2013/01/25 [DMFA #1372] - Sherlock Biggs.

[VAE]

The guy isn't as dumb as he looks - though, that probably comes with being essentially a mobster, and well, having stated alive for as long as he did.
Now, I wonder how Destania will come out of this.

[nguard]

I have always wondered about the boss / employee relationship when the boss is a mere(?) mortal and the employee is a powerful supernatural entity that can read minds and other related abilities. Especially when there is no reliable third party (government, for example) to enforce contracts and agreements.

Given that Biggs is essentially a mafia don, I wonder if he has several other powerful creatures and or groups of adventurers on call to enforce contracts and agreements with powerful creatures like 1000 + year old succubi?

[Zebra Bug]

Oh snap. I figured Bigg's would know something was up....but wow. He is perceptive, and smart.  And you know....I bet he is not happy about the potential harm Des could have caused his sister, even if Wildy can handle herself.

[Dressari]

Eh I already pegged Biggs to be smarter than he even let on. Guy doesn't get to his position by relying on others to do the work for you all the time.

I'm curious to where his home is located actually and if it's in a city, a town or in some rural area. I'd figure a city is more likly, why live up in style if no one is around to see it.

[Zebra Bug]

Well...if he's just a hedonist, he'd live in style for his own benefit even if no one was there to see it.

[KarlOmega1]

Oh snap! Biggs just chewed out Destania for hiring a hit like that!

He's got my respect this day.

[InsanityRequiem]

Oooo! Is Biggs gonna get really angry?

Cuz I'd totally have a ball if Biggs goes after her for A) potentially killing Dan, B) potentially killing Alexis, C) potentially killing Wildy, D) definitely potentially ruining their plans and exposing themselves to the dragons, E) anything else that could have happened.

[Tapewolf]

The guy isn't as dumb as he looks - though, that probably comes with being essentially a mobster, and well, having stated alive for as long as he did.
Now, I wonder how Destania will come out of this.

He can't do much to her, all told.  He can dissolve their partnership or drive her out (or more likely, threaten to do so).  Theoretically, he could even call up Hizell, but then she'd probably kill him or worse.
Actually, an interesting threat would be to tell Wildy (or Alexsi, or Dan) that she tried to kill Dan's protector(*) - that wouldn't harm her per se, but if she does have any genuine attachment to Dan or Alexsi it could well estrange them and would at least make things awkward.

Realistically, if anyone can convince her to hold off on this until the dragon project is in the bag, I'd say it was Biggs.  I'm not sure she'd follow Alexsi or Dan's wishes in that (although she might pretend she would).

EDIT: (*) Since Biggs has worked out that much, he may also have reasoned that the 'Cubi Dee hates must be there to benefit Dan in some way, since he knows who Dan is and the threats he faces.

[ChaosMageX]

I have always wondered about the boss / employee relationship when the boss is a mere(?) mortal and the employee is a powerful supernatural entity that can read minds and other related abilities. Especially when there is no reliable third party (government, for example) to enforce contracts and agreements.

Given that Biggs is essentially a mafia don, I wonder if he has several other powerful creatures and or groups of adventurers on call to enforce contracts and agreements with powerful creatures like 1000 + year old succubi?

I'm actually starting to worry a lot about Biggs right now.  Unless Biggs does have a sure way of protecting himself, with the direction their conversation is going, his relationship with Destania could end the same way the relationship between Commander Ashford and Keaton ended, especially since Destania has no qualms about impersonating Biggs and has probably gotten pretty good at it by now.

I might be assuming too many parallels here, but if someone like Ashford couldn't put a bullet through a succubus like Keaton before she killed him, then in a world with very few guns, how could one of Biggs' other creature lackies (if he even has them) respond in time to save him if Destania were to take a similar course of action?  After all, we've seen (at least in Abel's story) how fast cubi can kill people with their wing tentacles, even by accident.  

Given how skilled Destania probably is at combat, especially when compared to Aniz, I wouldn't be surprised it she could deliver a surgically precise stabbing blow to Biggs in under a second that wouldn't leave a mess of blood stains everywhere.  Then she could just neatly dispose of the body, carry on impersonating Biggs, and write off her own disappearance as a dismissal or resignation, like what Keaton did with Commander Ashford in Project Future.

[Tapewolf]

Given how skilled Destania probably is at combat, especially when compared to Aniz, I wouldn't be surprised it she could deliver a surgically precise stabbing blow to Biggs in under a second wouldn't leave a mess of blood stains everywhere.  Then she could just neatly dispose of the body, carry on impersonating Biggs, and write off her own disappearance as a dismissal or resignation, like what Keaton did with Commander Ashford in Project Future.

I think that idea, specifically this (which I made when that strip was current):

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k216/tapewolf/dmfa/biggs2c.png

...was the reason that chapter of Project Future turned out the way it did.

[VAE]

I have always wondered about the boss / employee relationship when the boss is a mere(?) mortal and the employee is a powerful supernatural entity that can read minds and other related abilities. Especially when there is no reliable third party (government, for example) to enforce contracts and agreements.

Given that Biggs is essentially a mafia don, I wonder if he has several other powerful creatures and or groups of adventurers on call to enforce contracts and agreements with powerful creatures like 1000 + year old succubi?

I'm actually starting to worry a lot about Biggs right now.  Unless Biggs does have a sure way of protecting himself, with the direction their conversation is going, his relationship with Destania could end the same way the relationship between Commander Ashford and Keaton ended, especially since Destania has no qualms about impersonating Biggs and has probably gotten pretty good at it by now.

I might be assuming too many parallels here, but if someone like Ashford couldn't put a bullet through a succubus like Keaton before she killed him, then in a world with very few guns, how could one of Biggs' other creature lackies (if he even has them) respond in time to save him if Destania were to take a similar course of action?  After all, we've seen (at least in Abel's story) how fast cubi can kill people with their wing tentacles, even by accident.  

Given how skilled Destania probably is at combat, especially when compared to Aniz, I wouldn't be surprised it she could deliver a surgically precise stabbing blow to Biggs in under a second that wouldn't leave a mess of blood stains everywhere.  Then she could just neatly dispose of the body, carry on impersonating Biggs, and write off her own disappearance as a dismissal or resignation, like what Keaton did with Commander Ashford in Project Future.

Thing is, the partnership is great for both Destania and Biggs - she gets a solid cover and access to his resources, and he gets a really capable and nasty enforcer.
I don't think if she voices refusal strongly enough, that he'll poke the issue as far as to get her on his ass - he might disapprove, and he has to do something about it to show he still has authority, but neither of them  have as is much reasons to fuck the other one up.

[Eboreg]

Personally, I saw this comic as a showing that Destania may be a little afraid of Biggs. Which gives fuel to the "Biggs is a Were" theory. I mean, being able to change almost instantly from "F*** your magic" to "Tiny Critter that's going to rip your t*** off" could very easily pose a threat to Dee.

[Brunhidden]

Hizell?

i smell forshadowing in the medium distant future, and it smells like debauchery on fire



the list of places dee cant/wont go is quite short, but i really must wonder if seeing granny is under the cant list or wont list... its under the category of places a group could go so is it possible theres a family spat or is she in lockdown somewhere?

[Tapewolf]

the list of places dee cant/wont go is quite short, but i really must wonder if seeing granny is under the cant list or wont list... its under the category of places a group could go so is it possible theres a family spat or is she in lockdown somewhere?

I would guess Cyra's probably hiding in a dimensional bubble like SAIA.

[Prroul]

I'm a little bit worried about Biggs' safety... if they get into it, he's not going to come out ahead. Particularly not if Des is the force which is blocking the phoenix oracles (probably not, but she IS crazy powerful compared to Biggs).

Of course, it could always boil down to

"You better not be putting a hit on my sister..."

"Nope, just Abel"

"Oh, okay. Carry on, then. Next time be sure to fill out form H1337(c) and go through proper channels to hire a hit."

With Amber, you never know.

[joshofspam]

Wow, the dragon I can understand.

But she won't or can't go back to the academy and see her mother?

I take it her mother wouldn't approve or Destania can't bare to face her mother with what she's up too?

[ChaosMageX]

Wow, the dragon I can understand.

But she won't or can't go back to the academy and see her mother?

I take it her mother wouldn't approve or Destania can't bare to face her mother with what she's up too?

Well, I think by now going back to SAIA would almost certainly mean having to face retribution from Fa'lina for her actions, since entering the academy would bring her back under Fa'lina's power and it's likely Fa'lina wouldn't be happy with what she's done or what she's planning on doing.

But you are right that going back to her mother would likely mean facing the same consequences as going back to SAIA and Fa'lina.

[Tapewolf]

But you are right that going back to her mother would likely mean facing the same consequences as going back to SAIA and Fa'lina.

I don't know about that - I figured that Cyra had locked herself down really tight so that the Dragons can't kill her.

[Tuyu]

"Seeing" granny shouldn't be impossible--nothing to suggest Cyra would be averse to being contacted by Destania.

Sum moar speculation:  The prime mover for setting up the adventurers to do a "hit" on Abel seems to have been the (possibly fake) phoenix oracle...but how does that lead someone named Becka placing a phone call, probably to Biggs, to report what transpired? Is Biggs keeping an eye on the Inn? Or did "Biggs" (Des) hire someone to impersonate an oracle as well as deal with Merlitz?  The initiating event seems to have been Genesis's visit to the Inn, when she learned that Merlitz was no longer working there (and she apparently never did talk to Alexsi about whatever she'd gone there for in the first place). But if Nitemyste hadn't found that Merlitz's stone had gone dull, they wouldn't have returned to the Inn...

Feels like there's a piece missing there. For the BOB to have returned to the Inn on Abel's birthday, someone would've had to say "Hey, how come we haven't heard from Merlitz?" to Nitemyste at just the right time...

[ChaosMageX]

"Seeing" granny shouldn't be impossible--nothing to suggest Cyra would be averse to being contacted by Destania.

Sum moar speculation:  The prime mover for setting up the adventurers to do a "hit" on Abel seems to have been the (possibly fake) phoenix oracle...but how does that lead someone named Becka placing a phone call, probably to Biggs, to report what transpired? Is Biggs keeping an eye on the Inn? Or did "Biggs" (Des) hire someone to impersonate an oracle as well as deal with Merlitz?  The initiating event seems to have been Genesis's visit to the Inn, when she learned that Merlitz was no longer working there (and she apparently never did talk to Alexsi about whatever she'd gone there for in the first place). But if Nitemyste hadn't found that Merlitz's stone had gone dull, they wouldn't have returned to the Inn...

Feels like there's a piece missing there. For the BOB to have returned to the Inn on Abel's birthday, someone would've had to say "Hey, how come we haven't heard from Merlitz?" to Nitemyste at just the right time...

Hmmm, you do raise an interesting point that there are a few pieces missing from this puzzle, especially when it comes to the timing, specifically the amount of time that passed over the BoB's renewed investigation that led them back to the Lost Lake Inn on the exact same day as Abel's 400th birthday.

Genesis awoke from her alcohol induced slumber the Saturday morning after Dan's date on Friday.  The Soulstealer party occurred on the following Thursday, the next day Dan made plans to attend SAIA, and then left the day after, on Saturday.  Later, on the very same day Dan left, Abel mentioned that next Friday would be his 400th birthday.

This means that 13 roughly days have passed from the point Genesis returned to the BoB to tell them of Merlitz's departure to the point they arrived at the Lost Lake Inn, and in that time they followed up on various leads that eventually led them back to the Lost Lake Inn.  The timing and coincidences all lining up for this to happen don't seem to add up, unless Destania had some sort of control over or at least precognitive knowledge of what all they were going to do in that time and which phoenix temple they would eventually consult so that she could plant a fake oracle there who would lead them back to the Lost Lake Inn.

One possible explanation is that one of the BoB could have been an impostor or at least under some sort of control, subtly guiding their course of actions so that the chain of events and timing would play out exactly as it did and end with them converging on Abel on the 400th anniversary of his birth.

We know that the BoB are too incompetent to properly detect disguised cubi, even when they're posing as one of their own, so it's entirely possible one of them could have been a cubi in disguise.  Destania might have been counting on this incompetence, since she does call them "dumb but good intentioned" in this strip.
Maybe that's who Becka is?

[Tapewolf]

Maybe that's who Becka is?

If you're saying it's Gen, she's phobic about ferrets so she's not going to take orders from one.  (See 1340)

[Lying Foo]

Well... Pegasus was the most willing to kill Abel, and the most resistant to killing Alexsi - exactly what you'd expect from an agent of Destania.  But where would she find a Cubi willing to work for her?  (...Quoar...?)

[LordViking]

So much talk and ideas already. Not sure how much I can add but I wanted to share my two cents.

Seeing how Destania set this all up I expect her to be responsible for Merlitz disappearance as well. Back in Abel's story it is said she was able to hide Aniz from Hizell's sight. If she can hide someone from a dragon she might be able to hide someone from the Oracle's sight as well.
Further, also in Abel's story she passed herself off as an illusion or a ghost. If a cubi, or other shifter, can make itself transparent I am thinking flaming hair isn't that hard to do, either by Destania herself or someone send to give the BoB false information.

[ChaosMageX]

Well... Pegasus was the most willing to kill Abel, and the most resistant to killing Alexsi - exactly what you'd expect from an agent of Destania.  But where would she find a Cubi willing to work for her?  (...Quoar...?)

I don't think Pegasus is the Cubi in disguise, but it's easy to have suspected him given the subtle differences in his hands and feet between his appearances.  However, as Amber stated when I first pointed these changes out, that's due to changes in her art style, not the plot.

Also, if he was really a cubi in disguise, he probably wouldn't have recognized Nitemyste's code word.

Maybe that's who Becka is?

If you're saying it's Gen, she's phobic about ferrets so she's not going to take orders from one.  (See 1340)

But what I'm saying is that it wouldn't have been Genesis, but perhaps a succubus named Becka who doesn't have a ferret phobia and works for Biggs and/or Destania, helping to facilitate Destania's "hit" on Abel by impersonating Genesis.

Honestly, at this point, Genesis seems like the most likely suspect to have been replaced by a Cubi working for Biggs (Destania), even if it might have been pure luck that she acted according to Gen's ferret phobia.  If she had been attacked by anyone other than Wildy, it might have indeed looked suspicious to the BoB.  They also might not be as incompetent as we think they are, since they only had short contact with Abel disguised as Merlitz, but with extended contact they might be able to pick up on not so obvious clues and acts outside of usual behavior.

This is definitely just speculation, since it would be quite a challenge for most cubi to learn enough about the mannerisms of an adventurer and find an opportunity to spirit them away from their group and properly assume their identity to fool their group, especially in such a short amount of time.  But for a moment let's just assume the BoB really are that ingorant about Cubi and easy to fool.

Based on what we've seen of her so far, Genesis is by far the dumbest member of the BoB, and her typical behavior probably isn't that far from the stereotypical "dumb-blonde" personality that would simple enough to quickly learn and easily mimic.  She's also the only one who we know for sure separated from the BoB for a period of time and could have been easily abducted and replaced by a Cubi.

Remember that during the time she was away from the rest of the BoB, it was Mab who told Genesis that Merlitz had taken up adventuring again, and we already know that she didn't plan for this to happen, so telling Genesis that was probably just an accident.
However, that was what led them to investigate, since Merlitz had failed to report his adventuring to the guild, which the BoB eventually returned to, only to find his soul stone non-responsive, which really raised their alarm and got them to consult a phoenix oracle.

If Destania really had been orchestrating this "hit" on Abel from that point, she would have had to have known that Genesis would have told them that in order to use Merlitz's (possibly falsified) death to bait them back to the Lost Lake Inn.  She could have known that this would be the perfect opportunity to get them to kill Abel by replacing Genesis with a succubus who would get them to follow the other red herrings she planted, mainly the soul stone and phoenix oracle, and arrive just in time to kill Abel on the 400th anniversary of his birth.

Biggs is a very powerful ferret with lots of resources at his disposal, which means that he could have ways of keeping an eye on the Lost Lake Inn and informing her of this opportunity.  Also, Destania might not be the only skilled Cubi in his employ.  Heck, Destania herself probably has connections with skilled Cubi she got to know during her time at SAIA, and might have called in a favor.

There are also some things that might be off about Genesis' behavior, clues the BoB might have been too dense to notice.  For one, she was using a stun gem instead of her usual water magic, something she herself might have suggested doing and then volunteered to do instead of using magic she might not even know how to do.  What's also suspicious is that her dress came apart rather easily, which allowed her to leave the fight instead of staying around and tipping off the BoB by not fighting like she usually does.
Certainly she would have been debriefed afterwards and then she could have left to make a discreet phone call to Biggs (Destania) while the rest of BoB was decompressing from the failed mission and Nitemyste was off at the guild.

[Zebra Bug]

Gah, wall of text! You thought about this A LOT, haven't you. I am seriously impressed. I agree with most of your surmises. They make sense. I hadn't thought about the fact that Gen wasn't using her water magic, even though I just spent the last two days going back through the story from page one. :p

I have a couple things to add. Destania's friend, Talliopa has recently been murdered, and the incubi who was murdered that Wildy was investigating may also have been connected to Des. This is likely to be the work of Hizell like Mink thinks, because it seems odd that the murderers would take the victims head (which I am inferring to the comment about 'headless Incubus' rather than saying beheaded or something) unless his clan marking was on his face, in which case stealing the head could be the collection of clan marks thing Hizell is known for.

Now, I'm not sure if this is Hizell or some copy-cat, but it is likely that these recent spate of deaths could be spurring Destiana on in some fashion.

On a different note, while I think some of the theories about BoB being infiltrated by a 'cubi makes some sense, I don't necessarily think that must be the case. The Oracle was obviously not an Oracle, that much is clear, but although there has certainly been a lot of manipulation going on from all sides (I still want to know what exactly Mab and Pip are up too, and am pretty sure that Pip is a Fae or some such [further off topic, she was saying she had five friends that she made when she first went to Furrae and had given four of them boons and two would die.....Dan, Alexsi, Wildy, Jyrras and Merlitz...we know Jyrras has been given a 'boon', but I am so curious about the others]) but even so, I don't know if she would need to infiltrate the group in order to make sure they did what she wanted. Besides, if she had, I'm pretty sure the cubi infiltrator would have been more....effective.  

[Tuyu]

Maybe that's who Becka is?

If you're saying it's Gen, she's phobic about ferrets so she's not going to take orders from one.  (See 1340)

Here's one for the tearoom:  suppose Gen is a Manchurian Agent, Becka is her "agent persona", and her ferret phobia is an unfortunate side effect of being programmed by Biggs?   

[ChaosMageX]

On a different note, while I think some of the theories about BoB being infiltrated by a 'cubi makes some sense, I don't necessarily think that must be the case. The Oracle was obviously not an Oracle, that much is clear, but although there has certainly been a lot of manipulation going on from all sides (I still want to know what exactly Mab and Pip are up too, and am pretty sure that Pip is a Fae or some such [further off topic, she was saying she had five friends that she made when she first went to Furrae and had given four of them boons and two would die.....Dan, Alexsi, Wildy, Jyrras and Merlitz...we know Jyrras has been given a 'boon', but I am so curious about the others]) but even so, I don't know if she would need to infiltrate the group in order to make sure they did what she wanted. Besides, if she had, I'm pretty sure the cubi infiltrator would have been more....effective.  

Perhaps you're right, infiltrating the group with a cubi might have been overkill, but I still think Genesis was acting a bit suspicious.

At the very least Destania would have had a way of keeping an eye on not only the Lost Lake Inn, but also the BoB, in order to know which phoenix temple they would visit in order to plant her faux phoenix oracle there.

Timing might not have been as much of an issue if you Destania had planned to give Abel his "present" around the date of his birthday and just got lucky that it happened right on his birthday.

However, the one thing that's nagging is this whole plot's dependence on them looking into Merlitz's (possible) death in the first place, which only happened because Genesis learned Merlitz had gone adventuring again and then told the rest of the BoB about it.
The only way I can see that trigger happening without Genesis being replaced is if Destania somehow subtly "nudged" Genesis into going to the inn and counted on her learning this information from someone there and passing it onto the rest of the BoB.

But how exactly would she have "nudged" Genesis?  Perhaps she infiltrated Gen's dreams to influence her like she did with Abel.

On the other hand, Destania might have had a back-up way of triggering the BoB's investigation into Merlitz's (possible) death and taking the bait from the phoenix oracle if Genesis hadn't gone to the inn.  There are many ways she could have spread a rumor that would have acted as the trigger for the BoB's course of actions.

[Zebra Bug]

Or maybe it is all the fault of insidious plot-bunnies....er, mows. 

[KiloFoxx]

So much talk and ideas already. Not sure how much I can add but I wanted to share my two cents.

Seeing how Destania set this all up I expect her to be responsible for Merlitz disappearance as well. Back in Abel's story it is said she was able to hide Aniz from Hizell's sight. If she can hide someone from a dragon she might be able to hide someone from the Oracle's sight as well.
Further, also in Abel's story she passed herself off as an illusion or a ghost. If a cubi, or other shifter, can make itself transparent I am thinking flaming hair isn't that hard to do, either by Destania herself or someone send to give the BoB false information.

i believe Abel was asleap at that time and she was manifesting an illusion in his dreams... certainly much easier to do than becoming translucent even if they COULD do that.

[ChaosMageX]

So much talk and ideas already. Not sure how much I can add but I wanted to share my two cents.

Seeing how Destania set this all up I expect her to be responsible for Merlitz disappearance as well. Back in Abel's story it is said she was able to hide Aniz from Hizell's sight. If she can hide someone from a dragon she might be able to hide someone from the Oracle's sight as well.
Further, also in Abel's story she passed herself off as an illusion or a ghost. If a cubi, or other shifter, can make itself transparent I am thinking flaming hair isn't that hard to do, either by Destania herself or someone send to give the BoB false information.

i believe Abel was asleap at that time and she was manifesting an illusion in his dreams... certainly much easier to do than becoming translucent even if they COULD do that.

Well, I know that Tapewolf believes they can turn translucent/transparent, based on what Cubi can be seen doing here, here, and here, so I know it's at least canon in the Project Future universe.  However, it might or might not be canon in the DMFA universe, depending on the process they used to do it.  As usual, there might just be a spell for that.

Either way, I agree with KiloFoxx.  Infiltrating dreams and creating illusions in them is probably much easier than creating those illusions in real life.  More importantly, creating the illusion of flaming hair in a dream is a lot less risky than dousing your head in gasoline and hoping it will stay burning long enough to fool the BoB and that your protection spell and/or flame retardant chemicals will work long enough to keep you from getting burned.