From Out of a Dream [Quest]

[semicasual]

It is Written that the Sun chose from the greatest of mankind - those whose courage, ambition, and virtues surpassed all others. Theirs was the will to Power, Power beyond any that humans had wielded before…

music

“Hey. Wake up, we’re here.”

Words slowly invade your consciousness as you open your eyes. It is very dark and it takes a few moments to realize that this is because there is a canvas covering your head. There is a loud drumming sound. Your head is splitting and your muscles ache – gods, where are you? What were you drinking last night?

“Five fates, I don’t know how you slept at all, but I’m drowning out here. Get your arse out of the cart, get to work, so we can go home, please.”

You start moving your arms to pull the canvas away from your face and immediately regret it as water washes into your eyes. You are looking up at an overcast sky, which is raining hard directly onto your face and the canvas around you – hence the drumming. Well, at least you’re awake now.

“And here he is! Honestly, I don’t know how you get the rep you have with discipline like that. When I were in the army, we didn’t get piss drunk right before a fight. You know why? Because – “

“Shut up,” you grunt as you sit up. There is a clanking and grinding underneath you. Somewhat to your surprise, the mouthy guy in the driver’s seat of the cart actually does shut up.

You try to gather your thoughts, try to pull yourself together. Right then, let’s start with the basics. Your name is…

• Nergüi. You shed your real name years ago, so now you just tell people you don’t have one. Most people don’t get it, but the ones that do don’t ask further.
• Ganzorig. Fitting, given your profession.
• Naranbaatar. You were actually born at midnight and nobody figured you’d be anyone special, but your parents had a sense of humor. One of the many ironies of your life.
• Otgonbayar. You were the littlest in a family of nine. Trying to live past your own name was a challenge you took up as soon as you learned what it meant.
• Something Else? (I prefer male Mongolian names for our main man.)

Hello, and welcome to my quest thread! I hope you will enjoy yourself.

For the most part, story posts will end in a choice like the one given above and I will be choosing responses based on majority vote. However, I may twist my writing if someone suggests something very interesting or the majority is very narrow. You can expect most posts to have a “something else” option for this reason. Other posts will offer no specific choices, and I will pick whatever response sounds the most interesting or gets repeated by the most people. "Likes" do not count as votes in any situation.

I believe that the best stories are inferred more than they are told, so I am not going to give you any information out of character about our protagonist, the setting, mechanics, or anything else unless you tell me that you do not have enough information to make a decision… and even then, I will try to tell you only what you need to know using our protagonist’s idiosyncratic language. I also believe that not clearly defining what the protagonist knows or can do means I can change the scope of his abilities on the fly, which I think will be very useful for this semi-collaborative story between us.

I am open to criticism and corrections, but let me warn you that I usually let all dialogue rest in “first draft” state. I find that written speech feels more authentic if you do not attempt to make it grammatically correct or word-perfect.

Text in spoiler tags provides more information about specific people, places, or objects. This information is generally not relevant to the plot, but it might provide you with some insight into how the main man’s head works.

All artwork I post comes courtesy of Kat Brenowitz.

I will be putting links to each story post in this spoiler block.

Chapter 1 - Power
#1: Awakening
#2: Rising
#3: Preparing for Battle
#4: Killing them quietly
#5: Killing them openly
#6: Stairs are for the weak
#7: Revelations
#8: Fishing
#9: Moving On
#10: Pools of Serenity
#11: Self-indulgence and Study
#12: Freeing the Spirit
#13: Studying the Resting Place
#14: The Ritual
#15: A Terracotta Colossus
#16: Colossus Climb
#17: Colossus Crushed
#18: End of the Day

Chapter 2 - Will
#1: Arriving in Eight Roads
#2: Meeting the Magus
#3: What about the workers?
#4: What is the Stone of Making?
#5: Washing Hair, a Memory, and a Messenger
#6: Dealing with the Messenger
#7: An Expensive Restaurant
#8: Daily Exercises, and Another Memory
#9: Taking your time, a meeting with Joy
#10: Going to meet the Grand Magister
#11: A talk with Ayumu
#12: Unexpected total loss of reality
#13: Learning to shape chaos
#14: Nuo?
#15: A talk, a bad memory, and an exit
#16: Preparing to investigate
#17: The fast way up, and a complication
#18: A quick search in the dark, more complications
#19: Safe(?) House
#20: Chasing Wei
#21: Talking down the mob
#22: Opting out
#23: Intimidation by example
#24: Questioning Wei
#25: "That's all I need to hear."
#26: Planning an Execution
#27: Shoot first, ask questions later
#28: Chasing Joy
#29: Counterattack
#30: Joy of Killing
#31: Cold Iron and Hot Steel
#32: Aftermath
#33: The same choice again
#34: Reasons
#35: Starting over

Chapter 3 - Purpose
#1: A New Day, a New Problem
#2: New People
#3: Plain speech
#4: The Wanderers
#5: Three Chiefs
#6: Negotiations
#7: Pact
#8: Staying in the Wanderers' Camp
#9: Humiliation
#10: Moving Mothers
#11: Beginning the hunt
#12: Ambush!
#13: Returning Home
#14: A talk with Silver Sky
#15: Traders
#16: Wheeling and Dealing
#17: A celebration
#18: Giant Well-Eel
#19: Wreckage
#20: An inevitable answer
#21:Unmasked
#22: An Intense Conference, pt. 1
#23: An Intense Conference, pt. 2
#24: An Intense Conference, pt. 3
#25: Conference? Challenge!
#26: Trophy
#27: The shaman returns
#28: The day ends

Chapter 4: Journey
#1: Travel plans
#2: Preparations
#3: Parting
#4: Through a strange wood
#5: Across a rainy country
#6: Over a wide plateau
#7: Into a dark tomb
#8: Under a dark sky
#9: Out of a dismal swamp
#10: Past the great gates
#11: Along a broad avenue
#12: To meet a long-lost companion...
#13: ...and join them in a venture.
#14: Plans are laid
#15: Strategy is set
#16: A heist begins
#17: Breaking and entering
#18: Room-clearing
#19: Packing
#20: Leaving
#21: Turmoil
#22: Explanations
#23: Archives
#24: A warding puzzle
#25: A guardian?
#26: Let no word be lost.
#27: Battle for the books
#28: Chains and trappings
#29: Book-binding
#30: Research and Discussion
#31: Departure
#32: To the Gate
#33: Stone Lion's Roar
#34: The Journey Continues

Chapter 5: Judgment
#1: Entering Yu Shan
#2: Strange Place, Strange Creatures
#3: A Waypoint
#4: A Revel
#5: Close to the Fire
#6: Questions and Answers, part 1
#7: Questions and Answers, part 2
#8: A Little Respite
#9: Dickering at the Bazaar
#10: A Snake's Pact
#11: Refusal
#12: Tal-of-the-Ways
#13: Talks break down
#14: Infinite Shards
#15: Unseen Strike
#16: Unseen Flight
#17: Fatigue, Hunger, Alleviation
#18: Fight and Flight, The Bier
#19: The Wasting God
#20: Shoes, Tactics
#21: Treachery
#22: Hiding, Heavenly Papers
#23: Collection and Transfer
#24: Surprise
#25: Unsurprised
#26: No more surprises?
#27: An eclectic crew
#28: Interrogation, part 1
#29: Interrogation, part 2
#30: Interrogation, part 3
#31: Interrogation, part 4
#32: The Maiden of Endings
#33: Battle to the End, part 1
#34: Battle to the End, part 2
#35: Battle to the End, part 3
#36: Sacrifice

[Zelbinnean]

Nergüi! I am a sucker for weird namelessness in RPGs and other media.

[Prometheus878]

>Nergui. I don't know how to do that thing with the u. :/

[Erinys]

Since apparently we are supposed to give our character a background based on the meaning of his name and I don't speak Mongolian, would you please tell us what those names mean? I can't make a decision otherwise.

[wonderandawe]

> Otgonbayar

Because yay for younger siblings!

((Yikes! Those names are rather long. ))

[semicasual]

>Nergui. I don't know how to do that thing with the u. :/

"Ctrl+Shift+;" followed by the letter u. I don't think you can do it in this forum software, though - I copy this stuff out of a Word document.

Since apparently we are supposed to give our character a background based on the meaning of his name and I don't speak Mongolian, would you please tell us what those names mean? I can't make a decision otherwise.

Google is your friend!

(Congratulations, you've already found a loophole in the "No OOC information" rule - asking about stuff that's already OOC.)

[Ferryman]

Ganzorig!

(Because three syllables is my limit)

[L'het'esh]

Naranbaatar. Because my nickname will be Nar. A hard sound, without being harsh. Anybody who calls me Baa like I am a sheep will get punched!

[Kazorh]

I like Otgonbayar.

[Jen]

Nergüi, because nameless character sounds ridiculously hot ~

[Eura]

I vote Otgonbayar because I like the name and family shenanigans are always fun.

[semicasual]

Your name was Otgonbayar, a lifetime ago... but all that is behind you now.

Now, you call yourself Nergüi. You’re a mercenary for hire, the only one you know who can run alone while getting the pay of ten or more. You’re here because some magus wanted some bandits cleared out of some ruins, because there was… something… in the ruins, a jewel of some kind that was really important for some magus business. You didn’t ask for details because the down payment was already enough to get completely wasted on the most expensive wine you could find in the city with enough left over to cover living expenses for a year. Maybe two years, if you didn’t drink so much… ah, who are you fooling?

You were sleeping in the back of a rattling wooden cart being driven down a muddy road by the mouthy guy, who has now dismounted and is tending to the horses. Also in the cart are a few boxes of supplies for the journey. It is daytime, probably early morning. It is raining hard, typical for the Season of Water. Around you are sopping wet grasslands – low, rolling hills, sparse trees. Peering off into the distance, up ahead on the road maybe two or three miles away, you can make out what might once have been a castle. That’ll be your target.

“Where’s my weapon?” you ask as you look around, bleary-eyed. You can’t decide if the cold rain helps your headache or makes it worse.

“You slept on it, nimrod,” comes the reply from the mouthy guy… Li. You’re pretty sure his name is Li.*

Right, right. That would explain the clanking and the way your spine seems to have twisted up. You groan as you pull the canvas off yourself,shuffle out of the cart, and turn around to look. Multiple weapons lie in the bed of the cart, which momentarily confuses you. Which one of them is yours?

• The Short Bow “Archer’s Paradox”, made of some kind of ivory you’ve never been able to identify. It is the only thing you have left of your family. Your father told you once that a true master with it could shoot an arrow that would fly forever, but you’re not that kind of master – your arrows usually stop when they hit somebody. It’s a very practical weapon – great for hunting, fighting, launching grapnels to out of reach places – truly, an indispensable piece of equipment.
• The Grand Daiklave “Cleaver”, the biggest blade you’ve seen in your life, and also the sharpest. You haven’t ever sharpened the thing, actually, but you go through a lot of sheaths. It’s a long, broad, double-edged sword that shines like polished bronze. It’s made of orichalcum, you think, mostly – the previous owner wasn’t in any shape to tell you more about it. Not a great weapon for indoor work, as you might be doing soon, but you just love the way everyone’s faces change when you draw it. You remember one time you got a lucky swing that took a man’s head off right after pulling Cleaver out, and his face was forever frozen with that look of shock and disbelieving terror. Thinking of it makes you smile.
• The Twin Short Swords, “Righty and Lefty”, a pair of short, slightly curved blades you had made with the money you made off your first wetwork job. It cost the entire payout, but it was worth it – they’ve definitely earned you back what you paid for them many times over. They’re made of fine Realm steel and they’ve never let you down in a close-quarters fight – which should say a lot, given how many close-quarters fights you’ve been in. You also shave with them, sometimes.
• Something Else? (Please provide a name and description. Possible evocations optional)

*

Li is middle-aged retired soldier. You know the type – served a few years, then sold his armor and got a paying job. Won’t stop talking about how great it was in the army, but he’ll never go back there. Probably never been in a real fight, but loves to play up what a badass he was. Honestly, if he were any good, he’d either still be serving or become a bandit.

He’s a little shorter than you and wiry. Thin mustache, thinning hair, dull brown eyes. Currently wearing a hooded cloak to keep the rain off. Kind of skinny – probably doesn’t eat much and thinks he’s being frugal by starving himself. Works for the magus doing odd jobs, as far as you can tell.

You first met Li yesterday evening when he found you in the fancy restaurant when you were nearly done with your last jar of the night and reminded you that you had to be somewhere. You graciously accepted his offer to drive you out here, after you bought a couple more pots for the road. Actually, now you think about it, it might not have been last night. Maybe it was last week?...

[wonderandawe]

>Short Bow “Archer’s Paradox”, You might be foolish with money, but when it comes to combat, you know the smartest strategy is to stand back and strike from a distance.

[Caladon]

Serpent Sting Staff "Vortex" It used to belong to a monk you were friends with, Naranbaatar. You called him Baa for short...he hated that. He was way too full of himself and his preaching was annoying as hell, but man was he good in a fight. He always called Vortex a seven-section-staff for some strange reason. How does that make any sense when it only has three sections? Well unless you need to hit someone far away, then it has upwards of 15 sections...but only for a few seconds. That should hardly count. Baa used to be able to call up some pretty serious winds when he fought with it, but you have never figured out that trick. Man you miss Baa. Its really a shame what happened when he got all preachy with that tribe of bear people.

[Jen]

I want a starmetal short daiklaive with Kali-themed Evocations at first (punishing CoD with mantra, cutting away people ignorance by stabbing them,...etc), but “Righty and Lefty” sound so fun so I will go with it instead.