A Simple Transaction I

The winning vote was [X] Cast Line with [X] Purchase It.

Well, that was surprisingly easy. Hunger has defeated the Armament Fish without taking any major Conditions, and Gisena wasn't harmed either! The benefits of tactics and rolling well! Or perhaps the Forebear's might was simply so incredible, as to neatly trivialize even so formidable an opponent as this... There's a reason it was named the All-Defeating Stance, after all, even if Hunger can only grasp a modest fraction of the dimensions-spanning iteration employed by the Forebear. So long as the core principles are consistent, rising to the Forebear's level is only a matter of execution and time.

Too bad about that Ber guy. Now you'll be hard pressed to figure out who exactly hired him to kill Versch. Maybe it was related to Letrizia's hypothesized betrayal incident, the suspiciously timed Astral onslaught that left her stranded in the first place? Access to less lethal tactics may need to be a consideration. Edeldross alone is a bit too weak given Hunger's total power level now.

You've received 3 picks from the Armament Fish. You have about 14 to 15 Arete. If you manage to generate enough Arete for Once and Future II / Pillars of Creation, I'll add it to this selection, otherwise you'll have to pick from among these options!

[ ] Stranglethorn - You'll only be one pick away from Stranglethorn! It costs 4 picks total, of which you can spend 3 to buy most of it piecemeal due to Core Panoply.

Age and treachery made flesh.

The might of beasts is not the only province of the ring Hunger. It bears witness to a deeper and elder power as well, the strength of root and stem that bleeds life from the earth itself to thrust upwards towards heaven. The might of oaks, ancient and thousand-ringed, which crumbles stone and blunts steel, which repels the wind and absorbs the tide, which stands unscathed even in the face of heat and fury. That juggernaut stubbornness like a gnarled fist: the power to push through problems with patient, unyielding strength, to break them down and see them crushed beneath you.

Defining Advancement - You may currently have no more than four Defining Advancements.

Increase by 20% the value of all Rank +s
Double the value of Strength and Constitution +s
Double the value of Willpower +s
Reduce by 20% the value of Agility +s
Establishment: By committing meaningful resources towards a given context, and staking out a solid position, you slowly but increasingly accrue power and influence within that context, becoming ever-more inescapable and impossible to dislodge.

*Grants no immediate power since you're not actually getting Stranglethorn!
*You need Stranglethorn to get Sword in the Stone. Sword in the Stone is really good, not just because Hour of Reckoning is broken - it has massive utility for the Geas task.

[ ] Sharpening the Blade [4 Arete] - Hunger will spend picks and Arete on an efficient package of some notable Advancements he has yet to acquire - Honing, Opalescence and Iridescence. Would be great to pick up Opalescence now that you've absorbed the Opalescent Tower, and Iridescence's extension of Evening Sky-sourced Protection to apply against almost all hostile magics would make Hunger even more resistant to esoteric effects. However, note he does already have All-Defeating Stance granting ablative protection via the Power of Ruin.

Still, he does possess overwhelming offensive power via Artful Thorn, so bringing his defenses further up is certainly worth considering!

*A good degree of immediate power, and lots of value for your picks.
*Save up for Pillars, OaF II, etc

[ ] Forebear's Blade: Fisher King [12 + 12 Arete] - The hand that steadies the rod, rules the world.

Or perhaps that is not always so. If not, then make it so.

Fish, even if it cannot be fished.

Costs five picks total. One of the Defining Advancements that could have been unlocked by [Feat: Crown].

*Double the proc rate and mitigation effect of Huntress' Moon against fish-based targets
*+50% to All Stats for purposes of fishing. Only works on literal fishing.
*++Wisdom, +Int, +Wits, +50% Rank growth
*Wait for it
*+10 Accursed Favor
*Holy fuck
*Grail Keeper: At any time while within a land he rules the wielder may take on the Decimator's Affliction into himself. For the duration, the Decimator's Affliction merely poisons the land, rendering it barren and and its residents infertile, rather than claiming lives. Territories not under the wielder's rule are not affected by this mitigation. This causes him to suffer the Affliction of Leprosy and the Mutilating Affliction for the duration.

*No immediate power, costs a lot of Arete. You are only required to spend 12 at this juncture.
*Immensely powerful Decimator's mitigation, allowing it to be weaponized against opposing polities
*May be used to immediately unlock Sword in the Stone in lieu of one of its requirements

[ ] Hasten Signs [19 Arete] - Hunger will hasten his acquisition of the Fourth and Fifth Empyreal Signs from the Cloak of Sky. This has the potential to grant immense power and capability, or access to a versatile effect somewhat greater in utility than the Second and Third Signs.

Hastening the Fourth Sign costs 1 pick and 7 Arete.
Hastening the Fifth Sign cost 2 picks and 12 Arete.

To qualify for a hastened sign, Hunger must meet minimum levels of Int, Wis and Cha, and slay an enemy of appropriate type (the enemy this time was Bearic, Grandmaster of the Blue). Exceptional levels of Int and Wits can also discount the cost of hastening. These discounts if they exist have already been applied this option. You may also get Signs for free from Adorie's research, but that would take a lot longer. This way she can work on Signs even further above these in power!

Example Sign:

Fifth Sign: Armor of Midnight [Evening Sky] - The Cloak of Sky is the heavens and all their intervening vastness unfurled, yet that which was the Shroud of Evening has not forgotten the form of its predecessor. He who dons the Armor of Midnight becomes nigh-invincible to harm or ill, for the aegis of his panoply is as vast and unconquerable as the universal void.

Returns now the Evening Sky - not merely of twilight, but of all darkness, king!

Casting time: 10 minutes
Duration: 8 hours
Cooldown: 1 week
Reagents: If below Rank 11, burn .1 Rank, otherwise burn .01 Rank.

The wielder is nigh-invincible. Treat his Protection as effectively infinite for purposes of defending against any form of harm incapable of destroying the entire universe, otherwise treat his Protection as increased by one thousand. Non-damaging hostile conditions and unwanted esoteric conditions have their impact mitigated by three orders of magnitude or by a degree appropriate to the effect if it had attempted to target all interplanetary space within the entire universe, whichever mitigation is greater. This grants effective Stage II mitigation of all Curses while active. Returns the appearance of the Cloak of Sky to that of the Evening Sky while active; the disguise function of Skyveil may not be used for the duration.

*As you can see, Fifth Signs are typically very powerful, but with steeply commensurate costs. Armor of Midnight requires set-up time and is not spammable, but means Hunger when prepped becomes an unyielding juggernaut in the face of all but the rarest of assaults.