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[LP CYOA] Epic

oscar

Arcane
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Aug 30, 2008
Messages
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Location
NZ
Will be quite an interesting looking race in any case.
 

newcomer

Learned
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May 23, 2012
Messages
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Without warning, without reason, Gamilsin plunged a knife into Allari's chest while he was still on top of her, screaming in ecstasy. Her screams of pain, echoing his, were muffled by his hand over her mouth. Her body convulsed, pinned under his heaving bulk. A step too late - was it disbelief? surprise? - you burst from the alcove where you had been hiding, hunger suddenly burning in your throat despite having fed just days before. The priest groans loudly as he pumped the last of his seed into the dying woman. You grab him by the shoulders and hurl him away from Allari. Looking at the woman, you know immediately it is too late for her.

The age rating of this thread has increased :incline:

C

And btw, what happened to the font of treave's post?
 

treave

Arcane
Patron
Joined
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Messages
11,370
Codex 2012
BBB - 3
CCCCCCCCCCCCC- 13

***

Chapter 5.7: East of Babylon

“Mehrune will be leaving when Marduk does. I will stay here to help you see this to completion, but this means I have to give up my cushy, comfortable position as her chief handmaiden.”

You tie your bag to the harness of your horse. You had packed everything you needed to bring for a short trip, including the piece of Vajra, which you now kept on you at all times. Sekhenun had met you at the city gates to bid you a brief goodbye.

“Strange, I never knew you to be one for cushiness. What a sacrifice it must be!”

“You should’ve come into one of my Rooms of Pleasure back in Heliopolis. Of course, you destroyed my temple.”

“Actually, you did that yourself.” You point out her mistake immediately. It was the truth after all, you think.

Sekhenun flushes. “Anyway, are you sure you want to leave the city at this time?”

“I know you’d like me to train some of the cultists, but I think it might be better if I am out of the city for a while. There are other ways that we can strike at Marduk, besides using the cult.”

“If you say so… I am not your keeper.” Sekhenun shakes her head and looks away. Was she unhappy? You can’t tell.

“Anyway, just get back as soon as you can so I don’t have to track you down and give you some stern reminders of what you want to accomplish.” And with that, you get on your horse, and headed east, towards the Tigris.

The journey was pleasant. For once, the weather did not hate you. It was not too sunny, nor was it too gloomy. It did not take you long to come across some Gutians gathering wood. They barely spoke the common tongue, but you could make out that there were two thousand or so of them in the area, and most were currently camped at a small village they had raised nearby. It seems that they were used to moving every few years, going on lengthy journeys once people started suspecting the nice little village that sprung up almost overnight of harbouring bandits. The Gutians you met were friendly, and mentioning Gudersu’s name prompted them to show you the way to the village they talked about.

***
As you enter the largest house in the village, you spot Gudersu easily. He was playing with two children, a boy and a girl, making funny noises at them. They were both fair haired and light skinned as he was.

“My bandit friend! I knew you would come calling soon – no man can resist Gutian hospitality!” Gudersu roared, with the same fervor he used for his battle cries. The children laugh and scatter. He gets up from his table and gives you a hug. You grin at him, breaking the hug and stepping back to your bag. “I brought you a gift, King Gudersu.” You draw out a small, little sack from within, and toss it to Gudersu. It makes a clinking noise as he catches it, causing the smile on his face to spread wider. “A precious gift of Babylonian coin. It looks like your personal matters have made you rich, Ean.”

You shrug. “It was a simple donation from one of Marduk’s priests, thanking me for being a gracious host.”

“Oh ho, so you host holy men as well as thieves. You are not just a simple bandit, it seems.” says Gudersu with a gleam in his eye.

“I am a man of many talents.”

“That you are, that you are. Come, let me introduce my children. They are twins, born on the same day. This little rascal is Gursu,” He ruffles the hair of the little boy, who giggles, and picks up the girl with one hand. His other arm was wrapped up in poultices. Mehlu did quite some damage to it – you don’t think it’ll ever really heal. “And the little princess is Mienni.”

“I’m the Princess of Sumeria!” she declares, with a proud, gap-toothed smile.

“Ah, adorable.” You raise an eyebrow at Gudersu. “I can see why you claim your royal ancestry. I suppose she is handsome… and strong, in a way, just like you said.”

Gudersu lets out a laugh so loud that it seemed to shake the walls. “Oh, ha, no… Mienni is too young to marry, aren’t you dear?”

“I hate boys! Gursu always picks on me.”

“I do not!”

You cough. “Well, I guess I misunderstood your intentions.”

“Of course not! I am a Gutian king, even if I am king of only a couple thousand people at this moment, and I mean what I say. My other daughter is ripe for marriage, and I think -”

“Father! Now you want to push me off to some dirty robber?””

Well, there’s the other daughter, you think as you turn around to look at the person who had just interrupted Gudersu. She was utterly unlike Gudersu, as small and short as he was big and tall. Her hair was slightly darker than that of her siblings and her father, though her skin was just as fair. It looks like she also shared the piercing grey eyes common amongst her folk.

“Ah, Iltani…” Gudersu stammered. “He’s not just some dirty robber, he saved my life on our last raid.”

“Yes, you’ve told me that story a hundred times. First you wanted to marry me to that fat old merchant, a few months ago. Now this?” scowled the daughter.

You cough again. Careful, careful… let’s see what I have learnt about talking to people… Summoning your best diplomatic behavior, practiced from years of dealing with courtiers, you speak. “I think everyone here has suffered some misunderstandings. King Gudersu, I came to visit you as a friend, and also to inform you of things that may be happening soon… things that may change life for your tribe. Princess Iltani, I beg your pardon, but marriage was not my intention for visiting your esteemed father.”

“A glib tongue for a rotten bandit. It seems that my father has fed you silly tales of his dreams of kingship. We are just simple people making our way in life. There is nothing for you here. He is no king, and I am no princess.”

“I am too a princess!”

“Oh, shut up, Mienni.”

You raise your hands in mock surrender as Mienni began to quarrel with her older sister. You may have laid it on a little too thick… it looks like Iltani did not appreciate a higher speech. You notice that Gudersu was glowering – you could feel that he was getting angry. Probably he did not like his daughter was embarrassing him in front of a honoured guest.

“Gudersu, whatever it is, I am serious when I say things are going to be happening that may change life for your tribe.” You get his attention, grabbing his shoulder. You had to reach up a bit to do that, though.

“What is it, then? You really are no simple bandit, are you?”

You look around at the house, glancing at Iltani and the twins.

“They stay,” Gudersu grunts. “They are family. We share everything.”

You nod, and make a simple statement. “I’m going to kill Marduk, and all of his loyal hands.” Gudersu widens his eyes. “You are crazy, my friend.” You hear Iltani give a gasp. It was only natural that despite their bravado and raiding, the Gutians feared Marduk deep down. He slaughtered tens of thousands of their people, giving no quarter. They may be brave, but they weren’t too suicidal. Just a bit.

You give him a smirk and correct yourself on purpose. “Actually, I have already killed one of the Twelve, have I not? I killed him in front of you.”
“Hm, that is so… how does this concern me, then?”

“Marduk will be leaving to campaign against Greece in a couple of months. At that time, I will start the killing again, and this time, I will not stop until his loyal lieutenants in Babylon are dead. Once I do that, you might have some… opportunities, shall we say?”

“I… you do know that for all my bluster, I am not very suited to wear a crown, right?” Gudersu speaks plainly, looking you straight in the eye. It was a very honest admission, one you didn’t expect to hear. “All that is just for show, so that our people do not lose hope.”

“Why do you not return to Gutium, then?”

“That is a… personal matter.” He looked away from you, uncomfortable.

“At any rate, by opportunities, I actually meant that there can be plenty of loot if you attacked certain places when I asked you to.”

“Oh. That.”

***

“… and then I killed the king for cutting off my hand, and I became king of Sumeria. Of course later I fell into an enchanted sleep for three hundred years, cursed by an evil priest… but that is another tale.”

You finish your story, Gursu and Mienni sitting attentively around you. Immediately there was an explosion of questions.

“Were the walls of Akkad really that tall?”
“Are you really a king like daddy?”
“Why were you such a jerk to kill the king’s son even though you promised?”
“Is it actually a real story, is it?”

“Of course it’s not real, children. Now, off to bed you go. It’s long past bedtime.” Iltani frowned as she came in. The children giggled and scampered off. You are sure that they aren’t actually going to sleep obediently.

“Looks like you have a way with the kids. They can be a real handful.”

You had been here for almost three weeks, getting acquainted with the Gutians very well. During your stay here, you did plenty of chores around the place, under Iltani's supervision - she refused to let you stay and eat for free. You argued that you had given Gudersu some coin. She retorted that it was a gift, and that you were not a dashing robber but just a cheap miser. She didn't seem to like you. You wonder if there was any woman that actually liked you outside of those you paid for.

You had told Gudersu that if you succeeded, and Marduk returned to find that the people he left in charge of Babylon were dead and his enemies were running the place, there would be hell to pay – the worst case scenario would see Sumeria plunged back into civil war. When that happened, Gudersu’s tribe might get involved, whether he liked it or not. If he wasn’t going to prepare his tribe to fight, he would be better off beginning to pack up now and move back to Gutium. He asked you to stay a while before he gave you the answer. You’d made up your mind to return to the city first in a month if he was still undecided at the end of it, and time was running out.

“I’m surprised at myself, really. I’ve never been around many children.” Except when I was one, myself. “If you think Gursu and Mienni are a handful… well, you should try being an orphan in the cities.” you say to yourself absent-mindedly.

“You were an orphan?” She had a way of asking questions that made you feel like she wanted to know absolutely everything about you, no lies involved.

“Maybe. I don’t remember.” you lie. You remember the streets all too well. It wasn’t something you wanted to remember.

“Well!” Iltani seats herself on the ground besides you, next to the hearth. “I’m bored. Entertain me. How did that three hundred year old sleep of yours end? How did the brave king escape his terrible curse?”

“The curse could only be broken by the kiss of a maiden priestess of royal blood.” Spending the decades roaming Egypt in half-poverty had taught you a thing or two about telling stories and joking around. You seem to remember that you had rarely done that back before you found yourself immortal.

“And who was the fair maiden that broke the curse?”

“I kissed myself and woke up. I am royal... well, self-made. And a maiden. In a sense.”

She laughs. It was a bright laugh, and you find yourself thinking that she is definitely much more agreeable with a smile on her face.

“Father doesn’t leave because of Mother, you know.” she says, after giving a sigh. A small smile still played on her lips, though it was a sad one, rather than the cheerful laugh she had just a moment ago.

Probably dead. It wasn’t a hard thing to guess at.

“Marduk killed her.”

Revenge, then. You wonder how much of Gudersu’s spiel about strangling Marduk had been hot air, and how much of it heart-felt. You are about to speak back to her, when you hear a loud crash in the village. You feel a few dozen human presences appear suddenly, and two weird, distinctive, alien presences. A Gieloth.

“What was that? I better go take a look.” A worried Iltani gets up and takes a sword down from the wall. She appears to be used to handling it.

You grab Iltani’s hand before she runs out of the room. She immediately blushes and freezes up, her face turning as red as the flames in the fireplace.

“W-w-what are you trying to do to me?”

“Don’t go rushing out there blindly. The tribe is in danger. It’s probably Marduk’s men. Get the children, stay away from any fights, and find your father.”

“I can’t stay away from fights and find my father. He’ll probably be in the thick of one!”

“Oh, right. Look, your priority is to make sure Gursu and Mienni are safe. Leave Gudersu to me.”

She looks at you, a strange light in her eyes. Then she quietly nods, and you let her leave.

***

As you run out into the village square, you notice many houses are burning. Here and there, there were men dressed in Babylonian armour, fighting off Gutians. The Babylonians were strong – even the slightest of them were able to overpower the tall and hardy Gutians. Some of them lit up the thatched houses with fire flung from their hands. And in the center of it all, sitting on a palanquin hoisted by four guards, was a thin, reedy man with a voice as thin as his body. “Samples! Don’t kill them all, I need the samples! Take more children!”

Nusku and his experiments. You unsheathe your weapon, looking around the village. Gudersu was nowhere to be seen.

***

A. Opportunity has seen fit to drop into your lap. You head straight for Nusku. You do not know why he has come, but killing him here would strike a grave blow against Marduk. He is also the most dangerous being here, far more of a threat than his toys. If you let him get away now, you might not get such an easy chance again.

B. You look for Gudersu first. You will get him to rally his fighters against Nusku’s soldiers, and only then you will push back. His Gutians probably outnumber the experimental soldiers nearly 5 to 1 at the moment. By rallying them you will negate the confusion granted by the advantage of Nusku’s surprise attack.

C. There was another Gieloth presence - it is not near Nusku at the moment, but it is likely another of Marduk's lieutenants. You hunt that presence down first; you need to find out which of Marduk's people it is, so you can prioritize your targets.
 

Smashing Axe

Arcane
Patron
Joined
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Messages
2,835
Divinity: Original Sin
B, although I can be persuaded to flip. A doesn't feel like it'd be a good idea, and C, while practical, may lead to wasting too much time for us to make a difference in the battle. I don't know yet.

Edit: Also, where's our fuckit option?
 

Smashing Axe

Arcane
Patron
Joined
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Messages
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Divinity: Original Sin
One thing to consider that might become prominent later on. What if one of Gudersu's kin is captured? We've told them our life story, we've told them our assassination plan. What if they tell the Gieloth? What if they shout it in hopes of their lives/bodies being spared Nusku's experiments? It's not too far-fetched of a consequence to be considered seriously here.
 

Baltika9

Arcane
Joined
Jun 27, 2012
Messages
9,611
C. If there's one thing they teach in bootcamp, it's situational awareness.
P.S.:
You wonder if there was any woman that actually liked you outside of those you paid for.
FUCK! I bet Shulgi and Naram get all the pussy.
Bros, what I am suggesting is serious. After this mess is over, we take a break and LARP Rance and I don't care where we start. I'm serious.

P.P.S.: We sell out the Gutians to make them SPESS MEHREENS. Indrick Boreale is optional.
 

newcomer

Learned
Joined
May 23, 2012
Messages
919
C

It could be Marduk or one of his heirs...

And I wonder why is Sekhenum disappointed... Maybe she wants to spend some time together :smug:
 

Baltika9

Arcane
Joined
Jun 27, 2012
Messages
9,611
C

It could be Marduk or one of his heirs...

And I wonder why is Sekhenum disappointed... Maybe she wants to spend some time together :smug:
Most likely not, Marduk, as he leads from the front. Plausibly one of his kin. And as for Sekhenun... I have an idea, newcomer my bro. See, we get our space marine manufacturer to tell her that her "juices" can substitute as our "meal", and then we have her choose: her "juices" or her kind.
 

newcomer

Learned
Joined
May 23, 2012
Messages
919
Most likely not, Marduk, as he leads from the front. Plausibly one of his kin. And as for Sekhenun... I have an idea, newcomer my bro. See, we get our space marine manufacturer to tell her that her "juices" can substitute as our "meal", and then we have her choose: her "juices" or her kind.

:bro::incline:

And her special meal consist of human "juices" right? :incline:
 

Esquilax

Arcane
Joined
Dec 7, 2010
Messages
4,833
treave: Have Marduk's fledglings also left for Greece with the big man? On another note, have the human lieutenants all gone with him as well?

“Sure, I can do that. Now, Marduk will probably leave Ahati, Ramman and Nusku behind to watch over Sumeria in his absence. I think it is best if we delay any further actions until after they have left the kingdom.

Whether or not we rally the Gutians depends on what kind of Gieloth we're talking about. If it's a general, then whoever has come along with Nusku is bad news and they have to be dealt with. Most likely it's Ramman based on the fact that Ahati is the most powerful of the three, so it's reasonable to assume that she'd be leading things in Sumeria while the others are off finding more test subjects for Nusku's Adeptus Astartes project.

We can sense the Gieloth's location, but we don't have a presence, so getting the drop on the dude would be ideal.

However, if that Gieloth presence is one of the fledglings, it's totally not worth it. The morale boost of saving Gudersu and rallying the tribesmen to fight back will outweigh the benefit of killing off some lowly fuck who only got his position because Marduk was his daddy. Plus I really like the Gutians - they've been through a lot of hardship and Gudersu has just been trying his best to keep everyone's spirits up. I'd like to save the guy if we can.

After all, we promised his daughter. treave mentioned a while back about the possibility of spawning demi-god children all over the place, and that sounds pretty cool. It would be nice to produce some heirs.

Not voting for now.

VOTING C
 

Storyfag

Perfidious Pole
Patron
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Feb 17, 2011
Messages
15,840
Location
Stealth Orbital Nuke Control Centre
Esquibro, everything's in the previous update. MArduk intends to leave the three fledlings behind. I am, however, not sure if the big man managed to leave yet. Ean said that "Marduk will be leaving to campaign against Greece in a couple of months." Meanwhile, we only spent three weeks among the Gutians. So it can be any Gieloth. And since it's better to err on the side of caution, I'd rather take him out. C
 

TOME

Cuckmaster General
Joined
May 25, 2012
Messages
1,820
B - Rally the troops first so they don't get slaughtered. Then go after nearest gieloth.

I have feeling that the other gieloth is Edem since he is young and has to proof himself to others.
 

Anabanana

Augur
Joined
Jul 31, 2012
Messages
1,061
A. I'd rather take him out right now. The other gieloth isn't near Nusku at the moment, so hopefully we'll be able to take Nusku down before it gets alerted.
 
Joined
Feb 11, 2007
Messages
2,951
B - rally the men.

We are (or at least were) a great general once - so let's use the skills we have and rally Gutians so that they can take out the enemy soldiers. This will force the Gieloths to enter the fray themselves, giving us an opportunity the strike them down in the battle. Just like we did with that last Gieloth general - they can't sense us in the crowd and will never see us coming.

Plus, Gutians are our future allies - we certainly expect them to take part in the fighting after Marduk leaves for Greece. Well they would be a hell of a lot more effective in that if most of them are not dead by then, and a reputation as a good military leader would certainly help us in any future dealings with them.


We should definitely wrap things up in Mesopotamia as quickly as possible once Marduk leaves. Our primary goal is to assasinate him and Zeus, and our best shot at that might be to wait for one of them to kill/disable the other. Then we take out the winner while he is still weakened from the fight. But for that we need to be close so that we can act at the right moment.
 

CappenVarra

phase-based phantasmist
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Ardamai
B win the battle, and the Gieloth are served on a silver platter - they'll come to us if we rally the forces properly, so what's the purpose of seeking them out and letting Gutians die in disorder?
 

ScubaV

Prophet
Joined
Feb 20, 2011
Messages
1,022
Yeah I'm thinking B. I'm concerned that this other Gieloth might be an observer and/or reinforcements who can report back to Marduk if anything happens to Nusku. Fortunately, the Gieloth can't sense us so we can hide in the crowd. B should also save more Gutians than C, though probably less than A (which is quite risky).
 

treave

Arcane
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Codex 2012
Marduk is probably on his way to the ports right now. Who he left behind in the end, however, could really be anyone. His plans can change.
 

Tigranes

Arcane
Joined
Jan 8, 2009
Messages
10,350
B - rally the men.

We are (or at least were) a great general once - so let's use the skills we have and rally Gutians so that they can take out the enemy soldiers. This will force the Gieloths to enter the fray themselves, giving us an opportunity the strike them down in the battle. Just like we did with that last Gieloth general - they can't sense us in the crowd and will never see us coming.

Plus, Gutians are our future allies - we certainly expect them to take part in the fighting after Marduk leaves for Greece. Well they would be a hell of a lot more effective in that if most of them are not dead by then, and a reputation as a good military leader would certainly help us in any future dealings with them.


We should definitely wrap things up in Mesopotamia as quickly as possible once Marduk leaves. Our primary goal is to assasinate him and Zeus, and our best shot at that might be to wait for one of them to kill/disable the other. Then we take out the winner while he is still weakened from the fight. But for that we need to be close so that we can act at the right moment.

A week on the plane and moving houses, I see a lot's happened.

This is right - after all, the bandit raid showed us that there's at least one Gieloth lieutenant we can't take out easily in open 1 on 1 combat. Obviously the risk is that we then have the two Gieloth in one place, but without knowing anything C is far too risky. The choice is surely B or A.

Am concerned that Gudersu is not to be seen, if he has been incapacitated in some way already, or if he's facing the other Gieloth, then things could get pretty hairy. B for now but there's risks there too...
 

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