[LP CYOA] Pilgrimage

[oscar]

1B

 

[Elfberserker]

Wait, was the Mirthwater stone idol who cursed the pilgrim?
This might good way to remove curse, even the guys might easily suspect foul play on our part.

 

[asxetos]

2
It can work.

 

[a cut of domestic sheep prime]

I am soaring on the thermal currents that snake along the underside of the sky like veins, close to the stars and the top of the Mountain. From a bird’s-eye view I see a party of three, one golden, one red and one grey, scurrying along the grassy plains as though they are hunted and perhaps they are, for they speed up as I approach and desperately try to make their way toward the Lighthouse and down to the docks and thence to a ship and the open ocean and the promise of freedom but I swoop down and they cannot proceed further and must negotiate their way through me and the golden one with spectral wings and a crown of bone and eyes of molten gold speaks to me “Come find me, for Hell rides at your back” she says, and the arm that I bear which is not mine splinters and howls and is broken and I along with it.

I think she wants us to find her and bring this thing - I take that from the "hell rides at your back part". Why else would she want us to come if hell was at our back? Hell being this thing? It may be that she is capable of wresting control of it away from its masters. The part about our arm is strange though. It doesn't sound good.

Besides, if our aim is to work with this thing, I don't think we should betray what it told us - especially not after being told to keep quite about it:

“What did you see? Can you find them?”

I look at the Alia double and she smiles knowingly, raising a finger to her lips. I saw the eyeless one and her two companions. I know where they are. Whatever link we share was amplified a thousand fold by the Alia-thing’s mental assault, and the blind woman called out to me.

Also, perhaps the extreme amplification of our link caused us to see something more than the eyeless one intended. Perhaps what happens to our arm in the vision is something she intends to do to us when if we go to her. And perhaps the fact that we saw her as a golden angel with a crown of bone was also more than she wanted us to see.

2

How did you all avoid being knocked out by that thing?

 

[a cut of domestic sheep prime]

And Lore Roll:
What was the "golden one with spectral wings and a crown of bone and eyes of molten gold" that we saw?

I'd figure either our occult lore or legends and folklore would turn something up...if I can roll this right...

 

[Kz3r0]

2)

 

[Storyfag]

1A. Also, slyly investigate the possibility of the Quaestor helping us to destroy the stone idol. We don't need to free the Druj if he can order it to aid us.

 

[a cut of domestic sheep prime]

How did you all avoid being knocked out by that thing?

You mean Vyck and Severian being knocked out by the release of the Druj?

Yeah. Why were we the only one knocked out? Couldn't it knock them out too?

not sure I understand the question. It was the eyeless woman that ressed you back at the Mountain and that the Quaestor is chasing. You mean, if her appearance in the 'dream' sequence has some other significance?

Sure. I mean, does anything about her appearance in the vision coincide with any mythical figures or signs or anything else for that matter? The crown of bone for example was a weird detail.

 

[a cut of domestic sheep prime]

Well, the first question was more addressed to Vyck and Severian themselves, hence my earlier phrasing of it. I wanted to see if we could get an idea of any protections they possessed so that if we succeed in gaining control of the druj, they won't be able to stop us.

The second question is very enlightening. Both interpretations could be true. Either way, the eyeless one seems even less trustworthy to me.

 

[Baltika9]

1A

 

[Baltika9]

1A

 

[ERYFKRAD]

3

 

[Grimgravy]

2

 

[Esquilax]

Some observations:

I look at the Alia double and she smiles knowingly, raising a finger to her lips. I saw the eyeless one and her two companions. I know where they are. Whatever link we share was amplified a thousand fold by the Alia-thing’s mental assault, and the blind woman called out to me.

“With its help you can see them, can’t you? It can lead you to them. We can use it.”

Vyck curses loudly at this and almost lunges at him, his face a terrifying mask of rage.

“I thought you wanted to use to know what happened to the Optikos!”

“And so I do, so I do, but it has affected the pilgrim somehow, don’t you see? It would be foolish to waste this opportunity.”

This seems to be one of the few times we've seen a genuine reaction from Vyck. Every interaction we've had with him, his demeanor has been one of a carefully practiced nonchalance, but here it's obvious that he cares about why the Mirthwater Optikos went dark and is absolutely livid that the Quaestor's priorities lie elsewhere. This definitely indicates that there's some serious potential to drive a rift between them if we can play this right. Vyck's been difficult to read - as he was back in the brothel - but this was the real Fedor right here.

2) Tell Severian a lie: that you had a vision that leads back to the stone idol in the Mirthwater, and that you’ll be able to use the Alia-thing’s assistance to help you locate them from there. He seems already convinced of the last part.

Not sure if I see this plan having much potential. Even if they believe our lies - which they very well could - then what? We've memorized the Quastor's ritual movements to bind the Druj, but he possesses the same trick too. The other alternative to unlocking our powers would be to somehow manipulate the Ashguard into doing our work for us (which has potential) but for the forseeable future, we're stuck with these two, so I don't know what exactly we would intend to do once we reached the stone altar.

On the other hand, I'm not particularly keen on having a powerful, extremely dangerous guy like Severian hunting the eyeless on, not when she still could be very useful to us. Either way, we're getting played by someone with an agenda of their own; by Severian if we choose to come clean with 1B, or by this corrupted form of Alia should we go towards the stone idol. In either case, Vyck will be more hostile towards us, though if we can profit from it in the long-run by being able to burn him to a crisp with a single thought, I doubt the Pilgrim will give a shit.

But, I suppose we'll have the most leverage to manipulate things with 1A so I'll stick with that for now.

 

[Storyfag]

But it is an interesting observation none the less: the Mirthwater Optikos also went silent. I wonder if the circumstances were similar. Also, did they bind a Druj too? Was it then captured by Kurze and held in Duskhold?

 

[a cut of domestic sheep prime]

But it is an interesting observation none the less: the Mirthwater Optikos also went silent. I wonder if the circumstances were similar. Also, did they bind a Druj too? Was it then captured by Kurze and held in Duskhold?

Haha. If that were the case then wouldn't we become Kurze if 2 goes well? Complete with our own Alia. Sounds pretty awesome to me. We could probably use our druj to rally the little goblinoids behind us the way he did and take up residence in the Duskhold ruins. Full circle and all that.

 

[Longinus]

1A

 

[Azira]

Azira: 1A
oscar: 1B
asxetos: 2
Lambchop19: 2
Kz3r0: 2
Storyfag: 1A
Baltika9: 1A
ERYFKRAD: 3
Grimgravy: 2
Esquilax: 1A

Total tally;
1A: 4
1B: 1
2: 4
3: 1

Did you flip a coin for 2 to win, root?

Oh, and if Longinus' vote were to have been counted, 1A would've won.

 

[Rex Feral]

1A

 

[Bricks]

Sweet update. Feels good man.

Dicerollquestion:

Why do our 'friends' want the eyeless one? Can we ask them? Obviously they dont want to kill her/it?

How did they catch the Druj? Can we just summon them like Kurze did?

Why was everyone dead (someones torn of handclub) in the cellar?

Did root spoiler us by saying the the well dwelling wormdaemon is da evilest being in the lp? Meaning we cant trust it with anything?

 

[Bricks]

So, its 1A or 2, eh

1A is safer cause 2 was suggested by the evul cunt!

1A, do eeet.

 

[Azira]

We've had three further 1A votes since you closed it due to miscount, giving 1A a solid 7 to 4 lead.

 

[Azira]

Reading comprehension fail on my part about you opening the vote again back there.

 

[Bricks]

whats forbidden lore, halbech?

do druj appear in legends and folklore? are there many of them? fluffupdate

can we use our 2 fatepoints to kill both our 'benefactors'?

what happened to the false prophet dirga and what was he prophesizeteling?

 

[Grimgravy]

1: The exotic-looking silvery tube things that flare on one end. Perhaps some kind of horn?
2: yes