Let’s push for a conclusion in the tale of Azure Pond.
As I eagerly await not only my Witches and Wanderers, I am now also waiting on tracking for SoD2 and Fade (hopefully mentioning this to the universe will make the process move along faster – it has worked before) and I can’t help but feel drawn to the Black and Red dice as well. Oh, woe is me!

Soooo.., Butcher Lvl3 *shudders*.
This would be the first year with an actual chance at ending the campaign. I’ve talked/moaned about Invincible before and I am going to spare you .. for now. But generally speaking the regular Butcher Lvl3 fights have been somewhat binary for me: either I get out with barely a scratch on me.. or the survivors get folded.
We definitely have the damage to deal with the Butcher, but do we have the survivability?

After having scooped up the Iron we got from last Lantern Year’s fight, the survivors carried the changing Phoenicia back into the settlement. We got 8 endeavors to use and a singular event to deal with beforehand.

And the event drawn for this Lantern Year was another Stranger in the Dark!
The Lamplighter (5) had returned once again, asking people for their lanterns. I did quickly check who I sent last time and it was Fara. She had been mainly doing her job as a caretaker for the young Sunstalkers and any children linked to them via Umbilical Symbiosis over the years, and I guess job-security was just too boring for her.
But sure, I did send her over again and she clearly knew what she was doing – whatever that may be! A perfect Lantern 10! She gained +1STR and an additional endeavor for triggering Bold.

And just like that we were ready to develop.
There were a few things we could do this Lantern Year. Studying the Sculpture (I) would be one. Or visiting the Sauna Shrine (I). Being able to innovate for Scarification (I) would be nice at this point, but I needed to remind myself that that innovation was not in the deck, or even in the campaign for that matter.

In the end I started by using up the Iron we just got. Together with the freshly pooped Scrap – thank you Scrap Worm – and the remaining Perfect Organ, I made a Polishing Lantern to help the Lantern Sword. This way Helios would no longer have to worry about Early Iron! Not that it had triggered often thus far.

We did have 1 more scrap in storage as well as a Monster Bone, and those combined nicely into a Monster Tooth Necklace – this item was made mainly for the affinity.
And with the Pelt we still had in storage we also crafted a set of Bandages. With these, 2 people would have the capability to remove bleeding tokens from others, which I couldn’t help but imagine would be important for Butcher Lvl3. (Generally speaking: I need to build more Bandages.)

With crafting done for the year I directed my attention towards the endeavors we had.
The first endeavor was spend on getting people to drink the Sacred Water. And this year the honor went to Muzashi and .. uhm, .. Stardust. At +2 we needed 1 reroll to get up to a 4 for the lower roll and get the child. Himiko (+1STR, Unrelenting FA) learned Katana (2) from her father.
The second endeavor was Helios using Matchmaker to have Phoenicia and Squobble get together. We, again, needed to spend a reroll to get off the 1, but this time the lower result of 2 dice ended up being a 7. A slightly better child.
Cassiopeia (+1STR, Tumble FA, +1 card while innovating) learned Bow (2) from her mother.
Those also added 2 Life String, 1 of which we immediately took to the Sauna Shrine (I) to pray. It did take us a while (3 rerolls) until we felt heard by The Sun and we were able to continue with the settlement phase.

For clarity: we still had 10 rerolls in the settlement at this point, even after our prayer mishaps.

Afterwards I chose to innovate, and I’m just going to pretend that I didn’t forget about Scarification not being in the deck:
Heart Flute, Bloodletting, Pictograph, Memento Mori or Aquarobics.
That felt like a pretty open and shut case for Aquarobics, besides Bloodletting none of these innovations would realistically do much for us at this point and Aquarobics did at least give us 1 more Survival Limit (11 max).

With 5 endeavors remaining, we sent Phoenicia to have a good long look at the Sculpture (I). It only took her a single roll and she learned Timeless Eye (FA) from it.
The next endeavor had her do Nightmare Training (I). This time she was forced to spend all her survival on rerolls (6), and 2 more life-time rerolls from spirited onlookers to not die on ill-timed 1s, but she does end on an 8 (+1 weapon proficiency).
That was a brutal session and a half for her.

With 3 endeavors left I was considering a few things. First off: the anti-synergy between Timeless Eye (FA) and Katana Mastery prevented me from going down that path with Muzashi. So, running out of ideas, I purified Himiko on a whim (+1STR) and for the final endeavor.., uhm.., we did do Augury?
Squobble rolled a 6 and got a survival.

The Chosen Defenders:
Helios – green (Leather Armor, Lantern Sword)
Muzashi – blue (Phoenix Armor, Wrought Tachi)
Apollo – red (Screaming Armor, Sonic Tomahawk)
Phoenicia – yellow (Rawhide Bits, Sunring Bow)

Whilst I was still under the (wrong) impression that the Tachyon Nodachi had frail, I brought the Wrought Tachi to hopefully land its effect repeatedly to tone down the Butcher’s ACC and have Helios tank the monster until we cut it to ribbons.

I do feel the need to say it again: I was not looking forward to this fight. Not one bit. I never am.
And its mostly due to the trait Invincible. Negating all damage on an 8+, it offers a weird form of confirmation bias that it feels like it happens way more often than 30% of the time, and is often labeled as an effect that just “feels bad”.
Whilst I tend to at least try and shy away from such statements, I do agree in this case. It does feel bad. Or rather, it doesn’t feel nearly as good when it actually fails. All in all I am not a fan of that particular card and will probably continue to moan about it in the future. Please bear with me.
I will be using the Valentine’s Day dice to show Invincible rolls throughout the fight.

Other than Invincible we are facing a standard Butcher with +2ACC/DMG/SPD that will draw 3 cards per turn, shuffle its hit location deck and collect trophies from the people who die during the showdown.

At 15TGH we should not have any trouble wounding the monster (7+ & sharp/ 3+ & sharp/ 2+ / 3+ & sharp respectively).But we will have to see how Invincible messes this up.

For random terrain we got a Vermin Patch, set up right next to the monster.

With 21 cards in the monster deck, we started the fight by having Muzashi move up and attack with the Wrought Tachi.
Before he Charged in, he spent 2 survival for Overcharge and Embolden afterwards, to get Devastating 1, and then he hit 3 times on 4+. Two hits of which were perfect, so he was able to deal 1 instant damage with Katana specialization. One more hit was deflected off of the Cleaver before he could deal a double wound on an actual hit location. Invincible was merciful on this first activation of the fight.
Muzashi also spent 1 more survival to dash to the side in an attempt to avoid monster reactions that spread bleed and knockback/knockdown.
Apollo was set to do largely the same, though he did get stranded in the monster’s facing as he had to dash a step forward to reach the monster at all. 3 hits on 2+, wounding on 2+ with Devastating 1 as well. The first wound was dealt easily, doubling up, before Invincible activated for the first time preventing the rest.

Phoenicia dashed into position and shot the monster after spending 3 survival in total to Overcharge and Embolden – a general tactic has emerged. 2 more hits found their marks, which meant 2 (3) more wounds were dealt. Invincible was not triggering for the monster this time, and I was hoping for it to stay that way. The Butcher did move over to Phoenicia on a reflex, knocking over Apollo to get to her.
Just as Helios wanted to activate the Feline Entity joined the fight as a massive roadblock, sitting right in the middle of the fight. Helios was just about able to still reach the monster if he dashed, and I might as well have him do it. There was no telling how long we we’d have access to survival anyway. One scream from the monster and that part of the survivor kit was just done and gone.
3 hits on 4+, and there’s the trap.
Phoenicia fell over due to the bleed – turns out Hemophobia (D) was a bad disorder to have in a Butcher fight (oops) and I began frantically wondering why I brought her along with such a severe impairment .., whilst Helios was knocked way back. With the -2ACC for the round, the monster would only hit him on 9+ and it missed every attack thanks to that.
For how much I dreaded this fight, this was a decent first line of attack for us, I’d say.

13 cards left in the deck. The monster was set to draw 3 cards.
1 of 3: Hack. Targeting Helios, it only hit once on 9+. He dodged the hit.
2 of 3: Hew. Again Helios. Hit twice on 8+, he dodged 1 more due to Extra Sense (FA) and took a hit to the legs.
3 of 3: Hew again. This time the monster missed all 3 attacks.

Muzashi was ready to attack and reapply the -2ACC but instead he hit all 3 of his attacks and found the trap again! Oh no! The bleed knocked down Phoenicia as I grimace at at me bringing her along.
Muzashi got lucky and was only hit twice by the trap‘s basic, with one hit turning into brain damage. He did still dash away to remove himself from the monster’s facing again after the trap had been resolved. HIs act ending, he was down to 5 survival already.
Apollo was next to strike. As he regained survival every time he used any, he made liberal use of Overcharge and Embolden. Slamming into the monster he hit it twice, but one was a Cleaver again. Luckily Invincible failed this time, as the monster took 2 more wounds.

Helios did not care. Dashing in, he attacked without the package, unleashing a flurry of blows!
He hits 5 times avoiding the trap despite the number of hits, attacking with sword spec, he wounded 2 times before Invincible triggered and the monster screamed at him, setting up the first frenzy trigger in the group.
The final attack post frenzy was also a wound.
The 3 bleed already on Helios were a cause for concern though. He might well bleed out during the next line of attacks coming from the monster.

8 cards remaining – 3 more draws coming up as the monster seethed with rage.
1 of 3: Wild Carve. All 4 attacks missed Helios (7+), but he took the bleed and damage from the secondary effect, bringing him to 4 bleed – yikes!
2 of 3: Devour Lantern. 2 hits connected from this bleed-less attack, eating his lantern whole. I’m sure it was delicious. Losing all survival (which would have been terrible for anybody else) didn’t matter for him any more though as he was already frenzied.
3 of 3: Gaze of Truth. Helios got knocked down and he frenzied yet again. Probably a good result to get, as he also gained 2 understanding putting him 1 away from White Secret. He also regained Overprotective (D).
After surviving all 3 attacks like this I knew I wanted to do my best to keep Helios alive.

Phoenicia got back up, still nauseous from seeing so much blood. And for our first action Apollo moved around the monster to use their Bandages on Helios.
Phoenicia dashed closer to the fight moving as close to the monster as she had to to be in range and shoot. This time the Butcher was Invincible, beelining over to her due to the reflex.
Muzashi saw a chance to move in behind the Butcher because of this. And his 2 hits were certainly enough to find the trap again. Phoenicia was knocked down yet again as the monster followed Muzashi back over to Helios and Apollo. 2 hits meant Muzashi had to take another bleed even as 1 hit turned to brain damage.

8 cards remaining still.
1 of 3: Forbidden Light. One extra AI incoming as the Butcher began ominously glowing. (It’s going to blow!)
2 of 4: Hack. 3 hits (on 5+). 1 turned to brain damage, but Muzashi still went up to 4 bleed.
3 of 4: Hew. The worse version. Muzashi had to dash away from the attack to not die to bleed. He was down to his final survival afterwards.
4 of 4: Devour Lantern. Another delicious lantern spotted by the monster it ran after Muzashi, salivating. 3 hits connected and whilst Muzashi dodged one hit as his survival was going to be gone anyway afterwards, the monster had another delectable snack.

To stay alive Muzashi did back off (he ran for his life) and he ducked behind a pillar to start using his First Aid Kit to remove his bleed tokens 1 at a time.
Phoenicia dashed back into bow range, used Embolden and Overcharge and shot the monster. 1 hit was achieved, Invincible failed and we triumphantly dealt 2 more wounds.
I feel the urge to run and unga-bunga, but Apollo would instead use his Bandages on Helios to remove his bleed entirely, before Helios in turn moved towards the Butcher and used Block, preparing to tank the next wave of attacks.

5 (6) cards remaining.
1 of 3: Hew. The Butcher turned to Helios as 2 hits unfortunately connected, the block stopped severe damage to Helios’ head but he had to take another a bleed anyhow.
2 of 3: Hack. This one whiffed entirely.
3 of 3: Hew again. Only one hit, but it was to the arms causing a severe injury: the arm got broken (7). We now also knew there was no more Gaze of Truth in the deck unfortunately.

Phoenicia was on the ground again, so we began our turn by having Apollo Slam into the monster. 4 hits connected and the monster’s Invincible was able to prevent the first wound despite axe proficiency, but the second wound still managed to get through. With Devastating 1, we dealt a significant blow before both Apollo and Helios were flung away by the reflex.
With no threat in front of the monster Helios used his turn to further run away, hoping to skip most of the incoming attacks next round.
Muzashi slowly removed another bleed in his hiding spot.

3 (4) cards left in the deck. The typical combo remained.
1 of 3: Hack. Did not reach Helios.
2 of 3: Hew. Did not reach Helios.
3 of 3: Hew. And it missed all 3 hits thanks to Helios and his 5EVA!

Phoenicia acted first whilst she was still on her feet. She dashed 1 step closer and shot her bow. 2 hits, and whilst she managed to find 2 wounds on her end, Invincible prevented one of them. The monster then strolled over to her.
Apollo then dashed up and used Slam to close the gap to the monster’s side. Devastating 1 active this could finish the fight depending on Invincible!
The first hit wounded, knocking the monster down! It even triggered Bold for Muzashi (+1STR) .. which was comical I have to say.
The second hit got swallowed by Invincible, again despite Axe proficiency it still got denied! But on the third hit it was just about enough!

The monster did not get up again – we did it!

As for rewards we got 1 hunt xp, which aged Helios (+1MOV – he’s up to 7!), and weapon proficiency. Apollo got to take a chunky 3 points for axe, which made him a specialist of his own right. Rolling on the table we also got an OG Butcher Cleaver and a singular Broken Lantern and NO Forsaker Mask.
Which was also kinda funny.

And, of course, we also received the greatest reward of all: we were allowed to continue playing! Wooh!

And I almost forgot: Phoenicia had to roll for King’s Curse. This time her arms warped into living metal. It just had to be the part that broke apart this bow’s affinities as well, right?
We gained an additional +1STR for having Nightmare Training (I), if nothing else.

Concerning my pet-peeve Invincible. Whilst 15 of my attacks managed to slip past the card’s effect, it triggered 7 times negating any damage I would have dealt. That is pretty much spot on 30%.
Butcher 3 is a fight that always tires me out, so don’t mind me, I’ll just go ahead and collapse over here right quick.
It’s also a fight that typically ends in feast or famine as mentioned above. Well, to be fair, even the feast is often littered with maggots. But its still something to eat? Where is this analogy headed?
Helios suffering a broken arm is a decently cheap price to pay for a victory, and making the Bandages solely for this fight was the definite reason we lost nobody. Unga-bunga would not have protected today and I was good for me to recognize this in due time.

Only the lack of Perfect Hits after the first round was disappointing. Offsetting the bonus ACC on the Butcher would have been great throughout.

But I should just stop complaining at this point. We did it! We won the fight and The Sun did not explode! I am lot less afraid of next Lantern Year’s upcoming King’s Man Lvl3 compared to the Butcher. It will be very interesting to see how the Inverted Pariah (Lvl3) stacks up to this fight. What’s worse? The monster just shrugging off wounds or the survivors falling from the ceiling as soon as they are knocked down?
(I know. I know. There are ways to mitigate the latter.)

In any case I am looking forward to getting my Witches and Wanderers (as I eagerly await my chance to ship them to me – NDTG! – come on aether! Do something!) and I will just have to hold myself over until then by.. uhm.., painting my Flower Knight?

As always, thank you very much for your time! Go out there and be Invincible to the best of your abilities!
Amathul