D&D 3.5 - Planescape Explorers - Tza'rok

Text from some play by post type emails:

It is a day before the summer ball.

After filing your reports on Korr and the Sons of Amourn at the Githyanki Republic Embassy, Clerks Ward, you are abruptly summoned in front of the head of station of the Githyanki Intelligence Service.

After being ushered inside a large, dark office, all marble and clean lines you find yourself standing in front of a old old wrinkly githyanki female, clad in a purple robe.

Her voice sounds in your mind.

'Tza'rok, are you ready for a task of real importance to the republic?'

Naturally enough, you reply yes with a nod.

'I understand you are with a war band, humans and elves. I hear they are quite effective.'

She continues.

'We are on the trail of a traitor, our number one target currently. His name is Gul'seth, and is a powerful psion.

We have a spy who is getting a fix on his location as we speak, I want you to be ready to terminate this dangerous traitor as soon as we give you word of his location, you will need all of your colleagues to assist you if you wish to have any chance of success.'

Without stopping, she goes on.

'Naturally your human allies will want payment, I am authorising you to negotiate for the Republic and agree any sum of money up to 20,000 gold pieces per cutter for the delivery of this murderers head to my desk here.'

'Now there are some things I have to tell you. The republic cannot be implicated in this assassination, so you will have to invent a story as appropriate, neither are you to compromise your cover with your colleagues or friends.'

'Now your target. He is the most dangerous threat you have yet faced and the republics most wanted criminal. But he is ingratiating, a powerful psion. You MUST NOT ALLOW HIM TO TALK. If you ever find yourself in a conversation with this individual it is already too late, you will be working for him from then on.'

'Any papers or documents he has must be burned, any odd artefacts or curios found must also be destroyed. Simply put, you are ordered to kill him and deliver his head here. There is no scope in this mission for initiative or deviation from that goal. These instructions are for your safety and security.'

The wizened old woman looks up from some kind of official paperwork now, making you wonder if she has been reading all that from something.

For the first time she seems to be looking for a response...

Tza'rok:

'Zerthimon teaches us not to lose ourselves, lest we become tools for others. I *know* myself well enough to see when I am being made into a tool. I am on detached duty, by choice and by grant and you've just told me you want me to perform a top end assassination mission. That I have no particular problem with. That he is a dangerous psion I can accept at your word. To kill him without even hearing him speak requires a stealth approach that my colleagues are not trained for and in any case, as you I'm sure realise quite well, will talk to him regardless of anything I might say or do. I know you know this.

'A dead man's papers dangerous? This is where the parameters of the mission start to fall to pieces. Again, you know as well as I that my colleagues will go through his possessions and I won't be able to stop them. If you wanted it done as described, you would send a stealth strike team from the Floating City or if you required distance, you would engage the services of professional assassins, clearly you have the budget for it.'

'But you haven't. You're choosing an out of practice low grade spy who left Limbo on a philosophical journey of self knowledge and the people he happened to hook up with on the way.'

'So - there's a reason the service wants us to do it. They obviously don't want it doing as described and there's a big pile of intelligence being witheld,which will serve to make the job infinitely more difficult.'

'And before you give me the loyalty speech which I know is just now forming and ready for delivery, you should know that the God-King has my loyalty always, but it is not blind, stupid, nor unquestioning. Naturally, you won't want me to have the same 'loyalty' as our race used to display to the Illithids.'

'So. How about the real Dark of it, if you want this doing properly.'

Pac'ali

The old woman gives you a withering look and opens he mouth for the first time to speak in a croaky voice.

'Don't presume to tell me how this business works boy, I have been doing this since before your grandmother was weaned.'

She reverts to telepathy.

'If you lack the imagination or fortitude to conclude this business as directed you are obviously less capable than has been reported. You imagine the Republic has elite teams of assassins at all points in the multiverse ready to strike, unfortunately for me, this is not the case. You aren't being asked for your opinion or insight into this mission, these orders come from the top and the details are scant for your own protection. Even a body of junior rank like yours should be aware that this is the way it works in our game.'

'You say you are now some kind of volunteer Githzerai now. Well I am telling you the Republic is in great danger, and you are the most available asset we have to deal with this threat. When I have a fix on where the target is I will send you a note. Inform the messenger of your decision then.'

'Now get out of my sight.'

Tza'rok declined the mission when it was presented to him in the subsequent session.

http://mike_c.f-m.fm/Log%20-2010-10-10.html

A year or so later.

Responding to recent chant of rebellion in the ranks of his people, Tza'rok returns to the embassy to learn the dark of it, and gets himself blown up for his trouble. However, he's a lot better lanned than he was at the start of the day, and resolves to help the loyalists.

http://mike_c.f-m.fm/Log%20-2011-02-14.html