Mission:A Quotidian Ragbag - Part Two: Hoist That Rag
Part Two: Hoist That Rag
Talk to the Hetman
Unnecessary Solicitation
Hoo boy, Character, I swear you jes sleepwalkin' right before my eyes. Get back to the Compound, you fool chil'. There's work to be done.
Mission Objective(s)
- Talk to the Hetman
Yeah, I'm pretty sure you could. I'd be stretching the whole 'obstinate' thing if I ignored your help, so here goes.
My lookouts say that a cell of D.U.S.T. Rangers have set up a camp near the Compound. A D.U.S.T. cell shouldn't be this far west, not normally anyway. I really don't need them embedded so closely to the Compound right now.
I need you to scout the Ward and find out if D.U.S.T. has any operations planned out here and, if so, the location of its staging ground out. After that, finish the job.
- I can do that.
Find where this cell near the Compound is hiding, what they're doing here, and then drive them away, Character. Your best bet is to bust some D.U.S.T. heads up over in the Free-Fire Zone, their normal stomping grounds, and get some of them to talk. Once you're done, we can see about letting you in to see the prisoners.
- (Find the location of the D.U.S.T. cell)
Defeat D.U.S.T. Rangers
Unnecessary Solicitation
Big top almighty, boy / girl! If the only way to get my peoples out of their cages is to rough up some D.U.S.T. Rangers, then do it already!
Mission Objective(s)
- Defeat D.U.S.T. Rangers to discover the location of their Cell hideout near the Compound
- Defeat 5 D.U.S.T. soldiers in First Ward
You've learned the staging ground of the D.U.S.T. cell near the Compound and the name of its commanding officer, Captain Muldoon.
Enemies
You've discovered the location of the D.U.S.T. cell near the Survivor Compound from a tactical uplink found in the damaged gauntlet of a defeated Ranger. Evidently, the commanding officer of the operation is Captain Muldoon. It's time to drive the cell away from the area and earn the Hetman's trust.
Drive away the D.U.S.T. cell
Unnecessary Solicitation
Boy / Girl, aren't you supposed to be cleaning that hideout of D.U.S.T. Rangers? Shoo!
Mission Objective(s)
This seems like an ad hoc base of operations for the D.U.S.T. cell plaguing the Compound. From the look of things, the Rangers haven't been here very long.
- Drive away the D.U.S.T. cell
- Find Captain Muldoon
- Decide Captain Muldoon's Fate
As a favor for the Hetman, you drove away the D.U.S.T. cell that had taken up camp near the Compound. Now he owes you an audience with the Monarch.
Enemies
Notable NPCs
- D.U.S.T. Officer x3 (D.U.S.T. Lieutenant) or (D.U.S.T. Boss)
- Captain Muldoon (D.U.S.T. Boss)
Captain Muldoon taps his com-link and tells the D.U.S.T. forces under his command to currently stand down. Then he turns his attention to you.
Listen, friend. I could cite some outlandish protocol in the D.U.S.T. Rules of Engagement that allows for parley with third party aggressors but I don't want to waste your time. I'll skip straight to the introductions. I'm Captain Muldoon of this D.U.S.T. cell. I report to Colonel Vargas of D-SEC in the Free-Fire Zone. And who might you be? Powers Division or something?
- Nice try, Captain. Here's how it plays out: I ask you a question and then I break your neck.
- Sir / Ma'am, I'm asking you to be reasonable here. I can answer a few of your questions, but my cell has a mission to perform and I really do not want any further loss of life. Ask yourself, does that sound like normal D.U.S.T. procedure?
- Ask yourself if I seem to care. Tell me why your cell is so close to the Compound.
- I can't really say more than D.U.S.T. is having a bit of an...organizational crisis at the moment. D-SEC sent my cell on a scouting mission to check out sectors of Eltentown beyond the fringes of the Free-Fire Zone. We were to record anything out of the ordinary that we could find and report back. My cell isn't the only one on this mission, it's just...
- ...it's just the one that ran into me. Goodbye, Captain. (Kill Captain Muldoon)
- [death rattle]
- Leave
- Or something. Captain, you and your men will immediately make a tactical withdrawal.
- You're offering us...a chance to retreat? Clemency? Why? And in exchange for what?
- You wanted to parley, so here we are. Tell me why your cell is so close to the Compound.
- I can't really say more than D.U.S.T. is having a bit of an... organizational crisis at the moment. D-SEC sent my cell on a scouting mission to check out sectors of Eltentown beyond the fringes of the Free-Fire Zone. We were to record anything out of the ordinary that we could find and report back. My cell isn't the only one on this mission, it's just...
- ...it's just the one that ran into me. Shove off, Captain. And leave the Compound alone.
- Understood. All units, stand down and fall back!
- (Let the D.U.S.T. force withdraw)
NPC Text
Let Muldoon live:
You let Muldoon escape with his hide intact. Who knows if you'll run into him again?
Killed Muldoon:
The Compound should be safe from D.U.S.T. for the time being. That should gain the trust of the Hetman and, by extension, his permission to speak to the Monarch, whose authority holds sway over the ultimate fate of the Carnival troupers in the Compound's stockade.
Report your success to the Hetman
Unnecessary Solicitation
Character, you done good, very good. Only it's not me you should be braggin' it to, ya know. Tell the Hetman of the Compound. Getting' on his good side means we're closer to getting' my folk outta the mess they're in.
Mission Objective(s)
- Report your success to the Hetman
So you took care of the D.U.S.T. problem. That's a pretty impressive feat. How'd you manage to pull it off?
- Let Muldoon live: I persuaded the cell captain to have his men make a tactical withdrawal.
- You let them go..?! Are you insane? What in the Ward made you think that was a good idea?
- I don't have to explain myself to you, Hetman. We had a deal.
- ...
- All right, boy / girl, you go right on ahead with those pacifist notions and see how far it gets you out here in the gumbo. And the deal we struck? Don't forget it included you finding out why this particular D.U.S.T. cell had ranged so far out of the Free Fire Zone.
- The captain said D.U.S.T. was having an 'organizational crisis'... (see below)
- Killed Muldoon: I found the cell captain and broke his neck. Then it was just a matter of clean up.
- Huh, so you're not afraid to get your hands bloody. That's good. The Compound needs more people like you. If you ask me, we've gotten soft. Taken in too many folk that are no better than your average Dreg.
- Eh, but that's my concern, not yours. So did you find out why this particular D.U.S.T. cell had ranged so far out of the Free Fire Zone?
- The captain said D.U.S.T. was having an 'organizational crisis'...
- And just what is that supposed to mean?
- That's all I got. Now let me see the Monarch.
- A deal's a deal, but listen up, Character. I've already told you the Monarch is a good man. He still is, but he's tore up from the floor up what with this obsession about this daughter he's never had.
- I'd tread lightly around that issue, and I certainly wouldn't get my hopes up about him letting you see the Carnies we have in the clink. That's... that's just not going to happen. Not the way I see it, anyway.
- I'll take my chances. It was a pleasure, Hetman.
Convince the Monarch
Unnecessary Solicitation
Here's our chance, boy / girl! The Monarch might be crazy, but he's the only one that can free my peoples. Well, war could, too, ya know, but none of us wants that yet.
Mission Objective(s)
- Convince the Monarch to let you speak to the imprisoned Carnival members
The Monarch indeed seems rather...unstable. He's holding several small watercolor portraits of his imaginary daughter that he's painted by hand. As he flips through the various portraits, his emotions and moods span the gamut from speechless mourning to quiet chuckles of tear-filled nostalgia.
Character, it's about time we met, wouldn't you say? You must forgive my Hetman; he has a suspicious heart, one burdened moreso with the concerns it has for me. We fought in the Hamidon wars together... Anna was only a child then.
The Monarch shows you a watercolor painting of Anna, age 9, posing on a tireless bike.
- Your Hetman thinks you're nuts. So does the rest of the Compound. (optional)
- They do a better job of minding their manners in my presence regarding the matter than you do! What do you want of me?
- I must speak to the Carnival troupers you have imprisoned.
or
- Let me speak to the Carnival troupers you have here in the Compound.
- Never! They stole her! They're hiding her from me! Those garish, iniquitous wretches will rot unless their co-conspirators bring her back! And I will muster the Compound for war if it is not soon!
- The Monarch begins to froth at the mouth in his rage, and he unconsciously wipes away the spittle with one of the watercolor portraits of Anna. When he sees what he has done, he begins to sob uncontrollably.
- Monarch, you need help. What if I found this daughter of...what if I found Anna?
- The Monarch nods quickly at the offer, smiling as if in rapture. He hands you one of his many watercolor portraits of Anna.
- Yes! Finally someone sees that my madness is only loss and my mind is my own. Take this picture! It will help you find her!
- Let me speak to the Carnival troupers first and we have a deal.
- Her childhood nickname is Antebellum, given to her when we withdrew back here to Eltentown, because she reminded me of the days before the war. She should have been born then, in happier times.
- That bicycle--the one without tires?-- it was her favorite friend in the whole world simply because she wanted to protect it 'from the other bicycles that made fun of it'.
- She was once convinced that she was allergic to stained glass, too, but she got over that when I taught her to paint.
- ...
- Fine, you may treat with the Carnival troupers, if it will help you bring my daughter back. The psychic one named Candlestick, speak to him. The others remain in silent protest at their incarceration.
- I'll show him this picture. Maybe it will jog his memory.
The Monarch seemed genuinely concerned about the safety of his daughter, Anna, even if the rest of the Compound considers her to be a figment of his imagination. He even gave you a small watercolor portrait of her he painted himself. You now have permission to speak to one of the Carnival captives, bearing an ultimatum: convince them to return Anna... or get ready for a war neither side is ready for.
Speak to the Carnival prisoner, Candlestick
Unnecessary Solicitation
Lissen here, Character, you a'wastin' time talking to me. Talk to one of the Carnival troupers an' see if there ain't some way to reconcile with the Compound.
Mission Objective(s)
- Speak to the Carnival prisoner, Candlestick
Eck-ack, it's another cake-eater from the Compound, about to ask Mr. Candlestick if he's now willing to give up the skinny on the fake girl's whereab--
- Quiet. I'm here on behalf of Mistress Nadia.
Candlestick laughs at you.
Next time, friend, you should lead with that. Tell the Old Mistress that we are fine, so far, and are just awaiting the rest of the Carnival to attack the Compound and free us of this so-called crime. Pass on, too, my apologies for surrendering to the Monarch's accusations, and that I did it partly out of whimsy, partly out of a plan to shake the fool's head back on straight.
Turns out that didn't work as well as it did in my own head when I was making it up. He still thinks we have his imaginary daughter taken hostage somewhere.
So what's the plan?
- The plan is that we find the imaginary daughter.
That...
...
...that makes no sense whatsoever. I love it! Where do we start?
- (Show Candlestick the watercolor portrait of Anna)
Okay, now that's just creepy.
Even for the gumbo, that's...yuck. Therefore, and rightly so in the name of mighty nonsense, press that watercolor picture right against my forehead!
You hold the portrait of Anna up to Candlestick's forehead and he seems to go into a powerful psychic trance. Or at least he pretends that he does.
Whoa Nelly, she's a real live girl! File that under a big 'Say What?' as easy as kiss my hand! She's here in the Ward, Character, she's here in the Ward!
- Where?
- My brainpan's talents are only capable of so much! All I can read is that this Anna girl is alive and nearby. You're going to need Mistress Nadia's sorcerous powers to determine her exact whereabouts. Take her the picture, too. It's making my head itch.
- We've almost got you out of here, Candlestick. Stay safe.
At first, Candlestick was a bit imperious regarding his incarceration, considering his arrest over the kidnapping of an imaginary daughter an absurdity, and knowing that the Carnival could bury the Survivor Compound if war broke out over the matter. However, when you showed the picture of Anna to him, his psychic powers confirmed that she was indeed a real person. You should to return to Mistress Nadia with the news, as her mystical powers should be able to pinpoint the last known whereabouts of this mysterious 'Anna'.
Debriefing
So now, child, what have we here..? An imaginary daughter who turns out to be a real live girl, eh? Mistress Nadia's feelin' a crazy quilt comin' our way, you can bet on that. Hand me that portrait the Monarch painted of his daughter and let's see if I can't scry where she might be hidin', hm? Usually the mojo go doubletime with a link like this one, so personal, an' made by hand, an' all caught up in sorrow.
Lemme know when you're ready to find Little Miss Watercolor here. My peoples in the Carnival aren't out of danger yet, y'know.
The spirits that paved your way into the Ward are pleased with you, Character. They have blessed my small part in it, child, for which I am grateful. They will keep us in contact from now on.