Gargulec
impact!
- Location
- a garden
Will I get lynched for saying that I don't know what this Ingress is?
Itinerant: A Pilgrim Quest
Will I get lynched for saying that I don't know what this Ingress is?
Scify
It always starts with a lighthouse.
Nah. It's the predecessor to Pokemon Go. An Anomaly is a big competitive event where a few cities around the world turn into active battle zones; a lot of players travel for them.
2.1 First Day
Gargulec
impact!
- Location
- a garden
Was supposed to be early. I was supposed to be working. Oh come on, who did I try to fool? Anyway. Bishop. Lay of the land. Shrine of Saint Odo.
At that time, the bishop of Grace was a man called Gresius; who had held the episcopal see for many years. He was known to be a genial soul, that took the matters of the faith very close to his heart and never allowed the contamination of heresy or idolatry to spread under his eyes; furthermore he put salvation of his flock ahead of any other temporal good, and worked relentlessly to ensure it by gathering in the city of Grace a great multitude of relics and building a great number of shrines and temples, so that the city saw the number of them triple under his pastoral protection, and great was the praise raised to his name.
However, as no man can live without erring, and even the Saints themselves had known the bitter taste of sin, so was too Gresius afflicted with a terrible vice of the temporal, that is greed; for he thought to himself that if all the gold of realm was to be in his hand, he could raise even more shrines and temples and put each relic in a case of precious metal and gems, so that the everlasting glory could be made manifest before mortal eyes. But he had soon lost the virtue in the purpose and focused on amassing earthly gain solely to fill his own coffers; and he imposed a great multitude of taxes on the city and where once songs of praise were sung to his name now laments rose to the sky, for he became a ruin of many good people, who could scarcely pay him off; and those who could not, he would persecute with considerable zeal.
Then one night, he had a following dream: he saw two shepherds who walked a very narrow bridge over a very narrow chasm; one of them wore a shirt of plain wool, and the other wore a sheepskin one, and they each tried to walk across the bridge, but only the shepherd with the wool shirt managed, while the one with a sheepskin shirt faltered and plummeted into the chasm. And waking from that sleep, Gresius understood what he saw as follows: the shepherd with a wool cloak fleeced his sheep, that is taxed them appropriately, so that they could live and provide for him, and he managed to walk to salvation, while the shepherd in a sheepskin shirt skinned them instead for greater gain, but the greed which led him to butcher his own flock was also the cause of his damnation. And from that time, Gresius lowered the taxes and tolls that he had instituted, and sought to exhibit modesty instead of greed. But the Saints, who reward virtue and punish vice, saw also fit to inflict him with a strange affliction that caused his body to swell, as if to make him atone for his past misdeeds.
This is why when the bishop received you in his palace, which was next to the city's fort, where the king's castellan resided, he seemed strange to your, almost bloated, and he bemoaned with his each word that for the disease he had, he could not indulge in hunts and feasting, which brought him considerable grief. He listened to you carefully, though, for the sake of priest Ethal who was his assistant; he also knew your father from the times of war, for they had fought together against the threat of the Seafarers. Because of that he told you that he would not stop you or avert you from your way, despite it being now forbidden for women to make pilgrimages, particularly ones that are young and yet unwed, and due that, tempestuous in their desires of flesh. He also gave you such advice: that few wander to the city of Step anymore, because it is very far away, and that he himself does not know the way and in fact does not know of anyone who knows it, but that in the city of High Tower, which lies in the north, there is a monastery where they keep much obscure wisdom, and the abbot of the monastery, whose name is Eadald, is a friend of his. And saying that, he also gave you a pendant of silver and gold with his name impressed on it, so that you could show it to Eadald, so that he would help you for the sake of their friendship, and having done that, he asked you to leave, for there were other petitioners waiting.
You…
[ ] Left immediately.
[ ] Asked him for his blessing.
[ ] Asked him for some coin.
Having met with the bishop, you decided to go to the temple of Saint Odo and pray there, to thank the Saint for safely delivering you into the city and ask for continued protection and guidance. The temple did awe you, when you entered, for it was filled with treasure, and so much of gold there was inside that with the light of the lamps and candles, it seemed that the entirety of the temple glistened and shone; and a choir of monks sung hymns to the glory of Saint Odo unceasingly, and even though the relic itself was not put on display (you had later learned that it was only shown to the lay two days each year, that is on the Feast of All Saints and Saint Odo's own feast-day); and more, there were also paintings of the Saints on the walls and the vaulting, rendered in reds and golds, that depicted the martyrdom of Saint Odo and many miracles that followed. You prayed fervently for some hours, until your voice grew raspy, and the chill from the floor got to your bones; then, taking example from the other faithful, you crawled from the gates of the temple to the very front of the altar-slab, and kissed the stone beneath which the remains of Saint Odo were said to be deposited.
Thus refreshed, and confident that the Saint's blessing would not leave you, you left the temple. On the steps leading up to it, you passed by a gathering of beggars, who asked for alms from the faithful; they presented their crippled limbs and other deformities and invoked the name of Saint Odo, for they were hungry and cold and without anything to call their own. You noticed that most of their bowls were empty, and that few of the people of the city of Grace deigned to stop by them to offer them charity.
You...
[ ] Passed them by.
[ ] Gave one of them your knife's sheathe (worth half a solidus).
[ ] Gave one of them the fibula fastening your cloak (worth a solidus).
[ ] Gave one of them the signature medallion (worth three solidi).
[ ] Gave one of them your fur cloak (worth twelve solidi).
The rest of the day, you spent making quests to the lay of the land and asking about the roads from and into the city, particularly the ones leading north, where the city of Step lay. You had learned a lot, although some people that you asked thought you rather stupid for asking such things. Firstly, you learned the following: that three weeks of marching (or four weeks if one was to take the river route which was safer, but also slower) north, there was the city of Breakers and three weeks north from the city of Breakers, there was the city of High Tower, and that along that way, there were some smaller cities which were less worth of mention. Secondly, you learned that to the north of the city of Grace, between it and the city of Breakers, there opened a great swathe of swampy land which was difficult to travel; and although a paved road ran through it, and there were inns and road-stops along it, there was also a great number of brigands and exiles who hid in the woods and swamps and hunted lonesome travellers, and that the danger of the People From Beyond The Mountains could not be discounted either, for they being a scourge of the sinners often sent their raiding parties deep into the wilds; as arrows sent by a blind archer whose name was Death. Thirdly, that in the middle of the swamps, there was the city of Pillars, which was wretched by all reckonings. Fourthly, that in and around the swamps, there were pockets of good land which were claimed by a number of monasteries, which laid off the paved road, but there were narrower trails leading to them. And fifthly, that there were many tales of strange beasts that lived within the swamps and forests, that did not care much for ordinary men and found great joy in tempting them off the path and into their doom, and that some claimed that deep in those woods, there is a hollow hill through which one can enter Hell, although this is dangerous for a great number of devils guards it, so that the damned souls do not escape.
All that, you had learned and remembered, from monks and lay people that you asked, and the knowledge was good; however, it was also likely that some of those things interested you more than others, and so during your inquires, you asked about them more.
You…
[ ] Actually refused to show curiosity.
[ ] Asked more about the city of Pillars.
[ ] Asked more about the People From Beyond The Mountains.
[ ] Asked more about bandits and brigands.
[ ] Asked more about the monasteries.
[ ] Asked more about the river route.
[ ] Asked more about the strange hill.
2.1 First Day
At that time, the bishop of Grace was a man called Gresius; who had held the episcopal see for many years. He was known to be a genial soul, that took the matters of the faith very close to his heart and never allowed the contamination of heresy or idolatry to spread under his eyes; furthermore he put salvation of his flock ahead of any other temporal good, and worked relentlessly to ensure it by gathering in the city of Grace a great multitude of relics and building a great number of shrines and temples, so that the city saw the number of them triple under his pastoral protection, and great was the praise raised to his name.
However, as no man can live without erring, and even the Saints themselves had known the bitter taste of sin, so was too Gresius afflicted with a terrible vice of the temporal, that is greed; for he thought to himself that if all the gold of realm was to be in his hand, he could raise even more shrines and temples and put each relic in a case of precious metal and gems, so that the everlasting glory could be made manifest before mortal eyes. But he had soon lost the virtue in the purpose and focused on amassing earthly gain solely to fill his own coffers; and he imposed a great multitude of taxes on the city and where once songs of praise were sung to his name now laments rose to the sky, for he became a ruin of many good people, who could scarcely pay him off; and those who could not, he would persecute with considerable zeal.
Then one night, he had a following dream: he saw two shepherds who walked a very narrow bridge over a very narrow chasm; one of them wore a shirt of plain wool, and the other wore a sheepskin one, and they each tried to walk across the bridge, but only the shepherd with the wool shirt managed, while the one with a sheepskin shirt faltered and plummeted into the chasm. And waking from that sleep, Gresius understood what he saw as follows: the shepherd with a wool cloak fleeced his sheep, that is taxed them appropriately, so that they could live and provide for him, and he managed to walk to salvation, while the shepherd in a sheepskin shirt skinned them instead for greater gain, but the greed which led him to butcher his own flock was also the cause of his damnation. And from that time, Gresius lowered the taxes and tolls that he had instituted, and sought to exhibit modesty instead of greed. But the Saints, who reward virtue and punish vice, saw also fit to inflict him with a strange affliction that caused his body to swell, as if to make him atone for his past misdeeds.
This is why when the bishop received you in his palace, which was next to the city's fort, where the king's castellan resided, he seemed strange to your, almost bloated, and he bemoaned with his each word that for the disease he had, he could not indulge in hunts and feasting, which brought him considerable grief. He listened to you carefully, though, for the sake of priest Ethal who was his assistant; he also knew your father from the times of war, for they had fought together against the threat of the Seafarers. Because of that he told you that he would not stop you or avert you from your way, despite it being now forbidden for women to make pilgrimages, particularly ones that are young and yet unwed, and due that, tempestuous in their desires of flesh. He also gave you such advice: that few wander to the city of Step anymore, because it is very far away, and that he himself does not know the way and in fact does not know of anyone who knows it, but that in the city of High Tower, which lies in the north, there is a monastery where they keep much obscure wisdom, and the abbot of the monastery, whose name is Eadald, is a friend of his. And saying that, he also gave you a pendant of silver and gold with his name impressed on it, so that you could show it to Eadald, so that he would help you for the sake of their friendship, and having done that, he asked you to leave, for there were other petitioners waiting.
***
You have gained a Signature Medallion, and appraised it to be worth three solidi!
***
You…
[ ] Left immediately.
[ ] Asked him for his blessing.
[ ] Asked him for some coin.
Having met with the bishop, you decided to go to the temple of Saint Odo and pray there, to thank the Saint for safely delivering you into the city and ask for continued protection and guidance. The temple did awe you, when you entered, for it was filled with treasure, and so much of gold there was inside that with the light of the lamps and candles, it seemed that the entirety of the temple glistened and shone; and a choir of monks sung hymns to the glory of Saint Odo unceasingly, and even though the relic itself was not put on display (you had later learned that it was only shown to the lay two days each year, that is on the Feast of All Saints and Saint Odo's own feast-day); and more, there were also paintings of the Saints on the walls and the vaulting, rendered in reds and golds, that depicted the martyrdom of Saint Odo and many miracles that followed. You prayed fervently for some hours, until your voice grew raspy, and the chill from the floor got to your bones; then, taking example from the other faithful, you crawled from the gates of the temple to the very front of the altar-slab, and kissed the stone beneath which the remains of Saint Odo were said to be deposited.
Thus refreshed, and confident that the Saint's blessing would not leave you, you left the temple. On the steps leading up to it, you passed by a gathering of beggars, who asked for alms from the faithful; they presented their crippled limbs and other deformities and invoked the name of Saint Odo, for they were hungry and cold and without anything to call their own. You noticed that most of their bowls were empty, and that few of the people of the city of Grace deigned to stop by them to offer them charity.
You...
[ ] Passed them by.
[ ] Gave one of them your knife's sheathe (worth half a solidus).
[ ] Gave one of them the fibula fastening your cloak (worth a solidus).
[ ] Gave one of them the signature medallion (worth three solidi).
[ ] Gave one of them your fur cloak (worth twelve solidi).
The rest of the day, you spent making quests to the lay of the land and asking about the roads from and into the city, particularly the ones leading north, where the city of Step lay. You had learned a lot, although some people that you asked thought you rather stupid for asking such things. Firstly, you learned the following: that three weeks of marching (or four weeks if one was to take the river route which was safer, but also slower) north, there was the city of Breakers and three weeks north from the city of Breakers, there was the city of High Tower, and that along that way, there were some smaller cities which were less worth of mention. Secondly, you learned that to the north of the city of Grace, between it and the city of Breakers, there opened a great swathe of swampy land which was difficult to travel; and although a paved road ran through it, and there were inns and road-stops along it, there was also a great number of brigands and exiles who hid in the woods and swamps and hunted lonesome travellers, and that the danger of the People From Beyond The Mountains could not be discounted either, for they being a scourge of the sinners often sent their raiding parties deep into the wilds; as arrows sent by a blind archer whose name was Death. Thirdly, that in the middle of the swamps, there was the city of Pillars, which was wretched by all reckonings. Fourthly, that in and around the swamps, there were pockets of good land which were claimed by a number of monasteries, which laid off the paved road, but there were narrower trails leading to them. And fifthly, that there were many tales of strange beasts that lived within the swamps and forests, that did not care much for ordinary men and found great joy in tempting them off the path and into their doom, and that some claimed that deep in those woods, there is a hollow hill through which one can enter Hell, although this is dangerous for a great number of devils guards it, so that the damned souls do not escape.
All that, you had learned and remembered, from monks and lay people that you asked, and the knowledge was good; however, it was also likely that some of those things interested you more than others, and so during your inquires, you asked about them more.
You…
[ ] Actually refused to show curiosity.
[ ] Asked more about the city of Pillars.
[ ] Asked more about the People From Beyond The Mountains.
[ ] Asked more about bandits and brigands.
[ ] Asked more about the monasteries.
[ ] Asked more about the river route.
[ ] Asked more about the strange hill.
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LucidProp
Pocky Eating MafiaDoka
[X] Left immediately.
[X] Passed them by.
[X] Asked more about bandits and brigands.
[X] Consulted the Book for information on the People From Beyond the Mountains.
I'm wary of asking for more. The man's in pain, and he's done a lot for us already by letting us continue our pilgrimage even though it's illegal, and even gave us a lead on how to get to the City of Step. Asking for more is just abusing his generosity.
I propose we consult the Book for his condition next turn and ask Ethal if what we've found out can help the Bishop any as a way of saying thanks.
I'm already wary of giving them anything. These people are desperate and if we give one of them something from us, we're gonna get mobbed for our valuables because surely, a kind soul such as us can afford to spare a few more of our worldly possessions?
Kind of hypocrital of someone who's basically only gotten this far because of the generosity of other people, but it's a worry that's very real in my eyes.
[X] Passed them by.
[X] Asked more about bandits and brigands.
[X] Consulted the Book for information on the People From Beyond the Mountains.
I'm wary of asking for more. The man's in pain, and he's done a lot for us already by letting us continue our pilgrimage even though it's illegal, and even gave us a lead on how to get to the City of Step. Asking for more is just abusing his generosity.
I propose we consult the Book for his condition next turn and ask Ethal if what we've found out can help the Bishop any as a way of saying thanks.
I'm already wary of giving them anything. These people are desperate and if we give one of them something from us, we're gonna get mobbed for our valuables because surely, a kind soul such as us can afford to spare a few more of our worldly possessions?
Kind of hypocrital of someone who's basically only gotten this far because of the generosity of other people, but it's a worry that's very real in my eyes.
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LucidProp
Pocky Eating MafiaDoka
Let's not give away our Fibula.
It serves to fasten our cloak, and in the absence of buttons, is really convenient for keeping the cloak on us when the winds are strong or when someone's trying to steal our expensive cloak from us.
Fibulas also worked as status symbols, and as a young lady on a solo-pilgrimage, it's really important people recognize what we do at a glance.
It serves to fasten our cloak, and in the absence of buttons, is really convenient for keeping the cloak on us when the winds are strong or when someone's trying to steal our expensive cloak from us.
Fibulas also worked as status symbols, and as a young lady on a solo-pilgrimage, it's really important people recognize what we do at a glance.
- Pronouns
- They/Them
[X] Left immediately.
[X] Passed them by.
[X] Asked more about bandits and brigands.
[X] Consulted the Book for information on the People From Beyond the Mountains.
[X] Passed them by.
[X] Asked more about bandits and brigands.
[X] Consulted the Book for information on the People From Beyond the Mountains.
- Location
- St. Petersburg
[X] Left immediately.
[X] Gave one of them your knife's sheathe (worth half a solidus).
We can choose several things here? Well then.
[X] Consulted the Book for information on the People From Beyond the Mountains.
[X] Asked more about the river route.
I admit, the city of Pillars interests me greatly, but given the hazards one has to risk to get there we are unlikely to visit it. SV could prove me wrong, though.
[X] Gave one of them your knife's sheathe (worth half a solidus).
We can choose several things here? Well then.
[X] Consulted the Book for information on the People From Beyond the Mountains.
[X] Asked more about the river route.
I admit, the city of Pillars interests me greatly, but given the hazards one has to risk to get there we are unlikely to visit it. SV could prove me wrong, though.
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Gargulec
impact!
- Location
- a garden
I should probably clarify, you get to pick one thing + consult the book about one subject!
LucidProp
Pocky Eating MafiaDoka
Out of all the locations, I'm interested the most in the Hill that's supposedly a gateway to Hell.
Chances are, it's just rumors that stem from some eccentric bandits, but on the off chance that the rumors are actually true...
Well, I wouldn't mind proving the rumor right.
Chances are, it's just rumors that stem from some eccentric bandits, but on the off chance that the rumors are actually true...
Well, I wouldn't mind proving the rumor right.
Gargulec
impact!
- Location
- a garden
Oh Saints gracious, this is not in the vote selection? Here's to me and my proofreading. Moment, fixing that.
- Location
- Denmark
- Pronouns
- She/Her
[X] Asked him for his blessing.
To ask for the blessings of the virtuous, is to acknowledge mortal failings and seek moral guidance on the Just Road.
[X] Gave one of them your knife's sheathe (worth half a solidus).
To give away the cloak that warms one, or the fibula that fastens it would be noble, albeit harmful to walking the pilgrim's path. Likewise, to give nothing and pass by those in need would be ignoble. Thus, to give the sheathe of our knife, is the most moral and least harmful action we can take.
[X] Consulted the Book about the strange hill
To know the words of Saints and the sayings of Priests is virtuous, and greatly beneficial to the journey of the pilgrim.
[X] Asked more about the river route.
To walk the pilgrim's path, one must first ensure that one walks an actual path.
To ask for the blessings of the virtuous, is to acknowledge mortal failings and seek moral guidance on the Just Road.
[X] Gave one of them your knife's sheathe (worth half a solidus).
To give away the cloak that warms one, or the fibula that fastens it would be noble, albeit harmful to walking the pilgrim's path. Likewise, to give nothing and pass by those in need would be ignoble. Thus, to give the sheathe of our knife, is the most moral and least harmful action we can take.
[X] Consulted the Book about the strange hill
To know the words of Saints and the sayings of Priests is virtuous, and greatly beneficial to the journey of the pilgrim.
[X] Asked more about the river route.
To walk the pilgrim's path, one must first ensure that one walks an actual path.
2.2 Second Day
Gargulec
impact!
- Location
- a garden
You decided to not bother the bishop, give some alms out and check out the rivers and hellish hills! That's something.
2.2 Second Day
Towards the closing of the day, shortly before evening prayers, when the sun was yet up on the sky, even as it leaned more and more towards its nightly rest, you again took into your hands the Book of Roots, to see what the pious monk Desiderus had to relate about the strange hill that was rumoured to be a gateway to the infernal realms. While you looked to sate your curiosity, others, who were gathered in the hospice, were very surprised that you carried with yourself such a book, and listened carefully as you read, even if they did not understand what they heard.
Of the lower depths, such were the words of Desiderus:
Next to that description of abyss, there was a gloss scribbled in a steady hand that read: Liefs call in their tongue "black abyss" the hill that stands not far the Abbey of Saint Traft in the vicinity of the city of Pillars, from which we can confer it contains in itself a road that leads into the depths. On that, the gloss ended, and you resumed reading from Desiderus.
Later, when the needs of both your flesh and your spirit were sated, and you laid in bed next to others, you recalled the events of the day one last time before falling asleep, particularly thinking of two matters, one that was related to the bodily aspect of your pilgrimage and one that related to the spiritual. First, you thought of what you had learned about the river routes; that ships often sail the river Charm from the city of Grace to the city of Breakers, carrying various goods and passengers, and that such way, while slow and often onerous is considered safe, for the river Charm is known to be blessed ever since saint Marga the Martyr had been drowned in it by pagans for refusing to bow down to their idols and not renouncing the Saintly faith, and that it is also held under special protection by the king, who keeps ports along it well-maintained, and even appointed some of his closest companions to keep watch over them. Therefore, it was prudent for those travellers who wanted to avoid the bleak swamps, dangerous trails and the city of Pillars to take the river route, and you had also been informed that a ship would be soon leaving for the city of Breakers, but also that the ship's captain, king's companion Notkar was known to be ill-inclined to taking passengers who do not carry arms, and required a considerable fee of silver and gold to be convinced to do otherwise.
The matter spiritual was that charity you offered to a haggard-looking man on the steps of Saint Odo's shrine; the sheathe of your knife, which was encrusted with silver. He took it and thanked you profusely for helping a man who had all hope taken from him, and blessed you by the names of all the Saints that were known to him, and as he did, a sense of lightness came over you, and confidence that the path you tread is a just one, even though you also had to put your knife in your pack, and felt strange not having it on your belt, as was the custom.
In the end, such were your decisions: (pick three)
[ ] See the monk that demanded your presence.
[ ] Seek the king's man Notkar and ask him about river passage to the city of Breakers.
[ ] Look for more information about nearby lands…
[ ] Go look if Ethal the priest had returned to the city, to learn about your father's health.
[ ] Go wandering around the city, to see what is there to be done in it.
[ ] Attempt to buy something…
2.2 Second Day
Towards the closing of the day, shortly before evening prayers, when the sun was yet up on the sky, even as it leaned more and more towards its nightly rest, you again took into your hands the Book of Roots, to see what the pious monk Desiderus had to relate about the strange hill that was rumoured to be a gateway to the infernal realms. While you looked to sate your curiosity, others, who were gathered in the hospice, were very surprised that you carried with yourself such a book, and listened carefully as you read, even if they did not understand what they heard.
Of the lower depths, such were the words of Desiderus:
A cave is a subterranean rift from which it is possible to 'look out'. Fumarole is the name given to all places of pestilential exhalation, which the Easterners call Charon, or Acheron. Reatinus, too, calls such a place a fumarole; and fumaroles are so called because they are places where the earth produces an exhalation. A cleft is a deep break of the earth, as if the term were 'a departure'. Properly speaking, however, cleft is the opening of the mouth of a human being, with the sense transferred from wild beasts, whose eagerness for something is shown through opening of the mouth. The deep is properly said of something as if its bottom were 'far off'. Incorrectly, however, 'the deep' is applied to what is on high as well as what lies below, as in: The seas, the lands, and the deep sky. Abyss is the word for an excessive depth: and it is called as if the term were "black abyss", that is, black from its depth.
Erebus is the deep inner part of the underworld…
Below that continued the description of various layers of hell, but before you could read them, one of the monks who were tending to the hospice, alarmed by the commotion, commanded that you stop reading about such dark matters in what is the home of the Saints and that also you should present yourself and your book to him on the morning of the next day, although he did not specify why. And others who were in the hospice made gestures of devotion, for listening about the infernal matters set them ill at ease, particularly when the words seemed alien and strange to them; and there was some discussion as whether you should ever speak of such things, but then the call to meal and prayer was heard.
Later, when the needs of both your flesh and your spirit were sated, and you laid in bed next to others, you recalled the events of the day one last time before falling asleep, particularly thinking of two matters, one that was related to the bodily aspect of your pilgrimage and one that related to the spiritual. First, you thought of what you had learned about the river routes; that ships often sail the river Charm from the city of Grace to the city of Breakers, carrying various goods and passengers, and that such way, while slow and often onerous is considered safe, for the river Charm is known to be blessed ever since saint Marga the Martyr had been drowned in it by pagans for refusing to bow down to their idols and not renouncing the Saintly faith, and that it is also held under special protection by the king, who keeps ports along it well-maintained, and even appointed some of his closest companions to keep watch over them. Therefore, it was prudent for those travellers who wanted to avoid the bleak swamps, dangerous trails and the city of Pillars to take the river route, and you had also been informed that a ship would be soon leaving for the city of Breakers, but also that the ship's captain, king's companion Notkar was known to be ill-inclined to taking passengers who do not carry arms, and required a considerable fee of silver and gold to be convinced to do otherwise.
The matter spiritual was that charity you offered to a haggard-looking man on the steps of Saint Odo's shrine; the sheathe of your knife, which was encrusted with silver. He took it and thanked you profusely for helping a man who had all hope taken from him, and blessed you by the names of all the Saints that were known to him, and as he did, a sense of lightness came over you, and confidence that the path you tread is a just one, even though you also had to put your knife in your pack, and felt strange not having it on your belt, as was the custom.
***
Saint Odo's blessing strengthens! You grow certain that when the time comes to invoke it, it will have even more impact!
***
With such thoughts on your mind, you slept, but hardly easily; you woke up before prime, covered in sweat and feeling sore, as if something terrible had just occurred to you; yet you could not recall any dream or nightmare that could had plagued you so. The feeling passed with the prayer and the morning meal, and receded entirely when you set out to decide how to spend your second day in the city of Grace.Saint Odo's blessing strengthens! You grow certain that when the time comes to invoke it, it will have even more impact!
***
In the end, such were your decisions: (pick three)
[ ] See the monk that demanded your presence.
[ ] Seek the king's man Notkar and ask him about river passage to the city of Breakers.
[ ] Look for more information about nearby lands…
[ ] About the city of Pillars.
[ ] About the Abbey of Saint Traft.
[ ] About the bandits and brigands of the swamps.
[ ] About the People From Beyond The Mountains.
[ ] About the Abbey of Saint Traft.
[ ] About the bandits and brigands of the swamps.
[ ] About the People From Beyond The Mountains.
[ ] Go look if Ethal the priest had returned to the city, to learn about your father's health.
[ ] Go wandering around the city, to see what is there to be done in it.
[ ] Attempt to buy something…
[ ] [specify what]
[ ] Attempt to sell something…
[ ] [specify what]
[ ] [Write in]
Scify
It always starts with a lighthouse.
[X] See the monk that demanded your presence.
[X] Look for more information about nearby lands…
- [X] About the bandits and brigands of the swamps.
[X] Go look if Ethal the priest had returned to the city, to learn about your father's health.
The last one seems a bit of a stretch, but I am curious. Alternatively, I suppose we could try to find information about getting to Step from a library or cartographer.
[X] Look for more information about nearby lands…
- [X] About the bandits and brigands of the swamps.
[X] Go look if Ethal the priest had returned to the city, to learn about your father's health.
The last one seems a bit of a stretch, but I am curious. Alternatively, I suppose we could try to find information about getting to Step from a library or cartographer.
Gargulec
impact!
- Location
- a garden
Note that neither of those are really much of a thing in the setting/time depicted; libraries are just the collections of books usually held by the religious elite and (especially) monasteries and abbeys, they are usually rather small (a library of 300 volumes would be considered large) and never publicly available. In the city, a collection of books may be held by the bishop's estate and the monasteries that are located within it, although neither of those are likely to be exhaustive. As for cartographers, it is a profession pretty much non-existent, and any maps that you could come across would be at best of very limited use, and would probably be more useful for spiritual needs than actually mapping out your way forward.
LucidProp
Pocky Eating MafiaDoka
[X] See the monk that demanded your presence.
[X] Seek the king's man Notkar and ask him about river passage to the city of Breakers.
[X] Look for more information about nearby lands…
-[X] About the People From Beyond The Mountains.
[X] Consult the Book on the Bishop's ailment.
If the tales about the river being blessed are true, then it's unlikely we'll meet monsters and demons on the way, and, if the information we gathered holds, there shouldn't be any bandits.
That leaves the People From Beyon the Mountain who were described as an arrow from the blind archer that is death. They could strike anywhere so looking them up might save us if we encounter.
Also, let's go do something nice for the Bishop as thanks.
[X] Seek the king's man Notkar and ask him about river passage to the city of Breakers.
[X] Look for more information about nearby lands…
-[X] About the People From Beyond The Mountains.
[X] Consult the Book on the Bishop's ailment.
If the tales about the river being blessed are true, then it's unlikely we'll meet monsters and demons on the way, and, if the information we gathered holds, there shouldn't be any bandits.
That leaves the People From Beyon the Mountain who were described as an arrow from the blind archer that is death. They could strike anywhere so looking them up might save us if we encounter.
Also, let's go do something nice for the Bishop as thanks.
- Location
- St. Petersburg
[X] See the monk that demanded your presence.
[X] Seek the king's man Notkar and ask him about river passage to the city of Breakers.
[X] Look for more information about nearby lands…
-[X] About the People From Beyond The Mountains.
[X] Consult the Book on the Bishop's ailment.
Will do. We probably will have to sell our cloak to afford boarding the ship if we won't be able to convince Notkar otherwise.
I'd try to look for Ethal tomorrow, too.
[X] Seek the king's man Notkar and ask him about river passage to the city of Breakers.
[X] Look for more information about nearby lands…
-[X] About the People From Beyond The Mountains.
[X] Consult the Book on the Bishop's ailment.
Will do. We probably will have to sell our cloak to afford boarding the ship if we won't be able to convince Notkar otherwise.
I'd try to look for Ethal tomorrow, too.
Gargulec
impact!
- Location
- a garden
Again, for the sake of clarity: it is outright impossible for you to find work in a single day that will allow you to earn enough cash; there is a million of reasons for that raging from there not being that much demand for unskilled labour in the city, the pilgrim being a woman and therefore not someone supposed to work for money and the character not having any skill or ability that is prestigious/valuable enough to practice and the character not being affiliated with any groups that allow/disallow the practice of such trades in the area of the city.
bookwyrm
Doom of Public Libraries
- Location
- Wichita, Kansas
When the Bishop gave us our bling/passport/letter of introduction was it more because he's pretty chill and spiritual as death looks to be a little nearer than he likes or because of being a family of some standing and lingering distinction from the riffraff for being an old-school free Lief?