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The Long Night Part One: Embers in the Dusk: A Planetary Governor Quest (43k) Complete Sequel Up

Investigate the Sea?

  • Yes

    Votes: 592 80.3%

  • No

    Votes: 145 19.7%
  • Total voters
    737
Reader mode
Briefvoice said:
I think back on how many times Ridcully rerolls have saved the day, and if he goes we are really going to miss him.
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Honestly after we share our technology and knowledge with the major human powers I think Ridcully alone is worth more than the entire Imperial Trust except Saint Lin. So as painful as not having rerolls might be the loss to humanity is so much more.
 
strauss said:
Honestly after we share our technology and knowledge with the major human powers I think Ridcully alone is worth more than the entire Imperial Trust except Saint Lin. So as painful as not having rerolls might be the loss to humanity is so much more.
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The second most important thing we have- a good number of paragon-tier heroes, would soonish start melting away because of deathworld dangers with no re-rolls.
Wondering how soon would Rotbart last now.
Hell, wondering how many things we would have failed that we haven't even seen re-rolls for. And what that would cost us.
 
Even if Ridcully does I don't think we will lose ALL of our re-rolls. Sure, we might lose some of them but I don't think they will all just vanish. Ridcully isn't our only diviner, we have plenty of others. He is just by far our best.
 
I hope we can get a bunch of trancendents, and have something like the eight immortals from Chinese mythology.
 
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Nurgle said:
Since the vote is more than 3 to 1 by a huge margin let's talk about other stuff. Like who the Lion respected enough and could hide from Ridicully sight? I did not know he liked nyone or had any friends after the Heresy.

Or that we may have found a new way to travel through the warp using something that sounds similiar to the Necrons way. You know before GW made them use the webway.

Who our new assistant should be? I think we should go with either Administration assistant to build hives or Melanie to build shipyards since we are way behind Midgard and Vanaheim.

That we should consider start putting in mentor betas. We lost 4 betas so we had a 100 percent failure rate.
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I can't really think of anyone The Lion would Trust that might still be alive. Cypher like people said might be a candidate but we really don't know who he actually is. He does have the Lion's Sword so it might be like a badge of office that the Lion gave to someone with a specific mission in mind.

Constantine is the other person like has been said as well. We don't know where he went so he could have been working in the shadows this whole time. As the last Captain-General the Lion knew of would be someone he knows is loyal and might trust.

The only other ones I can think of is possibly the "ghosts" of some of the dead Primarchs. Maybe the Emperor remade the ones whose souls he had and sent them on some kind of mission. If that was the case I think only Sanguineous was who the Lion would Trust at all.

Okay enough with the crazy fanfic ideas of mine let's move on to our new assistant. I am leaning heavily towards the Naval one like you said we need to expand our orbital assets hugely. Unless we get someone who can continue where our last assistant left off that is where I will vote.
 
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With Ashen Faces: Negaverse Metomake
  • Media
    • With Ashen Faces: Negaverse Metomake
    The authorized continuation of the unauthorized continuation of the Empire of Ashes quest
    "Specfic_Protagonist" said:
    So, I was thinking a bit about our current plans for the scouting mission on Isha, and part of it really wasn't clicking for me. Specifically (ha ha, I get it), the planned distractions really don't make a huge amount of sense if you look carefully at the overall situation.

    On paper the distractions we've got lined up are just about perfect for pulling assets out of place without arousing suspicion or overcommitting, but we're neglecting one key fact: Nurgle's main opponent in the everlasting war in the Warp is Tzeentch, whose bread and butter is subtle plays like what we're doing. This raising the worrying possibility of Nurgle's forces smelling a rat, and the magnitude of the distraction just isn't big enough to force them to react anyway. This could plausibly lead to our Seers walking head first into an already on-guard gathering of forces specifically looking for people trying to infiltrate rather than opening the way for them to sneak in. Obviously not exactly an ideal situation.

    What I'd like to suggest is that rather than playing it subtle with carefully planned infiltration routes and diversions tuned to provoke a response without raising alert levels, we instead don't really bother hiding the fact that this is a diversion for something but provoke as much non capital C chaos as possible while leaving as few clues as to what the ultimate goal is as possible.

    I call it


    We throw everything at the wall and see what sticks. Everything will effectively distract Nurgle's forces from everything else—for anyone with a bone to pick with Papa Nurgle, this is going to be the best time to do it. Hell, if we get enough major things going the 'distraction' effort will be worth it in and of itself, cause seriously, Fuck Chaos. And most importantly, even if they correctly deduce that everything was, in fact, set up as a distraction, they still won't have any idea what for AND will be forced to respond by pulling forces out of position anyway, because people will be hitting targets that he can't afford to lose just on the suspicion of something being up—otherwise Tzeentch would have beaten his ass forever ago.

    What I need from you guys is ideas about what all we can hit/influence to be hit. I've got a couple ideas already, but the more we can add to the list the better, as not only does the quality of this distraction for our Seers improve the more things get hit and the more groups involved, but so do the value of the 'distraction' attacks themselves.

    Things I'm thinking:
    • We already nabbed the relevant general of the Star Father's plans for the Nurgle front, with the intention of exploiting the contingencies to provoke a probing attack. We can instead see how big/many attacks we could provoke without overcommitting our own resources
    • Some of our heavy assets (See: Pheonix Lords) were left out of the mission cause they're not exactly stealthy. Hitting some real space assets or Warp assets with them makes sense, although we might need some target selection.
    • Ynnead and Cegorach can cooperatively or independently hit some of the slightly more important outlying areas in the domain of Nurgle
    • Something with the minor gods?
    Anyone else got ideas? Also, does this plan make sense to anyone else?

    Also also, laughing one, is the idea plausible?
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    "laughing one" said:
    It's workable. There are a few issues though.
    • As stated, you would need more than the three solid distractions in place to bring the quality of distraction up enough to counteract the rise in alert.
    • Infosec is an issue. A bad roll could lead to Nurgle knowing that something's going down before the distractions occur, resulting in heightened preparations.
    • You're going to be risking a LOT more. Right now your maximum reasonable losses are a few good Seers, and possibly a bit of a hit with the relationship with the polities of those on loan. Even if you have first string people hitting mostly second string targets as the distraction, there's still a risk—especially if the actions are counting on the rest of the distractions not falling flat
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    "young_Esther" said:
    I like this idea quite a bit more than our current plan. Feels like as is we'd need decent rolls to get a small bonus, and with bad rolls we'd get a malus. This plan, while we'd be risking assets other than Seers, looks like it would give them a small bonus even with bad rolls and give a pretty decent bonus with average rolls, to say nothing of what it would give with actually good rolls.

    Eugene, have you looked at this?

    Also, lol @ the music/name…
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    "Eugene" said:
    Sorry, back.
    I like the general theme for the plan and am going to change the current plan to match unless there's backlash. The logic of our current plan looking a bit too much like a Tzeentch scheme for dealing with an enemy that specializes in dealing with those resonates with me, but the main advantage in my mind is that this seems like it has a real chance of doing non-trivial damage to Nurgle—or at least non-trivial for what sorts of timescale and forces we're working with right now.

    I would like to add more ideas to the list, as we've got enough time to really set something in motion due to the delay at the Crucible. My own contribution will be redirecting that one Waaagh we've been debating towards Nurgle's shit—we're going to need to divert them somewhere that can handle them anyway at some point soon, so we may as well kill two birds with one stone.
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    "Eternal Wallaby" said:
    This is excellent.

    For the small gods, don't they have some way to swipe bits of domain? I really doubt it's something they'd be trying on any scale during day to day affairs, but if this is the distraction of the century for Nurgle…well, they might be persuaded to risk it.
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    "Exiarat" said:
    Think we should see about setting Tzeentch's forces on it? It'd give an easy scapegoat, and he hates Nurgle so much more than us. Worth considering at least.
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    "Tzeentch" said:
    Yes, Tzeentch should certainly be involved. To strike hard against the forces of decay, of course.
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    "Fragment" said:
    Bad Tzeentch, Bad!

    That said, any plan to manipulate Tzeentch is a bad one in my books.
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    "Eugene" said:
    Yeah, there's a reason we don't include working 'with' him in our plans. His main domain of Ambition means he's extremely prone to wanting to have his cake and eat it too, even if a temporary alliance of convenience would be far more likely to aid in his long term goals, and willingly working with him gives him a point on contact/control on you. We still don't really have a clear idea on how he uses those, but it's pretty clear that it's one of his surer ways of corrupting people, beyond even the rest of the Chaos gods.
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    Tzeentch said:
    This is blatant discrimination!
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    "Dald" said:
    The odds of Tzeentch sitting out on 'pants Nurgle day' is pretty much zero. I figure he'll do something of his own regardless of what we want, but given the nature of our attempted distraction and mission it probably won't fuck us. A strong recommendation as far as Tzeentch plots go
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    "Specific_Protagonist" said:
    So, as stands, distractions for Plan Benny Hill Theme beyond those in my first post are as follows
    • Redirect Waaagh Killmoar towards Nurgle territory
    • Steer Small Gods to domain thievery
    • Do absolutely nothing that relies on or attempts to directly influence Tzeentch

    Do we think we can get one or more of the other Chaos gods in on this? It seems a bit risky for info-sec, but they're really the only major groups left out that have the firepower…
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    "Exiarat" said:
    I imagine Malal would be down if we can steer him at all. Given our level of knowledge about Slannesh and their domain we might be able to provoke at least a small attack from that quarter too.
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    "Specific_Protagonist" said:
    I imagine Malal would be down if we can steer him at all.
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    Eh, worth it. We can use the small gods as cutouts. Using Slannesh would require one of our few remaining scrying actions, but could well be worth it

    laughing one, are the additions outlined enough to tip significantly in our favor given reasonable rolls?
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    "laughing one" said:
    Yes, especially if your info sec holds. As is, although I'm not running the numbers, if you do everything mentioned even relatively bad rolls would result in a net good distraction (albeit at cost in some of your less disposable assets. Better rolls would both increase the quality of the distraction (although only to a point, as inner defenders/defenses aren't ever going to be pulled unless his domain is at risk of falling) and cause some damage to Nurgle's immediate situation, especially if you succeed in getting the other Chaos gods to escalate.
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    "selbst011" said:
    Hmm, I was thinking. If we really want to get this Mon'keigh to ascend, we ought to do a bit more to prep him.

    We've got psychic tech a few millennia ahead of them and enough time to whip something up—why don't we have a Vaul shard make him a helmet?

    I mean, QinRepublic said it himself in his post suggesting the idea—a paragon tier sentinel can detect him, and it's not like Nurgle's domain is going to lack those. He did almost get caught when he decided to spy on the Green Awakening, as that was where we saved his ass, and while he's probably better now than he was then I don't see any indication of it boosting his stealth trait.
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    "QinRepublic" said:
    It requires a paragon sentinel to even be capable of detecting him, not to detect him—he could tap dance in front of anyone else and they'd be none the wiser. I imagine that a low-tier paragon without a good detection specific trait would struggle greatly to find him even if he wasn't being cautious. The Green Awakening was packed with the absolute best Diviners in the galaxy, and while some of them could have detected him none of them were there representing Nurgle.

    That said, I fully support the idea. While it might not be a massive increase in his stealth in absolute terms, throwing another +20 or whatever can easily be the difference between breezing through the inner defenses and getting caught. Given just how important this is, we should probably make another one for the Astares.

    Hell, even if it wasn't going to help all that much with the mission I'd like to give him something to help us stay on his good side and show that we're not just throwing him at this as a disposable asset. While the cost to us isn't massive, giving him one of our helms from a Vaul shard represents us investing part of a finite asset in him/his success. That way latter on if and when he does ascend and/or transcend, he'll know we weren't just using him strictly for our own benefit.

    I mean, I imagine given the tier of Seer he is he'll know that already, but it never hurts to have a concrete demonstration of the fact.
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    "Calmunequipped" said:
    Dude, you're just hoping he'll roll well enough in this mission to transcend and justify your emotional investment in your future save Isha plan.
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    "archfiend" said:
    nah, the real one here with emotional investment is Specific_Protagonist. Dude's so into his shipping of Isha and Ynnead that I'm surprised his name isn't random_npc.
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    "Specific_Protagonist" said:
    I resent that.

    And seriously, their duality makes them the perfect divine couple. I can't help it if you're too blind to see.
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    "archfiend" said:
    Never disagreed, just said you were super emotionally invested in it and then you proved my point.
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    "Nalrey" said:
    So, was thinking about the (currently) baseline human Seer we're pinning our hopes on turning into an Eldrad-tier utter baddass, and thought he could use some (more) omake support for the upcoming mission. Was also a bit inspired by the Benny Hill theme...

    A Garden Party

    The infiltration had started well—perhaps too well. Shrugging off the foul misma of the ever present plague and decay of the realm had been trivial in the outer portion of the fetid garden, and the so-called sentinels may well have never existed for all the chance they had of discovering him.

    Even entering the manor had gone without a hitch. While the decay there had been more potent, between his own impossible resistance to hostile effects of the Warp and potent medicines bargained for from his fellow residents on the Crucible, they had no hold on him. The labyrinthian passages kept from him no secrets, as he steered himself effortlessly towards the fount of hope chained within.

    While this was not his first time violating the halls of a hostile god, the ease with which he was doing so was almost enough to get him to drop his guard. It was enough for a momentary distraction as he ducked around the exalted daemon tending to his father's cauldron of horrors to allow the faintest of traces of the plagued decay of the realm to cling to him.

    Alone, while weakening, it was far from debilitating, so he had taken it as a warning that despite being far greater than he was the last time he had tread in a god's private lair he was still far from immune to the danger. Fortune favored him, and he succeeded beyond his wildest dreams going in, reaching the cage of trapped Isha herself.

    It was on his way out that things went wrong. The rot and plague, although confined to the outermost portion of his soul's aura though his ever-present focus and control, had its effects. Effects that, although in the great scheme of things were quite minor, especially compared to what happens to most exposed to the Plaguefather's fel workings, were nonetheless catastrophic.

    Upon being exposed to the light of the open door to the manor, Ridcully sneezed.

    The reaction was immediate. For all that none could detect him as he strolled almost casually through their lair, this was due mostly to his superlative control of his aura and how little he shed. And the foul minions of the plague god were far from lazy in their assigned task, each desperate for praise and reward from their 'father'. Like a frenzy they were after him, tripping over each other and launching attacks in his direction that would have been comical but for their deadly intent and the impossible danger they represented.

    Things had gotten out of hand, but Ridcully did not panic. Partially because after centuries of being a Seer of great skill it took quite a lot to provoke true panic, but partially because he had a plan. A simple plan—more a contingency really. One that he had only been given because no one minded if Chaos' shit got fucked up.

    While it was generally quite difficult to plot against an enemy accustomed to dealing with the Changer of Way's ploys, there were still exploitable weaknesses. Exploitable weaknesses like pointing to the side and saying "Hey look, a distraction" being a perfectly viable distraction, at least for a moment. A moment that was all he needed, as he threw some deceptively simple looking bottled fire at their frozen forms and ran.

    While the running certainly served the purpose of getting him clear of his immediate pursuers and gave him the time to shed the outermost layer of his aura, and with it, the disease that had gained purchase upon him and caused this mess (he almost hoped one of the trackers attempting to find his trail discovered it, as they resonated far stronger with decay than he did), this was not its only purpose. Or even its main purpose, really.

    Acquired at great expense from one of the many natives to his planet, and only with the express promise to use it only against the forces of Chaos and far away from the Cruicible, the bottle contained naught but concentrated Truefire, the fire that burns all. Against an alert god it would fail even as a distraction, and when launched at one as a surprise it would only just succeed, but against mere daemons and structures within the Warp it was inescapable and ever-growing death. Death Ridcully planned on avoiding.

    At least it should also serve as a distraction for the other Seers, both to aid them in acquiring information he had missed or if he fell on his way out, and to aid their escape. Escape though was all he intended to do, to share his bounty of information and to recover from these blighted plaguelands.

    laughing one, omake. Anything that needs changing? I tried to include things that he might plausibly be capable of given his traits as well as what they could have been trying to bargain for from the Crucible that they needed a few years for.
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    "SatanasFerreus" said:
    Damn, nice stuff.
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    "laughing one" said:
    Good omake. Only issues I saw were (1) he would be taking this a bit more seriously, (2) the general feeling on the Crucible is Fuck Chaos enough that there's no way they'd need to pay if they said they were using it in a major operation against a Chaos god, and (3) shedding the disease from Nurgle was done way too easily for what is effectively the primary defense of his realm.

    Change those and it could become canon if Ridcully keeps rolling like he has so far on the update I'm working on…
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    "QinRepublic" said:
    DUDE PLAN RIDCULLY IS GO MAN!!!
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    "Eugene" said:
    That's called laughing one being a tease. Still, excellent news that at least someone is rolling well.
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    "Nalrey" said:
    *cue nervous noises waiting for update*

    Fingers crossed that the dice continue to favor the most hax baseline human ever. Hopefully the omake bonus helps.
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    @Durin omake here. Because the Empire of Ashes stuff is fun and I had a bit of an omake idea that could work from their perspective too.
     
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  • Media
    • If we succeed, should we cut up the favour and offer a few scraps of it to the Peoples who helped Ridcully in the mission?
     
    Actually if Ridicully survives we should ask them what they want besides human tech. Also I am serious about getting some Tau tech to give to the Quarians.
     
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    Father's Love
  • Sidestory
    • Father's Love​


    Nicole smiled as she walked down the street. It was a beautiful day, the sun was shining, the buildings were glistening, and the pus was wafting beautifully. It was Joining Day, the anniversary of the beatific communion of her world. She had never known the tyranny of the corpse god, but she had heard such terrible stories. She shuddered to think what it must have been like. To live alone inside you head, without the whispers of the communion plague to unite them in praise of The Grandfather. Laughing joyously she waved to a grining plague bearer as he shambled along the sidewalk through the crowds. Touching the minds of erve-

    The black shape struck with impossible speed. It's form alien and sleek. Horrifically white teeth tore more than mere flesh from screaming figures, bites no bigger than a fist leaving them so very empty-

    Screams filled the air as their communion was perverted, a vision of horror pushed into their minds and Nicole could feel a mix of blood and bile fill her mouth before she choked it back and pushed herself to her feet. "Gather" and she knew the plaguebearer needed those who had weathered the assault to gather those who could not. Without a second's hesitation Nicole lent her plague forged strength to help those less blessed to their feet. Papa would help them.

    Chittering laughter followed the serpent as it dashed from shadow to shadow-

    Her teeth bled as she clenched her jaw, Papa would help them. But first they would have to help each other. Her will and spores saw the crowd calmed. She turned hopefully to the demon, he question clear on her face.

    "Attack, strange one."

    "The shelters?"

    "Hmmm, maybe a trick."

    Shadow to shadow it flitted across the world, the trail of its victims encompassing it like a obscene belt, her own back visible for an instant.

    The blood that pelted her was horrifically cold. She didn't need to look to know the thing had struck at more than the form of the man behind her.

    "Sir, we can't stay here. It'll rip us to shreds!"

    "Maybe a trick..."

    "It's killing us, please, the shelter, you know the way."

    It hesitated. Clearly unsure of how to react to this bizarre attack.

    "Maybe a trick?"

    Nicole felt anger curdle in her breast, how dare this demon throw them away! Nurgle was better than that.

    "Are we corpse worshipers now? To abandon our own just because the danger is strange?"

    The plaguebearer hesitated, clearly unused to being challenged,

    "Maybe risk shelter."

    A dozen screaming nurglings disappeared down it's gullet as their bloated matron scrambled forward too slow to save her children.

    Nicoles heart burst in a shower of burning pus "We're better than that! We are the children of Nugle, the brotherhood of the the wretched! We do not leave our own to be meat for monsters!"

    At last, the plaguebearer nodded slowly.

    "Maybe a trick, but definitely danger. This way."

    Fungal blooms unfurled, revealing the secret ways of the world, and Nicole shepherded her scared countrymen onward. They would beat this thing, they were stronger than it!

    What amusing lies, this is only going to end one way.

    We will beat you monster. You are alone, and we are united. A whole is worth more than the sum of its parts.

    A plaguebearer screamed as the serpent bloated with those it has left behind dragged it to the ground for a gory feast laughing as it swallowed great bleeding chunks of rotten flesh.

    Its laughter echoed in her ears as Nicole reached out through the comunion, pouring her strength into the milling crowd around her and filling them with purpose and power as she shepherded them after the plaguebearer towards the shelters. They would get through this, together.


    Things we're not going well, time is fluid in the warp, but the visions had been as much a way to track it as anything. They had been running towards safety for a dozen visions, and the monsters had been growing.

    A figure of blackened steel dueled half a dozen plaguebearers while those they had been guarding where greedily swallowed up by a bloated shadowy wyrm. Not a one of them made it to the secret paths.

    "Take heart! If shows us horrors to shake us because it cannot break us! Our Father's love keeps the paths clear!"

    It was even true, not a single one of the terrifying visions had shown the monsters breaching the warded ways.

    Why bother when Nurgle thoughtfully left so many of his children out in the cold for us?

    We're not slaves of war! He lets us live and love on the surface rather than cower in bunkers because he wants use to be happy.

    Ah, and he was so very quick to bring his lost little lambs inside when it was no longer safe yes?

    Nicole ignored the monster's words, though the struck true. So many had died before the ways had been opened. We will beat you, she thought furiously.

    "Shelter, close."

    Nicole smiled, truing back to those she was urging onwards

    "It's going to be ok everyone, it's go-"

    A horde of mindless puppets shambled after a twisted conductor. Tattered remnants of a hundred minds cajoled into a semblance of life, a sick mockery of humanity and compassion.

    Nicole screamed and the world returned to normal, the blessed forms of those behind her pausing. Their mortibound faces showing concern.

    "Close, keep faith."

    Nicole nodded, she would not let the lies of the monsters rattle her! She would do her pappa proud.

    Oh we would never lie. Not when the truth cuts so much deeper.

    Those behind her took up a groaning prayer of solidarity, denouncing the monster with a simple show of faith. They were not puppets, they were the beloved children of rot! They would show those monsters!

    "Safety." the plaguebearer droned form up ahead, at last they had reached their destination. The great cyst-bunkers of the world. Eagerly Nicole shepherded her friends towards safety, her blessings letting her pass through the barriers like they were warm mist.

    "Well well, what do we have here?"

    Nicole paused, before falling to her knees in awe, before her stood the great rounded form of Scungos Plaguecaller himself!

    "What have you brought me little one?"

    "Evacuate."

    "Yes, but why?"

    ...what? Nicole looked up, gazing at the loving-

    It's disinterested gaze moves across the flesh before it, holding no emotion save vague curiosity as to why it had moved as it did.

    NO! He loved them! That, that's what it means to follow the plague god! There is love under Papa Nurgle!

    The plaguebearer paused, it's rot blessed brain churning along. "Danger, protect"

    Scungos smiled war-
    Condescendingly
    -at the plaguebearer

    "Ah of course, well done. Take your place with the others, we're ready for a sally once the enemy has exhausted itself."

    A hundred million corpses picked clean of soul and flesh, great cities of rot reduced to shadow hunted necropoleis, a dark figure filled to bursting on pillaged souls.

    Nicole's cheeks were wet, Scungos did not notice.

    "I will find some use for the flesh you have brought me. Well done!"

    The plaguebearer hesitated, glancing at Nicole, its eye full of of strange emotions.

    "Danger, protect. Keep safe."

    "I assure you, the flesh will be kept safe for the use of Nurgle. Now run along."

    The plaguebearer... nodded.
    -ncaring save that it had served its master-
    And turned to leave them, without a second thought.

    "Now, I did promise I would find a use for you lot didn't I?" with a gesture the group Nicole had led to safety twisted and melted into a great basin, their blessed bile and blood forming a pool.

    "My lord wait!"

    "Oh ho! A bit a will eh? Excellent! Excellent!"

    He cared! Oh, oh of course he cared, she knew he-

    Oh, you poor deluded thing.

    Scungos gestured again, and Nicole screamed as her flesh began to warp and shift.

    "A bit of pep is just the thing for the projector..."

    "NO! My lord please it hurts!" her legs dissolved into a slurry and merged with the lip of the pool.

    "Oh don't be so dramatic! You should be honored to serve me."

    "I don't… I don't want this, no! Please No! Nurgle! Father! Help please!" her arms twisted back, the bones erupting from the skin into a lattice work above the bubbling pool, as cables began thrusting themselves through her guts and up her throat.

    Scungos sighed sadly, "That's the problem with today's youth, you take and take and take, but as soon as we ask for the littlest thing back and it's all me me me. Have some shame girl!"

    Nicole tried to respond, to beg for mercy, an explanation, anything, but the rough and pitted iron had forced its way through her throat, expelling her tongue as a bloody mess.

    "Now, just sit tight and do you part for ole Scungos like a good girl."

    Her jaw distended, the cables levering forcing her skull open like a bear treap. leaving the cables sticking out of her throat pointed at the ceiling as her face was pointed down into the puss filled pool below, her eyes forced to focus upon the hundreds of tiny scabs each displaying a scene of battle now filling the pool. Then the wires switched on and and somehow she found a way to scream.

    "Tch, always making it difficult, barely worth the effort."

    Fresh pain marked cysts forming to steady the projector, but Nicole could no longer feel it.

    Uncaring demons ripped flesh from kneeling mortals, leaving them to fall into rot and despair.

    No

    Scungos rejoicing as he forced his essence into screaming humans, leaving them empty husks for his convenience.

    No! Please, Papa, stop this!

    Demons dragging screaming, begging, children into the warp, for feasts and rituals too dark for mortal eyes.

    Diediediediediediediediediediediediediediediediediediediediediediediediediediediediediediediediediediediediediediediediediediediediediediediediediediediediediediediediediediediediediediediediediediediediediediediediediediediediediediediediediediediediediediediediediediediediediediediediediediediediediediediediediediediediediediediediediediediediediediediediediediediediedieddiediediediediediediediediediediediediediediediediedieiediediediediediediediediediediediediediediediediediediediediediediediediediediedie​

    A figure of primordial malice pours itself into a smiling shape and seals tight its mask with naivety.

    A monster pours pain and indifference into an unwilling chalice, and a fountain overflows with hate.

    The starting penalty is five. ​

    Nicole smiled as she walked down the street, blind to the nightmare around her as she skipped through the puppeted corpse of a world. Her shadows stretching long and hungry.

    Her mouth is filled with sweet blood and bile as she makes her hate known. Primordial shadows flow around desperate sword strikes and lunge forth with an infinite hunger. A head becomes a stump becomes a writhing mass of a fanged tendrils becomes a thick and full needle and then there is hunger agin.

    A figure of ebon steel dances through a forest of tearing shadows as a world dies under the rage of one betrayed. It's warpsteel hide and shield turning the blind strikes of malice aside as it presse into the beating heart of darkness.

    Pain. sharp intense and mercifully brief brings her back to her senses. The world is grey and lifeless. Empty save for a figure of blackened and dented steel before here.

    "Who are you?"

    Who… she searches her memores, there... there should be more...

    "Nic-" another burst of pain as a mealic claw splatters her jaw into soft mud.

    "Try again." the figure's voice is soft, gentle despite it's violence.

    She closes her eyes, and the woman who called herself Nicole meets a final and merciful end.

    "Zahak"

    ​
    The living shield pulls her master into a tight embrace.

    "You scared me."

    The god mumbles an apology into the warp forged steel of her champions shoulder.

    "We're done. I could feel what it was doing to you, and you still barely woke up."

    "What!? No! We're ahead of schedule, we have time for another few worlds easy!"

    "It's not about the time! You almost didn't come to!"

    "I need this! We're not going to fly under the radar after this. If I don't get enough power to survive…"

    "Then it would be no different then if we push your luck too far."

    "One more."

    "Absolutely not."

    "One more world, and we do it your way."
    ​


    ​
    @Durin

    Zahak is from Fate Hollow fake by zerbandagreat. I recommend giving it a look.
    ​
     
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  • Sidestory
    • Andres110 said:
    If we succeed, should we cut up the favour and offer a few scraps of it to the Peoples who helped Ridcully in the mission?
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    Nah. The Peoples who have helped us here aren't taking a huge risk, and doing things that harm Chaos is beneficial to them. If we wanted to do something nice for them, we can do it from our own resources. Doling out tiny amounts of an Honorbound Favor from the Empire of Ashes would be doling out pieces of what amounts to a strategic resource.
     
    I'd support cutting the honourbound favor into 2 major and 3 minor favors.

    Enough to give a minor to the mycenids and use a major for getting access to the webway. Which, among other things, would greatly ease the difficulty of governing and protecting a merged dragon nest polity.

    Edit: though I expect that the native races won't be interested in anything the eldar have to offer. We may want to repay them some other way. Profitable trade deal?

    Edit2: we should ask the eldar for psychic knowledge on cleansing corruption so that we don't have to rely on lin. Sounds like a minor favor.
     
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    We should keep the favor and use it for any of the below, if Ridicully survives.

    1 kill Turoq
    2 webway access
    3 access to human tech they have
    4 access to xenotech they have
    5 have Ridicully divine stc's and have the Eldar pick it up.
     
    dragon said:
    I'd support cutting the honourbound favor into 2 major and 3 minor favors.

    Enough to give a minor to the mycenids and use a major for getting access to the webway. Which, among other things, would greatly ease the difficulty of governing and protecting a merged dragon nest polity.
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    i'd rather just give them a pile of trade goods, or a favor from us.
     
    random_npc said:
    i'd rather just give them a pile of trade goods, or a favor from us.
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    Agreed, but this was prompted by a comment on whether splitting up and the favor and giving helpers part of it was something we could or should do.

    A minor favor is about 1/9 an honourbound favor, I think the only helpers we had were areatha and the mycenids, and I don't see either of them being interestef in eldar favors. The mycenids likely would accept a profitable trade deal, and it support a friendly race over competing unfriendly races. I'm not sure what areatha wants to do. Besides explore unfamiliar places and meet unfamiliar people to satisfy her wander lust.

    As far as what the trust should request? I'm down with webway access and knowledge of purifying warp taint.
     
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    Wonder if we can expand the lifegaurd, if Ridcully bites it. Our people will be quite vulnerable without a second chance at living.
    Maybe expanding the Order of Omens, to cover smaller, internal threats? Diviner bodyguards? Signe got a better chance from a barely-even-psyker trait, after all.
    Hmmm... do our heroes posses high-grade healing potions for emergencies? Maybe an automatic injection system of a master healing potion, when they are near-death? Expensive, but possibly capable of saving lives of one of the most important strategic resources- paragons.

    Pessimistic thinking, but seeing people spending a favor we haven't gotten yet motivates me to plan for the worse outcome. :p
     
    Pushing forward has 63 with fall back 23 also I think these is the most people we have ever voted and voting seems to be dying down.
    Adhoc vote count started by Nurgle on Oct 31, 2018 at 10:36 PM, finished with 260 posts and 85 votes.
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