August Exceptional Story: Arcana

Exceptional Story for August: Arcana

The Thirsty Croupier lays out a tarot card. “Sometimes the cards are esoteric. Sometimes they’re not. Looks like you, doesn’t it? And here you are.”

Airag from the Year of the Tortoise is notoriously expensive, but it pales in comparison to the Year of the Serpent. Nobody can afford it. It has not even finished fermenting yet; it exists only as a commodity for the future. If the Thirsty Croupier can be believed, it exists in your future. When will the legendary airag be ready to drink? Are the rumours about its ingredients true? Consult the cards. Interpret the spread. Taste a delicacy that does not yet exist.

EXCEPTIONAL FRIENDSHIP

All Exceptional Friends receive:

  • A new Exceptional Story every month
  • Memories of a Tale from each story to spend on exclusive companions and items
  • A second candle (up to 40 actions at once)
  • An expanded opportunity deck: ten cards instead of six
  • Three additional outfit slots
  • Access to the House of Chimes, including monthly gameplay perks

Enhanced Exceptional Friends receive all of the above, plus:

  • A past story, or two resets of stories you’ve played from a monthly menu
  • Memories of a Tale from every past story or reset
  • Extra monthly perks in the House of Chimes
  • Three seven-action refreshes per month
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Ooh nice. The Thirsty Croupier’s a character I’ve been curious about ever since his cameos during Evolution.
And another Chandler Groover story - his third for this year!

(Also, the story shares its title with a favourite song of mine.)

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The Widow? Elder Continent shenanigans? Alcohol? This sounds like it’s going to be another good one!

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Ah, finally! A face to the name! I’ve got to say, I imagined him rather differently when I did Evo. Also, obligatory “this art reminds me of the spirit phone album art”-it does do that but I’m assuming it wasn’t intentional.

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I won’t get to Evolution for ages, what is he like there?

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… I don’t really have the words for it? I would say “mysterious” and “in the background” but he actually features a lot near the end and is pretty important narratively. Besides that…well, you’ll just have to experience him for yourself when you do Evo! The whole thing is honestly a helluva experience and I’m sure you’d enjoy it…

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I had no problem freeing the poor thing, but I’m stuck on whether to argue with Mr Thirst Trap (I’m hearing his lines in Ncuti Gatwa’s voice).

“THE PRESTER SAITH: When I die, yet shall I not die. The hour of my death shall be chosen, yet no man shall choose it. I am eternal, and yet my reign is circumscrib’d by law and Fate. I will feast at my funeral, and my child shall be my cup-bearer.”

This is from a Knife-and-Candle Medal, Order Vespertine, Monstrous, according to the wiki?

Lol i went for Object to the Croupier’s Interpretation and got bounced without special goodies apparently? Whoops! …oh, and i had
A Taste of the Garden text
and lost a point of it immediately with a new dream card. :-/

The vanity text is [spoiler]"Arcana 200 - XIV: Temperance

THE PRESTER SAITH: My child shall sit at my left hand, and pour wine; and my child shall sit at my right hand, and break bread; and my children shall leave my house, and go into the world, and return to my house with wine and bread"[/spoiler]

I’m looking forward to it! Not sure how to get there tho…i need to get banished and do the governor thing first right, with Successful Term as Governor?

I just started opening up Parabola which is hella fun. Railway looks like an awful grind tho. And i just barely started in the Lab. I’m REALLY not thrilled abt some of the dissection requirements (i refused to do that in undergrad!).

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“You’ll survive the bomb. You’ll escape the Khanate. And the gardener? Free to roam the Neath. It might wreak havoc. It might buy a villa somewhere and retire to sit on the veranda, sipping lemonade.”

I have to say i love this image, it’s very Groover.

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Not sure if I remember… probably? I would recommend becoming a tier-1 PoSI beforehand, tho, if your not already one!

I am that, but you need the Young Naturalist and that means going out in a blaze of glory with an opera i guess. I wasn’t done with all the different works of art but i guess you don’t do that for finishing MYN there?

[spoiler] Level 7

To get to the next level, you have to get banished from the Empress’ Court, visit the Foreign Office, and travel to Port Carnelian and serve at least one successful term as a Governor there. See Carving out a Reputation at Court (Guide)] for a detailed description. [/spoiler]

Meanwhile I’m just having fun in the Dome with the snakes, lol.

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Oh no, you certainly don’t have to. I did that, but that was pretty inefficient of Me tbh. My personal advice is to stay at court for a bit and continue to make art until your tired of it if you enjoy it and then go out in a blaze of glory with that opera. But it course, that’s just my opinion as someone who enjoys that activity a lot, and I would urge you to seek out more opinions on the subject from other forum members.

Aha, yes, that’s a fun location!

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Oh, get on that btw. You will need it for so, so many things later on

(“Don’t be nervous…no, don’t be nervous…I’m not like other guys who have. A surface”)

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How you know you’re in a Chandler Groover ES:

There will be at least one spectacularly grossout image, described very poetically

The gameplay will be elegant and rewarding (the bit where you need to combine gold swords etc was particularly neat)

Even if you stop something, there will be Consequences. It may just keep on happening for a while even

You will get smacked with an Insight “What is immortality? Merely the Boatman’s mercy.”

What else…?

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Ok i don’t know why my spoiler text keeps getting borked!

Knowing from Sunless Skies that even the famous firkin-form of immortality is ultimately flawed, I shall temper my expectations.

Update: And done. Left the Sacristan to rot. I refuse to interfere with anyone else’s immortality grind after how tiresome mine was, and also b*gger Sacristans, I will not let go of my grudge against the College of Mortality enforcing the unspeaking fate of being eaten by a Judgement after death for no good reason

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Wow!!! I loved this one!

I saved him, but also like I feel like the mechanics for this one were so whimsical that that was almost an afterthought.

I just adored this. Up there with Bloody Wallpaper for me.

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I really liked this one. It reminded me a lot of the Injurious Princess epilogue, which was one of my favourite min-stories in all of FL.

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My Lord. That revelation was mind-blowing. Personally, I thought better of them! I thought these fellows were above this! I thought they made and drank normal substances. But no. It could never be that way. And so, I am left with the terrible, terrible knowledge that the Khagnians are actively trying to drink piss.

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Everyone, I could use a little help - I’m feel like maybe I’m missing something. I’m at the point where my Arcana “Stories” value is sixty, I’ve drawn three cards, but none of them I’m able to play. Each of them require two “Insights” which I do not have. Do I leave the Thirsty Croupier to find these elsewhere? I won’t say I’ve looked everywhere, but I think I have everywhere that makes sense to me…