Image
Encounter Conditions
- Must have tossed in a torch at the Icy Pool today, and not watched it freeze over again.
Initial Text
Your reflections comes across that pond again. It's like this whole place is one tight little loop around the hill. Hmmmm.
Anyway, the pond looks exceptionally frigid. Even if the snow on the ground didn't convince you, the giant chunks of ice still floating in it would.
Summary of Choices
- Wade in - Winter Wading minigame (follow link for details)
- Watch over the water - 4 XP Perception
- Go fishing (a fishing rod must be equipped) - no apparent effect, except with High Test, which sometimes gives you 10 XP Strength (possibly has an effect on the winter wading game?)
- Fish with the strand (a reflected strand must be in your inventory, lose it and gain a reflected fish)
- Return a fish (requires and uses one reflected fish, gain 14 XP in Will
- Watch it freeze this encounter is replaced by the Icy Pool encounter, gain 6 XP in Will, or 9 with Ocean Sight, or 4 Perception XP with Fish Empathy
- Leave it be (walk away)
Choice Text and Results
Wade In
Your reflection is at the edge of a pond, which until recently was frozen over. You can see chunks of ice still floating in the water.
(start Winter Wading minigame)
Watch over the water
You stare out over the pond's still surface, inspecting the tree's reflections, the glittering sunlight, and the reflection of your reflection.
The study of their interplay is fascinating. You're not even really sure how long you stood there, staring into the broken mirror, searching for reflections of reflections of reflections.
You've earned 4? XP in Perception
Go Fishing
You bait your hook and throw in a line. It takes a couple tries, with the trees, the contents of your room, and the fact that you're trying to convince your reflection to do it. It's actually a wonder you got it in the pond at all.
You stay for a bit, reflection-fishing to your heart's content.
Your reflection landed <thing(s)>. You, on the other hand, didn't catch anything other than <real thing>.
- Your reflection will catch 1-4 different things in a random order from the following list (depends on fishing skill?), these aren't items it just says you caught them. You may get: "a lily", "a stick", "a pike", "a bluegill", "a bait bluegill", "some rotting leaves", "a grey fish", or "a gnarled root".
Real thing:
- a few light fixtures
- your chemistry lab
- your Core Formatter
- (presumably any other furniture you have installed)
(or sometimes if you have High Test active)
Wow, you snagged something heavy. It's quite a workout just hauling it up.
Your reflection hauls up a massive tree root. It's awesome and your arms burn like fire, but there doesn't seem to be much to do with it.
You've earned 10? XP in Strength
Fishing with the strand
You carefully slot the reflected strand in one of the mirror's many cracks. It slithers into the world of reflections, past your own reflection, and into the pond.
You feel a tug a moment later and pull a fish clear back through into the shard of glass. Your reflection looks on incredulously. Maybe that's you being reflected looking incredulous, both seem pretty likely, in retrospect.
You found: reflected fish
(Hidden: lose reflected strand)
Return a fish
You carefully maneuver your reflection closer to the pool, then push the reflected fish into one of the gaps in the mirror. It drops through into the mirror, splashing into the water.
Well, that's your good deed for the day. You head back about your business, feeling surprisingly better about yourself.
You've earned 10 XP in Will
Watch it freeze
You settle your reflection in the snow at the pond's edge, preparing yourself for a good, hard watch. The chunks of ice slowly expand, linking together to cover the pond's entire surface.
Perhaps next you should see if a watched pot boils.
You've earned 6? XP in Will
or with Ocean Sight
You settle your reflection in the snow at the pond's edge, preparing yourself for a good, hard watch. The chunks of ice slowly expand, linking together to cover the pond's entire surface.
You can feel them, a little, at the edges of your perception. It's like you've watched this all before from a different perspective, the ice sliding over to cover your home.
It's sort of claustrophobic and panic-inducing, to be honest, but you manage to power though it.
You've gained 50 duration of <any active Chilling Effect, if you have any>.
You've earned 6 XP in Will
or, with Fish Empathy
You settle your reflection in the snow at the pond's edge, preparing yourself for a good, hard watch. The chunks of ice slowly expand, linking together to cover the pond's entire surface.
You can feel them closing in around you, cutting you off from light and air and warmth while you snuggle into the comforting warmth of the muck.
You've earned 4 XP in Perception
Leave it be
You turn your back on the mirror for a moment, ignoring the reflections.