Stiletto from the bundle, to use on the Guard holding your arm. [Requires Rolling]
> You will attempt to withdraw the Purse of Sea-Salt from the bundle, to use on the Guard holding your arm. [Requires Rolling]
> You will attempt to jab your finger into the Purse of Sea-Salt in the bundle, to use on the Guard holding your arm. Bonus for having salt reduced, but less likely to lose Purse or leave grains behind. [Requires Rolling]
> You will not attempt to withdraw anything from the bundle. [Requires Rolling]
> If you chose REACH, please choose ONE of the following:
> You will then attempt to wrench your arm out of the grasp of the Guard holding it. [Requires Rolling]
> You will then attempt to trip the feet of the Guard that is holding your arm. [Requires Rolling]
> You will then attempt to shove the Guard that is holding your arm. [Requires Rolling]
> You will then attempt to Mitigate the Guard that is holding your arm by hand without salt. [Requires Rolling]
> You will then attempt to Mitigate the Guard that is holding your arm by hand with salt. Only those that voted for SALT WITHDRAWN or SALT JABBED may vote for this.[Requires Rolling]
> You will then attempt to Mitigate the Guard that is holding your arm through the Needle without salt. [Requires Rolling]
> You will then attempt to Mitigate the Guard that is holding your arm through the Needle with salt. Only those that voted for SALT WITHDRAWN or SALT JABBED may vote for this.[Requires Rolling]
> You will then attempt to stab the Guard that is holding your arm with the Needle, while not calling upon the Many Mysteries in any way. [Requires Rolling]
> You will then attempt to stab the Guard that is holding your arm with the Pin-Stiletto. Only those that voted for STILETTO WITHDRAWN may vote for this. [Requires Rolling]
> You will allow yourself to be led to wherever and whatever you are being taken to. Only those that voted for NO WITHDRAWING may vote for this.
> Please choose ONE of the following:
> You will now attempt to run away from the Guards. Those who voted for WRENCH, TRIP and SHOVE may vote for this, irrespective of votes on REACH.
> You will now attempt to run away from the Guards after downing the one holding your arm. Those who voted for TRIP, SHOVE, HAND MITIGATE W/O SALT, HAND MITIGATE W/ SALT, NEEDLE MITIGATE W/O SALT, NEEDLE MITIGATE W/ SALT, NEEDLE STAB and STILETTO STAB may vote for this, irrespective of their votes on REACH.
> You will now attempt to fight the Guards after downing the one holding your arm. Those who voted for TRIP, SHOVE, HAND MITIGATE W/O SALT, HAND MITIGATE W/ SALT, NEEDLE MITIGATE W/O SALT, NEEDLE MITIGATE W/ SALT, NEEDLE STAB and STILETTO STAB may vote for this, irrespective of their votes on REACH.
> You have chosen to allow yourself to be led to wherever and whatever you are being taken to. Only those that voted for NO WITHDRAWING may vote for this, those that voted for WHEREVER must vote for this.
> If you chose JUST RUN or ONE THEN RUN, please choose ONE of the following:
> You will attempt to hide inside of the Gatehouse [Requires Rolling]
> You will attempt to get through the Gatehouse, out onto the Mount [Requires Rolling]
> You will attempt to get out of the Gatehouse, and jump into the Cut (moat) [Requires Rolling]
> You will attempt to get out of the Gatehouse, and get into cover [Requires Rolling]
> You will attempt to get out of the Gatehouse, and get into the Razes (Outer Cleanport) [Requires Rolling]
> If you chose ONE THEN FIGHT, please choose ONE of the following:
> You will next attempt to Mitigate the Shootist by hand without salt. [Requires Rolling]
> You will next attempt to Mitigate the Shootist by hand with salt. Only those that voted for SALT WITHDRAWN or SALT JABBED and still have salt on hand may vote for this.[Requires Rolling]
> You will next attempt to Mitigate the Shootist through the Needle without salt. [Requires Rolling]
> You will next attempt to Mitigate the Shootist through the Needle with salt. Only those that voted for SALT WITHDRAWN or SALT JABBED and still have salt on hand may vote for this.[Requires Rolling]
> You will next attempt to stab the Shootist with the Needle, while not calling upon the Many Mysteries in any way. [Requires Rolling]
> You will next attempt to stab the Shootist with the Pin-Stiletto. Only those that voted for STILETTO WITHDRAWN and still have the Pin-Stiletto on hand may vote for this. [Requires Rolling]
Of all the stupid pranks to play for April Fool's, they close the damned board halfway through an update.
Ain’t gonna vote yet (need to think/sleep on this), but I do have a question.
>There is also the question of salt, a requirement for Salt-Mitigation. Any casting will be markedly more difficult than it needs to be, if the reaction needs to draw the salt out of you.
Couldn’t we use the salt in their bodies for the cast instead of ours? With the added benefit of inducing Hyponatremia in them as well?
