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However, we also need to give a report to our guild. We are willing to lie and tell them that we didn't found you but that won't stop the Manehatten Music Management from just sending another group. [...]
You tell Dirt Flaxen that you understand his desire to be treated like a regular pony; after all, you did wear a cloak to avoid drawing attention to yourself while you were travelling.
Dirt Flaxen: "Yeah, can we talk about that? I always thought alicorns and princesses were, like, the same thing."
You shake your head, and recount how you randomly grew wings and a horn after merely wishing for it at a festival's wishing booth.
Moonflower: "It's true! I was there, too."
Dirt Flaxen: "Huh. And nopony freaked out? Tried to force a coronation onto you or anything?"
You explain that you always tell ponies that you are no prince, and the royal princesses agree. And while it leaves some to wonder, it usually gets them to stop staring, at the very least.
Dirt Flaxen: "If only it were that easy. Well hey, maybe we could hit up a festival together sometime? If you're lucky enough for that to happen, I might have to borrow some of that good luck for myself."
You grin, and remind the pop star that Nightmare Night is coming up soon — though he would have to return to Equestria with you to celebrate.
Dirt Flaxen: "Yeah, yeah... perfect time to wear a costume, right? But like, I can't live my whole life wearing a disguise. I'm a singer, not a secret agent. I just wanna sing, man."
Moonflower: "Hmmm... ooh, I know! Maybe Furia can help!"
You recall Furia Storm, the siren you met back in Amblerta, and ask Moonflower what she has in mind.
Moonflower: "Remember how her music got super popular, but nopony knows her name? She doesn't like the attention, kinda like him! But she's a siren, so maybe she's got some sorta magic trick she can share with him to keep outta the public eye."
And in exchange, you conclude, Dirt Flaxen could use his own fame to help in the search for the remaining sirens.
Moonflower: "Yuh uh!"
Dirt Flaxen: "A friend of yours' in the scene?"
You nod, and admit that while you do not know much about siren magic, you cannot think of a better person to start looking for a solution with.
Dirt Flaxen: "Well, if you think it's worth a shot... alright. And look, I'll even tell the foremare that I'm leaving this time. It's not like I meant to disappear before; I just... the thought of going back home, it filled me with dread, y'know?"
You tell Dirt Flaxen that you do not blame him, and that once you are both back in Equestria, you will help him face this challenge head-on.
That said, you are far from done here: you have yet to learn how to communicate with souls, or to potentially learn more about the Elves. You consider that you are carrying a rune of Homecoming — which, should you decide to use it, could shorten either his trip back home now, or your own later.
As you think about how to proceed next, a refreshingly cool wind blows across the field from the east. Then, the sun darkens behind a thickening mist, and heavy rain begins to pour from the grey skies above.
Enter a comment
Then tell him that there's no need to rush. We have another quest that's going to keep us busy for at least two more days. It's up to him if he wants to keep working in the rice fields in the meantime, waiting for us at our ship in Shui-Ti or is actually interested accompanying us on our trip.
And Uh Tsu-Ko... What time is it currently in Shui-Ti? It's hard to keep track with all the different time zones being one portal trip away from eachother.
Not sure if Honourshine has any combat experience so best case is that Blazer and Moonflower pass. If only Blazer passes Moonflower may have to stay in Shun-Ti and we have to travel to the hermit with just Honourshine. If only Moonflower passes we probably need to hire a warrior for at least two days unless Honourshine volunteers to stay in Shun-Ti. But since she's the expert for the bell it makes sense for her to come along. And worst case is that neither of us passes, which means hiring two warriors for two days (so about 4,000 Zen) AND Moonflower having to stay in Shun-Ti.
- Honourshine: still not cool with traveling with anypony else? (We did sneak in Tsu-Ko.)
- Dirt: are you okay killing a few days somewhere? Or, uh, do you have some combat skills?
- Twilight (via letter): we found him, but we also found an elf lead (Lexicon) that'll take a couple days, and another (the Emperor) that'll take a lot longer. Thoughts? (And we could mention how we think she's a cool pony who'd be worth spending some more time with. 😉)
Although now I'm wondering: does the animal messenger have to physically deliver the letter the whole distance, rather than using dragonfire or a telegraph station in one of the legs or something? If so, will it take three in-game days or so? 🥴
I'm wondering if Moonflower in-character would authentically come up with that idea, or if she's just serving as the "QM advocate" in this situation.
Ah… that's awkward… so we convinced him to come back right away.I think the QM is trying to put thoughts in our heads 😁. But yeah, there's the "problem" that there's still more to do here, but we've technically fulfilled the objective we came here for. So how can we justify staying longer? In the agreement we signed in 2023-10-23, we aren't supposed to use Agency resources for "personal monetary gain".
In terms of what to do…
- Ask Twilight for permission to stay longer. (But that removes the option to pretend we haven't found him.)
- Just go home now. We can do it, but I hope it wouldn't "softlock" us. The breadcrumbs to Lexicon Anathema are very clear, but if people are actually tired of the Kirin Empire and want the setting to change back to Equestria, this is the quickest way to do it. I think the QM would then introduce some more threads for the souls and elves quests.
- Having Dirt wait in the ship or keep working the fields until we're done might work if we don't take more than a couple days. It might be enough time to visit Lexicon Anathema, but not enough to make a pilgrimage to talk to the Emperor.
- Have Dirt use the Rune of Homecoming now. It might put him in his home but I don't think that's a problem. Technically the boat will still be waiting for us, which is an Agency resource.
- Have Dirt take the ship back now. Use the rune of Homecoming later for ourselves. I don't like the idea of using the rune of Homecoming as our main plan though. If we end up in a desperate situation and have to use it with only part of the party, that would leave part of the party stranded in a foreign land.
- "Dirt, wanna come adventuring with us?" This has some disadvantages of us being responsible for him if anything bad happens to him, for not returning him when we had the chance, and might not be allowed. Dirt also may or may not be suited to adventuring. But it's the "coolest" option and might inspire some hit music!
As for what to do next: We should probably ask Dirt and the Boat Crew if they are okay with us waiting a day or two so we can deal with some personal buisness. That should give us enough time to visit Lexicon Anathema. If it turns out we need more time, we can always decide what to do next. But I would rather not send Dirt home alone after we promised to help him face his challenges.
But assuming we can't wait and have to leave ASAP, then we should probably sent him home on the ship alone (or maybe with Moonflower as emotional support?) while we travel to Lexicon Anathema and then use the runestone to return to Equestria. That way we can catch up with him as soon as our business with the hermit is done.
I guess you're thinking about it more like a test where "external assistance" would be cheating. But hey, I feel like the QM is taking the test with us. Or, it's not a test, but rather a collaborative story.
And this isn't what you were saying, but I would also say that in-character, we wouldn't want to feel like every problem and opportunity for glory needs to be solved mainly by us, as this wouldn't be good teamwork.
That's not what I meant. Normally I don't have issues with NPCs make suggestions or having their own ideas how to solve a problem. It's this specific case that feels a bit to convenient. But as I said it's not a huge issue so let's just move on.
Moonflower may be an "NPC" to the player, but in the context of the story, she is a character with thoughts of her own. Just like you, she is a member of the guild — but she is designed to offer a different perspective. If Trailblazer were the only one to ever come up with ideas, then a party would be of little use.
Furthermore, as the quest master, I cannot expect players to remember Furia Storm, a character who last appeared in early 2019 (over six years ago). This point has been raised before with Windcaller, a character with whom the player spent an entire chapter, yet was forgotten by many.
Finally, what Moonflower proposed is not the solution; it is a path to a possible solution. The point of her proposal is to unlock the possibility to make a more decisive choice right now — which, as always, is completely optional. After all, Dirt Flaxen's problem is not a simple puzzle to be solved.
Hopefully this clears things up a bit!
People forgot about Windcaller? When did that happen? I checked and there was a command to say goodbye to him before we left on our quest for Yggdrasil's seed. And when we returned we made sure to say Hi to him again.
We probably could have asked him about Dirt Flaxen, since he's a musician himself, but I doubt he knew more than the general information already provided by the Guild. And I guess we could've asked him if he wanted to join us, but I'm not sure if he would've been interested and Honourshine is a bit reserved in regards to meeting new ponies.
Also I eventually want to ask Dirt for an autograph for Windcaller. Just want to wait for the appropriate moment.