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src/about.md
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src/characters/index.md
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					src/characters/gabs.md
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					src/epistolary/00028.md
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src/bestiary/index.md
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					---
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					title: gabs
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					created: Sat, 29 Oct 2022 08:41:37 -0600
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					updated: Sat, 29 Oct 2022 08:41:37 -0600
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					public: yes
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					---
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					### Gabs
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					<details>
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					<summary>Bio</summary>
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					Gabs had a good life. Her little devil children were all grown adults now, and she no longer wanted to toil away running a business. When she initially shuttered her little tavern, she thought she might just retire. She made it two whole years of working in a garden, occasionally seeing grandkids, and reading romance novels. She eventually decided she needed a vacation from her retirement and traveled to a nearby port town. She was sure to find something fun to do there. 
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					Gabs eventually sees Inquire Within, and the smell of debauchery wafting from within made her miss her days gossiping at her tavern. She enters and orders a terrible drink and listens and watches. 
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					Hearing the tales being spun by Mister Three-Fingered, she decides, “I’ve never been on a ship, that’s something that sounds exciting!” 
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					Half-drunk and eager for something exciting, she will join on the journey! 
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					Gabs is a lanky older half-devil lady who is here to schmooze and have fun!
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					</details>
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					- Player: archangelic
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					- XP: 0
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					- Skills: Do Anything 1
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					- Equipment:
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					Paths:
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					- Retriever: Contractual Obligation, An Auspicious Start
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										127
									
								
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					---
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					title: 00028
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					created: Sat, 29 Oct 2022 08:36:51 -0600
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					updated: Sat, 29 Oct 2022 08:36:51 -0600
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					public: yes
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					syndicated: yes
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					---
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					### 00028 {#00028}
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					> ~*a new player enters the chat*~
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					> 
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					> Gabs had a good life. Her little devil children were all grown
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					> adults now, and she no longer wanted to toil away running a
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					> business. When she initially shuttered her little tavern, she
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					> thought she might just retire. She made it two whole years of
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					> working in a garden, occasionally seeing grandkids, and reading
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					> romance novels. She eventually decided she needed a vacation from
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					> her retirement and traveled to a nearby port town. She was sure to
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					> find something fun to do there. 
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					> 
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					> Gabs eventually sees Inquire Within, and the smell of debauchery
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					> wafting from within made her miss her days gossiping at her tavern.
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					> She enters and orders a terrible drink and listens and watches. 
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					> 
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					> Hearing the tales being spun by Mister Three-Fingered, she decides,
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					> “I’ve never been on a ship, that’s something that sounds exciting!” 
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					> 
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					> Half-drunk and eager for something exciting, she will join on the
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					> journey! 
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					> 
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					> Gabs is a lanky older half-devil lady who is here to schmooze and
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					> have fun!
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					~
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					> Meta: a warm welcome to the latest member of our tea party! This is
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					> a short post to help smooth the temporal jumps between the recent
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					> narratives so far. As Inky reaches the deck, they see Gabs
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					> approaching from the other side of the ship as well, and flashes
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					> them a grin in greeting. After listening to the captain petering on
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					> about the glorious days of the now sunken ship below, while
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					> tinkering with the bell's tentacles — being rewarded with a mild
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					> zap and marginally better fit for the effort — Inky turns to the
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					> party. "When you're ready."
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					You reach into the tank and discover that grabbing a breathing bell
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					takes some finesse. They are very slippery! But you get the hang of
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					it and make a ladle out of your hands and scoop one up.
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					"Okay now!" laughs Three-Fingered Gerald. He gives you a wink, but
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					it's easy to miss because of the eyepatch. "Don't put it on until
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					right before you jump. It won't be able to breathe for you until
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					you're in the water. And this!" he continues, fitting a heavy, padded
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					vest around your shoulders, "will carry you down." It is a vest of
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					many pockets, each one holding a small dense sandbag the size of your
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					hand. "When you're ready to come back up, just start dropping
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					ballast, right?"
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					You hop up on the ship railing and pull the breathing bell on over
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					your head. It immediately contracts and squeezes and hugs your head
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					like a second skin, and its stubby little tentacles grab hold around
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					your jawline, and it feels like you have a wet plastic bag clinging
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					to your face, and you think you might have made a grave mistake.
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					Resisting the urge to panic, you push off the railing and jump
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					overboard. You are briefly air born and then profoundly waterbound,
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					crashing through the surface of the sea into the briny soup below.
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					The oxygen starts to flow as the breathing bell begins to do its job.
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					As you sink, you feel as though you are floating through space,
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					entering another world.
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					After a while you start to hear voices arguing in the distance. As
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					you get closer, two large shapes start to come into focus. The first
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					is a hulking, hairless merbear. Top half (hairless) bear, bottom half
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					fish. The second figure is a tardigrade the size of a large merbear.
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					It has eight jointless legs, each tipped with four sharp claws. It
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					wriggles and wobbles like jelly as it gesticulates.
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					"No, I am the true Bear of the Sea! I am called a Water Bear, after
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					all!"
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					"Hornswoggle and poppycock! It is I who am the Bear of the Sea! I am
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					half bear after all! You're just some kind of segmented nematode or
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					something."
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					The tardigrade quivers with indignation. "I'll have you know I'm a
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					panarthropod, thank you very much. And this is the ideal physical
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					body! You may not like it, but this is what peak performance looks
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					like. I've lived under the polar ice cap, and in a sulfurous
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					mountaintop hot spring. I've traveled through the vacuum of space to
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					the moon! Have you ever been to the moon?"
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					"Why don't you go be the Bear of the Moon then if you like it so
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					much!"
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					"You're just as much fish as you are bear, are you sure you're not
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					the Fish of the Sea?"
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					"Are you sure you're not the Blob of the Sea, you too many armed bowl
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					of jelly?"
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					"Hey! Hey, you there!" The arguing quasi-bears have spotted your slow
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					descent. "Come, yes, float slowly this way! You must settle an
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					argument for us! Tell this slightly mammalian fish that I am the true
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					Bear of the Sea!"
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					"The Bear of the Sea must be at least 'slightly mammalian' you
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					egg-laying scientific curiosity! You, tell this cousin of a barnacle
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					that I---the mighty merbear---am the true Bear of the Sea! Say this
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					and I will guide and protect you on your journey."
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					"No! Would you like to visit the moon? Say that I, tardigrade, am
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					Bear of the Sea and I will introduce you to my moon friends!"
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					"He had to make friends on the moon because nobody on Urth can stand
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					him!"
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					"You're just mean, you know that?"
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					You are still quite some way from the sea bed, and there is no sight
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					of the SS RSS.
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					WHAT DO YOU DO
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					[www](https://framalistes.org/sympa/arc/tildepals/2022-10/msg00023.html)
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							@ -212,6 +212,7 @@
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<li><a href="#characters" id="toc-characters">Characters</a>
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					<li><a href="#characters" id="toc-characters">Characters</a>
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<ul>
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					<ul>
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<li><a href="#corraidhín" id="toc-corraidhín">Corraidhín</a></li>
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					<li><a href="#corraidhín" id="toc-corraidhín">Corraidhín</a></li>
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					<li><a href="#gabs" id="toc-gabs">Gabs</a></li>
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<li><a href="#glarg" id="toc-glarg">Glarg</a></li>
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					<li><a href="#glarg" id="toc-glarg">Glarg</a></li>
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<li><a href="#inky" id="toc-inky">Inky</a></li>
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					<li><a href="#inky" id="toc-inky">Inky</a></li>
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<li><a href="#jarrod" id="toc-jarrod">Jarrod</a></li>
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					<li><a href="#jarrod" id="toc-jarrod">Jarrod</a></li>
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@ -246,6 +247,7 @@ of the Were-Hare</a></li>
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<li><a href="#00025" id="toc-00025">00025</a></li>
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					<li><a href="#00025" id="toc-00025">00025</a></li>
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<li><a href="#00026" id="toc-00026">00026</a></li>
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					<li><a href="#00026" id="toc-00026">00026</a></li>
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<li><a href="#00027" id="toc-00027">00027</a></li>
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					<li><a href="#00027" id="toc-00027">00027</a></li>
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					<li><a href="#00028" id="toc-00028">00028</a></li>
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</ul></li>
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					</ul></li>
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<li><a href="#bestiary" id="toc-bestiary">Bestiary</a></li>
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					<li><a href="#bestiary" id="toc-bestiary">Bestiary</a></li>
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<li><a href="#geography" id="toc-geography">Geography</a></li>
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					<li><a href="#geography" id="toc-geography">Geography</a></li>
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@ -255,8 +257,8 @@ of the Were-Hare</a></li>
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</ul>
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					</ul>
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</nav>
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					</nav>
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<h2 id="stats">Stats</h2>
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					<h2 id="stats">Stats</h2>
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<p>Total length: 23421 words / 100 minute read.</p>
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					<p>Total length: 24524 words / 104 minute read.</p>
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<p>There have been 97 messages posted over 107 days since the first post
 | 
					<p>There have been 98 messages posted over 108 days since the first post
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			||||||
on July 13, 2022 for a daily post rate of .90.</p>
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					on July 13, 2022 for a daily post rate of .90.</p>
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<h2 id="about">About</h2>
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					<h2 id="about">About</h2>
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<p>This is a game that me and the kids in the basement are playing over
 | 
					<p>This is a game that me and the kids in the basement are playing over
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@ -303,6 +305,38 @@ story entirely.</p>
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<li>Retriever: Contractual Obligation, An Auspicious Start</li>
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					<li>Retriever: Contractual Obligation, An Auspicious Start</li>
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<li>Soulsword: Bloodlust</li>
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					<li>Soulsword: Bloodlust</li>
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</ul>
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					</ul>
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					<h3 id="gabs">Gabs</h3>
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					<details>
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					<summary>
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					<p>Bio</p>
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					</summary>
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					<p>Gabs had a good life. Her little devil children were all grown adults
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					now, and she no longer wanted to toil away running a business. When she
 | 
				
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					initially shuttered her little tavern, she thought she might just
 | 
				
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 | 
					retire. She made it two whole years of working in a garden, occasionally
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					seeing grandkids, and reading romance novels. She eventually decided she
 | 
				
			||||||
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					needed a vacation from her retirement and traveled to a nearby port
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					town. She was sure to find something fun to do there.</p>
 | 
				
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					<p>Gabs eventually sees Inquire Within, and the smell of debauchery
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					wafting from within made her miss her days gossiping at her tavern. She
 | 
				
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 | 
					enters and orders a terrible drink and listens and watches.</p>
 | 
				
			||||||
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					<p>Hearing the tales being spun by Mister Three-Fingered, she decides,
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					“I’ve never been on a ship, that’s something that sounds exciting!”</p>
 | 
				
			||||||
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					<p>Half-drunk and eager for something exciting, she will join on the
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					journey!</p>
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			||||||
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					<p>Gabs is a lanky older half-devil lady who is here to schmooze and
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					have fun!</p>
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			||||||
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					</details>
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					<ul>
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					<li>Player: archangelic</li>
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					<li>XP: 0</li>
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					<li>Skills: Do Anything 1</li>
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					<li>Equipment:</li>
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			||||||
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					</ul>
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 | 
					<p>Paths:</p>
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 | 
					<ul>
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			||||||
 | 
					<li>Retriever: Contractual Obligation, An Auspicious Start</li>
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			||||||
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					</ul>
 | 
				
			||||||
<h3 id="glarg">Glarg</h3>
 | 
					<h3 id="glarg">Glarg</h3>
 | 
				
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<details>
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					<details>
 | 
				
			||||||
<summary>
 | 
					<summary>
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@ -2813,6 +2847,99 @@ and drinking at Inquire Within, boarding the Diamond Howler, and sailing
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to the site of the wreck.</p>
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					to the site of the wreck.</p>
 | 
				
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<p><a
 | 
					<p><a
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href="https://framalistes.org/sympa/arc/tildepals/2022-10/msg00020.html">www</a></p>
 | 
					href="https://framalistes.org/sympa/arc/tildepals/2022-10/msg00020.html">www</a></p>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					<h3 id="00028">00028</h3>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					<blockquote>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					<p><sub><em>a new player enters the chat</em></sub></p>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					<p>Gabs had a good life. Her little devil children were all grown adults
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					now, and she no longer wanted to toil away running a business. When she
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					initially shuttered her little tavern, she thought she might just
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					retire. She made it two whole years of working in a garden, occasionally
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					seeing grandkids, and reading romance novels. She eventually decided she
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					needed a vacation from her retirement and traveled to a nearby port
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					town. She was sure to find something fun to do there.</p>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					<p>Gabs eventually sees Inquire Within, and the smell of debauchery
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					wafting from within made her miss her days gossiping at her tavern. She
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					enters and orders a terrible drink and listens and watches.</p>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					<p>Hearing the tales being spun by Mister Three-Fingered, she decides,
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					“I’ve never been on a ship, that’s something that sounds exciting!”</p>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					<p>Half-drunk and eager for something exciting, she will join on the
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					journey!</p>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					<p>Gabs is a lanky older half-devil lady who is here to schmooze and
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					have fun!</p>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					</blockquote>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					<p>~</p>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					<blockquote>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					<p>Meta: a warm welcome to the latest member of our tea party! This is a
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					short post to help smooth the temporal jumps between the recent
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					narratives so far. As Inky reaches the deck, they see Gabs approaching
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					from the other side of the ship as well, and flashes them a grin in
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					greeting. After listening to the captain petering on about the glorious
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					days of the now sunken ship below, while tinkering with the bell’s
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					tentacles — being rewarded with a mild zap and marginally better fit for
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					the effort — Inky turns to the party. “When you’re ready.”</p>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					</blockquote>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					<p>You reach into the tank and discover that grabbing a breathing bell
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					takes some finesse. They are very slippery! But you get the hang of it
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					and make a ladle out of your hands and scoop one up.</p>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					<p>“Okay now!” laughs Three-Fingered Gerald. He gives you a wink, but
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					it’s easy to miss because of the eyepatch. “Don’t put it on until right
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					before you jump. It won’t be able to breathe for you until you’re in the
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					water. And this!” he continues, fitting a heavy, padded vest around your
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					shoulders, “will carry you down.” It is a vest of many pockets, each one
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					holding a small dense sandbag the size of your hand. “When you’re ready
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					to come back up, just start dropping ballast, right?”</p>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					<p>You hop up on the ship railing and pull the breathing bell on over
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					your head. It immediately contracts and squeezes and hugs your head like
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					a second skin, and its stubby little tentacles grab hold around your
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					jawline, and it feels like you have a wet plastic bag clinging to your
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					face, and you think you might have made a grave mistake. Resisting the
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					urge to panic, you push off the railing and jump overboard. You are
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					briefly air born and then profoundly waterbound, crashing through the
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					surface of the sea into the briny soup below.</p>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					<p>The oxygen starts to flow as the breathing bell begins to do its job.
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					As you sink, you feel as though you are floating through space, entering
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					another world.</p>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					<p>After a while you start to hear voices arguing in the distance. As
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					you get closer, two large shapes start to come into focus. The first is
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					a hulking, hairless merbear. Top half (hairless) bear, bottom half fish.
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					The second figure is a tardigrade the size of a large merbear. It has
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					eight jointless legs, each tipped with four sharp claws. It wriggles and
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					wobbles like jelly as it gesticulates.</p>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					<p>“No, I am the true Bear of the Sea! I am called a Water Bear, after
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					all!”</p>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					<p>“Hornswoggle and poppycock! It is I who am the Bear of the Sea! I am
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					half bear after all! You’re just some kind of segmented nematode or
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					something.”</p>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					<p>The tardigrade quivers with indignation. “I’ll have you know I’m a
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					panarthropod, thank you very much. And this is the ideal physical body!
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					You may not like it, but this is what peak performance looks like. I’ve
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					lived under the polar ice cap, and in a sulfurous mountaintop hot
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					spring. I’ve traveled through the vacuum of space to the moon! Have you
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					ever been to the moon?”</p>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					<p>“Why don’t you go be the Bear of the Moon then if you like it so
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					much!”</p>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					<p>“You’re just as much fish as you are bear, are you sure you’re not
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					the Fish of the Sea?”</p>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					<p>“Are you sure you’re not the Blob of the Sea, you too many armed bowl
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					of jelly?”</p>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					<p>“Hey! Hey, you there!” The arguing quasi-bears have spotted your slow
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					descent. “Come, yes, float slowly this way! You must settle an argument
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					for us! Tell this slightly mammalian fish that I am the true Bear of the
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					Sea!”</p>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					<p>“The Bear of the Sea must be at least ‘slightly mammalian’ you
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					egg-laying scientific curiosity! You, tell this cousin of a barnacle
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					that I—the mighty merbear—am the true Bear of the Sea! Say this and I
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					will guide and protect you on your journey.”</p>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					<p>“No! Would you like to visit the moon? Say that I, tardigrade, am
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					Bear of the Sea and I will introduce you to my moon friends!”</p>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					<p>“He had to make friends on the moon because nobody on Urth can stand
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					him!”</p>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					<p>“You’re just mean, you know that?”</p>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					<p>You are still quite some way from the sea bed, and there is no sight
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					of the SS RSS.</p>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					<p>WHAT DO YOU DO</p>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					<p><a
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					href="https://framalistes.org/sympa/arc/tildepals/2022-10/msg00023.html">www</a></p>
 | 
				
			||||||
<h2 id="bestiary">Bestiary</h2>
 | 
					<h2 id="bestiary">Bestiary</h2>
 | 
				
			||||||
<p>Some of the creatures who inhabit the world of Basmentaria</p>
 | 
					<p>Some of the creatures who inhabit the world of Basmentaria</p>
 | 
				
			||||||
<dt>
 | 
					<dt>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
				
			|||||||
							
								
								
									
										627
									
								
								www/rss.xml
									
									
									
									
									
								
							
							
						
						
									
										627
									
								
								www/rss.xml
									
									
									
									
									
								
							@ -5,6 +5,209 @@
 | 
				
			|||||||
    <title>BASEMENT QWEST</title>
 | 
					    <title>BASEMENT QWEST</title>
 | 
				
			||||||
    <link>https://tilde.town/~dozens/quest/rss.xml</link>
 | 
					    <link>https://tilde.town/~dozens/quest/rss.xml</link>
 | 
				
			||||||
    <description>Friends having ADVENTURES! Huzzah!</description>
 | 
					    <description>Friends having ADVENTURES! Huzzah!</description>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					    <item>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					      <title>28</title>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					      <author>dozens@tilde.team (dozens)</author>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					      <guid isPermaLink="false">28 - Sat, 29 Oct 2022 08:36:51
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					-0600</guid>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					      <pubDate>Sat, 29 Oct 2022 08:36:51 -0600</pubDate>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					      <description>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					        <![CDATA[
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          <h3 id="00028">00028</h3>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          <blockquote>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          <p><sub><em>a new player enters the chat</em></sub></p>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          <p>Gabs had a good life. Her little devil children were all
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          grown adults now, and she no longer wanted to toil away
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          running a business. When she initially shuttered her little
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          tavern, she thought she might just retire. She made it two
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          whole years of working in a garden, occasionally seeing
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          grandkids, and reading romance novels. She eventually decided
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          she needed a vacation from her retirement and traveled to a
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          nearby port town. She was sure to find something fun to do
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          there.</p>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          <p>Gabs eventually sees Inquire Within, and the smell of
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          debauchery wafting from within made her miss her days
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          gossiping at her tavern. She enters and orders a terrible
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          drink and listens and watches.</p>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          <p>Hearing the tales being spun by Mister Three-Fingered, she
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          decides, “I’ve never been on a ship, that’s something that
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          sounds exciting!”</p>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          <p>Half-drunk and eager for something exciting, she will join
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          on the journey!</p>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          <p>Gabs is a lanky older half-devil lady who is here to
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          schmooze and have fun!</p>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          </blockquote>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          <p>~</p>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          <blockquote>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          <p>Meta: a warm welcome to the latest member of our tea party!
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          This is a short post to help smooth the temporal jumps between
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          the recent narratives so far. As Inky reaches the deck, they
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          see Gabs approaching from the other side of the ship as well,
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          and flashes them a grin in greeting. After listening to the
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          captain petering on about the glorious days of the now sunken
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          ship below, while tinkering with the bell’s tentacles — being
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          rewarded with a mild zap and marginally better fit for the
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          effort — Inky turns to the party. “When you’re ready.”</p>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          </blockquote>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          <p>You reach into the tank and discover that grabbing a
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          breathing bell takes some finesse. They are very slippery! But
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          you get the hang of it and make a ladle out of your hands and
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          scoop one up.</p>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          <p>“Okay now!” laughs Three-Fingered Gerald. He gives you a
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          wink, but it’s easy to miss because of the eyepatch. “Don’t
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          put it on until right before you jump. It won’t be able to
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          breathe for you until you’re in the water. And this!” he
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          continues, fitting a heavy, padded vest around your shoulders,
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          “will carry you down.” It is a vest of many pockets, each one
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          holding a small dense sandbag the size of your hand. “When
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          you’re ready to come back up, just start dropping ballast,
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          right?”</p>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          <p>You hop up on the ship railing and pull the breathing bell
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          on over your head. It immediately contracts and squeezes and
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          hugs your head like a second skin, and its stubby little
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          tentacles grab hold around your jawline, and it feels like you
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          have a wet plastic bag clinging to your face, and you think
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          you might have made a grave mistake. Resisting the urge to
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          panic, you push off the railing and jump overboard. You are
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          briefly air born and then profoundly waterbound, crashing
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          through the surface of the sea into the briny soup below.</p>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          <p>The oxygen starts to flow as the breathing bell begins to
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          do its job. As you sink, you feel as though you are floating
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          through space, entering another world.</p>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          <p>After a while you start to hear voices arguing in the
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          distance. As you get closer, two large shapes start to come
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          into focus. The first is a hulking, hairless merbear. Top half
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          (hairless) bear, bottom half fish. The second figure is a
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          tardigrade the size of a large merbear. It has eight jointless
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          legs, each tipped with four sharp claws. It wriggles and
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          wobbles like jelly as it gesticulates.</p>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          <p>“No, I am the true Bear of the Sea! I am called a Water
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          Bear, after all!”</p>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          <p>“Hornswoggle and poppycock! It is I who am the Bear of the
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          Sea! I am half bear after all! You’re just some kind of
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          segmented nematode or something.”</p>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          <p>The tardigrade quivers with indignation. “I’ll have you
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          know I’m a panarthropod, thank you very much. And this is the
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          ideal physical body! You may not like it, but this is what
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          peak performance looks like. I’ve lived under the polar ice
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          cap, and in a sulfurous mountaintop hot spring. I’ve traveled
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          through the vacuum of space to the moon! Have you ever been to
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          the moon?”</p>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          <p>“Why don’t you go be the Bear of the Moon then if you like
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          it so much!”</p>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          <p>“You’re just as much fish as you are bear, are you sure
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          you’re not the Fish of the Sea?”</p>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          <p>“Are you sure you’re not the Blob of the Sea, you too many
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          armed bowl of jelly?”</p>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          <p>“Hey! Hey, you there!” The arguing quasi-bears have spotted
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          your slow descent. “Come, yes, float slowly this way! You must
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          settle an argument for us! Tell this slightly mammalian fish
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          that I am the true Bear of the Sea!”</p>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          <p>“The Bear of the Sea must be at least ‘slightly mammalian’
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          you egg-laying scientific curiosity! You, tell this cousin of
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          a barnacle that I—the mighty merbear—am the true Bear of the
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          Sea! Say this and I will guide and protect you on your
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          journey.”</p>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          <p>“No! Would you like to visit the moon? Say that I,
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          tardigrade, am Bear of the Sea and I will introduce you to my
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          moon friends!”</p>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          <p>“He had to make friends on the moon because nobody on Urth
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          can stand him!”</p>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          <p>“You’re just mean, you know that?”</p>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          <p>You are still quite some way from the sea bed, and there is
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          no sight of the SS RSS.</p>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          <p>WHAT DO YOU DO</p>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          <p><a
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          href="https://framalistes.org/sympa/arc/tildepals/2022-10/msg00023.html">www</a></p>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					        ]]>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					      </description>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					    </item>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					    <item>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					      <title>26</title>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					      <author>dozens@tilde.team (dozens)</author>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					      <guid isPermaLink="false">26 - Tue, 25 Oct 2022 08:27:22
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					-0600</guid>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					      <pubDate>Tue, 25 Oct 2022 08:27:22 -0600</pubDate>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					      <description>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					        <![CDATA[
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          <h3 id="00026">00026</h3>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          <blockquote>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          <p>Inky slowly approaches Master Corraidhín and taps lightly
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          on the sleeve of his robes to get his attention. Between
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          Inky’s tugging and Jarrod’s strong, steady hand, they manage
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          to hoist the wizard to his feet.</p>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          <p>With a brief glance at the hobbit on the floor then a nod
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          to Jarrod, Inky leaves the nightclub with the wizard. The
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          duck, having emptied the plate of corn chips in record time,
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          follows them shortly after.</p>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          <p>The trek back to the Milk Market is mostly silent aside
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          from the occasional mutter and stumbling curse, the mage
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          seemingly having fallen asleep as soon as he landed on the cot
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          in the loft. Inky retreats downstairs after leaving a jug of
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          water, a mug and a small packet of kuding leaves beside the
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          bed.</p>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          <p>Exiting through the back door into the night, Inky finds a
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          dark corner in a dusty abandoned house, and cries.</p>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          </blockquote>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          <p>~</p>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          <blockquote>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          <p>” … and then the Orc Maiden said: ‘That’s not my
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          club!’”</p>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          <p>The room roars with laughter, and Jarrod moves to the bar
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          and puts a bag of coin down. “Serve drinks until this runs
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          out!” Leaning over the bar to the bartender, Jarrod adds in a
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          whisper: “I owe a favour to Lucy’s Basement for the trouble.
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          Call it in when needed.”</p>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          <p>Jarrod saunters over to Blavin, on the floor in pain. From
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          his pack, Jarrod retrieves a med kit and begins to bandage the
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          wound.</p>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          <p>As Blavin opens his mouth, likely intending to raise all
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          kinds of hell, Jarrod pulls tight on the bandage he is
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          currently applying, drawing a curse from the hobbit. “Shut it!
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          Let’s be clear. You’ve hired us for a dangerous set of jobs,
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          with the understanding that we’re dangerous people. There may
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          be ‘accidents’ on occasion. You’ve learned something today,
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          and what’s more, you lived to absorb your new wisdom.”</p>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          <p>Jarrod grins as he finishes with the bandage. “We will
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          finish what we have started. We’re probably the team with the
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          best chances, I’m sure you’ll agree. Are you going to back the
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          winning play here? Either way, your decision won’t change our
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          plans. I’m sure you know how to take the win.”</p>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          <p>Jarrod pats the hobbit’s good shoulder in a friendly, but
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          dismissive, way, then turns and saunters out the door, trading
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          small quips with his new (and now very drunk) tavern
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          friends.</p>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          </blockquote>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          <p>You are at a small port town on the northern tip of
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          Agendell, just past the Rana’For Valley. The sun is bright and
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          the wind blowing in from the Sugrin Sea to the east is cool
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          and salty. The floating island-city of Vay’Neddas, bridging
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          Agendell and Primora, can be seen very faintly in the distance
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          hanging in the northern sky.</p>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          <p>Your faithful multibeast is carrying all of your supplies
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          and gear, which were generously provided to you by the
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          indefatigable Blavin Blandfoot. His arm in a sling, he kept up
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          a constant nervous chatter as he saw you off on your journey
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          to recover the second Ginnarak Crystal.</p>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          <p>From here, you can easily provision a boat to take you out
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          to the site of the shipwreck just off the coast.</p>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          <p>Or, optionally, you are very close to the Hartlands. It
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          would be quite easy to make a quick visit to hemogoblins and
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          pick up some synthetic blood for your experiments with the
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          Sword of Yam’L.</p>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          <p>The sword, incidentally, after finally tasting the blood of
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          “evil”, has remained sated and entirely inert and unresponsive
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          this whole time.</p>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          <p>WHAT DO YOU DO:</p>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          <ol type="1">
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          <li>TO THE SHIPWRECK</li>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          <li>BLOODQUEST</li>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          </ol>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          <p><a
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          href="https://framalistes.org/sympa/arc/tildepals/2022-10/msg00018.html">www</a></p>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					        ]]>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					      </description>
 | 
				
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 | 
					    </item>
 | 
				
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    <item>
 | 
					    <item>
 | 
				
			||||||
      <title>24</title>
 | 
					      <title>24</title>
 | 
				
			||||||
      <author>dozens@tilde.team (dozens)</author>
 | 
					      <author>dozens@tilde.team (dozens)</author>
 | 
				
			||||||
@ -108,6 +311,175 @@
 | 
				
			|||||||
        ]]>
 | 
					        ]]>
 | 
				
			||||||
      </description>
 | 
					      </description>
 | 
				
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    </item>
 | 
					    </item>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					    <item>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					      <title>25</title>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					      <author>dozens@tilde.team (dozens)</author>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					      <guid isPermaLink="false">25 - Sun, 23 Oct 2022 09:41:16
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					-0600</guid>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					      <pubDate>Sun, 23 Oct 2022 09:41:16 -0600</pubDate>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					      <description>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					        <![CDATA[
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          <h3 id="00025">00025</h3>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          <blockquote>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          <p><strong>Corraidhin</strong> Shit, shit shit shit shit shit.
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          This is NOT good. Damn it Y’aml what was that? It wasn’t even
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          slightly stealthy</p>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          <p><strong>Y’aml</strong> STAB, delightful blood. Stab the
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          flesh, tear the skin, pierce the fruit that gives us strength.
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          Drink the blood, consume their soul. More more more more more
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          more more more more</p>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          <p><strong>Corraidhin (internal thought)</strong> Ugh my head,
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          it’s heavy, hurts. Misty and red? I can’t see straight, it’s
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          hard to think straight. That blasted sword, I thought for a
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          moment it, no, not think, it definitely did move on its own.
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          It became lighter and heavier. Pulling against it and it just
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          weighs itself down. This little magical bauble is definitely
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          cursed..</p>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          <p><strong>Y’aml</strong> CURSED?! Rude Hardy Bear. All we did
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          was stab that evil hobbit. And it’s getting away! Stab him
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          again, taste his blood! The tavern gaurds are closing in, they
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          look like they’re trying to get rid of us, EVIL. Them trying
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          to stop us from getting that evil hobbit is EVIL, STAB
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          THEM.</p>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          <p>Corraidhin raises his free hand to his head as though
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          holding a wound and he groans in dismay as the dagger rises
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          again. It travels swiftly down towards Blavin, missing as he
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          slithers of the booth. And again, digging deep into the wooden
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          seat.</p>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          <p><strong>Y’aml</strong> Disgusting wood, stab the flesh!
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          Stab the Hobbit Hardy Bear!</p>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          <p>But Blavin was inching further out of reach towards the
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          gaurds. In desperation the dagger begins swinging side to
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          side, making furtive slashing moves in the direction of the
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          guards. The party is safely behind Corraidhin, but innocent
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          patrons and the guards are directly in their sights.</p>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          <p>Corraidhin grabs his other hand and pulls hard, steadying
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          the swinging. STOP! I command you you blasted toothpick, STOP.
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          You’ve had your fun, now STOP. These people are innocent, this
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          man has done us no harm despite his potential “evils”, this is
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          entirely uncalled for!</p>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          <p><strong>Y’aml</strong> NO!!! EVIL. STAB. EVIL. STAB. EVIL.
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          STAB.</p>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          <p>The dull voice of the magical dagger rises, angry,
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          insistent. It consumes the last of Corraidhin’s mental
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          strength. All he hears is EVIL. STAB. EVIL. STAB. Yet he
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          clings to his spare arm trying desparately to resist. At this
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          point the party and the tavern has cleared a wide path around
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          the sysorceor as he struggles with himself, mumbling,
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          sometimes yelling. EVIL. STAB. EVIL. STAB. NO WE WILL NOT.
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          EVIL. INNOCENT. STAB BLOOD DRINK. EVIL. EVIL EVIL EVIL STAB
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          IT. MAKE IT BLEED. I WILL NO.. STAB IT. STAB HIM.</p>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          <p>The voice seems to change, it dies down. Not yelling, but
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          commanding. Firm, calm, sane.</p>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          <p>Stab them, stab them, make them bleed. Drink the blood,
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          consume the soul, free them from their evil being. Stab them,
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          stab them… over and over and over, as the sysorceor approaches
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          Blavin and the guards with a malevolent look in his ruby red
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          eyes.</p>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          </blockquote>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          <p>~</p>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          <blockquote>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          <p>Inky moves to stand next to Blavin and the nightclub
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          bouncers. Tossing a tiny “see-eye” container they had borrowed
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          from Master Corraidhín at him, Inky looks the sysorceor in the
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          eye and says, “You are not your sword.”</p>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          <p>Watching the wizard’s expression, Inky continues, more
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          quietly, “If Master Corraidhín truly wishes to end the hobbit,
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          a mere imp would not stop him, but likewise, whatever he sets
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          his mind to do, a dagger cannot stop him either.”</p>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          </blockquote>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          <p>~</p>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          <blockquote>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          <p>Jarrod steps gently into the fray and activates his
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          FASCINATING CHARM, attempting to draw all eyes to him. He
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          carefully avoids the wild swinging of the
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          once-sword-now-dagger.</p>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          <p>“I think,” he rumbles gently, “we could all use a drink
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          over the other end of the room. I’m buying, and I’ll spin you
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          all a tale of wonder! A tale of a wanderer, and of a war
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          hammer, and the first of their wild battles together!”</p>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          <p>Leaning over to whisper urgently in Corraidhín’s ear:
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          “Friend, I do not know what occurs here, but pull yourself
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          together. We can later sate our blood lust in more appropriate
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          places!” Jarrod lends a sly wink in the sysorcerer’s
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          direction, one that promises adventure later.</p>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          </blockquote>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          <p>The tavern guards tense, but pause their advance, as the
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          crazed mage’s friends position themselves protectively around
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          him and try to placate him. They wouldn’t want to engage a
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          master sysorcerer on the best of days, much less one with some
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          kind of malevolent blood dagger in the middle of a psychotic
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          break. If his compatriots can handle him without them having
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          to interfere, all the better.</p>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          <p>The duck waddles up next to Inky and quacks softly,
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          pleadingly at Corraidhin. Only the Ornithologer in the corner
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          can understand its words when it says, “As your marketing
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          manager I must strongly advise against this course of
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          action!”</p>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          <p>Seated in the corner next to the Ornithologer is a shaggy
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          groll dressed in a dusty, faded poncho and a wide brimmed hat;
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          and a greasy, matted gnu, dressed in black ceremonial
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          robes.</p>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          <p>The groll discreetly draws its poncho back revealing a
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          bandoleer of wands and draws a cracklestick and points it at
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          the sysorcer. The wand starts to hum and glow as it charges up
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          for a blast.</p>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          <p>The gnu slaps the groll’s wrist, and immediately launches
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          into a tirade against the cracklestick’s manufacturer’s
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          proprietary spell slotting algorithm, and honestly how can you
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          possibly justify your choices when there are open source
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          alternatives available?</p>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          <p>The groll rolls its eyes, obviously having been on the
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          receiving end of this particular lecture before, and tries to
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          slap away the gnu’s grasping hands. The ensuing scuffle
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          threatens to turn this powder keg of a situation into a full
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          blown conflagration until Jarrod actives his FASCINATING
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          CHARM, commanding the attention of the entire room.</p>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          <p>The gnu freezes with its hands around the groll’s throat.
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          The groll halts with fists full of the gnu’s beard. A grub
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          smoking a hookah pauses with the mouthpiece raised to its
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          pursed lips. A distracted waitress on roller skates crashes
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          right into the bar.</p>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          <blockquote>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          <p>As though in a trance Corraidhin continues to yell STAB.
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          THEM. STAB. IT. cutting wildly at the air before him. As Inky
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          whispers to him his expression changes, first a grimace, then
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          a whimper. As Jarrod leads the patrons away from the sysorceor
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          he begins to tremble and cower away from himself, away from
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          everyone. His ruby red eyes dart back and forth between his
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          friends and the patrons, like a frightened animal searching
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          for an escape. He pulls the dagger into himself, as though
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          sheilding it from his surroundings.</p>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          <p>What.. what’s going on, he mutters feebly to himself.
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          Everything is a blurr. Uncertain of where he is or what’s
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          going on, Corraidhin thumbs the dagger, caressing the large
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          ruby embedded in the hilt. Y’aml, you’re still here, good
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          good, the syscoreor croons.</p>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          <p>Standing up straight his eyes lock with Jarrod as the Bard
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          glances over his shoulder, momentarily distracted from his
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          oration, worried about his companion.</p>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          <p>I.. ugh, Corraidhin grabs his head as though in pain, and
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          collapses to the floor.</p>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          </blockquote>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          <p>Corraidhin hits the floor and the dagger, now bereft of the
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          well of emotion it had been drawing from, grows still. The eye
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          closes and it seems to sigh happily. “Good job, Hardy Bear.
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          You have spilled the blood of evil.” And it sleeps, inert,
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          lifeless.</p>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          <p>Corraidhin is on the ground cradling the dagger.</p>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          <p>Most of the patrons are still fascinated by Jarrod.</p>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          <p>Blavin is squirming around on the floor gibbering about
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          reassigning your case.</p>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          <p>The duck has found a toppled plate of corn chips and is
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          happily snacking away.</p>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          <p>You feel like your welcome at Lucy’s Basement has been, for
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          the moment, overstayed.</p>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          <p>WHAT DO YOU DO</p>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          <p><a
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					          href="https://framalistes.org/sympa/arc/tildepals/2022-10/msg00015.html">www</a></p>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					        ]]>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					      </description>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					    </item>
 | 
				
			||||||
    <item>
 | 
					    <item>
 | 
				
			||||||
      <title>21</title>
 | 
					      <title>21</title>
 | 
				
			||||||
      <author>dozens@tilde.team (dozens)</author>
 | 
					      <author>dozens@tilde.team (dozens)</author>
 | 
				
			||||||
@ -399,175 +771,6 @@
 | 
				
			|||||||
        ]]>
 | 
					        ]]>
 | 
				
			||||||
      </description>
 | 
					      </description>
 | 
				
			||||||
    </item>
 | 
					    </item>
 | 
				
			||||||
    <item>
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
      <title>25</title>
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
      <author>dozens@tilde.team (dozens)</author>
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
      <guid isPermaLink="false">25 - Sun, 23 Oct 2022 09:41:16
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
-0600</guid>
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
      <pubDate>Sun, 23 Oct 2022 09:41:16 -0600</pubDate>
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
      <description>
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
        <![CDATA[
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          <h3 id="00025">00025</h3>
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          <blockquote>
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          <p><strong>Corraidhin</strong> Shit, shit shit shit shit shit.
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          This is NOT good. Damn it Y’aml what was that? It wasn’t even
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          slightly stealthy</p>
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          <p><strong>Y’aml</strong> STAB, delightful blood. Stab the
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          flesh, tear the skin, pierce the fruit that gives us strength.
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          Drink the blood, consume their soul. More more more more more
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          more more more more</p>
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          <p><strong>Corraidhin (internal thought)</strong> Ugh my head,
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          it’s heavy, hurts. Misty and red? I can’t see straight, it’s
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          hard to think straight. That blasted sword, I thought for a
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          moment it, no, not think, it definitely did move on its own.
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          It became lighter and heavier. Pulling against it and it just
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          weighs itself down. This little magical bauble is definitely
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          cursed..</p>
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          <p><strong>Y’aml</strong> CURSED?! Rude Hardy Bear. All we did
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          was stab that evil hobbit. And it’s getting away! Stab him
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          again, taste his blood! The tavern gaurds are closing in, they
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          look like they’re trying to get rid of us, EVIL. Them trying
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          to stop us from getting that evil hobbit is EVIL, STAB
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          THEM.</p>
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          <p>Corraidhin raises his free hand to his head as though
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          holding a wound and he groans in dismay as the dagger rises
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          again. It travels swiftly down towards Blavin, missing as he
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          slithers of the booth. And again, digging deep into the wooden
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          seat.</p>
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          <p><strong>Y’aml</strong> Disgusting wood, stab the flesh!
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          Stab the Hobbit Hardy Bear!</p>
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          <p>But Blavin was inching further out of reach towards the
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          gaurds. In desperation the dagger begins swinging side to
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          side, making furtive slashing moves in the direction of the
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          guards. The party is safely behind Corraidhin, but innocent
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          patrons and the guards are directly in their sights.</p>
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          <p>Corraidhin grabs his other hand and pulls hard, steadying
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          the swinging. STOP! I command you you blasted toothpick, STOP.
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          You’ve had your fun, now STOP. These people are innocent, this
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          man has done us no harm despite his potential “evils”, this is
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          entirely uncalled for!</p>
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          <p><strong>Y’aml</strong> NO!!! EVIL. STAB. EVIL. STAB. EVIL.
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          STAB.</p>
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          <p>The dull voice of the magical dagger rises, angry,
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          insistent. It consumes the last of Corraidhin’s mental
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          strength. All he hears is EVIL. STAB. EVIL. STAB. Yet he
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          clings to his spare arm trying desparately to resist. At this
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          point the party and the tavern has cleared a wide path around
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          the sysorceor as he struggles with himself, mumbling,
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          sometimes yelling. EVIL. STAB. EVIL. STAB. NO WE WILL NOT.
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          EVIL. INNOCENT. STAB BLOOD DRINK. EVIL. EVIL EVIL EVIL STAB
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          IT. MAKE IT BLEED. I WILL NO.. STAB IT. STAB HIM.</p>
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          <p>The voice seems to change, it dies down. Not yelling, but
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          commanding. Firm, calm, sane.</p>
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          <p>Stab them, stab them, make them bleed. Drink the blood,
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          consume the soul, free them from their evil being. Stab them,
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          stab them… over and over and over, as the sysorceor approaches
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          Blavin and the guards with a malevolent look in his ruby red
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          eyes.</p>
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          </blockquote>
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          <p>~</p>
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          <blockquote>
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          <p>Inky moves to stand next to Blavin and the nightclub
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          bouncers. Tossing a tiny “see-eye” container they had borrowed
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          from Master Corraidhín at him, Inky looks the sysorceor in the
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          eye and says, “You are not your sword.”</p>
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          <p>Watching the wizard’s expression, Inky continues, more
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          quietly, “If Master Corraidhín truly wishes to end the hobbit,
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          a mere imp would not stop him, but likewise, whatever he sets
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          his mind to do, a dagger cannot stop him either.”</p>
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          </blockquote>
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          <p>~</p>
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          <blockquote>
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          <p>Jarrod steps gently into the fray and activates his
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          FASCINATING CHARM, attempting to draw all eyes to him. He
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          carefully avoids the wild swinging of the
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          once-sword-now-dagger.</p>
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          <p>“I think,” he rumbles gently, “we could all use a drink
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          over the other end of the room. I’m buying, and I’ll spin you
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          all a tale of wonder! A tale of a wanderer, and of a war
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          hammer, and the first of their wild battles together!”</p>
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          <p>Leaning over to whisper urgently in Corraidhín’s ear:
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          “Friend, I do not know what occurs here, but pull yourself
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          together. We can later sate our blood lust in more appropriate
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          places!” Jarrod lends a sly wink in the sysorcerer’s
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          direction, one that promises adventure later.</p>
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          </blockquote>
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          <p>The tavern guards tense, but pause their advance, as the
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          crazed mage’s friends position themselves protectively around
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          him and try to placate him. They wouldn’t want to engage a
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          master sysorcerer on the best of days, much less one with some
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          kind of malevolent blood dagger in the middle of a psychotic
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          break. If his compatriots can handle him without them having
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          to interfere, all the better.</p>
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          <p>The duck waddles up next to Inky and quacks softly,
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          pleadingly at Corraidhin. Only the Ornithologer in the corner
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          can understand its words when it says, “As your marketing
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          manager I must strongly advise against this course of
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          action!”</p>
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          <p>Seated in the corner next to the Ornithologer is a shaggy
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          groll dressed in a dusty, faded poncho and a wide brimmed hat;
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          and a greasy, matted gnu, dressed in black ceremonial
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          robes.</p>
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          <p>The groll discreetly draws its poncho back revealing a
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          bandoleer of wands and draws a cracklestick and points it at
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          the sysorcer. The wand starts to hum and glow as it charges up
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          for a blast.</p>
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          <p>The gnu slaps the groll’s wrist, and immediately launches
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          into a tirade against the cracklestick’s manufacturer’s
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          proprietary spell slotting algorithm, and honestly how can you
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          possibly justify your choices when there are open source
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          alternatives available?</p>
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          <p>The groll rolls its eyes, obviously having been on the
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          receiving end of this particular lecture before, and tries to
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          slap away the gnu’s grasping hands. The ensuing scuffle
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          threatens to turn this powder keg of a situation into a full
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          blown conflagration until Jarrod actives his FASCINATING
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          CHARM, commanding the attention of the entire room.</p>
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          <p>The gnu freezes with its hands around the groll’s throat.
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          The groll halts with fists full of the gnu’s beard. A grub
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          smoking a hookah pauses with the mouthpiece raised to its
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          pursed lips. A distracted waitress on roller skates crashes
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          right into the bar.</p>
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          <blockquote>
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          <p>As though in a trance Corraidhin continues to yell STAB.
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          THEM. STAB. IT. cutting wildly at the air before him. As Inky
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          whispers to him his expression changes, first a grimace, then
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          a whimper. As Jarrod leads the patrons away from the sysorceor
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          he begins to tremble and cower away from himself, away from
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          everyone. His ruby red eyes dart back and forth between his
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          friends and the patrons, like a frightened animal searching
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          for an escape. He pulls the dagger into himself, as though
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          sheilding it from his surroundings.</p>
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          <p>What.. what’s going on, he mutters feebly to himself.
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          Everything is a blurr. Uncertain of where he is or what’s
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          going on, Corraidhin thumbs the dagger, caressing the large
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          ruby embedded in the hilt. Y’aml, you’re still here, good
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          good, the syscoreor croons.</p>
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          <p>Standing up straight his eyes lock with Jarrod as the Bard
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          glances over his shoulder, momentarily distracted from his
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          oration, worried about his companion.</p>
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          <p>I.. ugh, Corraidhin grabs his head as though in pain, and
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          collapses to the floor.</p>
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          </blockquote>
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          <p>Corraidhin hits the floor and the dagger, now bereft of the
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          well of emotion it had been drawing from, grows still. The eye
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          closes and it seems to sigh happily. “Good job, Hardy Bear.
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          You have spilled the blood of evil.” And it sleeps, inert,
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          lifeless.</p>
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          <p>Corraidhin is on the ground cradling the dagger.</p>
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          <p>Most of the patrons are still fascinated by Jarrod.</p>
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          <p>Blavin is squirming around on the floor gibbering about
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          reassigning your case.</p>
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          <p>The duck has found a toppled plate of corn chips and is
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          happily snacking away.</p>
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          <p>You feel like your welcome at Lucy’s Basement has been, for
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          the moment, overstayed.</p>
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          <p>WHAT DO YOU DO</p>
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          <p><a
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          href="https://framalistes.org/sympa/arc/tildepals/2022-10/msg00015.html">www</a></p>
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
        ]]>
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
      </description>
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
    </item>
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
    <item>
 | 
					    <item>
 | 
				
			||||||
      <title>23</title>
 | 
					      <title>23</title>
 | 
				
			||||||
      <author>dozens@tilde.team (dozens)</author>
 | 
					      <author>dozens@tilde.team (dozens)</author>
 | 
				
			||||||
@ -732,92 +935,6 @@
 | 
				
			|||||||
        ]]>
 | 
					        ]]>
 | 
				
			||||||
      </description>
 | 
					      </description>
 | 
				
			||||||
    </item>
 | 
					    </item>
 | 
				
			||||||
    <item>
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
      <title>26</title>
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
      <author>dozens@tilde.team (dozens)</author>
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
      <guid isPermaLink="false">26 - Tue, 25 Oct 2022 08:27:22
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
-0600</guid>
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
      <pubDate>Tue, 25 Oct 2022 08:27:22 -0600</pubDate>
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
      <description>
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
        <![CDATA[
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          <h3 id="00026">00026</h3>
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          <blockquote>
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          <p>Inky slowly approaches Master Corraidhín and taps lightly
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          on the sleeve of his robes to get his attention. Between
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          Inky’s tugging and Jarrod’s strong, steady hand, they manage
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          to hoist the wizard to his feet.</p>
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          <p>With a brief glance at the hobbit on the floor then a nod
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          to Jarrod, Inky leaves the nightclub with the wizard. The
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          duck, having emptied the plate of corn chips in record time,
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          follows them shortly after.</p>
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          <p>The trek back to the Milk Market is mostly silent aside
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          from the occasional mutter and stumbling curse, the mage
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          seemingly having fallen asleep as soon as he landed on the cot
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          in the loft. Inky retreats downstairs after leaving a jug of
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          water, a mug and a small packet of kuding leaves beside the
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          bed.</p>
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          <p>Exiting through the back door into the night, Inky finds a
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          dark corner in a dusty abandoned house, and cries.</p>
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          </blockquote>
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          <p>~</p>
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          <blockquote>
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          <p>” … and then the Orc Maiden said: ‘That’s not my
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          club!’”</p>
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          <p>The room roars with laughter, and Jarrod moves to the bar
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          and puts a bag of coin down. “Serve drinks until this runs
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          out!” Leaning over the bar to the bartender, Jarrod adds in a
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          whisper: “I owe a favour to Lucy’s Basement for the trouble.
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          Call it in when needed.”</p>
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          <p>Jarrod saunters over to Blavin, on the floor in pain. From
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          his pack, Jarrod retrieves a med kit and begins to bandage the
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          wound.</p>
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          <p>As Blavin opens his mouth, likely intending to raise all
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          kinds of hell, Jarrod pulls tight on the bandage he is
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          currently applying, drawing a curse from the hobbit. “Shut it!
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          Let’s be clear. You’ve hired us for a dangerous set of jobs,
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          with the understanding that we’re dangerous people. There may
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          be ‘accidents’ on occasion. You’ve learned something today,
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          and what’s more, you lived to absorb your new wisdom.”</p>
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          <p>Jarrod grins as he finishes with the bandage. “We will
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          finish what we have started. We’re probably the team with the
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          best chances, I’m sure you’ll agree. Are you going to back the
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          winning play here? Either way, your decision won’t change our
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          plans. I’m sure you know how to take the win.”</p>
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          <p>Jarrod pats the hobbit’s good shoulder in a friendly, but
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          dismissive, way, then turns and saunters out the door, trading
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          small quips with his new (and now very drunk) tavern
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          friends.</p>
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          </blockquote>
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          <p>You are at a small port town on the northern tip of
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          Agendell, just past the Rana’For Valley. The sun is bright and
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          the wind blowing in from the Sugrin Sea to the east is cool
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          and salty. The floating island-city of Vay’Neddas, bridging
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          Agendell and Primora, can be seen very faintly in the distance
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          hanging in the northern sky.</p>
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          <p>Your faithful multibeast is carrying all of your supplies
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          and gear, which were generously provided to you by the
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          indefatigable Blavin Blandfoot. His arm in a sling, he kept up
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          a constant nervous chatter as he saw you off on your journey
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          to recover the second Ginnarak Crystal.</p>
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          <p>From here, you can easily provision a boat to take you out
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          to the site of the shipwreck just off the coast.</p>
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          <p>Or, optionally, you are very close to the Hartlands. It
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          would be quite easy to make a quick visit to hemogoblins and
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          pick up some synthetic blood for your experiments with the
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          Sword of Yam’L.</p>
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          <p>The sword, incidentally, after finally tasting the blood of
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          “evil”, has remained sated and entirely inert and unresponsive
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          this whole time.</p>
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          <p>WHAT DO YOU DO:</p>
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          <ol type="1">
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          <li>TO THE SHIPWRECK</li>
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          <li>BLOODQUEST</li>
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          </ol>
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          <p><a
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
          href="https://framalistes.org/sympa/arc/tildepals/2022-10/msg00018.html">www</a></p>
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
        ]]>
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
      </description>
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
    </item>
 | 
					 | 
				
			||||||
    <item>
 | 
					    <item>
 | 
				
			||||||
      <title>22</title>
 | 
					      <title>22</title>
 | 
				
			||||||
      <author>dozens@tilde.team (dozens)</author>
 | 
					      <author>dozens@tilde.team (dozens)</author>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
				
			|||||||
@ -212,6 +212,7 @@
 | 
				
			|||||||
<li><a href="#characters" id="toc-characters">Characters</a>
 | 
					<li><a href="#characters" id="toc-characters">Characters</a>
 | 
				
			||||||
<ul>
 | 
					<ul>
 | 
				
			||||||
<li><a href="#corraidhín" id="toc-corraidhín">Corraidhín</a></li>
 | 
					<li><a href="#corraidhín" id="toc-corraidhín">Corraidhín</a></li>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					<li><a href="#gabs" id="toc-gabs">Gabs</a></li>
 | 
				
			||||||
<li><a href="#glarg" id="toc-glarg">Glarg</a></li>
 | 
					<li><a href="#glarg" id="toc-glarg">Glarg</a></li>
 | 
				
			||||||
<li><a href="#inky" id="toc-inky">Inky</a></li>
 | 
					<li><a href="#inky" id="toc-inky">Inky</a></li>
 | 
				
			||||||
<li><a href="#jarrod" id="toc-jarrod">Jarrod</a></li>
 | 
					<li><a href="#jarrod" id="toc-jarrod">Jarrod</a></li>
 | 
				
			||||||
@ -246,6 +247,7 @@ of the Were-Hare</a></li>
 | 
				
			|||||||
<li><a href="#00025" id="toc-00025">00025</a></li>
 | 
					<li><a href="#00025" id="toc-00025">00025</a></li>
 | 
				
			||||||
<li><a href="#00026" id="toc-00026">00026</a></li>
 | 
					<li><a href="#00026" id="toc-00026">00026</a></li>
 | 
				
			||||||
<li><a href="#00027" id="toc-00027">00027</a></li>
 | 
					<li><a href="#00027" id="toc-00027">00027</a></li>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					<li><a href="#00028" id="toc-00028">00028</a></li>
 | 
				
			||||||
</ul></li>
 | 
					</ul></li>
 | 
				
			||||||
<li><a href="#bestiary" id="toc-bestiary">Bestiary</a></li>
 | 
					<li><a href="#bestiary" id="toc-bestiary">Bestiary</a></li>
 | 
				
			||||||
<li><a href="#geography" id="toc-geography">Geography</a></li>
 | 
					<li><a href="#geography" id="toc-geography">Geography</a></li>
 | 
				
			||||||
@ -258,9 +260,9 @@ id="toc-acknowledgements">Acknowledgements</a></li>
 | 
				
			|||||||
</ul>
 | 
					</ul>
 | 
				
			||||||
</nav>
 | 
					</nav>
 | 
				
			||||||
<h2 id="stats">Stats</h2>
 | 
					<h2 id="stats">Stats</h2>
 | 
				
			||||||
<p>Total length: 23421 words / 100 minute read.</p>
 | 
					<p>Total length: 24524 words / 104 minute read.</p>
 | 
				
			||||||
<p>There have been 97 messages posted over 107 days since the first post
 | 
					<p>There have been 98 messages posted over 108 days since the first post
 | 
				
			||||||
on July 13, 2022 for a daily post rate of .90 .</p>
 | 
					on July 13, 2022 for a daily post rate of .90.</p>
 | 
				
			||||||
<h2 id="about">About</h2>
 | 
					<h2 id="about">About</h2>
 | 
				
			||||||
<p>This is a game that me and the kids in the basement are playing over
 | 
					<p>This is a game that me and the kids in the basement are playing over
 | 
				
			||||||
email.</p>
 | 
					email.</p>
 | 
				
			||||||
@ -306,6 +308,38 @@ story entirely.</p>
 | 
				
			|||||||
<li>Retriever: Contractual Obligation, An Auspicious Start</li>
 | 
					<li>Retriever: Contractual Obligation, An Auspicious Start</li>
 | 
				
			||||||
<li>Soulsword: Bloodlust</li>
 | 
					<li>Soulsword: Bloodlust</li>
 | 
				
			||||||
</ul>
 | 
					</ul>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					<h3 id="gabs">Gabs</h3>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					<details>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					<summary>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					<p>Bio</p>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					</summary>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					<p>Gabs had a good life. Her little devil children were all grown adults
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					now, and she no longer wanted to toil away running a business. When she
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					initially shuttered her little tavern, she thought she might just
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					retire. She made it two whole years of working in a garden, occasionally
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					seeing grandkids, and reading romance novels. She eventually decided she
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					needed a vacation from her retirement and traveled to a nearby port
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					town. She was sure to find something fun to do there.</p>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					<p>Gabs eventually sees Inquire Within, and the smell of debauchery
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					wafting from within made her miss her days gossiping at her tavern. She
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					enters and orders a terrible drink and listens and watches.</p>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					<p>Hearing the tales being spun by Mister Three-Fingered, she decides,
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					“I’ve never been on a ship, that’s something that sounds exciting!”</p>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					<p>Half-drunk and eager for something exciting, she will join on the
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					journey!</p>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					<p>Gabs is a lanky older half-devil lady who is here to schmooze and
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					have fun!</p>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					</details>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					<ul>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					<li>Player: archangelic</li>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					<li>XP: 0</li>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					<li>Skills: Do Anything 1</li>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					<li>Equipment:</li>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					</ul>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					<p>Paths:</p>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					<ul>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					<li>Retriever: Contractual Obligation, An Auspicious Start</li>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					</ul>
 | 
				
			||||||
<h3 id="glarg">Glarg</h3>
 | 
					<h3 id="glarg">Glarg</h3>
 | 
				
			||||||
<details>
 | 
					<details>
 | 
				
			||||||
<summary>
 | 
					<summary>
 | 
				
			||||||
@ -2816,6 +2850,99 @@ and drinking at Inquire Within, boarding the Diamond Howler, and sailing
 | 
				
			|||||||
to the site of the wreck.</p>
 | 
					to the site of the wreck.</p>
 | 
				
			||||||
<p><a
 | 
					<p><a
 | 
				
			||||||
href="https://framalistes.org/sympa/arc/tildepals/2022-10/msg00020.html">www</a></p>
 | 
					href="https://framalistes.org/sympa/arc/tildepals/2022-10/msg00020.html">www</a></p>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					<h3 id="00028">00028</h3>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					<blockquote>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					<p><sub><em>a new player enters the chat</em></sub></p>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					<p>Gabs had a good life. Her little devil children were all grown adults
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					now, and she no longer wanted to toil away running a business. When she
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					initially shuttered her little tavern, she thought she might just
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					retire. She made it two whole years of working in a garden, occasionally
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					seeing grandkids, and reading romance novels. She eventually decided she
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					needed a vacation from her retirement and traveled to a nearby port
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					town. She was sure to find something fun to do there.</p>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					<p>Gabs eventually sees Inquire Within, and the smell of debauchery
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					wafting from within made her miss her days gossiping at her tavern. She
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					enters and orders a terrible drink and listens and watches.</p>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					<p>Hearing the tales being spun by Mister Three-Fingered, she decides,
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					“I’ve never been on a ship, that’s something that sounds exciting!”</p>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					<p>Half-drunk and eager for something exciting, she will join on the
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					journey!</p>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					<p>Gabs is a lanky older half-devil lady who is here to schmooze and
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					have fun!</p>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					</blockquote>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					<p>~</p>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					<blockquote>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					<p>Meta: a warm welcome to the latest member of our tea party! This is a
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					short post to help smooth the temporal jumps between the recent
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					narratives so far. As Inky reaches the deck, they see Gabs approaching
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					from the other side of the ship as well, and flashes them a grin in
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					greeting. After listening to the captain petering on about the glorious
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					days of the now sunken ship below, while tinkering with the bell’s
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					tentacles — being rewarded with a mild zap and marginally better fit for
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					the effort — Inky turns to the party. “When you’re ready.”</p>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					</blockquote>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					<p>You reach into the tank and discover that grabbing a breathing bell
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					takes some finesse. They are very slippery! But you get the hang of it
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					and make a ladle out of your hands and scoop one up.</p>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					<p>“Okay now!” laughs Three-Fingered Gerald. He gives you a wink, but
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					it’s easy to miss because of the eyepatch. “Don’t put it on until right
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					before you jump. It won’t be able to breathe for you until you’re in the
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					water. And this!” he continues, fitting a heavy, padded vest around your
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					shoulders, “will carry you down.” It is a vest of many pockets, each one
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					holding a small dense sandbag the size of your hand. “When you’re ready
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					to come back up, just start dropping ballast, right?”</p>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					<p>You hop up on the ship railing and pull the breathing bell on over
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					your head. It immediately contracts and squeezes and hugs your head like
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					a second skin, and its stubby little tentacles grab hold around your
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					jawline, and it feels like you have a wet plastic bag clinging to your
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					face, and you think you might have made a grave mistake. Resisting the
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					urge to panic, you push off the railing and jump overboard. You are
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					briefly air born and then profoundly waterbound, crashing through the
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					surface of the sea into the briny soup below.</p>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					<p>The oxygen starts to flow as the breathing bell begins to do its job.
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					As you sink, you feel as though you are floating through space, entering
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					another world.</p>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					<p>After a while you start to hear voices arguing in the distance. As
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					you get closer, two large shapes start to come into focus. The first is
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					a hulking, hairless merbear. Top half (hairless) bear, bottom half fish.
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					The second figure is a tardigrade the size of a large merbear. It has
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					eight jointless legs, each tipped with four sharp claws. It wriggles and
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					wobbles like jelly as it gesticulates.</p>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					<p>“No, I am the true Bear of the Sea! I am called a Water Bear, after
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					all!”</p>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					<p>“Hornswoggle and poppycock! It is I who am the Bear of the Sea! I am
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					half bear after all! You’re just some kind of segmented nematode or
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					something.”</p>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					<p>The tardigrade quivers with indignation. “I’ll have you know I’m a
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					panarthropod, thank you very much. And this is the ideal physical body!
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					You may not like it, but this is what peak performance looks like. I’ve
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					lived under the polar ice cap, and in a sulfurous mountaintop hot
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					spring. I’ve traveled through the vacuum of space to the moon! Have you
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					ever been to the moon?”</p>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					<p>“Why don’t you go be the Bear of the Moon then if you like it so
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					much!”</p>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					<p>“You’re just as much fish as you are bear, are you sure you’re not
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					the Fish of the Sea?”</p>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					<p>“Are you sure you’re not the Blob of the Sea, you too many armed bowl
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					of jelly?”</p>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					<p>“Hey! Hey, you there!” The arguing quasi-bears have spotted your slow
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					descent. “Come, yes, float slowly this way! You must settle an argument
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					for us! Tell this slightly mammalian fish that I am the true Bear of the
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					Sea!”</p>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					<p>“The Bear of the Sea must be at least ‘slightly mammalian’ you
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					egg-laying scientific curiosity! You, tell this cousin of a barnacle
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					that I—the mighty merbear—am the true Bear of the Sea! Say this and I
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					will guide and protect you on your journey.”</p>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					<p>“No! Would you like to visit the moon? Say that I, tardigrade, am
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					Bear of the Sea and I will introduce you to my moon friends!”</p>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					<p>“He had to make friends on the moon because nobody on Urth can stand
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					him!”</p>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					<p>“You’re just mean, you know that?”</p>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					<p>You are still quite some way from the sea bed, and there is no sight
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					of the SS RSS.</p>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					<p>WHAT DO YOU DO</p>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					<p><a
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
					href="https://framalistes.org/sympa/arc/tildepals/2022-10/msg00023.html">www</a></p>
 | 
				
			||||||
<h2 id="bestiary">Bestiary</h2>
 | 
					<h2 id="bestiary">Bestiary</h2>
 | 
				
			||||||
<p>Some of the creatures who inhabit the world of Basmentaria</p>
 | 
					<p>Some of the creatures who inhabit the world of Basmentaria</p>
 | 
				
			||||||
<dt>
 | 
					<dt>
 | 
				
			||||||
 | 
				
			|||||||
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		Reference in New Issue
	
	Block a user