"We were sent by a very concerned lady. She goes by the name of Hedra Silverships. A very polite woman, although a bit rough from life at sea. While I would normally take this time to introduce each of my companions propertly, I feel other needs have to be addressed first...
"A wise man once said that you will discover your true friends when the ice you are walking on breaks. Your ice broke, and we are your friends."
"Hedra sent you?" Krassus says.
"But how... I told her there were some troubles with the workers, but at the time I had no idea... how could she have known to send help?"
He rubs his bald pate.
"No matter. I certainly owe her - and you - a large debt. Planhoein would have killed me for sure if you had not intervened." He smiles - a rather slight smile, but a smile nonetheless. The bard's soothing words seem to have put him at ease.
Kaeysari replies to Krassus with a slightly mournful tone.
[sblock=Imperia/Elven]"Not a citizen, just a soldier. None of us is 'in charge' here. We're equal partners in this."[/sblock]
Krassus pulls a sour face at Kaesari's remark. But it only lasts a moment before he shakes his head. The slight smile returns, and he responds.
[sblock=Imperia/Elven]
"Please excuse my rudeness. I am very grateful for what you did for me here today. You risked your own life to save mine. A citizen could not ask for more from a soldier."[/sblock]
"As Jynxx said, we were sent here by Hedra Silverships. Her concern was the safe delivery of Zocatli.. Despite sending us armed, I do not think she suspected this. Please tell us what happened."
The smile disappears once more.
"Oh, she sent you for the zocalti, now I see..." He shrugs.
"No matter. You still saved my life. But I'm afraid Hedra is going to be disappointed. The zocalti is gone, all gone."
[sblock=Insight DC 17 (active)]Krassus glances down at the ground as he says "all gone"...[/sblock]
"Everything had been going fairly well here. Well, a few disagreements with the help, some issues with shoddy materials we got from Fulcrum, but nothing I couldn't handle. We started taking in the harvest about, oh, ten days ago. I'd brought on some more Bonite helpers from Newhill to help with that, and it was going fine. We got the first beans all dried and packaged no problem.
"The next day, a few of the workers didn't show. My foreman, a Bonite chap named Rinnlo, said an illness was going around their village. He assured me there was nothing to worry about, that the laborers we still had would be enough to bring in and process all the crop in plenty of time. But the next day, a couple more didn't show, including one of the guards. Rinnlo still told me not to worry, but he seemed evasive. That's when I sent word back to Hedra. Not that I was expecting disaster, but maybe the crop might be a little bit later or smaller if we couldn't get it all in in time and some spoiled."
He stops and looks around nervously.
"Rinnlo had been staying out here on the plantation, but that night he went back to Newhill, said he'd try to get more help. But the next day, he didn't show. Instead, a different Bonite came. He told me that Rinnlo had taken sick too. He said his name was Planhoein, that he was Rinnlo's cousin, and that he'd fill in for his cousin as foreman."
Krassus points out at the spot where the wereserpent fell.
"That was him. Planhoein. That - snake thing... Though I didn't know that, I just thought he was a normal human. He didn't dress much different than the other Bonites I've seen either. Not until he came back today... with the others."
The manager looks around the hut at the overturned desk and scattered papers. He paces around a bit, picks up a few of the papers and squares them into a small stack. It seems to soothe him.
"I'm getting ahead of myself," he continues.
"So... I guess I did think Planhoein was a little bit strange. But then all the Bonites are strange. I mean, they're just different than us - Imperium citizens, I mean. But they're a lot different than the people from Daunto, too. Planhoein... over the next few days, he got into a couple of arguments with one of the guards. My Magari is not very good, so I don't know what the arguments were about. Also I noticed the workers seemed scared of him. But they were getting the pods down and cracked, drying and processing the beans just fine. I thought maybe he was just a tough taskmaster... and what was I supposed to do about it anyway?"
Krassus turns his head away to stare at one of the walls of the hut. When he continues, his tone is flat. He seems to be trying to distance himself from the events he is describing.
"Planhoein left last night, supposedly to check on Rinnlo. In the morning... I heard the screaming down by the gate. Then whooping and hollering and crazy laughter mixed with the screams. I came out to see Planhoein along with a bunch of other Bonite maniacs slaughtering everyone. There were humans, dwarves, those halflings... feathers in their hair like you saw and blood on their hands. I saw Planhoein cut down one of the village women who was pleading with him, down on her knees begging him not to kill her. But he just said a few words to her - scolding her, maybe? - then cut her down."
He shudders and falls silent for a few moments.
"He looked up, saw me, and laughed. He pointed at me, and one of the dwarves with him gave me a look..." He shudders again, this time clutching at his shoulders to try to steady himself.
"That one stared screaming something in Magari. All the rest joined in. They seemed to be answering him. I think the dwarf was the leader.
"So, I turned around and ran back into my hut. Tried to barricade the door, but they got in, pulled me out. There was nothing I could do. Some of them gathered up all the zocalti we'd harvested and dried while others cut down the trees and burned them. Planhoein was berating me. He was incoherent, slipping back and forth between Allarian and Magari... said I'd pay for my blasphemy, that he and his savages were the instrument of justice. All kinds of crazy nonsense. I don't really understand it, but they were fanatics. Crazy, savage fanatics! And it must have something to do with zocalti, he said that word a lot."
He looks around at his audience.
"That's about it, really. Most of them left, carrying that zocalti, maybe twenty minutes before you got here? A few more were finishing up with the trees I think... I'm not sure when they left exactly, Planhoein kept me on the other side of the hut, so I couldn't see. He was toying with me and a few of the other workers who were left. Killed them one by one..."
[sblock=Insight DC 14 (active)]His story seems genuine, but he's leaving something out here at the end.[/sblock]
His forehead turns a bit pink, and he slams a fist into a palm.
"Savages! Killing their own people in cold blood! And the workers, they had to have known who - known what Planhoein was, why did they stay? I just don't understand these Bonites and I don't really care any more. I just want to get off this miserable island and back to civilization.
"Please, will you take me back to Fulcrum?"
[/sblock]
