<turns up>
<starts trading arms to all sides in anticipation of a forthcoming edition war>
Sneering post, citing the comparatively lower level of expectation regarding the Spanish Inquisition.
'Evil' plays fairly when it feels like it... Which is not that much dissimilar to what many 'non-evil' types feel like doing, only without the pompous moral self-justification.
Stereofm wrote: Jason Ellis 350 wrote:
English has overtaken French as the language of diplomacy (and just about everything else) in large part due to the existence of those bodies.
Uh ? Do you have any evidence about this ?
I would tend to say that this may be more due to the fact that the balance of power (military and economic) has shifted a lot more in favor of the USA after the two world wars and the end of the colonial empires.
Nonsense. Everyone knows that the language of Leng (and the bastardised version known as Lenglish) is dominant solely due to the actions of our trusted agents on Earth and the actions of our silk mask wearing high priest who serves the Crawling Chaos.
The galley sails west for several days, every evening at sunset, the captain sending down to the hold for one of the 'spare' slaves for the evening meal. The strange stars of the Realms of Dream drift by overhead.
At last the brooding island-fortress which guards the Dream side of the gate the Denizens of Leng use to transit in and out of the Realms comes into view, with its grim granite walls and towering spires of obsidian.
As an option, this could be the gate the other side of which Lucinda just raided (on the RPG thread) if you're interested in them bumping into one another? If not, The Giggler and Kytania can disembark, proceed into the stones on this side, and out of whichever heavily guarded circle exists on the other side. (Somewhere in the bazaar most likely.)
Used to their strange companion's antics, the captain barks an order, and accompanied by the crack of whips and the moans of the slaves chained to the oars, the galley sets sail across the seas of the Realms of Dream.
Meanwhile, in the region of the Realms of Dream sometimes known under the ominous name of 'Leng', a delegation from one faction of that land's residents are waiting for the arrival of a long-term acquaintence, who will be seeking to depart the Realms of Dream.
A black galley is moored at a pier, ready to cast off for a distant island where their race has a brooding fortress that guards one of the few gates to remain open to the places beyond the Realms of Dream.
At last the faction has their plans and forces in readiness. Now they wait, calmly, for proof. Their agents have been dispatched from Dream through the gate controlled by forces friendly to them which they are accustomed to use. At any sign that the faux tiefling was in league with the dragon, they will march.
The way that Pete has reportedly fled the Bazaar does not surprise them. No doubt the man has no wish to be used further to carry messages between them and the faux tiefling. He has sense, they tell themselves, to leave town for fear of them.
They don't know about 'Lucy', and even if they did they would probably tell themselves he was more afraid of them.
A faction of the Denizens of Leng sit fuming and plotting, and preparing for war, in case information should indicate that the faux tiefling might have been in league with the legendary dragon which devestated their stronghold.
Here, the ratios of time are in their favour. For she may have but a few days left of perfidy, whilst they will have years to hire, plan, and arm for the conflict to come.
Sunny Godhead wrote: The Dalesman wrote: Allura wrote: Allura blushes a little. "I was trying to ease the headache..." "It worked like a charm, love - I feel better already," he says as he gives her a quick kiss on her hand, smiling brilliantly.
"Now - do we stay or do we go?" Retracting his hand then holding the star aloft, Sunny G. utters an incantation.
Ooc: Hindsight
Studying the star for as long as it takes, Sunny G's intent is to discover who would tamper with such a relic. A name, a face, or even an identity would sevre him good.
"if I have need of thee again in the future, I shall send a courier to find you."
Assuming some sort of item reading ability:
It was a sub-set of Denizens of Leng who are allied to Lamashtu who did the tampering with the star, and they passed it on to a tarnished silver dragon by the name of Aritha, who swallowed the item and grew greatly in power (and the item along with her) during the decades that it inhabited her body. The item lost a good deal of power, when a legendary kingdom razing, empire-shattering, dragon the size of a small town named Daelemos came along and made Aritha an 'offer she couldn't refuse' because he was interested in items with stars. The dragon made no further attempt to interfere with nature of the item, and took it to a lair, warded against magical entry, beneath the Brackenspur Mountains, and didn't interfere with it, before sending it off to the arena at the Bazaar of the Bizarre in the hands of a gnome servant, who presented it to Arielle and her friends.
A dozen denizens of Leng arrive very suddenly at Slipknot Pete's shop, lock the doors, shutter the windows, and beat and cut Pete to within an inch of his life.
They leave him badly injured, but stable, with a handful of rubies scattered over him, and with a note scrawled on a blackened and charred piece torn from a turban pinned to the wall above him with an obsidian dagger.
On the piece of turban is scrawled a message for Allura:
'If that Dragon was your doing, faux tiefling woman, you will regret it greatly.'
Allura wrote: Denizen of Leng wrote:
We will see that your proposal is discussed at home.
Until it has been discussed and a conclusion reached, we will go so far as to guarantee that no more stars will be sold from our coffers.
We will find you and let you know of any decision or developments with regard to this offer.
"Thank you for your consideration," she says politely. "You can leave a message for me with the proprietor of the tackle shop if needed to set up a meeting." The traders move off through the slave-market.
Allura wrote: Denizen of Leng wrote: Allura wrote: "The beauty of being involved with a group is that there are many to carry the burden. Even if you were telling the truth about how many of these stars you have, we would be able to meet your price." Able, perhaps, but willing?
Sense Motive check of 35 to assess what Allura says
"Obviously we reserve the right to negotiate the individual price of each item, but yes, we are willing to pay your price."
She is telling you the absolute truth. We will see that your proposal is discussed at home.
Until it has been discussed and a conclusion reached, we will go so far as to guarantee that no more stars will be sold from our coffers.
We will find you and let you know of any decision or developments with regard to this offer.
Allura wrote: "The beauty of being involved with a group is that there are many to carry the burden. Even if you were telling the truth about how many of these stars you have, we would be able to meet your price." Able, perhaps, but willing?
Sense Motive check of 35 to assess what Allura says
Allura wrote: "It is my understanding that you have been selling certain gems in the bazaar. Gems that look like stars. We would like to purchase any such gems that you happen to come across in the future. It is much more efficient, and less frustrating, to buy them directly from you rather than having to track down each and every person that you sell them to. We are willing to pay most handsomely." If you know that we have been trading such items, then you should know that we have been trading them for rare services, and for unique items, at a rate of one-for-one.
We have many such items as you claim that you seek in the coffers of our treasure-houses back home in Leng.
Can you afford seventy or eighty special services, that would tax an archon to carry out or make a demigod weep?
All that mere wealth will buy you is a period for your consortium to discuss whether you can afford such a price for each item.
To Allura:
If you are willing to be held accountable for any obligations of your consortium, we will hear you out now.
If you were a representative of an individual or organisation worth our waiting upon, you would have already said so, so we will not attend upon your convenience.
The one who was haggling turns to survey her, whilst the other two scan the surroundings for potential trouble.
Allura has the sense that her her words are being weighed very carefully, as the black eyes in the swarthy, slightly alien, face survey her.
Perhaps. Are you a principle, with a business proposal, or a middleman?
Finally, the traders from Leng conclude their dealing, fold their stalls, and before the sun is up have arrived at one of the Bazaar's slave-emporiums.
The Dalesman wrote: Charles Evans 25 wrote: Baaack! (For now.) With regard to an earlier post, I assume it will take the politician 72 hours to try to weasel an appointment with his infernal creditors, so prompt action (and an offer which a politician with his soul at stake will take) should be no cause for a problem there. I'm introducing some situations here where approaches of simply 'we'll buy it/find it/ask for it nicely' won't work in a relatively safe environment, since some of the players down the road will be much harder to bargain with.
Edit:
And someone might like to convince the traders from Leng to stop selling these things at the Bazaar for now otherwise they will be back with more...
Or convince them to sell them to one single source of our choosing...then they can come back all they want :) When it comes to business we find that unless secrecy requires otherwise that the best policy is to completely cut out the middleman - and sometimes not just figuratively, but literally, too.
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