-
Welcome to rpgcodex.net, a site dedicated to discussing computer based role-playing games in a free and open fashion. We're less strict than other forums, but please refer to the rules.
"This message is awaiting moderator approval": All new users must pass through our moderation queue before they will be able to post normally. Until your account has "passed" your posts will only be visible to yourself (and moderators) until they are approved. Give us a week to get around to approving / deleting / ignoring your mundane opinion on crap before hassling us about it. Once you have passed the moderation period (think of it as a test), you will be able to post normally, just like all the other retards.
Myth: A New Age CYOA
- Thread starter Fangshi
- Start date
Fangshi
Arcane
- Joined
- Jan 9, 2014
- Messages
- 1,997
Nevill said:
Zero Credibility has it right. Create Fire just creates regular fire not magical fire like a Firebolt/Fireball. The Stone would try to protect him from Firebolt but won't do anything to protect from Create Fire. Derryth is fairly certain it should kill him but he may still be quick/disciplined enough to active the cube as he burns...
The grenade also won't effect the fire. It only dispels magical effects so it won't extinguish them.
Nevill said:
You have both of them at the moment. You should be able to pop them in fairly quickly if necessary.
Last edited:
Fangshi
Arcane
- Joined
- Jan 9, 2014
- Messages
- 1,997
Current Tally:
Kipeci Civ A D A
Baltika9 Cii B D B
Nevill Cii B C B
Grimgravy Civ A D B
asxetos Civ B C B
Anabanana Ciii A D B
Smashing Axe Civ B D B
Azira Civ B D B
Zero Credibility Cii A C B
Kz3r0 D B C B
Jester Civ B C B
GreyViper Civ A D B
1.
A)
B)
C)
i.
ii. 3 votes
iii. 1 vote
iv. 7 votes
D) 1 vote
2.
A) 5 votes
B) 7 votes
3.
A)
B)
C) 5 votes
D) 7 votes
4.
A) 1 vote
B) 11 votes
I will close the vote in twelve hours or so (provided there are no ties) and we will see where you stand. We are also getting very close to the end of the chapter so I have to ask. How would you like your options presented for your next move. As one long list with costs attached which is easier for me but will require a lot of discussion or as a more directed experience conducted through a series of votes. How much freedom do you want?
Next-Gen Popamole Linear Handholding: 7 votes
Old-school Monocled Freeform DISCUSS!: 1 brave voter
Kipeci Civ A D A
Baltika9 Cii B D B
Nevill Cii B C B
Grimgravy Civ A D B
asxetos Civ B C B
Anabanana Ciii A D B
Smashing Axe Civ B D B
Azira Civ B D B
Zero Credibility Cii A C B
Kz3r0 D B C B
Jester Civ B C B
GreyViper Civ A D B
1.
A)
B)
C)
i.
ii. 3 votes
iii. 1 vote
iv. 7 votes
D) 1 vote
2.
A) 5 votes
B) 7 votes
3.
A)
B)
C) 5 votes
D) 7 votes
4.
A) 1 vote
B) 11 votes
I will close the vote in twelve hours or so (provided there are no ties) and we will see where you stand. We are also getting very close to the end of the chapter so I have to ask. How would you like your options presented for your next move. As one long list with costs attached which is easier for me but will require a lot of discussion or as a more directed experience conducted through a series of votes. How much freedom do you want?
Next-Gen Popamole Linear Handholding: 7 votes
Old-school Monocled Freeform DISCUSS!: 1 brave voter
Last edited:
Yeah. Not too much freedom or the LP will get cluttered up in endless discuss..
- Joined
- Dec 29, 2011
- Messages
- 2,835
Yeah, I don't want this going as insane as treave's training vote. Handhold us all the way, good sir.
Zero Credibility
Arcane
- Joined
- Feb 11, 2007
- Messages
- 2,951
Death to discuss!
Kz3r0
Arcane
- Joined
- May 28, 2008
- Messages
- 27,017
Baltika9
Arcane
- Joined
- Jun 27, 2012
- Messages
- 9,611
Some men just want to watch the world burn.
Fangshi
Arcane
- Joined
- Jan 9, 2014
- Messages
- 1,997
Alright, I am going to close it up now. You will attack and try to steal the cube, you will use the grenade if necessary, you will hand Miosguinn over to Bari if he lives and you will not meet with the eldritch abomination.
Update should be ready in eight to twelve hours if everything goes according to plan.
Also I will present your options in a guided manner through a series of smaller choices. It might take a bit longer but it should reduce the amount of dreaded discussion.
Update should be ready in eight to twelve hours if everything goes according to plan.
Also I will present your options in a guided manner through a series of smaller choices. It might take a bit longer but it should reduce the amount of dreaded discussion.
Fangshi
Arcane
- Joined
- Jan 9, 2014
- Messages
- 1,997
Chapter 20: The True Price of Power
You stand there staring at Miosguinn. The mage cautiously eyes your group in complete silence. Your allies are tense behind you, half of them are ready to murder this man or die in the attempt. You know you only have a moment to decide your course of action before events will spiral out of your control. So you make your choice.
You close your eyes and the world fades away as you concentrate. Slowly Miosguinn's cube appears in your mind. A hideous thing of black marble cut through with deep red runes that glow menacingly.
Normally you would already be holding the cube by now but the image is so blurry. You feel a pressure build from the room behind Miosguinn as someone or something tries to stop you, something far away and yet powerful. A jagged shard of smokey agony stabs deep into your mind but you push on. You will do this and nothing will stop you. The image of the cube gains definition, clarity and you snatch it. The force pressing down on you withdraws. You sense... surprise and... amusement. It whispers to you... He is all yours... and as quickly as it came on it is gone again.
You open your eyes, the cube rests in your hand. It was difficult but the look of surprise on Miosguinn's face is priceless, "How?"
You grin at him, "Good enough for you?"
He stops himself, shaking his head, "Very well then we will do this the hard way."
His pendent glows as he begins to cast and innumerable blue grey spiders pour forth from within his robes. They launch themselves at your group. You tell yourself that they are illusions but on instinct you raise your buckler anyway. The first spider that hits you digs its razor sharp fangs into the shield and tears a chunk out of it.
They are real.
You can hear the screams of your group behind you as the spiders swarm them. Their screams distract you for just a moment and one of the spiders bites into your throat. You would scream but all that comes out is a slight gurgle. You are dying. You feel the pain and the heat of your blood as it pours from your throat. And your last thought is that Miosguinn has won, that you are all dead and that he will triumph. It is over... you mind is submerged in darkness...
You hear a voice calling out to you... Nine's voice, "Come on dear! Think! I know you are smarter than this! They are not real! Think!"
No... no something about this is not right. Nine is right. You struggle against the spider, it tears into your throat over and over again. You can feel the pain but something is strange. The spider has no weight to it. It should be pressing down on you and it isn't. It has no feel to it... it is not hairy or smooth... it is not hard or soft... it is nothing and as that thought pushes its way into the center of your mind the pain instantly stops. The rest of your group is scattered around the room fighting phantoms as Miosguinn pours energy into his spell. If this goes on much longer they will all die of fright.
You reach into a side pocket and retrieve your destabilized Heaven Stone. With a flick of your wrist you throw it at the mage and it activates as it lands at his feet. The magical blast overloads every artefact within the blast radius. Miosguinn's magics fail him as the spiders disappear and your allies come to their senses. Miosguinn hisses as he spits out his Heaven Stone. It comes to rest on the floor before him. It glows once emits a slight hum before falling silent. The magic in it spent.
As you glance back to the man you witness the physical cost of his power. With his illusions in place he looked every bit the old professor but now his monstrous nature stands revealed for all to see. His right eye is that of a spider and a single fang extends from the right side of his mouth. He shuffles with a noticeable limp, as a crooked leg pokes out at odd angles under his robes.
With his illusions and artefacts neutralized he switches strategy. He lashes out with attack spells and spells of immobilization. He catches Uttu with a mass of webbing that traps her in place and conjures a great glob of a thick acidic fluid which he hurls at Brigit. Gareth manages to block the shot with his shield as he steps between the mage and the archer. The shield hisses as it dissolves and the veteran casts it across the room.
You pop the Heaven Stones into your mouth as you pour power into an assault spell. You think of Tyrvard, struggling to breathe, half buried under rubble and envision pummelling Miosguinn repeatedly. You launch the spell but he beats it down and returns fire. A ray of emerald energy cuts across the room and hits you in the shoulder. You let out a sharp gasp as the ray hits you but thankfully the stones block the magic.
Bari, having recovered his senses, hurls an improvised explosive at the mage. Miosguinn deflects the bottle with a wave of his staff. A blue wind carries the explosive back towards the dwarf who is forced to dive out of the way and straight into Serpent. Gareth and Biliku strike out at Miosguinn with their blades but the mage is quick and catches them with a cloud of vapour that paralyzes them. The two warriors collapse in a pile on the floor as Brigit notches an arrow and prepares to fire. She fires, Miosguinn is quick but not quick enough. The magical arrow sears a hole in his shoulder. He winces and strikes back with a grey ball of energy that pitches your allies into the far corners of the room.
You and Christine remain standing to either side of Miosguinn, forming two points of a large triangle. She nods to you and you both attack the mage. You attack his mind while she attacks his body. He manages to fight back deflecting most of the shots. The two of you together have the power to beat him but you lack the coordination and experience to draw him out. You quickly realize that you will not prevail here if you can not distract the man.
He lets out a guttural hiss as he stares at you and then you here a crackling.
Two of his tanks were caught in the blast and the runes glow brightly. It looks like the stone has destabilized the magics holding the tanks together. Miosguinn stares at the tanks, a look of complete horror on his face. He turns back to you and growls in rage.
You think you have your distraction. You give him your sweetest smile as you palm both energon cubes and you hit the tanks with a firebolt spell. The destabilized runes implode and tear the tanks apart. All six tanks collapse in on themselves in a chain reaction with a loud sucking sound before exploding back out with a deafening pop, showering the room in glass... glass and bodyparts...
Miosguinn screams and throws everything he has at you.
If it were not for the Heaven Stones he would probably kill you. As it is you just take one hell of a beating. You can feel your bones crack as he pours everything he has at you. You will be lucky if a few broken ribs are your only problem after this but he is focused only on you. Christine lets loose, a silver arrow arches across the room and strikes Miosguinn in the thigh. He stumbles and you hit him with an assault spell as Bari and Serpent move to restrain him. He screams and curses, he tries to tear you allies apart but you keep hammering his mind as Bari binds his hands, gags him and blindfolds him. As the mage struggles impotently his spells begin to unravel and your companions gather themselves up.
You cough a few times as you walk towards your group, "We won?" your words had been meant as a statement but it comes out more as a question.
"Yeah boss, I think we did," Gareth slaps you on the back and you wince...
"Everything hurts..." you moan.
He gives you his widest grin, "Well boss, that is how you know you're still alive."
You grunt as you walk over to the mage and start searching him.
No stone... You give him a good kick in the ribs, "Where is the stone Miosguinn?"
He lets out a string of muffled curses. He will not be much help now. You give him another kick for good measure and walk past him into the back room.
There on a large marble altar is your stone. Next to it is a large black egg.
Nine whispers from your bag, "Don't get too close to it dear. Just blast it from back here."
You feel a presence in the back of your mind. The same presence that tried to protect the cube from you. It is satisfied, it is hopeful, it wants you to pick up the egg so that the two of you may talk in person.
It is so sweet, so nurturing, so kind. It promises you wealth, and power, and knowledge. It promises you Tyrvard... it promises you Henry. You do not believe any of it for even a second.
You open your bag slightly, "Alright Nine, what spell do you recommend?"
"Oh any will do, just set it on fire I would say," she happily hums.
You nod, "Done and done."
You concentrate and point your staff at the egg as fire springs forth and consumes it.
The presence in your mind turns on you.
It is so sour, so destructive, so cruel. It promises you poverty, and frailty, and folly. It vows to take everything and everyone from you. Now this you believe and you decide that maybe this goddess needs a little reminder of where you both stand.
You decide to take it on a little mental tour of the last week.
You picture the Reds and the Silver, its followers... under your command.
You picture the Blues, its creatures... all dead.
You picture Abharsair, its general... his smouldering remains decorating some dark crater.
You picture Isolde, its experiment... crushed under rubble.
You picture Miosguinn, its slave... bound and defeated.
You picture Miosguinn as he will be... tied down and split open... dead.
You give it a warning and a promise.
You promise it that none will remember it, that none will revere it, that none will fight for it. You promise it defeat, you promise it isolation, you promise it extinction and in your certainty it believes you and is silent.
You pocket the stone and leave the room as Nine hums a happy little tune to herself.
She whispers to you, "Good job dear."
--------------------------------------------------
Miosguinn screams.
Bari has the mage tied across his desk. The dwarf is a professional, you will give him that, the mage is completely helpless. Though just to be sure you hit him with an assault spell every minute or two to keep him scrambled. You have agreed to leave Miosguinn's fate up to Bari and the dwarf intends to take his time.
Gareth has taken Serpent, Brigit and the girls to secure the rest of the building. Serpent and Brigit because you know they would not understand and the girls because you both agreed that they should not see this.
At first you had thought that Gareth would object to this but when you told him he merely nodded. He immediately understood, "Some things Derryth, some things can't go unanswered. He took one of ours. Anything he gets he had coming..."
You and Christine volunteered to stay and ensure that the mage would not try anything. Very soon he would not even be able to.
You stand on either side of the desk as Bari rushes around with his tools... he cuts... he seals... he cuts... he seals and soon Miosguinn is helpless. He takes the mage's tongue and pulls out a small sack, "Salt," he says to you as he forces the mage's mouth open and pours the salt into the wound. Miosguinn screams and passes out.
As Bari roots through his tools for smelling salts to revive his prisoner you hazard a question, "Do you still need me here Bari?"
The dwarf looks at you confused, "Well no Derryth. He won't ever be able to cast again so he is pretty harmless but don't you want to see the good part?" He unrolls a new set of tools, small picks and knives and a drill. You have no love for the man but this is a bit too much for you.
"No Bari, just as long as he dies," you shake your head, "The rest I leave to you."
You turn and walk from the room.
To your surprise Christine is not far behind.
The two of you enter the hallway together. The rest of the group is not around so you attempt to strike up a conversation, "I thought that you would want to see this through and stay to the end?"
She looks a little green, "So did I at first... but I do not know... I do not feel sorry for Miosguinn or anything... watching it just... it made me feel less... just less."
You shrug, "Had to be done. He killed a lot of people. It should not be quick for him."
She nods, "Yes... I do not think I could do it though..."
You nod along with her, "It is one thing to give the order but to hold the knife... I am not sure what I would do..."
Miosguinn screams from the other room as Bari shouts, "Ah, back in the land of the living are we. Don't worry mage I will keep you here as long as I can. Do you want the drill or the hammer next... hmmm...."
The two of you stand there in awkward silence looking at the floor.
Finally she speaks again, "What you did back there with Miosguinn. Drawing his attention like that. It took courage farmer..."
"Thanks..." you shrug, "I just did what I had to."
She nods, "Maybe... but you do not spare yourself for your people farmer. Mother would respect that... I suppose I do as well..."
You look up at her, a crooked smile and a look of surprise clearly written on your face, "Was that a compliment?"
She meets your gaze and gives you a smirk, "Do not worry, it will never happen again I am sure."
The two of you are about to begin bickering but your little moment is cut short by another scream from the adjoining room.
You both shudder a little, "Remind me to never anger a dwarf," you whisper to her and she nods.
----------------------------------------------------
The gate of your tower creaks open as your group moves back inside. You lost the better part of four days getting back. Between monster attacks and the need to scavenge for supplies your group only managed a leisurely crawl. By the end you all sport some injury; broken ribs, broken arms, Biliku sustained a sprained ankle of all things, you have all gone though the fire but you have come out the other side.
Every few hours you pull out the Halcyon Stone just to remind yourself that it is real.
"You really wanted that stone, didn't you boss?" Gareth walks beside you leaning on Brigit for mutual support.
"Yeah, it was Henry's dream. To finally have it... it just means a lot," he nods along as you speak, "I can't wait to show Thaïs. I have probably described it to her hundreds of times by now but to actually see it. That will be something."
Brigit surveys the courtyard, "Speaking of Thaïs, where is everyone?"
The courtyard is empty and everything is terribly quiet, you cup your hands in front of your mouth and call out, "Hello! Anyone here!"
Slowly you see a figure hobble out to meet you. Ithapi uses a large wooden beam as a crutch as he limps across the courtyard. Your stomach drops, "Ithapi what happened!" the three of you rush up to the maul followed by the rest of your group.
He grunts and gestures for you to be quiet, "Now don't overreact Derryth but we ran into a little trouble-"
You cut him off, "Where is Amena? Where is Thaïs? Ithapi tell me."
A voice comes from behind the maul, "Please Derryth, we just got the children to sleep. I am fine and Thaïs... well she will be fine eventually," Amena comes out through the main doors of the tower.
As sore as you are you hug your apprentice, "Take me to her please."
She leads you into Eris' old quarters while Ithapi finds rooms for Bari and the rest of the Damned. Serpent take Christine upstairs while Gareth and Brigit mind the girls.
Thaïs is propped up in bed reading as you enter. She gives you a weak smile and a wave though it pains her.
You are tempted to start in on her but she is your best friend. You want to give her a chance to explain herself.
Closing the book she gives out a slight grunt as she gestures for you to come closer to her bed. She waves Amena off and your apprentice closes the door behind her as she leaves.
She sighs, "I know, I know. You told me to leave the children if we ran into trouble but-"
You frown, "You disobeyed a direct order Thaïs..."
She gives you a pained expression, "They are just kids Derryth. I could not leave them and I thought that we could handle them-"
Sick from anger and fear you want to yell at her. In fact you are going to do just that as you throw up an arm dramatically. As soon as you do you stop dead as pain shoots through your body. You are still a bit sore from the fight with Miosguinn and the battles on the way back. Serpent did the best he could but without mandrake roots broken ribs simply take time to heal.
You let out a pained yelp. Thaïs can see the pain written on your face and her first instinct is to move to help which simply aggravates her own injuries. She yelps as well and the two of you start laughing as much as it hurts.
"Alright, alright I guess I don't get to lecture you on anything," you chuckle as she moves over to let you on the bed, "It is not like I am terribly pragmatic most of the time either."
She lets out a little laugh but stops short in pain, "Ouch, no laughing for either of us for a while I think."
You nod, "So you got everyone here safely?"
She nods, "Safe and sound. I took a bit of a beating and Ithapi injured his leg but the kids all made it. They are adorable Derryth."
You close your eyes and smile, "Just wait until they start tearing up the tower..."
She beams at the thought but slowly the smile slips away, "Miosguinn... you..."
You nod and frown at the memory of the man, "He is dead... it is over..."
"Are you sure," she says with a little concern.
"After Bari was done with him... yeah I am sure. There is no coming back from that..." you shudder a bit at the memory of the dwarf's handiwork.
Sensing that the topic bothers you she changes subject, "So you have the stone then?"
You grin at her as you reach down and rifle through your pack, "Yes, here it is," you reveal the stone and she gasps a little.
"How does it work?" she reaches for it.
You hesitate and almost pull the stone back, instinctively protective of your new find, "I am not sure yet. It will take a little research but I think I can figure it out."
"Well if you ever need help experimenting with it..." she lets the idea hang in the air as she stares at the stone, eyes wide.
She is your friend, your best friend, but part of you refuses to share. It is your stone after all not hers. Although you do feel terrible holding out on her and you probably would have failed without her. Maybe you should share... You will need a bit of time to figure things out at any rate.
You mumble out a noncommittal answer and stifle a yawn. It has been a while since you have had a good nights sleep and a warm bed.
A comfortable bed and safety from the horrors of this place conspire to drag you down into a deep sleep.
You snore a little and mutter to yourself about children and Dark Gods, magic stones and ancient artefacts. You sleep and you dream as your hopes and fears of tomorrow chase one another through your mind. Thaïs, for her part, rests her head on your shoulder and joins you soon after.
---------------------------End of Chapter 1----------------------------
Alright, you have the first half of the Halcyon stone and the first Chapter is done. Now based on the previous vote you all want a more guided experience when it comes to making your next move. The way I am going to do this is as follows. We will start with general questions and move down to the particulars from there. The result is that there will be a lot of votes without any real story updates until I have enough information to move things forward. To make up for this I will get those general background summaries out so you have a better idea of the ways in which the world conforms to or differs from traditional fantasy settings.
The Questions: (I am going to try and give you as much freedom as I can within the limits of the medium. If you have any questions then feel free to ask.)
For now we will stick to the basics.
Treasure - once I know how much money you have I can give you some proper options.
Personnel - Your group has achieved its aim. At this point it is likely to break up but you could try and keep it together. Once I know which assets you want to keep I can give you more options.
The Plan - You can make one decision right off the hop. Do you want to stay in Muirthemne or travel somewhere else. Each will provide you with different opportunities and challenges.
Part 1. Treasure: Potentially there is a lot of it to be had here. You can go get the Reds' relics, you can ask Christine to help you recover the library of the Silver Order, you can go loot the Blues' outpost, there is the Secondary Vault to explore, there is still the relic room back at the library and finally there is the rest of the tower to explore. I am going to break them down by what would make sense for the characters:
1) The Vault, Red, Blue and Silver Orders - all of these locations are close to each other but it will take time to completely loot them. You are looking at about two months to get everything back to your tower.
A) Loot it!
B) Don't loot it
2) The Library - this is closer and easier but there is no gold here. It would take about a week to loot the vault and a month to loot the whole library.
A) Loot it!
B) Don't loot it
3) The Tower - this is the closest option and the easiest. You can explore the whole tower in two days.
A) Explore the tower
B) Don't explore the tower
Part 2. Personnel: Your group is likely to split up if you let them. The question is what you want to do about it. You have good relations with most of them and many of them are dependent on you so I will go through them one at a time.
1) Thaïs: She will expect to be paid for her time if you let her go. If you want to keep her around you also have a few options available.
A) You let her leave.
B) You keep her on as part of the group.
C) You keep her on but make her a partner.
D) freeform
2) Gareth and Brigit: the two of them are inseparable by this point. If you let them go they will go to her guild if you ever need them. If you want to keep them then you will have to make them a good offer and talk to her father.
A) You let them leave.
B) You keep them on as part of the group.
C) You keep them on as part of the group and offer Gareth a promotion to partner.
D) freeform
3) Serpent and Christine: They will help you retrieve any treasure but Serpent wants to return Tyrvard's sword to his homeland. They will leave the city no matter what. You have a few options, you can let them go and wish them well or you can offer Christine a spot in your Circle and keep them in the group, they will rejoin when they get back from their "honeymoon". If you wish to go with them then see Part 3.
A) You let them leave the group.
B) You offer them positions.
C) freeform
4) Amena, Ithapi, Biliku, Uttu and the orphans: They are your wards and your dependents. If you want you can make them go but they will otherwise stay as they have no where to go.
A) You make them leave.
B) You make them leave but give them some money.
C) You keep them.
D) freeform
Part 3: The Plan Part 1: Do you want to stay in Muirthemne and build up your power base or go somewhere else?
A) Stay - If you stay you can do things like organize a mercenary company, build a proper Circle, or buy your way into the Eastern Nobility. You will also be able to do more training and research (like finding the other half of the stone) this way as you will be stationary. There are also a few important events coming up in the capital. The Heron Guard had to push back their tournament following the attack on the city at the end of the prologue so that will be happening in four or five months. There is also the great carnival in three months and a few other things to do as well.
B) Go - If you want to go anywhere else then pick this option. Bari has invited you to come with him and return the Maul of the Dwarven Kings; Serpent wants to visit the Berserk Lands to pay his respects to Tyrvard's family, there are rumours of a delegation being sent out to the Trow by the Emperor, or you could head out West following the map you found.
Part 4: Finally, what sort of information would you prefer to read about first:
A) The peoples of Myth, countries, races and the like
B) The History of Myth
C) Religion, Theology and Philosophy
D) Artefacts and People of great importance
E) Something Else?
You stand there staring at Miosguinn. The mage cautiously eyes your group in complete silence. Your allies are tense behind you, half of them are ready to murder this man or die in the attempt. You know you only have a moment to decide your course of action before events will spiral out of your control. So you make your choice.
You close your eyes and the world fades away as you concentrate. Slowly Miosguinn's cube appears in your mind. A hideous thing of black marble cut through with deep red runes that glow menacingly.
Normally you would already be holding the cube by now but the image is so blurry. You feel a pressure build from the room behind Miosguinn as someone or something tries to stop you, something far away and yet powerful. A jagged shard of smokey agony stabs deep into your mind but you push on. You will do this and nothing will stop you. The image of the cube gains definition, clarity and you snatch it. The force pressing down on you withdraws. You sense... surprise and... amusement. It whispers to you... He is all yours... and as quickly as it came on it is gone again.
You open your eyes, the cube rests in your hand. It was difficult but the look of surprise on Miosguinn's face is priceless, "How?"
You grin at him, "Good enough for you?"
He stops himself, shaking his head, "Very well then we will do this the hard way."
His pendent glows as he begins to cast and innumerable blue grey spiders pour forth from within his robes. They launch themselves at your group. You tell yourself that they are illusions but on instinct you raise your buckler anyway. The first spider that hits you digs its razor sharp fangs into the shield and tears a chunk out of it.
They are real.
You can hear the screams of your group behind you as the spiders swarm them. Their screams distract you for just a moment and one of the spiders bites into your throat. You would scream but all that comes out is a slight gurgle. You are dying. You feel the pain and the heat of your blood as it pours from your throat. And your last thought is that Miosguinn has won, that you are all dead and that he will triumph. It is over... you mind is submerged in darkness...
You hear a voice calling out to you... Nine's voice, "Come on dear! Think! I know you are smarter than this! They are not real! Think!"
No... no something about this is not right. Nine is right. You struggle against the spider, it tears into your throat over and over again. You can feel the pain but something is strange. The spider has no weight to it. It should be pressing down on you and it isn't. It has no feel to it... it is not hairy or smooth... it is not hard or soft... it is nothing and as that thought pushes its way into the center of your mind the pain instantly stops. The rest of your group is scattered around the room fighting phantoms as Miosguinn pours energy into his spell. If this goes on much longer they will all die of fright.
You reach into a side pocket and retrieve your destabilized Heaven Stone. With a flick of your wrist you throw it at the mage and it activates as it lands at his feet. The magical blast overloads every artefact within the blast radius. Miosguinn's magics fail him as the spiders disappear and your allies come to their senses. Miosguinn hisses as he spits out his Heaven Stone. It comes to rest on the floor before him. It glows once emits a slight hum before falling silent. The magic in it spent.
As you glance back to the man you witness the physical cost of his power. With his illusions in place he looked every bit the old professor but now his monstrous nature stands revealed for all to see. His right eye is that of a spider and a single fang extends from the right side of his mouth. He shuffles with a noticeable limp, as a crooked leg pokes out at odd angles under his robes.
With his illusions and artefacts neutralized he switches strategy. He lashes out with attack spells and spells of immobilization. He catches Uttu with a mass of webbing that traps her in place and conjures a great glob of a thick acidic fluid which he hurls at Brigit. Gareth manages to block the shot with his shield as he steps between the mage and the archer. The shield hisses as it dissolves and the veteran casts it across the room.
You pop the Heaven Stones into your mouth as you pour power into an assault spell. You think of Tyrvard, struggling to breathe, half buried under rubble and envision pummelling Miosguinn repeatedly. You launch the spell but he beats it down and returns fire. A ray of emerald energy cuts across the room and hits you in the shoulder. You let out a sharp gasp as the ray hits you but thankfully the stones block the magic.
Bari, having recovered his senses, hurls an improvised explosive at the mage. Miosguinn deflects the bottle with a wave of his staff. A blue wind carries the explosive back towards the dwarf who is forced to dive out of the way and straight into Serpent. Gareth and Biliku strike out at Miosguinn with their blades but the mage is quick and catches them with a cloud of vapour that paralyzes them. The two warriors collapse in a pile on the floor as Brigit notches an arrow and prepares to fire. She fires, Miosguinn is quick but not quick enough. The magical arrow sears a hole in his shoulder. He winces and strikes back with a grey ball of energy that pitches your allies into the far corners of the room.
You and Christine remain standing to either side of Miosguinn, forming two points of a large triangle. She nods to you and you both attack the mage. You attack his mind while she attacks his body. He manages to fight back deflecting most of the shots. The two of you together have the power to beat him but you lack the coordination and experience to draw him out. You quickly realize that you will not prevail here if you can not distract the man.
He lets out a guttural hiss as he stares at you and then you here a crackling.
Two of his tanks were caught in the blast and the runes glow brightly. It looks like the stone has destabilized the magics holding the tanks together. Miosguinn stares at the tanks, a look of complete horror on his face. He turns back to you and growls in rage.
You think you have your distraction. You give him your sweetest smile as you palm both energon cubes and you hit the tanks with a firebolt spell. The destabilized runes implode and tear the tanks apart. All six tanks collapse in on themselves in a chain reaction with a loud sucking sound before exploding back out with a deafening pop, showering the room in glass... glass and bodyparts...
Miosguinn screams and throws everything he has at you.
If it were not for the Heaven Stones he would probably kill you. As it is you just take one hell of a beating. You can feel your bones crack as he pours everything he has at you. You will be lucky if a few broken ribs are your only problem after this but he is focused only on you. Christine lets loose, a silver arrow arches across the room and strikes Miosguinn in the thigh. He stumbles and you hit him with an assault spell as Bari and Serpent move to restrain him. He screams and curses, he tries to tear you allies apart but you keep hammering his mind as Bari binds his hands, gags him and blindfolds him. As the mage struggles impotently his spells begin to unravel and your companions gather themselves up.
You cough a few times as you walk towards your group, "We won?" your words had been meant as a statement but it comes out more as a question.
"Yeah boss, I think we did," Gareth slaps you on the back and you wince...
"Everything hurts..." you moan.
He gives you his widest grin, "Well boss, that is how you know you're still alive."
You grunt as you walk over to the mage and start searching him.
No stone... You give him a good kick in the ribs, "Where is the stone Miosguinn?"
He lets out a string of muffled curses. He will not be much help now. You give him another kick for good measure and walk past him into the back room.
There on a large marble altar is your stone. Next to it is a large black egg.
Nine whispers from your bag, "Don't get too close to it dear. Just blast it from back here."
You feel a presence in the back of your mind. The same presence that tried to protect the cube from you. It is satisfied, it is hopeful, it wants you to pick up the egg so that the two of you may talk in person.
It is so sweet, so nurturing, so kind. It promises you wealth, and power, and knowledge. It promises you Tyrvard... it promises you Henry. You do not believe any of it for even a second.
You open your bag slightly, "Alright Nine, what spell do you recommend?"
"Oh any will do, just set it on fire I would say," she happily hums.
You nod, "Done and done."
You concentrate and point your staff at the egg as fire springs forth and consumes it.
The presence in your mind turns on you.
It is so sour, so destructive, so cruel. It promises you poverty, and frailty, and folly. It vows to take everything and everyone from you. Now this you believe and you decide that maybe this goddess needs a little reminder of where you both stand.
You decide to take it on a little mental tour of the last week.
You picture the Reds and the Silver, its followers... under your command.
You picture the Blues, its creatures... all dead.
You picture Abharsair, its general... his smouldering remains decorating some dark crater.
You picture Isolde, its experiment... crushed under rubble.
You picture Miosguinn, its slave... bound and defeated.
You picture Miosguinn as he will be... tied down and split open... dead.
You give it a warning and a promise.
You promise it that none will remember it, that none will revere it, that none will fight for it. You promise it defeat, you promise it isolation, you promise it extinction and in your certainty it believes you and is silent.
You pocket the stone and leave the room as Nine hums a happy little tune to herself.
She whispers to you, "Good job dear."
--------------------------------------------------
Miosguinn screams.
Bari has the mage tied across his desk. The dwarf is a professional, you will give him that, the mage is completely helpless. Though just to be sure you hit him with an assault spell every minute or two to keep him scrambled. You have agreed to leave Miosguinn's fate up to Bari and the dwarf intends to take his time.
Gareth has taken Serpent, Brigit and the girls to secure the rest of the building. Serpent and Brigit because you know they would not understand and the girls because you both agreed that they should not see this.
At first you had thought that Gareth would object to this but when you told him he merely nodded. He immediately understood, "Some things Derryth, some things can't go unanswered. He took one of ours. Anything he gets he had coming..."
You and Christine volunteered to stay and ensure that the mage would not try anything. Very soon he would not even be able to.
You stand on either side of the desk as Bari rushes around with his tools... he cuts... he seals... he cuts... he seals and soon Miosguinn is helpless. He takes the mage's tongue and pulls out a small sack, "Salt," he says to you as he forces the mage's mouth open and pours the salt into the wound. Miosguinn screams and passes out.
As Bari roots through his tools for smelling salts to revive his prisoner you hazard a question, "Do you still need me here Bari?"
The dwarf looks at you confused, "Well no Derryth. He won't ever be able to cast again so he is pretty harmless but don't you want to see the good part?" He unrolls a new set of tools, small picks and knives and a drill. You have no love for the man but this is a bit too much for you.
"No Bari, just as long as he dies," you shake your head, "The rest I leave to you."
You turn and walk from the room.
To your surprise Christine is not far behind.
The two of you enter the hallway together. The rest of the group is not around so you attempt to strike up a conversation, "I thought that you would want to see this through and stay to the end?"
She looks a little green, "So did I at first... but I do not know... I do not feel sorry for Miosguinn or anything... watching it just... it made me feel less... just less."
You shrug, "Had to be done. He killed a lot of people. It should not be quick for him."
She nods, "Yes... I do not think I could do it though..."
You nod along with her, "It is one thing to give the order but to hold the knife... I am not sure what I would do..."
Miosguinn screams from the other room as Bari shouts, "Ah, back in the land of the living are we. Don't worry mage I will keep you here as long as I can. Do you want the drill or the hammer next... hmmm...."
The two of you stand there in awkward silence looking at the floor.
Finally she speaks again, "What you did back there with Miosguinn. Drawing his attention like that. It took courage farmer..."
"Thanks..." you shrug, "I just did what I had to."
She nods, "Maybe... but you do not spare yourself for your people farmer. Mother would respect that... I suppose I do as well..."
You look up at her, a crooked smile and a look of surprise clearly written on your face, "Was that a compliment?"
She meets your gaze and gives you a smirk, "Do not worry, it will never happen again I am sure."
The two of you are about to begin bickering but your little moment is cut short by another scream from the adjoining room.
You both shudder a little, "Remind me to never anger a dwarf," you whisper to her and she nods.
----------------------------------------------------
The gate of your tower creaks open as your group moves back inside. You lost the better part of four days getting back. Between monster attacks and the need to scavenge for supplies your group only managed a leisurely crawl. By the end you all sport some injury; broken ribs, broken arms, Biliku sustained a sprained ankle of all things, you have all gone though the fire but you have come out the other side.
Every few hours you pull out the Halcyon Stone just to remind yourself that it is real.
"You really wanted that stone, didn't you boss?" Gareth walks beside you leaning on Brigit for mutual support.
"Yeah, it was Henry's dream. To finally have it... it just means a lot," he nods along as you speak, "I can't wait to show Thaïs. I have probably described it to her hundreds of times by now but to actually see it. That will be something."
Brigit surveys the courtyard, "Speaking of Thaïs, where is everyone?"
The courtyard is empty and everything is terribly quiet, you cup your hands in front of your mouth and call out, "Hello! Anyone here!"
Slowly you see a figure hobble out to meet you. Ithapi uses a large wooden beam as a crutch as he limps across the courtyard. Your stomach drops, "Ithapi what happened!" the three of you rush up to the maul followed by the rest of your group.
He grunts and gestures for you to be quiet, "Now don't overreact Derryth but we ran into a little trouble-"
You cut him off, "Where is Amena? Where is Thaïs? Ithapi tell me."
A voice comes from behind the maul, "Please Derryth, we just got the children to sleep. I am fine and Thaïs... well she will be fine eventually," Amena comes out through the main doors of the tower.
As sore as you are you hug your apprentice, "Take me to her please."
She leads you into Eris' old quarters while Ithapi finds rooms for Bari and the rest of the Damned. Serpent take Christine upstairs while Gareth and Brigit mind the girls.
Thaïs is propped up in bed reading as you enter. She gives you a weak smile and a wave though it pains her.
You are tempted to start in on her but she is your best friend. You want to give her a chance to explain herself.
Closing the book she gives out a slight grunt as she gestures for you to come closer to her bed. She waves Amena off and your apprentice closes the door behind her as she leaves.
She sighs, "I know, I know. You told me to leave the children if we ran into trouble but-"
You frown, "You disobeyed a direct order Thaïs..."
She gives you a pained expression, "They are just kids Derryth. I could not leave them and I thought that we could handle them-"
Sick from anger and fear you want to yell at her. In fact you are going to do just that as you throw up an arm dramatically. As soon as you do you stop dead as pain shoots through your body. You are still a bit sore from the fight with Miosguinn and the battles on the way back. Serpent did the best he could but without mandrake roots broken ribs simply take time to heal.
You let out a pained yelp. Thaïs can see the pain written on your face and her first instinct is to move to help which simply aggravates her own injuries. She yelps as well and the two of you start laughing as much as it hurts.
"Alright, alright I guess I don't get to lecture you on anything," you chuckle as she moves over to let you on the bed, "It is not like I am terribly pragmatic most of the time either."
She lets out a little laugh but stops short in pain, "Ouch, no laughing for either of us for a while I think."
You nod, "So you got everyone here safely?"
She nods, "Safe and sound. I took a bit of a beating and Ithapi injured his leg but the kids all made it. They are adorable Derryth."
You close your eyes and smile, "Just wait until they start tearing up the tower..."
She beams at the thought but slowly the smile slips away, "Miosguinn... you..."
You nod and frown at the memory of the man, "He is dead... it is over..."
"Are you sure," she says with a little concern.
"After Bari was done with him... yeah I am sure. There is no coming back from that..." you shudder a bit at the memory of the dwarf's handiwork.
Sensing that the topic bothers you she changes subject, "So you have the stone then?"
You grin at her as you reach down and rifle through your pack, "Yes, here it is," you reveal the stone and she gasps a little.
"How does it work?" she reaches for it.
You hesitate and almost pull the stone back, instinctively protective of your new find, "I am not sure yet. It will take a little research but I think I can figure it out."
"Well if you ever need help experimenting with it..." she lets the idea hang in the air as she stares at the stone, eyes wide.
She is your friend, your best friend, but part of you refuses to share. It is your stone after all not hers. Although you do feel terrible holding out on her and you probably would have failed without her. Maybe you should share... You will need a bit of time to figure things out at any rate.
You mumble out a noncommittal answer and stifle a yawn. It has been a while since you have had a good nights sleep and a warm bed.
A comfortable bed and safety from the horrors of this place conspire to drag you down into a deep sleep.
You snore a little and mutter to yourself about children and Dark Gods, magic stones and ancient artefacts. You sleep and you dream as your hopes and fears of tomorrow chase one another through your mind. Thaïs, for her part, rests her head on your shoulder and joins you soon after.
---------------------------End of Chapter 1----------------------------
Alright, you have the first half of the Halcyon stone and the first Chapter is done. Now based on the previous vote you all want a more guided experience when it comes to making your next move. The way I am going to do this is as follows. We will start with general questions and move down to the particulars from there. The result is that there will be a lot of votes without any real story updates until I have enough information to move things forward. To make up for this I will get those general background summaries out so you have a better idea of the ways in which the world conforms to or differs from traditional fantasy settings.
The Questions: (I am going to try and give you as much freedom as I can within the limits of the medium. If you have any questions then feel free to ask.)
For now we will stick to the basics.
Treasure - once I know how much money you have I can give you some proper options.
Personnel - Your group has achieved its aim. At this point it is likely to break up but you could try and keep it together. Once I know which assets you want to keep I can give you more options.
The Plan - You can make one decision right off the hop. Do you want to stay in Muirthemne or travel somewhere else. Each will provide you with different opportunities and challenges.
Part 1. Treasure: Potentially there is a lot of it to be had here. You can go get the Reds' relics, you can ask Christine to help you recover the library of the Silver Order, you can go loot the Blues' outpost, there is the Secondary Vault to explore, there is still the relic room back at the library and finally there is the rest of the tower to explore. I am going to break them down by what would make sense for the characters:
1) The Vault, Red, Blue and Silver Orders - all of these locations are close to each other but it will take time to completely loot them. You are looking at about two months to get everything back to your tower.
A) Loot it!
B) Don't loot it
2) The Library - this is closer and easier but there is no gold here. It would take about a week to loot the vault and a month to loot the whole library.
A) Loot it!
B) Don't loot it
3) The Tower - this is the closest option and the easiest. You can explore the whole tower in two days.
A) Explore the tower
B) Don't explore the tower
Part 2. Personnel: Your group is likely to split up if you let them. The question is what you want to do about it. You have good relations with most of them and many of them are dependent on you so I will go through them one at a time.
1) Thaïs: She will expect to be paid for her time if you let her go. If you want to keep her around you also have a few options available.
A) You let her leave.
B) You keep her on as part of the group.
C) You keep her on but make her a partner.
D) freeform
2) Gareth and Brigit: the two of them are inseparable by this point. If you let them go they will go to her guild if you ever need them. If you want to keep them then you will have to make them a good offer and talk to her father.
A) You let them leave.
B) You keep them on as part of the group.
C) You keep them on as part of the group and offer Gareth a promotion to partner.
D) freeform
3) Serpent and Christine: They will help you retrieve any treasure but Serpent wants to return Tyrvard's sword to his homeland. They will leave the city no matter what. You have a few options, you can let them go and wish them well or you can offer Christine a spot in your Circle and keep them in the group, they will rejoin when they get back from their "honeymoon". If you wish to go with them then see Part 3.
A) You let them leave the group.
B) You offer them positions.
C) freeform
4) Amena, Ithapi, Biliku, Uttu and the orphans: They are your wards and your dependents. If you want you can make them go but they will otherwise stay as they have no where to go.
A) You make them leave.
B) You make them leave but give them some money.
C) You keep them.
D) freeform
Part 3: The Plan Part 1: Do you want to stay in Muirthemne and build up your power base or go somewhere else?
A) Stay - If you stay you can do things like organize a mercenary company, build a proper Circle, or buy your way into the Eastern Nobility. You will also be able to do more training and research (like finding the other half of the stone) this way as you will be stationary. There are also a few important events coming up in the capital. The Heron Guard had to push back their tournament following the attack on the city at the end of the prologue so that will be happening in four or five months. There is also the great carnival in three months and a few other things to do as well.
B) Go - If you want to go anywhere else then pick this option. Bari has invited you to come with him and return the Maul of the Dwarven Kings; Serpent wants to visit the Berserk Lands to pay his respects to Tyrvard's family, there are rumours of a delegation being sent out to the Trow by the Emperor, or you could head out West following the map you found.
Part 4: Finally, what sort of information would you prefer to read about first:
A) The peoples of Myth, countries, races and the like
B) The History of Myth
C) Religion, Theology and Philosophy
D) Artefacts and People of great importance
E) Something Else?
Last edited:
Baltika9
Arcane
- Joined
- Jun 27, 2012
- Messages
- 9,611
Fangshi, you just set yourself up for some massive questioning. Are there any artifacts or items of a magical nature that we can track down in Tyrvard's homeland? I kinda want to go along with them to witness the d'awwww that will be their honeymoon. Unless you're offering a bonus series.
Note to self: never, ever, ever get on Bari's bad side. Or the Parthfinders'. Speaking of which, can we keep the guy around?
Note to self: never, ever, ever get on Bari's bad side. Or the Parthfinders'. Speaking of which, can we keep the guy around?
Fangshi
Arcane
- Joined
- Jan 9, 2014
- Messages
- 1,997
Baltika9 said:
Ah, just part of the job. Any questions, just fire away.
Probably, who knows what is out there? Derryth knows nothing about the region though so you would be flying blind for the most part.
Hmmm... maybe? If there is enough demand (read: brofists
) for it I might be able to work up something...Well that is just basic logic. If you are going to kill a man's wife, his lord and most of his friends you had better kill him too or else. Especially when he is one bad motherfucker....
As for keeping him around I am afraid not. He is a government agent and he has to report back but you have made a friend among the Pathfinders which may be worth something some day. Dwarves live for centuries and have long memories so you may even run into him again and you can be sure Bari will mention your efforts in his report. The House of Albrecht owes you big time for this, hence the invite to meet the King.
Nevill
Arcane
- Joined
- Jun 6, 2009
- Messages
- 11,211
That was so, so sweet. Totally worth everything we have endured so far.Fangshi said:
I know I want to have a Q&A session on what decisions affected what. I'll come up with the list of questions, I suppose.
For now, please answer what would have happened if we did go through the other paths in the beginning (the horror in the center of the city is especially interesting to me). Actually, now that I think about it, each and every update interests me. I love seeing the mechanics of how it all works.
If there were any important rolls that we've made or failed without our knowledge, I would like to hear about it, too.
How would the final battle go if we tried other options? And what did the second group encounter on the way back (if it was up to a roll at all)?
Oh, and...
4. C
Last edited:
Baltika9
Arcane
- Joined
- Jun 27, 2012
- Messages
- 9,611
Prepare for The Fisting, then.
Hmmm... maybe? If there is enough demand (read: brofists
Fangshi
Arcane
- Joined
- Jan 9, 2014
- Messages
- 1,997
Nevill said:
Sure feel free to ask if you have any questions though some things are still spoilers.
I can briefly get into some of this but since you chose to keep the tower I can't get into the abomination or the northern path too much. These are your new neighbours and I can't go giving you all their secrets now can I.
The north path was the most straightforward as I mentioned a long time ago. It really was Myrkridia but there were/are some interesting complications going on there as well, the Myrkridia are not all that lurk up there and they are not even necessarily the worst of it. As far as "feel" goes it would have been small unit combat so similar to the games (this was also the most conventional path).The center path would have thrown you right into a mess, it would have had a very horror survival feel but I can't get into specifics beyond that as you may still have to deal with the abomination at some point based on your actions.
The path you took also could have gone very differently. In the library you could have found different allies though you would have had to kill Amena and Ithapi. If Miosguinn had not found the book the entire end of the chapter would have been different as well as would the fates of the three orders. You would have wound up with different enemies and allies and may have actually had to break into the vault yourself.
(To give you an idea of the variables here, there were about fourteen different "end" encounters you could have run into just by taking the shadow path alone.)
I would have to dig back through my scrap notes but I can see what is there. Of the top of my head I can't really think of too much (You know about the double failure that was Derryth/Christine diplomacy and I already mentioned the battle) but I will take a look when I have the time.
If you tried to knife him you would have surprised him and killed him but he would have killed you as well.
If you tried the mental spell he would have freed the Isoldes and things could have gone very wrong from there but it would have been down to the dice.
The Create Fire spell would have killed him but he would have freed the Isoldes and you would have to fight them off.
If you did not use the grenade then you would not have had the ability to distract him. Christine would have and she would have been seriously injured (maybe killed) but you could still probably beat him.
If you threw Bari at him you would have taken him out in one hit as the sheer magnificence of a flying anti-magic dwarf would have blown his head clean off like in Scanners...
If you took him as a hostage then in true Black Company fashion he would have become a tool of convenience and he would have chances to betray you/escape down the line.
They encountered a group of the creatures from the center of the city. Fifteen little ones and a large one. It was very close but Thaïs rolled extraordinarily (actually I guess this also answers your earlier question about rolls) and she managed to save the group. I was fairly certain you would lose at least a few kids if not one of your friends but they pulled through. Thaïs would have died protecting the children if necessary, some how she has gotten this crazy idea in her head that a leader does not abandon her followers... don't know who she learnt that from...
Last edited:
That was really a epic journey and damn what a end.
My hats off to you my good sir.
LOOT EVERYTHING
Part 1
1A, 2A, 3A we need to get Gareth that lightning sword and that shield to boost his dps and AC.
KEEP EVERYONE
Part 2
1C, 2B, 3B, 4C
TRAIN AND CONSOLIDATE sounds good
Part 3
A
Part 4
D
Overall we should pick up some quests from up above and gather more intel about the "horror in the center of the city". Because in the long run we will probably run into it and it pays to be ready.
My hats off to you my good sir.
LOOT EVERYTHING
Part 1
1A, 2A, 3A we need to get Gareth that lightning sword and that shield to boost his dps and AC.
KEEP EVERYONE
Part 2
1C, 2B, 3B, 4C
TRAIN AND CONSOLIDATE sounds good
Part 3
A
Part 4
D
Overall we should pick up some quests from up above and gather more intel about the "horror in the center of the city". Because in the long run we will probably run into it and it pays to be ready.
Baltika9
Arcane
- Joined
- Jun 27, 2012
- Messages
- 9,611
LOOT EVERYTHING!
KEEP EVERYONE!
STAY EVERYWHERE!
Read about peoples and cultures.
The proper choice for a soon-to-be noblewoman.
To be clear, I am for inviting Christine into the Circle (TRUESIS material right there) and letting have their honeymoon. Just hope you will do the bonus series after all for the d'awww.
KEEP EVERYONE!
STAY EVERYWHERE!
Read about peoples and cultures.
The proper choice for a soon-to-be noblewoman.To be clear, I am for inviting Christine into the Circle (TRUESIS material right there) and letting have their honeymoon. Just hope you will do the bonus series after all for the d'awww.
As an Amazon Associate, rpgcodex.net earns from qualifying purchases.