Times and Tides
They traveled by means of the Armament, himself and Gisena either riding in the cockpit or perched somewhere atop its towering shoulders. The going was slow, the way uncertain, and Letrizia frequently had to adjust their route to account for distortions of space. There was no science in Verschlengorge's perusal of the Voyaging Realm, only instinct, which its pilot could only vaguely feel. And yet it was a pleasant enough journey, when they were not beset by monsters from outside realms. They rarely encountered ill weather, and could shelter under Verschlengorge until rain or oppressive shine had passed.
One meandering day, they forded a river, titanic machine wading through the glimmering murk of the rapids that raged and frothed about its shins. Gisena sat on the Armament's shoulder, bare feet dangling merrily off the side, exulting in the occasional dash or spray of water that reached them at this height.
Legs folded meditatively, he scanned the horizon, alert to threats. Here, their mobility was impaired until they crossed the river. Unstable footing would give any enemy a superb opportunity to attack-
Deftly his hand reached out, catching Gisena's thrown slipper before it struck him. It was a flimsy thing of lace the color of her hair; likely a fortune to find dyes of that color. Could he ransom it?
"Come join me!" She called, waving him over. "Live a little!"
He walked over, bearing casual to mask vengeful intent: set on extracting his pound of flesh, or at least on depriving her of any further ammunition.
As he approached, she made to pull him alongside her with a light gesture, but exerted unusual intensity, her eyes alert.
He leaned forward on one knee, bringing him level with her.
"You sensed something?" He whispered, keeping an aggrieved scowl on his face.
"Mhm!" She responded cheerfully, eyes flickering for a moment to a point on the horizon. "Thanks ever so much for bringing my shoe back, hun! I'd be absolutely beside myself if I lost it!"
"How many of these do you even have?" he asked.
"Right now? Just the one."
"Hmph."
He dropped the slipper and drew the Forebear's Blade, dashing up and across the Armament's enormous shoulders to reach its one o'clock position, where an Astral Rift was halfway through the process of opening. It looked exactly as he'd imagined, a jagged tear in the fabric of reality exposing void beyond. Within that darkness fluxed seams of color like starlight, lacing up and around each other, busily spirited as if embroidering the edges of the world.
He cut down the first creature that emerged, a ghastly thing of needles and claws, and behind him was a surge of Gisena's power as she unleashed a Tide of Nullity in the opposite direction, reknitting the smaller apertures in reality's weave, preventing them from being flanked.
The next creature was a shelled variant, his blade deflecting off its armor, but a quick strike with the pommel pulverized its guard, its torso cratered as he kicked it off the side. Verschlengorge's leftmost head snapped languidly in its direction, and the creature perished with a gruesome crunch.
"My lord, Miss Gisena, we've got incoming!" Letrizia announced, voice tinged with urgency. They felt the Armament shift beneath them, adopting a lower, heavier stance.
"We're handling it," He shouted back, but she merely pointed forward with the giant's hand, showing a galleon moored on the far bank. There was a ballista mounted atop its prow, bolts gleaming like the noontime sun. As they watched, the ship unmoored and advanced towards them, unfurling a flag of blackest pitch. Its oars moved ceaselessly through the churning rapids, steady as if impervious to the tide.
As Verschlengorge had adopted a hunched position, the emerging Astral beasts now rained down on them from above.
"Perfect timing," he groaned, flipping his sword around. But this was not really a surprise. May you live in interesting times.
Pirates. And awfully confident, to approach as obviously large and well-protected a target as this. He and Gisena combined could address either of the threats easily, but their strength apart was not so great. The ship was obviously magical, but its crew might not be, so Nullity's power would be better served against the Astral beasts, who her bolts would at least stun.
"Gisena! Focus on the beasts and the Rift! I'll deal with the pirates."
As he spoke, the ship continued to approach, gaining with impetuous speed. A set of powerfully launched grappling hooks shot out from the shadowy figures on its deck, latching onto pits, gouges, and crevices in Verschlengorge's armor. As presumptive boarders began making their way up the ropes, he ran down, severing one on his way, and tucked the Forebear's Blade between his teeth as he grabbed another. With his open hand he rode the rope down, the friction sting of passage burning through his gauntlet, and leapt to land heavily on the deck, ruinous force splintering the site of impact. The ship unbalanced, heaving as if roiled.
No time for games. He released the Blade from his mouth and caught it with his now-free hand, then turned and sent an arc of blade-wind through the grappling ropes, severing them at once. Pirates rushed at him, men in hauberks of dark plate wreathed in shadow, but he launched a second cleaving strike down into the ship itself, carving a great abscess in the hull to impede their movement.
Ignoring them, he turned to the ballista and began to saw away at the string of its bow. It was curiously resilient, thread the color of gold that bounced sprightily away from the edge of his sword, but he pinned it in place with a foot and it yielded swiftly enough.
By the time he had carved his way through, a number of pirates had crossed the gap. He grabbed a group of ballista bolts and hurled them, catching two in the stomach; they groaned piteously when skewered, golden lightning discharging through their forms. His work done, he kicked the remaining bolts overboard and dropped down the side of the ship, breaking his fall by jamming his blade into its hull, and made his way over to the earlier cut. A few dozen blows and he could split the ship in twain; such was the power of ruin embedded within the Forebear's Blade.
He spared a glance for Gisena. Armed with Letrizia's sidearm she was holding her own against the nullified beasts, and Verschlengorge did its best to sweep the largest creatures aside. But focused on immediate battle she couldn't spare the attention to close the largest Rift, and they could well be overwhelmed in time.
He hoisted himself back up to ship's deck, snatching a grappling hook from the corpse of a crewman, when he was intercepted by a foreboding figure armored in black. This was no hauberk but full plate, heavy enough to leave impressions in the wood where it tread. Darkness billowed in vast, eerie plumes from that armor, spilling upwards in streamers: the night sky's incursion against sun and blue.
In its left hand was a shield, in its right a great curving blade, alive with dark-violet flame.
As the Tyrant's had been, the day he became a widower.
Interesting times indeed. He felt his gorge begin to rise. With an effort of will he held himself back, but the instant he loosed the world would narrow into a single, inescapable dot of red.
The figure spoke, confident but wary. "Halt, friend. A... misunderstanding. Clearly we mistook you for something else! Parley?"
---
[ ] No Quarter - A worthy foe, with the semblance of such a familiar weapon. The ring hungers, as does your blade. You are not a pirate, to respect such customs as parlay. Yours is the Tyrant's Doom, and the sentence for brigandry is death.
Spill his blood and let the ring feast. Let it gorge itself until sated, and you may sate the Decimator's Hunger as well, for a time.
*Combat tactics will be useful. This is no trivial opponent.
*Though you are favored to win, taking severe damage will weaken your prospects for the rest of the trip, as you currently lack magical healing.
*Might help resolve some of the hero's trauma if he prevails, on top of a bounty of power and potential mitigation.
[ ] Prudence Dictates - You care nothing for his customs, but prudence dictates that a fight avoided is as good as won. Gisena is still under pressure from the Rift denizens and you can't afford reckless decision-making. If either of you gets hurt this mission will complicate itself quickly. Much as it galls you, it's best to let these pirates go.
*You won't have to deal with a risky and unnecessary battle.
*With your help, Gisena should be able to close the Rift shortly.
*Gain 0.5 Arete for a wise decision, but give up a valuable source of mitigation.
---
Consolidation. Determine your long-term approach to this journey!
[ ] Unburdening - Focus on reducing the impact of your mitigation targets; the Apocryphal Curse and the Decimator's Affliction, while also getting to know your chief ally and companion better.
Speak with Gisena I, II
The Name of the Curse
*The best way you currently know of reducing the Curses most relevant to you, though there are options unexplored that might bear greater fruit in the future
*Since you took Nightmare Praetor, you find it easy to bond with Gisena in the first place, so you'll get a deeper connection out of her stage II pick
*A reasonably safe option
[ ] Knowledge - Play to your relative strengths by getting Letrizia to divulge as much information as you can alongside Gisena. Build trust and rapport with your companions while trying to minimize battles.
Speak with Letrizia I, II
Speak with Gisena I
*Learn more about the polities you will eventually have to rule, likely by conquest
*Perhaps Letrizia understands something about the affinity linking you with Verschlengorge. She if anyone would know, being its pilot...
*A reasonably safe option
[ ] Power - The mech may be weak now, but who is to say it will always remain so? And diminished though it is, it still sports advanced armor and sheer mass to protect its wielder from bodily harm. Given your lack of magical healing, an ideal vessel for you to pursue strength.
Learn to Pilot
Commune with Verschlengorge
Seek Worthy Opponents
*Your enhanced intelligence should allow you to rapidly familiarize yourself with Verschlengorge's systems in any real battle
*Doesn't really play to your strengths otherwise, though you may be able to prepare more effectively against specific opponents
*Does allow you to continue advancing in combat power proactively
*Neglect your social connections in the pursuit of power. But without the power to protect, it's unwise to grow attached in the first place...
*May unlock more secrets of the mech
[ ] Balance - Do a little of everything. Inefficient, but covers your bases.
Speak with Gisena I
Speak with Letrizia I
Errantry
*Still pretty safe
*The most popular options in one vote
*Put Letrizia at ease, tell Gisena about your Curses
*Grind Accretion Rank slowly but without overmuch risk
