Gaming Prophecy?

We touched briefly on Cugel today, and this sequence was on my mind:


Cugel finally tired of the conversation and rose to his
feet, at which the shell-creatures once more gave him their
attention. "Must you fare forth so soon? Just when we were
about to inquire the reason for your presence; passers-by
are few along Great Sandy Beach, and you seem a man who has
journeyed far."

"This is correct," said Cugel, "and I must journey yet
farther. Notice the sun: it starts down the western curve,
and tonight I wish to house myself at Cil."

One of the shell-creatures lifted up its arms and displayed
a fine garment it had woven from water-threads. "This garment
we offer as a gift. You seem a sensitive man and so may
require protection from wind and cold." It tossed the garment
to Cugel. He examined it, marveling at the suppleness of
the cloth and its lucent shimmer. "I thank you indeed,"
said Cugel. "This is generosity beyond my expectation." He
wrapped himself in the garment, but at once it reverted to
water and Cugel was drenched. The four in the shells shouted
loud in mischievous glee, and as Cugel stepped wrathfully
forward, snapped their shells shut.

Cugel kicked the shell of the creature which had tossed him
the garment, bruising his foot and exacerbating his rage.
He seized a heavy rock, dashed it down upon the shell,
crushing it. Snatching forth the squealing creature, Cugel
hurled it far up the beach, where it lay staring at him,
head and small arms joined to pale entrails. In a faint
voice it asked, "Why did you treat me so? For a prank you
have taken my life from me, and I have no other."

"And thereby you will be prevented from further pranks,"
declared Cugel. "Notice, you have drenched me to the skin!"

"It was merely an act of mischief; a small matter surely."
The shell-creature spoke in a fading voice. "We of the rocks
know little magic, yet I am given the power to curse, and
this I now pronounce: may you lose your heart's-desire,
whatever its nature; you shall be bereft before a single
day is gone."

"Another curse?" Cugel shook his head in displeasure. "Two
curses already I have voided this day; am I now inflicted
with another?"

"This curse you shall not void," whispered the shell-creature.
"I make it the final act of my life."

"Malice is a quality to be deplored," said Cugel fretfully.
"I doubt the efficacy of your curse; nevertheless, you would
be well-advised to clear the air of its odium and so regain
my good opinion."

But the shell-creature said no more. Presently it collapsed
into a cloudy slime which was absorbed into the sand.

Cugel set off down the beach, considering how best to avert
the consequences of the shell-creature's curse. "One must
use his wits in dealing with maledictions," Cugel said for
the second time. "Am I known as Cugel the Clever for nothing?"
No stratagem came to mind, and he proceeded along the beach
pondering the matter in all its aspects.

The headland to the east grew distinct. Cugel saw it to be
cloaked in tall dark trees, through which appeared glimpses
of white buildings. Slaye showed himself once more, running
back and forth across the beach like one departed of his
senses. He approached Cugel and fell on his knees. "The
amulet, I beg of you! It belongs to the House of Slaye; it
conferred upon us the rule of Cil! Give it to me and I will
fulfill your heart's-desire!"

Cugel stopped short. Here was a pretty paradox! If he
surrendered the amulet, Slaye evidently would betray him,
or at the very least fail to make good his promise --
assuming the potency of the curse. On the other hand, if
Cugel retained the amulet, he would lose his heart's-desire
to no less a degree -- assuming the potency of the curse
-- but the amulet would yet be his.

Slaye misinterpreted the hesitation as a sign of pliancy.
"I will make you grandee of the realm!" he cried in a fervent
voice. "You shall have a barge of carved ivory, two hundred
maidens shall serve your wants; your enemies shall be clamped
into a rotating cauldron -- only give me the amulet!"

"The amulet confers so much power?" inquired Cugel. "It is
possible to achieve all this?"

"Indeed, indeed!" cried Slaye, "when one can read the runes!"

"Well then," said Cugel, "what is their import?"

Slaye gazed at him in woeful injury. "That I can not say;
I must have the amulet!"

Cugel flourished his hand in a contemptuous gesture. "You
refuse to gratify my curiosity; in my turn I denounce your
arrogant ambitions!"

Slaye turned to look toward the headland, where white walls
gleamed among the trees. "I understand all. You intend to
rule Cil in your own right!"

There were less desirable prospects, thought Cugel, and
Firx, appreciating something of this, performed a small
monitory constriction. Regretfully Cugel put aside the
scheme; nevertheless, it suggested a means to nullify the
shell-creature's curse. "If I am to be deprived of my
heart's-desire," Cugel told himself, "I would be wise to
fix upon a new goal, a fervent new enthusiasm, for at least
the space of a day. I shall therefore aspire to the rule
of Cil, which now becomes my heart's-desire." So as not to
arouse the vigilance of Firx, he said aloud, "I intend to
use this amulet to achieve highly important ends. Among
them may well be the lordship of Cil, to which I believe I
am entitled by virtue of my amulet."

Slaye gave a wild sardonic laugh. "First you must convince
Derwe Coreme of your authority. She is of the House of
Domber, gloomy and fitful; she looks little more than a
girl, but she manifests the brooding carelessness of a
forest grue. Beware of Derwe Coreme; she will order you and
my amulet plunged into the ocean's deep!"

"If you fear to this extent," said Cugel with asperity,
"instruct me in the use of the amulet, and I will prevent
that calamity."

But Slaye mulishly shook his head. "The deficiencies of
Derwe Coreme are known; why exchange them for the outlandish
excesses of a vagabond?"

For his outspokenness Slaye received a buffet which sent
him staggering. Cugel then proceeded along the shore. The
sun wallowed low upon the sea; he hastened his steps, anxious
to find shelter before dark.

He came at last to the end of the beach. The headland loomed
above, with the tall dark trees standing still higher. A
balustrade surrounding the gardens showed intermittently
through the foliage; somewhat below, a colonnaded rotunda
overlooked the ocean to the south. Grandeur indeed! thought
Cugel, and he examined the amulet with a new attentiveness.
His temporary heart's-desire, sovereignty over Cil, had
become no longer factitious. And Cugel wondered if he should
not fix upon a new heart's-desire -- an aspiration to master
the lore of animal husbandry, for instance, or a compelling
urge to excel at acrobatic feats ... Reluctantly Cugel
dismissed the scheme. In any event, the cogency of the
shell-creature's curse was not yet certain.


I know that Offut & Lyon's "War Of The Wizards" trilogy has a good
example (not to mention they are really fun books!) and I understand
there was a run on "Thor" where Odin tried a strategy of making all
the Ragnarok prophecies come literally true in a survivable way.

What are some other good examples of characters trying (succesfully or no)
to game prophecy?
--
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