To Catch a Thief of Fate

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Mikeavelli
"Do you believe in fate?" an old man asked before seating himself, uninvited, across a table from 'Hopper. is face sagged, his eye were tired, lifeless pools, is back arched as though crushed beneath weight of the multiverse, and his voice was the hollow whisper of a broken man. If he believed in fate, his was certainly an unkind one

"No, cutter. Never been one meself ta’ be peeled by fortune tellers or Godsmen sellin’ their screed when I ken’ be out makin’ me own luck.†‘Hopper responded, bracing himself for the moment the old wretch would impress on him for a little charity. He was feeling generous today, maybe he had enough jink to spare on keeping the bubber drowning away his problems for another night.

The man didn't beg or plead, he didn't leave either. Instead, he withdrew his right arm from his tattered clothing, and produced a few gold coins from within, "Then you won't believe my story, true though it is, but you might listen to my gold a little more intently?" He questioned, almost leeringly.

"Seems someone's been throwin' me darks around a bit too freely, Mister..." - 'Hopper left the sentence hanging, awaiting the implied answer.

"You can call me Thomas, Portalhopper." The old man used 'Hoppers full work name in an attempt at formality, or maybe trying to take 'Hopper off guard, "And I've lost something very dear to me, I need you to take it back for me."

Thomas was definantly a Prime, the way he talked, and the prime-minted gold he carried with him proved that. The face of some petty king on one side, the seal of that petty kingdom on the other, knew enough to walk around the Hive without getting bobbed yet so he can't be totally clueless. Probably came to Sigil to find whatever it is someone stole from him, and the names funneled Thomas to 'Hopper. With all this in mind, he replied, "Indulge me,Thomas, with yer story I won't believe, an' how much jink ye' gots to spare ta' get it back."

Thomas dropped the coins on the table, an offering. ""this pittance, and five hundred more like them when you've got back what's mine. Before I tell you, you'll have to change your mind about how real fate is."

"Done." 'Hopper lied.

Thomas either didn't notice or didn't care, because he launched into his story, "I had a grand destiny, back home. I was invincible in battle, unerring in my politics, and gifted with trustworthy friends. Blessed by the gods in ways that would have led to my inevitable greatness, instead of the wretch you see before you now..." Thomas got a far-off look in his eyes, lost back in his glory days.

"But My fate was stolen from me, my destiny ripped away by a misshapen man-thing. He still spoke and looked like a man, so when he came to me seeking my aid as a warrior, I didn't turn him away. He spoke with a strange accent, much like the men of this city, and his eyes were tempests, like a storm raged inside his head. He took only minutes of my time, begging my aid against monsters who had invaded his home, and then left in mid-sentence without warning. or reason. The name he gave me was Inaleo, but I cannot guess what his real one might be.

From that moment on, my luck failed me, whatever blessings the gods had given me at birth were stolen away, the destiny that was my birthright was stripped away. I thought it was a curse, laid by one of my enemies in my home at first., but nothing could be found enchanted to me, even by the bests wizards In the land. My sword did not swing true, my allies turned to enemies, even my longtime friends turned their backs on me, leaving me alone, a drifter, and eventually a begger.

It was only on the streets of Ward, my home, my fate began to change. When not even my own mother would take me in for the worthless man I'd become, I was nearly ready to end my life when a Gypsy woman beckoned me from afar. She knew exactly who I was, what had happened to me, she told me about the man-thing that called itself Inaleo, how it was a freak from beyond my world, born with the power to steal the fates from men, and bestow them on others. How this city connects with all the worlds, the heavens above, and the hells below and a dozen planes between I could not even imagine existing!

She gave me two keys, one to open the gate that would take me here, and another she said you would recognize. She named you, Portalhopper, as the man who could help me track down Inaleo, and take back my destiny, and said to show you this." Thomas finished his story, and removed a second surprise from beneath his rags, a carved drinking horn, like the ones used by Norse heroes and gods. 'Hopper did immediately recognize it for what it was, a gate-key, no doubt to Bytopia, or Glorium in the outlands.

Powers, thought 'Hopper, "this'old gypsy woman 'ave a name?" 'Hopper asked, trying to figure out which contacts he'd had that were hiding out on primes at the moment, so he'd know which one to strangle for sending him this little practical joke.

Thomas nodded, and if 'Hopper didn't know better, he could've sworn the old man cracked a grin before saying, "Yes, her name was Jykhra. Not a name from my country, but Gypsys come from far and wide, especially to know what she knew. She also said to tell you if you do this for her, it will make up for 'that time'."

'Hoppers mouth opened as though he were going to say something, and then closed. It's not often he's visibly stunned, much less in the presence of a clueless, and a client on top of that! But words just fail him at the mention of a name he hasn't heard in a very, very long time. After a good quarter-minute of gesticulating helplessly 'Hopper pushes the coins back to Thomas, and tells him "Ye've got some luck fer' havin' yer fate stolen, Cutter. I'll find this Inaleo fer you, an' yer fate too, free'o charge."

Thomas' eyes brightened, daring to be hopeful for the first time in the conversation, and what was probably the first time in years if his story was true, but 'Hopper cut him off before he could say anything, "I'ma be needin' a little help on this'un. Gimme two cycles ta' round up some bloods an' gets me an idea where that horn'll take us."

From there on out, the conversation was unintelligible words of thanks and gratitude, while 'Hopper silently sweat bullets.

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OOC: I adore the Planescape setting, and have always wanted to run a game in it. Start off here in Sigil, the City of Doors, which is a very Ayenee-like location where just about anything in the Multiverse can wander into it pretty much by accident, coming through a Portal.

The "Recruits" 'Hopper is looking for is anyone willing to make (or bring) a character into Sigil for the purposes of this plotline, which I hope caught your interest. You don't necessarily have to know a thing about the Planescape setting, as a big part of it is Planars making fun of and generally acting superior to the "clueless."

Plus, 'Hopper isn't the most reputable sort, so it'd take someone pretty new to Sigil to follow him off on some Fool's Errand like this.

It won't be quite as freeform as some of the other plotlines, since there's a goal, structure, and I'll be guiding it along with 'Hopper and NPC plot devices.
 
I'm interested. I just need a reason for Ranik to be in Sigil, its not one of his usual planar haunts, and he's fighting a war. I'll think of something though.
 
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