A Stiegal Pumpkin

*This is the normal version of this card. For the companion-specific version, see A Stiegal Pumpkin (Story)*

This is an Encounter Card in *Hand of Fate 2.*

## Event

*Stiegal's town centre is unremarkable apart from a beautiful clock tower and a small cluster of tents tucked into a shaded corner away from the hustle and bustle.*

1) Visit Ariadne's mother.

*Ariadne's mother, Bethel, greets you with a plate of pumpkin scones and an anxious smile.*
1) Ask for a pumpkin.
*She is momentarily startled by the audacity of your request before her instinct for hospitality resumes control. She leaves the room and soon returns weighed down by one of Stiegal's famous oversized pumpkins.*
*"That's the last of the harvest..." she says, warily.*
**The player draws a Food Gain Card.**
2) Ask about Ariadne.
Random, one of:

*"She didn't always hate her father, you know. She used to follow him around and help him at the anvil." Bethel's face lights up at the memory.*

*"She was such a sweet child. I don't know what I did wrong to make her turn out so... aggressive." Bethel wrings her hands anxiously.*
3) Return to the town centre.
2) Visit the fortune teller.

*The fortune teller is withered with age and draped in gaudy fabrics. She barely registers your arrival at her stall.*
*"Who's there?" she croaks.*
1) Ask for your fortune.
*“Imminent carnage, you are barrelling headlong into imminent carnage. If you do not take care…” the seer looks at you with pale, watery eyes, “…everything will be lost.”*
2) Ask for [Your companion]'s fortune.
Malaclypse:
*The seer waves a trembling hand in the empty space beside her crystal ball - you think she is quite blind. "He...will betray us all!"*
*Malaclypse shrugs, grinning. "My reputation precedes me."*
Colbjorn:
*“His family will grow large and cover the land.” She gives a hacking cough.*
Ariadne:
*“She will die alongside a hero. A glorious death is her blessing.”*
*Ariadne nods her head. “It’s word for word what she told me when I was a tot. I won’t keel over pulling up turnips. I’m going to die a hero!”*
Estrella:
*"She will be...king!" The seer tries to stand with a dramatic flourish, but only manages to weakly wobble in her seat.*
Valenos:
*The fortune teller squints in your companion's direction until her eyes begin to water. "A great evil follows him. He does not belong in this realm - in this life - and the gods can feel it."*
3) Ask for Bob's/Borden's/Terrence's fortune
* *"Bob..." she licks her dry lips. "He will grow to be a fine hero and meet many heroes along the way."*
* *"Borden of Fallhallow will bring great peril onto his family, but they will forgive him as they have before. That is his curse."*
* *The old woman squints convincingly at her crystal ball. "He is not long for this world."*

4) Return to the town centre.
3) Approach the tents.

*A cloaked family are furtively huddled around a small firepit, as if worried that somebody will try and stop them.*
1) Talk to them.
*The mother and father automatically step defensively in front of the soup, pulling their children behind them.*
1) Ask why they're so protective of the soup.
*The fathers laughs wearily. "Because we are starving, and we don't know where our next meal will come from, or even whether Stiegal will make us move on.*
2) Ask who they are.
*The mother cinches her robe. "We are from Far Water, but I doubt that means anything to you."*
If current companion is Ariadne:
*Ariadne chimes in. "Far Water, where the great Caelora River meets the sea."*
*The father looks surprised and then terribly sad. "Yes, hero, the most beautiful town in this land, and we don't know when we can ever return there."*
*"The Empire has taken our homes and set up their war towers to push into the North. When will they stop?"*
3) Offer to help.
*"Will you order the Emperor to stop his push into the North? Can you stop the Northerners from retaliating?"*
*The mother returns to the soup, tired of the conversation. "Of course you cannot. You cannot help us."*
4) Leave them be.
2) Steal some of their soup.
The player may steal until 4 Huge Successes have been achieved or until a Huge Failure.
**Precision Gambit** (1 small Huge Success, 3 large Huge Failure, all moving)
* Huge Success

*The children begin to bicker among themselves. You take advantage of the distraction, ladling out a portion of soup.*
One of the following occurs:
* *You fish a handful of coins from your mug of stolen soup. Is the family hiding their wealth in here?*
**The player receives a Gold Gain Card.**
* *A rare river turnip bobs to the surface of your soup mug. It tastes like mud, but you feel rejuvenated.*
**The player receives a Life Gain Card or Max Life Gain Card.**
* *You pluck a piece of equipment from the pale broth. You wonder how it got in there.*
**The player receives an Equipment Gain Card.**

If current companion is Ariadne:
*Ariadne looks conflicted. "Are you sure this is what heroes are supposed to do?"*
* Failure

*You hide behind the flap of a tent curtain and wait. The family never takes their eyes off the soup.*
If current companion is Estrella:
*Estrella watches you disapprovingly from a distance.*
* Huge Failure

*A child catches you with your hand on the ladle.*
*The mother slaps you over the head with surprising viciousness.*
*"Get out of here!"*
**The player draws a Life Pain card.**
On subsequent visits to the tents:
*The refugees glare at you as you approach. A child begins to cry.*
*You back away.*
* When 4 Huge Successes have been achieved:

*There's no more soup to steal!*
3) Leave them be.
If current companion is Ariadne:
*Ariadne shakes her head. "Those poor sods."*
4) Leave

**Encounter ends.**
## Unlocked By

Acquire the token for The Blacksmith's Daughter.

## Trivia

The fortune teller's words for Valenos suggest that the corruption originates from him, entering the world when he was summoned back into it by the mages in the conclusion of The Star. This confirms Malaclypse's statement in A New Beginning that the corruption was brought into the world by a ritual which brought something back from the dead: Valenos.