161 lines
9.1 KiB
XML
161 lines
9.1 KiB
XML
<?xml version="1.0" ?>
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<rss version="2.0" xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom">
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<channel>
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<atom:link href="https://tilde.town/~dozens/quest/rss.xml" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml" />
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<title>BASEMENT QWEST</title>
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<link>https://tilde.town/~dozens/quest/rss.xml</link>
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<description>Friends having ADVENTURES! Huzzah!</description>
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<item>
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<title>21</title>
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<author>dozens@tilde.team (dozens)</author>
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<guid isPermaLink="false">21 - Wed, 05 Oct 2022 07:21:55
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-0600</guid>
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<pubDate>Wed, 05 Oct 2022 07:21:55 -0600</pubDate>
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<description>
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<![CDATA[
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<h3 id="00021">00021</h3>
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<p>INTERLUDE</p>
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<blockquote>
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<p>A glorious victory!</p>
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<p>In the interim time Corraidhin studies the sword of Y’aml,
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and correctly deduces that he needs to remove the sticky bit
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to be able to sheath the thing.</p>
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<p>sudo chmod -t sword_of_y'aml</p>
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<p>The rest of the interim is spent studying arcane lore
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surrounding the Ginnarak Crystals and their purpose. He also
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strongly urges the party that we should consider very carefuly
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how we need to proceed with the crystal. It’s obvious people
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don’t want these things getting out, so we should ensure that
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Blavin has good intentions, or at least leaves us out of
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whatever potential evil could occur.</p>
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</blockquote>
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<p>Corraidhin prepares the incantation and, after removing the
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sticky bit, is able pry his stiff fingers from the grip.</p>
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<p>You sheathe the blade, but its voice continues to ring
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clearly in your head as it prattles on, seeing evil and
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villainy everywhere and encouraging you to stab, stab,
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stab.</p>
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<p>Your sysorcerous studies, confirmed by the eager and
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forthright sword, suggest that the blade will be able to rest
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for a while once it tastes blood.</p>
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<p>Your former mentor and rival sysorceror Eccentric Kevin
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calls on you one day under the pretense of showing you the
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latest draft of KDL (pronounced “cuddle”), their own “Kevin’s
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Document Language”, an alternative syntax for incantations and
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personal pet project of theirs that has thus far failed, much
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to their perpetual consternation, to gain any traction or
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adoption in the wider magic community. They are insufferably
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polite and sinisterly supportive. They complain about how the
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obstinant gnus keep standing in the middle of the road trying
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to block traffic, and they demand to know all about your
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recent exploits and adventures.</p>
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<blockquote>
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<p>Once back in town, Inky had the small glass shard in their
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palm removed by a harried-looking healer, who merely shrugged
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at Inky’s account of the disappearing ink and advised them to
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return if they experienced adverse effects before hurrying off
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to the next patient. A visit to the local stationery shop did
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not yield any answers; the stocky human at the counter shook
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their head apologetically when shown the broken ink bottle.
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However, they did suggest asking at one of the larger shops in
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the city.</p>
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<p>To celebrate their first successful quest, Inky made
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torties[1] for their party with flour ground from some of the
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large corn kernels at the dig site, topped with a sweet nutty
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squash spread. Babbleberry tea was served from their newly
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acquired jade tea set, now patched with what Inky had been
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assured was an unbreakable seal[2] by a merchant with a toothy
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grin in one of Vay’Nullar’s notorious back alleys.</p>
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<p>Master Corraidhín’s cautionary words of wisdom still echo
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in Inky’s head, though they were secretly tickled by the idea
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of the crystal being actually a rare and previously unknown
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species of melon with very potent magical properties. The very
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thought of melons was making Inky a bit thirsty. Let the
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warrior and wizard worry about all the potential evils of the
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world — it’s time for a dash to the market for some beatfruit
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juice!</p>
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<hr />
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<p>[1] Also known as torte-teas, as in “Torte-tea, yas?”,
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which was how their previous ink maestro used to greet
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customers entering the brewery. Flat little tea cakes with
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sugar or spice (or both, which vary by region) and sometimes
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eaten in a loose wrap. Some humans called them “crabs” for
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some reason which baffled Inky, since the torties had no
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pincers … at least none that they could see anyway.</p>
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<p>[2] The seal attached to the bottom of the teapot and each
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cup had a glyph of an unknown object between two hands.</p>
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</blockquote>
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<p>The healer removes a small glass bead from Inky’s palm. It
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is worn smooth and round like a marble. If you look closely,
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you can see a small blemish in the center that somewhat
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resembles either a duck or a rabbit depending on how you
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orient it.</p>
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<p>It is captivating to look at and comforting to hold in your
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hand. You fidget with it often. Now and then you suddenly
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notice you have been gazing at it for some minutes without
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realizing it.</p>
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<p>You make your party a delightful meal of torties, serving
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tea from the magically reinforced jade set.</p>
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<p>Cleaning up afterwards, you can’t help but notice the
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patterns of the tea leaves in the bottoms of the jade
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cups.</p>
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<p>YOU FORESEE AN OMEN FOR THE PARTY. WHAT IS IT?</p>
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<p>You dash to the market for beatfruit juice, which you
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easily find. And you find yourself irrationally drawn to the
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produce. The kale, dandelion greens, and beans all look
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especially scrumptious and … plump and juicy?</p>
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<p>An old toothy market attendant sits on a stool by the
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vegetable stand reading the Farmers Almanac. Unsolicited, they
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mention to you that it is only three days until the next full
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moon.</p>
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<blockquote>
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<p>Jarrod has two things in particular he wants to do when
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back in town, with whatever his cut of the gold is. First, he
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wants to go looking for a cheap, run-down building somewhere
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in town and buy the property if he has enough money (perhaps
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negotiating a bit where necessary).</p>
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<p>Second, he wishes to seek arcane counsel from Corraidhín,
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perhaps getting a small invocation applied to one of the
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charms on his arm band. Something in the realm of a
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fascination spell (with an activation word) that can be used
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on occasion to draw attention.</p>
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<p>Jarrod agrees that we should not invite trouble. We shall
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tread cautiously with regards to the crystals.</p>
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<p>Yum, torties!</p>
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</blockquote>
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<p>After successfully negotiating the price down a little bit,
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you are able to purchase a run-down building. You are now the
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proud owner and proprietor of the Milk Market building in the
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Wandering Bazzar district of downtown Vay’Nullar.</p>
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<p>The ground level is occupied by longtime district staple
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Enrique’s Empanada Emporium, famous for its signature stuffed
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pastries and its Terrapin Ale, brewed on site by Enrique
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himself, who happens to be a very large humanoid turtle.</p>
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<p>It’s a little seedy and a little divey, but still draws a
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fair amount of foot traffic from shoppers waiting for the
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eponymous, ambulatory bazaar of debatable sentience to wander
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by. Reliably, a small gang of breadpunks can be found
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loitering here and espousing the virtues of social anarchy.
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Enrique allows their presence and on occasion even buys them a
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round of ale.</p>
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<p>The top two levels are unoccupied. Years upon years ago,
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this space once held large vats for storing and preserving
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multibeast milk prior to being distributed. Some enterprising
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individual converted and updated the space some time ago, but
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was never able to find a tenant. In any case, the space is
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yours now to do with what you will.</p>
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<p>With Corraidhin’s assistance, you are able to enchant your
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armband by inscribing it with a cross-like glyph with a
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teardrop-shaped loop in place of the vertical upper bar. You
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now have a FASCINATING BANGLE that can, upon activation,
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compel attention and even potentially inspire people to dance
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about.</p>
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<p>WHAT DO YOU DO</p>
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<p><a
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href="https://framalistes.org/sympa/arc/tildepals/2022-10/msg00001.html">www</a></p>
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]]>
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