Mare Internum: An Exalted Quest

[Crumplepunch]

[X] What was I like?

Click to shrink...

"What was I like?"

Logris blinks twice behind her large spectacles before responding.

LOGRIS: "Magistrate. I have the greatest respect for you and your office, which is why I have no intention of lying to you. You were difficult."

LOGRIS' FACE: You were a horrendous garbage fire and it is a miracle the ship did not sink sooner.

"Wow, your face is really expressive."

LOGRIS: "I beg your pardon?"

LOGRIS' FACE: I beg your pardon?

"Nothing, please continue."

LOGRIS: "Where to begin? You gambled with jade. You slept nude on deck. You started fights almost every day. You stole alcohol from the officer supply to keep yourself constantly drunk. You sold one of the legion officers cocaine laced with firedust, which started a fire belowdecks. You knocked out one of my officers because, and I quote, 'boat is a perfectly good word'-

"Oh, yeah, Fincher mentioned that one."

LOGRIS: "-and were generally as terrible and openly criminal a passenger as it was possible for you to be."

LOGRIS' FACE: This was the short list.

LOGRIS: "You were, frankly, very clearly in the midst of some kind of emotional breakdown. I pitied you, and tried to help keep your spirits up. But after a few weeks of this behaviour, I did have to keep you confined to the brig, for the safety of the ship and crew."

LOGRIS' FACE: And because you were very annoying.

[ ] I'm sorry.
[ ] Man, past me was so much cooler than present me.
[ ] Why did I have firedust-laced cocaine?
[ ] Did I do anything good at all?

Spoiler: Thought Cabinet

Diamond and Thunderbolt
The highest calling of any Dragon-Blood is to fight the Anathema. They are some of the few adversaries in the world who can outmatch you in single combat, and a material and spiritual threat to the order of the world. Those who have slain one of these terrible creatures have a unique place of respect anywhere the Realm or the relicts of the Dragon-Blooded Shogunate hold sway. Could you be one of these heroes? Is your secret mission to slay the human demons that haunt this island?
War -1 (Personal Deeds Only)
24 hours.

The Dweller in Chaos
You had a daiklave. How did you obtain this precious treasure? What is its history? Where did it go? Is there any chance you might be able to get it back? Probably not, honestly, but surely an outside chance of having a cool sword is better than nothing.
Craft +1 (Contemplate the Material)
Integrity -1 (Memory Hole)
12 hours.

Mysterious Stranger
Someone has changed the numbers. What does it mean? You have to know. Someone is here today who wasn't yesterday. Do you remember their face from before they were here? Will you remember them tomorrow? Why are they here, what are they planning? You have to know.
Integrity +1 (Someone Has Changed The Numbers)
Presence -2 (Wild-Eyed Paranoia)
10 hours.

The New Black Jade
This island was the last known location of the infamous sorcerer-warlord Yonris and her armies. She was Dragon-Blooded, like you. You don't know who you are. It doesn't take a genius to figure out that you might be one and the same... but it does take an idiot to seriously entertain the idea. Have a good long think about Yonris and try to figure out if there's any good reason to think you're not her.
Sagacity -2 (Objectively Preposterous)
Presence +1 (Appeal to Vanity)
8 hours.

The Prisoner's Dilemma
You asked for the gag back. Why? Did you derive some value from it? Was it the joy of violence? The warm satisfaction of eating well? The exhilaration of surviving danger? Was it perhaps that it was just funny? Is it possible that it might be some other, mysterious, fifth thing, heretofore unknown to you? Take some time to ponder the gag thing. Then talk to Fincher about it.
Integrity +1 (Do You Know What You Want?)
Sagacity -1 (Obviously Irrelevant)
8 hours.

You are currently thinking about Unbroken Rushes (Complete), Maker, Builder, Breaker (19 hours), and The Opening Gate (25 hours)

 

[Crumplepunch]

[X] I'm sorry.
-[X] (If possible) It's not becoming of my station to do such things, or respectful towards you or your boat.

Click to shrink...

"I'm sorry."

LOGRIS: "You did say that a few times. But I suppose it behooves me to accept, what with you having saved my life, as I said."

LOGRIS' FACE: Please do not do any of that again.

"I promise to be more respectful to you and your boat in future."

Logris sighs.

LOGRIS' FACE: That will have to do.

[ ] I want to know more about the corpse-thing you mentioned.
[ ] What did I call myself when we knew each other?
[ ] I'd like to ask about you.

 

[Crumplepunch]

[X] What did I call myself when we knew each other?

Click to shrink...

"What did I call myself when we knew each other?"

LOGRIS: "Oh, yes, I suppose that would be a reasonable question. But I'm afraid it will be of little help in discovering your identity. You introduced yourself only as the Wolf of Sibun. I assumed it was your idea of a joke."

LOGRIS' FACE: I was confused as well.

SAGACITY: DIFFICULT

CHECK PASSED

SAGACITY: Sibun was the imperial winter palace in Luo-Han. It was mysteriously destroyed thirty years ago. The Wolf of Sibun is the name used for the supposed Anathema responsible, though there is no information on them, if they even exist. It's just a baseless rumour to explain the disaster.

Could I actually be the Wolf of Sibun?

SAGACITY: Maybe? The only thing anyone knows about them is that they destroyed the palace of Sibun thirty years ago. You're old enough, so it's not impossible. Why would you do something like that, though?

Why indeed?

THOUGHT GAINED: The Wolf and the Falcon

"Isn't that a little unusual?"

She stares at you levelly.

LOGRIS: "Yes, that is a little unusual."

LOGRIS' FACE: I mean, obviously.

"Wait, so I just came on board and said 'I'm a famous Anathema, one ticket to death island please'?"

LOGRIS: "More or less, yes. A month into our journey we recieved coded instructions to make port at Iora to pick up an important passenger. The message was properly coded but unsigned. It might have come through some unconventional channels in the admiralty, or from the only other person with authority over the water fleet."

LOGRIS' FACE: The Empress.

"How did you recieve this message at sea?"

LOGRIS: "Through the legion's sorcerer-adjunt, the Bane of Kadj. I did not ask him for specifics."

LOGRIS' FACE: I fucking hate the Bane of Kadj.

LOGRIS: "Now, I think I have exhausted my knowledge of our travels together. Perhaps we should talk about someone else?"

[ ] I'd like to talk about the corpse-thing you mentioned.
[ ] I'd like to talk about Mei.
[ ] I'd like to talk about Fincher.
[ ] I'd like to talk about Usamir.
[ ] I'd like to talk about The Bane of Kadj.
[ ] I'd like to talk about you.

 

[Crumplepunch]

[x ] I'd like to talk about Mei

Click to shrink...

"I'd like to talk about Mei."

LOGRIS: "Yes, I suppose we should talk about the dragonlord. Her personal history with you is clearly impeding you from whatever mission you were sent here to perform."

LOGRIS' FACE: Even more than you were managing on your own.

"What do you think of her?"

LOGRIS: "Dragonlord Mei is, in my judgement, an exceptional officer whose reputation and record speak for themselves. We are not close, but she has not given me reason to doubt her soundness before today. Even though she is suffering from impaired judgement over a few particular topics, that does little to diminish my respect for her."

LOGRIS' FACE: But it does a little.

[ ] What's her problem with me?
[ ] How can I improve things with her?
[ ] What other topics is she suffering impaired judgement over?
[ ] What happened to her face?
[ ] Do you think I could take her in a fight?
[ ] Actually, I wanted to ask about someone else.

 

[Crumplepunch]

[X] What's her problem with me?

Click to shrink...

"What's her problem with me?"

LOGRIS: "I really could not tell you. She has never been more specific about your background than she was today."

LOGRIS' FACE: Which is to say, entirely vague.

"We had some kind of argument on your boat, right? How did I react about it?"

LOGRIS: "Your argument was heated. She was furious, you were very drunk and apologetic. Eventually I had to seperate you to prevent further disruption. Honestly, I was making an effort not to listen. It was not my business."

LOGRIS' FACE: Even though you were trying to make it everyone's business. And please stop calling it a boat.

"You really didn't hear anything?"

LOGRIS: "I heard plenty, but it was very incoherent, it was eight months ago, and I made no particular effort to remember it. I am sorry."

LOGRIS' FACE: I am not really sorry.

LOGRIS: "In any event, the you of eight months ago evidently knew what happened between her and the dragonlord, and it did her no good in effecting a successful apology. Even if I could recall some scrap of detail, it would not help you in bringing her around."

LOGRIS' FACE: Was there anything else?

[ ] How can I improve things with her?
[ ] What other topics is she suffering impaired judgement over?
[ ] What happened to her face?
[ ] Do you think I could take her in a fight?
[ ] Actually, I wanted to ask about someone else.

 

[Crumplepunch]

[X] What happened to her face?

Click to shrink...

"What happened to her face?"

LOGRIS: "It is curious, is it not? It looks quite like a burn scar, but one cannot burn fire with fire, and electrical burns look quite different. Perhaps it is the result of some kind of sorcery."

LOGRIS' FACE: I would not know anything about that.

LOGRIS: "Or perhaps she was burned before she Exalted. In any case, she was scarred long before we first met, so I cannot help you beyond this speculation."

LOGRIS' FACE: Anything else?

[ ] How can I improve things with her?
[ ] What other topics is she suffering impaired judgement over?
[ ] Do you think I could take her in a fight?
[ ] Actually, I wanted to ask about someone else.

 

[Crumplepunch]

[x] Do you think I could take her in a fight?

Click to shrink...

"Do you think I could take her in a fight?"

LOGRIS: "I hope it will not come to that."

LOGRIS' FACE: No, though.

"Yeah, but, you know, if it did."

LOGRIS: "I have many areas of expertise, magistrate, but I am, by Dragon-Blooded standards, an indifferent fighter, and judge of fighting ability in others. I cannot answer this."

LOGRIS' FACE: It is no, though.

LOGRIS: "However, in honesty, I think conflict between you is inevitable."

LOGRIS' FACE: One-sided conflict.

"Why do you say that?"

LOGRIS: "She wants to fight you. You sensed it, did you not? She stayed even when she was resolved not to help you, trying to provoke you into action. Why, I cannot say. If she wanted to she could simply strike the first blow, or order you executed. It would be illegal, but so would instigating a duel."

LOGRIS' FACE: Which you would lose.

You decide to stare at the floor and not pay attention to Logris' face for a bit.

LOGRIS: "Magistrate, she holds all the cards. If you want to know, if you want to reckon with your past, you may have to do what she wants. To quote Tepet, 'It is for a better world, to suffer the defeat of a moment before we enslave ourselves to victory.'"

"That means you think I can't win, right?"

LOGRIS: "That is not what I meant. Tepet was forced to call off his assault on the capital to save his remaining sisters. Historians are divided over whether he could have won if he had sacrificed them. But that would have made him a slave to victory."

LOGRIS: "If it comes to that, remember his choice. Choose the better world."

[ ] How can I improve things with her?
[ ] What other topics is she suffering impaired judgement over?
[ ] Actually, I wanted to ask about someone else.

 

[Crumplepunch]

[X] How can I improve things with her?

Click to shrink...

"How can I improve things with her?"

LOGRIS: "Without even knowing what you did to offend her, I am not certain that you can."

LOGRIS' FACE: It must have been something amazing.

"Well, I'm not sure what to do, then."

LOGRIS: "Well, as I see it, you have two choices. You can stay out of her way and work around her, in which case she has indicated that she will make your life as difficult as possible, or you can do what she wants."

LOGRIS' FACE: A difficult choice.

"And what is that?"

LOGRIS: "She wants to fight you, as we discussed. I am not certain whether she wants some justification in killing you or whether she just wants the fight, but that she wants to fight you seems clear. At least to me."

LOGRIS' FACE: I thought we already went over this.

"And if I decide to avoid her instead?"

LOGRIS: "I would wish you the best of luck. But the dragonlord seems like your best lead to finding out who you are, and why you were sent here."

LOGRIS' FACE: What will you do without that?

"What do you suggest?"

LOGRIS: "I really cannot answer that for you. In your position, I would probably try to avoid her. Direct aggression has never been my way."

LOGRIS' FACE: I prefer indirect aggression.

LOGRIS: "Whatever you choose, I hope you will be able to assist me in an unrelated matter. But we can discuss that later."

LOGRIS' FACE: Was there anything else?

[ ] What other topics is she suffering impaired judgement over?
[ ] Actually, I wanted to ask about someone else.

 

[Crumplepunch]

[X] What other topics is she suffering impaired judgement over?

Click to shrink...

"What other topics is she suffering impaired judgement over?"

LOGRIS: "Well, I suppose we are going to get to that unrelated matter now."

LOGRIS' FACE: Well, here goes.

"Oh? You said you wanted my help with something?"

LOGRIS: "Yes. I want to enter Thazaniel."

LOGRIS' FACE: As soon as possible.

"It looks like the door is open."

LOGRIS: "Dragonlord Mei has refused to allow me entry, citing the danger of exploring alone. She has also refused to give me a legion or auxilliary bodyguard for the task. And as all the surviving marines have been formed into an auxilliary wing under Usamir, I have none of my own people to call on."

LOGRIS' FACE: This is extremely aggravating.

[ ] Why do you want to enter Thazaniel?
[ ] Why does Mei think exploring Thazaniel is dangerous?
[ ] Why don't you just sneak inside?
[ ] Don't you outrank Usamir? Shouldn't you be the auxilliary winglord instead?

 

[Crumplepunch]

[X] Why does Mei think exploring Thazaniel is dangerous?

Click to shrink...

"Why does Mei think exploring Thazaniel is dangerous?"

LOGRIS: "Of the island's manses, only Nuan's Reach, the fortress at the heart of Ashglass, is inhabited and claimed. Normally the satrap or the local Dragon-Bloods would be tripping over themselves to claim such a prize. Dragonlord Mei is of the opinion that they have left it alone for good reason."

LOGRIS' FACE: I disagree, of course.

"Maybe she's right."

LOGRIS: "Perhaps. Even so, I do not think we should let the opportunity to explore it pass."

LOGRIS' FACE: With or without her permission.

CRAFT: Exploring abandoned ancient manses sounds like a great idea to me.

[ ] Why do you want to enter Thazaniel?
[ ] Why don't you just sneak inside?
[ ] Why aren't you in charge of the navy marines?
[ ] I'd rather talk about something else.