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In Progress [LP CYOA] Tower
- Thread starter treave
- Start date
- Joined
- Jul 6, 2008
- Messages
- 11,370
Manor on the Moors (IV)
You reach the stairs leading to the attic undetected. The trap door opens with a low creak, resisting just a little as you push against it. The dust is thick in the air. The faint light from the small window at the furthest end of the room illuminate a dozen large chests piled high, the wood aged and black. You try to lift the lid of one of the chests, but it does not budge. They are securely locked, and you do not have the key. As you turn your head left and right, trying to find anything else of note in the room, you hear a sibilant whispering from a corner of the attic. Following the sound, you weave your way past the chests. You are unable to make out what the whispers say, but nonetheless an inexplicable, uneasy chill nests in your heart.
Reaching the corner where the whispering is loudest, you see nothing before you but a stained, wooden floor. The stains look more like spatters, and just for a while, you wonder if it is blood. The whispers persist in the emptiness… and you see that there is something after all. A faint shimmering, a silhouette of something that does not seem fully in this world, should you strain your eyes to see.
I did not expect to see it here, of all places. How disgusting. There is nothing worse in the worlds than a foe with neither flesh to tear nor blood to drink.
The hound’s voice comes faintly to your mind, and you put it out of your mind just as quickly, ignoring whatever is being said. The presence before you wavers faintly, and you can feel it reaching out. Alarmed, you pedal backwards, putting a good amount of distance between yourself and the invisible thing.
And then, with no warning, the world fades to white.
***
You open your eyes, and see a vast, bluish-black expanse. It is the night sky, and you are back in the desert. You sit up with a start. The tribespeople are some distance away, bowing before a decidedly unamused Tlalli. There is another man standing besides her, bearded, slightly plump, and dressed in black. Seeing that you have woken up, she turns her back to them and marches towards you.
“About time you got up. You’re the last to wake. The girls are already resting in the tent,” she frowns, standing over you imposingly. “Good grief, that was a risky thing to do at your age. There was no need to play along with the Al’tayyih. You could’ve died.”
“Died?”
“The Astra that they use for walking the dreamlands is facilitated by use of a particular incense. It’s safe for their people, but there are the rare outsiders who have a nasty reaction to that sort of drug,” explains Tlalli dryly. “Anyway, the trial’s over, but you won’t ever need to speak to them again. Get up and go over to the tent. We’ll rest the night, then set out for the stairs.”
You nod wordlessly and get to your feet. The newcomer comes to your side, nodding his balding head in courtesy and introducing himself with no reserve. “The name’s Papus, young man. A pleasure to make your acquaintance,” he says, offering his hand. You tentatively shake it. “I’m a colleague of Dame Tlalli, an associate in the Hunters. I specialize in the Kabbalah and the art of the tarot.”
“Nice to meet you,” you reply, and that is as much as you can offer to a stranger. To Papus’s credit, he doesn’t seem perturbed, and he waves you on towards the tent.
Inside, you find Elizabeth and Sophie eating beans from some cans.
“Oh, you’re up,” waves Elizabeth. “What took you so long? That was a pretty amazing adventure, wasn’t it?”
Sophie, on the other hand, just looks at you sullenly before turning away without a word. She seems frustrated about something.
You decide to put everything that just happened out of mind for now, and rest. You are mentally exhausted. As you sit down, Elizabeth offers you some beans, which you gladly shovel into your mouth. It is not long after that when you begin to doze off again, even if you had just awoken from what seemed to be a long slumber.
That night, no dreams visit your sleep, though there seems to be a faint howling, far, far away.
***
The following day, you prepare to set out for the stairs. It seems that Papus will be travelling with you for a while; he had business somewhere in the desert, and is now on his way back to more civilized floors. Tlalli informs you that the rest of the trip will be quite faster, as Papus has a small airship waiting on the floor below. While heading to the airship, you decide to:
A. Converse with Tlalli. You are curious about her relationship with the tribe, as you spotted them bowing to her.
B. Converse with Sophie. You are still wondering about what you saw in her mind, with the parties and all.
C. Converse with Elizabeth. You would like to know more about what she experienced in her dream.
D. Converse with Papus. He mentioned that he is a scholar of sorts when it comes to the occult; you might be able to learn a thing or two from him.
E. Keep to yourself. There is nothing you would like to talk about, for the moment. Some quiet time would do your fatigue good.
You reach the stairs leading to the attic undetected. The trap door opens with a low creak, resisting just a little as you push against it. The dust is thick in the air. The faint light from the small window at the furthest end of the room illuminate a dozen large chests piled high, the wood aged and black. You try to lift the lid of one of the chests, but it does not budge. They are securely locked, and you do not have the key. As you turn your head left and right, trying to find anything else of note in the room, you hear a sibilant whispering from a corner of the attic. Following the sound, you weave your way past the chests. You are unable to make out what the whispers say, but nonetheless an inexplicable, uneasy chill nests in your heart.
Reaching the corner where the whispering is loudest, you see nothing before you but a stained, wooden floor. The stains look more like spatters, and just for a while, you wonder if it is blood. The whispers persist in the emptiness… and you see that there is something after all. A faint shimmering, a silhouette of something that does not seem fully in this world, should you strain your eyes to see.
I did not expect to see it here, of all places. How disgusting. There is nothing worse in the worlds than a foe with neither flesh to tear nor blood to drink.
The hound’s voice comes faintly to your mind, and you put it out of your mind just as quickly, ignoring whatever is being said. The presence before you wavers faintly, and you can feel it reaching out. Alarmed, you pedal backwards, putting a good amount of distance between yourself and the invisible thing.
And then, with no warning, the world fades to white.
***
You open your eyes, and see a vast, bluish-black expanse. It is the night sky, and you are back in the desert. You sit up with a start. The tribespeople are some distance away, bowing before a decidedly unamused Tlalli. There is another man standing besides her, bearded, slightly plump, and dressed in black. Seeing that you have woken up, she turns her back to them and marches towards you.
“About time you got up. You’re the last to wake. The girls are already resting in the tent,” she frowns, standing over you imposingly. “Good grief, that was a risky thing to do at your age. There was no need to play along with the Al’tayyih. You could’ve died.”
“Died?”
“The Astra that they use for walking the dreamlands is facilitated by use of a particular incense. It’s safe for their people, but there are the rare outsiders who have a nasty reaction to that sort of drug,” explains Tlalli dryly. “Anyway, the trial’s over, but you won’t ever need to speak to them again. Get up and go over to the tent. We’ll rest the night, then set out for the stairs.”
You nod wordlessly and get to your feet. The newcomer comes to your side, nodding his balding head in courtesy and introducing himself with no reserve. “The name’s Papus, young man. A pleasure to make your acquaintance,” he says, offering his hand. You tentatively shake it. “I’m a colleague of Dame Tlalli, an associate in the Hunters. I specialize in the Kabbalah and the art of the tarot.”
“Nice to meet you,” you reply, and that is as much as you can offer to a stranger. To Papus’s credit, he doesn’t seem perturbed, and he waves you on towards the tent.
Inside, you find Elizabeth and Sophie eating beans from some cans.
“Oh, you’re up,” waves Elizabeth. “What took you so long? That was a pretty amazing adventure, wasn’t it?”
Sophie, on the other hand, just looks at you sullenly before turning away without a word. She seems frustrated about something.
You decide to put everything that just happened out of mind for now, and rest. You are mentally exhausted. As you sit down, Elizabeth offers you some beans, which you gladly shovel into your mouth. It is not long after that when you begin to doze off again, even if you had just awoken from what seemed to be a long slumber.
That night, no dreams visit your sleep, though there seems to be a faint howling, far, far away.
***
The following day, you prepare to set out for the stairs. It seems that Papus will be travelling with you for a while; he had business somewhere in the desert, and is now on his way back to more civilized floors. Tlalli informs you that the rest of the trip will be quite faster, as Papus has a small airship waiting on the floor below. While heading to the airship, you decide to:
A. Converse with Tlalli. You are curious about her relationship with the tribe, as you spotted them bowing to her.
B. Converse with Sophie. You are still wondering about what you saw in her mind, with the parties and all.
C. Converse with Elizabeth. You would like to know more about what she experienced in her dream.
D. Converse with Papus. He mentioned that he is a scholar of sorts when it comes to the occult; you might be able to learn a thing or two from him.
E. Keep to yourself. There is nothing you would like to talk about, for the moment. Some quiet time would do your fatigue good.
A. Converse with Tlalli. You are curious about her relationship with the tribe, as you spotted them bowing to her.
hey grandma, we missed you
>
D. Converse with Papus. He mentioned that he is a scholar of sorts when it comes to the occult; you might be able to learn a thing or two from him.
could know about our taint (in the rabies-infested wound, you perverts)
at least we got our rep with the tribe to 25
Sophie has Malkavian blood?
hey grandma, we missed you
>
D. Converse with Papus. He mentioned that he is a scholar of sorts when it comes to the occult; you might be able to learn a thing or two from him.
could know about our taint (in the rabies-infested wound, you perverts)
at least we got our rep with the tribe to 25
Sophie has Malkavian blood?
Life of the Party
Arcane
- Joined
- May 8, 2018
- Messages
- 3,535
D
Baltika9
Arcane
- Joined
- Jun 27, 2012
- Messages
- 9,611
Huh, Sophie is the spooky girl. Who could have known? It might not be the best of ideas to let her know that we breached her privacy by invading her dreams.
A>C, spending time with grandma is important, but we have been ignoring Elizabeth and that doesn't sit right with me.
A>C, spending time with grandma is important, but we have been ignoring Elizabeth and that doesn't sit right with me.
We made frens!
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Nevill
Arcane
- Joined
- Jun 6, 2009
- Messages
- 11,211
Um. What was that for?
I don't know what it is that we've seen, but perhaps she has her own, ah, patron? Or at least a connection to it, like we have with Uridimmu's fragment?
So wait, was that the answer to the question "what would have happened if we thought of Sophie instead of Rain"?
Does she know we've seen it? I can't think of other reasons for her to be sullen. She shouldn't have expectations of us acting in the dream because were not supposed to be there in the first place. If whatever is in her mind whispered something about us to her, though...
Maybe we could clear this up... but I don't know if it has to be now.
C. Converse with Elizabeth. You would like to know more about what she experienced in her dream.
Oh well, we could use some of the Best Girl's cheer to put this in an attic of our own.
...why did the tribe want us to walk the dreamlands at all?
ChumBucket
Augur
- Joined
- May 16, 2010
- Messages
- 349
B>A>D My curiosity is getting the better of me.
ChumBucket
Augur
- Joined
- May 16, 2010
- Messages
- 349
We made frens!
Are we going to be walking the path of Muad'Dib in the future? The Astra must flow.
hello friend
Arcane
D
Yeah, I'm not too sure about these choices. Maybe Papus can tell us something about that hound shard we're carrying around, maybe not. Maybe Tlalli can. I'm leaning mostly towards talking with those two..
A>D
A>D
A. I want to ask gramma about Uridimmu.
C. Converse with Elizabeth. You would like to know more about what she experienced in her dream.
Not sure about this, too many good options.
Not sure about this, too many good options.
a cut of domestic sheep prime
Guest
Well, we picked a bad end, it seems.
I had expected some secret in the attic, not a weird ghost thing.
That or she’s possessed by it now.
B>D>A we have to figure out what’s wrong with Sophie. I sense a major issue lurking here. Beyond the usual romance option bullshit.
We made some major screw ups here. Time to do damage control and figure out how bad things are with Sophie.
Liz is fine, as I expected.
Papus might know more about the dreamlands, as might Tlalli
a cut of domestic sheep prime
Guest
Bro, just lift.
We wouldn’t even have it still if we had focused on recovery. It will probably heal on its own.
Nevill
Arcane
- Joined
- Jun 6, 2009
- Messages
- 11,211
It doesn't strike me as one. It's more like we peeked at something we weren't supposed to see, and got an advance warning of something being up.
Sophie looks and acts like we read a stack of her love letters. I think it's relatively harmless, or at the very least, a long-time issue that isn't urgent.
I can't say I am not curious, and Sophie is the character I got most attached to as of late (besides Rain, but we've not seen her in a looong while), so I might switch to B if there is a point. The shiny new scholar seems to be winning by a landslide though.
CappenVarra A>D
Baltika9 A>C
Azira A>D
Kalarion A
ChumBucket B>A>D
Orbit B
Lambchop19 B>D>A
Nevill C
baud C
ItsChon D>B
Life of the Party D
Grimgravy D>A
Tigranes D>C
asxetos D
Kz3r0 D
hello friend D
oscar D
ERYFKRAD E
A - 4
B - 3
C - 2
D - 7
E - 1
Baltika9 A>C
Azira A>D
Kalarion A
ChumBucket B>A>D
Orbit B
Lambchop19 B>D>A
Nevill C
baud C
ItsChon D>B
Life of the Party D
Grimgravy D>A
Tigranes D>C
asxetos D
Kz3r0 D
hello friend D
oscar D
ERYFKRAD E
A - 4
B - 3
C - 2
D - 7
E - 1
What is your source on that? I don't think recovery was an option. Lifting was promised to provide us with a better understanding. Which we now sort of have, courtesy of the doggie.
We carry the fragment of Uridimmu in our body ever since the meeting with Tentanazgul, and it isn't going anywhere. My guess is that we are stuck with it as a debuff until we figure out a way to use it like other mages do. Just like how Jing was stuck with his weird meridians until Master Zhang graciously helped him to get over it.
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