Update 6: The Ironbird’s Inexplicable Hobbies
EJ: Welcome back to Winterstrike! This time we’ll be advancing to the midgame, finally, though we have a few things to take care of first. Let’s get to it! As a quick note, because it’s been a bit, I’ll be including the full text of some of the cards we’ve seen in previous updates the first time we see them to remind you all of what the options are. As always, feel free to let me know if there are any options whose outcomes you’re particularly interested in seeing!
The RNG decides to be kind to me for once and gives me the other Architects of Ink card, which we haven’t previously seen, in the first hand I draw:
The archaeology of star travel
This is far from the only dead starship you’ve seen in Iria, but this one has a team of tattooed scavengers investigating it. No—those aren’t just tattoos. These are members of the Architects of Ink, a faction with a great interest in the preservation of history.
They look like they could use some assistance in unearthing whatever they’re looking for.
Bemusingly, the Architects don’t seem to have spotted a small box, just visible through a crack in the hull not far from their earnest prying. It would be kind of you to bring it to their attention.
Playing this option will get you 3x Associated with the Architects of Ink and 1x Map of Iria. You can use the Map in other cards to acquire resources more efficiently.
[This branch is now free to play]
Of course, just because you spotted something near some Architects doesn’t mean the Architects have first claim on it. They’re not even likely to notice you making off with the box. Go
The fact of the box’s survival, combined with the eddies of cold and snow in its vicinity, troubles you. Best to destroy it just in case. (A low-risk challenge – Your Resolve quality gives you a 90% chance of success.) [You need Resolve 1 (you have 7)]
EJ: Of course, we’ll be taking the option that gets us 3x Associated with the Architects of Ink, since that’s what we most need right now!
The Architects are at first astonished, then sheepish, when you point out their failure of observation. There is an excited discussion about whether the ornamentation on the box, scrollwork and odd jagged angles, has anything to do with the faraway civilization of the ravenfolk. At first you think that they have forgotten your presence, but you realize after a while that they consider you one of them. Indeed, one Architect glances in your direction as she expounds on ravenfolk iconography, clearly expecting you to make your contribution, and you venture a few opinions based on things you’ve heard in happier times.
Afterwards, the same Architect comes up to you with a holo shard and says, “This is a city full of strange histories and hazards. Perhaps this will help you stay away from the worst of the latter.”
You’ve gained 3 x Associated with the Architects of Ink (new total 10).
You now have 1 x Map of Iria.
Finesse is increasing…
EJ: It’s interesting to note that ravenfolk come from elsewhere. I wonder if swanfolk and foxfolk also do? (I think those are the other two nonhuman species we’ve seen.) Who is native to Iria? Or was it initially some barren rock that was terraformed?
Anyway, at this point I figured that before declaring our allegiance with the Architects of Ink, I’d clear out the rest of my hand:
A run-in with a delegation of thorns
You approach archways hung with icicles. The icicles, instead of pointing down, curve left or right like wayward thorns. Behind a pillar comes a woman’s a laugh, and the chilly wind brings to you the furtive smells of wine and roses.
It’s only natural that you should approach them cautiously. Meaning that they shouldn’t see you at all. Who knows what you’ll learn? (A low-risk challenge – Your Finesse quality gives you a 90% chance of success.) [You need Finesse 1 (you have 6)]
Why not join the feast? You are confident of your ability to charm the revelers with the fact of your presence.
Playing this option will get you 20x Brittle Rumor.
[This branch is now free to play]
From your glimpses of them, the revelers are are [sic] eclectic in their dress and habits. It shouldn’t be too difficult to walk among them and put your deft fingers to work. (A very modest challenge – Your Finesse quality gives you a 80% chance of success.) [You need Finesse 1 (you have 6)]
The glint from a star-dagger warns you that someone is coming out to challenge you. Easy enough to slip away, but sometimes a moment’s dispute is good for warming the blood. (A tough challenge – Your Force quality gives you a 40% chance of success.) [You need Force 1 (you have 1)]
EJ: So I totally forgot that we failed the easier Finesse challenge last time and as such have not seen the good outcome for it—I’ll make sure to show that at some point in the future, if I get the chance. I took the harder Finesse option instead:
Success!
You move into into [sic] the crowd. In the shadow of the arches it’s difficult for anyone to see you clearly, and when you speak, it’s to tell some easeful joke about stoic mice and mutant fungus, or perhaps mutant mice and stoic fungus. You are able to pocket a number of delicacies that might travel well, although you can’t help nibbling on a few of the delicate cookies imprinted with—guess—petals.
Finesse has increased to 7!
You succeeded in a Finesse challenge! (Simple challenges mean you don’t learn so much.)
You’ve gained 3 x Evanescent Treat (new total 8).
EJ: Next up is another card we haven’t seen too many times before:
Securing a shelter
A little way off is a shelter run by one of the many neighborhood societies. It flies a brown-and-gold welcome-banner.
A man is limping toward the shelter. Slowly. He leans against the walls of cracked buildings as he goes, and his fingers leave red, descending marks. He would reach the shelter faster with your assistance.
A tall, severe Woman with a Lace Scarf motions for you to come closer. She probably doesn’t have a weapon.
What she does have is a proposition. The Scarf and Feather Society suspects that this unassuming shelter contains succulent luxuries. If you take a look around, they’ll offer you a cut of the take. (A high-risk challenge – Your Finesse quality gives you a 30% chance of success.) [You need Finesse 5 (you have 7)]
It’s been a long day, and you could use a place to sleep.
The Ocular Guard isn’t known for compassion, but someone in the upper ranks is cognizant that places like this one keep Iria’s winterlocked inhabitants easier to manage. They’re offering a small wage to those willing to keep order on a day they expect to be unusually chaotic. (An almost impossible challenge – Your Force quality gives you a 10% chance of success.) [LOCKED – You need Force 5 (you have 1)]
You’re cold to the point where you’re not sure you feel it anymore except as a slowing tide in your heart. A night under a warm roof is what you need.
Playing this option will get you 20x Dubious Omen.
[This branch is now free to play]
[LOCKED – You need Ice 10]
EJ: We helped the man last time, so let’s see what happens if we sleep here ourselves:
You weren’t certain they’d have a spot for you, but the volunteer who hears your request sees something disquieting in your eyes. Speaking as little as is polite, she leads you to a quiet corner. You can hear the ironbird following you, although it stays out of sight.
That night your sleep is interrupted by recursive dreams, and it’s only after the fifth one that you are certain you’ve surfaced into the waking world. For the rest of the day, you’re haunted by the feeling that you’re in danger of stepping out of your feet and into some ice-reflection’s embrace.
You’ve gained 1 x Dubious Omen (new total 28).
EJ: Now, at this point I totally space out and draw another hand of cards. Wanting to clear them out before I progress the plot and we unlock some new cards to see, I decide to play through them real quick. Funnily enough, the first one is…
Restoration of a forbidden temple to birds
A team of Architects appears to be excavating a temple, relic of an earlier era. And not just any temple: one of the Avian Temples that proper Irians consider taboo.
The Architects must have uncovered something especially delicious if they’re braving the Irian taboo. You think you see a way of relieving them of their prize. (A very chancy challenge – Your Finesse quality gives you a 50% chance of success.) [You need Finesse 3 (you have 7)]
The Architects only seem interested in their immediate vicinity. You might be able to find curiosities of your own if you venture farther afield. (A modest challenge – Your Finesse quality gives you a 70% chance of success.) [You need Finesse 2 (you have 7)]
The Irians must have this taboo for a reason. It might be best to talk the Architects out of their endeavor. (A modest challenge – Your Resolve quality gives you a 70% chance of success.) [You need Resolve 2 (you have 7)]
One of the items already recovered is a piece of art, a tapestry of optic fibers and harp strings and beads of luminous glass. The subject matter is familiar, although the Architects discussing it seem to be under the amusing misimpression that it represents a gun-saint of the houndfolk.
Playing this option will get you 3x Associated with the Architects of Ink and 10x Dubious Omens.
[This branch is now free to play]
[You need Finesse 3 (you have 7)]
You’ve seen a starship like this in your travels. What does it remind you of?
It looks like the Architects are having difficulty shifting some rubble. You could lend them a hand. (An almost impossible challenge – Your Force quality gives you a 10% chance of success.) [LOCKED – You need Force 2 (you have 1)]
EJ: Now we actually don’t need to increase Associated with the Architects of Ink further, so we can try a different option, such as “You’ve seen a starship like this…”
The wreckage makes it difficult to tell, but you’re reminded of the sleek courier vessels that used to range from Iria to her sister city on the farthest planet of the system, Cavaria. It will be a long time before you see Cavaria and its strange spindled towers again, however.
You’ve gained 1 x Memory of Far-Flung Stars (new total 2).
A question of comfort
It’s time to seek some lodgings, however temporary. But there’s the troublesome matter of your ferrous companion.
You don’t have to put up with the ironbird’s presence. If you can’t lose it, surely you can find a way to barricade it from your eventual home. (A very modest challenge – Your Resolve quality gives you a 80% chance of success.) [You need Resolve 1 (you have 7)]
The best plan is to ambush the ironbird after it thinks itself welcome. It’s a simple plan, but sometimes simplicity is the right call. (A high-risk challenge – Your Force quality gives you a 20% chance of success.) [You need Force 1 (you have 1)]
It won’t be enough to knock the ironbird out of commission. You’re starting to be curious about its inner workings.
Playing this option will get you 10x Ice and 10x Enigmatic Gadget.
[This branch is now free to play]
[You need Resolve 2 (you have 7)]
The ironbird seems to know where it’s going. Why not let it choose the night’s shelter?
EJ: The earlier audience vote nudges us towards the first option, as the least aggressive option that isn’t totally credulous, and this time we actually succeed! … Sort of.
It was a good idea in theory
Through some conniving that gives you a headache just to remember, you trap the fledgling in an iris door and leave it behind.
It’s a good effort. Unfortunately, the thing is both determined and very good at tracking you. The next time you venture outside, you are greeted by that expectant iron regard. For a moment you can see yourself reflected as though in a suit of black-silver armor. Then you blink and the image is gone.
Resolve has increased to 8!
You succeeded in a Resolve challenge! (Simple challenges mean you don’t learn so much.)
You’ve gained 1 x Dubious Omen (new total 29).
EJ: Our last normal card for now is a repeat of A run-in with a delegation of thorns. Still not remembering we haven’t seen the outcome to the easy Finesse challenge, I take the Force option for the sake of variety:
The glint from a star-dagger warns you that someone is coming out to challenge you. Easy enough to slip away, but sometimes a moment’s dispute is good for warming the blood.
Your assailant is a woman, tall and lean of figure, and feral in her grace. Your attempt to disarm her not only fails, you’re left grasping nothing but a scrap of air. She pulls up, star-dagger brightening and darkening, then begins to laugh at you. You’d try again, but she has deemed you unworthy of her efforts, and she nips back among her fellow revelers, still laughing.
Force has increased to 2!
Force 1 failed in a challenge! (When you try a challenge that’s difficult for you, you learn more even when you fail.)
EJ: … with, of course, a predictable outcome. Anyway, now we can finally get to A peculiar ink:
A peculiar ink
It’s derived from a poisonous flower, but some people swear by its mystical properties. The bit about using it to rouse prophecies is probably a myth, though. You appear to have come across a small supply of it while rummaging through an escritoire with words of ice driven into its drawers.
Note: Declaring a faction affiliation either here or at “A legendary weapon” will allow you to advance to midgame content through “The ironbird’s inexplicable hobbies.”
The Architects would be intrigued by your find. They might even be able to tell you more about it. The likeliest contact is a One-Eyed Scholar, who lives in a tower-library near the starport. The Scholar is sure to welcome you. Her defenses are another matter. (A high-risk challenge – Your Resolve quality gives you a 30% chance of success. [You need Resolve 6 (you have 8)]
The ink reminds you of the Architects and their tattoos. It’s time you declare your affiliation with them. [You need Associated with the Architects of Ink 10 (you have 10)]
A certain Swan Thief enjoys curiosities in her epistolary games. She is sure to have a use for the ink, and you might be able to catch up on the latest gossip. She won’t see anyone who doesn’t have the proper social graces, however. (A high-risk challenge – Your Finesse quality gives you a 20% chance of success.) [You need Finesse 6 (you have 7)]
You could imbibe a dilute form of the ink. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.
Playing this option will get you 20x Fleeting Merriment.
[This branch is now free to play]
You admire the Society’s devotion to civilization’s finer pleasures. The ink will prove a handy excuse for you to speak to someone about joining. [LOCKED – You need Flirtation with the Scarf and Feather Society 10 (you have 3)]
EJ: We could declare affiliation right now, but we’ll lose access to this card once we do, so let’s try something else first:
The Architects would be intrigued by your find. They might even be able to tell you more about it. The likeliest contact is a One-Eyed Scholar, who lives in a tower-library near the starport. The Scholar is sure to welcome you. Her defenses are another matter.
Success!
The ice-maze leading to her library-tower is indeed formidable, but those who navigated it successfully have often been foiled by the One-Eyed Scholar’s cantankerous robot defenders. They hiss and clatter and rear up menacingly, but you refuse to be deterred, and at last they give way.
The One-Eyed Scholar speaks to you over tea that has glittering motes in it, like distant nebulae. She thanks you for your find and mentions that this ink is indeed in much demand by the Architects. “The tattoos aren’t just for show,” she says, turning her hand so you can see the fireflower tattooed upon it. “Properly aligned with the body’s meridians, they hold the key to wondrous virtues.” That is all she will say directly, but she hints that you might learn more by cultivating a relationship with the Architects. In parting she gives you a book that purports to expound some of the Architects’ beliefs.
Resolve is increasing…
You succeeded in a Resolve challenge! (Risky challenges mean you learn more.)
You now have 1 x Tome of Scattered Ideals.
EJ: So that gets us a little bit of Architect lore and a new item; we don’t know what it’s good for yet. Now, let’s finally declare our faction affiliation:
The ink reminds you of the Architects and their tattoos. It’s time you declare your affiliation with them.
You approach a Pale Archivist with your petition. Not unsurprisingly, he [sic] requires you to fill out an application—in calligraphy, at that. Having had time to grow acquainted with the faction’s habits and preferences, you produce an acceptable document on liger vellum.
The Pale Archivist then leads you through a warren of twisty passages, all alike. At the end she bids you drink from a flower-sweet cup. You’re not even aware of sliding unconscious.
When you wake, it’s in a room ful [sic] of scrolls and books and lexicon crystals. It isn’t until you catch your reflection in a pane of shiverglass that you see the one-level tattoo, in black and gold, on your cheek.
You now have 1 x Tower Tattoo.
You now have 1 x Connection: A Pale Archivist.
EJ: With that, A peculiar ink becomes inaccessible, and we can now, as it said, advance to the midgame through another pinned card…
The ironbird’s inexplicable hobbies
Lately you catch the ironbird dragging around gears, chipped crystals, fraying gloves, and trying to fit them together.
Playing a faction branch will advance you to midgame content.
You sometimes see a Ferocious Librarian for help researching the curiosities you discover around Iria, like the half-dolls that people leave at certain empty doorways. One day, however, when the fledgling is occupied unspiraling a wire, the Librarian takes you aside. [You need Tower Tattoo 1 (you have 1)]
It’s time to devote an evening to watching the ironbird’s peregrinations.
Playing this option will get you 10x Ironbird’s Regard. An Ironbird’s Regard of 10 or more will open an additional option towards the end of the game.
[This branch is now free to play]
A Hectic Duelist, in whose company you sometimes pass the time, has also noticed the ironbird’s behavior. [LOCKED – You need Duelist’s Heart 1]
A Quick-Tempered Captain you sometimes drill with has shown unusual tolerance of your pet, but after the latest time you fall out of cadence because the creature’s scratchy call startles you, she demands to speak to you in private. That in itself tells you how nervous she is. Ordinarily she would dress you down in front of everyone. [LOCKED – You need Third Eye 1]
A Melancholy Violist has taken to writing a partita inspired, he says, by the ironbird’s ferrous facets. He invites you to stop by and comment on his latest attempt. [LOCKED – You need Intimation of Wings 1]
You’ve seen some of those components in a place you rarely visit, and you could have sworn that the ironbird doesn’t range far from your side. Time to take another look. [LOCKED – You need Ice 15]
Perhaps, having developed a rapport with the ironbird, you can query it directly. [LOCKED – You need 15 x Ironbird’s Regard (you have 0)]
EJ: Since this card, like A peculiar ink, will disappear once we play a faction-related branch, and since trying to learn more about the ironbird is part of the approach the thread voted for, we’ll check out that second option first:
It’s time to devote an evening to watching the ironbird’s peregrinations.
It takes the ironbird a while to realize that, for once, you’re following it instead of the other way around. When it has trouble tugging loose some energon coils hidden beneath a pile of ice-brick corpses, you give it a hand. Its song is coolly affectionate.
You now have 10 x Ironbird’s Regard.
Finesse is increasing…
EJ: Okay, enough faffing about. It’s midgame time!
You sometimes see a Ferocious Librarian for help researching the curiosities you discover around Iria, like the half-dolls that people leave at certain empty doorways. One day, however, when the fledgling is occupied unspiraling a wire, the Librarian takes you aside.
“I think I see what it’s doing,” he says. “That looks like an amateur’s attempt to represent a starship’s navigation circuit. Clever trick—I wonder where your pet picked it up?”
You’re not convinced it’s a trick at all.
You’ve gained 1 x Winterlocked (new total 2).
EJ: When we get back to the home screen, we have two new pinned cards. This is one:
A Pale Archivist (Unlocked with
Winterlocked 2 – you have 2; Unlocked with
Connection: A Pale Archivist 1 – you have 1)
The Archivist appreciates your ceaseless interest in Iria’s curiosities. She doesn’t get out as much as she used to: you can be her eyes, and a sounding-board.
The Archivist asks you to investigate reports that rogue scholars have been working with the Ocular Guard in deciphering finds at the Avian Temples. [You need Connection: A Pale Archivist 1 and Connection: A Pale Archivist no more than 1 (you have 1)] [You need 10 x Dubious Omen (you have 29)]
Almost all the Architects keep their tattoos easily visible. Where is the Archivist’s?
Playing this option will get you 20x Dubious Omen and 1x Glimpse of the Pale Archivist’s Tattoo; the latter locks off this branch in the future.
[This branch is now free to play]
[LOCKED – You need Connection: A Pale Archivist 2 (you have 1)]
EJ: Well, we’ve got Dubious Omens for days, so let’s go ahead and take the first option.
It doesn’t take long for you to verify the reports. You break into the hideout of one such rogue to steal his notes. He left them encrypted, but not well enough.
When you present the notes to the Pale Archivist, her eyes narrow. “A pity he’s wasting time with those thugs,” she says. The Guard frequently has common cause with the Architects, but their attempts to control access to the Temples has become a point of contention. She points out a particularly insightful analysis of altar geometry. The two of you stay up late discussing the ramifications.
You’ve lost 10 x Dubious Omen (new total 19).
You’ve gained 1 x Connection: A Pale Archivist (new total 2).
You now have 1 x Scholarly Wonderment.
EJ: Now let’s check out the other new pinned card:
Coldhouse flowers (Unlocked with
Winterlocked 2 - you have 2; Unlocked with
Tower Tattoo 1 - you have 1; Unlocked with
Finesse 7 - you have 7; Unlocked with
Connection: A Pale Archivist 1 - you have 2)
The Architects wish to make sure of your commitment. Their tattoos can’t be removed, after all.
The Pale Archivist requires coldhouse flowers for the next stage of your initiation. She even tells you where to find them, instead of leaving you to research that for yourself. (An almost impossible challenge – Your Finesse quality gives you a 10% chance of success.) [You need Finesse 7 (you have 7); You need Tower Tattoo 1 and Tower Tattoo no more than 1 (you have 1)]
The Pale Archivist is highly placed. Out of curiosity, you track down her thesis from her days as a university scholar.
Playing this option will get you 20x Dubious Omen and 1x Mysteries of Avian Research; the latter locks off this branch in the future.
[This branch is now free to play]
[You need Connection: A Pale Archivist 1 (you have 2)]
You’ve brought the Pale Archivist a sufficient supply of the flowers. For her part, she has prepared the ink for the next stage of the tattoo. [LOCKED – You need 3 x Coldhouse Flower (you have 0); You need Tower Tattoo 1 and Tower Tattoo no more than 1 (you have 1)]
Why would anyone need a coldhouse in a winterlocked city? This can’t bode well, and it would be just like the Architects to take their obsession with preservation too far. (An almost impossible challenge – Your Force quality gives you a 10% chance of success.) [LOCKED – You need Tower Tattoo 1 and Tower Tattoo no more than 1 (you have 1); You need Force 7 (you have 2)]
EJ: Well, that almost impossible challenge doesn’t look great, so let’s back out and go do some other stuff first. Incidentally, at this point, assume new cards are unlocked with Winterlocked 2 unless I say otherwise.
Apparently I only captured the outcome of this first card and not the options, but oh well, you can go back to Update 5 if you’re particularly interested in what all the choices are.
A roving market
Frozen spheres containing storm-eels with pleading eyes. Winsome thieves. Human-headed snakes in lambent cages. The market moves from street to street, square to square, but some of the sights never change.
A musician is playing a bird-bone flute. Despite the spiraling beauty of her music, her hat—held by an obliging swanfolk gentleman—is nearly empty of contributions. You’re not sure whether pity or bemusement urges you closer.
Success!
While the musician plays a lopsided medley, you and the gentleman exchange pleasantries. Besides your similar taste in music, it transpires that you are both admirers of a certain mode of dance, one that was common in Iria before its devastation. Before you leave, the gentleman bows to you with a stateliness you have not often seen.
Finesse is increasing…
You succeeded in a Finesse challenge! (Simple challenges mean you don’t learn so much.)
You’ve gained 1 x Spark of Camaraderie (new total 3).
EJ: Then we get The archaeology of star travel again; we don’t need Associated with the Architects of Ink anymore at this point, but despite Rosal’s background as a spy, I feel like they’re not the type to straight-up work against their faction without good reason, so the only option besides the one we’ve seen that makes much sense to me at this point is:
They look like they could use some assistance in unearthing whatever they’re looking for.
The Architects are surprised at your approach, but you reassure them that you are only interested in assisting their efforts. Indeed, as you work together to free some artifacts from the wreckage, they have many interesting things to say about the semiotics of stardrives and the forensic value of life-support fungus.
You’ve gained 1 x Associated with the Architects of Ink (new total 11).
You’ve gained 1 x Memory of Far-Flung Stars (new total 3).
Anyway, I misjudged how long this update was and have to split it, more in a sec!
The last soldier standing
Your “A Stranger” quality has gone. Welcome to the world!
It has such a bewitching fragrance. Even the locks seem to like it.
You now have 1 x Connection: A Vision-Reaver.
