Planar Chaos

One Shots: Playing the Field

"Ah, Teysa," Vilhelm said as he entered the audience chamber of the Orzhov guild, "as beautifully fragile in your mortality as I pictured."

The leader of the Orzhov slumped in her chair, leaning one one elbow with a bored expression on her face. A cane was resting against the wall behind her. Vilhelm took note of this. It indicated a handicap, something he could use to his advantage.

"What have you come to petition?" she asked automatically. She heard so many petitions a day from all manner of folk. It had become a chore, little more. It didn't help that after an incident in the treasury she was constantly watched by her deceased relative, Karlov.

"I believe your guild has need of my services in your debt collection department," Vilhelm spoke with his mouth wider than usual to expose his fangs.

"A vampire? What use could we have for you? The maw ensures we collect on our debts." Teysa disliked the maw. Wretches would throw themselves into its gaping jaws in order to erase the debts they accrued from the guild in life only to be forced to pay them off in death.

"I understand some of your collectors wind up... disposed of in the line of duty," Vilhelm said.

Teysa had to agree to this. If someone was truly desperate they could simply shoot the messenger, as the phrase went. Collectors had died before, their souls joining the ranks of the Orzhov's ever growing army of ghosts.

"As you know, my kind are notoriously hard to get rid of. We lack the issue of mortality. We never age, we never die of natural causes. Our bodies never wear out as long as we have a flowing supply of blood."

Teysa's ears pricked up at this. She had long wanted to be out from under the thumb of the Obzedat, the ghost council that ran the Orzhov guild and for whom she was just a mouthpiece and puppet. She was about to answer when Karlov cut in.

"You are an affront to our guild is what you are." He crossed his fat, ghostly arms. "We have no use for the undying when we command the endless ranks of the dead."

"I would think the Golgari have more of a monopoly on the dead. You have souls, but they have bodies. No doubt you've run into the," Vilhelm paused, "limitations of incorporeal forms."

Teysa had to hand it to this vampire. He knew how to play politics with the best of them. Grandfather Karlov, and the rest of the Obzedat, only had power so long as they had a fleshy marionette. They needed the Envoy of Ghosts in order to make their will known and have it done. This provided their familial connection to the guild's leadership and ensured its loyalty. Noting this insecurity and pinpointing it with the verbal equivalent of a sniper's crossbow bolt might backfire, but then again it might not.

Karlov took a 'breath' to speak, but Teysa interrupted him. "You've made your point clear, Grandfather Karlov. That said, I think this vampire has something of value to him. We might have a use for someone so hard to kill on our payroll. I suppose you'll want to be paid in blood?"

"But of course," Vilhelm said. He smiled, winking at Karlov who became flustered and would have blushed if he had any blood in his ethereal body.

"We shall draw up a contract, then. It will be legally and magically binding Mr..."

"Vilhelm."

"You're forbidden from practicing advokism, you know that," Karlov cried to Teysa.

"Grandfather, I hardly believe that this counts as practicing law magic when it involves ensuring the loyalty of the latest member of the guild." Teysa picked up her cane and leaned heavily on it. She descended the raised dais and came face to face with Vilhelm, only coming up to his chin.

Even to the ageless vampire, Teysa was still beautiful. Every line of age etched into her face told a lifetime of stories, something Vilhelm could appreciate. She'd been betrayed. He could tell. He could easily fix it all for her, show her his cure. Nobody would betray her again if he could win her loyalty. He could start his grand design here, in this audience chamber, with this woman who was the slave of the dead.

"We have a deal, Mr. Vilhelm?" Teysa extended a gloved hand. Vilhelm shook it, surprised at the strength of her grip. She dropped his hand quickly, turning and ascending the stairs back to her seat. "I expect you to return here tomorrow for a formal signing of the contract. If not, then you will have my dissatisfaction and no mercy."

"Of course, my lady." Vilhelm bowed, thankful it let him hide the mocking smile that for a moment twisted his features. One down, one to go. Isperia would certainly be harder to win than Teysa.

It took Vilhelm two weeks to finish all the paperwork required to even be considered for an audience with Grand Arbiter Leonos II and the guild master Isperia. He had heard about the bureaucratic nature of the guild, but even the patient Vilhelm felt this was excessive. When he returned to deliver the completed mountains of papers, he made sure to hide his new Orzhov signet. He typically wore it as a decorative pin holding his ascot in place.

This definitely threw a wrench in his plans, but Vilhelm was patient. The Azorius worked closely with the Orzhov at times, especially in matters of adjudicating disputes. If his new position were to be made known, it could speed up the process. He resolved to wait and see what happened. If the time came and his request had not yet been processed, he could then alert the low ranking law mages of his status.