Myth: A New Age CYOA

[Smashing Axe]

I really do enjoy the idea of training up these kids, if they survive. New recruits for the Lost!

Good tradition of Black Company recruit, recruit, recruit especially after some archmage take half of your forces.

So, we're all for starting a mercenary company after escaping the caves... Right?

 

[Jester]

I really do enjoy the idea of training up these kids, if they survive. New recruits for the Lost!

Good tradition of Black Company recruit, recruit, recruit especially after some archmage take half of your forces.

So, we're all for starting a mercenary company after escaping the caves... Right?

It will be bit hard, we dont have enough meat shields for now but we have quite nice magical support. I have some plans for after this run before deciding next step.
Will check how much monay we will get after run, financial corporation, mercenary company or magic circle are 3 most likely possibilities.

 

[Zero Credibility]

Maybe we should start an orphanage if we get back outside with some treasure, and make it a decent place. We train the kids there (maybe start our own magic / fighter school for those that qualify?) to prepare them for life and to see who is the best and recruit them young. That way we could create completely loyal yet highly competent followers. Though that is a very long term investment.

 

[Smashing Axe]

Maybe we should start an orphanage if we get back outside with some treasure, and make it a decent place. We train the kids there (maybe start our own magic / fighter school for those that qualify?) to prepare them for life and to see who is the best and recruit them young. That way we could create completely loyal yet highly competent followers. Though that is a very long term investment.

Going to need some youth magic to boot if we want to go really long-term.

 

[Nevill]

I bet Nine could provide some insight into that.

 

[Zero Credibility]

Well in this setting anyone can learn magic, can't they? How good you are depends on you intelligence and willpower. So we could probably mass produce mages if we really want to, there should be plenty of orphans around after the war. Fund a magical academy and completely break with the existing tradition of secrecy and spread the knowledge to all our students. Start research into underdeveloped magical disciplines as well, like magical defences, detection and communication or better healing.

But before (or maybe while while we are doing that) there's other things to consider. The other part of the stone is one. The second is that map to the dream we found, that could give us some major power. And of course there is our gate spell, finding a way to open permanent portals to other cities (and later, other worlds) could make us rich beyond our dreams. I imagine something like the street from the Hyperion novels, a single street spanning across cities and worlds, an economic hub of entire empires, and all of them paying us with wealth and power for making this possible.

But that's enough of wild dreams, first we need to get out of here alive.

 

[Fangshi]

I actually have a list drawn up of various things you could do. I am just trying to figure out how to present the choices. I mean the easiest thing for me would be to just list all fifty or so options with the time they would take and their initial costs and then let everyone argue till there is a solution but I am not sure if that would be the best way to go about things. It would probably get messy. Alternatively I could break it down into a number of smaller choices. For example choice one would be do you stay in the city or make preparations to travel somewhere. Choice two would then be dependent on your first decision and so on, it may be more digestible that way.

Either way there will be a gap when this chapter ends as I promised to get those summaries of the world out so everyone will have them for quick reference.

Current Vote:

Baltika9 1b 2aii 3aii 4aii 5a
Smashing Axe 1b 2aii 3aii 4aii 5b
Nevill 1b 2ai 3ai 4aiii 5a Escort: Amena, Ithapi, Serpent and Christine
Zero Credibility 1b 2ai 3ai 4c 5a Escort: Amena, Ithapi, Serpent and Christine
asxetos 1b 2ai 3ai 4aiii 5a Escort: Thais, Amena and Ithapi
Anabanana 1b 2ai 3ai 4aiii 5a Escort: Christine, Serpent, Amena, and Ithapi
Kz3r0 1b 2ai 3ai 4c 5a Escort: Thais, Amena and Ithapi
Jester 1b 2aii 3aii 4aii 5a
Boxer 1a 2c 3c 4ai 5b
Kipeci 1b 2aii 3aii 4aii 5a
Azira 1b 2ai 3ai 4ai 5a Escort: Thais, Amena, Ithapi
Grimgravy 1b 2ai 3ai 4c>ai 5b Escort: Thais, Amena, Ithapi

1.
A) 1 vote
B) 11 votes

2.
A)
i. 7 votes: 4 votes for the three person escort, 3 votes for the four person escort
ii. 4 votes
B)
C) 1 vote

3.
A)
i. 7 votes
ii. 4 votes
B)
C) 1 vote

4.
A)
i. 2 vote
ii. 4 votes
iii. 3 votes
B)
C) 3 votes

5.
A) 9 votes
B) 3 votes


I will leave the polls open for a few more hours, then close things up so you can get on with getting revenge or recovering the stone or what have you.

 

[Nevill]

Guys, if we are escorting the kids to the tower, why leave all of the relics in the chapel (4Aii). Let's take at least some of the most important ones (or the ones that seem important) with us.

 

[Zero Credibility]

Well I assumed we would at lest take something if it would be useful in the hunt. Like weapons for example.

Anyway, put me down for 4 man escort: Amena, Ithapi, Serpent and Christine.

 

[Boxer]

Sexpert - O the things you can do would drive Wyrd to sin, for the right price of course
Not a Virgin - well everyone has to start somewhere

...So... How do mauls multiply? Do they like anthropomorphic sexy homosapiens kids?

 

[Fangshi]

Wow... really?

Well, that would be like trying to breed a pig and a chimp... it just is not going to work... it would make a huge mess and that is about it.

If you want a bunch of Maul bodyguards then you will have to make contact with a tribe or two and purchase their services or enslave them. If you could manage to install Ithapi as head of a tribe and keep him alive and in power you might even be able to get them to serve for free.

Polls will close in two hours.

 

[Fangshi]

Alright, polls closed.

You will pursue Miosguinn, you will send the kids back with a three person escort (Thaïs, Amena and Ithapi), you will leave the relics for now (Bari takes the maul but everything else stays for now), and you will use up another of your stones.

Update should be ready in 8-12 hrs.

 

[Jester]

Looks like people love mah antiallmagic grenades, but i hope that there will be at least one heaven stone left for magical studies. Nice start in direction of protection magic.

 

[Fangshi]

Chapter 18: The Hunt

You stand with Thaïs and Gareth surveying your respective groups, "You both understand how we are going to do this?"

They nod, "Yeah Derryth we got it. Thaïs will take the kids and the wagon back to the tower while we press on after Miosguinn."

"Alright then," now that you have made the choice this all seems easier somehow though your next order is a difficult one.

You look Thaïs dead in the eyes, "With only three people you won't be able to fight off any substantial attacks. If... if it comes down to it I want you to abandon the children and escape. They are replaceable, the three of you aren't... understand?"

She hesitates at first but nods, "Alright Derryth... we will do what we have to. Just be careful alright. Miosguinn will be dangerous now that he has nothing left to lose."

You nod, turn on your heels and march off with Gareth close behind, "Has Brigit finished warding the relic room?"

"Yep, it is all set to blow if anyone tries to force an entrance. It should give Miosguinn a surprise if we... well if we fail..." the veteran trails off.

"Good... good," you nod to yourself, "Now where is Bari? I have something to show him and-"

"Farmer!" Christine storms up to you.

"Go on ahead Gareth. I should probably deal with her now rather than later," you wave Gareth on as you take a seat on what used to be a wall and wait for the mage to approach you.

She looks terrible. She must not have slept much last night. You know the feeling all too well, "What do you need Christine?"

"I... I would like to come with you," you can tell she is having trouble being civil to you but she is making an effort, "please..."

You are not feeling terribly charitable this morning, "Polite? Well that is a new trick for you. Why would you, master of magic that you are, need little old me to help you?"

She frowns, "I should have known. Should never have trusted a farmer, a damn peasant to understand.." she turns to leave.

You sigh, "Hold on, hold on," you gesture for her to come back.

She stops and slowly turns back towards you.

"Okay, maybe we just got off to a poor start here. You want to avenge your mother right?"

She nods.

"And you are prepared to follow my orders in this."

She nods.

"Alright then, I can respect that. You can come with us but you have to listen. If we are working against each other Miosguinn could still kill us both."

She exhales, letting out a sigh of relief, "Thank you farmer..."

A thought occurs to you, "You know, your mother would probably want you to guard the children."

She frowns and nods, "I am not really the nurturing type..."

She says it as if it is some great secret which strikes you as immensely funny. You laugh, slap your knee and feign surprise, "No shit, really?"

She stares daggers at you as you sit there laughing but slowly the wall of hostility she has built up crumbles and she begins to laugh as well. As odd as it is the two of you share a good laugh at her expense.

She sighs, "Thank you farmer. I think I needed that," she turns and begins to walk away.

You call after her, "Any chance you're going to stop calling me that?"

She does not miss a beat, "Nope," she disappears back into the chapel. Probably gone to find Serpent.

You close your eyes and mutter to yourself, "Baby steps... hell maybe I won't have to kill her after all... maybe..." you look up into the darkness, "One thing at a time, one step at a time..."

You hop back down from your perch and head off to find your team.

-----------------------------------------------------------

"Well Bari, think we can find him?"

The dwarf lets out a confident bark, "Derryth, have I ever told you about the Pathfinders."

You shrug, "Can't say you ever have beyond the fact that you are one and that Ari was as well..."

You can see the rage wash over him as he thinks about his wife. He looks down at his right hand, two gold bands rest on his ring finger.

He looks back at you, "Well, there is a damn good reason for that Derryth. The Pathfinders are dwarven spec ops... strictly black ops you understand. As far as most of the world knows we do not even exist and that is the way we like to keep it. When a Pathfinder wants a person dead, Derryth, they tend to die. We are very good at what we do and that bastard Miosguinn is about to find that out. So yes, I know that I will find him and I know that I will kill him. It is just a question of time."

"Are you sure you should be telling me this Bari?"

He smiles at you, but it is a hard thing without warmth, "Don't see why not. You have done well by my people Derryth. At every opportunity you have stood with us and I know you are doing everything you can. Ari liked you, don't know if she ever told you but she did. I trust you..." he shrugs, "haven't known you long, but I trust you. Besides if you go around screaming about dwarven assassins and secret agents well, you will wind up dead."

He chuckles a little, "You should see us at our best Derryth. With resources, supplies, proper intel, we are a beautiful and terrible thing to behold... That mage is dead, he died when my wife did... just does not know it yet..."

You cough, a little uncomfortable, "Speaking of which I think I may have something that could help," you reach into a pocket and pull out a small stone.

You hold it up so Bari can see it, "Miosguinn was under contract with me to provide magical support. Mostly illusions to hide my expedition. Well, we needed a way for our scouts to find us cloaked behind his spells. Miosguinn gave Tyrvard this stone, he still had it on him when he... when he fell and it is keyed to the mage so..."

Bari grins from ear to ear, "So we have the bastard by the short hairs! What are we waiting for, lets go get him!"

"Hold on. Before we go anywhere I need you to promise you will work with us. Everyone here wants a piece of the mage but we are going to have to work together if we want to get him."

He nods, "Of course Derryth, but I have one request. If we get him alive I want you to give him to me. I am going to make it slow..." the dwarf tests his knife as he says those last words and for a moment you feel sorry for Miosguinn...

----------------------------------------------------

The creature waits. In darkness, just below the surface. The new master has promised more food if it just waits... quietly... patiently... the food will pass this way and it will hunt. It will kill. It will eat.

It waits. For the past eight hours it has waited but it will stay as long as necessary to eat. To feel the sweet taste of fresh meat in its mouth. To hear the screams of its prey. To feel it weakly thrash beneath the creature as it dines. Such things give purpose to its existence.

Its thoughts are interrupted by a faint noise and the vibration of its threads. Something draws near.

It can hear something close. The voice of a girl, it can feel footsteps, it can smell a human. Perhaps this one will be less tough than its last meal. Perhaps this one will fight less. Perhaps this meal will come quicker.

It springs its trap, it feels happy.

It bursts forth, it feels excited.

It lunges forward, it feels...

Pain...

So much pain... impaled upon two feet of steel the creature dies...

---------------------------------------------------

Biliku gives the creature a kick and turns to you as you dispatch your target with an assault spell and your knife, "So that is number six right? Miosguinn is alone?"

You wipe your blade off on the Blue's robes, "Maybe kid but I would take nothing for granted here."

Your group stands in front of the Blue outpost. It is a single building, two stories tall with a pair of large metal doors out front. Brigit walks the perimeter and it seems that there is only one entrance and exit.

You push through the main gates, prepared for anything, but all that meets you is silence and emptiness. Though the exterior of the building lies in ruin the interior is remarkably well appointed. The rugs, tapestries and furniture would be worth a fortune if it were not all splattered with dried blood. A battle was fought here, maybe a week or two ago but you can't be certain.

Thanks to Tyrvard's stone you know Miosguinn is in here somewhere but you are not sure where exactly.

You and Gareth set about coming up with a plan to find the man and prevent any escape attempts he may try to make.


The Plan:
Your Assets:
Derryth - skilled mage, focus mental spells, some combat skill
Gareth - warrior, great combat skills, great commander
Brigit - archer/mage, good shot, good combat skills, magic arrows, focus mental spells
Serpent - medic, some basic attack spells, expert surgeon
Christine - skilled mage, focus movement spells/attack spells
Biliku - warrior, great combat skills
Uttu - archer, good shot
Bari - Pathfinder, good combat skills, improvised explosives, expert infiltrator


1. The Front Door: You should probably leave a team to secure the door in case he tries to slip past you.

A) You leave a team at the door (List who)

B) You do not leave a team at the door. You want the extra bodies to help search.

C)freeform


2. Groups: You can move as a single large group or as a pair of smaller ones. Gareth recommends against traveling individually.

A) You travel as one group, safety in numbers and all that.

B) You split into two groups to quickly search the building. (Who is on each team?)

i. both groups search the same floor.

ii. each group searches a different floor.

C)freeform


3. What floor do you want to search first? (Top two will be picked if Bii wins, Derryth's group will go with the top pick and group two will go with the second highest pick.)

A) Second Story - It seems to mostly be the offices of high ranking Blues up there. Miosguinn may have something in his office he needs.

B) Main Floor - The barracks, kitchen, common room, and armoury. If he has any remaining forces they would probably be around here somewhere.

C) Basement - there is always a basement and you may find something down there. If there is a secret escape route it might be down there.

D)freeform

 

[Kz3r0]

1. The Front Door: You should probably leave a team to secure the door in case he tries to slip past you.

B) You do not leave a team at the door. You want the extra bodies to help search.

2. Groups: You can move as a single large group or as a pair of smaller ones. Gareth recommends against traveling individually.

A) You travel as one group, safety in numbers and all that.


3. What floor do you want to search first? (Top two will be picked if Bii wins, Derryth's group will go with the top pick and group two will go with the second highest pick.)

D)freeform

Ask Nine if it's possible locate him through magic here.

 

[Fangshi]

Ask Nine if it's possible locate him through magic here.

Not unless he starts casting in which case you, Nine, Brigit, Serpent and Christine will all be able to feel it provided you are close enough or the spell is big enough. Right now he isn't so you only know what the stone tells you. It works like a compass, it can tell you which direction to go in, in the four cardinal directions but it can't tell you what floor he is on.

 

[Anabanana]

Fangshi, will we be using the stone in the search, or is "Miosguinn is somewhere in here" the extent of what it'll tell us?

 

[Fangshi]

Fangshi, will we be using the stone in the search, or is "Miosguinn is somewhere in here" the extent of what it'll tell us?

Yes you will use the stone (and every trick you can think of) to find him.

It can give you almost his exact position in two dimensions (N,S,E,W) but you will not know what floor he is on until you start looking. Which is why I am not having you search room by room. Once you pick a floor you will just follow the stone to where he is. You will either find him or know that he is either above or below you somewhere.

Now if he starts casting and you are close enough you will be able to tell if he is above or below you so you will then be able to get pretty much his exact position. But if he is casting it also means he is trying to do something... something you might not want him to do.

 

[Anabanana]

1. A - Biliku, Uttu, Serpent.
2. A - Not much point in splitting up the group into search teams if we can just follow the stone.
3. C - I want to secure any escape routes. With a team at the front door, we'll get him as long as he's in the building.

 

[Smashing Axe]

A - Biliku, Serpent, Uttu (Biliku because he's capable, Uttu for ranged support, Serpent for illusion detection and support)
A - dividing further would be too great a risk. The pathfinder and Derryth together should be able to track Mios down.
C - Cover the secret escape routes first.

I'm willing to flop to dividing into groups if someone can come up with a compelling enough argument as to why that division would be advantageous.

 

[Zero Credibility]

Damn it, I knew 3 people were too light for an escort. Maybe it would be better if we left them where they were. Oh well, lets just hope they are not all dead already.

I think that Derryth's instincts may be trying to tell her something - he is in his office for something (the source of his power?) and will then try to escape, either through the front doors or the basement. But if we hold the stairs down he can't do either. So:

1. B - don't bother, if there is a second exit he will just use that instead.

2. B - yes, but the second team will not search, they will secure the stairs going down from the second floor instead, both against him escaping down and any reinforcement we would left behind going up to help him. Second team is: Serpent (medic support, some magic) Christine (full mage, needed to try to recognise illusions if he tries to slip by), Biliku and Uttu (fighters, to make sure no reinforcements can sneak up on us from the floor down).

I'm not sure what would this option be - Bi? Or would this be freeform?

3. A - search the place where he is most likely to be first.

 

[Nevill]

Damn it, I knew 3 people were too light for an escort. Maybe it would be better if we left them where they were. Oh well, lets just hope they are not all dead already.

Well, come to think of it, so were 4. Thais and Christine are about equal in worth. Would Serprent make such a big difference?

A. Biliku, Uttu, Brigit. If he tries running, just fill him full of arrows. A fighter, two archers, and one of them doubles as a mage. I call this a balanced team.
A. If we cover the exit, we can't split further.
C. Check the basement, first, and work your way up.

 

[Smashing Axe]

Damn it, I knew 3 people were too light for an escort. Maybe it would be better if we left them where they were. Oh well, lets just hope they are not all dead already.

I think that Derryth's instincts may be trying to tell her something - he is in his office for something (the source of his power?) and will then try to escape, either through the front doors or the basement. But if we hold the stairs down he can't do either. So:

1. B - don't bother, if there is a second exit he will just use that instead.
2. B - yes, but the second team will not search, they will secure the stairs going down from the second floor instead, both against him escaping down and any reinforcement we would left behind going up to help him. Second team is: Serpent (medic support, some magic) Christine (full mage, needed to try to recognise illusions if he tries to slip by), Biliku and Uttu (fighters, to make sure no reinforcements can sneak up on us from the floor down).

I'm not sure what would this option be - Bi? Or would this be freeform?

3. A - search the place where he is most likely to be first.

I'll flop to this. If he escapes we can follow him again, however it seems likely he's recovering some device to face us down with. Best that we counter that first.

 

[Zero Credibility]

Well, come to think of it, so were 4. Thais and Christine are about equal in worth. Would Serprent make such a big difference?

Well, I think Christine is much better in combat than Thais. From the description (skilled mage, focus movement spells/attack spells) she is a dedicated combat mage, while Thais isn't really, she knows some useful tricks and has that crossbow, but her primary purpose was and is to talk us out the latest mess we got ourselves into. Add another person to that (though Serpent really isn't much in a fight), and it would increases their chances somewhat. But true, in case of a full scale attack that would not be enough. Still, it would make me feel a little better.

 

[Nevill]

Thais has a crossbow to compensate. This is what we got when we estimated our ranged capabilities against ghouls:

By Derryth's estimates you personally could take 3-5 depending on your accuracy. Thaïs and Serpent can each take 2-3, Thaïs has her crossbow as well so three is quite reasonable for her. Brigit can drop somewhere in the range 6-7 with her bow and spells. Miosguinn and the Apprentice can drop about 10 and Amena can handle 2-3

Together with Ithapi they can fend off a small raider force of 10 to 15 ghouls or something similar. Anything larger, and a 4 person team would have problems, too.

I'll probably flop to your plan, though. He didn't come here to escape, and so it would be good to deny him whatever it is he is seeking.

1. B - don't bother, if there is a second exit he will just use that instead.

2. B - yes, but the second team will not search, they will secure the stairs going down from the second floor instead, both against him escaping down and any reinforcement we would left behind going up to help him. Second team is: Serpent (medic support, some magic) Christine (full mage, needed to try to recognise illusions if he tries to slip by), Biliku and Uttu (fighters, to make sure no reinforcements can sneak up on us from the floor down).

I'm not sure what would this option be - Bi? Or would this be freeform?

3. A - search the place where he is most likely to be first.