-[z] Study: So you could be a great tactician instead? A general even.
--[z] War, DC 65
Roll: 13+30=43
Failure.
As a prince it was only right that Loki should have some idea of war, what it entails, and how to go about it. Should being the key word. Loki didn't know much beyond the average person, and despite his attempts to study...he still didn't. Somehow the words on the page, the movements on the field, the spoken words, none of it really got through to him. It was quite troubling...
--[z] Tactics, DC 70
Roll: 46+30=76
Bare success.
Maybe it was the lack of a base for Loki, that had him fail at trying to learn war, because furthering his study of tactics went...well enough. At times he merely observed other warriors on the training fields, and others he would research tactics used in the past. Unlike his study of war, he actually absorbed some of the tactical knowledge, relieving him of the dreaded feeling that something was wrong with his reading comprehension and studying skills. One could only fail so much.
+1/5 Tactics to 2/5
-[z] Try to talk with Elym. DC 60
Roll: 41+14=54
Bare Failure.
Having successfully completed her 'task' she set before him, Loki tried to talk to his old school mate about several things. What could be next, what her usual day was like, what she wanted in life, and more. Tried. Unfortunately, just like she was in school, Elym does not like people. And Loki is people. While he has a bit more grace with her, than others (due to helping her out), she still doesn't like to talk. And thus...she doesn't. It doesn't seem like she's mad at him or irritated, she simply listens to his words and then remains silent. It's a bit frustrating and rude, but it's also Elym.
-[z] Discuss Osmond's future goals. DC 55
Roll: 98+14=112, CRIT, 32+14=46 (158)
An amazing success!
Osmond on the other hand, seems to view Loki as the right kind of person to talk to. Day after day, week after week, and throughout the years, they just...talk and mesh, and seem to do well with each other. They're not friends but...Osmond seems to have warmed up to Loki.
Via their conversations, Loki learns that Osmond wants...everything. Everything to do with science at least. One day he wants to run a proper lab so that he can discover it all. He doesn't say much about sharing it with anyone but that's inevitable, right? Right? Hopefully.
Either way, Osmond had big dreams concerning science and he somewhat selfishly hopes Loki can help him achieve them. The question is...will he?
+1.5 Diplomacy
Loki of Learning: -10 DC on Diplomacy actions with more intelligent people (20+ Learning)
-[z] Improve Security at Phoenix Financial. DC 90
Roll: 39+33=72
Failure.
With expansion and success comes a need for security. Loki recgonizes that, and so does...everyone else, which is almost more important. With Phoenix Financial's newfound success, Loki needed to show that he could protect everyone's money and the currency that he held. He already had minor enchantments and some binding words in his building and in his vault, but...magic on that level could be broken by enough brute force. Or better magic. It would take a powerful warrior, but...it could be done. And so Loki looks into more security measures with his magic, consulting others on it, but ultimately all of the solutions are either too difficult for him to achieve, not feasible in anyway, or just...not enough to actually do anything.
Until next time...
-[z] Strike a deal between Phoenix Financial and the Crown. DC 40
Roll: 57+33=90
A great success!
To strike a deal with the crown is to ensure that your business will last throughout the ages. For many, it is a dream that is nigh unattainable. For Loki...well he is the Crown. Or at least part of the family. So it's not too difficult for him and Phoenix Financial. While the public knows not of his involvement, the King always has. The King also knows of Loki's financial prowess and has been impressed by it, so he has no issues with striking a pretty fair deal, there and now.
As it stands, the Crown would exchange all of its currency through Phoenix Financial at a 50% reduced rate, right on the profit line. As such, they would also encourage those who have official business with the Crown to use Phoenix Financial for all of their lending and debt purposes, as well as for currency exchange purposes. And should Phoenix Financial ever need a small bailout, the Crown would provide it. Once. And as such, if somehow the Crown needed to loan money or if it ever found itself in debt, it would use the services of Phoenix Financial.
Does Loki wish to change the deal at all?
[] Yes
[] No
-[z] Expand Phoenix Financial's reach to the other realms. DC 50
Roll: 25+33=58
Bare success.
Expansion is one of the keys of business. If one could expand successfully, then it would open up a new market and thousands, if not millions or more, new customers and thus more money. Unfortunately, there isn't much in the way of expanding into the more hostile regions of the Nine Realms, nor is there any way into Nornheim at the moment. Outside of the Nine Realms takes a tremendous amount of effort, so Loki is left with a choice of which of the easier realms he would expand into, Alfheim or Midgard? Alfheim was rather peaceful and open and Midgard was...primitive. They'd worship his people as gods and if he went there as God of Coin...well it would be an inevitable success. Though Midgard's currency was...disjointed. They were primitive enough that he could work it out. He may even be able to get them under one currency. But that's getting ahead of himself. Which would he choose?
Pick one.
[] Alfheim
[] Midgard
-[z] Pay Asgard itself to have the finest soldiers protect your investments. DC 75
Roll: 51+33=84+??? (Deal with the Crown)
Success.
Asgard isn't usually in the business of deploying its soldiers to help guard businesses, but when the business is tied to the Crown in more than one way...exceptions can be made. And so, with expert negotiation, and obvious connection, Loki makes yet another deal to have the finest of Asgard act as his security. Hopefully it would lessen the blow of his other security failures, and allow his customers to truly have faith in his abilities. But he had a choice to make. Did he want one or two elites, a handful of good soldiers, or did he want numbers. Numbers often held the advantage of intimidation and coverage, but elite soldiers could handle nearly anything. Of course he could also choose his brother and his friends, but Thor's promise of revenge did ring in his mind. But Thor wouldn't sabotage a business connected to the Crown would he?
Pick Two. Everything can be chosen twice. Choosing Thor and the Warrior's Three twice, also gives you Sif.
[] One elite soldier
[] Five good soldiers
[] Ten average soldiers
[] Twenty new recruits
[] Thor and the Warrior's Three
-[z] Look more into Thor's new hammer, Mjolnir. DC ???
Roll: 58+24=82
Loki does as much as he can to get a glimpse of Thor's (relatively) new magic hammer, and study the intricacies and the magic attached to it. He knows he doesn't get the full story on it, but he gets enough to ponder, enough to analyze. Mjolnir is clearly dwarven made, from the finest enchanted Uru, and it is old. Much older than Thor is, which makes Loki wonder where it came from and what its purpose was. On top of that, the Hammer appeared to be able to bond to its wielder so that they could call upon it and almost control it as it flew through the air. That's how Thor achieved flight with it. And of course, Mjolnir was nigh unbreakable due to how it was forged, and not even Odin himself would be likely to break it with brute strength. Loki shuddered at the thought of such a being who could.
-[z] Train your new pet to be...more stealthy. DC 60
Roll: 66+24=90
A good success!
Hábrók is not the stealthiest animal alive, but to Loki's surprise (from memories of its loud screeches and the beating of its wings) it's not the...least stealthiest either. It had to be at least as good as Volstagg was at remaining hidden, not that that was saying much, but it gave a starting point. And so, Loki imparts his knowledge onto his pet roc, training it to beat its wings quieter, to caw rather than screech, to land without making its usual THUD.
The bird is far from invisible or inaudible, but it's better. With more training, who knows how much it can accomplish.
+1.5 Intrigue for Hábrók to 10.5
Loki now knows Hábrók's Intrigue score.
-[z] Teach your Roc to talk. DC ???
Roll: 21+20=41
While he was teaching the bird how to be quiet, Loki thought he'd try to teach it some intelligence as well. More specifically, how to speak. It was a magic animal, so it couldn't be too hard, was the theory. He was...partially right. While Hábrók wasn't going to be speaking in sentences, he could almost squawk out a word or two, such as 'hot' or 'cold' or 'danger' or 'sleep' or even...'food'. It's not a great success, or...even a success at all. But it proves it can be taught.
Loki knows Hábrók's Learning score (7)
-[z] See if your Roc had magic? DC ???
Roll: 45+14.5=59.5
Unfortunately, from what Loki can tell, his pet roc does NOT have any sort of magic. Loki tries various tests, including pushing his magic into the bird to try to find it's magic core. It's a bit disappointing, but all of the tests come out as negative. But at least he knew for sure now.
-[z] Relationships: Spend time with some of your favorite people in the world!
--[z] Thor
Roll: 35
Thor and Loki hang out as brothers do. Some games here, some conversations there, and when the topic of running security at Phoenix Financial comes up, Thor seems eager. Thor also seems curious for once, as he questions Loki on him being an 'Enchantress' and asking what his ring and bracelet (or his 'trinkets') actually do. However, when he does so, clapping Loki on the shoulder in a friendly manner, Loki's ring does go off slightly. Not enough for danger or malicious intent, but enough for a warning. How does Loki answer?
[] Tell him what they do
[] Refuse to answer
[] Lie (Write-In)
[] Write-In
--[z] Heimdall
Roll: 67
Loki hasn't seen much of the golden guardian, but he recognizes Heimdall's importance. Heimdall...doesn't seem to like Loki, barely sparing him a glance, but that doesn't bother the Prince. Still the prince visits and tries to talk to watcher, telling him about the new lending and debt business Phoenix Financial, and of the other going ons in Asgard.
"I know about that, young Prince. You do not need to tell me. I also know who runs it, so the secrecy is unnecessary." He responds curtly. Loki should probably be put off slightly, but...he finally got the watcher to speak. So really it's a success. And with everything put out in the open, he can now offer deals and solicit advice from the guardian. Heimdall can't help but fear the can of worms he has opened. Why did he have to speak?
-[z] Enchant collar / ring combo for pet / Loki to wear, telling each other where the other is and alerting the other if one is in danger.
Roll: 43+9.5=52.5
Enchanting is not easy. Loki knows that from his former attempts. In this case, it's slightly less difficult as he's only attempting to mirror his attempt for his pet roc, but onto a collar. As such, he can easily get a mirrored danger sense onto the collar, but he's not able to tell the difference between which one of them is being threatened. As for telling each other where they are well...Loki has to make a decision. On many things. Range, if they want the alert to be separate, precision, and so on.
Pick two.
[] 10 miles Range for location (counts at two)
[] 1 mile Range for location
[] Separate Alerts for danger
[] Precise Locations
-[z] Gain a new hobby
--[z] Gardening
Roll: 83
Loki has a natural green thumb. His mother had tried so hard to get him into gardening as a young child and he had rebuked her for more manly hobbies such as forging or fighting or more fun hobbies such as...pranking. Now he wishes he would've listened to her, for gardening is...fun, and yet relaxing. Over the years, Loki amasses a good sized garden, populated with many different flowers, three different trees, and two fruit-bearing plants. Like Phoenix Financial, Loki watches his garden grow with pride, and can't wait to do more with it.