Search Posts
Interested in seeing the recruitment. I was in another game with this character and while I loved the character and liked the system, the lack of a guiding plot thread put a damper on things. Wondering if you had any specific plans for premise (and hopefully that will be in recruitment). If iI do submit, probably won't be Khatef, but may be.
Khatef chokes him again.
"Ah, so NOW we have an interest in taking a stand against slavery, do we?"
"Wrong. That alliance requires us to 'deal with' the Black Academies. Nothing that necessitates us slaughtering them to a man."
Khatef tightens his grip on the wizard's throat.
"I still think he'd be a useful pawn if not an ally. Should we let him live if he submits to our will?"
Khatef shrugs, and waves his stump. A spectral, rotting hand appears around the throat of the wizard, squeezing the life out of him.
Khatef shrugs. "I don't care either way. Their use of magic doesn't really concern me. I was simply pointing out that they possess power and influence, which is what we are attempting to gain by removing them."
"I say we hear the man out. We can deal with any treachery he might throw at us, if need be. But if we can ally with the Academies rather than removing them, that option should be considered."
"The distance is irrelevant. Should you fatally wound them I can reverse my blessing at any time."
Khatef briefly considers laying a protective blessing (or curse, depending on your perspective) on Jebat or Listrana, but thinks better of it. Instead, he thinks of a new use for it. "Keeping one of the sorcerers alive might be useful if we wish to know more about their capabilities. I can ensure that they stay alive, no matter what you do with them in battle, unless anyone objects?"
"Any further planning before we finalize?"
Khatef sits down and closes his eyes for a moment, focusing his mind on thinking of way to find previously undiscovered locations to stage their plan.
"That might work for the first few, but unless they're complete idiots they're going to realize something's amiss sooner or later. It would be best if we find a way to spread a reasonable explanation that isn't people luring them into a trap. Laying the groundwork of a monster, or some sort of heinous test to suss out the worthy owner of the artifact beforehand might serve us well. And act as camouflage for our ambushes should one manage to escape. One would expect guardians of the treasure and traps to defeat in a test of worth."
"Yes. I could use a few extra and it's such a temptation." he says drily, wiggling his stump.
Khatef, too, gives him a crocodile smile. "That's perfectly understandable. It wouldn't do for you to be retaliated against in any case."
Khatef addresses the Boyar. "I'm not sure what Beatrice has told you, but I'm sure she would have mentioned that we're here to help your town. And the nation as a whole, if people cooperate enough for us to get that far. Uniting your peoples and making them strong again is not out of the realm of our ability. Protecting your city from harm and making it prosperous, with you renowned as a man of wealth and discernment that brought it into its golden age is certainly within it on a short term scale."
"I am Prince Khatef Mutaswil. Ms. Rucellai and myself are acquainted. I see she has taken advantage of my delay." Khatef is disappointed he couldn't get to the man first, but hides it well.
"Never let it be said my forbearance is anything less than god-like." Khatef says and walks out of the shop. Once out of sight, walking down an alley to get to a different street, he shudders and feels somewhat sick for a moment before getting control of himself again. Even PRETENDING to be one of those scum makes me feel dirty. Once he's recovered, Khatef makes a beeline for whatever serves as the seat of local government. To any guards or secretaries he says: "I am Lord Mutaswil, ambassador of the Oasis States. I have an appointment to speak with your mayor, or governor, or whatever an insignificant backwater like this calls its leader."
Khatef bristles, subsumed in his role for a moment. "You are trying my patience." he says, as a chill fear runs through everyone and the light in the shop dims. His eyes glow with an eerie blue light, shadows cast to resemble a black skull. "Many a lord and ambassador have met with fitting ends for lesser transgressions against a Sorcerer Prince. Do not presume to tell me what I may or may not do, lest I be forced to think of a creative punishment for your hubris." "You are fortunate I understand the limitations of a commoner's intelligence, and am a merciful man. If you are brave or foolish, test me again. If you value your life I am willing to overlook your slip of the tongue this once. Nod your head if you understand."
Khatef thinks back to the conversation he had with Beatrice weeks ago, and starts looking at an assortment of colors, looking for something that represents as many as possible. When the boy brings him the outfit he blinks in surprise, as it's very close to what he was imagining. After trying it on and noting his appearance in the mirror, he comes back out hiding how much he likes the fit and look of the clothing. He affects a haughty, begrudgingly impressed voice. "Passable. I suppose this is the best I can expect on short notice." true to his word he pulls out a handful of coins and gives them to the boy. "These are for you." to the tailor: "My men will be by soon to pay you for the outfit. I am in a hurry and will now take my leave. Give them whatever price you deem fair for it."
"Consider this a test, boy." Khatef says to over his own ignorance on the subject. "Bring me samples based on your best judgment. Please me and I will reward you. I expect you to fail, of course, but the peasantry can sometimes surprise with unexpected bursts of competence."
Khatef, in a desire to be taken seriously going forward, begins at a high end tailor's shop. If they're going to be here for any length of time he needs to establish a persona. Once he finds one, he sweeps in like he owns the place, snaps his fingers, points at the tailor, and puts on his best pompous accent. "You there. I am Lord Mutaswil of the Oasis States. I have an important meeting to attend and my clothes are rags from the trip. You will outfit me in clothes befitting my station. Quickly."
Khatef spends the long trip contemplating his place in this world. He realizes he's been treating his godhood the same way as the rest of his life; Shrinking from the reality and trying to hide and cringe away from any strangers who might do him harm. The man that walks onto the deck to view the harbor is a different one than the one too afraid of the ship's sailors to even let them know of his presence. He strides confidently, though still views many of them with suspicion, and turns his eye to the city before them to assess it as a resource to be used. "We should get a feel for the local politics first. If we can win the hearts of the common people we can go unnoticed for longer. Words of our deeds would spread if we became monster hunters or looked to improve their lives, but as long as we are viewed as heroes and hide our true aspirations until the groundwork is laid, we shouldn't come under fire until we wish it." "To that end I believe we should move slower, not faster. Worm our way into the local governments, gain the trust of the populace, but never overtly tip our hand as to our growing influence. If we want to make a lasting nation it needs to look like a natural, logical progression, as if things never could be any other way. Not a bloody coup."
The lightning bolts in the crab's area start striking eerily more accurately.
"Does it have some kind of weak point we can attack? That shell looks hard."
"Kostya is right. The ship would be obvious. Though I suppose if the flight mechanism were hidden it could still be sailed, but flown in emergencies." "Though the consequences of capsizing or being shot down are...disastrous."
"Do you propose to make this boat wider then?"
Khatef looks at her like she's insane, for a different reason than usual. "Do you want the boat to sink? That would be too heavy. It floats precariously enough as it is."
"My powers are ill-suited to battle. If that's the kind of test you want I'll come along, but don't expect me to contribute much."
Khatef shakes his head. "I agree with Listrana, in part. Tying ourselves to one country would be a bad move at this stage. As would revealing ourselves so openly as to build a cult around us. There is strength in subterfuge, and once you've squandered the advantage it is nigh impossible to get it back." "Unless we find mass chaos an acceptable side effect, we should be more subtle. Simply freeing the slaves is the lesser issue. All of us have the means to directly or indirectly influence the government of this country. Getting them to agree to free the slaves seems the simpler part, though potentially time consuming." "Making it so neither the slaves nor the people riot afterwards is the hard part. Where do the slaves go, and what do they do? If they go home, how do we stop them from starting another war?" Khatef shrugs. "But we could do it the easy way as well. Break the bonds and let everything else sort itself out. Acts of gods are that way sometimes, after all."
"Not by standing around stuffing our faces, that much is for certain." "Pick a goal, work towards it. You both said you hate slavery. We start there, since we seem to have hit a snag on the Razors for the immediate future." "What are the most influential factors in the Patrian slave trade? Which politicians oppose it, and which support it? Most prominent and influential traders? How much does the country rely on it for labor?"
Khatef doesn't trust anybody, so he just begrudgingly offers "The fruit was good." "Why do we need you?" he then asks.
Khatef is tired of the hemming and hawing and buttering up of their potential new recruit. After a long pause with no answer, he speaks up. "She's too indecisive. If it takes her this long to formulate a simple yes or no, I don't trust her to have my back in a crisis in any case. Looks like you're with us for a while longer yet, Kostya." he says, dismissing Listrana out of hand. "Go back to preaching on the street corner, if that's what you want."
"You know about as much as we do, now." Khatef says, picking up a piece of unfamiliar fruit and giving it an experimental bite. "We don't seem to have to DO anything to keep the world together, we just have to BE. Though I think what's implied there is that the gods no longer 'be', otherwise we wouldn't be needed to fill the gap."
"Why is it only now you're angry over your situation? You weren't as angry or frustrated at our initial binding. Why should her choices matter any more or less than ours?"
"If you are willing to talk, we have SOME time. Though I believe Jebat is in a hurry to meet his suitor."
"The fact remains that the world unravels if this particular burden is not passed on, and people like us aren't exactly common. We only have a few shots at this, and the next Godbound we meet might be another psychopath or broken doll like the last two. Listrana at least seems sane and capable."
The crowd turns to look at Khatef, and is confused. "Wait, I see him! Does that mean I'm dead!?!" one starts to panic before being slapped by his friend. "No you idiot, it just means the Red Lady's off her rocker. Like we didn't know that." "So she's just been talking to this random guy and he hasn't been talking back?" "Uh, yeah. That's what crazy people do, right?" Khatef, for his part, looks very irritated that his ability to have a semi-private conversation with the woman has been blown.
"As much a choice as we were given in any case." Khatef turns away from Beatrice and addresses Listrana. "Would you rather join our group or watch the whole world collapse in on itself? At least we're pretty sure that's the end result. It may be a bit bigger than that."
"If you feel the need, turn your blade on us. We are the gods of this new world. Of course, given the strange happenings around you, you will want to turn it on yourself afterward."
"You really believe that? If it weren't for a quirk of fate, you would still be under the heel of your masters. Reaching forward often just means the limb gets removed."
"Do you trust him because of your abilities, or because of a long relationship? That is, do you count him as a fried and ally or a thrall?"
"We may as well deal with the Razors while we're here. And I'm still curious about this Red Lady."
"Best he left now before we were too deep in to bear the loss." "For something smaller to test our new powers...I need to track down a man. The man who betrayed me, Rudjek. If you would all like to accompany me back to the Oasis States, I would welcome the help in dismantling his organization, or at least the cell he works for."
Khatef takes a real look at the city for the first time. "The different colors are fascinating, yes. Everything in the Oasis States are different shades of sand. I always heard the richer quarters have colorful pavilions and flags, but never saw them."
Unintentional. I called her the wolf queen because she has a pack of wolves, but to be fair it's not just Skyrim that uses that title. There are several novels who do as well (thanks google!) It was the wombo combo of "Wolf Queen" and "Alessia" (the first Empress, founder of their religion) that made me wonder. =)
Is the name an intentional or unintentional Elder Scrolls reference?
Khatef does nothing to break his long silence, but he does stare at the man and gives him his best "stop asking questions" look. |
