[Chie is in a white room. It's white. The walls are white. The ceiling is white. The floor is white.... Hmm, there's no doors here. Just a hexigonal room of white.] * Chie blinks. "What the..." Um, hello? Anybody? What's going on? Guys? Where are you? * Chie walks over to one of the walls and knocks on it, to see if there's anything behind it. [It's hard to tell; there's an echo around the room when Chie knocks on the wall. And for that matter, as she steps.] * Chie looks for her sword and her bag, but isn't terribly surprised when she doesn't find them. ...figures. Dammit. * Chie pounds on the wall harder. Hey! HEY! Let me out of here! Somebody, please! * Chie stops pounding and looks pleadingly at the ceiling. "Please?" * Chie lets out a breath. "Okay. *Think*, Chie. What's the last thing you remember?" We were fighting that thing, I tossed Makoto my sword, he missed, I tried to get out of the way... and it got me. * Chie slumps against the wall. "...sorry, guys." [Funnily enough, as Chie turns, she notices a stone path lined with Japanese stone lanterns. It must not have been there before, because she surely would have noticed if it was. Right?] * Chie blinks. "Okayyy... I *know* that wasn't there before. I think." And since I don't seem to have any other options... I guess I'll follow the path. Maybe it'll lead me to where everybody else is. I hope. * Chie starts walking down the path. What the hell's going on, though? [Chie walks. As she goes down the path, the lanterns illuminate night and the dark bamboo forest around her. Oh, wait, there's a forest now? Looks like it.] This is getting weirder by the minute... * Chie looks to the side, to see if there's anything out there besides bamboo. [The bamboo are so close together that Chie can barely see four feet into the forest on either side.] * Chie ponders humming something in an effort to make herself feel a bit less uneasy, but then decides that she really doesn't want to attract anything's attention. * Chie shoves her hands in her pockets and keeps on walking. [Chie walk and walks. She comes to a fork in the rode. There's a small glimmer in between.] * Chie walks up to the glimmering spot, to get a better look. [As Chie approaches, she sees that the glimmer is actually a lantern, held up high by an elderly man. He's holding a walking stick in his other hand, and wearing grey robes and a wide-brimmed grey hat. All Chie can see of his face is his waist-length white beard.] (Ahh! I'm in the end of time! Oh, no, wait, that would be a lamp post, not a lantern. ;p) Um. Hi there? * Chie clears her throat and tries again. "Excuse me..." * SumOldGai doesn't look up. He speaks in an old, withered, quiet and yet audiable voice: "I am the first, the Nameless One, forever wandering yon forest for all of time. Ye who walk the path to the left haveth all the knowledge in the world. Ye who walk the path to the right haveth all the power in the world. Ye who face indecision shall find only ruin. Ye who turn thy back on thy fate shall find only damnation." ...I'm sorry, *what*? Could you maybe repeat that in something less archaic? * SumOldGai does not appear to offer a repeat. Okay. This is some really freaky dream, right? I'm asleep, and my mind is coming up with all sorts of weird stuff to keep my occupied. * Chie stares at the old guy. "So, what's really going on here?" * SumOldGai speaks again: "Ye who walk the path to the left haveth all the knowledge in the world. Ye who walk the path to the right haveth all the power in the world. Ye who face indecision shall find only ruin. Ye who turn thy back on thy fate shall find only damnation." * Chie sighs. "That's all you're gonna say, isn't it?" (Welcome to Corneria!) (I like swords!) ( Perception roll! ) 2d6-2 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Chie (2d6-2) and gets 1. (I'm thinking I made that.) [Chie notices that the flame of the old man's lantern seems to be getting weaker.] Your light's going out. Or... or is that *mine*? * SumOldGai doesn't reply. * Chie takes a very deep breath. "All right. Knowledge to the left of me, power to the right. If I stay here, I'll... I'll probably die, won't I? And if I try to go back... that's not going to work, is it?" Can't you give me a *little* help here? Ye haveth all the understanding ye need to maketh thy decision. Oh, *thanks*. * SpiritRei is now known as Rei * Chie begins to pace slightly between the two paths. "Okay, okay... knowledge or power?" If I choose power... then I'll be able to protect myself, and everyone else. Except there'll probably be a catch. There's always a catch. If I choose knowledge, though... then I'll be able to figure out what's going on, and tell everyone, and we'll be better prepared. Except that maybe there'll come a point where I'll *know* something, and I won't be able to do anything about it. * Chie casts a quick glance towards the old guy and the lantern, to see how the flame's doing. [It's getting smaller and weaker] Shit. I have to make my choice pretty soon, don't I? Hey, is there a guarantee that I'm *not* going to end up going insane or anything if I *do* choose something? * SumOldGai doesn't answer. ...yeah, thought so. * Retrieving #2MC info... (Come on, "wisdom". ^_~) You said I had all the understanding I need, but I don't! Not really. I don't understand. I can see it going right either way, and I can see it going wrong either way. ( Sounds like indecision o/~ ) But I *have* to choose, so... I really, *really* want to go for power. That seems like the obvious choice, doesn't it? To always be able to protect myself, and everyone else. But they say power corrupts, and I can see it happening. So. Knowledge. * Chie allows herself a small smirk. "Maybe it's time for me to start living up to my name, huh?" ( They say knowledge is power ^^ ) (^^) And you know what they say. Knowledge is power. ( And power corrupts :P ) And, hey, maybe this really is just some freaky dream, and I'll wake up and have a good story to tell. * Chie looks at the old guy. "Anything you have to add, or is this it?" * SumOldGai says nothing! Right. Well, then... I choose... * Chie steps onto the left path. This is my choice. (Chie turns into Zelda.) (Better than Ganon. ;p) (Well, yes.) [Chie is on a red carpet that goes off into the darkness. What happened to the forest? Who knows. There's a carpet now. Besides the carpet, theres... um, nothing. At all.] * Chie blinks. "Well. Rolled out the red carpet for me and everything." * Chie sighs. "I *really* hope that was the right choice. Maybe there was no 'right' choice. But I've made it, and I'm going to have to live with it, no matter how it turns out. So. Onward." * Chie starts walking down the carpet. [Chie gets to the... end? It becomes a wide area, with five doors. In front of the second left one is a small piece of paper.] * Chie walks over and picks up the paper. * Chie reads the paper. "To whom it may concern..." "Hi. I'm supposed to be here and spout some mumbo jumbo about riddles, but... There's this new Kirby movie that I really really want to see, and I'm sure you don't want to be stuck here any longer than you need to, right? So to save time, I'm just going to tell you to take the second door on the left." - signed, your friendly water god, Seiryuu." (Heheheh.) * Chie laughs. "Okay. This could be a trap. But, y'know... what the hell. I'm just gonna take his advice, and after I get out of here, I'll go see about finding a shrine to him or something and making a donation as a way to say thanks. Maybe a donation of movie tickets, even." * Chie opens... the second door on the left! [Chie finds....] [Session End!]