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Encounter Conditions
Must not have lured the hermit into the Flower Field
Initial Text
Your reflection, apparently making its way through the forest, comes across a man with wild, staring eyes. He's dressed in an old style, far past "retro" and into "ragged peasant" and carries a blade of roughly the same vintage, obviously old, but well-cared for.
A small girl, possibly ten or twelve if that means anything in this place, peeks out from behind him at your reflection.
Summary of Choices
- Talk to him - learn 1-2 Dive for Cover and earn 4 XP in Reflexes.
- Talk to her - Gain 10 energy of Child's Perspective.
- Taunt him
- Outrun him - Gain 4 XP in Strength.
- Dodge between trees - Gain 4 XP in Reflexes.
- Head for the flowers (Only after falling asleep trying to pick flowers in Flower Field) Good - Replaces this encounter with Crazy Hermit Fight and Child Playing Solo.
- Turn and face him - Leads to the Swordfight Challenge with a sword equipped. Otherwise just 1 damage.
- Toss in a sword (With a reflected sword) - Leads to the Swordfight Challenge. Lose reflected sword.
- Leave them be - Walk Away
Choice Text and Results
Talk to him
He doesn't seem particularly excited to try and understand what you're saying, even with your best pantomime. Instead he sets down his ancient blade and demonstrates some basic footwork.
You do your best to follow along, backwards in the mirror.
You learned a new Technique: 1-2 Dive For Cover
You've earned 4 XP in Reflexes
Talk to her
The old man watches you like a hawk while you talk to the little girl. She doesn't seem to care that you can't hear her, explaining everything about her young life boisterously, making enough sweeping gestures you can guess what she's trying to say.
Even if you can't really understand her, her excitement and zest for life are infectious. Unfortunately, her nagging distrust of the man and her dislike for this place are equally infectious.
You've gained 10 energy of Child's Perspective.
Taunt him
You yell a few choice insults at the old man's reflection. He gives you a quizzical look, apparently as unable to hear you as you are to hear him.
Failing the old standbys of swearing and insulting his parentage, you direct your reflection to make a wide range of insulting gestures. He clues in after the fifth gesture and charges your reflection, drawing an ancient blade as he does.
Outrun him
You turn your back on the mirror, crazed man and all, bolting from the room and not stopping until you feel comfortable.
Huh… that seemed to work. When you make your way back to the mirror, it's back to normal… actual normal, that is, reflecting the actual contents of the room.
You've earned 4 XP in Strength
Dodge between trees
You leap quickly here and there in the room, glancing back at the mirror to make sure your reflection doesn't end up running into any trees. The old man, for all the madness in his eyes, gives up the chase before you do. Ha!
You've earned 4 XP in Reflexes
Head for the flowers (Good (4))
You carefully move closer and further away, letting your reflection lead him on a merry chase through the forest. You dash through the depression filled with flowers, doing your level best not to breathe.
He follows, crashing through the flowers and covering himself in silvery pollen and white petals. When you reach the far side, you maneuver your reflection to the side, hoping to get a clear view.
Yup, there he is, collapsed in a heap among the flowers.
You've earned 10 XP in Reflexes
Replaces this encounter with Crazy Hermit Fight and Child Playing Solo.
Turn and face him
If you don't qualify to fight him because you don't have a sword-type weapon equipped
You stop to challenge him and he lashes out with a sword, slashing into your reflection. Wow. He's just too fast.
You feel kind of like the proverbial guy who brings a knife to a gunfight. Only more the reverse. You're pretty sure guns wouldn't help, even if you wanted to shoot up your antique mirror.
A single stream of blood trickles from your reflection's wound, but he nods and goes about his business as though it's been settled. You glance down to see the same stripe of blood on yourself. That's still just weird.
You take 1 damage.
If you have a sword-type weapon equipped
The hermit draws his blade and says something, pausing long enough to realize you can't hear him. Then he says it louder, or at least you'd guess so, his mouth gets bigger at any rate.
He exaggeratedly pantomimes a single finger up for 'one' and then cuts himself on his rusty blade and points at it until you nod. To the first blood it is, apparently.
(Begin Swordfight Challenge)
Toss in a sword
You toss the glass shard underhand at the mirror. It flashes through seamlessly as a sword and you whip your reflected hand up to catch it.
Yeah, that was pretty badass.
The hermit draws his blade and says something, pausing long enough to realize you can't hear him. Then he says it louder, or at least you'd guess so, his mouth gets bigger at any rate.
He exaggeratedly pantomimes a single finger up for 'one' and then cuts himself on his rusty blade and points at it until you nod. To the first blood it is, apparently.
(Begin Swordfight Challenge and lose reflected sword)
Leave them be
See Walk Away