278 lines
9.6 KiB
HTML
278 lines
9.6 KiB
HTML
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<link rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml" title="episodes" href="http://tilde.town/~dozens/clericthief/episodes.xml">
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<link rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml" title="journal" href="http://tilde.town/~dozens/clericthief/journal.xml">
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Cleric + Thief
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| <a href="index.html">Episodes</a>
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| <a href="journal.html">Journal</a>
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| <a href="about.html">About</a>
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<header id="title-block-header">
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<h1 class="title">00003. The Hand</h1>
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<p class="subtitle">council of five</p>
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</header>
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<p>“They had accents,” Maddox explains. They and Iofi are in Count
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Dindrati’s library. They haven’t been invited to sit, so they both
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stand. The count is seated at a table by himself studying a board game.
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“They were from the west,” they continue.</p>
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<p>“Yes, yes.” Dindrati waves his hand dismissively. His thumb and first
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two fingers are scaly, and each ends in a pointed tip.</p>
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<p>He picks up a piece from the board and moves it.</p>
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<p>“Your priorities have changed,” he says, finally looking up from the
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board. His wide, smooth face would probably be quite unremarkable were
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it not for the raised gold-colored scales on the side of his jaw, like
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beetle carapaces crawling up his left cheekbone and encircling his eye.
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That eye has no pupil, no iris. Just a solid pool the color of liquid,
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molten metal.</p>
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<p>“I have reason to believe that the Hand may be involved in
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Blackguard’s disappearance.” Maddox shifts their weight back onto their
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heels. Iofi draws her shoulders back a little. “I want you to find out.
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And if it’s true, I want you to make them feel my disappointment.”</p>
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<p>He turns back to the game. “Start with the Pinky,” he says and waves
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again, dismissing them.</p>
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<p>Iofi clears her throat and says, “Going after the Hand is not nearly
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the same as interviewing the butler of a rich merchant. We’ll need to
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renegotiate our contract.”</p>
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<p>Dindrati sighs and nods, and presses himself up from his game. He
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turns around and crosses the room. He draws one claw-tipped finger
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across the spines of the books on the shelf.</p>
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<p>He pulls down a thick journal and turns back to the duo.</p>
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<p>“Here,” he says, holding it out to Iofi. “This should be enough to
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balance the scales.”</p>
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<p>Iofi reaches out and takes the book from the count.</p>
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<p>“I’ll adjust your pay accordingly,” he concludes, sitting back down
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to the game.</p>
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<hr />
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<p>The count nominally governs Kriteach County. He speaks with the
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authority of the king, and enforces his will with his own police force.
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But it is the Hand that in actuality runs the day to day operations of
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the city. They indulge in the standard practices of organized crime.
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Racketeering, bribery, extortion and the like. But they do so with the
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begrudging support of the citizens, because they also spend a
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significant amount of effort enforcing their own code of ethics. They
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investigate and punish breaches of conduct both within their own ranks,
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and also amongst the people. Theirs has become a sort of people’s
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court.</p>
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<p>The governing body of the Hand is a council of five. Hence the name.
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The individuals may change and come and go over the years. But the
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positions and the titles are always the same.</p>
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<p>There is the Thumb, as in “under my”. They serve an executive
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function in the Hand, getting to set agendas and priorities and
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direction.</p>
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<p>The Index is the book keeper for the whole organization. His
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accountants and lawyers know all the secrets and how to protect them.
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And only he knows the extent and the contents, and the whereabouts, of
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the Hand’s coffers.</p>
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<p>There is no subtly to the Tall Man’s racket. His is enforcement and
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protection. Usually through muscle and brute force. Although his crew
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has been known to pull off a clandestine operation or two.</p>
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<p>The Dead Ringer employs a small number of spies. They broker in
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espionage, intrigue, disguise, and when necessary, assassination and
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disposal.</p>
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<p>And finally there is the Pinky–as in “wrapped around my little
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finger”–whose portfolio includes information and blackmail. Their
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network of spies is not necessarily limited to, but is largely comprised
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of, the working girls in the brothels. And their intel are the secrets
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that foolish men let slip while their head is on the pillow.</p>
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<p>It is a well known secret that the current Pinky, one Madam Rose
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Walker, is the owner and proprietor of Madam Walker’s Supper Club. A
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charmingly seedy establishment where you can get a good bite to eat and
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then, if you pay a little more, you can head upstairs and have one of
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the girls for desert.</p>
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<hr />
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<p>Iofi and Maddox spent the day preparing. The book that Count Dindrati
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gave them was a grimorie. A book of magic.</p>
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<p>One of the rituals they prepared involved Iofi consuming the heart of
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an animal. Meadowgloom dutifully obtained and prepared the beast while
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the two of them continued to study. “Divination is more your thing than
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mine anyway,” Maddox said apologetically as Iofi frowned and suffered
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through eating the thing.</p>
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<p>And now here they are. Standing in the shadows outside the supper
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club in the southern part of the Lost Arch district, near the
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harbour.</p>
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<p>Convention dictates they conduct their missions after hours. But
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“after hours” at a brothel is typically midday, which they agreed would
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leave them feeling a little exposed. So they opted for 3:00, the
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bewitching hour.</p>
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<p>“Ready?” Iofi asks quietly. Maddox nods and the two of them step out
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of the shadows. Maddox grumbles once again at the lack of windows on the
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ground floor. They walk past the painted red front door and around to
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the back alley where the entrance to the kitchen is. Iofi reaches into
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her satchel to pet the black turtle as she walks up to the door. She
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places her hand on the door and speaks with two voices, “<span
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class="smallcaps">The door is open.</span>” She presses gently and the
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door swings open.</p>
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<p>She steps aside so that Maddox can slip in, and then follows them and
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closes the door shut behind them.</p>
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<p>EOF</p>
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