I have to wonder what would have happened if we'd spent most of the quest not ever checking our objectives. Possibly Sagacity would channel some of Crumple's bafflement.
EDIT: That was very odd, the text was present in the post but it didn't appear at all until I fiddled around with Parabola's quote above it a bit. Never encountered that before.
You slowly amble past the quartermaster's shed at a distance to get a feel for the layout of the thing. The sound of a mallet on wood alerts you to a pair of legion engineers doing some work on the supports on the rear-right side of the building. That could be useful.
What about entrances?
CRAFT: The roof looks flimsy.
It's true. The roof is just wooden shell panels nailed loosely in place, designed to be torn down for easy transport when the legion goes on the move.
ATHLETICS: We could definitely climb up there, there's an outcropping on the manse wall you could climb up and vault off, then it's just a matter of shimmying across the left side and up onto the roof.
PHYSIQUE: And then we could just pry up one of those panels and climb right inside at the back.
STEALTH: But can we do it without being seen? Yes. You can time your movements to the sound of those mallets, nobody inside would be able to notice.
AWARENESS: Unless they see us pulling off part of the roof. Best hope they aren't looking that way, or this place is so cluttered that we'll have cover.
EMBASSY: Maybe we should take a different approach. What about talking to those engineers? Maybe they can help us get inside. They must be patching up something.
[ ] Try the roof.
[ ] Talk to the engineers.
[ ] Actually, let's come back later.
The stocky woman looks unimpressed at your line of defense.
FEATHERS: "Feathers, engineer second class. Now who are you, and why are you wearing that cloak?"
EMBASSY: Maybe we can come up with a plausible reason for all of this and avoid further embarassment.
EMBASSY: DIFFICULT
CHECK FAILED
"I was just making sure you were a real engineer. Doing a spot check, you know. You can never tell, what with all these lurking imposters and their constant hammering."
FEATHERS: "What?"
"I'm saying that I think it's possible that there are some people who have been sent to this camp specifically to exacerbate my headache. I'm checking it out. Doing an investigation."
The engineers look at each other. Your arguments do not appear to have convinced them.
EMBASSY: Well, I think they did convince them that you are unstable enough that it would be a bad idea to immediately call the guards, so that's something.
[ ] Persist in conversation.
[ ] Run away.
[ ] Steal a hammer and run away.
[ X] Persist in conversation.
I want to see just how deep we can dig this hole. let's keep going until we either reached the other side of the world, or just help Mei dig our grave for us.
Alright, let's keep this garbage fire going. What's next?
EMBASSY: Wait, don't you remember what you told Fincher? You promised you'd be weird only in a constructive way.
Construction! Yes, that's the ticket.
CRAFT: I can do construction.
EMBASSY: That's not really what-
CRAFT: EXTRAORDINARY
CHECK PASSED
CRAFT: Let's do it.
"Am I to understand that you think that I- I, am not a fully qualified engineer?"
FEATHERS: "Uh, yeah, I'm pretty sure I do think that."
"I, who have wrought great bridges out of nailback quills for the Pasha of Verun, and river barges of jade-inlayed lapis for the Sky Princes of Zephyr? I have forged panoplies for high priests, emperors, and priest-emperors! I have constructed manses by imperial commission, and launched armadas of boats that have sailed the great western ocean!"
FEATHERS: "You... you mean ships?"
"Do not presume to tell me my business! Give me that."
You snatch the iron-headed mallet out of her hand and look at what they were working on. The wall of the shed is partially shored up by support beams, arm-width wooden beams bracing at a forty-five degree angle. One of them has popped out of place, causing the wall to sag.
CRAFT: No, it's the reverse. The weight placed on the other side of this wall has caused this support to fail and be pushed out of place, they were just hammering it back into place from ground level, but it will be much easier if you get up to a higher angle.
You walk up the narrow support beam like a tightrope walker and soundly thwack it back into place with two strikes from your newly claimed mallet. The wall realigns. The job is done.
"Behold!"
The engineers stare. You stand atop the support beam like a commanding general bestride a noble steed.
FEATHERS: "Uh... thank you, lady."
"Now that I am finished with you, you may depart."
They quickly make themselves scarce. It's possible that they just forgot about the mallet in the confusion, but it's more likely they just didn't want this conversation to last any longer.
CRAFT: There, that was constructive, right?
EMBASSY: I suppose that technically qualified, yes.
Alright, what now?
[ ] Go back around the front and talk to the guards.
[ ] Climb onto the roof of the shack to enter stealthily.
[ ] Forget about this, the hammer should be sufficient.
Alright, let's go. This side is clear, and there are plenty of camp tents to obscure the view, so you should have a clear path up.
STEALTH: It's going to be trickier without those engineers tapping away to mask our movements, but hopefully we can improvise.
ATHLETICS: You should be able to scale the roof from here, just reach up and grab it.
You hop up from your vantage atop the support beam and grab the paneled wood with your fingers. With some effort you haul yourself up.
AWARENESS: There, a slight gap in the paneling. You will be able to see inside.
CRAFT: Shameful work ethic, really.
Inside the quartermaster's store is gloomy and unlit. You see the shadows of shelves and the gleam of metal. It looks like there's nobody inside. Just the guards out front to worry about, then.
STEALTH: DIFFICULT
CHECK PASSED
You tap the side of the wall with the iron mallet in time with you prying up the loose shell panel with your other hand. It takes a few tries to get the motion right, but when you finally tear it clear, it won't have sounded any different to nearby listeners than the engineers working on a different part of the wall.
Angling yourself for the gap you have made in the roof, you drop down into the darkness and landing in near-silence on the sawdust-covered floor.
Around you is a trove of wonders, lit only by the dim sunlight filtering through the gap you tore in the roof.
What should you take?
[ ] Look for the hawk sword.
[ ] Look for the ivory hatchet.
[ ] Look for the fancy Raigi armour.
[ ] Look for some nice clothes.
[ ] Look for an officer's uniform.
[ ] Look for something valuable.
[ ] Take a suit of legion armour.
[ ] Take a legion spear.
[ ] Take a Palean breastplate.
[ ] Take a Palean glaive.
[ ] Take a navy greatcoat.
[ ] Take a navy broadsword.
[ ] Take a scout's tent and bedroll.
[ ] Take a sack of flour.
[ ] Take a sack of rice.
[ ] Take a wheel of cheese.
[ ] Take a bar of soap.
[ ] Take a box of nails.
[ ] Take a mysterious sealed powder horn.
[ ] Take a jar of... what is that? A jar of something.
[ ] Take a coil of rope and climbing gear.
[ ] Take firewood.
[ ] Take a book.
All non-identical votes will be counted. However, difficulty of checks in the next post will be set on how much you are taking.
