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Encounter Conditions
Etheric
Wearing wispy hospital pants
While inside the castle (accessed via Shining Castle)
Initial Text
You make your way to the top of the highest tower. An elderly man rests in a hospital bed, its hard steel lines out of place among the tower's rough stone.
On one side of him is a woman who looks deeply worried and deeply tired. On the other side, a man in a nurse's uniform looks unworried but focused as he mixes up some sort of formula.
Or, after giving the princess the draught of immortality, or administering it to the king yourself:
You make your way to the top of the highest tower. An elderly man rests in a hospital bed, its hard steel lines out of place among the tower's rough stone.
On one side of him is a woman who looks deeply tired, almost drowning out the glimmer of hope in her eyes. On the other side, a man in a nurse's uniform looks annoyed but focused as he mixes up some sort of formula.
Summary of Choices
- Talk to her - Options below, unless you have given ancient love potion in which case nothing.
- Talk about her father (Before giving the draught of immortality) - information
- Distract her (Before giving the draught of immortality) - Gain 2 XP Will or with a tome of flowers equipped, 6 XP in Will and learn Lesson of Flowers, or with a princess bloom equipped, learn Blossoming Peace
- Give her the medicine (Before giving the draught of immortality, with it in inventory) - Lose draught of immortality unlock 'Ask to go for a walk', 'Just chat' options.
- Slip her his potion (After getting the ancient love potion from the Alchemist) - Gain dusty coin, lose ancient love potion.
- Show her his potion (After getting the ancient love potion from the Alchemist) - something happens
- Ask to go for a walk (After giving the king the draught of immortality) - Gain princess bloom, ends wispy pants encounters for the day.
- Just chat (After giving the king the draught of immortality) - Gain 2 XP Will
- Leave her be - 2 XP in Will
- Chat with him Options below, or if you have slipped or showed the love potion to the princess Nothing
- Ask about his patient - Nothing, or after learning an instance of Lesson of Stars today, options below:
- Sure thing - Gain ancient love potion
- Is that a good idea? - Nothing?
- That's a terrible idea - Nothing?
- Give him the queen's flower (After showing the queen the flower of the dragon in the Dusty Throne Room) - Gain draught of immortality, lose flower of the dragon
- Just chat - Gain 3 XP Perception, or with tome of stars equipped, gain 6 XP Reflexes and Lesson of Stars
- Reveal that you drank it - Gain philosopher stone, ends wispy pants encounters for the day
- Leave him be - something happens
- Ask about his patient - Nothing, or after learning an instance of Lesson of Stars today, options below:
- Search the room - First time per day: gain ancient candle, otherwise 3 XP Perception
- Give him the draught (With draught of immortality) - Lose draught of immortality, change various encounter above
- Leave this place - Switch to outside encounters
Choice Text and Results
Talk to her
She nods towards you politely as you approach, but seems more interested in her father in the bed.
Or, after the king has been given the draught of immortality:
She smiles as you approach, seemingly willing to take her eyes of the King for a moment.
Or, after giving her the ancient love potion (No options available):
She nods towards you politely as you approach, but her gaze seem continuously drawn from her father lying on the bed to the man standing on the other side. Her eyes almost glitter as she looks at him.
Talk about her father
She sighs without looking away from the figure on the bed. "Every night I dream he's getting better, but when I wake up… he's still here like this. I… don't know what to do."
"The Alchemist," he nods politely from across the bed, "he's doing everything he can, but we just need something stronger. The sorceress…"
The Alchemist frowns and clears his throat pointedly. "Don't hold out for that charlatan, your highness. Even if you could get her the flower, it'd only be a terrible waste."
Give her the medicine
You hand her the flask. She accepts its worshipfully as the Alchemist sneers from across the room. "It won't work, Princess."
She ignores his statement and carefully pours the medicine into her father's open mouth, pausing periodically to let him swallow. He doesn't leap up for joy but his color looks a lot better and his breathing has evened.
Distract her
She makes polite, although rather distracted, small talk. You don't get a lot out of her, but she does seem to appreciate the thought.
You've earned 2 XP in Will
(Or, with a tome of flowers equipped):
She makes polite, although rather distracted, small talk, until she notices the book you're carrying. Then she launches into a surprisingly detailed discussion of flowers from a symbolic angle and, strangely considering the age of her dress, a deeply knowledgable biological perspective.
You end up flipping back and forth in the book to keep up, but have a deeply interesting conversation as the book falls to dust in your hands. And it seemed to make her feel a little better, which is cool.
You learned a new Technique: Lesson of Flowers
You've earned 6 XP in Will
(Lose tome of flowers)
(Or, with a princess bloom equipped):
She takes the flower from your hand, seemingly well-distracted. You're tempted to take it back, but a strange calmness washes over you instead.
You learned a new Technique: Blossoming Peace
(Lose princess bloom)
Ask to go for a walk
She nods shyly and leads you off to the gardens, explaining details about the various blooms there excitedly as she does.
As you rest in the garden for what seems like years, you hear the distant sounds of fighting. When the war finally reaches you, when she is finally cut down, all that remains behind is a flower as the dust closes in around you.
Time seems to pass into dust, leaving you in a strange world filled with pain and strife, but perhaps a little less alone than you thought.
You found: princess bloom
Slip her his potion
You offer her the refreshment for herself, which she cheerfully drinks. At first nothing seems to happen, but the way she's looking at the Alchemist gives you pause. He slips you something as you leave the room.
You found: dusty coin
(Lose ancient love potion)
Show her his potion
You show her the potion and begin to explain its intended effects, the alchemist begins to sputter an explanation. She waits, smiling patiently, until he runs out of steam then leans close and whispers "save my father and I won't kill you."
(Lose ancient love potion)
Just chat
She makes polite small talk. It's something she's had a lot of practice in, but it's just as clear she appreciates your help and doesn't mind chatting.
You've earned 2 XP in Will
Leave her be
On second thought, she looks like she has a lot on her mind. You leave her to her thoughts.
You've earned 2 XP in Will
Chat with him
He looks down at his patient, who shows no sign of getting up soon, and sighs. "I suppose I can take a moment to chat. What did you want?"
Even this momentary lapse is favored by a cold glance from the woman on the far side of the bed.
Or, after telling the princess about the ancient love potion (No options available):
He glares at you for a moment. "Can't talk, gotta work."
The Princess smiles at his diligence, her eyes growing cold the moment he turns back to tend her father.
Or, after slipping the princess the ancient love potion (No options available):
He smiles at you, giving a tentative thumbs up as though he weren't busy caring for a bedridden man.
Ask about his patient
He nods to the woman at bedside and leads you off to the side. "It's a lot, you know. The king is sick, sick and old. And the princess… it's just distracting."
He glances back at her with an obvious bit of longing. "I need to do something, right?"
He sighs and heads back to work.
Or, after learning an instance of Lesson of Stars that day:
He nods to the woman at bedside and leads you off to the side. "The king is getting old, we can only hold it off for so long. But I… I was wondering if you could help me on something."
He takes your silence as assent. "She, I want her to look at me, you know, just once. And I have a potion that does that. It's just… she won't take anything from me because that's weird. And… I was hoping you'd help."
Sure thing
"I know, right? I'm a genius. Just, uh, get it to her somehow." He hands you a small vial of liquid, swirling with dust in its depths.
You found: ancient love potion
Is that a good idea?
"It's… maybe not. I don't really know. I mean, she should love me, but…" he pinches the bridge of his nose. "I just want her to pay attention to me, just once."
That's a terrible idea
"Um, ha! I mean, it's a joke, right! Ha!" He runs back to the bedside.
Give him the queen's flower
"Of course," he nods, accepting the flower. "It will be as my queen commands."
The wait is strangely uncomfortable, with the woman staring at you but unwilling or unable to speak her mind. Eventually he returns. "This will do, I hope?"
You found: draught of immortality
(Lose flower of the dragon)
Just chat
You talk for a while, the topic wandering from chemistry to the stars and back. None of what he's saying quite makes sense.
He doesn't seem pleased with your questions, but poking at things makes you feel a little better. Eventually he gives you directions to the castle's library, perhaps in hopes of getting you off his back.
You've earned 3 XP in Perception
(Or, with a tome of stars equipped):
You talk for a while, before the topic turns to the stars. The man becomes more and more animated, chatting over a variety of topics, but returning to his strange knowledge on stars.
You can barely follow along, even knowing it's all right there in the book.
It's odd… something in the depths of your brain whispers that he's mad, spouting beliefs only children could believe, but with his conviction you can almost feel the stars in your hands, burning the book away and leaving only its lessons behind.
You learned a new Technique: Lesson of Stars
You've earned 6 XP in Reflexes
(Lose tome of stars)
Reveal that you drank it
He looks confused for a moment. "But she's… oh… oh!"
He blushes and asks the princess for a short break. She grudgingly agrees while he takes you on a whirlwind tour of all his favorite places in the castle.
As he leads you from place to place through the dusty halls for what seems like years, you hear the distant sounds of fighting. When the war finally reaches you, when he is finally cut down, he hands you something with his last breath… an unremarkable stone with a strange weight to it as the dust closes in around you.
Time seems to pass into dust, leaving you in a strange world filled with pain and strife, but perhaps a little less alone than you thought.
You've unlocked the Dusty Adult Avatar
You found: philosopher stone
Leave him be
He shrugs, seeming glad to be left to his work.
Search the room
You search through the table, drawing a few curious glances from the Princess and Alchemist. They don't seem to mind when you help yourself to a candle anyway.
You found: ancient candle
Or, after getting an ancient candle (once per day?)
You search through the table, drawing a few curious glances from the Princess and Alchemist. It's probably just as well, because you don't find anything interesting anyway.
You've earned 3 XP in Perception
Give him the draught
You carefully pour the medicine into his open mouth, pausing periodically to let him swallow. He doesn't leap up for joy but his color looks a lot better and his breathing has evened.
(Lose draught of immortality)
Leave this place
Yeah, you'd just be getting in the way here. You head back outside.
Notes
This encounter does not consume energy.
History
The option to give the king the draught directly was added from a player suggestion; initially it needed to be given to the princess who would administer it.