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Encounter Conditions
This is replaced by Abandoned Barrel if you choose "Charge them"
Initial Text
There's always at least one barrel full of burning trash in Southside Park, putting off that distinct aroma of newspaper kindling and bubbling plastic. Much of the park's homeless population has huddled around the barrel, each of them peering up as you approach.
There's a gap in the group that you could slip into to warm your hands.
Summary of Choices
- Warm your hands -
- Ask about Mikhail's -
- Ask about the voice
- Change the subject - Gain 2 XP in Will
- Demand answers - Removes the skittish bum
- Rush him - Fight skittish bum
- Leave him be - Walk away
- Charge them
- Leave them - Nothing
Choice Text and Results
Warm your hands
The wind in the park can be cutting, so it's nice to just stand and soak in the heat. It's restful, really.
You regain 10-16? hit points!
You've earned 1 XP in Will
Ask about Mikhail's
You ask about the attack on Mikhail's. One of the locals speaks up. "That crazy bastard'll be fine. I mean, running a sandwich joint in a place like this…"
"But I don't think anyone's thinking about getting on his bad side." His eyes flick over to you for a moment, then back to the fire.
Ask about the voice
One of them points you to a skittish man hanging back from the rest of the group, at the very edge of the fire's heat. "Talk to him. He knows all about it."
The man in back looks up at you, visibly unsettled. "No. I don't know anything about that. Don't ask me anything."
Or, after demanding answers, or losing the fight versus the skittish bum (or running away from him, maybe?):
One of the men looks up from the barrel. "Hmmm? Naw, none of us know anything. The only guy that did," he gestures vaguely towards the edge of the circle, "jackrabbited when you spooked him."
"A bunch of the guys have heard the voice, sure, but Eclipse is a funny thing. A damned funny thing."
End of conversation
Or, after killing the skittish bum:
One of the men looks up from the barrel. "Hmmm? Naw, none of us know anything. The only guy that did," he gestures vaguely towards the edge of the circle, "well, I suppose you know what happened to him."
"Damnedest thing, though. After he bought it, nobody's heard a thing. Whispers just stopped. If that's all it took, we shoulda shanked him in his sleep weeks ago."
Or, after getting Focused Mind or Boundless Patience, or maybe just asking enough times?:
One of the men around the burn barrel nods. "Ah, yeah, some of the guys have heard that… creepy voice when the sun's gone down and you've had too much… candy."
He makes a vague gesture towards the edge of the circle. "There was a guy, name of Ken… I think… Kevin maybe. Anyway, he lost his last nut at one point, yelling about 'the silence' like he'd gone deaf or something."
"All in an day's life in Southside, right?" He rasps out a laugh without any mirth behind it.
"But after that, nothing. Nobody's heard the whispers since. Probably just a coincidence… but the kind that gives you chills, you know?"
Change the subject
He seems relieved to have a chance for normal conversation. He talks about food, mostly, going on like a world traveler about his favorite restaurants and bars.
You'd be surprised if he'd been to half the cities he mentions, let alone the restaurants, but it seems harmless enough to let his mind wander beyond Southside for a while.
You've earned 2 XP in Will
Demand answers
You loom over him, shouting and demanding answers until he finally cracks.
He just keeps shaking his head. "They all think it's me. They think the voice is me. It's not, though, it's not!"
"It's been talking to me since… since I was a boy, but now they all say they can hear it. Just like the other children, they're making fun of me."
He shakes his head, as if to clear it. Judging by his hunched shoulders and trembling hands, he was only partially successful.
"It can't hurt me now, though. I have protection," he grips his necklace like a drowning man would grab a rope.
"I can't hurt me. I can't hear it. You have to believe me! I haven't seen it in ages… The others… they're just druggies, think I'm one of them because I tried Eclipse once or twice."
He takes a shuddering breath. "Don't listen to them. It can't hurt me."
When you let him go, he flees into the shadows.
Rush him
"No," he mutters as you approach him. "It's not me. The voice… it's not me, please… please believe me…"
He makes motions to leave, but you've already got him cornered.
(Fight Skittish Bum)
Leave him be
He seems quite content to be left alone and leave you alone in turn.
Charge them
You charge towards the barrel. Most of the locals scatter.
One remains firmly in your path, although it's an open question whether he's brave or simply didn't notice you coming in time.
Fight Filthy Bum
(Replaces this encounter with Abandoned Barrel regardless of result of combat)