Esquestria: The House of the Sun - A pony cultist experience

[Greymere]

...so. I just realized. We could do something very funny next turn.

We could potentially get both our SH and Knock Sacraments in a single turn. It would require getting Baldomare's SH Sacrament instead of our own (which would make me kind of sad tbh, I want our history-vision to get better), but it would only eat 1 AP, and we could feed the other 2/3 (depending on what's happening) into DoA's Knock Sacrament, if we ask her for a Knock lesson to get us to 4/4 scraps

 

[AuthorTransient]

There's still the Ruined Church expedition left, but I wanted to quickly write up a tentative plan of action for the upcoming turn.

Followers:
Rarity + Comet Feet (leader) to the Grave on the Hill, with our Artifacts
Jade to scry for Windy
Biedde to find and remove Copper
Baldomare's Sacrament
Ask for a lesson of Heart from Mareinette
Ask for a lesson of Knock from DoA
Selene to learn her Winter skill and ???

Velvet:
Baldomare's Sacrament
DoA's Sacrament
??? x 2

 

[Nevermort]

Then if we do get another Level 5 book later, it's not actually a problem anymore and we can read the Moth 5 book and sacrifice the new one. But reading it right now is a bad idea. If we find a new Level 5 book in the meantime, then we can read the Moth book and still get our +1 Moth scrap. If we don't, then we can prevent Baldomare from being desummoned. If we read it now, and don't get a new Level 5 book, Baldomare gets desummoned for 3 turns and we'll have to spend a bunch of bits resummoning her.

As far as I can tell, there is zero benefit to reading it next turn vs. waiting until later.

Also, my apologies regarding what I thought your motivation was. It was actually Iustus who wanted the read the Moth 5 book because they thought it would be more interesting for the lowercase-L lore, my brain got a bit scrambled there, apparently.

Click to shrink...

I don't expect us to be forced to desummon Baldomare. We would know about any such issue beforehand, and would be able to scry for another book expedition if it comes to this.

...so. I just realized. We could do something very funny next turn.

We could potentially get both our SH and Knock Sacraments in a single turn. It would require getting Baldomare's SH Sacrament instead of our own (which would make me kind of sad tbh, I want our history-vision to get better), but it would only eat 1 AP, and we could feed the other 2/3 (depending on what's happening) into DoA's Knock Sacrament, if we ask her for a Knock lesson to get us to 4/4 scraps

Click to shrink...

I still want our SH sacrament, but I don't mind delaying it in favor of Knock sacrament if it comes to this.

 

[Greymere]

I still want our SH sacrament, but I don't mind delaying it in favor of Knock sacrament if it comes to this.

Click to shrink...

Oh we wouldn't have to delay it, we would just have to take Baldomare's Sacrament instead of our personal one. Unless you meant you would prefer to delay our personal SH Sacrament in place of taking Baldomare's?

 

[Nevermort]

Oh we wouldn't have to delay it, we would just have to take Baldomare's Sacrament instead of our personal one. Unless you meant you would prefer to delay our personal SH Sacrament in place of taking Baldomare's?

Click to shrink...

Yes. By our Sacrament I meant our personal Sacrament. Sorry if I was not clear.

 

[Iustus Vitea]

I'm fine with reading the Moth book later I just don't want it to be the thing we burn for Baldomare.

 

[DelightedOne]

Awww, Silky update. And Baldomare is here too.

Oh, she noticed Baldomare does not want to care about life anymore, that would be worrying if she understood what that means.

Wait a minute Baldomare calls Silky to do occult stuff? And here I thought she was the responsible Name.

What...

Reflection of the Tapestry, CD variable]

[Roll: 31 + 50 (Baldomare) – 50 (Incompetent Celebrant Cutest Assistant) + 60 (Lantern Level 6) – 150 (??????) = -59]

[Negative result, ritual fizzles]

Click to shrink...

So that is what makes the reflection ritual fizzle, a negative result. Damn it, I was hoping we could just get the expedition that way, what do we do now?

Oh, she invoked a re-roll and she is curious, everything is fine now.

We captured our first Changeling... Yay(but sad). I hope it is not Thorax or Pharynx since they can become Harmony's changeling version of Alicorns, it could be bad if Celestia kills them.

Finally, the expedition is done, lets see the rewards.

-Gained one Artifact (Lantern, level 4, unstudied) of unknown properties.

Click to shrink...

Fuck yes, more scraps means Sacrament progress, if we study this we just need one more before getting A Splendour from Baldomare and reaching 4/4 scraps. And an Artifact is always useful of course.

-Gained one book (Moth, level 5. Requires deciphering. Progress 0/100. From an Era that is Ancient Beyond History, "-50" to deciphering rolls.)

Click to shrink...

Holy shit, we found an emergency book for Baldomare, great. But my Lantern side is tempted to read it, that Era -50 and level 5 just proves it's the good stuff

-Gained one book (Knock, level 5. Requires deciphering. Progress 0/100. From One Era Ago, "-30" to deciphering rolls.)

Click to shrink...

ANOTHER ONE? YOU ARE NEVER LEAVING, BALDOMARE.

-Gained one Reagent (MOTH, Level 4)

-Discovered the expedition "Beneath the Royal Castle, pt. 3"

Click to shrink...

Um, a Moth 4 Reagent and part 3, already expected it and if that is what we got on part 2... part 3 will be magnificent. Interesting the cd's weren't higher, I expected DoA to have more difficulty here.

And there is an awful Wolf summon we will never use, great.

"With that in mind, tell me something Velvet. Has she ever asked you to go somewhere, in her stead? Has she ever asked you for a favor, or maybe asked you to do an errand for her? Has she ever offered you a deal?"

Click to shrink...

Ah, the foggy mirror is the way to the Frangiclave? Now we have to do it.

We already have 2 books for Baldomare so 6 more turns with her are guaranteed. Are we using her to scry part 3? Because that sounds like it is very important and very rewarding and we all know cultists can't resist that.

 

[Greymere]

We already have 2 books for Baldomare so 6 nore turns with her are guaranteed. Are we using her to scry part 3? Because that sounds like it is very important and very rewarding and we all know cultists can't resist that.

Click to shrink...

It is very tempting! Especially if we put off the SH Sacrament in exchange for speedrunning the Knock Sacrament next turn, in which case we wouldn't need Baldomare's AP (for either SH Influence or Beyond the Map's Edge).

Because while completing Beyond the Map's Edge and Through the Foggy Mirror on the same turn would be very funny, I do think I still want to get Velvet's personal SH Sacrament.

 

[Venerable Ro]

Well isn't that interesting? Some good progress being made on multiple fronts. Dearest Silky continues to display admirable insight and empathy, she's managed to charm every one of our guests in some small way through genuine honest friendship. What was that saying about the heart of a child?

Who could have predicted that one of the very first character decisions made in this quest would have such far-reaching consequences? I'm very proud of her.

Now then, books! Books and artifacts, my goodness me, quite a little haul this is, and so useful too! We have a backup for keeping Baldomare around if need be, we have a fairly high-level Lantern artifact (which is one of the most useful Lores to be able to boost) and there's even a Moth reagent that'll probably prove very useful at some point. Time to start studying some trinkets so that we can get some use of the things, as others have noted the Lantern artifact will let Luna summon Mares-In-The-Light all by herself, and who knows what that Knock artifact does.

Now then, the results of the key investigation... Hilarious is what it is, on multiple levels, that the thing we were looking for is right under our noses. Certainly a reason to get on with it, no? Personally I'm of the opinion that Axe does not know the Key is behind her sacrament task, if she did she wouldn't be sitting making endless Wrong Keys and she wouldn't be so passive about sending us on the trek. I suspect the Key is incidental, so to speak, and whatever she wants done will lead us past/to it as an unintended benefit, and the key itself would be an optional bonus reward.

Optional in that we'd be presented with the choice of giving it to Axe, or keeping it for our own use. Perhaps the Frangiclave stands as the Knock equivalent of Moldywarp's Stone, a frighteningly powerful Name-artifact with abilities beyond common adept-made trinkets.

This raises an interesting thought, that Sacrament-expeditions in general might offer more opportunities than just the sacrament itself, opportunities for loot, knowledge, and unique narrative consequences. Personally that hypothetical is one more reason for me to prefer Baldomare's adventure with the Secret Histories, we might get to bring back a souvenir.

And finally, we have at last gotten results from our Bureau, time for our constables to do what they do best and start kicking some doors in. I wonder if it would be possible to send Biedde to sabotage the Changeling defenses to give our lot an advantage? I'm honestly inclined to just let them at it without any meddling on our part, just to see what happens mechanically when the Bureau gets an entire pile of expedition loot to pick over. It's still our operation after all, we'll still get to use it, especially if any particularly curious trinkets allow us an excuse to get a hoof into Midday Dew's door. National security and all that, since the Dust proved so ineffective we can argue more direct insight is needed in order to support field operations.

Edit: Actually, since we have Shining and Cadance in our Definitely-Not-A-Conspiracy, I wonder if we could manage to directly fold Biedde into the raid as some sort of undefined "Special Agent" assigned to us by the Crown as a wartime asset. Basically, "The Princess wants this done properly, this stallion has been assigned as backup and insurance."

 

[Shaper47]

Necromancy isn't the problem, it's the fact that the sacrifices have to still be alive when you sacrifice them for it to work

Click to shrink...

Just use criminals, people here have had less of a problem aiming to kill other more innocent targets afterall.

By calming spirits I mostly meant sending them to correct afterlife, so you just kill them until no one left. Perhaps assault rival expedition would work with spirits as target. Now it is entirely possible that Velvet does not have means to kill them, or they would be too much for her.

Click to shrink...

You want wipe out an entire race of manus beings...

We literally already did that with the pony race that stayed behind in the Woods instead of leaving like the three tribes.

The Mansus creatures "Percussipony!" have gone extinct.

Click to shrink...

That what created this new race.

The things in these ruins, you realize, were born from the fire and misery that came to be when the Woods burned.

Maybe they are the hateful spirits of the things that died. Maybe they are the smokes from the hungry flames that destroyed everything in their path. Or maybe they are something else altogether, like a pack of nightmares that came into existence as the old forest choked to death.

Click to shrink...

This is their correct afterlife.

The only way the could be deader is if you genocided them all into Nowhere.

Which yeah would be a pretty rad plan to do but still genocide.

Fuck yes, more scraps means Sacrament progress, if we study this we just need one more before getting A Splendour from Baldomare and reaching 4/4 scraps. And an Artifact is always useful of course.

Click to shrink...

And with a prisoner on hand we can get that Lantern Sacrament straight away while we have the influence.

 

[Nevermort]

Edit: Actually, since we have Shining and Cadance in our Definitely-Not-A-Conspiracy, I wonder if we could manage to directly fold Biedde into the raid as some sort of undefined "Special Agent" assigned to us by the Crown as a wartime asset. Basically, "The Princess wants this done properly, this stallion has been assigned as backup and insurance."

Click to shrink...

We can send Velvet on Changeling expedition as one of her Bureau actions. It is available under Commisioner actions, no need to spend our Names actions on it.If there is any valuables Velvet likely can run Moth or Grail check to pocket it.

 

[Greymere]

We can send Velvet on Changeling expedition as one of her Bureau actions. It is available under Commisioner actions, no need to spend our Names actions on it.If there is any valuables Velvet likely can run Moth or Grail check to pocket it.

Click to shrink...

Oh yeah, I forgot that was an option. While I have my doubts whether we'd be able to steal anything while actively participating in the raid, it might be a good idea to tag along anyway. Mainly because... well, the Bureau has no Lores, and it really wouldn't look good if its first real strike against the Changelings failed because they couldn't roll well enough to clear the expedition Loreless.

 

[Shaper47]

Actually, since we have Shining and Cadance in our Definitely-Not-A-Conspiracy, I wonder if we could manage to directly fold Biedde into the raid as some sort of undefined "Special Agent" assigned to us by the Crown as a wartime asset. Basically, "The Princess wants this done properly, this stallion has been assigned as backup and insurance.

Click to shrink...

Names are kinda sus.

We could probably get away with "hiring" Comet Feet as muscle though. Ensures its successful and gets Velvet bits.

 

[Nevermort]

You want wipe out an entire race of manus beings...


We literally already did that with the pony race that stayedbehind in the Woods instead of leaving like the three tribes.
That what created this new race.


This is their correct afterlife.
The only way the could be deader is if you genocided them all intoNowhere.


Which yeah would be a pretty rad plan to do but still genocide.

Click to shrink...

They are not new race, they are undead that lingered in the Ashes because Wolf would not allow their torment to end. To claim that now it is their proper afterlife is a opinion I guess, just not a correct one. Even sending them to Nowhere is better choice, but I still think that there is better destinations.

 

[Venerable Ro]

We can send Velvet on Changeling expedition as one of her Bureau actions. It is available under Commisioner actions, no need to spend our Names actions on it.If there is any valuables Velvet likely can run Moth or Grail check to pocket it.

Click to shrink...

I was thinking more along the lines of making sure the operation doesn't suffer horrible casualties because our constables met some sort of Changeling war-breed going the other way. Biedde is unmistakably a soldier, and very good at seeming reasonable when he wishes to go unnoticed. I'm certain he could fit right in to a scenario like this.

 

[Nevermort]

I was thinking more along the lines of making sure the operation doesn't suffer horrible casualties because our constables met some sort of Changeling war-breed going the other way. Biedde is unmistakably a soldier, and very good at seeming reasonable when he wishes to go unnoticed. I'm certain he could fit right in to a scenario like this.

Click to shrink...

Bieddie is overkill and we need him against Copper. Velvet is Edge 4 with reroll and multiple guards who could act as meat shields for her. If our Bureau can't do anything even in such situation, then better to learn about it now, so we can invest more in weapon research.

 

[Earth-Destroyer]

Have we taken the knock influence yet?

 

[Nevermort]

Have we taken the knock influence yet?

Click to shrink...

Yes. It was the one that opened all buttons on Velvet's dress

 

[Solace2117]

Considering we now have both Luna and Cadence on our side it may actually be a good idea to send someone on the Changeling expedition to steal any lore related items. Anything the Bureau finds will probably go to Midday Dew and thus expose Celestia more to the lores. Considering her current condition, we may want to stall that until Luna can deal with Daybreaker.
Also great results from this update, though the Ashen Waste is concerning, but expected. I wonder what a potential Manse expedition will be like. We may want to try and find it and do it if there is one. If for now other reason then to prevent others from gaining a potential Wolf artifact. Either way though this gives us more freedom to be flexible in our next turn.

 

[Greymere]

Considering we now have both Luna and Cadence on our side it may actually be a good idea to send someone on the Changeling expedition to steal any lore related items. Anything the Bureau finds will probably go to Midday Dew and thus expose Celestia more to the lores. Considering her current condition, we may want to stall that until Luna can deal with Daybreaker.

Click to shrink...

Tbh I don't think this is much of a concern. Level 1 - 3 artifacts are common enough that you can just, buy them normally (if incredibly expensive). And Celestia apparently has (had? Chrysalis might have stolen them all) a vault full of at least Level 5 artifacts, possibly even more considering the Watchman's Glass (Lantern 6) that Eclipse apparently has ready access to.

Edit: Actually, it could be interesting to scry where Chrysalis put all her stolen artifacts. I don't know how we would phrase that in character, though, since I don't think Velvet knows that Chrysalis looted the royal vaults.

 

[Solace2117]

Tbh I don't think this is much of a concern. Level 1 - 3 artifacts are common enough that you can just, buy them normally (if incredibly expensive). And Celestia apparently has (had? Chrysalis might have stolen them all) a vault full of at least Level 5 artifacts, possibly even more considering the Watchman's Glass (Lantern 6) that Eclipse apparently has ready access

Click to shrink...

You may be right, but I believe we were warned that the more Celestia becomes aware of the lores, the riskier it is for us. A potential "Cold War" was mentioned. Just allowing Eclipse easy access seems a little over confident. We have had a tendency to underestimate this kind of thing.

 

[Pittauro]

… the secret is that auntie Baldomare is actually a bit of an airhead.

Not because she is a dummy or anything. Silky Stream knows that's not the case. Silky knows that Baldomare is very, very smart. In fact, that is probably why everypony would think this secret is not really true.

But still, what nopony else realizes is that… auntie Baldomare doesn't really pay attention to things. She is sometimes dismissive, although never in a mean way. She doesn't really put a lot of effort into things, unless you really ask her to. And even when she doesn't smell like grape juice, she still looks like she is only half-there with you.

Still, Silky doesn't really mind any of that. She knows that auntie Baldie is not a bad pony.

Click to shrink...

uh. she's more right than she knows.

After all, arguably Baldomare is only PARTLY there, considering she's a summon. and she's so used to knowing near-everything that she can definitely come off as dismissive.

What is it that Baldomare doesn't want to see?

Click to shrink...

something something friends and caring and emotions?

"Of course. It's Cryppys. C-R-Y-P-P-Y-S. And it's very important you don't steal any of the letters while you say it. Now, start that whole phrase from the beginning, dear."

Click to shrink...

Inaam, Kapigiginlupir, Garkie, Cryppys

Inaam, Kapigiginlupir, Garkie, Cryppys is a Book. Mare-in-the-Yew - Moth 14 Fascination Dread St Tentreto of the Deep Door Port Noon chance of receiving as reward for completing this vault

cultistsimulator.fandom.com

the only Cryppis I can find.

And in return, every now and then, Baldomare asks her to do fun stuff like this!



[Reflection of the Tapestry, CD 60]

[Roll: 71 + 50 (Baldomare) – 50 (Incompetent Celebrant Cutest Assistant) + 60 (Secret Histories Level 6) = 131]

[Success]



"Wow! It… it's glowing pink!"
"That's right. That means you did it correctly, dear. Now, pay attention to what I will say next. Do you see that mirror next to you? I need you to…"

Click to shrink...

...I don't know how to feel about this. So she had Silky "help" with her ritual (and make it THAT much worse)?

...Silky just did her first ritual! VELVET, TAKE THE CAMERA, WE NEED TO TAKE PICTURES OF IT!

[Reflection of the Tapestry, CD variable]

[Roll: 31 + 50 (Baldomare) – 50 (Incompetent Celebrant Cutest Assistant) + 60 (Lantern Level 6) – 150 (??????) = -59]

[Negative result, ritual fizzles]



… the circle's glow suddenly fades out. And the shiny atmosphere that was gathering around them quickly evaporates.

Click to shrink...

...uh?

That's interesting.

what can manage such high level defenses? To the point that Baldomare would roll at -40, and even with our best reagent we could only manage to bring her to net 0?

Because for the first time in a very, very long time, the Name of Lantern is curious about something.



[Baldomare invokes a re-roll]

Click to shrink...

and Baldomare takes the challenge!

"He swears up and down he is one Gallop Field," one of your constables, a team-leader, says. "And we already dusted him several times, to no effect."

"That thing is a changeling, Commissioner," Beyond Reproach retorts, from a few hoofsteps behind you. "I tailed him for more than a week. And I saw him do things earth ponies shouldn't be able to do. I swear on my badge he's one of them."

Click to shrink...

...it could be a lore adept...

… there is the detail that nopony else knows the pony you are staring at, currently chained and jailed in the warded cell, is a changeling. They don't know Reproach is correct, and that you have your very first catch in your hoofs.

Click to shrink...

ok, it IS a changeling then.

I wonder... maybe we can still manage to redeem/spare the changeling race? They're already likely close to extinction, but if we got some prisoners to collaborate... MAYBE there's a chance of them surviving.

You say that, without taking your eyes away from that thing, and you feel nothing but hate towards it.

Click to shrink...

...oh, right.

we're STILL under an edge influence. Not the best one to hopefully be a bit merciful to the poor 'ling.

You have discovered the expedition "The proto-hive of Tall Tale". As an expedition, this is a chance for you to raid that place with your own resources, so you can scout it, loot it, or even plant evidence on it before ordering the Bureau to make its move.

Spoiler: The proto-hive of Tall Tale

Location: Tall Tale is a growing city, surrounded on one side by a quickly-disappearing forest, and by tall mountains on the other. Those mountains, according to your agents, are currently infested by changelings. You could sneak in there, to either strike at the changelings yourself, steal from them, or maybe even PLANT something you would like your constables to find later. But unfortunately, this endeavor will not be without dangers.

(NOTE: This expedition will DISAPPEAR if the Lunar Bureau raids it before you do. But an expedition sent here will arrive before the Bureau raids it, if both actions are taken on the same turn.)

Expected duration: MEDIUM

Base cost: 7 bits (you must have at least 70 bits per creature sent)

Expected dangers: Sneaking past your own agents shouldn't be hard, since you know their every move. And there are changelings in the mountains themselves. Other than that, anything else is UNKNOWN (expedition not scouted)

Come next turn, your Constables will have the option to "Raid the Tall Tale mountains". This is a direct strike against the changeling threat that currently exists in Equestria. And performing this action will "destroy" the related Expedition.

Click to shrink...

we can put the lore books there, and so spread the lores to the Bureau.

They likely have some Bits, possibly some of the stolen artifacts from the Canterlot treasury, and who knows what else.

something to consider. We could send some of our Names here... Mareinette + Baldomare, maybe?

Although the pinch you feel on your chest makes it very clear that you will be forced to wake up on time tomorrow. After all, it doesn't matter if she only had less than four hours of sleep. It is completely unacceptable for the Commissioner to be late for her duties.

Click to shrink...

annoying little knife...

[Day 6 – But can you say "please?", cd 80]

[Roll: 4 + 10 (Antisocial) = 14]

[Failure]


This-ere caverns are mine. You 'ear me? MINE!

"A blind mole-thing, capable of speech and territorial to a fault, blocked her way. Her first, second and third reflexes were to cleave it, but she knew better than to challenge a ground-swimmer in the depths of a cave. That, she knew, was a very quick way to have the entire cavern collapsed over her head. However her fourth reflex -telling it to fuck off and insulting its entire family tree- was probably not the best way to go about it."


[Day 7 – But can you say "please?", cd 80]

[Roll: 80 + 10 (Antisocial) = 90]

[Success]


"She will never admit what terrible deals she struck with Ol'Mole Badgerson. But after both parties were able to calm down, and meet on the next day, they reached an understanding of sorts. Still, she hopes never to meet the creature, or any of its kind, again."

Click to shrink...

...ouch.

THIS nearly ruined us. It could have taken us multiple rerolls to pass THIS challenge.

Well, "ruined us" is a bit much. We could have likely extended the expedition, so we would have only lost some extra bits.

[Beneath the Royal Castle, pt. 2, results]

"A small collection of items, a map to find the outside entrance, and a grudging note warning that the door she found was well-warded even by her own high standards. Whoever occupied the depths of Mount Canterlot has left few clues of his existence, but the Daughter-of-Axes was able to sniff what little there was to be found. All that is left, you suppose, is to find a way to open that door. But for now, these treasures are yours."


-Gained one Artifact (Lantern, level 4, unstudied) of unknown properties.

-Gained one book (Moth, level 5. Requires deciphering. Progress 0/100. From an Era that is Ancient Beyond History, "-50" to deciphering rolls.)

-Gained one book (Knock, level 5. Requires deciphering. Progress 0/100. From One Era Ago, "-30" to deciphering rolls.)

-Gained one Reagent (MOTH, Level 4)

-Discovered the expedition "Beneath the Royal Castle, pt. 3"

Click to shrink...

...wow!

Lantern 4 artifact (cost: I THINK 400 bits, it should go 50-100-200-400)
Moth 5 book (cost: 120 bits)
Knock 5 book (cost: 120 bits)
Moth 4 Reagent. (cost: 80 bits)

AND the third part of the expedition!

so, 9 days, which means 63 bits, and we got... 720 bits worth of loot!

Also hey, we can use the Moth Book for Baldomare if we don't get the lvl 6 book in time, AND the Knock one has us ready for Axe's Sacrament!

We should probably study Lantern artifact + Knock book next turn.

Expeditions are great!

To say that you have been avoiding this place is an understatement. Ever since you understood, or perhaps realized, the true nature of this place, you have been avoiding the Dream. You have chosen, as much as you can choose with this kind of thing, to have sleepless nights. And on one occasion, to help with Selene's own request, you even fell asleep under her spell.

That… was the first time you had a normal dream in a very long while. In fact, you still recall that night fondly. After all, the sensation of falling asleep and having good memories about it is…

Click to shrink...

oh, so Selene can make us have "normal" dreams? Nice to know.

However, another part of you can't help but think of this place as being covered in fur. And as your hoof sinks into the lukewarm ash, you can't help but feel like a tick, or some other vermin, that is crawling on the back of a gigantic animal.

Click to shrink...

...a good way to put it, actually.

There is a small forest of broken Mansus-stone here, all of it charred. Their surfaces red-and-black like the flames that licked them. But still, you see a lot more remains of the Mansus than you have seen anywhere else. These are not the broken pieces of stone slabs you have seen here and there, trapped between the ashen waves like the remains of a broken ship in a storm. Instead, the scene before you looks as if an entire castle had been torn from its foundations, and had its pieces scattered in all directions by an earthquake or a storm.

There are columns half-sunk into the dust. Crumbled walls leaning against each other and forming dark tunnels. Bits and pieces and chunks and broken blocks as far as your eye can see.

You do not want to dare and enter that place. You really do not want to do that.

…

But you have to.

Click to shrink...

Maybe it's what's left of the Temple of the Wheel?

But these sightless eyes that watch you, these disembodied creatures that stalk you from the shadows and the miserable wind… they do not look upon you favorably. As hard as it is to say that the Wolf-thing that follows after you is favorable to you, you can definitely say that the things in these ruins share no such preference towards you.

The things in these ruins, you know, can only hate.

Click to shrink...

probably the corrupted remains of former wood-creatures. I think we made the Percussiponies extinct, for example.

Ash-Ghoul

Summoning requirements: WINTER 50, KNOCK 50, EDGE 50

Summoning cost: 25 bits.

Summoning details:
-At least one living pony MUST be sacrificed to summon this creature. Ponies sacrificed in this ritual do NOT count towards the maximum number of sacrifices of a circle, but they do NOT give any bonus to this ritual (to a maximum of seven ponies).
-Due to your understanding of this creature's home, you have complete knowledge of its status file without having to summon it.
-This creature has no "Specific Bonus". Or rather, the specific action it would be good at is not useful to most summoners.

Click to shrink...

...

we need to deal with Copper and Windy YESTERDAY!

This summon is perfect for them and a NIGHTMARE for us!

special bonus is probably to torturing...

Health: ?/? (Minimum of 3)
General bonus: ?? (5x sacrifice)
Aspects: EDGE ?, WINTER ?
[ABOMINATION]: Ash-Ghoul's health and Lore levels are equal to the number of ponies sacrificed in its summoning ritual. (Although its health will always be at least 3). And its General bonus is equal to five times the number of ponies sacrificed.
[I STAB AT THEE]: A character who deals the killing blow to at least one Ash-Ghoul must, at the end of combat, roll (CD: 100 + 10x sacrificed ponies / using Martial + Winter) to resist gaining a stack of Dread. (But the same character killing multiple Ash-Ghouls will only risk gaining at most one Dread per combat sequence).

[The Dead Will No Longer Be Dead]: Summoning this creature does not require a ritual circle.

[MONSTROUS APPEARANCE]: Cannot be used for Social Actions.
[UNINTELLIGENT]: Will perform badly at Actions that require academic knowledge. (This creature is still cunning, and will not walk into traps or act foolishly)
[BURNING FUEL]: This creature must consume dead bodies (the same number of bodies currently applying its bonuses) every turn, or it will be immediately unsummoned.
[FADING FUEL]: At the end of every turn, this creature "loses" one of its bodies from the number of bodies used to summon it, for all relevant aspects.
[SPENT FUEL]: Ash-Ghouls may not be used as sacrifice in other rituals.

Click to shrink...

...so, with 7 sacrifices it would be Edge 7, Winter 7, General +35 (so combat +70), and CD 170 (Martial + Winter) to not suffer Dread...

at max strength this beats anything short of Celestia or Biedde (or maybe Mareinette, and only because she has ? Health)! Even Comet or Velvet with a tier 4 Influence would likely lose!

But perhaps, the worst part is the knowledge that any other adept, who reaches as far as the edge of the Crossroads, might learn about this as well.

Click to shrink...

definitely.

It's good that we know, because now we KNOW this can be used against us.

But it also means that... damn, Copper could send THIS against us now!

We REALLY need to stop her NOW. Diplomacy or murder, I don't care, we can't risk a cultist using this against us!

"Now, tell me. Have you ever heard of a symbol called… no, the name would definitely not mean anything about you. But have you ever seen a symbol of a snake eating its own tail? More poetic ponies would say it is a symbol of Eternity, or perhaps an allegory to creation and destruction. But I always subscribed to the more literal interpretation. That being that snakes are always the cause of their own problems. Which leads me to…"

Click to shrink...

Ouroboros? funny how Baldomare interprets it

"With that in mind, tell me something Velvet. Has she ever asked you to go somewhere, in her stead? Has she ever asked you for a favor, or maybe asked you to do an errand for her? Has she ever offered you a deal?"

Click to shrink...

...her expedition.

Well, It seems like we can complete her Sacrament AND friendship/Key together.

The Daughter-of-Axes has successfully completed an expedition at your behest. Its items have been added to your inventory, and a total of 63 bits (nine days, at seven bits each) has been taken from your inventory.

Click to shrink...

and, as a reminder, that's 63 bits of cost for I think 720 bits worth of loot.

Location: Within the depths of Mount Canterlot, there is a warded door. Rank with the authority of a solemn threshold. It would be foolish to open it before being prepared, and there is only one way to find out what lies behind it.

Expected duration: LONG

Base cost: 8 bits (you must have at least 120 bits per creature sent)

Expected dangers: UNKNOWN (expedition not scouted)

Click to shrink...

Yeah, we probably want Biedde there. I expect Combat.

Well at least it's cheaper than an expedition!

And would you look at that! We're only one scrap away from 4/4 scraps which can be easily obtained be either reading that Knock book we just found or asking DoA for a lesson.

Click to shrink...

uh, true.

We don't need to budget (bits at least. we still need to worry about actions) for the Frangiclave.

That said we have THREE expeditions to deal with right now.

Canterlot part 3.
Changeling Proto-Hive
the book on the grave.

and Ideally we'll want to do them all next turn, which means we need to put a lot of Names on it.

Proto-Hive we probably want Baldomare, and either Mareinette or Biedde.

Book... maybe we could just send Selene alone? It shouldn't be THAT difficult of an expedition.

Canterlot I'd want Biedde and Axe available I think.


and Velvet on either Proto-Hive or Canterlot too...

 

[Venerable Ro]

Expeditions are great!

Click to shrink...

I keep saying this, and yet somehow nobody seems to believe me.

Proto-Hive we probably want Baldomare, and either Mareinette or Biedde.

Click to shrink...

I'm honestly somewhat inclined to leave this one be, or more specifically deliberately allocate whatever loot we may find to our Bureau as a way to get started on building up our capabilities with this organization of ours. I'd like to take the opportunity to make a big show of institutional success while also noting the complete uselessness of the Candle Dust in combating even a single random changeling. Basically I want to subordinate Eclipse under our umbrella and use this as a chance to get started on that. If we hit the hive with our own resources (and possibly Biedde rolled in as a Crown asset with Shining's endorsement) perhaps the Lunar Bureau can claim the lion's share of the assets.

We probably want Baldomare and Luna for the Old Grave, Baldomare to locate it and Luna for any difficulties along the way.

 

[DelightedOne]

we can put the lore books there, and so spread the lores to the Bureau.

Click to shrink...

Beneath the Royal Castle seems to be a better option for that since it is not found on an enemy base but in an ancient part of the capital, less bad feelings involved if everypony thinks the lores are old pony stuff that the monsters stole instead of regular monster stuff. I know that wouldn't last but first impressions are important, so ancient history making a comeback could be a safe way to start things here.

We REALLY need to stop her NOW. Diplomacy or murder, I don't care, we can't risk a cultist using this against us!

Click to shrink...

Diplomacy requires less blood(read effort) and already worked with Comet so there is precedent, for the metaphysical and the practical sides of the situation.

But while Copper may have more resources, Windy is the one who hears the Wolf. We may wish to keep that in mind when deciding who to reach out to first.

Book... maybe we could just send Selene alone? It shouldn't be THAT difficult of an expedition.

Click to shrink...

Yes, please. Sending Selene alone to an Expedition named The Grave on the Hill when she has a Winter Realization on the same turn and her final Winter lesson was "The Lonely Realization" is perfect.
Edit: No, I'm not being sarcastic. It fits the theme perfectly.

 

[Limabot]

By the way, do we know of any way to potentially mitigate the effects of a Dangerous action? I really want to do the Personal SH Sacrament, but I notice that the Dangerous part is driving some people off from it. Maybe Biedde or Baldomare could help.

 

[Pittauro]

Egh, level 5 gives 2 lore scraps and we're at 3.

Click to shrink...

it only gives 2 scraps if we're at lvl 3 or below, so no, we only get the one.

Also just to point out: whole I know we've been getting lucky with not scouting the Canterlot expedition and getting lucky brute forcing it via Name, we should probably consider scouting Part 3 considering it's a long expedition (read: VERY DIFFICULT) and the fact that heavily warded doors in the depths of the earth never are there for benign reasons, and I would like to know ahead of time if Biedde and/or Mareinette and/or Velvet needs to tag along.

On an unrelated note, no Frangiclave expedition costs means we have the financial wiggle room to summon MitLs! Also also, technically, if we study that Lantern 4 artifact, any of our Confidants would be able to cast RotT with reasonable chances of success.

Click to shrink...

with low-mid tier expeditions I think it's fine to not scout. Part 2 was kind of at the edge of what's fine not scouting, really.

Sure, Doa needed to roll 70+, BUT she could have tried multiple times and probably only lose time with the failures.

That said, part 3 is likely to be even harder, AND probably to include combat. So Either we send a big team, OR we scry.

as a nice aside though, with Lantern 4 and SH 3 artifacts we CAN have basically ANY follower scry for us if we want...

"The Reflection of the Tapestry"
-CD: SECRET HISTORIES 60, LANTERN variable
-Cost: 30 bits on materials. (Originally 35)

Click to shrink...

+30 from SH artifact, +40 from Lantern one.

Selene is now fairly good at it actually (25 + 30 and 25 + 40), Even Comet and Rarity are not hopeless at it.

Though of course Jade and Baldomare are still far better, but Jade is better used on Memory of Light and Baldomare on giving us SH influence for Sacrament OR on searching for the Outsider... unless we have really important and DIFFICULT objectives to scry for, of course.

Nothing says we can't do our personal sacrament first afterall.

Click to shrink...

well, we KNOW we can't get two sacraments.

That said, it would make sense that Axe could still open the portal even if we're already sacramented. It would no longer be for her Sacrament, but it's possible we'd make a different deal instead.

I suppose we could've just accidentally freed the Daughter of Axes by doing the sacrament anyway without knowing and saved Baldomare's action, but we did get the information we sought.

Click to shrink...

in theory, yeah, but I expect we would have waited a bit more for this sacrament normally.

We now have one more reason to hurry up!

We're so close to the Moth sacrament though.

Just have Marinette Grail bomb Cheerilee for a turn or two before having Velvet leash her.

With the one Moth scrap from deciphering the Moth Book we'd be ready for our sacrament.

The Knock sacrament options on the other hoof work best when we can dedicate all of Velvet's actions in a turn to take advantage of an influence.

Click to shrink...

Reminder that we do not all agree on taking the Moth (and Grail) Sacraments in the first place.

That said we're now extremely close to SH and Knock ones, Lantern is not THAT far away (1 scrap from artifact, 1 from lesson, 2 from influence, we could be there in 2 or 3 turns if we wanted), and so is Edge (first we heal the scar, then we challenge Biedde).

4 Sacraments could potentially all be ours in the space of 3 or 4 turns.

Technically more if we were willing to go for Moth and Winter ones.

As an aside, while we could probably afford to read one of the books rather than giving it to Baldomare, we could also use that action to study both the Lantern artifact and the Knock artifact we've got sitting in our back pocket.

Click to shrink...

That's a good point. Artifacts have potentially useful effects, and even if we don't get scraps from Knock artifacts it might still be worth it.

Then if we do get another Level 5 book later, it's not actually a problem anymore and we can read the Moth 5 book and sacrifice the new one. But reading it right now is a bad idea. If we find a new Level 5 book in the meantime, then we can read the Moth book and still get our +1 Moth scrap. If we don't, then we can prevent Baldomare from being desummoned. If we read it now, and don't get a new Level 5 book, Baldomare gets desummoned for 3 turns and we'll have to spend a bunch of bits resummoning her.

As far as I can tell, there is zero benefit to reading it next turn vs. waiting until later.

Also, my apologies regarding what I thought your motivation was. It was actually Iustus who wanted the read the Moth 5 book because they thought it would be more interesting for the lowercase-L lore, my brain got a bit scrambled there, apparently.

Click to shrink...

Agreed.

We want to read Knock 5 (probably) so we can start working on Knock Sacrament, but we're in no rush to reach Moth 5 (we don't have a minion for it, AND we're not yet sure we WANT to go for it).

So we read Knock 5, we start working on Knock sacrament (and probably finish SH Sacrament), maybe we even go for Lantern Sacrament, who knows...

Moth stays there until we either have a minion ready to "sacrifice" for the sacrament, OR we give it up to Baldomare.

...so. I just realized. We could do something very funny next turn.

We could potentially get both our SH and Knock Sacraments in a single turn. It would require getting Baldomare's SH Sacrament instead of our own (which would make me kind of sad tbh, I want our history-vision to get better), but it would only eat 1 AP, and we could feed the other 2/3 (depending on what's happening) into DoA's Knock Sacrament, if we ask her for a Knock lesson to get us to 4/4 scraps

Click to shrink...

In theory we could still do it with personal.

Next turn:

Baldomare: SH Influence
Axe: Lesson

Velvet 1: SH Sacrament
Velvet 2: SH Sacrament
Velvet 3: Knock Sacrament
Velvet 4: Knock Sacrament.

Probably unwise though. We also want to heal our scar, and there's Biedde's Sacrament too...

I'd say we should finish SH next turn, try to study book + artifact, and then the turn after we do Knock or Edge Sacrament.

Probably Knock, considering Axe would expire otherwise. MAYBE if we don't get hurt in Axe's Sacrament action we could even try Biedde in the same turn.

Followers:
Rarity + Comet Feet (leader) to the Grave on the Hill, with our Artifacts
Jade to scry for Windy
Biedde to find and remove Copper
Baldomare's Sacrament
Ask for a lesson of Heart from Mareinette
Ask for a lesson of Knock from DoA
Selene to learn her Winter skill and ???

Velvet:
Baldomare's Sacrament
DoA's Sacrament
??? x 2

Click to shrink...

Rarity should either work or do Commission if her Work is not at risk. we need ALL THE BITS.

Send Selene to the grave expedition instead. It's supposed to be a simple one, and we can give her the SH, Heart and even Lantern Artifacts to help, she should be fine.

If we work on SH Sacrament, we probably want SH Influence and a conditional "2 actions if the first one doesn't use the SH Reroll" to try and finish it all at once.

Also we need to decide if we want to go for proto-hive and/or Canterlot part 3.

Optional in that we'd be presented with the choice of giving it to Axe, or keeping it for our own use. Perhaps the Frangiclave stands as the Knock equivalent of Moldywarp's Stone, a frighteningly powerful Name-artifact with abilities beyond common adept-made trinkets.

Click to shrink...

very likely, considering in canon CS it could open the Peacock Door (it would be the Mirror Door here, the one we found already broken by the Forge) without breaking (normally it required lantern-mirrors, and they broke and had to be repaired each time).

This raises an interesting thought, that Sacrament-expeditions in general might offer more opportunities than just the sacrament itself, opportunities for loot, knowledge, and unique narrative consequences. Personally that hypothetical is one more reason for me to prefer Baldomare's adventure with the Secret Histories, we might get to bring back a souvenir.

Click to shrink...

keep in mind that Axe's sacrament does NOT "unlock" an expedition. Baldomare's explicitly talks of expedition, Axe's just says we can and will have to invest an unknown amount of actions in it.

We don't have to pay Bits, we don't have to pick other people to come with us. It's not quite an expedition, though there's some similarities.

And finally, we have at last gotten results from our Bureau, time for our constables to do what they do best and start kicking some doors in. I wonder if it would be possible to send Biedde to sabotage the Changeling defenses to give our lot an advantage? I'm honestly inclined to just let them at it without any meddling on our part, just to see what happens mechanically when the Bureau gets an entire pile of expedition loot to pick over. It's still our operation after all, we'll still get to use it, especially if any particularly curious trinkets allow us an excuse to get a hoof into Midday Dew's door. National security and all that, since the Dust proved so ineffective we can argue more direct insight is needed in order to support field operations.

Edit: Actually, since we have Shining and Cadance in our Definitely-Not-A-Conspiracy, I wonder if we could manage to directly fold Biedde into the raid as some sort of undefined "Special Agent" assigned to us by the Crown as a wartime asset. Basically, "The Princess wants this done properly, this stallion has been assigned as backup and insurance."

Click to shrink...

And then Celestia comes to ask how Cadance found this interesting fellow she loaned to the Bureau.

Keep in mind that if the expedition is done officially, then we're forced to basically share everything we find. If we want to keep things for ourselves, we should go ourselves first (or send our Names).

If we research the Lantern Artifact that allows us to scry more stuff more easily due to basically making every follower decent at it. Selene is not that bad at it, for example.

You want wipe out an entire race of manus beings...

We literally already did that with the pony race that stayed behind in the Woods instead of leaving like the three tribes.


That what created this new race.

Click to shrink...

them being a "fourth tribe" is just your assumption.

but yeah, we DID have them go extinct. Regrettable actions are regrettable, as usual.

Which yeah would be a pretty rad plan to do but still genocide.

Click to shrink...

eh, they're spirits of hate and suffering. "genociding them" is basically a public service, and closer to exorcising them/putting them to peaceful rest.

I'd compare it to "genociding" some of the worst races from 40k (necros and daemons, mostly) or, say, the Dalek and Cybermen from Doctor Who.

If we want to worry about a race that does not really deserve genocide, we should worry about the Changeling and try to find a way to "rehabilitate/spare them", not the spirits of hate and malice that are summoned through pony sacrifices.

Bieddie is overkill and we need him against Copper. Velvet is Edge 4 with reroll and multiple guards who could act as meat shields for her. If our Bureau can't do anything even in such situation, then better to learn about it now, so we can invest more in weapon research.

Click to shrink...

what weapon research?

normal "elite" guards are likely to max out at +20 combat. SHINING ARMOR was an "Heroic" +25, and was basically stronger than any non-edge-adept could ever hope to be.

If we want to make the Bureau guards stronger, the only way forward is to introduce them to Edge. Which obviously requires introducing the Lores first, and then making new manuscripts for them.

I keep saying this, and yet somehow nobody seems to believe me.

Click to shrink...

I've said it multiple times too, to be fair.

Part 1 was nice. Part 2 was amazing.

in any case we definitely want to scry for part 3, because HERE picking the best Names for the Job will save us a lot of bits and time, and we can't really afford sending more than 2 (120 bits per follower sent... and we can't really afford to send Velvet, because it would cost her 3 actions)

I'm honestly somewhat inclined to leave this one be, or more specifically deliberately allocate whatever loot we may find to our Bureau as a way to get started on building up our capabilities with this organization of ours. I'd like to take the opportunity to make a big show of institutional success while also noting the complete uselessness of the Candle Dust in combating even a single random changeling. Basically I want to subordinate Eclipse under our umbrella and use this as a chance to get started on that. If we hit the hive with our own resources (and possibly Biedde rolled in as a Crown asset with Shining's endorsement) perhaps the Lunar Bureau can claim the lion's share of the assets.

We probably want Baldomare and Luna for the Old Grave, Baldomare to locate it and Luna for any difficulties along the way.

Click to shrink...

Grave I'd send Selene alone. give her our artifacts if necessary, worst case we pay some extra bits if she takes longer than expected.

Baldomare actions are pretty valuable in the short term, between SH Influence to work on SH Sacrament, Outsider search (she has +80), Scrying (she rolls the best), Lantern lessons and influence (we're close to Lantern Sacrament too).

Beneath the Royal Castle seems to be a better option for that since it is not found on an enemy base but in an ancient part of the capital, less bad feelings involved if everypony thinks the lores are old pony stuff that the monsters stole instead of regular monster stuff. I know that wouldn't last but first impressions are important, so ancient history making a comeback could be a safe way to start things here.

Click to shrink...

True, but we kinda need to finish part 3 before we introduce them to part 1, otherwise we risk losing out on that one.

Yes, please. Sending Selene alone to an Expedition named The Grave on the Hill when she has a Winter Realization on the same turn and her final Winter lesson was "The Lonely Realization" is perfect.

Click to shrink...

I seriously can't tell if this is sarcasm or not, but it DOES sound pretty thematic

By the way, do we know of any way to potentially mitigate the effects of a Dangerous action? I really want to do the Personal SH Sacrament, but I notice that the Dangerous part is driving some people off from it. Maybe Biedde or Baldomare could help.

Click to shrink...

eh, not much we can do about it.

SH Influence for +40 to the SH Roll. Don't try a second action in the same turn IF we've already used our SH Reroll in that turn.

That's kinda it.

 

[BritBiscuit]

"Deputy," you say, your voice cutting through the mounting tension. "Have a runner contact Eclipse… or whatever nameless institution Midday Dew is in charge of. Tell them we will be sending them this prisoner. They will know what it is for. If anypony objects, tell them it's for Celestia herself, and that I'll have any delays sent to the Princess for an explanation."

You say that, without taking your eyes away from the stallion… no, from the monster, that is currently wearing the guise of a pony. Pretending to shiver and cry, as if it were an innocent pony who had just been caught in a situation beyond its control.

Click to shrink...

Jeez to us we know that Velvet is correct in being so fast to send the Changeling off to get SCIENCED! and imprisoned before being sent off to Celestia, but to everyone else there they aren't sure whether it's a Changeling in the first place.
So to them Velvet is just staring down this weeping man ,whom they might even be like 40% sure they are wrong about and are feeling real guilty, with absolute Hate in her eyes and saying in front of its eyes that it will be processed immediatly with threat of Celestia to any who disobey. Like Velvet is really showing off her Commisionner side with her Edge influence, it really is a good thing we spent time to seem more human?/pony? to the Bureau because if not this kind of action where it seems like Velvet is likely to condemn a possibly innocent man to Eclipse experiments with no hesitation might have made the staff disatisfied with our orders.

Also weren't we meant to immediately bring Changelings to Celestia to deal with or was it just Changeling collaberaters idr?

 

[Zxzx24]

Cryppys. C-R-Y-P-P-Y-S

Click to shrink...

Okay but what do fried treats? Tasty as they are have to do with this?

[Roll: 69 + 50 (Expedition Bonus) + 10 (Diary entries) = 129]

Click to shrink...

Nice

with Ol'Mole Badgerson

Click to shrink...

...this mole is the son of a badger?

 

[Pittauro]

oh, by the way, the things we could "study" next turn

ARTIFACTS

KNOCK Level 2 (NOT STUDIED) (CANNOT BE USED UNTIL STUDIED)
"A hoof-sized tuning fork... or at least a tuning-fork adjacent. The thing has three prongs instead of two, arranged in a triangular pattern. Striking it yields no sound, none that you can hear at least, even though the thing clearly vibrates."
Appraised cost: Unknown (not studied)
Special properties: Unknown (not studied)

Click to shrink...

Of course Lantern Artifact comes first, but there's an argument to be made in favor of putting this as the second artifact to research if we manage to complete Lantern 4 one in a single roll.

Of course we could also go for the Knock 5 book, but that only really makes sense if we're going to try for Axe's sacrament the turn right after (which we probably want to do, she'd expire otherwise).

LANTERN Level 4 (NOT STUDIED) (CANNOT BE USED UNTIL STUDIED)
"A many-pronged instrument that can fold onto itself like a switchblade. You believe it is a measuring instrument, but you have no idea what it is meant to measure. And for some reason, it seems to work better, or at least its joints seem to yield more fluidly, when used in utter darkness."
Appraised cost: Unknown (not studied)
Special properties: Unknown (not studied)

Click to shrink...

I have no idea what this will do, but it's obviously a priority to allow for scrying and Mare-summoning by our followers.

BOOK MOTH Level 5. "The language used in this is indecipherable. The cover, if it even has one, yields no clue about its subject. And yet, you cannot resist the urge to read it." (Requires deciphering. Progress 0/100. From an Era that is Ancient Beyond History, "-50" to deciphering rolls.)

Click to shrink...

A truly ancient book... tempting to read.

Funny that it's our main pick for something we could give Baldomare though.

BOOK KNOCK Level 5. "An initial survey of its pages reveals several drawings, or perhaps instructions, on how to build bridges and maintain clocks. You suspect the book is about more than just that." (Requires deciphering. Progress 0/100. From One Era Ago, "-30" to deciphering rolls.)

Click to shrink...

that said, maybe we'll give her this, while we get the last scrapt from Axe's lesson instead?

BOOK, HEART Level 1. "A small book that covers a particular kind of elegant dancing".
BOOK EDGE Level 1. "The title is self-explanatory: 'Four self-defense spells every unicorn should know'. You doubt they are anything more than different variations of concentrated telekinesis."
BOOK, FORGE Level 1. "A small handbook on camping, explaining the basics of how to build a tent and start a small fire".
BOOK KNOCK Level 2. "A fairly recent, and short, book about dream interpretation. You know it is recent because it was dedicated to Princess Luna's return".

Click to shrink...

the other "rubbish" books. Mostly there to add a third one of we end up studying two books in the same turn, really.

Okay but what do fried treats? Tasty as they are have to do with this?

Click to shrink...

Inaam, Kapigiginlupir, Garkie, Cryppys

Inaam, Kapigiginlupir, Garkie, Cryppys is a Book. Mare-in-the-Yew - Moth 14 Fascination Dread St Tentreto of the Deep Door Port Noon chance of receiving as reward for completing this vault

cultistsimulator.fandom.com

 

[Venerable Ro]

By the way, do we know of any way to potentially mitigate the effects of a Dangerous action? I really want to do the Personal SH Sacrament, but I notice that the Dangerous part is driving some people off from it. Maybe Biedde or Baldomare could help.

Click to shrink...

I'm pretty sure that the idea behind the Sacrament is in Velvet navigating and mapping the variable courses of her possible timelines by way of her sense for alternate Histories. This leads to her making contact with her selves and probably allows her to negotiate and/or collaborate with them as needed/desired. For example reaching out to Knock-Velvet for advice on alchemy or assistance with a Knock related issue.

The danger presumably lies with potentially initiating unrestricted contact with a hostile or otherwise dangerous Velvet. Say, an Edge-Velvet who took that malevolent character trait we saw back in the early stages of the quest, a Grail-Velvet that doesn't believe in subtlety or the concept of consent, or of course the Wolf-Velvet who needs no further explanation. The danger would lie in granting them unfettered access to our body/life for a while and possibly also in having to deal with their life for an equal amount of time.

I would assume based on the roll we saw that Bird has already come up with a list of Velvets, and that we'd make two more rolls blind-bagging our selection before the sacrament gave us active control over the maneuver. So it really comes down to whether we trust other strange Velvets with our life and loved ones.