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Myth: A New Age CYOA

Nevill

Arcane
Joined
Jun 6, 2009
Messages
11,211
Shadorwun: Hong Kong
Lyssa's character sheet said:
Jatayu (trained eagle) - Dispatched - stationed at Fort Blackrock
Can anyone remind me why do we have an eagle stationed at Blackrock? I don't remember leaving them there. Was there a purpose?
 

Fangshi

Arcane
Joined
Jan 9, 2014
Messages
1,997
I will try to get that update up as soon as I am able. Sadly, I have not had a chance to touch it since my decision to delete/rewrite half of it earlier this week.

I will have time this weekend as things slow down a bit so hopefully it will be up by or on Sunday and then we can go from there.

Given how busy I have been and the fact that I keep missing my own deadlines what I am going to do going forward is to try and impose a bit of order on things (on my end at least ;)).

I want to set this up so that updates are all posted on a fixed day (Sunday seems most likely). Then, for each update, I will let the voting and DISCUSS! run throughout the week (until Friday/Saturday) and close the vote after that.

That should give plenty of time to discuss everything (I will do my best to remain available to answer questions/add freeform options) and it will let me push the updates to the weekends where I am likely to have the most time.

So that is the plan for now and we will see if it works.

The update will be up this weekend though, even if it kills me. :lol:
 

Fangshi

Arcane
Joined
Jan 9, 2014
Messages
1,997
Azira said:
Hey bro?

Don't go doing anything stupid. No LP is worth getting hurt over, right? Just take your time and keep it sane and safe. :bro:

Thankfully no Rich Homie Cloaked killed me so I am in good health. :salute:



The update is almost done, got most of it finished this morning before I had to drive out of town for twelve hours or so. So that is definite good news.

All the hard work is done I just need to add all the options and edit/review it. Still debating if I should do that tonight or get a bit of actual sleep instead.

If I do the editing tonight I will actually be able to keep my word for once, which would be nice, and the update should be up within two hours.

However, if I cave in and go to sleep (like a sane person would) I will do the passes when I get off tomorrow. If that is the case then look for the update in about fifteen to eighteen hours.

So 2hrs or 18hrs, either way it is done and we will be able to move on after that.



I still like the Sundays ideas for updates so when this update goes live I will let it run through to Friday/Saturday, that should give everyone lots of time to discuss the options.


Edit:

Alright, I am off. The update should be up as soon as I have taken care of everything else I need to do and given it a few passes.
 
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Fangshi

Arcane
Joined
Jan 9, 2014
Messages
1,997
Chapter 66: Projecting

The Seekers are channeling now.

Cropper has begun to edge back to his line, his fellows are dancing, howling, baying for the blood of your people and the hounds grin mightily, laughing as they rise.

Things are probably about to erupt into violence and you wish you could do something about.

Hell, maybe you can.

You have certainly done dumber things after all and you are still standing...

“Lyssa,” you whisper.

“Yes,” she hissing back, her eyes darting between the battlemages and the demon scouts.

“Try to use the necklace to reach Mazzarin,” it is not like you much want to see the ancient archmage again but you only have so many options available to you.

“What?” Lyssa and Thaïs ask as one.

“Well,” you shrug, “These damn amulets are supposed to emit a signal right? Maybe we can get his attention with them and it would certainly help our situation.”

The look they give you, surprise ribboned through with skepticism, tells you everything you need to know. Still they nod, without any other options they readily choose to follow your plan.

“So,” your better half begins, “While she is praying for help what will we do?”

You grace her with a slight smirk, “Try to talk them down of course.”

“Of course,” she laughs, “What is the worst that could happen?”

You beam, “That's the spirit.”

“I assume you want me to do the talking?” she matches your grin.

“If you could,” you gesture for her to step forward.

Good to see you are learning to embrace your shortcomings,” Caoilainn chimes in.

“Pay attention to them, not me,” you order her, “If we are about to come under attack I want to know about it as soon as possible.”

Can do,” your ethereal office responds with only a little sarcasm, “Just don't get us killed,” she really could not resist, could she?

You contemplate giving Thaïs more detailed instructions but you shake the idea off. You are as much a part of her as she is of you and she will know far better than you do how best to achieve your goals.

To prove the point she begins with the Seekers, clearly the more belligerent of the two parties, “Old Man!” she calls clearly over the muttering of the mages.

“What!” he shout back.

“Stop channeling!” she answers, it is admittedly a bit difficult to carry out a nuanced conversation along a battleline but what other option do you have really. If the Seekers turn on you and unleash their spells it would be far better to have something, even warm bodies, between you and them.

“How about no!” the Old Man answers with a feral, hostile laugh. His followers readily join him.

“These gentlemen are not lying!” she gestures to the hunters, “Mazzarin is alive and we need time to verify their claims.”

“Don't tell me you believe in this nonsense!” the Old Man is a damn sight more stubborn than you had hoped for.

Well, maybe you will have to share a bit more information with your allies. You shout above the growing chants, “We have met him!”

Well that catches their attention for a moment, a few of the more junior Seekers even stop chanting before their fellows prod them back into whatever ritual they are working.

The Old Man seems less certain now, if only slightly, “What proof have you got!”

“If you would stand down,” you answer, “If you would merely give us a chance we can explain everything.”

Well, maybe not everything. If the Seekers knew everything they probably would attack you on the spot.

Your better half pushes on, “If I may ask, did you feel a powerful signal originating from the desert and traveling north two months ago? Surely you must have?”

A few of the Seekers nod to one another and begin to mumble.

Maybe she is winning them over.

The Old Man shakes his head and replies resolutely, “I don't know what that was two months ago but it could have been anything. Mazzarin would not conspire with demons!”

Maybe not.

Cropper seems to have had quite enough of being called a demon, “We are not demons ye bleedin' tick! Cousins, I am with you but I can not vouch for my brothers,” he gestures quickly behind him with his thumb and sure enough they are creeping forward.

You look to Thaïs and she shrugs, “Words can only help with those willing to listen...”

Damn...

The Seekers spell begins to build to a head, the chanting growing in intensity and you catch the odd flicker of citrine light dancing around their end of the line. The hunters have begun to spread out in response. They advance, slowly jogging forward, swinging their clubs at their sides.

Well, this is going to be bloody, any moment now...

“I got it!” Lyssa shouts from behind you, “It is working!”

No sooner are those words out of her mouth then you receive all the confirmation you could ever need.

You have been told that your amulets emit a very slight signal, something so carefully camouflaged that it would take magical mastery or very specific instruments to ever detect it.

That is no longer the case.

When her amulet roars to life the signal it emits is overwhelming, it is akin to being dragged from a dark room into the sunlight. No, it is akin to being dragged from a dark room and then pitched directly into the sun. It is completely devastating and everyone: the Seekers, the hunters, their hounds, anyone with even a shred of magical talent immediately stops what they are doing and turns to gaze upon Lyssa.

This leaves your mercenaries rather confused, but only for a moment.

Low, brass horns sound.

A single, blaring note that fills the heavens.

The hunters immediate drop to their knees.

The Seekers have completely forgotten about their attempts to murder the scouts.

A second, higher note sounds. Shrill, it rings in your ears and above Lyssa's head an image begins to form.

An image of a single, twelve metre tall, bronze M.

It hangs in the air as one second draws into the next.

The Old Man gapes.

The M dissolves into a kaleidoscope of colours, shards of magical energy that pour out over your heads and resolve into a thousand tiny wings. Glass butterflies, neat trick.

The swarm of insects push out between the Seeker's line and the hunters, reassembling themselves into the image of a man. Mazzarin, from what you can tell. Though this projection, and you are fairly sure it is in fact a projection, has a number of noticeable differences from the living man you met in the desert.

For starters, the image is twelve feet tall and clad in golden armour with rubies set along its collar. The staff the projection holds writhes in its hands, a pair of serpents, one of ivory and the other of obsidian, dance back and forth. Upon the projections brow is a triple crown topped with the largest sapphire you have ever seen.

It seems that even in his illusions the self important bastard dresses to impress.

“Mazzarin!” the Old Man mutters and falls to his knees, followed by the rest of Seekers and, grudgingly, their guardians as well.

“I AM MAZZARIN!” the projection bellows, “AND THE BEARERS OF THESE AMULETS ARE MY PROPERTY!”

Property?

Fucking hell.

Not allies...

Not acquaintances...

Not apprentices...

Not servants...

Property...

Yeah, that probably is how he sees most people.

“I, ah, I am sorry, ” the Old Man begins.

“THE GREAT MAGE MAZZARIN CARES NOT FOR YOUR EXCUSES!” the projection responds.

The Old Man bows as low as possible and you consider the projection. How exactly is Mazzarin communicating over so much distance like this?

The Old Man bows and scrapes, the change in his demeanour really is quite remarkable, “My Lord, if I had known that my employers spoke for the greatest champion of the Light to ever walk the realms I would have-”

“YES,” the projection once more speaks, “I AM CERTAIN YOU ARE QUITE SORRY FOR WHAT YOU HAVE DONE! NO DOUBT YOU WISH TO KNOW HOW YOU CAN REDEEM YOURSELVES AND ESCAPE THE PUNISHMENT YOU SO RICHLY DESERVE!”

“Um, well, yes, certainly,” the Old Man answers unsteadily.

“THERE IS BUT ONE WAY!” the projection continues, “YOU MUST PROTECT MY PETS!”

Pets? As if property were not bad enough, now you are compared to animals?

“YOU MUST SEE THAT NO HARM COMES TO THEM!” the projection smiles, “THAT IS ALL YOU MUST DO FOR I AM COMING! I WILL FIND THEM AND YOU, AND I SWEAR THAT IF THEY SUFFER FROM A SINGLE BROKEN NAIL, A SINGLE HAIR OUT OF PLACE, A SINGLE CLIPPED TAIL THEN YOU SHALL SUFFER FOR TEN THOUSAND YEARS!”

Tail?

Oh, no...

“Lyssa,” you hiss, “Turn it off now.”

She shakes her necklace, slaps it, “I, I don't know how,” she weakly replies.

“BUT IF YOU DO THIS! IF YOU PROTECT MY BELOVED HOUNDS THEN I SHALL REWARD YOU WITH RICHES BEYOND MEASURE, I WILL-” the projection sneezes, “Damn it!”

A second voice chimes in, one you can just about place, “I am afraid we will have to start from the beginning again Sir.”

“Not again!” the projection whines, “Have you any clue, any clue at all how many times I have tried to record this?”

Once more the second voice answers, “I assure you Sir, you will be completely happy with the end result. No one will even think of stealing your dogs again.”

The projection sighs, “Wyrd I hope so. Every time that faceless, spineless bastard kills my pets, every time, it just, it tears a piece out of you...”

This is horrible, the Seekers have already risen and are staring at the production unfolding before them with a mixture of confusion and rage.

Still, you can not tear yourself away. This is a side of Mazzarin you have never seen before.

The projection sniffles, “I just, I just wanted my little Aidan back. He was such a good boy... They, they sent me his paws, one at a time...”

“It will be alright Sir,” the second voice answers cheerfully, very cheerfully, “You will get a new dog, no, three new dogs! And with our necklaces you will never lose them again!”

Wait, now you know where you recognize that voice from. That is the little, jolly Dietfried. They must have helped record this message for Mazzarin.

The projection nods several times, “Thank you. I just need a moment,” he coughs, “Alright, let's begin again.”

“Whenever you are ready,” the Dietfried answers.

“Ah,” the very weary projection of Mazzarin pauses, “None of this will show up in the final message right?”

“Oh course not,” Dietfried reassures him, “We are professionals, we will edit it out.”

“Good,” he nods, “I am not paying extra though, we had a deal.”

A third voice chimes in, definitely belonging to the taller Dietfried, “Do not worry Sir, you will get exactly what you payed for.”

The projection once more dissolves into a swarm of beating wings raised up into the growing darkness of the heavens.

Berty begins laughing, as do a few of your mercenaries.

Cropper looks particularly amused.

The Old Man looks anything but, “What kind of tricks are you trying to weave Derryth!”

Seems he is not quite happy about being humiliated in front of a mere recording.

“I- Ah, well,” you really are not sure how to answer that question at all.

Thankfully Thaïs is with you, “You wanted proof that we have contact with the Great Mage. That is your proof.”

He crosses his arms, “That message could be hundreds of years old, assuming it is even real!”

“But you have no way to know that,” your partner insists, “If you are correct and we are lying then all you lose is a chance to fight and perhaps a chance to die, but if we are right then you will act against the wishes of the single most,” she pauses for a moment, “The single most powerful man in the world. Someone that clearly cares for his allies, someone that clearly cares for those that depend on him, do you really wish to take that chance?”

The Old Man grunts, “Fine, we will do things your way but I insist on being present when we interrogate these supposed spies.”

Good, that is a start. You will likely have a bit of trouble winning over the Seekers going forward but at least you prevented a bloodba-

Horns.

Always with the damned horns.

They are coming from the distance, from the growing shadows cast by the setting sun. It won't be long now until the darkness comes and then whatever being, or beings, Cropper serves will likely make a grand appearance themselves.

You turn to the hunter, “Cousin Cropper, we have the spies now, you know that we serve the same man that you do and that we can be trusted to properly interrogate them.”

The hunter nods, “I know all that and more, Cousin Derry. But there is a problem, being that I can not let you keep our quarry,” he bows low, “I am terribly sorry, miserably so in fact, but my brothers and I can not go back empty handed. There would be a beating waiting, a right proper one too, not just a few quick jabs mind you, so you see, that can not be.”

“Well Cousin,” you shake your head, “I can't just give up the dwarves without proof.”

Cropper grins, “Mighty fair of you Cousin, a damn fine head you have and all that,” he shifts onto his right foot and scratches his side, “I know I can't be expecting you to throw your allies away and all. Which is why I suggested, and I am sure you remember what I suggested, I suggested that we all get nice and comfortable and wait for my Lord. Then I don't get a beating and you get to talk to the one in charge. Sound good?”

Not really, if you are honest. You doubt that a 'lord', whatever that might be, will travel without an entourage and you don't particularly want to have to negotiate with a whole army of these things without more support.

Thaïs reads your reluctance, “As much as we would love to meet your Lord I am afraid, Cousin Cropper, that we really must be on our way.”

The hunter pouts, “Well, like I said Cousin, I can't be letting you off with our prisoners,” reluctantly he begins to limber up, “I will try to be gentle cousin but no promises...”

“Is there no way to avoid such savagery,” Thaïs asks, making one last attempt.

Cropper glances over his shoulder, “Well, hell,” he grins, “Tell you what Cousins. You give me six of the dwarves and I will talk the boys into giving back your wounded one. Then I can say I caught a few and I can lead my Lord away when he comes after the horns. I won't get a beating and you will still have a couple of them to interrogate.”

You are sure that, that idea sounds reasonable to Cropper but it would be a damn uncomfortable thing to have to do, choosing who goes and who stays.

Cropper does not seem to be in too much of a rush, but then if he is telling the truth he has no reason to rush. He just has to stay put until his lord arrives and this will cease to be his problem.

You, however, do not have the luxury of time.


1. You choose to:

A) You will give Cropper the dwarves he was chasing. If they are servants of the Watcher all you will lose is information. If Cropper is lying though you will be sending honest dwarves to their deaths. Once Cropper has the dwarves he will return your captured scout and he will do his best to lead his lord away from your direction. If you fall back, up the road, for a few hours you should be safe. This will add a bit more time to your trip though as you will need to backtrack, move off the roads through the desert and swing around the hunting host. It will likely take you a day and a half longer than planned.

B) You will take Cropper's bargain and give him six of the dwarves. The option will play out much like A except you will retain a few of the supposed spies. This may give you a bit of information if you get a real spy and it may save a few innocent dwarves if they are not. This will also add time to your journey, a day and a half if you do not interrogate the dwarves you keep and two days if you do.

i. You interrogate the dwarves yourself.

ii.You do not interrogate the dwarves. You will deal with them when/if you reach the army instead.

C) You attack Cropper. You have no intention of waiting for his Lord and you have no intention of turning over any of the suspected spies either.

D) You wait patiently for his Lord to arrive. You will simply have to discuss the matter with whoever is in charge, even if the prospect of doing so worries you a little.

E) Operation: Deterrence

F) freeform
 
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Fangshi

Arcane
Joined
Jan 9, 2014
Messages
1,997
Party/Organizational Changes:

No party or organizational changes at the moment so nothing to report there.

Rolls:

There were a few rolls in this update but not much.

Most of them were made by Taide and she rolled fairly well all things considered. She managed to make a bit of progress with Cropper (leading to the deal he offers you) and she did manage to score a few points against the Old Man as well. Unfortunately there is only so much words can do when someone is determined to start something.

Thankfully Lyssa managed to trigger one of the spells on your amulets and activated the projection which brought everything to a grinding halt.

That gave D&T another, easier, shot at convincing the Seekers not to start anything.

There were also about five other sets of rolls attached to this update (directly and indirectly) but you won't know about those for a while yet. ;)

(You could probably guess a few though without too much trouble... :smug:)
 
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Nevill

Arcane
Joined
Jun 6, 2009
Messages
11,211
Shadorwun: Hong Kong
Wat. :lol:

Remind me not to underpay Brothers Dietfried in the future.

Mazzarin said:
I SWEAR THAT IF THEY SUFFER FROM A SINGLE BROKEN NAIL, A SINGLE HAIR OUT OF PLACE, A SINGLE CLIPPED TAIL THEN YOU SHALL SUFFER FOR TEN THOUSAND YEARS!
Well, that probably rules out C.

And since I am not giving away dwarves if there is a chance they may be innocent, that leaves only the choice of waiting for the Cropper's Lord.

Why are we even feeling so nervous? We stood before Demon Princes, siblings of the Dark Gods, Fallen Lords and the Great Mage. We should get used to it by now.

We will probably have to wait, but I want us not to waste time and conduct a little investigation of our own in the small window that we have.

Fangshi, can Thais ask Cropper if we could begin our interrogation with the wounded scout? They did a number on him, so it might ease the process of scanning his mind for answers, much like it did with the child in the caves. He offered us to check for ourselves, so why don't we take him up on his offer?

It's not like we are going anywhere.
 
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Fangshi

Arcane
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Jan 9, 2014
Messages
1,997
Nevill said:
Why are we even feeling so nervous?

Just a feeling. Might call it intuition, might call it stress... :smug:

Nevill said:
Fangshi, can Thais ask Cropper if we could begin our interrogation with the wounded scout? They did a number on him, so it might ease the process of scanning his mind for answers, much like it did with the child in the caves. He offered us to check for ourselves, so why don't we take him up on his offer?

Only if you give him another hostage, er, guest. Otherwise you have ten or so scouts to pick from already.
 

Nevill

Arcane
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Messages
11,211
Shadorwun: Hong Kong
Only if you give him another hostage, er, guest. Otherwise you have ten or so scouts to pick from already.
Yes, but the one we want is wounded, which makes them more desireable for our purposes.

It's not like anyone in their right mind would agree to be their guest. Though we always have Berty. :)

What exactly would they gain from having a hostage who is not affiliated with the Watcher, anyway? What, would they kill them for funzies if something goes awry? What would Mazzarin say to that?

They are as much their hostages in the midst of the pack of hounds as they are in our group. It's not like they are content with having just one scout, right? So if they are not letting us go without their quarry anyway, what purpose does he serve to them?

Do they have a reason to distrust us when we say we will not let the scouts go if they are the Watcher's agents?

In fact, we will let them keep all but one of the Watcher's agents we find. Does that sound good?
 

Fangshi

Arcane
Joined
Jan 9, 2014
Messages
1,997
They would prefer not to get a beating by coming back empty handed, that's all.

Why give up the prey they have already caught and risk you successfully escaping?

You don't know if they would kill someone unaffiliated with the Watcher. If you had to guess though, probably.

You don't really know what Mazzarin would think of that. You imagine they would not tell him.

Nevill said:
In fact, we will let them keep all but one of the Watcher's agents we find. Does that sound good?

By the time you scan all the dwarves the sun will be gone and his Lord will likely arrive. At that point he can not guarantee anything as all negotiations will be out of his hands.

edit:

It does occur to me though that it would be quite easy to reduce one of your ten scouts to a similar state and interrogate them that way if you want. I could add the option...
 
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Nevill

Arcane
Joined
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Messages
11,211
Shadorwun: Hong Kong
How far is the wounded scout? Can we reach him from where we stand with mental spells?

It does occur to me though that it would be quite easy to reduce one of your ten scouts to a similar state and interrogate them that way if you want. I could add the option...
Probably not.
 
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Fangshi

Arcane
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Messages
1,997
Nevill said:
How far is the wounded scout? Can we reach him from where we stand with mental spells?

He is within range. The biggest limitation on your mental spells is usually line of sight so you should be fine if you want to focus completely on him.
 

Nevill

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So can we run a scan on him? Or does he resist?

Is there something preventing us from interrogating him mentally from here?
 

Fangshi

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He is pretty beaten up though his mind will naturally attempt to resist if it detects you tampering.

Not really but you will have to focus on him at the expense of anything else that might be going on...
 

Nevill

Arcane
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Shadorwun: Hong Kong
He is pretty beaten up though his mind will naturally attempt to resist if it detects you tampering.
Can a person willingly lower their defences and allow us in their mind if they wanted to?

I mean, if they are innocent, there would be no reason to resist, seeing how that would prevent us from confirming their innocence.

And if they are guilty, we can break through their defences and get the names of the fellow agents among the dwarves.

As for concentrating on the scout, I have a suspicion that some of the dwarves are really the Watcher's agents and that we need to keep an eye on them, but that is what we have the rest of our mercenary force and Lyssa for.

Where are the rest of the scouts and what are they doing, by the way? We'll probably have to disarm them until further notice.
 
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Nevill

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Shadorwun: Hong Kong
I think I have a plan. I will need a few hours before I can get back to keyboard and smooth out the details, though.
 

Fangshi

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1,997
Nevill said:
Can a person willingly lower their defences and allow us in their mind if they wanted to?

The target can try to calm their conscious mind but you are always going to register as a 'foreign presence' to their unconscious mind and it will try to defend itself. If you don't get caught though it probably won't take action.

Nevill said:
Where are the rest of the scouts and what are they doing, by the way?

Toward the center of your formation. Berty has some of your people watching them but they have not really done much yet.
 

Nevill

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Shadorwun: Hong Kong
Hm.

So, by the looks of it Mazzarin did not pass by the city, but entered the city instead to buy himself an army of dogs and a bunch of collars. How else would you explain that he had them on his person a few hours after he was awakened from a thousand years coma? He probably had some spares left, and when we told him to keep his greedy hands off our crew, he thought of a use for them. That is why the same generic message about pets was triggered by Lyssa's collar.

What does that mean for us?
“It will be alright Sir,” the second voice answers cheerfully, very cheerfully, “You will get a new dog, no, three new dogs! And with our necklaces you will never lose them again!”
That suggests to me that it were Brothers Dietfried who crafted our 'necklaces', and that they probably could rid us of them - or, better yet, disable the Magical Stimulant effect, leaving the resistances intact without drawbacks. It is a possibility worth exploring.

But that is a subject for another day. For now it would be nice to decide how to proceed and keep our lives and the rest of the army intact, too.

So, where do we stand?
You don't know if they would kill someone unaffiliated with the Watcher. If you had to guess though, probably.

You don't really know what Mazzarin would think of that. You imagine they would not tell him.
Why would they not tell him? Probably because he would not approve of them killing dwarves and humans, whom he refers to as 'the children of the Light', for nothing, and his disapproval is worth avoiding. So what happens if we would be the ones to tell them they did?

I would assume that if we raised such a question, they would try to silence us as well. But what if they couldn't?

Now, we are right to be concerned about the 'Lord' Cropper speaks of. The guy is probably bad news. But the fact that we are objectively weaker than a Demon Lord, or a Dark God, or an Archmage does not mean that we are powerless before them, nor does it mean that we are harmless.

We will just have to be able to borrow the power.

Remember when we talked about threatening the Spider Goddess into inaction by dangling a threat of Mazzarin's retribution over her head? We opted out of it because it was too dangerous or something, but now that dangerous things are coming to us without asking whether we like it or not, it might be the right time to dust the plan off.

So, Operation: Deterrence.

- Get Berty, Hamundr and Lyssa together and discreetly tell them to keep the scouts under supervision and control so that they would not try anything. If there are Watcher's agents among them, and if we get positive results from our interrogation, they will definitely resist. I don't know what they are packing - maybe a grenade or something - but I do not want it to go off in the middle of our ranks. Let Berty and Lyssa think of a way to neutralize the enemy spies quickly and safely if there is a need, and let Hamundr - as the senior military officer here and a Captain of the Royal Guards - command the innocent loyalists into submission. Caoilainn can keep an eye on our immediate surroundings. Basically, be one step ahead of the situation.
- While the rest of the our crew are busy, concentrate on something other than the scouts in our ranks to not alarm them. Try to get inside the wounded scout's mind together with Thais and get as much information as you can out of him. Try to do it subtly, but don't be discouraged if you get caught, just don't harm them irrepairably unless their guilt is confirmed. We learned the basics of the technique while interrogating the Weasel captain.
- We are looking for signs of guilt and being involved with the Watcher in any way. Should we find proof, we can discard being gentle and go all in. If this is a conspiracy and the Watcher's agents led Cropper and Co. to our ranks to provoke a fight, they should know each other. Try to get the identities of the whole group by interrogating one member. It should save us some time.
- If you find something, confirm your findings together with the Old Man. He asked to be present. Try to determine with your best ability who is guilty and who is innocent in a given timeframe. The other information can wait.
- If you find the scout innocent, tell Cropper as much. I want to see how he reacts to the news. Though the dogs probably have some means to determine who has the Watcher's scent, and at this point I doubt the scout's integrity.
- Our goal here is to separates the innocents and the guilty so that we can give the latter to Cropper and his Lord, and spare the former. I am not going to go for a blanket judgement.
- After we are done with our quick investigation, do a meditation and enter the Dreaming. Tell the others that you need to calm your mind and senses and prepare for what is going to follow.
- The time flows differently - and apparently, much slower - in the Dreaming. We should have enough time here to do what we came to do. Still, have Caoilainn awake in the real world to send us a warning if something requires our immediate attentiion.
- In the Dreaming, write a formal will. Detail your observations up to this point, and that you are about to meet with an alleged servant of Mazzarin. Write down that you have doubts about whether they aren't doing something shady behind the mage's back using his name as a shield, and that you are going to check it out. Write down that if your suspicions prove true, and if you suffer a demise from their hand, or get kidnapped/bewitched/lose your mind, or rendered unable to protect the Kingdom in any other way - you have one last favor to request of Mazzarin: to become the protector of the Dwarven Kingdom in our stead, to keep it thriving under the dwarven rule, and to destroy its enemies swiftly and mercilessly. And, of course, the first thing he will need to protect it from is the very creatures that caused our demise and their whole ilk, continuing with the Watcher's agents, the Spider Goddess cult, and possibly further. Ask him to tend to these matters personally instead of hiring 'helping' hands who may go rogue behind his back. At least that way we would do some good should we die. We have invested heavily into the kingdom, it would be a shame to see our efforts go to waste.
- As for the ghols, write down that there are forces among them who may want peace, and that there are indications that the conflict between the two nations may have been started by a Fallen Lord. They do fall under the enemies of the kingdom, and we would like to see the conflict end one way or the other, but a smarter mage might find a way to end it peacefully and undo what was wrought by the forces of the Dark. ;) Bait him into it as a challenge. Hey, if we are writing a will, let's take care of the loose ends should we run out of luck.
- Have Morpheus give us his word that, should we die or should something equally unfortunate happen to us, then - and only then, - he will give the will, unaltered, to our friends in Muirthemne, who should seek Mazzarin out and make our last request known. Otherwise he will return it to us upon our request. The will should not trigger while we are alive, sane, and generally able to talk for ourselves rather than have the document do it.
- The tricky part is, what to promise Morphy. Then again, should we live, he does not have to do anything. He only has the right to request something if we die, but then we will not be able to give much to him, being... well, dead. Bequeath to him TWM's journal and the Shade's spellbook (he said he never had a Shade, so I imagine it might be of interest to him) in case of our team wipe. If that does not suffice, let him consider all the lulz of the situation when Mazzarin ends up carrying out the will of two children. That alone might be worth it.
- If we live, consider destroying the will, as if it never happened. Or we may want to keep it as long as we are dealing with the dwarven problems, just in case rocks fall and everyone dies. Would make for a nicer epilogue.
- After we are done, leave the Dreaming and prepare to meet the Cropper's Lord. We have stood our ground against worse, we are not about to get scared now.
- That said, do not get all confrontational. Be polite, respectful and reasonable. You have a nuke backing you up, you can afford to negotiate on equal terms, no matter how big an entourage they bring with them, but there may be no need of threats in the first place if we can just talk it out.
- Do not give ground. The lives of the Watcher's agents are forfeit, but the lives of innocents are not. Humans and dwarves are the creations of Wyrd, and thus the children of the Light unless they choose to serve the Dark. An unprovoked aggression against them is a crime against the Light, and any transgressions will be reported to the Great Moderator. They can't silence us without suffering an equally disastrous fate. We will have to come to a compromise.

I don't want to waste a day and a half running, but neither do I want to talk with someone who can dictate us terms. I need something to back me up, and Mazzarin is a damn good argument in any conflict of interests.

Fangshi, any potential problems with the plan that I should be aware of?

I will vote E - Operation: Deterrence.

Everyone is welcome to make suggestions and/or corrections.
 
Last edited:

Kz3r0

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E - Operation: Deterrence.
 

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