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Snow Cream
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>I'd say to talk with him a bit. Maybe ask after the others who have passed through recently? It's possible they may be of interest to you. Or following up on the dangers might be important- especially if he happens to know of present of specific threats you might not.
Sami: Father, has anyone else passed through the town recently? And would you know if there is anything dangerous about this place I should know about?
Father Nick: A few travellers my child. They made an offering to Goddess Faustia and then were on their way. As to dangers... you must take shelter when night falls. A great tragedy befell this town and now the cursed spirits roam the streets at night. The church is safe, except on Fausday when they all gather here. I think the poor souls are trying to pray for salvation, so I leave them be and wait for them to leave upon the dawn of the next day. Might I ask what would bring a young lady like yourself to a place of pain?
Sami's face twitches upon Nick mentioning the cursed spirits, but he does not appear to notice.
Sami: I know about the tragedy, Father. I was there. I am the only child survivor, and I've spent my last ten years lost. I don't know what drew me back here.
Father Nick: Oh my poor child! You're THAT Sami. I'm sorry. Well... I'm sure you know this place better than I then. Ah! I almost forgot the golems!
Sami: What about them?
Father Nick: Be WARY at night. While looking for supplies, I've seen the golems acting peculiar, like they were searching for something. Ever since my brush with the Grinder I look for supplies only while the sun protects me.
Sami: Why skulk about at night in an abandoned town?
Father Nick: I'm afraid that sleep is difficult while the cursed spirits roam - they haunt your dreams. It is sometimes easier to sleep during the day.
Sami: ... I'm used to nightmares, but thank-you for the advice.
** SCAN RESULTS **
PANTHEON NETWORK allows for anonymous and registered (secured) login. PORT ACCESS program required due to Pantheon Protocols. Physical Scan shows the network source to be the status of Faustia, but there is no physical access available to the network.
"ON MOUNT GOLGATHA" is a secured TEN-active relic, and extremely old piece dating back to before AD. It is designed for use with TEN-access instruments such as the Piper's Pipe. It is divided into six sections - BIRTH, CHILDHOOD, YOUTH, LOVE, WISDOM, and DEATH.
BIRTH is shrill and carries far -- its purpose is to gain the attention of listeners. As such, the song is disruptive and breaks security and manipulative code alike. The concept was to break any running code designed to prevent targets from being unable to hear the song via barrier, illusion, or counter-measure. This is not a subtle device -- any TEN-active individual will be aware of its use from quite some distance away... but as its purpose is to obtain attention, that's the point.
CHILDHOOD is sunny and sweet. Unless the listener is aware of the song and its purpose, it will draw the intended targets towards the player. Focus is required to draw specific targets, otherwise anything applicable to the instrument will be drawn towards the player.
YOUTH is a lively but somewhat bittersweet song. It is primarily used as a catalyst as it turns the target's mental defences into physical strength, making them more susceptible to programs and hacks while improving their physical abilities.
LOVE is a sweet song that gradually increases in tempo, and is a manipulative hack. Like the other songs, being consciously aware of the song and its purpose will render it ineffective. The targets become extremely susceptible to suggestion. Suggestions that go against their nature will break the effect, but anything short of that will be complied with. The Piper infamously used this section to lead targets into powerful rivers by promising a vision of Heaven at the other side, subverting the suicidal nature of the suggestion. Interesting to note that this suggestion only works on creatures naive enough not to realize the true nature of the request -- while effective on children and animals, most suspect that adults are too aware of the threat of the river and would not blindly enter its water (they do suspect that the adults would quickly try to build a bridge however).
WISDOM is a sad, reflective song that has the opposite effect of YOUTH - instead of granting physical empowerment in exchange for mental resilience, the section of the song sharpens the mind and brings forth memories, especially repressed ones. The song causes fatigue and disrupts fate shields (HP Shields/Plot Armour), making the targets more susceptible to disease, toxins and so forth. Unless a specific memory is focused upon, most targets tend to reflect on critical moments in their lives.
DEATH marks the targets for Death. There is no counter-measure except for specific hacks against the song itself. Completely destroys fate shielding, and a specific cause of death can be chosen. The song itself does not kill the target, they are simply marked and in doing so lose all protection against Death. In the case of applicable constructs (golems and undead) they are instantly destroyed, being animate only due to a variation of fate shielding. The song is not applicable to curses and other elements lacking fate shielding or direct physical links.
Note that the song requires a specific instrument depending if the intended targets are Natural, Automation (construct, undead, elemental, program), Faerie, or Pantheon. The infamous Piper's Pipe only affects Natural targets.
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