147 lines
6.0 KiB
Markdown
147 lines
6.0 KiB
Markdown
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---
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title: 00046
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created: Thu, 22 Dec 2022 12:36:07 -0700
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updated: Thu, 22 Dec 2022 12:36:10 -0700
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syndicated: yes
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public: yes
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---
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### 00046 {#00046}
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> Ah so I suppose those Toques were being honest then, there was a
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> Ginnarak crystal, and I guess they were going to give it to us.. oh
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> well, nothing good in life comes easy.
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>
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> Alex cranks the dial on the sunspoke, grabs the hemogoblin from the
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> basket, and jumps out of the balloon and onto the deck of the ship.
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> He rushes over to the nearest pile of bundled rope and barrels and
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> stows his new hemo friend. "Just stay hidden little guy, let me
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> take care of these pirates first."
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>
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> Alex grabs the dagger from his side as he makes his way towards the
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> side of the ship, first thing first, best to cut the mooring lines
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> and zip lines. The static clawing sensation appears at the back of
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> Alex's mind, but he attempts to ignore it. There's too much that
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> needs to be done too quickly, and he's all too aware of the danger
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> he's put himself in. "What would Corraidhin do.." Alex thinks to
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> himself, "perhaps a spell?".
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>
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> ```lua
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> function target:new(obj, tbl)
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> obj = obj or {}
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> setmetatable(obj, self)
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> self.__index = self
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> self.x = 0
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> self.y = 0
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> self.speed = 0
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> reutrn obj
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> end
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>
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> function target:yeet()
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> self.x = 100
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> self.y = 100
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> self.speed = 50
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> return self
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> end
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> ```
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>
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> After preparing the spell Alex makes his way towards the guard rail
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> ready to cut the mooring and zip lines, spell at the ready should
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> an enemy appear.
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You crank the dial to 11. The sunspoke squeals in delight and burns
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like a tiny star. You grab the hemogoblin, who chirrups and clings
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tightly to you, and leap from the balloon onto the deck of the
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airship.
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You think you can hear---barely audible---the sunspoke singing a song
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of homecoming as the hot air balloon continues to rise unpiloted up
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toward the sun.
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You rush over to cover behind a barrel, and deposit your new
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hemogoblin friend safely inside the center of a large coil of rope.
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It looks up at you quizzically, but nods when you tell it to stay
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put.
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You invoke the powers of the moon and prepare a quick but (hopefully)
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sufficient Spell of Yeeting.
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<!--
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Alex rolls Do Anything 1 to cut the lines and avoid detection
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6 = Great Success! Level Up!
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//-->
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When you draw the dagger, the world develops a faint static
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background noise which is easy enough to ignore at the moment given
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the state of things. You dash forward and start sawing at the thick
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mooring lines. The dagger's ruby hilt flashes in the sunlight as you
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work, and in your mind's eye you see a bright red wine, and a drop of
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blood red ink flowing from the nib of a fountain pen.
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You shake the images from your head just as you finish sawing through
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the rope. A Cyberplasm who was shimmying back up the rope from the
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hotel to the ship yelps as the line goes slack and swings back into
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the side of the cliff. The pirate rebounds from the impact, bounces
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off the mountainside a few times, and falls from view as it
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disappears through the clouds below.
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The ship drifts lazily, rising slightly, and despite your best
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sneaking around, the remaining Cyberplasms on board cannot help but
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notice that the ship is no longer tethered. You successfully hide
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behind a barrel as three cyber ghost pirates come rushing over to the
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ship railing and lean over, looking below at where there are no
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longer any ropes attaching the ship to the hotel.
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Out of the corner of your eye, you can see the hemogoblin toddling
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across the deck toward the Cyberplasms, no doubt curious about what
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they're looking at over the side of the ship.
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> "Indeed, Bread, it's me. You have not yet escaped your fate of
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> untraceable disappearance just yet." Inky deadpans, then smiles.
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> "We have much to discuss, but later. I do need a guide … to your
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> hotelier. Presumably I will find them by following the racket and
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> trail of ruined decor, but maybe you know of a quicker route?"
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Bread smiles at the threat of being untraceably disappeared, mostly
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confident that they are on the inside of a private little joke and
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that they are presently in no actual danger from Inky. They grip
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their hammer a little tighter nonetheless.
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Confidence slips their trowels into their apron. "Yes, this way!"
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They hurry down the hall. You know you're going the right way because
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tattered, torn, charred books litter the ground in increasing
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numbers. Bits of paper and ash fall like snow.
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Confidence guides you away from the entrance to the library's Great
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Hall, and takes you instead to a smaller, more discreet staff
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entrance. They open the door a crack, and as you look through you are
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just in time to see the ship captain with their cybernetic leg, arm
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canon, and eye. Now that the crew have cleared the way for them, they
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stroll across the library over piles of fallen, damaged books.
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A thin bald man with a neatly trimmed mustache is on the other side
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of the hall, his back turned to the pirate. He wears a fine suit and
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has just finished unlocking a glass display case. He retrieves a
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multifaceted blue and gold stone and hugs it to his chest with both
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arms. He throws a panicked glance over his shoulder at the slowly
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approaching pirate, and turns to run away. His retreat is halted by a
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small explosion at his feet. He skids to a stop and looks back at the
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pirate, who is lowering their arm canon.
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"The crystal," the captain demands in a voice part ghostly moan, part
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mechanical drone. "Hand it over, hotelier." It steps closer. "Mother
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has promised us new bodies if we deliver the quintessence. You won't
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be permitted to stand in our way."
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One pirate near the breach tucks a couple volumes of manhwa under its
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arm and climbs out onto the mooring line, returning to the ship with
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its plunder. It howls as the line suddenly goes slack, flinging the
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pirate and its comics into the mountainside, and then out into space.
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Sunlight pours into the library from outside as the shadow of the
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airship shifts as it starts to drift, suddenly unmoored.
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WHAT DO YOU DO
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[www](https://framalistes.org/sympa/arc/tildepals/2022-12/msg00231.html)
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