[LP CYOA] Epic

[Kukulkan]

B
Flippity-flop

 

[Baltika9]

To those doubting A: keep in mind that abandoning this situation for "lol, wait and see" isn't the best approach. The Gieloth may get too powerful to be defeated or too far gone into full
mode. And also keep in mind this: we're not the only ones aware of the goings-on in the world, I'm pretty sure the other parties will send out their scouts whom we may very well meet. It could even be Ban or, dare I hope for it, Shulgi.

Ha ha, and B turned out to be the right choice btw.

Not necessarily, no. B gave us exactly what I thought it would give us: Shulgi's cultist network 2.0. Yes, we retained nineteen Successors but compared to those that survived (and I'm keeping quiet about Zee/Naram and President Skroob of the Spaceballs, and the Gieloth World-Eater tree) what good are they? Ban will stomp them, Dio even more so (and I dread to think what the Sekblade will be doing to his psyche with that hunger), Joan, Dagrun and Shulgi will too. They are the best information network we could have had (better than Shulgi, I'm sure. To be outclassed by peasants, oh how the mighty have fallen ), but beyond that nothing for now.

As for A, it would have left us much less Successors, but at least we would have had more hard power to call on when we need it.

And C would have allowed us to strike at any of the parties or secure some alliances, which is what we need most right now.

 

[a cut of domestic sheep prime]

Still not convinced C would have done what you suggest. Doesn't seem like a lot of time has passed between now and the last update - not sure how we'd have struck at anyone or formed an alliance in that time. All treave said was that "something" else would come up had we picked C. We have no idea what that is. (Probably the tree and the sphere though, but that's just my guess.)

Actually, without the successor information network, we may not have found out about the tree or the sphere(?) until later - but that's something only treave could tell us.

edit: Baltika9 Don't know. Maybe a couple of months? Hard to say. I guess the whole thing is rather moot without knowing what would have "come up" had we picked C...

 

[Baltika9]

Still not convinced C would have done what you suggest, though. Doesn't seem like a lot of time has passed between now and the last update - not sure how we'd have struck at anyone or formed an alliance in that time.

As the weeks went by, a few problems emerged.

This implies that at least two weeks had passed (and probably more than that); more than enough time to travel by road to either Skane or the Empire, but that's semantics. Thoughts on this situation?

 

[Esquilax]

treave, does Ean have any memories of the time in between his return to the void at the end of Chapter 6 and his return to Earth? We were sleeping when Naram found us:

You reappeared all of a sudden soon after that, though when Naram brought your body before Athena you were already in an unending slumber. What happened next was a bevy of experiments you were subjected to, under Naram's purview, though he grew bored after a few decades and soon had you put aside in favour of other pursuits.

Also, if we vote for A/B, will our Successors be coming with us? Probably smart to have at least a little bit of firepower with us.

"You saved me from the sphere, didn't you? What are those things?"

"Ah, curiosity. Those 'things', as you put it, are protrusions of higher beings from a realm above this one. Think of them as their fingers, poking, sensing, touching, learning. You were but a curiosity to them - granted, you are a unique aberration that interests even us - and your entry certainly made them even more curious about the world you came from."

Anyways, I believe that the emergence of the sphere into our world is a more urgent threat than the Gieloth are. There are a few things that we ought to keep in mind: first, it takes a significant amount of time (we're talking decades) for the Gieloth Tree to reach critical mass and suck out a planet's resources, while this sphere is growing at a far quicker rate daily.

The other thing to keep in mind is that our dealings with the spheres seem to imply that the bigger that they get, the tougher they are:

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.
...
Meanwhile, something strange had been occurring in the wastelands of Greece. According to Dario, the miasma, ever present for three thousand years, had vanished overnight. With its disappearance, the land could be seen again, and from atop the Wall of Korinthos an oddity had been noticed deep in the wastelands; a strange, smooth, white structure that did not match anything seen in nature. Every day, the structure seemed to grow larger and taller, and now it appeared to be the size of a small hill.

My theory is that the sphere is currently weak and amassing its strength, and right now, it is at its weakest. These things couldn't transition between worlds, so I'm hoping that the move into Earth has weakened it temporarily. If you want to hit it while it's vulnerable, now would be the time. I don't know how Naram is involved in all of this (perhaps he is the sphere) but I don't think that we'll have a better opportunity than we will right now.

Yes, the Gieloth are a serious issue, and Crete could give us some clues on how to defeat Naram, if he is really bonded to Zeus. However, the longer we ignore things in Olympus, the worse things will go.

B

 

[treave]

Regarding the memories, it's all a blank... but it is a plot point that may come into play later on, that much I can say. As for the previous C, what would've come up is nothing as simple as travelling to another kingdom, nor does it repeat any of the choices given in the current update.

 

[Esquilax]

Ah, great. treave, we know that the Sphere is about the size of a small hill right now - how does its current size compare to the size of the Sphere that we encountered within the rift?

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.

I know, Ean can't really compare exactly without having seen the sphere in Olympus personally, but he can probably estimate. The reason I ask is because I'm operating under the assumption that the bigger these things get, the more dangerous they are. The longer we hold off on investigating the situation, the harder its going to be to defeat this thing.

I'm not sure if I want to actually try attacking this thing right now. For the moment, I am hoping that interacting with a sphere will jog back some of Ean's memories and potentially give him some powers or some extra tools that might give him an edge in the future.

All I know is that the threat of the sphere seems more urgent than the Gieloth Tree given the time it would take for it to reach critical mass. Though I guess I understand the desire to find some allies and gain some power, I'd prefer to strike while the iron is hot.

 

[a cut of domestic sheep prime]

Hmm. Now I'm really curious. Oh, well.

My theory is that the sphere is currently weak and amassing its strength, and right now, it is at its weakest. These things couldn't transition between worlds, so I'm hoping that the move into Earth has weakened it temporarily. If you want to hit it while it's vulnerable, now would be the time. I don't know how Naram is involved in all of this (perhaps he is the sphere) but I don't think that we'll have a better opportunity than we will right now.

And what are we going to do to stop this sphere once we get there? We don't know how to fight the spheres - much less kill them. The only reason we survived our last interaction with one was that we had a piece of varja with us and a powerful master happened to pass by. Naram-Master is probably the only one who can handle this thing now and he can probably do it on his own - though he does have the immortals to back him up too. (I highly doubt he's a sphere btw. The sphere's have shown themselves to be almost childishly simple so far. The one we ran into spent 3000 years just killing us over and over. Easily entertained much? Given that behaviour I don't think they'd think to merge with Naram, make the Sekblade, turn the empire into their puppet, control the voices etc.)

Now, the gieloth have had the last decade for the tree to mature (in the ten years since Dio practically gave them the island) and if they;re freaking out because of the sphere and rushing things, they could end up sucking up half the planets resources before we get back to them. Also, it's not just about the threat they represent. It's about the possible power-up for us and our successors. If we fight, we can feed on the tree without damaging our rep with the people and there's probably enough gieloth in that thing to get us at least somewhere near Naram in terms of power level. If we don't fight, we may be able to forge some sort of alliance with them (doubtful imho). Fighting the sphere on the other hand presents no advantage. After we're done we'll have the same power level because our powers only increase with feeding ever since Crete BC.

Unless you can outline how exactly we'd fight the sphere and how that fight would gain us anything, I'm sticking with A. I was one of the ones who got us into the mess with the first ssphere and I'm not doing it again. The only other viable option is C, but that smacks of sticking our head in the sand while the world around us crumbles.

 

[Kipeci]

A

 

[treave]

The one that trapped you was about... maybe half the size of Earth's moon? The 'massive one' would be roughly the size of the Earth, though in the void physical dimensions are not entirely consistent. It wouldn't be out of the extraordinary, for example, to have Jupiter-sized, or even Sun-sized spheres appearing.

 

[Esquilax]

And what are we going to do to stop this sphere once we get there? We don't know how to fight the spheres - much less kill them. The only reason we survived our last interaction with one was that we had a piece of varja with us and a powerful master happened to pass by. Naram-Master is probably the only one who can handle this thing now and he can probably do it on his own - though he does have the immortals to back him up too. (I highly doubt he's a sphere btw. The sphere's have shown themselves to be almost childishly simple so far. The one we ran into spent 3000 years just killing us over and over. Easily entertained much? Given that behaviour I don't think they'd think to merge with Naram, make the Sekblade, turn the empire into their puppet, control the voices etc.)

I disagree. I think we do know how to fight them and perhaps even how to kill them. Ean returned to the void, and his memories between going back in and waking up right now are a complete blank. He must have fought or learned how to deal with those things, all he needs is the right trigger to unlock those memories. And perhaps, with those memories, he'll unlock some of his skills, powers and knowledge of these creatures. We know that Ean came out of there in one piece but comatose, which tells me that he was likely fighting his way out of the void, possibly for some time. We need to find out what happened in there to succeed here.

Now, the gieloth have had the last decade for the tree to mature (in the ten years since Dio practically gave them the island) and if they;re freaking out because of the sphere and rushing things, they could end up sucking up half the planets resources before we get back to them. Also, it's not just about the threat they represent. It's about the possible power-up for us and our successors. If we fight, we can feed on the tree without damaging our rep with the people and there's probably enough gieloth in that thing to get us at least somewhere near Naram in terms of power level. If we don't fight, we may be able to forge some sort of alliance with them (doubtful imho). Fighting the sphere on the other hand presents no advantage. After we're done we'll have the same power level because our powers only increase with feeding ever since Crete BC.

Unless you can outline how exactly we'd fight the sphere and how that fight would gain us anything, I'm sticking with A. I was one of the ones who got us into the mess with the first ssphere and I'm not doing it again. The only other viable option is C, but that smacks of sticking our head in the sand while the world around us crumbles.

That is no solution. There's the danger of corruption and insanity if you try to drain what probably amounts to a few hundred Gieloth - there were roughly that many that migrated from the Americas.

As for my strategy, I am relying on the prospect of our memories and the sphere being at its weakest right now. It isn't going to get any easier than it is right now.

 

[a cut of domestic sheep prime]

Alright, you've convinced me. I just hope you're right about the memories unlocking powers - treave did say this would be like ps torment haha. Flipping to B.

edit: The way around the corruption might be to have our successors do the actual devouring, while we kill the tree, as we take no corruption from merging with them - but we'll handle that after we deal with the sphere.

 

[treave]

A - 5
B - 3
C - 1



edit: I'll hold off on the update for 5 more hours, just in case flip-flopping or new votes come in.

I've actually written updates for both A and B (haven't spent the last week idling), since I thought those would be the most popular choices. Might post the one that doesn't win as an extra, just to see what might have been.

 

[a cut of domestic sheep prime]

 

[Baltika9]

OH COME ON, I'm on a smartphone with shitty net!
Flopping to B, fuck da police.

 

[TOME]

I can't find the update about the gieloth tree, but I think it was decades before it gets dangerous to Earth. And I remember that the gieloths in China were building defenses before transforming to the tree form so there are probably defenses in Crete too. One thing I can't figure out is that why haven't Naram cleared them out yet.

The reason I don't want to go to the gieloths just yet is a negotiation strategy. When we go to them, I want Ean be able to dictate terms to them or they'll face destruction. If we go there now, they are the ones holding all the cards and completing the tree form is their best bet of survival.

The best thing we can now do is to keep sending scouts and trying to obtain more personal power. We can't go on facing the biggest and the baddest bosses this planet has on a hunch that they might be weak right now.

 

[Baltika9]

Lambchop19: it just occurred to me, how will we literally eat a gigantic tree? It's not like they will just lay around and let us do it (" 'S cool, bro.") and we don't have the luxury of time.
The only favorable outcome is Edem or Nabu hooking us up.

 

[a cut of domestic sheep prime]

Well, first we get a really big axe and then...

Seriously, my idea was that we'd kill it using all our powers - chopping at it with superhuman strength, throwing flaming bolders, telekinesis etc. They're in a vegetative state right now, so I was hoping that'd make it somewhat easier (btw, said state might make it difficult for Nabu or Edem to speak with us). And as I said, it wouldn't necessarily be us doing all the eating, but or successors. Then we absorb them. Powergaming ftw.

...also, the tree's fruit has black tendrils, so we may be able to snack first before the main course.

But, hey, E flipped me to B, so whateva.

 

[Baltika9]

Still, it's a giant-ass tree and even nineteen cheeseburger fatboys would take about two weeks to finish it. Not to mention they'd go insane halfway through. And the tree's not defenseless, see the killer tendrils in the update.

 

[treave]

Well, sorry to spoil the party but most of the Successors won't be able to eat it, being physically incapable of doing so. You would need someone with a way of absorbing physical objects without having to break it off and bite and chew and swallow. Someone with a weapon that is an embodiment of hunger, perhaps...

 

[a cut of domestic sheep prime]

Dio...

 

[TOME]

And we would have one hell of a job babysitting our Successor while dealing with the tree's defenses and the undead roaming the island.

 

[Baltika9]

I've actually written updates for both A and B (haven't spent the last week idling), since I thought those would be the most popular choices. Might post the one that doesn't win as an extra, just to see what might have been.

I'm getting bad Marius Hax vibes here.

Someone with a weapon that is an embodiment of hunger, perhaps...

Go to Iceland, I said, twice. Play as Dio, I said, get the Sekblade from him, I said. Did anybody listen?

I feel the Madman's pain.

 

[Azira]

Go to Iceland, I said, twice. Play as Dio, I said, get the Sekblade from him, I said. Did anybody listen?

I feel the Madman's pain.

Awww, poor widdle Baltika9.

I vote B.

Let's go and see if we can trounce a sphere when it's on our home turf.

Problem being, this is also where Narams citadel is supposed to be. Prepare to meet Athena and possibly Artemis. I think we're goint to get fucked over royally, but Ean really has a grudge against the spheres, so I'm crossing my fingers here, hoping we can stop the thing.

 

[Baltika9]

Problem being, this is also where Narams citadel is supposed to be. Prepare to meet Athena and possibly Artemis. I think we're goint to get fucked over royally, but Ean really has a grudge against the spheres, so I'm crossing my fingers here, hoping we can stop the thing.

Well, if Ean dies here, he will die as he lived: head high, flipping off the entire world.

To be fair, though, we may sway Artemis and Athena to our cause.