[X] Reserved| "And why, precisely, do you think that?"
[ ] Defensive| "I did not invite you here to receive baseless accusations. Get out of my office and hope I don't sue you for slander."
--------------------- You have 3 Actions.
Treasury: 6 Funds (Funds is an arbitrary unit of money. Run out and you go bankrupt)
Income: +6 Funds/turn. (how much money you make per update)
Expenses: -4 Funds/turn. (how much money you lose each update)
Notoriety: 1 (the bad kind of attention. Enemies can use this against you.)
Path of the Baron (This is your chosen path, you must choose at least one action from this path each turn):
[X] Recruit a personal assistant. [d100 roll for competence, allows you to delegate 1 action/turn(meaning you can take an extra action)]
[X] Create a system where medical students will receive tuition in return for a twenty-year contract after graduation. [-1 Fund, +1 Expense, -1 Notoriety, eventual steady supply of young doctors]
Path of the Conqueror
[X] Manipulate Mr. Vestries to my side [Requires multiple steps. 0/3 completed. 70% chance of success. 10% chance of critical success]
We want a Decent Reputation for Competence.
A Reserved Response because Secretaries may Talk.
We need a Personal Assistant to Delegate.
Less Notoriety and a Brighter Future. A Better Reputation for You.
[x] Call His Bluff| "Is it standard police practice to accuse every suspect until you get lucky, or did you just pick my name out of a hat?"
[x] Create a Public Relations Department [-Fund, +1 Expense, -1 Notoriety/Turn]
[x] Recruit a personal assistant. [d100 roll for competence, allows you to delegate 1 action/turn(meaning you can take an extra action)]
[x] Contact my father's old mob associates. [+1 Notoriety]
[x] Call His Bluff| "Is it standard police practice to accuse every suspect until you get lucky, or did you just pick my name out of a hat?"
[x] Create a Public Relations Department [-Fund, +1 Expense, -1 Notoriety/Turn]
[x] Recruit a personal assistant. [d100 roll for competence, allows you to delegate 1 action/turn(meaning you can take an extra action)]
[x] Contact my father's old mob associates. [+1 Notoriety]
[X] Reserved| "And why, precisely, do you think that?"
[X] Recruit a personal assistant. [d100 roll for competence, allows you to delegate 1 action/turn(meaning you can take an extra action)]
[X] Create a system where medical students will receive tuition in return for a twenty-year contract after graduation. [-1 Fund, +1 Expense, -1 Notoriety, eventual steady supply of young doctors]
[X] Manipulate Mr. Vestries to my side [Requires multiple steps. 0/3 completed. 70% chance of success. 10% chance of critical success]
[x] Call His Bluff| "Is it standard police practice to accuse every suspect until you get lucky, or did you just pick my name out of a hat?"
[x] Create a Public Relations Department [-Fund, +1 Expense, -1 Notoriety/Turn]
[x] Recruit a personal assistant. [d100 roll for competence, allows you to delegate 1 action/turn(meaning you can take an extra action)]
[x] Contact my father's old mob associates. [+1 Notoriety]
What really confuses me is where in character creation did it state our MC was gay? Not complaining that they are, just trying to figure out where it was decided that they would be. And though you may intend to represent Philo to be bi, it's actually the opposite that you've done, Ink. You've, thus far more depicted the image of (politely) "Forget Women" aggression, settling on men as a compensatory effect. In general coming off as a shock tactic rather than a characterization information.
Though I suppose, if we participants were supposed to be aware of your character arch-phenotype preference, that we should have expected it. I can honestly say that this is the first of your quests with which the premise I did not immediately dismissed as... well, drivel, or at least banal. So personally, I wouldn't have known that you intended for the character to homosexual from the start if that is your preferred MC protag.
[X] Call His Bluff| "Is it standard police practice to accuse every suspect until you get lucky, or did you just pick my name out of a hat?"
[X] Manipulate Mr. Vestries to my side [Requires multiple steps. 0/3 completed. 70% chance of success. 10% chance of critical success]
[X] Create a Research and Development Department and start recruiting researchers. [-1 Fund, +1 Expense, +1d10 researchers, d100 roll for quality]
[X] Recruit a personal assistant. [d100 roll for competence, allows you to delegate 1 action/turn(meaning you can take an extra action)]
[X] Call His Bluff| "Is it standard police practice to accuse every suspect until you get lucky, or did you just pick my name out of a hat?"
[X] Manipulate Mr. Vestries to my side [Requires multiple steps. 0/3 completed. 70% chance of success. 10% chance of critical success]
[X] Create a Research and Development Department and start recruiting researchers. [-1 Fund, +1 Expense, +1d10 researchers, d100 roll for quality]
[X] Recruit a personal assistant. [d100 roll for competence, allows you to delegate 1 action/turn(meaning you can take an extra action)]
Explicitly? The interview with the senior partner of the law firm. Implied? Leading the executive that was ranting at us at the board meeting by the balls with the turning them. Also implied? The dismissive attitude toward females in general and also implied the same of the character's mother. (Or at least it seemed to have also been implied of the character's dismissal of their mother's importance as a person, to me) Other than that, that was my point. WHEN was it decided that our male protagonist was going to be attracted to other males? Again, if it's a staple of the author, then that would be on me for not having participated in any of Inkbones' other quest to know that they favor yoai protagonists.
No, just based on Philo's personality and backstory. You can certainly raise or lower them through specific actions, I just needed some solid stats to help me with success probabilities.
Other than that, that was my point. WHEN was it decided that our male protagonist was going to be attracted to other males? Again, if it's a staple of the author, then that would be on me for not having participated in any of Inkbones' other quest to know that they favor yoai protagonists.
Um.
I didn't include a "character creation" section, because I'd been using those as a crutch to not actually create a character. So I wrote Philo. He's a rather disastrous blend of inferiority and messiah complexes, and he has a rather horrific tendency to blame people for their own suffering because of something that happened to him. In short he is a character that is not supposed to be empathetic so much as understandable, with plenty of potential for character growth in the future. Somewhere along the way I decided he'd be bisexual, and that bisexuality is the norm in the fictional country he lives in. I'm sorry if that's a dealbreaker for you, or if you feel that you weren't given enough warning about it. I checked the tags, and there doesn't seem to be one for bisexual or queer protagonist.
I consider it my duty as a writer to include queer characters. I apologize if I surprised you with something you found uncomfortable. I hope that you will still participate in this quest, but I will certainly understand if you do not want to.
[x] Call His Bluff| "Is it standard police practice to accuse every suspect until you get lucky, or did you just pick my name out of a hat?" [x] Create a Public Relations Department [-Fund, +1 Expense, -1 Notoriety/Turn]
Is there a reason "interview Atlas"/"attend Nero's concert" options no longer available?
Um.
I didn't include a "character creation" section, because I'd been using those as a crutch to not actually create a character. So I wrote Philo. He's a rather disastrous blend of inferiority and messiah complexes, and he has a rather horrific tendency to blame people for their own suffering because of something that happened to him. In short he is a character that is not supposed to be empathetic so much as understandable, with plenty of potential for character growth in the future. Somewhere along the way I decided he'd be bisexual, and that bisexuality is the norm in the fictional country he lives in. I'm sorry if that's a dealbreaker for you, or if you feel that you weren't given enough warning about it. I checked the tags, and there doesn't seem to be one for bisexual or queer protagonist.
I consider it my duty as a writer to include queer characters. I apologize if I surprised you with something you found uncomfortable. I hope that you will still participate in this quest, but I will certainly understand if you do not want to.
Oh, no, not a deal breaker, it's more the fact that, we got three posts in, and then "Left Field" happened. I was just trying to find out when/if the thread had decided this or if it was author fiat. Which you have now mentioned it to be the latter (author fiat) so question answered.
So, I'm going on a trip overseas for a few weeks, but I've finally gotten the SV mobile app to work, so I should be able to post updates. It still might not not work overseas and I'll be pretty busy, so I'll probably update even slower than my current snail's pace. So if I stop updating for a week or so, rest assured that the Quest will not be dead, merely dreaming in the void between worlds.
SV erased half the chapter as I was finishing up and I had to rewrite from memory, thus the typos.
My original idea for the Daily Oracle was to write a different one each arc. I since decided that I am not nearly that neurotic, so you'll be getting those options back next update and until the end of the arc.
[x] Call His Bluff| "Is it standard police practice to accuse every suspect until you get lucky, or did you just pick my name out of a hat?"
[x] Create a Public Relations Department [-Fund, +1 Expense, -1 Notoriety/Turn]
[x] Recruit a personal assistant. [d100 roll for competence, allows you to delegate 1 action/turn(meaning you can take an extra action)]
[x] Contact my father's old mob associates. [+1 Notoriety]
Interview Results: +1 notoriety, Detective Gil&Lieutenant Kidu are Investigating you.
Personal Assistant: d100=45
-------------------------------------------------------------------- The Lieutenant's Bluff
I considered it extremely good fortune that these two would show up out of nowhere with no evidence and accuse me of murder.
I'd been needing a chance to vent.
"I can't really comprehend how you'd come to such a ridiculous conclusion. I didn't even arrive in this country until a week after they found his body. The board had to track me down to tell me he was dead! I'm genuinely curious, how could you possibly think I did it?"
Kidu opens his mouth to shoot more baseless accusations of murder, but shuts it when his partner grabs his shoulder so hard I hear his knuckles pop.
"What my partner is trying to say is that certain facts surrounding your father's death lead us to believe that he might have been murdered."
Literally calling me a murderer to my face doesn't leave a lot of room for reasonable doubt, but I let it slide. Reacting defensively would just make me look more guilty. I wave my hand with a "get on with it" gesture.
Detective Gil flips open notebook and begins reading. "First of all, your dad's personal physician disappeared the same day he died. We only found him a few days ago."
He looks up for a second, obviously judging my reaction.
I carefully furrow my brow.
"I'll admit that sounds extremely suspicious. What did he say when you questioned him?"
Gil flips the notebook closed with an annoyed expression.
"That's the thing, we didn't find him so much as his remains. Left a suicide note rambling about breaking his Cadaciatic oath. We also found a key to a hidden bank account that received one million drachma a day before your dad's overdose. Our current theory is that someone" he shoots a glare toward his partner "whose identity is unknown at this point, played him to betray your father and make it look like an accident."
I smile, walk toward the the only book case in the room without a layer of dust on it, pulling one of the hinged shelves to reveal a row of drinks. I pour myself one as I talk.
"Well, you're correct, in that Dr. Summers was payed off. It's less correct to say that he was father's personal physician so much as his supplier. He could get his hands on medications that require a prescription, and father payed him under the table on top of his already exorbitant salary. I had thought Summers was satisfied with the arrangement, but apparently he still had some shred of professional ethics."
"So you're saying that that the hidden account was just a payoff, and that Summers killed himself out of guilt after your father overdose."
I shrugged.
"You're the Detective. All I know is that I doubt Summers would kill his cash cow, not to mention how he would leave absolutely no evidence at the crime."
The Detective bites his cheek before changing the subject.
"I take it that you didn't like your father very much."
I stare down into my glass, swirling it a little.
"The two of us didn't exactly see eye to eye. And to preempt your next question, our relationship was...complex, but I didn't think he deserved to die. There are some things I will never forgive him for, but I do wish we'd gotten a chance to talk before-"
"And what about your mother?" the Detective's tone was light. His eyes were icepicks. "Do you wish you'd talked to her 'before'?"
I kept a carefully neutral face, which probably would have worked if my glass hadn't shattered in my grip, driving broken splinters deep into my palm. I stare woefully down at my hands before speaking in a carefully calm tone of voice.
"I'd leave the tactless outbursts to your partner, Detective. He's better at them. I believe our interview has concluded. Please ask my secretary to call a doctor on your way out, would you?"
I give them exactly one minute to enter the elevator before I start screaming expletives.
The woman across from me massages her forehead as she stares down at the portfolio. I'm reminded of myself, on a bad day.
"Do you want a nice answer, or an honest one?"
I raise an eyebrow as I sip my champagne. The restaurant were sitting at is famous for good drinks and soundproof booths, and is one of the most popular in the city.
"Honest then. You're kinda fucked. You have to understand, your dad was seriously loved in this city. He donated to charity, took pictures with sick kids, all that sort of bullshit."
The woman sitting across from me, aside from having one the foulest mouths I've heard in a while, is Victoria Oracle, one of the best spin doctors this side of the West pole. She is currently informing me about the chances of turning around my current popularity rating(or lack thereof).
"You were always seen as, well, the brat. You're almost never showed up at public appearances, and when you did you where withdrawn and moody. I've looked, and I can't find one picture of you smiling. Then, you suddenly leave, his health starts to decline, your mother-"
I'm intentionally not holding my glass, holding my hands under the table so she can't see my white knuckles. Something of what I was feeling must have shown on my face, because she immediately backs off.
"Um. Anyway, a lot of people blame you for leaving like that. Then he dies, and you immediately show up and take over. Do get how people wouldn't like you?"
"Yes, I am aware of how difficult the task would be. My question is whether you think you could pull it off?"
She absentmindedly straightens her tie.
"Well, the most obvious way to spin it was that you left to 'find yourself', have you spout some spiritual BS about 'the true path', people eat up that sort of shit. Make a big show about how guilty you are about leaving, that speech you gave at funeral will help with that. Maybe create a charity in his name?"
She leans back and regards you with a look halfway between calculating and amused.
"Yeah, I can work with this. But you'll have to work with me, got it? You'll need to keep that pretty nose clean. No drugs, no prostitutes, no gambling. At least not where people can see. There's nothing people hate more than a an arrogant prick spending all of daddy's money on cards and hookers while people starve on the street."
I quirk an eyebrow again. "Exactly what kind of clients are you used to dealing with?"
She snorted, downed her champagne in one go, and got up to leave.
"My last one killed three people last month. It's been great for his image."
I check my watch and frown for the fifth time. It's been fifteen minutes by now, make that sixteen. Where is she?
I poke my head out the door, about to ask the secretary once again if the applicant for the personal assistant job has arrived yet, when I notice a girl sitting on the bench in the waiting room.
She was the physical archetype of an angst teenager. Dark hair with a streak of violet, nose ring, randomly placed piercings, the works. When she looked up from her dataphone I saw that she even had one obviously fake purple contact lense over her brown eyes. This was someone who was trying their hardest to be the center of attention and failing miserably.
"Um, can I help you?" I said in my least condescending tone.
"Uh, yeah. I'm here for the assistant gig."
I look around the waiting room just in case there are other, camouflaged applicants.
"...And it's just you?"
She shrugs. "I'm the only one who showed up."
"The only- how old are you?"
Never has there been such indignation expressed in one nostril flare.
"I'm eighteen. Nineteen in a month."
"Wow, that old. Do your parents know you're here?"
"As a matter of fact, they do! I call my mom every night."
"Well, you can tell her you've been turned down from your first job application. I'm sure she'll be very proud."
I twirl about and go back into my office, closing the massive wooden doors behind me. I need a drink.
Why didn't anyone else show up? Is my reputation that bad? Or has Vestries sabotaged me somehow-
"Hold on, I'm your only applicant!" Darnit, she followed me in. Really need to put a lock on those things. "Are you really turning me down?"
"Yes. I don't employ children, and I specifically mentioned that the applicants should be competent. Have you even graduated highschool yet?"
She crosses her arms.
"Well, I almost didn't, but my dad had a talk with the principal and fixed it."
"Right, and who's he? Someone I should have heard of?"
"Harold Vestries."
My glass shatters on the floor, splashing my far-too-expensive shoes. I whirl around to see her smirking face.
"Vestries?"
"That's right. He volunteered me for the position. Said it would give me a chance to learn leadership skills and business management."
Or in other words, sent her here to spy on me. I have seriously misjudged this girl.
"And if I reject this generous offer?" I managed to grind out from between clenched teeth.
"Well he did mention that if you don't have the budget to accept such an obviously qualified candidate, he doesn't see how you could possibly afford to create these new internal departments you've been working on."
He's literally blackmailing me with my own attempts to save the company. Of course he is.
I reach for- right, I'm out of glasses. I grab a tumbler of something brown, uncork it and take a pull straight from the bottle.
I am going. To kill him.
Slowly.
"So, are you going to-"
"Here." I grab a random pile of papers from my desk and and shove them into her arms.
"Deal with these."
I stalk away from her and slump into my chair, defeated.
"Hey, um. Mr. Fawkes? Sir? I'm going to need an office."
I rub my face, suddenly far too tired to deal with this.
"Talk with my secretary, he'll find you something. And please call me Philo. I hate it when people call me Mr. Fawkes. It makes me sound like him."
"I know. I'm Sophia."
"That's a nice name." I say, not really paying attention anymore. I swivel the chair around to face the infuriatingly sunny skyline.
After a while, the office doors close again, and I am left with my thoughts on how to deal with this new development.
------------------------------------------------------------- The Contact
The parking lot is dark and decrepit. The cars are covered in dust and leaves, the walls are cracked, and the lights flicker. Perfect place for a very specific type of business meeting.
An utterly nondescript black van rolls up in front of me. The side door opens slowly, revealing two grunts in exquisitely tailored suits. One looks suspiciously normal, while the other is gigantic and ridiculously muscled. He smirks as I take an involuntary step back, revealing a gold tooth bigger than my thumb.
A chuckle emanates from the van's shadowy interior.
A feathered coat slowly steps into the light.
It's carefully removed by the attendants, revealing a woman aging gracefully in an sky-blue gown. Large, bright eyes scan you from underneath a feathered hat tilted just so. Her brown skin is creased slightly around her slight smile and heavily between here eyebrows.
Her street name is Aunt Clemency (more commonly referred to as Granny Mercy, though never to her face) one of the most powerful crime bosses in Harmony City. She runs her little slice of the criminal underworld like a well oiled machine, largely through through sheer terror. Her ruthlessness punishment of any who try to cheat or betray her are have made her infamous throughout the Citadel s.
That, and she dresses and acts like someone's rich grandmother.
"Philo, dear boy, it's been too long! The last time I saw you, you were a little boy!" She actually grabs my head and tilts my head to the side as if I was five.
"I'm afraid you have me at at a disadvantage, Madam." I say as I gently remove her gloved hands. "I have very few memories of you, unfortunately."
"Well, we only met a few times when I was conducting business with your father." Her senile demeanor evaporates, and she fixes me with a gaze cold enough to freeze steel and hard enough to crack it. "I was always extremely unimpressed with your father. He was a brute, and far more interested in his own ego than business. I hope I can expect better from you."
I meet her gaze without budging an inch. "I am certain that I will be far more useful to you than he ever was."
And like a light switch, the grandmotherly mannerisms come back. She gestures behind her, where her bodyguards are setting up a two portable chairs and a tea table.
"Very good dear, I have so much faith in you." The two of us sit down and the giant starts pouring tea put of a porcelain pot. "Now then-" she smiles, tea cup in hand, but that same ice returns to her eyes. "Shall we discuss business?"
What will you help Aunt Clemency with?[Choose any or all of the below]:
[ ] Cleaning: use Empire resources to launder mob money(taking a cut for yourself, of course)[+.5 Notoriety/turn, +1 Income]
[ ] Groceries: use Empire infrastructure to smuggle goods in and out of the Citadels. [+1 Notoriety/turn, +2 Income]
[ ] Baking: Empire buys certain chemicals in bulk as part of manufacturing. These chemicals can be used for...other purposes. Arrange for Aunty to get some of every shipment, and she'll give you something sweet in return. [50% chance of +1 Notoriety every turn, +2 Income]
You may choose have Sophia perform 1 Action, but she may not do it as well as you would.
Treasury: 9 Funds (Funds is an arbitrary unit of money. Run out and you go bankrupt)
Income: +1 Funds/turn. (how much money you make per update)
Notoriety: 3 (the bad kind of attention. Enemies can use this against you)
Path of the Baron (This is your chosen path, you must choose at least one action from this path each turn)(33%):
[ ] Create a Research and Development Department and start recruiting researchers. [-1 Fund, +1 Expense, +1d6 researchers, d100 roll for quality]
[ ] Create a system where medical students will receive tuition in return for a twenty-year contract after graduation. [-1 Fund, +1 Expense, -1 Notoriety, eventual steady supply of young doctors]
Path of the Conqueror(22%)
[ ] Manipulate Mr. Vestries to my side [Requires multiple steps. 0/3 completed. 70% chance of success. 10% chance of critical success]
[ ] Discretely hire a mercenary to carry out unsavory jobs for me. [d100 for quality, +1 Expense, 40% chance of +1 Notoriety.]
[ ] Sue Detective Gil and Leuitenant Kidu for false accusation and defamation of character. [-1 Fund, +1 Notoriety, Gil&Kidu become Enemies but are kicked out of police force]
Path of the General(0%)
[ ] Hire a personal trainer to improve my fighting skills. [50% chance of success, 10% chance of critical success]
[ ] Recruit a personal security force. [- 1 Funds, +1 Expense, +1d10 mercenaries, d100 for quality]
[ ] Develop a plan to kill Atlas if necessary. [50% success, 10% Crit.]
[ ] Do a smear job on this "Renaissance" character.
[ ] Develop a...super-railgun.
Random Events (these are actions that are available for one arc only.)
[ ] Interview Atlas. I strongly disagree with his politics, however "objective" he claims to be, but having a superhero on payroll would be extremely useful.
[ ] Attend Nero's Concert. I have long been an admirer of Dr. Nero's, but I have a much more mercenary goal than high art. All of high society will be there, and it would be an excellent opportunity to rub shoulders with the rich and powerful.
[ ] Investigate the docks. It's well known that Sanguine Corp. is a front for the Draconi crime family, perhaps I could find out why "Renaissance" chose to attack that shipment in particular.
[X] Plan Clean-ish Nose
-[X] Baking: Empire buys certain chemicals in bulk as part of manufacturing. These chemicals can be used for...other purposes. Arrange for Aunty to get some of every shipment, and she'll give you something sweet in return. [50% chance of +1 Notoriety every turn, +2 Income]
-[X] Create a system where medical students will receive tuition in return for a twenty-year contract after graduation. [-1 Fund, +1 Expense, -1 Notoriety, eventual steady supply of young doctors]
-[X] Manipulate Mr. Vestries to my side [Requires multiple steps. 0/3 completed. 70% chance of success. 10% chance of critical success]
-[X] Interview Atlas. I strongly disagree with his politics, however "objective" he claims to be, but having a superhero on payroll would be extremely useful.
-[X][Assistant] Attend Nero's Concert. I have long been an admirer of Dr. Nero's, but I have a much more mercenary goal than high art. All of high society will be there, and it would be an excellent opportunity to rub shoulders with the rich and powerful.
I actually think we should look into Traditional careers.
Sanitation.
Lots of Infrastructures no one wants to go to for smell, Ubiquitous, A steady source of income, Lots of Landfills or Incinerator Power Plants, Necessary for the Empire.
