[LP CYOA] 傳

[asxetos]

I don't know, but at this rate I'm toying with the concept of Cao'er one day doing a Misery on you after one abandonment too many. Gonna keep track of those Abandonment Points.

Not letting her fall to unknown depths with Jing hardly counts as an abandonment imo.

 

[Nevill]

Not letting her fall to unknown depths with Jing hardly counts as an abandonment imo.

Trust me, she would have preferred being there. That's how people's emotions work.

 

[asxetos]

Ofcourse she would, but we shouldnt have indulged her anyway.

 

[treave]

Trust me, she would prefer being there. That's how people's emotions work.

Yup. Well, you're just going to have to make it up to her afterwards for not picking B and hugging her all the way down.

 

[Baltika9]

Not letting her fall to unknown depths with Jing hardly counts as an abandonment imo.

Trust me, she would have preferred being there. That's how people's emotions work.

If one of my friends would have pulled me to almost certain death like this, the first thing I'd do when landing in (hopefully) good condition is beat the shit out of him.
Cao'er has serious issues, it's not sane to be this devoted.

 

[Nevill]

Ofcourse she would, but we shouldnt have indulged her anyway.

That's funny. One day, we are respecting her choice to travel wherever we go, even if it places her in mortal danger.
The other day, we are trying to protect her despite her wishes.

Maybe I was too hasty to call Gao Ying a confused and contradictory being when Jing is no better.

Yup. Well, you're just going to have to make it up to her afterwards for not picking B and hugging her all the way down.

I sincerely hope that's an option. The poor girl needs a break.

If one of my friends would have pulled me to almost certain death like this, the first thing I'd do when landing in (hopefully) good condition is beatng the shit out of him.

Not if it was a friend that you would jump after to make sure he is okay. Beats worrying to death.

Cao'er has serious issues, it's not sane to be this devoted.

Ha! Jing is the one to talk about other people's issues!
We got over our obsession with Shun, she'll get over her obsession with us. In the meantime, let't try not to traumatize the kid more than we have to.

 

[Fangshi]

We will make it up to her... by getting our little sister a proper boyfriend so she can obsess over someone else. It is getting really creepy and I really don't want to lose our legs...

Spoiler

Maybe I was too hasty to call Gao Ying a confused and contradictory being when Jing is no better.

Well ManTigerPig is a mercurial being, his motives shifting with each passing moment.

We are her elder "brother" and she is still just a kid after all. Sometimes you can let children make their own choices and sometimes you just have to put your foot down and follow the wiser course.

We got over our obsession with Shun, she'll get over her obsession with us. In the meantime, let't try not to traumatize the kid more than we have to.

We are still fairly obsessed with the guy though, baby steps I guess...

You know what would have helped us get over our obsession with Shun quicker though?

Fire Cult... but no, had to go running back...

 

[Nevill]

We will make it up to her... by getting our little sister a proper boyfriend so she can obsess over someone else. It is getting really creepy and I really don't want to lose our legs...

We are her elder "brother" and she is still just a kid after all. Sometimes you can let children make their own choices and sometimes you just have to put your foot down and follow the wiser course.

Well, I have already mentioned that it would be nice if Jing took the responsibility for her upbringing, because sure as hell nobody else is going to.
But apparently he is 'respecting her choice' in the matter, although he ditches the idea when it suits him. Like here.

You know what would have helped us get over our obsession with Shun?

We got over it already. Come on.

 

[Fangshi]

Well, I have already mentioned that it would be nice if Jing took the responsibility for her upbringing, because sure as hell nobody else is going to.
But apparently he is 'respecting her choices' in the matter, although he ditches the idea when it suits him. Like here.

Well the choice we let her make was whether she would go visit her grandma or wander around with us, neither of which is directly life threatening (despite Jing's YOLO tendencies) so there is a difference between that and hanging off the edge of a cliff I should think.

We got over it already. Come on.

We are in the middle of an incredibly risky (if absolutely amazing) con, risking our life and the lives of our friends just so Shun's heart is not broken by killing his dad.

We are definitely not "over it", not really complaining though as it is an amazing con and much more fun than simply killing the Emperor.

 

[Nevill]

We are in the middle of an incredibly risky (if absolutely amazing) con, risking our life and the lives of our friends just so Shun's heart is not broken by killing his dad.

We are definitely not "over it", not really complaining though as it is an amazing con and much more fun than simply killing the Emperor.

We did the same for Yu, if not more. Unless you suggest that Jing is steadily turning gay, I prefer to think of it as of the lenghts Jing is willing to go for his friends, regardless of who they are.

 

[treave]

Turning?

 

[Fangshi]

Exactly...

We have reached a great milestone however in that Jing would no longer murder his loved ones if Shun asked without a second thought. But we still have a long way to go if we want a completely independent Jing (which may or may not be a good thing).

 

[Nevill]

Please elaborate. In detail. :D

We nearly died trying to extract Yu's sweetheart out of BDS before she comes to harm, and then trying to stop her from running off. Is it because we became obsessed with Yu, too?

 

[Anabanana]

Good job, everybody, I see that we are firmly on our way to unlocking the harem route!

And by harem I mean Shun's harem, of course.

 

[treave]

He already has Xu Jing and Gao Ying, and is probably working on Xiahou Yu even now - you guys really wanted to introduce the scholar to the prince after all.

 

[Anabanana]

We are the best wingman ever.

 

[treave]

Underground Exploration

“Up you go!” You swing Cao’er up with all your might. As the girl’s hand slips away, her fingers frantically try to catch yours. Gao Ying catches her quickly, understanding your intention. At the same time, your handhold falls away almost immediately, crumbling into nothingness. You plummet, shouting, “I’ll come for you soon! Keep yourself safe until then!” She cries out something in return but you cannot make out her words.

***

You pick yourself up from the ground, battered and bruised. The fall had been a terrible experience. It was only through your agility and instinct that you avoided having your head caved in on the way down – the wind rushing past your ears changed subtly in tone whenever there was a dangerous rock headed your way. Looking up, you yell out to Cao’er. Your shout echoes upwards and is smothered by the dark. You wait, but no response comes. Gao Ying might have dragged her away, or it is too far for your voice to reach her; you do not know which. You cannot even see where you fell from.

The air is dusty from the collapse of the tunnels above, but cold and humid. You can hear the sound of running water far off in the distance. As your eyes become more accustomed to the dark, you see faint, glowing streaks of green light running along the walls. Going closer, you run your hands along the surface and take a closer look. It is moss – a particular type you have read about before in one of the books that Master Yao burnt, as was his habit. Scraping the moss from the walls gently, you gather a small mound in one hand, casting just barely enough light for you to navigate by.

Holding your hand out in front, you begin walking towards the water.

You barely take a few steps before you step. In front of you you can barely make out the silhouettes of a a few people collapsed on the floor. You draw closer, allowing the pale glow of the moss to light up the bodies. The blood and entrails are dark in the green light; they are the agents that were killed by the madman just now. You wonder where he is… it would probably be too much to hope that the fall killed him. At least you have not heard any rattling chains.

Further ahead, you see a familiar outline.

Qilin.

You rush over to her side, taking care not to drop the moss. She is slumped over on the ground. You touch her shoulder and shake her gently. “Hey,” you whisper. “Are you okay?” She does not respond. Turning her over, you see that the side of her head is painted with blood. She might have hit her head somehow as she fell, causing her to land poorly. One of her legs is twisted at a bad angle and bleeding profusely. You talk to her again, trying to rouse her gently. Her lips part and close in a soft murmur, but her eyes do not open.

You have no choice; you will have to stabilize her condition before you can move her anywhere. You gather more moss and place them on the ground to give you enough light to work by. Loosening Qilin’s tunic, you expose her bare shoulders. The pressure points next to her shoulder and neck would help stem the blood flowing from her head. Taking a deep breath, you hit those points quickly. She stirs slightly and moans, but does not awaken. You take off your outer tunic, tearing it into pieces for bandages. After wiping away the blood on her head, you wrap up the wound.

Next, you turn your attention to her leg. You carefully cut away part of her trousers around the affected leg, baring it to the thigh. Wincing at the amount of work you would have to do, you run your fingers along her leg, examining it for any breaks in the bone. You find none, but the injury is serious nonetheless. You grit your teeth and get to work stopping the blood and bandaging the wound. After setting the limb properly, you lean back and let out a sigh. You know whatever you did was just a temporary measure; the best thing you can do right now is to find a way out before Qilin’s condition deteriorates.

You manage, with some difficulty, to tie the unconscious girl to your back. Scooping up the moss, you begin to make your way further in, always heading towards the sound of running water.

After some time, you come to the source – it turns out to be an underground waterfall running through a large cavern. You bend down, cupping up some water. The water is cold; probably drinkable. Massive amounts of moss are growing all over the walls of the cavern, lighting up the entire place with an eerie, greenish glow. A few ripples in the pond seem to indicate that there could be fish or other animals living within. At the far end of the stream, you see the entrance to another tunnel. You would have to cross the stream to continue exploring. You put your hands behind you, wrapping them around Qilin’s waist to ensure she doesn’t fall off. Taking a few steps back, you break into a sprint and leap. Your jump takes you across the stream; your feet skid against the wet, slippery rock as you make it to the other side, but you manage to keep yourself upright.

The tunnel ends up being a long and winding path. Here and there you hear scuttling rats, but they do not appear in front of you.

Finally, just as you were getting tired of the trek, you reach the end of the tunnel; it opens out into a large, circular chamber. You hold up the moss, examining the room with its light. The center of the chamber is dominated by a large boulder, wrapped around with thick chains. The top of the boulder is hollow; water has collected inside. Is the top of the chamber exposed to the elements? That is the only explanation you can think of right now – that rain water is what has filled the boulder. Here and there you see piles of little bones and some larger ones mixed within. Rats, definitely… but you wonder if those are human bones in the mix.

Unlit torches are found mounted at regular intervals along the sides of the chamber; if you found a way of making fire, you could light them up. There is also writing covering nearly every surface of the walls, though the glow of the moss makes it difficult to decipher the words. It looks like they were written in blood, and the writing grows more erratic near one end of the wall. From what you could make out, it seems that these were instructions for martial arts techniques of some kind.

You hear Qilin murmur softly behind you. You stop your investigation of the walls and immediately turn your attention to her. She does not seem to be feeling well – you set her down and examine her quickly. The Miao girl is still out of it, but it looks like a fever has set in; her forehead is palpably warm under your hand.

Since you are also tired out by the events of the day, it would be best to find a place to rest and recuperate, and soon. Further exploration can wait. It would be best for you to stay close to Qilin until she wakes up: you are not about to leave an unconscious girl lying around alone.

***

A. You return to the tunnels where you fell in and camp there. Though food and water will be scarce and the conditions are not ideal for Qilin’s recuperation, if there is a search party that is probably the first place they will look.

B. You set up camp by the waterfall, an easy source of water. Although the air is wet and the rocks slippery, you could probably find food in the water; there are probably cave fish living within. As you do not know how long it would take for rescue to come, you need a more reliable food source.

C. You will remain in the chamber. The environment is more comfortable here despite the bones, and could help Qilin recover more quickly. You will also have more of an opportunity to study the writing on the walls. On the downside, you might have to eat rat for the time being if you should get hungry, and the water in the boulder is limited.

 

[ERYFKRAD]

A doesn't sound like the best of ideas given that's also the kind of place Waxy the wonderful would frequent.

 

[Nevill]

The search is not coming. The only party who can lead a search is Gao Ying, and he is not interested. He won't let Cao'er go inside alone either, as per our request. A is out.

What is the fever that Qilin is suffering from? Do we have enough medical knowledge to know if wet air is harmful to her or not? We need a source of water, both for survival and for medical purposes. A proper food should help her recover as well.

 

[treave]

You are not sure about the cause; you are not Cao'er. Could be injury infection, which will become clear in the next few days, or could be existing ailment. If you had the proper herbs you could definitely alleviate the fever regardless of the cause, but that's not possible down here. The medical books tell you that a feverish patient should avoid exposure to water as much as possible as it is bad for the humours. Whether it is actually that serious or not, you don't know. Whatever food source you get, you're going to be eating it raw until you get a source of fire, but on the other hand raw fish is still more palatable than raw rat I suppose.

 

[Nevill]

The chamber looks like someone is living here, or lived here for a while, and I can only name one inhabitant of the bottomless pit. It is unknown if meeting him would be a good or a bad thing.

If rain reaches the top of the boulder, the maybe the sunlight can, as well? We'll need a glass, or something that can work as a lens, and the torches are plentiful.

I am inclined to stay where we are.

 

[treave]

It might be a good idea for future reference to drag along someone with Fire Cult neigong the next time you plan a lengthy underground excursion.

 

[Azira]

Should have taken Cao'er with us and cushioned her fall, but nooo. People wanted alone time with Qilin instead, and now the girl is dying.

Ohwell, her recovery comes first.

C

 

[Nevill]

Whatever food source you get, you're going to be eating it raw until you get a source of fire, but on the other hand raw fish is still more palatable than raw rat I suppose.

Hmmm... is Xiaoqing still around?

The medical books tell you that a feverish patient should avoid exposure to water as much as possible as it is bad for the humours.

Gotta trust those medical books. We didn't spend a year and a half around Yao for nothing.

Also, good job protecting Cao'er, everyone!

C.

 

[treave]

Hmmm... is Xiaoqing still around?

Hm, good point. It's probably somewhere on her, but you probably don't want to put your hands under Qilin's clothes too much lest you get bitten or stung by things. Turning into a toad is game over.

Wait till she wakes up then ask to eat her snake.

Gotta trust those medical books. We didn't spend a year and a half around Yao for nothing.

A lot of it is just folk belief though, in those days.