The Crux of the Matter

[Rystil Arden]

(OOC: Before he leaves)

"Yes, I heard you talking about that--it's important to note that what was in the Journal was not an Aspect, it isn't really me. It's a reflection of me when I was younger and more ruthless and ambitious. I saw you with the memories...you know I've mellowed out and become a kinder person with age."

"As to the items, that sword and flute seem to suit him. Keep them, my gift. Some of the other stuff too. There's only a few things there on which I was working that I'd really like back."

 

[Rystil Arden]

(OOC: Since Bront is away)

"I don't like it. It feels like I would be betraying Laynie. But it seems like we don't have a choice. Do we have another option?"

 

[Velmont]

"Maybe... we always have to destroy the Crux ourselves, but it's not teh one I favor, and even if I hadn't put my soul into the deal... maybe there is one we don't know yet... ok, I think it is time." Rinaldo climbs down the stair again and sit on the divan.

"I think I've never bargain a deal that feel so important. I feel like a diplomat who is about to make a deal that will determine if Earling and monemvassia will enter war or not..." tells Rinaldo.

"One last question. You told me some aspect have been gathered by Eve, other have been absorbed by the Crux and the lasts have taken refuge into Laynie... what about Greed and Wrath? What happened to them?" asks Rinaldo

 

[Rystil Arden]

"I already have their Aspects," she replies off-handedly, "I'm missing most of them, but I do have a few."

"Anyway, I'm ready to finalise the Soul Contract, but you said you'd like to bring some of the things you stole from my lab into it. Alright then, I assume by default that I get them back--are there a few of them that you really want to keep? I can see my way to giving them to you as gifts and symbols of my friendship."

(OOC: Since nobody put them on their character sheet, the list is here

 

[Velmont]

"For the items, some of them will probably help us in the futur. I doubt any of us will retire after that, and many of these items could help us. Some of these items would be mostly useless and could only be exchange for money that could also come to help. Maybe if you could tell us what these items do, I might be able to tell you more precisely the ones we want and we would take only what we need. Also, see it as a payment of your freedom.

Here the term I suggest for the soul contract...

1. I engage into talking with the others aspects. He will try to convince them to merge again with Sin. As I am doing that, me and my friends will do no hostile action against Sin and her children and none will attempt to destroy the Crux, or I'll have to surrender my soul. In exchange, Sin and her children will take no hostile action toward me, my friends and the other aspects, or the contract become void and that mena, we will probably detroy the Crux ourselves.

2. I engage into finding Laynie and retrieve her to you so you can use her body to reach the Crux. As I am doing that, me and my friends will do no hostile action against Sin and her children and none will attempt to destroy the Crux, or I'll have to surrender my soul. In exchange, Sin and her children will take no hostile action toward me, my friends and the other aspects, or the contract become void and that mean, we will probably detroy the Crux ourselves. If I do not try to the best of my skill to fullfill that clause, I will surrender my soul.

3. Sin engage to remove the Crux safely and neutralize the danger that the tower is to this world. As she is doing that, me and my friends will do no hostile action against Sin and her children and none will attempt to destroy the Crux, or I'll have to surrender my soul. In exchange, Sin and her children will take no hostile action toward me, my friends and the other aspects, or the contract become void and that mean, we will probably detroy the Crux ourselves. If she doesn't try to the best of her skill to fullfill that clause, she surrender her soul to Gundar.

4. Sin engage to merge herself back with all her aspects and once that done, free Laynie. As she is doing that, me and my friends will do no hostile action against Sin and her children and none will attempt to destroy the Crux, or I'll have to surrender my soul. In exchange, Sin and her children will take no hostile action toward me, my friends and the other aspects, or the contract become void and that mean, we will probably detroy the Crux ourselves. If she doesn't try to the best of her skill to fullfill that clause, she surrender her soul to Gundar.

5. Once all that is done, I will give back the items we will determine in a minute. The others items will be kept by us. We will then split and two days after that, the contract will end."

 

[Rystil Arden]

"Are those in order? It is of vital importance that you switch #1 and #2--it is quite possible that the other aspects will kill you or trap you forever--just because some of them have nice-sounding names doesn't mean that they are nice."

"Other than that, you should know that some of the bits about me surrendering my soul to Gundar are gubbish for a variety of reasons--the best reason is that Gundar doesn't engage in these sorts of contracts, and without being a willing party to the contract, he can't accept a soul."

"Also, I'm a bit surprised that you seem to want to sit around in the tower doing nothing for months while I work on all of this. It would make more sense for you to just make the item exchange now or just after bringing Laynie, right? That way you could leave while I was doing the third and fourth part."

"Lastly, not to say you're forgetting the forest for the trees, but I thought one of your crucial clauses was bringing back your two Wizards? Why don't you add those back in and think about giving me back more of my things as a result--just think, a True Resurrection would cost over 25,000 gold. I, on the other hand, just want you not to steal from me or kill me."

"You want to know what the items do? Well, you should know that all of them were slightly eroded by Wild Surges, so I can't guarantee what they will do. They need someone to make minor repairs before they're working properly again. That said, how about this to show how fair I am--you can keep all the ones you initially wanted and divided amongst yourselves, and I'll just take the ones you left in the Haversack unused, along with a good deal of my spell components, some of which you can't even use--my Contingency statue comes to mind, for instance. How's that for fair?"

 

[Velmont]

OOC: Damned... I was so obsess by forcing Sin to do the things as I want I forgot to include teh clause of Ashnar and Tenebrynn.

 

[Rystil Arden]

(OOC: Yeah, Sin is thinking that Rinaldo was so greedy that he forgot about his friends in the lust for gold )

 

[Velmont]

Rinaldo eyes stops on the corpse of Ashnar.

"True, it seems my mind was fix on something else. I feels a bit ashamed here.

3.5 Sin engage to return to live and/or to thsi time Ashnar and Tenebrynn. As she is doing that, me and my friends will do no hostile action against Sin and her children and none will attempt to destroy the Crux, or I'll have to surrender my soul. In exchange, Sin and her children will take no hostile action toward me, my friends and the other aspects, or the contract become void and that mean, we will probably detroy the Crux ourselves. If she doesn't try to the best of her skill to fullfill that clause, she surrender her soul to Gundar.

For point 1 and 2, I prefer to keep them in that order. And I think they will be ready to hear me, because you won't be able to take any action against them because of this pact, and I won't be able to force them to do anything to them. And if they are hostile, they will give just one more reason to teh others to help you, and Hogarth, Vanitri or Ashnar will eb able to fill #2.

Also, surrender your soul to me instead to Gundar. I would feel more confortable to know I'm not the only one playing my soul in that bargain. I am not sure what I could do with it, probably hand it to some church who would be willing to get rid of your soul, considering you have broken the pact to get it.

And the reason I want to wait, it is to be sure you'll try to free Tenebrynn from where he is and also free Laynie. If I could leave with these two, I would not bother much. If you play you soul in it, I could easily trade the items now, they are there to give one more reason to you to hold your part of teh bargain, just a garantee.

Laynie's freedom is an imprtant point to me, just as much as Ashnar and Tenebrynn's life."

 

[Rystil Arden]

"No, I want you to get me Laynie before you deal with the other Aspects. Some of them are, as you saw, insane. I wouldn't even be out at all if Senex hadn't tried to betray both sides to get us to kill each other, for instance. You can't know what things the other Aspects will do. You claim that the others of your group will do what I want if the Aspects hold or kill you, but they won't. They don't have their souls signed to me. The Freefolk is barely willing to even let you do it--he won't do it himself. You forget something--I don't trust you or your friends past what I can bind in a contract from experience because you've been basically doing the most unscrupulously evil things possible in every case except for when I have a soul on the line. I don't like this whole soul thing, but I've espied you all mentioning multiple times how you would have destroyed the Crux by now if not for that, so I have empirical evidence of what you are capable. You're even blackmailing me for the life of myself and my children in exchange for money! 'Also, see it as a payment for your freedom', you said."

"Second, only one person can sign their soul to a contract, but I'll make a second contract for myself and sign it with your stated terms--you can be the beneficiary if you like. I don't care because I'll be doing those things anyway, so I won't default my soul, so it doesn't matter."

"That being the case, let us indeed trade the items now, as you said."