[LP CYOA] Epic

[CappenVarra]

See, this is why grenades were invented - while the "girls" are tumbling, you stand at a safe distance and spam ranged attacks at the blob...

 

[newcomer]

Even if Marduk managed to devour Zeus, I doubt he will be able to master the knowledge to use Vajra just like that... Hence my vote on B

 

[Storyfag]

Yeah, even if Marduk will be able to eventually learn to interface with Vajra after devouring Zeus, I don't think that will happen immediately.

 

[Esquilax]

The more I think about it, the more I'm convinced that we're going to pay for trying to take the easy way out here with A. We already paid for taking the easy way out when we hijacked Zeus' lightning bolt, and I think we're going to pay for it again if we think that we can waltz into Zeus' protective shield with our resonating piece of Vajra and kill them both just like that. It's extremely naive.

Let's look at the clue that we have:

Your piece of Vajra begins to shine brightly, rumbling, and you can sense the other two pieces that Zeus had gathering power within the dark mass that is Marduk and Zeus. The shimmering veil now enclosed the both of them, and if you had to do anything soon, you would have to draw close to them.

See, we don't know what exactly is going on in there, but we do have some idea thanks to our piece. We know that Zeus is trying to gather and call upon as much of Vajra's might as he possibly can. If we present him with an opportunity like getting close to him so that he'll add the strength of our piece to what he already as (and we know all too well how good Zeus is at snatching up opportunities), he's going to ruthlessly exploit it and take our piece from us. With his innate strength, his knowledge of Vajra, the fact that he has two pieces already, our close proximity to him as he's gathering his strength is going to be a Christmas present.

Now for some metagaming with the Vajra hint that treave provided:

Vajra is a Sanskrit word meaning both thunderbolt and diamond. As a material device, the vajra is a ritual object, a short metal weapon that originates from India and has the symbolic nature of a diamond (it can cut any substance but not be cut itself) and that of the thunderbolt (irresistible force).

The five pronged vajra (with four makaras, plus a central prong) is the most commonly seen vajra. There is an elaborate system of correspondences between the five elements of the noumenal side of the vajra, and the phenomenal side. One important correspondence is between the five "poisons" with the five wisdoms. The five poisons are the mental states that obscure the original purity of a being's mind, while the five wisdoms are the five most important aspects of the enlightened mind. Each of the five wisdoms is also associated with a Buddha figure.

desire/wisdom of individuality, anger/mirror-like wisdom, delusion/reality wisdom, pride/wisdom of equanimity, envy/all-accomplishing wisdom.

I am pretty certain that with Zeus trying to muster as much of Vajra's power as he possibly can to hold off Marduk, if we come close to him at this crucial time, he's going to add our piece to his own considerable strength. And then we'll be fucked, because he'll achieve his "original purity" and attain "enlightenment".

A. You can't let Marduk complete his absorption of Zeus, particularly with two pieces of Vajra in hand. You rush in to try to finish them off... You are so close to victory and you will not abandon this chance at it.

Like I said, this is the easy way out. It's the same bullshit we tried to do when we thought we were clever by hijacking Zeus' thunderbolt. We knew that we'd have to face some hard fights here, so we have to be willing to accept that fact. But if it's a choice between an enlightened Zeus who has achieved the "original purity" of his Master form or Super Marduk softened up from his lightning bolt* and still not acclimated to his newfound power, I'll take the latter any day of the week.

* Although I'm willing to concede that ScubaV is right and the devouring process will heal him. Still, I think that entering Zeus' protective veil is naive and it'll backfire horribly.

 

[Baltika9]

Even if Marduk managed to devour Zeus, I doubt he will be able to master the knowledge to use Vajra just like that... Hence my vote on B

"We thank you for reassembling Vajra. Masters inc. hopes you have a stable, fast and bug-free customer experience. Our team put their utmost effort into assembling Vajra, and it symbolizes the epitome of modern engineering."
"Booting Windows Vista. Have a pleasant day." Yeah, that'll take him a while. Apparently Gieloth are too to use shit interfaces.

Anyways, flopping to B, because of Esquilax and Newcomer, your bros convinced me.

 

[Tigranes]

Very well, B.

 

[ScubaV]

Yeah, gonna go B.

 

[Azira]

I think Ean is pretty well and truly boned. Even if he does the Smart Thing, he still has one piece of Vajra, one that seems to resonate with the others. Our best hope is that whatever shit is going to happen now, hopefully destroys/seriously weakens both Zeus and Marduk.

 

[Azira]

I think Ean is pretty well and truly boned. Even if he does the Smart Thing, he still has one piece of Vajra, one that seems to resonate with the others. Our best hope is that whatever shit is going to happen now, hopefully destroys/seriously weakens both Zeus and Marduk.

 

[Bloodshifter]

B. No need to jump the aids roddled and very butch lesibans just pick off the one who is still up for round two

 

[ScubaV]

Well, the torrent of As mean that you guys seem pretty sure about this choice. I might not need to wait till Thursday to update, then.

I've got A - 4 and B - 8 post-flopping and reconsidering. No need to wait til Thursday in this case either.

 

[Kukulkan]

B

 

[Baltika9]

Well, the torrent of As mean that you guys seem pretty sure about this choice. I might not need to wait till Thursday to update, then.

I've got A - 4 and B - 8 post-flopping and reconsidering. No need to wait til Thursday in this case either.

Indeed. Time to end this chapter already.
By the way treave, I still want to know what military doctrine Ean introduced as Sumeria's king? Hoplites, Legionnaires or something else?

 

[Kipeci]

A
What could possibly go wrong?

 

[treave]

A - 5
B - 9

***

Chapter 5.21: Cataclysm

When it started, you realized the safe distance was very, very far away. As the ground cracked and the world around the two gods began to shift, you run. All around you, trees tumbled and rocks shattered. The earth itself heaved and the heavens split. The sky turned a dark, blood-red around the peak that you were leaving behind.

"Iltani!"

You shout out her name over and over as you sprint down the crumbling mountain. There was no response, and you couldn't sense her presence anywhere. She was either unconscious or no longer in the vicinity. As you reach where you left her, you prepare to enter the forest to look for her. Edem tries to pull you back.

"We don't have time to look for your little girlfriend. Do you want to get buried here?"

"There is no way I can leave her here. Go, I'll catch up."

"Ah, for fuck's sake... If you don't come back alive Sekhenun will be displeased. She can be pretty nasty when she is. Be quick about it." Edem floats himself up in the air with his telekinesis. "I'll help out from the air."

"Can't you float me up too?"

"Don't ask for too much. Hurry up, we don't have too much time!"

You run through the woods, shouting out Iltani's name again. Still no response. The rumbling of the earth was getting stronger.

Ean, there. Quickly.

An image of the path you had to take flashed into your mind, courtesy of Edem, and you follow it. At the end of the path, you find Iltani, lying under a fallen tree. Placing your arm under the tree, you nudge it up and roll it away with your mind. Iltani was knocked out but still alive. You haul her over her shoulder.

The quaking of the mountain stopped. Everything was silent.

Fuck.

What's going on, Edem?

Run. Fucking run, now!

The ground suddenly sank beneath your feet. You leap, and sprint down the mountain at full speed. Taking a short glance behind you, you saw something horrible: a black miasma, streaked with red, spreading right towards you at a very high speed. You find it in yourself somehow to move your feet even faster.

***

Somehow, you made it out, Iltani slung over your shoulder and all. Edem joined you shortly after as you perched on a nearby cliff, looking at what remained of the mountain of the gods. A dark cloud had settled over where the mountain used to be, with streaks of red swimming through it like blood flowing through vessels. Olympus was no more, in its place a thin, twisted, jet-black monolith, almost as tall as the mountain used to be. It was as if the skin and flesh of the mountain had fallen away to reveal a rotten skeleton.

And then, before your eyes, even that remaining skeleton crumbled away. The cloud settles and thickens, and soon you could not see anything left in the area but black and red.

***

"He did not make it back."

"He panicked. He tried to get back with only two parts of the key. Of course it was going to tear a hole in the fabric of reality! It was a mistake to assign him that job."

"We tried to cut off his way back, of course he would panic!"

"We couldn't risk having that thing coming back with him. He was on his own the moment he screwed up."

"Well, what's done is done. No punishment we can think up will be as bad as his fate now."

"What do we do about the control world? The existence of such a rift there definitely ruins our purpose for it."

"Agreed. The rift is undesirable."

"We should purge this world."

"Why don't we convert it to a test world instead?"

"We have plenty of those and not enough control worlds. We do not have the resources to maintain them all any longer."

"But -"

"Ladies and gentlemen. This is unbecoming. Let us clear things up by casting a vote. If you would, kindly?"

"All of those in favour of a purge? Very well, noted."

"And those in favour of conversion to a test world? Alright."

"It's a tie."

"Why do you remain undecided?"

"I suggest a third path: we observe this world longer before deciding."

"We no longer have any eyes on that world. We still haven't repaired the damage those damned pests did to the link."

"There are other ways to observe. May I be put in charge of this project? I am sure all of you have greater things to tend to."

"... very well. You now have responsibility over this world. Don't mess up like he did."

"I won't."

----CHAPTER END----

 

[Esquilax]

Goddamnit, now things are really fucked. treave, my curiosity's killing me: would A have meant a glorious death with both Marduk and Zeus gone?

 

[Smashing Axe]

Awesome, it looks like we made the right decision, A sounds like it was perma-death. It's a shame we couldn't get the other fragments of Vajra, but what can you do? This was a better end than I was expecting, ultimately.

 

[Baltika9]

Esquilax and newcomer, you just saved Ean's ass.


Thanks, bros.

Edit: Esquilax, things are indeed fucked. But, Ean still lives. Which means Holy Terra has a chance. Chin up, those fuckers will get what's coming to 'em (read: tasteless tentacle rape.)

 

[Smashing Axe]

In before treave tells us that we would have reforged Vajra, destroyed both Zeus and Marduk, and spared Greece the devastation wrought upon it.

Also, Eden can fly? Sounds like that earthquake would have been harmless to Nabu.

 

[Bloodshifter]

Okay so we blew up a mountain killed a King and a God then get the girl? followed by getting a new god to join in on the fun AND narrowly Escaping Death

Ean you fucking deserve a drink and more for this crap *smug face is smug*

The Next Chapter better have Ean telling this story to everyone he meets if he wasn't a God before this is now definitely in the God-Like Acts Category.

 

[treave]

A means the close proximity of the third piece allows Zeus to open the gate and get back, bringing you and Marduk along with him, where he will presumably be punished for fucking up but not so much because he brought Vajra back to them, which allows them to fix their link faster.

It also means that the Masters destroy both you and Marduk in a very permanent manner. But they manage to get their control world back under control.

On the downside you're dead and the Masters are free to go ahead with their plans.

On the upside, well, you don't have a mini Eye of Terror where Olympus used to be.

Also, Eden can fly? Sounds like that earthquake would have been harmless to Nabu.

Pretty much, though it was also a matter of principle: you held off his army and outwitted him long enough to send them all into the abyss. It would be quite unseemly to keep on struggling when he had already lost, and without that tower his chances against you were a bit less than even.

 

[Baltika9]

On the upside, well, you don't have a mini Eye of Terror where Olympus used to be.

Does this mean who I think it means is/are coming along to play?

A means the close proximity of the third piece allows Zeus to open the gate and get back, bringing you and Marduk along with him, where he will presumably be punished for fucking up but not so much because he brought Vajra back to them, which allows them to fix their link faster.

It also means that the Masters destroy both you and Marduk in a very permanent manner.

Oh, so he's still alive, eh? So, why was he doing this crap? "Lulz, powah?"

The Next Chapter better have Ean telling this story to everyone he meets if he wasn't a God before this is now definitely in the God-Like Acts Category.

Indeed, chapter five in a nutshell (repost for truth):

Edit:

You shout out her name over and over as you sprint down the crumbling mountain. There was no response, and you couldn't sense her presence anywhere. She was either unconscious or no longer in the vicinity. As you reach where you left her, you prepare to enter the forest to look for her. Edem tries to pull you back.


...

An image of the path you had to take flashed into your mind, courtesy of Edem, and you follow it. At the end of the path, you find Iltani, lying under a fallen tree. Placing your arm under the tree, you nudge it up and roll it away with your mind. Iltani was knocked out but still alive. You haul her over her shoulder.

...

"There are other ways to observe. May I be put in charge of this project? I am sure all of you have greater things to tend to."

Yep, we definitely split with Iltani. This is not just about Arthur and Guinevere shit. I'm pretty sure she's the mole.
I'm even considering killing her.

 

[Esquilax]

Wow, I guess this really was the best (read: least bad) option on the table, then. Glad newcomer and I were able to convince you bros to flop; I knew that no good would come of having three pieces of Vajra in Zeus' vicinity. We came out alive with both Edem and Iltani, and the God-Emperor of Mankind still lives on to protect Humanity. Now it's time to regroup in Babylon, rendezvous with Sekhenun and see what our options are.

My preliminary suggestion - it's time to get the old band back together. That's right: if there's one thing that's going to bring three dudes that hate each other as much as Ean, Shulgi and Naram, it's the ascendancy of Super Marduk. They each have reason to want this asshole out of the picture - Ean wants him dead because he is a threat to Mankind, Shulgi wants him dead (or... absorbed) because he's a threat to his power, Naram wants him dead because he poses a threat to the power of his beloved Masters.

Bad reading comprehension on my part. Marduk and Zeus are out of the picture and wandering in fuck knows where.

Baltika9: Yeah, I'm pretty sure I'm thinking what you're thinking - share a delicious dinner of filet Naram with Sekhenun over a glass of wine and romantic music.

I'm pretty sure we could whistle up Shulgi somewhat easily seeing as we've already raised him up to be a god in the old pantheon. We might need Naram regardless, no way he'd pick Marduk over us - Marduk is a far greater threat to the Masters than we are at this point.

 

[Baltika9]

Esquilax Not Naram. Between us and Marduk I think he'd rather choose Marduk. Reason being that we are not only a dirty rebel that raised his sword against his beloved Masters, like Marduk, but also someone who subverted their blessings and used his powers against them.

A powered-up Sekhenun, on the other hand... you thinking what I'm thinking?

Edit: besides, he will never work with Shulgi either, not to mention Shulgi and Ean.
Hell, screw those guys. Get Sekhenun nice and fed, get Edem and his pop (who apparently is still alive) and go kick some ass.

Edit2: Esquilax: Glad to have you on board the tentacle-lover ship, at last. Incidentally, yes, that is part of what I'm thinking. Shulgi should also somewhat respect Ean now, if not envy him for breaking his leash, seeing as he, too, rebelled.

 

[Tigranes]

Looks like in the end we got off pretty well. Iltani's alive, we still have our piece of Vajra which I"m pretty sure will be useful somehow, we've successfully collaborated with Edem, Marduk and Zeus are gone. All that remains is to return to Babylon and Sekhenun leaving the shit-hole Greece (and Egypt) will be for some time. It's time to actually collect the fruits of our labours in order to be better equipped for new trials - whether that be making babies, giving ourselves a hedge fund of resources, training an army, or gathering knowledge.