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Storyfag

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If we picked A in the previous choice and had Dario and Tenebrae with us, we could have proved that we were the Emperor without maiming ourselves

How? Ask them to vouch for us? A briliant stratagem - the Lady's ensuing laughter would be the perfect opportunity to escape.

With the possessed Naram out there, we have little time for dicking around. And only D will provide the necessary swiftness.
 

TOME

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As to why Dio haven't moved to crush Skane and Joan, Naram could control all immortals, including those in Concordia. And if Dio isn't serving Naram then he has his hands full trying to defend the rest of the Empire.
 

Baltika9

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Tally so far:
B- 8
Azira, Tigranes, Baltika9, Stygian Lurker, Lambchop19, m4davis, Kipeci, TOME
D- 7
Smashing Axe, Storyfag, Arpad, Esquilax, Omicron, GreyViper, Oscar
 

treave

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Codex 2012
It's a bit hard to quantify the differences in power without me resorting to Dragonball-style power levels but let's say if you are a 5, and the Lady's a 2, Athena's a 7, on a scale of 1-10. The gap between you and her is not as far as the gap between you and most of your spawn, but in a straight-up brawl you would be overpowered.

Eating an entire city would put you on her level, if you go forth and devour a kingdom or two you can probably stomp your way to the finale of the chapter. Something about being powered by millions of dead people.

Also, let's lock in the choice at B, I'll have the update out later today.
 

treave

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Codex 2012
Chapter 8.3: Meeting the Band

Joan agreed readily enough to your proposal, that you would provide information on the Yellowstreaks to her. You told her that depending on the circumstances, you might also be able to convince them to throw in with her side. The Lady of the Martyrs now considered you an ally. She told you that she had found out that the Yellowstreaks were planning to revive the First Emperor, information she had gathered from an Imperial spy one of her associates captured. You widen your eyes in disbelief that the First Emperor could still be around, and express your great surprise to Joan. After your conversation was over, she sent you on your way with a travelling pack, but no money. It seems that both the Martyrs and the ones who woke you tend to overlook some things. As it turns out, you had to pick some pockets to buy your way on the carriage to your destination.

***

The hideout was an unassuming house, and when you were let in, you saw that it was crowded within. There were about twenty of them, all of them having been granted powers from your body. They looked to be in their twenties or thirties.

“You made it, Your Majesty.” Dario was standing at your side, a smile on his face. “Well, of course you would.”

“Of course I would,” you agreed. “You needn’t have bothered waking me if I couldn’t manage to get to a meeting.”

“So this is our progenitor, Dario?” A bearish man with a face full of beard had spoken gruffly. He reminded you of Gudersu, except he was much hairier.

“That’s right, Dalton. The First Emperor, Ean. Your Majesty, this is Malton. Now that Meyes is… gone, he’s the one nominally in charge.”

“Pleased to meet you, Ean. I’m the leader of our little band here.” He held out one big furry hand – you stare at it for a while before realizing you were supposed to shake it, and you did so. “Meyes wanted to wake you up so you could stop all this fighting that’s been going on. What are you going to do about it?”

He was distrustful of you, his tone harsh. You refuse to let yourself be intimidated, however, and give him a confident look in return. The ride here had given you some time to digest the situation. It had been unfortunately interrupted by a troll while crossing a bridge.

That had been a pretty tough fight – you decided their skin could almost be as tough as the Minotaur itself.

“I plan to gather information before I act. Hastiness has led to the downfall of many men. I have Meyes’s memories within me, but I would seek other opinions. What is your opinion of the current situation?” you ask Dalton. He turns his head from side to side, looking at the men and women of his band. It seems that he was unsure. “Well…” he started. “Things are really bad. I mean, we help out people, warn them of incoming attacks, help them evacuate. That sort of thing. If I knew how to solve it, we wouldn’t need to trouble you now would we, Your Highness?”

“If I may?” Dario interjected, sensing that Dalton was getting agitated. You nod at him.

“What we have here are many little conflicts, but no real war. Bands of armed men raid and pillage across the borders with impunity, and the soldiers posture threateningly while it all goes on. This situation could go on almost indefinitely with no devastating loss of life, but the effect on the kingdoms would still be substantial. Our band has operated thus far as a neutral party, helping out the citizens affected by the fighting, but our resources are limited.”

“Yeah, that’s it.” muttered Dalton.

“To help more people, we need more resources. We cannot rely on just twenty Successors to save the world. My Emperor, you changed the world by establishing an empire of many peoples. We do not aspire to such heights, but we do need to obtain support from the common folk to do so.”

Murmurs of agreement spread throughout the room. Dario looked around the room, making sure to make eye contact with each of his comrades.

“Now that you have awoken, and are on our side, I have a proposal to make. It is now time for us to make a stand. Too long have we been called cowards for not picking a side and shying away from a fight. Our detractors know not our courage in rescuing the people from their power struggles, and think that just because we do not fight, we cannot fight. We can. The soldiers that loot the land are nothing more than glorified bandits. Instead of leading people away from them, leaving most of their possessions behind to be stolen, why should we not fight them off?”

“We are all here because we don’t want to be on any side. This is idiocy.” Tenebrae spoke up, unhappy with Dario’s words. He shook his head and sighed.

“We won’t be on anyone’s side. This is my proposal; that we form a mercenary troop.”

“That just makes us on the side of the highest bidder, no?” you say.

“True, but who is to say what bid we deem the most valuable to us? This way, we can intervene wherever we wish. None of us may have any experience, but your military exploits are legendary, my Emperor. I believe your guidance will elevate us to the heights necessary to succeed.” He paused for a while, and then continued. “Furthermore, should war actually break out… we will at least be able to make a difference.”

You fix your eyes on his. “How sure are you that war will happen?”

“It is but a matter of time. Each of the three powers has built up their military forces to such a great extent that the people are already calling for them to use those soldiers to their full potential and secure their borders, or to bring those secessionists and traitors back into the fold. Once they decide that the situation at the border is untenable, they will invade… and I would not bet on King Dagrun of Skane being sane enough to wait until then. It is practically a miracle that he has not tried anything for so many years.”

You turn to Dalton, whose face seemed even grimmer than before, scrunched up in a frown. “What do you think, then? You’re the leader.”

“I think Dario is right, we have to prepare ourselves for the coming storm. Besides I got a score that needs settling with someone in the Empire.”

You look around the room again. “Anyone has a differing opinion?”

Again, Tenebrae spoke up. “I still disagree, father. Meyes did not form this group to fight. We’re to help people, not to take up swords. Not all of us have the stomach for fighting, nor do we have the skill to fight. I agree with the sentiment that we should no longer champion our cause alone, and to rope in others to help us, but battle is out of the question.”

You glance at the people who were nodding their heads, agreeing with Tenebrae. There were about seven of them, a slight minority in the group.

“I would have you decide, my Emperor,” murmured Dario. “I believe Meyes would have wanted the same. Your word will be law, as it once was.”

***

Make-your-own-plan.

The proposal must be worded in a way that can be conveyed clearly in a single, short speech given by Ean.
 

Esquilax

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Huh, I honestly don't find any of these options particularly compelling.

A plays to our strengths and would likely result in an alliance with the Lady in the long-term hopefully, but the fact that Dario suggested it has increased my distrust of him:

As you help Dario to his feet, he mutters to you quietly, "I have no desire to be brought before the Lady. She is one of us, except quite a bit more powerful. I don't think she will let us go freely if we come into her grasp."
...
“Something to buy you time. You’ll know when to act.” You sense a small glimmer of satisfaction flit across Dario’s mind as he nods.
...
She told you that she had found out that the Yellowstreaks were planning to revive the First Emperor, information she had gathered from an Imperial spy one of her associates captured.

He was wrong about the Lady, then when we bought him time, he was satisfied. Now this suggestion of hiring ourselves out as mercenaries - who is really benefiting from this? Maybe he's the Imperial spy mentioned in the update. Fuck, maybe I've lost it here, but still, I find his behavior kind of questionable.

As for B, not as dumb as it sounds. Teaching our progeny peace will also teach them how to deal with their hunger, plus a lot of our guys aren't exactly soldier material: Tenebrae was terrified when those soldiers approached us, she isn't going to work well in a combat situation. As I have mentioned before, perhaps absorbing our successors could be a way for us to increase our own powers without suffering from corruption. treave, this is a meta question, but are there ways to increase our power without eating people or getting corrupted further?

C cuts through the bullshit - quite frankly, both the Yellowstreaks and the Martyrs are ineffectual, and it seems prudent to strike while the iron is hot and go after one of the other players before war's begun. We'd lack a power base, but we'd certainly have the initiative on our side.

Voting C for now, though I'm willing to flop to A or B if I hear some good arguments. If B could result in a bunch of benevolent Successors merging with us, I could definitely be up for it.
 

treave

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You will be able to absorb your spawn to increase your power with no corruption issues.
 

Tigranes

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The options are pretty crappy. Pick B and you know the hapless Dalton will agree with Dario that you're a little bit spineless. Combined with Dario's status as a witness when you woke up, and he can easily spread unhelpful rumours amongst the successors. We would need to follow B up with some kind of opportunity to truly showcase our Ean-ness, and who knows if the plot will provide one. Pick A, and we risk falling for whatever Dario's got planned, though it's also questionable whether we should be so worried about a minor successor like Dario that we throw everything away with C.

Well look, I think we need to be a little less dependent on each option each update and agree on a long-term goal for Ean amongst us.
  • Do we want him to build up a territorial power base and engage in some good old Late Roman civil war to reclaim the Empire? (E.g. this might end with us choosing A, or C to seek another opportunity closer to Ankida.)
  • Do we want him to stay incognito as long as possible and find out information and former allies? (E.g. this might involve B or C.)
  • Do we want him to gain personal power as fast as possible by swallowing his successors? (E.g. has to be A or B here.)
What do we want Ean to do and become in the coming days?
 

Baltika9

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How about this: we combine B and C. Tell them to go on with their support networks and "sit tight, bros, I gotta do sum shit, arite?"

Also, take Dario with us. Something tells me he's Aodh. And we could use Aodh, even as a power-up.

Edit: flopped to C-Esquilax.
 

GreyViper

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Modified B , with Ean feasting on Dario. I say we get this out of the way, because you know you want know what he knows and more.:troll:

A is nice and would get us right into game. But does Ean have the ability to install a geas on everybody in the group to be only loyal to Ean?
That would go double to Dario, hes to smart for his own good.
Also quite funny how they want to herald the return of Ean, yet thats not what we are after.
treave have there been more strange stuff happening, besides trolls under bridges. Say like children disappearing, because right now the main threat seem to be the bandits and soldiers?
 

Baltika9

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You will be able to absorb your spawn to increase your power with no corruption issues.
The more I think about it, the more I dislike it. While it won't corrupt Ean directly, it's still a fucked-up thing to do to someone against their will. We'll basically be consigning them to a fate worse than death, not simply killing them, but annihilating their body and slowly merging with their conscience.

Also, treave, can you tell if Ean got any perks from his three-thousand years of torture, like an unbreakable will or an extremely disciplined and unreadable mind? Just curious, really.

Edit: This is important, any news from the Gieloth National News?

P.S.: while doing a backup of the updates, I noticed these following stats; 349 pages and 142,325 words and we're not nearly done yet. Suck it, Dostoevsky.
 

oscar

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Bet you're wishing you picked D last time now.

I'm toying between A and C at the moment. Bumming around in Britain as a mercenary seems pretty beneath us, but we do need to get acquainted with the times and modern military tactics.
 

Kipeci

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I'm thinking we should go for A right now. The military realm is our strong point, and we have whipped up decent armies out of even the most spineless of conscripts. Additionally, it would be a good idea to have more of an idea of what we're facing. Ean's military assumptions are currently quite outdated, so he needs a better idea of what works and what doesn't. Once he has that, we can build off from there and maybe make something of our mercenary might.

Although... I'm not sure why we need to make this choice so badly. Could we establish a more peaceful aid branch for the hippie Successors as a group under our protection in addition to riding around as a mercenary band with the ones more willing/able to fight?
 

treave

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Codex 2012
Well, that's an element of compromise Ean would offer should he pick A, and as noted B means you do not take up much of a direct role unless you choose to, which allows you to move about more freely. Tigranes's breakdown is a good guide, except that ingame I haven't provided a motivation for eating your spawn yet, and that'll occur regardless of whether you abandon this bunch or not.

Option C means something else will pop up, as hinted.

With regards to the Gieloth, there is no information. It's as if they're all gone. There's some fairy abductions, but it's not an epidemic. As you move closer to Ankida you'll find that there are less fey and more Sumerian demons running about.
 

a cut of domestic sheep prime

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treave What about the gieloth knowledge inside our head? Did that ever return after Egypt? We've had a few thousand years to digest it now....

E - On the surface we have them remain neutral - helping others etc. In reality they will be gathering support for our cause among the people. In their spare time we train them as our personal fighting force. Also, we increase their power by teaching them to control their hunger and feed on the criminals of the land.

Picking a side? Ha. We picked B because we wanted to increase our own power base by establishing connections within both networks - the Lady's and the Yellowstreak's. Now it appears we are de facto leader of this network. Mission accomplished here. Next we move to gather support within her network while also gathering intel about the state of the world and our adversaries. Hopefully she won't suspect anything until it's too late as we'll be feeding her false intel about the streaks the whole time... Then we absorb her and take over.

edit: B - Per what treave said about achieving E later.
 

TOME

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B

Keep them as a pacifist aid group only. In grand scheme of things, these guys are harmless, but to Ean they are potential level ups without corruption. B will ensure they stay pure and not succumb to their hunger as opposed to A.
 

treave

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Codex 2012
The most important parts of what Pahnrath knew, you already know either via Sekhenun exposition or plot revelation, or meta-knowledge. The knowledge was left in your mind mainly as a semi-plausible backup deus ex machina plot-dump, but Ean outgrew that need a long time ago. What's left to gain are the shadow and zombie powers, which are scheduled for this chapter. The E proposed can be achieved down the road by picking B, it's not different enough that I'd have to establish a separate choice for it.
 

Kipeci

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Well, that's an element of compromise Ean would offer should he pick A, and as noted B means you do not take up much of a direct tile unless you choose to, which allows you to move about more freely. Tigranes's breakdown is a good guide, except that ingame I haven't provided a motivation for eating your spawn yet, and that'll occur regardless of whether you abandon this bunch or not.

Oh, well, if we're still going to be able to have a mercenary component to learn modern warfare then I see no reason not to pick A.
A.

I misremembered the options, I vote with B.
 

Baltika9

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Bros, listen to me on this one: the reason I was pushing so hard for B last chapter was to get exactly this, time and contacts for the future. Right now our top priority must be to take care of Dio and the (presumed) Sekblade. And the reason for that is that they are the second, if not first, most serious threat to us personally and the planet itself: Dio is Ean's antithesis and Sekhenun is as much of a walking library of Ean as can be. And we have an extremely small window of opportunity to strike at him before he can notice the hunger, understand what's going on and prepare to actually face Ean. Yes, risky and difficult as fuck, but it is preferable to simply letting him gather knowledge and power.

Which is why I want to get out of here for now and take Dario with us. Even if he isn't Aodh (and I'm pretty sure he is, which gets us the bonus of him hating Dio), he's exactly the kind of guy we want on our side for this, quiet, cunning and experienced. Besides, he'll just be a shit-stirrer if we choose B or it's equivalent.

Even if telling them "hold on a second, I'll be back soon" will have the same result as C, it never hurts to try.
 

treave

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Codex 2012
To elaborate further, in B you will teach them enough to defend themselves, but it is impossible for you to hide training and arming men on a scale equivalent to A.

To summarize, A has you creating a mercenary band with a branch of aid-givers who try to reduce the burden of battle on both the combatants and the populace.

B has you extending the support group's networks further, with a proportionately small component of better-trained armed men who are tasked with being bodyguards and fighters if necessary.

Ean, being somewhat experienced in leading, was always going to try to find a suitable middle ground (hence him noticing the discord between the factions), though I did not elaborate on that in the choices, my bad. If you do stay to help them out, depending on how things turn out you might end up with something akin to a militant Red Cross.
 

Baltika9

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you might end up with something akin to a militant Red Cross.
You mean the Knights Hospitaller?:incline: Not enough Knightly Orders around.

Can we read anything off of Dario right now, anything at all?

Also, this is off topic, but I'm assuming the acoustic guitar was already invented. Has it spread through the Empire? Gotta start practicing for the day electricity is invented and I'm pretty sure it can liven up a place. Plus, it suits Ean's wandering hero character.
 

treave

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Codex 2012
Dario seems earnest enough. Of course telepathy is never 100% reliable when not reading normal people. He could be powerful enough to hide his real thoughts and feelings from you. You'd have to actually touch him and concentrate to be sure.

You guys really don't trust him do you? :lol:
 

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