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The Book of Knots - Jags

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<strong>The</strong>re is also a gallery <strong>of</strong><br />

severed heads that winds a<br />

long way. <strong>The</strong> heads are still<br />

animate (in glass cases) and<br />

can speak.<br />

<strong>The</strong> Dungeons and Cages are<br />

where the Queen’s victims<br />

are taken. Most <strong>of</strong> the cages<br />

are tiny—some are ‘form<br />

fitting.’ <strong>The</strong>re are interrogation<br />

rooms—but, more terrifying,<br />

are the examination rooms<br />

where the targets have pieces<br />

<strong>of</strong> their anatomy removed and<br />

inspected in a search for the<br />

“touchstone”—the physical<br />

(if, perhaps, microscopic)<br />

manifestation <strong>of</strong> their being<br />

that explains their point <strong>of</strong><br />

view and thus illuminates the<br />

cryptic text <strong>of</strong> their DNA.<br />

Her blood-splattered, gore<br />

drenched Chirgons are capable<br />

<strong>of</strong> taking apart a person slowly<br />

and meticulously looking for<br />

it. This does not always (and,<br />

in fact, far too rarely) mean<br />

death: there are great meatgrinder<br />

machines into which<br />

the still-living, still-sentient<br />

person is fed: they become<br />

gristle for the Marionette<br />

factory (the biological material<br />

Name: <strong>The</strong> Cerebellum Preparer Minion<br />

PHY 13 STR 13 BLD 24 CON 13<br />

REF 11 COR 11 REA 11 AGI 11<br />

INT 11 RES 11 MEM 11 WIL 11<br />

DP 90 Minor Major Critical<br />

Wounds 30 90 180<br />

is converted to “living” plastic and wood”). <strong>The</strong> spare parts may also be<br />

used to assemble monstrosities.<br />

Rules<br />

<strong>The</strong> Palace is a complex eco-system <strong>of</strong> predation: the furniture can<br />

walk around and eat you and many chambers become traps. Sometimes,<br />

deathtraps fill with water or sand, or corridors are patrolled by huge<br />

rolling metal spheres or sliding blocks. Weapons (pole-axes) march<br />

around by themselves, and even the seemingly sane beings that<br />

“oversee” sections <strong>of</strong> the madhouse are prone to degenerate in a sudden<br />

downward spiral <strong>of</strong> insanity.<br />

That’s a Survival Trait: if you are insane, a lot <strong>of</strong> the bizarreness makes<br />

sense (and the worst can be avoided). A person who instinctively and<br />

reflexively is disconnected from what their senses tell them about the<br />

world will perceive the castle as a different sort <strong>of</strong> place: that stairway<br />

To Hit 13-<br />

To Be Hit +0<br />

Armor 8/16<br />

Damage 13 PEN<br />

Bite<br />

Description: <strong>The</strong> Preparer is a fat thing whose face is a massive mouth <strong>of</strong> jagged teeth. It<br />

wears a blood-stained apron and its thickly muscled arms have metal talons set over the<br />

fingernails. When it speaks the voice is cool, pleasant, and urbane—it seems to issue from<br />

the air around the Preparer—not from its maw.<br />

Station: In the lower reaches <strong>of</strong> the Twisted Place are the kitchens and each fortnight the<br />

Queen dines on a Royal dinner. Her chefs and appetites are legion and legend but one <strong>of</strong>fice<br />

that stands out is the preparer <strong>of</strong> the Cerebellum.<br />

<strong>The</strong> room is a horror show <strong>of</strong> clamps and knives so that the subject’s brain may be removed,<br />

examined, and prepared for consumption. <strong>The</strong> meal, however, is not intended to nourish the<br />

eater—rather, the experience <strong>of</strong> consuming a human’s brain is meant to inform the diner—to<br />

explain the thoughts, life, and mind <strong>of</strong> the person consumed.<br />

<strong>The</strong> centerpiece <strong>of</strong> the course is the Head Plate—a domed plate under which a still living<br />

head, bare from the eyes up, is placed amidst a composition <strong>of</strong> rare vegetables, spices, and<br />

oils. As the brain itself is prepared painstakingly, delving into the meal is a exploration <strong>of</strong><br />

the senses—taste, sight, smell, and even touch (finger food!). Although the brain has no<br />

nerve-endings, the preparation—the sauces, the stuffing, the cutting and the basting—leave<br />

the subject with a cyclone <strong>of</strong> sensory stimulation that <strong>of</strong>ten leaves him or her screaming,<br />

singing, or babbling for the audio component.<br />

Subjects <strong>of</strong> Interest: <strong>The</strong> Preparer wants only the most rarefied subjects for his feasts. It is<br />

those who think in some way different (oddly, owning a Mac doesn’t qualify you). Artists,<br />

musicians, writers, and others are on the dream menu. <strong>The</strong> preparer <strong>of</strong>ten is lured with the<br />

promise and tantalizing hints at an awakening <strong>of</strong> muse—<strong>of</strong> the creativity within. When<br />

possible the Preparer works through a network <strong>of</strong> “talent scouts,” who seek to bring those<br />

with the tastiest talent into their domain.<br />

29<br />

<strong>Book</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>Knots</strong> - <strong>The</strong> Caretakers

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