Chapter 30: Chapter 30: Negotiations

Drescher took a long draw from the wine glass before looking up at Jace.  “Do you want to tell me what’s going on here?  What is your secret?  My men said you entered the game about 24 hours ago, and here you stand at level 10 with Esther Xerxes by your side.  There is a video out there of you and her in the sunlight.  I want answers.”

Jace was standing and took a seat to make the conversation less awkward.  Behind Drescher, he saw the ranger do a double-take at his boss’s last comment.  Jace couldn’t be sure, but it looked like the elf cast a spell toward Esther and then looked at her differently.

{He just cast a Turn Undead spell,} Gracie answered Jace’s unasked question.  {Not as powerful as something a paladin might have, but it would have at least identified Esther as undead.  It came back empty.}

Jace smiled at the information and answered the question.  “I changed her nature from Demonic to Angelic and edited her Party Member status to ‘Yes.’”

Drescher gave him a pained expression.  “Yes, but how?”

Jace saw no reason to lie.  “I received a customized feat from my god that allows me to alter an NPC’s settings if I Stand My Ground and they miss.” Jace glanced at Esther, wondering how much of this she would follow.  “She missed.”

Drescher took another sip, understanding the unique boons divine players could get.  He had never heard about something like this but also knew he wouldn’t be able to duplicate it.  Instead, he turned his attention to Esther.  “I don’t believe we’ve met, my dear, but I’ve heard a lot about you.  I visited the Gilded Swan almost a year ago but had the pleasure of Delilah’s company.”

Esther shrugged her shoulders.  “Delly didn’t mention you.”  She reached for another drink.

Drescher smirked at her attempt to belittle him.  “And how has Jace been treating you?”

“With respect,” she replied, glancing at Catrina and how the woman was expected to stand there doing nothing in case her boss needed her.  “He trusts me, he’s saved my life a few times now, and he has promised to give me the opportunity to kill people like you.”  She took a drink without a hint of sarcasm on her face.

The big German laughed.  “Is that why you think you’re here?  To kill me?”

Esther looked over the edge of her glass at the other PCs in the room, all sharply focused, ready to jump in at a moment’s notice.  She drained half her drink and returned to the man in front of her.  “If we were alone, you’d already be dead.”

Drescher tried to laugh again, but the woman before him didn’t flinch.

{She’s not wrong,} Gracie advised.  {No character in the game has a grapple ability as high as Esther.  Nothing even close.  It wouldn’t be something Drescher would have protection for.  He isn’t a mage, and from what I have found, he only has boon spells memorized.  However, he also never goes anywhere without his PC friends.  Esther doesn’t stand a chance against the mage or priest.}

“But I can see you are too scared to face us alone,” Esther continued when it was clear Drescher didn’t have a comeback.  “So instead, you will offer Jace an insane sum of gold to ‘buy’ me.  He will turn you down, and then we can talk about the crystal your people were too stupid to acquire on their own.”

“One million gold,” Drescher said flatly, looking at Jace and ignoring Esther’s constant insults.  “Easily ten times anything your government might be offering.  You walk out of here alone, a millionaire, and my men in Chicago walk away and leave your friends.  Done deal.”

{You can transfer the party status of any NPC you have acquired,} Gracie said.  {I don’t expect you to, but in Esther’s settings, there should be an option to change parties.  You could assign her to Drescher, and she will initially have the same bond with him as she currently has with you.  She will view the exchange very differently than she does now, seeing only the positive benefits of joining him.  If he doesn’t keep her happy, that can change, but people buy and trade NPCs frequently.}

Jace listened to the information, playing like he was considering the offer.  “And what about the crystal?”

Drescher smiled.  “We can work something out for that as well if you like, but we can talk about that another time.  Chances are someone else will kill you for it, and I can negotiate with them at a future date.  But Esther is a hot ticket right now, and everyone is talking about her.  Almost no one knows you have the crystal, and those that do aren’t talking.”

Jace smiled at the man.  “I am very tempted to take your money, leave here, and then come back in six hours after Esther has killed everyone in this building to pick her up.  She might even enjoy it.  But, no, I’m afraid I’ll have to turn down your offer.”

“That is the only way I will let your people go in the basement.  I am confident that I will get the crystal, one way or another.  In fact, if you don’t give me Esther now, I will kill you and take her and the Crystal for free.”

{That won’t work, and he knows it,} Gracie said.  {If you die here, Esther will be as hostile toward them as she is now.  The only way he has any chance of obtaining her is if you sanction the transfer.}

Jace smiled as he heard what he had already assumed and called his bluff.  “Why not do that anyway?” Jace asked.  “Seems like a waste of money to pay me.”

“I have a reputation to maintain,” Drescher said.  “I have many PCs working for me.  If they think I will kill them any time I want something, I won’t be able to do business.  But if they hear I offered you seven figures, and you turned it down, how am I to blame?”

Jace stood from the couch and spread his arms wide.  “Fine, take the crystal.”

“Drescher,” Pieter said from the other couch.  “He doesn’t have it?”

The boss looked confused.  “The girl?”

The mage shook his head.  “The highest item either of them has is level 12.”

“Is it active?”

The mage nodded.

{That would be your illusion necklace,} Gracie said.  {They might think it is hiding the crystal from them.}

“Can you dispel it?” Drescher asked.

The mage looked hesitant.  The weapons engineer turned instead to the priest.  “Axil?”

She reluctantly nodded and cast her spell.  Jace transformed into an orc.  Gweniffer and Drescher pulled back in surprise.  Psycho chuckled.

“Happy now,” Jace said in a much different voice.  He also shifted uncomfortably in his changed outfit.  He glanced down at his kilt to see if anything was hanging out the bottom.

Axil covered her mouth in laughter.  “I can make the kilt disappear also,” she said.  “If you want to know what it looks like.”

“Still no crystal?” Drescher asked.

Pieter shook his head.  “Nothing.”

Drescher turned to look at Psycho, who was having difficulty dealing with all the changes.  He had made several judgments and observations about Jace and his partner, and all of them had been wrong so far.  “He had the crystal.  You saw it?”

The elf nodded.  “He had it.  We didn’t stop anywhere.  Maybe his god is hiding it.  That seems to be how he is breaking the rules.”

Drescher turned back to Jace.  “What tricks are you playing?”  He suddenly realized he wouldn’t be getting Esther or the crystal.

“I am not playing tricks.  I am negotiating.  I have the crystal.  If you kill me now, it will go back to the end of its module, and even if I tell you how to get it, it will be a challenge getting someone to the final stage.  Also, if you kill me, Esther will not join you.  You know that.  Without me alive to complete the transfer, you have nothing.”

“I don’t like being cheated,” Drescher said on the edge of fury.

“I am not cheating you.  I am negotiating.  I want a nurse in Chicago within six hours.  Conor has an infection.  If he dies, you lose a negotiating chip, and I will stop at nothing to end you.  You send a nurse to the house in Chicago, and I will give you a place we can meet.  I will have the crystal.  No tricks.  Your men walk away in Chicago, and you walk away with the crystal.  After that, you can do what you like.”

“And Esther?”

“We will meet in one of my MIMs.  You kill me and leave Esther inside.  The MIM will be deleted once you leave along with everything in it, Esther included.  She will reset to Portsmith.  Then you can fight for her like everyone else.  That’s the best I can offer you.”

“Not good enough.”  He turned to his mage.  “Pieter, I want the truth out of him.”

The mage held up his hands.  “I don’t have anything I trust will work.  He seems to be able to crack the game too easily.”

“The wand will work,” Drescher insisted.

Pieter rolled his eyes.  “It only has one charge a day.”

“Have you used it yet?”

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The mage shook his head.

“Then what’s the problem?”

Pieter sighed.  “I’m meeting Tricilla in an hour.  She’s been less than willing in our previous engagements.”

{He wants to use a control spell to rape another PC,} Gracie said with disgust.

Jace had already figured that out.  He looked forward to killing every one of these characters.

“I don’t care about your sexual exploits.  I care about getting what’s mine.  Don’t even pretend that all you have didn’t come from me.  Make him tell the truth!”

The mage didn’t argue anymore, pulled a wand from his robes, and cast a spell toward Jace.  The shaman knew what was coming and tried to prepare his mind to make a good roll.  He thought about the biggest lie he could tell.  The only thing he could think of was having an affair with Gracie and then lying to his estranged wife about it.  He found himself in divorce court, putting his hand on the Bible and swearing to tell the truth.  His mind jerked back to reality, and he was once again standing before Drescher, pretty sure he had failed.

{Nice try,} Gracie said, {but even a 20 wouldn’t have saved you.  A critical success adds an additional 10 to your saving throw, but you needed more than that to beat the wand.}

Jace remembered specifically what it had been like to be enthralled and, right after, controlled by Jezebel.  This was more similar to the second one, where he could talk and move about but felt compelled to obey specific commands.  Of course, Drescher wouldn’t be asking him to do things against his nature.  He would be asking him to tell the truth.

{Drescher has linked himself to the mage, so you will have to obey him too.}

“Where is my crystal?”

Jace smiled.  He was going to make this easy.  “I don’t know where you keep your crystals.”

“You need to ask . . .” the mage started.

“I know how the spell works!” Drescher yelled. He calmed down and tried again.  “What did you do with the level 50 crystal?”

Jace hadn’t done anything to it; instead, he looked at Esther.  “It was fed to my pet,” he said.

Drescher looked at her and saw the woman licking her lips and showing her vampire teeth.  “How is that possible?” the man asked.

Jace smiled.  “I saw her eat a kobold head whole.  The crystal is about the same size.”

Esther smiled even more broadly at her clever leader and downed the rest of her drink, never letting her eyes leave Drescher’s.  “The spell isn’t working,” he cried.  “You messed it up.”

“I told you he’s cheating,” Pieter made an excuse.  “Who knows what he did with the crystal, but it isn’t here.  It’s not in their inventories, and it’s not in her stomach.”

Jace knew the spell was still working and needed to steer the conversation away from the crystal soon.  “A nurse,” he said calmly.  “You have six hours; then you can stop guessing and have what you want.”

“Where am I going to find a nurse that isn’t going to call the cops the moment she walks into that house?  Or are you asking me to kidnap her too?”

“A man with your resources must have contingency plans for when your men face resistance and need medical help.  You don’t have a Claire Temple on speed dial?”

“Who?”

“You haven’t watched Daredevil?  What kind of geek are you?  Rosario Dawson’s character.  She stitched up a few superheroes.  Never called the cops.”

“This is the real world.”

Jace looked around at the lavish environment.  “You sure about that?  Either way, I don’t care if you have someone on retainer in New York, California, or Texas.  I’m giving you six hours.  The house in Chicago is 30 minutes from O’Hare.  You’ll figure something out.”

Drescher was furious.  His logistical mind was working out how he could get someone to Chicago within the necessary window, and he knew he could do it, but he didn’t want to admit it.  He had lost all leverage in this situation, and somehow this level 10 character was making him look like a fool.  “You are not leaving here without giving up something.”

“I like her vest.”

All eyes turned to Gweniffer, who spoke for the first time.  Her eyes had rarely left Esther since the woman had arrived, and Jace could feel an intense rivalry between them.  Or perhaps it was just jealousy from Gweniffer.  She was level 22 and undoubtedly had superior thieving skills in every regard.  Esther’s ability scores were higher, but Gweniffer had 12 additional levels to raise her Stealth, Dodge, Damage, Melee, Magical Defense, and many others.  Plus, she had access to all the best magical items money could buy or Drescher’s dwarves could craft.  Yet Jace knew that if they were alone and Esther got a chance to grapple the woman, she would be dead in seconds, though Esther would probably take her time and suck her dry level by level.

“Gwen, what are you about?” Drescher asked but stepped aside as his right-hand woman stood and walked toward Esther.  The vampire leaped off the couch, her hands over her weapons, but both the priest and mage were ready to stun her.  Instead, the two female rogues circled each other slowly between the couches.  They were both smart enough to know this encounter wouldn’t turn violent, or if it did, the outcome was predetermined, but they also anticipated a future showdown and didn’t want to give an inch now.

“I said I like her vest,” Gwen repeated, speaking about Esther in the third person even though they stood six feet from each other.

“I like your hat,” Esther replied, trying not to show any trepidation.

“Then try to take it?” the other woman taunted.

Esther thought about leaping or jumping for the hat but knew instinctively that the more experienced rogue would have the initiative and be able to strike first.  She might even have a high enough Dodge ability to avoid getting grappled.

“Boo,” Gwen said suddenly, jumping slightly toward Esther.  The vampire took an uncharacteristically clumsy step back and sat down hard on the couch, almost cutting herself on Diamond Etcher.  She sprang back up, trying to regain a bit of dignity.

“Jace,” she said slowly.  “Can I kill her?  I want to kill her.”

“Take off the vest,” Gwen said slowly.  “And we will get your nurse.  Then you will give us the crystal, and we will let your people go.  Those are fair trades.”

Drescher took a further step back, giving the women more room.  Jace was still standing in the way, and Gweniffer threw the orc a sideways glance.  “Move.”

The speed at which Jace obeyed brought recognition to the woman’s eyes.  Esther saw the realization hit her opponent’s face and tried to distract her.  “You promise to get help for Conor?”  She was willing to submit to the deal, but Gwen looked to press her advantage.

“Jace Thorne,” she said slyly.  “Remove that shadow scale armor from Esther and give it to me.  Slowly.”

He wanted to resist, but Gweniffer was a party member to Pieter and leaned into the spell, spending whatever advantages it had left, and Jace was forced to obey.  He walked up to Esther, regret in his eyes, but she tried to smile at him.  “It’s okay,” she said quietly.  “If it helps Conor, it’s okay.”

Jace’s clumsy orc fingers pulled at the bow tied at the bottom of the vest, and the laces came loose.  Two clasps in the front closed over her ribs, but he had to loosen the lacing in the back to remove the armor manually.  Esther turned around for him, giving the two seated magic users a better view, and Gweniffer joined them on the couch.

The rear tie at the top of the vest came undone, and Jace could reach around and unclasp the armor and then pull it over her head, leaving her standing in her modified tunic and skirt.  The quarter shirt offered her little modesty as she had sweat through it, her body still unused to its new warm-blooded nature.  The humid air in the room didn’t help.

“Much better,” Gweniffer said, rising from the couch.  “Now you look like the whore you really are.”

Esther couldn’t meet her gaze as Jace handed the armor to the rogue, dispelling the last effects of the command spell.  His body relaxed, and he wanted instantly to comfort his female companion but didn’t know what to do.

In front of them, the high-level rogue swapped her outfit for the one she had just received, and Jace was happy to see all the modifications Esther had made were gone, and the scale vest looked like it had when he had first given it to his companion, all straps and buckles.  It was still an improvement over the brown leather corset she had been wearing, but Jace could see the rogue was disappointed.  Esther was near to tears at her embarrassed state but managed a weak grin at her enemy.

“Get out of my sight!” Gweniffer roared.

Esther didn’t need any more of an invitation than that and sprinted from the room.  Jace turned to follow, unsure what emotional damage he might have just caused to his friend.  Drescher laughed and caught his arm as he ran past.  In orc form, Jace towered over the man, but Drescher’s strength was still enough to restrain him.  From his experience with the fen witch, he knew better than to fight back as it might put him into a Secure Grappled state if Drescher had the skill.  “Don’t lose her before we see you again,” the German whispered.  “It would be a shame if you lost a bargaining chip.”  He laughed again and released the orc.

As Jace fled the room, Drescher turned to Psycho.  “Make sure they leave unmolested.  I’d hate for someone else to get our prize.”  The elf nodded and followed after.

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