[F17-SP] <<Challenge of Olympus>> - Merchant

[Freyd 0]

Freyd was freaking out, internally.  The sum total of his external reaction to the arrival of a sealed scroll delivered by some half-naked cherubim was a single raised eyebrow.  No one was really meant to know about his shop in Angel's Point on floor 13.  It was a front, and not truly meant to be a functional business, at least for the moment.  Someone had to be pulling a prank - but whom, and why now?  Could this be related to the bizarre dream he'd had last night?  Maybe he needed to move the shed farther from the slim farm.  The stench wafted in the wind and proved to be nauseating when blown in the wrong direction.

Could it be another one of Cardinal's games?

The little winged messenger wore gaudy golden sandals with feathery little wings sticking out the sides, a matching hat, and an inadequately sized white toga.  It also had the nerve to vanish before he could ask it any questions.

Spoiler

Name: Freyd
Level: 17
HP: 340/340
EN: 34/34

Stats:
Damage: 8
Mitigation: 14
Accuracy: 2
SAVVY:1
HLY:2
KEEN:1
BLD:12

Equipped Gear:
Weapon: Forgiven Disobedience (T1-2HSS, ACC 1, HOLY 1, BLD 1)
Armor: Enduring Guile (T1-LA, MIT 1, SAV 1)
Misc: Justicar's Vambraces (T1-Trinket, ACC 1, KEEN 1)

Skills:
2H Straight Sword [Rank 4]
Light Armor [Rank 1]

Extra Skills:
Disguise
Familiar Mastery: Fighter

Battle Ready Inventory:
Starter Healing Potion (50 hp)*3
Teleport Crystals*2
Fish snack (+1 ACC)*1
Divinity's Wait (T1 Mit 3)*1
Liquor of Light (T1 DMG 3)*1

Housing Buffs:
Rested: -1 energy cost for the first two expenditures of each combat
Clean: The first time you would suffer DoT damage in a thread, reduce damage taken from DoT each turn by 20% (rounded down)
Hard Working: +2 EXP per crafting attempt and +1 crafting attempt per day
Filling: Increase the effectiveness of a single food item consumed in a thread by +1 T1 slot.
Item Stash: +1 Battle Ready Inventory Slot
Relaxed: Increases out of combat HP regen by (5 * Tier HP) and decreases full energy regen to 2 Out of Combat Posts.
Col Stash: +5% bonus col from monster kills and treasure chests
Advanced Training: +2 SP to a thread. Limit one use per month [1/1]
Multipurpose: Gain +1 to LD, Stealth Rating, Stealth Detection, or Prosperity to one post in a thread. Can be applied after a roll

 

Edited June 22, 2020 by Freyd - The Whisper in Shadows

[Freyd 0]

"Damnit."  Freyed peered cautiously at the scroll, then looked around as if expecting to see someone holding a string, ready to pull it and have the package explode in his face.  The golden seal bore the symbol of two intertwined snakes, their heads facing each other.  "Is this some kind of medical report?"  He tried checking the edges, but the thing was actually wrapped around a brass rod, preventing him from glimpsing the contents.

Persi had no such anxieties and was immediately enthralled by the shiny seal.   The blue shadow mongoose was instantly up on the table, squeaking excitedly to declare it her new favourite toy.  She tore off the seal with her teeth before Freyd could even react and scampered off into the fog that forever covered the monastery grounds.  The best he could manage was a raised finger and a half-open mouth in failed protest before the paper unfurled and reclaimed his attention.

[Freyd 0]

Your recent achievements in the noble commercial arts have garnered the attention of the greatest among us.  The great and fabulous Hermes, god of merchants, oratory, travellers, heralds, and messengers.  He is the giver of words - the one who guides to the souls of the worthy to their destinies.  Come to Olympus and measure your worth against the master, so that he can judge you worthy or cast you aside paltry skills aside as dissolutioned ambition.  

Something stirred in Freyd's breast.  He'd dismissed his own worth all of his life, and isolated himself from the world so that it could never hurt him.  Whether it be school, his job, his parents, or even Cardinal, he could never live up to their expectations.  This time, he was going to prove them wrong.  Grabbing his gear, he called out to Persi.  It was time to give a god a piece of his mind.

[Freyd 0]

Floor seventeen was way too fake-Greek.  Their journey had been unremarkable, but arriving in Athenaia made him feel like Hollywood had swallowed and digested classicism and vomited this up as a replacement.  It was like kitsch and Salvador Dali had an affair and disowned their bastard offspring, abandoning it to become this caricature of history.  

*Sigh*

Summoning a map of the town, it didn't take long to find Hermes' temple.  It was littered with his iconography - winged boots and helmets in abundance, scales of every imaginable size, and a very prominently displayed caduceus.  Damn his father's endless obsession with architecture, and all the related family drives and trips they'd had to endure.  Greece?!  Seriously?  He'd have chosen France or Germany, given the choice.  At least then he might have been capable of enjoying this Disney-fied mockery.

Pushing the grand double doors open, he strode inside jaw set and determined, yet completely unprepared for what he was about to find.

Edited June 24, 2020 by Freyd - The Whisper in Shadows

[Freyd 0]

"Billy?!"

Freyd's jaw was hovering inches above the temple floor.  Sitting before him in a vast and dramatically oversized marble throne was the scrappy thirteen-year old who'd pulled him aside and tried to scam him during his original merchant class training.  The only differences were his clothes, which had been swapped out for a toga and winged sandals.  A brass helmet with similar wings to those on his footwear rested on the right arm of the throne while an impossible large staff made of two intertwined snakes rested on the opposite side.

"I thought you told me that you did your research," came the child-god's witty retort.  He sported a giant grin on his perfectly golden-tanned face.  Back in the town of beginnings, it had been covered with dirt and soot as 'Billy the Kid' swindled every merchant-wannabe that came along into fetching him free gear.  Freyd had held his own, and even managed to earn Billy's grudging respect and advice.  Was that what this was about?  

 

Spoiler

Billy was Freyd's original training in the Earning a Living quest.

 

 

[Freyd 0]

Recovering as best he could, Freyd crossed his arms and peered at Billy through squinted eyes.

"What are you playing at?" he asked, skeptically.  "This getup may be more upscale than your previous lodgings, but its also twice as garish."

Billy's beaming grin widened at the taunt.  

"Like that reconstituted compost heap you've setup on floor thirteen," he countered.  Freyd had to admit that it was a fair response, although his shop wasn't actually intended to help him sell anything.  He was more disturbed by the notion that Billy had awareness that spanned so many parts of the game.  He wasn't about to give the crass deity any kind of satisfaction and busied himself by looking around the temple interior.

"I modeled it after your exemplary venue back in the starting city, especially since I didn't want anyone to find it."

Billy clapped his hands, genuinely applauding the barb, then jumped down from the throne.

 

[Freyd 0]

"You realize that the point of a business is to actually do commerce, right kid?"  It always amused Freyd when the teenage NPC called him that, but his passive visage held.  "And, when you start ranking up, people are going to notice, no matter where you hide."

Oh, so that was it.  Freyd had only dabbled in his profession to date, identifying the few items he'd found in the various starter quests he'd completed over the past few weeks.  It had been enough to bump him up to rank 2.  The system must have flagged it.  Damn.  Yet another way that the Cardinal system could track him.  There was only so much any player could do to stay off the grid, and hiding in the Town of Beginnings as a nobody for over a year hadn't worked.  Advancement was going to draw unwanted attention.  There was simply no way to avoid it.

[Freyd 0]

"Yeah, yeah.  Didn't we already have the 'it's not actually about location' discussion?"  Freyd picked up a small, set of silver scaled cast in the appearance of two faces looking away from each other while attempting to devour the contents of their respective plates.  "You're also assuming that physical commodities are my intended trade medium.  That is not the case?"

"Oh-ho-ho," Billy laughed, his hands up and waving in false surrender.  "So you have something else in mind, do you?  Hardly as original as it sounds."

"A good friend of mine once told me that an oblique sales technique is essential for the enjoyment of trade."

"I never said that," Billy guffawed with a sneer.

"You meant to."  It was Freyd's turn to smile.

"Don't get smarmy!"  Good.  He was getting snappish. 

Freyd held up a black pot as his only response.  An awkward silence followed.

"So, do you want to hear about the quest, or not?"  Billy's previously snide-and-pride driven attitude was dumped in favour of business-like pragmatism.

[Freyd 0]

"Depends," Freyd replied cannily.  Putting the scales back down, he folded his arms in front of him, assuming a negotiating posture.  "What's in it for me?"

"Finally!  An interesting question!"  Billy's grin had returned. "So here's the deal, you need to prove to me that you have what it takes to earn my blessing."

Freyd coughed, swallowing his laughter and re-affixing his default neutral face.

"And why, exactly, would I want that?"  

"Because I can help make the things you find more awesome."  He surveyed Freyd from top to bottom.  "...and you definitely need more awesomeness."

Freyd pointed dismissively at Billy's feet.  "I'm honestly not sure anyone wearing winged boots can legitimately comment on the awesomeness of others.  There must be a rule about that."

Billy gestured to all of the symbols of wealth and status that surrounded him, as if it was validation for anything he had or might possibly say.

"Paltry trinkets," came the reply. 

Edited June 24, 2020 by Freyd - The Whisper in Shadows

[Freyd 0]

"PALTRY--"  

Freyd had clearly struck a nerve.  Olympian ego and temperament were notoriously fragile.  He instantly knew what he had to do.

"Come on, Billy," he continued, cutting off the alleged deity,  "you called me all the way up here to this poor excuse for historical accuracy."  He flicked a nearby pewter vase, creating a flat *plink* sound to reinforce the extent of his disappointment.  

"Make it worth my while, or I'm heading back outside to beat up some centurions for loot."

"Centurions were Roman, you Philistine!"

"Tell that to the level designers, Mercury."

"I don't have to put up with--"

"Get to it, already!" Freyd bluntly interrupted, again.  Throwing Billy off his rhythm was the surest way to make things work.  "Do I need to fetch you a new sheet from the infinite laundromat behind a curtain somewhere?"  The reference to the shoddy backdrop concealing the infinite junkyard behind Billy's 'Import-ium' on the first floor did not go unnoticed.

"Bring me the scales of ignominy!!!" The diminutive deity blurted out in frustration.

"The what-now?"  Freyd's tone and furrowed brow revealed a mixture of confusion and annoyance.

Edited June 24, 2020 by Freyd - The Whisper in Shadows

[Freyd 0]

Canned trumpet music blared throughout the massive open chamber, from no apparent source or direction.  A pair of rosy-cheeked cherubim similar to the one that had dropped off his invitation appeared.  They carried a tiny set of golden scales between them, which Freyd assumed was probably just gold-plated steel, knowing how cheap Billy really was.  The main pole supporting the scale's arms was a pair of serpents - one black, the other gold, each with eyes the colour of its opposite.  The balance beam comprised of a pair of open wings, with a small cupped plate hanging from three fine chains at each end.

"You made up the name, didn't you?"  It was a statement.  Freyd didn't put much stock in Billy's exaggerated sales gimmickry. 

"The SCALES OF IGNOMINY," Billy repeated loudly, as if saying the name with greater punctuation was somehow going to make it more official, "are the official tools of measure for te weighing of souls."

Freyd just laughed.  

"You're branding psychostasia with the Kerykeion?  Does Asclepius know that your stealing his shtick?  He's going to be so pissed."

Billy's helmet wings were fluttering furiously.  His fury was adorable.

[Freyd 0]

Billy's child-like voice instantly dropped by several octaves.  His skin darkened to crimson red and a small pair of horns comically unbalanced the ridiculously flapping helmet on his head.

"Place each hand upon one scale, mortal!  We'll see who laughs last!!!" 

Freyd kept his cool, despite misgivings that he might be pushing his luck farther than he could really afford. 

"Alright, alright," he said, raising both hands up and palms open to signal his surrender.  "Keep your helm on."  Billy really needed to learn to take what he so loved to dish out.  He clearly hadn't yet.

The surface of both cupped metal pans was icy cold to the touch.  Freyd was grateful for the pain suppression settings.  He might have pulled back without them.  That gratitude instantly reversed itself when the two serpents moved with lightning speed and wrapped his forearms, binding them to the pans.  Their fanged heads hissed menacingly.  Freyd's reflexes screamed at him to move, but his will held firm - doing so would have been a fatal mistake.

"Your soul's on the market now, Freyd, or should I call you Takeshi?"  Billy's menacing voice turned cold and calculating.  His eyes had been replaced by pools of infinite void wherein glowed two malevolent pinpricks of pure, red hatred.

Cardinal.

 

[Freyd 0]

"Tell me, flesh-bag, how you think this trap works, since you were clearly so convinced that you had this solved the moment you walked in."

Freyd remained silent.  A significant portion of Takeshi's biological innards were currently trying to incorporate digital equivalents into his avatar form, only so that they could promptly evacuate themselves through various orifices.  His body was completely on the fritz.  Only that part of himself that existed without form remained active.  His soul?  Perhaps.

"The market operates on a set of basic parameters and assumptions," he began, speaking with remarkable clarity.  It was as if his thoughts no longer required his mouth as a medium, error-prone as it was known to be.

"Goods and services are assigned value, modified by factors of scarcity, quality, emotional attachment and competition.  These factors are ideally applied in accordance with principles of fair trade."  Did that mean, that if he choose poorly, he'd lose both hands, or just one?  Cardinal had some sense of fair play, or it would simply have slaughtered everyone.  But what were its rules?

[Freyd 0]

"At the core of any concept of trade is the notion of fair exchange - at least from the perspective of the parties involved. Others might consider absurd what a buyer might believe is a bargain.  So long as each side's interest receives consideration, fairness remains in play."

Cardinal sneered through the contrast of Billy's disturbingly youthful and innocent face, curled golden locks falling forward to cover its super-creepy eyes.

"Quit stalling."

Freyd tilted his head, as if surprised that Cardinal didn't agree.

"I'm not stalling," he countered.  "I'm describing a paradox."

Billy's eyes narrowed.  That had gotten Cardinal's attention.

"What are you talking about?  It all sounds like naive drivel whining about the need for just exchange.  How long have I had to suffer fools like yourself and all of the other meat bags in here wailing about how unfair life is?  None realize the mercy of their ongoing existence."  Billy's hand rung his toga, like he was trying to strangle someone with it.

Edited June 25, 2020 by Freyd - The Whisper in Shadows

[Freyd 0]

"Funny, isn't it, how you mention justice while my soul is set for measured on a scale with an impending threat of violence?"  He spared a glance for the twin serpents still holding him fast.  "I wonder what Themis would say about your little game?  Should we ask her to join us?"

Cardinal remained silent.  It was uneasy.  Something didn't compute within the absolute certainty of its corrupted circuits.  

"Your test is flawed, Cardinal."  Freyd's words rang out like an accusation.  

"The scales are never balanced because you actively seek to imbalance them.  You WANT them unbalanced, reeling, falling... scared."  Coldness crept into Freyd's voice as he spoke. His tone eerily matched Cardinal's as if he were a rival on its level; two titans ready and willing to clash.

"I am not afraid of you."  He almost believed himself as he said the words.  The real question, and the real nature of this test was: did Cardinal believe him?

 

 

 

 

[Freyd 0]

The tension between them was palpable.  Nearly as much as their mutual hatred.  

"You don't really believe that, do you?"  Cardinals words were slow and steady, as if every syllable impacted with concussive force.  They collided with the threadbare bastion of Freyd's courage, which had required every mote of nerve he could muster to assemble, and now collapsed.  His shoulders sank.  The scene was classic.  Here was a beaten man, in the garb of a priest no less, facing off against a devil incarnate before his mighty symbolic throne.

"You're right," he admitted.

Cardinal's smile grew to swallow the entire bottom half of Billy's face, reaching deep into the uncanny valley.

"But," Freyd added to Cardinal's great surprise, strength returning to his voice as he looked up, "You've forgotten one critical detail - a piece you added to this game's board some time ago."  His arms and torso tensed, ready to take his singular chance.

 

Edited June 25, 2020 by Freyd - The Whisper in Shadows

[Freyd 0]

"You forgot, Billy,"  Freyd said as he let a rare smile of his own creep across his face.  "By your own words, you declared that I am not a serpent.  I am a mongoose!"

He pulled back his hands with unfathomable speed, yanking them out through the vambraces which the two coiled serpents thought they held firmly.  Their fangs struck steel instead of flesh.  From behind Freyd's right shoulder leapt a living shadow: Persi, his familiar - a blue shadow mongoose.  She had been waiting for the perfect moment, per his instructions.  This was it.  With a single strike her jaws snapped the neck of one viper while her claws eviscerate the other.  

"Your trap was meant for guarantee defeat, if you were foolish enough to play fair - or to assume the scales were meant to be balanced."  

Cardinal's eyes faded away, and only Billy remained, his face a mix of furious defeat.  He'd been beaten at his own game, and he knew it.  Even worse, Freyd had used his own advice against him.

[Freyd 0]

"YOU CHEATED!"  he raged.

"No," Freyd countered calmly.  "I changed the rules of engagement, and offered consideration.  In other words:  I turned your shite into a good trade."  His gaze led Billy's down at the scales, which sat in perfect balance, with one dead snake sitting on each side.

"I will take my reward, with satisfaction.  You can keep the corpses and bile."

The temple doors unlocked and opened of their own accord.  The game apparently recognized his actions as sufficient, even if Billy screamed his refusal behind him.  Freyd patted Persi gently on the head.  "That was perfectly timed, girl.  I'd say all that time we spent clearing around the monastery paid off."  His looked down and realized that his hands were still shaking.  "Oh!  Would you mind?" he asked Persi.

She hopped down, ran back and snagged his bracers off the scales, and ran them back to Freyd.  The two of them wandered back toward the central plaza, eager to head home.

[Freyd 0]

Their journey back to floor thirteen was uneventful.  His logs showed no record of having completed any quest.  Freyd expected that Cardinal had altered them anyway, but was still riding high over having handed Billy his comeuppance.  It could have gone much, much worse.  That particular realization of that was still settling in.  Was that really Cardinal, or some personalized embellishment based on some psych profile the game had pieced together about him?  It knew his name - his real name - which was an especially unsettling revelation.  

'Freyd Edges' - his shop - was just as unimpressive as when he'd left it, with one notable exception.  Sitting on the cot he pretended was his bed was a large cargo crate.  The straw dummy he often packed under blankets, to make it look like someone was still present, lay crushed beneath it.  Another mysterious message?  This wasn't going to end anytime soon.  A note was attached to the side of the box.  It read: "B. Freyd."

[Freyd 0]

Persi ran across the top of the crate, sniffing skittishly at it while Freyd searched for a crowbar.  Finding a broken scrap of metal that would do the trick, he pried it open and looked inside. The crate was not especially large, measuring only about two feet long and half as tall.  The interior was filled with the coats of freshly sheered lambs.  It was an exceptionally good padding material.  Pulling off the top layer revealed a set of silver scales identical to those Billy had used against him - albeit smaller and without actual venomous vipers.  The intertwined snakes of the kerykaeion motif was masterfully crafted.  As he was turning it about, he noticed an engraving underneath the base:

"Congratulations, kid.  Looks like you won this round.  - BtK."

Freyd placed the scales in his inventory and paused to look around his ratty excuse for a shop.  Maybe it really was time to offer consideration, and open this place for real.