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| The Fuliginous Forewoman | |
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| Category | Story Event |
| Type | Story |
| Data ID | 281735 |
The Fuliginous Forewoman is a Sunless Skies Story Event.
Story description[]
The Forewoman's waistcoat is dark and tightly buttoned. Beneath it, a corset strives gallantly against her ample figure. Her skirt is hitched up over a pair of soot-stained trousers and ankle-boots. Strings of glass beads glitter at her throat, casting dazzles over her rich ochre skin as she bellows orders, sending workers scurrying from this loom to that. She turns to you. Her eyes are lined with pitch: grime, or cosmetic affectation?
Trigger conditions[]
Area: Limbo
Frequency: Always (100%)
Interactions[]
| Actions | Requirements | Effects | Notes |
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| Ask her what she does
There seems to be bustle all around her.
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Warp and weft
The Fuliginous Forewoman squints. "I keep this d_mned place running is what I do. Do you think the looms ravel their own time, or untangle knotted skeins, or order new consignments of hours to make sure Them Above don't go wanting for their precious, perfect day? You ever been in an hour-carding accident? You ever seen a weaver's scalp torn off when their hair gets tangled in the warp?"
She takes a deep breath, and her already impressive bosom inflates to magnificent proportions. "Them Above may think they're all that but this – right here! – this is Perdurance's heart and soul."
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| Ask her about the Luckless Sister
Inquiring about illicit love affairs almost always goes well. You've only been slapped twice. Well, thrice.
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Worth ten
The Fuliginous Forewoman's expression turns hard in an instant. "Them Above've been talking, have they? Snide little gossips. She's the only one of them worth anything."
She sounds remarkably affectionate as she warms to her subject. Perhaps it was the Luckless Sister who broke off their affair? "No. It was me," The Forewoman admits miserably. Her face spasms for a moment. She draws out a handkerchief from her corset and coughs heartily into it. She shoves the handkerchief into a pocket, but not before you notice a violet stain on the fabric. Ah-ha.
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| Ask about the handkerchief
You noticed a violet stain, the precise colour of certain aggressive strains of fungus found in the Reach.
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A part of something greater
"Saw that did you? I travelled, before I was Forewoman, and on my journeys I was exposed to certain spores. They colonised both my lungs and my thoughts, and are part of something old and vast. They awake impulses in me, the last and latest of which is to bring them home. I've denied them as long as I can; I must leave soon."
She looks away. "That's why I broke off the affair. Better to do it like that than to sneak off in the night. I thought about asking her to leave with me. Us. But it would mean abandoning her sister. And what if the spores colonised her, too? But maybe – ah, no use worrying on the maybes."
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Game note: Perhaps you can use this information to make one sister convince the other to leave.
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| Reconcile her with the Luckless Sister
You just want to see them happy. Well, and also to see the Forewoman stays quiet about your escape with the Heiress.
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Reunited
You enlarge upon the Luckless Sister's willingness to renew her relationship with the Forewoman, and to elope together if the needs arises.
"She'd come with me? Even appreciating my... condition? D_mn and blast. That girl's got three times the courage she does sense, and that's a fact. But I couldn't—" You talk her round from her wavering. After all, it's 'true love conquers all,' not 'true love conquers everything but some mushrooms'.
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| Lie about your escape with the Luckless Sister
It would be best if the Forewoman were out of the picture. Encourage her to move on.
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Say nothing
You say nothing of your impending escape. Instead, you disclose to the Forewoman that the Luckless Sister is in excellent spirits. Affecting a genteel embarrassment, you intimate that she may have found a new amour. Perhaps, you venture, it's for the best.
The Forewoman sighs and agrees. "I'm glad she's happy. She deserves it. God knows I couldn't make her so." She unwraps her headscarf, revealing a delicate fungal filigree emerging from her ear. "My calling grows stronger. It's good timing for once. I won't be here to get in the way."
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| Allow her to say goodbye to the Luckless Sister before you depart
She deserves that much.
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Too good for this place
When the Forewoman learns that the Luckless Sister is leaving the Presumptuous Heiress behind, she is stunned. "How did you manage that? Bloody inseparable, they are! Never mind, I probably don't want to know."
She is obviously saddened but summons up a grin. "Good for her. Really. She's too good for this place. And that mother of hers has another thing coming if she thinks my girl's going to roll over for her. Still. I'll find a chance to say goodbye. One goodbye can't hurt, can it? And don't worry. Your secret's safe."
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| Tell her the Presumptuous Heiress will be leaving
And that the Luckless Sister is likely to be in need of comfort.
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The possibility of comfort
The Fuliginous Forewoman is flabbergasted. "How'd you manage that? Never thought she'd leave my girl behind. Her brain's full of muslin and bustles, but she's loyal as the day's long. And the day here is long indeed. Oh never mind, I don't need to know. Probably don't want to know."
She unwraps her scarf from around her head, and you see fungal filigree growing out of her ears. "I'll be there for her for as long as I can, but I'm called back. Dunno how long I can resist. Don't even know I want to. But I'll try, for her." It will have to do. The Forewoman is at least certain to keep quiet about your escape.
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| Lie to her about your escape with the Heiress
And warn her off the Luckless Sister. The Forewoman is not only socially unsuitable, but is also colonised by a fungal intelligence of uncertain character. She'd better keep her distance. And her silence.
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Strong urges
The Fuliginous Forewoman listens to your speech with more patience than she usually shows. "You've got some bloody cheek! But you're not wrong. I should stay away from her for her own good."
She unwraps the scarf tied around her head and you see a delicate fungal filigree, like doily lace, creeping from one ear. The effect is striking, rather than hideous. "The call's insistent, now. Sometimes my thoughts are unfamiliar. It's probably time I left." You can't help but feel that perhaps this was not entirely your business. Still, done is done.
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| End your conversation
You can barely hear her over the din of the looms, anyway.
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 The Half-Light Masque: Morning
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| End your conversation
You can barely hear her over the din of the looms, anyway.
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 The Half-Light Masque: Afternoon
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Links[]
Links In[]
Below Stairs at the Half-Light Masque
Links Out[]
The Half-Light Masque: Morning, The Half-Light Masque: Afternoon
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