Shards of a Broken Sun [Deprecated; see link in final post for remake]
- Thread starter Baughn
- Start date
- Crossover Sci-Fi
Baughn
Healing-type writer
- Location
- Dublin
Oh, I know, and that's basically okay. I'm accounting for it.
Counting on it, too; it gives you folks a chance to demonstrate insight, even if doing so isn't required.
===
(Oops. Sorry, that first "10"? Not intended to be thrown. Hmm. Manipulation + Bureaucracy ... and she rolls another 10. Way to go, Amu)
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Tuesday's Disquiet 7
Baughn
Healing-type writer
- Location
- Dublin
Io
"—?" Teagan tilted her head towards the kobolds, but Io shook hers in denial. Not right now. Jack, too, had caught on to what they were doing and was standing very still.
Over there. She inclined her head towards the exit, on the far side of the kobolds' campfire. There was no reason to kill them. She'd had her fill of slaughter…
Teagan, although uncomfortable, settled down on her shoulder so they could avoid even the slight whisper of air from her wings.
The ground was full of debris, rocks and brittle branches. She slowly picked her way across, keeping to the few empty spots of ground that she could see in the shadows of the fire. So far as possible. There were just a few too many—
Click.
The sound filled her world.
—Pebbles, two, held just barely in place by her toes. She could feel them wanting to roll. She held her breath for a long moment, sure that it would make the kobolds wake up, but there was no hint that they were waking. Rather, they probably couldn't hear it over the sounds of their doglike snoring…
Slowly, very slowly, she reached down to place the pebbles at a safer location.
Crack.
She froze.
Creeeeak…
The branch under her other foot—the one holding all her weight—
Crack.
Her footing vanished into nothing. The branch—she felt the splinters, slightly damp—for just a bare second she felt herself in freefall, seeing jumbled images of the fire—the ground—and a kobold, coming up fast, its ears already swivelling from the first loud crack.
It didn't even have time to move. She hit it with an oomph, just as it was opening its eyes, and a loud yowl of alarm filled the cave. Its claws raked her side, cutting her sleeves to ribbons and scoring red trails down her arms as she tried to defend herself—she screamed at the pain, feeling a trickle of blood down her left arm—and then they both pushed each other away, sending her tumbling backwards into a prone position, her face smashing into the pebbles that had started all this.
An electrical discharge lit the darkness, the kobold's yowl turning into a momentary screech before it fell silent, but its original cry of alarm had been taken up by a dozen others.
Amu
"I would suppose that, in cases like this, rule four applies. You're missing the information, so you should fall back on maximum likelihood. I've already shown you that answering my questions is the best way to get more information."
Incorrect.
"No?" She kept her eyes closed, struggling to keep everything straight. "Why not?"
Rule four, subsection three.
"And that's all you'll say. Hmm, but in case that I am Hinamori Amu, you would have to apply rule seven. Which you can't, because you can't alter my mind… bit of a dilemma there."
Secrecy would also be maintained if you are unable to leave.
Was it just her imagination, or was its tone slightly darker than usual? Still, she thought she had it pegged.
"Maybe, but that's practically a tautology. I noticed you haven't said you're willing to do that, or that you can. And while I'd love to tell you all you want to know, instead of going through more of this, I can't do so unless I have some reason to be sure you won't try to make any changes." Exa could proxy the communication, but he didn't think he could make it read-only in any useful sense.
A sufficient period of waiting would likely change your mind.
"I'm very stubborn." Would it be rule seven or eight that applied to something like that? Hell if she knew, it was hard enough just keeping everything she'd figured out in mind. She'd have to guess. "There are people waiting for me, so you can't keep me here for very long. My mother, for starters."
…
Nothing but a sense of annoyance. Bull's eye, she thought. And, endgame.
"You can't keep me here forever, because that'd make it obvious that you exist. You can't kill me, for the same reason, and I think because you don't like killing, and also because I don't think you'd succeed, and because there's no need to take the risk. I haven't even tried to break out. But you can't let me go, either, because you don't know what I am… and you can't do anything else I can think of. So you're quoting rules at me in the hope that I'll give you an out, by accident. Does that sum it up?"
…
"I also don't want to stay here forever…" Oh no she didn't! Her connection to… the connection between Amu and Dia was already starting to creak, and she probably couldn't keep it up for very much longer. She didn't know what would happen if it failed, but given that the spirit had only started talking after they'd merged, she'd just as soon not find out.
Plus, she was sure that Amu would crawl into a corner and never come out. Death threats, and everything.
What sort of assurance?
She smiled brilliantly.
Pretty simple, really, for a spirit that's this obsessed with rules~
[ ] "I have some rules I want you to state that you'll follow, for the duration of your mental contact with me."
- Write-in
Io
"Oberon's wings!" Teagan shouted, her tone clipped. "Io, get to your feet—"
She moaned, but did as told, ignoring the flashes of pain on her arms and face to push herself to her knees. Hairy Jack ran past her, barking and growling at the kobolds, in effect herding them away from her.
She'd—
A boom punctuated the situation, another one of Teagan's lightning bolts, but she was pacing herself now and only hitting the kobolds that looked like they'd come close. The majority of them were headed in the other direction, covering the smaller ones with their bodies as they ran, though there was nowhere in particular to run to.
They were trapped, no, they'd trapped themselves; they were retreating into a cul-de-sac in a corner of the cave, instead of going towards either of the exits, and when they saw what they'd done, some of them split up and formed a line between the three of them and the rest of the kobolds.
Her head hurt. Her arms hurt, and as she got to her feet, she gingerly brushed away the shredded remains of her uniform sleeves to inspect the damage. Nothing too terrible, only a few droplets of blood dripped away from the claw marks, but it stung like she'd been poisoned. Wait, had she been poisoned? Could kobolds use poison?
"Get a grip on it! Io…"
A hint of curative magic played across the wounds, pulling her clothes back together, but there was no time for anything more in-depth right away. She'd be fine, she was sure; she'd taken far deeper wounds yesterday, it was just that then she hadn't been alone. No…
She shot Teagan a grateful glance. She wasn't alone.
A deep breath, and a tongue of flames licked across her arms. The nearest kobolds took another step back.
[ ] This is less than ideal, but you can still wipe them out.
[ ] Intimidate them into leaving you alone. Then leave.
- Precisely how?
[ ] Write-in
A/N: This is more the length I had in mind when I said I'd update every day…
"—?" Teagan tilted her head towards the kobolds, but Io shook hers in denial. Not right now. Jack, too, had caught on to what they were doing and was standing very still.
Over there. She inclined her head towards the exit, on the far side of the kobolds' campfire. There was no reason to kill them. She'd had her fill of slaughter…
Teagan, although uncomfortable, settled down on her shoulder so they could avoid even the slight whisper of air from her wings.
The ground was full of debris, rocks and brittle branches. She slowly picked her way across, keeping to the few empty spots of ground that she could see in the shadows of the fire. So far as possible. There were just a few too many—
Click.
The sound filled her world.
—Pebbles, two, held just barely in place by her toes. She could feel them wanting to roll. She held her breath for a long moment, sure that it would make the kobolds wake up, but there was no hint that they were waking. Rather, they probably couldn't hear it over the sounds of their doglike snoring…
Slowly, very slowly, she reached down to place the pebbles at a safer location.
Crack.
She froze.
Creeeeak…
The branch under her other foot—the one holding all her weight—
Crack.
Her footing vanished into nothing. The branch—she felt the splinters, slightly damp—for just a bare second she felt herself in freefall, seeing jumbled images of the fire—the ground—and a kobold, coming up fast, its ears already swivelling from the first loud crack.
It didn't even have time to move. She hit it with an oomph, just as it was opening its eyes, and a loud yowl of alarm filled the cave. Its claws raked her side, cutting her sleeves to ribbons and scoring red trails down her arms as she tried to defend herself—she screamed at the pain, feeling a trickle of blood down her left arm—and then they both pushed each other away, sending her tumbling backwards into a prone position, her face smashing into the pebbles that had started all this.
An electrical discharge lit the darkness, the kobold's yowl turning into a momentary screech before it fell silent, but its original cry of alarm had been taken up by a dozen others.
— — —
Amu
"I would suppose that, in cases like this, rule four applies. You're missing the information, so you should fall back on maximum likelihood. I've already shown you that answering my questions is the best way to get more information."
Incorrect.
"No?" She kept her eyes closed, struggling to keep everything straight. "Why not?"
Rule four, subsection three.
"And that's all you'll say. Hmm, but in case that I am Hinamori Amu, you would have to apply rule seven. Which you can't, because you can't alter my mind… bit of a dilemma there."
Secrecy would also be maintained if you are unable to leave.
Was it just her imagination, or was its tone slightly darker than usual? Still, she thought she had it pegged.
"Maybe, but that's practically a tautology. I noticed you haven't said you're willing to do that, or that you can. And while I'd love to tell you all you want to know, instead of going through more of this, I can't do so unless I have some reason to be sure you won't try to make any changes." Exa could proxy the communication, but he didn't think he could make it read-only in any useful sense.
A sufficient period of waiting would likely change your mind.
"I'm very stubborn." Would it be rule seven or eight that applied to something like that? Hell if she knew, it was hard enough just keeping everything she'd figured out in mind. She'd have to guess. "There are people waiting for me, so you can't keep me here for very long. My mother, for starters."
…
Nothing but a sense of annoyance. Bull's eye, she thought. And, endgame.
"You can't keep me here forever, because that'd make it obvious that you exist. You can't kill me, for the same reason, and I think because you don't like killing, and also because I don't think you'd succeed, and because there's no need to take the risk. I haven't even tried to break out. But you can't let me go, either, because you don't know what I am… and you can't do anything else I can think of. So you're quoting rules at me in the hope that I'll give you an out, by accident. Does that sum it up?"
…
"I also don't want to stay here forever…" Oh no she didn't! Her connection to… the connection between Amu and Dia was already starting to creak, and she probably couldn't keep it up for very much longer. She didn't know what would happen if it failed, but given that the spirit had only started talking after they'd merged, she'd just as soon not find out.
Plus, she was sure that Amu would crawl into a corner and never come out. Death threats, and everything.
What sort of assurance?
She smiled brilliantly.
Pretty simple, really, for a spirit that's this obsessed with rules~
[ ] "I have some rules I want you to state that you'll follow, for the duration of your mental contact with me."
- Write-in
— — —
Io
"Oberon's wings!" Teagan shouted, her tone clipped. "Io, get to your feet—"
She moaned, but did as told, ignoring the flashes of pain on her arms and face to push herself to her knees. Hairy Jack ran past her, barking and growling at the kobolds, in effect herding them away from her.
She'd—
A boom punctuated the situation, another one of Teagan's lightning bolts, but she was pacing herself now and only hitting the kobolds that looked like they'd come close. The majority of them were headed in the other direction, covering the smaller ones with their bodies as they ran, though there was nowhere in particular to run to.
They were trapped, no, they'd trapped themselves; they were retreating into a cul-de-sac in a corner of the cave, instead of going towards either of the exits, and when they saw what they'd done, some of them split up and formed a line between the three of them and the rest of the kobolds.
Her head hurt. Her arms hurt, and as she got to her feet, she gingerly brushed away the shredded remains of her uniform sleeves to inspect the damage. Nothing too terrible, only a few droplets of blood dripped away from the claw marks, but it stung like she'd been poisoned. Wait, had she been poisoned? Could kobolds use poison?
"Get a grip on it! Io…"
A hint of curative magic played across the wounds, pulling her clothes back together, but there was no time for anything more in-depth right away. She'd be fine, she was sure; she'd taken far deeper wounds yesterday, it was just that then she hadn't been alone. No…
She shot Teagan a grateful glance. She wasn't alone.
A deep breath, and a tongue of flames licked across her arms. The nearest kobolds took another step back.
[ ] This is less than ideal, but you can still wipe them out.
[ ] Intimidate them into leaving you alone. Then leave.
- Precisely how?
[ ] Write-in
A/N: This is more the length I had in mind when I said I'd update every day…
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Alectai
Speaks Words of Wisdom... On occasion
No?
Alright, I'll try to snapshot this.
Amu:
[X] "I have some rules I want you to state that you'll follow, for the duration of your mental contact with me."
- "Stick to Read Only, no writing without my permission, I don't know the full scale of your duties and purpose, and I have a lot of people counting on me to walk away intact from this. There's a lot going on, and the sooner we can resolve all of this, the better we'll probably all be."
Io:
[X] They were acting a lot like animals, or something similar... That may not be entirely accurate, but they were intelligent enough for pack tactics, and smart enough to know fear. Keep your eyes on them, your hand raised and your posture confident, but move to the exit, keeping your eye on them all the while. They likely would not pursue now that you've shown your strength, as long as they didn't get the impression that you were running.
This whole thing put a bad taste in your mouth, but it was too late to walk away completely peacefully. You'd just have to hope this was enough to avoid further trouble.
Alright, I'll try to snapshot this.
Amu:
[X] "I have some rules I want you to state that you'll follow, for the duration of your mental contact with me."
- "Stick to Read Only, no writing without my permission, I don't know the full scale of your duties and purpose, and I have a lot of people counting on me to walk away intact from this. There's a lot going on, and the sooner we can resolve all of this, the better we'll probably all be."
Io:
[X] They were acting a lot like animals, or something similar... That may not be entirely accurate, but they were intelligent enough for pack tactics, and smart enough to know fear. Keep your eyes on them, your hand raised and your posture confident, but move to the exit, keeping your eye on them all the while. They likely would not pursue now that you've shown your strength, as long as they didn't get the impression that you were running.
This whole thing put a bad taste in your mouth, but it was too late to walk away completely peacefully. You'd just have to hope this was enough to avoid further trouble.
Highwind
To Rise From The Ashes
- Location
- Brazil
Let me try to expand Amu's part a bit. It occurs to me that while the spirit acts like a program and strictly follows it's rules, it doesn't necessarily use computer terminology.
[X] "I have some rules I want you to state that you'll follow, for the duration of your mental contact with me."
- "Stick to Read Only, no writing without my permission, I don't know the full scale of your duties and purpose, and I have a lot of people counting on me to walk away intact from this. There's a lot going on, and the sooner we can resolve all of this, the better we'll probably all be."
-[X] "And of course, Read Only is defined as only receiving and requesting Information, without making any alterations to the contents. Writing, in this case, means performing any form of alteration, including, but not limited to Adding or removing memories, feelings, emotions, skills, or other form of information. Implanting knowledge, compulsions, Geas and similar actions likewise fall under Writing.
Io:
[X] They were acting a lot like animals, or something similar... That may not be entirely accurate, but they were intelligent enough for pack tactics, and smart enough to know fear. Keep your eyes on them, your hand raised and your posture confident, but move to the exit, keeping your eye on them all the while. They likely would not pursue now that you've shown your strength, as long as they didn't get the impression that you were running.
This whole thing put a bad taste in your mouth, but it was too late to walk away completely peacefully. You'd just have to hope this was enough to avoid further trouble.
Baughn
Healing-type writer
- Location
- Dublin
Yes. Rather, she's been doing that all along.
Spells are discrete in-game, but I'm rather taking them as implying a degree of control over the element in question. Assuming of course that it's an element!
- Pronouns
- He/Him
{X} I have to talk with Mom—
-{X} Reassure her that you are fine, and tell her about this work. That you want to do it, but would prefer to do so with her blessing.
[X] "I have some rules I want you to state that you'll follow, for the duration of your mental contact with me."
- "Stick to Read Only, no writing without my permission, I don't know the full scale of your duties and purpose, and I have a lot of people counting on me to walk away intact from this. There's a lot going on, and the sooner we can resolve all of this, the better we'll probably all be."
-[X] "And of course, Read Only is defined as only receiving and requesting Information, without making any alterations to the contents. Writing, in this case, means performing any form of alteration, including, but not limited to Adding or removing memories, feelings, emotions, skills, or other form of information. Implanting knowledge, compulsions, Geas and similar actions likewise fall under Writing.
Io
[X]Ignite a line of small flames between you and the kobolds. If any of them approach, briefly brighten the flame near them. Back away slowly towards the exit, keeping the flame line the same distance from you.
Would this work and not cost too much?
-{X} Reassure her that you are fine, and tell her about this work. That you want to do it, but would prefer to do so with her blessing.
[X] "I have some rules I want you to state that you'll follow, for the duration of your mental contact with me."
- "Stick to Read Only, no writing without my permission, I don't know the full scale of your duties and purpose, and I have a lot of people counting on me to walk away intact from this. There's a lot going on, and the sooner we can resolve all of this, the better we'll probably all be."
-[X] "And of course, Read Only is defined as only receiving and requesting Information, without making any alterations to the contents. Writing, in this case, means performing any form of alteration, including, but not limited to Adding or removing memories, feelings, emotions, skills, or other form of information. Implanting knowledge, compulsions, Geas and similar actions likewise fall under Writing.
Io
[X]Ignite a line of small flames between you and the kobolds. If any of them approach, briefly brighten the flame near them. Back away slowly towards the exit, keeping the flame line the same distance from you.
Would this work and not cost too much?
Baughn
Healing-type writer
- Location
- Dublin
It should. Ignoring that she's already deep in the negatives, that sort of use doesn't add up to even a single point of mana.
One thing I'd like to see in Io's vote is an explanation of why you're doing what you're doing.
azoicennead
Overly-Affectionate Zombie Squad
- Pronouns
- He/They
She's not exactly high on options.
Baughn
Healing-type writer
- Location
- Dublin
It's a general comment. The other write-ins are good enough, if I do a bit of creative interpretation, but depending on your preferences you might want to make it more explicit.
Well, she does have the option of punchsploding them. It goes against her personality, but Io is surprisingly powerful at physical combat. I'll need to make up some backstory to explain that.
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Alectai
Speaks Words of Wisdom... On occasion
:| I do wish I could sense what the right answers are all the time.
[X] "I have some rules I want you to state that you'll follow, for the duration of your mental contact with me."
- "Stick to Read Only, no writing without my permission, I don't know the full scale of your duties and purpose, and I have alot of people counting on me to walk away intact from this. There's a lot going on, and the sooner we can resolve all of this, the better we'll probably all be."
-[X] "And of course, Read Only is defined as only receiving and requesting Information, without making any alterations to the contents. Writing, in this case, means performing any form of alteration, including, but not limited to Adding or removing memories, feelings, emotions, skills, or other form of information. Implanting knowledge, compulsions, Geas and similar actions likewise fall under Writing.
Io:
[X] They were acting a lot like animals, or something similar... That may not be entirely accurate, but they were intelligent enough for pack tactics, and smart enough to know fear. Keep your eyes on them, your hand raised and your posture confident, but move to the exit, keeping your eye on them all the while. They likely would not pursue now that you've shown your strength, as long as they didn't get the impression that you were running.
- "Stick to Read Only, no writing without my permission, I don't know the full scale of your duties and purpose, and I have alot of people counting on me to walk away intact from this. There's a lot going on, and the sooner we can resolve all of this, the better we'll probably all be."
-[X] "And of course, Read Only is defined as only receiving and requesting Information, without making any alterations to the contents. Writing, in this case, means performing any form of alteration, including, but not limited to Adding or removing memories, feelings, emotions, skills, or other form of information. Implanting knowledge, compulsions, Geas and similar actions likewise fall under Writing.
Io:
[X] They were acting a lot like animals, or something similar... That may not be entirely accurate, but they were intelligent enough for pack tactics, and smart enough to know fear. Keep your eyes on them, your hand raised and your posture confident, but move to the exit, keeping your eye on them all the while. They likely would not pursue now that you've shown your strength, as long as they didn't get the impression that you were running.
Baughn
Healing-type writer
- Location
- Dublin
Any answer that comes with good reasoning will likely turn out to be correct.
Baughn
Healing-type writer
- Location
- Dublin
...maybe? I think I'd have to roll a dice for that one. There are even some convenient rules for it.
I have a very vague character sheet in my head, but she's operating with around 4 strength, 1 athletics.
("How in the nine hells does an eighteen-year-old girl get that strong," I hear you ask. Well, that's not the answer; Alcor is in no way affiliated with hell.)
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Alectai
Speaks Words of Wisdom... On occasion
Hmm, 4 strength + Athletics One...
Yeah, even channeling a Virtue 5 wouldn't quite pull that off, the ground is pretty tough generally.
Seriously, anything even vaguely resembling coherent thought patterns will have a "Defeated will not generally pursue the victor, unless they feel that the victor is running away".
As long as Io can put on a show of being in control and simply making them think "You just had the bad luck of getting in their way"... That should be enough to prevent further conflict.
Yeah, even channeling a Virtue 5 wouldn't quite pull that off, the ground is pretty tough generally.
Seriously, anything even vaguely resembling coherent thought patterns will have a "Defeated will not generally pursue the victor, unless they feel that the victor is running away".
As long as Io can put on a show of being in control and simply making them think "You just had the bad luck of getting in their way"... That should be enough to prevent further conflict.
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Alternatively, they don't seem to want to fight either and using magic to threaten may provoke them into a preemptive strike.
Hmmm, looks like most of them are basically running defence on the smaller Kobolds, I'd suggest staying well away from that group and not seem to threaten them directly, so you mostly just need to make sure the few that are closer get the message on staying away... also can't we use the two summons for threatening? It would be cheaper magic wise... also that's why we summoned them in the first place, right?