-
Welcome to rpgcodex.net, a site dedicated to discussing computer based role-playing games in a free and open fashion. We're less strict than other forums, but please refer to the rules.
"This message is awaiting moderator approval": All new users must pass through our moderation queue before they will be able to post normally. Until your account has "passed" your posts will only be visible to yourself (and moderators) until they are approved. Give us a week to get around to approving / deleting / ignoring your mundane opinion on crap before hassling us about it. Once you have passed the moderation period (think of it as a test), you will be able to post normally, just like all the other retards.
[LP CYOA] Epic
- Thread starter treave
- Start date
Esquilax
Arcane
- Joined
- Dec 7, 2010
- Messages
- 4,833
I'm voting B because I don't believe that Ban can be stopped. Going after what we think is the madman won't yield a huge benefit for us (because we already know what he knows) but it won't be the catastrophe that trying to stop Ban will be. We have no idea how to stop him, we know he can tear through us like a knife through butter, so why get in his way? Him being unreliable and killing a good chunk of our army is the price we paid for victory, and you A voters are thinking that we can achieve that victory without any price.
So I'm not voting for B because B is particularly great, rather I'm voting for it because A is terrible. Not that it really matters.
So I'm not voting for B because B is particularly great, rather I'm voting for it because A is terrible. Not that it really matters.
- Joined
- Jul 6, 2008
- Messages
- 11,370
Chapter 7.21: Ban’s Butchery
As you stumble down the slopes, towards the wrecked camps, the fears of the dying assault your mind, just like they had before during the ambush near Tigrien. You pay it no heed; you would be a poor excuse for a man if you allowed such matters to affect you twice, particularly if you knew it was coming. Shrugging off the mental agonies of Ban’s victims, you make your way towards where he was with ease. Most of the surviving tribesmen were more desperate to flee the area, hauling the wounded, than accost a man bearing the fittings of Imperial command. Despite the chaos left in his path, it was not hard to find him – you just had to follow the screams.
He had truly left behind a twisted road of carnage. Once or twice you almost slip on the blood and the mud that garnished the plains. As you progress, the corpses you find become more and more unrecognizable, nothing more than lumps of flesh smeared across the hellish landscape. Here and there, dried husks of men were petrified in their death; some fallen, some standing, but all of them with horrible expressions of agony upon their faces. You were not sure which was the better death, and wonder just what monster you had guided to this place.
As you round the corner of a burning camp, you see him.
His back was turned to you. That black sword he carried was buried in the chest of a regiment officer of Euphraxes, kneeling at his side. You recognized the face; one of the new officers that you had promoted, though you could not recall his name at this moment. As you paused, the officer shrieked in agony as strange veins floated to the surface of his skin all over his body, pulsating deeply with life. Then, just as suddenly as they had appeared, they vanished, together with his vitality. His skin cracked and his body withered, and as Ban pulled the sword free, the officer remained on his knees, his death mask the fabric of nightmares.
The sword itself seemed livelier than the last time you saw it, you thought… but then again, how could a sword be alive? Despite your misgivings, you could sense a malevolent sentience about Ban that was not him. The dead officer’s guards, who had been rooted to their position a few metres away from where their leader had fallen, turned to run, their minds filled with nothing but blind panic. In a blink of an eye Ban was upon them, tearing into them with blade and fist. Those struck by his sword shared the fate of their officer, but the others were smashed into so much mulch by repeated blows. As several soldiers have their legs twisted and snapped by an unseen force, sending fragments of white bone flying through the air, you realize that he was also using telekinesis to grab and crush them, though at a level clearly higher than your own power.
Ban strode away from you, over the dead bodies of Imperials and tribesmen alike. The regiments that had sallied out were either wiped out or fleeing; you could see the gates of Euphraxes closing and hear the cries of men urging it to shut faster, before Ban reached the fort. The gates slammed shut just before he got there, and he let loose an inhuman howl of rage that chilled you to the bone. Raising his arms, he pounded his fists against the gates. You had expected it to be a futile expression of rage, but to your surprise, the gates shook. As he howled again, and smashed himself against the gates again, a worrying, creaking noise signaled that the fort’s gates would not hold for long.
At times like this, you had to think, and think quickly. How did you feel about this?
***
A. Prudence is called for in such situations. Ban cannot possibly fight forever. Let him exhaust himself in the fort, on the men remaining, and when he is tired you can try to mop up this ‘tragic’ situation you have found yourself in, if there is an opening to do so. You do not fancy your chances of going head to head against such a monster; it would be exceedingly reckless to draw his attention now.
B. You attract Ban’s attention before he massacres an entire fort which you had been given responsibility over by the Prince – if that happened, it would reflect very poorly upon you and no amount of political games would salvage your reputation. You’ll figure out how to survive as you go along; you always have. Besides, you have had enough of supernatural monsters cowing you into submission. It’s time they learned to fear your name and what you can do.
As you stumble down the slopes, towards the wrecked camps, the fears of the dying assault your mind, just like they had before during the ambush near Tigrien. You pay it no heed; you would be a poor excuse for a man if you allowed such matters to affect you twice, particularly if you knew it was coming. Shrugging off the mental agonies of Ban’s victims, you make your way towards where he was with ease. Most of the surviving tribesmen were more desperate to flee the area, hauling the wounded, than accost a man bearing the fittings of Imperial command. Despite the chaos left in his path, it was not hard to find him – you just had to follow the screams.
He had truly left behind a twisted road of carnage. Once or twice you almost slip on the blood and the mud that garnished the plains. As you progress, the corpses you find become more and more unrecognizable, nothing more than lumps of flesh smeared across the hellish landscape. Here and there, dried husks of men were petrified in their death; some fallen, some standing, but all of them with horrible expressions of agony upon their faces. You were not sure which was the better death, and wonder just what monster you had guided to this place.
As you round the corner of a burning camp, you see him.
His back was turned to you. That black sword he carried was buried in the chest of a regiment officer of Euphraxes, kneeling at his side. You recognized the face; one of the new officers that you had promoted, though you could not recall his name at this moment. As you paused, the officer shrieked in agony as strange veins floated to the surface of his skin all over his body, pulsating deeply with life. Then, just as suddenly as they had appeared, they vanished, together with his vitality. His skin cracked and his body withered, and as Ban pulled the sword free, the officer remained on his knees, his death mask the fabric of nightmares.
The sword itself seemed livelier than the last time you saw it, you thought… but then again, how could a sword be alive? Despite your misgivings, you could sense a malevolent sentience about Ban that was not him. The dead officer’s guards, who had been rooted to their position a few metres away from where their leader had fallen, turned to run, their minds filled with nothing but blind panic. In a blink of an eye Ban was upon them, tearing into them with blade and fist. Those struck by his sword shared the fate of their officer, but the others were smashed into so much mulch by repeated blows. As several soldiers have their legs twisted and snapped by an unseen force, sending fragments of white bone flying through the air, you realize that he was also using telekinesis to grab and crush them, though at a level clearly higher than your own power.
Ban strode away from you, over the dead bodies of Imperials and tribesmen alike. The regiments that had sallied out were either wiped out or fleeing; you could see the gates of Euphraxes closing and hear the cries of men urging it to shut faster, before Ban reached the fort. The gates slammed shut just before he got there, and he let loose an inhuman howl of rage that chilled you to the bone. Raising his arms, he pounded his fists against the gates. You had expected it to be a futile expression of rage, but to your surprise, the gates shook. As he howled again, and smashed himself against the gates again, a worrying, creaking noise signaled that the fort’s gates would not hold for long.
At times like this, you had to think, and think quickly. How did you feel about this?
***
A. Prudence is called for in such situations. Ban cannot possibly fight forever. Let him exhaust himself in the fort, on the men remaining, and when he is tired you can try to mop up this ‘tragic’ situation you have found yourself in, if there is an opening to do so. You do not fancy your chances of going head to head against such a monster; it would be exceedingly reckless to draw his attention now.
B. You attract Ban’s attention before he massacres an entire fort which you had been given responsibility over by the Prince – if that happened, it would reflect very poorly upon you and no amount of political games would salvage your reputation. You’ll figure out how to survive as you go along; you always have. Besides, you have had enough of supernatural monsters cowing you into submission. It’s time they learned to fear your name and what you can do.
- Joined
- Jul 6, 2008
- Messages
- 11,370
The way out of this lies in the things Fenrir told Dio about, and the nature of the sword. I suppose that's as good a hint as any, though bear in mind what's good for the goose in this scenario isn't exactly good for the gander.
Anyway, this chapter will enter the end-game phase in a couple of updates, and I foresee at most 3-4 updates beyond that to come to a close.
Baltika9
Arcane
- Joined
- Jun 27, 2012
- Messages
- 9,611
And figuring out who are the geese and who the ganders is the task that falls to us. Oh, but I do love a riddle, however tempted I am to vote for the Coitus Maximus option, I will refrain for now.
TOME
Cuckmaster General
- Joined
- May 25, 2012
- Messages
- 1,820
Well the sword feeds on life so stopping it sooner than later should be the case. But on the other hand, Ban is the weak link here. Letting him exhaust himself on the soldiers would improve odds of success. But then again we came here to save the said soldiers and our political influence. I have to ponder this for a while.
Baltika9
Arcane
- Joined
- Jun 27, 2012
- Messages
- 9,611
Damn, Anbar'Shi is one fucked-up sword/entity. And here I was wondering if there was any other horrific way of devouring someone, since souls aren't present and all. Too bad we decided not to play a full villain, it would have been pretty sweet.
Something tells me that, if it really was awakened, the only way to stop it is to either let Ban vent it out(nothing surprising there: we know it needs blood to be sheathed and Ban makes the perfect puppet for it; pretty much Ean, but weak willed and very naive; shitty reference notwithstanding, it's like the Carnage and Venom symbiotes, use the wielders passions/psychoses and slowly corrupt them) and let all the men die, or go in there and improvise on the spot, which Dio is remarkably good at(remember when I said we can use Ean's balls to make Ares submit? Well, this time it might not be a joke.)
Decisions, decisions.
As for Anbar'Shi, we know that it and Ean are one and the same entity, only we separated said entity into two different psyches: one is goody-two shoes Ean and the other, well, this.
This should also be noted:
Putting my vote in for B now, because 1) I am loathe to have let the Madman go for nothing, 2) doing this will probably net us the deification of the garrison, which means "Iceland here we come!", 3) because A will just piss off Ban in the end anyway(not to mention probably make him completely insane) and 3)
Something tells me that, if it really was awakened, the only way to stop it is to either let Ban vent it out(nothing surprising there: we know it needs blood to be sheathed and Ban makes the perfect puppet for it; pretty much Ean, but weak willed and very naive; shitty reference notwithstanding, it's like the Carnage and Venom symbiotes, use the wielders passions/psychoses and slowly corrupt them) and let all the men die, or go in there and improvise on the spot, which Dio is remarkably good at(remember when I said we can use Ean's balls to make Ares submit? Well, this time it might not be a joke.)
Decisions, decisions.
As for Anbar'Shi, we know that it and Ean are one and the same entity, only we separated said entity into two different psyches: one is goody-two shoes Ean and the other, well, this.
As Ean, have we ever seen any such effect, treave? Or did he simply not percieve it? I ask, because after separating the sword from his own self, you have not given us many peeks of Ean using Anbar'Shi, even though we've been in a few (Incursions, the Hittites).
This should also be noted:
Since Anbar'Shi is now Hunger to Ean's Ascetic, human flesh and life-force is what it desires. No, I haven't figured it out yet.
Putting my vote in for B now, because 1) I am loathe to have let the Madman go for nothing, 2) doing this will probably net us the deification of the garrison, which means "Iceland here we come!", 3) because A will just piss off Ban in the end anyway(not to mention probably make him completely insane) and 3)
How can I say no to this? In before comic death sequence.
Baltika9
Arcane
- Joined
- Jun 27, 2012
- Messages
- 9,611
Something tells me that this isn't exactly Ban going Lindsfarne here, but the sword working through him, as in dominating his mind. If we try to stop him, well, this could either go very well or terribly bad and most likely it will be the latter: we're a maimed politician going up against the closest thing to Khorne this planet has right now and all we have is a weaker version of telekinesis, [sense motive], a silver-and-gem encrusted tongue and sheer ballsy improvisation.
But we also, like Ban, have a bit of Ean stuck in us and that means the sword will recognize it, since it apparently has been awakened, and that may very well be our opening.
I'm really looking for some input here, from any and every one. I'm starting to get the feeling that if we fuck this up, we fuck Ean up for good.
Something also tells me the "get back Ean, happy end" ship has already sailed. Can you tell if we will be able to revive him at a later chapter if we fail in this one?
Baltika9
Arcane
- Joined
- Jun 27, 2012
- Messages
- 9,611
I'm starting to get the sneaking suspicion that "regenerating Anabr'Shi from Ean's body" works both ways. And also that RK is the one for whom the sword is being awakened.
Doesn't anyone want to DISCUSS?
Well, we know that the sword was traditionally the darker side of Ean... Ean was pretty firmly on the 'honorable and good' side, and had a lot of strength to him. He was able to keep the sword's hunger in check. Here, obviously, the sword is powerful enough that it was able to influence its user to darker ends, and you'll recall that more killing with this sword will result in more power for it and the holder, as can be seen by the increasing horrible-ness of the kills. Letting Ban annihilate the fort is not going to exhaust the sword's power, but the associated death and destruction will almost certainly increase it. If we want to intervene, the earlier the better.
I can't find much in Fenrir's words to lead me to a conclusion about whether or not the other idea would be better, all that I have is some vague half idea that it might be interesting to see Prince Dagrun pitted against the holder of the sword... not very helpful right now.
B.
I can't find much in Fenrir's words to lead me to a conclusion about whether or not the other idea would be better, all that I have is some vague half idea that it might be interesting to see Prince Dagrun pitted against the holder of the sword... not very helpful right now.
B.
Baltika9
Arcane
- Joined
- Jun 27, 2012
- Messages
- 9,611
Well, this is going to be meta, and I'm not really expecting an answer, but here goes: is Fenrir somehow related to Anbar'Shi? Could he possibly somehow be Anbar'Shi?
And yet, we are an entity related to him, although much less powerful.
Otherwise, I'm all out of ideas: yes, we know Anbar'Shi is a part of Ean's identity. We know that it is his hunger and we basically dumped all of the negative effects we would otherwise absorb into it. We know that, back in the labyrinth, we took back the life we gave it and later, when fighting Ahati, returned it. For all intents and purposes, the sword is Ean's dark side (which is funny, remember when Sekh dubbed it the "Honourbalde" in "honour of Ean's honourable behavior?), shapeshifted into a khopesh and, presumably until now, not self-aware.
As for what Fenrir told us: we are related to him, there are one-hundred other beings like us, Dagrun believes the powers come from the First Emperor, Aodh traced all of this back to an orphanage and a sect that experimented with Ean's body, which was discovered about five hundred years ago, and that the older the candidate, the higher the chances of failure; which is why they used orphans. The current Emperor, who was once a good warrior, now a decadent and complacent hedonist, ordered them to be spread out across the known world and the Imperial family is quite possibly aware of these events. The madman already knew all this and the only thing he discovered is that Ean is in a vault in Iceland.
Perhaps the only other speculation I have is this: another Watcher group was studying Anbar'Shi, which corrupted them and set out to keep Ean dormant forever, while manipulating events to bring itself into full consciousness and power. Hence the corruption of the group that tended to Ean, the order to disperse the orphans: the samples of flesh were taken so that Ean does not regenerate, the orphans scattered to become powerless and the sword would then reign supreme. And this has so many holes and assumptions that I won;t even bother deconstructing it.
So, in conclusion, I have no further ideas and am simply throwing the dice and keeping to luck, for now. Where is Esquilax when you need him?
Simply put, all of the terms and language he uses is not something I'd expect of Shulgi, Sek or Nabu(who were my prime suspects), he speaks in "I think"s and "quite possibly"s, like he doesn't know himself, which is not how the other three would speak.
And yet, we are an entity related to him, although much less powerful.
Otherwise, I'm all out of ideas: yes, we know Anbar'Shi is a part of Ean's identity. We know that it is his hunger and we basically dumped all of the negative effects we would otherwise absorb into it. We know that, back in the labyrinth, we took back the life we gave it and later, when fighting Ahati, returned it. For all intents and purposes, the sword is Ean's dark side (which is funny, remember when Sekh dubbed it the "Honourbalde" in "honour of Ean's honourable behavior?), shapeshifted into a khopesh and, presumably until now, not self-aware.
As for what Fenrir told us: we are related to him, there are one-hundred other beings like us, Dagrun believes the powers come from the First Emperor, Aodh traced all of this back to an orphanage and a sect that experimented with Ean's body, which was discovered about five hundred years ago, and that the older the candidate, the higher the chances of failure; which is why they used orphans. The current Emperor, who was once a good warrior, now a decadent and complacent hedonist, ordered them to be spread out across the known world and the Imperial family is quite possibly aware of these events. The madman already knew all this and the only thing he discovered is that Ean is in a vault in Iceland.
Perhaps the only other speculation I have is this: another Watcher group was studying Anbar'Shi, which corrupted them and set out to keep Ean dormant forever, while manipulating events to bring itself into full consciousness and power. Hence the corruption of the group that tended to Ean, the order to disperse the orphans: the samples of flesh were taken so that Ean does not regenerate, the orphans scattered to become powerless and the sword would then reign supreme. And this has so many holes and assumptions that I won;t even bother deconstructing it.
So, in conclusion, I have no further ideas and am simply throwing the dice and keeping to luck, for now. Where is Esquilax when you need him?
Esquilax
Arcane
- Joined
- Dec 7, 2010
- Messages
- 4,833
I pretty much agree with Baltika9 completely. The blade is sentient and it takes control of its wielder when unsheathed. It's probably fair to speculate that Ean would be the only one able to handle it with a good degree of control. I am banking on Dio's sheer ballsiness and flair for improvisation being able to pull us through.*
As for theories regarding Fenrir's words, this all goes back to the madman:
It has been the madman's goal since Day 1 to tear down the Empire. Fenrir has told us that he already knew the truth of everything before he even developed his powers. Then he told us that the first batch of Watchers to volunteer for surgery to "become Ean" went insane. When you combine this with the fact that the madman knew about everything related to Ean even before developing his powers, this strongly indicates that he was one of those Watchers that were the first to volunteer. This would explain both his insanity and his indepth knowledge about what's really going on.
But what has he planned? I believe that the madman anticipated and was prepared for both Ban returning the sword to the Empire and for a slaughter at Euphraxes. I think he tried to engineer some sort of massive rampage with the aid of the sword so that he could take the mantle of Ean, though I am not sure how. In any case, for whatever reason, telling Ban how to awaken the blade serves the madman's interests. Any ideas, guys - Storyfag Tigranes, maybe? He is counting on Ban to go on a massive rampage, which is why we should not let him do it.
As for the madman himself, he's long gone: I think that after showing Ban how to awaken the blade, he's headed off to Iceland. This dude here:
I'm almost certain now that this was either a decoy or a nobody. The madman got the fuck out of dodge after "awakening" Anbar-Shi. In any case, I believe that awakening the sword is crucial to his plans of usurping Ean's body.
* I wasn't a big fan of Dio at first, particularly after Thania's death, but he has really grown on me. The dude is every bit as courageous as Ean, if not more so - the man has no skill in battle yet he's willing to go toe-to-toe against forces much more powerful than he is.
B
As for theories regarding Fenrir's words, this all goes back to the madman:
It has been the madman's goal since Day 1 to tear down the Empire. Fenrir has told us that he already knew the truth of everything before he even developed his powers. Then he told us that the first batch of Watchers to volunteer for surgery to "become Ean" went insane. When you combine this with the fact that the madman knew about everything related to Ean even before developing his powers, this strongly indicates that he was one of those Watchers that were the first to volunteer. This would explain both his insanity and his indepth knowledge about what's really going on.
But what has he planned? I believe that the madman anticipated and was prepared for both Ban returning the sword to the Empire and for a slaughter at Euphraxes. I think he tried to engineer some sort of massive rampage with the aid of the sword so that he could take the mantle of Ean, though I am not sure how. In any case, for whatever reason, telling Ban how to awaken the blade serves the madman's interests. Any ideas, guys - Storyfag Tigranes, maybe? He is counting on Ban to go on a massive rampage, which is why we should not let him do it.
As for the madman himself, he's long gone: I think that after showing Ban how to awaken the blade, he's headed off to Iceland. This dude here:
I'm almost certain now that this was either a decoy or a nobody. The madman got the fuck out of dodge after "awakening" Anbar-Shi. In any case, I believe that awakening the sword is crucial to his plans of usurping Ean's body.
* I wasn't a big fan of Dio at first, particularly after Thania's death, but he has really grown on me. The dude is every bit as courageous as Ean, if not more so - the man has no skill in battle yet he's willing to go toe-to-toe against forces much more powerful than he is.
B
Baltika9
Arcane
- Joined
- Jun 27, 2012
- Messages
- 9,611
Exactly. And if we, by some miracle, finish this chapter the way we want to finish it (getting back the pure Ean), I propose that we save Dio's genetic material to later make a Space Marine legion out of him.
Like we should have done with Gudersu.Edit: although, being a complete villain was rather fun, in it's own way, and I would have carried on with it, were it not for the fact that we've more important shit to do as Ean.
- Joined
- Jul 6, 2008
- Messages
- 11,370
Chapter 7.22: The Cursed Sword
Grabbing a musket from a fallen soldier, you kneel and take aim. You had been trained – briefly – to handle one back in the academy, and you knew at least enough not to have the weapon explode in your face. You pull the trigger. The musket spits fire loudly… and the bullet thuds right into the wooden gates, leaving behind a small splinter. Ban turns around at a measured pace, his bloody face widened in a demonic grin. That caught his attention.
He sprints at you, almost as fast as a horse. You stumble backwards and hurl the musket at him. It bounces harmlessly off his chest. He is almost upon you when you drag up a shield to cover yourself. The sword he wielded smashed against it – you could feel the metal straining, buckling under the force of his blow. A jolt ran through your arm. Instinctively, you roll to your left, dodging the next strike. He was upon you again, faster and quicker than any man you had ever seen. All you could do was parry wildly with the shield. You could feel invisible fingers attempting to wind around your limbs and body, but you manage to break their grip frantically. Though Ban’s powers were stronger, you could still fend them off if you applied your own telekinesis right before they struck.
Ban howls in rage as you continue to evade him. Angered, he takes a hasty step forward. His foot catches in the guts of one of his victims and he stumbles. You take your chance. Charging forward, you swing the shield with all your might, catching Ban’s temple with the hard steel edge. It was a blow that would have crushed the skull of any man. The noise of cracking bone resounded across the plains as the shield embeds itself in Ban’s skull. Then, his hand closes around your shield arm. That grin was back on his face, his blood-stained teeth exposed in all their glory. Was it a feint that you fell for? Ban’s grip tightens, forcing you to loosen your hold on the shield in pain, and before you know it, the world is a blur. You watch the murky grey sky move above you as you are hurled back. Somehow, you manage to land on your feet, your boots skidding in the mud.
Then, an excruciating, stinging pain fills your chest. Ban had closed the distance in the blink of an eye. His twisted, dented mug was smiling crazily in front of you, his eyes sparkling with bloodlust. The accursed sword had been driven through your chest. You scream from the pain, but only an audible croak escapes your lips, the rest of the desperate sound tearing through your vocal cords at a pitch too high to hear. The pain only heightens as you could feel threads digging through your body from where the sword had entered, spreading everywhere and writhing under your skin. In the haze of agony, you were brought closer to the dark sentience behind the blade than ever. The threads made their way into your brain, probing, searching… draining. And then, a quiver of hungry excitement shuddered through the sword’s thoughts, if you could call it that. Connected this way, you knew what it had found.
The location of the First Emperor.
If it could think, it could be reasoned with. This could be your only chance. “You want to get there, don’t you?”
A feminine, gentle voice came in return. “It’s a meal I have desired for ages.” If it was the voice of the sword, it sounded nothing like what you were expecting, and it sounded pleased.
“How would you get there?”
“I will ask this host to bring me there.”
“Ask? You have driven him mad. Go ahead, ask him right now.”
There was a brief moment of silence before the voice returned, slightly annoyed. “He does not respond. He answers only to my hunger. Why?”
You don’t know why, but you continue communicating all the same. “I can bring you there.”
“Ah… to have him as a feast. Ean. Ean.” The sword was near blissful at the thought of devouring the Emperor. “You can bring me there?”
“I can, but I cannot do it if you have eaten me, no?”
“But you are such a tasty morsel…”
“Then the feast of the Emperor will be so much more delicious for your hunger. Don’t you find that having something after a long period of abstinence is all the more… exciting?”
“Yes, yes… you are right,” breathes the voice heavily. “I will not eat you now. Bring me to Ean. Bring me to him.”
The pain subsided as the sword’s presence began to disengage from your mind. It was happy, and had restrained itself from feeding upon you, and in that instant you had realized that it was wide open. You seize the presence mentally, attempting to impose your will upon it.
“We had a promise!” it shrieks.
“This is the only way I will be able to get you to your feast, dear sword. You would turn me into a mindless avatar of your hunger otherwise. Like him.”
The sword rages against your attempt to subdue it, and a vast darkness overwhelms your mind. A deep, primordial hunger permeated your very being as it did so, attempting to strip away all that you knew and remembered. It drowned you with its arguments, telling you that you were an insignificant flea in an insignificant world, and submission was your only chance at survival.
Still, it was not enough to break you.
You are Diogenes Camna. You would be a poor excuse for a man if you let such toys manipulate your reason for existence. You can sacrifice anything at all to get ahead because you knew the universe was your plaything and nothing else mattered as long as you won. Your ego would not be defeated by some two-bit cursed sword the royal family dredged out from some vault.
“No… I don’t think so. You are mine.” You force the sentience of the blade under your control with a harsh effort. Soon it recognizes your logic and ceases to resist, acknowledging your will for now.
“But we have a promise… keep it…” muttered the sword as it faded away.
Your eyes snap open. The sword itself was still stuck in your chest, but Ban was no longer wielding it. He was slumped on the ground in front of you. As you watch, amazed, the sword melts into your body, sealing the wound. You sense that you could call it whenever you wish. You kneel down and check on Ban. His eyes were wide open and he was unmoving, but he was alive. You get no response from him when you shake him. If you were lucky, he would stay that way for good.
***
When all was said and done, the survivors at Euphraxes numbered about 10,000 men. Garsu never returned from his scouting of Odessa, and you learn that he had fled right back to Ankida with many tales of your incompetence. The tribes of Rus had scattered again, the Madman no longer holding any influence with them after the disastrous siege. They would not trouble the Empire for some time.
Across the borders, however, things have taken a turn for the worse. The royal family of Skane had been murdered by Jannik’s cult; Prince Dagrun had then reappeared to ‘defeat’ Jannik, gaining his allegiance, and crowned himself Boy-Emperor of the Shinar. All of Skane now bowed to him, and he had set his designs on Ankida itself.
Britannia and Gallia had declared independence under the influence of the Martyrs, seceding from the Empire. The kings of Britannia and Gallia had not raised arms, but vowed to respond to any attempts to bring them back into the Imperial embrace by force.
Down south, the plague of the walking dead had begun to spread beyond Imperial efforts to control. Egypt had been hit particularly hard, with reports of attacks coming all along the Nile.
***
A. You return to Ankida to depose of the Imperial family and take the throne. With the eyewitness accounts of your actions and the mysterious sword, you could definitely succeed.
B. You return to Ankida as a hero, not a conqueror. You will serve the Imperial family and continue their reign, but of course, in the end you would be ruler in all but name.
C. The greatest threat to your plans would be the awakening of the Emperor. You travel to New Athens to make good on your promise to the sword - surely getting rid of Ean now would be the wisest decision you could make.
Grabbing a musket from a fallen soldier, you kneel and take aim. You had been trained – briefly – to handle one back in the academy, and you knew at least enough not to have the weapon explode in your face. You pull the trigger. The musket spits fire loudly… and the bullet thuds right into the wooden gates, leaving behind a small splinter. Ban turns around at a measured pace, his bloody face widened in a demonic grin. That caught his attention.
He sprints at you, almost as fast as a horse. You stumble backwards and hurl the musket at him. It bounces harmlessly off his chest. He is almost upon you when you drag up a shield to cover yourself. The sword he wielded smashed against it – you could feel the metal straining, buckling under the force of his blow. A jolt ran through your arm. Instinctively, you roll to your left, dodging the next strike. He was upon you again, faster and quicker than any man you had ever seen. All you could do was parry wildly with the shield. You could feel invisible fingers attempting to wind around your limbs and body, but you manage to break their grip frantically. Though Ban’s powers were stronger, you could still fend them off if you applied your own telekinesis right before they struck.
Ban howls in rage as you continue to evade him. Angered, he takes a hasty step forward. His foot catches in the guts of one of his victims and he stumbles. You take your chance. Charging forward, you swing the shield with all your might, catching Ban’s temple with the hard steel edge. It was a blow that would have crushed the skull of any man. The noise of cracking bone resounded across the plains as the shield embeds itself in Ban’s skull. Then, his hand closes around your shield arm. That grin was back on his face, his blood-stained teeth exposed in all their glory. Was it a feint that you fell for? Ban’s grip tightens, forcing you to loosen your hold on the shield in pain, and before you know it, the world is a blur. You watch the murky grey sky move above you as you are hurled back. Somehow, you manage to land on your feet, your boots skidding in the mud.
Then, an excruciating, stinging pain fills your chest. Ban had closed the distance in the blink of an eye. His twisted, dented mug was smiling crazily in front of you, his eyes sparkling with bloodlust. The accursed sword had been driven through your chest. You scream from the pain, but only an audible croak escapes your lips, the rest of the desperate sound tearing through your vocal cords at a pitch too high to hear. The pain only heightens as you could feel threads digging through your body from where the sword had entered, spreading everywhere and writhing under your skin. In the haze of agony, you were brought closer to the dark sentience behind the blade than ever. The threads made their way into your brain, probing, searching… draining. And then, a quiver of hungry excitement shuddered through the sword’s thoughts, if you could call it that. Connected this way, you knew what it had found.
The location of the First Emperor.
If it could think, it could be reasoned with. This could be your only chance. “You want to get there, don’t you?”
A feminine, gentle voice came in return. “It’s a meal I have desired for ages.” If it was the voice of the sword, it sounded nothing like what you were expecting, and it sounded pleased.
“How would you get there?”
“I will ask this host to bring me there.”
“Ask? You have driven him mad. Go ahead, ask him right now.”
There was a brief moment of silence before the voice returned, slightly annoyed. “He does not respond. He answers only to my hunger. Why?”
You don’t know why, but you continue communicating all the same. “I can bring you there.”
“Ah… to have him as a feast. Ean. Ean.” The sword was near blissful at the thought of devouring the Emperor. “You can bring me there?”
“I can, but I cannot do it if you have eaten me, no?”
“But you are such a tasty morsel…”
“Then the feast of the Emperor will be so much more delicious for your hunger. Don’t you find that having something after a long period of abstinence is all the more… exciting?”
“Yes, yes… you are right,” breathes the voice heavily. “I will not eat you now. Bring me to Ean. Bring me to him.”
The pain subsided as the sword’s presence began to disengage from your mind. It was happy, and had restrained itself from feeding upon you, and in that instant you had realized that it was wide open. You seize the presence mentally, attempting to impose your will upon it.
“We had a promise!” it shrieks.
“This is the only way I will be able to get you to your feast, dear sword. You would turn me into a mindless avatar of your hunger otherwise. Like him.”
The sword rages against your attempt to subdue it, and a vast darkness overwhelms your mind. A deep, primordial hunger permeated your very being as it did so, attempting to strip away all that you knew and remembered. It drowned you with its arguments, telling you that you were an insignificant flea in an insignificant world, and submission was your only chance at survival.
Still, it was not enough to break you.
You are Diogenes Camna. You would be a poor excuse for a man if you let such toys manipulate your reason for existence. You can sacrifice anything at all to get ahead because you knew the universe was your plaything and nothing else mattered as long as you won. Your ego would not be defeated by some two-bit cursed sword the royal family dredged out from some vault.
“No… I don’t think so. You are mine.” You force the sentience of the blade under your control with a harsh effort. Soon it recognizes your logic and ceases to resist, acknowledging your will for now.
“But we have a promise… keep it…” muttered the sword as it faded away.
Your eyes snap open. The sword itself was still stuck in your chest, but Ban was no longer wielding it. He was slumped on the ground in front of you. As you watch, amazed, the sword melts into your body, sealing the wound. You sense that you could call it whenever you wish. You kneel down and check on Ban. His eyes were wide open and he was unmoving, but he was alive. You get no response from him when you shake him. If you were lucky, he would stay that way for good.
***
When all was said and done, the survivors at Euphraxes numbered about 10,000 men. Garsu never returned from his scouting of Odessa, and you learn that he had fled right back to Ankida with many tales of your incompetence. The tribes of Rus had scattered again, the Madman no longer holding any influence with them after the disastrous siege. They would not trouble the Empire for some time.
Across the borders, however, things have taken a turn for the worse. The royal family of Skane had been murdered by Jannik’s cult; Prince Dagrun had then reappeared to ‘defeat’ Jannik, gaining his allegiance, and crowned himself Boy-Emperor of the Shinar. All of Skane now bowed to him, and he had set his designs on Ankida itself.
Britannia and Gallia had declared independence under the influence of the Martyrs, seceding from the Empire. The kings of Britannia and Gallia had not raised arms, but vowed to respond to any attempts to bring them back into the Imperial embrace by force.
Down south, the plague of the walking dead had begun to spread beyond Imperial efforts to control. Egypt had been hit particularly hard, with reports of attacks coming all along the Nile.
***
A. You return to Ankida to depose of the Imperial family and take the throne. With the eyewitness accounts of your actions and the mysterious sword, you could definitely succeed.
B. You return to Ankida as a hero, not a conqueror. You will serve the Imperial family and continue their reign, but of course, in the end you would be ruler in all but name.
C. The greatest threat to your plans would be the awakening of the Emperor. You travel to New Athens to make good on your promise to the sword - surely getting rid of Ean now would be the wisest decision you could make.
Baltika9
Arcane
- Joined
- Jun 27, 2012
- Messages
- 9,611
As for the choices, fuck. Fuckity fuck fuck. I told you that Aodh was stirring some shit up in the west and it is goddamn miracle that we stopped the Madman(really, the only other person I'd expect something like this from is Ean).
Let's go to Iceland and flipflop on our promise.
C.
treave, you deus-ex'd us again, didn't you?
Edit:
Wait a second... Pahnrath, is that you?
Baltika9
Arcane
- Joined
- Jun 27, 2012
- Messages
- 9,611
Very serious question: how much more updates do we have? I simply wish to know our room for maneuver.
And possibly whether or not A and/or B equal chapter end.
Baltika9
Arcane
- Joined
- Jun 27, 2012
- Messages
- 9,611
I'm all ears and if you have a plan, by all means, do tell.
Tempted to go C, just not sure we have tied all the loose ends. Id like to know if the are more artifacts, tomes or lore to be gained that would hasten the return of Ean. Oh and what a cliffhanger it would be if Dio would be set up as Eans nemesis.
Also can we now regrow our second eye back?
Oh yeah if we do go B route, 1st to taste the blade will be Garsu.
Also can we now regrow our second eye back?
Oh yeah if we do go B route, 1st to taste the blade will be Garsu.
So let me get this straight, in case of MadMan he was just building up his powerbase/army to reach Eans resting place?
I just thought who ever went to awaken Ean would need more then just his location.
As an Amazon Associate, rpgcodex.net earns from qualifying purchases.