In Progress [LP CYOA] Tower

I hope we remember the lesson, folks. We can be shy hunter, adventure hunter, lover boy hunter, whatever, it's all cool, but it pays to go back to the simple facts in the update text and not imagine all these alternate realities based on wishful assumptions.

Now it's time for that victory celebration swamp foursome right

 

To hell with you and your sensible ideas.

To wit, these creatures are shapeshifters: who else do we know is a shapeshifter? That's right, Shulgi. BUT... Shulgi is also old. Who's the oldest person we know? Grandma Tlalli. Gentlemen, it is too soon to celebrate. While we're celebrating our victory swamp foursome, lulled into a false sense of security, Shulgi-Tlalli will slash our throats. Much butthurt will be had, and after 15 pages of debate, popamolers will vote for a rollback, which will succeed by a single vote after someone - probably me - flops at the last second.

 

OK, good, you're saying the swamp foursome will at least partially happen

 

You don't expect him to actually tell, do you?

If he did, the blamegame would never cease.

 

Because I have no confirmation on the consequences of 2C, I would like to thank Lambchop19 for stopping me from pushing us into a terrible mistake with 2A. Good looking out, man.

It's worth a shot.

But isn't that the point?

 

Of course I would have. You dropped a bunch of hints that Sophie was vulnerable and one giant hint that the gun was a bad idea.

That said, I really don’t like having too much I told you so ammo because that’s when people start actually trusting me by default instead of thinking about what I say and checking to make sure I’m not wrong. Then we’re one yolo moment way from Sphere Diplomacy.

 

I still do not believe you. How bad can it be?

(it's just a turn of phrase one uses to show inexperience, not some secret sign)

 

It’s also a narrative trope. You say it and then it turns out to be really hard or more complex than you thought.

There’s probably a reason treave said “ammo” as well. Freudian slip maybe.

 

Eh, I'm still confident the revolver would have ended up fine.

 

Sure. What’s the worst that could happen?

 

That rather depends on which option were to win for 2, I'd suspect.

 

Guess the revolver was shooting blanks huh?

 

The Ancient Jungle (III)

While keeping a wary eye on Tlalli’s fight against the monster, you head over to Sophie, slingshot at the ready. Sophie glances at you out of the side of her eye, frowning.

“What are you doing here?”

“Staying with you. Just in case.”

“W-Why, thank you, then,” She flushes red and gives you some reluctant gratitude. “I must admit that I was feeling rather nervous about being by myself.”

You give her a nod, not knowing what else to say and hoping that would be enough to reassure her.

“I suppose this isn’t be the best time to talk, but… I guess we don’t talk much, do we?” says Sophie after some time. She is correct about both, you think. You just nod again, affirming her statement. Sophie giggles suddenly. “You don’t talk much in the first place, so that’s not my fault.”

“Still, I say, Madam Tlalli is really quite the amazing woman, even though she is the furthest one could get from being a proper lady,” Sophie says, peering through her glasses. Tlalli has the hag in a chokehold at the moment, attempting to twist its head off. The monster shrieks and begins transforming once again, turning into a seal-like creature and slipping out of Tlalli’s grasp.

“Indeed, the Grand Old Lady of the Hunters’ Association truly lives up to her name, does she not? Why, to think that even this is not the full extent of her ability. That is truly a scary thought, hmm?”

Someone speaks up behind you. You whirl around, placing yourself between Sophie and the newcomer.

A tremendously fat man stands before you, monocle on one eye and a clownishly tall top-hat atop his head. His tailcoat is a deep blue, strained around his immense belly. It looks as if his buttons are about to pop at any time. A wide, toothy grin is spread over his face as he twirls his cane joyfully. Most of all, you can feel a wrongness about him… a wrongness you last felt with the monk in the ruins.

“Oh, pardon me for interrupting, dear children,” he says, tweaking his handlebar moustache. “I must have lost my manners somewhere in the swamp, hmm? Dear me, what a chore it would be to roll around in the mud looking for it! Thankfully, I always come prepared with an extra set of manners. My name, you see, is John Bull.” As he takes a deep bow, you sense a subtle change in your surroundings. Somehow, the world feels less real. A mist has descended around you, obscuring all visibility beyond a few meters. You back away from the man, feeling Sophie clutch onto your clothes tightly behind you.

“Marvellous instincts, little chap!” chuckles John Bull jovially as he observes your reaction. “But there is no need to be afraid –“

“Help! Help!” shouts Sophie instantly. But no help comes. It is as if her voice has been swallowed up by the mist.

The fat man laughs. “As I was saying, my dear, there is no need to be afraid, hmm? I just want to talk.” He leans over gleefully, his blue eyes almost bulging in excitement. Striking the ground with his cane, he continues talking. “I came to talk with Dame Tlalli, mind you, that dear old friend of mine. Imagine my surprise when I found such wonderful little children along with her, in such a dangerous place! How very, very risky indeed, hmm?”

“What do you want?” you ask curtly.

“Why, all I desire is but to do what any gentleman would! I cannot in good conscience ignore the plight of children lost in the woods. Indeed, I had thought better of the Grand Old Lady than to bring such delectably young, upstanding youths into the jaws of danger, tsk tsk. What would I be if I did not offer my assistance to you then? A monster, hmm?”

“And how do you plan to help?”

“I can, dear boy, get you home.” John Bull’s grin widens even further, as if to split his face apart. “And… oh, bless my old eyes and hope they may be right, but you are one who is marked, hmm?” His gaze falls upon your bad leg, twinkling with interest.

“You can… get us home?” asks Sophie, half hopeful, half afraid.

He spreads his arms and makes a pirouette, his girth belying a surprising agility. “Yes, indubitably! My Astra, the Silver Compass, lets me travel through the floors in the wink of an eye! Why, my dear, should you care to take a ride with me, I will have you home and tucked in bed before the hour is past!”

You look the fat man in the eye, and he looks back, not shying away from your gaze, grinning all the while. “It’s a very jolly good proposition, if I do say so myself, hmm? But tick, tock, time is running out!” Taking out a pocket-watch, he makes a big show of peering at it. “I am a busy, busy man, you know! Places to be, people to see!”

“What about Elizabeth?” you ask.

"Elizabeth? A beautiful name, yes?" nods John Bull. "I have no idea who Elizabeth is and where she is, but why, I suppose we could just pick her up as we go! It would be no problem at all for a gentleman of my stature, hmm?"

“W-What should we do?” whispers a nervous Sophie quietly, breathing into your ear. You are mildly surprised that she is asking for your opinion, and at such a close distance too.


***


You decide to:

A. Accept John Bull’s offer.

B. Turn down John Bull.

C. Reject John Bull by firing your slingshot at his head without warning.

D. Attempt to stall for time by engaging him in conversation.​

 

D is fail, given our 0 speech and below-average charisma. Our MC is legitimately horrible at being talkative. And this man does not look like someone we can take on, so I would rule out C too.

 

He seems trustworthy.
So, Baltika, what do your senses tell you? He feels like Father Rasputin, so clearly we should follow him to the nearest alley ASAP.
Could be worse. Could be a real clown.

Show Spoiler Hide Spoiler

You are not the Comrade Bull we were looking for. Methinks you are a Western spy.

So I am not accepting offers from a strange man who snuck up on us to talk behind Madam Tlalli's back while she is occupied.

How do we turn him down, though? He doesn't look like a gentleman who would take it very kindly.

I'd stall for time, but I am afraid any attempt on our part would be very transparent... Wouldn't it still be better than flat out refusal though? It's not like we can stop him from doing anything if he sets him mind to it, but... maybe Tlalli would notice?

Edit:

Um, mister? We are not really a welder...

 

B would be best if we're going to turn him down. Better to be straightforward than employ a very transparent ruse.

 

Nothing best about being straightforward. We've already been straightforward about turning down a deal with a powerful stranger in Overlord. It didn't end well. Attacking him would have been better, even with him being stronger.

Of course, the disparity in power is immense here.

All choices have merits and associated risks. Even stunning him momentarily could dismiss the mist and allow Tlalli to see us and come to our aid. Scary? Sure! Risky? As hell! But it could work, too.

Even stalling for time with our non-existent deception skills could, since he wants us to come willingly and may be willing to extend the patience... not for long, but it could be enough for others to notice something is wrong.

 

...okay? I really doubt that we have much of a choice here, but he's giving off very bad vibes. He sounds like a fairy from the old folk tales, one of the bad ones where the children get eaten at the end.

B: "We need an adult."

C: yeet.

Given our alternatives, I think it's worth a shot.

Father Rasputin never implied that he'd eat us:

Honestly, I think that him and Rasputin feel wrong because they're not really human anymore, but somewhat supernatural entities. The question is this: are they benign or malignant?

He might obey some weird Dracula-esque code of honor where he can't do anything to us if we don't accept his offer, like the original Dracula can't enter a home without an invitation.

Attacking him is dumb, accepting his offer is extremely risky, but it may pay off. CappenVarra called it earlier with our wound from the shadowbeast. We're marked, and this man knows what's going on:

Taking a nap paid off this time, there really was something hiding in the mist.


Although I must say, Comrade Bull, that you've really let yourself go.



This is what counterrevolutionary sentiment does to an honest lifting man. The swoletariat must stay ever vigilant.

 

Alright.

C. Reject John Bull by firing your slingshot at his head without warning.

This could easily get us killed. But I figure that if we are no threat to him, he'll punish us harshly, but probably won't kill us since he wants something from us (hostages? if he wanted to approach Tlalli, why talk to us at all?)
If we are a threat in any conceivable way, I'd like to act on it.


...no, wait.

 

treave Crazy coincidence that you'd do a HxH inspired CYOA right as I started watching the show. The chains from Alexei were what tipped me off, and seeing this most recent update confirms my suspicions. Excited to see what you'll do with it. That being said, can you give us some estimates for just how tall and fat and big the Bull is?

I'm fairly certain that if we accept the offer he will have us home by Midnight, there is no doubt in my mind about that. But I have a feeling this is a test, and if we accept, there will be unforeseen consequences to our decision. Namely, we will lose out on spending a few more days with Tlalli, which is valuable time she could spent instructing us and teaching us. Who knows, maybe the Bull will teach us a trick or two. I say we reject, see the mission through with Tlalli, and try to learn as much as we can from these two.

B.

 

Well, voting B here. If he doesn't want Tlalli overhearing our conversation it's probably because she would interfere with his offer. It's also worth noting that while he offered to transport us, he didn't mention at what price. I feel like we'd be agreeing to more than we want with A.

 

We also have Sophie with us, who is much better at talking than we are, though that doesn't say much. On second thought, I think you're right about D and I removed it from my sequence. The update says as much:

This John Bull really reminds me of those old-timey Irish fairy tales*, in that he is a seemingly unnatural entity. He has all the power to take us by force if he wants to, and he can do so without anyone's notice because his mist is apparently blocking us off from being heard or noticed by the rest of the world:

The fact that he's asking for our permission makes me think that he needs it in order to do anything to us. Given that we know absolutely nothing of the man or his nature, he could be anything from a man-eating shapeshifter, to an Unseelie Fae and a loyal subject of Princess Rain. I think it's best to err on the side of caution. For once, I am not willing to attack, or to take a presented plot coupon.

We will hear from him again; I'm sure that our magical leg injury has caught his interest:

I changed my vote to a straight B. Impulse voting is a hard drug.


*For those interested, here's a link to a story called Teig O'Kane and the Corpse: https://www.bartleby.com/166/5.html

 

He's not some mystical creature. He's a human that is either in the same profession as Tlalli, or has some other goals that motivate him.

 

B refuse (and make sure Sophie doesn't accept his offer without us)

beside bad fae as mentioned by bros above, dude brings to my mind weretiger vibes from Operation: Luna (by Poul Andersen) - all that body mass needs to be conserved (physics still valid), but what if it can shift into other forms?

:mystary:

EDIT: does our minimap book show the way out of his illusion fog?

EDIT 2: "marked one"? so now we know what to call our character: Strelok!

 

D > B