Belelmund: The Folly of Sitanest

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Unread postby Besyanteo » Tue May 20, 2008 9:01 pm

Leothe's brief investigation of the corpse revealed nothing of interest. He proceeded close enough to the archway and peer in, and saw another, much shorter hallway ahead of him. It ended in a wider room only 30 feet ahead, but he would need Annetta to enter the place with him to investigate that properly.

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Unread postby FF Fanatic 80 » Fri May 23, 2008 9:00 pm

Seeing the dead is usually not a pleasant experience. Especially, if in Trevor's case, you're not used to it. He finds himself both repulsed, yet strangely intrigued by the skeleton. What brought this person down into the caves? Were they another prisoner, like Trevor and the others? Or perhaps an explorer, who ran into something they didn't count on?

Noticing the rings and jewelry, he starts to wonder. Perhaps, from looking at their design, he could figure out if the person was from Baron, or some other land. Taking a deep breath, he tries to lean closer to see them.

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Unread postby Besyanteo » Sun May 25, 2008 12:51 am

Trevor, looking over the remains, was fairly certain that this fellow was not Baronian... or if he was, his garments were not the typical fashion today. Further, on closer inspection, he believes that the jewels in those rings might be made of glass. A costume?

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Unread postby NebulaQueen » Sun May 25, 2008 3:47 am

Neb was fully prepared to spend the rest of the journey shamefaced (what can she say, Paul had a point) and frustrated, until Dan decided to point out something quite fascinating. She watched him intently, and after she saw the little trick with the metal ring, all she could do was shake her head. "Not that I'm ungrateful," she muttered, "but I really wish I knew what they were playing at." So this was the plan all along, wasn't it? Their captors/not captors would whisk them away from the dangerous and savage orcs, under some sneaky but ultimately benevolent plan?

She wasn't exactly buying that. Then again, she wasn't exactly sure what do do about it at this point, other than see if she could magic everyone away to a plane of existence that was arguably more dangerous than snakes and sand (not something she was looking forward to, what with one of her current companions knocked out cold). Besides, there was still the niggling part of her subconscious that just begged for answers.

"So," she continued to mutter, in a voice that was hopefully too low for the naga to hear. "We're just going to ride this out, then?" There was a brief pause, and she blinked as she looked at the others.

"...no pun intended."

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Unread postby Shinigori V2 » Sun May 25, 2008 4:48 am

Annetta, noticing Leothe wander off, makes to follow him, apparantly snaping out of some sort of a trance.
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Unread postby FF Fanatic 80 » Tue May 27, 2008 1:07 pm

Dan considers what Neb has to say for a moment or two. It's true that sitting it out is definitely an option. But on the other hand, that's based on a very large assumption on their parts. It might due to try and see what else they can find out for the moment.

Double checking that they're out of sight of the encampment again, Daniel decides to speak up.

"...can I assume it's ok now to talk to you?" he asks the naga before them.

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Unread postby Besyanteo » Tue May 27, 2008 4:02 pm

Leothe and Annetta moved down a short hallway and into the room together, and a strange sight lay before them as Annetta's light spilled into the room. It looked to be a few hundred feet wide and long enough that they couldn't see the back just yet. It was filled with tubs, sitting in a long row down the right side of the room. Long, porcelain tubs, standing upon legs fashioned into the shapes of cat's feet. Some of these have a square wooden table laid across the top middle. One or two even have crystal glasses set on them, set upside down. On the left were booths framing tables, mounted right into the wall. And in the center, many tables and chairs. About half of these are knocked over, but enough remain to make out the general pattern; A sort of repeating diamond layout, ideal for slipping between them as one moved about. Everything had a thin layer of gray dust upon it, murky water pooled at the bottom of some of the tubs. Where they stepped,beautiful mosaic was revealed. The walls are covered in elaborate, lewd murals, featuring human figures engaging in every intimate activity that they might have ever before imagined or heard of. Golden chandeliers hang from the ceiling, their wax candles long since burnt out or snuffed.

As they moved towards the back of the room, they could see more skeletons here and there. The majority of them are faced towards the back wall. Some have crushed ribs or snapped arm and leg bones, a crushed skull here and there... There are more and more of them as they move foreward. Finally, at the back of the room, They come upon a pool. The water level is low, and it looks filthy. There are skeletons piled here, one on top of the other. It looks as if everyone in the room had run to this place for some reason, only to die still fighting one another to escape... something. There is a closed doorway on the back wall. The skeletons piled in front of it are waist high.

Anthony, glancing in, shudders.

"I will not go into that room, I'll wait here for you lot."




The Naga looked to Dan, and nodded.

"I believe we are far enough, yes. No doubt you have questions for me."

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Unread postby Kelne » Tue May 27, 2008 9:33 pm

"I'm not going to argue with that," Leothe said, resolutely avoiding looking at, well, any of the walls. He doubted there was any way out here; if all these people had died trying to get through that door, it was a good bet they wouldn't be able to.

The only problem was, if whatever had caused this slaughter was still around, it was a good bet it was down the other corridor. Leothe didn't particularly want to meet it. But then, he doubted he had a choice in the matter.

With a series of murmured apologies to the dead, he moved forwards, giving the pool a wide berth and examining the door to see what it might take to open it.

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Unread postby Besyanteo » Tue May 27, 2008 10:21 pm

What was once a strong, oaken door has not fared well with time and dampness working against it. The door is now rotten and soft. Some of the lower panels have caved in unde the weight of the bones leaning against them.

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Unread postby Kelne » Wed May 28, 2008 11:28 pm

Leothe did his best to clear a bit of space around the door, without scattering bones about willy-nilly. The dead might have precious little dignity left to them at this point, but that was no reason to deprive them of what shreds remained.

With a bit of space cleared, he set about wrenching loose a few of the door's timbers and cautiously looking beyond it.

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Unread postby Besyanteo » Wed May 28, 2008 11:35 pm

It took some time to be careful about his work, but Leothe eventually secured himself some space to work on the door. Once there, things became relatively easy. He pulled on a section of door, and it easily snapped loose in his hands. After calling their light source over, he was able to glance inside...

It appeared to be a supply closet. It was fairly large, with wracks filled with various dishes and toiletries obscuring his view of the entire room. Still, even here he would make out another skeleton... A lone figure, curled up against the back wall in a fetal position.

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Unread postby Kelne » Thu May 29, 2008 12:10 am

The more he learned about this place, the more disturbing it all became. Leothe was utterly certain that he didn't want to spend any more time in this cursed place than was absolutely necessary.

Giving the lone skeleton a last glance, he made his way back to the entrance, "Let's try the other corridor," he said, in a decidedly subdued tone. The place was definitely taking a toll on him.

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Unread postby Shinigori V2 » Thu May 29, 2008 4:39 am

"Hold." Annetta mumbled, already begining to astrally scan the room. This reminded her of something...Several somethings, in fact. And if the entire mortal world was in danger again she wanted to know as soon as possible.
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Unread postby FF Fanatic 80 » Thu May 29, 2008 1:00 pm

"Several questions indeed." Daniel answers "Most importantly... uh... why did you get us out of there?"

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Unread postby Besyanteo » Tue Jun 03, 2008 12:58 am

Annetta's scans of the place revealed that while everything was fairly inert, it all looked subtly wrong somehow. The astral background here was different from what she was used to seeing. Her scans earlier on the trip had revealed the the rest of the cave hadn't exhibited this strangeness, only this place.

Leothe might wait at Annetta's request, or advance in spite of it, but either way the sight ahead of his was the same: This archway has a doorway set into it, about a foot back from it's mouth. The wood looked a bit less rotty here, and he suspected that it would not be so easy to get through as the storage room door was.




The Naga nodded. He sounded annoyed, but he indulged Daniel none the less.

"Always the first question. The answer is simple: The alternative doesn't bear thinking about. To be more specific, if the tribe didn't have a regular buyyer for "slaves", they would find other ways to make use of those they captured. The restraints are an unfortunate but necessary show of force. We subjugate you, so you are "below us", which helps maintain the image that we aren't weaklings to simply be attacked and killed or enslaved ourselves."

He paused for a moment, and then continued.

"And I suspect I know most of the rest, so I will explain. That tribe is the only one along this route that posed a serious threat to merchants approaching Baron, or my own people. Or, for fifty miles in any direction, they are.

"Given enough time and management of resources, we could have simply killed them. I'm sure the rest of the world wouldn't have minded. But their blood would be on our hands, and our souls. Not just their warriors; To do that job, we would have had to have destroyed every last one of them, young and old, male and female. Ishtar didn't make us to be slaughterers, I don't think.

"They couldn't be stopped from raiding passing caravans. There are simply not enough of us to patrol or even monitor the wide stretch of land that is their territory. So instead, we made them a lucrative offer: Each slave they could provide us, unharmed, would be worth an eighth their weight in gems to them. Dead or injured slaves would be worthless, and they would receive nothing. Their shaman elder would contact us with his magic, and we would make an exchange the next day. This has worked perfectly three times in the past, and we were just about to start nudging them to a more civilized way of living..."

He spat in the mixed sand and grass that marked their technical entry into the Barren desert, if they were still several miles from being in anything that could truly be classified as desert terrain.

"And then we arrived to find a massacre. I suspect after that display in the middle of the camp, the tribe will resort to killing and looting travelers they encounter once more; No amount of gems will replace a lost son, an heir, after all. I suppose now we will have to eventually go back and slaughter them after all.

"So now I beleive I am justified in asking: "

He pulled out a dagger, and cut the ropes from Dan's hands. He was moving to do likewise with Neb and Myrnal as well as he spoke.

"You all appear largely unharmed, and there were no other humans at the camp, alive or dead. What did they do to earn their deaths?"

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Unread postby FF Fanatic 80 » Tue Jun 03, 2008 12:09 pm

Dan just sits there, unable to think of a response. He's not even sure what to ask of himself, having heard the naga's words.

All he wanted to do was get the others out of there. Buy them time to get out of there with as little bloodshed as possible. Even if it meant his would be shed instead.

Instead... they commited a slaughter themselves.

Even though a small part of Dan knows they were likely to be killed... it is no comfort. He knows the naga is right. After all, he too is a father. He can't even begin to imagine what he'd do, if someone harmed his children. He knows that orc will probably take out his rage on more innocent people.

All because he couldn't wait five more minutes.

"...Goddess... w...what have we done..." Dan mumbles to the floor.

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Unread postby Kai » Tue Jun 03, 2008 12:19 pm

Aside from disrupting a royal caravan that some of us were sworn to protect? Myrnal answered to herself. The fact that they were travelling with not one but two kings who needed serious protection in the interests of the political stability of the continent was definitely of note. But it probably wasn't a good idea to tell too much to the naga just yet, especially considering that the royals were not chief among Myrnal's concerns anyway.

She waited for Dan to say something, since he was their spokesman, but it was clear that the question was meant largely for her. She tried not to curl her lip in annoyance that she had to justify herself for protecting her allies from slavers.

She waited until the naga had cut the bonds from her hands, just to ensure that he couldn't keep her bound in case her answer wasn't good enough. "Look. I'm probably not eloquent enough to explain this to you if you don't already get it," she began. "But when a caravan my friend swore to protect gets attacked, we come to tied up, stripped of our weapons and separated from the rest of the group, forgive me for assuming that no one was going to sweep in and save us if I didn't do something."

Ishtarians. Always so worried about making sure no one died that they'd even make the slave trade more profitable in this area instead of just killing the orcs to protect travellers. "So in the absence of a miracle--and don't get me wrong, I'm glad you showed up--I would rather kill and maybe die for a chance to free us than live as a slave and condemn everyone else, too." Myrnal deliberately did not look at Dan, the person she had promised to protect. She was getting more and more annoyed at needing to explain what should be obvious. They'd been captured, they were trying to escape. What more was there?

"I won't doubt that you've got higher moral aspirations than I do, but it takes one hell of a failure as a mercenary and a friend to just... tolerate that shit when I can get us free." Now that her hands were unbound, she crossed her arms over her chest, finally getting back some of her sullen demeanor. "So yeah. Sorry about the massacre since it offends you on some deep religious level. Captivity offends me the same, and we had no reason to let it go on."

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Unread postby Shinigori V2 » Thu Jun 05, 2008 6:22 am

This would warrent further investigation. But only after she had already left.

Annetta made a note to send some of her men to come check this place out in secret later, and followed after Leothe.
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Unread postby Kelne » Mon Jun 09, 2008 6:30 am

Leothe was left with little option but to attempt to similarly prise these doors open. What he wouldn't give for a good crowbar just now...

Actually, there were any number of things he wouldn't give for a crowbar. It probably wasn't a good idea to think thoughts of deals too loudly in such a tainted place.

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*Tries to kick Trevor out of his coma*

Unread postby FF Fanatic 80 » Sun Jun 15, 2008 12:08 am

Trevor finds himself at a loss for words, gazing around the room. The artwork alone would normally be enough to cause him to blush somewhat. However, the sight of so many dead is definitely the more important thing right now. He starts to find himself shuddering, the screaming from earlier replaying itself in his mind. These people were likely making the same noise, as they met their ends here.

Thankfully, those thoughts are interrupted by Annetta. She suddenly calls out to Leothe to hold, looking around the room intently. Why specifically he's not exactly sure. Trevor figures she will say something about the reason once she finishes. But instead, she simply follows Leothe, when he starts for another set of doors.

Trevor finds himself getting very upset with her. He can accept that some are not very talkative, as Leothe says little as well. He can understand that some have reasons not to share much about themselves, as he himself often has to while in disguise. But if she is suspecting something about this room, he is pretty damn well sure it is going to affect all four of them. And if she's not going to say something on her own...

"Perhaps you could explain what exactly you were looking for a second ago?" Trevor asks Annetta in a somewhat deeper tone then normal.

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Unread postby Besyanteo » Sat Jun 21, 2008 8:02 pm

The naga sneered at Myrnal.

"You obviously handled yourselves well enough that you could have escaped, if you'd meant to human. Not a single member of your band is seriously injured, let alone dead. ... I-!"

He stopped short, and sighed, rubbing a hand over his face.

"No, nevermind. It is not important now. ... We head for our encampment. We will modify your cart to roll over the sands, and provide you with horses. From there, where you go is not my business."

He slithered ahead, leaving the group to their thoughts, if only for a moment. Shortly after, a slightly fairer skinned Naga approached them and kept pace with their cart. He wore a white cloth hood much like the previous fellow, this one worn up, covering most of his head.

"Please forgive Maelor. Explaining his behavior would take some time... Just understand that we're not all ready to damn you for defending your own interests?"




Leothe applied crowbar to wood, and after some exertion was rewarded as the lock inside the door finally snapped. The door swung open slowly, and beyond he saw a large room. The light of Annetta's fingers was begining to wane, but it was enough to see the rows of counter tops, multiple sinks, the odd pot, pan and cauldron... This appeared to be the worker's entrance to the kitchen. They can't see any new bodies just yet, which is something of a comfort.

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Unread postby FF Fanatic 80 » Sat Jun 21, 2008 10:18 pm

Dan looks over at the new face walking alongside them. He tries to manage a polite smile, but can't quite hide his unhappiness.

"...that's kind of you to say, but... I think he's somewhat justified feeling that way. I wish this could have worked out differently."

Dan can't help a very brief glance toward Neb and Myrnal. His thoughts from a moment ago come back to mind.

...if you two had just listened to me and run...

Now isn't the time to be lost in guilt, however. This person seemed more willing to speak, and something the driver said is still on Daniel's mind.

"I heard your companion speak of Ishtar." he says to the hooded Naga, "Do you follow her teachings?"

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Unread postby Kai » Sat Jun 21, 2008 10:30 pm

It would have been nice to have someone around understand that Myrnal had obligations to the safety of her friends, but Dan quickly replied as only Dan would. She stared solidly at the wooden edge of the cart and choked back bitterness as thick and black as tar. Myrnal had long ago begun forcing herself to get used to the idea that what she felt was the right thing to do--and indeed, what she'd be unable to forgive herself for not doing--might not make sense to others. It would probably be misunderstood and unappreciated by people like Dan who saw a murderer instead of a friend who didn't want to see him get hurt.

Stephen, how do you deal with this shit... she wondered. From one point of view she was here in Stephen's stead, and she had no way to know how well she was doing her job. She had no real understanding of what siblings and friends did for each other. She just knew that she didn't want Dan to get hurt, and that meant that what Dan wanted came second. If he was alive to resent her, Myrnal had to call it a success.

But she'd used up enough words for now. More accustomed to giving one or two sentences, Myrnal had unleashed a veritable torrent of speech by her standards, more words than she sometimes used in days. She'd said her piece. If Dan didn't understand, there was no way that anything she said would help. If he wanted to create his own version of her in his mind, that was fine. Let him sit here next to a bloodthirsty savage murdering criminal. Myrnal supposed that he wasn't the first to see her that way. There were times when she saw it too, when she could see nothing in herself but violence and destruction. There were times when all she saw was the angry girl who'd attracted the eye of the god of hate.

So it wasn't Dan's fault. And perhaps he was right. Perhaps she was exactly what he thought she was.

Myrnal had just hoped that he wouldn't notice. Was that so much to ask?

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Unread postby Besyanteo » Sun Jun 22, 2008 9:01 am

The Naga nods to Dan, but it's a slow nod.

"Though most outland Ishtarites that know of us would tell you otherwise, we do follow Ishtar yes."

He looks across the group as a whole now.

"Do you know anything of the Naga, or is this everyone's first meeting?"

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Unread postby NebulaQueen » Tue Jun 24, 2008 8:10 am

"I've ...heard of them," Neb said carefully, as she rubbed her wrists. "Occasionally I get heirlooms that are supposedly artifacts from your kind, but usually they turn out to be frauds. But other than a sales pitch here and there, I only know a bit of hearsay." While she had seen creatures similar to the Naga, Neb preferred not to think on them; she knew enough to tell the difference, and that was enough.

She tilted her head to the side, and looked at their host. "I have to say, this is...different than I expected. Out of all the people I've seen on this continent, you and your companions are quite unusual - and I'm not talking about your appearance."

Guilt gnawed at her stomach, while its friends 'regret' and 'god-I-was-a-fool' decided to make a snack of her liver. She tried to avoid saying her piece on the escape from hell, but the more she kept silent the sicker she felt. If only she had been a bit quicker, a bit smarter, things could have ended up a bit tidier and - Neb cut herself short, and decided to focus on more practical matters, such as a fascinating wrinkle on the lap of her pants. She looked down, and decided to smooth it out.

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Unread postby Kelne » Wed Jul 02, 2008 8:04 am

Motioning Anetta further forward so that he'd have more light to work with, Leothe entered the kitchen, intent mostly on a way out. If nothing else, perhaps there would be a chimney of some kind to take smoke to the surface.

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Unread postby Besyanteo » Sun Sep 07, 2008 1:18 am

Myrnal, Dan, Neb and Paul stood before the Mother and Father of the Naga clan, their darkly armored shadower standing near the two of them. Fudail hung back by the door. The armored man seems very out of place in the lavish, colorful room, but he looks right at home all the same. In an accent that strikes Dan as being distinctly northern Baronian, the man says:

"Hello. Nice of you to join us."




Leothe, Annetta, Trevor and Anthony are being led into an under-sand hide out for a group of (Merchants? Thieves? Something else?) people that they'd stumbled upon, looking for their missing comrades. They were led by a pretty lady who was nice so far, if not overly polite or in the best mood. She was still pretty personable, seeing as she had not decided to have her men kill the lot of them.

They were led back to a large dining table, large enough to accommodate perhaps twenty; six on each long side, and four on each shorter side. Three men are sitting there already, taking dinner it looks like. They look up when the group enters, but the lady nods to them and they go back about their business.

The woman took a seat, and motioned for the group to do likewise.

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Unread postby FF Fanatic 80 » Mon Sep 08, 2008 3:54 pm

Well, this is certainly the last person Dan expected to see. Especially after the man's sneaking around earlier. But now he stands with the Naga, apparently familiar to them.

He wonders if this is actually a good thing...

"...well, it's nice of you to meet us face to face this time." Daniel says, alluding to the man's stealthy actions earlier.

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Unread postby Kelne » Wed Sep 10, 2008 10:29 pm

Leothe likewise took a seat, saying, "My thanks for the hospitality." He was growing quite hungry at this point, but was reluctant to broach the subject just yet. Their very presence here was something of an imposition, and he wanted to be sure that they were standing on firm ice before he started making requests.

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Unread postby Besyanteo » Wed Oct 08, 2008 8:51 pm

The man nodded to Dan, a look of chagrin on his face.

"I wanted to get a feel for who I was going to meet before we spoke in person. I didn't expect to be noticed so easily... I can hardly blame you for your reactions. I had meant to wait a few days to reveal myself, but now that there's no daggers flying about and I've been revealed anyway..."

He's interrupted by the clearing of a throat behind him. The clan mother wears a tight lipped grin for the man in dark armor.

"... But you didn't come here to see me." He turns to the Naga leaders. "My apologies."

They nod, and the man steps to one side, allowing the group room to step up and take audience with the Naga.




Their host grins a little.

"Don't mention it. While we're waiting on the boss, where did you say you people were from?"

She gave a nod to someone just behind Leothe. If he looked, he'd see someone in an apron disappearing into the next room.

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Unread postby Kai » Wed Oct 08, 2008 10:08 pm

Myrnal was still in a fine mood after finally getting some water, and the entertainment of humiliating a spy instead of killing him. Sometimes a blow to the ego was more satisfying, but Myrnal had to bite her lips to keep from laughing when she saw the same figure here. The emotion was more than half shock, but at least a bit an appreciation of the bitter irony of it.

On the one hand, if he was some kind of assassin in the employ of unscrupulous monarch, Myrnal should definitely have killed him. Of course, if he were the kind of friend to the clan Mother and Father that she was to, say, Hakaril... it would have been a difficult killing for this little alliance to overcome.

You son of--

But then he spoke, answering Daniel... more or less the way Myrnal needed to hear. "Y'know, I didn't throw a dagger at you anyway. I threw my shirt." She held down a smirk. "Seemed funnier at the time, since you hadn't actually attacked us."

She gestured vaguely at the Mother and Father to apologize for speaking out of turn. "Sorry. Your audience. Hope he told you nice things."

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Unread postby Kelne » Thu Oct 09, 2008 5:36 am

"Doma in my case. Or at least it's been home for the past few decades. We had each of us signed on with a caravan to Baron." Leothe refrained from mentioning the whole royalty thing. Far too much of a can of worms.

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Unread postby Besyanteo » Sat Oct 11, 2008 12:56 am

Their host's eyebrow quirked up at that.

"Doma? Really. That's a bit of a ride from here. And all the way to Baron... Not the best place to be right now. I assume you've heard the stories about that nation?"

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Unread postby NebulaQueen » Mon Oct 13, 2008 1:09 am

Neb watched the dark armored man with a wary eye, and listened to him speak to Daniel. Her fingers twitched, and the instinctive dislike she felt continued to linger. She still had her own suspicions about the man, but now was not the time or the place to interrogate them. They were guests after all.

She turned back to their hosts, and nodded. In a polite tone of voice, she said, "You wished to speak with us?"

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Besyanteo
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Unread postby Besyanteo » Mon Oct 13, 2008 11:31 pm

The clan mother and father look at one another breifly. The former speaks first, in a heavier accent than Fudail's... It's as though she's less familiar with common than he is. Still, she's perfectly understandable. Her 'O's have a drawn out, soft quality, coming out as 'Ah', and her 'A's end up sounding more like 'Eh's. Her voice is soft, but still somehow powerful, and the chamber causes it to reverberate just a bit.

"If you will pardon me, Fudail explained that it was you who wished to speak with us. I understand that you have missing friends? With proper description and time to meditate, we may divine their locations."

She changed posture to 'stand', her jewelery jingling softly as she moved.

"However, if that is no longer the case, we may discuss other things as well?"

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This is why Dan wouldn't make a good politician =(

Unread postby FF Fanatic 80 » Tue Oct 14, 2008 11:29 am

Dan has a difficult time hiding his surprise at the clan mother's words. He thought for sure they would be interrogated about their actions with the orcs first, if anything. Instead, they are offered help to locate the others. He glances over at the clan father for a brief moment, then back to the mother.

He is conflicted by his gut feelings toward these leaders, and his experience dealing with other world leaders. His gut feeling is to be overjoyed at their good fortune, and thrilled that these leaders appear to be kind and compassionate individuals. At the same time, however, his experience warns him to be cautious. Few leaders, even the kind and benevolent ones, simply do good without asking something in return. Especially for those not from their lands. Somehow, he needs to communicate both of these feelings to the leaders.

"Any help you can provide would be wonderful, thank you." Daniel says, nodding politely to the clan mother and father, "I think it would be foolish of us not to hear you out, if there is something we can do in return."

For a moment, Daniel wears a genuine smile at the two leaders. But for a brief second, there is a look of panic on his face. He recovers somewhat, managing to smile again, but it appears a little forced. In his mind, the reason for the reaction plays out rather loudly.

Goddess, why the hell did I say 'foolish'? You don't imply to a leader that you're a fool! Oh Gods, oh Goddess... ugh...

Alrighty... calm down... just... smile and calm down Dan. Maybe you didn't just make everyone look stupid. I'm sure everything's fine...

...maybe...

...Oh Goddess...

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Unread postby NebulaQueen » Wed Oct 15, 2008 12:08 am

Neb glanced over at Dan while he spoke, and noticed his face change from genuine grace to near panic. Her stomach sank, but unlike the near-paladin, she could actually hide her distress quite well. One didn't make it as a merchant or a pseudo-parents without a decent poker face.

She offered a small, grateful smile, with a subtle charm she doubted Dan could muster. "Yes, we do," she said. "Is there anything you need, aside from a description?"

Another thing she learned as a merchant: nothing came for free. However, it wouldn't do to appear paranoid. If they were allies, the suspicion would make them miffed. If they were more hostile, though, then it would be free license to make their lives...unpleasant.

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Unread postby Besyanteo » Wed Oct 15, 2008 3:50 pm

The clan mother was obviously hiding a grin at Dan's reaction to his own words. If she had anything to say about it, though, she kept it to herself.

The clan father, whose voice was surprisingly mellow and sonorous for a creature his size, replied cooly while wearing a calm, almost wan expression:

"We would of course be interested in compensation, yes. What would you offer us?"

Both waited now for reply, looking expectant.

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Unread postby Kelne » Wed Oct 15, 2008 7:28 pm

"Civil unrest following the king's ousting and his replacement by the council?" Leothe asked, "We're aware, though any light you could shed on how conditions may have developed would be appreciated."

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Kai
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Unread postby Kai » Wed Oct 15, 2008 8:43 pm

How many conversations had they had about this by now? How many times had people inquired about their missing allies only to hear a line of evasive crap or nothing at all? No wonder no one was really taking them seriously.

"Well..." The mercenary looked over at Dan and Neb. They probably didn't want her saying this. But their way clearly wasn't working. "The thing is, I'm not good at this politics stuff. I don't know how to do things the right way. You'll probably want to talk to our allies when we find them since, considering one is the king of Doma and the other is a recent monarch of Baron, they'll probably be much better at this than any of us."

She scratched the back of her head, deliberately betraying some uncertainty to defuse the effect of her basically telling them to screw off and just find their allies already. "That's the reason we've been so antsy over them being missing, aside from the fact that they're decent guys near as I can tell. There's a lot riding on us locating them."

Myrnal also hoped this would remind Dan why it would have been unacceptable for them to simply sit and wait for a rescue they didn't know was coming. If he was so big on fealty and honor and all that garbage, shouldn't he have been willing to do anything to make sure that his two monarchs were safe?

"So that's where we are. If you can think of something for us to do in the meantime, we'll certainly do what we can. But we can't do as much for you as the guys we're looking for. Not because we don't want to," she added, holding up one hand as if to physically block such an accusation. "But because we aren't royalty. If you want more than our help in a fight or a lecture in moral rectitude from the paladin, you should consider asking their Highnesses." In her annoyance she was perhaps speaking more freely than she ought to, but she was getting so damn tired of Dan and Neb and everyone else in her little universe not just saying what they meant.

Well, Myrnal had said what she meant. Hopefully laying all their cards on the table would be helpful. If not, the negotiation was probably doomed anyway.

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