Update 8a: Pest Control
EJ: Welcome back to Winterstrike! I didn’t quite think through the fact that the “deadline” for finishing this before it disappears and the deadline for Shufflecomp entries are very close together, but, uh, I will do my best to juggle both. Right now I’m doing a double-length update (okay, more of a 1.5x length) in an attempt to catch up.
Up first, a card that’s new to us not because it’s a midgame card but because it had a lot of secondary requirements. Not a ton of cards do in this game—the contents of the deck are heavily defined by game progress rather than the characteristic “qualities” of the QBN. But this is one of the few.
A repository of antiques
(Unlocked with Winterlocked 1 - you have 2; Unlocked with Resolve 5 - you have 11; Unlocked with Force 5 - you have 9; Unlocked with Finesse 5 - you have 11)
It used to be an armory for an order of warrior-poets. You’re not sure why it escaped being plundered this long, but now it’s cracked open. The statues of gun-saints are toppled, and a tapestry of ash-fibers and bristling wires lies shredded by fingers of ice.
The Circle of Bullets has a keen interest in certain dueling pistols that they believe to be within. They would be grateful for your assistance, especially since some of those pesky Architects of Ink may raise a fuss about it. (A modest challenge – Your Resolve quality gives you a 70% chance of success.)
[You need Resolve 5 (you have 11); You need Caught in the Circle of Bullets 10 (you have 16)]
The Architects are determined to preserve the artifacts in the armory, weapons or otherwise, so that the warrior-poets’ legacy won’t be lost at the hands of deathmongers. You could offer your assistance. (A very chancy challenge – Your Force quality gives you a 50% chance of success.) [You need Force 5 (you have 9); You need Associated with the Architects of Ink 10 (you have 13)]
Circle duelists here, Architects there. In the confusion, you might be able to liberate some items for your own use. Perhaps even one of the ancient pistols someone has mentioned. (A chancy challenge – Your Finesse quality gives you a 60% chance of success.) [You need Finesse 6 (you have 11)]
It would be less obvious close-up, but from a small distance you divine a worrying pattern to the damage to the armory.
Playing this option will get you 20x Dubious Omen.
[This branch is now free to play]
There’s no need to get involved, but watching the fireworks promises to be an entertaining way to pass the time.
EJ: Of course, we’ve gotta rep the Architects; we’re one of them now, sort of.
The Architects are determined to preserve the artifacts in the armory, weapons or otherwise, so that the warrior-poets’ legacy won’t be lost at the hands of deathmongers. You could offer your assistance.
Success!
The duelists may have determination on their side, but the Architects are better at planning. Rapid questioning reveals that a couple of them are familiar with the armory’s layout, including a secret passage that may not have been blocked when the winterstrike hit. You lead a sortie against the duelists and are bemused by their surprise. A few well-placed shots from militant Architects scatters them, and soon you have the upper hand.
When you report back to the Architects’ leader, an elderly man with a cockerel tattooed on his face, he praises your courage. “They’ll be back later,” he says, “but for now, we excavate what we can.” You are given a few baffling artifacts, like Moebius sculptures, to study in your spare time.
Force is increasing…
You succeeded in a Force challenge! (Risky challenges mean you learn more.)
You’ve gained 1 x Associated with the Architects of Ink (new total 14).
You’ve lost 3 x Caught in the Circle of Bullets (new total 13).
You’ve gained 3 x Enigmatic Gadget (new total 7).
EJ: The next noteworthy thing that happens is this:
A museum’s ruins
The museum is still guarded by two-headed robot serpents, although their eyes are crowded over by frost, and their plasma-breath is pale and anemic. You are strolling through the galleries in a desultory fashion when you startle a vision-reaver. He is contemplating a great curving portrait that probably used to be flat—and yet there’s a certain aesthetic pleasure to be found in the distortion.
In your peregrinations, you’ve seen works of art that would put this pallid portrait to shame. You’d like to offer one of those memories to this Vision-Reaver.
Success!
The Vision-Reaver studies you for a long moment, then nods. “That one,” he says in a dreaming voice.
His opaque eyes become less opaque as you look into them. In them you see starscatter and starfall and starglory, grand glowing vistas of palaces that exist only in paintings of charged particles and lightning flickers.
When you come to yourself again, you hear the Vision-Reaver’s murmured thanks. A little while after that, you are able to see again.
You try to figure out which remembered work of art has been taken from you, but it’s impossible to tell.
Resolve is increasing…
You succeeded in a Resolve challenge! (Simple challenges mean you don’t learn so much.)
You’ve gained 1 x Associated with the Architects of Ink (new total 15).
You’ve lost 5 x Memory of Far-Flung Stars (new total 22).
You’ve gained 1 x Scholarly Wonderment (new total 3).
EJ: Next we get a couple cards that don’t have anything new for us to see, and then A wounded duelist, which still has some options that we haven’t explored:
A wounded duelist
A duelist lies fallen in the shadows of a garden. After a moment you realize that she is still breathing, even if the blood has frozen like a rose over her heart.
The woman clearly needs medical attention. She is likely to resist your charity, however.
Success!
You’re able to subdue her without, you hope, doing any more harm than what has already been done. There’s a Shrine of Spring Blossoming where medic-priests can be found not too far from here. The priests look at you reproachfully—they can tell the woman would have preferred to die a duelist’s death—but they are bound by the oaths of their order to do what they can for her.
Force is increasing…
You succeeded in a Force challenge! (Simple challenges mean you don’t learn so much.)
EJ: This next card has some new options open to us now that we have the Gunslinger quality:
An invitation to duel
The Circle wishes to extend to you an opportunity to duel.
The opponent who wishes to challenge you is a dark-skinned woman. Her eyes hold the light of devastated moons. (A very modest challenge – Your Resolve quality gives you a 80% chance of success.) [You need Caught in the Circle of Bullets 10 (you have 13); You need Resolve 4 (you have 11); You need Gunslinger 1 (you have 2); You need 5 x Oddment of Honor (you have 52)]
It’s no secret that the Ocular Guard disapproves strongly of the Circle’s duels. You could report the matter to them.
A Duelist All in Gray wishes to face you. Her expression is wry as she regards you with those grave gray eyes, but not entirely unfriendly.
(A chancy challenge – Your Resolve quality gives you a 60% chance of success.) [You need Caught in the Circle of Bullets 10 (you have 13); You need Resolve 6 (you have 11); You need Gunslinger 1 (you have 2)]
You don’t just want to defeat the Duelist All in Gray. You want to do it spectacularly.
[Playing this option will get you 3x Caught in the Circle of Bullets; 5x Spark of Camaraderie; and, if your Connection is 0, 1x Connection: A Duelist All in Gray.]
[This branch is now free to play]
(A tough challenge – Your Resolve quality gives you a 40% chance of success.)
[You need Caught in the Circle of Bullets 10 (you have 13); You need Resolve 8 (you have 11); You need Gunslinger 1 (you have 2)]
You don’t wish to duel at this time—wrong phase of the moon, wrong time of the year, something—but you indicate your interest in observing one, so you know how things work.
(A straightforward challenge – Your Resolve quality gives you a 100% chance of success.) [You need Resolve 1 (you have 11)]
EJ: I’m interested in that Duelist in All Gray, but for now let’s duel the dark-skinned woman.
Success!
The duel happens as fast, or as slow, as heartbeats. The woman is a relative newcomer, so the ravenfolk duelmaster provides her a dull dark gun, but you are permitted to use your own weapon.
The woman gets off the first shot, and you barely keep yourself from careening out of the dueling circle with its boundary of shadows as you roll out of the way.
A few more exchanges, and then you catch her in the forehead. She crumples. Even then she makes one last wild shot, in no danger of hitting you.
You bow to her: she fought well. The duelmaster murmurs her approval.
Resolve is increasing…
You succeeded in a Resolve challenge! (Simple challenges mean you don’t learn so much.)
You’ve gained 1 x Duelist’s Credo (new total 3).
You’ve gained 1 x Caught in the Circle of Bullets (new total 14).
EJ: Another run of old cards, and then we get this:
A dusty parlor
Some people prefer to ignore the evidence of winter’s crescendo and while away their hours in parlors like this one, exchanging banter and showing each other the oddling treasures they’ve scavenged.
The shipshard mirror has an honest streak at times. What will it show you today?
Playing this option will get you 10x Oddment of Honor.
You see not your visage but a sword of star-steel, its blade yet keen and its hilt wrapped with green-gold serpentskin. In the center of the crossguard is graven Iria’s emblem, the Circle of Glory. After a moment, the image sputters out, and frost spreads over the mirror’s surface from the edges.
You’ve gained 10 x Oddment of Honor (new total 62).
EJ: Next An invitation to duel comes up again, and I’m trying to get all possible connections, so here goes:
An invitation to duelThe Circle wishes to extend to you an opportunity to duel.
You don’t just want to defeat the Duelist All in Gray. You want to do it spectacularly.
[Playing this option will get you 3x Caught in the Circle of Bullets; 5x Spark of Camaraderie; and, if your Connection is 0, 1x Connection: A Duelist All in Gray.]
Your ambition outreaches your ability, alas. The tricky shot you were trying to pull off leaves you exposed for a critical moment, and she is quick to take advantage.
She leaves you with the usual duelist’s memento, except this scar is crescent-shaped, like a pale moon.
Resolve is increasing…
Resolve 11 failed in a challenge! (When you try a challenge that’s difficult for you, you learn more even when you fail.)
EJ: Well, we’ll have to try again later! This next card I’m pretty sure is a Winterlocked 1 card, and I’ve definitely seen it before this playthrough since this is how you get the connection with the Sardonic Captain… but that was in the lost update, so it’s new to you all.
A riot over smokewater
Smokewater used to be a pedestrian sort of treat. Now, in a city shadowed over by cold winds and intermittent snows, it’s one of the most sought-after beverages.
At the moment, a small but hostile crowd has gathered outside a smokewater brewery. The Ocular Guard has just arrived in an attempt to protect the place.
You fall into place with the Ocular Guard. There are, indeed, other citizens who agree with you that random pillaging profits no one. (A low-risk challenge – Your Force quality gives you a 90% chance of success.) [You need Force 2 (you have 9)]
In the confusion, the Guards seem to have overlooked the fact that it would only be a moment’s work to bring down one of the murals in such a way that it would cover their left flank. Someone ought to bring this to their attention.
Playing this option will get you 3x Seen with the Ocular Guard, 5x Spark of Cameraderie and, if your Connection is 0, 1x Connection - A Sardonic Captain.
[This branch is now free to play]
[You need Force 3 (you have 9)]
Force of arms won’t cut it. Talking the crowd down might. (A straightforward challenge – Your Resolve quality gives you a 100% chance of success.) [You need Resolve 2 (you have 11)]
It wouldn’t be difficult to sneak in and obtain a supply of the smokewater for yourself, while everyone else is occupied out here. (A straightforward challenge – Your Finesse quality gives you a 100% chance of success.) [You need Finesse 2 (you have 12)] Go
The crowd is very close to becoming a mob. All it would take is a little push.
Playing this option will get you 7x Ice, 7x Brittle Rumor, and 7x Smokewater.
[This branch is now free to play]
[LOCKED – You need Ice 5]
It wouldn’t be difficult to sneak in and obtain a supply of the smokewater for yourself, while everyone else is occupied out here.
Success!
The tumult outside allows you to head inside and obtain a small quantity of smokewater. You don’t have the means to carry more, and the rest isn’t doing you any good, so you take the time to pour the rest out from the sparking vats, drenching the floor. You don’t see the point in others getting use out of things if you can’t, after all.
Finesse is increasing…
You succeeded in a Finesse challenge! (Simple challenges mean you don’t learn so much.)
You now have 1 x Smokewater.
You now have 1 x Ice.
EJ: I’m kinda surprised that got us Ice; there are a lot of “ignore both sides of this conflict and just steal stuff” options in this game and most of them don’t. Though I guess it did have the telltale snowflake icon Ice options usually have. They usually are more obviously brutal though.
Because we need Finesse, I take the “steal stuff” option on this next card too:
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.
Success!
It’s no difficult work to spot the weakness in the overhanging structure. With a bit of cunning, you’re able to bring the whole thing clattering down on the Architects, trapping them with their beloved artifacts. You’re fairly certain they don’t even realize it was an attack.
Your search of the area turns up slivers of crystal, no doubt records of rituals past. Slim pickings for the afternoon’s work, but better than nothing.
Finesse is increasing…
You succeeded in a Finesse challenge! (Simple challenges mean you don’t learn so much.)
You’ve gained 1 x Ice (new total 2).
You’ve gained 3 x Labyrinth Crystal (new total 18).
That one was more brutal, though it’s not necessarily obvious before you take the option that you’re going to be trapping them to possibly freeze to death… and it doesn’t have the snowflake icon. I was a bit unpleasantly surprised by what this option entailed when I did my theft-heavy first playthrough.
Next we pull A repository of antiques again, try the same option as last time, and fail again. Then a run of old, boring cards and then another A repository of antiques, which we fail AGAIN. Then more old stuff, for some reason mostly copies of A starship carcass, Shadows in the ice, and A moment’s birdsong. I remember when I was actually looking for A starship carcass and it went a long while without showing up. The desire sensor is real.
But then! Finally! It’s that card I was looking for last update when I kept getting A roving marketplace instead!
A shabby marketplace
In the sometime shelter of bleak arcades, people gather to trade away things they don’t want anymore for temporary comforts and pale amusements.
It’s an evening for passing around drinks. Even a sip is something against the dreadful cold.
[You need 1 x Smokewater (you have 1)]
Not that this is unusual, but you’re haunted by a lingering-cloud sensation that bad luck’s around the corner. To prove yourself wrong, you sit down with people playing an unfamiliar card game.
[You need 5 x Dubious Omen (you have 47)]
Going about Iria, it’s impossible to escape whispers of fungal incursions and unquiet engines and mad revels in moondark halls. It’s time to seek out less disturbing stories.
[You need 5 x Brittle Rumor (you have 6)]
You close your eyes for a moment, only a moment, when you hear a resonant hum from the snow near your foot.
[You need 5 x Labyrinth Crystal (you have 18)]
A tall man approaches you. His stride is awkward and slow, but he carries himself erectly. The side of his coat is stained dark. “There’s a message I would give to my brother,” he rasps, “but I cannot take it myself. I have no payment to offer except my gratitude. Poor coin in this city, I know.”
He tells you where his brother is. It’s not far—if you’re not dying. You could do it easily.
Playing this option will get you 20x Oddment of Honor, and 1x Glimpse of a Magistrate’s Shadow, which locks off this branch in the future; you will also lose 5x Ice.
[This branch is now free to play]
Several people are reciting fragmentary poetry to each other—no, they’re braiding songs and sagas and sonnets into a bemusing patchwork whole.
A Laughing Marksman is much taken by your ill-tempered blaster, and wishes you to demonstrate your skill with it.
[LOCKED – You need 1 x Ill-Tempered Blaster (you have 0)]
EJ: Hopefully we’ll have the chance to see more of these options in the future, but right now there’s just one thing I want here:
You close your eyes for a moment, only a moment, when you hear a resonant hum from the snow near your foot.
The crystals appear to be disintegrating, but your dismay turns to curiosity when you dig through the snow to find a few mechanical components ticking secretively to themselves. It’s impossible to tell if they even come from the same machine.
You’ve lost 5 x Labyrinth Crystal (new total 13).
You’ve gained 3 x Enigmatic Gadget (new total 11).
EJ: Now we can deepen our connection with the Pale Archivist!
A Pale Archivist
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.
You’ve uncovered a trove of components that looked like they were yanked from several different makes of stardrive. But why would they be stored in a pearwood box and cushioned in moth-velvet? Perhaps the Archivist will have some insights.
The Archivist frowns thoughtfully when you present her with the puzzle. “No engineer would put these components together,” she says, “but look—” She rises and pulls out a tome bound in bark-colored cloth. There’s a table of star-route harmonics, and the components correspond to a particularly powerful harmonic sequence. “You could build an entirely different stardrive around this if you could only obtain the materials.”
The ironbird, head tilted, is listening attentively.
You’ve lost 10 x Enigmatic Gadget (new total 1).
You’ve gained 1 x Connection: A Pale Archivist (new total 3).
You’ve gained 1 x Scholarly Wonderment (new total 4).
EJ: The new option for the next level of relationship with the Pale Archivist is this:
The Pale Archivist would like your opinion of a recent research discovery.
[LOCKED – You need 5 x Scholarly Wonderment (you have 4); You need Connection: A Pale Archivist 3 and Connection: A Pale Archivist no more than 3 (you have 3)]
EJ: I’m pretty sure the only repeatable source of Scholarly Wonderment we’ve seen is A ruined museum, so we’ll have to hope that comes up again soon. Speaking of, though, let’s check on some of our other companions.
A Vision-Reaver
The Vision-Reaver won’t share his spoils except with staggeringly wealthy clients, but on occasion he can be persuaded to critique artworks and fashions.
Your dreams are troubled of late. Perhaps the Vision-Reaver has some advice to offer.
[You need Connection: A Vision-Reaver 2 and Connection: A Vision-Reaver no more than 2 (you have 2); You need 10 x Dubious Omen (you have 48)]
You grow curious about one of the Vision-Reaver’s rivals, who specializes in aural delicacies. Maybe it would be instructive to seek her out.
Playing this option will get you 20x Brittle Rumor and 1x Spared the Voice-Reaver’s Lure; the latter locks off this branch in the future.
[This branch is now free to play]
[You need Connection: A Vision-Reaver 2 (you have 2)]
EJ: Well, Dubious Omens are one thing we have by the bucketload, so let’s fork some over.
Your dreams are troubled of late. Perhaps the Vision-Reaver has some advice to offer.
When pressed over tea-of-roses, the Vision-Reaver admits that there are, indeed, ways to harvest dream images. He himself scorns the art, as the results are prone to entropy errors. But, he adds, sometimes simple remedies are the best. With a matter-of-fact patience you would not have expected of him, he spends the evening playing simple board games with you. There’s something to be said for his advice, for you sleep restfully that night.
You’ve lost 10 x Dubious Omen (new total 38).
You’ve gained 1 x Connection: A Vision-Reaver (new total 3).
You’ve gained 3 x Fleeting Merriment (new total 34).
EJ: Aww, that’s oddly sweet.
A Sardonic Captain
The Captain is good company when off-duty, if you have a taste for his particular dry humor.
Like many Ocular Guards, he likes to spar during his off hours. You wouldn’t mind giving it a go.
(A modest challenge – Your Force quality gives you a 70% chance of success.)
[You need Connection: A Sardonic Captain 1 and Connection: A Sardonic Captain no more than 1 (you have 1); You need Force 4 (you have 10)]
You’ve heard stories of a general from a faraway realm, never defeated in battle, who has come to live here in penance for some terrible crime. You wonder if the Sardonic Captain could be this individual.
Playing this option will get you 20x Dubious Omen and 1x Portent of Winter Warfare; the latter locks off this branch in the future.
[This branch is now free to play]
[LOCKED – You need Connection: A Sardonic Captain 2 (you have 1)]
Like many Ocular Guards, he likes to spar during his off hours. You wouldn’t mind giving it a go.
Success!
“Only proper way is to do this with standard-issue swords,” the Captain says, clearly bemused. When you don’t protest, he retrieves two ocular smallswords, plain but well-maintained, from the armory.
The Captain is vastly canny, and for all the Guard’s reputation for a certain stiffness, he fights dirty. Nevertheless, you are surprised, upon finding yourself with his swordpoint at your throat, to see a glimmer of respect in his eyes. “Keep this up and I’ll have to watch my back,” he says.
Force is increasing…
You succeeded in a Force challenge!
You’ve gained 1 x Connection: A Sardonic Captain (new total 2).
You’ve gained 1 x Oddment of Honor (new total 63).
EJ: His next storylet needs Labyrinth Crystals; we’ll do it next time. The Vision-Reaver meanwhile needs… more Enigmatic Gadgets. Hope that marketplace shows back up!
I assume we’ll want to do the Nex-locked options eventually for everyone except maybe the Unsmiling Thief (since hers destroys the connection permanently), but they’re unrepeatable and they seem like they might hit better if you have some attachment to the characters, so I’ve been holding off.