[LP CYOA] Epic

[Baltika9]

Perhaps we could convince the spider-demon inflated clone head to engage in sexual intercourse with us.

: I will let you go Ean, but first you must perform oral sex on me.

 

[treave]

Wait a second, treave, would it be possible for Ean to blink behind the sphere and make his way back to Earth that way?

You can't see the rift right now so you have no way of gauging exactly how far it is from you, and you can only shift over very short distances as mentioned before. You'd have to be behind the sphere already for that to work.

Fighting has it's merits too. The sphere is between Ean and the portal, right? The same portal on whose other side the rest of our merry band lies. It would only work if Ean's display of guts inspired them.
In which case treave, how high are our loyalty scores?
Never hurts to ask. Also, is Vajra telling us anything/trying to do something? Any signals/pulses/feelings coming from it? Edit: also, how does Ean know that it is "trying to greet him?" Lip reading, or just a hunch?

What do you want the 'merry band' to do in relation to their loyalty to you? If it is to jump in after you without knowing what's happened to you, no. They're not loyal to the point of being suicidal. Neither are your soldiers, for that matter, because you are a god to them and if you are facing a problem it is definitely one that is over their heads, so it's also stupid for them to try.

Vajra is doing nothing, if it were I would have mentioned it in the update.

Lip-reading.

 

[Baltika9]

So, no escape, no backup and trying to communicate with a mute living planetoid/Terrasphagos factory (which, I am almost certain, wants us to help it enter Earth), by lip-reading of all things.

What do you want the 'merry band' to do in relation to their loyalty to you? If it is to jump in after you without knowing what's happened to you, no. They're not loyal to the point of being suicidal. Neither are your soldiers, for that matter, because you are a god to them and if you are facing a problem it is definitely one that is over their heads, so it's also stupid for them to try.

Of all the times the Masters should be paying attention. I suppose none of the Gieloth/Immortals that went in are in a condition to act right now. I know, meta.

 

[Esquilax]

If it just wanted to eat/kill Ean, it wouldn't even bother trying to make contact. And I think I know what it wants: an agent on the outside planes, something to further it's agenda. That, or the final piece of Vajra so it can complete the crossing (in which case "oh shit" indeed). But in that case, all it had to do was to have the Terrasphagos kill us, which makes the negotiations redundant again.

This being, whatever it is, is a devourer. It uses a portion of its power to create Terasphagos, then they collect biomass for the sphere's sustenance. It can't cross dimensions... yet. I believe that there's a bit of a clue here:

The sphere has moved itself to be between you and the rift. You cannot sense the other two pieces of Vajra anywhere here - they might have been eaten, or they might be somewhere else. There is no other path you want to take - you charge the sphere, fighting to get back to your own world.

Whatever this thing is, I think it ate the other pieces of Vajra, which is why it appears to be so much larger and more powerful than the others. This is how I see it going down:

A) Desperate last stand, probably a futile permadeath. An off-chance that our similar nature might give us the edge.
B) Make our way to another planet, hopefully get back to Earth in time. Hopefully Athena, Artemis, Edem and Sekhenun can deal with China
C) Give me the last piece of Vajra, and I'll let you live. We can be pals once I can cross over to Earth.

 

[Smashing Axe]

Alternatively we can let ourselves be eaten and take the pieces of Vajra from inside its stomach. From there we teleport back to earth.M:

 

[Azira]

Diplomacy my round, hairy ass.

Ean's fucked either way. We need to take whatever slim chance there might be to get back to Earth. It's what Ean's fought so hard to preserve. We can't reason with this thing, we're wholly on its playing turf, it holds all the trumphs and the longer we wait, the weaker our position.

A

 

[Esquilax]

Azira, I agree, but like you said, we're wholly on its playing turf, so why would fighting fare any better than diplomacy? Fighting Zeus worked when we had Edem watching our back and Marduk to do the job for us, but here we are completely outclassed, we have to accept that.

Like I said, the only way of getting out of this situation is to escape into another planet and hopefully find a way back in the meantime. That's why I'm sticking with B.

 

[Baltika9]

This being, whatever it is, is a devourer. It uses a portion of its power to create Terasphagos, then they collect biomass for the sphere's sustenance. It can't cross dimensions... yet. I believe that there's a bit of a clue here:
Whatever this thing is, I think it ate the other pieces of Vajra, which is why it appears to be so much larger and more powerful than the others. This is how I see it going down:

You notice that the spheres were gathered near tiny little seams like the one you had entered from. Most of the seams appeared only transiently, forming and dissolving in the fabric of the void before the spheres could send any through, but on occasion, some developed into cracks, and it was towards these that the spheres gravitated. Out of the corner of your eye, a massive sphere, far bigger than the one you had been on, reaches a seam, and it begins to force its way through, creating a terrifying shriek as the red void cracked open to let it pass.

It doesn't really need Vajra. All it apparently needs is time. And the sphere that we're squaring off against wasn't mentioned to be bigger than the rest, rather the bigger ones was contrasted against this one.
And I see where this is going. These things feed on planets, or worse yet, on solar systems, a-la C'tan.

Edit: I wonder, is this the "perfectly entropic being" we were discussing a few chapters ago? I wonder what would happen if Anbar'Shi ate it? Or Ean did? Maybe we can exchange Vajra for a meal (hey, maybe they aren't complicated beings)?

 

[treave]

A - 3
B - 2
C - 8

***

Chapter 6.16: Sphere Diplomacy

The sphere enunciated its greeting slowly, carefully, as if pronouncing it for the first time. You return the greeting tentatively, hoping that it was not hostile. Behind you, a transient seam vanishes, folding back into the sky - in a matter of seconds, it was as if it was never there.

"Who are you?"

"WHO?" it asks in return. Its voice was low and guttural, and slow, yet there was a certain energy to it that made it sound perpetually excited.

You try to point at the rift behind it, though you couldn't see it, explaining who you are. "I'm from beyond that portal. Can we talk?"

"TALK... WHY?"

"I just want to ask why you are sending these things across the rift." You gesture at the Terasphagos surrounding you. Maybe if you could talk with it, it would stop attempting to invade your world. The sphere nods maniacally and grins, its face - your face - twisting in disturbing fashion.

"PLAY? WHY? WHY!" exclaims the sphere, still nodding. As it got more excited, it began drawing closer to you. You involuntarily backed away... and realized that somehow, without your knowing it, two other spheres had appeared around you. They spin around for a few seconds, before a low rumbling starts, transforming their smooth white surfaces into your own grinning face. "PLAY? WHY? YES. YES!" the spheres grin.

"Play? I don't understand. What do you mean?" you ask. This was turning out to be extremely weird. You just hoped that things wouldn't get weirder. The first sphere that had spoken to you stopped and rotated slowly for a while. When it stopped, you saw a familiar shape upon its head. Things just got weirder.

"HOME."

It was the imperial palace back in Ankidu. You feel a chill creep down your spine - how did these things know about it? You had not sensed them touching your mind.

"HOME. PLAY." said the first sphere.

"YES. HOME. PLAY. COME. TALK." chimed in the other spheres.

The fascimile of the imperial palace detached from the sphere and began floating towards you. It wasn't as big as the real thing, but it was still a large structure. As it approaches you, the white doors open. It is too dark for you to see what is inside.

"COME. SIT. PLAY. TALK." said the spheres.

It looks like they were inviting you in.

***

A. This is far too risky. There is no way you are going to play along with these spheres. You pretend to go towards the doors, but then try to rush towards the rift. Maybe you could still make it.

B. There seems to be no other way out, not with three spheres surrounding you. You enter the fake palace that the sphere has created. You'll just have to be prepared for whatever is inside, and hope it's not a trap.

 

[Baltika9]

"I just want to ask why you are sending these things across the rift."

Not a bright one, are we?

Trying to trick these things will apparently end no better, what with their mind-scanning. I guess we're fucked either way. Might as well get some knowledge out of it.
It's just...if they wanted to eat Ean or dominate his mind, they would have done so already. I'm getting a "psychopathic manchild" impression. I hope that these aren't the abducted Gieloth.
B.

It was the imperial palace back in Ankidu. You feel a chill creep down your spine - how did these things know about it? You had not sensed them touching your mind.

"HOME. PLAY." said the first sphere.

"YES. HOME. PLAY. COME. TALK." chimed in the other spheres.

The fascimile of the imperial palace detached from the sphere and began floating towards you. It wasn't as big as the real thing, but it was still a large structure. As it approaches you, the white doors open. It is too dark for you to see what is inside.

"COME. SIT. PLAY. TALK." said the spheres.

It looks like they were inviting you in.

Now how can you refuse a gracious offer like that? Besides, I'm pretty sure Ares thought "l0l Ares" when he saw these things and charged. Look what that got him (or rather didn't get him).
Gee, treave, it wouldn't it be nice to see read his last moments?
Hey, maybe they'll give Ean perpetual bliss. And you know what that means.

 

[treave]

Not a bright one, are we?

Feel free to treat the Terasphagos as a Zerg/Tyranid/Ego the Living Planet expy.

 

[Anabanana]

B. No point in backing out now.

 

[Smashing Axe]

B Into the lion's den we go. I really like what you're doing treave, much as I lament Ean's fate.

 

[treave]

You guys are just lucky I abandoned my first draft of having them be gigantic flying golden babies.

 

[Baltika9]

You guys are just lucky I abandoned my first draft of having them be gigantic flying golden babies.

I really don't like where this is going. These things aren't Living Planets, apparently. They're living eggs/embryos. Which means they feed on planets...to hatch? I dread to ask, but into what? "Go mad from the revelation" indeed. Say, can an Immortal go mad?

Edit: treave, not to pester, but if Ean asked "Will you give me knowledge?", what exactly would they answer? "LOLNO?" It's kinda important, assuming they're not lying.

 

[Smashing Axe]

So... this is essentially a strange amalgamation of Lovecraftian writing and Cleveland Mark Blakemore? Interesting...

 

[oscar]

B. Time to settle this.

 

[treave]

Edit: treave, not to pester, but if Ean asked "Will you give me knowledge?", what exactly would they answer? "LOLNO?" It's kinda important, assuming they're not lying.

Meta.

 

[Baltika9]

In before

Rudimentary creatures of blood and flesh. You touch my mind, fumbling in ignorance, incapable of understanding. There is a realm of existence so far beyond your own you cannot even imagine it. I am beyond your comprehension. I am Sovereign.

 

[a cut of domestic sheep prime]

B - The only way out is through. Let's Play...

 

[TOME]

B

 

[ScubaV]

B

This whole rift-world is some really amazing mental imagery treave.

 

[Stygian Lurker]

B

 

[Storyfag]

FFS A

 

[Kipeci]

They've invited us into the house-- we're that much closer to an orgy!

B.