Rolled 6, 15, 7, 8 = 36 (4d20)
>>5639799>>5639619>>5639561>>5639531>>5639438>>5639412>>5639400“Rufosss,” you say, simply, “I am TRYING to fulfill my end of our bargain.”
“THIS, this MURDER, was not our bargain,” he retorts angry and defensive. “I would never—”
“Never be king?”
He stops, mouth snapping shut, eyes full of fury and uncertainty.
“Without me, without THISSS, you were jusst trapped in a… A GODLEN CAGE, yesss? You were barred asscensssion, and alwaysss would be. You know it asss well ass I. You ahd risssen as high asss you ever would.”
“You don’t know that,” he mutters.
“I do,” you shoot back, with utter certainty. “What do you think Alexxosss wass going to do, onccce you’d persuaded your father of your right to rule—if ever you COULD have, without me freeing you from the Incubusss’ influence?”
The Secondborn prince shifts in his seat at that, averting his eyes. While you technically wield the remnants of the since-absorbed entity’s ectoplasmic influence as leverage, it is ALSO true that his freedom to think, act, and strive on his own is a gift which YOU, however inadvertently, granted Rufos. He knows it, and so do you.
“You sssaw how dissshonourably the ‘Paladin Princce’ can be when threatened—remember our duel? He cheated, manipulated the ccircumstancccess. I know he isss your brother, but he won’t sstand for being replaccced by you. Who WOULD, in hisss circumsstancesss. You do not need to hate him or BLAME him, even if he dessservesss it for having limited you all these yearsss—you need only underssstand the political and persssonal reality of it. You are doing what you MUSSST to gain power, but what you mussst do isss to SSSEIZE it.”
“I can simply prove to father—”
“What?” you interject again, “What will you prove that you ahven’t already? And if you convinccce your father, do you really think your brother won’t feel ssslighted? Cheated? He wasss RAISSSED for thiss, alwaysss ‘new’ the throne wass hisss. When it isss not… What do you think he and those who sssuported will do? Thiss will bring chaosss, sstrife, ccivil war!”
(Ha, ironic. You’d almost made SURE of that, before choosing this tack instead, but he doesn’t need to know that.)
“But even so…”
“Your father isss ill… Sssicker and closer to Death by the day, Princcce Rufosss,” you say gently, but firmly. “Thisss iss your firssst deccisssion asss King of Hawksssong. Unlesss you do thisss thing… It will be the lasst, and ONLY, deccisssion of ‘King Rufosss’.”
[DC normally 15/17/20; all lowered by 2 for clever write-ins and hard-won victories to this point.]
