>>42175249
Interlude Eighteen

For a long period of time, all they were aware of was the void. They were adrift, lost in cessation. A lone spark in the emptiness.

She was looking for something, something that had been important. But here there was no longer any metric for measuring such things and so she coiled in on herself, snapping at phantom images and broken memories.

And when she found something real, she readied her fangs and bit but had only latched onto her own tail. She discarded it and continued to search for what did not exist.

>>42175249
The doors burst open, pushed aside by a towering man in white. It's Attaraan, come now at what could be the moment of his victory. Is he here to avenge himself for Hiss humiliating him? He'd have to work bloody hard for that because Hiss is...absent.
Or maybe this is what he wanted all along. You don't know anymore.

Behind him surge ten human men, supposed priests all. They wait as the suzerain points you out gleefully.
"Smuggling in a weapon? Threatening other pilgrims? You have brought dishonor among the pure, for which there can only be one price."

You look down to confirm Oster is still sitting by your side, his illegitimate sword useless in his hands. He might not be too much help unless he can snap out of it. Hiss is lying down beside him, completely insensate. Completely vulnerable.

You don't understand what's happened to her. Why?

Attaraan advances, his pet humans following closely behind him. The card-players turn away from you, completely dismissing both you and Oster as anything relevant. They must know what Attaraan plans to do with you and it can't be pleasant.

> Flee

> Try to get Oster back in action.

> Try to talk things out.

> Attack (Specify)

> Use Potion (Specify)

> Pray

> Other

>>42175445
How close is he

>>42175521
He's about forty feet away and closing.

>>42175445
Do we still look like the guard?

>>42175445
> Use Potion (Specify)
Snakebreaker.

>>42175582
We never did.

>>42175445
> Try to talk things out.
I apologize for Oster, but he's been molded by Hiss into a loyal servant. Nothing you can do to him would be worse than what he's doing to himself. As for the blade you might want to check you guards, since I know for a fact they took all his weapons when we entered. Ready the KO brew. Also Attaran I must say your hospitality is lacking. You tried to jail me and that guard tried to kill me, for an offense I know I could not give. Inf act I think you may have it out for me since you tried feeding me to the Ishmin last time we met to get Hiss to attack you. Oster will give you the blade that your slovenly guards misplaced, and we'll see to our mistress. He really is incapable of understanding what happened, hiss has made him rather simple in some things. Stopping us would not benefit anyone here. Ready K.O. and Snakebreaker.

>>42175445
> Use Potion (Specify)
Knockout brew if it won't also affect oster at this range

>>42175627
>Yeah we did, we used shapestealer on the guy that was guarding us

>>42175761
We used it to give him our shape.

>>42175685
This. That long-winded write in is dumb because he'll be too close by the time we finish talking to use the knockout brew

>>42175445
>Use Potion (Specify)

Snakebreaker

Then try and get Oster back in action.

>>42175445
>>42175668
I don't think that will work. He's an authority figure here and we're just humans, we're already out of line by talking back to him.
We should try to ditch Oster, make him take the fall alone (he'll understand) while we deal with Hiss

So...
> Try to talk things out.
Try to put the blame on Oster (sorry, bro)

>>42175925
Are you an idiot? We'll all be punished together anyway

>>42175906
>>42175603
Snakebreaker would be too loud. And killing in the compact house is still a bad idea.

Rolled 6 (1d6)

I count a rare triple tie between using the Knockout, using the Snakebreaker and trying to talk things out.
1-2 for the first, 3-4 for the second, 5-6 for the last.

>>42176006
Holy fuck are you guys really this retarded

>>42176006
The talking things out write ins were two completely different votes. I don't see why they should be lumped together

>>42176006
I'd rather change my vote from snakebreaker to knockout in this case. Just because I don't really like either of the intended options.

>>42176053
>>42176094

Yeah alright I'll allow this since this is a pretty tricksy moment. Called for Knockout. Writing.

>Use Potion (Knockout Brew)

You do your best to backpedal as Attaraan advances, pushing Hiss behind you with your foot. The Potence potion still floods your veins so moving her is easy. Moving Oster, on the other hand...
"Oster," you hiss. "Hold your breath!"

You reach into your pack, trying to be inconspicuous about it as you do your best to stall for time.
"Uh, um, I apologize for Oster, it's really not his fault what's been done to him. And if you're talking about smuggled blades then Yaerrgh!"

You locate the Knockout brew and lob it at Attaraan's feet as he tries to get close. It's an easy shot and it shatters at the floor beneath him. His skin covers itself with brown scales reflexively but this is far from any conventional attack.
The priests behind him scatter at the first sign of the bottle, throwing themselves clear as Attaraan is surrounded by white smoke.
"Alchemy?," he bellows, tall enough that he can hold his head up out of the cloud for a few more precious seconds.

"Yeah, no shit."
The backwash of the cloud pours back around you and Oster is already moving, his cheeks puffed up. He picks up Hiss and starts to move, indicating with his hands that he wants you to come with him. He wants to flee and make sure that the princess is safe before anything else.

> Go with him. You need to stay with Hiss.

> Flee in a different direction. Maybe that'll pull pursuers away from Oster and Hiss.

> Tell him to stay put, you're fighting this out right here and now!

> Let him leave. You'll stay behind.

> Use Potion (Specify)

> Other

>>42176334
> Go with him. You need to stay with Hiss.

>>42176334
> Go with him. You need to stay with Hiss.
How would the priests avoid it if the cloud was big enough to spread to us?

>>42176334
>> Go with him. You need to stay with Hiss.
Hiss hiss hiss hiss

>>42176396
Yeah, That entire room should be KO. if that were the case.

>>42176334
Even though this might be our chance to nobble Attaraan
> Go with him. You need to stay with Hiss.

>>42176396
Attaraan was within ten feet at the time you actually threw it, the priests dawdling behind on their stumpy human legs.
And I didn't say they avoided it entirely.

>>42176334
> Go with him. You need to stay with Hiss.
We should remind oster to use his potence brew if he hasn't already

>>42176396
Well at least the cloud will delay their pursuit a bit.

> Go with him. You need to stay with Hiss.

No, there's no doubt in your mind what the correct course is. Even as you see Attaraan collapsing, even as the cloud keeps the remaining priests back, you can't try and capitalize on it. You need to protect Hiss. Seeing her hanging limply in Oster's arms sends a chill down your spine.

You hear faint coughs and complaints from the card players as you turn and run with Oster, using the confusion of the cloud to get around the priests and make it back through the door. The cloud won't keep them forever though and you can already hear shouting from behind you.

You run full-pelt down the corridor, Oster quaffing the Potence brew you gave him earlier so that he can have the strength to carry Hiss and keep running.

"We need to get out," Oster growls, shifting Hiss over his shoulder. "She's not safe in here."

"No," you whisper, thinking back to your approach. "There are Ishmin waiting at the Seventy-Seventh, remember? They're waiting for us!"

-There is also the matter of the spirit's boundary-
Rock floats in behind the two of you, settling Hiss' chest.
-This is strange. She is still there, just fractured. I do not know how to put it together again, not without extended study. Where are we going?-

>To Aashenpreet's room.

>Back to the human quarters.

>Find the exit!

>They could be expecting all of those places. Just keep running upward through the tower.

> Through the window!

> Nominate someone as a decoy (Specify)

> Other

>>42176854

>They could be expecting all of those places. Just keep running upward through the tower.

>fractured? I think I know a potion to fix that, But it'll take time.

>>42176854
>They could be expecting all of those places. Just keep running upward through the tower.

Need to develop a heal-all for the soul

>>42176854
>They could be expecting all of those places. Just keep running upward through the tower.
I don't even know what to do anymore

>>42176854
>They could be expecting all of those places. Just keep running upward through the tower.
What about Sint? He opposes Attaraan, maybe if Rock intercedes for us he could help us.

>>42176920
Introspection brew or one on steroids might help. We sued it when that spirit severed her soul collection from her, This is close to the same.(but probably a lot more dangerous for the both of us.)

>>42176854
>Find the exit!
We'll be trapped if we go up a tower

>They could be expecting all of those places. Just keep running upward through the tower.

No, there's no point in stopping anywhere. If they find you there you'll just be cornered. The only answer is to keep running even if you don't have a direction. To just keep going, the pair of you running through corridors and rooms big enough to make you feel like children.

You hit a spiral staircase and begin to climb but here your retreat is slowed. The stairs are meant for far longer legs than yours and are incredibly taxing, even when your endurance is bolstered by Potence.

What's worse, your ascent is loud and echoing and with each landing you pass you fear being caught by someone who must surely be ahead of you. Or by the spirit itself.
And indeed, there is someone waiting for you on the fifth landing. Someone huge, who can only be a snake.

You see their size before you really notice anything else and you're already jumping back when Oster catches you with his free hand.
"Aash? Is that you?"

It is her, crouching down on the landing so she can look you in the eye. Oster looks distinctly unnerved by her current size, something you guess he's associated with the enemy.
"Cennen, Oster! What's going on? What was the danger?"
The wish-bond must have summoned her from wherever she was.

"We don't have time to explain!"
You try to keep moving but Aashenpreet spreads her arms, barring the stairway. She looks down at you, resolute.

"No. Nobody is going anywhere until I get some answers. You did something awful, didn't you? Or she did? Why else would you be running? Tell me!"

> Make a wish (Specify)

> Do your best to explain quickly and hope she thinks saving Hiss' life is a worthwhile cause.

> Try to push her aside.

> Maybe you can dash through her legs and just keep running.

> Throw Rock at her and let her explain.

> Use Potion (Specify)

> Other

>>42177458
In Short Hiss Lost Badly, Oster somehow found a sword and threatened one of the players to fix her. Attaran came in and was going to kill us all, so I used a harmless knockout brew to KO him. However since he's tried to kill me before, I doubt he's going to appreciate the distinction.


Now can you please move before I actually break the compact with something actually dangerous?

>>42177458
Hiss is dying. Attaraan is coming after us. We didn't do anything wrong. If she doesn't get out of the way just punch her in the gut and keep moving.

>>42177458
> Do your best to explain quickly and hope she thinks saving Hiss' life is a worthwhile cause.
>"I didn't see what happened! Something happened to Hiss' soul, I need to take care of it but Attaraan just showed up and he's after us, now PLEASE, Aash, can you help us?

>>42177458
>> Do your best to explain quickly and hope she thinks saving Hiss' life is a worthwhile cause.

> Do your best to explain quickly and hope she thinks saving Hiss' life is a worthwhile cause.

You sigh.
"I didn't see what happened! Something happened to Hiss' soul, I think she's dying. I need to take care of it but Attaraan showed up and he's after us, we didn't do anything wrong. Now PLEASE, Aash, can you help us?"
Or at least get out of the goddamn way.

Her lip trembles but then she moves aside, letting you and Oster pass her.
"Do you need some help? I was just talking to another suzerain before."

"Pardon?"

"He sought me out to talk about the princess! Said his name was Sint?"

> Just keep running upwards.

> Ask Aashenpreet if she knows where Sint is right now.

> Ask Aashenpreet to remain behind on the stairwell to nonviolently delay what pursuers you might still have.

> "Why the fuck didn't you tell me what was going on?"

> Other

>>42177988
> Ask Aashenpreet if she knows where Sint is right now.

>>42177988
>> Ask Aashenpreet if she knows where Sint is right now.
Fucking texas waffle capcha

>>42177988
>> Ask Aashenpreet if she knows where Sint is right now.

>>42177988
> Ask Aashenpreet if she knows where Sint is right now.
> Take us to him

Note to self: apologize if we came out rude later.

>>42177988
>>42178135

I'm down with this. We can explain more when we apologize for performing an acrobatic fucking pirouette of the goddamn panhandle downstairs.

>>42178309
>acrobatic fucking pirouette of the goddamn panhandle
???

> Ask Aashenpreet if she knows where Sint is right now.

That might be just what you need. Attaraan has authority here but it isn't total, either of the other two suzerains should be able to oppose him. And you've already met Sint and you remember liking the anaconda a reasonable amount. He might be able to help or at the very least, he might be able to fucking explain what's going on. That'd be a blessing at least.

"Sint? Do you know where he is? Can you take us there?"

"Uh..."
She looks a little thrown off by your sudden barrage of questions but nods.
"He wanted to speak to Hiss anyway. Here!"

She pulls you and Oster in through the doorway of the landing she was in, removing you from the staircase and bringing you into a stubby corridor of scuffed white stone.
She runs it easily, slowing down somewhat for you and Oster to catch up before taking you around the corner and to a wooden door, one much larger than even Aashenpreet.
"I think his quarters are in here!"

She opens the door to reveal a large domed room filled with clutter. No, not clutter so to speak, as that had been what your eye had initially deemed it to be. Art.
Tapestries hang from the walls alongside long painted scrolls and woven banners. Human-sized mannequins litter the room, each one clothed in a full outfit. Most are Quedeshi but there are several in what look to be some sort of Jheri fashion. The one standing by the doorway, hidden entirely by a bulky robe and Vtriya mask startles you nearly half to death before you realize that is in fact NOT Tash poised and waiting for you.

Sint sits in the middle of it all, cross-legged and painting, using his hands to smear black paint and dust across a long scroll. You can't see what it is he's working on, something red and black and vicious. He looks up as you enter, blank snake pupils visible for but a moment.
"Yes? Was there something else you required?"
1/2

>>42178626
His eyes settle first on Aashenpreet and then on Rock and then finally on Hiss' prone form, at which point they widen. He rises, holding one etched hand towards Oster.
"Give her to me."

Surprisingly, Oster does. He bears her aloft like a doll, a look of concern on his face.
"This is...new."

> "Alright, nice to meet you but what the hell is going on?"

> "Attaraan is way out of line right now, can't you do something?"

> "Do you mind if we stay here and hide for a while?"

> "Put her down!"

> "Where's the spirit?"

> You can't trust any of the suzerains. Try to nobble him.

> Make a wish (Specify)

> Use Potion (Specify)

> Other

>>42178433
Just an expression I happen to like. Pay it no mind.

>>42178735
> (Politely, but urgently) "Alright, nice to meet you but what the hell is going on?"
> "Do you mind if we stay here and hide for a while?"

>>42178735
> "Alright, nice to meet you but what the hell is going on?"
> "Attaraan is way out of line right now, can't you do something?"
> "Do you mind if we stay here and hide for a while?"
> "Where's the spirit?"

>>42178735
> "Alright, nice to meet you but what the hell is going on?"
> Explain about the game and the spirit
> "Do you mind if we stay here and hide for a while?"
> Don't tell him it was us he met

>>42178735
>> "Alright, nice to meet you but what the hell is going on?"
> "Do you mind if we stay here and hide for a while?"
>I May be able to fix her, But Attaraan REALLY dislikes me. He couldn't get inside my head, and I told him he doesn't scare me. This was back at the port city we entered Quedesh, seems like he held a grudge I didn't go into his Ishmin trap he brought into the city.

> "Alright, nice to meet you but what the hell is going on?"
> "Do you mind if we stay here and hide for a while?"

You wander over, picking your way through the artistic mess as best you can.
"Look, I'm sorry for intruding but can you please tell us what the hell is going on?"

"Hmm?"
He looks at you, apparently seeing you for the first time.
"Aashenpreet, I was unaware that you had pets."

"They're not mine," Aashenpreet mumbles. "They belong to her and they're good people. You can trust them."
She smiles at you, apparently at ease with trusting you herself now.
"They only want what's best."

You give Sint a brief retelling of what you'd seen of the Tash game and the spirit. He frowns before nodding ponderously.
"That would explain it then."

"Well, could you care to share then? Please?"

"If you insist. Firstly, you must understand that the House is not of this mortal realm. It is both a part of the world and apart from it."

You nod, it all makes sense so far. You'd noted that it had looked like the Dreaming from afar after all and Rock had mentioned the boundary.

"It is not a fully separate world but it is...perpendicular to the world, you might say. An isolated domain that has had the laws of reality altered within its bounds. Altered for one single purpose."

"To help us ascend," Aashenpreet chimes in. "To grant the worthy Aashimid's forgiveness."

"Yes. But you must understand that there is no single path to enlightenment, there is no way right or wrong behavior that Aashimid continues to judge us on in this regard. So in the confines of the House, all practices and works, provided that you are dedicated and focussed, can offer a pathway to absolution. Whether it is through art like mine or through the symbology of certain games or anything else, any pursuit could potentially be what enlightens us, provided that we can perfect it. This is way of the House, the one way that is many."

"So that game..."

1/2

>>42179331
"Is as valid as any other way, yes. It's a long-held practice here thanks to symbolically matching so closely with our goals. Personally I have never enjoyed it, I prefer to find myself through meditation and creation. Surely if enlightenment through Tash was as easy and clearly defined as making a perfect hand, it would have been done by now. But I don't like to begrudge others their obsessions. We all have them, here."
He puts his paints aside and holds the scroll aloft. It's not a picture of anything concrete, rather a muddle of color and contrast designed to lend you an impression. Something red in the darkness, the glint of a fang and a spray that calls blood to the mind.
"Which is what makes her condition so strange. I am a stranger to Tash but it shouldn't be possible for one to lose their way in the game. Is it truly so competitive? I will have to study her."

"Uh, about that. We might be getting followed. We didn't depart without...incident."
You tell him about Oster's desperation, the spirit's strange behavior and Attaraan's declaration.

Sint shakes his head.
"I have never seen Jallahaodesh do something like that before. And as for Attaraan, while I sympathize and understand, I cannot stop him from enforcing the laws of the House. I will not help him for I do not deem the situation dire but neither will I help the two of you. I cannot shelter you here if he comes knocking."

> "Do you know where we might go, then?"

> "Attaraan also wants Hiss and she's blameless! Can you shelter her, at least?"

> "I'm sorry but that's bullshit? Can't you do something more direct to stop him?"

> Well, at least you can lurk here until Attaraan comes. Maybe he never will.

> Well then, it's time to leave.

> Make a wish (Specify)

> Use Potion (Specify)

> Other

>>42179633
> "Do you know where we might go, then?"

>>42179633
>> "Attaraan also wants Hiss and she's blameless! Can you shelter her, at least?"
>He's tried too have me killed on numerous occasions prior to this. Is there a protocol when a suzerain let's his emotions and personal grudges get in the way?

>>42179633
> "Do you know where we might go, then?"

Don't really expect him to help us, but we might as well try right?

>>42179633
Will you really just stand by and watch as Attaraan abuses sacred rules for his own ambition?

>>42179633
> Well, at least you can lurk here until Attaraan comes. Maybe he never will.
He should be knocked the fuck out for a few hours at least

>>42179633
> "Do you know where we might go, then?"
> "Can't you at least help us to fix her?"

> "Do you know where we might go, then?"

"What can we do then? Are you really going to just stand by and watch as he abuses sacred rules for his own personal ambition? He's tried to have me killed multiple times before this, he and Tash both. With an Ishmin Trap in the middle of a city, no less! This isn't a matter of protecting the rules, this is him carrying out a grudge beyond all reason!"

"I know that. I've known all along that he wanted to trap you. But what can I do? The appointment of suzerain is made by the Maharaja and only he can depose one. And you DID break the rule. To supercede on the behalf of humans no less, is a grave thing to ask indeed."

You groan.
"Do you know where we might go, then?"

"There is one possibility. The very top of the House is the personal lodge of Ghrii, the third suzerain. He is deeply protective of his privacy and it may be that nobody will disturb him for some time on your account, which might give you time to take the exterior stairway down the walls of the cliff to safety. I will speak to Jallahaodesh and try to convince him to lower his barrier if you wish."

You shake your head. That's an option but it's not one you like.
"Can't you at least help us fix her?"

Sint makes eye contact with you and blinks, his face creasing.
"You truly care for her, don't you? I can try to help her and I can hide her away but I can't promise anything. This is something new."

> Give Hiss into his keeping and stay here.

> Give Hiss into his keeping and leave, continuing upward.

> Give Hiss into his keeping and leave, heading back down.

> If he keeps Hiss, then you can use Shapestealer to pretend to be her again!

> "Thanks but no thanks, she's coming with us."

> Other

>>42180327
> If he keeps Hiss, then you can use Shapestealer to pretend to be her again!
Then let oster capture us so he can use wishes in case of an emergency and will prevent others from nobbling us

>>42180437
Doesn't work like that or Hiss would have had wishes from us from when she nobbled us into our pack.

>>42180327
>> If he keeps Hiss, then you can use Shapestealer to pretend to be her again!

>>42180437
>>42180498
Guys this could easily fuck us up or fuck her up worse.

>>42180437
>>42180498
We don't need to do that and I don't want to reveal to Sint that we can do that, not yet at least

>>42180484
Nah it would work actually, Hiss just didn't get them because she wasn't human.

>>42180327
> Give Hiss into his keeping and stay here.
He isn't sure he can help her, we should stay.
Take Aash's shape and stay here, while Aash disguises as us and takes Oster to safety

>>42180327
>> Give Hiss into his keeping and stay here.

>>42180582
...*Inhale*
...
Well shit. Magic, you crazy.

>>42180437
Eh. We'd be in pain a lot during fights unless it doesn't activate the pain when we're close to him

Just a heads up, getting something to eat.

Rolled 5 (1d6)

Back, roasted bananas 2.0 worked much better this time. And it's a tie. Odds for using Shapestealer, Evens for staying with Sint.

>>42180626
Why do you want to split the party?

>>42181196
I wanted to get Attaraan off our tail while we tended to Hiss.

>>42181381
I thought all those other snakes had her soul. Is there anything to tend to or is this just a souless husk?

>>42181520
Rock said she was shattered anon.

see>>42176854
>-This is strange. She is still there, just fractured. I do not know how to put it together again, not without extended study. Where are we going?-


An Introspection would likely help a lot.

>>42181520
Rock says her soul is fractured.
>> -This is strange. She is still there, just fractured. I do not know how to put it together again, not without extended study. Where are we going?-

>>42181520
I don't really know for sure but I think her soul is just fragmented but still in her body? Either that or the spirit has her soul.

>>42181597
I like the idea of a soul related healing brew more. We'd have to become unconscious for a while to use the introspection brew.

>>42181190
> If he keeps Hiss, then you can use Shapestealer to pretend to be her again!

You nod.
"I guess I understand. You can't shelter us if one of his goons ask if we're about, I understand that. But you can protect her, surely?"

"I can do that. Attaraan might want her but SHE has broken no rules. She will remain here with me."

"Hold on."
It's Oster, his voice raspy.
"Keeping her here isn't enough. If they see her, they'll plan something to get her. That's what they really want."

"Hrm," Sint ponders. "I could hide or disguise her but how would I do that while still being able to study her?"

"I know!"
Aashenpreet kneels down and picks up the mannequin that had startled you when you first entered, the one covered in layered robes of many colors and a Vtriya mask, similar to Tash and Laldeep's uniforms.
"This outfit should cover her completely right, mask and all? And if you lie her down you can pretend she's one of your mannequins that you're working on!"

"Simple but effective," Sint remarks. "I like it. You can always trust the snake to have a good idea."

You find yourself rankling at that list bit but you hold it in as Aashenpreet moves the mannequin about.

"Thanks Aash," Oster says, patting her awkwardly on the leg. "I don't think I would have thought of that."

"I got the idea from Cennen's body double trick!"

And that's the remark that sparks an idea in you. You snap your fingers.
"They won't even come here looking for Hiss in the first place. Because as far as they know, Hiss will be running around elsewhere!"

You pull the Shapestealer brew from your pack and watch comprehension dawn on Oster and Aash's eyes.
"And this time," Aashenpreet booms. "I can help!"

> No, only you should be the duplicate.

> Let Aashenpreet copy Hiss to add extra confusion.

> Let Aashenpreet copy you as best she can to lower suspicion.

> Aashenpreet shouldn't copy anyone. In fact, she should stay here. You don't want her to get in trouble on your behalf.

> Other

>>42181670
> Let Aashenpreet copy you as best she can to lower suspicion.
If she can get close to our appearance we can use an alteration brew on her to perfect it

>>42181667
Anything New and powerful would take forever to make, and might not work. We know Introspection and it's derivatives do.

>>42181670
> Let Aashenpreet copy Hiss to add extra confusion.

>>42181670
>Let Aashenpreet copy Hiss to add extra confusion.

>>42181670
> Aashenpreet shouldn't copy anyone. In fact, she should stay here. You don't want her to get in trouble on your behalf.
Plus I want to have someone we trust looking over Hiss
Also, we should give Sint the soulmender, might be useful.

>>42181670
> Let Aashenpreet copy you as best she can to lower suspicion.
Make sure she knows the risks involved first. Make sure Aash wants to do this. Don't want her helping us to bite us in the arse down the road in party negotiations.

>>42181670
Is the second option proposing to have both of us impersonate hiss?

>>42175267
Interlude Twenty-One

There was something else there. A warmth, a boundary, something tying her together. She couldn't eat it but she was aware of it nonetheless.

Inside it however, was just her and the void. She didn't understand. She needed something, she needed the knowledge to come back. To understand. To stop being and to start doing.

But all she found in the void was just herself, a million broken facets and everytime she seized on something she had only swallowed her own tail.
That couldn't be it. She spat it out and kept moving, fading all the while.

>>42181932
Yes. It would be more confusing but more suspicious.

>>42181670
> Let Aashenpreet copy you as best she can to lower suspicion.
I wonder if they've found our doppelganger yet?

>>42181670
>> Let Aashenpreet copy Hiss to add extra confusion.
Assuming this isn't illegal this is probably the safer option. If she gets cornered she can probably surrender relatively safely and we can always wish her to hulk out if she gets captured.

>>42181670
>>42181884

Could I add on giving Sint a Soulmender? I like that idea and hadn't thought of it at the time.

>>42182299
Why? It's not good for snakes.

> Let Aashenpreet copy you as best she can to lower suspicion.

"You don't need to help," Oster says. "It'll be safer for you to stay out of it."
He takes her hand in his or at least tries, the size issue making it a little hard.
Oh right, you'd almost forgotten that strange little friendship that the two of them had seemed to cultivate almost entirely behind your and Hiss' backs.

Aashenpreet rustles his hair.
"Don't worry, Oster. Regardless of whatever else happens here, the two of you helped me realize my dream. And you let me be a priestess again, even if only for a moment. I won't regret this, no matter what happens."

You step around them, feeling a little awkward.
"Are we good? You can take my shape Aash, or the best approximation that you can."

She frowns.
"I'm not copying Hiss? That's fine, I guess but copying you might be hard. I don't have the advantage that she did, she knew your body way too well."

"You've seen me naked plenty of times, it should be fine."

"You what?"
Oster is a little confused.

Aashenpreet lets her body disintegrate, uncoiling into her twenty-foot long true form for just long enough to start shedding her skin again.
Sint gathers up the skin she sheds, peeling it off and easing her transformation while disposing of the evidence at the same time.

"How do I look?"
What's left is someone who looks almost but not entirely like you. The features are there, they're the same height and build but the skin is perhaps just a little too dark and there's something of the fey to her (his?) face.

"Yeah, looks good to me. What do you think, Oster?"

Oster looks a little dumbfounded but he gathers himself immediately.
"That should work. We can go in different directions if you need us to."

1/2

>>42182313
Because I feel like having your soul exploded is worse for snakes than a Soulmender. Besides, it's just leaving it with Sint, not telling Sint to dose Hiss with it.

>>42182489
What's he gonna do with it? He doesn't know shit about alchemy

>>42182453
> No, we stick together.

> Aashenpreet by herself and you and Oster together. Oster won't leave 'Hiss'' side after all so that should strengthen the deception while Aash being alone can give her some plausible deniability if she's caught.

> You alone with Oster and Aashenpreet together. You don't really want either of them being hurt because of you. Not again. And Aashenpreet might be able to protect Oster.

> We split up, everyone for themselves. It should be more confusing that way.

> Make a wish (Specify)

> Other

>>42182510
Obviously we'd give him the quick and dirty about the potion. We're not an irresponsible hack peddling (pun perhaps intended) snake oil. If Sint deems it beneficial then he can use it on Hiss.

>>42182512
> No, we stick together.

>>42182512
> No, we stick together.
This is getting too convoluted for me

>>42182512
> No, we stick together.

As much as I want to split off alone while those two do their thing, this seems the most plausible option.

>>42182512
> No, we stick together.

>>42182512
> No, we stick together.
Give aash the alteration brew to make her look exactly like us. I'm suddenly wondering why we didn't just have her use hiss's form, she already knew how to do it. Maybe cennen just really likes being hiss.

>>42182686
Hey, her using Hiss' form was an option. An option that didn't win the vote but hey.
Also Cennen obviously just really likes being a snake lady.

>>42182715
Clearly we should vote to find someplace warm.

>>42182512
>> You alone with Oster and Aashenpreet together. You don't really want either of them being hurt because of you. Not again. And Aashenpreet might be able to protect Oster.

technically this is what they are looking for anyway.

>>42182686
I think people were concerned about how obvious the deception of two hisses would be. Instead of alteration though how about we give them all some goodies to make survival more likely.

maybe give them say, a rumpleskin, soulguard and heal all, and endeavor to for once not get our organs shredded

>>42182512
> You alone with Oster and Aashenpreet together. You don't really want either of them being hurt because of you. Not again. And Aashenpreet might be able to protect Oster.

What happened to rock?

> No, we stick together.

"Nah, let's stick together. Safer and less convoluted that way."
You pull your last Shapestealer from your pack and approach Hiss' prone form, Sint already wrapping her in pastel robes, the golden mask ready to be placed over her face.
Before that happens though, you slip some of the bottle inside of her mouth and hold her head up. She's warm. Why is she so warm? Snakes are cold, she's always been cold.

You, Oster and Aashenpreet leave the room back into the corridor first before you begin your transformation, downing the rest of the potion and feeling everything drop away as you wither into a legless tiny thing.
But from there it's only a matter of seconds before you reform inside of Hiss' Teln body. It feels snug, the fit becoming easier and easier with each time.
"Right, let's go!"

The three of you rejoin the staircase and start heading upwards again, doing your best to buy time. You can hear other people on the stairs right now, their steps echoing around the stairwell.
The sound of their feet is heavy, much more so than yours. Snakes?
Aashenpreet groans as you continue upwards, the stairs that were once perfectly sized for her now far too high and far too steep.

As you approach the next landing, you reach into your pack for some of your potions. You might be able to give some brews to Oster and Aashenpree-agh!

The door to the landing above you swings open, a veiled figure charging through with their sword curving straight for you!

Roll 1d100 to avoid.

Rolled 87 (1d100)

>>42183051

Rolled 39 (1d100)

>>42183051
Haha! Time to roll poorly!

Rolled 57 (1d100)

>>42183051

Rolled 58 (1d100)

>>42183051
Yo what happened to no weapons?!

>>42183079
Did you forget? We sacrificed a decision to the dice gods earlier.

>>42183113
Attaraans underlings are allowed weapons here.

>>42183160
Are they? He might just be breaking the rules.

>>42183078

You fall to the ground, letting the sword cut the air above you. Your attacker is a Quedeshi man in a loose orange robe, his face covered by a while veil covered in black Quedeshi letters.
Oh shit, it's that Ishmin that Attaraan smuggled in somehow! What's he doing here? Shouldn't he be out like a light? And also looking like you?
You try to get up, reaching for your pack but only just scramble backwards in time to avoid the second swing. You look your attacker in the eye and see only mirrors. His pupils and irises are gone, replaced by a clouded reflection of the room around him.

He brings his sword back and thrusts, driving the edge right into your chest! You cover yourself in scales just in time, barely remembering how to do it but he drags the sword down with enough force to split your tunic down the middle and send you staggering back!
Your back hits the oversized banister and only that prevents you from toppling from the stairs. He's strong! Way stronger than a human should be.
And in the corridor behind your attacker, you can hear the pounding of more feet. There are more coming and the sound of your pursuers in the stairwell below are growing ever faster.
Shit.
The time you spent dealing with this guy might be just too much.

Oster parries the Ishmin's next attack, his Potence-granted strength allowing him to do so without being swept aside.
He looks at you desperately and you realize that he isn't looking at Cennen anymore. He's looking at who you appear to be. He's looking at Hiss.
"Go!," he yells. "I'll take him, just get out of here! I can do this! I can do this for you!"

> Keep going.

> Stay and fight with him.

> "No." Push him aside and fight for him.

> Use Potion (Specify)

> Make a Wish (Specify)

> Other

>>42183051
maybe the favor has returned?

>>42183362
>> Stay and fight with him.
I won't give up on you yet oster
its pretty clear cennan possess an absurd optimism about his friends

>>42183362
> Stay and fight with him.

>>42183362
> Stay and fight with him.
Aaaaaaaaa what's going on. Say some encouraging shit to oster, it might help since he only ever gets put down by Hiss

>>42183362
Where's Aash?

>>42183521
Right there, behind you.

>>42183362
> Stay and fight with him.
Fail to remember Jallahaodesh's name
> "Jallah- whatever your name is, please stop!"

>>42183362
Scratch or bite the possessed dude

>>42183547
>Hiss
>Please

>>42183547
Why would he stop? He just attacked us with intent to kill. It's not like saying his name will somehow convince him

>>42183644
Shit, I fucked up!
Good call

>>42183362
Do we have non-lethal venom as Fake-Hiss?

>>42183749
Probably not.

> Stay and fight with him.

"No! This is the worst time to try and be a fucking hero! I don't know what you've got in your head about me but I'm not going to leave you behind!"
Your last word is accentuated by the clash of steel on scales as you block the Ishmin's next strike with a scale-covered arm.
Aashenpreet squirms behind you, clearly unwilling to fight anything unless she's pushed.

Oster just grits his teeth and uses the opening to stab the possessed Ishmin through the chest. Blood stains his lips but he otherwise gives no reaction. That's still enough space for you to push him back into the corridor from which he came however. He slams into the small crowd of Attaraan's priests who were following him, knocking them over like they were nothing.
You turn to keep racing ahead when you are stopped by a piercing shriek, something that could never come from a human mouth. The Ishmin rises, floating through the air in a silver nimbus.
Their sword glows red then white and then starts to melt in his hand, scorching them to the bone. But it still holds its shape, bound together by silver light.

And then, without any fanfare whatsoever, the Ishmin whips it around in a single stroke, the molten and infused metal cracking into apart to make a single cut strong enough to smash the walls around you to splinters. It smashes into the wall of the tower behind you and richochets, a mirrored projectile that moves faster than you can see. It bounces off the wall and earths itself into the stairs directly above you, smashing them to rubble! Rubble that is now raining down directly on top of you.
1/2

>>42183942

> Curl up around your pack. You need to protect your pack first and foremost or otherwise all of your potions will break!

> Scale up and curl around Oster. It'll expose your pack but you're fine with that you guess.

> Scale up and curl around Aashenpreet. Out of all of you, she's the most likely to not be able to avoid it.

> Just jump backwards down the stairs and let yourself roll down to the next landing.

> Use Potion (Specify)

> Make a wish (Specify)

> Other

>>42183963
> Curl up around your pack. You need to protect your pack first and foremost or otherwise all of your potions will break!
> Wish for Aash to save herself and oster.

>>42183942
>> Scale up and curl around Aashenpreet. Out of all of you, she's the most likely to not be able to avoid it.

>>42183942
> Curl up around your pack. You need to protect your pack first and foremost or otherwise all of your potions will break!
>toss Oster out of the way
>WIsh Asshenprett had the toughest scales possible.


hindsight 50/50 we should have Dispelled him.

>>42184016
yeah, dispel is so damn useful, we really need to just buckle down and get it when we have a moment

>>42184009
This. If our explosive or snakebreaker is broken we're fucked. And the wish will probably grant Aash scales and compel her to protect oster

>>42183963
>>42184009
This, they might also need the soulguard potion soon

> Curl up around your pack. You need to protect your pack first and foremost or otherwise all of your potions will break!
> Wish for Aash to save herself and oster.

Without thinking you drop to the ground and scale up, curling around your pack.
"Aash! I wish you'd save Oster!"
And that's all you have time for before the rocks come crashing down.

They thunder into your back and your arms with force enough to drop you completely prone, each one carrying bone-breaking force. You scream in pain but that is quickly muffled by further rubble as the rocks keep coming down.

You burst free as best you can, dragging yourself away from the landslide into the stairs above. Behind you is nothing but a chaos of falling rocks and rubble as the stair itself starts to collapse. You can't see Oster or Aashenpreet.

You do your best to start crawling forward, one gigantic step at a time. You can't stop yourself from mewling in pain with each movement as pain blossoms all over your upper body. It hurts, it hurts so much.
But you can't feel your legs. It doesn't hurt there. They won't move when you want them too, hanging limp and broken. You drag yourself forward as best you can, fingers leaving grooves in the crumbling stone.

"Aashenpreet? Oster? Where are you? Help!"

>...

>>42184306
>...

>>42184306
>Drink a heal all
Here's hoping it works for a broken spine, if not, at least we can stop everything from hurting

>>42184306
>we're fucking paralyzed
what the hell is going on with these last two threads

>>42184359
lets see whats actually up before we start bawling

>>42184359
its pretty clearly broken legs

>>42184421
We also can't feel them.

>>42184306

"Aashenpreet? Oster? Where are you? Help!"

The princess' voice wakes you from where you had been lying, briefly unconscious. Where are you? What's going on?
Aashenpreet is lying over you, still possessing her confusing Cennen body. She's hurt, covered in scales and bruises. She did that saving you. And what for? You're no good, you're never any good.

Your name is Oster and you've grown to accept the fact that you are useless.

You and Aashenpreet are lying in the corridor from the landing, the doorway behind you sealed by rock. You sword is lying across from you down the corridor, battered but still functional. Just like you.
The princess is over there, behind the rock. You need to dig through it, get her out. It's the only thought you have, even over poor Aashenpreet.

You hear a footfall behind you and you curse. It's the Ishmin, bloody and dying. The spirit has left him..left him for someplace else. But he's still getting to his feet, one hand slick with blood and the other scorched to the bone.

He's wavering from one foot to the other but he's still standing and his eyes, now completely human, are fixated on one thing. The sword you dropped in the hallway.

He twitches and stumbles forward, grasping for it! You curse and do your best to hobble forwards, trying to grab it before he does.

Roll 1d100.

Rolled 100 (1d100)

>>42184439

>>42184449
FUCK YEAH OSTER
this was my second 100 of the day btw
the other one was in a roll under quest but let's not worry about the minute details

>>42184449
ok

Rolled 71 (1d100)

>>42184439
rolling but I think>>42184449 has it. Good job!

>>42184449
Oh hell yeah. Writing. Trying to make this all sound as good as possible.

>>42184449
it seems all these sacrifices have paid off

>>42184449
Dat Nat20 tho.

> Nat 100

You lurch towards the sword, both of you reaching for it. Two injured and battered husks, both used and discarded by the powers they serve, yet still locked in combat until one of them is dead.
And that's what you're for, isn't it? To be used as the princess wishes. To be discarded as the princess wishes. That has always been your fate.

You haven't been sleeping much lately for you still dream of that moment that had occurred several days ago back in the Second Shrine. Where you had struck at Her Highness, at the woman you love and hate and fear and NEED all in equal measure.
To ever do such a thing broke your heart, made you into something lesser than you had ever been. And yet, another half of you had been exalted by the decision. The half of you that still treasures what tatters you have left of your life, the one that loves Cennen and Aashenpreet more than that royal scum, it had rejoiced at the strike. Here, it cried out to from the darkness, here was the moment you take your life back!

And then she had deflected it easily. And then she had broken your sword. And that's when you knew that nothing you could do would ever matter. You were helpless against her and her kind and you were doomed to be her slave.
You have no fate but to be the mask and the blade, the only parts of you that the princess values. Everything else will be pared away.

And now, facing down this broken tool who is in the same situation as you are, you realize that this is all you need. Nothing else matters.
You don't have any of your masks with you but you no longer need them. The mask you put on is invisible.

You reach the blade seconds before he does and you drag it upwards in a single practiced movement, your enhanced strength barely feeling the resistance as it parts flesh. So strong that the sword smashes into the stone wall afterwards, bending irreparably.
The Ishmin falls to the ground without even realizing his death, a corpse cloven in half.

1/2

>>42184694
Damn. Why is this the first time we ever gave oster a potence brew? We should've done this ages ago.

>>42184694
You stand there panting for several seconds, exhilarated and horrified by the purpose that imbues you.
And that gives the priests enough time to get to their feet, the white-clothed men scattered beyond where the Ishmin had been lying.

They see you and holler, pulling small iron clubs and knives from their satchels. Just as you thought then. Attaraan brought these men in as smuggled thugs, breaking all the rules to do so. Well, he didn't bring enough.

You stagger forward, your fists held high. You know you musn't look too good right now. Awful form, almost no footwork to speak of. Bruises everywhere. Sword bent. And you sure as hell don't feel good.
But these men aren't Ishmin. They're not even soldiers. They're just thugs, even if they're are ten of them.
The corridor you're in is narrow, they can't attack you all at once.

The first one comes in, swinging his knife around like some kind of fucking amateur. You punch him in the jaw before he can get close, hard enough to rip his jaw free in a spray of blood.
The rest follow and you lose yourself among them, punching and kicking, keeping your arms raised as you can to block their clubs. But you can't block them all.
For every blow you strike out at the group, three more find their home in you. In the back of your head, along your side, in your back. The weight of their attacks force you down to your knees, your vision rocking.
You roar in pain and anger and drag yourself forward in a tackle, pushing two men into the rest and giving yourself time to stand even as the rest come in.
You swing like a madman, breaking bones and ending lives. And then someone sticks a knife in your back.

You fall to the ground once more, the surviving priests hovering around you, too scared to get close. They're wondering if you're dead and hell, you might as well be.
They get their courage up and get in close enough to start kicking you, pulverizing your guts. You hear at least one rib crack.
2/3

>>42184870
You scream and with one last burst of effort, pull the knife from your own back. You bring it up and then down, stabbing clean through the foot of the first man kicking you. And then the second. And the third.
Using that space, you get back up and leave the knife in the throat of the next man.

The rest run away. You're fine with that.

You try to walk back over to the blockage and when you fall over halfway there, you crawl the rest of the way. You need to protect the princess. You've already failed her so many times, you can't fail again.

You scrabble at the stones in vain, unable to shift them. But Aashenpreet wakes, having been protected in her slumber by you and she shifts the rocks aside with a sweep of her arm. She even makes it look easy.
It really is a snake's world, huh? Humans like you just live in it.
"Princess! Where are you? I'm here!"

>....

>>42184954
glad to see you have good taste in Korean cinema ouro

>>42184954
I'm crying. Fuck our problems, help Oster.

>>42184968
let's hope oster doesn't have a daughter somewhere

>....

"Princess! Where are you? I'm here?"

Your name is Cennen. It has always been Cennen save for one very memorable time. And right now you are in a world of hurt.

You've abandoned your Hiss guise, thankfully losing the injuries that came with it. You can move once more. But it still hurts like fuck.

And right now, you're in a lot of trouble. You're still lying on the staircase, resettling back into your usual shape. But in front of you...

The air warps, crystal chimes making tuneless music. The Compact Spirit is perched on the landing above, its eyeless glass head looking directly at you.

-I REGRET THAT IT HAS COME TO THIS-

Jewelled eyes fall to the ground as it shrieks, spilling endlessly from its hooked beak.

> "Why? I thought we were fine?"

> "Go fuck yourself."

> Pray.

> Roll down the stairs.

> Throw your pack at it. The whole pack.

> Use Potion (Specify)

> Make a Wish (Specify)

> Other

>>42185015
> "Why? I thought we were fine?"
>What does Attaran have on you?
> Use Potion (Soulgrasp)

>>42185015
>> "Why? I thought we were fine?"
probably it won't be so obliging as to explain what is going on but i am still ever so curious

>>42184968
I'd be lying if I said I hadn't seen it. I hope the style-reference didn't diminish the scene too much, it was a last moment idea that came with the Nat 100.

>>42185015
> "Why? I thought we were fine?"
> About the Bane, That was self defense AND an accident!
> What did you do to her?

>>42185048
I can't speak to gen pop but it worked fine for me

>>42185015
> Drink souldrift and let our body roll down the stairs

>>42185015
> "Why? I thought we were fine?"
Why are you helping attaraan while he breaks the rules?

>>42185048
I enjoyed it.

Someone talk me out of voting for throwing our whole pack at this thing. I want it dead as much as I want Attaraan dead.

>>42185183
I kinda want to talk to it just because none of this actually made sense to me

>>42185183
It'd do jackshit to it since we have no straight anti-magic in the pack, and the snakebreaker going off would kill us, Aash and Oster without harming it at all.

File: 1439684033758.gif (1011 KB, 500x273)

1011 KB GIF

>>42184870
>the one that loves Cennen

Oster you are the broest of bros. Sorry we never saw it till the end. Attaraan's skull shall be your grave marker and all his Ishmin your your honor guard on your march to Hell.

>>42185201
Nah, snakebreaker would harm it. Remember how the scales were stuck in that lightning spirit we used it on?

>>42185223
Not nearly enough to kill it, and it would kill the rest of the party.

>>42185015
Really wish we had opted for anti-magic elixer right now.

> "Why? I thought we were fine?"
> Roll down the stairs.

>>42185103
This

> "Why? I thought we were fine?"

You don't even know what to do anymore. You made it through all of that and now this? Does the universe just want to kill you? You just sigh and put your head in your hands, still lying down.
"I'm sorry," you mutter.

-SORRY?-

"Yes. I'm sorry for whatever the hell I've done this time. So why? I thought we were fine? You gave Hiss to me and everything! Why are you helping Attaraan? He's breaking the rules of the House!"

Jallahaodesh rotates his head, his feathers reflecting the light of a dying world.
-BECAUSE IF I DID NOT HELP ATTARAAN, THERE WILL NOT BE A COMPACT HOUSE-

"What?"
You reach for your pack, trying to grab something like a Souldrift but a metal feather inserts itself into the back of your hand. Not a deep injury but it creates a spreading numbness that makes your hand useless.
-Stand down!-

Your pack erupts in a spinning swirl of sand, Rock bursting free and hovering protectively over you.
-I will not interfere with the matters of mortals. But if you attempt to harm Cennen one more time, I will sunder your halo in two.-

-YOU SHOULDN'T MAKE PROMISES THAT YOU CAN'T KEEP, LITTLE PEBBLE.-

"Rock, just hang back alright? What the fuck do you mean, no Compact House?"
You shake your head at Rock. She's brave but you doubt she can fight such an ancient spirit alone.

-I HAVE SPOKEN TO THE HUMAN WHO CALLS HIMSELF TASH-

You groan. Of course. Why wouldn't he have something to do with all this?

-HE HAD HEARD OF WHAT HAD HAPPENED TO THE SNAKE WHO OWNS YOU AND HE DID NOT LIKE THE ANSWER I GAVE HIM. AND SO HE INFORMED ME OF HER NATURE.-

"What?"

-HE WAS NOT LYING. SHE IS CRUEL, SHE IS PETTY, SHE IS VICIOUS. THERE IS NOTHING TO HER BUT THAT, A PATHETIC THING RULED BY AVARICE AND INSECURITY. I DREAD TO THINK OF WHAT SHE WILL DO WITH WHAT IS GIVEN TO HER AND-
The spirit stops here, twitching.
-AND DESPITE WHAT DICTATES AASHIMID HAS GIVEN ME, I WILL NOT ALLOW HER REBIRTH.-

1/2

>>42185223
probably still not an ideal outcome, I don't disagree that acting might be the better option to waiting though.

when i made my vote i didn't actually think it would be the most popular option.

Still i think we really do need to figure out whats going on.

>>42185299
That's fucking blasphemous.

>>42185299
Tash you double nigger. Your skull goes right next to Attaraan's. Also when Hiss awakens, I really want to give her the Hissbrew and have her descend the mountain. Fuck all these snakes. Fuck the spirits too. Except Rock. She is less shit than most.

>>42185391
Most of the serpents are pretty ok the priests. Sint has been a bro too, his hands were just tied. The Tash players can get fucked.

>>42185299

Rock bristles, growing larger and larger as she absorbs the stair around her.
-Traitor! You were created for a single purpose, given breath by the Creator's direct attendance and you would throw it away?-

Jallahaodesh hops back, clearly surprised by Rock's vitriol, something plainly apparent despite her toneless form of speech.
-IT IS TRUE THAT I HAVE BEEN BLESSED BU-

-Blessed? You speak of it as such a small thing? You are like this whole world, made to Her exact design! You aren't a mistake or an accident, a meaningless byproduct of the Creator existing like I am. The Creator gave you meaning, She gave you purpose! She knew who you were! Do you know what I would give for that? How dare you?-

Rock disappears in a blur of sand, encircling the Compact Spirit in a miniature storm.
-HALT-

The lights in Rock's halo begin to wink out one by one.

> Souldrift.

> Snakebreaker.

> Throw your whole damn pack.

> "Rock, get back here!"

> Brew something right now, as quick as you can.

> Make a Wish (Specify)

> Use Potion (Specify)

> Pray

>>42185463
> "Rock, get back here!"
> Souldrift.

>>42185463
>Souldrift.

>>42185445
>The Tash players can get fucked.
Aye. I suppose that is where most of my anger is directed. That and at their whole idea of redemption, with the worst parts embodied by those worthless old worms.

>>42185463
> "Rock, get back here!"
> Souldrift.

>>42185463
> "Rock, get back here!"
> Souldrift

Awww yissss. Time to make an owl flavored freezie-pop.

>>42185463
> "Rock, get back here!"
Can we put the violence on hold on for now?

>>42185463
>>42185561
changing my vote to this, but be ready with the soul drift if we have to.

>>42185561
Why

>>42185463
> Souldrift.

>>42185596
Because he is talking to us and we could learn a way to help Hiss?
And as >>42185583 said, we keep the souldrift ready in case we don't

>>42185650
You really think this guy would help us with hiss? Have you been reading the posts at all?

>>42185596
basically we don't know what purpose this guy actually serves. Maybe he's just some useless functionary that can get rekt, but maybe he performs a vital task in this ecosystem.


Further, even if his assessment of his is unlikely to change based on our input, it is clear he's been manipulated by Tash.

Going straight to kill mode is risky, plus we might hurt rock

>>42185670
Even if he doesn't relent, we could at least try to beter understand what he did to her

>>42185738
And then get killed by him because Rock is no longer distracting him.

Interlude Thirty

She was very angry.

She circled herself in frustration, fangs snapping at void. She had tried her best to piece herself together, to bring her back from nothing to something. But she was lacking something. Something she needed.
But there was nothing in this void but her! Whenever she thought she had found something new, she'd just been biting her own tail again and again!

And all the while she was fading. This was the risk she had taken, the one that Jallahaodesh had given to her. She was on the edge, a snake dangling helplessly over the precipice. Either she remakes herself or she is wiped forever.
And nobody else can help her. It's just her. It's only her in here.

Wait. How could she have been so blind? The answer was there all along! There is nothing here but herself. Just Self, forever and unbroken. And she'd been wasting her time searching for outside help like...like a fool.

She bit at the next thing that flashed through the void. It was her tail again. But this time she didn't let go. She swallowed it, gorging herself on her own flesh. She had only had to unite the Self all this time.

The symbol of the Creator is a ring for good reason, it is the perfect shape. Something that can flow into itself forever, eternal and unmarked. The spirits make their halos in mimicry of that but they always make them imperfect.

All you have to do is swallow your own tail and become that ring. A perfect creature that is All There Is, feeding back into itself because there is nothing that exists outside of it.
You are the only answer you ever needed. That, in itself, is a form of enlightenment.

Those fools with their cards couldn't understand. They played it too safe. They had never been willing to put it all on the line, to keep gambling even when you had nothing left. And if they didn't do that, their cards were just paper. They'd never learned the true purpose, something that the Compact Spirit had imparted onto her.
1/2

>>42185751
Again, he was talking to us, and that's why we have the souldrift readty for.

>>42185760
And she'd ALWAYS had a single obsession, something that had been tested and broken and reforged countless times over.

The snake swallows its own tail. Alone, snakes are just broken lines, mortals with beginning and ends. But the ouroboros is eternal.

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

Sint looked up from where he had been working, still unable to identify just what had happened to the queer foreign snake.

The body, still clothed in the Vtriya disguise that had protected it like a cocoon, was twitching. The shadows were gathering around it, no, the shadows were being born from it.
Something dark and malicious was stirring. Something obsessed, far more than he with his art or those below with their games.

It only then occurred to him that of course he wouldn't recognize it! After all, the Compact House had never had a successful case before.

>>42185784
Dude you're dumb. If he sees the souldrift brew he will fuck us up.

>>42185865
Haha oh fuck.

>>42185870
>arguing about this as ouro spells out in giant capitals just how fucked we are regardless
hohoho

>>42185912
How are we fucked? This was our goal. She's ascending.

>>42185925
She's gone full Sauron on us anon.

>>42185974
She's been fully evil literally the entire time.

>>42186002
Difference between an Orc, and a fallen Maiar. Same alignment, one is a 1000x more malign than the other.

>Souldrift

You rip your pack open, almost tearing it at the seams with your alchemical strength. You find the Souldrift bottle and waste no time in drinking it down, watching as the stars making up Rock's piecemeal halo are snuffed out one by one.

You erupt into the frozen world with a scream, your body becoming venom and ice and blood. Here you can see Jallahaodesh pinning Rock to the ground, crystal talons choking the life out of her slowly.
Just like they had with Hiss.

You rush forward, all strategy left behind as you leap the distance between you and the ancient spirit.
Would you have defeated it? Could your frozen heart stand against a monster that has been honed by centuries? Or would it shatter you effortlessly like he's doing with Rock?
And if you'd done this a little earlier, you might have learned the question to that. But now you'll never know.

You've all run out of time.

The entire Compact House shakes and you see something black whip through the stairwell down beneath you, a monster bursting through the walls.
It's a giant serpent, something that you know would make even the largest anaconda look like toys. As big as the dragons you remember seeing perched above their human cattle.
The snake is black, blacker than black. It's as if something has cut open a serpent-shaped window to ...nothing. A mobile void.

It races up the stairwell, everything that touches it simply vanishing into it and disappearing. And like a lightning bolt, she passes you, shearing through Jallahaodesh's top half almost on accident. The spirit is swallowed up, Rock ripping herself free at the last moment.

And the snake keeps going coiling itself in the air around you, invisible eyes looking straight past you. Their body is just a column of darkness, one only a few feet away from you.

'Cennen?'

You almost think you can hear something and indeed, you see something glittering within the monster. Something you can't quite make out.

> Jump.

> Flee.

>>42186065
> Jump.

>>42186065
>> Jump.

>>42186065
> Jump.

>>42186065
>> Jump.
already bought the ticket, might as well take the ride

>>42186065
> Jump.
Hiss is OP pls nerf

>>42186065
> Jump.

All aboard the Hiss Train Express. Next stop, All-Snake Empress

>Jump

-Cennen! No! Get away from that!-

Hiss is in there! You have no idea why you'd think that but you somehow just know. This is her. You leap in without a second thought.

And you fall into the void, the stairway and the Compact House disappearing as you drift through a freezing emptiness.
But it's not so unfamiliar. You've been here before. Many times.

You can't help flailing as you fall and for a moment panic spikes its way into your heart. What if you just fall forever this time?
But then a hand takes yours and Hiss catches you. She cradles you close with warm hands and she does so easily because scale has gone amiss and in this place she is at least twice your size.
And why wouldn't she be? All of this is her.

She's in here with you, still dressed in her Vtriya outfit. Clad in her assortment of multi-colored robes and her face hidden by the solemn golden mask.
Two horns rise from her head, long and curled. And between them lies a perfect halo, an unbroken ring of white-gold.

She is perfect. Perfect and beautiful and you have seen her before. You've seen all this.

She wraps her arms around you and without a word, drags you into the abyss with her.

And that's all for today! Thanks for being in the thread guys, particularly since I know some of you didn't like Thread 50. I hope you all enjoyed this one.
This thread's been archived and I WILL be running tomorrow. Check twitter, etc.

>>42186221
I figured this would happen as soon as Aash put her in this outfit. Dat foreshadowing.

> -Cennen! No! Get away from that!-

You can't tell ME what to do!

>>42186253
Thanks for running. I hope Cennen isn't dead. I also Hope hiss doesn't kill everyone.

>>42186253
Thanks for running! You salvaged the situation amazingly well.

>>42186253
Dam man, what a great turn around from yesterdays thread. All fucking worth it.

>>42186253

I say this with as much love and compassion I can muster toward another hooman bean.

MOAR

Also, question.
How close were we to losing Oster today?

>>42186253
We had a somewhat shaky start but it turned out great! It was cool how our vision from our brand was prophetic.

>>42186253
excellent stuff, thanks for running

for the record i love when we get fucked over out of the blue

I understand why some people might not but its nice that whenever anything good happens it feels like a hard fought victory

>>42186221
Haha, who needs a physical body anyway?

>>42186328
Oh shit we forgot ours. Maybe Rock will grab it for us?

So anyone got any ideas on how much/little hiss has changed?

>>42186255
Haha yeah, I'd always intended Cennen's branding vision to encompass both past (his look at the dragons) and future (his weird meeting with Hiss in a Vtriya outfit). From the start I'd always had some vague sort of plan in this general direction unless something truly dire happened. Didn't turn out how I expected of course but hey, that's good.

>>42186271
We'll all have to see. Tomorrow's thread won't be quite as frenetic hopefully.

>>42186276
>>42186282
Thanks. I don't think it was 'salvaging' so much. Salvaging is more what I did with the Melach arc, where I had to spin something I made up on the spot thanks to medication into a good follow-up thread.
I think last thread just suffered from two things. Firstly, I didn't realize that it would be a perfectly fair decision to not go and spend most of the thread helping Hiss. That was my fault entirely. Secondly, that thread was basically all set-up and so yeah, it feels bad on its own.
I just had to make sure I stuck the landing.

>>42186297
Cutting it pretty fine, particularly since Oster was sort of TRYING to die. Thank Aashimid for nat 100s.

>>42186308
You have no idea how happy I am to get that done, holy damn.

>>42186311
Different strokes for different folks, you know. Sometimes bullshit happens but that doesn't mean you have to like it.

>>42186328
>>42186352
Yeah, you're gonna have to get that back at some point.

>>42186253
Thanks for running. That foreshadowing was fucking neat.
I also liked thread 50, made me loose my shit like few things can.

>>42186426
Now she has UNLIMITED POWAAAAAA
https://youtu.be/e_DqV1xdf-Y

>>42186537
I really hope the dialogue in the new star wars movie isn't utter shit

>>42186270
You're not my real mom!

>>42186537
Why am I watching this over and over?

>>42186537
I honestly fear she's going to try and kill the creator after killing most everything else on the planet.

>>42186733
Nah. Now that she has no reason to feel insecure I bet she'll be a lot less misanthropic

>>42186796
We can hope I guess. Still the "all consuming malevolent wound in reality" but does not give me hope.