The Docks become more interesting as your Dangerous abilities increase…
The spiders' crypt
There is a hole before the altar of the web-covered chapel. A dark, gaping maw that you have seen sorrow-spiders scuttle into, carrying their stolen eyes. Dare you follow?
Unlocks: Dangerous 72
Laughing in the fangs of fear
It could be a bottomless chasm inhabited by spiders bigger than horses. What is that to a man of your courage?
Straightforward at Dangerous 77
The eyes!
You don three thick layers of clothing and your best spider-proof hat. You arrange to descend when silk-hunters are raiding the chapel, so you don't have to face the bulk of the spiders in person.
In the lightless depths below the chapel, eyes are embedded in the silk-tunnel walls. Numberless human eyes. Movement! Before your fascinated gaze, a juvenile sorrow-spider pokes the tip of its leg out of the white of the eye. Sorrow-spiders are hatching from the eyeballs!. Reeling from this horror, you are surrounded by hissing arachnids. What happens next is a blur, but you make it back to the surface in one piece, covered in clinging silk.
Rewards :
2 x Appalling Secret
42 x Silk Scrap
The thing in the crypt
In the crypt beneath the Silken Chapel, sorrow-spiders are hatching from human eyeballs
Unlocks: Dangerous 73
(NOTE: This storylet disappears once you have completed it)
You need to know!
Is it the sorrow-spiders themselves that are laying eggs in the eyes? Is it something even worse? Someone is going to have to find out. You, specifically.
Does not test any stats
The spider-council
You return to the chapel's crypt, and this time the spiders on duty let you pass as you make it clear you are staying away from their eye-eggs. You wander down sticky, webbed tunnels that extend much farther than the old crypt. Just how many spiders are there down here? How many eyeballs have been taken over the years?
You find the beast in a vast dark space of tumbled basalt columns tangled in silk - a temple in an earlier city, perhaps. It fills the darkness with its own corrupt and nacreous glow. It can only be the horror they speak of in the Medusa's head… a spider-council. You were half expecting a giant spider. This is… something else. A dozen big spiders fused together like softened wax figures. Legs run into thoraxes. Eyes sit next to spinnerets. All studded with fangs like chitinous jewellery. It must weigh as much as a rhinocerous.
Lesser spiders approach with a sidling, respectful gait, bringing eyeballs to its multiple ovipositors. Ten mouths hiss these words at you…
'Good evening. May we compliment you on your charming eyes?'
Rewards :
You've gained a new quality: Arachnologist
The spider-council
The spider-council regards you with a hundred eyes. Ten inhuman mouths intone, 'Now then. Have your eyes been blessed with the Correspondence?'
Appropriately perhaps, its tones are silken. Pleasant, even. Contralto. You could close your eyes and imagine you're at a salon with wine and delicious crackers. Don't close your eyes, though.
Unlocks: Arachnologist 1
Kill the horrid thing
Can such a beast be killed? You aim to find out. The eyes of the Neath depend on you!
Straightforward at Dangerous 81?
Death of a council
You seize your chance and leap upon the back of the hissing monster. Legs bend upward and grab you, but you are too quick. Again and again you strike, covering yourself in sticky grey ichor. You stab compound eyes, exposed joints and wherever you think this beast might keep its brain.
It is done. The beast lies motionless. You are exhausted and bleeding and your best spider-proof hat will never be the same again. But it is done! The honest folk of Wolfstack Docks can sleep easy this night. Or can they? Is this the only one, or are there further spider-councils out there?
Rewards :
Dangerous increase (yes, this increases your dangerous twice)
Arachnologist increase
200 x Silk Scrap
2 x Fate (1 x Fate as of Oct, 1, 2010)
This storylet and all related ones disappear when you succeed in this challenge.
It's too big!
The spider-council is heavy and awkward, but surprisingly quick on her many feet. Bullets ricochet from chitinous armour. Knives are knocked aside by bristling legs. Fangs like daggers glisten with blood. Your blood. How can you expect to defeat such a monstrosity?
Rewards :
Wounds increase
Dangerous increase
Run away!
Horrible thing! Run away! Burn the Silken Chapel!
Does not test any stats
Out and safe!
You never want to recall that frenzied run through sticky, stringy corridors. You were pursued by thousands of little legs, and a hundred big ones. The eyeballs of the Neath will have to look after themselves.
You won't make it easy for the Spider-Council, though. You fire the chapel. Greasy black smoke billows and flames lick red and green around its walls. There's nothing like the smell of barbecued spider. Your compatriots aren't happy, but this entrance to its lair, at least, is closed.
Rewards :
Arachnologist increase
Nightmares increase
[[Dangerous]]] increase
Talk your way out
'Yes indeed! I know all about the Correspondence!'
Does not test any stats
The deepest truth
'Oh, good,' says the great beast. 'Why don't you come over here, then?'
It crooks a mighty limb. Dozens of spiders emerge from the walls, from the floor. One drops from the ceiling into your hair…
They swarm, they bite. You fling them away, fleeing through the tunnels. Endless, endless tunnels…will you make it to the surface before their poison overcomes you? One thing's for certain. You'll never return.
Rewards :
Immediately move to a slow boat passing a dark beach on a silent river
Arachnologist increase
Wounds increase
Duelling the Black Ribbon
You have agreed to duel with the members of the Black Ribbon Society. You will need to prepare for such titanic engagements. [Increase your Running Battle… to 5 to begin unlocking options.]
Unlocks: Dangerous 73, Duelling with the Black Ribbon 2
Find out more about the Black Ribbon duellists
You would do well to understand your opponents before duelling them.
Straightforward at Dangerous 79
A few whispers
You hear some useful snippets. Colonel Pommery fights with pistols and is enthusiastic rather than precise. Father Norton is well known for his skill with blunt instruments. There must be more to learn!
Rewards :
Running Battle… increase (2 change points)
Many whispers
You learn a great deal. Colonel Pommery fights with pistols and is enthusiastic rather than precise. Father Norton is well known for his skill with blunt instruments. Mr. Inch fights with the assistance of trained animals. Captain Vendrick is a drunkard, but fearless. Chi Lan is peerless with a sword. You hear nothing of Feducci himself. Well, almost nothing. They say he has not duelled in some time.
Rewards :
Running Battle… increase (presumably a bigger increase than the normal success)
Exercise for rough health
You will need to be at the peak of your physical condition to compete with the hardy warriors of the Black Ribbon.
Requires Route: The Flit 1
Straightforward at Dangerous 81
Take note of the burning sensation!
The lifting of heavy objects. Consumption of the finest blood puddings. A regimen of constitutional exercise that roams even to the byways of the Flit. After many hours of this, you change your clothing. Your muscles gleam magnificently in the candlelight.
Rewards :
Running Battle… increase (2 change points)
Study the fighting styles of the other duellists
Knowing your enemy is half of the battle.
Straightforward at Dangerous 83?
A world of fighting methods
Father Norton learned street fighting in the rough Americas. Chi Lan has mastered Oriental and European swordsmanship. Useful intelligence, although nobody seems to know much about Feducci himself, not even the weapon he uses.
Rewards :
Running Battle… increase (2 change points)
5 x Cryptic Secret
'Spy on me, would you?'
Well, Colonel Pommery can certainly shoot a great number of bullets in a short time. You will make a note of that when the last of them is removed.
Dangerous increase
Wounds increase
Running Battle… decrease
Scout a battlefield
You may have the choice of battlefield. It could advantage you to scout the likely areas.
Straightforward at Dangerous 85?
Any battlefield will do
So, where is it to be? The spider-haunted alleys behind Wolfstack Docks? The genteel Tyrant's Gardens? The dizzying heights of the Flit? Whichever you choose, you will be at home.
Rewards :
Running Battle… increase (3 change points)
An unfriendly place, even for a battlefield
A rookery is not a good place for a duel. The inhabitants are likely to join in a fight, and don't like strangers. They don't like strangers at all. You hope you don't catch anything from that knife wound.
Dangerous increase
Wounds increase
Sparring with ring fighters
There are many ring fighters who would welcome a practice bout with a fighter of your reputation. Perhaps you could fight two! Or seven!
Straightforward at Dangerous 87?
A heartening bout
Your blood is pumping now! The fighting rings have a good supply of hopefuls. They provide ample opportunity to hone your skills. The promoters talk about pitting you against three or four of them in a public bout.
Rewards :
Running Battle… increase (3 change points)
Arrange a duel outside the Black Ribbon
You have heard of a Quarrelsome Rake who is always ready for a duel. He's not a Black Ribbon type, but he'll do for practice. You could even place a small bet.
Requires 10 x Rostygold
Straightforward at Dangerous 89?
A tiny barrier to glory
The rake is a fine swordsman, but falls under your relentless attacks. A small crowd gathers and gasps: the rake has a fearsome reputation. Perhaps you are ready for the best fighters of the Black Ribbon.
Rewards :
Running Battle… increase (3 change points)
Gain: 20 x Rostygold
Outduelled by a rake
All that quarrelling has made the rake a formidable fighter. A surgical coup from his sword cane leaves you bleeding. For shame! Can you face the Black Ribbon after such a loss?
Dangerous increase
Wounds increase
Running Battle… increase
Lose: 10 x Rostygold
Deal with your wounds
You will need to be in top form to fight the duellists of the Black Ribbon. You should probably have those pesky wounds dealt with.
Unlocks: Dangerous 73, Wounds 2, Duelling with the Black Ribbon 2
Find a physician
There are a few physicians of note around the docks. Most are unwelcome in polite places: spirits, scandal and embarrassing deaths among their patients have driven them to exile here. Nonetheless, they can usually be relied on to sew up wounds.
Requires 50 x Rostygold
Does not test any stats
'hold still, d—n you!'
Well, these fellows are cheap and smell of rough gin, but they can sew flesh. Even when drunk, which is just as well. You feel a little better.
Rewards :
Wounds decrease
Lose 50 x Rostygold
Reduce your Wounds to see all the duellists
The top duellists of the Black Ribbon will not fight you at all while you have significant wounds! They want you good and healthy when they kill you.
Unlocks: Dangerous 73, Wounds 2, Duelling with the Black Ribbon 2
Boast about your wounds in a dockside tavern
'…from a tiger. That one was from the Eater-of-Chains, but he came off the worse…'
Straightforward at Dangerous 78
'…well I never!'
The locals are impressed with your tales of courage. They buy you drinks and you all trade gossip while the smoky fire pops and the clock ticks on. A pleasant way to pass an evening.
Rewards :
Connected: The Docks increase
Gain: 30 x Greyfields 1879
Gain: 15 x Cryptic Secret
Duel Colonel Pommery, the fierce artillerist
Pommery used to command an artillery regiment. He finds the lack of real death in the Neath a "bloody cheat". He thinks it's probably "foreigners' work". He favours pistols of huge caliber, and he is prepared to accept a non-fatal duel if you are a "simpering weasel".
Unlocks: Dangerous 73, Duelling with the Black Ribbon 2, Running Battle… 5
A friendly duel with Colonel Pommery
Colonel Pommery will consent to a non-lethal duel, although he takes the challenge as an indication of your poltroonery and lack of breeding. Pistols on the common is his way.
Straightforward at Running Battle… 9
One over the Colonel
When Feducci signals the start of the duel, you immediately leap away. You dash between bushes and giant mushrooms while the Colonel blazes away with both pistols, haranguing you for your cowardice the whole time. The tide turns when he runs out of ammunition (which takes an age - how can he carry so many bullets?).
The Colonel makes a fair effort with clubbed pistols, but your skill in close combat is the greater, and he soon falls. Feducci nods at you calmly and hands over a purse of red gold.
Rewards :
432 x Rostygold
Put your back into it, man!
'You're just not trying! Come on you dunderhead - shoot me! No, not like that! Can you shoot at all! Ow! That's better! Now, allow me to retort!'
After a great deal of noise and gunsmoke, the Colonel is getting the better of you.
Running Battle… decrease
Dangerous increase
Wounds increase
A duel to the death with Colonel Pommery
'That's more like it! Let's see if you can kill me like a civilised man!' There is a wild gleam in the Colonel's eye. You choose the close ambush territory of the alleys near Wolfstack Docks. [Warning: failing here may mean you have to start over! Although that could be the least of your worries.]
Straightforward at Running Battle… 12
Carried off by spiders
The duel was going so well. You avoided the Colonel's initial fusillade and used the smoke to disappear, instigating a game of cat-and-mouse in the narrow, filthy alleys. You wounded him twice and he was bleeding heavily before… he vanished. Stealth is hardly his idiom, so you went looking for him. There was no sign.
Two days later he contacts you. He was carried off by a trio of sorrow-spiders intent on his eyes. He is quite a small fellow. He apologises and offers to take up the contest again later. Despite the lack of death, Feducci declares you had the best of the duel and awards a purse.
Rewards :
832 x Rostygold
Duel Father Norton, the pugilistic priest
Father Norton is from the Americas. Apparently he was utterly ruined by some unnamed tragedy there. His theology allows duelling as a a possible path to redemption and a lesser sin than suicide. He favours blunt instruments and his fists.
Unlocks: Dangerous 73, Duelling with the Black Ribbon 2, Running Battle… 5
A friendly duel with Father Norton
'It's hardly satisfying, child, but I will indulge you'. The priest chooses a wooden staff and a graveyard for the duel.
Requires Running Battle… 7
Straightforward at Running Battle… 12?
Blood on the gravestones
The good Father (surely he cannot still claim that position?) comes at you with his staff, but you maintain range deftly. He takes cover briefly behind a rock as you make merry with your ranged weapons. Stone chips from the markers of the beloved dead spray across the dank untended grass.
The priest closes and you wrestle. He's strong, but after an extended scuffle you catch his head and bash it against a stone urn until he goes limp. Feducci, watching from a distance, nods and throws you a purse.
Rewards :
You succeeded in a Running Battle… challenge! Running Battle is gone, although it doesn't say so.
Dangerous increase
836 x Rostygold
A surprisingly hurtful stick
The priest is stronger than he looks and he is more than adept with that staff. You receive a fearful buffeting about the face and shoulders.
You back off to gain some distance, but Father Norton merely shrugs and walks away. You don't feel you should attack him from behind. Not with Feducci watching anyway.
Running Battle… failed in a challenge!
Dangerous increase
Wounds increase (1 change point)
A duel to the death with Father Norton
The priest smiles grimly and thanks you. You see hope in his eyes. You choose the hansom rank outside the Medusa's Head: a traditional venue for fisticuffs, even fatal ones. [Warning: failing here may mean you have to start over! Although that could be the least of your worries.]
Requires Running Battle… 7
Straightforward at Running Battle… 14?
A vigorous and enthusiastic crowd
The crowd cheer and salute as the duel begins. Many of the Medusa's Head's patrons are involved with professional violence, and they like little better than a serious duel. Your initial strikes stagger Father Norton and you push him back into a line of onlookers. Momentarily blinded by his own blood, he lashes out wildly with his staff, toppling a half-dozen of the crowd.
What happens next is more in the manner of a pitched battle than a formal duel. Vake-hunters stab ring-fighters. A fellow clad only in wolf pelts shoots a neddy man. Chaos rules, and your opponent is felled by a quartet of zailors.
Later, when the furore has abated, Feducci rules that you had the better of the duel. He hands over a purse that has been lightened by payments to the landlord and those in need of medical attention.
Rewards :
Gain: 1296 x Rostygold
Hauled off by the hansoms
The crowd cheer and salute as the duel begins. Many of the Medusa's Head's patrons are involved with professional violence, and they keep up a well-informed commentary throughout. You try for a quick win, slashing at Father Norton's eyes, but he is too seasoned a fighter for such a move
Stealing your tactic, Father Norton throws mud at your eyes. It blinds you for only a moment, but that's enough. The priest delivers a mighty stroke and you are knocked backwards into a waiting hansom cab. The cabbie takes this as a sign of a new fare and clatters out into the street despite your protests and the jeers of the crowd. Feducci pronounces Father Norton the victor, despite the lack of a fatality.
Running Battle… failed in a challenge! Running Battle is gone, although it doesn't say so.
Dangerous increase
Wounds increase (1 change point)
Duel Mr. Inch and his menagerie
Mr. Inch is a noted trainer of exotic animals, and a supplier of the Labyrinth of Tigers. He likes nothing better than to have his beasts devour some unfortunate. His menagerie boasts badgers, a lizard bigger than a man, an extraordinary multitude of snakes, and a leopard.
Unlocks: Dangerous 73, Duelling with the Black Ribbon 2, Running Battle… 5
A friendly duel with Mr. Inch
'Bartholomew is a mite turbulent of late, so I will agree to such a thing.' You are not sure which one is Bartholomew. Mr. Inch fights with his animals and a sword-cane. He chooses the calm space of Tyrant's Gardens.
Requires Running Battle… 9
Straightforward at Running Battle… 13?
A ballet for duellist and beasts
The badgers posed little difficulty, tenacious as they were. The vipers you dodged and the cobra you shot. The leopard tree-ambush you saw coming, and the marsh-wolves were distracted with the deft use of a passing informer's ham sandwiches. Bartholomew the lizard nearly did for you, but it gave up for a snooze after an extended chase.
Mr. Inch gives a commendable showing with his sword-cane, but he is clearly outmatched on his own and his defeat is as swift as it is complete. Feducci passes you a purse of red gold.
Rewards :
Gain: 1296 x Rostygold
Oh, that rough beast
Who made this storylet?
You have bested a gang of opponents before, but these beasts fight with all the discipline and coherence of a regiment of guardsmen. And that leopard is damnably fast. Mr. Inch is himself a fair swordsman, and you are in danger of being overwhelmed! Startled spies scatter from the benches as you retreat.
Dangerous increase
Wounds increase
Running Battle… decrease
A duel to the death with Mr. Inch
'My beasts will dine well tonight!' Hopefully not. You choose the fungal wilderness of Bugsby's marshes for the duel. [Warning: failing here may mean you have to start over! Although that could be the least of your worries.]
Requires Running Battle… 9
Straightforward at Running Battle… 16
The Vake hunters
You agree to commence the duel at opposite ends of the marshes, and it takes some time for Mr. Inch's beasts to find you. Your first sign of contact is a leopard landing on your head. You soon hurl it off, but then a pack of marsh-wolves emerges from the fog. Does Mr Inch own that many? Have they been recruiting the locals? You are surrounded by a circle of bared fangs. Then suddenly, a shot. What? Mr. Inch does not approve of firearms.
Moments later Bartholomew, Mr Inch's giant lizard hurtles past, pursued by an excited gang of hunters. They are shouting something about finding the Vake. There are more than a dozen, they are very drunk and shooting anything that moves. The beasts scatter and by sheer luck, a stray round severely wounds Mr. Inch. Feducci awards you the victory and the purse. You are not sure why. Perhaps he disapproves of all these animals.
Rewards :
Gain: 1872 x Rostygold
Get into other fights
All this duel training might prove useful elsewhere. There is good money to be made from public fights. In the trade, it's known as show-bouting.
Unlocks: Dangerous 73, Duelling with the Black Ribbon 2, Running Battle… 5
Volunteer for the spider pit
Nobody would volunteer to leap into a pit with a half-dozen trained fighting spiders. Would they?
Requires Running Battle… 9
Straightforward at Running Battle… 13?
Wrestle a tiger!
The Carnival has tigers, does it not? Surely Mrs. Plenty will agree to let you wrestle one! What a show it will be! [Warning: failing here may mean you have to start over! Although that could be the least of your worries.]
Requires Running Battle… 9, Route: Mrs Plenty's Most Distracting Carnival 1
Straightforward at Running Battle… 16
ASTOUNDING TIGER WRESTLING!
See the NOTABLE DUELLIST wrestle a WILD TIGER from the JUNGLES of the INDIES. GASP as the GREAT BEAST is HUMBLED by a CITIZEN of the NEATH. SHOW your APPRECIATION for the FEARLESS TIGER-WRESTLER.
Rewards :
20 x Carnival Ticket
500 x Jade Fragment
500 x Nevercold Brass
500 x Cryptic Secret
Duel Captain Vendrick, the drunken zailor
Captain Vendrick is weary. Exploration and plunder on the Unterzee hold nothing for him but ennui. He takes refuge in the rum bottle and thoughts of oblivion. The Captain is a knife-fighter and his sense of honour forbids a lethal duel unless you wrong him.
Unlocks: Dangerous 73, Duelling with the Black Ribbon 2, Running Battle… 5, Wounds <4?
A friendly duel with Captain Vendrick
A duel with knives can't be that friendly, but the Captain drunkenly agrees to a fight. In fact, he stabs at you the moment you mention it.
Requires Running Battle… 11
Straightforward at Running Battle… 14
NOTE: Once the below option is unlocked, this one will be unavailable.
Spit and blood
The Captain is fast but hardly a subtle opponent when he's had a skin-full. You parry his initial flurry with a chair and regain your balance. Your retort leaves him bleeding, but the Captain cheerfully hurls a spittoon at you and you leap back to avoid the foul expectorations.
The captain climbs up on the bar and roars at you to join him if you dare. You shoot him. Most of the crowd consider that unsporting, but Feducci awards you the purse and you leave before the place turns ugly. Well, uglier.
Rewards :
Gain: 1872 x Rostygold
A duel to the death with Captain Vendrick
Have you wronged the Captain? If you have, he will see you in the Flit. [Warning: failing here may mean you have to start over! Although that could be the least of your worries.]
Requires Running Battle… 11, Route: The Flit 1, Duelling with the Black Ribbon 2
Straightforward at Running Battle… 16
NOTE: This storylet will be permanently unavailable once you have completed it. You can probably guess why…
Death in the Flit
The Flit is ideal ambush territory. You learn to be wary of Vendrick's quick little knives whizzing from overhead walkways or from behind bat-coops. You believe you have the upper hand when the Captain unexpectedly disarms you with a deftly-flung blade that pierces your hand. You curse and run.
Dashing across one of the biggest rope-bridges, you spot a weapon. The Raggedy Men have left a wood-axe here, to chop down the bridge in case of Constables. Vendrick leaps at you and you swing the hatchet desperately. It connects with a sickening thud and Vendrick's head spins away into the empty darkness. The rest of him collapses.
You won. Captain Vendrick is permanently dead. His black ribbon is yours. When Feducci hands you the purse of blood-gold, he sounds odd. Different. Hungry, perhaps?
Rewards :
Gain: 1872 x Rostygold
Gain: 1 x Black Ribbon
An Accomplishment! You are now a Bringer of Death.
Duelling with the Black Ribbon increase
Duel Chi Lan, the Royal fencing instructor
Chi Lan is a fencer of international fame, renowned for her mastery of Oriental and European styles. Her desperate, haunted eyes sit strangely with her appointment as fencing instructor to the Royal children. She duels only to the death and will not speak of her reasons.
Unlocks: Dangerous 73, Duelling with the Black Ribbon 2, Running Battle… 5, Wounds <3?, Wounds >-2
Duel with Chi Lan, and cheat
That spirit you met on the boat looked a lot like Chi Lan. Are they related? You could repeat what the spirit said during a duel. That should put her off her stride.
Requires Running Battle… 13, a Courier for the Dead 1
Does not test any stats. Not even Running Battle!
Words of great effect
Your duel on the Palace rooftops starts badly. Chi Lan rushes you, and it is all you can do to keep her blade from you. You blurt out what the spirit told you. Chi Lan is frozen by the words, dropping her sword. You wound her before she recovers her wits, and then she runs.
She does not return. Feducci awards you the bout and the purse, but you cannot help but feel that the victory is a somewhat hollow one. No matter: you are alive and considerably wealthier. Days later you hear of a spate of murders among the Orientals of Spite. It seems that Chi Lan didn't like what she heard.
Rewards :
Gain: 3000 x Rostygold
A twist in your tale! You are no longer a Courier for the Dead.
Dangerous increase
subtle increase (1 change point)
A duel to the death with Chi Lan
A duel with such a warrior demands a peerless location. You will duel Chi Lan on the rooftops of the Shuttered Palace. [Warning: failing here may mean you have to start over! Although that could be the least of your worries.]
Requires Running Battle… 13, Route: The Shuttered Palace 1
Straightforward at Running Battle… 18?
Cellars and blood
Knowing full well that Chi Lan will fight only with a sword, you seed the Palace rooftops with useful items: a spare weapon here, a man-trap there. Even a duellist of your prowess stands little chance against her in a fencing match, so you will have to improvise.
In the first minute of the duel, Chi Lan advances implacably. You are forced to leap down from the rooftops, crashing through a window to a narrow, winding hallway. Chi Lan pursues, and you soon find yourself in the cellars beneath the palace. You rush past an armed servant bearing five huge keys and hurtle into darkness.
After ten minutes of stalking and ambushes, you hear a monstrous scream-roar and sounds of a fight. There is something else down here. Something terrible. Something dangerous enough to wound Chi Lan. Several somethings, by the sound of it, with more somethings emerging by the minute. Get out, before the somethings surround you!
You retreat. Chi Lan isn't seen for days, but when she finally emerges, she will not speak of what happened. Feducci awards you the purse.
Rewards :
Gain: 3000 x Rostygold
An Accomplishment! You are now a Fearsome Duellist. (1 change point)
Swords and rifles
Knowing full well that Chi Lan will fight only with a sword, you seed the Palace rooftops with useful items: a spare weapon here, a man-trap there. Even a duellist of your prowess stands little chance against her in a fencing match, so you will have to improvise.
That was the plan, anyway. Chi Lan's initial rush has you reeling, and it is all you can do to stay alive as she forces you ever back. You are teetering on the edge, parrying desperately, when a shout goes up from below. The palace guards have seen you. There is a fusillade of rifle fire and all goes dark.
Running Battle… decrease (~15 change points)
Wounds increase (~5 change points)
Duel Feducci
The leader and patron of the Black Ribbon. Bandage-swathed Feducci claims that only a duel to the death can make him feel alive. He is often described as an exiled prince of the tomb-colonies, but you've been around him enough to wonder. Where is he really from?
Unlocks: Dangerous 73, Duelling with the Black Ribbon 2, Running Battle… 5, Wounds <2, Wounds>-2
A duel to the death with Feducci
Due to past incidents, Feducci will only duel in empty areas. The Forgotten Quarter will do admirably. [Warning: failing here may mean you have to start over! Although that could be the least of your worries.]
Requires Running Battle… 15, Route: The Forgotten Quarter 1
Straightforward at Running Battle… 20?
A duellist of distinction
You meet Feducci at a wide, lonely plaza. Your eyes widen as you see him: he has brought a horse. And a lance. A lance. If that were not bad enough, his arms are swathed in enough black ribbons to hide his bandages. There are dozens of them: how many of his own society has he killed?
You leap aside from the lance's tip and see the steel point drive through the tree behind you. While Feducci wrests it out, you run for cover. Warding off further lance charges, you scramble into some sort of ruined temple. Feducci dismounts and follows you in with a sabre. You exchange many blows in the dim light before Feducci falls for an elaborate feint. Your blade slams into his face and through his skull and he falls. Unwilling to take chances, you hack him into pieces.
A few days later he calls upon you. What? What unnatural vitality does this man possess? He dismisses all questions, but the huge chest of blood-gold goes some way to satisfy you. As he leaves, Feducci suggests that you would do well to visit his home, far across the Unterzee. You don't think he's speaking of the tomb-colonies.
(thanks to metasynthie for this text… even though it took forever to add here!)
Rewards :
Gain: 4000 x Rostygold
An Accomplishment! You are now a Fearsome Duellist. (1 change point)
Death in the Quarter
You meet Feducci at a wide, lonely plaza. Your eyes widen as you see him: he has brought a horse. And a lance. A lance. If that were not bad enough, his arms are swathed in enough black ribbons to hide his bandages. There are dozens of them: how many of his own society has he killed?
The fight is short. Feducci spurs his destrier, and there is nowhere for you to hide in the empty plaza. The lance tip goes straight through you, pinning your body to an ancient tree. The boatman comes and bears you away.
You've moved to a new area: A slow boat passing a dark beach on a silent river
You've gained a new quality: Wounds at 5.
Dangerous increase
Confront the Drownies
A member of the Black Ribbon Society has taken up with the Drownies. Feducci wants her dealt with. You track her down where she loiters on the docks, with a pack of her new friends.
Unlocks: Dangerous 76, Duelling with the Black Ribbon 2
Fists on the dockside
The Drownies won't let you speak with your quarry. They will not be convinced of your cause by anything less than a fight.
Straightforward at Dangerous 81
A cold sort of person
The Drownies do their best to surround and overwhelm you, but naturally you are too fast for them. You leap between dockside crates, your fists flying, and force the horde back to the waters. The (former?) member of the Black Ribbon Society watches impassively as you pummel her new kin. When you are alone, she turns and speaks in the hoarse whisper of the Drownies:
Feducci has not given up, I see. What does he want this time?
Rewards :
Duelling with the Black Ribbon increase
Confront the Errant Duellist
You stand on the dockside with a former member of the Black Ribbon Society. Feducci has asked you to return her to the fold or reclaim her ribbon. Death has come for her, she says. She has no business with the Society any longer.
Unlocks: Duelling with the Black Ribbon 3
To the death
No business with the Black Ribbon? Hardly. One leaves the Society by one route only: permanent death. If she wants to be dead, then you shall oblige her.
Straightforward at Dangerous 86? Chancy at 80
Bloody work
The Errant Duellist is fast and skilful, but her heart isn't in it. After a few fierce exchanges she drops her gaff hook and nods to you sadly.
As you perform your butcher's work she asks you to tell Captain Vendrick that she always loved him, and that she might see him below, one day. She gurgles her last and you claim her ribbon.
Rewards :
Duelling with the Black Ribbon increase
Gain: 1 x Black Ribbon
A Bringer of Death increase
Once a duellist
Her 'death' hasn't blunted the Errant Duellist's speed. She is upon you the moment you reach for a weapon, biting and gouging. You have the edge in strength and hurl her off, but when you regain your feet there are a dozen Drownies emerging from the water to assist her…
Dangerous increase
Duelling with the Black Ribbon drops to 2
Wounds increase
A more civilised solution
'Nobody needs to die today. Just give me your ribbon. I tell Feducci that I have killed you, and you stay beneath the waves until he forgets you. Everyone is happy.'
Straightforward at Persuasive ??
Moving the heart of the drowned
She remains motionless for so long that you wonder if she may have actually died. Eventually she nods once, casts her black ribbon at your feet and walks silently into the dockside waters. A high, discordant song goes up from beneath the river, a terrible, triumphant thing that will haunt your dreams.
Rewards :
Duelling with the Black Ribbon increase
Gain: 1 x Black Ribbon
Nightmares increase
Meet again with Feducci
The business with the Errant Duellist has been resolved. You have her black ribbon.
Unlocks: Duelling with the Black Ribbon 4
'Come to dinner…'
Feducci invites you to dine with him. Tomb-colonists are not welcome at many clubs, so he hires a private chef for the evening.
Does not test any stat
Candid words with Feducci
Well, you can't fault the man's taste: the food is both delicious and hearty. You are quite revivified by the repast. Feducci lifts his bandages to eat: a full beard and surprisingly ruddy lips lie beneath. He speaks to you:
'That was a good turn you did us: here is the purse from her last duel. We can't have Black Ribbon duellists going off to join the Drownies willy-nilly. Captain Vendrick was fond of her, by the way. He will duel you to the death now. Ah, we're just a shadow of what we were, you know. There was a time we hunted all across the Unterzee shores, looking for beasts that might challenge us. We even brought a few back here: have you ever been in prison? No matter. Perhaps I shall organise another trip in the future. It would be good to go home for a little time. You should come: I shall introduce you to the Presbyter…'
Rewards :
Wounds decrease
Duelling with the Black Ribbon increase
Gain: 400 x Rostygold
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200 x Glim
200 x Moon-pearl
500 x Deep Amber
