The Firebird and the Three Princes

[MalkyTop]

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This is another collab brought to you by DragonFogel and MalkyTop. It happened when I was ranting about this fairy tale (which you don't have to read really, in fact, I actually think it's best if you don't for now and just suggest any random thing here first) and Fogel read it over and said, "You know, this could possibly make a good adventure." And thus it was born.

Once upon a time, there was a far-off kingdom.



It was ruled by Tsar Vyslav, who had three sons: Dimitri, Vasilii, and Ivan.



Tsar Vyslav had a special walled garden, with many rare trees that grew precious gems as fruit.



His favorite tree, and the rarest, was one that grew golden apples.



One day, however, Tsar Vyslav came to the tree and saw it was missing one apple.



The Tsar discussed the matter with his two older sons.

"All right, boys. Somebody's been stealing my apples at night."
"Shocking, Father! This thief must be dealt with swiftly!"
"Oh, come on. I don't see what the big deal is, Dad. The tree's growing more. You'll have it back in, like, a week. Hell, you've got, what, three trees that grow diamonds?"



"It's the principle of the thing! Nobody steals from the Tsar and gets away with it! Now, one of you had better solve this problem, or I'll disown you both!"



"Don't worry, Father! I will find the thief for certain."
"Yeah, uh, sure. I'll do that, uh thing. What he said."



"Good. Whichever one of you solves this problem gets to be heir, since I've had a hard time figuring out which of you two is less worthless, and this seems like as good a test as any."



"Hey! Why can't I be your heir?"
"Because you're too young, Ivan. And also a spoiled brat. Now stop listening in on our conversations."

[piester]

Do it yourself, be a MAN!

[redskap]

>Vasilii

[frostedWarlock]

>Vasilii

[Wojjan]

Vasilii, yes.

[Pick Yer Poison]

Vasilii. This Dimitri guy seems like a dick.

[MalkyTop]

You are now VASILII.



As the middle prince, you never really expected Dad to give you the throne over your older brother Dimitri. You figure every time he's suggesting you might be the next Tsar, he's just doing it to keep Dimitri in line. Still, you might be able to come up with an idea to catch this stupid apple thief and then you'd know for sure if Dad was serious.



You could search the garden and see if there are any clues. Or you could talk to the castle guards; maybe one of them saw something last night. You could also try sabotaging Dimitri to make sure he doesn't catch the thief first. Or you could do something else entirely!

What will you do?

[Wojjan]

>Get key to garden door
>Go to garden
>Lock outside door
...Should give him enough time to look.

[Valter]

>Hatch assassination plot to end Dimitri's meddling once and for all!

[Dragon Fogel]

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Malky expected Vasilii would be everyone's choice, by the way.

[Pick Yer Poison]

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Malky expected Vasilii would be everyone's choice, by the way.

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Pompous jerk vs. endearing rational thinker doesn't leave much room for doubt.

[Schazer]

ooh, I'm liking the look of this.

Extract apple from pockets and cackle evilly.

[Xander]

Ask your younger brother if he knows anything.

[Ixcalibur]

Leap to conclusions, specificially to the conclusion that Ivan stole the apple. Interrogate him until he admits it.

[MalkyTop]

>Hatch assassination plot to end Dimitri's meddling once and for all!

Well, he is a big jerk and all... but you don't hate him THAT much.

Although if he doesn't stop criticizing your taste in music soon, you might have to resort to that after all.

Leap to conclusions, specificially to the conclusion that Ivan stole the apple. Interrogate him until he admits it.

You suddenly remember that your younger brother Ivan really likes golden objects. You've even seen him try to snatch them from guests on occasion. He might just have taken the missing apple!



You decide to question him.



"Hey, squirt. Did you take Dad's stupid apple?"
"No way! You know he doesn't even let me near the garden! He keeps saying I'll just grab any old jewel before it ripens!"



Hmm. It's true that Tsar Vyslav has left strict instructions not to let Ivan in. Maybe this line of investigation is a dead end. Should you try asking Ivan more questions, or investigate someplace else?

[Xander]

See if your brother will work with you to one-up Dimitri.
OR
Paint a regular apple gold and hide it in his room.

[Dmabster]

Frisk your little brother to see if he has the apple on him.

[Pick Yer Poison]

Should you try asking Ivan more questions, or investigate someplace else?

> Ask a few more questions. Maybe he knows something about what might have happened to it?

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[ekalmid]

>Apologize to Ivan before he figures out a way to get you in trouble later. Make a deal with him to help you find the thief.

[Jambalaya Soprano]

>Interrogate him some more, ask where would he hide such a valuable object if he stole one.

[MalkyTop]

> Ask a few more questions. Maybe he knows something about what might have happened to it?

"Do you have any idea what might have happened to the apple, then?"
"Beats me. Maybe the thief eats gold or something. How should I know?"

Hmm. That wasn't very helpful.

>Interrogate him some more, ask where would he hide such a valuable object if he stole one.

"Well, let's say you had stolen it. Where would you hide it? Maybe the thief had the same idea."
"Pfft. Like I'd tell you where my hiding spots are. I checked 'em all already, anyhow. No apple there."

Frisk your little brother to see if he has the apple on him.

"Hmm. Stand up."
"Why?"
"So I can make sure you're not hiding that apple on you."



"Fine. But make it quick. I'm not hiding anything."
"We'll see about that..."



"...What is it with you and gold, anyways?"
"Hey! Lay off me! You don't see any apples here, right? So leave me alone!"

Well, he's got a point. You could tell Dad, but you're supposed to be catching this apple thief right now. Ivan's rampant kleptomania can be dealt with later.

>Apologize to Ivan before he figures out a way to get you in trouble later. Make a deal with him to help you find the thief.

"Uh, sorry, Ivan. I guess I should have believed you. Tell you what, want to help me catch the apple thief?"
"Nah, not really. Doesn't sound fun."

See if your brother will work with you to one-up Dimitri.

"Aw, what a shame. Because Dimitri would be so humiliated if I caught the thief before him..."
"Wait, what? Dimitri humiliated? Okay, this sounds fun after all! I want in!"



Ivan has decided to help you catch the thief!

Now that you've got a helper, what will you do?

[Dmabster]

Ride IVAN like a mechanical bull.

[Xander]

Now, where do you think the thief would hide, or even who the thief is?

[Wojjan]

> Check the staff members who were in the garden between yesterday and today. Start with the guards, they're there most of the time unsupervised.
> Check Dimitri's room.

[Chwoka]

Go to the golden apple tree.