Shen Copperhead, Jerk
It looks like the chaos in the Copperhead Club is finally dying down -- the bartenders are sweeping up the broken glass, the musicians are tuning their spare instruments, and the remaining Mob goons are sitting back down to their overpriced pasta dinners as janitors drag the bodies out the back door to be stacked next to the dumpsters.
Shen and his bodyguards are back at their corner table. They give you the smuggest, smirkingest grins as they see you approach -- grins that you would never tire of kicking in the teeth, should you get the opportunity.
"Welcome back, <PlayerName>," Shen says as you sit. "You retrieved the item I wanted?"
"Yes, I retrieved the item you wanted, you bastard."
"Now now," he admonishes you. "Don't be a sore loser." He puts a glass vial of blue liquid on a large Lazy Susan in the middle of the table.
| Give him the artifact. |
You sullenly put the artifact on your side of the Lazy Susan, and one of the bodyguards rotates it 180 degrees. Shen looks over the artifact with an extremely satisfied expression, and hands it to the other bodyguard to pack away in a briefcase as you uncork the little vial. You start to drink it, and then stop and glare at Shen. He smiles innocently, and gestures for you to continue.
As you drink the blue liquid, you start to feel better.
 | You lose an intrinsic: Ancient Annoying Serpent Poison |
"There!" Shen says. "Now we both have what we wanted."
"Not quite," you growl.
"Oh yes," he says. "You still need my Copperhead Charm. Very well -- it would be rude of me to make you leave empty-handed. I'll give you the Charm, if you'll run another little errand for me."
"You are such a jerk, Shen," you say through gritted teeth.
"Beggars can't be choosers," he shrugs. "Bring me <item>, hidden away for centuries in <location>, and I'll give you the Copperhead Charm."
"I have your word on that, Shen?" you ask.
"My word of honor, <PlayerName>. Here," he says, clapping his hands, "let's drink to it."
A waiter brings two glasses of champagne and sets them on the Lazy Susan in front of you and Shen. "Hold it right there," you say, as Shen reaches for his glass. You rotate the turntable, switching the two glasses, and fix him with a cold stare. He shrugs, takes the glass, and downs the champagne. You grudgingly follow suit.
"All right then, it's settled," you say. "I'll bring you your Sacred Whatever in exchange for the Copperhead Charm."
"Think again, dummy!" Shen crows. "I put the poison in the other glass this time! I can't believe you went for it!" His bodyguards practically fall out of their chairs laughing.
| You acquire an intrinsic: Ancient Annoying Serpent Poison |
You jump out of your chair and reach for Shen's neck, but one of the bodyguards flips the table up with a swift kick, blocking your path and sending you staggering backward into a busboy, who drops a tray of glasses. The combination of the sound of breaking glass and the sight of a table being flipped over incites the crowd to brawling again, and Shen and his men slip away from you in the crush of bodies and hail of bullets.
Man that guy is a jerk!
Occurs at The Copperhead Club
Notes
- For a list of Shen's artifacts, see Shen Copperhead, Nightclub Owner.
