1??????????????Soul Bound
1.1????????????Finding her Feet
1.1.7??????????An Extreme Response
1.1.7.18???????Taboo
On the 3rd Night
4 bells of the first watch, Lunday Wax, the 1st day in the month of KrevinBelember.
[[GLOBAL ANNOUNCEMENT : “Eihwaz” is the first player in the world to reach level 40]]
[[GLOBAL ANNOUNCEMENT : game will shortly be patching, see release notes]]
Alderney: {Bye Vessel-Kafana, look after yourself, I’ve got to go. I’ll see you back at the Sanctum later. We’re not due to drop in on that necro jerk for 5 of your hours, so you can take time for a nap and a snack. Maybe let Vessel-Alderney have fun with your hair? She’ll enjoy that, and you’ll have a lot of people watching you later.}
*flip*
Kafana found herself back in their private viewing room in the Burrow. Mary-Lynn was talking with Wellington, and the room was back looking more like mission control than a relaxed TV lounge.
Alderney: “What’s the patch? They don’t normally bother announcing those in-game, do they?”
Wellington: “The notes explain it as the deities being angered by the disrespect of their traditions by those players who claim to most wish to be in attunement with them.”
Alderney: “What does that mean, in practical terms?”
Wellington: “Before the patch, a player would only come across divine curses during quests, if one had been placed upon an NPC that had interacted directly with a deity or very high level priest. They were rare and each one was unique, because the effect was customised to fit the plot of the quest. The patch adds a more standardised route, which affects some players as well as NPCs and, at least until the players adapt, they’re going to have quite an impact.”
Kafana: “Some players?”
Wellington: “The notes explicitly mentions players who own items that give bonuses to an elemental attunement. It warns that while a player has such an item equipped, they are under the watchful eye of the deity of that element and will surely suffer the consequences if they profane what is sacred to that deity or violate a taboo the deity decreed. The notes do not say those are the only people at risk.”
Kafana worked it out, bit by bit: “I usually wear The Ring of Francis the Navigator. That boosts my water attunement. I’m one of those ‘some players’ who the patch affects,”
Wellington nodded, then continued: “The patch names eight taboos, each decreed by a different prime deity, and each resulting in a different divine curse if you violate it while the deity is watching you.”
<table>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>
Nebelemy - disrespecting those who once were mightier than you are now
Necovemy - violating hospitality granted to a guest or envoy
Nedroemy - wanton destruction of natural or irreplaceable beauty
Nekrevemy - abandoning your shield brother in battle
Nelunemy - enslaving another or submitting to slavery
Nemoremy - breaking the letter of an agreement you have signed or given your word upon
Neracemy - burning books or killing bards
Nezeremy - abusing children or slaying kinfolk
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
Mary-Lynn: “A lot of those sound pretty vague. Especially Bel’s taboo. Maybe she wants an opportunity to curse lots of people. Also, what exactly does the curse do? Just prevent equipping certain items?”
Wellington: “The release notes don’t specify. It may be variable depending on the severity of the taboo breach. My guess is that there’s a reputation penalty and probably a cumulative effect from breaking multiple taboos. Who’d want NPCs going around addressing them as ‘Neli the oath breaker’ or ‘Roni the coward’ ?”
Alderney: “I bet there’s more to it, like unfavourable winds for sailors who offend Mor, or undead assassins who target anyone marked as having offended Bel. Something hidden that gets worse over time, so there’s a feel of creeping doom that people whisper about and fear earning or even being near.”
Mary-Lynn: “In marketing terms, you’re talking about using random reinforcement to improve compliance levels. When you unexpectedly target a type of violation that people confidently predict is so mild you will always ignore it, you make them more cautious. When you apply an unexpectedly severe penalty, it can make even a rare action stick in people’s memories. When you hide the exact rules, you increase the safety margin people leave, and increase spreading of rumours - which is lovely because that enhances the other effects.”
She sounded delighted at the thought, and started a discussion with Alderney about how XperiSense could re-frame various methods of manipulation to appear to be in-character for the different personality of each deity. Kafana tried listening but couldn’t stop putting faces to those affected, and turned to Wellington instead.
Kafana: “I remember helping the bandits gain Cov’s forgiveness. It was painful and dangerous for them. Why are the devs doing this, and doing this now?”
Stolen story; please report.
Wellington: “Fundamentally I think the purpose of this patch is rebalancing. They’ve noticed how many high level legendary items are being brought over from Divine Mountain and they think that that many attunement boosts being available in just the first week is going to tilt things too much towards previous players compared to new players.”
Kafana: “Hey, maybe I can morph my Singer and Musician professions into Bard, gain some benefit from them? Or is it just a Title you can win somehow?”
Wellington: “Talking of winning, the authorities made a preliminary ruling about the items belonging to The Immortals. Everything the Brute Squad had equipped or in their stashes goes to you as the injured party. They hadn’t finished discussing the disposition of the items from the other Immortals and the ones they had put up for the auction tomorrow when I left. I asked Marco to pick someone to represent our interests.”
Kafana: “That’s not fair. What about the residents of Basso? They need the money more than I do. What about Pierrot and the other party members who got injured? What about the people like Columbina who helped avenge us, and who helped capture WraithLock? Shouldn’t she get WraithLock’s bow? What about all the people who helped hunt player killers, raid the cultists of Bel and even now are searching all night to help recover the sword to save my life?”
Wellington: “Most of them are being rewarded by the Sanctum, thanks to Massimo’s vow. And the residents of Basso have ended up with the entire length of Mud Road now being paved in stone. Over half the players in Torello signed a slab of road to say they stand with you against player killing, did you know? Some slabs have even been signed twice because they ran out of room.”
Kafana: “Even so. What about that ruby we got from FancyAnts, for example? If it has fire, won’t it be perfect for Alderney to help with her crafting?”
Alderney: “Thanks for the thought. And yes, it does have some nice stats. But have you seen Krev’s taboo? I’m a scout. My whole thing is running away and leaving the fighting to everyone else. I’m not touching it. Sorry, I’ve got to get back to this. Mary-Lynn and I have little time to decide on media tactics.”
Kafana: “Well, ok, I’ll leave it for now, and if I survive I can ask an expert system for its advice on what’s fair, then hand out gifts. What’s the rush on the media thing?”
Mary-Lynn: “This event has gained an immense media footprint. We’ve kept up the excitement and suspense. Now we need to end the story with satisfying closure, so no matter what the result is, the players head home feeling they’ve participated in something great, cool and game-changing, and the non-game media put a positive spin on their reporting not ‘it was a storm-in-a-tea-cup’. We have to tell them what it means, or they’ll invent their own narrative.”
Alderney: “We’re preparing material for three main branches. 1. Kullervo escapes. That’s unlikely because seers have narrowed down the search area. He is in a dark stony space, probably a cave, and we’ve got the area encircled. The cavalry nearly caught him earlier and he only got away by scurrying through a bramble filled gulley the horses couldn’t pass through. He’s cold, alone and dressed in tatters. I don’t think he’s having a good night, and he knows the end is near.”
Mary-Lynn: “Branch 2 is we capture him, get the sword, manage to release your spirit and you get respawned. That’s the option we’re hoping for. It is an easy sell, as narratives go, and we’ve got a fun provisional schedule mapped out for tomorrow to capitalise upon it. That’s the win we’re going for.”
Alderney: “Branch 3 is the hard one. That’s where we end him, but you don’t survive. We don’t want it, but we have to plan for it, just in case.”
Kafana: “If it happens, it happens, and I get to watch my own funeral. I’ll leave you to it. Wellington, brief me on branch 2. What are the odds and what can I do to improve them? Has anyone found out how to release the collar if we do get the sword off him? How does that thing work, anyway? It isn’t like any part of necromancy that Ruffiana showed me.”
Wellington: “We think the sword uses a combination of necromancy and diabolism. Devils live on another plane (or possibly inside Kovob, we’re not sure) and have a hierarchical society of their own, where people who can’t pay back a debt they have incurred to you have to obey your commands and work for you. Ranks are determined by the number and quality of the tiers of those you have dominated. At the top are Princess Salma and her arch dukes, but they are too busy plotting against each other to bother with those on our worlds.”
Kafana: “So if the collar is due to a contract with a devil, we could try bribing them with gold?”
Wellington: “Not exactly. Gold isn’t their currency. They trade for souls, gamble with years of life and interest is paid in pain and torment.”
Kafana smiled. “That was almost poetic, Wellington.”
Wellington: “Thank you. I’ve got an expert system advising me. I am trying to follow your request to learn to communicate in a fashion others find easier to interpret as friendly, in non emergency situations.”
Kafana: “That’s really appreciated, and I think it will increase your effectiveness in game, as well as make it easier for Alderney when producing relatable recordings. If you want expert help on it, I’d suggest talking to Carlo.”
Wellington nodded.
Kafana: “So what’s the plan?”
Wellington “If we get our hands on Spirit-Kullervo then we bring him in person, preferably still sleeping so he doesn’t log out, to Vessel-Kafana at the Sanctum; then she uses her purple gem to yank from his mind everything he knows about the sword and how to operate it. After that we have Vessel-Kullervo or another necromancer try to release you, if you’re still around by that point.”
Wellington: “If we have to make do with just Vessel-Kullervo, then we ask him to give the sword to a courier who takes it as quickly as possible to the Sanctum where Bulgaria and Ruffiana will try to work out how to release you or destroy the sword in the unlikely event that it isn’t indestructible.”
Kafana: “Do I have any role in this?”
Wellington: “There are three things you can do which will help.”
Wellington: “Chiefly, fight back. The more strongly you resist the view of reality being promoted by Kullervo, the sword and any devil involved, the longer you last and the more time we have to carry out experiments. Don’t buy into false choices. Change the game on them.”
Wellington: “Secondly, just by being there, you’ll provide a focus for Vessel-Kafana and the search teams. I’ve arranged to have three big mana sources of different types placed in a triangle around the area, courtesy of Flavio. If you do a spin with your compass on, we’ll be with you in 10 minutes tops, most likely 5 or less.”
Wellington: “Thirdly, if Kullervo isn’t logged in, and you manage to reverse ‘talk to spirits’, ask the Vessel to cooperate and promise him our aid. If he is logged in and awake, keep him distracted so we can hit him with a sleep spell before he notices us. Vessel-Kafana will be on full mana and offering it out to you, no singing required, just visualise her and try to draw on it. She got the harmonisation with you down pat. People say they are finding it hard to remember it isn’t you they are talking with, she’s so in tune with you now.”
Kafana: “I notice you didn’t answer my question about the odds. I know you Wellington. If someone asked you the odds of a lightning strike hitting a winning lottery ticket, you’d be able to give at least a ball-park estimate. What if there is no release-when-commanded clause in the devil’s contract? What if the devil offers us a wager for a stake we don’t like?”
Wellington: “We’ll have to discuss that later. It’s nearly time to go. Are you ready?”
Kafana: “What?! I thought Alderney said there were hours to go?”
Wellington: “That’s game time. It speeds up when darkness falls.”
She made her preparations quickly.
*flip*