Image
Encounter Conditions
None
Initial Text
Your reflection finds its way to a small hut in the woods, made out of old timber.
You angle your view so the hut's open door lines up with the mirror's viewpoint. There's a simple pile of straw with a blanket on it for a bed, a short workbench, a heavy wooden table, and a massive cauldron filled with faintly steaming liquid.
(before leading her out of the tower)
Aside from looking like something out of a fairy tale, it looks pretty straightforward.(after leading her out of the tower)
The elderly woman you freed from that tower is puttering around, cleaning the layer of dust that had accumulated while she was away. Some bread and cheese sits on the table, half-consumed.
Summary of Choices
- Strike up conversation (after leading her out of the tower)
- Ask about her - Gain 30 or 50 energy of Crone's Perspective
- Ask about the tower - Gain 50 energy of Crone's Perspective if skeleton defeated
- Give her a mushroom (Good 1) (only if you have one) Gain 60 energy of Crone's Perspective if skeleton defeated
- Give her some strands (only if you have them) Gain 60 energy of Crone's Perspective if skeleton defeated
- Give her the mask (Good 2) - (with a reflected mask in inventory) Gain 90 energy of Crone's Perspective
- Search under everything (Good 1) - Gain 3 XP in Perception and Strength
- Approach the cauldron
- Add a fish (only if you have one) - see cauldron mechanics
- Add an apple (only if you have one) - see cauldron mechanics
- Add a flower (only if you have one) - see cauldron mechanics
- Add a mushroom (only if you have one) - see cauldron mechanics
- Add some strands (only if you have them) - see cauldron mechanics
- Add a wolf tooth (only if you have one) - see cauldron mechanics
- Push in the shards - see cauldron mechanics
- Nevermind - Walk away
- Take a nap - Gain 39? HP
- Join her dinner (replaces Take a nap after Asking about her) Gain 37?
- Leave it
Choice Text and Results
Strike up conversation
Your reflection easily catches her attention. She turns towards it and waits with the effortless patience only those who've lost track of their years possess.
Ask about her
She doesn't seem terribly interested in talking and even less so in trying to pantomime because she can't hear you. But you sit long enough that the silence stops being awkward and starts just being… silence.
There's something to that, you think.
You've gained 30 energy of Crone's Perspective.
(or 50, with an unknown unlock. Defeating the skeleton is insufficient.
Ask about the tower
She stares wistfully off towards the tower, but doesn't seem to have anything to say about it.
(Or, if the skeleton is still in the tower, and some other condition is met?)
She stares off towards the tower, her features set in a mask of determination. Motioning for your reflection to follow, she heads to the front of the hut.
In the distance, despite the rain and the trees, you can see a skeletal figure at the top of the tower, silhouetted by the moon.
She brings up one gnarled finger, pointing at the form and scowling, then heads back inside out of the rain.
(Or, confirmed that is not the condition)
She looks out towards the tower, nods once and smiles at you. For a moment, she seems younger, almost radiant.
It hits you a moment later that it's freedom. Even though she's old, she's begun a new life.
You've gained 50 energy of Crone's Perspective.
Give her a mushroom (Good 1)
You press the shard against the mirror's glass and the small mushroom pops into your reflection's hand. She happily takes it and crunches down on the mushroom raw.
For a moment you can see her life laid out before you, endless years of hardship and a cage that turned out not to be gilded at all.
You've gained 60 energy of Crone's Perspective.
Give her some strands
You press the shard against the mirror's glass and the filthy strands pop into your reflection's hand. She inspects them carefully, pulls out a small knife, uses it to chop them into short lengths, then puts the resulting pieces into a jar.
Hmmmm, you're not exactly sure what that's supposed to mean, but she seems happy with the turn of events. It gives you a sideways sort of appreciation for her state, all alone, not having to explain her actions to anyone, but also never needing to make sense. It's entirely possible she's just mad.
Of course, you're the one psychoanalyzing the reflection of a woman who isn't here.
You've gained 60 energy of Crone's Perspective.
Give her the mask (Good 2)
You slip the shard into one of the mirror's innumerable cracks and the ball mask, handle and all, appears in your reflection's hand. It passes it on to the old woman.
She speaks at length, although you cannot hear her. You can see in her face, though, that the mask is incredibly important to her, some sort of relic of another life.
Powerlessness and the regret that it creates pours off her in waves. Some would say the few weeks you remember wouldn't even count as a life. But, if they do count, she's clearly lived through many lives, just not had the power to set her own course.
You've gained 90 energy of Crone's Perspective.
Search under everything (Good 1)
You shuffling around the room, miming picking up and moving a different room's furniture. It's sort of a mindbending experience, not to mention a good workout.
(added after leading her out of the tower)
The elderly woman follows around behind you as you move things, sweeping under them as you go.Unfortunately, you don't find anything interesting. It's possible there's something interesting under the cauldron other than fire, but you're not sure how to move it, even if it sounded like a good idea.
You've earned 3 XP in Perception
You've earned 3 XP in Strength
Approach the cauldron
Your reflection heads over to the giant cauldron, it's hard not to think "witch's cauldron," in the corner.
Whatever mixture might be in progress, the only ingredients in reach are a few fragments of red or white porcelain. Assuming they're ingredients at all.
Your reflection leans over to examine the cauldron's contents. Whatever's in there, it's a <colour>.
CAULDRON MECHANICS
The potion in cauldron can be any of several colours and consistencies. The colours include the standard spectrum of the rainbow, as well as some outliers such as black or white. The consistency of the potion can be a syrup, sludge or tar.
Adding an item will increase the viscosity of the potion. For example, a syrup will turn to a sludge, or a sludge will turn to a tar. Adding an item to a tar will cause the potion to go up in smoke (possibly giving XP or items) and reset back to a syrup.
Some items have specific effects on the potion when added. (Somewhat unspaded currently) Roughly:
- Adding a shard does one of two things:
- Potion goes up in smoke, and you gain 25 duration of No Pain instead of the usual result. (observed with colors 3-7 & 9-12, as well as an indescribable (either 0 or 1))
- Potion goes up in smoke, and you gain the usual result of the current color (observed only with color 8 sudge & color 8 tar, which gives the mask)
- Potion in tar form gets -1 Spectrum and doesn't go up in smoke (observed only with color 8 tar and not duplicated. May be human error.)
- Adding a mushroom is +1 Spectrum.
- Adding strands is -1 Spectrum.
- Adding a flower is +2 Spectrum.
- Adding an apple is -2 Spectrum.
- Adding a tooth is +? Spectrum (Might depend on viscoscity, or might be random. Observed values are 2-5).
- Adding a fish is -? Spectrum (Might depend on viscoscity, or might be random. Observed values are 2-5).
If the spectrum value of a sludge or tar is below 0 or above 16, the contents will immediately plume into multi-colored smoke.
| Color | Spectrum Value | Smoke Result |
|---|---|---|
| (smoke is multicolored) | <0 | 60 XP, distributed randomly |
| Indescribable | 0 | reflected sword |
| Indescribable | 1 | reflected torch |
| Pitch Black | 2 | 45 XP in Perception |
| Black with Red Cracks | 3 | 45 XP in Will |
| Glowing Red Like Heated Iron | 4 | 30 XP in Perception |
| Apple Red | 5 | 30 XP in Will |
| Rusty Orange | 6 | 15 XP in Perception |
| Putrid Yellow | 7 | 15 XP in Will |
| Violently Green | 8 | reflected mask or Coughing Fit |
| Rich Blue | 9 | 15 XP in Strength |
| Deep Indigo | 10 | 15 XP in Reflexes |
| Understated Violet | 11 | 30 XP in Strength |
| Off White | 12 | 30 XP in Reflexes |
| Gleamingly White | 13 | 45 XP in Strength |
| Brilliant White | 14 | 45 XP in Reflexes |
| Indescribable | 15 | reflected wolf tooth |
| Indescribable | 16 | reflected scales |
| (smoke is multicolored) | >16 | 60 XP, distributed randomly |
Add a fish
You slip the shard between cracks in the glass, causing a wriggling fish to appear from nowhere among the reflections. You use your reflection to gingerly nudge it into the cauldron.
It continues swimming for a few seconds as the solution skeletonizes and then dissolves it.
Add an apple
You push the shard through the mirror, conveniently splashing the apple into the cauldron. You stir it a couple times and cackle for good measure. It just seems like the thing to do.
Add a flower
You press the shard against the glass for a while and it eventually pops, appearing in your reflection's hand as a brilliant white flower. Your reflection turns at your direction and drops it into the cauldron.
Add a mushroom
You press the shard against the mirror's glass and a tiny mushroom appears in your reflection's hand. It turns and drops it into the cauldron, where it disappears with a puff of smoke.
Add some strands
You toss the shard at the mirror. A tangle of greasy strands appears in mid aid and falls into the cauldron. Perfect!
Add a wolf tooth
You slot the shard into one of the mirror's cracks and it sinks in, absorbed almost hungrily. The bloody tooth falls into your reflection's hand and, from there, is easily tossed into the cauldron.
Push in the shards
You sweep your arm at about waist height, convincing your reflection to knock several of the porcelain shards into the cauldron. There's a plume of smoke that fills the cottage and even trickles out from the cracks in the mirror.
You're forced out of the cottage, but at least you didn't have to breathe that all in.
or
You're forced out of the cottage, coughing painfully.
You've gained 25 energy of No Pain.
or, if the colour is green:
Something, pressure maybe, forces a single shard from the mirror on to the floor.
You found: reflected mask
Extra messages
These can be appended to any of the above, see table above for when it occures.
A plume of black smoke pours of the cauldron, pushing through the mirror's cracks into your room. As the pressure builds, a single shard of glass twists… almost like it's melting… and falls out of place.
You found: reflected torch
A plume of black smoke pours of the cauldron, pushing through the mirror's cracks into your room. As the pressure builds, a single shard of glass twists… almost like it's melting… and falls out of place.
You found: reflected sword
A plume of white smoke pours of the cauldron, pushing through the mirror's cracks into your room. As the pressure builds, light shines through the cracks around a single shard and it flies into your room, followed by brilliant light and ever more white smoke.
You found: reflected scales
A plume of white smoke pours of the cauldron, pushing through the mirror's cracks into your room. As the pressure builds, light shines through the cracks around a single shard and it flies into your room, followed by brilliant light and ever more white smoke.
You found: reflected wolf tooth
A plume of orange smoke pours out of the cauldron, wrapping around your reflection and pushing its way into your mind.
You've earned 15 XP in Perception
A massive plume of grey smoke pours out of the cauldron, wrapping around your reflection and pushing its way into your mind.
You've earned 30 XP in Perception
A roiling plume of black smoke pours out of the cauldron, wrapping around your reflection and pushing its way into your mind. You can see a distant place, covered with black stone and smokeless fire.
You've earned 45 XP in Perception
A plume of indigo smoke pours out of the cauldron, wrapping around your reflection and burning its way into your body
You've earned 15 XP in Reflexes
A massive plume of dirty white smoke pours out of the cauldron, wrapping around your reflection and burning its way into your body.
You've earned 30 XP in Reflexes
A roiling plume of white smoke pours out of the cauldron, wrapping around your reflection and burning its way into your body. Your muscles snap and twist, painfully reconfiguring themselves to provide inhuman speed.
You've earned 45 XP in Reflexes
A plume of blue smoke pours out of the cauldron, wrapping around your reflection and burning its way into your body.
You've earned 15 XP in Strength
A massive plume of violet smoke pours out of the cauldron, wrapping around your reflection and burning its way into your body.
You've earned 30 XP in Strength
A roiling plume of white smoke pours out of the cauldron, wrapping around your reflection and burning its way into your body. Your muscles snap and twist, painfully reconfiguring themselves to provide inhuman strength.
You've earned 45 XP in Strength
A plume of yellow smoke pours out of the cauldron, wrapping around your reflection and pushing its way into your mind.
You've earned 15 XP in Will
A massive plume of red smoke pours out of the cauldron, wrapping around your reflection and pushing its way into your mind.
You've earned 30 XP in Will
A roiling plume of black smoke pours out of the cauldron, wrapping around your reflection and pushing its way into your mind. You can see terrible shapes moving there, barely humanoid forms creeping at the edges of the mirror's cracks, probing for some way to get in.
You've earned 45 XP in Will
A plume of multi-colored smoke pours out of the cauldron, wrapping around your reflection and burning its way into your body.
You've earned 60 XP, distributed randomly
A plume of toxic-looking green smoke pours out of the cauldron, which sends you into paroxyms of coughing.
In the far corner, the old woman shakes her head sadly.
You've gained 25 duration of Coughing Fit.
Instead with an air filter:
A plume of toxic-looking green smoke pours out of the cauldron, from which you are, thankfully, protected from inhaling.
Nevermind
See Walk Away
Take a nap
You curl up on the floor in front of the mirror and your reflection curls up in the hut. There's a beautiful sort of symmetry, cast across the ages, but mostly it's just restful.
You regain 39 hit points!
Join her dinner
She sits down and shares the meal with your reflection. It's surprisingly difficult to manipulate silverware when you're not actually holding it. But you manage not to make a complete laughingstock of yourself.
The food is strangely unsatisfying, although it's possible that your reflection is hogging all the food… if that makes sense at all. It's a rather relaxing experience, though.
You regain 37-40 hit points!
Leave it
See Walk Away