game_data/annotations_model/characters_list/deathless.csv

game,character,aliases,num_appearances,total_scenes,scene_ids,example_0,example_1,example_2,example_3,example_4,valid
deathless,Varkath Nebuchadnezzar Stone,"['Varkath Nebuchadnezzar Stone', 'Varkath Nebuchadnezzar', 'Nebuchadnezzar', 'Stone', 'Varkath']",148,1738,"startup_301,startup_381,casinonight_0,casinonight_80,casinonight_120,casinonight_486,casinonight_510,casinonight_496,casinonight_522,casinonight_531,casinonight_569,casinonight_596,casinonight_620,casinonight_611,casinonight_657,thefirstcase_143,thefirstcase_147,thefirstcase_203,thefirstcase_169,thefirstcase_208,thefirstcase_215,thefirstcase_222,thefirstcase_252,thefirstcase_255,thefirstcase_255,thefirstcase_248,thefirstcase_258,thefirstcase_263,thefirstcase_549,thefirstcase_265,thefirstcase_268,thefirstcase_277,thefirstcase_285,thefirstcase_296,thefirstcase_611,thefirstcase_732,thefirstcase_734,thefirstcase_737,thefirstcase_747,thefirstcase_787,thefirstcase_794,thefirstcase_797,thefirstcase_919,thefirstcase_805,thefirstcase_1026,thefirstcase_1040,thefirstcase_1060,thefirstcase_1148,thefirstcase_1121,devilsasylum_62,devilsasylum_69,devilsasylum_77,devilsasylum_77,devilsasylum_226,devilsasylum_266,devilsasylum_305,devilsasylum_333,devilsasylum_343,devilsasylum_360,devilsasylum_403,devilsasylum_689,devilsasylum_700,devilsasylum_712,devilsasylum_718,devilsasylum_692,devilsasylum_703,devilsasylum_902,devilsasylum_1066,continuingeducation_25,continuingeducation_49,continuingeducation_106,continuingeducation_117,continuingeducation_141,continuingeducation_258,continuingeducation_749,continuingeducation_781,deposition_50,deposition_50,deposition_50,deposition_276,deposition_284,deposition_315,deposition_326,deposition_326,deposition_458,deposition_473,deposition_487,deposition_604,deposition_637,deposition_645,deposition_654,deposition_683,deposition_692,demonworld_43,demonworld_43,demonworld_43,demonworld_63,demonworld_63,demonworld_63,demonworld_72,demonworld_84,demonworld_97,demonworld_97,demonworld_106,demonworld_106,demonworld_764,demonworld_788,demonworld_798,demonworld_806,demonworld2_455,demonworld2_462,epilogue_485,epilogue_485,epilogue_485,epilogue_489,epilogue_337,epilogue_337,epilogue_337,epilogue_269,epilogue_269,epilogue_330,epilogue_330,epilogue_330,epilogue_264,epilogue_264,epilogue_264,epilogue_324,epilogue_324,epilogue_324,epilogue_286,epilogue_286,epilogue_286,epilogue_293,epilogue_183,epilogue_183,epilogue_183,epilogue_190,epilogue_190,epilogue_190,epilogue_524,epilogue_564,epilogue_622,epilogue_642,epilogue_642,epilogue_647,epilogue_656,epilogue_989,epilogue_1005","Battle demons and undead attorneys, and win souls to pay back your student loans! At the elite demonic-law firm of Varkath Nebuchadnezzar Stone, you'll depose a fallen god, find romance, and maybe even make partner, if you don't lose your own soul first.
[i]Choice of the Deathless[/i] is a necromantic legal thriller by Max Gladstone, Campbell Award-nominated author of [i]Three Parts Dead[/i] and [i]Two Serpents Rise[/i]. The game is entirely text-based--without graphics or sound effects--and powered by the vast, unstoppable power of your imagination.
• Explore a fantasy realm with a rich and evolving backstory, based on the novels published by Tor Books.[n/]
• Play as male or female, gay or straight, dead or alive (or both).[n/]
• Build your career on carefully reasoned contracts, or party all night with the skeletal partners at your firm.[n/]
• Navigate intrigue and mystery in a world of scheming magicians and devious monsters. [n/]
• Look for love in at least some of the right places.[n/]
• Balance student loans, sleep, daily commute, rent payments, and demonic litigation—hey, nobody said being a wizard was always fun.[n/]","My firm.
""You kill me, and Varkath Nebuchadnezzar Stone will hound you to the end of time.  Do you think my partners can't find you here?  Or in whatever rathole you try to hide?""
His laugh is high and creaking, like a door on a poorly oiled hinge.  ""You think they'll seek vengeance on one of their most prized clients?  We'll settle eventually.  And you'll be long dead by then.""","Krieg Tower rises like a black needle over the sprawling Shikaw skyline.  To the east stretches the Greatwater, slate gray broken by white chalk-line waves.  Below, and off to the west, broad gridded streets map the earth between buildings the size of city blocks, and beyond these lie older, red brick neighborhoods that never quite recovered from the God Wars.
Varkath Nebuchadnezzar Stone occupies the top twenty floors of Krieg Tower; your new office, your first office ever, is a cubby on floor thirty-five, toward the lower bound of VNS territory.  It's empty but for you and the few personal possessions you're moving in—a single box, piled high with Craftwork books, and on top of them a few teetering personal effects, including a daguerrotype of your graduation.  You look so proud.
You set the box down, and sag into your chair.  You hear the subtle shift in the box and turn in time to see the picture fall.","""You're going to that?  I thought I might skip.  It's just more social, play-nice stuff, right?""
""Skip?  You realize that everyone's going.  I even hear that Varkath might put in an appearance.  The Man Upstairs himself.  There's trying to build a hardworking, antisocial rep, and then there's just being stupid.""
""Glad to hear you have such a high opinion of me.""
""Hey, if the shoe fits.""  She shrugs.  ""Okay, well.  We'll be meeting at seven, and here's the address.  See you there, or not.""  Cass looks a bit disappointed, but maybe you're making that up.  You don't know what to make of people, anyway.
She turns to leave.  And speaking of leaving—you really should get home.  Even if you don't want to meet the others for dinner, maybe you should give this casino night a shot, and you have to get ready first.  Not to mention, unpack.","I tried to compromise between price and convenience.
A trolley takes twenty minutes to escape the steel and glass titans of downtown and reach the brownstones and bricks of the Garment District.  Which, so far as you've been able to determine, has nothing whatsoever to do with garments or the textile industry these days.
Not for the first time you wonder if you shouldn't have tried to find a job nearer to the place you grew up—where you knew the history, and the territory.  But in this business, you go where the work is.  You were lucky to get a chance at Varkath Nebuchadnezzar; the market's as harsh as it has been in years.",
deathless,John Smith,"['John', 'John Smith', 'Smith']",138,1738,"startup_557,thefirstcase_138,thefirstcase_143,thefirstcase_147,thefirstcase_147,thefirstcase_160,thefirstcase_169,thefirstcase_196,thefirstcase_477,thefirstcase_564,thefirstcase_388,thefirstcase_868,thefirstcase_766,thefirstcase_766,thefirstcase_797,thefirstcase_797,thefirstcase_1002,thefirstcase_1011,thefirstcase_1019,thefirstcase_1030,thefirstcase_904,thefirstcase_928,thefirstcase_936,thefirstcase_969,thefirstcase_946,thefirstcase_959,thefirstcase_975,thefirstcase_949,thefirstcase_985,continuingeducation_117,continuingeducation_204,continuingeducation_245,continuingeducation_258,continuingeducation_225,continuingeducation_269,continuingeducation_280,continuingeducation_288,continuingeducation_301,continuingeducation_304,continuingeducation_336,continuingeducation_254,continuingeducation_327,continuingeducation_295,continuingeducation_347,continuingeducation_350,continuingeducation_364,continuingeducation_367,continuingeducation_358,continuingeducation_391,continuingeducation_537,continuingeducation_393,continuingeducation_452,continuingeducation_454,continuingeducation_457,continuingeducation_469,continuingeducation_480,continuingeducation_461,continuingeducation_465,continuingeducation_471,continuingeducation_484,continuingeducation_519,continuingeducation_476,continuingeducation_488,continuingeducation_550,continuingeducation_561,continuingeducation_625,continuingeducation_702,continuingeducation_759,continuingeducation_761,deposition_126,deposition_237,deposition_315,deposition_315,demonworld_63,demonworld_63,demonworld_72,demonworld_84,demonworld_97,demonworld_106,demonworld_725,demonworld_744,demonworld_239,demonworld_403,demonworld_412,demonworld_759,demonworld_764,demonworld_788,demonworld_798,demonworld_806,demonworld_603,demonworld_814,demonworld_610,demonworld_835,demonworld_864,demonworld_873,demonworld_876,demonworld_886,demonworld_892,demonworld_924,demonworld_934,demonworld_965,demonworld_971,demonworld_980,demonworld_990,demonworld_1000,demonworld_1009,demonworld_1052,demonworld_1059,demonworld_1015,demonworld_1043,demonworld_1068,demonworld_1071,demonworld_1082,demonworld_1087,demonworld_1126,demonworld_1162,demonworld_1130,demonworld_1151,demonworld_1155,demonworld_1166,demonworld_1171,demonworld_1181,demonworld_1183,demonworld_1202,demonworld2_330,demonworld2_334,demonworld2_353,demonworld2_374,demonworld2_388,demonworld2_395,demonworld2_414,demonworld2_452,demonworld2_455,demonworld2_462,demonworld2_433,demonworld2_442,epilogue_71,epilogue_564",John.,"The next morning you meet the client in a nightmare.
It's a straightforward nightmare as these things go: an immense scaly thousand-footed beast lies belly-up, and a table rests on a stretch of its stomach.  You and the others sit on the beast's upturned feet.
Everyone's here: Damien Stone, the name partner in charge of the case, a heavy, dark Craftsman in his late sixties; Vega, in pressed suit jacket; Cass Chen; you.  Not to mention the client himself, an executive of Transdimensional Thaumaturgics, a thin pale man in a black suit.  You know him only as John Smith.
The world warps around him, and the stuff of nightmares bends.","The meeting wheels through old business to new.  Smith watches with cold black eyes, and seems almost bored, not at all as if your work is the only barrier between his firm and demonic invasion.
At last, Stone clears his throat, leans forward in his chair, cracks his knuckles, and asks if anyone has new business.","Vega leans back in his chair, innocent and calm.
That is, until you speak.
""Actually,"" you say.  ""It looks like there's a hole in the contract.  Something to do with the definitions of ownership.""  You watch John Smith carefully, but see no reaction save a slight terrifying smile.  ""I wonder if there's more information you haven't told us.""
When Smith speaks, you almost miss his words: his voice is that ordinary, as if you don't hear his words so much as assume them.  ""I will need more details.""
""You'll have them,"" Stone says.
Vega turns to you, and you catch your breath at the anger in his eyes.  But the meeting ends.","Vega leans back in his chair, innocent and calm.
That is, until you speak.
""Actually,"" you say.  ""It looks like there's a hole in the contract.  Something to do with the definitions of ownership.""  You watch John Smith carefully, but see no reaction save a slight terrifying smile.  ""I wonder if there's more information you haven't told us.""
When Smith speaks, you almost miss his words: his voice is that ordinary, as if you don't hear his words so much as assume them.  ""I will need more details.""
""You'll have them,"" Stone says.
Vega turns to you, and you catch your breath at the anger in his eyes.  But the meeting ends.",
deathless,Ashleigh Wakefield,"['Ashleigh', 'Ashleigh Wakefield', 'Wakefield', 'Ash']",130,1738,"startup_376,startup_376,startup_376,casinonight_155,casinonight_155,casinonight_160,casinonight_163,casinonight_173,casinonight_192,casinonight_182,casinonight_210,casinonight_224,casinonight_224,casinonight_206,casinonight_232,casinonight_374,casinonight_378,casinonight_239,casinonight_241,casinonight_380,casinonight_261,casinonight_285,casinonight_496,casinonight_522,casinonight_428,casinonight_545,casinonight_552,casinonight_620,casinonight_562,continuingeducation_66,continuingeducation_76,continuingeducation_93,continuingeducation_106,continuingeducation_112,continuingeducation_163,continuingeducation_171,continuingeducation_199,continuingeducation_204,continuingeducation_215,continuingeducation_245,continuingeducation_258,continuingeducation_225,continuingeducation_269,continuingeducation_280,continuingeducation_280,continuingeducation_336,continuingeducation_254,continuingeducation_327,continuingeducation_311,continuingeducation_347,continuingeducation_350,continuingeducation_352,continuingeducation_364,continuingeducation_356,continuingeducation_411,continuingeducation_537,continuingeducation_452,continuingeducation_502,continuingeducation_397,continuingeducation_454,continuingeducation_469,continuingeducation_493,continuingeducation_514,continuingeducation_461,continuingeducation_465,continuingeducation_471,continuingeducation_484,continuingeducation_476,continuingeducation_488,continuingeducation_548,continuingeducation_530,continuingeducation_561,continuingeducation_557,continuingeducation_566,continuingeducation_589,continuingeducation_589,continuingeducation_605,continuingeducation_631,continuingeducation_574,continuingeducation_608,continuingeducation_618,continuingeducation_583,continuingeducation_612,continuingeducation_662,continuingeducation_668,continuingeducation_685,continuingeducation_702,continuingeducation_720,continuingeducation_679,continuingeducation_688,continuingeducation_695,continuingeducation_712,continuingeducation_761,continuingeducation_771,continuingeducation_797,darkness4_0,deposition_107,deposition_373,deposition_522,deposition_526,deposition_530,deposition_541,deposition_564,demonworld_33,demonworld_48,demonworld_540,demonworld_151,demonworld_163,demonworld_570,demonworld_585,demonworld_616,demonworld_622,demonworld_634,demonworld_677,demonworld_1009,demonworld2_12,demonworld2_183,demonworld2_220,demonworld2_236,demonworld2_267,demonworld2_202,demonworld2_429,demonworld2_431,epilogue_359,epilogue_361,epilogue_421,epilogue_848,epilogue_851,epilogue_870,epilogue_953","Ashleigh Wakefield.
""Ashleigh will.""
""Perhaps.  Perhaps Wakefield will only squirm less before dying.""","Ashleigh Wakefield.
""Ashleigh will.""
""Perhaps.  Perhaps Wakefield will only squirm less before dying.""","Ashleigh Wakefield.
""Ashleigh will.""
""Perhaps.  Perhaps Wakefield will only squirm less before dying.""","Answering it—chain in place, of course—you discover, to your surprise, Ashleigh Wakefield.
You haven't seen Wakefield since graduation.  You sort of hoped never to see her again.  Ash Wakefield of the Southern Wakefields, the scion of a high family, and everyone in the Hidden Schools knew it.  Affluent, blonde, brilliant, and sculpted out of marble.  Metaphorically.  Though you never got close enough to check.
Kelethres Albrecht and Ao—one of the world's most prestigious Craft firms—hired Wakefield straight out of the Hidden Schools as an associate in their Shikaw office, and she made certain everyone knew.  Perhaps she was just excited.  That'd be a charitable way to look at it.
""Kang,"" she says.  ""It's been quite a while.  Since we're both going to this party, I decided I might as well visit another lonely and bereft graduate in this dismal city.""","Answering it—chain in place, of course—you discover, to your surprise, Ashleigh Wakefield.
You haven't seen Wakefield since graduation.  You sort of hoped never to see her again.  Ash Wakefield of the Southern Wakefields, the scion of a high family, and everyone in the Hidden Schools knew it.  Affluent, blonde, brilliant, and sculpted out of marble.  Metaphorically.  Though you never got close enough to check.
Kelethres Albrecht and Ao—one of the world's most prestigious Craft firms—hired Wakefield straight out of the Hidden Schools as an associate in their Shikaw office, and she made certain everyone knew.  Perhaps she was just excited.  That'd be a charitable way to look at it.
""Kang,"" she says.  ""It's been quite a while.  Since we're both going to this party, I decided I might as well visit another lonely and bereft graduate in this dismal city.""",
deathless,Cass Chen,"['Cass Chen', 'Chen', 'Cass']",84,1738,"casinonight_39,casinonight_80,casinonight_89,casinonight_295,casinonight_318,casinonight_318,casinonight_376,casinonight_335,casinonight_343,casinonight_352,casinonight_361,casinonight_397,casinonight_403,casinonight_406,casinonight_481,casinonight_699,casinonight_703,casinonight_703,casinonight_709,casinonight_738,casinonight_752,thefirstcase_80,thefirstcase_80,thefirstcase_129,thefirstcase_138,thefirstcase_160,thefirstcase_160,thefirstcase_203,thefirstcase_166,thefirstcase_169,thefirstcase_208,thefirstcase_215,thefirstcase_196,thefirstcase_405,thefirstcase_184,thefirstcase_192,thefirstcase_417,thefirstcase_496,thefirstcase_506,thefirstcase_511,thefirstcase_502,thefirstcase_557,thefirstcase_564,thefirstcase_678,thefirstcase_681,thefirstcase_693,thefirstcase_703,thefirstcase_316,thefirstcase_709,thefirstcase_721,thefirstcase_328,thefirstcase_1074,thefirstcase_1133,devilsasylum_104,devilsasylum_106,devilsasylum_196,devilsasylum_552,devilsasylum_928,deposition_126,deposition_112,deposition_683,demonworld_142,demonworld_204,demonworld_155,demonworld_227,demonworld_239,demonworld_255,demonworld_262,demonworld_268,demonworld_272,demonworld_317,demonworld_348,demonworld2_217,demonworld2_192,epilogue_235,epilogue_311,epilogue_330,epilogue_264,epilogue_324,epilogue_677,epilogue_691,epilogue_1040,epilogue_1049,epilogue_1077","You wrap your thumb in tissue paper to stem the bleeding, which should help.
You hear a knock on the door, and a second later it opens to admit Cassowary Chen, another first-year associate at Varkath Nebuchadnezzar Stone.  She started a week ago, same as you, and for both of you the last seven days have been a solid wall of training.
She's borne it well, better than you feel you have.  Like you, Cass wears a dark gray skirt suit; she's intense, five-foot-five or so, dark hair, expressive features, given to sharp broad gestures with her hands while talking.
She glances down at your thumb with concern.  ""Are you okay, Jamie?""","""You're going to that?  I thought I might skip.  It's just more social, play-nice stuff, right?""
""Skip?  You realize that everyone's going.  I even hear that Varkath might put in an appearance.  The Man Upstairs himself.  There's trying to build a hardworking, antisocial rep, and then there's just being stupid.""
""Glad to hear you have such a high opinion of me.""
""Hey, if the shoe fits.""  She shrugs.  ""Okay, well.  We'll be meeting at seven, and here's the address.  See you there, or not.""  Cass looks a bit disappointed, but maybe you're making that up.  You don't know what to make of people, anyway.
She turns to leave.  And speaking of leaving—you really should get home.  Even if you don't want to meet the others for dinner, maybe you should give this casino night a shot, and you have to get ready first.  Not to mention, unpack.","""Pat?  Why not just the two of us?""
Chen has refined eyebrow-raising to a high art.  A hint of a smile ghosts across her lips.  ""Why, Jamie, I'm sure I have no idea what you mean.""
More than a hint of a smile.  You're sure of it.  Or delusional.  That's possible, too.
She passes you the address.  ""Here you go.  See you at seven.""
Seven.  Damn.  You'd best get home.  You have work to do.","You arrive at the Horseshoe a few minutes after seven, and shoulder your way through the barside crowd past the hostess's stand into the dining area.  Fortunately, you see Cass before the hostess catches up with you.  She half-stands, waves, and smiles.
Pat turns too, and smiles even broader, but he doesn't stand, doesn't wave.  He's a big guy, a slow-mover, but smart.  Older than you and Cass, too, old for an associate.  Dignified: short curly hair, dark skin, Iskari cuffs on his pressed shirts.  He has a family, even, from what you've heard.  A wife at home, and a kid on the way.
The waitress swings by.  ""What'll you have?""","""I'll get right on that.""
You drink, and eat, and talk, and before long the conversation turns, as it always does, to work.  This time, the subject is goals, and specifically Cass Chen's lack of them.
""I don't know,"" she says.  ""Working for the firm develops skills, and connections, and all that.  But in the end, so much of what we do is abstract thaumaturgics.  It doesn't connect to people.  To human lives.  What does it matter if a Concern recognizes an extra percent of profit?""
""To the many who work for that Concern,"" Pat Ngabe replies, ""an extra percent of profit, or a fraction of it, might matter a great deal.  And regardless, we must think of our own lives and careers before we ponder abstract injustice.  It is enough, I think, to care for our families, and for those close to us.""
""When the world's suffering?""  Chen shakes her head.  ""What do you think, Jamie?  What do you want out of your work with the firm?""",
deathless,Halcyon Vega y Alatriste,"['Halcyon Vega y Alatriste', 'Vega']",83,1738,"casinonight_481,thefirstcase_86,thefirstcase_86,thefirstcase_129,thefirstcase_138,thefirstcase_147,thefirstcase_160,thefirstcase_203,thefirstcase_168,thefirstcase_169,thefirstcase_460,thefirstcase_470,thefirstcase_477,thefirstcase_493,thefirstcase_506,thefirstcase_529,thefirstcase_537,thefirstcase_549,thefirstcase_572,thefirstcase_298,thefirstcase_627,thefirstcase_632,thefirstcase_693,thefirstcase_703,thefirstcase_368,thefirstcase_709,thefirstcase_715,thefirstcase_721,thefirstcase_663,thefirstcase_381,thefirstcase_388,thefirstcase_734,thefirstcase_737,thefirstcase_756,thefirstcase_766,thefirstcase_772,thefirstcase_794,thefirstcase_797,thefirstcase_909,thefirstcase_919,thefirstcase_805,thefirstcase_1026,thefirstcase_1040,thefirstcase_1042,thefirstcase_1148,thefirstcase_1121,devilsasylum_142,devilsasylum_176,devilsasylum_162,devilsasylum_207,devilsasylum_211,devilsasylum_213,devilsasylum_295,devilsasylum_324,devilsasylum_351,devilsasylum_392,devilsasylum_436,devilsasylum_473,devilsasylum_482,devilsasylum_491,devilsasylum_822,devilsasylum_550,devilsasylum_577,devilsasylum_925,devilsasylum_971,deposition_126,deposition_116,demonworld_145,demonworld_363,demonworld_159,demonworld_394,demonworld_424,demonworld_494,demonworld_434,demonworld_503,demonworld2_180,demonworld2_214,epilogue_133,epilogue_175,epilogue_700,epilogue_720,epilogue_1145,epilogue_1154","You wander for the duration of a drink, chatting with coworkers and advisors.  You exchange a few pleasant words with Vega, a senior associate on the fast track to promotion or destruction, between throws of craps.  You catch up with Cass briefly, before she whisks off on her own version of the social dance. Before long you can sense the beating heart of the party, under the decor and elegance.  There are real people here.  Which is nice.","You stumble back into your own skin.  Flesh fits tight after freedom, and your wrist hurts like hell.  Mouth dry, world whirling, you turn for the door.  Have to grope twice in the dark to find the handle.
You wander down the ghost-lit hallway outside, looking for someone, anyone.  Soon, you find Vega: Halcyon Vega y Alatriste, elegant, tall, slim, dark-eyed and vicious, lately of counsel and a rapid climber in the firm.  He's in charge of the warding project, among other things.
He seems shaken, perhaps by the look on your face.  ""What's happened?""","You stumble back into your own skin.  Flesh fits tight after freedom, and your wrist hurts like hell.  Mouth dry, world whirling, you turn for the door.  Have to grope twice in the dark to find the handle.
You wander down the ghost-lit hallway outside, looking for someone, anyone.  Soon, you find Vega: Halcyon Vega y Alatriste, elegant, tall, slim, dark-eyed and vicious, lately of counsel and a rapid climber in the firm.  He's in charge of the warding project, among other things.
He seems shaken, perhaps by the look on your face.  ""What's happened?""","""Nothing,"" you say.  ""Just stretching my legs.""
You found this hole.  You and Cass.  If you tell Vega, he'll take the credit.  It's what you would do in his position.
Besides, Vega's a popinjay, strutting around worrying over the case as if he's the only one with a reputation on the line.
You return to the pentacle room, relatively certain you've done the right thing.  Relatively.","The next morning you meet the client in a nightmare.
It's a straightforward nightmare as these things go: an immense scaly thousand-footed beast lies belly-up, and a table rests on a stretch of its stomach.  You and the others sit on the beast's upturned feet.
Everyone's here: Damien Stone, the name partner in charge of the case, a heavy, dark Craftsman in his late sixties; Vega, in pressed suit jacket; Cass Chen; you.  Not to mention the client himself, an executive of Transdimensional Thaumaturgics, a thin pale man in a black suit.  You know him only as John Smith.
The world warps around him, and the stuff of nightmares bends.",
deathless,Pat Ngabe,"['Pat', 'Pat Ngabe', 'Ngabe']",79,1738,"casinonight_71,casinonight_89,casinonight_295,casinonight_318,casinonight_376,casinonight_325,casinonight_335,casinonight_343,casinonight_352,casinonight_361,casinonight_486,casinonight_699,casinonight_703,casinonight_703,casinonight_709,casinonight_709,devilsasylum_125,devilsasylum_127,devilsasylum_136,devilsasylum_201,devilsasylum_562,devilsasylum_568,devilsasylum_636,devilsasylum_1000,devilsasylum_1006,devilsasylum_1016,devilsasylum_1027,devilsasylum_1038,deposition_22,deposition_22,deposition_50,deposition_59,deposition_126,deposition_189,deposition_194,deposition_134,deposition_144,deposition_203,deposition_209,deposition_213,deposition_225,deposition_230,deposition_237,deposition_243,deposition_253,deposition_259,deposition_263,deposition_266,deposition_276,deposition_271,deposition_291,deposition_305,deposition_308,deposition_315,deposition_331,deposition_339,deposition_501,deposition_449,deposition_412,deposition_576,deposition_458,deposition_465,deposition_473,deposition_479,deposition_487,deposition_495,deposition_511,deposition_580,deposition_583,deposition_539,deposition_547,deposition_555,deposition_560,deposition_567,deposition_645,deposition_692,demonworld2_197,demonworld2_425,epilogue_668","""Anyway,"" she says, ""Pat and I thought we might meet for dinner before this casino night orientation thing.  Pre-game a little.  You want to come?""","""Pat?  Why not just the two of us?""
Chen has refined eyebrow-raising to a high art.  A hint of a smile ghosts across her lips.  ""Why, Jamie, I'm sure I have no idea what you mean.""
More than a hint of a smile.  You're sure of it.  Or delusional.  That's possible, too.
She passes you the address.  ""Here you go.  See you at seven.""
Seven.  Damn.  You'd best get home.  You have work to do.","You arrive at the Horseshoe a few minutes after seven, and shoulder your way through the barside crowd past the hostess's stand into the dining area.  Fortunately, you see Cass before the hostess catches up with you.  She half-stands, waves, and smiles.
Pat turns too, and smiles even broader, but he doesn't stand, doesn't wave.  He's a big guy, a slow-mover, but smart.  Older than you and Cass, too, old for an associate.  Dignified: short curly hair, dark skin, Iskari cuffs on his pressed shirts.  He has a family, even, from what you've heard.  A wife at home, and a kid on the way.
The waitress swings by.  ""What'll you have?""","""I'll get right on that.""
You drink, and eat, and talk, and before long the conversation turns, as it always does, to work.  This time, the subject is goals, and specifically Cass Chen's lack of them.
""I don't know,"" she says.  ""Working for the firm develops skills, and connections, and all that.  But in the end, so much of what we do is abstract thaumaturgics.  It doesn't connect to people.  To human lives.  What does it matter if a Concern recognizes an extra percent of profit?""
""To the many who work for that Concern,"" Pat Ngabe replies, ""an extra percent of profit, or a fraction of it, might matter a great deal.  And regardless, we must think of our own lives and careers before we ponder abstract injustice.  It is enough, I think, to care for our families, and for those close to us.""
""When the world's suffering?""  Chen shakes her head.  ""What do you think, Jamie?  What do you want out of your work with the firm?""","You wander the floor for a moment to take everything in, and score a drink from the bar.  When you turn back, you take inventory of the room.  The ever-practical Pat Ngabe is playing blackjack—the best odds on the floor given perfect play.  Cass Chen flits from conversation to conversation; she's on her second cocktail of the night, not counting her dinner's drinks.  This may not end well for her.",
deathless,Mister R'ok'lint,"[""R'ok"", ""Mister R'ok'lint"", ""K'lint""]",73,1738,"devilsasylum_226,devilsasylum_254,devilsasylum_375,devilsasylum_390,devilsasylum_403,devilsasylum_436,devilsasylum_439,devilsasylum_443,devilsasylum_451,devilsasylum_459,devilsasylum_464,devilsasylum_470,devilsasylum_484,devilsasylum_822,devilsasylum_595,devilsasylum_499,devilsasylum_646,devilsasylum_509,devilsasylum_522,devilsasylum_537,devilsasylum_845,devilsasylum_845,devilsasylum_577,devilsasylum_851,devilsasylum_860,devilsasylum_860,devilsasylum_868,devilsasylum_873,devilsasylum_665,devilsasylum_880,devilsasylum_884,devilsasylum_895,devilsasylum_895,devilsasylum_902,devilsasylum_902,devilsasylum_1066,devilsasylum_1081,devilsasylum_1083,devilsasylum_1000,devilsasylum_1006,devilsasylum_1016,devilsasylum_1027,devilsasylum_1038,continuingeducation_25,continuingeducation_27,demonworld_759,demonworld_835,demonworld_835,demonworld_843,demonworld_855,demonworld_873,demonworld_881,demonworld_886,demonworld_892,demonworld_907,demonworld_907,demonworld_919,demonworld_934,demonworld_965,demonworld_971,demonworld_1052,demonworld_1068,demonworld_1162,demonworld2_230,demonworld2_368,demonworld2_368,demonworld2_433,epilogue_851,epilogue_855,epilogue_876,epilogue_908,epilogue_953,epilogue_1009","I want to try the direct approach.  No sense in sneaking around.
Your client is almost certainly on edge.  Best to take a straightforward approach.  ""Hello!"" you say, over and over, as you circle through the first floor.  ""I'm looking for R'ok.""  You're not sure you're pronouncing his name right.  Demon names can't really be written down, not in Kathic letters anyway.  ""R'ok, this is Jamie Kang, from Varkath Nebuchadnezzar.  Did you get my letter?""
You don't find him on the first floor, but you do find stairs to the second—concrete stairs, fortunately.  You wouldn't trust wood in this place.  You climb, footsteps heavy.","You err on the side of caution, approaching softly, softly, pressed against the wall on the bet that whatever it is, is watching the center of the room.  You slide behind a pile of debris, and in the shadow you see a four-legged, two-armed chitinous mantis-shape, facing away from you.
""R'ok?""  You're not sure you're pronouncing his name right.  Demon names can't really be written down, not in Kathic letters anyway.
And then it moves.
Perhaps, you think just before it slams into you at high speed, sneaking up on a demon wasn't such a smart idea after all.","You hear a sound very much like the impact of a wren on a patio door, and open your eyes.  R'ok hangs arrested in midair.  The sunlight fades, and the Craftwork glyphs printed on your skin burn with cold light.
""Never,"" you say, your voice heavy with the powers you control, ""try to kill your Craftswoman.  We don't like it.""
R'ok's ruby eyes widen.  ""My what?""
""I'm here to help you,"" you say.  ""Now.  Let's go to my office, and talk this over like normal people.""","The binding sparks to life, only to shred on R'ok's spines and sharp chitin.  He strikes you in the chest.  You fall, cursing, beneath his weight.  Your eyes snap open.  His girth blocks out the light.","The binding sparks to life, only to shred on R'ok's spines and sharp chitin.  He strikes you in the chest.  You fall, cursing, beneath his weight.  Your eyes snap open.  His girth blocks out the light.
He presses down and your ribs creak.  That one there on your left side does something considerably more painful than creak.
""Help!"" you shout.  Certainly should have brought some.  ""I'm here to help you!""
The pressure doesn't go away, but at least it doesn't increase either.  ""Who are you?""
""I'm from Varkath Nebuchadnezzar.  I'm your Craftswoman.  Let me up, and we'll talk.  In my office.""
You hold your breath, not that there's much breath to hold.  But he does withdraw.",
deathless,Lady Ajaia,"['Ajaia', 'Lady Ajaia']",39,1738,"deposition_50,deposition_126,deposition_144,deposition_175,deposition_221,deposition_233,deposition_247,deposition_230,deposition_243,deposition_284,deposition_315,deposition_501,deposition_449,deposition_365,deposition_456,deposition_471,deposition_373,deposition_384,deposition_399,deposition_412,deposition_425,deposition_458,deposition_465,deposition_473,deposition_479,deposition_487,deposition_495,deposition_533,demonworld_45,demonworld_48,demonworld_97,demonworld2_197,demonworld2_347,epilogue_617,epilogue_816,epilogue_861,epilogue_887,epilogue_1101,epilogue_1193","""I've never deposed a goddess before,"" you say.  ""Not personally.  I've read records.  I've worked through the theory.  But the two of us, alone—we don't have much intimidation value.""
Ngabe tugs on the lapels of his jacket.  He checks the alignment of his pocket square, and ensures the cuffs of his shirt peek out a coy millimeter from his jacket sleeves.  He removes a peck of lint from the left side of his trouser crease.  ""I'm glad.  If one of the senior partners came down here, Varkath or Nebuchadnezzar or even Stone, then Ajaia would be on her guard.  Her priesthood would close ranks.  We have a chance to surprise the goddess and her followers.  To hit them where they don't expect.  I'm glad for the opportunity.""  He bares teeth in a broad, predatory smile.","You were too out of it last night to notice any details about the hotel, but waking, you find that it's a tree.  The hotel's many rooms corkscrew up a trunk as broad as an ullamal stadium, with huge spreading leaves overhead.  The whole city looks like this, from what you can see out your window: buildings woven through trees, resting in giant bark.  Roads winding between groves, suspended by thick steel cables, society spread between different layers of canopy.
Ngabe doesn't seem to notice or care, but you've never seen anything like it.  Unfortunately, you've no time for tourism.  Tomorrow's the first day of your deposition, and you have to prepare.  This time you're on the defensive: Ajaia's suing Transdimensional Thaumaturgics (and your old friend John Smith) over water rights connected to that project you worked on way back with Cass and Vega, the one with the demons.  No partners here, though, no backup.  Just you and Pat, in the goddess's territory.
So, how do you spend your day?","Ask around about Ajaia and her priesthood.
You're here for business, but there's more to business than contracts and paperwork.  For a while, anyway, you tear yourself from the intense micro-focus of deposition prep to wander the city and learn what you can of the goddess and her priests.
You learn a great deal, some of it useful, some not: the appropriate terminal consonant for address to a goddess ('-t', it turns out), the general impression of Transdimensional Thaumaturgics (when you ask one cab driver if she's heard of the company she politely ends the conversation and, at the end of the ride, overcharges you), and some of the local God Wars history (bloody, with whole city-groves destroyed).  Maybe some of this will be useful; at least now you understand your opponents better.
Pat doesn't approve of your focus on the deity, but you know this will help.","Try to find weaknesses in the goddess herself.
Ajaia may claim to be ineffable, but most things that are can be effed quite easily if you know where to look and keep your wits about you.  You visit the local library, a nestlike structure of glass and hardwood that grows between the leaves of a nearby magisterium tree, and devote yourself to the study of this goddess.
She is a lady of nature, which seems obvious enough from your surroundings.  But, despite her people's idiosyncratic architecture, she's not technically a tree goddess.  She moves through water: the water of the great rivers, the water that flows in the blood vessels of her subjects, the water that rises to the top of the trees.","Go easy on the goddess.  Try to lull her into complacency.
Human depositions are an exercise in wrestling: straining against particular points and claims, one side pressing against a perceived weakness as the other side resists.  With gods, the process works differently.  Ajaia builds her own reality: her truth changes the world observed.  When she describes her original negotiations with Transdimensional, that agreement takes shape before you, around you, binding and limiting the course of your questions.  The wrestling match becomes closer to outright war, in which forces, terrain, and severity vary with each engagement.
So, rather than confront her directly, you press slowly against the truth she has built.  You alter the model she presents in small ways, trying to weaken it until it will collapse.",
deathless,Ms. Kang,"['Ms. Kang', 'Kang']",37,1738,"startup_576,casinonight_155,casinonight_374,casinonight_241,casinonight_657,thefirstcase_203,thefirstcase_196,thefirstcase_291,thefirstcase_805,thefirstcase_928,devilsasylum_595,devilsasylum_1056,continuingeducation_58,continuingeducation_66,continuingeducation_93,continuingeducation_288,continuingeducation_304,deposition_46,deposition_522,deposition_607,deposition_611,demonworld_540,demonworld_151,demonworld_725,demonworld_570,demonworld_585,demonworld_622,demonworld_677,demonworld_907,demonworld2_455,epilogue_409,epilogue_524,epilogue_452,epilogue_459,epilogue_564,epilogue_617,epilogue_785",Kang.,"Answering it—chain in place, of course—you discover, to your surprise, Ashleigh Wakefield.
You haven't seen Wakefield since graduation.  You sort of hoped never to see her again.  Ash Wakefield of the Southern Wakefields, the scion of a high family, and everyone in the Hidden Schools knew it.  Affluent, blonde, brilliant, and sculpted out of marble.  Metaphorically.  Though you never got close enough to check.
Kelethres Albrecht and Ao—one of the world's most prestigious Craft firms—hired Wakefield straight out of the Hidden Schools as an associate in their Shikaw office, and she made certain everyone knew.  Perhaps she was just excited.  That'd be a charitable way to look at it.
""Kang,"" she says.  ""It's been quite a while.  Since we're both going to this party, I decided I might as well visit another lonely and bereft graduate in this dismal city.""","Wakefield slaps you on the shoulder, and says: ""Well, Kang, that was an excellent dinner.  Now if you will excuse me, I'm off to lose myself in a game or two of chance.  Feel free to catch up, if you so desire.""","You both order—Ash gets a prix fixe built around meats that have somehow been transformed into vegetables.  You order the chef's choice, after deciding that your own instincts won't serve you well in this place.
Ash keeps the conversation light, cutting, and erudite—disingenuous philosophy, fashion criticism, and vicious parodies of professors she hated back at school.
Finally, after her steak salad arrives—leaves rare and bloody—and your soup noodles—some slight membrane containing the still-liquid soup—she asks you the question you think she has been working toward all night.
""So, Kang.  Tell me.  What do you hope to accomplish at Varkath Nebuchadnezzar?""","Before you travel far, though, you hear a voice behind you, harsh and melodic in weird directions, like a house key scraped over a violin string.
""Ms. Kang.  A pleasure to play with you.""
You turn, and see Varkath.",
deathless,Jamie Kang,"['Jamie', 'Jamie Kang']",26,1738,"startup_542,startup_573,startup_595,casinonight_39,casinonight_89,casinonight_318,thefirstcase_108,thefirstcase_417,thefirstcase_577,thefirstcase_328,thefirstcase_1076,devilsasylum_120,devilsasylum_226,devilsasylum_266,devilsasylum_830,devilsasylum_1071,continuingeducation_106,continuingeducation_269,continuingeducation_288,continuingeducation_304,continuingeducation_295,deposition_326,demonworld_622,demonworld_677,demonworld2_303,epilogue_235",Jamie.,That's only part of it.  Jamie…,"How did you get here, Jamie?  So many alternative pasts, so many options.  Dreamshards, timepieces.
Childhood: the first stirrings of power.  You caught a falling star in a dead field, and held it burning in your hands.  Smelled the sweet iron of space and the world's heat, as fiery fingers crawled over your skin and into your flesh.","You wrap your thumb in tissue paper to stem the bleeding, which should help.
You hear a knock on the door, and a second later it opens to admit Cassowary Chen, another first-year associate at Varkath Nebuchadnezzar Stone.  She started a week ago, same as you, and for both of you the last seven days have been a solid wall of training.
She's borne it well, better than you feel you have.  Like you, Cass wears a dark gray skirt suit; she's intense, five-foot-five or so, dark hair, expressive features, given to sharp broad gestures with her hands while talking.
She glances down at your thumb with concern.  ""Are you okay, Jamie?""","""Pat?  Why not just the two of us?""
Chen has refined eyebrow-raising to a high art.  A hint of a smile ghosts across her lips.  ""Why, Jamie, I'm sure I have no idea what you mean.""
More than a hint of a smile.  You're sure of it.  Or delusional.  That's possible, too.
She passes you the address.  ""Here you go.  See you at seven.""
Seven.  Damn.  You'd best get home.  You have work to do.",
deathless,Craftsman,"['Craftsman', 'Craft']",9,1738,"thefirstcase_632,deposition_284,deposition_501,deposition_449,deposition_465,deposition_479,deposition_495,demonworld_990,demonworld2_462","""Is there anything I can do to help?""
Vega looks up at you in surprise.  ""You know, that's the first time in a long while around here that anyone has offered to help me.  As a human being, I mean, rather than as a Craftsman.  Thank you.""  He finishes his coffee.  ""The offer itself is appreciated, even if there is nothing you can do beyond performing your duties admirably.""
""Thanks,"" you say, ""I think.""
He laughs.  The two of you walk together back to your separate offices.  Silent, he drifts closer to you—two warm bodies alone in the overwhelming shadows of the darkened, mostly empty office building.
As you part, he hesitates.  ""Thank you.""
He's standing just on the edge of close, though maybe you're imagining it.","""Because they don't want to scare her off,"" he says.  ""The partners knew, somehow, that Ajaia planned to represent herself.  Maybe they've dealt with her before.  Maybe they have spies in her priesthood.  If one of them came down here and showed her what Varkath Nebuchadnezzar Stone can really do, she'd understand—she'd have no choice but to seek representation.  As it stands, even the points we score, we score narrowly.  She won't encounter Craft of the name partners' level until it's too late to bring her own advisors on board.""","The next morning you and Pat return to Temple Grove together.  Pat looks well-rested, excited for the day's battles.  You wish you could say the same about yourself.
Again you draw blood and mix it.  Again you scribe the Craft circle about yourselves, and descend—or rise—into the world of the gods.  Again Ajaia takes shape above you, around you—again she gives the darkness form.
But when battle's joined, you hold back.  Pat's eager for this fight, and you let him press for his revenge, and his glory.  You're less convinced—and anyway you feel unsettled by your bosses' use of the two of you to mislead rather than to conduct actual Craftwork.  You support him when he needs it, but most of the work's his.
Pat fights way through the deposition, for hours upon hours, but in the end he can't carry the war himself.  At day's end, you know no more about the case than you did at dawn.  But Pat holds his head up proud as you descend to your cab, and leave for the airport.","The next morning you and Pat return to Temple Grove together.  Pat looks well-rested, excited for the day's battles.  You wish you could say the same about yourself.
Again you draw blood and mix it.  Again you scribe the Craft circle about yourselves, and descend—or rise—into the world of the gods.  Again Ajaia takes shape above you, around you—again she gives the darkness form.
What's your strategy today?","Good cop, bad cop, the role you play doesn't matter if the adversary is too great.  Pat's an admirable Craftsman, and you're no slouch yourself, but Ajaia is a goddess, and after a near fight yesterday she's brought her full power to bear.  You've never felt anything like it.  Maybe Pat has.  You'll have to ask him, if you survive this.
Ajaia's memory palace has grown in the night to a dark lady's iron fortress like you used to hear whispered of in stories when you were a kid, an invulnerable demesne of pain and fire.  She breaks your essays against her with imperious will, with a cold natural certainty in her power no human could ever match.  You stole your fire from them, after all—from the gods.
It's a long, bitter day, and in the end your only satisfaction is the thought that you were supposed to fail all along.  And that's not much satisfaction after all.
You and Pat manage to maintain your composure as you leave the Temple Grove, but in the taxi to the airport the two of you collapse.",
deathless,Drakovic,['Drakovic'],6,1738,"devilsasylum_484,devilsasylum_600,devilsasylum_608,devilsasylum_636,devilsasylum_643,devilsasylum_657","R'ok needs the Drakovic contract changed, not broken.  But no black-market demon summoner is going to change a deal just because you ask.  Besides, even if you can renegotiate the  contract, you'll still need to get R'ok a visa in order to let him stay.  Best if you can pre-date it to before his summoning.  If they wouldn't give him one before, though, why would they now?","Not much of an office, you discover.  A cheap desk, a safe, and that's all.  Then again, this outfit doesn't seem to be heavy on bookkeeping.
Drakovic shucks off her robe, and hangs it from a coat rack.  Beneath, she wears loose sweats and a tank top.  She does not seem even remotely amused.
""What is this about?""","Time to lay on the charm.
""Look,"" you say.  ""I'm not here to try to throw my weight around.""
""Good thing,"" she says, with an estimating look at your arms.  As if physical strength mattered in an affair like this.  Admittedly, you haven't been hitting the gym as much as you should, and desk jobs don't pack on muscle, but that hardly matters.
Drakovic definitely hits the gym, though.  Hard.
""My client got in over his head.""
""That's our stock in trade,"" Drakovic says.  ""Think of us as a summoner of last resort.""
You're not even sure you want to know what that means.","I'll threaten to break her hold on the demons in the warehouse.
""That,"" you say, ""is an impressive assortment of demons you have down there.  All of them, I think, bound by contracts like the ones that bind my client.""  You pace gently back and forth, fingers steepled like Pat holds his when thinking.  You always find that creepy, and you hope the effect carries.  You wake your Craft glyphs—don't do anything with them, yet, but they glow a soft silver beneath your skin, gathering light through the window.
""What are you saying?""  Drakovic sounds, maybe, you hope, just a little nervous.
""I'm saying that the contracts you gave them don't have an end date.  Which means you're asking for something of infinite value—demons don't die of old age, after all.  And you're offering finite value in return.  The contract's unstable.  I could break it right now, if I wanted.""","""And risk letting all these demons loose?""  Drakovic shakes her head.  ""I don't think you have it in you.""",
deathless,Angelica Nebuchadnezzar,"['Angelica Nebuchadnezzar', 'Angelica']",5,1738,"casinonight_486,devilsasylum_51,devilsasylum_1052,devilsasylum_1056,demonworld_403","There are plenty of impressive people at this party, and you do manage to exchange a few words with some of them, but most are talking with other impressive people.  Most of the higher-up guests seem more interested in mingling than gaming.  Perhaps this entire casino night concept was a ploy to draw Varkath out of his sanctum for once.
Pat notices you orbiting a conversation in which Angelica Nebuchadnezzar is arguing about the proper preconditions for the resurrection of a dead god with a parter from KAA you don't recognize.  Pat raises a glass to you in salute—recognizing a fellow traveler.  You salute back, notice your drink's empty, and retreat to the bar.","It all seemed well and good when you saw the posting on the [i]pro bono[/i] opportunities board.  Angelica Nebuchadnezzar herself posted this one, so you knew it would be a high profile case.  Probably. Distance gapes to infinity beneath and before you. You force yourself awake. Sleep deprivation getting to you again. Hazards of the job.
There are lots of reasons a person might want to take on a case for free.  Which one moved you to accept this particular case?","Two days later, Angelica Nebuchadnezzar summons you to her office.
She occupies one of the three corner offices on floor fifty-three, with windows facing south and east.  If you stood behind her desk, you could see embassy row from here, and beyond that the warehouse district, and the wharfs.  South, the city stretches for miles and miles.  Elevated trains chug down their tracks, rattling windows.
If you were standing behind her desk, you could see these things.  You can't, because you're not.  She is.","Angelica Nebuchadnezzar is a dark-skinned woman in a light blue suit.  One of her eyes is gone, replaced by a ruby sphere.  You can't tell if the sphere is looking at you or not; her remaining eye is.
""Ms. Kang.  Did you enjoy your [i]pro bono[/i] case?""","""No,"" he says.  ""I just want you to be careful.""
""I know Smith.  I've worked with him before.""
""Not as closely as I have.  And trust me.  He's wheels within wheels.  He might put you in danger just to gain himself some ground.  I've seen it happen before.  I've been on the receiving end.  I spent an hour yesterday trying to convince Angelica—"" meaning Nebuchadnezzar—""to stop them from sending you on this trip.  But they weighed the risks and found my advice wanting.""",