CHOCOLATE DESTINY

Amos and Carmen Sandiego(International Woman of Mystery) push through the crowd to find that the fire has actually affected three residences. One house is completely burned down, and the two adjacent ones are half gone. Immediately surrounding the ruin are around twenty some men, women, and children with charred clothes, holding wet blankets. The survivors of a catastrophe.

A young girl cries over a blackened corpse. "They burned me toys! An' they burned me MUM!"
A somewhat less hysterical housewife answers Amos' question. "Couple of crazed thugs off the street put our place to the torch. They would've burnt town hall too if the guards didn't catch 'em."
"I HATE IT!!" a little boy screams, shaking flame-scarred fists in the air. Tears stream down from his reddened eyes. "I wanna find them who did this, an' beat them til they BLEED!"
"Calm down, boy" the man beside him chides, "They're already being taken to the gallows, to answer for their crimes."
"It's NOT FAIR! I go to church every day!"
Another little boy emerges from the ruins, his hair a striking shade of red. The others flock to check on him, but he seems to be unharmed. There is a blank expression on his face.
"Why..." he mutters, his dead eyes downcast. "Why are they all dead and I'm alive..."

Meanwhile, Lee Gray stands forlornly in front of the bank, imagining all the money inside that doesn't belong to him. A handsomely dressed man approaches him.
"Say, would you be interested in a loan, good sir?"

After staring an hour or so at the bank, and producing a couple of strange glances, Lee Gray decided that it would not be in his best interest to associate himself with a backwater financial institution such as this, and even worse to associate himself with other handsomely dressed men who happened to offer loans in a backwater city. But, the prospect of getting a loan in due time overrode those inhibitions.

"May I perhaps know the terms, of this loan, that you are offering me?"

Gray asks, eyeing the man for anything suspicious.

"All the more reason to get out of here. The true form of Enarou could be easily confused for Dante's third level of hell."

Amos peers through the smoldering destruction curious if he might spy upon any corpses or survivors still in there. After idling looking to no avail he turns back to the group and posits:

"It'd almost be grimly comedic if that Lee guy was the root cause of this. Remember? He rambled about some sort of insurrection. I know, I know, he probably is not at fault for the tragedy but still ..."

After looking over the wreckage as well for survivors she returns to the group as well. "Too true, he may be a touch weird, but he didn't seem stupid enough to do something like this."

Lil' Prince Ali walks to the red-haired boy, and stoops to look him in the eye.

"REJOICE, MUTHAFUCKAH," Ali shouts in his face, "FO YO WISH HAS BEEN GRANTED. Your old life has been been ripped asunder by fire and flame, but from its ashes, a NEW one shall be reborn!"

Ali grabs the boy's hand and gestures magnificently.

"Lil' Prince Ali knows, that you've always wanted to travel the world, and experience the wonders of legend. Now that you have nothing left; no family, no possessions; you are free to pursue that dream. Unmatched tragedy has given you unmatched opportunity."

Ali beckons for the boy to join his entourage.

"Now join me, Young Moolah, for the ride of a lifetime."

"While it's wonderful that you're adopting a psychologically scarred child, and truly admirable. Dallying here is only going to instill these people's despair into us. Let's move on already." Amos presses on ahead a few feet and looks behind him to check that the group is also moving on.

The woman facepalms at the prince's display. "Yet another unfortunate soul draged into this group." She walks off following Amos.

"Huh? O-okay..." The boy's face remains blank as he stands among the Spectacular Coterie.

The town hall is a modest wooden affair of a building, with several burn marks on the side from the recent arson. The group passes through a small vestibule to find that the council room is completely deserted.

------------------
The handsomely dressed man smiles and opens his arms, as if to accept an embrace.
"But of course, good sir! My organization offers a wide range of borrowable assets on all points in the liquidity spectrum. From the local branch here in Enarou, you may borrow up to a maximum of 20,000 Republic clarins, or 20,000 clarins worth of gold rooks, crop seed, spices, jewelry, construction material, and more. All, of course, for 0 initial collateral!"

Amos tosses his hands up in the air (like he just don't care) and yells out in the empty room.

"And. Then. There. Were. NONE!"

Cynical laughter ensues for a few seconds. Amos quickly realizes he has jumped to a premature conclusion, drops his hand down and meekly adds:

"Or.... they are bearing witness to the execution of arsonists."

She looks around the empty room and chuckles. "Time of crisis and the government nowhere to be found, gee what a shock." She says in a sarcastic tone.

"What do you ask for in return, and prevents me from just taking the money and running then?"

Gray asked, flabbergasted. As his father has always taught him, if a deal is too good to be true, then it must be. It was necessary to get down to every single point of technicality before accepting anything.

Ali nods at Amos.

"Good point, A.D. Those pussy ass bitches tryna run away from their failure by executing other people. Quick, let's search the room for any info on those fuckers, and that noble too."

Ali and Coterie quickly search the room for any information on council members or noble, taking anything that is carryable.

Amos tries to nab a valuable or two and an official seal in the chaos of the coterie's search.

"Stop. Don't. Think of the children." She says in a bored tone, not really caring that they are looting.

After a few minuets she starts wandering around, looking for any weapons.

While we're searching I use Profession (Vampire Hunter) to see if the there are any signs of the undead being involved in this attack.

While Amos takes no more than two small precious objects and if possible the village seal he stores them in pockets inside his jacket.

(Stealth check to hide the items, and take them nonchalantly if possible.)

"You with the cloak, considering the time we've put in together would it be possible to get your name, or at least something to call you by?"

She stops looking around and turns to Amos, thinking over the question for a few moments and sighs before replying. "Very well. My name is Skuld, and I hail from the Abatos Republic."

(Lucas determines that a vampire attack is highly unlikely, as the undead have an innate fear of fire.)
The Coterie laughs at Skuld's joke, as there are no children in the town council. In the search of the room, the group finds:

• Several gold rooks lying in dusty nooks and crannies.
  
• Requests for supplies and aid from other cities and nations. Some are signed and stamped, some are blank at the bottom.
  
• Estimated accounts of the previous week's total traffic of trade goods and currency through the port.
  
• A small seal belonging to one of the council members.
  

@Xenoe: Divergence initiated
https://churchofproz.forumotion.net/t1342-chocolate-destiny-a-feline-divergence

Amos puts forth his hand for a handshake.

"I'm honored to have something to call you by, Skuld, as you already know but I'm Amos Daniels."

[After the reciprocation of the handshake or lack of one]: Amos reads the requests for supplies and aid searching or clues or remarks that reveal information about how the sovereign nation Jaquim's relations to the village, or any other major patron of the village feels for that matter.

She takes his hand in a firm grip. "Same to you." Letting go of his hand she also turns to the requests for supplies and aid, specifically looking for mentions of Abatos.

Amos finds a correspondence from Jaquim's Master of Coin, Sir Nealan Kromwell. It explains to the council that they cannot send troops or supplies paid for by the Crown unless the request bears the official seal of the nobleman in charge, Baron Kurloz, and that if he is truly on a hunting trip as they say, they must wait for his return.

Skuld finds a request to Abatos, signed and stamped. Apparently it is the fifth such request made by the council, the previous ones having been denied. In exchange for supplies and ships to take refugees away, it offers Republic merchants unrestricted trading rights within the port and surrounding waters, reduced tariffs on their goods, and the reservation of several docks exclusively for their use.

Without admitting to the sins they are committing Amos looks out the doorway nervously and suggests:

"The information is nice to have, and so is the town seal but we are SCREWED if an idle snitch sees us in here. I don't know about the rest of you but I'm bailing."

Amos tries to sneak out of the building. (Stealth check)

Before Amos tries to sneak out, Skuld whispers to him. "Pardon me but wouldn't it be easier to simply walk out with prince Ali? The Prince seems to have an...effect on people that we could use to our advantage."

Amos pauses and contemplates. In any other situation being caught here would mean a night in a forsaken jail cell or even losing a hand, but with prince Ali events might unfold very differently. Amos squints and whispers back:

"You ... don't think these people might not regard Ali as highly as he regards himself? Just taking the time to warn me makes me more willing to hear you out ... I'll stick with you on this one."

Amos scoffs and continues:

"And without this possibly very ephemeral group I am nothing but a beggar in a foreign land without a job opportunity."

Skuld chuckles. "We are all in that boat...someone like me doubly so because the people here have reason to hate the people of Abatos. Besides would you think we would really spend even an hour in a jail cell when we have a man who can pay for bone soup with a golden camel statue?"

"He doesn't seem like he'd part with a golden camel statue because of duress though. In fact, he might club those same offenders with said golden camel."

"Friend Skuld is right. Ali could grease every palm in Enarou with a fraction of his wealth. In fact I'm sure he could purchase this city outright if he chose."

(ooc:  now picturing Aladdin beating the palace guards with golden camels)

"Hmm...good point. Though that would be rather humorous to see." She takes a minuet to think of a new plan then says. "I got it, take my cloak and sneak outside, after we have hidden shout that you saw a fifth member run in a random direction."

"What? We're hiding now?" The bald cook huddles down with the whisperers, having finally wriggled free of the burly-armed servants.

"Oh SHIT, nigga," says Ali, incredulous. "Did I just hear ya'll right? Ya'll wanna HIDE? There ain't no sneakin' around fo Lil' Prince Ali. If you wanna hide, you can do it all by yo-self. As for me, I'm going to that Baron Kurloz's palace to steal his shit; maybe even kidnap his kids."

Ali gathers the findings and grabs the bald man.

"Lead the way, homie."

Amos rubs his temples and follows the boisterous swaggafid.

Skuld facepalms again, mumbling "God I hope this town has aspirin." As she follows along.

The sun begins to set, creating a sparkling column of light down the water. The balding man leads the way through a winding cobblestone path through the town and up the hill to the Baron's castle. It is a fortified manor house and keep perched precariously on a cliff by the sea, itself surrounded by an outer wall.

The path turns to dirt and deposits the group at a gate in the castle wall. Two guards in the town uniform stand to either side of the large arched double doors, bearing steel tipped spears.
"Uh, hey," one of them calls out. "State your names, and your business here."

Amos gestures towards Ali:

"Don't mind us, I'm sure he has a "magnificent" explanation for you."

After Amos says that, an unhooded Skuld steps forward, a look of anger on her face. "Surely you jest!" She begins, speaking with a heavy British accent. "Do you  not recognize when you are in the presence of royalty! This my good sir is the royal entourage of Lil' Prince Ali!'"

She walks over to ,the most likely stupefied Amos, and places a hand firmly on his shoulder. "This is Sir Amos! Loyal Wing man of the Prince, and master in the ways of armed combat"

She walks away from Amos and over to Lucas and smacks him hard on the back. "This is Lucas, famed undead slayer, world famous for slaying over 9000 undead over the course of one night with only a whip and a wine glass!

She finally makes her way to the prince, bowing at his feet and raising her hands in praise to him. "And finally the one you all have been waiting for! He is the one who burns brighter than a thousand desert suns! He is the master of a thousand harems! And he is the undisputed, nine time champion of the world wide fucking federation! HE! IS! LIL'! PRINCE! ALI!!!!"

She gets up and coughs into her hand. "And I am their humble servant Urd. And the prince asks, no demands to be let in!"

Skuld's proclamations have roused the guards to rapt attention. The one who spoke before coughs. "Uh wow, sorry for not recognizing your Majesty." They both make deep bows. "Hey, open the gates for Prince Ali!" the guard yells up at the gate house window.
A gruff voice replies. "Prince Ali? Hold on, let me check if he has an appointment."
A few minutes pass. "No, there's no Prince Ali on any of the lists," the voice from the gatehouse says.
"Sorry, it looks like we weren't expecting you, your Majesty," the guard on the ground says.

Amos stares on (indeed stupefied) and mutters to himself

"Loyal wingman and master of arms huh?"

He looks up and joins in telling the tall tale:

"Do you honestly believe that a man who carries golden camel statues as currency comes to a land as fraught with poverty and despair as this one only to lie about having an audience with your lord? A man of Ali's stature does not tolerate this sort of disrespect in his own land! But, we are strangers in your nation so we refrain from protecting the prince's honor as doggedly as we normally do. Do not misunderstand however, we will not tolerate any further disrespect towards the prince."

(Speaking check)

(Your speaking check automatically succeeds, as you have been trained to speak since birth. It comes naturally to you.)

The man staffing the gatehouse sounds unmoved by your performance. "Sir Kurloz is away, so you cannot be received by him. I'm under strict orders from milord not to let any unlisted people in before his return. Come back and try again later."
The guards on the ground, however, are beginning to sweat. "Look, I would love to open the gates for your Highness but it's not up to me, so please forgive my rudeness," one of them says softly.
"We mean you no disrespect," the other one says.

Ali jerks his head towards Skuld and Amos. "Good shit, homies. I like yo' style. Stick wit me, and we won't turn down fo' nothin'."

He then looks up at the man staffing the gatehouse, and shouts in the most respectable tone he can muster.

"My good nigga, would you be so kind as to show me that list? I distinctly remember warning yo estate that I would be showin' up with mah peeps. Now, I'm sure you don't wanna start nothin' with me and my badass homies. Just stick that list through the bars so I can see it. If my name ain't on it, we'll get out yo grill."

Ali motions to Cotorie to calmly approach the guards, blocking him from their sight.

"Corporal, do they have bows?"
"Uh, no sir." The two guards watch the approaching Coterie members nervously.
The gatehouse window emits a long and exasperated sigh. "Fine." An arm sticks out of the window holding a long unrolled sheet of parchment bearing the words "Guest List" in bold along with several names. It is difficult to read from the ground but true to his word, Lil' Prince Ali's name is not among them.

Lil' Prince Ali opens his lips to utter the sacred words of his birthright.

"Bararum Dum Dum"
[Get Low activates]


As he speaks, the Crunk Power that has accumulated within his blood for generations awakens. It courses through his veins like a torrent of poppin' Patron, giving Ali the primal urge to back, back, back it up.

Ali suppresses the urge, and channels the energy into blunt force, which he directs towards the gatekeeper's wrist, causing him to release the list.

The arm suddenly jerks downward, pulled by an unseen yet undoubtedly crunk powered force. "ARRGH! S-sorcery!" he screams. The guards on the ground are now quivering with fear. The parchment slips from the arm's grasp.

As the guards are blocked by Coterie members, and the gatekeeper is preoccupied with his pain, no one sees Ali grab the parchment and scrawl his name on the list.

"Oh, hold up homie," Ali says innocently, "looks like you missed my name. See? I wasn't tryna walk into yo club without a reservation or somethin'. Let me and my crew in, and all will be forgiven."

Ali struts over to the trembling guard, and waves the list in front of his face.

"Well? It's right here, nigga. Wutchu waitin' fo?"

He smiles as the guard sweats profusely.

"It- it's true! His name is on the list!" the guard shouts.
"Okay! OKAY! Let go of my arm and I'll open the gate!"

[Get Low deactivates]

The arm withdraws into the window. Moments later, the arched double doors begin to creak open. The two guards step to either side. "Welcome to Enarou Keep, your Majesty."
Lil' Prince Ali and his explicitly overrated entourage pass through the outer wall and into a nice looking courtyard. Immediately up ahead is the manor house with a maroon tiled roof, the keep towering up behind it. A garden is to the left, and to the right are various outbuildings.
A few young men and women scurry about in servant's garb.

Amos shakes his head in amazement. It is clear to him that what just transpired is beyond the realm of sanity. Yet ... the insanity of this swag lil' prince and the unusual events that are playing out bring a smirk to his face. As Amos passes through the gate with Ali and Coterie he steps up next to Ali and asks:

"That's a hella catchy phrase bro ... Bararum dum dum. Bararum dum dum. Are those words a magical incantation?"

Skuld simply stares at the open gate, mumbling in her British accent "Bloody ell, I thought we'd be strung up by our necks."

After a few moments she rushes up to join the prince and Amos. "Forgive me for asking your highness, but what was that, and does it work on enchanted equipment?!"

"Gott im Himmel," Lucas mutters. "I now truly see why some call you Vroopmaster, friend Ali. Few men can command such dank magics."

Ali nods his head in response to their inquiries, and stands solemnly, stroking his chainz.

"I spit dem' sacred bars with the greatest respect. They are proof of my Swaggafid heritage. The story goes that the first Swaggafid, Fittypence, used 'em to tap into an ancient power. See, when he was foundin' the dynasty, my ancestor and his Grand Vizier got into a big argument. Fittypence wanted to build our capital near Striptease Village, but his homeboy said it wasn't tactically sound. If I recall correctly, it went somethin' like dis..."

Fittypence: OK, homie. If the hill near Striptease Village ain't 'tactically sound,' how far we gotta move da capital?
Grand Vizier: Hm...probably 'bout tree fiddy.
Fittypence: Tree fiddy?
Grand Vizier: Yeah, we gotta move it tree fiddy miles south.
Fittypence: HELL NO. GodDAMMIT homie, I ain't movin' it no treefiddy! How we gonna get dem hoes?!

"...so of course, they was honor-bound to duel over this. Thing is, Fittypence really liked his Grand Vizier, and didn't wanna cut his head off. The day of the duel, Fittypence looked deep within his heart and found the three words of brotherhood that move the souls of all living things (and only living things) through the Power of Crunk. They rang from Fittypence's mouth into the air, and forced the Grand Vizier to his knees, ending the duel. Thus, Fittypence saved his homeboy, and the capital was founded near Striptease Village."