http://www.merukis.net/irclogs/2007-08-11-arsul.txt

Dionysus: At the bar, "So, what's up? I'll have scotch."

Arsul_T: "Another." he holds up his empty glass

• Arsul_T takes a minute to gather his thoughts, lighting another cigarette. He offers a spare one to Domy

Dionysus: You get drinks.

Dionysus: Domy declines.

Arsul_T: "Have you heard from Guiteau? or Adam?"

Dionysus: "Not for..." He pauses, "Twenty years."

• Arsul_T frowns and nods. "Right. Well, yer not gonna believe this, but I ran into our father."

Arsul_T: "I wrote Guiteau, but I didn't know how to reach you or Adam. He wants to see you."

Dionysus: A moment, then, "How?" is all he can manage.

• Arsul_T fiddles with his glass a moment. "He won that competition in Krenatan if you'll believe it."

Arsul_T: "Found a Gift that helped and he's taken mom's name. He wants to see us."

Dionysus: Another pause as he works that out, "Shit. The... Arena?"

• Arsul_T nods. "Never woulda believed it. He's sicker'n hell. The Gift keeps him alive I think."

Dionysus: Another pause, then, "Just give me everything, Arsul. It's killing /me/ to get it in chunks like this."

• Arsul_T frowns but nods and tells the story of meeting their father. "You have to find him because I need his Gift and I think he'll die once he gives it to me. Find him first."

Dionysus: "He's wandering the world looking for a cure for the black lung, & I gotta find him?"

Arsul_T: "Somehow, yes. If he finds the cure it won't be so bad. But it'll be hard, there's only a few things that can do it and their too valuable. I haven't been able to pay the price yet."

Arsul_T: they're too valuable.

Dionysus: "Hell, Arsul. You heard about ma?"

Arsul_T: "No, what happened?" concern makes his voice slightly gruffer than normal

Dionysus: He sighs, "She took ill nine months ago. About three months ago, she passed on. I was the only one there for it..."

Dionysus: He's crying.

Dionysus: "I buried her myself. Played at her funeral."

• Arsul_T grips his drink tightly, he starts to

Arsul_T: "She's gone?"

Dionysus: "No one else in the whole world was there."

Dionysus: He nods, though you can't tell. He sobs.

Arsul_T: "Why wasn't she with the tribe?"

Arsul_T: he manages after a moment

Arsul_T: his eye covering is getting damp and a slow trickle is leaking out from one side

Dionysus: He chokes a bit, "She left... Said some whackos were attacking the tribe on account of her. She..." He sobs. "She was protectin' 'em."

Arsul_T: "Who would do that to Ma? How'd you find her?"

Dionysus: "We kept in touch. She sent me messages by talking sparrow."

Dionysus: "Dunno who did it. Whackos, kept rantin' about killin' kids."

Arsul_T: "Oh." he sounds slightly shocked

Arsul_T: "Fuck."

• Arsul_T lowers his head to the bar for a minute and his shoulders heave

Dionysus: He's sobbing hard now. "I had me a wife, too."

Arsul_T: "It's my fault."

Arsul_T: "What?" he looks back up

Dionysus: "And we had two younguns. And I come to find out they're all dead, too!"

Arsul_T: "No!" he says, disbelieving

Arsul_T: the crying is entering his voice now

Arsul_T: "I'm so sorry."

Dionysus: "Well, I knew my wife was. She got snake bit ten years back. But my kids!"

Dionysus: He's weeping his eyes out.

Dionysus: "All of 'em murdered."

Arsul_T: "Domy-- I-- this is all my fault."

Dionysus: He shakes his head, "What do you mean?"

Arsul_T: "Well, there's somethign else. I-- We're important. Our family. --People kill" he stops. "I don't know /why/, but-- my sons too. It's our bloodline-- it's wrapped up in things." he tries to haltingly explain about their ancestor, and the prophecies he's found in books. "And it's important-- that we never sell anything to the Devil. Especially our name. I know it's crazy." he grabs Domy's shoulder. "But you have to promise

Arsul_T: me!" he gets very serious and slightly frantic. "Promise!"

Dionysus: He looks startled, then sobbingly says, "I promise!"

Arsul_T: "I'm so sorry." the emotion comes back in and his grip slackens. "I-- didn't know my children. I-- can't imagine."

Arsul_T: "it's terrible."

Dionysus: He sobs.

• Arsul_T pats him gently on the shoulder and then pulls him into a slightly awkward hug

Dionysus: He hugs back, holding on for dear life.

• Arsul_T weeps against him, letting go for a moment

Arsul_T: he releases him when they both settle a bit

Dionysus: He sighs, eventually, catching his breath, then says, "Wanna go out to the river & play til the sun comes up?"

• Arsul_T pauses. "That's right! Yes, hurry."

Dionysus: He drunkenly picks up his fiddle. "Let's go."

Arsul_T: and he reaches for his cello and explains on the way there about the Wanderer

Dionysus: "Can't be sleepin', ya know? Too many... 'rags..." He mutters.

Arsul_T: "Rags?"

Dionysus: "Morags."

Dionysus: He shudders.

Arsul_T: "Here?" he asks, fear in his voice and slight panic

Dionysus: He shakes his head needlessly, "Dreams."

Arsul_T: "You too?"

Arsul_T: "God, it's been a fucking relief to have some new ones."

Dionysus: He slurs a little, "Since we were kids. None of us got away without the nightmares."

• Arsul_T shudders slightly. "Just-- don't let him talk ye out of em. He tried with me."

Dionysus: "No one's talkin' t' me. Let's play. Here's the river."

Dionysus: He pulls out a beat up old fiddle.

Dionysus: "Play, dammit!"

Arsul_T: "Wait, wait. Do you see him? I gotta ask him firs/."

Dionysus: "Ain' no one here. They'll come when we play. Play, dammit.!"

• Arsul_T grins lopsidedly and consents

Dionysus: r fiddle 22

: Dionysus [fiddle: 22] 29 31 32

Dionysus: Roll cello.

Arsul_T: r cello 17+6 improv 17

: Arsul_T [cello: 17+6=23] 28 30 33

: Arsul_T [improv: 17] 21 24 26

Arsul_T: wow

Arsul_T: he's good

Dionysus: He plays old tribal songs, but in a strange style.

• Arsul_T tries to follow him, to complement him

Arsul_T: r by ear 19

: Arsul_T [by ear: 19] 24 25 28

Dionysus: You do well.

Arsul_T: "What'd you play for ma?" he asks during a slight break, taking a swig from his flask and holding it out in front of him

Dionysus: People gather, & you hear them clapping along. Laughter. The river. Crickets, frogs, wild animals.

Dionysus: "This!" He cries, & begins to play her favorite tune.

Dionysus: r violin 22+5

: Dionysus [violin: 22+5=27] 34 36 37

Arsul_T: r cello 17+6 by ear 19

: Arsul_T [cello: 17+6=23] 25 25 29

: Arsul_T [by ear: 19] 24 26 28

• Arsul_T plays along, not near so well

Dionysus: He's vastly superior to you.

Arsul_T: indeed

Dionysus: The crowd grows as the night goes on.

Dionysus: People dance, you hear them.

Dionysus: Some even make love next to the river.

Arsul_T: he slows and just listens to the end. "That sounds amazing."

Dionysus: You get neclaces of flowers thrown around your neck.

• Arsul_T plays happily, forgetting about almost everything else

Dionysus: Girls kiss the musicians.

• Arsul_T grins

Arsul_T: and kisses back, of course

Dionysus: And then, shortly before dawn, a man who has been dancing all night says, "What a wonderful time this is, Prophet!"

Arsul_T: "It is. Who're you, if you don't mind me asking? Got the advantage, you see."

Dionysus: "Call me Adam," he laughs, "But we are not related, you & I. My last name is Secundus."

Arsul_T: It is, best time plahying in a long while. Who...

Arsul_T: "Secundus. You know our brother?"

Dionysus: "I know everyone, me. The old doctor said you were looking for me."

Arsul_T: "The Wanderer!?" he slaps Domy, "You were right!"

Arsul_T: Domy's shoulder, although, he might miss

Dionysus: Domy laughs & says, "I always am."

Arsul_T: "I'll remmeber that." he turns his head to where Adam was. "Can you help me?"

Dionysus: "I can help you help you."

Arsul_T: "Help you help me then." he pauses. "Wait, thas wrong?"

Dionysus: He laughs, Adam Secundus does.

Dionysus: "Come with me into the river."

Dionysus: He takes your hand.

• Arsul_T grins slightly. He lays his cello down and is led

Arsul_T: lead?

Dionysus: You realize about halfway into the river that you are walking /on top/ of the water.

Dionysus: The Wanderer says, "What do you believe, Prophet?"

Arsul_T: "Wait!" he says when he realises but calms when he realises they've been doing it

Arsul_T: "Believe?"

Dionysus: "What do you believe, Prophet?"

Arsul_T: been doing it without falling, I mean

• Arsul_T frowns and thinks a moment

Arsul_T: "I believe I have to win the First Song. And stop the-- wrong thing."

Dionysus: He nods. "Why?"

Arsul_T: "It's what I'm meant to do."

Dionysus: "Why?"

Arsul_T: "It's fate. And it's right."

Arsul_T: his frown deepens slightly

Dionysus: "Ahh. So you believe in fate."

Arsul_T: "How can I not?"

Dionysus: He says through a grin, "Can you change fate?"

Arsul_T: "I don't know." he says simply, but it obviously troubles him

Dionysus: "Well, right now, your lungs, they say your fate is death. But you believe otherwise, no?"

• Arsul_T tilts his head. "I have to try to change my fate."

Arsul_T: he nods

Dionysus: "So you must believe that you can, no?"

Arsul_T: "Yes." he says, a slight firmness entering his voice

Dionysus: "There's many ways to change fate, see, but they all boil down to one thing: a choice."

Dionysus: "So with you, you chose to die when you smoked, when you drank, when you stayed up all night, when you mistreated yourself."

Dionysus: "You can choose to not die by finding a cure, whether it is magic, faith, Gift, or something else. It is but a choice, though, that changes your fate."

• Arsul_T frowns "I didn't know. An uninformed choice." he says to himself

Arsul_T: he nods as Adam finishes

Dionysus: "Well, sometimes, fate demands more."

Arsul_T: "Demands more than a choice?"

Dionysus: "No, demands more of its... shall we say 'targets'?"

• Arsul_T nods. "The people on the small Shem."

Dionysus: "And when it does, well, sometimes, old choices must be... dealt with. You must choose to face your past, & then, your future will be yours to master."

Arsul_T: "Which part? The drinking and smoking, or something else?"

Dionysus: "Let's go back further. What from your past haunts you the most?"

• Arsul_T grimaces "They don't have anything to do with this!"

Dionysus: "Don't they? Why do you drink, smoke, consume coffee?"

Arsul_T: "I-- I fuck."

Arsul_T: "We're going back already."

Dionysus: "So if you can confront your fears, master the past, perhaps we can handle the future."

Arsul_T: "I don't know how to just push it aside. Isn't it enough that I'm agreeing to go back there?"

• Arsul_T is close to tears again

Arsul_T: his voice is lower and rougher as a result

Dionysus: "No. You must confront it." And he slaps your forehead.

Dionysus: You're a small child on an island, with a morag lumbering toward you.

Arsul_T: can I see or hear it?

Dionysus: Yes & yes.

• Arsul_T goggles at it momentarily and backs away as fast as he can

Arsul_T: do I remmeber what the man told me?

Dionysus: Yes.

Arsul_T: I think it's a will roll to try and do as he says

Arsul_T: ?

Dionysus: Roll.

Dionysus: r diff 19

: Dionysus [diff: 19] 24 27 27

Arsul_T: r will 13

: Arsul_T [will: 13] 16 18 23

Arsul_T: ahhhahha

• Arsul_T runs

Dionysus: The morag crushes a tree beneath its foot, then its tail flattens a hill.

• Arsul_T tries to find a place to hide, knowing he can't outrun it

Dionysus: You see a small village.

Dionysus: The people are all packing their things away to hide.

• Arsul_T runs toward them, hoping to help his odds as being prey by being with other people

Dionysus: The people of the village are from your old tribal home.

Dionysus: Your mother & brothers are there.

Dionysus: The morag approaches.

Arsul_T: "RUN!"

Dionysus: The morag crushes your mother before your eyes.

Arsul_T: he yells at them

• Arsul_T stops in horror

Arsul_T: "No!"

Arsul_T: "Ma!"

Dionysus: The morag slams a hut, sending it hurtling toward your brothers, who scatter, barely surviving it.

• Arsul_T is crying and running toward his brothers, near blind

Dionysus: As you run toward them, you see your father near the morag.

Dionysus: The morag slams its massive tail into him, crushing him instantly.

Arsul_T: "No!"

• Arsul_T shakes his head as he yells, refusing to believe

Dionysus: The morag slams another house flat, & you see on the other side of it your band.

Dionysus: They're trying to scatter, but failing.

Arsul_T: ummm another will roll?

Dionysus: r diff 19

: Dionysus [diff: 19] 25 27 28

Arsul_T: r will 13

: Arsul_T [will: 13] 16 20 22

Arsul_T: fucker

Dionysus: This isn't easy.

Dionysus: Gaja is crushed as the morag swings its massive tail. Her body flies through the air, slamming into Domy, killing him.

• Arsul_T tries to run toward them waving at them. "RUN!! YOU HAVE TO RUN!"
• Arsul_T stares, momentarily shocked and then recovers, trying to pull the rest of the bandmates into running

Dionysus: They start to move a little, but Aurelia is killed by shrapnel from a smashed house a moment later.

• Arsul_T was pulling her along and lets go terrified when he feels her fall

Arsul_T: "Hurry! You have to go faster!"

Dionysus: Your brother Guiteau dies next, being eaten whole by the monster.

Arsul_T: "No!" he turns back when he hears that

Dionysus: In fact, a deep trench is created by the morag's massive mouth as it devours him

Arsul_T: can I roll again?

Dionysus: Yes, any time you try to face it, roll.

Dionysus: r diff 19

: Dionysus [diff: 19] 23 25 28

Arsul_T: r will 13

: Arsul_T [will: 13] 14 21 23

Arsul_T: fuck

Dionysus: The morag casually flicks Adam Toutant into Sue. Both are dead.

• Arsul_T runs terrified, pulling Avery half bodily along with him

Dionysus: The morag lunges again, this time causing a tree to fall on Dionysus.

Arsul_T: "No, no, no!" tears streaming down his face. He yells to the remaining band mates. "Faster! You have to go faster!"

Dionysus: It stops, sits back on its hind legs, & breathes a mist of acid, the cloud of which catches Avery in its swirling body. He screams as he disintegrates.

• Arsul_T lets go of him as if he's on fire and runs the opposite direction

Arsul_T: "Arlie, Jack! RUN!"

Dionysus: The morag lumbers forward, knocking over huts, trees, hills, people, & then it leaps & lands atop Arlie, crushing him instantly. It's just you & jack now.

Arsul_T: one more time

Arsul_T: r will 13

: Arsul_T [will: 13] 17 21 23

Arsul_T: fucker

Dionysus: r dif 19

: Dionysus [dif: 19] 20 23 29

Arsul_T: ok

Dionysus: Okay?

Arsul_T: I think i have applicable karma

Arsul_T: one sec

Dionysus: I bet you do.

Arsul_T: # Knows he will die soon but believes there's nothing to do but continue on and die trying to get the First Song, his first real goal. Must get better for his goal. Think the only way to do that is by taking the robe from his father. +,

Dionysus: Yes.

Arsul_T: #

Arsul_T: # Estranged siblings. Curious about how they will aid the world and also a bit worried about their role and his. + this one's a bit weaker since they died earlier..

Arsul_T: but I hope you ight let me use it

Dionysus: The first one works.

Arsul_T: I need two?

Arsul_T: oh nevermind

Arsul_T: right

Dionysus: Yeah, nega.

Dionysus: You are able to turn & face the morag.

• Arsul_T grabs the nearest piece of shrapnel he can as a club. "RUN Jack, just go."
• Arsul_T is still afraid

Dionysus: The morag lumbers toward you, menacing, but you can stand strong. Jack runs.

Dionysus: It is close enough to strike.

• Arsul_T tries to hit it first

Arsul_T: in the eye

Dionysus: A direct hit.

Dionysus: The monster shatters.

Dionysus: You are standing in five feet of water.

• Arsul_T starts to cry again

Dionysus: A man's hand is on your forehead.

Dionysus: You feel like something huge is gone from you.

• Arsul_T flinches slightly when he realises wher ehe is
• Arsul_T sags slightly, hollow

Dionysus: You immediately miss it, whatever it was, but you realize you're better for not having it anymore.

• Arsul_T breathes heavily, almost sobs

Dionysus: The man's hand takes yours & leads you to the shore.

Dionysus: You still have a cough.

Arsul_T: "I fell." he says slightly dumbly but takes the hand and follows

Dionysus: The man, Adam Secundus, says, "You are now the master of your own fate."

• Arsul_T doesn't really know how to respond. After a moment, "Thank you, for showing me."

Dionysus: "I suggest you go get some sleep."

• Arsul_T nods slightly "Yes."

Arsul_T: "Domy?"

Dionysus: Adam laughs, & you realize the whole place is alive with music.

Dionysus: Domy is playing, accompanied by clapping hands, stomping feet, & singing voices.

• Arsul_T listens to it and smiles slightly

Arsul_T: "Not yet. Playing will help me more."

Arsul_T: he joins Domy

Dionysus: So you play through the night?

Arsul_T: yes