Memorabilia
Planar / githzerai [he/him] — true form: gray slaad, [it/its] / Sensate / CN
Of all the fortune tellers in the Great Bazaar, Memorabilia’s probably the most expensive. Why? Because the service he provides is one of the most specialised, and most useful. The face Memorabilia presents to the world is a false one; the sallow-skinned githzerai cutter is actually a gray slaad. It’s just that the humanoid form draws less attention when the frog-being’s out on a gathering mission.
Gathering what, you ask? Fortunes. Memorabilia steals the fates of the fortunate, and sells them to the unlucky. The slaad’s gifted with a natural ability to watch the future of a cutter unfold out in front of him, and it seems to be able to gather these panoramas up and spirit them away from their rightful owners. Memorabilia’s often found lurking around gambling dens, watching the punters. If he spots one with a golden touch, he’ll follow the sod when she leaves the place, accost her in a dark alley, and make off with her destiny.
The githzerai/slaad has a stall in the Bazaar that moves around more than a skittish bariaur; it seems the creature’s not happy staying in the same surroundings for long. Maybe he misses Limbo, or maybe he’s on the run from the Hardheads; whatever it is Memorabilia can be a hard blood to locate at times.
The Fate-Thief’s services are sought by those whose luck seems destined to be miserable, or those who’ve an ominous feeling about what their lives hold in store for them. If you’ve just bobbed the Dark Eight, and are (justifiably) afraid that their assassins are on your case, then it’d be a good investment to garnish Memorabilia so he’ll fix you up with a lucky cutter’s fate. You might even survive a few weeks longer! When the slaad sells a fortune, it takes the customer’s future for safekeeping. While it’s possible to get a refund if the new future doesn’t turn out as expected, it’s quite possible the slaad could have already sold it to another client. Let the buyer beware!
Memorabilia can find fates to order, but that tends to take time and cost more. A cutter in a hurry can buy a pre-stolen future (the slaad keeps them wrapped up in silk handkerchiefs in a leather satchel he always carries), but the quality tends to be variable. While things might run smooth in the short term, it’s quite possible that long-term bad luck could set in. It’s also possible for the slaad to attach a miserable future to the enemy of a client. This costs around ten times the normal price (which is already very variable).
Fortune-theft isn’t against any laws in the Cage as such (after all, it’s not every cutter who’s even aware that it’s possible!) but it’s a cert the Guvners’d make it illegal if they knew it occurred. As for the sod’s who’ve lost their future, it’s not usually too pleasant. They tend to find their lives become aimless; nothing unexpected ever happens to them. They’re never lucky, nor unlucky, as if the mechanics of chance pass them by each time. Many turn to drinking, drugs or adventure to provide thrills, but often even that’s not enough. Some are strong enough to forge their fortune anew, but it takes inspiration and hard graft to remake a forgotten fate.
Fee: From 10 jinx and up (even into the thousands). It’s often pot luck, though the quality of the future being bought does influence the price.
Further Reading: More fortune tellers are described here: Fortune Sellers
Source: Jon Winter-Holt, mimir.net
