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> Sight Test I

> DC 30: Witchlet Chlotsuintha is not Keen of Eye, making a Rudimentary Sight Test like this [Easy]
> + DC 6: Witchlet Chlotsuintha is currently Tired II and is not as perceptive as she might be otherwise
> + DC 4 Witchlet Chlotsuintha is currently Drained II, and may not be thinking as quick as she normally does.
> + DC 4 Witchlet Chlotsuintha is under the effect of slow-burn ranged remediation cast.
> + DC 15 Witchlet Chlotsuintha has no knowledge of Aldoin's basement.
> + DC 1 Witchlet Chlotsuintha is attempting to search a next-to-unlit area with a nude light
> - DC 20 Witchlet Chlotsuintha is allowing herself to take as much time as necessary to search the room.
> - DC 15 Witchlet Chlotsuintha is well versed in casing rooms for valuables and hiding spots.
> - DC 4 Witchlet Chlotsuintha was looking around the room as her eyes adjusted, improving the efficacy of her efforts.
> - DC 15 Room IV has nothing in it, which makes searching it extremely easy


> DC 6: Anything lower is a failure. [Re-rolls and auto-passes are available. No hostile re-roll(s)]

> No Passes: Chlotsuintha somehow manages to walk into one of the walls during the search. She is unhurt, she doesn't make any noise and she doesn't break anything ... but she feels like a idiot.
> One Pass: Chlotsuintha is interrupted in an unexpected way during her search, before she can satisfy herself one way or another as to the state of this room.
> Two Passes: Chlotsuintha draws a conclusion on the condition of the room with High Confidence. CF and NCF nulled for the next test.
> Three Passes: Chlotsuintha draws a conclusion on the condition of the room with Absolute Confidence. CF and NCF nulled for the next test. - 3 DC bonus applied to Hearing Tests.

> If ONE of the THREE rolls comes up as a Critical or Near-Critical Failure (Roll of 1 or 2) then Chlotsuintha's 'joust' with the wall goes a bit more poorly. She smacks her 'stick in such a way that the prong for the candle breaks off inside the stub, complicating use of the 'stick.
> If ONE of the THREE rolls comes up as a Critical or Near-Critical Success (Roll of 100 or 99) then not only does Chlotsuintha draw a conclusion on the condition of the room with Absolute confidence, she gains Complete Knowledge of Aldoin's Basement.

> Standard rules are in effect. Now, may I please have three rolls of 1d100?

> Previous thread: https://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/qstarchive/2023/5700233/
> Archives: https://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/qstarchive.html?tags=eternal+rome

Rolled 20 (1d100)

>>5737273

>Faaaaatheeeeeer?

Rolled 38 (1d100)

>>5737273

Rolled 100 (1d100)

>>5737273
May our luck stay white!

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>>5737469
YES!!! MY SECOND NAT 100! Hopefully it’s way better than when we only gutted that pi-

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>>5737273
>she gains Complete Knowledge of Aldoin's Basement

….

WE ARE ALL POWERFUL AND ALL KNOWING
ALDOIN'S BASEMENT IS OURS TO COMMAND

An excellent roll, anon! Great Job! I am still working on the update, but rather than half-ass something like this, I think I will sleep on it instead, and try to get it out as early tomorrow as I can.

In the meantime, it is probably warranted to take another look at the itinerary for tonight. Right now, it is slightly closer to quarter to eighteen than it is half pass seventeen. Remember, she is expected at the Coach House to pick up the stage and team between the last hour and midnight ... and while it is not like she is going to lose the stage if she doesn't show up then, showing up outside of the agreed upon window could complicate things. Moreover, before taking delivery of stage and team she also planned on planting the Decoy Graven Ball, swinging by the site of the house where she first saw the Hook Gulls congregating, head to a Port Authority clerk-house to steal Family Patent papers ... and stopping by a Temple, if there was time. At some point, she is also going to need to get her hand-cart back to the Midden - and she won't be able to use the stage to help with that, unless she figure some way to work around her lack of an Entry Permit. And then, after all of this, she still needs to gather up everything in the Belfry, get it into the sewers, and then get it out of the sewers.

Time is certainly not on her side here. Even if she were to walk out of Aldoin's house right now, she would probably have a very hard time of accomplishing all of that before sunrise. Now, father said to leave by the seventh day after he left for his job - but he never specified to leave at the start or the end of the seventh day. So, the thousand-talent question. Does Chlotsuintha stay in the Mount for Titheday, or does she accept that she is probably going to have to further reduces her expectations tonight?

> Please choose ONE of the following:
> Chlotsuintha will continue to aim for leaving the Mount at sunrise tomorrow.
> Chlotsuintha will allow herself some breathing room, and changes her plans to stay through Titheday.
> Chlotsuintha will allow herself all of the breathing room, and changes her plants to stay as long as it takes to get her affairs in order.

>>5737513
> Chlotsuintha will allow herself all of the breathing room, and changes her plants to stay as long as it takes to get her affairs in order.

Frankly I’ve come around on the Blue Boy incident, an now believe that it is clearly a sign from the Patternmaker that he wishes us involved in the foreign merchant affairs, somehow. Plus, think of all the proper equipment, books, and foodstuffs we could buy- and we can even get a new fitting umbrella for our worn piece.

But even if all that wasn’t the case, I’d probably still vote to extend through Titheday- and not just to give the Patternmaker his due on this holy day. The Innkeeper’s heir awakened me to the fact that I’d rather like a gun on us, and multiple loaded guns for the trip, with enough munitions to to equip a squad or several- because I’m now rather paranoid of unscrupulous men while we’re alone, and I want that fear addressed before we leave.

>>5737469
Finally

>>5737513
>> Chlotsuintha will continue to aim for leaving the Mount at sunrise tomorrow.

>>5737513
> Chlotsuintha will continue to aim for leaving the Mount at sunrise tomorrow.

Unless we literally find dad or a VERY good lead we should skedaddle

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>>5737513
> Chlotsuintha will continue to aim for leaving the Mount at sunrise tomorrow.

WE RIDE AT DAAAAAAAAAWN!

>>5737513
>Chlotsuintha will continue to aim for leaving the Mount at sunrise tomorrow.
There must be a good reason to leave before tomorrow and we shan't deviate from that.

More likely than not we're going to run over schedule despite our best efforts but in terms of what we're gonna try to do, yeah, for now try to stick to schedule
> Chlotsuintha will continue to aim for leaving the Mount at sunrise tomorrow.

>>5737896
I interpret that more like getting our stuff outta the Belfry by tomorrow, not necessarily leaving the Mount before we’re ready to- we’re going to be dealing with murderous Highwaymen, alone, and I want at least some non-magical options for dealing with them before we leave properly.

>>5737513
>Chlotsuintha will allow herself some breathing room, and changes her plans to stay through Titheday.

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>>5737475
UNLIMITED POWER!

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Carefully, you sweep the 'stick and stub around the room – just to make sure that you have not missed anything obvious. It takes a minute – and you agonize over every second you spend – but ultimately, nothing new is revealed in the flickering glow of your nude light. If you had only found a lamp or lantern with reflectors, so you could have a proper beam, this would be going so much quicker. You don't have time to dwell on that though. Honestly, with so many things that you absolutely have to get done tonight, it is questionable if you have the time to give empty rooms like these more than a second glance.

Well ... that would depend on if you turn anything up in the end here. In essence, you are gambling, if you think about it. Putting up your time - and your safety, for that matter - on the hope of a payout. And admittedly, at this moment, that hope seems to be rather fleeting. You slowly walk the perimeter of the room once, looking at where the floor meets the walls, then you walk the perimeter once more, now looking at where the walls meet the ceiling. Then you walk the entirety of the floor of the room in sweeping passes - three times. Once to look at the floor, once to look at the walls and once to look at the ceiling. Gingerly tapping, and softly pressing and probing with your hands as you go, straining your eyes and getting your face and your light right up against whatever you are looking as you check for anything for anything that would indicate ... well, anything! Evidence of a secret passage, evidence of what this room might have been intended for, anything evidence that there had once been something Strange or Mysterious or anything at all ever in this room, . You look for anything and everything. And you get nothing.

Precious minutes, all so you can say with absolute certainty that a room that looked empty is in fact empty. You feel stupid - appropriately, consider that you have been stupid! Couldn't you just have moved on? Couldn't you just have assumed that everything was as it appears in this room? Is that really such a leap? That the 'dropped' plank ceiling is just a ceiling, that the stone walls are just walls, and that the stupid fraying flagstone floor is - Hold! Hold now!

Those flagstones, there is grass growing in between them. Now, you may not know how, but you can plainly see that it is. And as it is, then it has to follow that there is space between the stones and dirt underneath them for the grass to grow in, which would mean ...

They are all loose! Unmortared!

Not wanting to waste any more time, you pocket your wand, set down your 'stick and alight upon one of the smaller flagstones in the room, which is about the size of the Flounder you bought, and after a quick prayer for courage, you get your fingers along the edge of stone. There is nothing that you can do to prevent touching the grass as you do this, but you move your fingers as fleetly as you can.

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Your left arm trembles and throbs its objections at the weight and strain of your hefting - but the flagstone comes free. Quick as you can, you back up so you may see what you have struck upon in a moment of pure inspiration. You are so quick and so excited in fact, that you feel more than a little dizzy, and you have to stop yourself for a moment to brace and right yourself once more. Once you are so situated again, you return your attention to the space left by the stone. To your surprise, there is more than just dirt underneath - there is a thin bed of dead grass, dried out and matted down. Apparently, the entire floor was planted with grass ... and the stones must have been placed over them at a later date. That does make sense, considering that Cultivars, unlike Constructs, can be Nursed in such a way that they are still functional after death. You don't know too much about it, but you have to assume it has to do with how life and death is different for plants than it is for beasts.

So if this grass was supposed to be the Cultivar equivalent of a Conduit, a Conduit that touched all points of the floor simultaneously, then the fact that the grass under the flagstones is dead might not impede the function of ... whatever exactly the Cultivar is a part of. It might simply be enough that the roots of the dead grass are intertwined with roots of living grass. Actually, as the stones were clearly placed here deliberately, it might be that the grass being killed underneath the flagstones is a requirement for operation - or a safety consideration. As you mull this thought over, you notice that there is a faint indentation in the matted grass - which lines up exactly with the middle of the flagstone. Curious, you turn the stone around - and your jaw drops.

The other side of the stone has been ground plumb flat, save for what looks to be a perfectly rounded mound jutting out from the center of the stone. Both are very impressive - you know from your experience digging graves into the basalt of the Mount that getting stone anywhere near geometrical shapes requires quite a deal of doing. In fact, the work on the stone is so good you find yourself wondering if it was entirely mundane. You can also take a stab at the purpose of the work - by planing the bottom of the stone down, it is ensured that it remains flat and flush with the ground so anyone walking on it cannot feel any play or give, and the mound acts as a focal point for any weight put on the stone - which would help simply the design on an Instrument that determines which stones in the floor of the basement were being pressed on at any given time.

But none of that is what has dropped your jaw. No. No, certainly not.

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There is a drawing of this room overlaid with a numeric grid, which has been block-stamped onto the bottom of this stone in paint. No doubt the 22-27 corresponds with the grid, allowing someone to place the stone in more or less a specific spot surrounded by specific stones. However, it is the I that has been painted on the bottom of the stone that has your heart and head racing at the moment, because it must correspond to the letter labeled fraying map stamped onto the bottom of the stone as well.

You stare at it in disbelief. Trying to wrap your head around this, you set the stone down, and turn to another one of the smaller stones within arms reach. You are simultaneously shocked and unsurprised to see that this stone - labeled as I 24-28 - also has drawings of the room and the entire basement on its underside. You check three more in quick succession. All are planed to lie flush and flat, all have the mound in the center, and all have stamped maps and serials. Aldoin - that wonderful academical madcap! - must wanted to have made absolutely certain that the right stones went in the right spot, presumably because he was having someone else doing the lifting. Whoever was providing brawn for Aldoin's brains though - they must have had enough brains of their own to be literate ... which really isn't that surprising. You wouldn't want some run-of-the-mill servant involved in something like this, and as the Governor-Docent of the College of Botany, he probably had no small number of intelligent and capable men to call upon for aid. Explaining this might have been tricky, though ...

Well, whatever. That is question you cannot hope to answer at the moment - possibly ever. Anyway, you are much more interested in just how much information you can glean from the drawings of the room.

>>5738371
> The drawing shows nothing but the floor and the doors for this room - but you are curious to see how detailed the drawing on the bottom of the stones is in the next room on your way to the unknown noise.

> Though it doesn't seem to be in working order now, if you were to try to Reach through the grass, you might be able to learn something about the Implement that Aldoin made - or had made - to 'read' the grass. For a start, you should be able to figure out where it is - as well as what exactly the Witch responsible for it was capable of. And if things go well, you might even be able to 'read' the grass yourself. Of course, this is all making the assumption that the Instrument is still connected to the grass. And that the Instrument actually exists, and this isn't all just some bizarre but thoroughly and utterly mundane botany experiment.

Quick votes for a quick update lads

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> Please choose ONE of the following:
> The drawing shows nothing but the floor and the doors for this room - but you are curious to see how detailed the drawing on the bottom of the stones is in the next room on your way to the unknown noise.
> The drawing shows nothing but the floor and the doors for this room - but you are curious to see how detailed the drawing on the bottom of the stones in the room you just left are.
> The drawing shows nothing but the floor and the doors for this room - but you are curious to see how detailed the drawing on the bottom of the stones in the rooms you have been in already are.

> Please choose ONE of the following:
> Though it doesn't seem to be in working order now, if you were to try to Reach through the grass, you might be able to learn something about the Implement that Aldoin made - or had made - to 'read' the grass. For a start, you should be able to figure out where it is - as well as what exactly the Witch responsible for it was capable of. And if things go well, you might even be able to 'read' the grass yourself. Of course, this is all making the assumption that the Instrument is still connected to the grass. And that the Instrument actually exists, and this isn't all just some bizarre but thoroughly and utterly mundane botany experiment.
> Assuming that it exists, you are very keen to learn more about the Implement that was set here to 'read' the grass ... but Reaching into some other Witches craft without knowing even the most basic facts - like its Draw, or if it is carrying fuel, or how resilient it is and what will happen if you accidentally break it, or if it has security-sureties built in - that is a dangerous proposition. Doubly dangerous, when you are inside the envelope of a ranged remediation spell, and could be producing Strangeness on yourself, on the grass or on the Instrument. You will be better off finding it the mundane way - with your eyes!

>>5738382
>The drawing shows nothing but the floor and the doors for this room - but you are curious to see how detailed the drawing on the bottom of the stones in the rooms you have been in already are.

> Assuming that it exists, you are very keen to learn more about the Implement that was set here to 'read' the grass ... but Reaching into some other Witches craft without knowing even the most basic facts - like its Draw, or if it is carrying fuel, or how resilient it is and what will happen if you accidentally break it, or if it has security-sureties built in - that is a dangerous proposition. Doubly dangerous, when you are inside the envelope of a ranged remediation spell, and could be producing Strangeness on yourself, on the grass or on the Instrument. You will be better off finding it the mundane way - with your eyes!

>>5738382
>> The drawing shows nothing but the floor and the doors for this room - but you are curious to see how detailed the drawing on the bottom of the stones in the rooms you have been in already are.

> Though it doesn't seem to be in working order now, if you were to try to Reach through the grass, you might be able to learn something about the Implement that Aldoin made - or had made - to 'read' the grass. For a start, you should be able to figure out where it is - as well as what exactly the Witch responsible for it was capable of. And if things go well, you might even be able to 'read' the grass yourself. Of course, this is all making the assumption that the Instrument is still connected to the grass. And that the Instrument actually exists, and this isn't all just some bizarre but thoroughly and utterly mundane botany experiment.

>>5738382
> The drawing shows nothing but the floor and the doors for this room - but you are curious to see how detailed the drawing on the bottom of the stones is in the next room on your way to the unknown noise.
> Though it doesn't seem to be in working order now, if you were to try to Reach through the grass, you might be able to learn something about the Implement that Aldoin made - or had made - to 'read' the grass. For a start, you should be able to figure out where it is - as well as what exactly the Witch responsible for it was capable of. And if things go well, you might even be able to 'read' the grass yourself. Of course, this is all making the assumption that the Instrument is still connected to the grass. And that the Instrument actually exists, and this isn't all just some bizarre but thoroughly and utterly mundane botany experiment.

I'd hate to spend so much precious time in this stupid basement.

>>5738382
> The drawing shows nothing but the floor and the doors for this room - but you are curious to see how detailed the drawing on the bottom of the stones in the rooms you have been in already are.
> Though it doesn't seem to be in working order now, if you were to try to Reach through the grass, you might be able to learn something about the Implement that Aldoin made - or had made - to 'read' the grass. For a start, you should be able to figure out where it is - as well as what exactly the Witch responsible for it was capable of. And if things go well, you might even be able to 'read' the grass yourself. Of course, this is all making the assumption that the Instrument is still connected to the grass. And that the Instrument actually exists, and this isn't all just some bizarre but thoroughly and utterly mundane botany experiment.

>>5738382
> The drawing shows nothing but the floor and the doors for this room - but you are curious to see how detailed the drawing on the bottom of the stones in the rooms you have been in already are.

> Please choose ONE of the following:
> Assuming that it exists, you are very keen to learn more about the Implement that was set here to 'read' the grass ... but Reaching into some other Witches craft without knowing even the most basic facts - like its Draw, or if it is carrying fuel, or how resilient it is and what will happen if you accidentally break it, or if it has security-sureties built in - that is a dangerous proposition. Doubly dangerous, when you are inside the envelope of a ranged remediation spell, and could be producing Strangeness on yourself, on the grass or on the Instrument. You will be better off finding it the mundane way - with your eyes!

>>5738382
> The drawing shows nothing but the floor and the doors for this room - but you are curious to see how detailed the drawing on the bottom of the stones is in the next room on your way to the unknown noise.
> Assuming that it exists, you are very keen to learn more about the Implement that was set here to 'read' the grass ... but Reaching into some other Witches craft without knowing even the most basic facts - like its Draw, or if it is carrying fuel, or how resilient it is and what will happen if you accidentally break it, or if it has security-sureties built in - that is a dangerous proposition. Doubly dangerous, when you are inside the envelope of a ranged remediation spell, and could be producing Strangeness on yourself, on the grass or on the Instrument. You will be better off finding it the mundane way - with your eyes!

I've got this feeling like this house is the central puzzle of the entire quest. We should take our time.

Maybe disable the ranged remediation and come back to hook up to the grass construct(touch grass... eventually).

Sorry for the little bit of lapse. At the moment, there is a tie between attempting to access the Implement and leaving it alone. However, we do have a sort of a tiebreaker in >>5738993, so to speed things up, I'll consider this closed for Chlotsuintha holding off further investigation into the grass until her investigations of the unknown noise and the ranged remediation cast have either concluded or netted more workable information.

Writing!

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As desperately curious as you are about the grass and whatever is or was hooked into it, there are simply too many things that could go wrong – horrifically wrong – if you were to just Reach for it through the grass. Perhaps … perhaps if you were to find and disable the ranged remediation cast, then you might be able to stomach the inherent risks involved in Reaching for an unknown Instrument like this. But as it stands, with those inherent risks on top of the risks of triggering the cast on your person or on your surroundings … no, you are going to have to hold off. And on that note – you are also going to hold off on tracking down and identifying the distant, unknown noise. Just for a minute though, or however long it takes you to check underneath flagstones in the other rooms.

Gathering up your 'stick and holding it high, you backtrack into the room with the preserves along the walls and the sausages hanging from the ceilings, all the while taking great pains to watch your footing. You make it inside the room without any incident, and giving the table a very wide berth, you look around for a small flagstone to check – which is easier said than done. The stones in this room seem to all be a fair bit larger than the stones in the empty room you just quit, but before long you find one that will be manged easily enough. You set the stick down, and pry the thing up – and it is just like the last. There is a map of the basement block-stamped onto the planed side of the stone, along with a gridded drawing of the room. In addition to the grid, however, there is also a hatched outline of a rectangle that corresponds directly with where the table sits inside this room, and a few smaller ones along the walls, where the racks for the preserves stand.

Unfortunately, there is nothing that corresponds to the hidden lead hook in the ceiling … though perhaps that was to be expected. After all, the fact that Aldoin labeled the stones so thoroughly suggests that he was bringing in either hired men or pupils from the University to help him down here, and the diagrams were for their benefit. If you accept that he was relying on outside help, then it follows that Aldoin would probably have kept them in the dark as much as possible, feeding them only the bits and bobs of information that they absolutely needed to carry out his designs down here. No doubt grass growing in a basement without light would have raised a lot of eyebrows – to put it mildly – but if there was anyone in the whole of the Principalities who could pass all of this off as some mundane and nonthreatening experiment it would be a Governor-Docent of a College of Botany. However, it seems that whatever was hanging from that lead hook couldn't be passed off like the grass ... or was completely unrelated to it.

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You head into the other rooms you were in, and find much the same thing. Anything substantial in the rooms has a foot print marked out in hatched lines - like the tun - while smaller stuff or things that aren't intended to be used down here - like the stowed and sheeted furniture - are not. You are in the room with the broken casement window, ready to return to the empty room so you can continue to press on to find the source of the unknown noise ... when it occurs to you that you really haven't given this place more than a cursory look.

> Please choose ONE of the following:
> You cannot keep starting and stopping things - you will never progress through the basement if you do. You are going to return to the empty room, and set off to find the source of the noise.
> You cannot keep starting and stopping things ... but you haven't really started looking for the source of the noise yet, have you? Take a good look around here.

Again, sorry about the lapse. If I had known stuff would keep coming up like this, I would have held off on starting the thread. Luckily, now that it is the weekend (basically) it looks like smooth sailing for the foreseeable future.

>>5739475
>> You cannot keep starting and stopping things ... but you haven't really started looking for the source of the noise yet, have you? Take a good look around here.

>>5739475
>You cannot keep starting and stopping things - you will never progress through the basement if you do. You are going to return to the empty room, and set off to find the source of the noise.

>>5739475
> You cannot keep starting and stopping things ... but you haven't really started looking for the source of the noise yet, have you? Take a good look around here.

Those BOOKS and bottles and barrels. We gotta.

>>5739475
> You cannot keep starting and stopping things ... but you haven't really started looking for the source of the noise yet, have you? Take a good look around here.
Just a cursory look through the books and stuff, just to see if we should take it now, then move on. A minute or two, max.

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So, this is the first time something like this has happened, but it works out that the DC of a Sight Test in the room with the broken in casement window is negative ... and considering that it is not possible currently to roll negative values, I figure I have to treat this as a free Autopass. I also think that under these circumstances, you should still roll, for the chance of getting Criticals or Near Criticals - in this case though, only the successes are on the table. So relax, and try to recreate that natural 100 luck!

> Sight Test II

> DC 30: Witchlet Chlotsuintha is not Keen of Eye, making a Rudimentary Sight Test like this [Easy]
> + DC 6: Witchlet Chlotsuintha is currently Tired II and is not as perceptive as she might be otherwise
> + DC 4 Witchlet Chlotsuintha is currently Drained II, and may not be thinking as quick as she normally does.
> + DC 4 Witchlet Chlotsuintha is under the effect of slow-burn ranged remediation cast.
> + DC 1 Witchlet Chlotsuintha is attempting to search a poorly lit area with a nude light
> - DC 20 Witchlet Chlotsuintha is allowing herself to take as much time as necessary to search the room.
> - DC 15 Witchlet Chlotsuintha has Complete Knowledge of Aldoin's Basement
> - DC 15 Witchlet Chlotsuintha is well versed in casing rooms for valuables and hiding spots.
> - DC 4 Witchlet Chlotsuintha was looking around the room as her eyes adjusted, improving the efficacy of her efforts.
> - DC 1 Witchlet Chlotsuintha has been through this room before, and is focusing her attention on the books and bottles
> - DC 3 Witchlet Chlotsuintha performed well on her last Sight Test, and her confidence and techniques have carried over this one.

> DC -13: Anything lower is a failure.

> Autopassed: Chlotsuintha concludes that she has found all of the points of interest in the room with Absolute Confidence. CF and NCF nulled for next test. - 3 DC bonus applied to Sight Tests

> If ONE of the THREE rolls comes up as a Critical or Near-Critical Failure (Roll of 1 or 2) then nothing happens, as CF and NCF have been nulled for this test.
> If ONE of the THREE rolls comes up as a Critical or Near-Critical Success (Roll of 100 or 99) then Chlotsuintha's inspection nets her an additional Mysterious find

> Standard rules are in effect. Now, may I please have three rolls of 1d100?

Rolled 19 (1d100)

>>5740009

Rolled 66 (1d100)

>>5740009
May our luck be white!

Rolled 40 (1d100)

>>5740009
Come on Patternmaker mama wants another nat hundo….

>>5740034
>>5740029
>>5740010
Well, you can't expect to get 1-in-50 odds every time, can you? Regardless, I'll get to writing.

>>5740009
2 100s minimum in Aldoin's house.

>>5739475
> You cannot keep starting and stopping things - you will never progress through the basement if you do. You are going to return to the empty room, and set off to find the source of the noise.

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You know full well that you cannot keep starting and stopping things if you are going to have any hope of keeping some semblance of a schedule ... but as you really haven't started looking for whatever was making that noise, you cannot truly consider this a distraction or diversion, can you? You are about to start working the perimeter of the room, checking in between the tubs and up and down the walls for anything that you might have missed when you are struck by a bit of inspiration. You find the flagstone that you had flipped over earlier, and get it out once more, with the 'stick set down right next to it. It has occurred to you that you should double check that all of the hatched outlines on the depiction of the room correspond to the room's current layout - if they don't, then that might mean that something was moved - or even removed - recently. After about a minute or so of checking, and frequently consulting the stone, you are comfortable in the conclusion that everything in this room that warranted hatched marks is where Aldoin intended it to be ... assuming, of course, that you have correctly corresponded all of the outlines with the right articles. You had figured that they would, but at this point, you are not willing to hand wave anything. Still, looking to keep things moving, you immediately switch over to looking around at the things that wouldn't warrant hatched outlines, specifically, to see if there was anything you might have overlooked You take several circuits of the room, taking your time before you finally conclude with absolute certainty that you have found all of the points of interest in this room.

You then spend another minute or so sounding the back of the wooden cubbies with little knocks to check for a hollowed out hiding spot in the wall, or even a hidden passage. It is miserable work, as the False Silverware is no longer screening your stomach - and fruitless too. Unsurprising ... but confusing. For the life of you, you cannot figure what the cubbies are for. It had occurred to you that as there wasn't an obvious use to them, they might have more about them than what meets the eye ... but they don't. Given the tun and the tubs down here, it would make sense if they were racks for bottles of wine, but they are built all wrong for that. Well ... at the very least, you are certain that there isn't anything about them that you haven't seen. Anyway, there are a lot more interesting things in the room - specifically, the books and papers, those stoppered bottles and that sea chest right by the foot of the stairs. Nearly all of the bottles are empty - but a few of the largest still contain a translucent oily looking liquid. And happily enough, these bottles all happen to be labeled as well, with slips of paper tied up with string around their necks. The labels read Grass Tonic, alongside what you would judge to be a batch number - no indication when it was made though.

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While you are looking the label over, you catch sight of a torn piece of string, by one of the smaller unlabeled bottles - or perhaps, delabled bottles, as it is the exact same sort of string that was used to keep the slips of paper on the bottles of tonic. Could it be that whoever is responsible for the remediation cast went to the trouble of tearing off all of the labels of these bottles? Aye, they certainly could have - and for that mater, they could have been full and the unknown remediator dumped their contents too. If this is all true though, then it begs the question ... what was in those bottles. and why leave the tonic behind with the labels still intact? Surely, you cannot consider it an oversight, these are the largest of the bottles in the room. Are ... are these red herrings? No, no - that is too absurd, they have a thin layer of dust on them - if anything, the other bottles are more likely to have been planted here, which they almost certainly haven't. But you cannot set aside the fact that they are filled and labeled, while the rest aren't.

It is only at this point where it occurs to you that the bottles and stoppers that you have been looking at all this time appear to be made out of cut glass, as opposed to blown glass. You take one of the smaller, empty ones down, hold it to your ear - and tap it very carefully with your Wand of Head Knocking. As you expected, it makes the characteristic ring that only cut glass can. Hmm. Now, clearly Aldoin never was hurting for money - and the price of cut glass is not what it once was, either - but if all of these are cut glass just like this piece, then taken together, all of this must be ... a half-dozen talents? More probably. And if it was blown glass, then you would be hard pressed to spend more than a whole talent on all of this - and that would be grossly overpaying. Why, there are enough Blowers plying their trade in Stickport that even modest houses are able to afford glass for their windows.

However, besides appearance there is one oft forgotten attribute - one that you yourself just remembered - of cut glass that might explain this otherwise needless prodigality. Cut glass is the same as lead glass; the only difference is that cut glass has been cut and worked into pleasing geometries while lead glass is left largely unfinished. They have the exact same lead content, which is high enough that they can be used to safely hold Strange liquids, so long as they are not overly Strange. Equally parts concerned and curious, you tap one of the bottles containing the tonic with your wand - and it too makes the characteristic ring of cut glass. Well ... this Grass Tonic stuff has certainly gotten a lot more interesting, hasn't it?

> Please choose ONE of the following:
> It is a possibility that the Grass Tonic is Strange - and that it is Shielded from the ranged remediation cast by the cut glass. You should dump the tonic into one of the empty tubs, to make sure all traces of Strangeness are dealt with.
> It is more than just a possibility that the Grass Tonic has some Mysterious nature. If that is the case, then you want to see it in action - pour a little of it onto one of the larger patches of grass in the room, and see what happens. In the worst case scenario, you have the ranged remediation cast to fall back on.
> It is hard to understand why the Grass Tonic was left labeled when it seems that the rest of the bottles were deliberate stripped of their slips ... but you have to assume that there is some reason for it. Leave the Grass Tonic alone - at least for now.

>>5741069
>> It is more than just a possibility that the Grass Tonic has some Mysterious nature. If that is the case, then you want to see it in action - pour a little of it onto one of the larger patches of grass in the room, and see what happens. In the worst case scenario, you have the ranged remediation cast to fall back on.

>>5741069
> It is hard to understand why the Grass Tonic was left labeled when it seems that the rest of the bottles were deliberate stripped of their slips ... but you have to assume that there is some reason for it. Leave the Grass Tonic alone - at least for now.

Perhaps this is a sign someone intends to return to all of this.

>>5741069
> It is more than just a possibility that the Grass Tonic has some Mysterious nature. If that is the case, then you want to see it in action - pour a little of it onto one of the larger patches of grass in the room, and see what happens. In the worst case scenario, you have the ranged remediation cast to fall back on.

>>5741136
Or it’s a explanation/excuse for the grass growing in the darkness of the basement, in case the authorities come a-knocking

>>5741069
>It is a possibility that the Grass Tonic is Strange - and that it is Shielded from the ranged remediation cast by the cut glass. You should dump the tonic into one of the empty tubs, to make sure all traces of Strangeness are dealt with.

>>5741069
>It is more than just a possibility that the Grass Tonic has some Mysterious nature. If that is the case, then you want to see it in action - pour a little of it onto one of the larger patches of grass in the room, and see what happens. In the worst case scenario, you have the ranged remediation cast to fall back on.

Alright, closed and writing.

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You have barely begun to delve into the Many Mysteries - so how could you just walk away from an opportunity to learn like this? A safe opportunity, considering that you are within the envelope of an incredibly effective ranged remediation cast. All of this is of course assuming that the tonic is a finished Preparation - a substance or a concoction of substances that have been imbued with properties and attributes through Mysterious intervention, requiring no further ingredients or input to use. If this turns out to be an ingredient instead, one that just so happens to warrant being stored in a bottle made of leaded glass ... then you would not give yourself good odds on ever learning anything from this. And you also to consider the possibility that this Grass Tonic is just a mundane liquid fertilizer that Aldoin developed or had access to ... though with everything you have seen, that seems less and less likely.

With no obvious signs of discharge from the mouth of the glassware, you take several shallow sniffs - without closing any of the distance between you and the bottle. Nothing jumps out at you; all you can really get out of it is just damp, vaguely salty air alongside the smell of wood from the tun and the tubs and racks and the shelves and ... all the other wooden objects in your immediate vicinity. Once you are satisfied that nothing is happening and comfortable enough to assume that nothing is going to start happening, you waft your hand over the mouth of the bottle a couple of times. But you find that nothing new comes into your nose. As assured of the safety and stability of the Grass Tonic as you can be under the circumstances, you lean in over the mouth of the bottle and look down its neck. Nothing untoward happens - and as you might have guessed, the liquid looks the same viewed head on as it does through the glass, though you do take note that Strange-Staining is not activating.

Having done your due diligence and having run out of ways to inspect the substance, you take up the bottle in your left hand, walk yourself over to one of the largest tufts of grass in the room - one of the few that fall inside the light of the casement windows - and keeping yourself a full arm's length away, you pour a couple of drops of the stuff onto the grass. You watch intently, but you aren't seeing anything. You get closer, and pour another few drops. Still nothing. You get on your hand and knees, and with your face inches away from the grass, you let fall another round of drops from the bottle. But the oily tonic just slides down the blades of grass as any liquid might.

> Please choose ONE of the following:
> You should give it some more time.
> You should pour more than just a few drops
> You should give it some more time and more than just a few drops.
> You should investigate the books and papers now instead
> You should investigate the sea-chest instead

>>5742968
>> You should investigate the books and papers now instead
Pour more only if nothing happens while we're doing this.

>>5742968
>> You should investigate the books and papers now instead

>>5742968
> You should investigate the books and papers now instead.

Hmmmm. Here's a theory, tell me what you think.

Its fake. Its out in the open as a mundane explanation as to the existance of the grass. A failsafe to explain it away as science, for those not schooled in the Mysteries.

>>5742968
>You should investigate the sea-chest instead

That sea chest is sus, I know this isn't DnD but I can't help but suspect it being rigged with a Strange Incindiary or something.

>>5742968
> You should investigate the books and papers now instead

>>5742968
> You should investigate the sea-chest instead
We can give it more time while we investigate other things.

>>5742968
>You should investigate the sea-chest instead
inb4 mimic

Alright, consider this closed for investigating the papers and books. I'll get to writing.

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You remain on your hands and knees, looking for any evidence that the Grass Tonic is having a Mysterious effect - or any effect - on the grass at all. But you cannot. Feeling a bit defeated, you get up and carry the stoppered bottle back over to the shelves, where you switch it out for the for the 'stick. You doubt it, but there is a slim possibility that something is happening, and you just don't have the light to see it. Cognizant of the tonic's oily appearance, you slowly approach the tuft of grass you applied the substance to, and as soon as you are in position, you inch the 'stick forward as far as you dare - quite keen on not starting a fire down here. While you are able to keep things nicely uncombusted during your second inspection of the grass, it seems that this was a risk without any reward, as you can not see or glean anything new about the grass.

Feeling more that a bit defeated, you inch the 'stick away, and then retreat to the shelves. You are not fretting about wasting time - not yet at least - because there were other objects of interest in the room; particularly the books and papers. You set the 'stick down at a comfortable distance, and you begin skimming through everything. The first thing you grab appears to be a schedule of care and record for the grass. Flipping through it, you are delighted to find towards the back there are hand-drawn maps of the basement included - no more hefting flagstones with your aching arms! Intriguingly, the maps display what is labeled as the 'Zone Lighting Schedule' - which suggests that there are supposed to be lights down here. There are three maps, labeled one through three ... perhaps the lights are supposed to be changed on a three-day cycle? Which raises the question as to where these lights are now - and more pressingly, why were they removed? Actually ... when were they removed might be the most pressing question. After all, how long can grass survive in what is effectively complete darkness?

The next two books are treatises on beach grasses, written in the Eternal Tongue, as is typical for academic works. Both books have been heavily annotated in the Eternal Tongue as well, and seemingly by several different hands, judging by the handwriting. It takes a moment, but it eventually occurs to you that the grasses in the basement here are probably beach grasses as well - or at least, they started out as beach grass. The last two books are both unannotated, but still all the more interesting. One is written completely in a cypher or language that you don't recognize, and the other is completely blank ... though of the five books here, it looks to be the oldest and most worn. Simply put that is suspicious anyway you slice it.

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You turn your attention to the loose papers. Nearly all of them are receipts - and nearly all of the receipts are for drinking water, for whale oil, and for clean burning wicks. Presumably the water is for the plants, and the oil and wicks are for the missing lamps. The only thing unusual about any of that is the quantity that they were being purchased in ... but you suppose covering this basement in light and water would be an expensive proposition. However, there are other receipts, from a number of merchantmen ships. These slips don't go into great detail about what is being delivered; conspicuously vague words like 'chests', 'assorted articles', 'uncontrolled substances' and even 'miscellanea' are used to describe most of the cargoes. How can something described as 'miscellanea' even be allowed on a ship's manifest?

However, of the half dozen ships that Aldoin used repeatedly, one of them seems to be a bit more detailed than the others. Their slips speak of 'correspondences', 'books', 'scientific equipment' and 'glazed glass panes'. Thinking of all the correspondence you saw on board the Euthyphro, your heart starts to pound a bit as you check to make sure that damned tub isn't one of the merchantmen doing Aldoin's shipping. They aren't, of course. That would be too much of a coincidence. Way too much of a coincidence. Calming down - though still feeling miserable on account of the ranged remediation cast, you turn your attention to the other loose papers - the ones that aren't receipts. There aren't too many, and goodly portion of what there is just seem to just be sketches of plants and grasses and idle drawings.

But there are however a few notes - instructions left for whoever was tending the grass down here. Nothing really jumps out at you, except for a few notes that instruct the intended recipient to use the water from the tanks, as the desalinator isn't working at the moment. Well, you haven't seen anything that you would consider a 'tank', and you have never heard of a 'desalinator' before ... what would that even be, an ... unsalting machine? Regardless, it seems that there is a lot more to this basement than just empty rooms and storage.

You look at the notes and books spread out in front of you. It is very possible that there were more books and papers left down here before the Witch responsible for the remediation cast came through here, and right now you are simply looking at a 'pruned' selection that they left behind. Or you could be seeing things as Aldoin left them - you just don't know. Same as with the Grass Tonic and the other stoppered bottles that were all empty and without tags.

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> Please choose ONE of the following:
> You are inclined to believe that this is a 'pruned' selection. You just get the sense that there was more here - just like you have reason to believe there were labels on those bottles.
> You are inclined to believe that this is how Aldoin left it. There is just too much usable information left behind for this to be 'pruned' - not to mention that suspicious blank book.

> Please choose ONE of the following:
> You are going to take the book with the map of the basement right now, and hold off on making a decision on the rest until you are ready to leave. One book you can manage, but the rest would be too much for your pockets and both your hands are full.
> You are going to take all of the books and paper with you by making a sling out of one of the sheets in the other room. It will be bulky, annoying and potentially hazardous with your nude flame, but it beats having to come back to this room again later.

> Please choose ONE of the following:
> You are going to try putting more Grass Tonic onto the grass.
> You are going to look at the chest by the stairs, and ascertain if it is worth breaking into.
> You are going to quit the room and resume your search for the unknown noise.
> Write-ins allowed with QM approval

Note: The first vote is simply to determine Chlotsuintha's opinion on the matter.

>>5743842
>> You are inclined to believe that this is a 'pruned' selection. You just get the sense that there was more here - just like you have reason to believe there were labels on those bottles.
> You are going to take the book with the map of the basement right now, and hold off on making a decision on the rest until you are ready to leave. One book you can manage, but the rest would be too much for your pockets and both your hands are full.
> You are going to quit the room and resume your search for the unknown noise.
We'll have to come back through here anyways if we want to go to the first floor, right?

>>5743845
Not necessarily. There are presumably other stairs in and out of the basement.

>>5743842
> You are inclined to believe that this is a 'pruned' selection. You just get the sense that there was more here - just like you have reason to believe there were labels on those bottles.
Sorta think that it’s a mix of both- that Aldoin did leave it like this, and that there are probably more in this house.
> You are going to take the book with the map of the basement right now, and hold off on making a decision on the rest until you are ready to leave. One book you can manage, but the rest would be too much for your pockets and both your hands are full.
When we’re in the house proper, we’re grabbing his satchel or backpack- surely the Governor-Docent would have something to carry his books and papers within his house?
> You are going to look at the chest by the stairs, and ascertain if it is worth breaking into.
Lootbox- and we don’t even need to worry about the Strangeness, we could immediately pick the damn thing.

Also, good chance the noise is the broken desalinator- and that Aldion was hoarding a shit ton of salt we can use.

>>5743862
>There are presumably other stairs in and out of the basement.
>presumably
>when we have a map

Also, if you feel like you can squeeze out another quick update, consider me supporting >>5743845’s line of action instead.

> You are going to look at the chest by the stairs, and ascertain if it is worth breaking into.
This is fine then.
...although even if it has anything good we'll have trouble actually carrying it
grumble grumble encumbrance

>>5743842
>> You are inclined to believe that this is a 'pruned' selection. You just get the sense that there was more here - just like you have reason to believe there were labels on those bottles.

> You are going to take the book with the map of the basement right now, and hold off on making a decision on the rest until you are ready to leave. One book you can manage, but the rest would be too much for your pockets and both your hands are full.

> You are going to look at the chest by the stairs, and ascertain if it is worth breaking into.

>>5743842
> You are inclined to believe that this is a 'pruned' selection. You just get the sense that there was more here - just like you have reason to believe there were labels on those bottles.

> Please choose ONE of the following:
> You are going to take the book with the map of the basement right now, and hold off on making a decision on the rest until you are ready to leave. One book you can manage, but the rest would be too much for your pockets and both your hands are full.

> Please choose ONE of the following:
> You are going to look at the chest by the stairs, and ascertain if it is worth breaking into.

The chest's presence seems justified now

>>5743842
> You are inclined to believe that this is how Aldoin left it. There is just too much usable information left behind for this to be 'pruned' - not to mention that suspicious blank book.

> You are going to take the book with the map of the basement right now, and hold off on making a decision on the rest until you are ready to leave. One book you can manage, but the rest would be too much for your pockets and both your hands are full.

> You are going to quit the room and resume your search for the unknown noise.

>>5743842
> You are inclined to believe that this is a 'pruned' selection. You just get the sense that there was more here - just like you have reason to believe there were labels on those bottles.

> You are going to take the book with the map of the basement right now, and hold off on making a decision on the rest until you are ready to leave. One book you can manage, but the rest would be too much for your pockets and both your hands are full.

> You are going to quit the room and resume your search for the unknown noise.

Alright, consider this vote closed. Chlotsuintha feels that the books and papers here have been 'pruned', she will be taking just the book with the maps of the basement, and she will be investigating the chest, to see if it would be worth her time breaking into.

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This ... you don't know anything for a surety, but you just get a sense that there is something rather ... contrived about the books and papers down here. You are thinking about it thusly; if you were the remediator responsible for setting Aldoin's house right, and you were concerned that someone might get in into their heads that the grass down here has a Mysterious aspect to it, then you would want something on hand to explain it away. And this selection of books and papers does just that. Had you not witnessed the Strangeness here earlier, then taken together, all of this might have been enough to convince you that the grass was mundane and served no Mysterious end. If you were the remediator, then how hard would it have been to simply skim through the books and papers kept here and remove anything that would cast doubt on the nature of the grass? Surely, it would take but a minute or so. And that is something that a remediator would be looking to do. Something they'd have to do. After all, remediation casts deal with the Strangeness, but there can be mundane evidence that points towards someone delving into the Many Mysteries, things that won't be wiped away by remediation.

Actually, now that you think about it, it might be the opposite. Instead of taking things away, the remediator might have added things. The remediator would want the bizarreness of the grass explained away as soon as possible, before the fear of Mysteries and the Strangeness became too deep seated to dislodge. So really, it isn't just the selection of books and papers here that are overly convenient, it is their location too. And if you think about it, why would any of these books be down here, instead of in an office or a library, which you are certain Aldoin must have had here. Well ... perhaps the book with the schedule of care belongs down here, but the books about beach grass? The man managed to grow the damned stuff in his basement, clearly he knows a great deal about it. Would he really need to keep reference texts on hand like that? And the same goes for the papers - excluding the instructions for watering, what sense does it make to keep receipts like this in a basement? In an unlit basement?

It is possible, of course, that this room is how Aldoin left it. That suspiciously worn blank book is probably the best argument for that ... but still, all of this is just too contrived, too convenient.

You stuff the book with the maps of the basement into your central pocket on your apron - the only one large enough to hold it, even with the False Silverware inside - and then you walk away from the shelves. You have spent too much time on this ... and not enough on that chest right by the foot of the stairs.

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After checking to make sure that your bundle is secure under your right arm, you hold aloft your 'stick, and still being careful to not touch grass you make your way over to the chest. Quietly, you set the 'stick down on the bottom step of the stairs, then you extricate the bundle from your underarm and place it on the same step, a safe distance away. It suffices to say that you are not thrilled about your current position. These stairs run straight from the basement to the first floor, so if anyone was to open the door at the top, they would see your light ... and more likely than not you as well. As such, a bit of haste here would not be amiss. In the flickering light of the stub, you give the chest a quick but thorough looking over.

The chest has a sturdy look to it, with thick metal bands and caps. The lock is similarly sturdy looking, and from the sheen and shine on the lock-plate and the faint smell of fresh grease you can see that it is well maintained. Beyond that, nothing really jumps out at you about it. It simply looks like a well-made but plain chest.

> Please choose ONE of the following:
> If there is a lock, then you can pick it with Ice-Lockpick. Use the contents of either the tun or the tubs' Really, you would like to be done with this room as soon as possible, and using Ice-Lockpick is the way to do it. You don't even have to clean up after yourself.
> If there is a lock, then there must be a key. Find it. Ice-Lockpick carries the risk of Estranging yourself further, and the Stranger you get, the more the cast will affect you. It is possible that it could seriously impede or even harm you in the worst case scenario.
> Before you spend anymore of your precious time on this, you should check to see if there is anything inside this chest first. Lift one side up and listen for anything shifting inside. If there is, then you can figure out how to open it. Otherwise, you will move on.

>>5744641
> Before you spend anymore of your precious time on this, you should check to see if there is anything inside this chest first. Lift one side up and listen for anything shifting inside. If there is, then you can figure out how to open it. Otherwise, you will move on.

We're on a schedule here and Aldoin's house doesn't even help us escape this shitass city

>>5744641
> If there is a lock, then you can pick it with Ice-Lockpick. Use the contents of either the tun or the tubs' Really, you would like to be done with this room as soon as possible, and using Ice-Lockpick is the way to do it. You don't even have to clean up after yourself.
Speed is our ally.

>>5744804
Aldoin's house is the most interesting and fruitful endeavor we’ve had in the last couple threads- and besides, leaving with more arms and munitions with highwaymen on the road is retarted.

>>5744641
>> If there is a lock, then there must be a key. Find it. Ice-Lockpick carries the risk of Estranging yourself further, and the Stranger you get, the more the cast will affect you. It is possible that it could seriously impede or even harm you in the worst case scenario

>>5744906
I will admit that this is definitely the most interesting part of the quest so far abd I'm enjoying it, but it's end goal is 'solving the mystery of the strangeness'. I'm not interested in that mystery, that's for the Inquisition to find out. I'm interested in the mystery of getting the heck out of this forsaken city before we get captured by the steadily increasing number of Inquisitioners roaming around

>>5744641
> Before you spend anymore of your precious time on this, you should check to see if there is anything inside this chest first. Lift one side up and listen for anything shifting inside. If there is, then you can figure out how to open it. Otherwise, you will move on.

Alright, consider this closed. I'll get to writing.

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Well, if there is something in the chest, anything at all, then odds are that it is going to be worth your time cracking it. But if there isn't, then you will have wound up wasting more time down here, and you have already burnt quite a few minutes just ... going back and forth. And it doesn't need to be said that every second you spend in this house - productive or otherwise - is a second that you aren't moving house or doing any of the other things that you have to do around the Mount before you leave. That is certainly not a pleasant thought - in fact, it is upsetting enough that taken along with the deleterious effects that the ranged remediation cast is having on you, you can actually feel bile rising as your stomach churns.

You have to work through and past this - and you have to do your due diligence. First, you need to check to see if it is locked, or it is just closed. And if it is locked, then you need to try to ascertain if there is at least something inside of the chest before you burn the time and effort to open the damned thing. Very cautiously, you press up on the lid with your left hand. As you might have expected, the lid remains shut - in fact, there was barely any play in the top at all. On the whole, you are going to take this as a good sign - locked chests are more likely to contain valuables, after all - though you certainly aren't celebrating the prospect of having to crack this thing.

Still watching your footfalls, as to not touch any grass, you walk around to the left side of the chest ... and notice for the first time that it does not have a handle. Confused, you reach over the chest and fetch the 'stick off of the stairs so you can get a better look. In the stuttering light of the candle stub, you can clearly and plainly see that there is a metal plate on the side of the chest, where on a more typical specimen the handle would have been attached to with brackets of some sort. But this one here has no handle - and it doesn't even have the brackets for one. The plate is flat and featureless. And now that you look, the chest doesn't have any gaps around its footer where you could get purchase underneath it. Instead, the footer lies flat right on top of the flagstones ... save for the spaces between the stones where the grass is growing. And these spaces are small enough that you doubt you could fit more than two fingers into the largest of them.

Now confused and apprehensive, you take a step back from the chest.

> Please choose ONE of the following:
> This chest has just gotten a lot more interesting! Go ahead and try to lift it from the bottom as you planned.
> This chest has just gotten a lot more interesting! Perhaps though you would be better served opening it up with Ice-Lockpick.
> This chest has just gotten a lot more interesting! Perhaps though you would be better served opening it up with the key, if you can find it.
> This chest has just gotten a lot more suspicious! Leave it alone for now.

>>5745500
> This chest has just gotten a lot more interesting! Perhaps though you would be better served opening it up with Ice-Lockpick.

>>5745500
> This chest has just gotten a lot more interesting! Perhaps though you would be better served opening it up with Ice-Lockpick.
Either pick the damn lock or keep an eye out for the key- we’re burning starlight here.

Is two votes enough to get in a quick update Trash?

>>5745089
For me, it’s the opposite. While I sympathize with all the stress our situation is causing, I’m finding that I’m enjoying our time risking and getting rewards rather than trying to play it safe and getting overly stressed about scheduling- to the point where I now have an aversion to scheduling.

Frankly, I’d rather stay in the city a bit longer to shore up our departure- though that’s a different from moving house tonight.

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> Cold-Touch I: Was Lothar IV 13 a good year for water?

> Critical Success: DC 99 and higher. Not only does the cast go flawlessly, you feel more confident in your ability to cast
> Complete Success: DC 26 and higher. The cast goes flawlessly and you open the chest without delay or issue. Additionally, you are able to keep yourself and your clothes safe from the spent and now communicably Strange working material.
> Partial Success: DC 14 and higher. It was a little trickier than you expected, but you managed to get the chest open ... though you did get some of spent working material on yourself, which certainly isn't pleasant with the remediation cast active.
> Partial Failure: DC 13 and lower. Your cast failed prematurely - leaving you with a chest that is still locked and a Strange mess on your hands. Figuratively and physically. You are going blame the remediation cast, as it is better than blaming yourself.
> Complete Failure: DC 8 and lower. Your cast didn't even reach completion. And not only did you get spent working material on yourself and the chest, but you got it on your wand's fuel nodule, rendering it temporarily unusable.
> Catastrophic Failure: DC 3 and lower. You cannot even qualify what you just did as a cast - more like just dumping the Strangeness. And not only did you get it on yourself and the chest, but you got it on your wand too, rendering it temporarily unusable.
> Critical-Catastrophic Failure: DC 2. You ... you are passing out ...

> May I please have one roll of 1d100?

Remember, there are re-rolls and auto-passes available - but they can only be used after the dice are rolled, and only if those dice do not come up with a Critical.

Rolled 73 (1d100)

>>5745529
May our luck be white!

>>5745539
Alright, I'll get to writing. Just a warning, I might fall asleep half-way through again ...

Rolled 100 (1d100)

>>5745529

Ah wait, I forgot that casts weren't bo3
Oh well

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>>5745548
I want a refund

>>5745548
Fuckkkkkkk

>>5745548
I told you a minimum of two 100s in Aldoin's house. Heh heh heh.

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>>5745527

Sorry about the delay - I'll finish the update after I get dinner squared away.

>>5745548
I don't know if that is fortunate or unfortunate ...

>>5746048
I’d settle for it applying to the loot- even if Chlot’s self-confidence is arguably more valuable.

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Take your time QM, and take care of yourself. We'll be here when you get time.

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From the lack of handles and any place where purchase may be made, it is abundantly clear that this chest was not intended to be moved from this spot. Aldoin - or whoever set his basement up for him - no doubt had the chest modified to be as unnameable to moving as possible as it couldn't be anchored into the floor. Now, it might still be possible to move the chest and listen for anything inside ... but at this point, you might as well just go ahead with cracking it instead. And to that end, you are going to need some working material for Cold-Touch. At least you are spoiled for choice down here - well, at least, you assume you are. You are surrounded by tubs, there is that massive tun - and there was even mention of a tank for water in several of the notes that you just read - so the idea that there would be no liquid that you could use with Cold-Touch on hand seems utterly inconceivable. Still, you find yourself holding your breath as you look around the room as you try to decide which one to test first. You force yourself to breathe normally, then you take up the 'stick and make your way over to the shelves. Obviously, you have no desire to use Grass Tonic as the working material, as the interplay between Cold-Touch and ...whatever exactly the tonic is would be an unknown quantity, even if the Grass Tonic is mundane through and through. No, that is a option of last resort - if it is to be an option at all. What you are interested in is the stoppered bottles. After setting the 'stick down a reasonable distance away from the books and papers, you glance through the selection before settling on an empty glassware with the thickest neck, passive over several wider and taller options.

Pleased that you have found your vessel in a matter of seconds - as opposed to the long minutes that it took for you to find that dilapidated bucket - you turn your attention to the unlabeled, unmarked tubs. Odds are these are all wine - which has a substantially higher alcohol content than ale does, and as such, a lower freezing temperature. Cold-Touch was intended to work with water - and can work with substances with similar freezing temperatures. It is possible that the freezing temperature of wine is simply too low to work with Cold-Touch ... though that turns out to be a moot point when the very first tapped tub you draw from happens to be water. At least it looks and smells like water - you will not be drinking any to confirm one way or another. Once you have your stoppered vessel filled to bursting, you walk your way over to the chest, and set the glassware down. Then you return to the shelves where you left the stick, and you bring that over to chest as well, setting it once more down on the stairs. You take what salt remains in the palm of your right hand and get it under your tongue, so that the cast may draw from it instead of having to draw salt from your body.

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With your stomach already upset by the ranged remediation cast, the overwhelming taste of salt in your mouth is not helping things, but you manage to keep everything down as you carefully pocket your wand. You consider keeping the wand at the ready in your hand, as you did before at the Perch ... but there has been no indication that there is anyone in the basement yet, so why complicate things? You also consider unsocketing the wand as well, as in the off-chance that you Estrange yourself, you could dump the Strangeness into the wand as well ... but you decide that is a step too far. You are pretty confident in your ability to cast Cold-Touch and perform an Ice-Lockpick ... and if you did Estrange yourself, then touching the wand would likely result in the wand becoming Strange, even if you had the passive protection of the catalyzing salt for the wand in your hand. Not to mention, if you misjudged the situation down here, and needed your Wand of Head-Knocking to defend yourself, then you have to socket it anew - not something that should be rushed, considering the risk of opening your own veins.

You then pull the stopper, and position the bottle with your left hand as you get your right hand into position on the lock. Considering that you have at least half a tub full of working material, there is simply no reason to ration here - you will use up all of the water available in the bottle, and if there needs to be a second attempt, then you will just fill it back up again at the same tub. As miserable as you are - what with the socketing needle waggling inside your arm as you heft the bottle, along with the soreness of the day and aches and discomfort borne by the remediation cast - you are also pleased with yourself for getting this all set up so quick. Though admittedly, the room itself had more to do with that than you did ...

Another advantage of the bottle over the tankard and bucket that you used earlier at the Perch is that as the bottle is transparent, you can actually see into it as you pour, so you don't have to guess just how much is left based off of weight or the duration of the pour. You start deepening your breaths, in preparation for initializing your cast - but right as you are about to start the pour, you suddenly start to worry that the what you have in the bottle might not be water at all, but Grass Tonic. You stop to check the fluid again, to make sure that you didn't somehow miss the oily sheen that you saw in the labeled bottles - you didn't, of course. There is no sheen. Not to mention, this smells like water and the Grass Tonic that you check didn't have any smell to it at all. So it seems that in addition to being overly nervous, you are also forgetting things you learned only a matter of minutes ago.

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No longer pleased with yourself in the slightest, you get everything back to readiness before once again deepening your breaths without dislodging the salt under your tongue. When you are as ready as you are going to get, you start the pour, initializing the cast the moment that the working material - which you hope isn't Grass Tonic - hits your right pointer finger as its tip presses through the keyhole and into the keyway of the lock. As expected, you lose all feeling in your finger - and the unpleasant taste of salt in your mouth is replaced with the even more unpleasant taste of warm salt getting warmer every second. Still, compared to the strain from Salt-Remediation or Salt-Mitigation, this cast.is feather-bed gentle. In fact, with all of the misery your body is buried under at the moment, you don't even feel the strain or the Draw of the cast ... which isn't always a good thing. However, Cold-Touch has a limited duration to the cast - just twenty seconds - which acts as a safety against the reaction Drawing too deeply. That doesn't mean that if the reaction gets away from you that there can't be problems, or if you target yourself with the cast you can't be hurt, but at least death, infirmity and whole-body disfigurement are off the table.

Now that's a right jolly thought.

You turn your attention to angling the pour into the keyway - which is also much easier done with this bottle than the tankard or the bucket that you used in the Perch - while shifting your position slightly to make sure that you stay dry. In the irregular light of the candle stub, it isn't too easy to see what is happening in the keyway, especially considering that your pointer finger is obscuring most of it. It so happens that you actually feel the frozen water pressing against your finger before you can see it, but as soon as you do, you tip the bottle a hair more aggressively, and cautiously back your finger out while still remaining contact with the ever-growing but as of yet unseen stub of ice. Once you can see the ice and it has finally breached both the keyway and the keyhole, you bring your thumb up to the bottom of the stub and you turn it as if it was a perfectly normal key. You have enough water left to keep pouring as you turn, to account for any weaknesses, hairline cracks or abscesses that might have been made - though your 'key' gives you no trouble on that front. Before you even realize it, the lock clicks open, and you throttle down and snuff out the spell. In an instant, all of the frozen water melts ... but it is at this moment that you realize that Strange-Staining - which you are not suppressing - has not activated. You stare directly at the puddle of water in front of the chest, then at the water all over the front of it.

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You even bring the 'stick closer, thinking that perhaps the light is poor enough that you simply cannot see the Strange Stains .. though about half a moment after you bring the 'stick to bear, you realize that doesn't make any sense, considering that Strange-Staining can only work on what you can see. So it seems that this ranged remediation cast is capable of Cleansing the Strangeness as it is made - without adversely affecting casting. Truly, the more you learn about it, the more incredible the Mystery responsible for this Cleansing gets!

Out of an abundance of caution, you self-sequester the working material remaining on your right pointer finger anyway, and adjust your stance once more, making sure that you are well away from both the puddle water and not touching any of the grass. With a broad smile on your face, you set the 'stick down and push open the lid with the palm of your newly-emptied hand. With the light beaming from your eyes, you aren't going to be needing it for the next few minutes. No, they are putting off more than enough light to see that there is ... nothing inside the chest.

You actually start to swear out loud before you remind yourself that you are on a job here. And in that moment of strained reflection, you do notice that there isn't exactly 'nothing' inside the chest. There are either bolt or nail heads, offset from the corners of the bottom of the chest, two rounded brackets towards the center - and immediately in between them, there is a hole. Perhaps it was for a fifth bolt to secure the chest ... or perhaps it was like the hole that you found amongst the sausage, right next to the lead hook screwed into the beam. Just to be sure, you put your hand into the chest, to make sure that there isn't some sort of Glamor active - there isn't. In a last ditch effort, you try to sense the chest through the Firmament while you are touching it - but it doesn't seem that this chest has any Mysterious aspect to it. Or if it does, then it is beyond your ability to detect it.

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Well, this was certainly a disappointment - not to mention a waste of precious time! That said ... perhaps you should have tempered your expectations a bit. Clearly, from the missing labels on the stoppered bottles and the very pointed selection of books and papers present on the shelves, someone else has gone through this place with the intent of obfuscating what Aldoin was doing here. Obvious things, like chests or books or labeled bottles of tinctures and reagents, are going to have been looked through - and anything really interesting will no doubt have been 'dealt' with. If you do find things - not run of the mill swag, but Mysteries, or Mystery-Adjacents - it is going to be like the False Silverware. In a word; hidden. Either hidden in plain sight - sort of like in a relatively innocuous looking crate, that you only looked into because it was the only one with labels - or just .. you know, hidden-hidden.

You shudder as you swallow the warm salt in your mouth ... but as give yourself a moment to recuperate as you rise to your feet, you find yourself wondering after the placement of the chest. You tentatively prod it with your foot - gently, considering you are wearing footwraps at the moment - then once you are comfortable enough, you try pushing it. As you might have expected, the bolts or whatever they are hold it steady - it doesn't give at all. So clearly, keeping ... wait, bolts? How in the Heights of Hell did Aldoin bolt this chest into anything - it is on a dirt floor!

Isn't it?

You are going back down on your knees to look the base of the chest again when you notice that even though just performed a cast - one that used yourself as fuel - you feel much better all of a sudden. With a stroke of dread that shivers you from your neck to your knees you realize that the ranged remediation cast is no longer effecting you.

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> Please choose ONE of the following:
> Perhaps the cast just finished remediating you. Beyond losing out on the compass of misery, there is nothing to worry about here - continue investigating the chest. You think you might have been on to something.
> Perhaps the cast just finished remediating you. Beyond losing out on the compass of misery, there is nothing to worry about here - resume looking for the source of the unknown noise. The mystery of 'what is this empty chest secured to' is the least of your worries at the moment.
> Perhaps the cast just finished remediating you - or perhaps something else happened. Either way, you are going to be best served heading straight to the point of emission/origin of the cast - you know it ... well enough from having the compass that you should be able to find it without too much trouble.
> Perhaps the cast just finished remediating you - or perhaps the caster Construct was just retrieved by whoever put it here. Or the caster themselves stopped casting. Either way, with your eyes beaming like this, there is no way that you can hope to hide from them and look at them at the same time. Hunker down!
> Perhaps the cast just finished remediating you - or perhaps the caster Construct was just retrieved by whoever put it here. Or the caster themselves stopped casting. Either way, with your eyes beaming like this, there is no way that you can hope to hide from them and look at them at the same time. Leave the house!

I feel quite like a heel making you all wait nearly two days to open a chest only to find nothing in it - and then to take away the compass of misery on top of that. Not to mention that natural 100 that ended up getting burned ... So I figure you all deserve some OCC assurance.

Even after being gone through more than once, there is still potential swag in this house. Typical valuables, practical articles, Mystery-Adjacents (like the False Silverware), and Mysteries. Two separate Mysteries, very different.

However, I cannot come out and say how safe it is going to be to remain in the house long enough to find them all. Apologies about that - and apologies about making you all wait so long for what must be a disappointing update.

>>5747301
> Perhaps the cast just finished remediating you. Beyond losing out on the compass of misery, there is nothing to worry about here - continue investigating the chest. You think you might have been on to something.
False bottom- we can hide in there!

>spoiler
Well, thanks for that reassurance Trash, even though having others steal the good shit first puts a damper on my enthusiasm.

>>5747301
Also, would a simple test to check if the remediation is still going on be to check on the modules, since they should still be producing Strangeness, or did I misunderstand the mechanics?

>>5747301
> Perhaps the cast just finished remediating you. Beyond losing out on the compass of misery, there is nothing to worry about here - resume looking for the source of the unknown noise. The mystery of 'what is this empty chest secured to' is the least of your worries at the moment.

Considering how uncomfortable our last remediation was and how strange we are, I don't think the pains we had in the basement were enough down to us being fully remediated. More likely the cast ended.

If the cast was done in person, that makes it way too crazy dangerous to go upstairs. But we have PERFECT KNOWLEDGE OF ALDOIN'S BASEMENT, so it should be safe to explore down here and keep an ear tuned to noises.

>>5747400
I honestly think we are fully remediated- else we would see Strange-Stains on us. Besides, they’d never suspect us in Aldion’s secret batcave!

Also, for the sake of getting another update out, I’m willing to support this m Trash- though investigating the remediation agent is probably more prudent, considering the misery-compass is now gone. I do hope you’ll forgive me for thinking that the ‘empty chest’ syndrome will continue for us- the price of our earlier inactions continue to haunt us.

Seriously- wouldn’t it make sense that he conducts his real research in a hidden room, where he can actively work on the root-system while his minions keep the grass alive? Granted, this does assume that the chest legitimately has a false bottom- and that the supposed entrance isn’t somewhere else.

>>5747413
Point to remember, one of the limitations of Chlotsuintha's Strange-Staining Glyph is that it doesn't mark the caster - if it did, and Chlotsuintha had the Strangeness in her eyes, she would be effectively blinded. It is possible to Scriven a Glyph that includes the bearer while excluding their eyes, but it would require a completely new Strange-Staining Glyph ... and new Hide-Eyes Glyphs compatible with it. Odds are it would also have a slightly deeper Draw ... which could be a sticking point, considering that Strange-Staining is always on and is Drawing from Chlotsuintha, using her as a fuel source (as do both versions of Hide-Eyes and Cold-Touch). The current Strange-Staining Glyph will take up to a year off of her life, and unless something happened that convinced her that she needed to see the Strangeness on herself, then she probably would be content with leaving well enough alone, unless she was convinced she could make a version of the Glyph that was just as effective but with a shallower Draw.

>>5747301
>Perhaps the cast just finished remediating you - or perhaps the caster Construct was just retrieved by whoever put it here. Or the caster themselves stopped casting. Either way, with your eyes beaming like this, there is no way that you can hope to hide from them and look at them at the same time. Leave the house!

>>5747301
>> Perhaps the cast just finished remediating you. Beyond losing out on the compass of misery, there is nothing to worry about here - resume looking for the source of the unknown noise. The mystery of 'what is this empty chest secured to' is the least of your worries at the moment.

>>5747301
> Perhaps the cast just finished remediating you - or perhaps something else happened. Either way, you are going to be best served heading straight to the point of emission/origin of the cast - you know it ... well enough from having the compass that you should be able to find it without too much trouble.

We got this.

>>5747301
>> Perhaps the cast just finished remediating you. Beyond losing out on the compass of misery, there is nothing to worry about here - continue investigating the chest. You think you might have been on to something.
It'd make no sense for the chest to be locked if there was nothing to hide. Come on baby.

I don't think I should roll to break this tie. Hopefully, by the time I am done with dinner, there will be a front runner.

Also, I might have just lost my IP address, just checking.

>>5747301
>Perhaps the cast just finished remediating you - or perhaps something else happened. Either way, you are going to be best served heading straight to the point of emission/origin of the cast - you know it ... well enough from having the compass that you should be able to find it without too much trouble.

>>5747301
I feel like the act of casting and adding Strangeness might have tipped whoever it was casting
> Perhaps the cast just finished remediating you - or perhaps something else happened. Either way, you are going to be best served heading straight to the point of emission/origin of the cast - you know it ... well enough from having the compass that you should be able to find it without too much trouble.
still, better to try than to cower

Alright, we have our majority. I will get to writing.

Just in case anyone is still here, I'm not going to be able to get the update out tonight. Apologies.

If any of you have any questions about the settings, feel free to put them down, and once I get the post up tomorrow, I'll answer them afterwards. If not, I'll see you all then.

>>5748385
No worries, Trash, great quest. I haven't enjoyed one so much since your Bone Quest a few years back.

I was wondering if you could tell us about what types of restrictions on movement exist in Outremer. I know we need to be a citizen or patented subject or have transit papers for main roads. What other ones exist? Like, if we do settle down with peasants in the frontier, what documents might we need?

>>5748385
Not a question but a remark to my fellow anons. We should get a small water skin at our earliest convenience. Clot constantly struggling to find liquid for her most useful cast is getting old really quick.

>>5748758
We already have a water skin- Chlot just forgot I guess, even though she should always have one on hand as a rule.

Good thing about breaking into this house though is that Aldoin will most certainly have a personal waterskin and flask, to go along with a satchel and backpack.

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Damn it! Damn it all! How long has the cast been snuffed? How fraying long?!

Frightened and ready to bolt, you instinctively whirl yourself around, looking for the broken casement window as the False Silverware patters dully against itself while it swings in your apron pockets. When you do lay your beaming eyes on it, you start to lurch right towards it ... but by sheer willpower, you stop yourself in your tracks and force yourself to reconsider taking a hasty retreat. You have already been over this, but again, you think of how much noise you made before in the other room. To put it mildly, it was quite a lot - and nothing happened. You spent several minutes, more even, huddled in the darkness, scared out of your fraying mind ... and nothing happened. No one came. If there was someone down here, someone who was going to come after you - then they would have already done it by now. This cast has to be the work of a Construct or some equivalent Instrument. As for why it is no longer targeting you ... it could just be that it finished remediating you, though ... admittedly, the timing of it seems to suggest that you cast Cold-Touch had something to do with it.

Breathing a bit more steadily now, you return to the stairs, open up your bundle and get the purse of salt - from which you withdraw another catalyzing dose for your Wand of Head-Knocking. With your wand situated for combat, you find enough confidence to stay the course - or at least, stay in the basement. The discovering the source of the unknown noise is nowhere near as important as discovering - and possibly even recovering - the source of the ranged remediation cast. Moreover, you are worried that if you were to head of to find the noise, then in the process you might lose your bearings enough that you won't be able to find the cast's point of emission, or at least, that you could end up spending substantially more time on it.

After wrapping up your bundle, you take it under your left arm. You consider extinguishing the remains of the candle, as your eyes are well and truly blazing - to the point that you can feel an unpleasant amount of heat on the inside of your eyelids - but you quickly decide against it. The light from your eyes is a tight beam, much like a spot-lamp. Everything that the beam falls on is illuminated in stark relief, but everything outside of the beam is in varying degrees of darkness and obscurity. One of the admittedly few advantages of a nude light is that it will illuminate all of its surroundings equally ... and as you intend to do a bit of searching, that makes it nigh-indispensable. Grabbing the 'stick from where you left it on the stairs, you take one last long look at the chest by the foot of the stairs. Its placement, and the efforts that went to keeping it in that place seem to indicate that there is more to it than meets the eye, but for the life of you, you just can't see it.

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In a moment of inspiration, it occurs to you that there might be a hidden passage, or hiding spot underneath the chest - which would handily explain the brackets inside - and so you eagerly set down the stick and bundle once more and alight upon the cold cast iron rungs. But as hard as you tug on them, they do not give - and when you rap on the bottom of the chest, it doesn't sound hollow at all. You are still not entirely convinced, until you get your head - and more importantly, your eyes - directly over the hole drilled into the bottom of the chest. From this vantage point, you can see what looks to be packed dirt or dirty stone just a few inches down. You get up, rest your right foot on the lip of the chest, and push with all your weight ... but there is no give. You might as well have tried to push the foundations. In fact, for all you know, that chest is secured right into the foundations. It is close enough to the wall.

Unsatisfied, you take every up once more and quit the room, retracing your steps through the basement, through the room with the furniture under the sheets and the crates where you found the False Silverware, through the room with the preserves on the walls and the sausage on the ceiling where you made all that noise and into the room where you hid. With the light from your 'stick augmented by the light from your eyes, you are confident in your initial assessment of the room - it is empty. Standing in silence, you can once again hear that near-imperceptible noise, off in the distance. Shaking your head to focus yourself, you start to orientate yourself towards where the 'compass of misery' was pointing - when suddenly, the effects of the ranged remediation cast; the heat, the nausea, the chills, the aches, all of it comes roaring back in an instant, and all the stronger for it. Where it was once simply 'miserable', now it knocks the wind from your lungs, the cogence from your mind - in fact, it is to the point that your first articulate thought after the effects come back is that this must be an deliberate, targeted attack. But as it is, you are in no state to run away. For several seconds, it is all that you can do to shudder and gasp and dry heave jacked over at the waist as the room spins around you, mostly in darkness.

By the time that you recover yourself, enough time has past for a Witch to kill you a dozen-dozen times over - but just as before, no assailants appeared - and once again you find yourself forced to assume that you are alone down here.

That is little relief, and it is made less once you determine that not only is the 'compass of misery' is not providing your stomach the relief that it once was, it is pointing in a completely different direction. Not towards where it was before it stopped while you were investigating the chest, and not towards where you think the unknown noise might be coming from.

> Please choose ONE of the following:
> Continue on towards where the 'compass of misery' was pointing originally.
> Head towards the new heading of the 'compass of misery' before anything else happens.
> Beat a retreat out of the basement - either find another way into the house, or leave altogether.

> Please choose ONE of the following:
> Spend some time making sure that this room is as empty as it seems before quitting it.
> Press on to your intended destination immediately - you don't have time to check over everything.

>>5749969
> Head towards the new heading of the 'compass of misery' before anything else happens.

> Press on to your intended destination immediately - you don't have time to check over everything.

If the cast is starting again, hopefully that means whatever is casting is either noncognizent or too distracted to notice us

>>5750082
Actually, I've changed my mind -- nothing good can possibly be upstairs: witch, bad; construct, incriminating if taken with us.

> Beat a retreat out of the basement - either find another way into the house, or leave altogether.

>>5749969
> Head towards the new heading of the 'compass of misery' before anything else happens.
> Press on to your intended destination immediately - you don't have time to check over everything.

>>5750085
Upstairs is clearly where all the good shit is at- plus a satchel/backpack and probably a waterskin/flask. Besides, just learning how the construct functions will revolutionize our remediation strategy- we can actually save the Midden Leapers with this, as well as eliminate the Strangeness covering our tracks. We’ve been given an opportunity by the Patternmaker to make serious amends and continue his good works.

>>5749969
> Head towards the new heading of the 'compass of misery' before anything else happens.
> Press on to your intended destination immediately - you don't have time to check over everything.
>Call out for your Father.

>>5749969
>> Head towards the new heading of the 'compass of misery' before anything else happens.
>> Press on to your intended destination immediately - you don't have time to check over everything.

>>5749969
> Head towards the new heading of the 'compass of misery' before anything else happens.
>> Press on to your intended destination immediately - you don't have time to check over everything.

>>5749969
> Head towards the new heading of the 'compass of misery' before anything else happens.

> Press on to your intended destination immediately - you don't have time to check over everything.

Leaving now would be too anticlimactic. Weneed some answers at least!

Alright, consider this closed. I'll get to writing up a short update after lunch.

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For a split second, you consider again the possibility that your assumption about you being alone in the basement is wrong, and that there is a Witch down here with you. But only for a second. You have run the arguments through your head enough times that it seems that they have left ruts through your mind. Your head certainly hurts enough for that to be the case, though you know that to be the effects of the ranged remediation cast. You try to breathe deeply, hoping that some of the deleterious effects of the cast will pass ... but after giving it a moment, you are just as miserable as when you started. Hoping that walking again will take your mind off of it, you check to make sure that you haven't dropped anything - then you press, following the new heading. As you pass out of the empty room, you consider that you might be missing something, and that you would be well served spending the time searching the room, as you searched the previous three rooms before it ... but the thought passes as quick as it came. Right now, time is precious - and empty rooms are almost always exactly as they appear; empty. If you had more time, then certainly, you would be double and treble checking every square inch of this house. But you simply don't have the time.

From your first glance of this new room, you don't intend to be spending any time here either - as it looks identical to the bare and square room you just left ... until you look over your left shoulder, and see a metal and glass contraption leaned up against the corner of the wall. It is slender and tall - nearly as tall as you are. From appearances alone, it doesn't seem to have any Mysterious aspect to it, and the 'compass' points away from it. You are not keen on touching it, or even trying to sense for it through the Firmament until you know what it is ... but with your body racked with the effects of the ranged remediation cast, it is hard to string thoughts together. You rock back and forth on the balls of your feet, hoping that the bit of motion will keep you keen and alert - though really, all it seems to be doing is making your nausea worse. You try re-arranging the False Silverware in the pocket of your apron, so that it lies flatter against your midriff, and that helps ... so long as you keep your laden apron between you and the point of emission of the cast - but it still is not providing the level of relief that it was before the cast switched spots.

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However, your swinging back and forth does cause you to brush up against the free hanging Fuel Nodule you have pinned into the Wand of Head-Knocking - and even through the sleeves of your dress, it is as if you are touching a hot skillet. Concerned, you quickly open up the bundle and check the others. They are all very warm and twitching - which cannot be good for them - but they are not hot as the one you have pinned, which is hot enough to noticeably warm the air around it, and is throbbing as if it had a heartbeat. You have no idea what to make of this ... but you are worried that if these Nodules remain in the envelope of this cast for much longer, they may be damaged or ruined. As it stands, you are not sure if you should consider the pinned Nodule in safe or even working condition.

> Please choose ONE of the following:
> Open up your bundle, and do your best to line it with some of the False Silverware you have in your apron pocket, leaving enough to still have a 'compass of misery' with reduced accuracy.
> Open up your bundle and do your best to line it with all of the False Silverware you have in your apron pocket, losing the 'compass of misery' and relying on yourself to remember the heading.
> Head back to the room with the False Silverware, and take more of it to line your bundle with, protecting the Nodules within and maintaining the 'compass of misery' at its current accuracy.

> Please choose ONE of the following:
> Unpin the Fuel Nodule from the Wand of Head-Knocking and swap it with one of the ones from the bundle.
> Leave the Fuel Nodule pinned into the Wand of Head-Knocking and keep all the other Nodules in the bundle.

> Please choose AS MANY of the following as you please:
> Touch the metal and glass contraption.
> Attempt to sense the metal and glass contraption through the Firmament.
> Attempt to Reach for the metal and glass contraption as though it was an Instrument or Implement.
> Leave the metal and glass contraption be.

> Please choose AS MANY of the following as you please:
> Spend the time to do a Hearing Test in the room.
> Spend the time to do a Sight Test in the room.
> Once you are done with the contraption and situating the Nodules, just leave the room.

> Write-in guesses as to what the contraption might be. If they are correct, they will expedite some of this process. Limit TWO guesses per ID, please.

>>5750643
>> Open up your bundle, and do your best to line it with some of the False Silverware you have in your apron pocket, leaving enough to still have a 'compass of misery' with reduced accuracy.
>> Please choose ONE of the following:
>> Unpin the Fuel Nodule from the Wand of Head-Knocking and unsocket it and switch to your stiletto.
>> Please choose AS MANY of the following as you please:
>> Touch the metal and glass contraption.
>> Please choose AS MANY of the following as you please:
>> Once you are done with the contraption and situating the Nodules, just leave the room.
>> Write-in guesses as to what the contraption might be. If they are correct, they will expedite some of this process. Limit TWO guesses per ID, please: A clock or a lighting fixture.

>>5750642
>>5750643
> Head back to the room with the False Silverware, and take more of it to line your bundle with, protecting the Nodules within and maintaining the 'compass of misery' at its current accuracy.
> Unpin the Fuel Nodule from the Wand of Head-Knocking and swap it with one of the ones from the bundle.

> Touch the metal and glass contraption.
> Attempt to sense the metal and glass contraption through the Firmament.
> Attempt to Reach for the metal and glass contraption as though it was an Instrument or Implement.

> Spend the time to do a Hearing Test in the room.
> Spend the time to do a Sight Test in the room.

Could be the desalinator- it’s the only mechanical machine that’s been mentioned so far.

>>5750643
> Head back to the room with the False Silverware, and take more of it to line your bundle with, protecting the Nodules within and maintaining the 'compass of misery' at its current accuracy.

It's like 2 rooms away, no reason not to go back

> Leave the Fuel Nodule pinned into the Wand of Head-Knocking and keep all the other Nodules in the bundle.

> Touch the metal and glass contraption.
> Attempt to Reach for the metal and glass contraption as though it was an Instrument or Implement.
> Once you are done with the contraption and situating the Nodules, just leave the room.

Oil lamp?

>>5750643
>Open up your bundle, and do your best to line it with some of the False Silverware you have in your apron pocket, leaving enough to still have a 'compass of misery' with reduced accuracy.

> Leave the Fuel Nodule pinned into the Wand of Head-Knocking and keep all the other Nodules in the bundle.

> Spend the time to do a Sight Test in the room.

>Steam engine
>Condensator

Well, we still have tie - though congratulations are in order for >>5750967 who correctly guessed what the metal and glass contraption is; a blown glass lamp with a large, spindly tri-pod, allowing for light coverage of nearly the entire floor of a room.

I'll wait for this tie to break.

>>5750643
> Head back to the room with the False Silverware, and take more of it to line your bundle with, protecting the Nodules within and maintaining the 'compass of misery' at its current accuracy.
> Unpin the Fuel Nodule from the Wand of Head-Knocking and swap it with one of the ones from the bundle.
> Spend the time to do a Sight Test in the room.

Alright, there is our majority. I'll get to writing this up after lunch.

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As you are subjected to this whole-body malaise, it is hard to think as quick and keen as you normally do - but even as you are racked by these churning torments, you know almost immediately that something needs to be done to protect your Nodules as long as they are in the envelope of this damned cast. The five that you have with you - which includes the overheating one, pinned into the wand - represent your entire supply of working Nodules. Worse than that, you are not entirely clear on how to 'refuel' a Fuel Nodule. To be sure, you have a ... general, purely theoretical idea of how it might be accomplished ... but no practical experience to this end. Obviously, this is going to need to be rectified eventually, but for the moment you simply must safeguard and maintain the five you have. Or perhaps the four - you are not sure the pinned one can still be relied on. Setting that question aside for now, you pull out all of the False Silverware that you took from the room with the sheeted furniture, and use it to line your bundle as best you can. The canvas of your old dress, followed by your best attempt at a solid layer of the False Silverware, with another layer of the dress draped, tucked and tugged over it. You then tighten it up the best you can, slowly and steadily to keep all of the pieces from sliding out of their places. Once it is as satisfactory as it can be, you take up the bundle under your arm once more. With your free hand, you gently grope the canvas, prodding at the False Silverware through the fabric, trying to get a sense if it is going to stay in place or not. You experimentally move a little bit, then a bit more - and in the end, you can only conclude that this is one thing that has gone your way. Though, to tell it true, you do feel as if you are going to need the 'compass of misery' to find the point of emission for the cast ... and you wouldn't mind having the Shielding of the False Silverware protecting your stomach again, either.

So you turn on your heel and make haste into the room where you found the False Silverware in the crate ... though as you pass into the empty room, it occurs to you that you still haven't made a decision about your what to do with the Fuel Nodule pinned into your wand. There is a very real chance that it has been damaged, or partially discharged, due to the interplay between it and the ranged remediation cast. A cast with your Wand of Head-Knocking that draws from it might not be as effective - or the Fuel Nodule might be so far gone that it cannot cast at all. Or the cast could be unsound in some such way. Though ... what is really confusing you here is that only the pinned Nodule has reached this point, the others are just a little warm to the touch. Pinning a Nodule shouldn't make it more or less susceptible to Remediation, at least, as far as you know ... so perhaps there was a flaw or defect in just that Nodule, one that would only become apparent under circumstances such as this.

> Please choose ONE of the following:
> Unpin the Fuel Nodule from the Wand of Head-Knocking and draw one of the stilettoes instead.
> Unpin the Fuel Nodule from the Wand of Head-Knocking and swap it with one of the ones from the bundle.
> Leave the Fuel Nodule pinned into the Wand of Head-Knocking and keep all the other Nodules in the bundle.

So, when I sat down to write this update, I doubled checked the tally of the vote in >>5750729; and it turns out that I made a mistake when I closed the vote - there is actually a 2-2-1 tie right now. I suppose it figures, by offering all of the votes in one big post, I had hoped that I could streamline the voting and updates for this room and get through it quicker ... but it seems that it simply isn't mean to go like that. Anyway, please vote again on this, even if you already have. My apologies for the delay.

>>5751998
Feel free to change my vote >>5750776
to the Leave it in Vote for expediency sake- I’d rather get this update out, even if leaving it in is rather retarded.

>>5751998
>> Unpin the Fuel Nodule from the Wand of Head-Knocking and draw one of the stilettoes instead.

>>5752051
If this vote is causing a tie right now, feel free to change in support of >>5752054 if it will get the update out quicker.

>>5751997
>To be sure, you have a ... general, purely theoretical idea of how it might be accomplished
Mind expanding upon that, if we’re waiting?

>>5751998
>> Unpin the Fuel Nodule from the Wand of Head-Knocking and draw one of the stilettoes instead.

>>5751998
> Unpin the Fuel Nodule from the Wand of Head-Knocking and draw one of the stilettoes instead.

Let’s quickly move on

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> Sight Test III

> DC 30: Witchlet Chlotsuintha is not Keen of Eye, making a Rudimentary Sight Test like this [Easy]
> + DC 6: Witchlet Chlotsuintha is currently Tired II and is not as perceptive as she might be otherwise
> + DC 4 Witchlet Chlotsuintha is currently Drained II, and may not be thinking as quick as she normally does.
> + DC 10 Witchlet Chlotsuintha is suffering under the effect of slow-burn ranged remediation cast.
> + DC 1 Witchlet Chlotsuintha is attempting to search a poorly lit area with a nude light
> - DC 20 Witchlet Chlotsuintha is allowing herself to take as much time as necessary to search the room.
> - DC 15 Witchlet Chlotsuintha has Complete Knowledge of Aldoin's Basement
> - DC 15 Witchlet Chlotsuintha is well versed in casing rooms for valuables and hiding spots.
> - DC 12 Room V has next to nothing in it, which makes searching it extremely easy
> - DC 3 Witchlet Chlotsuintha performed well on her last Sight Test, and her confidence and techniques have carried over this one.

> DC -14: Anything lower is a failure. [Re-rolls and auto-passes are available. No hostile re-roll(s)]

> Autopassed: Chlotsuintha concludes that she has found all of the points of interest in the room with Absolute Confidence. CF and NCF nulled for next test. - 3 DC bonus applied to Sight Tests

> If ONE of the THREE rolls comes up as a Critical or Near-Critical Failure (Roll of 1 or 2) then nothing happens, as CF and NCF have been nulled for this test.
> If ONE of the THREE rolls comes up as a Critical or Near-Critical Success (Roll of 100 or 99) then Chlotsuintha manages to work out the 'secret' of the chest in the first room as she pokes around in this one.

> Standard rules are in effect. Now, may I please have three rolls of 1d100?

I'll get to writing up the next bit as soon as I can. As for this test, remember that as it is currently not possible to roll negative values, this test de-facto autopasses - though you still have to roll for the criticals and near-criticals, the failures have been nulled for this test, so this is basically just three free shots at a critical or near-critical success!

Rolled 53 (1d100)

>>5752429

Rolled 8 (1d100)

>>5752429
May our luck be white!

Rolled 37 (1d100)

>>5752429
2 Minimum

Rolled 46 (1d100)

>>5752479
We already rested our two minimum when it didn’t count…. ;_;

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Clearly this is what's going on.

>>5752492
Wait a second. What if father can phase through things using projection... and Aldoin's guys put him in some kinda false silverware material box he can't get out of?

>>5752492
I've been sniggering at this for the past minute anon, thank you for making it.

I'm writing, look for the update soon.

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You are ... certain, yes, certain that you are alone down here in the basement. So why not put the wand away for now? Uh ... or just the ailing Fuel Nodule, perhaps? Hopefully spending some time Shielded from the envelope of the ranged remediation cast will ameliorate things. Or at least prevent it from getting any worse. So with more than a touch of frustration and resignation, you change tack once more, extricating the bundle from under your arm, then pulling it apart. You get the ailing Nodule unpinned from the wand's fuel lead, but as you are about to stow it away with the other Nodules, you are set upon by second thoughts. Given the current state of the unpinned Nodule, the intermittently spaced False Silverware might not be enough to protect it. It could very be that in spite of your best efforts, the Nodule's condition could worsen. And you don't know enough about Nodules to say exactly how bad it may get - for all you know, it could discharge any second now - or melt down, or burn up, or even detonate like a 'peter-pomegranate. If any of that is on the proverbial table, then you don't want it near any of the other Nodules ... or yourself, for that matter.

But of course, if such black Fates are in fact possible for your poor Nodule, then the best way to circumvent them is to get it inside the bundle. After all, there is no way that some Shielding yields worse outcomes than no Shielding. And if things do take a turn for the worse, then you will just have to act fast to protect the other Nodules - and yourself. Resolving yourself not to spend any more time on this, you put the ailing Nodule as far away from the others in the bundle as you can, then you get the whole thing situated once more. Once it is under your arm, you pocket the Wand of Head-Knocking, brushing the salt off of your hand into the same apron pocket as the wand. You have taken up the 'stick in your left hand again, as you can already see that the light from your eyes has started to fade, but now your right hand feels naked and neglected. To rectify this, you take up the chipped stiletto once more. Truly, you know that you aren't going to need it, as there surely, absolutely isn't anyone down here with you ... but all the same, you feel better for the feel and heft of it in your hand. With this little 'detour' complete, you may now resume ... another 'detour' to the room with the False Silverware, so you may recreate the 'compass of misery'. You at least take some solace in the fact that since you have abandoned stealth, you are making markedly better time ... though you doubt that even this improved pace through the basement is going to be enough to keep you to your schedule. Honestly, at this point, you doubt that even if you sprinted through the entire house you would be able to accomplish everything you have set out to by the last hour.

Spurned on by such thoughts, you rush right over to the labeled crate, and cram False Silverware into the front pocket of your apron.

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As the full body malaise from the ranged remediation cast has been bordering on agony since it began emitting from its new location, you make a point of grabbing a few handfuls more of the False Silverware than you had before. And as you are standing directly facing the current point of emission for the cast, the very moment you start stuffing the front pocket of your apron with your newest swag, there is blessed, precious relief. As you cram more and more into the ever accommodating pocket, your stomach churns less and less, and your midriff isn't racked by near as many aches and compulsive twitches, nor does it feel as hot or sweaty as it once did - or as rest of your body still does. Unfortunately, this relief is fleeting - as soon as you start to make your way back into the almost empty room, your Shielding is no longer sitting between yourself and the point of emission for the cast ... but once you get back into the center of the room, you position yourself once more to take the fullest possible advantage of the False Silverware in your pocket. You cannot consider it anything but a blessing ... though in some silly way, having just one part of you that isn't hurting as bad as the rest almost makes it feel like the rest of you hurts worse. Hoping to move past that silliness and work through the pain, you take a moment to consult the book that you lifted from the first room. The depiction of this room in the book is without any hatch marks, so it seems that this room might have been set aside as storage or for overflow - something of that nature. Of course, you have seen that only sizeable and permanent fixtures will get the hatches; so it is possible that there might have been other things in this room that have been removed.

Or placed here. You turn your attention once more to the metal and glass contraption leaning up against the wall. Could ... could this be the desalinator that was mentioned in the notes? It is certainly possible, considering you have no idea what such a device would look like ... but somehow you doubt it. How could a spindly thing like this be an unsalting machine? And for that matter, what would one even do with ... unmade salt? Still, you have resolved yourself to looking over the room, and as this thing appears to be the only fraying thing in the room, you should start your due diligence with it. With your eyes barely throwing off enough light to glow, let alone beam through this darkness, you have to hold aloft the 'stick in your trembling, aching arm to get your look. Immediately, you can see that most of the device is legs - three of them, nestled together, with some piece of glass either tucked or mounted inside of them. Now that you are really looking at it, you'd say that the top parts of the head of the device looks to be more and more like a series of vents, and when you draw near, you can see that your guess is almost certainly on the money.

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There are in fact little smears of soot around and inside the vents - and now that you look at it, the bit immediately under the vent looks like a fuelwell for a lamp. Aye, you would stake your teeth on it, this is a lamp, designed to operate upside down, though for what unfathomable re - Oh! Of course, it is for the grass! If the lamp was right-side up, then most of the light would miss the floor entirely. But as it is upside down, then it can quite handily shine itself all over the grass. And the legs are tall to allow the light the best possible coverage, and spindly so the legs themselves do not block any of the precious rays from the lamp. Still ... if you had oil lamps that work upside down, why bother with the legs at all? Why not just mount them to ceiling? Was it easier to keep them continuously lit if they weren't? Possibly. Or perhaps there was something else on the ceiling that needed to be kept in darkness - or at least, some suspect article that Aldoin wanted to remain obscured and unseen. Like whatever went in the hole in the ceiling in the room with the dry curing sausage - or was hanging from the lead hook right next to it. That might be why Aldoin kept the lighting down as limited as possible - he wanted shadows to hide things in while still being able to grow his fraying grass.

That thought is simultaneously discomforting and comforting. Comforting in that you may have solved one the mundane mysteries of this basement, and that if you are right, there might be things that the Witch responsible for the ranged remediation cast overlooked ... but discomforting in that you might end up overlooking things as well. And it is certainly possible that some of the things that go unseen could be dangerous. Dangerous to leave behind, or dangerous in a more immediate, physical sense.

However, before you move on to check the rest of the room, you want to make absolutely certain that there is nothing more to this lamp than meets the eye. And to do that, you are going to need to take an even closer look. You look the lamp up and down - checking, double checking, treble checking for anything about the long-legged lamp that could even ambiguously be Mysterious. When you come up with nothing, and are also certain that it doesn't present any mundane threats as well - that there aren't any tripwires, flip needles, or even sharp edges to look out for - you tenderly prod at it with your footwrapped right foot. When that doesn't smite you dead, you are comfortable enough to try to open up its legs, which swing wide readily enough.

Truly, this seems to be nothing more than a very unusually, very cleverly designed lamp. Notably, there is no lead or any other consideration made towards deleterious effects of the Many Mysteries anywhere in its design. More than that, you are touching it and as hard as you try, you cannot sense it through the Firmament ... though that would only work if it was actively Drawing.

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Just to put the matter to bed, you Reach into the lamp as you would your wand ... and you had expected, you get nowhere. Truly, this long-legged lamp is mundane as lead, you can take that as a surety. So you turn your attention to the rest of the room, which after five or so awful minutes of fruitless searching you finally accept it to be as it appears - empty, and without any suspicious holes. You are certain of this, absolutely certain - which means it is finally time to move on. You orientate yourself with the 'compass of misery', then almost as an afterthought, you consult the book with the maps. Apparently, the room that you are going to be going into is considerably larger than the rooms you have been in previously - and there is something unusual about the depiction of the room. Offset just slightly from the center of the room, there is a square drawn in solid lines. Solid lines have up to this point indicated the walls of rooms, but not only would this room be barely larger than a closet, it is also notably missing any sort of door. And from what you can understand of the lighting schedule, the room - assuming it is a room - is never to be lit. You look for similar places on the drawing and find two others ... one of which seems to be in the direction that the ranged remediation cast was originally emitting from. Perhaps these are just patches of ... you know, more typical floor. Or perhaps they are secret rooms, that can only be accessed from upstairs! Or maybe they are patches of typical floor, and the hidden room is underneath them instead!

Even though your breath is still raspy and everything but your stomach is hurting, you are smiling broadly as you rush into the room - 'stick, not stiletto, first - only to be immediately disappointed when you see that the inexplicable solid-line outline was in fact perfectly explicable. It is the footer and ashbox for the fraying chimney. You are just about to start cursing yourself for a feckless fool, when just on the edge of audibility you hear the first thumping, echoing beat. Several seconds have passed, and as you are questioning if you had really heard it or just had imagined it, you hear it again. Whatever this is, it isn't the sound you heard earlier - and you would wager that is source is much closer. You look around the room, and for the first time notice that there are shelves with tools and trowels and such all around, but your eyes are refusing to focus on them properly. Your knees feel as if they are about to give out, and the 'stick is feeling heavier and heavier by the second - and that is on top of everything else that the cast has been putting you through.

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You hear a third thumping, and you finally clue in that the noise - and presumably the Construct responsible for the ranged remediation cast - must be in the ashbox of the chimney. But are you going to be able to close the distance without getting hurt or passing out? Say it was in the ashbox, and you manage to find it without keeling over. What next? Are you going to destroy it, to conceal the Witchworking that has been done here? Perhaps you could deactivate it just for a little bit somehow - or maybe it would be for the best to just leave it as it is, and to do nothing more to it than look. Though even if you can get there, do you really want to spend the rest of your time in this house suffering like this?

But what other choice do you have, if you aren't willing to deactivate or destroy it? There ... well, actually, the notes from the first room, they mentioned something about tanks of water. And there was plenty of water in the tubs in the first room, too. If you were able to find something that you could bathe in, you might try remediating yourself again. Even if you were just able to get rid of a little of the Strangeness, it would have to make this more bearable. And if you were able to get rid of all of it ... of course, that requires there being something down here - or in the house - that you could safely submerge yourself in. It would represent a major 'detour' - who know how long it would take to try this, and there is no surety that you would be successful in remediating away any of the Strangeness.

That said, there is also no surety that you are going to be able to close the distance without passing out.

> Please choose ONE of the following:
> Accept the risk of approaching the ashbox.
> Accept the detour of remediating yourself.

>>5753839
> Accept the risk of approaching the ashbox.
Its design might reveal something to us and there is still the matter of Reaching into the Grass.

>>5753839
How bad is the risking it DC going to be? Because I would definitely like a look a the remediating construct.

>>5753839
Because we actually have some anons here to vote, I’m just gonna
> Accept the risk of approaching the ashbox.
and pray we get another quick update soonish.

I'm not quite ready to sit down and write, so I will leave this open a few more hours - with any luck, I won't come back to a tie.

>>5753839
> Accept the risk of approaching the ashbox.

>>5753839
>Accept the detour of remediating yourself.

>>5753839
>Accept the risk of approaching the ashbox.

Alright consider this closed.

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You are going to take a look. You are not sure if it is the right call - and you are certain that it isn't the safe or the smart one - but ... you just have to see it - now. Right now. Not just because you know you don't have enough time to tack on another 'detour' ... but because it has occurred to you that if you are able to get a good look at the Construct, then you might be able to tell if it had been Woven by your father or not. And if it looks to be his work, then he must have been in the Mount ... and for that matter ... still alive - at least up until recently. Yesterday at the earliest, actually - if you accept that a broken casement window would have been noticed by whoever was putting the sheets up after the mourners returned to the house. In fact, if your theory is right, you could have just missed him by a matter of hours. This ... this is something that you absolutely must know, as soon as possible.

Almost before you even realize it, you are lurching towards the ashbox. It is hard to tell, considering that you are in a completely dark room, save for the limited light coming off of your 'stick, but it sort of feels as if your vision is narrowing. You feel something discharging from your nose - and concerned that you have started to bleed, you vigorously wipe at it with the back of your hand. There is no blood - in fact, there is nothing at all. You look at it, uncomprehending. It feels as if your nose was running like a stopcock thrown wide. Throughout the rest of your body, 'misery' has been supplanted with 'agony' and you feel near as hot as you did in the back-end of the Refinery. Upsettingly, whatever protection the False Silverware affords your stomach and midriff has been rendered utterly ineffective at this point - both feel as bad as the rest of you. But in spite of all of this, you are smiling. Were anyone down here to see you, it might look like a rictus grin - but as pained as it is, it is genuine and deliberate. You are a few paces away from the ashbox door and knowing. Knowing if you still have anything close to a fighting chance of finding your father again.

You close the remaining distance, and collapse onto the door. You drop your stiletto to free your hand, then alight upon the handle of the ashbox and promptly try to tear the fraying door open. It budges quite a bit ... but it doesn't open.

"Shit!"

At this point, you are beyond caring about swearing out loud like that - you are just so mad at Aldoin for putting a lock on a fraying ashbox. You are in fact so mad, that it takes you several more attempts and an embarrassingly long amount of time for you to realize that you are still leaning on the door, forcing it closed. Not sure if you are about to swear again or start crying in frustration, you stumble backward, wrenching the door open.

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This time, it opens. You quickly offer up a silent prayer for your father, then you duck your head down and get a good look.

The ashbox looked large from the outside - but from the inside, it looks even larger, though there is ash almost up to your waist. As you stare at the pile, trying to keep your teeth from chattering and yourself from vomiting or dry heaving, something inside of the of the pile thumps, and sends up an appreciable cloud of greasy, sooty grit and ash. You bring in the 'stick as close as you dare - not wanting to risk burning the Construct before you get a chance to see it - and you find a half-dozen or so strands of what has to be Conduit, the thickest Conduit that you have ever seen, thick as your wrist. It runs from inside the pile of ash up out of the ashbox, and into the chimney above.

And on one of those Conduits, you find exactly what you were hoping for. Something that you recognize. A bit more than a fortnight ago, you saw your father Scrivening on some scraps of wood. He insisted that he was just keeping in practice, but you couldn't help but notice that he was using actual Ink - which tipped you off to this being something more than simple practice, considering how hard it was for him to come by the stuff. Straightaway, you figured that either he didn't want to teach you the Glyphs he was 'practicing', or he intended to use those Glyphs for something that he didn't want you involved with. Seems that it was the latter ... though now that you think about it, those options aren't mutually exclusive.

Regardless, relief is washing through you. As of late yesterday or earlier today, your father was alive and still in the Mount. You cannot help yourself - you start to sob in relief. But you cannot let yourself completely break down; the ranged remediation cast is still going strong as ever. You managed to get here without being knocked down - but it remains to be seen how long you can stay this close to the Construct before something gives out.

> Please choose ONE of the following:
> You have seen everything that you need to see - at least for now. If you get away from the ashbox right now, without messing around in it, you should be able to continue investigating the basement, then pick up with the Construct once you are ready.
> You have seen everything that you need to see ... but you are not going to go around in this agony if you can help it. Grab even more False Silverware, and blanket the pile of ash with them. Hopefully this will Shield you from the effects of the remediation cast ... and won't have any unexpected deleterious feedback with 'ranged' component of the Mystery. Assuming this works, you will be able to pick up with the Construct once you are ready.
> You haven't seen anything yet. Dig into the pile of ash, and find what beats within, right away! There is risk involved with getting so close to active Constructs that you know next to nothing about ... but if you don't how are you going to learn?

>>5754963
So I have an idea. The fact that the source of the remediation cast changed implies multiple Constructs. Maybe one in each ashbox??

>WRITE IN
>Walk away from this ashbox, the pain is too much to bear. Instead, use the floorplan diagram to find another ashbox. Look instead that ashbox and try to find a dormant Construct

>>5754963
>Close the lid and do a quick sweep of the house. Heights, for all you know, he's got his own carriage and is loading stuff up as you dilly dally here.

>>5754963
I’m fine with anything, so I’ll have to think further on this. I am excited to potentially upstage Father with our perception on what he missed- assuming our luck remains white enough for a reunion.

>>5755061
I concur- and it must have detected the Strangeness from our spell, that timing is too suspicious for it to be random chance. I do wonder what sorta range the remediator has.

>>5755063
Would be based, but I think Father is more worried about containment than he is about packing up and leaving. We should leave him a note in case he comes back to collect his Constructs, something alluding to the bigass Strange mess in Midden, and that here are a lot of ‘chickens’ from his old work buddies clucking around the Mount. Nothing direct.

>>5754963
>> You have seen everything that you need to see ... but you are not going to go around in this agony if you can help it. Grab even more False Silverware, and blanket the pile of ash with them. Hopefully this will Shield you from the effects of the remediation cast ... and won't have any unexpected deleterious feedback with 'ranged' component of the Mystery. Assuming this works, you will be able to pick up with the Construct once you are ready.

>>5755061
Supporting

Alright, closed for the write-in. I'm going to have a quick dinner, and then I will get to writing.

>>5755306
I mean, that +10 difficulty debuff isn’t anything to sneeze at- that’s a serious malus we have going there.

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As you try to stifle your tears of joy at this incontrovertible and undeniable proof that your father is still alive and moving around the Mount, you are also coming to terms with something much more bitter; that facing the full brunt of the cast as you are, there is no way that you are going to remain in any state conducive to investigating this Construct - or anything in this room, if you are being honest with yourself. But ... unless this Construct has the ability to move, or it somehow spans the entire basement, then the two different headings of the 'compass of misery' from two different points of emission would suggest - no, they would require - that there was two different Constructs.

And suddenly, it occurs to you that you might already know where the other Construct is. You take a couple of steps back from the ashbox, keeping your eyes riveted on the pile of ash all the while. Beyond another thump that sends another few clouds of ash up and out, nothing happens - which you expected as much. Without dropping your gaze, you reach into your apron pocket and draw out the book with the maps of the basement. At a point where you have to look away from the ashbox, you flick your eyes downward, and open up the book as quick as you can in your sweating, trembling fingers. Once you find one of the lighting schedule maps, you glance back up at the Construct - honestly, you don't know why you are bothering, it isn't as if it is going to run away ... at least, you assume that it can't, because you can't see any reason for a casting Construct to have auto-locomotive capabilities. And yet ... well, no doubt you are just worried about losing this thing - after all, it represents the last thread connecting you to father.

Actually, it is one of two - the other being the other Construct. And if he hid one of these things in an ashbox, and there are two ashboxes in the house, then it certainly stands to reason that the best place to look for the other Construct would be the other ashbox. First things first, you check to see if there is an outline in the map drawn in solid lines, just like the footprint of this chimney was drawn. It so happens that there is, and it is in a similarly sized room, that to your best estimate, lines up with where the other chimney would be in the house. Even as you fight down a fit of coughs and dry heaves, you smile at that - and you are smiling all the harder after you have done your best to orientate the map of the basement with the bits of the basement around you, because when you compare the relative position of the other chimney with your best recollection of the original heading of the 'compass of misery', they are damned close to one another. Well within what you would consider reasonable error on your part.

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Now all that remains for you is to get yourself there. If you are reading the drawings correctly - and there is no reason to believe that you aren't - then you should be able to get to the room with the other chimney by passing through just two rooms. You take one last long look at the pile of ash in the ashbox - hearing one more thump and witnessing one more kicked up cloud - then you start to suffer your way across the room, lurching your way right towards the correct archway. It is not a pleasant progress - if anything, you would say that you are having a harder time leaving the room than you did entering it, as on the way in, you at least had your stomach Shielded somewhat, as the False Silverware was between your midriff and the point of emission. But now, with your back towards the Construct in the ashbox, your guts are getting in spades and 'barrows.

The room you find yourself in now is of the typical dimensions, and like the room that you were in before the room with the chimney, it has a long-legged lamp in it. However, unlike that room - or any of the others that you have been in - much of this room's floor has been turned up. Stones have been taken aside, the grass has been dug up - as well as the sandy soil underneath it. The tools that did the deed are still here too, either strewn about or stuck into the soil. You lift your 'stick as high as you can in your current sorry state and painfully shuffle nearer to the hole. As you do, you can see that there is a chest - a rather small, very battered and dirty looking chest - sitting askew inside of this little excavation job. You simply have to assume that it was buried here - and out of curiosity, you consult once more with the maps of the basement, to see if there was any indication that something was buried underneath the soil.

As you might have expected, there isn't.

Of course, this chest has probably been cleaned out as well. More frustrated at how much time you spent earlier picking open an empty chest than anything else, you kick the chest with your footwrapped wrapped heel as you pass ... inadvertently knocking the chest free from its precarious perch. That is enough to startle you, but when you hear things inside shifting as well, you are pleasantly surprised. You allow yourself a pained chuckle as you continue to hear something rustling and shifting inside. You make a mental note to come back here once you are done with the Constructs ... as you continue to hear something rustling and shifting inside.

What is going on? Is there ... something alive in there? This isn't a cage, it is a chest. It is sealed. Could vermin have found a way inside? Possibly. But the only living things that you would - and could - keep in a cage are Constructs. Now, you are just shy of absolutely certain that this chest wasn't in the path of the original heading from the 'compass of misery' ... but even if it wasn't, would it be worth investigating straightaway?

> Please choose ONE of the following
> You will continue making your way to the ashbox of the other chimney - though of course you will come back to this chest, so long as you are able. No more 'detours' until you start finishing things!
> You have nothing more than a hunch that there is another Construct in the other chimney - but there is some compelling proof that there is one inside this box. Do your due diligence and check the chest!

>>5756225
> You will continue making your way to the ashbox of the other chimney - though of course you will come back to this chest, so long as you are able. No more 'detours' until you start finishing things!

Stop teasing

>>5756225
>You will continue making your way to the ashbox of the other chimney - though of course you will come back to this chest, so long as you are able. No more 'detours' until you start finishing things!

>>5756223
> You will continue making your way to the ashbox of the other chimney - though of course you will come back to this chest, so long as you are able. No more 'detours' until you start finishing things!

>>5756225
> You have nothing more than a hunch that there is another Construct in the other chimney - but there is some compelling proof that there is one inside this box. Do your due diligence and check the chest!
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=0cmqwbZa6_w

But this actually brings into question if this place has been curated- I mean, this is a pretty big miss if the intention was to avoid Inquisition suspicion.

>>5756225
>You have nothing more than a hunch that there is another Construct in the other chimney - but there is some compelling proof that there is one inside this box. Do your due diligence and check the chest!

>>5756549
Or it's a trap chestfull of flesh eating flying piranha monsters, designed to kill the first dunce who snoops around (who am I kidding it's probably something anticlimactic like mice)

>>5756225
> You will continue making your way to the ashbox of the other chimney - though of course you will come back to this chest, so long as you are able. No more 'detours' until you start finishing things!

Alright, that is 4 to 2 for continuing on to the other chimney. I'll get to writing.

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The mystery alone of what manner of Mystery this might be is certainly tempting - not to say anything about how valuable whatever is inside might be - but if you are accepting that whatever is inside that chest isn't just vermin, and that it is a Construct or the equivalent of a Construct, then is there any real reason to rush? To drop everything and take another detour? Presumably, it was buried in that chest for some considerable amount of time - to keep the thing hidden and safe, no doubt. There is no cause for or sense in believing that all of a sudden it is in danger being ruined or dying right now. No, whatever exactly it is, it can wait the short while it will take you to attend to the Construct in the other chimney's ashbox - assuming of course, that there is such a Construct waiting for you in there.

So you drag your eyes and ears off of the chest, and turn their attentions towards the archway that will lead you into the 'antechamber' of the room with the other chimney. However, as you round the excavation site with steps both mincing and wincing, you start to wonder what tipped off your father - hoping that it was your father - to dig there. You didn't bother really looking around the room - not that there was much to see in it besides the hole with the chest and the long-legged lamp - though from what little look you took, you couldn't see anything that would set this room apart from any of the other empty or almost empty rooms you have been through. Of course, father must have been in much more of the house than you have - perhaps he found some clue in a library, or office, or somesuch place. Actually, now that you think about it, the answer might be much more straightforward. While you never got any names, you know for a fact that there were men that father bought and sold swag to at the University. All sorts of swag. Even graveswag. Now, Aldoin was clearly delving into the Many Mysteries, and even without any ability he -

You stop so suddenly, that in your shuddering and suffering state you nearly fall flat on your face. You never really gave the thought much credence ... but is it possible that Aldoin wasn't in the service of a Witch, or just in service of a Witch ... but that he himself was a He-Witch? Well ... hmm. It is true that there certainly was enough of the Strangeness on hand at the site of his death to give the idea some credence, but if you remember correctly, the Graven Ball was carrying the Strangeness at a higher degree than Aldoin's body, which would indicate that the state of his house was due to the use of the Ball, not his death. And the death of a Witch, even a Stable and diligently self-Cleansing one, would yield the Strangeness in more than just the Second Degree.

Unless whoever had killed him tried to remediate him as well. After all, something tipped the Coroners off that Aldoin's body was rife with the Strangeness. Perhaps ... puncture marks, like the ones you found on the boots in the 'Poonist's Perch?

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That is a thought, certainly ... but even if Aldoin was a He-Witch, what difference would that make at this point? No, you need focus on answering questions, not finding more of them. And to that end ... before anything else happens, before you just get bogged or worn down, you need to get to the other chimney to check the other ashbox. So you hasten your pace and lengthen your stride - as much as you can, feeling as terrible as you do - and you pass into the next room. It is also nearly empty, with a long-legged lamp in the corner, though there are a few smaller implements nearby - an empty wooden pail, a sickle and a set of shears, both in handsomely made leather sheathes, and some ... hand-held-contraption built around what looks to be a copper tank. You cannot make heads of tails of it - but you barely afforded it more than a glance. The important thing is that it doesn't look to be a threat ... and for that matter, it if was behind - on the floor, no less - than odds are very good that it is not valuable or important either. You will take a better look when you come back through here. Beyond that, there isn't anything else in the room - no pulled aside flagstones, no hole, no chests with surprisingly lively prize or prizes inside.

Aye, you are going to press on. Dutifully ignoring all your aches and pains and trembles and even the fact that somewhere along the line that in your teeth have started to chatter, you press into the room that should have the other footer for the other chimney. Immediately, you can see the bricks, right in the same spot that they were in the other room. However, you can also see that there is a lot more in here than that. While the other room had tools and shelves or ... well, you aren't even entirely sure, your attention was elsewhere ... this room is filled with stocks and stuffs. There is food everywhere - preserves in racks, like in the room that you tripped over your own feet in, with a few braids of garlic hanging from the ceiling instead of a 'forest' of sausage. There are bottles, casks and amphora of wine, packed in alongside sacks of different grains. There is a goodly deal of fresh produce as well, and dried fruits. Further into the room, a side of beef and a side of pork hang from hooks, attended by flies and other winged pestilents. In the far corner of the room, there is a stair leading upwards - no doubt into the kitchen of the house. All this food ... if you didn't know better, you'd think that you had come upon another public house. But you shouldn't be too surprised. There was a lot of family at the funeral, and most if not all of them will be staying here.

As hungry as you may be however, you have a lot more important things to be doing than taking inventory of Aldoin's food stores. You make your way to the chimney footer, and find that the door to the ashbox is already open. You get in close, bringing your 'stick to bear - and see a similarly large mountain of greasy, sooty ash.

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You also see some of wrist-thick Conduit, but where in the other box, it looked as if it was pulled tight, here it is hanging, swaying loose. In fact, before your eyes, you can see it slowly and steadily being pulled upward. Two of the strands are lifted up and out of the pile of ash, revealing that they are connected to one another. The join between them heads towards the top of the ashbox, while the rest of the Conduit either is plowing into or coming out of the pile, throwing up ash.

> Please choose ONE of the following:
> What you originally took to be Conduit might be some means of locomotion instead ... but either way, your Construct is escaping! Grab the damned thing before it leaves you in the dust - or rather, the ash.
> You don't know for sure that this Construct is capable of locomotion. In fact, for all you know, someone is upstairs, pulling on this thing right now. The stairs are right there - so sneak up them and investigate!
> You don't know for sure that this Construct is capable of locomotion. In fact, for all you know, someone is upstairs, pulling on this thing right now. And the last thing you need to do is tip anyone off to your presence here. Let it go - there is another one in the other chimney.

>>5757432
> You don't know for sure that this Construct is capable of locomotion. In fact, for all you know, someone is upstairs, pulling on this thing right now. The stairs are right there - so sneak up them and investigate!

>>5757432
> What you originally took to be Conduit might be some means of locomotion instead ... but either way, your Construct is escaping! Grab the damned thing before it leaves you in the dust - or rather, the ash.

If it's dad he won't kill us

>>5757432
>> You don't know for sure that this Construct is capable of locomotion. In fact, for all you know, someone is upstairs, pulling on this thing right now. And the last thing you need to do is tip anyone off to your presence here. Let it go - there is another one in the other chimney.

This definitely isn't something that I'd feel comfortable rolling a tiebreaker for. I'll wait for another vote to come in.

>>5757432
I would’ve voted earlier to break the tie, but I don’t know what is the optimal play here, even after racking my head over it. Sorry Trash.

>>5757432
> You don't know for sure that this Construct is capable of locomotion. In fact, for all you know, someone is upstairs, pulling on this thing right now. The stairs are right there - so sneak up them and investigate!

But you know quiet-like

>>5757940
Consider me supporting the majority opinion if it gets the update out faster

>>5757432
> You don't know for sure that this Construct is capable of locomotion. In fact, for all you know, someone is upstairs, pulling on this thing right now. The stairs are right there - so sneak up them and investigate!

>>5757432
>You don't know for sure that this Construct is capable of locomotion. In fact, for all you know, someone is upstairs, pulling on this thing right now. And the last thing you need to do is tip anyone off to your presence here. Let it go - there is another one in the other chimney.

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> Stealth Test I:

> DC 20: Witchlet Chlotsuintha is a Born and Bred Sneakthief, making a Rudimentary Stealth Test like this [Very Easy]
> + DC 7 Witchlet Chlotsuintha is Hard to Miss, given her size
> + DC 10 Witchlet Chlotsuintha is inside a private space, where those who belong are easy to recognize
> + DC 4 Witchlet Chlotsuintha is now Drained II, and is not moving as quickly or as surely as she might otherwise.
> + DC 6 Witchlet Chlotsuintha is now Tired II, and is not moving as quickly or as surely as she might otherwise.
> + DC 15 Witchlet Chlotsuintha has no knowledge of Aldoin's First Floor.
> + DC 6 Witchlet Chlotsuintha is under the effect of slow-burn ranged remediation cast.
> - DC 8 Witchlet Chlotsuintha is attempting stealth in a poorly lit area.
> - DC 10 Witchlet Chlotsuintha is attempting stealth in an area with strong concealment.
> - DC 10 Witchlet Chlotsuintha is attempting stealth in an area with very limited, directional and predictable traffic.
> - DC 8 Witchlet Chlotsuintha is attempting stealth in an area where incoming traffic would be readily seen and heard.
> - DC 5 Witchlet Chlotsuintha is attempting stealth at at time when potential witnesses would be distracted.
> - DC 1 Witchlet Chlotsuintha is already in stealth, making it easier for her to be undetected

> DC 26: Anything lower is a failure. [Auto-pass(es) available. Re-roll(s) available. No hostile re-roll(s)]

> No Passes: Unpins and Unneedles. Chlotsuintha only manages to get to the corner landing of the Kitchen-Basement stairs before she catches the Conduit of her Wand of Head-Knocking on something, painfully ripping the Socketing Needle out of her arm. She squeals in pain loud enough for anyone on the first floor to hear, and ends up dropping the wand underneath the stair to boot.
> One Pass: Sound Footing. Despite her best efforts, the Kitchen-Basement stairs are just too damned squeaky. By the time that she gets to the top of them, she would have alerted anyone in the room, or in the vicinity of the room that someone just came up the stairs.
> Two Passes: Shadow on the Stairs. Chlotsuintha manages to get into position at the door of the stair without issue. CF and NCF nulled for the next Stealth Test.
> Three Passes: View from the Vestibule. Chlotsuintha gets into position at the door of the stair without issues - and finds that it is well suited for spying on the room. CF and NCF nulled for next Stealth Test. - 3 DC bonus applied to Stealth Test. Malus removed for Sight Test from concealment.

> If ONE of the THREE rolls comes up as a Critical or Near-Critical Failure (Roll of 1 or 2) then instead of falling under the stairs, the Conduit is degloved from the wand, rendering it inoperable.
> If ONE of the THREE rolls comes up as a Critical or Near-Critical Success (Roll of 100 or 99) then Chlotsuintha makes quite the interesting discovery in the darkness of the basement.

Rolled 42 (1d100)

>>5758718
Oh no
Not the unknown horrors of ALDOIN'S FIRST FLOOR

Rolled 1 (1d100)

>>5758718

>>5758776
well fuck

Rolled 87 (1d100)

>>5758718
Didn’t the previous Stealth test null the CF and NCF?

Hmm ... it seems that Aldoin's house is a bundle of Criticals, both positive and negative.

However, looking at >>5752429, it says that 'CF and NCF are nulled for next test'. I thought that I had changed the wording to specify the next test of that type; so three passes on a Sight Test would null the NCF and CF for the next Sight Test and so on... but it seems that I hadn't. So it seems to me that I have to null this CF. Going forward though, I will be sure to make the specification clear.

I'll get to writing.

>>5758801
What is the wand’s conduit, and how bad would it have been?

>>5758813
The Conduit connects the caster (by means of the Socketing Needle) to the wand. With the Conduit degloved, there is no way that the wand can be used as intended. It could be fixed on the Life-Loom, but it would have been an involved process.

Now, it doesn't look like I will be able to finish the update tonight - I'm just about to fall asleep and I'm not even half-done - but in lieu of that vote, I thought that it might be fun to have a background vote, on what historical Witch Chlotsuintha liked to hear about the most from her father, the few times that she could wring a bedtime story out of him. This vote won't provide any benefits - and it won't be mentioned in an update for quite some time - but it will be a fun bit of world-building when it does come up, and could also serve as a narrative introduction to a School that has not been covered in depth - or at all - in the quest yet.

> Please choose ONE of the following:
> Chlotsuintha's favorite stories were of the Abortifacient, Ilsa Arsenikesser [Combat]
> Chlotsuintha's favorite stories were of Leopoldine, the Starlight Shrike [Flight]
> Chlotsuintha's favorite stories were of Beathan Spine-Bearer [Augment-Organs]
> Chlotsuintha's favorite stories were of the Immortal of Logres and Aremorica, [Mutant-Making]

>>5759010
> Chlotsuintha's favorite stories were of Beathan Spine-Bearer [Augment-Organs]

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>>5759010
> Chlotsuintha's favorite stories were of Beathan Spine-Bearer [Augment-Organs]

>>5759010
I’m fine with either Ilsa Arsenikesser or Leopoldine. I’m frankly curious about Combat Magic, and it probably useful to have a fascination with them. The Flight-of-fancy makes us more closer to Father however, and developing such a deeper connection would satisfy me character-wise.

>>5759010
> Chlotsuintha's favorite stories were of the Abortifacient, Ilsa Arsenikesser [Combat]

lol Arsekisser

>>5759010
>Chlotsuintha's favorite stories were of the Immortal of Logres and Aremorica, [Mutant-Making]

>>5759010
> Chlotsuintha's favorite stories were of Leopoldine, the Starlight Shrike [Flight]

>>5759010
>> Chlotsuintha's favorite stories were of the Abortifacient, Ilsa Arsenikesser [Combat]

>>5759010
>Chlotsuintha's favorite stories were of Leopoldine, the Starlight Shrike [Flight]

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There is a lot that you don't know right now - but if this Construct is pulling itself up into the chimney, into a position where you cannot reach it, you are going to have to investigate the first Construct after all. And at this moment, you cannot think of many things that you would want to do less than push back into that ... morass. In fact, even if you were able to gin yourself up enough to attempt it, you seriously question if you'd be able to keep your feet. No, if it came to it, you'd rather follow this Construct out onto the street and all over the Mount than deal with the other one in the ashbox. Alright, maybe not ... but you certainly are going to do everything within reason to not have to go back there. And that starts with checking to see if this Construct is actually capable of auto-locomotion, or someone upstairs is pulling on this thing right now. Assuming that it is auto-locomotion, then you should be in a better position to see the body of it moving from upstairs at the kitchen fireplace looking down than you would in basement looking up.

And if it turns out that someone is pulling on this thing right now, well ... then odds are pretty good it is your father on the other end.

Even as malaised and worn down as you are, that thought is more than enough to send you sprinting towards the stairs. Before you can completely ruin yourself however, you remember where you are and what you are doing. Too miserable to even shake your head or swear under your breath at yourself, you just reign yourself in to a more appropriate pace then close the distance between yourself and bottom step. You notice in passing that there is another chest, almost identical in appearance to the one that you picked open in the first room, right by the foot of the stair. There is more clearance between this chest and the bottom step than there was for the other ... but not too much more. It had occurred to you that there might be something ... particular about the placement of the first chest, but now seeing that this one is more or less the same relative spot ... that is as good as confirmation of the fact.

At the moment though, this chest is nothing more than a distraction. Even if this chest still had its Construct or equivalent inside, it could never hold a candle to the prospect of you reuniting with your father. Yet ...it is only a prospect. If it turns out that someone is hauling up the Construct, but that someone isn't father ... suffice to say, you are very, very glad that you have the Wand of Head-Knocking with you. For a moment, you consider swapping your stiletto for your wand and pinning in a fresh Nodule ... but you decide against it. In the absolutely worse-case scenario, where there is someone who isn't father on the other end of the Conduit, then even if you bungle things bad by making some noise on the stairs, you should be able to get a new Nodule pinned quick enough.

You would be much better served getting upstairs as soon as possible. Figuring that the squeakiest part of a stair is the center, you position yourself as close as you can to the handrail, and then without any further delay you head straight up. There are of course, some creaks and groans to herald your passage, but for the most part you are whisper quiet as you make your way up the stairs. As you round the landing, nestled in the corner of the room, you try to take a last look around in the light of the 'stick - then as a caution, you douse the light. You are certainly not pleased about going the rest of the way in darkness, but you don't want to risk candlelight being seen under the door. There is, of course, a door; you took that as a surety as soon as you clapped your eyes upon the stairs - if there wasn't, there would light filtering into the basement.

On the other side of this door might be father. Or it could be the fight of your life. Or it could be an auto-locomotive Construct. On account of all three of those options, you want to make haste, though for very different reasons. But on account of the possibility that it is a hostile Witch or someone in service of one, you have to slow your pace. It wouldn't serve to let out a great big creak right by the door, now would it? By the time that you draw yourself level with the beam of light penetrating into the basement from underneath the door, you fear that the tension is going to rent you in two ...

> Please choose ONE of the following:
> ... but you need to close the distance if you want to hear as much as you can. [Perform Hearing Test first]
> ... but you are finally going to be able to see into Aldoin's kitchen. [Perform Sight Test first]

>>5760007
> ... but you need to close the distance if you want to hear as much as you can. [Perform Hearing Test first]

>>5760007
> ... but you need to close the distance if you want to hear as much as you can. [Perform Hearing Test first]

>>5760007
> ... but you are finally going to be able to see into Aldoin's kitchen. [Perform Sight Test first]

>>5760007
>... but you are finally going to be able to see into Aldoin's kitchen. [Perform Sight Test first]

>>5760007
>> ... but you need to close the distance if you want to hear as much as you can. [Perform Hearing Test first]
Since we did not get three passes, there would be a malus on the Sight test. I don't know if that means the Hearing test has better odds or not, but it's still one malus we can avoid

>>5760007
>> ... but you need to close the distance if you want to hear as much as you can. [Perform Hearing Test first]

Alright, consider this closed. I'll get the rolls up when I get home.

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> Hearing Test I

> DC 40: Witchlet Chlotsuintha is not Keen of Ear, making a moderate Hearing Test like this [Moderate]
> + DC 6: Witchlet Chlotsuintha is now Tired II and is not as perceptive as she might be otherwise.
> + DC 5: Witchlet Chlotsuintha is attempting a Hearing Test while also trying to remain hidden, complicating her efforts.
> - DC 15: Aldoin's First Floor seems to be quiet and still all around her, which simplifies her efforts.
> - DC 10: Aldoin's Basement has a relatively open floor plan, so only distance 'insulates' against sound.
> - DC 10: Witchlet Chlotsuintha is hidden at the moment, allowing her to listen as long as she needs.
> - DC 3: Witchlet Chlotsuintha passed the previous Hearing Test with flying colors.

> DC 13: Anything lower is a failure. [Re-rolls and auto-passes are available. No hostile re-roll(s)]

> No Passes: False start. Chlotsuintha cannot make anything out. She is also unable to immediately try again, as a complication has just developed.
> One Pass: Low confidence (Flip a Coin) Chlotsuintha is unsure, but she thinks she has heard what there is to hear in her surroundings correctly.
> Two Passes: High confidence (1d20, fail on 1, 2 and 3). Chlotsuintha is almost certain she heard everything there is to hear in her surroundings. CF and NCF nulled for the next test.
> Three Passes: Absolute confidence . What is there to be heard in her surroundings, is heard. Perfectly. CF and NCF nulled for the next test. - 3 DC bonus applied to Hearing Tests.

> If ONE of the THREE rolls comes up as a Critical or Near-Critical Failure (Roll of 1 or 2) then nothing happens as the CF and NCF have been nulled.
> If ONE of the THREE rolls comes up as a Critical or Near-Critical Success (Roll of 100 or 99) then Chlotsuintha gains Complete Knowledge of Aldoin's First Floor.

Sorry that this took so long to get up. Hopefully we can squeeze in a bit of a run tonight though.

>>5761511
Damn it, I screwed up again.

To be absolutely clear; on Two Passes and Three Passes, the CF and NCF will be nulled for the next HEARING Test.

Rolled 70 (1d100)

>>5761511
Turn down for what!

Rolled 30 (1d100)

>>5761511

Rolled 5 (1d100)

>>5761511

Rolled 34 (1d100)

>>5761511

Alright, I have rolled the 1d20 on my end; now I will get to writing.

>>5761572
I wanna see pics of dat dice Trash

File: Hearing Test II.jpg (322 KB, 1024x957)

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... but you instinctively know that you are going to have wait a little longer. With the position of the door, relative to the rest of the room, you can tell straightaway that there are entire swaths of this room that you won't be able to see from here, even if the kitchen was completely devoid of any furnishings, any potential obstructions. No, you are going to have to rely on your ears here - not your eyes. Moving as deliberately as your shivering and intermittently shuddering body can, you close as much of the distance as you dare between you and slit. You doubt that even if anyone was inside the kitchen at the moment, they would be able to see under the thin slit for the door, but ... well, your wand is in your pocket, unsalted and without a Fuel Nodule pinned in, so you simply cannot suffer risks - not now. With your ear in place, you hold your breath, do your best to hold yourself still, and listen as if your life depended on it. Which it very well could.

Unfortunately though, the seriousness of the circumstances are not enough make your ears work any better. At the moment, all you can hear the small creaks and squeaks of the wooden steps underneath you, and the rustle of your clothes ... and no matter how hard you try, you cannot stop either. It is almost to the point where you are more concerned about someone hearing you than you not being able to hear yourself. But just when you think you have been defeated - you find yourself delivered instead. Unmistakably, there is a sound in the kitchen, and it sounds like it is coming from direction of the chimney. It is a hard sound to describe, but it is sort of like ropes unfurling, with - Oh! The thick Conduit, of course!

But - wait, no ... if, if you are right, and it is the thick Conduit, and you can hear it all the way from the basement door, then - well, then it can't really be considered hidden, now can it? So ... Heights of Hell, have you been creeping and crawling around a completely empty house this entire time? Father ... father would never leave a Construct just out in the open like this, no sensible Witch would - not unless they were certain that no one would stumble upon it. You go back to listening again, only to find that the rope-sound has gotten louder, almost loud enough that you don't need to focus and strain to hear it. If you were on the other side of this door, you'd probably hear it no problem. Still, you listen for a little longer - you listen until you are certain that you are hearing blood rustling through your ears, and you cannot make out anything else. You would say with high confidence that there are no sounds of movement or life, beyond the Construct coming down the chimney.

> Please choose ONE of the following:
> It might just be a waste of time, but you want Absolute Confidence that you have heard everything there is to hear. [Perform Hearing Test again]
> You need to be careful - and to exhaust all of your options before making any potentially dangerous moves. [Perform Sight Test]
> You need to move - but you are going to take slow and steady. Slow and steady and stealthy. [Sneak into Kitchen]
> At the rate you are going, you are not going to leave Aldoin's house by morning, much less the Mount. It is time to speed this up. [Walk into Kitchen]

>>5761613
The whole point is that you don't get to see those dice rolls, so you don't know if Chlotsuintha heard everything there is to hear or not.

>>5761721
>> At the rate you are going, you are not going to leave Aldoin's house by morning, much less the Mount. It is time to speed this up. [Walk into Kitchen]

>>5761721
> You need to move - but you are going to take slow and steady. Slow and steady and stealthy. [Sneak into Kitchen]

>>5761721
>> You need to move - but you are going to take slow and steady. Slow and steady and stealthy. [Sneak into Kitchen]

File: Born and Bred Sneakthief II.jpg (939 KB, 1400x1793)

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> Stealth Test II:

> DC 35: Witchlet Chlotsuintha is a Born and Bred Sneakthief, making a Involved Stealth Test like this [Moderately Easy]
> + DC 7 Witchlet Chlotsuintha is Hard to Miss, given her size
> + DC 10 Witchlet Chlotsuintha is inside a private space, where those who belong are easy to recognize
> + DC 4 Witchlet Chlotsuintha is now Drained II, and is not moving as quickly or as surely as she might otherwise.
> + DC 6 Witchlet Chlotsuintha is now Tired II, and is not moving as quickly or as surely as she might otherwise.
> + DC 15 Witchlet Chlotsuintha has no knowledge of Aldoin's First Floor.
> + DC 6 Witchlet Chlotsuintha is under the effect of slow-burn ranged remediation cast.
> - DC 4 Witchlet Chlotsuintha is attempting stealth in an dimly lit area.
> - DC 2 Witchlet Chlotsuintha is attempting stealth in an area with very limited concealment.
> - DC 10 Witchlet Chlotsuintha is attempting stealth in an area with very limited, directional and predictable traffic.
> - DC 8 Witchlet Chlotsuintha is attempting stealth in an area where incoming traffic would be readily seen and heard.
> - DC 5 Witchlet Chlotsuintha is attempting stealth at at time when potential witnesses would be distracted.
> - DC 1 Witchlet Chlotsuintha is already in stealth, making it easier for her to be undetected

> DC 26: Anything lower is a failure. [Auto-pass(es) available. Re-roll(s) available. No hostile re-roll(s)]

> No Passes: Ambushed by Pots and Pans! Kitchens are dangerous places - and Aldoin's is no exception! In her efforts to cling to concealment, she accidentally knocks a cast iron pot off of its hook! [Prompts Vote, Option for Deftness Test]
> One Pass: Sound Footing. Despite her best efforts, the floor of the kitchen is simply too squeaky to move stealthily over. By the time that she has snuck into the room, she made enough noise to alert anyone in the adjacent rooms.
> Two Passes: Shadow from the Stairs. Chlotsuintha manages to get into the Kitchen without issue. CF and NCF nulled for the next Stealth Test.
> Three Passes: Sneakthief at Work. Chlotsuintha gets into the Kitchen without any issue - gaining some knowledge of Aldoin's First Floor at the same time. CF and NCF nulled for the next Stealth Test. - 3 DC bonus applied to Stealth Test.

> If ONE of the THREE rolls comes up as a Critical or Near-Critical Failure (Roll of 1 or 2) then she doesn't have luxury of choice. The cast iron pot falls directly onto Chlotsuintha's right foot!
> If ONE of the THREE rolls comes up as a Critical or Near-Critical Success (Roll of 100 or 99) then Chlotsuintha gains complete knowledge of Aldoin's First Floor instead.

Please, may I have three rolls of 1d100? Also, if you haven't voted for >>5759010, please do so - that vote will remain open until the end of the thread.

Rolled 99 (1d100)

>>5761882

>>5761721
It ain’t about the dice rolls- I want to see the physical dice so I can compliment or bully you over your taste =P

File: 305AD5AA-3D31-49FE-81D4-9(...).gif (1.74 MB, 498x334)

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>>5761931
At this rate I’ll be responsible for gaining complete knowledge of Aldoin's house

I can only hope that it’s useful for swag

>>5761882
Want me to roll the last two dice, or wait? I’ve been waiting for some sort of response, but I realize that maybe you’re waiting for the other rolls.

Rolled 25 (1d100)

>>5761882

Rolled 13 (1d100)

>>5761882
So these are where the crits decide to fall...

>>5761931
Ah yes, master of Aldoin's house and nowhere else. We should even move here, fuck it.

>>5762073
We’re getting more crits here than in all of the rest of the quest- I think the Patternmaker wants us to move in as well

Maybe we can even live it father’s hiding spot under the chest =P

>>5762123
We'll live in the walls and chimneys, feaston sausages and grass tonic, and sleep in the ashbox, cuddled up with our little buddy, the remediation abomination

Alright, I'll get to writing

>>5761933
I told you guys. Minimum 2 crits in Aldoin's house.

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You find yourself more and more ready to believe that Aldoin's house is actually empty. Yet, what the stakes being what they are, not to mention what would or could happen if you were wrong, you just cannot bring yourself to ... wander out into the kitchen, as if you didn't have a concern in the width or breadth of the world. So instead, you take a long shaky breath, and open the door just enough to let you squeeze through. As soon as you clear the door, you lower yourself into a crouch - so quickly, in fact, that you actually get a bit dizzier because of it. But even as your head spins, you are on the alert, looking the place all over. Once you have satisfied yourself in your assumption that no one was in the room, you start stalking towards the chimney. Your attention however, is not on the Construct - which as you had thought, you can hear without straining now that you are outside of the basement door - rather, it has pivoted to looking for all of the doors and the hallways leading into this place. After all, every ingress is a point of entry for a witness to wander in from, and therefore an angle that you need to consider how to conceal yourself from.

As you might have expected for a kitchen, there are quite a few doors leading into here - though you can hope that some of them are just storage, as opposed to other rooms. There are also two hallways, one that leads further into the house, and one that you take about four-fifths of the way to a surety that it leads to the reinforced back door you found when you first walked the perimeter of the place. The short of it is that there are ingresses all around, which really lower the odds of you finding a decent spot where you will be shielded from all potential lines of sight. There is an option of 'hiding in' as opposed to 'hiding behind' ... but of course, it would have to be large enough to accommodate all of you, and even if you were able to find somewhere to squeeze yourself into, there is always the threat of getting cornered. Or even stuck. Now, with the hallways, you should be able to hear someone coming long before they make it into the room - and so long as you aren't caught straight on from the hall, you should be able to do your hearing before you are seen. As for the doors, well, they are a bit trickier, but as you are keeping an ear out you hope that you will likewise hear before any witness manage to get to the door and impose themselves on you. That said, hearing that someone is approaching is going to be much easier than telling for a surety which door they are behind.

Though you probably are working yourself up over nothing. Besides the Constructs and whatever was in that buried chest, this place has been as still and as quiet as the Burying Grounds. But at the same time, it beggars belief that the entire house could be empty. That the family, their guests, and all of their servants even have left the place to seek treatment for the effects of the ranged remediation spell.

File: Implements of Medicine.jpg (41 KB, 320x200)

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Wait ... that - now that you think about it for more than a second, that doesn't make any sense.

For the sake of argument, say that everyone in the house did feel sick, on account of them all being exposed to the Strangeness and being inside of the envelope of a ranged remediation cast that causes marked physiological responses in living targets. So sick that instead of sending for a chirurgeon or a healer of some stripe or other, they - to a man - decided to leave to check into a house of healing. As soon as they got outside of the envelope of the cast, they would have felt better - not perfect, of course, there might have been some haze or malaise from the onset of the Strangeness they had been exposed to. But better. Markedly better. So then ... once they felt better, they ... continued on to the house of healing? No, that doesn't make sense. Even the better run healing-houses for the wealthy are not places where you'd want to go unless you absolutely had to, what with all of the black humors around those places.

If you were in their shoes, and only knew what they knew ... then you would probably shrug it off, and return to the house. Only to find that as soon as you stepped through the threshold, you felt sick again. Which would be terrifying - any reasonable person would assume that there had been some sort of Judgement passed on the house and its occupants. So then, the faithless among them would hire out rooms in public houses - or leave the Mount earlier than planned - while the faithful would head to the nearest temple, seeking sanctuary and absolution. That makes a lot more sense ... except for one point. If there is some credible evidence of a Judgement - which the attestation of an entire household would be considered - then there would be someone sent to see if there was anything here to Witness. As dangerous as being around Judgements - or the Judged for that matter - can be, they are also rare opportunities to see the Working Hand of the Patternmaker in the Realm of Shadows. Priests and the most faithful of the Covenant will go to the Judged or the site of a Judgement to Witness - treating these places or persons as fonts for a dangerous, potentially lethal worship. And once the Judgement passes - assuming that it does pass - in the cases that it was tied to a specific location, and it is safe to do so, it is common practice for Temples to be built on the sites, to commemorate the Work, and allow safer veneration of it.

So if a bunch of faithful turned up at a Temple, believing that they were suffering from some Judgement that was tied to the physical location of Aldoin's house, then the Temple would take immediate interest into this place. They wouldn't let it stand empty, not until they were sure that there wasn't anything here beyond the typical permutations of the Pattern. Is it possible that they already decided that there wasn't anything going on here beside some odd illness? No, that doesn't make sense either.