Erin: Journey to the center of the mind

[Sierra]

<El-Cideon> You sleep, on tattered but clean futons in the small huts of the village. Sometime later--you don't know how long--you awake to the sound of a terrible groaning, like complicated machinery falling out of joint, or a great wheel jumping of its axle. You awake somewhere else--where? A heavy fog dulls sight in all directions, but you can vaguely see walls. (more)
<El-Cideon> It *feels* like somewhere familiar, at least. It feels cold as well. You are alone here.
<Erin> Erin pushes herself to her feet- her hand scoops against the ground as she does so, feeling for the texture. "Nadia? Yomi?" she calls, hugging herself tightly and taking a step towards a wall.
<El-Cideon> The wall feels like wood. Regular wood paneling. There is a lamp on the wall several feet above you, sending diffuse rays of light through the fog. No one answers your call. There is no echo, even though you can't see a ceiling above you and there really should be an echo with walls that high.
<Erin> Erin tugs at the bracelet on her wrist, whispering the word that, in some places, would send her hurtling back and forth between worlds. Failing that, she waves a hand, summoning her own beam of light to guide her way through the fog.
<El-Cideon> The bracelet does nothing. The fog begins to melt away from your beam of light. You can see a little more: you're in a hallway. Regular lamps behind frosted glass decorate the walls, but struggle to shed as much light as you do. There are several doors in view. You walk on heavy carpet that muffles all noise of your passage. (more)
<El-Cideon> This seems like...the lodge? But the proportions of the walls are wrong--they seem to loom above you oppressively. It's the lodge, but it's not.
<Erin> It must be some kind of reflection, perhaps drawn from her own mind, a shadow of what the lodge truly is. In such a place, Erin reasons, it is the places that she has the most ties to that will hold the keys to solving the situation. With this thought in mind, she begins making her way towards her own study.
<El-Cideon> You walk. You don't see anyone else in the halls, but at the edge of hearing is a low din, as of a crowd stoked to outrage. As you proceed, the passage twisting and turning in ways the straightforward and logical lodge should not, it is increasingly noticeable behind the doors you pass.
<Erin> Perhaps it was a mistake to think this place could be solved. Erin steps up to one of the doors, and pushes it open, peering into the world outside- what could cause such a hubbub?
<El-Cideon> The door opens into a lecture hall. It's set up like a room at the lodge, but much larger, like an amphitheater. There is a large crowd of people here, but it is hard to make out an individual among them in detail. They look blurred, stamped from a mold. They are all raptly watching and cheering on a man at the front of the room. (more)
<El-Cideon> It's Kasper Ivo. He towers in a way he did not in life, aided by a perch on a podium several feet high that lets him lord over the audience.
<Erin> Is this real? Is this something the Lodge could have been, or what Ivo wanted? The thought of such a creature seeking to spread his terrible ideology using her home as a base rankles Erin, who reaches to her side for a gun that is not there.
<El-Cideon> That sounds like exactly what he's doing. He raves in that high, mad whine of his about manifest destiny and racial hygiene. As you enter, he stops and turns towards you. His spectacles are blank pools of white, reflecting all light. "Ah, here is another one in need of REEDUCATION, eh? I think so! You agree it is best to use our talents for the sake of the master race, do you not? Speak up!" The crowd looks at you expectantly.
<Erin> "Ridiculous!" declares Erin, clenching her fists. "The greatness of a man is measured in his deeds, not by his birth! The only thing your insane eugenics will spawn is a race of monsters!"
<El-Cideon> Ivo raises a fist in challenge. "You call us monsters because you lack vision! Those with the power to take what they need are entitled to do so. This is the way of things! We only seek to reimpose natural order on the world around us! Surely you can see this?!"
<Erin> "Men did not climb out of the cauldron of life simply to act like feral animals! Man should always seek something greater, something better than the past... hear me, that simplistic thinking, that might makes right- that is the greatest sin! Might without compassion creates nothing but war, misery, a hell on earth! When the few are fat and the many are hungry, that is evil!"
<El-Cideon> OOC: roll will.
<Erin> roll 1d20+8
* Nyarlahatbot --> "Erin rolls 1d20+8 and gets 16."12 [1d20=8]
<Erin> roll 1d6+2 action point!!!
* Nyarlahatbot --> "Erin rolls 1d6+2 action point!!! and gets 3."12 [1d6=1]
<Erin> roll 1d6 the other d6 for that action point <_<
* Nyarlahatbot --> "Erin rolls 1d6 the other d6 for that action point <_< and gets 6."12 [1d6=6]
<El-Cideon> There is silence. The crowd turns to look at Ivo again. They look rather less uniform now, you think--you can make out a few simple faces, differing skin tones and hair colors. There is a low susurrus of muttering as everyone mulls this over. Ivo wrings his hands. The podium seems to have sunk into the floor. He is much smaller now. (more)
<El-Cideon> "You suggest these things because you have no proper understanding of human nature. There are some things that cannot be changed! Greed and brutality are immutable aspects of our genetic makeup. They can only be harnessed, not suppressed!"
<Erin> "That is a lie told by those who seek to turn men to their own whims! 'It's alright to sin- you can't help it!' they say, driving them towards greater and greater infractions until they stand at the end of a dark road, a road that seems so long and daunting, where the trek back seems impossible.
<Erin> "Let me tell you something true- if there's darkness in the human heart, then it can be conquered. There's no need to do so alone! Help others, and you yourself will find aid! Understand others- learn what makes them suffer, so you can spare them misery. One by one, the perils of the world can be beaten back- with empathy, and not with a sword!"
<El-Cideon> There's a chorus of agreement from the crowd, who now look like genuine individuals--although you don't recognize anyone in particular.
<El-Cideon> OOC: will again.
<Erin> roll 1d20+8
* Nyarlahatbot --> "Erin rolls 1d20+8 and gets 23."12 [1d20=15]
<El-Cideon> They rise to their feet, shouting jeers and taunts at Ivo! Spotlights focus on him, almost blinding--you think you can feel the heat from here--and he starts to melt away! One hand clutches at the wall behind him in terror as he staggers, his form dissolving into shapeless mud! (more)
<El-Cideon> In his last moments, he raises his right arm in salute to his distant Fuhrer, burbling pathetically, malformed words escaping his lips as he finally vanishes into nothingness. The crowd applauds.
<Erin> "Always remember that we all share the same feelings," declares Erin, pressing a hand to her heart. "Ignore and defeat those who profit only at the misery of others. If there is an universal justice, it is in our own hands." With her work here clearly done, Erin turns to begin exploring the rest of the shadow-Lodge with newfound confidence.
<El-Cideon> Behind you, the crowd cheers and rejoices! As you return to your walk down the hall, you hear the sound of wings beating the air. An eagle--your eagle--flies out of the mists (now substantially dispersed now)--and hovers alongside you in a manner that's generally not possible for such a large bird.
<Erin> Erin extends her arm, enabling her loyal pet to land upon it. "I don't know if this is reality, or a dream world, but I'm glad you could chase me here," she notes, starting to continue her trek down the halls.
<El-Cideon> The eagle does so, settling on with a final flap of its wings. It hops up your arm as you walk and, reaching your shoulder, pecks lightly at your temple. The world around you changes, the fog vanishing at last, the walls turning transparent--someone you can still know where they are, but there's nothing to see. (more)
<El-Cideon> You see darkness outside, at first. Soon pinpricks of light shine upon the blackness, stars in a multitude. Beneath your feet is a serene blue sphere--the Earth.
<Erin> It takes Erin a few moments to actually process the sight before her, until she likens the sphere as a globe and makes the proper connection. "Amazing..." escapes her lips, though all she can do is stare. If there was a creator, was this how he saw the universe?
<El-Cideon> No mere globe could compare to this sight--surely this is the real thing, seen from the perspective of angels! There is a web of white light crisscrossing the Earth, the lines meeting at certain junctures. As you watch, several of them flare and burn out, across Europe, the middle east, and Africa. The Earth...distorts slightly, as if something within were trying to struggle out of an eggshell.
<Erin> The spectacle is alarming, and Erin winces at the shaking of the planet. A terrible sense of foreboding clutches at her, but all she can do now is watch.
<El-Cideon> OOC: roll will again?
<Erin> roll 1d20+8 wow
* Nyarlahatbot --> "Erin rolls 1d20+8 wow and gets 28."12 [1d20=20]
<El-Cideon> The net of light shudders and for a moment threatens to break apart altogether--and the remaining knots in the network do flare out, but the web itself sinks into the Earth's crust, wrapping around some ghastly, gargantuan shape your mind recoils from envisioning. The Earth goes still. You start to drift down towards the planet, towards Europe, England, London, above the lodge building itself. (more)
<El-Cideon> Suddenly you're back inside--with a sudden lurch, you fall several feet and land in a pool of water with a splash. You are in a small pond, in the center of Grace's office, in water up to your thighs. Nine goldfish swim around you. Grace is sitting on her desk, filing her nails. "You're late," she says, pointing with the file.
<Erin> It can't possibly be Grace herself, not in such a twisted environment. "I've been busy," explains Erin, trudging out of the water.
<El-Cideon> Your eagle flies off and lands on a perch set here apparently just for that purpose, and starts grooming itself. "Well, whatever you've been doing I'm sure it's important," Grace says, in a more playful tone than you're used to hearing from her. "What've you learned this time?"
<El-Cideon> There is a potted plant on Grace's desk, next to her. It's a small tree; the trunk corkscrews strangely, the leaves are round and scattered irregularly, many withering to brown. It is not a happy little tree.
<Erin_C> It's not one Erin recognizes. "Only new questions, with few new answers," replies Erin, uncertainly. "I no longer know if there's anything truly holy or unholy. The faith people put into symbols is what gives them power, not any real.. deity or devil."
<El-Cideon> Grace pauses, sets the file down. "Are you sure about that? Haven't you met some of them? Although, it would say something about our destiny being in our hands, wouldn't it?"
<El-Cideon> Next to her, a patch of the orange clay breaks off the flowerpot. Beneath is an overgrown tangle of roots, struggling to find new soil.
<Erin_C> "I've met a demon, and vicious creatures, true. But they, too, can change themselves- in fact, from what I understand, for many, faith and belief are what give them strength. They're both independent beings, but shaped by human thoughts at the same time." She leans back, staring at the ceiling. "I'd say so. For all their supernatural might, humans dominate the world."
<El-Cideon> She nods. "Now if only we could figure out what we wanted to do with it. Maybe I can help you find some clues." The tree has produced a cluster of nuts; Grace plucks one of them and hands it to your eagle, which breaks the shell in its beak. Grace offers remainder to you. "Eat this."
<Erin_C> "If we could stop fighting each other, or seeing each other as obstacles or tools..." suggests Erin, hesitantly ingesting the nut.
<El-Cideon> Another nod. "Hm. Gods don't create men, men create gods...an interesting concept," she says as you chew and swallow. The room around you disappears into vapors, only Grace and the eagle staying with you. You feel vaguely like you're spinning, but nothing you can see indicates this.
<El-Cideon> "I should've said, this might feel a little strange," Grace adds.
<Erin_C> "Well, what of it? It's a rare day for me which follows a routine," replies Erin, blinking. "But it doesn't all work like that. It's.. I don't know! There are these creatures, many of which are older than any human, they seem to exist without humans, but at the same time... wait, there are other worlds, as well-"
<Erin_C> "-so if these creatures came to Earth from another world, perhaps they become bound by it, changed by the dominant paradigm ? To exist here, they must become something this world can accept..."
<El-Cideon> "I wonder what happens to them if they don't..." Your words echo as if down a long tunnel, though Grace's are absolutely normal. "Try not to get lost, Erin. We're right here," she says as strange visions assault your senses, visions overwriting the blank void. You see...you see-- (more)
<El-Cideon> They come in a rush, sometimes overlapping before the last one's ended: You see an eagle lying on a cracked, baked plain. It is quite dead, wings splayed out. As you watch, worms wriggle from its heart, banded black and brown.
<El-Cideon> The vaulted ceiling of a cathedral soars above you, impossibly high, stone columns like tree trunks around. On one, a man hangs by his neck from a rope.
<El-Cideon> You see a figure made of metal, corroded and pitted, straining to push a rock up a hill. There are shapes in the rock, strange angles; you catch glimpses of stray limbs, howling faces, that vanish when you try to examine them.
<El-Cideon> A man sits on the edge of a stage, wearing a tuxedo and a vacant expression. The top of his skull is missing; a mockingbird perches on the rim and picks at the contents therein.
<El-Cideon> A butterfly struggles at the center of a spider's web. From afar, the threads tremble at the predator's approach, but when the spider draws near it is rent apart by dreadful black claws.
<El-Cideon> Your head spins as it tries to make sense of these wild and contrary images! Grace's voice calls out. "Erin? Are you still with us?"
<Erin_C> "It's hideous, Grace! Why are you showing me these horrible things?" demands Erin, somehow unable to tear her eyes away from the strangely-compelling images that flash before her.
<El-Cideon> "I'm not! You are! You can't deal with a horrible thing without acknowledging its existence, can you? Focus!"
<El-Cideon> OOC: roll will wait argh no bot.
<Erin_C> OOC: save me, calculator number generator!
Editor's note: alternate means of rolling were procured here, but not logged. The result was a 17.
<El-Cideon> With effort, Erin is able to shut the visions out--or at least control them, slow them down to less of a flood. "That's better! Control your own mind. Not everything out there is a nightmare!"
<Erin_C> "These aren't all from my mind, are they?" shouts Erin. "There's nobody who hasn't had a nightmare!"
<El-Cideon> "Where does your mind stop and the world begin? It's hard to tell sometimes. Time's running out, but there's still something we can do--" You can't see her, but you can feel Grace take hold of your hands. "Focus on this. Cooperation! If there is universal justice, it is in our hands, right? There are others out there who can help you, if you can help them."
<Erin_C> "Yes- yes, I already know, there are so many who can't help themselves- they're stuck, stuck between the real and the weird- but we can do something about that! It's up to us to show them..."
<El-Cideon> "Sometimes all they need is a little guidance. Sometimes something more--oh, brace yourself. Here they come again!" Again your eyes see things, people, all of them far away in distance, you know, if not necessarily in spirit:
<El-Cideon> An African man stands before a grand, snow-capped mountain. The sight is majestic, but he turns away in disappointment.
<El-Cideon> A robed figure wades through a blazing inferno. What can be seen of its limbs are gangly, deathly white. A black shroud obscures the face; from behind it arc two blunt, bonelike protrusions. They do not look like part of the mask.
<El-Cideon> A woman in a blue-and-white checked dress lies on a filthy cot, facing the wall, lit only by a few even bars of light. Her left arm covers her head, as if shielding her from something; something about her silhouette is monstrously malformed, though the poor light obscures the truth.
<El-Cideon> "Still with me, Erin?" Grace calls out through the vision. Her voice sounds more distant now.
<Erin_C> "Barely... are these people who need me, Grace?"
<El-Cideon> "Whether they know it or not...We're fading now, Erin. Your mind's throwing in the towel. Can you blame it? You'll have to wake up soon." Grace's voice pulls away; so do her hands. There is a great rushing sound in your ears, as of falling through a great distance. "Remember to keep the eyes off you, Erin. They're drawn to power like yours!"
<Erin_C> "Eyes? What eyes?" blurts out Erin, her head tilting back and forth with worry. "Nobody's come after me before!"
<El-Cideon> "Keep it that way!" With a jolt, a sudden jarring impact, it ends. Your eyes open. It's dark, but you can recognize the interior of the hut in the village. Only faint light trickles in from a window--it's about dawn in the forest outside. You have a *tremendous* headache, but otherwise feel fine physically.
<El-Cideon> ~