807 lines
41 KiB
XML
807 lines
41 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>00006 - gophers</title>
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<author>dozens@tilde.team (dozens)</author>
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<guid isPermaLink="false">00006 - gophers - Tue, 26 Jul 2022
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20:32:23 -0600</guid>
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<pubDate>Sat, 30 Jul 2022 19:19:20 -0600</pubDate>
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<description>
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<![CDATA[
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<h3 id="section">00006</h3>
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<p>Suddenly three anthropomorphic gophers come crashing
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through the trees behind you into the dig site. The first is
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wearing a sash of many pockets. The second is wearing cargo
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shorts of many pockets. The third is wearing a vest of many
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pockets. Each wears a pair of goggles with thick smokey black
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lenses, and a floppy checkered hat that looks like a
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waffle.</p>
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<p>They march up to the zip-line.</p>
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<p>“Out of the way, losers!” Sash cries. It grabs the zip-line
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trolley, and immediately dives off the side of the cliff and
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zooms down into the deep, deep hole.</p>
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<p>Vest introduces itself, “Retrieval Team 70 here! We are
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here to recover the Ginnarak Crystal that is reported to be at
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this location. After we collect all five, then it will be
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<em>us</em> who get to hang out in the Benefactor’s hot tub!
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Not you! Ha!”</p>
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<p>Sash has reached the bottom of the deep, deep hole. Shorts
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starts reeling in the pulley.</p>
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<p>Vest leans in close and peers at you through its foggy
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lenses. “You must be the new Retrieval Team 43. Hmmph. Shame
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what happened to the previous Team 43. Hope you know what
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you’re doing! Would hate to see you end up like them!”</p>
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<p>Shorts grabs the trolley and leaps down into the deep, deep
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hole. It sails all the way down, and joins Sash at the
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bottom.</p>
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<p>“Welp!” Vest concludes with an air of finality. “No hard
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feelings, and all that! After we collect this crystal, we just
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need four more. And then we get to meet the Benefactor!
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Ha!”</p>
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<p>It waddles off and starts reeling in the trolley.</p>
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<p>Meanwhile, another gnome explodes behind you.</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/2022-07/msg00036.html">www</a></p>
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]]>
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</description>
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</item>
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<item>
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<title>00003 - polish</title>
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<author>dozens@tilde.team (dozens)</author>
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<guid isPermaLink="false">00003 - polish - Tue, 22 Jul 2022
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20:32:23 -0600</guid>
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<pubDate>Tue, 22 Jul 2022 20:32:23 -0600</pubDate>
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<description>
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<![CDATA[
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<h3 id="section">00003</h3>
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<blockquote>
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<p>“SHOE SHINE!” Bellows Tea, with a full bodied laugh!</p>
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<p>With a well practiced move, faster than one would think
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giant like Tea could move, Tea removes an object from their
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satchel.</p>
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<p>…at first glance it appears to be a flail without a handle,
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but is actually a spare pair of giant boots, held by their
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laces.</p>
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<p>“These could indeed use a good shining.”</p>
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<p>The boot are spectacularly large, probably a 1/2 size too
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large, in all honest, for even Tea’s feet.</p>
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<p>The boots have gold eyelets.</p>
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</blockquote>
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<p>Earrings greedily snatches the boots and start washing,
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drying, and polishing them to a shine. Waistcoat eagerly tugs
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on Tea’s wrist and guides him to the comfy chair, which is
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decidedly too small for his bulky frame. Teeth graciously
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offers him a wedge of cheese.</p>
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<p>Depending on how observant Tea is, he may or may not notice
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that the boots are returned to him with 1 - 3 fewer
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eyelets.</p>
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<blockquote>
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<p>Bending down, Inky sniffs the bottles carefully, mumbling,
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“Creosote, shellac, hopweed … ou, wild cherry liquorice.”
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Then, a little louder to one of the blahoblins, though it came
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out not much more than a squeak, “Might I ask from where did
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you get these?”</p>
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</blockquote>
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<p>“Shoe Polish! We Make! Roots and ash!” shouts Waistcoat.
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They seem to only have the one volume.</p>
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<p>“Beeswax!” yells Earrings.</p>
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<p>“Resin!” cries Teeth.</p>
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<p>“SHOE SHIIINE!” they all cry in unison.</p>
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<p><a
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href="https://framalistes.org/sympa/arc/tildepals/2022-07/msg00022.html">www</a></p>
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]]>
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</description>
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</item>
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<item>
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<title>7</title>
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<author>dozens@tilde.team (dozens)</author>
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<guid isPermaLink="false">7 - Wed, 17 Aug 2022 12:21:21
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-0600</guid>
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<pubDate>Wed, 17 Aug 2022 12:21:21 -0600</pubDate>
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<description>
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<![CDATA[
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<h3 id="section">00007</h3>
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<blockquote>
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<p>Inky peers down at the hole, and after some time, turns to
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the party. “Do you think they’ve cleared most of the gnomes by
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now, or should we wait until they emerge and grab the crystal
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then?” Gazing at some invisible spot farther among the trees,
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Inky continued, “One of the old miners back at the tavern said
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there used to be a natural maw on the southwestern side, but
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it was blocked when the tunnel caved in many years ago. The
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gnomes don’t waste their efforts on blowing up things knowing
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someone’s already been through them. Chances are there’s only
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one exit, unless this mine is a decoy.”</p>
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</blockquote>
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<p>Inky peers down the hole and watches Retrieval Team 70
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approach the kobit caves.</p>
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<p>The maw on the southwestern side did indeed collapse
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several seasons ago. If you know anything about the industrial
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and intrepid kobits however, it is that they have probably dug
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several alternative, secret entrances since then.</p>
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<p>Just as the gophers reach the cave entrance, a large erge,
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muscles rippling beneath its white feathers, emerges from
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behind a boulder and blocks their way forward.</p>
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<p>It raises the feathery crest on the crown of its head, and
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fluffs up its plumage in a dramatic display. It appears to be
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arguing with the gophers. All three gophers appear to be
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arguing back.</p>
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<p>The egre gestures angrily at the gophers’ feet, shakes its
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head, and crosses its arms defiantly. The gophers look down at
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their own feet and shuffle about as though embarrassed.</p>
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<p>They all exchange a few more words and then the gophers
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retreat away from the egre and the cave entrance. They huddle
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together briefly and then start slowly climbing the
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scaffolding back up to the top of the hole.</p>
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<p>“Oh yeah,” the foreman remarks absentmindedly. “There’s an
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egre guarding the kobit caves.”</p>
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<p>The egre below preens and struts about proudly having
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chased off the gophers.</p>
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<p>“Stubborn things,” the foreman continues. “Easily provoked
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to violence. Impeccable fashion sense though.”</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/2022-08/msg00003.html">www</a></p>
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]]>
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</description>
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</item>
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<item>
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<title>9</title>
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<author>dozens@tilde.team (dozens)</author>
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<guid isPermaLink="false">9 - Fri, 19 Aug 2022 07:16:14
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-0600</guid>
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<pubDate>Mon, 22 Aug 2022 11:24:41 -0600</pubDate>
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<description>
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<![CDATA[
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<h3 id="section">00009</h3>
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<blockquote>
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<p>Inky smiles at Corey. “Hullo! We’re the waterworks crew
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from the neaby town, here to check the outhouse tunnels,
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inspect all the pipes and so on. We received reports of a
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blockage somewhere inside the networks. Have the tunnels been
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flushing well lately?” While speaking, Inky flashes a
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waterworker’s ID briefly at the kobit before pocketing it and
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pulling out a pressure gauge, giving the little handle on one
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side of the device a few cranks, and looking back at Corey
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expectantly.</p>
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</blockquote>
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<p>Corey slowly blinks its eyes. “Inspektor?”</p>
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<p>ASIDE: I rolled for Inky and rolled a six, which according
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to the rules means GREAT SUCCESS, and also Inky gets to Level
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Up: they gain the skill Persuasive 2.</p>
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<p>“Of course! Inspektors! Yes, yes, right this way! A
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surprise inspection, how exciting!”</p>
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<p>Corey continues to chatter excitedly as it leads you
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further into the branching, winding tunnels, pointing out
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particular bits of stonework and engineering, and also baubles
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and trinkets and fossils and artifacts that the kobits
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uncovered in the process of digging their tunnels.</p>
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<p>Your tour eventually brings you into a large cavern with
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tunnels exactly like the one from which you just entered
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branching off in all directions. It makes you dizzy to think
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of finding your way through this labyrinth without a
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guide.</p>
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<p>In the middle of the cavern is a deep pool with a fountain.
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At the bottom of the pool, a SWORD is thrust into the ground
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almost up to its hilt. A large jewel set deep in the pommel
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rolls around like an eye in a socket and tracks your movement
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around cavern. A few bubbles float up to the surface of the
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pool.</p>
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<p>And set into the wall on the far side of the room is a
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massive stone door reinforced with thick iron bands. There is
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a keypad and a small printer on the wall next to it.</p>
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<p>“….and so our tour concludes here in the central atrium!”
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Corey concludes excitedly. “Behind this door is the VAULT,
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where we keep all the valuables. Gemstones, gold, crystals, et
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cetera.”</p>
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<p>“Top notch security!” Corey exclaims tapping the keypad.
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The printer spits out a square of paper. It reads</p>
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<pre><code>ed v1.16
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*
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?
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*
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?
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*e door
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19
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*,n
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1 the door is Locked
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*wq</code></pre>
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<p>“Ha ha!” Corey shakes its head in amazement. “I have no
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idea how this thing works!”</p>
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<p>The eye in the sword watches as Corey clips the small
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printout to its clipboard.</p>
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<p>“Now, I trust you’ll find that everything was in tip-top
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order! Yes, indeed!” Corey wriggles its mustache proudly. “Now
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if you’ll excuse me,” it flips through the pages on its
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clipboard, “I am late for my next appointment. Good day!”
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Corey turns and walks toward one of the twisty little
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passageways, all alike.</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/2022-08/msg00016.html">www</a></p>
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]]>
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</description>
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</item>
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<item>
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<title>12</title>
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<author>dozens@tilde.team (dozens)</author>
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<guid isPermaLink="false">12 - Fri, 09 Sep 2022 16:44:58
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-0600</guid>
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<pubDate>Fri, 09 Sep 2022 16:44:58 -0600</pubDate>
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<description>
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<![CDATA[
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<h3 id="section">00012</h3>
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<blockquote>
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<p>Harrumph I say as I billow out my mustache. I know exactly
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what this is, I’ve seen these silly terminals at the wizarding
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academy. Fascinating little babbles really, not that easy to
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use, and I find they’re easier to melt with a well placed
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fireball or two, but I think I can get us past without that.
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Now I might need someone to cover for me if that Kobit catches
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onto what I’m doing, and I’ll say the weird sword is starting
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to creep me out a bit.</p>
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<p>Corraidhin approaches the terminal, cracks his knuckles,
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and enters: 1,$p</p>
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</blockquote>
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<p>The printer spits out a piece of paper:</p>
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<pre><code>The door is Locked</code></pre>
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<blockquote>
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<p>Corraidhin stares at the paper. Well, that’s not right, the
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door’s only partially closed. Preposterious thing.</p>
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<p>That’s okay, I know how to fix this.</p>
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<p>19 c there is no door, there never was, and never will be.
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Also the Kobit guard forgot to tie his shoes. . w 1,$p</p>
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</blockquote>
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<p>The printer spits out a slip of paper.</p>
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<pre><code>there is no door, there never was, and never will be. Also the Kobit guard forgot to tie his shoes.</code></pre>
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<p>With a soft pop, the thick stone door vanishes.</p>
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<p>The sword at the bottom of the pool widens its eye in
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surprise.</p>
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<p>Nothing remains between you and the interior of the
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vault.</p>
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<p>Some light from the hall spills in and glints off what
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appears to be a mound of gold, gems, and crystals. The rest of
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its contents are hidden from view unless you venture
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inside.</p>
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<p>You can still hear the guard kobit in the passage, now
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whistling a warbling, lamentful tune. It sounds dangerously
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close. Best get a move on if you want to avoid a
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confrontation.</p>
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<p>WHAT DO YOU DO</p>
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<blockquote>
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<p>While the wisened scholar inspects the vault door, Inky
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walks a few steps from the antechamber to meet the Kobit
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guard, pressure gauge and tiny notebook in hand. Inky proceeds
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to ask them about water flow sounds in the surrounding area,
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water stains, signs of potential pests that could damage the
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pipes, and other rather boring elements pertaining to modern
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Basmentia burrow plumbing.</p>
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<p>After a while, seeing as they have been conversing for some
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time, Inky pulls out two small bottles of chilled arrowroot
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beer from a waist pouch and offers one to the Kobit guard.</p>
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</blockquote>
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<p>The big guard kobit’s eyes start to glass over as Inky goes
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on about water pressure and structural integrity.</p>
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<p>But it does graciously accept a bottle arrowroot beer.</p>
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<p>“Well, golly, don’t mind if I do!” It cracks the lid off,
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toasts to your health and takes a long swig.</p>
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<p>“Aaaaaaaah! That hits the spot!”</p>
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<blockquote>
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<p>Corraidhin absentmindedly inspects the terminal and door
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while Inky converses with the guard. He’s utterly distracted
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and talking to himself.</p>
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<p>By the gods, it’s gone. Just like that! I thought it’d
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fizzle or something, but it’s gone! I wonder what else I can
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do with this thing.</p>
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<p>Corraidhin wanders back to the terminal and enters another
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command.</p>
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<p>19 c The wise and elderly Corraidhin is now a young and
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dashing rogue, with a very nice hat. .</p>
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</blockquote>
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<p>The printer spits out a slip of paper:</p>
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<pre><code>?</code></pre>
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<p>Maybe the ed terminal only has jurisdiction over the door
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to the vault.</p>
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<p>Or maybe the machine, the universe, or whatever, is telling
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you not to push your luck.</p>
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<p>By now the big guard kobit, lulled by Inky’s questions and
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finally sedated by the alcohol, is slumped and snoring softly
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in the mouth of one of the twisty little passages.</p>
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<p>You stand before the open vault under the ever watchful
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gaze of the sword at the bottom of the pool of water in the
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center of the room.</p>
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<p>WHAT DO</p>
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]]>
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</description>
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</item>
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<item>
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<title>00002 - shoe shine</title>
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<author>dozens@tilde.team (dozens)</author>
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<guid isPermaLink="false">00002 - shoe shine - Tue, 21 Jul 2022
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20:32:23 -0600</guid>
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<pubDate>Tue, 21 Jul 2022 20:32:23 -0600</pubDate>
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<description>
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<![CDATA[
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<h3 id="section">00002</h3>
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<p>Blavin provides you with a multibeast for your excursion.
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“Courtesy of the Benefactor!” You pack it up with food and
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supplies, and trek into the Tammineaux Forest in search of the
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first Ginnarak Crystal.</p>
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<p>The forest is lush, thick, and green. You have to hack your
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way through the vines and the brush. There are stinging
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insects, squawking birds, and dangerous forest creatures a
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plenty. It is hot and sticky.</p>
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<p>How will you ever find your way through this wilderness to
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the dig site?</p>
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<p>“Shouldn’t be too hard,” you remember Blavin saying back at
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Lucy’s, gesturing carelessly and sloshing a little bit of his
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fourth drink. “They’re gnomes, after all! Just follow the
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sound of explosions and screaming.”</p>
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<p>Sure enough, before long you hear a mechanical droning and
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some blasting up ahead, punctuated now and then by high
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pitched screams, and you guide the multibeast in that
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direction.</p>
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<p>Suddenly you are ambushed by a troop of blahoblins! Awful
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looking things. Taut rubbery gray skin. Long flat noses stick
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out way far from their faces. And so do their protruding,
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lipless mouths full of sharp pointy teeth. You didn’t hear
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them over the noise of the shrieking parrots and, in the
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distance, the shrieking gnomes.</p>
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<p>“SHOE SHINE!!” the first one yells. It is wearing a gold
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ring on each finger (minus the three fingers it is missing),
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two in each ear, and one in its nose. It is dragging a vat of
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black polish nearly as tall as it is.</p>
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<p>“SHOE SHINE!!” a second one agrees. It is wearing a nice
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waistcoat with large gaudy buttons, and a nice looking pocket
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watch on a gold chain. It is dragging a comfy looking chair
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stuffed with bits of fluff and leaves and fur.</p>
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<p>A third one screams, “SHOE SHINE SHOE SHINE!” It has
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several gold teeth and carries a huge block of cheese secured
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to its back with long loops of hempen rope.</p>
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<p>The fourth and final one is wearing what looks like freshly
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painted red shoes and is carrying a lit torch. “SHOE
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SHIIIIINE!” it screams. It is wearing a gold medallion on a
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gold necklace.</p>
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<p><a
|
||
href="https://framalistes.org/sympa/arc/tildepals/2022-07/msg00015.html">www</a></p>
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||
]]>
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</description>
|
||
</item>
|
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<item>
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<title>00001 - we meet in a tavern</title>
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<author>dozens@tilde.team (dozens)</author>
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||
<guid isPermaLink="false">00001 - we meet in a tavern - Tue, 20
|
||
Jul 2022 20:32:23 -0600</guid>
|
||
<pubDate>Tue, 20 Jul 2022 20:32:23 -0600</pubDate>
|
||
<description>
|
||
<![CDATA[
|
||
<h3 id="section">00001</h3>
|
||
<p>“Congratulations!” The slightly tipsy hobbit grins and
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salutes you with his martini. “On Retrieval Team 43’s
|
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inaugural mission! I’m so excited for you, I’m sure you’ll do
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fantastic!”</p>
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<p>You are all seated around a table in the corner at Lucy’s
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Basement. It is dimly lit and fairly noisy. The walls are
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covered in red velvet curtains, and the tablecloths have
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little gold tassels. A cloud of purple smoke from candles,
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cigars, and pipes hangs in the air. Waiters bustle between
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tables refilling drinks.</p>
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<p>“So to recap, the Benefactor has tasked you with retrieving
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the five fabled Ginnarak Crystals. I, Blavin Blandfoot, will
|
||
be your case manager. You will be paid handsomely for each
|
||
crystal you retrieve. And if you retrieve all 5, you’ll get to
|
||
meet the Benefactor at be their guest at their <em>glorious
|
||
mansion!</em>”</p>
|
||
<p>“The first crystal has been spotted near a Gnomish dig site
|
||
in the Tammineaux Forest, just east of here.”</p>
|
||
<p>“I recommend getting started right away!” He polishes off
|
||
his drink and squints at his empty glass. “Well, maybe first
|
||
thing in the morning. Waiter!”</p>
|
||
<ul>
|
||
<li>Who are you?</li>
|
||
<li>What role do you think you will fill on the team?</li>
|
||
<li>What do you plan to do with your cut of the money?</li>
|
||
</ul>
|
||
<p><a
|
||
href="https://framalistes.org/sympa/arc/tildepals/2022-07/msg00015.html">www</a></p>
|
||
]]>
|
||
</description>
|
||
</item>
|
||
<item>
|
||
<title>11</title>
|
||
<author>dozens@tilde.team (dozens)</author>
|
||
<guid isPermaLink="false">11 - Fri, 09 Sep 2022 12:47:26
|
||
-0600</guid>
|
||
<pubDate>Fri, 09 Sep 2022 12:47:26 -0600</pubDate>
|
||
<description>
|
||
<![CDATA[
|
||
<h3 id="section">00011</h3>
|
||
<p>The Retrieval Team 70 gophers are absolutely losing their
|
||
minds over the ed terminal.</p>
|
||
<p>“It just keeps printing a question mark!” Vest sobs.</p>
|
||
<p>“Try pushing escape?” suggests Shorts somewhat
|
||
panicking.</p>
|
||
<p>“I’ve tried it! It’s not vi! It doesn’t do anything!” Vest
|
||
moans. “Here you try it if you’re so smart!”</p>
|
||
<p>Sash is balled up on the floor crying, having already had a
|
||
turn at the terminal.</p>
|
||
<p>Shorts carefully steps over them and timidly prods at the
|
||
keypad.</p>
|
||
<p>A throng of beefy guard kobits come charging into the hall,
|
||
alerted by the gopher racket.</p>
|
||
<p>“Here now! You’re not supposed to be in here!”</p>
|
||
<p>One of them trips over Sash, still balled up on the floor,
|
||
and crashes into Shorts’s back, pinning them to wall. They
|
||
squeal. Another guard grabs Vest by the collar, and after a
|
||
brief scuffle all three gophers are escorted out of the hall
|
||
despite their howls of protest.</p>
|
||
<p>“I had better check on the vault!” exclaims one of the
|
||
kobits who remains behind.</p>
|
||
<p>They bang a few keys on the terminal and it spits out a
|
||
slip of paper.</p>
|
||
<pre><code>ed v1.6
|
||
19
|
||
P
|
||
*,n
|
||
1 the door is locked
|
||
*1s/locked/open
|
||
?
|
||
*H
|
||
no match
|
||
*1s/Locked/Open
|
||
the door is Open
|
||
*wq
|
||
17</code></pre>
|
||
<p>There is a mechanical whir deep in the walls, and a click
|
||
and a gasp of air as the door swings inward.</p>
|
||
<p>The kobit slips into the vault and the door swings only
|
||
partly closed behind it.</p>
|
||
<p>The sword in the bottom of the pool pointedly narrows its
|
||
eye at you.</p>
|
||
<p>The gods of Basmentaria observe passively from their
|
||
reliefs in the alcoves around you.</p>
|
||
<p>The door to the vault is ajar, the first of the five
|
||
legendary Ginnarak crystals presumably behind it.</p>
|
||
<p>From one of the twisty little passages, you hear a guard
|
||
kobit approaching, singing a sad cowboy song to itself.</p>
|
||
<p>WHAT DO YOU DO</p>
|
||
<p><a
|
||
href="https://framalistes.org/sympa/arc/tildepals/2022-09/msg00001.html">www</a></p>
|
||
]]>
|
||
</description>
|
||
</item>
|
||
<item>
|
||
<title>meta</title>
|
||
<author>dozens@tilde.team (dozens)</author>
|
||
<guid isPermaLink="false">meta - Tue, 23 Jul 2022 20:32:23
|
||
-0600</guid>
|
||
<pubDate>Tue, 23 Jul 2022 20:32:23 -0600</pubDate>
|
||
<description>
|
||
<![CDATA[
|
||
<h3 id="meta">META</h3>
|
||
<p>This might be a good time to introduce the game
|
||
mechanic.</p>
|
||
<p>For the most part, if you say you do something, it just
|
||
happens.</p>
|
||
<p>But if you want to do something risky, and/or if the
|
||
outcome is uncertain, you can roll a number of six-sided
|
||
dice.</p>
|
||
<p>I’d like to try using the <em>Shoes in the Dark</em>
|
||
rules:</p>
|
||
<p><a href="https://dozens.itch.io/shoes-in-the-dark"
|
||
class="uri">https://dozens.itch.io/shoes-in-the-dark</a></p>
|
||
<p>Basically, everybody currently has the skill “Do Anything
|
||
1”, which means if you want to ‘do anything’, you can roll 1
|
||
die.</p>
|
||
<p>On a 1 - 3, things go poorly. (And you gain 1 experience
|
||
point. More on that in a bit.)</p>
|
||
<p>On a 4 - 5, you do the thing, but at a cost, or with a
|
||
complication, or it’s just a partial success.</p>
|
||
<p>On a 6, full success!! Yay, you!!</p>
|
||
<p>(When rolling multiple dice, you read the single highest
|
||
roll.)</p>
|
||
<p>Here’s where stuff gets fun. If you roll all sixes (so, 1
|
||
six on a 1d6 roll, 2 sixes on a 2d6 roll, etc.) then you
|
||
‘level up’ and get a new skill. The new skill A) is a subset
|
||
of the skill/action you just performed and, B) increases that
|
||
skill by one.</p>
|
||
<p>e.g. I challenge a mugwump to a pie eating contest and roll
|
||
Do Anything 1. I roll a six, so I win the contest! And also I
|
||
gain a new skill, Belly Of Steel 2.</p>
|
||
<p>Finally, every time you fail a roll (by rolling 1 - 3) you
|
||
gain 1 experience point. You can spend 1 experience at any
|
||
time to turn any one die into a six <em>for the purposes of
|
||
advancement</em>.</p>
|
||
<p>SO WHAT DOES THIS ALL MEAN???</p>
|
||
<p>When you interact with the blahoblins, consider whether
|
||
there is an element of risk. If so, roll the appropriate
|
||
amount of dice (1, in this case) and include the result in
|
||
your description. If it’s a success, describe the success. If
|
||
it’s a partial success or a failure, just describe what you
|
||
do, and I’ll describe the complication, or how things get
|
||
worse.</p>
|
||
<p><a
|
||
href="https://framalistes.org/sympa/arc/tildepals/2022-07/msg00023.html">www</a></p>
|
||
]]>
|
||
</description>
|
||
</item>
|
||
<item>
|
||
<title>8</title>
|
||
<author>dozens@tilde.team (dozens)</author>
|
||
<guid isPermaLink="false">8 - Sat, 30 Jul 2022 19:19:20
|
||
-0600</guid>
|
||
<pubDate>Thu, 18 Aug 2022 11:47:09 -0600</pubDate>
|
||
<description>
|
||
<![CDATA[
|
||
<h3 id="section">00008</h3>
|
||
<blockquote>
|
||
<p>Inky blinks down at their pinecrab apple leather boots
|
||
consideringly. “Tea’s got the fanciest footgear, but at least
|
||
we aren’t sporting fetid foot fungi like stockings. Maybe we
|
||
could persuade the egre to let us through? It might set us
|
||
back half a day trying to find any kobit holes that aren’t
|
||
just non-portable potties.”</p>
|
||
</blockquote>
|
||
<p>You look down at your boots. How serendipitous that you
|
||
just had them shined by the blahoblins! You feel confident in
|
||
your footwear.</p>
|
||
<blockquote>
|
||
<p>Corraidhín: I may have a solution to the Egre problem. I
|
||
gesture grandly, as it so happens I always come prepared for a
|
||
fashion show.</p>
|
||
<p>With a grand gesture I cast a spell to transform my robes
|
||
into a stunning suit, complete with top hat, monocle, and
|
||
cane</p>
|
||
<p>I’m certain we can convince the fine fellow to let us pass
|
||
if we look the part. Or better yet, I’m almost certain I can
|
||
distract him while the rest of you sneak past, I’ve been told
|
||
I can be quite verbose and boisterous.</p>
|
||
</blockquote>
|
||
<p>Corraidhín successfully conjures up a stunning suit, surely
|
||
the envy of every dandy, fop, and gentleman in the southern
|
||
continent, if not all of Basmentaria!</p>
|
||
<p>A nearby gnome gets flush, starts to fan herself excitedly,
|
||
and then explodes dramatically.</p>
|
||
<blockquote>
|
||
<p>“A splendid idea, with an equally splendid outfit to
|
||
match!” Inky exclaimed. “Then, shall we proceed? Master
|
||
Corraidhín, at your signal.”</p>
|
||
</blockquote>
|
||
<p>You proceed down into the gnome hole.</p>
|
||
<p>Retrieval Team 70 glares at you from behind their smoked
|
||
glass goggles as you zip line past them. They continue their
|
||
slow, defeated climb up the scaffolding. Vest shakes its
|
||
gopher fist at you and swears, “You haven’t seen the last of
|
||
us, Retrieval Team 43!”</p>
|
||
<p>At the bottom, on solid ground, you approach the entrance
|
||
to the kobit caves.</p>
|
||
<p>Standing guard at the entrance to the kobit tunnels is a
|
||
massive egre, a fearsome bird beast, muscles rippling and
|
||
bulging beneath its beautiful white plumage. It turns its head
|
||
and regards you with one jet black eye and then the other,
|
||
snapping its sharp beak in the air as it tosses its head back
|
||
and forth.</p>
|
||
<p>It looks you up and down, and its gaze rests on your
|
||
freshly polished shoes. It huffs and grunts, “Your shoes look
|
||
clean.” It rests its scrutinizing gaze on Corraidhín’s
|
||
garments. “And YOU look FABULOUS!” it exclaims as it tosses
|
||
its head and beats it wings excitedly.</p>
|
||
<p>“You may enter.” It graciously steps aside with a
|
||
flourish.</p>
|
||
<p>The smallest of you can stand upright in the kobit tunnels.
|
||
The largest of you have to crawl.</p>
|
||
<p>Kobits are small, vaguely mammalian, vaguely reptilian
|
||
bipedal cave creatures. They are scaly and furry, and live in
|
||
tunnels deep in the earth. They have huge yellow eyes, and
|
||
long fine whiskers on their snouts and faces, all of which
|
||
help them find their way around in the dark. They also have
|
||
long, thick, coarse, drooping mustaches. The overall effect is
|
||
that they look like tiny, monstrous, perpetually startled
|
||
cowboys.</p>
|
||
<p>You follow the winding tunnel down into the earth.</p>
|
||
<p>You come around a corner and almost bump right into a
|
||
kobit. It has eyes like saucers and an awe-inspiring mustache.
|
||
It wears a name tag (“Corey”) and carries a clipboard. It
|
||
blinks at you in surprise and then asks, “Who are you? What
|
||
are you doing in here?” Corey flips through the pages on its
|
||
clipboard. “There are no upsiders scheduled to arrive today. I
|
||
don’t think you’re supposed to be here!” Corey glances around
|
||
nervously with its huge eyes and looks about ready to cry out
|
||
for help.</p>
|
||
<p>WHAT DO YOU DO?</p>
|
||
<p><a
|
||
href="https://framalistes.org/sympa/arc/tildepals/2022-08/msg00012.html">www</a></p>
|
||
]]>
|
||
</description>
|
||
</item>
|
||
<item>
|
||
<title>00005 - gnomes</title>
|
||
<author>dozens@tilde.team (dozens)</author>
|
||
<guid isPermaLink="false">00005 - gnomes - Tue, 25 Jul 2022
|
||
20:32:23 -0600</guid>
|
||
<pubDate>Tue, 25 Jul 2022 20:32:23 -0600</pubDate>
|
||
<description>
|
||
<![CDATA[
|
||
<h3 id="section">00005</h3>
|
||
<blockquote>
|
||
<p>As the blahoblins were packing up, Inky persuades Waistcoat
|
||
to sell a few small bottles of shoe polish, a roughly round
|
||
piece of broken glass and scraps of cheesecloth from the
|
||
mountain of debris previously on the ground. Inky rolls Do
|
||
Anything 1 and rolls a 4.</p>
|
||
</blockquote>
|
||
<p>Inky successfully persuades Waistcoat to sell a few baubles
|
||
and trinkets with the first roll of the game!</p>
|
||
<p>They haggle back and forth a little bit, and Inky ends up
|
||
paying a little more than they wanted to, but they get all the
|
||
stuff they wanted. Yay commerce!</p>
|
||
<p>Having concluded business, the blahoblins pack up and
|
||
disappear into the bushes toting their chair, cheese, and vat
|
||
of polish.</p>
|
||
<p>The sound of mechanical droning and periodic explosions
|
||
compel you forward to the dig site.</p>
|
||
<p>It is easy to find.</p>
|
||
<p>It is a large hole blasted deep into the ground. There are
|
||
drills, and conveyor belts, earth moving machines, and all
|
||
kinds of gadgets and gizmos, the purpose of which is not
|
||
always readily apparent. And there is a zip line that seems to
|
||
be the only way down to the bottom.</p>
|
||
<p>The site is absolutely teeming with gnomes. Diminutive
|
||
humanoids with bright red noses and long, long ears, and long,
|
||
nimble fingers. All gnomes are compulsive tinkerers and
|
||
mechanics, and build fantastic contraptions. All gnomes are
|
||
women, and are all highly explosive. Which makes their
|
||
combustion powered machines extremely dangerous, both for
|
||
themselves and for any unfortunate bystanders close enough to
|
||
get caught in the blast.</p>
|
||
<p>A gnome in a white hat comes running up to you. “You there!
|
||
Hey! Yes, you!”</p>
|
||
<p>“Are you the retrieval team? We’ve been expecting you! The
|
||
whole dig is halted because we accidentally blasted into a
|
||
whole nest of Kobits, and they won’t let us get near to keep
|
||
digging! They keep sabotaging our machines when we try!”</p>
|
||
<p>“They also stole the Ginnarak Crystal that we found! That
|
||
thing could have powered such glorious new machines!” She
|
||
pouts.</p>
|
||
<p>In the background, a gnome who had crawled half way into a
|
||
coal bin in the side of some kind of excavator suddenly
|
||
scrambles quickly out, smoking, and runs around in circles in
|
||
a panic. Nearby gnomes dive out of the way as she erupts in a
|
||
small ball of fire. The gnomes wait for the smoke to clear and
|
||
then immediately return to working on the contraption.</p>
|
||
<p>The foreman continues talking to you as though nothing
|
||
happened. She leads you over to the edge of the hole and
|
||
points to the bottom.</p>
|
||
<p>“The entrance to their cave is right down there! The zip
|
||
line is the second fastest way down.”</p>
|
||
<p>WHAT DO YOU DO</p>
|
||
<p><a
|
||
href="https://framalistes.org/sympa/arc/tildepals/2022-07/msg00035.html">www</a></p>
|
||
]]>
|
||
</description>
|
||
</item>
|
||
<item>
|
||
<title>10</title>
|
||
<author>dozens@tilde.team (dozens)</author>
|
||
<guid isPermaLink="false">10 - Sun, 28 Aug 2022 10:06:07
|
||
-0600</guid>
|
||
<pubDate>Sun, 28 Aug 2022 10:06:07 -0600</pubDate>
|
||
<description>
|
||
<![CDATA[
|
||
<h3 id="section">00010</h3>
|
||
<p>Once Corey the Kobit exits the antechamber, you are free to
|
||
look around a little bit.</p>
|
||
<p>The eyesword continues to watch from the bottom of the
|
||
pool, and the Kobit Ed terminal continues to await you by the
|
||
vault door.</p>
|
||
<p>But also you notice a couple of alcoves along the walls
|
||
between the twisty little passages. Each of them holds a
|
||
relief sculpture depicting one of the three deities of
|
||
Basmentaria.</p>
|
||
<p>There is Neddas, the wise god of sages and starlight.
|
||
Androgynous, clad in purple robes, depicted with a golden
|
||
third eye in the middle of their forehead. They are shown here
|
||
stoically bestowing gifts upon the inhabitants of
|
||
Basmentaria.</p>
|
||
<p>And here is Nullar, god of time and tides. A bespectacled
|
||
male figure with a golden third eye on his forehead. He is
|
||
dressed in a dapper vest and bow tie, and is adorned with
|
||
small cogs and gears. He is depicted here looking up at the
|
||
stars from a mechanical contraption he is working on.</p>
|
||
<p>Finally, there is Liandt, goddess of war and flame. A
|
||
primal, elemental deity, she is depicted as a fiery warrior
|
||
with a golden third eye. The relief shows her on the
|
||
battlefield during the Artifice wars. The wars which reduced
|
||
Ginnarak to the wastes of cinder and ash that they are today.
|
||
The wars which drained Liandt’s divine energies so thoroughly
|
||
that she fell into a deep sleep and has been absent from the
|
||
mortal realms ever since.</p>
|
||
<p>But enough of this lore dump! There is something important
|
||
happening!</p>
|
||
<p>You hear a shuffling and a mumbling approaching from one of
|
||
the twisty little passages.</p>
|
||
<p>You’re already in one of the alcoves studying the relief,
|
||
so your press yourself flat into the recess.</p>
|
||
<p>Three gophers with smoked glass goggles spill out from one
|
||
of the passages. Retrieval team 70! They made it past the egre
|
||
after all!</p>
|
||
<p>They don’t see you, but head straight to the keypad by the
|
||
vault. They crowd around it and start pressing buttons,
|
||
arguing and bickering with one another.</p>
|
||
<p>The sword at the bottom of the pool seems to roll its eye
|
||
in exasperation.</p>
|
||
<p>WHAT DO YOU DO?</p>
|
||
<p><a
|
||
href="https://framalistes.org/sympa/arc/tildepals/2022-08/msg00017.html">www</a></p>
|
||
]]>
|
||
</description>
|
||
</item>
|
||
<item>
|
||
<title>00004 - pockets picked</title>
|
||
<author>dozens@tilde.team (dozens)</author>
|
||
<guid isPermaLink="false">00004 - pockets picked - Tue, 24 Jul
|
||
2022 20:32:23 -0600</guid>
|
||
<pubDate>Tue, 24 Jul 2022 20:32:23 -0600</pubDate>
|
||
<description>
|
||
<![CDATA[
|
||
<h3 id="section">00004</h3>
|
||
<blockquote>
|
||
<p>“And jolly good polish too, it looks like,” Inky replies,
|
||
squinting a bit at the ichor being smeared onto the boots in
|
||
Earrings’ large calloused hands. “I hear there be some gnomes
|
||
hereabouts? A camp? With your remarkable service, I bet they’d
|
||
be coming to you all the time to get their boots cleaned.”</p>
|
||
</blockquote>
|
||
<p>“GNOMES!?” Earrings interrobangs loudly and questioningly.
|
||
It brings its hands to the sides of its face, covering its ear
|
||
holes, and wags its oversized head in dismay, squeezing its
|
||
tiny eyes shut. In the process, it smears polish around its
|
||
face.</p>
|
||
<p>“Gnomes there!” shouts Waistcoat. Its hands busy polishing,
|
||
it tosses its head, gesturing with its prodigious proboscis in
|
||
the direction you were heading. You continue to hear bangs and
|
||
booms in the distance every once a while.</p>
|
||
<blockquote>
|
||
<p>Glarg gurgles something to the effect of
|
||
“gluggurguuuurglaaaachhhh?” Its stance is one of surprise as
|
||
its disposition changes to that of inquisition as its head
|
||
cranes down to look at the blahoblin carrying the smelly rock
|
||
on its back.</p>
|
||
</blockquote>
|
||
<p>Teeth looks questioningly up at Glarg and experimentally
|
||
gargles back up at it. “GURGLE BURBLE GLUG GLUG?” It smiles
|
||
apologetically (a fearsome sight, its protruding jaws full of
|
||
tiny pointy teeth) and shrugs and asks, “Shoe shine?”</p>
|
||
<blockquote>
|
||
<p>It attempts to pick that whole blahoblin up and bring the
|
||
smelly rock to its face for a closer inspection.</p>
|
||
</blockquote>
|
||
<p>“WAAAAAAH!” Teeth kicks its feet ineffectively and is quite
|
||
helplessly tied to the big smelly rock when Glarg picks it up.
|
||
The smelly rock smells pungent, sharp, earthy, moldy.
|
||
Definitely could be food.</p>
|
||
<p>By this time the blahoblins have polished the shoes of
|
||
everybody who has consented to it, and are packing up. Except
|
||
for Teeth who is being detained by the earth elemental.</p>
|
||
<p>Red Shoes reappears from wherever they have been this whole
|
||
time with a sly smile and rejoins its comrades.</p>
|
||
<p>Your pockets have successfully been picked while you were
|
||
distracted with the shoe shine, but not of anything of
|
||
particular value.</p>
|
||
<p>What small item(s) will you notice is missing in the hours
|
||
and days to come? How will its absence be a minor
|
||
inconvenience?</p>
|
||
<p><a
|
||
href="https://framalistes.org/sympa/arc/tildepals/2022-07/msg00031.html">www</a></p>
|
||
]]>
|
||
</description>
|
||
</item>
|
||
</channel>
|
||
</rss>
|