[LP CYOA] Epic

[Arpad]

C

 

[Baltika9]

treave: Who is RK's mother?
Now that it's out of my system, on to the choices.

A- There is merit here. Apparently, "our" Watchers don't favor us anymore, Skarfeld was one of ours, I am sure of that. Seeing us pluck our eye out just made him realize what pansies him and his whole gang is and decided they are unworthy of serving Dio anymore. Or, they simply see no use for Dio anymore. Hence, the cult can help us by giving us another power-base and Dagrun restoring Dio's pretty face. As well as giving backup in New Athens.

B- I am certain we'll find something there, though it's significance is questionable. More importantly, it will demonstrate to Aodh that we are on to the conspiracy and he will approach us, to what ends remains to be seen. ANd that will get us another ally, one who is close to RK. And giving us backup in New Athens.

C- This brings us to two pieces of Ean at once: Ban and the madman. From here, we can bro up with them and be in a comfortable position. and give us moar backup in New Athens.

D- We get this shit over with ASAP. No backup in New Athens, though, but I think Dio is Xxtreme! enough to pull it off.

The only problem I see with doing anything but A is that, as soon as RK finds out we're somewhere else, our life will get difficult, since he will get suspicious that we're on to the truth(which may be why Aodh is working for him right now: playing along and biding his time) and we'll be all alone, especially since our Watchers decided to leave us high and dry: Aodh is of uncertain goals, but I think they are good ones, so he may be a good choice. Ban is RK's man, not Dio's, and he will feel less inclined to follow us once he learns of our moral fiber and past deeds, since he's the traditional good guy. The madman could be our best ally, if not a friend. Dagrun and Inge, frankly, I don't trust.

That leaves me with B, C or D.


D- PLANE TICKETS, BITCH!!!

 

[Storyfag]

Told ya to vote for something better, bitches, but noo.

D, please.

 

[oscar]

D

 

[Esquilax]

Upon further reflection D seems to be a terrible idea. Okay, we pulled off a massively risky play by infiltrating the cult successfully, but now we're limping and we're missing an eye. We're really in no condition to take yet another massive risk - it would really be pushing our luck. As Lambchop said, there's a reason that the madman hasn't gone to the vault on his own, and it's because there's probably an obstacle or certain challenges preventing him from succeeding there. We have to determine what those obstacles are.

 

[Smashing Axe]

C then D

Dio must ascend, but it'd be nice to have backup.

 

[Tigranes]

C. Dio isn't an Ean, he's not used to adventuring with terrible injuries.

 

[Baltika9]

treave, this question is important: does Dio know anything about Runikylos' mother?

 

[treave]

First born son of the Empress? What everyone else knows?

 

[Baltika9]

Now, bros, I now and see how C look attractive on the first glance: roll into Rus, find Ban, find the Madman, bro up with them->PROFIT!

However: you are forgetting one important detail. Ban is Runikylos', and by proxy Rennephilio's, man. The same twat that scattered Ean's shards and ignored the project to cock-block Ean. And I can tell you right now: they, the Imperial family, do not want Ean back. They are doing magnificently by themselves, thank you very much, to give up their power. Or, even worse, RK is trying to play everything and everyone to ultimately become the new Ean. And he definitely does not need Big E cock-blocking him.
As friendly as we are with Ban (the guns don't count, we gave them from the Prince's name, which means that's a point in his favor, not Dio's), his first loyalty is to the Throne, especially given his naivete and loyalty. And besides which, as soon as we come there, RK will be notified of that. Upon which his first question will be "Why the fuck is he there, when I told him to stop the cult? He must be onto the truthz." We already established that RK is a very, very intelligent person. IT's not too far-fetched that he was the one who sent us this Watcher sect.

And, as such, he undoubtedly has some dirt on Dio, how complete it is is questionable, but he surely does, a man of his intelligence does not forgo such things. And let us not forget about the Watchers that have left our service: whatever their plans were, Dio is now useless and hence a loose end, and these bastards know everything, hence Dio is a liability. Hence, these two parties will be in a very accessible position to destroy Dio's rep in Ban's eyes, and wheere will we end up? Surrounded by Ban, asskicker-in-chief, a quarter of the Imperial army and a crack squad of musketeers with new dakka. In other words, fucked. However, a point in it's favor, is that we'll get to the Madman and probably learn more about awakening Ean and perhaps recruit him to our cause. If we didn't act like such a ruthless twat, I'd be much more comfortable with C.

Hoping that RK and the Watchers will not exploit this is wishful thinking, extremely risky at best, downright retarded at worst. Dio, as of right now, is well and truly alone: no father, no lover/waifu and no power-base and a house of one. However, we are in position right now to solidify ourselves with one of two groups, Aodh or Dagrun. Or yell "PLANE TICKETS, BITCH!" and go grab some collars in New Athens.

Aodh is not as poor a choice as you bros seem to think: he has his morality straight, as demonstrated by his revulsion at Dio's dickery, and is most likely just playing stupid with RK and biding his time, an option A opens to us as well. I am very confident that he wishes to bring Ean back, and his mind-reading ability should allow him to confidently accept Dio, if we'll be doing it for the right reasons. Hence, B is also a very workable option. Not for investigating the orphanage, no, but for getting Aodh to trust us. This, however, will let RK know we're onto something.

Finally, A has much more merits than any of us are giving it: Dagrun is a healer, which means he will be useful to both heal Dio and Big E. Second, if we get in tight with him, he'll trust us very much, since we're bruthas an' shit. Which means we will get a strong power-base within the cult. OR, we bring it down, get royal Skane's support and pretend to be a good little doggy for RK and bide our time, as Aodh does.

Still voting for D though. I am confident in our ability to maneuver through New Athens to bring Ean back, if not keep Dio in one piece and finally cut through this bullshitz. Which is a shame, since we'll be losing the vocalist of Ean's future band.

Edit:

First born son of the Empress? What everyone else knows?

Just checking whether or not he's a "sibling" of ours.

 

[TOME]

A

Reasoning

• Dagrun will insta-heal us
• It gives us time to win Dagrun's trust

Later we can perhaps convince Dagrun to sacrifice Jannik and get rid of the cult, in exchange for a trip to New Athens. With his healing powers, Dagrun seems to be a key player in restoring Ean. We need him more than Ban's muscles.

 

[Esquilax]

The real danger of C lies in the fact that the Watchers that are with Ban are the Prince's men. Worse yet, he believes that the guns that we sent Ban were sent under order of the Prince. We earned goodwill with him before, but convincing him that the Prince has been lying to him after we've played into the Prince's hands already is going to be quite difficult. God knows what they've been telling Ban about Dio as well. There are plenty of rewards here (forming an alliance between us, the Madman and Ban, first and foremost) but it's going to be extremely difficult.

It's occurred to me that with A, Dagrun will definitely heal our injuries:

A sheet of paper pinned under a dagger in your room told you that 'Emperor Jannik' had decreed that your show of loyalty to the cult was inspiring and for now you were needed to infiltrate the Skane royal family in whatever way you wished. For a few nights to come, you attempt to get in contact with your Watchers in order to obtain information on what to do next,, but no word is forthcoming.

We can't exactly infiltrate the royal family covered in scars and missing an eye, so Dagrun will heal us up because he has to.

Also, another thing:

You stay in Skane and do what the cult wishes. It would be a good way to both gain some personal power and maneuver against both the cult and the royal family, now that you seem to have gained the cult's trust.

treave, does this mean that we'd maneuver against the Skanian royal family or the Imperial royal family? If it's the latter, we could determine how exactly they're involved.

 

[treave]

Skane. You can't do anything about the Imperial family from there.

 

[a cut of domestic sheep prime]

Jannik is a powerful telepath. If he didn't know about Ean's body before, he will after dealing with us. A should be out for that reason alone.

Also, A doesn't guarantee healing at all. If Dagrun was going to heal us so we could infiltrate Skane (why does he want us to do that again? sounds like he wants us to waste our time...), he would have done it already. Plus, obeying the cult in the hopes of being healed opens Dio up to be manipulated. Dagrun could just dangle the promise of it over us and get us to run around and waste our time, while he and Jannik take Ean's mantle and assume the throne. Bad idea.

 

[Baltika9]

Bros, this will be incredibly wishful thinking, but here goes: I think I have a plan.
Something became apparent to me: the more time we spend away from Iceland and Ean's body, the more time the Imperial family has to find out that we're onto them and move against us. Hell, with "our" Watchers now abandoning us, and possibly deciding to get rid of us, they may already be planning to do so. Or, fortify Iceland. I'm pretty sure the Watchers don't want the real Ean back either, they are enjoying themselves way too much.

So, the only two answers to our situation are these:
1) run to Iceland fast, before anyone can know what'll happen and can prepare for Dio to do the irrational thing, which is why I am so sure of it: element of surprise. "Our" Watchers won't expect it, since last they saw, Dio was out cold with a missing eye, covered in scars and burned. RK still thinks we're on his leash. We'll just have to be extra smart and DISCUSS! The first one, we'll manage, but the second one we have down pat. If we give them time to capitalize on it, they will, thinking otherwise is naive.



2) Heavy risk, but the priiize... Get our shit together, recruit all of our known "brothers" and make for Iceland full force. By no means a bad idea, but we'll have to hustle and hustle hard. We are well positioned to do this as well: Ban is on our east side, Aodh is on our east, Inge and Dagrun are with us. This is what I propose we do: first, we stay in Skane and solidify these two as our power base and get healed up, hopefully gain some powers as well. Then, when Skane is getting close to revolt, we got to Brittania/Francia and track down Aodh (that guy didn't go to Joan and disappear just to get into her panties and then went ghost, guy's planning a revolt as well, chapter 7.10)

“That is another problem. The last dispatch I had from him stated that he had successfully infiltrated the Martyrs. That was a month ago.” The prince sighs heavily. It seems as if he had aged years in the couple of months since you last saw him. “I’m sorry to ask this of you, but could I trouble you to help me with Aodh? We need to make sure the Martyrs don’t gain any more influence after what has happened in Skane.”

Once we get to him, we come up and lay our hand on the table: "I know you think I'm a twat, I consider you an ass, by the by, but I have Skane ready to revolt and I know about the whole shebang with Ean. I'm willing to get my head outta my ass and work with you here, deal? Mind-scan me if you need to be sure" And he should accept, if we shift Dio's morality enough for him to detect our sincerity. If we do this stage correctly, we can then take all of our bros and go to Ban(who will be in Rus', with a quarter of the Imperial army, so he will be used) and together, five-on-one, open his eyes to what's going on and get him on our side, and get the Madman by proxy. I'm confident that some of the Imperial troops will defect to his side, he seems just the type. And so, it will be seven shards of Ean all primed and ready to go to Iceland.
Why do I want so many people convincing him? Simple: I'm confident that as soon as RK hears of Dio's status, he'll go on a smear campaign against us, not to mention the Watchers that, most likely, abandoned us. In his young and idealistic eyes, Dio will be a terrible person that needs a boot up his ass. We'll need more people who genuinely know what's going on and have the moral rectitude to impress his own morality.

Once that situation is resolved, we'll effectively have all the nations close to Iceland on our side and should be able to proceed unimpeded. There is a couple of problems I see, chief among them is that this will push the Empire into civil war, with many casualties. Then again, on this same token, Ean will already have half an Empire on his side, all ready to go.

Plus, since we'll be staying in Skane, we'll get more exposure to Fenrir and he may give us more answers.

What do you think: yay, nay or nonsense?

 

[TOME]

First of all

Jannik is a powerful telepath

More likely it was Fenrir whispering to his ear. Second, how do you guys get from this moment to "oh shit RK is onto us let's panic"? He has no way of knowing what we know and what we think and do next. And we haven't seen our watchers, because we are undercover. They'll probably contact us when things settle down. And we didn't hear from Aodh, because he was undercover too. Kind of hard to send messages if the cult members are watching 24/7 for the first months.

And why didn't we ask Fenrir what the watchers know?

 

[Baltika9]

Wait a minute...

Ah, you are as smart as the previous one I met. That is a relief. Jannik too is a similar existence to you, and all of you are an existence related to me. Of course, I am immeasurably stronger.

By using the flesh of the Emperor, they could - through a surgical procedure performed on suitable candidates - imbue normal humans with special powers. The first to volunteer were Watchers, and they were all driven insane by the surgery. They later discovered that the younger the candidates, the more likely it was for them to come through unscathed. Countless years and lives were spent in optimizing their methods, and the one hundred orphans that are your siblings, so to speak, are the end result of that optimization. However, ten years ago, an order came down from the Emperor of the Shinar, Rennephilio XIV, to cease the experiments and spread the children all over the known world. Of course, Aodh believes that this implies the Imperial family have knowledge of the entire matter and that their hands are hardly as clean as he thought.

This once, I lack theories.

Edit: or skin grafts now magically make new, bona fide Immortals. In which case, the Concordiat is screwed and the Masters shortly thereafter.

 

[treave]

You're behaving as if I confirmed all your assumptions and conjecture about voices (or the lack thereof), powers and Dio & co being actual, bona fide immortals in the first place. Just because a rat is related to a human doesn't actually make a rat a human.

 

[Baltika9]

You're behaving as if I confirmed all your assumptions and conjecture about voices (or the lack thereof), powers and Dio & co being actual, bona fide immortals in the first place. Just because a rat is related to a human doesn't actually make a rat a human.

That last bit was meant slightly tongue-in-cheek. But what does make me wonder is how Gieloth biotech worked with a human Immortal. Unless the Gieloth and Immortals are as closely connected as I thought.

No, I'm not seriously expecting an answer to either of those, though it sure would be pleasant.

 

[treave]

Well, consider what Ean had become prior to his disappearance. That should give you a clue.

 

[Baltika9]

Well, consider what Ean had become prior to his disappearance. That should give you a clue.

Which one? From Earth, or from the Masters' homeworld? This answer is made even more trollworthy when you consider that we don't really know what Ean is. Really should ask Fenrir about the hunger one of these days.

Also, am I the only one who considers it slightly ironic that Ean's "children", and possibly the next Emperor, all come from an orphanage?

 

[treave]

A - 1
C - 5
D - 3

***

Chapter 7.16: Shadow on the Steppe

No news comes from your Watchers as you limp your way east. You are not sure whether they were facing some difficulties or if they had abandoned you, but it seems that no matter what you would not be able to rely on them for what is to come. You follow the trail of the Imperial Army into the steppes of the Rus tribes, seeking to make contact with Ban.

On your journey, you learn that things have not been going well. The invading army had been hassled every step of the way by tribal raiders, who struck in the deep of the night and melted away into the shadows before the Imperials could retaliate. In order to defend themselves better, the Imperials had split up into and established three forts from where they could sally forth to conduct their campaign. You were no military man, but even you saw the folly in this decision. Holing up only allowed the tribes to operate with even more impunity. The Shinari soldiers were reliant on caravans from Skane and Hatti to keep their expedition supplied. These soon became the target of the tribes, who knew the lay of the land far better and could apparently launch attacks from nowhere with little notice. Within weeks, Fort Nileia had fallen and Fort Tigrien isolated to the north.

Arriving at Fort Euphraxes, the closest encampment to Empire territory, you found 30,000 demoralized soldiers who were eager to end the campaign and go home. You also found Prince Runikylos.

***

"Dio! Is that really you?" exclaimed the Prince as you caught his eye. You had not expected to find him here and were not prepared enough to hide. "What in the gods happened to you, man?"

You force a grin - you were not in pain despite your scarred looks, but you thought it would help to exaggerate your injuries - and bow before the Prince. "The cult, Your Highness. They took me captive and tried to get me to join their cause. I refused, and well..." You spread your hands, allowing the Prince to get a good look at your scalded and scarred body. "Still, I managed to escape somehow. I suppose the First Emperor must be watching over me from somewhere." Runikylos grits his teeth, a frown on his face. "Of all the problems assailing the Empire, Jannik and his cult must be one of the worst. Rest assured I will have those cruel bastards hanged for this, Dio. What are you doing here instead of heading back to Ankida though? You are in no condition to go traipsing throughout the world right now."

"I heard that Ban was in trouble and I had to come and help. The kid's hopeless." you shrug.

"Even in that condition? You really are the most loyal friend I know," smiles Runikylos. The smile vanishes the next instant. "You are right, he is in trouble. Ban was in Fort Nileia when it fell, and he managed to lead the survivors to Fort Tigrien. With the weather taking a turn for the worse, and the Rus tribals completely controlling the path to Tigrien, we have not been able to send them any reinforcements."

"That is a pickle indeed. By the way, why are you here, my prince? Are you here for him too?"

Runikylos shook his head. "No, I'm here to gauge the situation for myself. A prince needs to see for himself the realities of the situation at times. If I stay behind my desk in Ankida all the time I will never be able to understand the gravity of the decisions that I make."

"You mean..."

"Yes, I am to decide whether the army withdraws or stays. The chain of command here has been wiped out - currently we have Officer Garsu of the 67th Imperial Regiment in charge, but the man is both pompous and inexperienced. Unfortunately his fellow officers in the surviving regiments are even less qualified - the man at least has a brain."

"You could cut your losses and leave now, but that would mean sacrificing the remaining troops in Tigrien. If I'm not mistaken, most of the more experienced soldiers were stationed there, were they not?"

Runikylos gave you a pained smile. "It looks like you've managed to gather quite a bit of information yourself. That's right. High Command decided to put their best troops in the base deepest in the heart of enemy territory."

"I don't envy you for having to make this decision."

"I don't envy me either." The Prince lapses into thought as he looks at the shoddy fort. "I have summoned Officer Garsu to meet with me tomorrow to discuss the matter of withdrawal. I would like for you to be there, Dio. For now, get some rest. You look like you've been through hell."

As the Prince turns to leave, he stops and looks back at you. "By the way, I've managed to get rid of the rogue Watchers that were holding your behaviour hostage. Sorry for not consulting with you earlier, but I think you must agree that their usefulness did not offset the threat they posed to your own wellbeing."

You thank him for his actions as he walks away.

***

"If it would please you, Your Highness, I can prepare the men for the march back to Shinar immediately!"

Garsu was indeed as pompous as the Prince had said. Though he was but six years older than you, he had already cultivated a great bushy moustache that curled around his cheeks. The man's breastplate shone dimly in the tent, with not a speck of dirt or mud to be found on it. It seems that he was keen on returning to the Empire as soon as he could.

"Sir Garsu, I have not yet decided. Do not be presumptuous." muttered Runikylos.

"But, Your Highness, there is no point in us staying here. As the most senior officer in this fort, I must impress upon you the wisdom of listening to my advice. Tigrien is lost and if we stay here so are we!" You keep your mouth shut, observing the situation. Though you could think of a dozen rebuttals to Garsu, you were here on the Prince's orders and not as a member of the army.

"Sir Garsu, the Imperial army operates on meritocracy, not seniority. Qualifications and experience determine who is fit to command."

"Yes, exactly, Your Highness! I knew you would see reason. I did not get the best grades in my class for nothing."

Runikylos's eyebrows perked up. "What marks did you get?"

"70, Your Highness. I ranked in the top 300 of graduates for military tactics and strategy that year, and I am the best officer in this fort." His bravado was amusing, considering that there were usually no more than 500 students studying the martial courses in any particular batch. Still, if he was the best, it must mean that this fort was staffed with worse officers.

"Well, I suppose that is pretty high, Sir Garsu. In the absence of any noble with higher grades than that, you do deserve to be in command."

"As it should be, Your Highness."

Runikylos casts a glance at you. You shake your head. You had scored a nice round 80 for tactics and strategy, though it was mere theory and you were not confident in your ability to apply it in such testing conditions. "Sir Camna, I believe you are also a graduate of the Imperial Academy, and you have taken the martial courses? You scored quite high, I believe. More than 70." Runikylos grins, and Garsu turns blue.

"Yes, Your Highness."

"If you want to save Ban, this fort is yours. I'm sorry I can't do more than that for you. It's either this, or a comfortable carriage ride back to Ankida. Honestly, I'd rather you accept the latter. I don't like you throwing your life away like this."

***

A. You accept command of the fort. At least this way you would have more resources to call upon to bail Ban out of the mess he was in.

B. You ride back to Ankida with Runikylos. Ban can sort things out himself, and you were weary from your travels. If you thought you were suited for military life, you would have signed up with the army in the first place.

C. You reject command, but do not return with Runikylos. You will head out for Fort Tigrien by yourself. One man may sneak past more easily where dozens of soldiers have failed.

 

[oscar]

A

Dio sounds like he has the chops for military command

 

[Baltika9]

A- but this is just magnificent.

"By the way, I've managed to get rid of the rogue Watchers that were holding your behaviour hostage. Sorry for not consulting with you earlier, but I think you must agree that their usefulness did not offset the threat they posed to your own wellbeing."

Either overbearing goodwill, or isolation of resources.

I just can't understand this guy.

 

[TOME]

A

Didn't Ean use his telepathy to pair up soldiers who would work well together?