In Progress Torment on the Shards, Part 36 - Planescape-inspired CYOA

[Storyfag]

1C
2B

 

[hello friend]

1C
2B

 

[Azira]

1C
2A

 

[Kz3r0]

1C
2B

 

[Grimgravy]

C
A

 

[Gauldur's Bait]

1C
2B

 

[Lithium Flower]

Lord-Steel's guest is the beholder veteran. You play with Head-Taker.

Part 14 - Black and White

You ignore the servant attending the waiting room and pour yourself a cup of tea. You sip it as you see to the games. The warm tea has a full flavor, with a hint of spices. Anywhere else you would have found it a refreshing drink but here it only reminds you of the wasteland. It seems that Lord Steel does not allow his guests to forget where they are.

At the back of the room are several bookshelves, a few containing game sets. There are sets of cards used to play games of chance, boards with matching pieces used for strategic matches, and so-called “games of imagination” wherein players pretend to make choices that have imaginary consequences. The latter has the reputation of being played exclusively by pathetic failures seeking to escape the fact that they have achieved nothing in their real lives. You pick up a box containing a checkered board with painted playing pieces.

Head-Taker lies down on the soft carpet of the waiting room. You sit down across from him, setting the board down between the two of you.

“Oh, I do so enjoy these games,” he lets out a low growl, stretching out on the carpet like some great beast, “what do you like most about them, good Strider?”

You reply that learning new rules and systems is just as important to you as the gameplay itself.

“Devout seeker, then,” he replies, starting the game. “My favorite part is moving my piece. Black and white...the colors remind me of someone I know. He wants nothing else but to paint the entire board black, pieces and all.”

You lean in conspiratorially. The Lord-Foreman...?

“No,” Head-Taker replies. “The good Lord-Foreman does not at all care for the color of the pieces, only that he should have them all.”

Feeling brave (perhaps because you've just made a rather good move), you ask the lurk to explain his relationship with Steel.

“If you may forgive me for answering a question with a question...what do you think it is?”

After some consideration, you reply that his connection to Lord Steel seems to be subservient, yet full of respect. Perhaps the lurk is an old bodyguard?

Head-Taker's eyes, almost invisible against his black hide if not for their faint glow, stare at you. For a moment you think that you have offended him. Then he blinks, and replies in the same growl: “with all due respect, gentleherald, your former assumption is wrong, although it is one that is frequently made. The kind Lord sees us as equals, although there is some irony to that, for you are partially correct – I have indeed chosen my employment as his bodyguard. I am also his good friend and mentor. He relies on me; thus he would be nothing without me.”

Bold words. With them he makes a move that wins him the game.

“Good show. Let us reset the board. The good Lord-Foreman likes conversing with his guests. I am sure we've a few matches ahead of us before he is unoccupied.”

You study the lurk as he puts his pieces back to his side of the board. His dress is fashionable but not gaudy. A black double-breasted vest with white pinstripes suits his dark complexion, but then he has got a brace of over a dozen skulls taken from a few recognizable races over that. He is somewhat verbose, yet speaks in a primal, monotone growl that carries no politeness. You can think of many lurks with much smaller vocabularies and much better diction than he.

You figure that the best way to find out more about Head-Taker would be during the game.

---

Write a question in-character (meaning in the same manner that you'd like Strider to ask it). This question will be asked unless another participant requests that it is not to be asked. If you wish to do some action during dialogue (using a belief move, bartering items, trying to read a person, attacking, etc), please add it along with your question. It will be done if the suggestion gets a majority of votes.

Keep in mind that asking the wrong questions will have consequences. So will not asking the right questions.

Notes

Alright, let's give this idea a shot. Essentially the "burden" of voting is reversed for dialogue. A question is automatically asked and must be voted against, as opposed to for. Write-in actions still require majority, though. I reserve the right to alter the questions asked for the same old reasons.

Sorry about short and late update. I rewrote the dialogue several times because the first few attempts had too much philosoraptoring. That and it took me a while to figure out how I want to do an "interactive" dialogue.

If this ends up not working out I can always revert to a choice between set questions, or simply have the dialogue deliver an amount of information that the narrative demands.

 

[Azira]

Eh, narrow as the scope to this particular situation may be, it is still a free-form question, the bane of many a CYOA...

I might end up vetoing quite a few proposed questions.

 

[Kz3r0]

Why Lord Steel has elected as his residence such an unconfortable place?

 

[Grimgravy]

*use Sense the intent*
How did Lord Steel earn your friendship and respect?

 

[Lithium Flower]

Another outage. Fucking unbelievable. Will update at first possible opportunity. Sorry everyone...

 

[Lithium Flower]

Spoiler

ISP fucked me so hard and long that I decided to post this closer to the usual time.

Part 15 - Watered by Our Blood

Why has Lord Steel elected such an uncomfortable place as his residence?

“The same reason why I wear these skulls,” the lurk replies, casually holding up an imperfect sphere of cracked chitin that was once a buzzer's head. “Lord Steel knows who he is and what he has done. He is not only content knowing these things but also unashamed of displaying them. A rare trait in the City, where one can get prosecuted for merely being themselves.”

You tilt your head, asking if he means that Lord Steel is a proud person.

“Dwelling on yourself and your works – if there is a difference – is not necessarily an act of pride, good Seeker. It can also be the most honest form of introspection.”

Well-stated apologetic to explain a rich dandy's quirks. You retort that perhaps the best way to know oneself is by learning and observing things other than yourself. An individual who passively studies himself rather than absorbing the knowledge around them from a position of humility may very well end up becoming very close-minded, after all. The lurk chortles in response – the first non-neutral reaction he has shown you.

“If you will excuse me, gentleherald, I must refuse this particular branch of conversation. It seems that we are of two differing opinions, a debate over which would take too much time and blood than the present situation allows for.”

Huh. A rich industrialist sits in his mance in the middle of a wasteland, attended by a well-spoken killer with a savage appearance. Something doesn't add up.

You peer into the dark puddles of the lurk's eyes, trying to distinguish if they are eyes of a wild beast or an intelligent person, but they defy categorization. “I am Me,” they scream instead, in a show of raw individualism. This lurk...no, Head-Taker will follow Steel as long as he wants to and it continues to benefit him but he will not hesitate to turn on him if either of these factors change. You quickly ask him another question, obfuscating your attempt to read him.

How did Lord Steel earn your friendship and respect?

“It must have been that very honesty,” Head-Taker growls, resting his head on the back of his paw as he contemplates his next turn. “If I must work with someone, they should at least be deserving of my respect. Whatever impression you get of the kind Lord-Foreman, I am sure that you will agree that he deserves just that. As to what led me into his employment, it was the path I chose to take. One advantage of growing up dirt-poor in the Beastlands is that the only direction one has to go is up, unless they instead choose to stay and become complacent with their wretchedness. I saw many paths ahead, and chose the path of the axe...no, I apologize, I misspoke. Rather, I carved my own path with my axe.”

You look at him skeptically, wondering if there is a difference.

“In fact there is. Someone I know put it very well: one is faced with many paths, each paved by someone else, but if one chooses to eat the path...”

The door to Lord Steel's office finally opens and a heavily armed beholder walks out into the waiting room.

“Very well then, Strider,” Head-Taker says, gesturing towards the door with his paw, “it seems that the kind Lord-Foreman is now ready to meet and greet you. It has been a pleasure.”

You nod, leaving the lurk to put the game away, and cross the waiting room, passing the beholder.

“I am Deadliest. Deadliest Vile,” he introduces himself in an all-too-serious manner.

Huh. A freebooter, judging by that name, and a showy one at that. You return the greeting and enter the office.

The interior of the room definitely suggests a study, with rolled-up schematics and blueprints outnumbering books on the shelves lining the walls. The wall behind Steel's solid wooden desk is almost entirely glass, like a giant window, providing a wonderfully bleak view of the industrial wasteland outside. The herald sits facing away from you, towards the window, straddling the back of his chair. He seems almost startled by your greeting.

“Oh, welcome!” he exclaims, turning to face you with a smile. “Please forgive me, shardwalker, I must admit that I did not expect you to choose this opportunity over your many other engagements. Greetings! I am Lord-Foreman Steel, how do you do?”

His voice cuts your ears like a saw. You can't believe it – the richest man around, yet he speaks like one of his many workers whose voices have gone bad due to the smog. A herald like him can certainly afford to treat this affliction through magical or alchemical means. You take the opportunity to study the herald as you introduce yourself. He is surprisingly young for his rank, perhaps entering middle age. His dress is expensive and flashy just short of being tasteless – yellow stockings, pink cravat, feminine fabrics, and all that. Yet at the same time his hand is rough in yours, marked by bruises and scars, and an old burn hovers over his left eye, barely obscured by his wig.

“I hope you are not offended, thinking that I had forgotten that I invited you?” he says apologetically.

You shake your head, replying that he has had many fascinating guests and that it is hardly an insult to be overlooked in their stead. You complement him on his friendship with Head-Taker – the lurk's respect must have been difficult to gain.

“Friendship?” he says, surprised. “Is that how he described it? Ha! He must have thought it was easier to understand for a non-Taker...no, I wouldn't call us friends. Rivals, most definitely.”

Rivals as opposed to friends...surely these terms mean opposite things?

“I'd say 'rival' is as good of an analogue for someone who outside of the Enterprising League would be called a 'friend'. Both necessitate some degree of respect – how can you be jealous of someone you don't respect, after all? Other components of friendship are absent in a rivalry, I will admit. All for the better,” Steel smirks.

“Head-Taker is fascinating, however – is he not?” he continues. “A creature that has so far defied every low expectation set upon his race, yet refused to merely lose itself in the process of assimilation like so many lurks do, and truly came into his own as a result. Ah, I must admit I have abused our close relationship most thoroughly! I have plundered from him just about every method that he has used to succeed, to the point of becoming even better at practicing them than he, if I do say so myself!”

Lord Steel spreads his arms like a showman. The gesture is clearly theatrical but the fire of excitement in his eyes is real.

“You see, my father was an inventor of some renown. He achieved success and a comfortable life for his family but had one major flaw – complacency. At some point he had stopped wanting to improve his situation, as he judged it to be good enough and as a result he was bled dry in the cut-throat game of patent and research competition. I would have followed his unfortunate path if I hadn't ran into Head-Taker. After working for some time with him, I understood that anyone claiming that they don't know how to fix their life are full of it – that lurk definitely figured it out. That's just it, figuring out what to do is easy...the doing is the hard part.”

Is that why he is slowly killing himself, surrounded by his factories? To be reminded of what he has done and what he must do? You ask the herald what exactly is it that he did to fix his life.

“Oh, si-... gah!” he starts, then gets interrupted by a hacking cough. As soon as he catches breath, he continues with the same enthusiasm as before: “It simply is the same for everyone, but few have the gonads to walk the path. Why do you think this window is here, Strider? The view is not exactly pretty, after all. It is to remind me that I raped this earth. I plundered its riches, losses be damned! I started out by working at the foundries with my own two hands in the day and coming up with mechanisms of my own design in the night, all so that one day I can own these huge tracts of land and empower the hundreds under my employ to do the same as I. And I made it, damn it – but my thirst must not be quenched yet...”

As Steel is utterly possessed by his own words, his eyes suddenly become fixated on a single object on his desk: a dangerous specimen of Badlands flora bristling with dozens of leafy needles, sitting in a small clay pot. Suddenly, the herald snatches the plant, closing his fist over it without as much as a wince of pain. Almost immediately afterwards a small crimson torrent begins dripping on the desk. You take a step away, taken back by the possessed herald.

“The fruits of our labors are always prickly, always watered by our blood, yet it is we the Takers who hold them up triumphantly, without a care for how much it hurts, for to have greatly suffered to achieve something is better than to have achieved nothing at all!” he exclaims, then drops the plant and almost collapses back into his chair, finally exhausted by his own speech.

“...and that, in essence, is what it takes to be a member of the Enterprising League,” he finishes with a tired, satisfied smile.

Seconds pass before he begins to calmly rummage through his drawers for something that would help with the wound, bleeding all the meanwhile. Looks like he wasn't lying when he said that he went above and beyond Head-Taker's philosophy. Such passion equals great power.

“I apologize,” he says in a low, grating voice, returning his attention to you (although you'd be more than content with simply sitting there and studying this strange person in silence). “I got slightly carried away there. Anyhow...let us speak of the adventure that I have in mind.”

Lord Steel explains that he is not the only Taker industrialist with a manor in the Badlands. There is another, Sees-It, who has a reputation for being a scarce and peculiar host. Sees-It is a rich beholder investor whose coin runs many mining operations. Recently, Steel has been invited by Sees-It to attend a party held in his very manor, a matter most unusual.

“Takers don't usually invite each other to parties without some ulterior motive,” the Lord-Foreman explains, “and seeing as how he has allowed me to bring four companions, I thought of collecting a group of people of some renown and skill in order to ensure that nothing harmful to my interests transpires. In the best case scenario, we will simply have some good time together and when the occasion is over we will be able to shake hands and earn each other's respect. The plan is for my companions to stay in this manor until tomorrow morning, when we shall depart for Sees-It's home. What say you, Strider? Doesn't that sound like an interesting way to spend your time?”

A) Accept the proposal. Impressing such an important and industrious person can't hurt. You will rest in the guest room for the night and depart the next morning for Sees-It's manor with Steel and the other guests.

B) The visit has been nice, but you are in no hurry to do some errand at a ball or dinner party or somesuch for this Taker prick. Politely reject the offer, then return to your room at the Last Meal to to rest.

C) The visit has been nice, but you are in no hurry to do some errand at a ball or dinner party or somesuch for this Taker prick. Politely reject the offer, then go do something else, please specify what.

D) You wish to ask a few more questions of Lord Steel before making up your mind. Specify which questions to ask, same rules as last update.

E) You tense up as you recall the rumors you've heard about Lord-Inquisitor Schism and his eccentric ways of handling his suspects. Lord-Steel's queer behavior might very well be a disorientation tactic. Suddenly, things begin making perfect sense... the weird pretense, the strange motley of armed guests, how he has heard of you... you knew it! YOU FUCKING KNEW IT! Quick, slash at his throat with your dagger – your hand is already inching towards its hilt and he has yet to notice.

F) Say/do something else, please specify what.

Notes

-added Deadliest Vile to Dramatis Personae section of the Journal

You have spent 1-belief, which you will regain when you rest.

I guess it is too early to say if the dialogue experiment has failed, since we have been hemorrhaging participants over the last few updates anyway (people are busy with the holidays if I had to guess). That being said, I am not in love with it, so if it doesn't work out I have no problems with killing it. I largely agree with comrade Aziravich re: free choices, which is why I have not included any besides obligatory write-ins so far.

 

[Azira]

Teetering between the paranoid E, and the opportunistic A...

For now, A

 

[Grimgravy]

D
*Use sense motive*
"A being of your stature could choose just about anyone for this adventure. How did I earn an invitation, if you don't mind my asking?"

 

[Gauldur's Bait]

D above could get us into trouble, but the gained knowledge could be worth the risk.So,

D as above, phrasing the question as appropriately as possible.

 

[oscar]

D with above.

 

[Lithium Flower]

Part 16 - Clueless and Disposable

You take a good look at the herald's face and ask him how is it that someone like yourself has gotten the honor of this invitation.

"I have had dealings with the Seekers Guild in the past," he says as he bandages his hand, shrugging slightly. "I heard your name pop up a few times and when I inquired about you they told me you've gone freebooter. I have noticed that most people who trade their professions for freebooting tend to be experienced individuals that more often than not develop a diverse skillset, so I thought that you'd be useful enough.

And clueless. And disposable. And greedy to impress someone rich and powerful. Steel's eyes say more than his mouth does. As you suspected, he clearly plans to use for something that he is not entirely forthcoming about and he won't lose a night of sleep if you get hurt in the process. The question is...will you benefit if it all goes well, as he said?

His smile widens. You wonder if perhaps he noticed your intrusion into his mind. Could it be that he has done the same thing? You are reminded of the thoughts you've had in your hovel, those thoughts that were not your own.

What do you do?

A) Accept the proposal. Impressing such an important and industrious person can't hurt. You will rest in the guest room for the night and depart the next morning for Sees-It's manor with Steel and the other guests.

B) The visit has been nice, but you are in no hurry to do some errand at a ball or dinner party or somesuch for this Taker prick. Politely reject the offer, then return to your room at the Last Meal to to rest.

C) The visit has been nice, but you are in no hurry to do some errand at a ball or dinner party or somesuch for this Taker prick. Politely reject the offer, then go do something else, please specify what.

D) You wish to ask a few more questions of Lord Steel before making up your mind. Specify which questions to ask, same rules as last update.

E) You tense up as you recall the rumors you've heard about Lord-Inquisitor Schism and his eccentric ways of handling his suspects. Lord-Steel's queer behavior might very well be a disorientation tactic. Suddenly, things begin making perfect sense... the weird pretense, the strange motley of armed guests, how he has heard of you... you knew it! YOU FUCKING KNEW IT! Quick, slash at his throat with your dagger – your hand is already inching towards its hilt and he has yet to notice.

F) Say/do something else, please specify what.

Notes

You have spent 1-belief, which you will regain when you rest.

 

[Grimgravy]

A) Why not see where this goes?

 

[Azira]

Eh. Not convinced. A ball sounds like it could be fun. But we were trying to get away from here, were we not?

 

[oscar]

A

 

[Kz3r0]

A)

 

[Gauldur's Bait]

A)

What could *possibly* go wrong?

 

[Grimgravy]

We know he doesn't care if we get hurt, so we are forewarned that there is some danger and can look to sell him out.

 

[Storyfag]

A

 

[hello friend]

A