Logs > Gamma Logs > He's Too Stupid to be Predictable

He's Too Stupid to be Predictable

[Sluices, Service Tunnel]
Someone has collected a heap of filthy rags and bunched them together into a makeshift bed. Decomposing fruit rinds and scattered bones appear to be the aftermath of a hasty dinner. Shards of broken glass and pottery cover the ground. Also here is Kot (seated on a bed).

The stench of garbage lingers causing a gagging maisma.
The only obvious exit is north.

You glance at Kot.
You put a slender low-steel rapier in your tooled black loop.
Kot grins.
Kot says, "Howdy."
You say, "What a lovely place to have a seat."
You act: Jurion surveys his surroundings.
Kot carefully begins to inspect the well-crafted brass coffer.
You nudge some green glass.
Kot says, "It's quiet here."
Kot says, "Save for some rats."
A brown rat emerges from the rag bed and skitters off in search of a meal.
You say, "Speaking of which."
You chuckle.

> look Kot
Kot is a male human in his twenties.
He is holding a well-crafted brass coffer in his right hand.
He is wearing some shiny leather boots, a brown wool cloak, a studded deep purple leather harness, some plain white frieze breeches, a star-cut quartz set into a gold wedding ring, some simple leathers, a finely crafted frothing green rabbit skin pouch, a black eyepatch, and some worn black boar skin gloves.

[ This was in early Gamma, when expanded traits were being implemented. There was a period of about a week during which nobody had any traits, and this log takes place at that time. Also, at this point we hadn't determined whether it was "Lord Rillon" or "Lord Brillon," hence Kot's reference to the latter. We eventually settled on "Rillon." ]

Kot grins.
Kot says, "I should name the damn thing."
You don't see that.
Kot says, "Unless i blow it up now."
A ferret yawns.
You ask, "Is that likely to explode?"
Kot carefully begins to inspect the well-crafted brass coffer.
You act: Jurion leans against the tunnel wall.
Kot says, "Yep.. we have a fair chance of being blown to bits."
You say, "Grand. Can't wait."
Kot chuckles.
Kot says, "Heh... I just thought of something."
Kot grins.
Kot carefully begins to inspect the well-crafted brass coffer.
You raise an eyebrow.
Kot says, "The whole thing with the money being raised for the temple."
Kot asks, "You kinda know what the plan is, right?"
You say, "More or less."
You say, "I know you're raising money, and you've got your writ."
Kot says, "Well.. we'll still need to write something there."
Kot grins.
Kot carefully begins to inspect the well-crafted brass coffer.
You chuckle.
You say, "That's the easy part."
Kot asks, "But... you dunno any details, eh?"
You shake your head.
Kot nods.
You say, "I haven't seen Shala since Tad and Teru mixed it up."
Kot says, "We need about.. may be 6-7 folks for this..."
Kot grins.
Kot says, "Good thing Tad's doing good with that twit."
Kot chuckles quietly.
Kot says, "Teru got wacked again today.. this time by Merow."
You act: Jurion laughs!
You say, "Really."
You ask, "What happened?"
Kot shrugs.
Kot says, "Merow killed Teru."
Kot grins.
You say, "'Guards and citizens alike are asked to watch this individual carefully and report any suspicious behaviour.'"
You say, "I'm going to have a list as long as I am tall."
You scratch your chin.
Kot says, "Teru tried chasing him to get some revenge and got wacked again."
Kot chuckles quietly.
You say, "What an arse."
Kot nods.
Kot asks, "Stupid is - stupid does, eh?"
You say, "I did a drawing of him, now that Shade's out of his cage."
Kot grins.
Kot carefully begins to inspect the well-crafted brass coffer.
Kot asks, "Ermm.. but.. lemme tell you about the plan?"
You say, "You'd think he'd contribute heavily to Eyssa's cause, seeing as how he's seen her so much lately."
You nod to Kot.
Kot chuckles.
Kot says, "I don't think I'd want that bonehead anywhere near us."
Kot says, "He's too stupid to be predictable."
Kot carefully begins to inspect the well-crafted brass coffer.
Kot says, "But.. uhh."
You act: Jurion shoves some glass out of the way.
Kot says, "The plan goes like this..."
You sit down on the litter-strewn ground.
Kot says, "We'll have two groups of .. um.. actors."
Kot says, "The first group will be the first to start..."
Kot says, "3-4 people will say that they ran into Lord Brillon..."
A brown rat emerges from the rag bed and skitters off in search of a meal.
Kot says, "Who said that the only way to cure the city... rid it of all the bad luck that's been surrounding it lately.."
Kot says, "And all that."
Kot says, "Is to bring us back into Eyssa's favor."
Kot says, "For the goddess is growing tired of granting life to the ungrateful people."
You say, "Too bad the wraiths died down."
You scratch your chin.
Kot nods to you.
Kot says, "Yeah... too bad."
Kot grins.
Kot says, "So... anyhow..."
Kot carefully begins to inspect the well-crafted brass coffer.
Kot says, "They'll say that Brillon... before committing to the construction, and petitioning with the king himself to grant us land."
Kot says, "He'd want us to show that we're serious about the idea.. so that the temple is an effort of the entire town."
Kot says, "Then we'd start money collecting process."
Kot says, "Rather.. the first group would start."
Kot says, "We'll see how well they do."
Kot says, "When the "donations" slow down too much, or if folks don't show enough interest."
Kot says, "The second group will come in."
You say, "You know, having some shills claim they're getting bad visions from Eyssa, or something..."
Kot grins at you.
Kot chuckles quietly.
Kot scratches his chin.
Kot nods.
Kot grins widely.
Kot says, "Yeah.. that'd be good."
Kot says, "I dunno if Xeli and Shala would go for it though."
Kot says, "They were worried about really pissing Eyssa off."
You ask, "Do they have to know?"
Kot grins at you.
You say, "Hm. Then again..."
Kot nods to you.
You say, "They might take that as a sign that they are pissing Eyssa off."
You say, "Hm."
Kot shakes his head.
You say, "I don't know, if the visions were worded correctly, it could still work."
Kot says, "In this play... all actors have to know everything."
Kot nods to you.
You say, "All right."
Kot asks, "Could you come up with something?"
Kot grins.
Kot says, "We'd need to sell it to them somehow."
You say, "I think so."
You chuckle.
Kot says, "So.. anyhow."
Kot grins.
Kot says, "Then the second group comes in... when the inflow of moneys slows down."
Kot says, "Act two of the play."
A brown rat emerges from the rag bed and skitters off in search of a meal.
Kot says, "Half the first group, and the second group, take the collected money to Lord Brillon."
Kot grins.
Kot says, "Lord Brillon becomes very impressed, petitions the king, blah blah blah..."
Kot says, "We get our written directive to look for the plot of land."
Kot says, "And blessing from king to build the temple."
Kot says, "And promise to have names of the people who donated money etched into walls of the temple."
You ask, "Supposing the king hears about it and wants to know what blessing and what petition we're talking about?"
Kot says, "And belief that those who contribute will bask in Eyssa's favor, and will be brought back to life, unlike the others, who will perish."
Kot grins.
Kot says, "Let's hope that he doesn't."
You say, "'It's right here, on your calendar... That is your signature, isn't it, your Highness? I thought you looked a little busy that day.'"
Kot says, "But if he does."
Kot chuckles quietly.
Kot says, "See.... we.. ourselves.. we never did anything."
Kot says, "It was Lord Brillon who went to the king and got the blessing and the permission."
You say, "We've been led astray by Lord Brillon."
Kot says, "It was Lord Brillon who gaves us the paper."
You close your eyes.
You exclaim, "We beg for your forgiveness!"
You open your eyes.
Kot says, "It is Lord Brillon who has the money.... if folks start questioning us later how come there's no temple."
Kot grins.
Kot nods to you.
You act: Jurion dabs at his eye.
Kot chuckles quietly.
Kot says, "We'll have to come up with very detailed description of that baron."
Kot grins.
You say, "Yes. Maybe even a portrait to show people."
Kot scratches his head.
You say, "Also mannerisms, clothing..."
Kot nods.
Kot says, "And the things he said."
You say, "Shala could probably do that best, I think."
Kot says, "I want to have every encounter with the Baron made word for word.. who said what, when, and how."
Kot says, "Then we all memorize it, and each tell it in our own way."
Kot says, "That way all our stories will match."
You say, "You'll have to make sure your actors stay on script, though. If someone improvises and doesn't tell us about it..."
Kot nods to you.
Kot says, "We have good actors."
You ask, "Who else have you gotten for it, if I may ask?"
Kot says, "Tad, Xeli, Shala, Maeve, Cedaven."
You ask, "Cedaven?"
You laugh.
Kot nods.
Kot grins.
You say, "Not bad. And Maeve."
Kot says, "I think he's good for it."
You say, "I never would have thought."
Kot nods to you.
Kot says, "Actually."
You ask, "But that's a point on our side, isn't it?"
Kot grins.
A brown rat emerges from the rag bed and skitters off in search of a meal.
Kot nods to you.
Kot chuckles.
Kot says, "Guess how your name came up."
"I'm assuming it was Shala.
You say, "I'm assuming it was Shala."
Kot says, "Me, actually."
Kot grins.
You laugh.
You ask, "Really? Why? Did you need a dupe?"
Kot says, "I was pondering.. "Who's the one person in town people would feel comfortable giving their money to?""
Kot nods to you.
You chuckle.
Kot says, "I mean.. let's be real."
Kot grins.
You ask, "What makes you think they'll want to give their money to me?"
Kot says, "If i walk in and say "gimme money so i can build a temple""
Kot says, "I'll get a laughter at best."
Kot grins.
You chuckle.
Kot says, "I tried to think of the one person I think of as an "honest upright" and all that."
Kot says, "So, I thought of you."
Kot grins.
You shake your head.
You grin wryly.
Kot chuckles quietly.
Kot asks, "I never really talked to you before, eh?"
Kot grins.
You say, "No, mostly we concerned ourselves with drunken slurs and the occasional punch in the jaw."
Kot says, "And you were all upright and upstanding citizen with all'em political troubles awhile back."
Kot grins.
Kot shrugs.
Kot says, "But, anyhow."
Kot grins at you.
Kot says, "Here's the best part."
Kot chuckles.
Kot says, "Originally we wanted to dupe you into collecting money for us... without letting you in on it."
Kot snickers.
Kot says, "Then ..."
Kot says, "This and that."
Kot grins.
Kot shrugs innocently at you.
You shake your head.
Kot chuckles quietly.
Kot carefully begins to inspect the well-crafted brass coffer.
Kot asks, "Interesting how things turn out, eh?"
You say, "You'd have been pretty surprised if I'd wandered off to Sunte with all that money."
You say, "Which I would have, mind you, if it was a large enough sum."
Kot grins.
Kot asks, "And double cross Shala?"
Kot carefully begins to inspect the well-crafted brass coffer.
You wince.
You say, "Yes, well."
You say, "There is that."
Kot nods to you.
Kot says, "That's what she said too."
You look a bit uncomfortable.
Kot chuckles quietly.
Kot says, "She was gettin' bent outta shape over you not getting into trouble too."
Kot grins.
Kot carefully begins to inspect the well-crafted brass coffer.
You ask, "What do you mean?"
Kot says, "Oh... the whole sentimental bit."
Kot grins at you.
Kot asks, "Women, eh?"
You ask, "Didn't want to see me left holding the bag, eh?"
Kot says, "More like.. didn't want to see you left with a bag over your head."
Kot mumbles some obscenities.
Kot stares at his well-crafted brass coffer.
Kot says, "Damned thing."
You act: Jurion sucks on his teeth.
You say, "Yeah."
Kot says, "I know Exactly what kind of trap this is."
Kot says, "And know how to disarm it."
A brown rat emerges from the rag bed and skitters off in search of a meal.
Kot says, "But can't see the friggin' powder for the life of me."
You ask, "Orb?"
Kot carefully begins to inspect the well-crafted brass coffer.
Kot says, "Yep."
Kot grins.
Kot asks, "You any good at this?"
You laugh.
You say, "No."
Kot says, "Oh well."
Kot grins.
Kot says, "So.. anyhow.. that's the plan..."
You say, "Let's just say I stank for about two weeks after Tad gave me one to try."
You say, "Got one question, though."
Kot says, "We present the royal blessing... wrack up as much money as we can."
Kot says, "Yeah?.."
Kot carefully begins to inspect the well-crafted brass coffer.
You ask, "Well, two. D'you think blaming everything on Brillon is going to work? And do you trust everybody to hold up if the king decides to pick a few people up anyway?"
You say, "It's my experience that they arrest first and ask questions later."
Kot carefully begins to inspect the well-crafted brass coffer.
Kot says, "Everyone seems to be professional enough."
Kot says, "I think blaming it all on Brillon should work."
You nod slowly.
You say, "All right, then."
You get back on your feet.
Kot says, "If we all stick to our story."
You wipe the sweat from your brow.
Kot carefully begins to inspect the well-crafted brass coffer.
Kot says, "And... the agreement is."
Kot says, "If one or two of us get arrested... we continue sticking with our stories nomatter what."
Kot says, "The people who're still out free save their share of the money."
Kot says, "If part of the money is lost... the remainder of the money is divided equally between us."
Kot says, "Should.... in a worst case scenario."
Kot says, "Should one of us be... ya know."
Kot coughs.
You smile faintly.
Kot says, "Done with for good."
Kot says, "The family gets their share."
Kot carefully begins to inspect the well-crafted brass coffer.
You say, "Between the heat and the rats, I don't know how you stand it down here."
You act: Jurion surveys his surroundings.
Kot grins.
Kot says, "No guards..."
You say, "True enough."
Kot says, "And don't have to worry about someone peeking over your shoulder."
Kot says, "The rats and the heat will make any crazy go away from here soon enough."
Kot carefully begins to inspect the well-crafted brass coffer.
You ask, "Think we'll be able to get everyone together at some point to work details out, or will you just talk to everybody one at a time?"
Kot says, "I hope to get everyone together."
Kot says, "But if not.. we can do it one on one.. or in smaller groups."
Kot grins at you.
You say, "All right."
You chuckle.
Kot asks, "What do you think of the plan, eh?"
Kot carefully begins to inspect the well-crafted brass coffer.
You say, "I like it. Seems solid."
Kot smiles.
A brown rat emerges from the rag bed and skitters off in search of a meal.
Kot says, "As long as nobody tries anything funny."
Kot grins.
You say, "It hangs on whether we're all sound, yes."
Kot says, "I wanted to bring Kietal in on this.. but have not seen the fatso in a long time."
You say, "I expect we can keep each other in line. I know Shala's got me on a short leash as it is."
Kot carefully begins to inspect the well-crafted brass coffer.
Kot chuckles quietly.
Kot says, "To be honest..."
Kot says, "The only two people I have tiniest doubts of..."
Kot says, "Are Cedaven..."
Kot says, "He's a good bard, and can tell the lines... but if questioned... really questioned by the guard."
Kot says, "And Xeli..."
You ask, "Think Xelian will have a crisis of conscience?"
Kot grins.
Kot says, "Eyssa isn't her diety."
You say, "I heard it was someone nastier."
You raise an eyebrow in Kot's direction.
Kot says, "Someone more fun."
Kot winks.
Kot chuckles quietly.
You chuckle.
Kot says, "But..."
Kot says, "Xelian knows a lot about the gods."
Kot says, "And she knows how bad it can get for us, if Eyssa becomes displeased with our little play."
Kot grins.
Kot shrugs.
You ask, "I don't suppose she can call in any favors to keep Eyssa's wrath away?"
Kot smiles.
Kot says, "I hope so... she'll also keep us in line while we're planning."
Kot says, "To keep us from saying anything that'll put some flames under our feet."
Kot grins at you.
Kot says, "I look at it this way."
You chuckle.
Kot says, "If those two are the only people I have tiniest doubts about."
Kot says, "We're in great shape."
Kot winks.
You say, "Grand."
Kot carefully begins to inspect the well-crafted brass coffer.
Kot says, "Now.... i give up."
Kot mumbles some obscenities.
You say, "Give it to Tad."
Kot says, "Yeah."
You say, "Or the hairfoot."
Kot says, "That's what i'll do."
Kot says, "N-no."
You say, "Tell him I stood at his funeral for three hours and the least he can do is open one of your boxes for free."
Kot says, "Have never seen."
Kot mumbles some obscenities.
Kot says, "Never seen anyone less professional than that damn halfling."
Kot spits on the ground.
You laugh.
You grin at Kot.
You say, "You're bloody well smarter than I took you for, Kot."
You say, "And not just on account of the hairfoot."
Kot says, "His mouth never... Never stops yapping!.."
Kot grins at you.
You ask, "Sort of like mine, eh?"
You grin wryly.
Kot chuckles.
Kot shakes his head.
Kot grins.
Kot says, "He yaps his mouth about things that're better left unsaid."
Kot grins at you.
A brown rat emerges from the rag bed and skitters off in search of a meal.
Kot says, "I made 10 imperials from his yapping."
Kot chuckles quietly.
You say, "I can't stand to be around him long enough to sell anything he talks about."
Kot grins at you.
Kot nods.
Kot says, "Actually... this one time."
Kot says, "You'll wanna hear this one."
Kot chuckles quietly.
Kot says, "He starts babbling about Leyrn finding some keys in Keyne... in the dungeon."
Kot grins.
Kot says, "Keys for the cells."
Kot grins.
Kot coughs.
Kot says, "So... that gets me curious."
You say, "I know those keys, I've used 'em to get in and out of the tunnels."
Kot says, "And.. you know."
Kot nods to you.
Kot chuckles quietly.
Kot says, "Leyrn ain't exactly too bright."
You say, "Heh."
Kot says, "So... I come up to him... tell him guard was questioning me about the missing keys."
Kot says, "And tell him to give me one... so that i can go give the key to guards, to get them off his back."
Kot says, "Which he does."
Kot grins.
Kot says, "For a week or so he bugs me about it."
Kot says, "Then i tell him i spent two days in jail, them questioning me about the rest of the keys."
Kot chuckles quietly.
Kot says, "And that he's lucky to be out free."
Kot says, "He leaves it at that."
Kot grins.
You say, "And stops pestering you."
Kot says, "A few weeks later I sell that key to another guffo for 10 imperials."
Kot winks.
Kot snickers.
You act: Jurion laughs!
You ask, "Who'd buy a bloody Port Keyne dungeon key for ten imperials?"
Kot says, "Someone who didn't know what it was."
Kot nods to you.
You say, "You must have a knack for finding the mad ones."
Kot says, "To be honest.. at first I didn't know what it was myself."
Kot says, "Thought it would get me out of trouble some day."
You say, "Then again, what with the business with Teru, it's not surprising. Somebody probably thought it was the key to the palace gate or something."
Kot grins.
You say, "Yeah, but only if you're in the third cell from the right."
You chuckle.
Kot chuckles.
Kot nods to you.
Kot grins.
Kot shrugs.
Kot stands up.
Kot says, "Let's go find Tad.... see if she can open the box for me."
Kot grins.
Kot asks, "Gonna leave separately, okay?"
You ask, "She's probably up in the green. Want to meet separately?"
You laugh.
You say, "Right. Go on ahead."
Kot nods.
Kot smiles.
Kot walks north.

Logs > Gamma Logs > He's Too Stupid to be Predictable