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The Redsea Saga - Episode One.

laclongquan

Arcane
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Searching for my kidnapped sister
BBBBBBBBBBBBBB

While I feel a bit curiousity about A, it's entirelly unprudent. And C is frankly antisocial.

Least of all evils and all that.
 

oscar

Arcane
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NZ
B

Though if he asks for anything too arduous or that we give up either the D-Pad or the gun he can get fucked.

The important thing is to get to him, as quickly as possible, and Elias affords you that opportunity.

True but I don't think we want to get too sucked into local politics and machinations here. Keep our mind on the job then let's get out of this dump.
 

Orgasm

Barely Literate
Joined
May 4, 2010
Messages
1,360
Meh. Disappointing. Hello, my name is INNOCENT and I am looking for my dad, middle aged guy, maybe you have seen him? And dedicated epic trailer music of all things...
 

ironyuri

Guest
C isn't about attacking him. C is about telling him we don't need him and going off on our own.

Fuck this dude.
 

The Barbarian

Liturgist
Joined
Mar 21, 2010
Messages
599
Location
Melbourne, Australia
B, again.

***

Update Three (Episode One)

The conversation is starting to wear on past your liking, but you still see some advantage in negotiating with this individual. 'Well, what can I offer in return for what I ask, my weapon and d-pad aside?'

In response to your query Elias shifts in his seat, absentmindedly stroking his chin. He ponders the question for a moment. 'I don't know, stranger. What can you offer, your goods aside? Do you have any slaves hidden on your person that I cannot see? Or perhaps you would toil in the mine or the refinery, instead? No... I want your needler. I am tempted by it. A weapon of that quality is very uncommon on this world. Were I not so fair-minded, I would have you killed and I would take it - this is my land, and so is anything on it. As of earlier today, that includes you, the things you carry and your craft.'

Immediately, but imperceptibly, you engage combat mode. Your enhanced adrenal glands begin delivering the hormone to your system. Your blood vessels begin to contract. Targeting information appears on the periphery of your vision. Nonetheless, you stand perfectly still. 'I would strongly advise against it.'

Elias leans forward and examines you anew. 'Yes. But I am a fair-minded person. So this is what I will do for you... Go relax in the canteen, with my permission. The food and water are free. As is lodging for the night. This will give me time to consider what an equitable exchange would look like, in this case. If you do not accept what I offer tomorrow, you will be sent on your way empty handed. With the understanding that your craft - or what's left of it - is mine. Where you go after that is your business. Though Iris will, understandably, not re-open its doors to you without good reason. Do we have a bargain?'

You grit your teeth. The combat reflex is subsiding, as you anticipate no further immediate danger. 'Sure, we have a bargain.'

'Marvelous. I expect you back here tomorrow at noon. Now, go wait outside. I will send Kindra to escort you to the canteen in a few short minutes. Please do not wander off.' With that, Elias dismisses you.

Reluctantly you walk out and wait in the adjoining hallway. Some time passes. You begin to suspect something is awry, when Kindra finally emerges and smiles at you. Without a word, she invites you to follow her back down the mazy corridors of this place. You decide that your mental map's accuracy was high, after a few minutes of brisk walking.

As soon as you are out in the 'open' and away from the eyes of Elias' guardsmen, Kindra turns to you. 'That was stupid, Mr. So stupid. Elias is a dangerous man. You should have traded with him when you had the chance. He might have even honored it.'

It takes a second to click, but then you realise that Kindra is no longer stuttering. At all. Strange, indeed. 'Are we not still bargaining?'

'No. You're waiting while he picks up the stone he'll brain you with. Come on, just follow.'

***

The Iris is an enclosed darkness.

A few more minutes of keeping pace with Kindra and you are suddenly at the door of a dank establishment. More graffiti covers the walls. Hanging limply above you is a sign that reads 'The Murderhole'. How delightful.

_1257834637.jpg


Kindra strides in, and you follow. Inside, you find yourself under immediate scrutiny. Scores of eyes are looking right at you, as card games and drinks are hastily put on hold. A tense silence follows. It lasts for what feels like an eternity, before the eyes begin turning away, pair by pair. The noise level slowly returns to what you believe is 'normal' for this place. You had barely noticed it, but Kindra had already walked over to the bar and entered into a conversation with the heavily tattooed, graying barkeep. For lack of anything better to do, you stand still and observe.

Moments later, she is back at your side. 'Alright. Glasseye is the barkeep's name. He'll feed you and give you a bed for the night, courtesy of Elias. I'll show you to your room.'

She leads you back across the front area of the Murderhole and up a darkened staircase. Glasseye and a few others watch you closely. As soon as they are out of earshot, Kindra beckons you to come closer. You comply. 'Okay, Mr. Here's the deal. I know what Elias was going to tell you, if you gave him the needler. I mean, I know the place he was going to send you. I can take you there. All you have to do is take me with you.'

'Why?'

'I just want out, okay? You haven't seen anything yet. You don't know. This is a good deal. Really. If you go back to Elias, chances are he'll have you killed. Did you actually believe that bullshit about staying the night so that he can think things over? If you stay, you're a dead man.'

Your face is expressionless. 'I am not easy prey.'

'Mr. I don't care if you shoot lightning from your fingertips. Elias doesn't fight fair if he doesn't have to. He didn't get to where he is by being stupid. Listen to me. We can take a sandskimmer. It's much bigger than the buggy and has a longer range. They use it to ship refined rare minerals to Cortica. But it's guarded all the time. I'd need your help to get rid of the sentries. There's one being fuelled for tomorrow's shipment, right now. What do you say?'

Kindra's look is one of quiet desperation. 'I say that this is a very elaborate plan considering that we have been acquainted for less than a day - and under less than ideal circumstances. Why should I trust you?'

She smiles in a bemused fashion. 'You shouldn't. I wouldn't. But these are desperate times for both of us. I have nothing to gain by betraying you. And my freedom to lose. I do not work for Elias; I am only his slave.'

You scoff. 'So why did you not run when you were alone, outside of Iris, at the wheel of a fuelled vehicle? You had a chance to escape.'

Kindra's eyes light up. 'And go where?! That buggy can't even make it to Cortica. Mr, I want out. You are my best chance to get out. Do we have a deal?'

Well? Do we have a deal?
 

Esquilax

Arcane
Joined
Dec 7, 2010
Messages
4,833
Yuri is right, you bros shouldn't have accepted this dickhead's offer. This is the kind of person who will only make a deal if he is the one getting the better of it. If you accepted, he would have gotten the better of it, but at least he would have become a potential ally. If you just told him to fuck off and went your merry way, you could have found more opportunities around Iris. As it is, this was a half-measure.

Personally, since this is a space-western after all and our bro has mad skills, I would have gone EXTREME and chosen C and looked for more opportunities around town. The lack of EXTREME shown by the voting block so far is somewhat troubling. If you had stood your ground against Elias before, then at least we wouldn't have had to run around doing a stupid errand for him.

Kindra is obviously more than a slave. She's obviously got some training and I think she might be an agent for someone else. I'm speculating here, but I think she might be posing as a slave at someone else's behest; perhaps a rival crime lord?

Anyways, since we're stuck here, I guess we ought to fulfill our end of the deal with Elias. The time for EXTREME has passed. He won't try and kill us tonight - I think that's just Kindra putting pressure on us so that we agree to do what she wants. The more likely scenario is that he'll ask us to perform a very difficult, high-risk mission for him. It's a win-win for Elias because if we die, then he gets our high-tech weaponry and is rid of a potential thorn on his side, and if we succeed, he benefits anyways.
 

laclongquan

Arcane
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Searching for my kidnapped sister
Hell no. If we accept to trade our weapons and our vehicle away at first chance, he will sense a weakness and pound upon us on some excuse to slavery. As it is we have an option.

The thing to notice is that people here desire a high quality weapon. There's something going on, oasis war for water or some such things. So with our weapon, our abilities, we are a force to be reckoned with.

That said, the chance we actually walking out of this settlement with our needler is very low. He doesnt want to risk it falling into others's hand so our man will have to part with it for certain.

Even assuming the girl lie about this supposed place, have a local guide is better. And our working relation will improve compare to before.

So, let's make a deal.
 

korenzel

Educated
Joined
May 18, 2010
Messages
278
I have to agree with what has been said previously, the voting so far has been disappointingly going towards middle-road options. I suppose that's typical of RPG players who don't want to close down options, but this is not a game in which we can reload after all offers are made.

Two things are clear from what the Barbarian wrote. Elias wants the equipment, but he's scared of us. This is a slave lord, do you really think he would bother dealing with our hero if he didn't have to ? That he was ready to exchange information instead of just using brute force and take the loot if he had the choice ? In his shoes, would you ? If he could have, he would have taken the weapon and pad already, without paying anything, such is the way of a slaver.

The Barbarian has made multiple mentions of our character's extensive combat training and bionic implants, this is a man who takes action rather than wait for someone else to offer him a deal or show him the way. He actually almost died in the process of this manhunt, and could very well be stranded on this penal colony for an undetermined period of time because of it. That requires dedication to the task beyond a simple job. This is no time to think with your lower brain and escape with the girl, if Elias knows something it's up to our hero to find out, and to be persuasive enough to make sure what information he's given is reliable.

Kindra has clearly shown that she isn't. What she's revealed is that she's a manipulative young woman. The appearance of frailty hides a trained character. The stuttering probably a way to attract pity and dismiss her as a legitimate opponent. To some extent, it has worked on the hero, since fair codexers chose to spare her life and even let her loose when she's already proven to be a potential threat. An untrustworthy guide is worst than none at all. Accepting the deal would mean keeping her in the lead, in which she has been since the very beginning. This is no time to make friends. There will be no deal, and it's up tor our hero to take matters into his own hands for the first time in this story.

Elias has made a mistake by leaving our man alive. The food and lodging are too suspicious to be trusted, and the backpack contained a healthy supply of rations that will be more than sufficient. Playing along but not eating a bite or getting any minute of sleep, he should wait for the night and prepare his own operation. Elias's stronghold may be guarded, but its layout has been revealed to bionic auto-mapping eyes, its guard posts located, its main strengths and weaknesses exposed. Our hero's meek and submissive attitude has probably made him lower his guard.

Let's go see Elias and ask the question again, this time with the needler pointed to his head.
 

juggernaut

Educated
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Dec 26, 2009
Messages
234
Location
Australia
Yeah, we are in a dilemma now. If we sleep in the town something tells me we won't be waking up, or at least not with our stuff. On the other hand Kindra is dodgy as hell. I wasn't expecting the previous B option to go down the way it did at all, in retrospect I would have chosen C. If we decline the deal, does that mean we automatically chill until tomorrow to talk to Elias? At this point I'm inclined to make the deal and then later somehow get the upper hand on Kindra, but only to gtfo of town with a vehicle. Forcing information out of Elias would be good, but I don't know if the choice would lead to that, or if our character is badass enough to do so through fighting or stealth.
 

Crooked Bee

(no longer) a wide-wandering bee
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I fully support korenzel's X-TREME style of thinking :P No deal.

So, as I said earlier, let's beat Elias to a bloody pulp! Or point our needler to his head, at least.
 

Gondolin

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Elias has made a mistake by leaving our man alive. The food and lodging are too suspicious to be trusted, and the backpack contained a healthy supply of rations that will be more than sufficient. Playing along but not eating a bite or getting any minute of sleep, he should wait for the night and prepare his own operation. Elias's stronghold may be guarded, but its layout has been revealed to bionic auto-mapping eyes, its guard posts located, its main strengths and weaknesses exposed. Our hero's meek and submissive attitude has probably made him lower his guard.

Let's go see Elias and ask the question again, this time with the needler pointed to his head.

This. We must have Elias' information, but not by trading.
 

ironyuri

Guest
We backed Kindra into a corner there, in a way.

She just told us where she thinks we should be going (if my thinking is right) - Cortica. We could deny her a deal and get the fuck out of dodge on our own.


Otherwise, I think it's a better idea to get out with this Kindra bitch now than to wait. Elias won't deal squarely, he looked us over while in combat mode and he won't be unguarded next time. He may even have his men lay in ambush. We can't take on a whole settlement- get the fuck out of dodge either way.

So I vote:

Accept the deal - get out tonight. We have a mission, fuck this rat diplomacy with Elias.


Also bros, Elias could just lie to us and send us into an ambush. You want to get sent out into the desert to where his men can ambush and take our goods anyway? Kindra might just want to get out of this place, but the settlement we're currently in is hostile and it won't get anymore pleasant after we've fucked with Elias.
 

Azira

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Codex 2012
Kindra could also be setting us up. She was in there with Elias for a while before she returned to the hallway where we'd been waiting.
Don't. Trust. Anyone.

When that is said though, we're only one person, and we're in need of information, even though it might be misleading.

I say we take Kindra up on her deal, but watch her very, very closely. She's useful for now, when she ceases to be, she should be considered a liability and killed as quickly as possible. M:
 

anus_pounder

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Damn, I'm voting for Korenzel.

But, I'm ready to flip-flop in an instant. What K says is very sensible and seems like a wise choice, yet so does running off with this Woman - who we really shouldn't trust for a second - and saving ourselves from any potential problems in Iris.
 

Gondolin

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ironyuri said:
Also bros, Elias could just lie to us and send us into an ambush. You want to get sent out into the desert to where his men can ambush and take our goods anyway? Kindra might just want to get out of this place, but the settlement we're currently in is hostile and it won't get anymore pleasant after we've fucked with Elias.

Kindra might actually be that ambush. Frankly, we could sneak up on Elias, make him talk, put a needle through his skull and get out quietly just in time to steal a ride with Kindra. But that would be too neat. :D
 

The Barbarian

Liturgist
Joined
Mar 21, 2010
Messages
599
Location
Melbourne, Australia
Easily implemented, friend SCO. The first post has been updated with the filter and with some changes to the Dramatis Personae.

Conan feels very energetic, despite a hefty workload. If he can, he will complete another update later tonight. Let us see if the Gods favor us this day.

EDIT:

If we decline the deal, does that mean we automatically chill until tomorrow to talk to Elias?

This is a question Conan should address.

No, if you decline the deal there will be no direct time lapse. You will have one more choice to make before that eventuality.
 

SoupNazi

Guest
I was right that A was the best option. The guy would have honored our deal and got us to Him, probably even supply is with some of the local weapons, which even when they're sort of shitty could have helped us (at the very least, to blend in instead of standing out as a sore thumb, an offworlder).

Now it's too late, he's been offended and needs to show his cronies and everyone that he won't take such an insult. We need to get out of dodge, and Kindra has been helpful so far - she did help us get through the gate when she could have had the two guards kill us.

Take the deal, go away with Kindra.

BTW - as for whose spy Kindra is - I think it's very clear she's somehow associated with Him. Either working for him, or also sharing our plans through some kind of a personal vendetta.

That, or it's a tranny Him. :smug:
 

korenzel

Educated
Joined
May 18, 2010
Messages
278
It looks like Codexia is more interested about the story of Kindra than that of our hero and his manhunt. Maybe are they secretly hoping the Barbarian will debase himself by writing a romance between the two?

Either Kindra is honest in her desire to leave the place at all costs, in which case she would say anything to get out of this place, moreso than a threatened Elias. The chance of her information actually being reliable or even useful is very low, and her plan involves a war declaration with the slave lord and his entire organized forces.

On the other hand, if Kindra is in league with Elias or "Him", then she'll most likely lead our man into a trap, or at the very least astray from his target. Since there's no way to be sure, constant vigilance would be required, and as towns seem far apart there are many opportunities for mischief for one as cunning as the girl seems to be.

If blood is what Codexia seeks, then sneaking into the palace and extracting information from the source, then eliminating Elias is a much more sound option. It will create a void in leadership that will allow for many opportunities of escape, as the locals will be too concerned about infighting to pursue our hero.

Would you rather be the cat or the mouse ?
 

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