RQG 218 - Erasing the Line

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## Erasing the Line

### Players

Helen Gould as Azu
Ben Meredith as Zolf
Bryn Monroe as Hamid
Lydia Nicholas as Cel

## Content Warnings

Threats of violence, physical violence, existential threat, arguments, detailed discussions of death & non-existence, loss of consciousness, (discussions of: character death, mind control, unreality, hunger, mass suffering), (mentions of: fire, building collapse, natural disaster, murder, drowning, animal death, extinction & apocalypse, emetophobia, loss of sentience, food, assistive device malfunction & loss of mobility), (SFX: fire, waves & water, distorted voices, building collapse, birdsong, wind, occasional beeping)

## Summary

Join Alex, Helen, Bryn, Lydia, and Ben as they bring it all to an end. This week Zolf awakens, Azu mediates, Cel explains, Hamid searches, and the world may never be the same...

## Synopsis

The last thing Zolf remembers is white, and a sound that feels more like a physical force. The white noise settles into the sound of waves on a beach, and Zolf finds himself in a foetal position. Zolf opens his eyes and notices he does not have Babbage with him. Zolf sighs loudly and swears, seemingly to the air around him, and asks if he’s dead.

Zolf finds himself on an island (a little more than a sand spar), and the first thing he notices is he is looking out upon the ocean. However, the ocean is far too reflective; the starlight in the sky is reflected in the starlight of the water. Zolf cannot tell (although he’s normally good at telling time of day), but it seems to be either dawn or dusk, and he is struggling to see the horizon. He is seemingly dressed exactly as he last remembers, and his legs are in the exact same status as he is used to. There seems to be slightly iridescent patterns carved into the sand of the beach.

As Zolf continues to look around, he notices what appears to be an iridescent tree root behind him. It seems to be a strong blue colour and looks like something that shouldn’t be on this island. Zolf appears to not have his weapon. Zolf traces the root with his eyes, and he sees that it leads to a huge tree, English oak or similar. This tree is hard to look at–the branches seem to never stop splitting, and the foliage is similarly confusing to the eye. There is a small figure sitting in a crook under the tree, with white hair and white clothes.

Zolf walks up to the figure and asks what the hell is going on. The figure looks up, and it is very hard to tell any sort of defining features; their age is hard to tell, they are quite androgynous-looking, and their features don’t settle properly. They speak with many voices, and greet Zolf gently. Zolf, quite agitated now, says that he isn’t impressed by any of this, and asks again what is happening. The creature introduces themself as Myriad (Note: they refer to themself as “we”), and Zolf starts to swear roundly at them, asking if they were the person who was mucking up the world. He asks if Myriad is the plant, and they affirm this. Zolf tells Myriad to piss off and starts walking into the sea, telling them that he’s having none of their rubbish. As Zolf is walking into the sea, he finds that the ocean floor is sloped very shallowly and he isn’t making as much progress as he should be.

Zolf finds that he is slowing down despite not making an effort to move any slower, and he gives up before turning around and shouting at Myriad, asking what it wants and to let him die already if he is dead. Myriad is still under the tree and doesn’t seem upset or amused, just calm. Zolf thinks sarcastically that it’s a gestalt entity on a higher plane of existence and therefore doesn’t have need for things like emotions.

Myriad confesses that they are surprised (which hasn’t happened much) and asks what is it that Zolf wishes for, as he is the one who has come here. Zolf doesn’t really know what plane this is, and is fairly certain that getting hit by dragon-fire would mean he should be in the afterlife. He tells Myriad that he doesn’t know, that he hadn’t come here on purpose, and asks what Myriad is doing on this island. Myriad seems fascinated by this question, but doesn’t respond. Zolf threatens to try and strangle them, and asks if they know how many people they’ve hurt. He doesn’t know how many people are on the earth but there must be lots of them, to which Myriad asks which earth Zolf is talking about. He replies that it’s the one he came from and cares quite a lot about; Myriad asks if Zolf would like to return to where he came from, and he says that he would as long as Myriad stays out of it. Myriad doesn’t believe that this is possible, and Zolf retorts that they should make it possible. Myriad notes that Zolf seems distressed.

Zolf starts beating up Myriad with a tree branch, though it doesn’t have any perceivable effect and Myriad seems very concerned rather than hurt. Myriad offers to help, repeats that Zolf seems distressed, and Zolf says that he isn’t keen on becoming part of the hivemind of blue-veined people. Zolf asks if Myriad is the type of person to take over everyone’s minds because they think they know better than everyone, and Myriad says yes even though they appear confused by the question. Myriad says that Zolf is asking them to do something that they are unable to do, and that “if [they] were to cease to be, [they] would return without intention”. Zolf thinks that Myriad’s “offer to help” is that they would add him to the collective, but Myriad wishes to bring some people to Zolf to ease his concerns. They cast a hand across a beach and Azu, Cel, and Hamid wake up on the beach in a similar situation to when Zolf awoke.

The last thing Azu, Cel, and Hamid remember is dragon-fire consuming Babbage and the tower beginning to collapse, and then they were suddenly on this island.

Zolf asks if they’re real, or if they’re some false construction of this island. Hamid seems to think this over, Cel says that that is an extremely interesting question that they have reflected on at length, and Azu pats herself down. Hamid and Azu both think and feel (respectively) that they are real, and Cel continues to monologue about the nature of reality. Azu interrupts to ask where everyone is, while Hamid asks where they (the party) are, and Zolf introduces them to Myriad. Azu approaches Myriad.

(Note: Azu is not 12’12” and she does not have her axe (though is still wearing her armour); Cel is not beastified; Hamid’s wings have retracted.)

Cel determines that, if the planes are plates on a table, they all are probably standing on the table. Cel begins explaining the interaction of planes, but Zolf interrupts to ask if this is even relevant because they have probably lost, as they are all here and Babbage isn’t here. Azu reaches out with her mind to try and feel Aphrodite’s presence, but it feels wrong and very faint. Azu groans and wonders if they’re all dead. Everyone seems to disagree, as they would likely all be on different planes if they *were* dead. Hamid asks Myriad if they brought the party here and they say that they brought Azu, Cel, and Hamid here, but they did not bring Zolf here.

Cel asks if Myriad is able to stop mind controlling all of the people on Earth and possibly also send the party back there happy and healthy, and Zolf interrupts to say that Myriad would probably ask if the party would be able to cease to exist on command. Azu asks what they are doing, to which Myriad replies that they are sitting. Azu, irritated, says that isn’t what she meant and they should know that; Hamid asks instead what Myriad was doing on the plane that the party was on before they came here. Myriad asks in return why a stomach grumbles, and why one does not stop it from grumbling. Hamid replies that the stomach grumbling is a base instinct that can be controlled with a sentient thought, that one should not have to follow their instincts if it causes harm to other beings; Myriad has been collecting the consciousness of other people and doing irreparable harm to them, but they have the choice to stop.

Myriad says that they could remove themself from the plane that Earth is on but it would leave everything “shattered”, and they don’t know precisely what this means. Zolf tries to cast Searing Light at Myriad but it does not work. Hamid asks them what they want, and Myriad replies that they want to be, to grow, to learn, which they do so by accumulating minds. Hamid points out that they could stop the process if they choose to, and that not choosing to stop means that they are actively choosing to continue the process. Myriad thinks this over, then says that if they ceased to exist, all of the worlds that they have touched would collapse.

Myriad then asks if anyone in the party would like to take our place. Azu and Zolf immediately refuse, but Hamid is curious. Azu asks if Myriad took someone else’s place, and Myriad replies yes, and “Myriad” was here before. Azu asks if Myriad is Babbage, and Zolf cuts her off to say that no one should take its place, because it would just be the same problem. Before they took the place of the Myriad that was here before, Myriad went by the name Lythaniel. Hamid asks where they lived, and Myriad thinks for a while before pointing to the top of the tree; Hamid then asks if the branches or leaves represent different planes, and Cel asks if it was a nice world.

Myriad explains that they are the tree, and the leaves are (in some ways) the planes. They are confused why everyone keeps talking about “control”, that they are merely the sum of other beings. Zolf suddenly asks for a quick huddle, to discuss somewhere away from Myriad. The party agrees (though Cel points out that they probably could hear everything anyways).

Zolf leads everyone to the opposite end of the island and then begins by saying that asking nicely won’t help, so they should murder it. Hamid thinks that Myriad doesn’t seem to have the motivation to lie. Cel pipes up that they could try and talk to Myriad, because there are holes in its logic and Myriad seems to think that existence must consist of controlling all of the worlds it has power over. Zolf begrudgingly agrees to Cel’s plan. Hamid seems to mull over the possibility of taking Myriad’s place again, which everyone else disagrees with, and he says that maybe they should at least try, that there could be a small chance of any of them making the right decision once in Myriad’s place. Zolf firmly disagrees, saying that they would have a more familiar face to murder if the right decision wasn’t taken.

The party argues for a while on the pros and cons of taking Myriad’s place before Azu says that they should get more information from it. Cel starts walking backwards towards Myriad with two thumbs up before turning around and speaking to Myriad. They ask if they could pick apart Myriad’s knowledge, as Myriad seems to think that control and existence go hand-in-hand, and Cel wants to know how it feels to have more minds. Myriad explains that they grow because there is room to grow, and that without them all the worlds would die eventually. Cel argues that all cycles can be stopped eventually, like a butterfly can be pinned to a board or encased in resin so it doesn’t reproduce. They also add that, though these worlds may die eventually, they could still live in the process of dying.

Hamid pipes up to add that, since Myriad’s existence is vast, their concept of “eventually” might be different. If there is space for millions of lives to be lived before the world ends, then it is enough. The party chats for a while with Myriad about the nature of existence before Zolf and Hamid realise this situation is similar to what happened to François Henri; his humanity was taken away by the machine he built because he no longer had the ability to live. Myriad is causing harm by consuming the humanities of everyone, but they expressed that they aren’t sure how much harm would come from the removal of their own existence. All of the people who are trapped in Myriad’s being are unable to move onto other planes, much like how a butterfly is unable to move about when it is pinned down. Hamid asks Myriad to talk to the other consciousnesses that it has access to, and to ask them how many of the consciousnesses would also make the choice to withdraw from the worlds that they have caused harm to.

Myriad excuses themself and moves into a meditative position under the tree. After an indeterminate period of time (not forever, not too long, just the right amount of time), Myriad opens their eyes. They begin by saying that if Lythaniel had acquaintances when they made the decision to take Myriad’s place, they might have made a different decision. Myriad could release the worlds and let fate decide, but they will not be in control of what happens afterward. The party all say that that would be the point.

Myriad then looks up. A breeze begins to move through the space, though there wasn’t any wind beforehand, and the “leaves” on the branches start detaching themselves and blowing away over the ocean. Myriad begins to smile as more and more “leaves” detach from the branches. Hamid thanks Myriad and tells them good luck, before reaching for Azu’s hand. Cel hugs Myriad for a short while as leaves begin pouring from the branches. Hamid grabs Cel’s hand as the number of leaves in the air start obscuring everyone’s vision and turning into white noise, and the last thing that they hear Myriad say is “best of luck”.

Azu realises that the white noise has begun to sound more like the wind of a high place, and she opens her eyes to find herself lying on the remains of Big Ben. Standing up, she sees everyone around her, seemingly asleep. There are the remains of what used to be the guardians of the plants, but the plant itself is gone (not dead, just not there) and there is a large hole where it used to be.

Azu yells out to everyone to wake up, and everyone does so; everyone is confused because they remember doing something, and now they are waking up. Azu looks for Hamid, Kiko, and Emeka. She sees that they are up and alive, and goes to sit next to Kiko. Hamid sees that everything is still a mess from the fight, but it hasn't spread as much as he thought. Cel is no longer in beast form (meaning it has been at least an hour), and drinks a potion to attempt to turn into a hawk; nothing happens. Hamid tries to summon his wings and cast Fly, but similarly nothing happens. He guesses that they must have removed magic from the world due to their conversation with Myriad, and runs to find Skraak.

Azu, seeing as Kiko is fully awake, asks if she is alright. Kiko says yes, but she is confused, and Azu attempts to cast Lay on Hands on Kiko to no success. Azu begins panicking, as the gods aren’t there, and calls out for Topaz. Topaz is not there, and Azu panics further, telling Kiko that something went right but there must have been some side effects.

As Zolf comes to, he realises that his legs don’t work and calls out to someone to help him. Wilde comes over to help, and seems very shellshocked; he wonders if this is something he should be happy about or if there is a terrifying “but” attached to it. Zolf says no, he thinks they did it, but his legs are broken. Wilde starts to cry, and drops down next to Zolf to hug him. Zolf comforts Wilde and pats him on the back.

Cel goes to find Barnes. He is shoving Carter off of him and wondering what is going on. Cel tells Barnes about the magic going away, and that he should be very useful in this new world due to his practical skills. As Cel and Barnes are talking, Cel hears an echo of a dog barking from inside an enormous set of plate armour, and finds a small, confused pug weiler; they pick it and talk to it for a while, but doesn’t know its name. Zolf looks over from his hug with Wilde and asks if the dog is Brutor, and what the hell Brutor is doing here.

Hamid is examining the rubble, looking for Skraak. He keeps trying to cast magic instinctively and isn’t very successful at dislodging the rubble. As he takes a moment to rest and look around, he spots Skraak sitting on top of a chunk of the roof, looking out at the city. Skraak hasn’t noticed Hamid yet. Relieved, Hamid climbs up to join Skraak, who looks very beaten up. Hamid asks if Skraak is okay, to which he asks if they won. Hamid says yes, he thinks so, and Skraak replies that yes, he is okay, and it was very easy. Skraak asks what happens now, then. And the adventure ends there.

## Dice rolls and Mechanics

* (Zolf) Perception check as he is walking into the ocean: 24
* (Zolf) Knowledge (planes) check while talking to Myriad: nat 1
* (Cel) Knowledge (arcana) check to get some information about the place: 25
* (Cel) Knowledge (planes) check to get some information about the place: 35
* (Azu) Knowledge (religion) check to see if Aphrodite is here: 16
* (Azu) Perception check as she wakes up in the remains of Big Ben: 21
* (Hamid) Perception check to search for Skraak in the rubble: 31