Scene 16: William the Conqueror
William needs to win a fight.
Er, that is, a half-ogre who will, at the time, look like William, needs to look sure to lose a fight, and then win.
Actually, neither William nor the half-ogre need much of anything, but Varian really needs all of that to happen, or some people who have long since fallen out of the habit of being anything that could be accidentally construed as nice will discover that they have reason to be displeased with him.
Come along and see what happens.
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Varian sits in the cage and yawns. “I have no idea how to train this beast, but you’ve spent enough time in filthy cells like this to have caught onto something, right? We just need him to kill the stupid half-orc without killing it.” Varian mostly lets William lead the training, but has a few ideas of his own. Basically, he’ll summon up something for the half-ogre to fight, and then cover it with an illusion to make it look like a big ‘ol half-orc. Then he’ll let his “pet” kill it. If it doesn’t eat the corpse, Varian will give him a bit of food. Should it try to eat the mangled body of the victim, Varian will quickly throw an illusion over it, making it taste roughly like a dead skunk that someone vomited on.
OOC: Hmm, sort of a reimagination of the Pavlovian Response. Good move.
All right, your training method seems sound, or at least good enough for us non-psychologists. So your goal is to get the brute to mangle the opponent? I'm pretty sure you wanted him to survive the fight.
Slight alteration to your plans: reward him when he hits it enough to disable his opponent, but not enough to kill it. Use the illusionary punishment when he kills it or tries to bite, or anything else that would give him away. Maybe a swarm of illusionary bees.
With that, let's say that you'll be well on target come time for the fight.
Slight wrinkle: William stole some of your gold, about 2 lbs, and took off. You've still got the half-ogre, and a lot more gold, but Willy dissed you in a big way, and knows your plans.
Okay…crap, he was a pretty crucial part of the plan. Oh well, I’m sure that I can work around it. Now for William…he’s no mage, so I’ll try to scry on him. In the event that works, I’m gonna have a nice little guinea pig to test my half-ogre on. If scrying doesn’t work, Varian will very simply pronounce William as escaped. I’ll keep my eye on the mind-flayer’s lair and make sure that William doesn’t show up.
As for his replacement, I’ll take some of my gold and purchase a new sickly half-elf, but keep him on a much shorter leash. I’ll keep a sample of his blood, hidden, and explain that should he try to escape I will hunt him down and bring upon him terrors the likes of which he has never seen. That being said, if he stays his life will be pretty leisurely, with no terribly difficult work.
Well, there's nothing exactly preventing you from sticking with William's image for the half-ogre. Your scrying shows that he headed out of Sigil, looks like towards one of the border towns, probably Bytopia, though he isn't there yet. Any last minute changes in plans might not please your business associates.
You really want to have your newly battle-trained half-ogre tear him apart? You're not a nice person.
Well, at least he’s not heading for my rivals. Varian’ll try to beat him there by buying a carriage and a couple of horses. While he’s at it, Varian will purchase some new, more royal looking clothes too. Dark cape, cane with a silver basilisk top, the works. Then Varian will use his mirror to lead him to William, with his half-ogre on the cart.
Assuming that he gets to William, Varian will step out of the cart, holding his papers of ownership. “I believe that you have something of mine.”
Also, the new half-elf was to impersonate William. I still need someone to take the mind-flayer’s brain-prodding after the fight.
You know, I don't think the mind flayer will be able to get away with demanding a brain scan. Fergus wouldn't put up with it, for one. And no one would trust the illithid anyway; he might just want a snack.
Still, off to chase William, since paranoia seems to be Varian's thing.
William is on the Trans-Planar Express, headed to Bytopia. You can catch the next train, and get in about 6 hours behind him, or try to race the train. It might even work, since distances can be a bit funny in the planes. So, try to beat the train to Bytopia, and confront him there, try to catch the train and board it, or follow and find him in Bytopia?
Also, about the fight, the opponent is also a half-ogre, so your only real advantages are surprise and illusion. Ripping Narg to bits isn't going to be much of a risk after all.
Hmmm…Don’t want to run into anything too dangerous on the way, does this town support slavery of half breeds? If so, I’ll take my slave and jump onto the train. Varian doesn’t exactly want to kill William, or even hurt him. He just wants a concrete arrangement made before he lets the half-elf off of the hook. Long story short, Varian is willing to let William keep the gold, and to hand over his papers of ownership, so long as William agrees to a non-disclosure agreement, with the half-elf’s signature and blood to verify that.
If I can catch the same train as William, I will, and disguise myself all the way there. Then I’ll stalk him, waiting until he’s alone and then confront him.
The train has already left.
Your half-ogre (Who actually seems fairly dim even by half-ogre standards. He only barely has a grasp of language, and hasn't mentioned having a name. Consider giving him one.) isn't going to be recognized as a slave unless someone complains, probably him. Still, William chose the place for a reason: it's a runaway slave's dream. Strong local government, and a commitment to justice. No slavery. Don't get caught with a slave, or there might be some unpleasant consequences.
The train will stop in Tradegate (Bytopia's gate-town) first, and they're a little more relaxed about things, so long as you're just passing through and don't cause any trouble. William may be planning to settle there, if he doesn't like the idea of living full-time amongst the very good and orderly.
How would you hold him to such a contract?
I’ll try to run into him at Tradegate and confront him. Varian will whip up an illusionary contract and write out the details in ink later. Varian expects William to keep his end of the bargain, after all he seems to have no further issue with his former master. He could have spoiled the plan, but he didn’t, this is just a little extra insurance. The papers, and allowing William to keep the gold he took, is essentially a bribe, with the contract outlining the details of their arrangement. Obviously, most legal courts would not accept such an arrangement as legal ground, it’s more for the two of them than to bring William to “justice.”
You beat him to Tradegate (oh the wonders of having money to throw around) and watch him step off the train. The trip took a day. He walks off into the very clean, very straight streets.
Passing the innumerable stalls and shops, all doing brisk and polite business, you follow him to a large inn. He goes inside.
You have options. You can go inside and talk to him. You can go inside and have your beast threaten him. You could burn the place down. You could wait for him to leave and follow him somewhere else. You could come up with another plan.
What? No “use item” option? All right, in the absence of traditional RPG-style choices, Varian will walk into the bar, with his as of yet unnamed half-ogre. Varian takes a seat next to William and orders two drinks. “I believe you have something of mine.” When William begins to talk, Varian interrupts. “Don’t worry, I didn’t follow you around for a day for some petty revenge. I get other people to do that for me. You’re in the clear, besides, you’re in Tradegate now. Here I have no claim over you, but you still may want to listen to my offer.” Varian plunks down his papers of ownership. “Technically, you’re still traveling with stolen property, and it is within my rights to…reclaim them. Stolen gold is stolen gold, no matter where you go. Furthermore, you’re only safe here, these papers still prove that I own you. Perhaps you may find yourself wanting to return to Sigil someday, or maybe you’ll somehow end up swept there. However you are very lucky. You happen to have been bought by a very lazy master, and I’d hate to get blood all over my suit. I am willing to offer you a deal. You keep the gold you took, and I give you these papers. In exchange, you never tell a soul about the…services I had you accomplish for me, and you never bother me again. This document…” Varian pulls out a pre-made legal document, the words created by illusions. “outlines this arrangement. All that you have to do is sign. I’ll catch the first train out of this hole in the ground, and we never see each other again. But there is one catch, with it you need to give me a lock of your hair. Can’t be to safe, can we? Do we have a deal William?”
oh, one more thing. Just in the unlikely event that William put any "easter eggs" in my slave's training, Varian's gonna get ready to defend himself in the event of combat. Specifically, he's been waiting to try out a new experiment involving bending the light around his opponents into a single, intense ray aimed directly at their eyes. Varian has just never been in a situation where this wouldn't get him arrested before.
All right, so you Use Item: Contract on William. He agrees, although he seems very nervous, possibly just because you tracked him down and the Nameless One is breathing down his neck.
Now, counting the days that seem to have happened since I told you you had 10 of them, I think you have 1. Just enough time to get back to Sigil. I suggest you Use Item: Carriage on Self and get the hell home before Fergus becomes displeased.
And hey, do Ionjae or Canas have any interest in semi-illegal bloodsport?
Only semi-illegal? Man, I'm gonna need to find a new passtime. Alright, Varian will meet up with his money lender. "Okay, Fergus, let's get this over with. William here will cream that mind flayer's little pet, flex his muscles a bit, and then we all go home. Everything good?"
Naturally, Varian will make sure he's not being scryed on. Next, he's heading over to the betting tables. "What's the limit?" He asks. If there is none, Varian will smirk, write a check and say "fifty grand on the half elf." If there is a smaller limit, Varian will just go as high as he can.
Your share of the gold was, after loss to the gold-to-shit ritual and loss from selling it in bulk, 350000 gold pieces, a rough value of $3.5 million. 50 grand would mean fifty thousand gold pieces, or a seventh of your wealth, all on what you know to be a fight between two half-ogres. Seems like a big gamble. Also, way out of the range they're accepting. They'll take up to 500, at 1:10 odds.
Also, it's only semi-illegal because of the nature of Sigil. Nothing is really illegal, except things like murder or theft, and even those are enforced only by an ad-hoc alliance of factions to create a sort of permanent provisional government. It's sort of an anarchist's dream.
Curses. Oh well, 500 it is then. Varian goes over his illusion one more time and makes sure that the helmet is secure. Just to be safe, Varian will try the trick that he used with the half-dwarf, make Mac (the half-ogre's official new name) look like he's just about an inch to the left. It might not be a fight winner, but it might be enough to make a lethal blow a glancing one, or make a hit miss all together. Varian'll then take a seat with Fergus. "So, how much have you got riding on this?"
All right. So, the scene is as follows: Varian is standing by Fergus, who just grunts at his question. The mind flayer is standing about twenty feet away. He got a bit agitated when Varian and 'William' walked in, probably because of the helmet's effects. No one paid any attention, as no one really likes the illithid habit of constantly reading minds, or much else about the illithid really, except their money. The 14 other bloodthirsty bastards crowding the room consist of a pair of fiends, a demon, three very dark elves with a collection of interesting piercings, Some orcs, one lonely looking human, one mechanical being, what looks like a giant floating blue head, and a goat-footed tiefling.
Narg and Mac face off, Narg looking very large, with some very impressive looking scars, and Mac looking like a skinny little half-elf. Not a whole lot of betting going on. They're armed with maces, the old fashioned type, with no flanges or spikes, just a metal cap with small studs over a club of wood, since this was intended as a non-fatal fight.
Fergus doesn't seem too happy with the turnout; it seems that the apparent mismatch has only drawn the sorts that want to watch something die, not the sorts who want to bet on dangerous, but fair-ish, sport. Fergus considered playing to the crowd and switching the weapons, but instead settled on telling the audience that if Narg wins, he can eat William. They loved it, and Narg looked happy.
Narg's first swing almost misses, but not quite. People are paying closer attention after William only grunts, rather than flying off his feet at the glancing blow. Then they gasp as he breaks Narg's knee with a sideways kick. Narg bites a healthy chunk out of William's side, apparently not willing to wait for victory. William's scream seems a bit deeper than you would expect from a half-elf his size. Then he clubs Narg in the back of the head, and the fight is over.
Now Varian gets to decide a couple of things. Does he collect on his bet, and draw attention to the fact that the fight didn't go as expected, making people wonder if it was rigged, or if he cheated? Does he stick around, as would be expected, or get the hell out and avoid an hour or so of attention to 'William?' Does he have 'William' healed, and worry about the healer saying anything, or let his keep bleeding all over the floor, and the street as they leave, and let any overly curious soul do an analysis of the blood?
Put another way, should you stay or should you go now? If you go there will be trouble, and if you stay it will be double. So, come on, let me know.
Varian leans over to Fergus, barely hiding his glee, and says “By my account, we’re square now. If you need anything else, just let me know.”
Alright, first thing first, under absolutely no condition would Varian not collect on his bet. The way he reasons it, he won this money fair and square-well, fair in his mind-and he had better not get stiffed. Varian’s next order of business is to secure a healer for Mac, he figures that this is Sigil, there’s bound to be a healer shady enough to accept bribes, and with the money he just made he figures that he can afford it. He’ll start with a bribe of a hundred gold but, assuming that he was able to collect on his bet, Varian will go as high as a thousand gold. Varian won’t hang around for an hour, afraid that the mind flayer may try to read his mind, and is certainly not willing to put his powers of illusion to the test against one of these creatures. But he’s not afraid enough to resist flaunting his victory, so before he leaves Varian snaps his fingers and etches his family crest into the wall with illusionary fire. If asked about his leaving, Varian states simply that he dislikes brothels, and mutters something about Fergus not doing his job properly.
Ideally, Varian hopes that the story will spread, and that he might end up in the employ of a bigger fish than Fergus. If the mind flayer backs Varian into a corner, he’ll try to sweet talk his way out of it. “I’m a trainer, honest, William here just had the expertise to beat your savage little pet.” During that, Varian will be weaving illusions over himself, trying to adjust the perceptions of his memory to fit the story. If worse comes to worse, Varian starts throwing light around, blinding a few guys, and says that the mind flayer tried to attack him.
They let you leave. Fergus didn't seem happy about your showy exit. The mind flayer doesn't try to corner you, though he does watch you as you leave. 100 is more than enough to keep the healer from telling anyone; he'll hope for repeat business.
Perfect, no problem so far. Varian walks back to his room and locks Mac away. Varian rents out a better cell, and gets better food for his slave and props his feet up in a lounge. Sipping wine, Varian smirks, recalling the seal from earlier. "Alright, order of business." Varian says to no one in particular. "First, I need a ticket on the planar express, first class. There's something at home that I need. Second, Fergus has outlived his convenience, and more importantly he insulted me by making me go through that chore. Oh, but first." Varian picks up his scythe and drops it by Moll's chamber, with a note addressed to her. "Picked it up offworld, don't know what it does but it has some magic. Thought you might be interested, take it if you want. Varian."
Varian then will purchase his ticket, drop the helmet off for Ionjae with a nice thank you card and a small spider figurine, as a thanks, and get the first ride back home, intending to return before the next day.
"Fine, how much do you owe?" Varian is willing to pay quite a bit to settle his father's debts and to get him into a decent home. He'll deal with any of those moneylenders personally, hoping to use his newfound power over things that glitter, either by nature or by magic, as leverage to talk down the price a little. That being said, Varian does not completely believe that his father will hand over the ring should his debts be settled, so the illusionist will keep a close eye on him.
Varian will also look up Judge Beltisammo, to make sure that his mother is, at the very least, not being abused. And, you never know, this guy seems like a shady enough character, maybe Varian and him will get along after all.
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