• Graded • The Turkey Knight

[Zip]

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58th Zi'da 717

o_o

Zipper didn’t like the woods.

Well, no, she didn’t particularly like much, but anything that screamed nature had a very special place on her shit list - fitting because the woods were covered in shit seen and shit unseen, a veritable stretch of manure with a bunch of glorified sticks sticking out of it. She had agreed to this particular odious but discreet meeting spot because the client she was meeting was, at present, a very, very wanted man in a very, very small port town - amplified by the fact that a certain idiotic, sword-happy, balls-for-brains, fucknut of a daft, daft cunt associate of hers had slapped on an insane 10k reward for glorious capture or messy death.

He had placed her in position where her superiors were gawking at her for HIS decision. Master Torvyn has already sent her a strongly worded letter that sounded like it came from herself. The Vice administrator had already called her in for, per his quotes, a ‘urgent meeting’... right before the administrator himself called her in for another unpleasantly passive-aggressive meeting. They did not object to placing a bounty on a crime leader; they objected to the equivalent of throwing an onyx nel at an apple, at issuing a bounty without a proper social trigger that necessitated his arrest, against a phantom in the shadows that more than a few were dubious even existed.

Oh, he existed.

“Hey, Bird.” she said at the familiar clank, clank, clank of his armour. She turned, and there he was: the Prince of Eternal Mercies. She smiled a small smile. “How’s our new celebrity doing?”

“Disturbed that you can recognize me by my armour, but otherwise, fine.” He stepped out of the foliage, waving a hand behind him to halt what sounded like another person waiting in the woods, perhaps a guardian. “How are you, Zipper?”

“I’ve been better,” Zipper said. “It’s been a messy few trials.”

“I’d imagine so. Admittedly, I’m still a bit confused as to the reason for the bounty, but I can only assume it’s been a headache for you.” He smiled mirthlessly, gesticulating towards a nearby log for her to sit.

“I’ll stand, if you don’t mind.” she said, brushing her shoulder at some buzzing bug. She barely trusted the sanity of a chair, let alone a lone log in the woods. “And headache’s an understatement. Crime’s crime: bounties don’t go out for no good reason. There was no good reason here. If it's any cold consolation, you have officially broken the record for being the highest-ranked bounty since… No, you’re the most expensive one in Etzori history. You’ve outbidded some of the worst mages, immortal slaves, monsters, Padfoot himself, even that huge Becomer a few seasons back that they said tried to kill some foreign king.”

“Oh, I remember him. You know he survived having his intestines ripped out of his stomach? Tough one, he was.” The Avriel recalled with a distant stare, as though reminiscing about the event. “Yes, it is strange that they’d place such a high bounty on someone that most of them probably don’t even know exists. Since our last meeting, I’ve been more discreet about the takeovers. There’ve been two, neither of which likely ever sent word to the surface.”

Boxcode credit: Yolande

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[Noth]

KNIGHT -

“Which leads me to believe there is some kind of personal vendetta involved here, a vengeance invoked by a very unsubtle man,” Zipper said. “What does the name Gangui mean to you?”

“You’d be entirely correct, I’d imagine. I met Gangui… over an Arc ago. He assisted me in looting the corpses of dead Etzori soldiers.” The hybrid smirked, “How far he’s fallen. At a later date, he found himself in possession of a series of statues that I had been informed were quite valuable, and I attempted to remove them from him. He simply mustn’t have the same professional courtesy that you do, Zipper.” Noth leaned forward as he uttered the last line, crimson eyes boring into the girl with predatory analysis.

She must have taken an involuntary step back. He seemed to grow just a bit smaller. “He’s… I’ve worked with him. He’s an enthusiastic man - able in many ways but evidently not in basic fuckin’ economics. Regardless, I’ve pushed for the bounty to be rescinded. Word should go out by tomorrow. The immeasurable cunt load of damage -to Foster’s integrity, to you- has been done, but at least there’s a pause to this mess.”

The hybrid paused for several trills, as if though considering her words, and then spoke, “Good. In the end, I’ve lost very little. People can’t recognize the Prince of Eternal Mercies by look, typically. Unfortunately, I do now have to murder that squealing pig. I’m certain you understand.” Another wicked smile creased his features. “You’re a far more competent leader, anyways. Perhaps you could take his place in an official capacity. I have heard he has some semblance of a following now.”

“I’m looking for promotions, not demotions.” Zipper said, gesturing absently… but inside, she gave another loud, heavy sigh. One problem curbed, albeit messily, another one made by Noth’s inevitable retaliatory response. And who could fault him? He appeared weak if he let such a huge slight slide. It was the simple logic of any street-hardened criminal. “And he does. Would it be wise to strike so soon while the theatre light, however adjacent to your actual identity it may be, still lingers?”

“Have you ever met a mercenary, Zipper?” He questioned, seemingly changing the topic.

“Too many, to my dismay.” Zipper said, privately wondering where he was going with this.

“Personally, I’ve never understood the soulless devotion that people give to little trinkets of metal, but mercenaries, hunters, scum… money is their god. I’m sure you can only imagine the utter sacrilege that strikes them when it becomes apparent that their efforts are being denied payment. After all, it’s what they live for, to become wealthy.” He paused, gradually leaning into a nearby tree, talon unconsciously raking into its base as he spoke, “Cancelling a bounty of such high value will upset someone, no matter whether it is a local incident, or an international one. When Gangui dies, it will just look like some frustrated fool thought poorly of his financial skills, and decided to rectify the matter in blood.”

[Zip]

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“Fair point,” she said. Oh dark gods in Rhakros, fair point. For maybe the dozenth time this trial, she considered cutting her losses with Gangui - she chose him because he was strong, he was fierce, he embodied the tiresome male archetype every single hot-blooded foster’s male seemed to believe they were. She knew he was an oaf in many ways. She knew him to be reckless - but she could not see that he would go over the proverbial rails in such a spectacularly fuckcunt of a way. Who would she groom to replace him while she waited for the knife in the back to slide in? That second-in-command of his? He wasn’t top dog for a reason. Vorval? No, defected into the woods last she checked, and he lacked the raw charisma Gangui brought to the table to begin with… as well as an absurd lack of propriety.

Niv? Ha.

Weighing the idea of saving Gangui with the information she learned today from poison, from a stray knife in a bar fight, from an errant arrow in a skirmish where anyone could die, from a thousand ways that Noth could strike… And suffering his ‘honor’ and his talk of the inexplicable free market and his ‘true etzori’ rhetoric for a trill longer.

Or letting him die.

“That’s a very fair point,” she said. “But he’ll be a Martyr now if you kill him. If there was a way to sully his reputation further before the axe falls…”

“A Martyr to whom?”

“To the people of Foster’s who believe his bloody shite, to the children who hailed the Sir Turkey, who play at swords and shields because of him, to those in Etzos and the other towns who are even now hearing the barest whisper of the Turkey Knight, to anyone looking for any easy excuse for yet another go at a mob. If he dies now to an unnamed mercenary or poison or Immortals know what you’re planning, they will latch on to the closest name they can blame. They will latch on to his last, dumbass legacy: the bounty on the Prince of Eternal Mercies. Alias or not, it might be an inconvenience for you. You’re not the low quality of man this Gangui is, I wager, to do such a thing.”

The Avriel pushed off of the tree, casually shaking off remnants of bark from the razor-sharp talons which donned his feet. He began to step with a slow, but steady pace, circling around the young woman before him not unlike a wolf to a prospective meal. “You think quite highly of him, don’t you?” He uttered with a faint undertone of menace. “It’s evident you’ve heard him speak, heard what he promises. You think he’s an idiot, certainly, but… do you believe in him?”

Zipper noted to herself never to meet Noth alone -no, not alone. She noted the gesture. There was someone else- in the forest ever again.

Boxcode credit: Yolande

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[Noth]

KNIGHT -

“I don’t believe,” she said. “I’m simply stating the very real follow-up to a assassination of a celebrity figure in this quaint little town.” Hold back the Ether Missile, Zipper. Hold it back. She could hear her spark seethe at her, urging her to defense, but she held strong. Her hands quivered as much from trepeditation as they did not charging one up. So, too, was the urge not to track his movements with her head. Her Attunement spark was only recently recovered from the divine trauma she faced an arc ago… but it was not yet powerful enough to convey even the tiniest glimpse of her old, much-missed awareness of her surroundings. “You kill him now, they will flash you. You make him shit, and they won’t give a flying fuck if you step onto him.”

“Perhaps you’re right.” He conceded, pausing in his circling once he was directly behind her. “Clearly, you know him better than I do. What would you recommend, Zipper?” He spoke her name like it was a swear, an utterance of damnation as opposed to a simple nickname, an accusatory thought of verbal construction.

She considered turning around in a small flourish, but something invisible held her in place. Something to the tune of vaguely bird shaped in a suit of armor. “Wait,” she said. All cards in. “Wait, see, bring down his name, then strike. When the time comes for Gangui’s end, you will have killed not a hero, but a disgraced knight shunned by a city that once praised his name.”

“I understood that part of the plan. How would you go about disgracing him? What is your… methodology.”

“Is this a consultation?” she said, despite herself. She still couldn’t see him, oh but his presence was undeniable: thick, overwhelming, very predatory - but predators had no respect for those who didn’t stand up and made themselves look big. The weak found themselves prey and she had to at least give him that much. “Cause I don’t see myself getting paid. I am, sadly, a bit like those, how did you call them, soulless devotees to little trinkets of metal.”

That elicited a chuckle from the Avriel, and he stepped around the woman once more so that she could face him properly. “Quite. One hundred nels for you to deface him for me.”

Take the money, take the money, take the money, take the money, her inner voice said, wanting to end it all. Her spark seethed harder, the etheric thing inside the chest of her soul bellowing louder than ever - but she couldn’t. It wasn’t about the money. It was about a service matching the price. Ether for a spell. One for one. “Which would suffice for bad publicity,” she said. “Not the downfall of a minor fuckin’ hero. He’s no Doran, but he’s worth something. 300.”

[Zip]

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“Doran himself didn’t cost that much.” He let the implication of that sink in before continuing, “Besides, I’ve given you 250 in the past to eliminate a threat, and I’ve seen no evidence that that particular problem has been solved.” He narrowed his eyes with a sigh. “Zipper, you’re a likable sort, but I’m not in the business of keeping pets. Show some results, and you’ll have your 300.”

“150 upfront.” Again, the words left her mouth faster than you could say pushing it. “Your first problem’s on its way. Failing that, standard policy applies: you’ll have your refund. On both counts. Unlike the hero Doran who is undeniably a most charitable human being.” Was he bluffing? For later. Get out of this first. “I need the nel.”

“Very well. I will grant you this concession. Do not fail.” He uttered with sudden seriousness, raising a hand into the air and beckoning forth the previously unseen figure. A humanoid dressed in armored garb strode forward, and promptly placed a bag of coins into the hand of the hybrid before retreating back out of sight. He offered the jingling bag to the girl, eyes never leaving her own.

She took it. She didn’t even shake this time.

“Tell me, Zipper. Do you have any friends who would be interested in arrangements like our own?”

She thought about Robin, blaise and unconcerned and infuriatingly unconcerned with anything. She thought about Rayna, a tourist in her own birthplace (or so she claimed), looking for a war. She thought about her Black Guard contacts back home. She thought about the network she had slowly built up over the last 2 seasons in Foster’s, through endorsements and offers and sometimes even the most reluctant gift of all: friendliness. Modest next to the deep roots that Lady Terriel were assumed to have planted, no doubt, but strong and growing all the same.
“Depends on what you need,” she said, keeping her tone even.

“Right now, nothing in particular, but you can understand the usefulness of having a list of independent contractors one can call upon when necessary. Keep that in mind if you find the time. It would be quite valuable to me.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” she said. “If there’s nothing else…”

Finally, the light at the end of the tunne-

“So eager to leave?” He chuckled lightly at that.

“I don’t like the woods.” she said, resisting every urge in her body to walk away right now. Dark gods, even his chuckle grated. Neither of them were fooled by what she was really disliking at this very moment.

“Ah. Of course. There are dangerous things in the woods, after all.” He smiled wickedly, glaring at her for a final time before spinning upon his heel.

“You have your work. Be mindful you not be sucked down into the mire as others must be.” And with that, he departed.

“I am thankful for the advice.” she said to his back. A little sass to her tone she couldn't avoid.

And as he departed, the spark stopped seething… and then it hit her. The spark never cared when she was in bodily danger. It didn’t know fear as she knew fear, it didn’t know anxiety as she knew anxiety, and its say on her life and her death were quiet ones. The spark was not responding to Noth, the Prince of Eternal Mercies.

It was responding to something ON him, the etherist’s sixth sense pouring out and latching onto the nearest ether signature… and catching something it didn’t like.

A consideration for another time… Vorval was first on the list, then she would find a replacement -less unpredictable, more malleable- for Gangui before she tore him down far, far away from the Sons of Justice... or mayhaps sic Gangui on Noth in a place and time of her choosing, mopping up whatever weakened side made it out herself. She had hoped that loathesome bird would have taken some personal initiative to engineer his fall... but 300 wasn't a bad deal for someone she had to get rid of either.

... Assuming, she thought darkly, that he was even going to wait. That the 300 wasn't some patronizing distraction. That he was just going to waltz in, accept her stance on his terms, and drop a sellsword on the foolish turkey oaf anyway.

But all that said...

Noth was dead on about one thing.

She did, in her own unsentimental way, believed in Gangui, and it was that shocking belief that, despite all his errors and faults and liabilities, made her want to push the logical choice aside. The easy choice.

Hmm.

Boxcode credit: Yolande

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[Noth]

KNIGHT -

As the twilight hybrid meandered through the woods, he considered carefully the implications of everything he had observed whilst in the presence of Zipper. She had shown herself in the past to be a fairly talented operator, and he recognized that she was quite useful to both himself and his organization. Her access and responsibility within the Black Guard allowed her a degree of leverage over many aspects of Etzos that were distinctly restricted to himself and the ilk with which he commonly associated.

That said, there had been the slightest inkling of distrust that seemed to wrinkle the fabric of their meeting. In part, he imagined it had been mostly created by himself, but he didn’t doubt for an instant that the feeling was something which had been granted life for no reason whatsoever. No, his senses had begun to tingle throughout their meeting, especially as they discussed the nature of Gangui.
Gangui, there was a frustration that would need to meet his demise soon. It was genuinely a shame that he had already worked to dispatch an assassin to end his life, because it was true that Zipper’s idea had seemed quite useful. That said, he thought that she was blowing his importance far out of proportion. Certainly, he was informed that his new opponent was a charismatic sort with enough character to rival even the most fervent and talented of public speakers, but a single speech about a problem most of the population couldn’t relate with was never going to cause as much splash as she believed.

On the subject of death, he recognized that he had witnessed and caused far more bloody and gruesome demise than she had likely even imagined, and so it was not entirely in her purview to understand how people truly reacted when a person they liked, but who they had not truly come to know met their end. In reality, people were typically apathetic, uncaring as to issues that did not pertain immediately to themselves, and whilst there would probably be a couple persons hither and thither who legitimately did see their unrenowned leader as a martyr, they would just as easily be put down afterwards. Dogs that did not learn to heel were meat for those that would.

Did Zipper believe in him? She had made it clear whilst they spoke that she regarded him as a fool and an idiot, but that didn’t necessarily mean that she didn’t believe in him. A more pressing issue flickered into conscious thought: What if she was working with him? Did the Turkey Company have a liaison with the Black Guard in Foster’s? Could it be that she was acting as that liaison? It would certainly explain why she knew so much about him, but… then again speculation was not always healthy, and he made a mental note to dispatch someone to keep track of them.

Ears. Ears was a talented enough spy, but he was jittery and nervous to the point where it would be disastrous. No… someone less obvious. Slip, perhaps. She was reasonably capable of such a non-violent task, and having someone keep an eye on proceedings in Foster’s would be invaluable. Beyond that, Gangui seemed to be the sort preoccupied with noble thoughts, and Noth doubted he would be quite as apt to harm a young woman as a bullish male.

Yes. Foster’s Landing for all of its small size had grown to be a rather considerable thorn in his side, and like all thorns, it would need to be plucked.

[Pegasus]

An interesting conversation, sat on logs and discussing Gangui. I was really in the swing of it, in the flow of the conversation and how Zipper is kind of surprised at just how much she believes in Gangui, it really did make it all flow well. Great thread, interesting stuff. I can't wait to see what's happening in Etzos in the near future. It all sounds fantastic fun! And I can not help but wonder where Zipper's loyalties really lie. Intriguing!

Noth

Points

XP: 15

Fame: - 30

Loot

-150gn

Knowledge

Intelligence: Dispatching a Spy
Intelligence: Multiple Sources Means More Reliable Information
Negotiation: Haggling Over Price
Business Management: Don't Pay a Contractor More for an Easier Job
Logistics: Deface, then Kill
Logistics: Mercenaries Work Only for Cash
Intimidation: Going Behind Someone
Intimidation: Using your target's name as a weapon

Zipper

Points

XP:15

Fame: -10

Loot

Knowledge

Business Management: Assuaging a difficult client
Detection: Noticing a gestured signal
Detection: Using the Ether Sense to pick up something supernatural
Discipline: Tolerating the outdoors
Discipline: Standing your ground in the face of fear
Deception: Bloating up a local celebrity's importance and stature
Politics: No action, big or small, exists in a vacuum
Intelligence: Evaluating your Intelligence network