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Chapter 7 – Part 2 Summary
The washerwomen remained fascinated with you and your adventures, and eagerly debated how well they would do in your situation. The conversation soon turned to your plans for later, and you agreed to attend the Grand Jamboree with them after their shift this evening. You left the washhouse and returned to Bane’s Way to try lunch at a new venue, which also turned out to be a delightful experience. Then in the evening, you returned to the washhouse with Ameronis, meeting up with the washerwomen, and leaving together to head to the Grand Jamboree.
The Choose Your Fate Results Are In…
The readers voted for the following option
7
The Grand Jamboree — (AI-generated image produced using Stable Diffusion)
You start by passing by a series of artisans displaying their works and some of their wares, followed by several food stalls. You slowly amble past a music performance and stop to listen for a while. During this time, you catch sight of a body flying through the air, and tracking it down, end up watching an acrobatic show with trapeze artists and tightrope walkers who amaze and terrify the crowd. It is quite mesmerising, with the artists incorporating a few deliberate near miss scenarios which cause the crowd to gasp at the death-defying stunts.
After their thrilling performance is over, you move on to a gaudy tent where a man outside attempts to convince you to go in and hear your destiny. Inside, “Madame Seraphina: The Enchantress of Prophecies” offers to give you your fortunes. Just for the sake of it, you all agree.
“In a realm where stars align, secrets whispered in the night will guide you to horizons uncharted”, she tells you.
To Ameronis, she says: “A gambit in the shadows, a jewel of fate grasped amid the storm’s turbulence, where danger dances with destiny.” Ameronis does little more than raise an eyebrow.
Brinnet is told that she needs to get in touch with the natural world, Agnai will learn something new but will have to pay the price, and some difficult character growth is about to happen to Grace AI InputCharacter name and prophecies suggested by ChatGPT. ~ Ameronis.
Moving on, you encounter a series of rides, the likes of which you’ve never encountered, including a carousel swing and a roller-coaster, all powered by steam engines, allowing them to go much faster than any you have ever seen or heard of before. The experience is definitely a highlight of the evening.
To stop your head from spinning afterwards, your group scans a small marketplace selling trinkets and souvenirs as well as a variety of gift options.
Some jaunty music coming from nearby leads you to a dance floor where you watch the dancers as they swirl around. Brinnet insists on dancing and Grace goes along with her, with the two of them managing to convince you to join them. Ameronis adamantly refuses and simply opts to watch while Agnai also refuses.
“No, no, you go on now. The world is not ready for my moves!” she says.
She stands on the sidelines and watches as the three of you dance. She occasionally yells at and teases her friends, but to you, she is a lot more forgiving.
Brinnet and Grace rebuff her remarks and continue dancing, and Agnai does eventually complement their moves when the three of you rejoin her and Ameronis after a couple of dances. A little tired out, you decide to grab a drink and stand around watching other patrons as they take part in some of the games and competitions in this area. There’s a ring toss, a wheel of fortune, a balancing competition with hilarious results, darts, archery, whack a mole, dice games and even a small chicken race, among other things.
Your group watches and plays several of the games, and you decide to try your hand at the archery.
The vendor asks if you’ve ever done archery before, to which you respond; not in any serious capacity, no. He hands you a bow and three arrows and you aim at the target attached to a wall of hay bales. The first arrow misses the board, the second is way off, hitting the hay. You take longer to focus on the third shot and actually hit the board, being only just off centre. The vendor congratulates you on your final shot, but commiserates you on not beating the challenge. You decide to try again and watch the rest of your group as you wait for the vendor to clear the arrows and provide you with new ones.
Take Aim… — (AI-generated image produced using Stable Diffusion)
Ameronis has never used a bow before either, and is unable to hit the board at all, but the washerwomen do surprisingly well, with Agnai getting a shot nearer to the centre than the others.
With more arrows in hand you take aim and do significantly worse than before.
Less than impressed, you decide to try one more time and your group gathers behind you to offer their support. You manage to get the board twice, but not the bull’s-eye. Oh well, you decide to move on, but stop to watch the lady beside you as she begins the challenge; she looks as though she knows what she’s doing. She carefully takes aim and steadies her breathing. However, her results are not that impressive.
As the vendor commiserates her loss, she scoffs and mutters about how the arrows are rubbish, mentioning how the whole thing is rigged. The vendor assures her that this is not the case, but she incredulously comments on the state of the arrows and how no matter your skill, the shots will fly randomly. She demands to see the arrows; the vendor hands her one, insisting that the arrows are fine, but she ignores him and closely inspects it. Her face crumples in irritation.
“I’ve seen griffed dice more honest than these! I’m not falling for this! Gimme my money back or I’m calling the law.”
She is already attracting some attention, and not wanting to lose any more potential challengers, the vendor gestures for her to calm down as he attempts to placate her.
“I assure you, madam, the arrows are in perfect condition. But I can see you have doubts, so I’d be glad to give your money back as a gesture of goodwill. There’s no need for law enforcers or unpleasant scenes…”
She sneers as she practically snatches the money away from him, turning to you and the other participants.
“If you want some real archery, go to ‘The Warrior’s Edge’ in Steelhaven.”
With that, she turns on her heel and marches off.
You exchange a glance with Ameronis, and with one last look at the vendor, who is watching the woman go nervously, you and your group amble away to continue your exploration.
As you walk, you consider what the woman said; maybe some archery would be a good idea; improving your aim will always be a good thing. You think back to last night and your missed throw of your battle axe. You can’t have that happening again. You decide that you will go and check it out at least.
Just as you have that thought, Ameronis declares that she is going to check it out tomorrow, as it will be a useful skill to learn.
The washerwomen are interested and lament that they’ll be working most of the day, though they ask an Ameronis if she could find out what days and times the archery is available so that maybe they can go during their time off. She agrees to report back with her findings.
A few more stops later, and your group is back at the entrance, having finished your grand tour of the jamboree. You spent a lot longer here than you expected, but, even though it’s after 11pm now, Grace insists that the night is young and you should do something else. Though, nothing too involved; they still have work tomorrow. After a brief discussion, Brinnet suggest a drink or two to round off the night. Agnai agrees, claiming that she’s parched and suggests that they go to their usual haunt; “The Copper Mug” AI InputThe Copper Mug name suggested by ChatGPT. ~ Ameronis.
Ameronis respectfully declines, saying she already has other plans. The rest of you see her off as she disappeared into the night and you follow the washerwomen to The Copper Mug. It’s a nice place, relatively small, but quite clean and tidy. The food and drinks are decent and the well-dressed patrons are relatively quiet; the three women are definitely some of the louder patrons.
You spend more time getting to know the women, and they happily chat about themselves and gossip a little about others, having a good old laugh in the process.
You have just one drink; a muted orange concoction containing milk, fermented seeds, and a constant stream of bubbles. It doesn’t have a very strong flavour, but manages to have a full-bodied aftertaste RanGen’s GensDrink description courtesy of the Drink Generator. ~ Ameronis . You only have one, but you’re slightly buzzing by the time you’re ready to leave.
All good things come to an end, so you say your goodbyes to the washerwomen, letting them know that you’ll swing by tomorrow to pick up your clean and dry clothes. They demand that you let them know what other action packed adventures you get into between now and then; you tell them you don’t intend to be involved in anything else, thank you very much. They laugh and tell you not to be boring and to live a little. You dismiss their nonsense, bid them good night, and take a carriage back to Slaryn House, where you quickly fall asleep.
Interested so far?
Leave a Disqus comment down below, or go behind the curtain to learn more about the making of this Chapter Part.
Behind the Curtain
I employed the use of the Chaos Engine AcronymTo act as a balancing force against my control as the storyteller and DM, one or more of the following external entities are periodically allowed to take the wheel to decide the direction or outcome of certain events. This force is known as the Chaos Engine, and it collectively consists of, the Decision, Number and Dice Generators (DND Gens), a handful of AI chat bots (ChatGPT, Claude), and the choices made by select individuals, both on and offline, who have been given a choice, but not the full context. The end result is usually an unexpected scenario that I then have to figure out how to deal with and/or weave into the story. again today, this time in the form of the readers themselves.
With an archery competition afoot, I wanted to see what chance Valine had at winning; do they already have any innate skill in archery? I created a skill scale from poor to high, then shuffled it and assigned each skill level a number. I then asked the readers to pick a number, and went with the skill level that was selected; the readers did surprisingly badly! As a result, Valine’s archery here is pretty sucky, but, how much of that is due to Valine’s lack of skill, or other factors?
I’ve been working on some of the cultural elements found in Derna, including the language that people use. One thing that I need to make is an Idiom Generator, but it’s definitely something that’s take a lot of work. It’d be similar to how the Novel Title Gen functions under the hood, and that one still needs a lot of work, and was a nightmare to get to that point.
Failing to find any alternatives online, I asked ChatGPT for some suggestions, and the results were… Odd. There’s something really weird about some of the things that ChatGPT suggests, but I can’t quite describe it. For the moment, I’d say “awkward”, along with “restricted” and “rigid”, which I mentioned before.
I asked it for come exclamations, and some compliments and mildly insulting but friendly jibes.
user Please suggest a slang expression for one of the washerwomen to use when she refuses to dance because she doesn’t want to look like a fool. Do not use the real expression that was used in [Redacted, because spoilers] instead come up with something new.
ChatGPT Certainly, the washerwoman could use the slang expression, “I won’t twirl with the jesters,” to convey her reluctance to dance and risk looking foolish. This expression emphasizes her desire to avoid appearing as if she’s joining in with those who are being silly or making a spectacle of themselves.
user No this suggests that the dancers themselves are a problem, but the other dancers are fine. This character is the one who does not want to make herself look for by dancing badly.
ChatGPT I apologize for the misunderstanding. In that case, the washerwoman could use the slang expression, “I won’t wobble in the masquerade,” to convey her reluctance to dance and risk looking like a fool. This expression highlights her reluctance to join in the dance and potentially appear ungraceful or awkward in the company of others.
user Please suggest some others, but also add a light-hearted nature to is, as she playfully criticises either herself, or the other dancer (despite there being nothing wrong with them)
ChatGPT Certainly, here are some light-hearted slang expressions that the washerwoman could use:
“I won’t trip the merriment fantastic, not today!” – playfully hinting at her potential clumsiness without criticizing others.
“I’ll pass on the jigs and wiggles, don’t want to steal the spotlight!” – humorously alluding to her own dancing skills and not wanting to outshine others.
“I’ll keep my two left feet to myself, dear!” – teasing herself about her dancing abilities and not wanting to showcase her peculiar footwork.
“I’d rather not become the court’s comedy act, thank you!” – playfully suggesting that her dancing might entertain through laughter, which she wants to avoid.
“I won’t prance and jest, let’s leave the jesting to the jesters!” – playfully shifting the attention to the jesters while admitting her reluctance to dance.
These expressions maintain a light-hearted tone while playfully acknowledging her reservations about dancing.
user Please suggest some alternate endings for this: “I’ll pass on the jigs and wiggles, don’t want to…”
ChatGPT Certainly, here are some alternate endings for the expression:
“I’ll pass on the jigs and wiggles, don’t want to set the chandeliers swinging!”
“I’ll pass on the jigs and wiggles, don’t want to outshine the moonlight.”
“I’ll pass on the jigs and wiggles, don’t want to make the stars jealous.”
“I’ll pass on the jigs and wiggles, don’t want to steal the show!”
“I’ll pass on the jigs and wiggles, don’t want to turn heads too early!”
Each of these endings adds a playful and whimsical touch to the expression while emphasizing the washerwoman’s reluctance to draw too much attention to herself while dancing.
user As she watches from the sidelines she occasionally yells at her friends who are dancing, playfully complementing or teasing them. Please suggest some things that she can say to any of three individuals that she is yelling at
ChatGPT Certainly, here are some playful remarks she can shout to her friends as they dance:
“Looking marvelous out there, my dear! Just don’t forget which way your feet go!”
“That’s it, my love! Show ’em your moves and charm the stars!”
“You’ve got the grace of a swan and the energy of a whirlwind! Keep it up!”
“Looking like a true dance maestro, my friend! Careful not to trip over your own brilliance!”
“There’s no stopping you on that dance floor! You’re a whirlwind of elegance and fun!”
“Dancing like there’s no tomorrow, huh? Don’t wear out those dazzling moves!”
“You’ve got the heart of a dancer and the spirit of a jest! Keep it lively!”
“You’re the life of the party, my dear! Keep the laughter and the jigs coming!”
“Watch out for those fancy footwork maneuvers! We wouldn’t want a dance disaster!”
“Woo-hoo! The dance floor is on fire, thanks to you! But don’t actually set it ablaze!”
These playful remarks can add to the festive atmosphere and camaraderie at the dance, as she encourages and teases her friends while enjoying the spectacle from the sidelines.
user Please add some more insulting ones they can be quite mean in a playful way, but should not be truly insulting; they are good friends and can handle banter
ChatGPT Certainly, here are some slightly teasing but playful remarks she can shout to her friends as they dance:
“Look at you go! I’ve seen scarecrows dance better!”
“A dancing sensation, or a wild, uncoordinated whirlwind? Hard to tell!”
“Who taught you those moves, a tipsy flamingo?”
“Don’t worry, your dancing is unforgettable… for all the wrong reasons!”
“You’ve got spirit, my friend, but grace might be taking the night off!”
“You’re like a lively tumbleweed out there, with a touch of elegance!”
“If dancing were a competition, you’d be winning the ‘Most Entertaining’ award!”
“Keep it up, and they might start a new dance craze… accidentally, of course!”
“They say dance like no one’s watching, but you’re taking it to a whole new level!”
“You’re the reason we all keep our eyes on the dance floor – for safety!”
These slightly insulting yet playful remarks maintain the friendly banter and add humor to the dance floor.
user Please suggest some more. Make them short and witty.
ChatGPT Certainly, here are some short and witty, slightly teasing remarks:
“Dancing or escaping an invisible bee swarm, my friend?”
“You’re like a whirlwind out there, and I mean that in the most chaotic way!”
“Is that a new dance style, or did you just make it up on the spot?”
“You’ve got moves that even the most adventurous cats envy!”
“They say practice makes perfect, but I think you’re redefining the saying!”
“Bravo! You’re like a one-person dance revolution.”
“Your dance is so unique, it deserves its own category.”
“You’re making the floor your canvas and the dance your masterpiece.”
“You’re a one-person dance party, and we’re all just trying to keep up!”
“No need for GPS; we can always find you on the dance floor!”
These witty remarks add a touch of humor and playfulness to the atmosphere, while gently poking fun at their friends’ unique dance styles.
user You mentioned GPS in the last one; make sure your remarks are suitable for the time-period please.
ChatGPT My apologies for the oversight. Here are some remarks with a more suitable time-period context:
“Dancing like a whirlwind on a windy day, you are!”
“Are you channeling the spirit of a tumbleweed out there?”
“Your dance is like a lively village fair, full of surprises!”
“Dancing with the enthusiasm of a court jester, and we love it!”
“You’ve got the moves of a lively fiddler’s tune!”
“Your dance is like a lively storytelling performance!”
“A true free spirit on the dance floor, that’s what you are!”
“You’ve got the grace of a twirling dervish and the energy to match!”
“Dancing with the exuberance of a joyful maypole celebration!”
“You’re a true merrymaker on the dance floor, and it’s infectious!”
These remarks are more in line with the time-period and maintain the playful and slightly teasing tone.
user Don’t forget to make them slightly insulting
ChatGPT Certainly, here are slightly insulting yet witty remarks with a suitable time-period context:
“Dancing like a whirlwind on a windy day, you are! Watch out for those gusts!”
“Are you channeling the spirit of a tumbleweed out there, or is it just your style?”
“Your dance is like a lively village fair, full of surprises – and occasional mishaps!”
“Dancing with the enthusiasm of a court jester, making us all smile – or cringe!”
“You’ve got the moves of a lively fiddler’s tune – it’s certainly… unique!”
“Your dance is like a lively storytelling performance, where the plot thickens with every step.”
“A true free spirit on the dance floor, and we never know which way the wind will blow!”
“You’ve got the grace of a twirling dervish, but sometimes it’s a delightful whirlwind of chaos.”
“Dancing with the exuberance of a joyful maypole celebration, you bring mirth to the mix!”
“You’re a true merrymaker on the dance floor, leaving us laughing – with you or at you!”
These remarks maintain the playful and slightly insulting tone, while keeping the time-period context in mind.
Almost all of these are so… unnatural, and even with adjustments, they just don’t fit right. Dialogue is definitely not ChatGPT’s strong point, but, having said that, its nonsense fits perfectly well with the cryptic fortunes from Madame Seraphina. So, if you’re looking for some unhinged, awkward dialogue, ChatGPT has you covered.
Speaking of ChatGPT’s shortcomings, remember when I said that it likes to re-use names, despite having access to infinity+1 names to work with? Why exactly did it suggest the name “Seraphina” again? The last time, it said “Seraphina the Swift”, this time it’s “Madame Seraphina”. It’s not like “Seraphina is a super common name, like “John”! However, rather than change the name, I’ve thought of a way to incorporate that into the story. We’ll see if the reason ever comes up though.
Also, ChatGPT previously suggested that the washerwomen hang out at “The Copper Mug”, so I just went with that name but generated the tavern description using the Tavern Name Gen.
ChatGPT The washerwomen prefer to unwind and socialize at a quaint local pub known as “The Copper Mug.” Tucked away in a quiet corner of the city, it offers a cozy atmosphere where they can relax and enjoy each other’s company after a long day of work. It’s a place where they can have conversations without the rowdiness of larger establishments, fostering a sense of camaraderie among the group.
