Bending the Rules Pt. 06: Abrasion

8296 words.

Reading previous entries first is recommended. Not based on any existing gaming franchise or storyline.

I could have put this in the BDSM category, but I figured maybe the parts aught to match.

One of the fun parts of discovery writing is I'm finding out all of this stuff right along with all of you (including when the next part is coming out). We're on this journey together. Hope you don't snore.

*****

"You think Katlego's going to find out what happened?" Nuru said to his shoulder demon as he dressed in his second set of clothing.

/She's resourceful, and she's smart, and she's inquisitive. Of course she's going to find out./

"Better set that sexy compulsion good and hard, then, so she doesn't tell anyone about you for fear of having to get rid of me."

/I was thinking the same thing. You keep this up, you might restore my faith in humanity. No, scratch that, just one human./

"After what else happened yesterday, I understand."

/Your butcher isn't one to let things go. He's going to be even more trouble./

"Let's not get too caught up in negativity. That was the whole point of giving up on the traditional quest line, and the factions. Look, what do you think of this other outfit?"

/There's hope for you yet. Are you still getting MP?/

Nuru looked inward.

"Yeah, still growing. Weird. I didn't even...."

/Must be clear when it's under a status effect. Like blinding, or... freezing./

"Dammit, I'm not as clever as I thought. Will these clothes make your Entrancement better, do you think?"

/Hah! Learn some dance moves and how to sing, and you'll need some combat skills to fight off all the ladies and gentlemen that'll be chasing you./

"Gentlemen?"

/Fewer of them than women, but did you see how Makena was looking at you?/

"Hmm, I should see if he can get the blood out of this. I'm sure it's outside of my expertise. And yeah, he's a friendly guy, so what?"

He started walking to the armor shop.

/Nuru, I weep for you humans sometimes. I'm also incapable of weeping, but that's beside the point. Yes, gentlemen too; you should be careful, you're not the most intimidating guy on the World Map, and some men treat lovemaking like a PvP experience, just like what happened with "Katlego" - but with no foreplay or negotiation./

"Negotiation? We never said a thing-"

/Gods below, you are such an imbecile. You looked her all up and down from the moment you laid eyes on her. She flirted with you just as much and all but wrote you a fuck note until she literally threw herself at you. And you never said a word of complaint to tell her otherwise./

"Fuck note?"

/A love note, from her body to yours, with a limited-time offer; clothing highly discouraged./

"Clothing shredded, even."

/Not what she meant to do, but she definitely wasn't that sorry./

"Your concern is touching. I think I'll be fine by the time I get to that level."

/Think again. You almost got mobbed by those raid members, and Jaheem won't be around too much longer to back you up./

"That's why I need to get to Level Eleven as soon as possible."

/Do I detect a hint of a request for help? You know I'm fighting for my life over here./

"OK, yes. But listen, all I really need are some ideas."

/Sigh. What's your current strategy?/

"Alright, so the idea is this - I get Makena to take off with this new special order armor concept. I get a cut of the EXP of every sale; since it counts as a quest, he's getting good EXP, and what's good for his level is great for me. Then, once that takes off, I can just spread the word and keep the ball rolling until I hit that level, hopefully pretty quick."

/So you need people to get excited about this business opportunity./

"Right. Can you help my sales pitch with some CHA boosts?"

/I recommend the art of concealment instead. Start doing something crazy, and make people guess what you're doing; the no-MAG strategy set you up for that nicely. Then, this opportunity is the best-kept secret everybody wants to talk about, not some random sales pitch from a desperate Level Four./

"Something crazy like offering to buy loot from people at better than standard prices right as they walk in the gate? And then refuse to tell them why?"

/Now you've got it./

"There's just one problem. I need enough money to buy that equipment from them to begin with."

/No, you don't. You just need them to think you will if they have the right equipment./

"And how would I go about doing that?"

/I'll do a Plant Suggestion. Since I'll be burning your mana now, it won't cost me anything. You just wait until you're high enough on MP for the next one and make the approach. You'll have results in three days, guaranteed. You need something specific to start with, though; ask Makena what he needs to complete a set bonus on something and get him to give you a quest on it. It won't be part of the full partnership, but it will give my Plant Suggestion a bonus since it will be based on a true fact. You offer them the higher amount, but the compulsion will only bring them back if they have the right thing./

"Alright, here we are, I'll give it a try."

Nuru went inside the armor shop.

"Oh, Nuru, what have you done?" Makena said, seeing the bloody sleeves of the shirt he was carrying.

"Occupational hazard of adventuring, I'm afraid. Any chance you can get this clean?"

"Not your blood I take it," Makena said, looking Nuru up and down a little longer than necessary, then turning his attention to washing the shirt.

"Fortunately, no."

"That's good. Yes, I do have some cleaning supplies; can't very well sell armor for like-new prices if it's got bits of a previous owner still stuck in the joints. I can fix this for a nominal fee."

"Done. Say, I was thinking; I know I'm supposed to give you a week to discuss with your lawyer. In the meantime, what do you say we prove the concept, in a safe way?"

"What did you have in mind?"

"Well, pick an armor set that's missing something - or something just doesn't match. Make a quest for me to go and get the right item, so you can sell it for a premium. I'll get the ball rolling on people going and getting the stuff and you can decide when you're ready to make it an official thing, open to everybody."

"You know what would be great? Come here, look at this."

Makena led Nuru over to an armoir with a set of clothes in it. They were a colorful collection of air-element robes; the image rotated through various hues of different variations, and a small box in the corner indicated the stat differences between them.

"The Mayor likes these kinds of things, and I want to get on his good side for this new venture. So, find me the matching pieces for him and I'll make you a deal."

"This is... a projection. None of these are real."

"I commend your grasp of the obvious. If I was just short one piece, I'd put out a quest for one the old fashioned way, on a bulletin board. But there are twelve different variations of this armor, and they look pretty similar. I need the set bonus to really impress him, which means I need the matching pieces, which is difficult since none of them are found in this area. And the thing is, some are a rare drop, so somebody's going to have to go out and do a lot of kill farming to get them. If I were to put them on order with another shop, they'd charge me a huge premium; I can't afford that just for a gift."

"You know I can't go out the gate, right?"

"Psh, details. You want to be an entrepreneur, you figure it out."

"Finally, a challenge worth my attention. Oh, before I go tackling this - where do these things usually drop?"

"I hear it's mostly from somewhere out in Granite Canyon area, but I'm not exactly well travelled to be able to show you on a map. I don't know who drops it, I just know it's out there."

"OK, that'll have to do."

"Good luck, Nuru!"

He went to the museum again.

"Shopping today?" the woman said.

"As a matter of fact, I am," Nuru said.

"Go on in," the woman said.

"Not gonna charge me?"

"If you're getting rid of more old stuff, you're already giving me a better deal. If not... I'll just charge you on the way out. You better not leave that drum lying around, though."

"Sounds fair. See you in a bit."

She stamped his hand with a new glyph; apparently the design changed frequently. Nuru closed his eyes and dashed forward, following the path he would want in his mind, trying to avoid the headache of seeing the huge space opening up in front of him where his eyes could plainly see that nothing existed from the outside. He made it through the magical shield, and peeked - his footsteps were a bit uneven, and he would have to open his eyes once in awhile to make sure he wasn't getting too close to a wall, but it seemed to be working, although remembering that the building was so logically twisted still made his brain itch. Down the armor section he went, jogging briskly. If it hadn't been for his perfect memory, he would have started second-guessing whether he had passed what he was looking for. As it was, he started to appreciate just how much variety there was out in the world - and how big it had to be to have all these different variants.

Finally he came to the right place. He glanced at the numbers. There wasn't even a full set of disenchanted equipment here - this stuff must really be hard to find. But, he got a complete set in mismatched versions, three different sets.

*****

The inn was packed for lunch. Nuru ordered the special, a fish stew in a bread bowl.

"We're busy, it might be a little while," Mesi told him.

"That's OK, I'll wait."

A sudden commotion rose from behind him, and the patrons stampeded out the side door past him. He looked up to see a solitary figure standing in the doorway, and the inn practically empty. Stubbornly, Nuru waited for his stew, turning his back. He had a suspicion he knew who this was.

"This seat taken?" a smooth voice said.

"Suit yourself," Nuru said, looking around at all the empty tables around him.

"I say, would you mind, ehm, pulling the chair out a little for me?"

He kicked it under the table, pushing it back a bit, just at an angle.

"Much obliged," the voice said, with an ascerbic hint at the slight.

The figure sat down, absolutely silently.

"Please, allow me to introduce myself. My name is Afolabi. To whom do I have the pleasure of speaking?"

"My name is short," Nuru said.

"Well, eh-" The man's face scrunched up in consternation. "That's lovely I'm sure. What is it?"

"Not my true name, of course."

"And?"

"Has two of the same letter in it."

"TELL ME YOUR NAME!" the shimmering figure demanded.

"It means 'filled with light'," Nuru said.

"...Nuru," Afolabi huffed, after a moment's thought. "Must you be so difficult?"

"Must you be so transparent?" Nuru replied.

The ghost across from him howled with fake laughter, which cut off abruptly.

"Oh yes, good one. I haven't heard it a hundred times already, certainly not."

"Good thing I'm only trying to be authentic, not original."

"Do you mind if I ask you a few questions?"

"If you're sure you want to, be my guest."

The ghost peered at him, staring intensely.

"And if I'm not sure?" it finally demanded.

"Feel free to bother someone else, too."

"It has not escaped my notice that I haven't got many other options here."

Mesi appeared in the doorway to the kitchen, holding the bread bowl. She looked at Nuru questioningly. After a moment's hesitation, he waved her over.

"Very well," Nuru said. "You've got until I finish my soup."

"When did you have soup? That's a stew."

"Last week," Nuru replied, smirking.

"By the common standard of formal verbality I'm cordially requesting a new time to ask questions, starting now."

"Oh, all right. You've got until I finish with my stewing."

"Meaning...?"

"Until I get up and walk away."

"Ahem. Yes. I gather you've determined that I am a rules lawyer."

"I had an inkling. Are all of you rules lawyers ghosts?"

"The _only_ good lawyer is a dead one. We've got no pockets to line, and you can't threaten us with death. Miss, can I get an unwashed teacup? Yes, that had actual tea in it. Great. So I'd like to propose a few scenarios to you and see how you'd handle them. Now, it's *very important* that you answer honestly and seriously. You may consider it a quest if you like. There will be a suitable reward at the end, based on the number of questions you answer within the stated parameters."

"I see. How many questions do you have?"

"As many as it takes. Shall we begin?"

"Sure. Stew's vanishing quick."

"Very well. You are in a maze of twisty passages, all alike. What do you do?"

"Pass," Nuru said.

"What do you mean?"

"That's the whole scenario? Come on, this bears no resemblance to reality. There are no options here I care to explore."

"Alright, instead you are walking in the mountains with a friend. Your friend notices that an avalanche is starting to fall, and there is a party of adventurers you've never met before beneath the cliff nearby that are directly in its path and will surely be killed when it falls on them. He wants to rush down to the edge of the cliff and warn them, so that they can take shelter in trees, which will probably save them, but he will not be able to reach those trees himself and will be swept over the cliff to his death. Do you:

a) tackle him and hold him down out of the path of danger and let those five people die, or

b) let him go and save those people who may spit on his grave for all you know."

"Hm. Reckon I'll let the damn fool go be a hero, extort the survivors for cash to finance the recovery of his body, and then keep all his loot since he's probably got no family anyway. Everybody wins."

"I cannot guarantee that your stipulations are possible, or correct. Is that still your answer?"

"Yes."

"Very well. Mm, this is good," Afolabi said, sipping out of the empty teacup.

"You can lift that? I thought you were incorporeal."

"With concentration, we can affect small changes. It's been a very, very long time since I've had a good beer; the tankards are too big."

Nuru snorted, went back to eating.

"You are attending a banquet you've been invited to in a dwarven hall, and one of the prize gems on display goes missing. You and one other individual you do not know but travelled to the banquet with are suspected in the crime. The guard captain who has been chosen to lead the investigation offers you a choice; he tells you that you can either confess, or remain silent. Because the gem was really more of symbolic value than utilitarian or economic, he just needs a scapegoat for the crime in order to satisfy the dwarves that justice has been done, but due to the circumstances you would have had to have an accomplice to hide the gem where it would not be able to be recovered. He says that if you both confess, you will be exiled permanently with a small fine to cover the labor of crafting another such gem. If you confess alone, but implicate your travelling companion in doing so, you will receive no sentence, while he will be beaten publicly, all of his possessions taken, and exiled. The reverse will happen to you if he confesses, and you do not. If neither of you confess, you will both be released with no fines or other punishment. Do you confess, or not?"

"Did I do it? Steal the gem, I mean?"

"Irrelevant."

"It's not irrelevant. I won't get someone in trouble over something I equally participated in."

"It's irrelevant. The deed is done - someone did it. Will you take the blame, or won't you?"

"Bad things happen, but I won't be the cause of them happening to innocent people."

"No one is innocent. We all make choices, mistakes, and thus harm others. Whether you accept the consequences, only you as the individual can say."

"I'll confess. If we did it, he must have pressured me into it."

"That's not-" Afolabi stopped mid-thought, putting a hand to his forehead. "Are you sure that's your answer? I cannot guarantee your interpretation will reflect the reality of the situation."

"Yes."

"Fine," the ghost snapped. "An unusually complex and lifelike golem lives in a special house owned by a recently deceased man for whom you are the executor of the estate, who introduced the golem as his son but left no will. The golem was created with a unique phylactery taken from a lich and due to mysterious circumstances may or may not have a soul. It has an extensive library which it knows how to read. Letters can be dropped through the mail slot which it will study and reply to with wit and style, which it has done for years, but has proven to be completely ignorant of the lich's life or motivations. Some of the relatives find it to be horrifying and want to sell the house and destroy everything related to the golem, others call it a member of the family and want to give it the protection of the town guard, which will be expensive as vandals often attack the house and leave nasty writing on it, break windows, etc. Neither side really want the money, they just want the golem left alone, or destroyed, and the feud is breaking the family apart. When asked, the golem says it will not take a side, but will let you choose. Do you defend the golem, or do you destroy it?"

"I keep the golem as a guest, sell the house, and distribute the money to the family."

"The two sides of the family will not accept this. The pro-golem side insists that you are dishonoring the golem's place in the family, and the anti-golem side still want to have it destroyed. Neither side is happy and do not care about the money."

"I lock all the members in the house until they come to an agreement. I make the golem wait outside."

"The family cannot agree, and demand that you decide yourself, or they will have you removed as executor. One of the few undecided family members suggests he will decide with a coin toss if they let him be the executor instead."

The ghost grinned at Nuru wickedly. "Choose."

"I let the golem live. Someday, someone will prove whether the golem has a soul, and the side of the family that loved or hated it will joyously yell 'I told you so' at the other side, thus bringing a fantastic lore-filled end to the long and colorful history which everyone can celebrate in their own way. If I destroy the golem, generations will forget and no longer care."

"They might care. Some family members might never let it die."

"I know people. Out of sight, out of mind - if there's no more golem, nobody will care, eventually. It's only a meaningful question when I let the golem live."

Afolabi stared at Nuru, eyebrows furrowed angrily.

"Of all the people I could have talked to, you were the one that stayed. Gods preserve me."

"Your body, or your ghost?"

"Shut up. Never mind. Last question. I don't know why I'm even bothering to ask you, but I am not allowed to find my final rest until I have completed this investigation. So. A town merchant devises a payment scheme which might destroy the already decaying economic system of the whole world and undermine society, or it might improve a stagnant economy and usher in a new age of prosperity and joy. Do you refuse to do business with this merchant?"

"No. If the payment scheme is wrongly disruptive, people more important than me will decide that, and put a stop to it - and there's nothing I can do about that. If it sounds profitable, I'll participate in the scheme myself, and maybe everything will turn out alright in the end."

"I'm required to thank you for your time. Nuru, here is an IOU. I have no money to give, but since you are the only person to answer every question, you will receive nearly the entire pool of EXP once I have reported my findings to the committee. They will report to the Bar and - I can see that you do not care."