A Push of the Fates.... Zakhara... You Jewel!

Game Master Insnare

Zairiah retrieves her gloves and puts them on.

That shield and those slippers are nice or the scimitar

My Charisma is no match for the Efreets. Unless I figure out a way to chaet. Or Trick him.

It is based on a die roll. Why not give it a try

Zairiah wonders what Frackit just said, and waits to see if there is a response.

If anyone with a lower Charisma score wants... I'll challenge for you in game if desired. That way it is my die roll instead, but I don't have time to write all the dialogue to challenge for every item in the chest, so if someone wants to, we could play it that you tell me what to say in character, or if GM is okay with just doing straight rolls, we could try to win the rest of the stuff.

I unfortunately have only a very vague idea of our travels, and I don't have enough time to re-read the entire gameplay thread for a refresher, so I don't feel confident to relate a story.

The Efreeti looks at the gnome quizzically and says to him in Thoratian,

Frackit blinks and asks

Frackit comes over and asks. " Can I have that magic dagger? Id like to try and risk it?"

The Efreeti smiles and says, "Well, madame, you have definitely bested me so you may have your gauntlets. Would anyone else like to challenge me for one of my items. As you can see, I am fair and I can tell some of you are eyeballing my shield. How about it?"

Ibn Taaib smiles softly, and says, "It does not do well for men to boast and inflate their egos, great djinn. Whilst I might desire that shield, but not to claim wealth and treasure or to brag of out-boasting a djinn, but only to assist my friends and aid my clan.

Ibn Taaib is a humble man and finds it distasteful to boast and brag this manner, though he can put a great show for one of his friends.

"I may speak on thy behalf, Friend Frackit, should thee wish it," he offers.

Essentially, he could do the charisma rolling using his stat (17).

Not sure what magic dagger you are referring to, sorry, but if you are looking for something to wager, you can wager the same +1 scimitar that I just wagered... Zairiah will offer it to you to use.

Im conflicted to Offer my Shield for a chance at rhe +4 Shield.But I can do it. Just have to roll. But yesh he will wager his Shield

" If my Friend is able to speak on my behalf, I would wager my Shield for yours? " Frackit says bowing to the Genie respectfully.

The Efreeti looks at Frackit's shield and says, "For my shield, your wager would need to include another magical item. How about your Tome of Clear Thought?"

"Should I when I havent yet finished reading it" Frackit says pondering

[ooc] I know you said you were thinking about reading it, but you never stated that you were.]/ooc]

Don't wager the book. Just take the sword I offered.

The efreeti does not really want the sword. He already owns a better one.

Yeah, I get that, but he also accepted it last time we offered in trade, so why wouldn't he again, at least as a second item? Frackit's call though. I wasn't trying to stall things. ... Just didn't want to risk it. Stat bump items are nice, even if it is only a point.

Yeah I am gonna decline then. Ill wait for the random chance of it in a treasure or as a reward

" Alas then Oh honorable Genie, I am gonna have to decline. I may be good at my craft, but alas I am not known for my tales. To part with such a wonderful item, one that may open my mind more is too much for me to risk. Though should you wish to rest up and enjoy the rest of the day with us I do not see why we canr cordially get along." He says with a humble bow.

" I am fascinated by your exploits though. Have you every thought of jotting thrm down in a book?"

"In that regard," adds Fadilah, "I should love to relate these stories again, perhaps in poetical form, if it would not offend you for me to do so."

The Efreeti then shrugs his shoulders and goes back to Zairiah and says, "I will trade a wish for my gauntlets back."

Wish for better gauntlets!

Wow. Hold on. Let me think about this.

Zairiah thinks about it, and consults with Fadilah.

What is the risk here, Fadilah? I am tempted by the wish, but concerned that I could be easily tricked by the interpretation of my wish, or else anger him by my greed so that I get what I want but then he just kills me and takes it back. For instance, what if I used my wish to ask for the entire trunk of his best gear, or for gloves that increase my skills even more than these ones? Or what if I just asked for enough money to set up my own trading company? Or if I wished for immortality, or a belt that made me invisible at will... or anything at all? Do you know what he can and can't do? Why is he even offering this to me? Why doesn't he wish for his own gauntlets?

Fadilah takes a moment to think about this, though she is clearly happy to be right in the middle of her wheelhouse.

"Genies can call upon mystical and elemental forces that are greater than they themselves are," she says, "but there are often... terms and conditions. The participation of mortals like ourselves creates a sort of... mystical resonance that enables them to draw forth greater powers through the combination of our delicate desires and dreams in conjunction with the genie's abilities. In a sense, genies rarely want for anything in the way that mortals do; genies are robust, magically powerful, able to sustain themselves trivially, so they instead engage in games—like this one!—and feuds and romances. It is the desire fostered by fragile mortals like ourselves that fuels the ability to turn their power into more than a simple glamour and to bend the cosmos to that will."

"Basically, mortal desire can be so strong that it acts as a key that unlocks the ability of the genie to call upon greater powers that they would never need or bother with for themselves."

Fadilah twirls her finger in the air as she speaks, like an excited academic.

"Efreet are crafty and can be dangerous, but they are also people of their word. But you must always be careful that your reach does not exceed your grasp! The magic of wishes is bountiful to those of virtue, who use their wishes for good ends, for simple needs, for humble requests. To those who are greedy and grasping and power-hungry, wishes become a vehicle for lessons, an instant retort from the cosmos, reminding mere mortals to be humble in their station."

"A wish for great wealth or immortality would be possible, but might come with many problems. For instance, the wealth that appears to you might be whisked away from a powerful merchant-prince, who comes looking for his coffers of gold and jewels. Or immortality might not come with eternal youth and vigor, leaving you an empty shriveled husk after many centuries, hoping for a death that will never come."

"The more that mere mortals try to outwit and trick the universe through our machinations, the more that we discover that we are, after all, limited beings, and our desires are more likely to bring us ruin than satisfaction. Many stories tell of wishers who thought that they had an ironclad contract to cheat 'the system', as it were, only to discover that they had naturally overlooked one thing and found themselves trapped in chains of their own making."

"My advice is... if you choose to seek a wish, and you succeed... remember to be humble. Do not ask for a banquet, when a meal will do."

Wishes are really strongly contingent on the DM, too. Some DMs feel that wishes should always be distorted and used to make players regret the wish. Other DMs (like me) believe that if you go through the work of earning a real wish, you should be able to get something good from it, as long as you don't try to cheat the game or bend it into a way that makes it un-fun for everyone to play. Typically, efreeti are lawful evil, so they will do what whey say to the letter of the request, but they may twist the spirit of it. SO, be careful... but it's not every day you have a chance to earn a wish from a game of boasts and stories!

Paritosh nods, "as I have said repeatedly, creators such as these are often talked about by my people as tricksters, who will turns your words against you, following them exactly, but not your intent. If, as Fadilah suggests, a humble wish is less likely to be subverted, what about an altruistic wish, such as one that has your very touch be a curing touch, to heal the body, or to cure disease? Surely, that is a wish that one could not interpret as being greedy or self serving."

Nura merely looks on, not saying anything. She has long heard tales of genies and their wish-granting, and seldom doe it turn out well for the wisher.

Nura merely looks on, not saying anything. She has long heard tales of genies and their wish-granting, and seldom does it turn out well for the wisher.

Zairiah turns back to the Efreeti. She isn't sure what to ask, and she is very conscious of Fadilah's advice.

She considers asking for Yodfah's head in a box, but decides she shouldn't ask for anything evil.

She considers declining and just keeping the gloves, but then has another idea. Maybe she could get something for her friends and not for herself, and the gods would know that she wasn't trying to be greedy.

I'm not sure why you are offering this, but how about this idea? You can have the gloves back if you are willing to grant me and each of my companions here the same benefits these gloves offer inherently, without us having to own or wear them, and without changing us into something besides who we already are. If you are unwilling or unable to grant that wish without deceit or guile, then I'll just keep the gloves.

Are you willing to make that trade?

Hmm. That's what she came up with... seems not greedy to her because she will have exactly the same abilities either way. If he refuses, she keeps the gloves, and if he agrees, she still gets the benefits of the gloves. She won't have a magical item to trade or sell, and neither will anyone else, and no one could steal it back if it was just inherent, so no reason for anyone to attack them for it. It seems pretty selfless/altruistic to her, as Paritosh suggested, even though she is kind of a greedy person by nature... this is her being careful not to go too far.

Oh, and this, in case it helps--

Haggle (13): 1d20 ⇒ 5

He looks at her quizzically and says, "I am not trying to deceive you nor use guile against you. When playing with creation and the rules of the universe, one must be careful and specific. I am willing to cast a wish spell for you to grant you what you request. We, Efreeti, do not have control how a wish is sewn together. So, I suggest you make sure you word your wish as specific as you can and say,'I wish', so I can go on my way."

You are free to go on your way if I'm boring you. I'm happy to keep the gloves. Why did you ask in the first place if you don't care?

The Efreeti says, "I do not haggle. You can have your wish but how your wish comes out is more dependent on you than on me and my whims. Asking me to guarantee how your wish comes out is something I cannot do. What is your wish?"

Basically, you need to ask for what you want to ask for but preceed it by "I wish." Mechanically speaking, he is not necessarily responsible for how the wish turns out and he is not trying to trick you.

" Ah so a trick of oneself. A divine joke" Frackit laughs. It was a fun joke after all. A grand one.

" Though in hopes of not a cruel one. A cruel one is not one the Joker gives out lightly. The Sparkling Wit reserves only for the likes of The Greedy Maw and the Coveteous Cruel One." Frackit says as he then spits on the groumd and rubs hisblump of gold holy symbol.

Zairiah considers the situation and feels like the gods are encouraging her to choose differently, so she ponders again for a time, trying to get it right. What is something that would be worth trading the gloves away, and that would be helpful to others, not just to herself? Could she bring Ayyan back from the dead? ... Perhaps, but what if Ayyan was already content in the afterlife, or what if she came back as an undead monster? That didn't seem like something to risk.

She really wanted Yodfah dead for killing her, but how could she do that? Maybe she could ask for every magic item that Yodfah owned to appear on the sand in front of her. Then, if they came without him, good. Maybe he would be easier to kill. And if they came with him attached, also good. They could dispatch him.

No, no... evil again. Justice or not, it wasn't her place to balance the world. If the gods wanted him to die, they would deliver him to her in another way.

Travel? A flying carpet would be lovely, but there was no carpet that would carry their whole caravan.

How could she help everyone? Hmm... well, Yodfah's favorite trick was poison, and the brotherhood of the true flame's thing was fire... she shivered, remembering Hanzala practically burning her to death. Maybe she could protect people from those things? ... Her greed caught up with her again for a moment. She really did want those gloves. But this was better, and thank Zann for giving her more time to think about it.

Achmed Al-Zuli, I wish for myself and all of my travel companions to be immune to poison and the damaging effects of fire.

She paused, waiting to see what would happen.

Achmed Al-Zuli says, "That is two wishes. The first is granted." he claps his hands together and then takes the gauntlets and his chest and walks off into the desert.

He shouts behind him, "May the Loregiver guide you."

"I don't feel any different," Nura says. "Are we sure he actually did anything?"

" Well if I glean the meaning only one of those requests were granted. Be both to Zairiah or one of the two immunities to all of us. One of these was done, if What was previously established is true. The question now is are we willing to test them out?" Frackit says looking at the cacti and wondering.

" So voluntarily getting poisoned or putting your hand in fire. Does not sound pleasant." The gnome says stroking his mustache.

Zairiah has no idea if anything happened, and misses her very-briefly-owned gloves. But no point in moaning over a bad trade. All you could do was do better the next time.

Let's get back on the road.

She waits for everyone to be ready and then mounts up and heads out.

Can I get a direction sense roll.

"I'm still poisoned, I think," Ibn Taaib says, face in the sand. He tries to move to test his paralysis.

@DM: W or not yet?

You are paralyzed. Poison is what paralyzed you but remove paralysis still needs to be cast upon you to remove paralysis.

Paritosh points at Sheikh, "didja want me to toss him on a camel, and we can haul him like baggage?"

" We wait, and I can cast the spell and then all will be good to go."

Direction Sense (8): 1d20 ⇒ 15

Zairiah sighs and sits back down in the sand, her self-distraction having failed.

I should have wished for a flying carpet.

"It's not your fault, and at least we're relatively unchanged. I've heard tales of wishes that left the wisher horribly changed or hideously disfigured. That could have been us."

True, true. Still. I'm supposed to be working towards running my own trading company. You would think that I would be able to turn an opportunity like that into something valuable. A wish... I mean there are stories about wishes and magical adventures, and we got none of that. Maybe it was overthinking, but that's like a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and I screwed it up. ... And Ayyan is dead, and Yodfah is still out there. We couldn't protect the Sheik's son, even though I warned them about exactly what was going to happen... I feel like a failure. And yeah, I know the feeling will fade in time, but right now it's pretty strong. Maybe I am fated to fail. If so, I hope that the gods make my death an instructive lesson to others.

"Be not sorrowful," Ibn Taaib says calmly, propped up and observing the entire exchange silently. "For thy story has not yet ended. To Wish is to gamble with Fate, and to ask a misty, capricious Presence for aid where cold steel cleaves cleanly in a clear field."

In other words; wishing for something incurs a lot of risk for an unknown answer, while doing it yourself is clearer and more gratifying.

Sham says, "Wow, that efreeti wasssss big. Why you ssssooo ssssad?"

"Honestly, that had always been my assumption as to the explanation of Sheikh's horrible looks, a wish gone bad." Paritosh laughs so hard, that he ends up choking a bit.

" I mean now that you mention it he does need some bigger ears and a noce large nose." Frackit says looking at the Shieks face and then cocks his head ro the side as he drops his Jewelers googles to flick the lens and examine his face.

"Yes! A nice bushy mustache!!! Thats what he needs" Frackit says with a laugh as he points to his other absurd mustache of gold.

Zairiah cheers up a bit at her companions' words, and smiles when Paritosh starts laughing.

I'm okay Sham. Just thinking too much.