That Merciless Modiste is as cold as a Lifeberg and about as dangerous...

[YetiChow]

I was coming back from Irem with a load of parabola linen bound for London, when I stopped in at Mount Palmerstone for cheap fuel and some free Pages. I'd seen her there but I'd always stopped in on the outbound run rather than the return leg; but figured it was worth picking her up just to see what she offers.

After dining with her, I unlocked the options for comissioning sets of clothes. All well and good, I could use a sharp new suit before I get serious about my end-game (I'm working towards Zong of the Zee, so pages are extremely important for getting those secrets).

Looking at the requirements, everything seemed in order. The only thing I'm missing is a blue feather. I've seen a few ports buying them for virtually nothing; so now my interest is piqued -- where do I get them, do they have any other roles, etc.

With all my attention on the feathers, I close the Officers tab and go looking for clues. Oh [italics]wonderful[/i], it seems I'll have to get them myself from one of the few monsters I still go out of my way to avoid. I've assembled the Memento Mori and the Icarus in Black already (although I hadn't fired the latter, even though I picked up a Doomed Monster Hunter much earlier just to see what they did); I've hunted Lorn Flukes and never yet had to bail on such a hunt... but those Blue Prophets with their high speed charges and terror-inducing shrieks are still something I don't want to face.

Ah well, I sigh to myself, I guess I'll have to test out the Icarus after all. I then go back in to check how many feathers I'll need, so I know how much ammo to stock up on. And that's when I check the rest of the requirements for the first time.

D__m and blast it, she wants to use WHAT as the collar lining?

I mean, I've sent men and women to their deaths, and to fates far far worse than their deaths, in my quest to write this book; and right now I'm preparing to hire some almost-human heroes to fire them (probably with an excruciating, soul-rending process) out of a gun made in Hell, using them as bird-shot to kill the harpy-like oracles that probably have an important function to someone out on the Zee... all just so I can make a new set of clothes. But using my poor ferret; my first mascot and the officer who has been with me since my days as a washed-up poet... that's cold, even by my current standards.

For almost a year now I've kept that ferret aboard as a pet, a mark of my gratitude for its service up until I replaced it with the Monkey Foundling, and I've even stopped in to play with it a few times since then. I've come to see it as an essential part of the crew, sitting around in my cabin or chasing arrant rats in the hold. The fact that I had literally no option to get rid of it is irrelevant, I would have kept it aboard anyway. That ferret has come to symbolise my humble beginnings and my rise to a semi-famous captain known in all ports of the Unterzee and a few on the surface; a daring entrepeneur who trades incendiary secrets between the bastions of Hell and the dream-lands of the far East; who has fought against both starvation and insanity and won; who holds the attention of the gods of the Zee and has known their favour as well as their curses. That ferret has been with me for every single adventure.

To see it as just a scrap of fur is... well, merciless doesn't even begin to cover it. Cold-hearted sadism seems more apt, in fact it feels like an intentional power play. Perhaps she's threatened by my mammalian companion's position of trust? Perhaps this is vengeance for some passing scratch or love-bite? Or perhaps the Modiste simply has no heart? I'd hate to think what will happen should she come to greivance with one of the other officers aboard -- my surgeon the Indomitable Campaigner may be able to hold her own, and I'm sure the Carnelian Exile can take care of herself; but I fear that the Modiste would send my Irrepressible Cannoneer mad... and I'd hate to think what would happen if she took a disliking to the Monkey Foundling.

That new suit had better be dapper indeed...

//OOC: all of that waxing lyrical aside, I'm still undecided about clothing options. I know I said I need the pages, but really I need all the stats and the pages are probably the ones I could do without since I can create Monstrous Almanacs easily enough. Unfortunately, Sunless Sea doesn't allow you to take your choices back (I know about alt+f4, but that hasn't worked for me on a couple of key occasions -- I lost access to the Scrimshaw Chronicler after failing a Pages test with 94% chance of success, and alt+f4 didn't help me there... I was planning to do both options just to see what the different outcomes were anyway and then keep the "real" choice even if it turned out to be a failure; but when the challenge failed the game saved immediately afterwards. I figure the same will happen as soon as I craft the new clothing, preventing any change of mind).

So, I have a few questions for anyone who has crafted clothing via the Modiste: can you craft multiple sets, or can you only choose one? If you can craft more than one kind, are they a kind of equip-able or are they permanent passive boosts? Are there any negative (or positive) side-effects of the crafting process, e.g. does displaying your new suit have an effect on crew terror, or does killing your loyal mascot have any other ramifications?

[Knightgaunt]

Unfotunately just a one time stat bonus, you can do two times before advancing her personal story.

[Elitewrecker PT]

You could check the outcomes of your decisions on the wikia as well, if you don't mind knowing what's ahead.

[Darth Cannabis]

Also when coming to the decision to skin your ferret, think back to all the times the little bastard bit you.

[YetiChow]

Originally posted by Elitewrecker PT:

You could check the outcomes of your decisions on the wikia as well, if you don't mind knowing what's ahead.

That thought did come to mind, however there have been a couple of things I've looked for answers for there and haven't been able to find; so I figured it would be faster to ask here. Plus, advice from people who have done the story already usually has more insight than a wiki page.

But, moreover, I think that the urge to share my "what the hell?!?" moment was stronger than my quest for information in this case, lol.

Either way, thanks everyone for the helpful responses. Given that I can only get two sets out of the Modiste, it looks like I'll be taking the armour and the fancy clothing -- not because of the ferret, but because Pages is currently my highest stat by far and the easiest one to level up since I have plenty of artefacts already.

Oh, and the ferret has only bit me once, and that was after annoying it for the entire length of the journey from Demeaux Island to Khan's Heart; so I reckon that was deserved!

[Elitewrecker PT]

The annoying part about leveling pages is having to do the trip to venderbight (or is it wither) everytime you want to make another almanac.

[YetiChow]

Originally posted by Elitewrecker PT:

The annoying part about leveling pages is having to do the trip to venderbight (or is it wither) everytime you want to make another almanac.

It is somewhat annoying, but I'll be running a trade route at the same time which coincides with the route for crafting Almanacs anyway, so at least it lets me kill two birds with one stone (i.e. grinding out Pages as well as clocking up Echoes for later use). I've been (ab)using the the Searing Enigma <-> Dread Surmise loop between Irem and the Iron Republic, but that isn't particularly profitable in the short term so I need a side-venture to generate some quick Echoes as a "rainy day fund" until I can start the compounding interest on Searing Enigmas.

My trade route is to fill the hold (on a Merchant cruiser, so I carry about 100) with mushroom wine to sell it at Khan's Heart, stopping at Khan's Shadow on the way over to pick up 7 artefacts and a port report. After selling the wine I replenish supplies and fill the hold with candles, carrying them to Venderbight where I'll sell my current Almanac. Then back to London to craft a new almanac and turn in two port reports (potentially more if I bother to stop in at other places; Mount Palmerstone only a small detour so that's almost certainly going to be a stopover).

That doesn't account for the required Secrets of course, so I won't be looping the "almanac writing sabbatical" as I like to call it; rather I'll keep doing the enigma loop and then throw in a sabbatical every time I've gathered enough secrets or want an extra thousand-odd echoes for sundry expenses. I'll also be running trades while doing the enigma loop too, so really it will come down to how long it takes to find the secrets. I know they're available at Irem, but I'm not -that- rich. At least... not yet!

[maniacal laughter fades into the background, accompanied by the barely audible squeak of a ferret; a very eloquent sqeak which speaks volumes of a brush with death and a narrow reprieve born more of avarice than compassion]