Mission:A Quotidian Ragbag - Finale: Thou Shalt in Thy Daughter See
Finale: Thou Shalt in Thy Daughter See
Briefing
Hmm, this picture has some strong power in it, boy / girl..! Whatever the rest of the gumbo thinks, the loas are tellin' me that this definitely ties blood to blood, they're just not sure how. Perhaps the Monarch's not off his rocker, after all.
The loas also say that our Watercolor moves around a bunch. I'm seeing a slaver den, but I'm not sure if she's there now or not. In any case, she has been there, so that's your first step. Go to the slaver den and find out what you can. Its operation is run by a Dreg with mighty-high notions of himself called Taggart. Make sure to show he and his peoples that the Compound is protected.
- I'll look for her there.
Make the spirits proud, Character. And be sure to question any slaves you find in that den, too. The more we know of the watercolor girl, the easier the loas can help bring her home.
Investigate the Slaver Den
Unnecessary Solicitation
Boy / Girl, the loas have already told you where to look for the watercolor girl. Get steppin'.
Mission Objective(s)
It seems like you're not the only one interested in the slavers. There's combat up ahead. Someone in here knows where Anna is, you just have to find the right one to ask.
- Investigate the Slaver Den
- 3 slaves to question
- Speak to Slavemaster Taggart
The slaver hideout was under attack by a band of Shepherds when you arrived. You learned that Anna was the leader of the Shepherds from Slavemaster Taggart and a clue to her present whereabouts. It's time to track her down and convince her to meet the Monarch of the Compound, who claims to be her father.
Enemies
Notable NPCs
- Slave x3 (Non-escort Hostage)
- Dreg Slaver x3 (Guarding Hostages) (Dregs Minion) or (Dregs Lieutenant)
- Slavemaster Taggart (Dregs Boss)
Hold on, now! You're from the PPD, right? I've got no beef with you...well, I did but that was back Coleside. S'what got me shipped to the Ward in the first place.
Or maybe you're not a cop, I don't really care, just hear me out--
- Tell me where she is. (Show Taggart the portrait of Anna)
You've gotta be kidding me. You saw that Shepherd group attacking my operation, right? You couldn't have missed it.
Who do you think runs that group? She ain't here with 'em today, but she sure did send 'em. You can probably find her at their Haven, a defunct warehouse due east of here, skirting the Free-Fire Zone.
- You could've made this easier on yourself, Taggart.
Lookee here, we got us a mudbelly with conflictin' principles..! Kinda like them high-horse Shepherds out there wreckin' the joint. Only thing is, you do know, even if you go through me, they're not going to play nice with you when you go looking for their leader, boy / girlie, right?
- I'll take my chances.
Taggart collapses from his wounds.
- (Leave)
Before you put his operation down, Taggart told you that Anna runs a band of Shepherds. From those you've encountered, that means the Monarch's daughter is the head of an insane, ultraviolent cult with access to magical weaponry. He says that you can find them at a defunct warehouse due east of his own hideout, just skirting the Free Fire Zone.
Find Anna at the Shepherd Haven
Unnecessary Solicitation
So this Anna girl, she's on the move, eh? An admirable quickstep for a gumbo-girl to be able to stay a step ahead of the loas. I like her already. Go to the Shepherd Haven and convince her that she's got ties to important people in the Compound.
Mission Objective(s)
You hear mystical chanting up ahead.
- Find Anna at the Shepherd Haven
- Convince Anna to Listen
You convinced Anna to meet you at the Compound and speak with the Monarch, who believes himself to be her father. However, Anna claims that her real father is long dead, and this is a ruse of some kind. You're having doubts that this will end up being a happy reunion.
Enemies
Notable NPCs
- Soothsayer (Shepherds Lieutenant)
- Anna (Shepherds Lieutenant)
Hold! I will surrender...to whatever foulness you work for--
Who was it? Taggart? D.U.S.T.? Who sent you?
- Taggart? You mean the slavemaster? I shut his operation down. (optional)
- You...did? Why?
- I suspect for the same reason your crazed, violence-prone cult was trying it.
- We are not a cult. We're just...no, you're right. These particular Shepherds like to think themselves as one. But you judge them too harshly. Crazed and violent? That describes most First Warders.
- I have been trying to change that, to redirect their purposes. Towards something better than merely recovering through magical artifacts from the Carnival's trash bins. It's just been...taking awhile. And you: tell me now of your purpose. Why have you come?
- Your father sent me.
- Tread carefully when speaking of my father. He is long dead. And his passing was unkind in its circumstances.
- No, he's waiting for you at the Compound...Antebellum.
- How...how do you know that name? My father called me that when I was only a child.
- When your best friend in the whole world was a tireless bike, I know. He's alive, Anna.
- My father is dead, Character, of that I am sure. How you or he came to know these things of me, though, I do not know, and would have answers. I will meet with this Monarch. I have affairs to settle with the Shepherds here first, but I will be at the Compound when you return to it.
- I'll see you at the compound.
- Calm down, Anna. Your father sent me.
- Tread carefully when speaking of my father. He is long dead. And his passing was unkind in its circumstances.
- No, he's waiting for you at the Compound...Antebellum. (See above)
- (Show Anna the watercolor portrait)
- You show Anna the watercolor portrait that the Monarch painted. The effects of the image move from a disconcerting sense of loss to a slowly rising anger.
- Is this some kind of sick joke? Which twisted faction in all of First Ward do you represent?
- I command you to tell me who sent you!
- Relax. I share no allegiance with your enemies, especially Taggart. I shut his operation down.
- You...did? Why?
- I suspect for the same reason your crazed, violence-prone cult was trying it. (See above)
- Calm down, Anna. Your father sent me.
- Tread carefully when speaking of my father. He is long dead. And his passing was unkind in its circumstances.
- No, he's waiting for you at the Compound...Antebellum. (See above)
Settle affairs between the Monarch and Anna
Unnecessary Solicitation
Boy / Girl, ol' Nadia is havin' a bad feeling about what happens when the Monarch meets his daughter. Character, go make sure t'watch and help out where you can. The Carnival's still caught up in it like a thread that don' belong, don'tcha forget.
Mission Objective(s)
- Settle affairs between the Monarch and Anna
Enemies
Notable NPCs
- Anna (Shepherds Boss) (Ally)
- Monarch (The Possessed Boss) (Enemy, then Neutral)
- Throne Room Guard x2 (The Resistance Minion) (Enemy, then Ally)
- Apparition of Anna's Father (Apparitions Boss)
They're staring at me, Character. And not with the normal unease reserved for a Shepherd, but with a...with a...
- With recognition, Anna. They've seen the Monarch's paintings. They know you're his daughter.
If you must know, my father died in the Asylum shortly after the Emperor sent us to First Ward. He went insane from the iniquities he found here and shortly after that the seers dragged him away. Orphaned in the ruins, I went native.
Whoever you're taking me to isn't my father, but I can see that some part of you wants him to be. And I choose to believe that's born out of compassion and not some baser agenda. Whatever the case, no one escapes the Asylum, Character. This is either a trap or the prologue to something far more sinister. You would do good to prepare yourself for what happens next.
- I've worked hard to get you here, Anna. We can do this.
- Let's get it over with, then.
- We'll be fine. (Start Mission)
- I'm not ready yet, give me a second (Leave)
- Calvin Scott escaped from the Asylum, you know. (optional)
- I stand corrected. The famous Calvin Scott seems to be the exception to every rule.
Mission Objective(s)
There's an unnatural tension in the air here, a cold emanation of an event gathering momentum.
- Settle affairs between the Monarch and Anna
- Defeat the Monarch
- Defeat Apparition of Anna's father
- Speak to the Monarch
The Monarch was possessed by an Apparition of Anna's father, which explained his erratic behavior-- a behavior that turned violent when Anna refused to recognize his paternal claim. During the ensuing conflict, the Apparition detached itself from the Monarch and fought us once more, a ghostly spirit whose longing for a reunion turned into an insane bloodthirst. The dying Monarch, feeling a lingering attachment to a daughter he never had, and full of sorrow at all that had occurred, bequeathed to Anna the Throne of the Compound, naming her its Palatine, a title that requires no ties of blood.
Monarch: My beautiful Antebellum! It really is you!
Anna: What twisted deception is this? You're not my father.
Anna: While you labored on all those portraits of me, did you once think to paint yourself?
Monarch: What do you mean? Why look on me with such disdain? Why deem this reunion so foul or fueled by deceit?
Anna: If you think you are my father, then think of his face. It does not match your own, Monarch.
Anna: What's wrong, milord? Is it unraveling for you now, the consequences of such a mismatched visage?
Anna: Good! Now tell me who you REALLY are!
Monarch: You will mind your tongue, daughter. I have suffered so much to find you...
Monarch: ...YOU WILL NOT LEAVE HERE UNTIL YOU CALL ME KIN!
I am dying, Character, and these are my last wishes. It may seem quite mad to you-- and it will seem so to the others of the Compound, but they have known me long that way these days--but tell Anna that she is my Palatine. The Throne of the Compound will pass to her now.
- You're doing this because you still have fragments of her as your daughter in your memory.
Of course I do. I played host to that Apparition for so...long. To look on her is to feel a loss I cannot reconcile with my own memories. But she is strong and forthright and dear to me still, even without ties of blood. She will be a better leader for the Compound than I have ever been.
- I have a feeling the Hetman will not like your last command.
Then I make one more: you will find a way to enforce it.
- Leave.
Debriefing
Don't feel bad you didn't get my people out of the clink, Character. First Ward works by strange rules, and maybe we're following them now. You did good, child, and the loas are pleased with you. And yet they are also alarmed that none of us suspected an Apparition as some deranged puppetmaster behind this whole ragbag. Perhaps the Vortex is making them stronger? Or dulling our senses to them? I'll just have to think on it in a trance brought on by lemonade-overload.
Anna is the key now. She's the Palatine of the Compound. If you get the rest of the Last Worders to recognize her authority instead of the Hetman's, she'll be allowed to free the Carnival troupers. An' I've got a sneakin' suspicion, boy / girl, that we'll see each other again.
The spirits say you are closer to what it is that you need to do, but they don't say what it is you need to do. That is still a good sign, Character. I am glad you came to ol' Nadia for answers.
Are you ready to help Anna legitimize her throne?