REFUGEVILLE

I say we stash the canon in the ceilar for now.

The villagers decide to put the cannon underground, until they find a good reason to use it. As it is, using a loud weapon like this could just draw more bad attention from The Signet.

Ask count Artimen what they have discovered about the God Box.

Come to think of it, we should ask the Dermylu's here if they were the one who trashed the brainbox and what was here too.

Artimen’s eyes widen. He asks for a moment to gather his thoughts, and in the darkness of the night he tells your Eldest:

“The God Box… it housed an infant.”

An infant? Artimen continues.

“When Vondar found it, he thought it was magical, and ordered the soldiers to take it to base. As far as we can tell, it had nothing special. A little baby girl, no magical or divine powers of any kind, but Vondar is convinced that it is an infant deity.”

Holkaborg whispers to your ear:

“A god imprisoned with the power of time… seek her. Let her grow and see your people as family.”

Your Eldest asks,

“What about the Brain Box?”

Artimen takes another moment to remember, and he says:

“The Brain Box contained an enormous brain, about the size of three of our people. We brought that back to base as well. Vondar believed it contained important information… but all it did was drive our scholars into madness. Anyone who peered too far into the brain’s mind would… start seeing a staircase.

A staircase to the sky. A tall staircase made of metal that just keeps going until it touches the moon. It’s all in their minds, of course, but the two scholars we hired to study the big brain, they became convinced that the staircase was real, and that it moved and talked to them.”

The Eldest asks him,

“What did the staircase in their minds say to them?”

Artimen is grimacing. Clearly he’s seen those two scholars, and memories of witnessing their descent into madness affected him. Still, he manages to answer.

“It said, that was the way to the truth. To go up the staircase was to find secrets hidden from everyone, and at the very end, you’d see the ‘cracks in the sky’. ‘The higher you go, the more you will see’, it said.

The two scholars then tried to climb up, but they failed because their feet couldn’t reach anything. After a few hours they started to try and build the staircase, except… well, they couldn’t find any appropriate materials so they just started taking buildings and vehicles apart to make the foundations. Vondar ordered them imprisoned when they started taking weapons and armor, and I imagine they’re now obsessed with trying to make a new staircase out of the bars and chains.

That big brain we found, it’s been nothing but trouble. Strange thing is, it doesn’t rot. We’ve left it in the sun but it never decomposed. Doesn’t dry up. Doesn’t burn. Doesn’t melt. Weird thing. Scary thing.”

Satisfied with Artimen’s answers, the Eldest asks everyone to go to sleep. A new day comes tomorrow. Everyone in the village is tired and so they happily go underground to slumber.

You do not sleep, but your mind wanders. Your thoughts are drawn to future plans to inform the Zalugi on recent events, and then you remember what Holkaborg and Artimen said, about the moon and the…

Oh no.

The staircase.



The staircase that goes all the way to the moon.



It’s there? In the village? No, that is not possible. This is not real. Your spirit is strong enough to resist the temptation to believe that it exists, despite your non-corporeal vision telling you it is.

Why are you seeing this?

As if on cue, the staircase itself answers.

“SEEKER OF TRUTH. YOUR SOUL VIBRATES WITH TREMENDOUS ENERGY. YOU ARE AWARE OF MY EXISTENCE, AND SO YOU ARE LINKED TO ME, A GOD.”

What? This thing is a deity?

“I AM TANGGARA, THE GOD OF TRUTH. I HAVE BEEN SCREAMING AT MORTALS EVER SINCE THE FIRST MORTAL ASKED ‘where did The Signet come from?’ BUT SADLY THEIR EARS ARE NOT VERY GOOD AND THEIR MINDS BREAK WHEN I MAKE THEIR MINDS SWALLOW.”

You cannot help but ask why the God of Truth is taking the form of a gigantic staircase.

“BECAUSE THIS IS THE WAY TO UNDERSTAND THE TRUTH, THE ANSWER TO A QUESTION EVERYONE IN THE WORLD HAS ASKED. MY NATURE COMPELS ME TO TELL THE TRUTH AND SAY IT AS LOUDLY AND AS OBVIOUSLY AS POSSIBLE. HOLKABORG HATES ME FOR SHE LOVES PUZZLES AND CRYPTIC RESPONSES.”

You grab this opportunity to ask a direct question: What is up there on the moon?

“I DO NOT KNOW. MY KNOWLEDGE AND CAPACITY TO FIND THE TRUTH ONLY REACHES AS FAR UP AS THE SKY CAN REACH, AND THE MOON IS BEYOND THAT, BUT I KNOW: THE SIGNET’S ORIGINS ARE TIED TO THE MOON. I KNOW BECAUSE I HEAR ALL WORDS, AND THE SIGNET’S MINIONS KNOW: THE MOON IS CONNECTED. BUILD THIS THING. BUILD THIS STAIRCASE SO PEOPLE WILL FINALLY STOP ASKING.”

You tell Tanggara that if all this is key to understanding the truth and the Signet’s origins, you promise that you will build this staircase, but right now you do not have the resources to build this gigantic structure. Tanggara’s form shakes, but he answers with a kind tone, and this time has stopped shouting.

“Thank you. Thank you for finally understanding. I am so tired, so tired of so many mortals asking me where did the Signet come from and I did everything to answer but their fragile bodies and minds couldn’t understand my message. Maybe I should talk to more ghosts. And yes. You speak true. You do not have the resources to build this staircase yet. I will stay in this form, as a reminder. After I disappear from your sight, please build a shrine to me as soon as you can, for I will happily answer more questions in exchange for sacrifices. Send me non-living objects. Stones, metals, anything that cannot lie. A thousand sticks or a thousand rocks. Farewell, Guardian Ghost. Find the truth.”

With that, the vision of the staircase fades. You are relieved that you didn’t end up gaining an obsession with building a ridiculously tall structure.

A new dawn arrives. Market is open!



Kori has some interesting new items to sell, though her old stock is gone. You can sell some things from your stockpile to get more crumbits.

Kori’s market:

- Gunpowder: 10 crumbits for 1 bag, 20 bags available.
Useful for making bombs, reloading cannons and muskets. Keep dry in a safe place!

- Crystal Shrine: 30 crumbits, 2 available.
A simple shrine. Once placed in your village, you can devote it to a deity and then make sacrifices to gain blessings.

- Copy of Hildevert’s Journal: Dermilyu Horizon: 10 crumbits, 1 available.
Hildevert records what he saw at the home of the Dermilyu people.

- Chicken Egg: 8 crumbits, 3 available.
Eat it or hatch it to get another chicken.

- Zalugi Fireball Wand: 100 crumbits, 1 available.
A magic wand that is tuned to cast fireballs. It drains stamina from the user, and the average person should be able to launch three fireballs. Overuse can cause fainting and heat stroke.

Ogot also has things to sell, though he informs your people that prices have changed due to current demands. He seems to have other buyers through the merchant’s tunnel network:

- Stones: 3 crumbits for 1 stone, 300 available.

- Branches: 2 crumbits for 1 branch, 300 available.

- Smithing Manual: 20 crumbits, 1 available.
Contains instructions on how to make various metal tools and weapons, as well as how to make a good forge.

The Crystal Shrines interest you. You recall which deities you haven’t built a shrine for yet:

Arara, the Ruined God of Fire.

”Fire is warmth, warmth brings life, but too much can harm, so control fire.” - Arara’s first words to mortals

Though his brain was stolen by the Signet, his mind will slowly return through sacrifice, though the sacrifice must be great to replenish the mind of a god. Dedicating this shrine to him will allow the people to sacrifice for protection from fires and sunny days. The favored god of the Zalugi people.

Zalana, the Goddess of Justice.

”Justice, fairness, mercy, these things you cannot touch but you know you need them just as much as you need food.” - Zalana’s words to Cromin the Seeker.

She grants powerful blessings for fighting the undead and the Signet, but these blessings will only be upheld if the people do not commit the sin of taking slaves or murdering enemies that have surrendered, for Zalana despises these acts. Dedicating this shrine to her means that all undead will die at the first strike with a weapon, and the Signet cannot take anyone without them suffering casualties.

Orkonas, the Goddess of Wealth.

”As long as money exists, money has power, and as long as that power continues so shall my followers prosper!” - Orkonas’s promise to her believers.

She will only bless those who give her a piece of silver or gold every day, for that is her fee since the birth of time. Dedicating a shrine to her increases the chances of merchants to travel here and buy or sell goods. Her followers gain a permanent discount on all goods, the amount of which depends on the person selling.

Alstalti, Goddess of Healing.

”There is no disease without cure.” - Alstalti’s promise to mortals.

One of the newest gods, Alstalti has only existed for two centuries. She grants protection from disease and the spoilage of food. She will also share the secrets of medicine to her most devout worshippers, granting them the ability to help people survive even the worst injury.

Bidabog, the Dragon Goddess.

”I go to whoever needs me most.” - Bida’s declaration to the world.

Bidabog travels around the mortal world in the form of a dragon. Bidabog’s blessings are very direct: She will come to aid your people in battle and can grant them dragonscale armor, though the dragonscale cannot ever be removed without surgery.

According to the Preeray, Bidabog is Rimewulf’s secret fiancé who hid the engagement so the Signet could not anticipate the coming of the Dragonwolf. Your connection to Rimewulf confirms that this is true: He hopes to wed Bidabog someday, fulfilling their shared plan of granting a Dragonwolf Sentinel to the world.

The God from Nowhere.

”Make an offering to me and I care not if you insult me.” - The God From Nowhere

Highly unpredictable, the God from Nowhere was born from nothing but the rules of the universe which allowed his existence to come to be. He was born from chaos, and so chaos itself is a part of him. Sacrifices made to him can equally bring blessings as much as curses… but he is not without sentiment or feeling. Maybe you can influence him?

Tanggara, the God of Truth.

”I can never lie.” - Tanggara’s basic nature, uttered the moment he existed.

The God of Truth, sacrificing to him will grant your people an edge in trade and negotiations, as well as scientific research. However, he demands huge amounts of objects for blessings, at least a thousand objects, so worshipping him is expensive.

Count Artimen shares the knowledge of Brigax, a god he personally worships.

Brigax, God of Wind.

”Every time you breathe, that is me.” - Brigax’s proclamation to the first mortal.

Brigax was one of the first gods to appear when the world took shape. Brigax has control over wind currents, tornadoes, anything that involves moving air. Sacrificing to him grants you blessings that not only send disasters to your foes, but also protect you from poisonous gases.


What will your people buy and sell this morning?

>_

Show Content

Spoiler
Population: 25 out of 28 shelter spaces

Allies:
Preeray Village - Gains Guarded Thoughts blessing for Refugeville, traded for 5 hunks of food daily

Padabon Village - Sends daily Care Packages (Temporarily on hold), Arara’s Shade blessing.

Count Artimen - Claimant to the Dermilyu Throne

Wealth: 7 crumbits

Injured:
2 Dermilyu Guards

Animals:
1 Dog (Relief)
2 Cows (Bilin, Daina)
1 Horse (Comet)

Agriculture:
12 tapioca (growing, 16 days left)
10 mangould (growing, 12 days left)
20 underground mushrooms (growing, 9 days left)

Weapons:
Steel Mace x 5 (30 crumbits)
Iron Knife x 1 (4 crumbits)
Stone Axe x 5 (2 crumbits)
Stone Shovel x 1 (2 crumbits)
Steel Hooked Chains x 2 (Equipped by Guards, 8 crumbits each)
Ceramic Dagger x 1 (6 crumbits)
Wheeled Dermilyu Cannon x 1 (4000 crumbits)
Cannonball x 5 (10 crumbits)
Bag of Gunpowder x 5 (6 crumbits)
Dermilyu Crossbow x 4 (200 crumbits, 16 crossbow bolts)

Vehicles:
Crude Wooden Raft (Kori won’t buy it)

Guards:
Two Chain-Hook Users

Merchants:
Kori (Miscellaneous Goods)
Ogot (Building Materials)

Stockpile:
304 branches (1 crumbit for 4 branches)
5 beef jerky (5 crumbits each)
8 rabbit meat (2 crumbits each)
18 rabbit jerky (3 crumbits each)
20 fish meat (2 crumbits each)
5 dried fish filet (3 crumbits each)
9 jars of milk (4 crumbits each)
5 loincloths (1 crumbit each)
30 pieces of clay (2 crumbits each)
188 stones
1 Bottle of Wine (40 crumbits each)
2 Bottles of Mead (30 crumbits each)

Buildings:
1 stone house (with basement)
1 shrine
1 palisade
1 fishpond
1 rabbit hutch

Items:
2 Steel Hammers
Leather Bag
4 Treated Bandages
Construction Manual
Yaranga Phrasebook
2 Steel Pliers
2 Boxes of matches
1 Steel Chain
1 Compass
1 Cooler Crystal (Refrigerates Food)

Fishblood Lantern - A lantern that uses fish blood as fuel. Provides light and warmth. One adult fish from the river should be enough for one night. Easy to carry, even for a dog or a wolf.

Copy of Hildevert’s Journal: Hate Box - The Signet have been hunting a man named Hildevert for the past month, and he continues to elude capture. This book is about what he saw in a place called the Hate Box, a place where powerful prisoners are tortured for amusement.

Mycah Wizard Robe - Doesn’t grant magical powers, but Mycah spells are woven into it that protect the wearer from undeath. The spells repel teeth and rotten meat, so it’s perfect for fighting ghouls.

Acid Jar - A jar full of liquid that will melt anything metal. Extremely useful against armored opponents and locks.

Divine Artifacts:

Shrunken Head of Asimuth - Screams when an agent of the Signet sees Refugeville.

Blessings:

Devoted Wolfpack: Rimewulf’s followers can transform into wolves at night, granting faster movement, enhanced senses and combat strength.

Call of the Wild: Once per day, you may summon one animal to appear in the village. The animal will always obey your people and never harm them.

Arara’s Shade: Your people can endure heat that would normally cause heatstrokes. A common blessing for desert-dwellers and those who wish to endure drought.

Guarded Thoughts: Your people are protected from mind-altering poisons and curses. They cannot be brainwashed or mind controlled, not even by the Signet.

Curses:

Marked By The Signet: The Signet will never stop sending scouts.