The Inhabitor of the Threshold

The Inhabitor of the Threshold
Category	Story Event
Type	Story
Data ID	306832

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The Inhabitor of the Threshold is a Sunless Skies Story Event.

Story description[]

"The Inhabitor is one (or two) of the dead, and so forbidden to speak. Instead, it keeps the voice of a departed spirit in a clay jar, which speaks on its behalf. "I have been appointed to conduct the Rites of Departure," the voice-jar says, in gravelly tones. "You have enjoyed the King's hospitality, for this span of the sky is His house, and you have eaten bread from His table." There is an expectant pause. Xenia(Metatext)"

Trigger conditions[]

Area: Limbo
Frequency: Always (100%)

Interactions[]

Actions	Requirements	Effects	Notes
Offer a gift of old fires In the form of Navaratine gemstones, bright as sparks.	Dining with the Dead ≥ 1 1 x Cask of Navaratine Gemstones Xenia ≥ 1	Render under Caesar You pour the gems at the feet of the Inhabitor, covering first one pair, then the other. It gives a gracious gesture of gratitude with one elegant hand. Dining with the Dead(Debt) -3 x Dining with the Dead -1 x Cask of Navaratine Gemstones The Petrichor Price = 1 (if ≤ 0)	Game note: Reduce Dining with the Dead by 3.
Leave behind a Vision of the Heavens You have seen rare sights in the Kingdom. Perhaps it is fitting that they remain here.	Dining with the Dead ≥ 1 Vision of the Heavens ≥ 1 Xenia ≥ 1	The mote in your eye "So be it," the Inhabitor says. "Wash the glory of His kingdom from your eyes with salt-water and ash. A bowl will be brought." Indeed, a bowl is brought, in the clamped jaws of a jackal-spirit. The ritual stings, but soon the dazzle is scrubbed from your sight. Dining with the Dead(Debt) -2 x Dining with the Dead -1 x Vision of the Heavens The Petrichor Price = 2 (if ≤ 0)	Game note: Reduce Dining with the Dead by 2.
Leave behind a Moment of Inspiration It will remain in the lands that gave birth to it.	Dining with the Dead ≥ 1 Moment of Inspiration ≥ 1 Xenia ≥ 1	Called home What might that idea might have become, if you had carried it with you? A poem? An invention? A grand scheme? What might it have changed? A mind? A heart? A future? At a word from the Inhabitor it crawls from your skull and slithers across the floor, to coil about the servitor's feet. Dining with the Dead(Debt) -7 x Dining with the Dead -1 x Moment of Inspiration The Petrichor Price = 1 (if ≤ 0)	Game note: Reduce Dining with the Dead by 7.
Speak a Word of Parting Deliver a word of farewell in the language of suns.	Dining with the Dead ≥ 1 Searing Enigma ≥ 1 Xenia ≥ 1	Au revoir Fire roars from your mouth like a maned lion. Its blaze scorches the shadows from the chamber. The Inhabitor turns one of its heads away; the other is forced to shield its eyes with its arms. The jackals cower, frantically. Dining with the Dead(Debt) Its voice shakes. Dining with the Dead = 0 -1 x Searing Enigma The Petrichor Price = 1 (if ≤ 0)	Game note: Reduce Dining with the Dead to 0.
Offer a Testament of Salt The testament states that you have made indelible progress towards Death's Door. That the lands of the living hold no allure for you.	Dining with the Dead ≥ 1 Testament of Salt ≥ 1 Xenia ≥ 1	The promise The Inhabitor is satisfied. The Testament is a promise that you will return, sooner or later, to resume the pilgrimage of the dead. Dining with the Dead(Debt) -7 x Dining with the Dead -1 x Testament of Salt The Petrichor Price = 1 (if ≤ 0)	Game note: Reduce Dining with the Dead by 7.
Sacrifice an Indulgence An Indulgence allows exemption from any law, any custom.	Dining with the Dead ≥ 1 Indulgence ≥ 1 Xenia ≥ 1	Carte blanche Your Indulgence carries the authority of the Westernmost King himself. The Inhabitor bows; an awkward endeavour. "I will arrange passage for you immediately. Please return to your conveyance." Dining with the Dead = 0 -1 x Indulgence The Petrichor Price = 1 (if ≤ 0)	Game note: Reduce Dining with the Dead to 0.
Leave your heart in trust, as surety you will return The spirit has seven parts. The heart is one. If you give it up, you will be lessened until you reclaim it.	Dining with the Dead ≥ 1 Hearts ≥ 6 Xenia ≥ 1 The Absence of a Heart ≤ 0	A deposit The Inhabitor crooks a finger. Your heart flutters like a thrilled bird, then gives a panicked palpitation. You feel a pain, followed by the needle-pricks of numerous legs climbing the inside of your ribs, and a lurching sensation as something shoves its way past your lungs. A beetle, blood-red, crawls from your throat into your mouth. You spit it to the floor. It is the size of your fist. The Inhabitor picks it up. "I will keep it safe," it says, producing a wooden board and silver needle. With practised grace, the Inhabitor pins the beetle to the board alongside a half-dozen others. You feel a pierce of cold silver, deep in your breast. "You may reclaim it on your return." DwtD Obligation Value = Dining with the Dead Dining with the Dead = 0 The Absence of a Heart = 1 [You have left your heart at the transit relay in the Blue Kingdom, as surety of your return] -5 x Hearts The Petrichor Price = 1 (if ≤ 0)	Game note: You will be permitted to leave, but your obligation (and your heart) will be waiting for you on your return.
Enquire about the Rites of Departure Claim ignorance regarding the customs of this realm.		Xenia "Yes," the Inhabitor says, solemnly. "I understand that elsewhere the laws of hospitality have eroded beyond recognition. "A host has three obligations to his guest. The first is protection. The Westernmost King – with His sword of sunlight – shields us from the lawless miseries of other quarters of the sky. Here, you have seen the heavens as they are meant to be. "The second is sustenance. Thus He provides petrichor to nourish all who linger here. "The third is courtesy. For He has asked you no questions as to your nature or presence. You have been permitted, here. "In return, the guest has only two responsibilities: to be no burden, and to offer gifts unto their host before departure." Xenia = 1
Return to the relay You leave the solemn shadows of the Inhabitor's hall, and climb back up the stairs		Triggers event: The Blue Kingdom's Transit Relay to the Reach

Links[]

Links In[]

The Blue Kingdom's Transit Relay to the Reach

Links Out[]

The Blue Kingdom's Transit Relay to the Reach

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