The Amiable Vagabond

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"He claims to be an expert in snake-wrangling, thimble-twisting and stick-swinging; he professes to be a psychologist, mythologist, and escapologist; he boasts he can tell stories that'll haunt you until you die, and play tunes that'll make stones dance. If all that fails to entice you, he supposes he could turn his hand to signalling."[1]

The Amiable Vagabond is an experienced wanderer and spinner of tall tales.

The Skylarks' Quest[edit | edit source]

"My life is a lark! My king is the sky!"[2]

The Amiable Vagabond is the unofficial leader of a group of sky-travelers called the Skylarks. This gaggle of drunks and eccentrics[3][4] has been enthralled by the Vagabond's tales of the mythical Sugarspun Garden: a fabled paradise where the rivers flow with whisky and the mountains are made of marzipan, and a place where they can rest their heads and put down roots.[5] The Vagabond has led them on this madcap quest across the sky for as long as any of them can remember,[6] and he has the tall tales to prove it.[7][8] In addition to the Vagabond's prowess in exploration and storytelling, he is also a talented fiddler.[9]

The Skylarks meet with approximate regularity at sites marked with cryptic skylark signs,[10] to drink, swap stories,[3] and mourn those who have perished since their last meeting. For all their joy, a Skylark’s life is perilous, and there is rarely a meeting without a missing face.[11]

A Sinister Sister[edit | edit source]

"The Judas Psalm. It contains the only lesson that we need to hear: the promise that those who wronged us can be made to suffer."[12]

The Amiable Vagabond is not alone in this world; he has a sister, the Lank Minister of the Church of the Judas Psalm. The Church is devoted to the ardent belief that the Almighty will rain vengeance upon those who have wronged its congregants - and the Minister's target is her own brother.[13]

The Prospector's Prize[edit | edit source]

Spoilers ahead: May include midgame or minor Fate-locked content.

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"Yes. I wrote the hidden code into the Skylark signs. I tricked Quivers into following them, then threw him in the Well. I did the same to a dozen curious skylarks before him, and a dozen gullible captains. What do you want from me? Guilt? Guilt won't change what I've done."[14]

The Vagabond was once known as Old Tom.[15] As one of the first prospectors to scout beyond the Avid Horizon, he made a deal at a well in the Reach (later named Old Tom's Well in his honor), promising it his life in return for a year of fabulous wealth.[16] The entity within kept its promise: Tom soon discovered the Mother of Mountains and became rich beyond measure.[17] As the day of his death drew near, however, Tom opted to cheat the bargain. Using his newfound wealth, he drew upon his more sinister connections and eventually discovered a ritual that would allow him to exchange another’s life for his own.[18][19]

And so Old Tom became the Amiable Vagabond, and his murderous odyssey began. He led his enthralled Skylarks on a perpetual journey, occasionally singling one out and sacrificing them to the dead sun within Old Tom's Well.[19][20] Nobody remarks on the disappearance of a Skylark; after all, a thousand perfectly plausible deaths await travelers in the heavens.[11]

The Vagabond’s true relationship with his sister is tense and complicated. The Vagabond claims that the Minister is luring Skylarks to the well to foil his plans, but this is probably projection.[21] He also suggests that since he's the only person the Well has ever spoken to, the Lank Minister regards him with jealous respect.[21] She has no particular compunctions about his homicidal practices, but resents that he found a loophole in the Well's terms,[22] and would rather that he simply follow the rules.[23]

References[edit | edit source]

  1. ↑ Recruit the Amiable Vagabond, Sunless Skies
  2. ↑ The Court of the Skylarks, Sunless Skies
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 The Court of the Skylarks, Sunless Skies "The skylarks' coats are ragged, their hygiene is questionable, and many of them bear unsightly scars; but they seem to have found something to celebrate. Perhaps just that they've made it through the month. They raise their flasks and bottles in a toast [...]"
  4. ↑ Trade rumours, Sunless Skies "And wilder rumours too, of course. A wild-eyed skylark claims that the devils at Carillon are replacing people with doppelgangers. One woman, shivering, insists that she saw a hundred-eyed monster the size of a continent swimming through the dark."
  5. ↑ Listen to stories around a campfire, Sunless Skies "He launches into a fanciful tale of somewhere, hidden in the furthest corner of the Reach, called the Sugarspun Garden. The Sugarspun Garden is a mythical place where weary skylarks can settle down. He describes whisky rivers and marzipan mountains, in a land without laws."
  6. ↑ Talk to Ratbite over dinner, Sunless Skies ""Quivers was obsessed with fairy-tales," she tells you. "He said there were some skylark signs, scattered around the skies, that no one knew the meaning of. Not even the oldest skylarks. He believed they'd lead him right to the Sugarspun Garden if he could translate them.""
  7. ↑ Ask the Vagabond if he's hiding anything, Sunless Skies ""Stories follow me like storms follow summer!" booms the Vagabond, puffing his chest. "Especially among skylarks. I am their king, I am their god, I am their monster. [...] I can only wish that half of their stories were true.""
  8. ↑ Help him to ensnare a crewman, Sunless Skies "You and the Vagabond spend hours with the crewman, discussing the lost paradise of the Sugarspun Garden, the significance of the mysterious skylark signs, the disappearance of a skylark named Ratbite."
  9. ↑ Ask him to play you a tune, Sunless Skies "The Vagabond's fiddle [...] looks like it's been broken several times, and pieced back together inexpertly. [...] And yet, the tune which he coaxes from it [...] reminds you of precious things you've nearly forgotten, and raw things you'd rather forget. By the time the Vagabond is finished, he has tears in his eyes, and so do half the crew."
  10. ↑ Amiable Vagabond: Seek out the Court of the Skylarks, Sunless Skies ""We call these the Skylark Signals," says the Vagabond. The post has been carved with dozens of crude hieroglyphs. "Top secret! We carve them to tell each other the character of a port." He jabs at a row of zig-zags. "This means 'unfriendly'." He points at a triangle. "But this means that there's a skylark camp nearby.""
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 Trade rumours, Sunless Skies "Lastly, a solemn young woman announces that a skylark named Quivers has gone missing. It's been months since he was seen at camp or at any stations. Probably dead; there are a thousand ways for a skylark to die before their time."
  12. ↑ The Lank Minister, Sunless Skies
  13. ↑ Ask why the Vagabond hid his identity for so long, Sunless Skies "Why do you think I left my mansion in Lustrum? [...] It wasn't just the wanderlust. I have debts and enemies, enemies and debts! Not least among them is my sister, who has always been jealous of my success. She'd stop at nothing to bring me down, and she's powerful in her own right."
  14. ↑ Confront the Vagabond and have him thrown in the brig, Sunless Skies
  15. ↑ Help him decipher the signs, Sunless Skies "Because I am Old Tom! And I can assure you that no paradise awaits within the well that bears my name."
  16. ↑ Ask if the Vagabond saw anything within Old Tom's Well, Sunless Skies "Aye, I saw gold. A gleam of gold amid a copse of pale trees, and nothing else but darkness. It spoke to me, in a voice like lightning striking an oak, and it made an offer. I accepted."
  17. ↑ Old Tom's Well, Sunless Skies "Old Tom was a prospector during the Promised Days that followed London's arrival in the heavens. [...] Luckless and impoverished, he made a wish here, at the well. The next month, he discovered the Mother of Mountains and the rich hour-veins that riddled her flanks."
  18. ↑ Ask her about the Amiable Vagabond, Sunless Skies "Every year, he befriends a wanderer he thinks is similar to him in some way. He binds them to him in a ritual, and throws them into the Well in his stead. You're probably his next victim."
  19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 Ask the Lank Minister what happened to Quivers, Sunless Skies "The Vagabond answers for her. [...] "I offered some sinister folk a lot of money, and they helped me ferret out a ritual that would create a scapegoat. Ever since, I have been paying my debt with the lives of the less interesting.""
  20. ↑ Tell the Vagabond that you know why he's brought you here, Sunless Skies ""I admit it [...] many years ago, I made up the Sugarspun Garden and wrote the hidden code into the skylark signs, knowing it would lure curious folk to seek me out. After all, don't I know more about the signs than anybody? And weren't there rumours that I was Old Tom himself [...]? So people came to me seeking answers. Or I'd befriend them first, and steer them toward the questions. Either way, the same outcome [...] I led them on a merry dance until they found themselves... here." "
  21. ↑ 21.0 21.1 Ask why the skylark signs lead to Old Tom's Well, Sunless Skies "My sister. [...] She's formed a cult which clings to the well's edge and worships the thing that dwells within. [...] It has never talked to her. Only to me. [...] Perhaps she thinks she can change that through sacrifice. Perhaps that's why she's luring skylarks to her lair. [...] We must stop her. It's my duty as a king to protect my people."
  22. ↑ Ask her about the Amiable Vagabond, Sunless Skies "He made a pact with the power that lingers here. In return, he agreed to cast himself into the Well after a year. But he found a loophole. [...] Disrupt the ritual without him noticing. Then his loophole will fail, and he will be claimed by the Well."
  23. ↑ Tell Old Tom that you poured both cups away, Sunless Skies ""You came here with no one to offer," says the Minister. "You have broken the terms of your bargain." "More time," Old Tom begs. "I can find a scapegoat. Just a few more weeks – please – it's all I ask.""
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