I try to reach out to the guard through my words, with a cleared mind from meditation. "Look, I am an international agent, and I'm here to protect everyone. I don't want anyone to die-and only meant to threaten the people at the front gate, not kill anyone. Please, help me get out of this and stop Steranko. If he succeeds, many people will die."
I'm trying to use the bonus I get to psi skills from my meditation. Does that work for persuading people? I'm wandering if persuasion falls under psi.
Technically, it's sort of the other way around: psionics are connected to persuasion, and a high persuasion attribute bonuses psionics. But attributes are not skills, and thus are not in any particular skill bias area. On the other hand, you could have a psionic skill that was a form of persuasion. By analogy, "strength" is an attribute, not a body skill, but you can have a body skill in "lifting" or "throwing", both of which are tasks you can do purely by strength if you don't have those skills. (Shotputters, discus throwers, javelin throwers, caber tossers, deadlifters, and other athletes have such skills; it's the knowing how that is involved.) For the sake of argument, such skills might include oratory, debate, spin doctoring, advertising, and other forms of persuasive communication. I don't see any such skills on your sheet, but I'm willing to
- add a skill you believe you already have in this area that was overlooked at character generation because we didn't think of it; you'll have to tell me how good you think you are at it;
- roll for a new skill you're trying to teach yourself at this moment.
--M. J. Young
While I have been known to go off on persuasive speeches about a bunch of different things at times, I did't actually have any oratory, debate, or persuasion skills when I joined this game.
I'd like to roll for a new skill, by the example of a friend of mine, Jeff. He and I used to hang out a lot, and he was a rather persuasive individual. I'm going to try and copy that, in order to get this guard to help me instead of deliver me to Steranko, on the grounds that countless terrible things will happen if Steranko gets his way.
If the persuasion doesn't work, I offer to pay him ten million euros just to let me out and look the other way.
He laughs at your efforts to persuade him. "I think you've got the Minister all wrong, friend. He's inviting you to have dinner with him. He wants to meet you, to get to know who you really are, and give you the chance to get to know him. What, you think he's going to dress you in an Armani suit and then shoot holes in it or something? Come on, get dressed, and we'll escort you to dinner."
Your offer of ten million euros causes him to laugh louder. "Sure, I believe you have that much money. I don't know that Steranko has that much; I'm not sure there's that much gold in all of Europe, but if there is, Steranko's got it."
--M. J. Young
"Alright, that works for me. I wasn't entirely sure you'd buy the ten million."
While I'm putt on the suit, I engage him in conversation. "My name is Kurt, by the way. Who are you?"
Whether or not he answers, I will proceed to go with him, as peacefully as I can.
He tells you his name, prefaced by "Sergeant", and asked if you're really secret service, and what makes you think that the economics minister of the EEU is such a bad guy.
--M. J. Young
I smile. No one has asked me that question for this entire time-not even Mariska when she basically taught me how to load and unload my weapons.
"No. I am not a secret service agent and never have been. There's a man alive in this world who is in fact a secret service agent and has the capacity to take anyone down. I'm just a quick learner.
When it comes to Steranko, I probably don't like him so much because he's sent Zigesfeld to kill me a few times. I narrowly avoided these deaths until I finally confronted and..." I daze for a moment in a flashback-Zig's dead body on the floor.
"killed him. What do you know about an agent named Blade?"
"Blade? I think Ziggy was bragging that he killed him. I know there was someone snooping around here and Ilsa said he had to be killed or captured. It was quite a chase--several guys I knew died trying to chase him down the mountain in the snow.
"I wouldn't worry too much about having killed Ziggy. Ilsa's probably the only one here who really liked him, although he was apparently very good at dealing with security breaches. She handles most of those herself or lets him manage them, except when Steranko sends his girlfriend Areola to deal with them.
"Why do you ask about Blade? Did you know him?"
--M. J. Young
"I see. Well, I suppose things will be clearer when I meet Steranko. Just one more thing-is my cat alright?"
After this question is answered, I have nothing else and am more than happy to see Steranko.
He looks puzzled. "I don't think anyone found a cat. Anyway, no one mentioned it to me. I can ask around."
Donning the suit, I presume you permit yourself to be escorted politely to an elegant dining room where the table is set for two. There is at least fifteen to twenty feet from your end of the table to the other, and two armed guards in military dress at the door. Steranko enters almost as you do. He is tall, reasonably handsome with solid presence, and a look of intelligence in his eyes.
With perfect courtesy, he says, "Ah, Kurt Wright. You're the agent MI-6 sent to protect me and investigate the disappearance of your predecessor, the man they called 'Blade'. Forgive me if I don't offer to shake hands; they tell me you're a very dangerous man. But please, let's be civil about things, shall we? Have a seat. I've ordered Filet de Boef a la Wellington for our repast; I trust that is satisfactory, as I was not able to consult with you concerning the menu. Please, have a seat."
He indicates the chair at your end of the room, and moves to his own, waiting politely for you to be seated and then sitting himself. A waiter steps forward with a bottle of wine, and shows it to him.
"Yes, that will do nicely. Offer our guest first."
The waiter brings the bottle to you and offers to pour. (I don't know whether you know more about wine than I, but take it that this is both a very expensive and entirely appropriate choice of wine for Beef Wellington.) Steranko continues to talk.
"I understand you're on loan from America--CIA or NSA or something like that, a deep undercover operative with no traceable background. Yet you and your friends all seem so young."
--M. J. Young
Well, seems like I'm on my own. I think about how things will go and if I'll ever see Harry again; however, I feel like I should stay in the present.
I sit down kindly, and rest my arms on the table (not elbows). "Beef Wellington would be fine, thank you." I nod to the man with the wine, so that he might pour it.
"Yes, that's what I've been told; however, I have something more fantastic that might be of interest to you, but I need everyone else to leave the room. I won't do anything violent. If you want extra assurance, then you can bind me before they go."
If he complies with this, then I continue.
"I have a proposition for you. What do you think of the prospect of never growing old and never dieing? If you let me, I believe that together we can do that. I possess a very rare condition that makes it so that I will never age, and that if you kill me, I'll only disappear. You have the resources required to perhaps replicate this effect. Thoughts?" I cut off a piece of the meat and take a small bite.
Steranko sets down his silver for a moment, puts his hands together and stares at you?
"My first thought is that you must be insane. But setting that aside, as you obviously are a very capable individual to have done so much as you have, I suppose then that you are actually quite a bit older than you appear, and your confidence suggests that you must have escaped death several times? And this, then, explains why your friends--Jeff, Kim, Nick, and Sarah--also look so young? Oh, I did not mention that they, too, are my guests here, although they are not enjoying quite the same hospitality as you."
--M. J. Young
"They are my friends, yes. I'd appreciate it very much if you could release them, before I decide to take you out with me.
Like I said before, I can't die. That's also a reason why you won't find my fat cat inside that car. He probably died and disappeared without a trace. He has the same condition that I do."
"Cat?" he says, looking to one of the men by the doors. There is a moment as the man clears his throat.
"Mr. Wright claims that there was a cat with him in the car when he arrived, but there was no sign of such an animal after the accident. We assume it was hurt and ran off to nurse its wounds, but no one has yet reported a new cat."
"So," he turns his attention back to you, "your cat has this condition, but your friends do not. Conveniently, the cat is missing, so we can't test your claim on it, and we can't test it on your friends because they don't have whatever it is; and if we test it on you, you escape, by definition of the condition, or you die, by definition of the test. It is an absurd story; and yet it is just credible enough that I might hesitate to have you killed on the chance that what you offer is genuine. And I admit, it is a tempting notion, and just credible enough that it might be worth keeping you around as an escape plan. But at the moment, my own plan is working well enough that I can offer myself a better outcome.
"You are of course aware of the upcoming party. Everyone will be there--all the European heads of state, any members of their governments who stand any chance of holding their countries together, and a number of their top military leaders. The champagne has already been prepared for the toast. It contains a recently developed poison that has no observable effect for several weeks, and then over the course of several months kills its victims very rapidly. No one will be able to trace it back to me, and as the heads of Europe succumb to this mysterious death, a concerned united Europe will turn to me to lead them, and I will be the emperor of the New European Empire.
"You, though, have made the plan so much simpler. A rogue American agent foolishly brought in by the European secret service went insane, and with four of his friends massacred many of the attendees. My security forces were able to stop them before they killed me, but unfortunately all of the attackers died. I think it a brilliant plan. Too bad you won't be able to enjoy my success. Oh, but I forgot--you're immortal, aren't you? Well, you'll have some trouble persuading anyone that it was I, not you, behind the plan."
--M. J. Young
"Go back to your original plan, and I won't cause any trouble. Just leave those kids out of this, and I'll do whatever you want. I'll work for you, if you'd like me to. Just don't hurt them. I don't care about the leaders or if you start ruling this world."
"Really? I'd heard that the new generation of Americans was entirely apathetic concerning the situation in Europe, but I would have thought CIA operatives were excluded from that. Or is this a ruse?" He ponders the thought for a moment. "I think I'll hold onto you, and your friends, for the present. Consider them my insurance."
He takes another bite of his food. It's expertly prepared and very tasty, some of the best food you've ever had.
"As for your offer to work for me, what would you do?"
--M. J. Young
"Well, I hear that there's an opening since I killed Zigesfeld. Train me, and I'll work as his replacement, if you'd like. Then, years from now, when you start to realize that I indeed don't age, we can go on from there."
"You killed Zigesfeld? Well, I'm not certain whether Ilsa will be pleased with that, but I'll have her talk with you. Please, enjoy the meal. I'm sure you'll understand that I'll have to return you to your cell for the present, at least until Ilsa is satisfied that you're genuinely working for us."
--M. J. Young
"Indeed."
I continue to eat the food presented before me. While eating, I will try to engage Steranko in further conversation. What are his personal likes and dislikes? What are his plans for after taking control?
Once the conversation is over, I leave (probably escorted) to wait for Ilsa in my cell. "It's been a pleasure, Steranko."
He laughs at your questions about his personal likes and dislikes, but when you turn to his plans he indicates that he intends to restore the gold standard to bring stability to Europe, strengthen the external borders and remove the remaining travel restrictions between the outdated nation-states that have so long divided what should long ago have become one indivisible nation, eliminate dependence on the United States ("No offense intended, but your aid does come with a significant amount of meddling."), and build the new empire's technological and industrial base.
In response to your parting comment, Steranko replies, "Indeed, I enjoyed your company. Perhaps you will join me again for dinner tomorrow night?"
Ilsa does not show up this evening.
--M. J. Young
Through the day, until someone comes to the door, I do push-ups and sit-ups.
The routine is doing 10, 10, 9, 9, 8, 8 all the way down to 1 of each. It gets me to do 50 of each while giving muscle groups a break. I'll start over from 10 and do it as long as I can.
Second Post
Also, I wanted to add something to my skills request pile.. I find it hard to play as myself from over a year ago. Is there any way you can send me to a world where I can learn creative writing, and basic university knowledge? Of course, this is a request for after this world. I'm quite enjoying myself. This is just a request, I'm still up for anything you throw at me.
Also, how do I go about getting my hands on the rulebook for this system? Is it available in any stores?
There is at present a printing/distribution problem with the rules. It is available in some stores that had it in stock before the problem arose, but the only one of which I am certain is Days of Knights in Newark, Delaware. You can also order it directly from Valdron Inc, which has copies in stock. Information for that is on my web site.
We are also seriously exploring making it available in PDF format from Drivethru RPG; if anyone has any thoughts on that, I'll pass them on.
Reconstructing the timeline, I note from the post on March 3rd that the party was three days in the future. You reached her apartment late that day in the April 6th post. You then drove to Austria that night according to the (much-delayed) December 27 post, spent the night at the hotel according to January 14, and that makes that two days before the party, probably late morning. Ziggy attacked you there, and you killed him, and so it was two days before the party that you dropped Mariska off somewhere outside the fence and created the distraction by your entrance, winding up in the prison. Dinner was that evening, and Ilsa did not show up, so as you go to bed tonight you are two days away from the party, which is probably in the evening.
Does that agree with your assessment of the timeline?
--M. J. Young
Yep, it sounds all right to me.
Kurt, you are playing the role within a role so well, I'm not even certain what you're hoping will happen. That puts me in a bit of a problem, because if I roll a general effects roll it will tell me whether things go the way you hope or the way you fear--and I don't know what you hope and what you fear.
Possibilities at this point include:
- Ilsa decides to let you replace the assassin you assassinated.
- Mariska takes out your guards and breaks you out of the dungeon.
- You are undisturbed until dinner tomorrow, when you again dine with Steranko.
- The decision is made to frame you for the deaths of people at the party and then kill you.
Thanks for the input.
--M. J. Young
I am completely willing to defect into Steranko's ranks and new world order. I figure that if I'm not going to stop him, Mariska really won't stand a chance in doing so on her own.
While I might go back to her side in a heartbeat if she rescues me, I plan on continuing to defect to Steranko.
Worst case scenario for me at the moment is to die.
About midday the next day you hear Mariska's voice outside the door.
"Are you all right?" she asks. The large deadbolt starts to shift, and the door opens. She looks pretty filthy, but unharmed. The two guards in the outer space are on the floor.
"Let's get you out of here. There are quite a few places in this castle we can hide, but I think you need to see something first. Have you got anything?"
--M. J. Young
I hop up when Mariska comes, and try to act as un-suprised as I can.
"I have plenty of information; however, I don't have any weapons." I head over to the nearest guard, and search him for weapons. If I find any, I take them.
"I'll tell you all about it when we get somewhere safe. First, show me what you need to."
The guards have nine millimeter pistols as sidearms, complete with holsters and a spare clip each. Are you taking both guns and both spare clips, and are you taking holsters?
They're both dead.
She indicates that you should be as quiet as possible, and leads the way up the stairs out of the dungeon. The halls are empty, and she moves swiftly along one.
It opens into a large room which, from the look, was probably at one time the entry hall you saw on the floorplan. It has a high ceiling and several balconies around the edges. In the center is a huge cauldron, probably forty feet across. It is filled with molten gold, but has apparently cooled enough that there is a solid sheet on top, possibly of other metals and dross. The room is very hot.
Suspended from a heavy probably iron chain about one and a half stories above the surface of the cauldron is an iron cage, akin to a birdcage but ten feet in diameter. Your four friends are inside it.
There are a couple of people in the room, but they have not noticed you.
--M. J. Young
I take one holster, both guns, and both spare clips.
This way, I have one gun in a holster, one in my right hand, and two spare clips in my pocket.
"Well, this isn't pleasant at all." I wisper to Miraska, and hold my gun ready. I step back a couple feet, and ask her, "Do you know those people in the cage?" While there, I straighten my aim for Mariska's head, and fire. I'll fire three rounds, one aimed for the head then the other two aimed for her back.
It appears that you are attempting to devise a sort of stealth-based steal initiative skill, to shoot an armed combatant without her anticipating it. Before I roll for it, do you want to say anything about this skill, such as whether you have a legitimate example to show you how to do it?
--M. J. Young
Well, all I've got is movies that I've seen where people stab one another in the back or simple logic that you can shoot someone from behind with more effect than in the front.
Also, I do have some experience in lieing. I went through a period in my life where I lied a lot. I'd say that I' pretty good at lieing, because of the skill previously mentioned to control my own emotions.
Wrong post--back in a moment.
She looks over to the cage, and you hear her say "N--"but then she whirls around as you start to draw the trigger on the gun, and fires two shots into you before you can fire.
You collapse and black out.
I need to figure your flexibility. Can you touch your toes without bending your knees? How flexible should I think you are?
--M. J. Young
I cannot touch my toes without bending my knees. I've never been very flexible. My fingers always stop at about an inch from my toes.
I have started the new thread, Merrye Olde Kurt, but am passing the reins to Harry (no, the one who goes by the name John Sevenwinds or John O'Sevens, not the cat), so you'll have to wait for him to post.
I've also posted your character sheet Behind the Screens, and you should check it to verify that I haven't missed anything. I did your equipment additions by memory, and my memory is not always so good, so if you picked up something else in this world let me know and we'll add it.
--M. J. Young