Psychic Bridge II to everyone jauntside

[neverfeltthatway]

It's Armin.

[The text is somehow bigger and bolder than usual when the network is like this, attracting your attention even if you'd usually try to filter it out or ignore it.]

Yes, I'm dead. Well and truly dead, not just a ghost, but I can still access the network. I'm not really sure how. I'm broadcasting to both sides right now, so this connection will only last about half an hour. But everyone, please listen - this is important. Before she tortured and killed me, I recognized the being inside Bernkastel.

It's Nyarlathotep.

Nyarlathotep, the Crawling Chaos. One of the outer gods. I think the ghost Bernkastel was in is essentially his overlay now - merging with her didn't give him access to the network, at least. Don't approach the lakebed - not yet. You don't stand a chance on your own, any more than I did.

But I have a plan.

I can teach the living to make talismans that will repel the god. If we have groups to distract and repel him, there's a brief ritual that can separate him from his host, and do to the witch what they've been doing to other ghosts, stripping and consuming will and power.

Doing that should leave him adrift - as long as he's being repelled, he'll have no choice but to return to where he came from. If he's not being repelled, he'll be free to do as he pleases. This is all if there's someone ghostside willing to lend me your form in order to perform the ritual.

It will be hard, and incredibly dangerous. We'll need to coordinate and work together, and I can't promise we'll all survive. But it can be - it must be done.


[ooc note: in game, this post takes place after Malik will have reported Armin's death to everyone lifeside, even though Bix hasn't thrown it up yet.]

Comments

[neverfeltthatway]

I'll let you know, as I can.

[helborn]

Okay. ... It might be a little too late to say it, but at least try to take care of yourself? You're already stuck like this, so...

[Don't get yourself triple killed or whatever, Armin. :( ]

[neverfeltthatway]

At the moment, I'm don't know I have a self to take care of.

[itsananimalthing]

Guess we'd better harness a handful of ghosts, for this, then. Hopefully this little message will round up the ones that can still hear the network, and get 'em showing up at Thorne's place.

I'd offer to dump you into my brainspace once that starts, and relay what's going on, but I'm pretty sure if I try to do that again it'll just yank me off the network again and you might get stuck in there.

[And he kind of would not like to have Armin stuck in his mind palace, thank you very much.]

[itsananimalthing]

Baseball bat?

[Too bad there's no tone on the network anymore, or it'd be a bit more obvious that he means that skeptically, rather than as if he was stating he didn't know what that was. (Though the only reason he does know what that is, would be infiltrator knowledge.)]

[neverfeltthatway]

Yes. I hope there are enough that are willing - and that we can keep them safe. They'll be the most at risk, where we're going.

I wouldn't be able to anyway - I can only access the living's minds when I'm using psychic bridge, and I can only do that for half an hour, once or twice a week.

[thornsofmalkav]

Oh you bet I will.

[neverfeltthatway]

Something to look forward to, then. Can't lose, now, or I'd miss it.

[haremtrap]

Then, I guess I'll do my best to distract it.

And hopefully not go insane in the process.

[neverfeltthatway]

Whatever you do, don't let him touch you.

[loyalrebel]

why can you not teach someone the ritual

having multiple people knowing how to do something this suicidal may save more than just lives

[neverfeltthatway]

I plan to, if I can. But too much could go wrong for me not to try to do it myself.

I can try to teach the ritual, but there's no time to teach all the principles behind it - which would make them more vulnerable to eldritch influence anyway - so if forced to improvise they may not know how.

[loyalrebel]

just to be clear you are sounding as if you are fine with potentially killing as many of us as it takes because you do not think anyone is capeable of grasping concepts fast enough

i did do something to stall her/them

we have some time to plan and prepare armin

there are people already familiar with eldritch things or otherwise magically proficient

if you would not allow someone else to do this alone it is not a good idea to do so yourself

[neverfeltthatway]

If that's what you think I'm saying, you aren't listening to me at all. When did I say I'm fine with killing anybody?

I'm going to teach others what I can of the rituals. I'm showing people how to make talismans to repel the god, so they can keep him at bay without immediate death and madness. There are plans to protect the ghosts with many powers and eldritch defenses. I am going to do everything I can to make sure nobody dies.

But it's possible they will, because we're fighting a god. I accept the possibility. I am not fine with it.

And I can't condense months of eldritch study into hours or days. I will teach others as best I can, but it is probable I will be the fastest, and most likely to succeed - the nature of the ritual is not such that more than one person can help, or speed the process. Though others can and should perform the ritual separately as a failsafe, should I fall.

[thornsofmalkav]

Yeah, I'm with Malik on this, Armin. You're not the only clever person in Liminal Space. Even if you do go bodysurfing on ghosts--and I dearly hope it's with their permission--you should explain the ritual to people first. Just in case.

[neverfeltthatway]

I literally just said I'm going to do so. I don't understand what you want from me here.

[happyhalloween]

I want to learn the magic to fight Bernthotep! I'm a ghost and I can teleport so I could get across the poltergeists really easy! And I'm good at magic!

[thornsofmalkav]

[I want to actually be able to trust you to do what you're saying, she doesn't say. What's the use of it? They might have reconciled, sort of, but she's never going to be able to fully trust him again.]

Just-- be more careful of other people's bodies than you would your own.

[loyalrebel]

we condense years of practice and study in to a few weeks every time we come back masters of some skill an overlay has

interface can likely be used as a tool for teaching ritual

[neverfeltthatway]

Can you interface without a form?

[neverfeltthatway]

You think I don't know that? You think I'd willingly risk someone else without doing everything I can to protect them? [Something he quite obviously doesn't do for himself. If the network had tone, he'd be hurt and outraged. But it doesn't, and he doesn't have time for that anyway.]

[neverfeltthatway]

All right - when we're done talking with everyone here, I'll start teaching you how the rituals work.

[thornsofmalkav]

When you treat yourself as disposable, it makes it harder to trust you not to treat other people the same way.

[And she already had trust issues with him anyway.]

[happyhalloween]

Uu! Thank you!

[... except Maria doesn't have Eldritch Anything, so you'd have to start with Defense with her. Whoops.]

[neverfeltthatway]

...When I put myself in danger, it's because I'm trying to protect people.

[He tries to say more, but fails, deeply upset and hurting. Does she really think no better of him than that?

...He tries to stop it, but after a few moments all he can think about is the image of her beating him to death with a baseball bat, again and again. In his current state, and with everything she's saying, it doesn't seem as far-fetched as it usually would.]