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Dark Days in Sion - Act 2: Scene 3
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<blockquote data-quote="narayan" data-source="post: 6731650" data-attributes="member: 6677509"><p><strong>Avar, Billanverthorne, Jabbar</strong></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Avar and Jabbar share a look before they start to chuckle together with disbelief.</p><p></p><p><strong>Jabbar:</strong> <span style="color: #996600">"You cant be serious? Jarahdrin was helping your father investigate the Black Network? Forgive me but thats hard to believe. Jarahdrin is one of the corrupt merchant elite! He's never demonstrated any care for the miseries of the common people. Why would he help your father so far away while ignoring the plight all around him?"</span></p><p></p><p>He paused then as his eyes unfocused while he focused inwardly on a thought. </p><p></p><p><span style="color: #996600">"Unlessss..."</span> He says with a slight smile. <span style="color: #996600">"...his cold demeanor is just a ruse? I should certainly understand the need for appearances in this land, plagued as it is with so much evil!"</span> He remarks, focusing his gaze at you once again Billanverthorne. </p><p></p><p><span style="color: #996600">"Did you not want to ask me about this scar?"</span> He asks gesturing to his face. <span style="color: #996600">"This is what happens when you forget they're watching you. Jarahdrin might be smarter than I am in that regard.... Avar here convinced me of the threat of the black network beyond a doubt, but I still knew they existed before I ever met him... just not exactly where they came from. Until now I was better educated about another secretive network of spies, informants and thugs known as the Vulfear."</span></p><p><span style="color: #996600"></span></p><p><span style="color: #996600">"The only difference between these groups, in principle, is whom they serve. The Vulfear do their worst to keep the Vul in power. The Black Network does their worst for darker plans and even darker powers, hard though that is to imagine sometimes. Proof of the network is all around us. Anyone with courage enough to explore the backrooms, alleyways and cave networks of this land can find it." </span></p><p><span style="color: #996600"></span></p><p><span style="color: #996600">"I know this because I've spent most of my adult life as a smuggler. What I glimpsed in such places made my blood run cold on more than one occasion. At one point it bothered me so much I decided to give it up. I was frightened the network would try and get me involved. I knew if they did I'd refuse and refusal is as good as suicide."</span></p><p><span style="color: #996600"></span></p><p><span style="color: #996600">"I met a woman at a shop in Masaeus who was kind and beautiful. She made me ache for a life of joy and simplicity. I courted her for a while and eventually asked her father for her hand in marriage. Much to my dismay he refused my proposal. He said only an honest man deserved his daughters hand which made me realize he'd been asking around about me." </span></p><p><span style="color: #996600"></span></p><p><span style="color: #996600">"My reputation soured my chances to be happy it would seem, even when I was trying my hardest to escape that life. I was so angry I begged her to elope with me without her fathers blessing. Such a thing is very shameful in our culture Billanverthorne. We both might be killed if she agreed but I didn't care because I was being selfish. I assumed our happiness meant everything. I was wrong..."</span></p><p><span style="color: #996600"></span></p><p><span style="color: #996600">"...The night we were supposed to meet and run away together, her father caught her packing some things. He became incensed and locked her away, then he asked some thugs in the neighborhood to do him a favor and make sure I never came near his home again. They left me near dead in an nearby alleyway."</span></p><p><span style="color: #996600"></span></p><p><span style="color: #996600">"In truth at that moment I didn't care if I lived or died. I knew my chances with her were over and I believed the only good thing I ever had was gone. It was then they finally came for me. A man I remembered as a fellow smuggler named Athir seemingly happened upon that alley by happenstance and pretended to save me from my wounds."</span></p><p><span style="color: #996600"></span></p><p><span style="color: #996600">"He brought me to a backroom in a tavern where he probably bedded whores and let me rest until I could sit up and speak again. Then he started in with the luring promises of revenge against my loves father and those thugs. He said he could 'make arrangements' to see them all disappear. He said all his fathers possessions could be mine, including his home. He promised I could have my marriage with her and live the rest of my days running that shop together, and none would ever be the wiser."</span></p><p><span style="color: #996600"></span></p><p><span style="color: #996600">"I hated him for putting these notions in my head because I was almost tempted to say yes. The truth is I brought it all on myself. My past associations made me known to them. They only waited to approach me until I was at my weakest. In essence trying to escape them made me fall right into their trap. As I said refusal would be the same as suicide so I played along for a few days."</span></p><p><span style="color: #996600"></span></p><p><span style="color: #996600">"I agreed to plant some black market goods in the mans shop and report it to the Vulfear. They'd confiscate everything he owned and throw him in prison. He assured me of course that my love would not be harmed. After I married her he promised a powerful friend in the city government would bestow the deed of his shop and home to me." </span></p><p></p><p>Jabbar pauses for a minute and switches out tea for wine. </p><p></p><p><span style="color: #996600">"I snuck into the shop as I was asked, but instead of planting the goods I left a note warning them to flee the city. That same night I met with Athir and asked him to celebrate with me at the tavern. I drugged his wine and dragged him out the back. My intention was to take him to the local Vulfear headquarters and turn him in as a traitor. I had no love for the Vulfear of course, but in that strange circumstance whoever he served seemed to be the greater enemy." </span></p><p><span style="color: #996600"></span></p><p><span style="color: #996600">"The drugs wore off sooner than I expected however and Athir started to laugh at me before I reached them, swearing my days were numbered. I told him he was going to rot in a Vulkyrie prison but that only made him laugh louder. He said the Vulkyrie were fools his masters kept in power only because they kept the people weak and disorganized. He said they would eventually be forced to kneel like all the rest."</span></p><p><span style="color: #996600"></span></p><p><span style="color: #996600">"I couldn't stand the sound of his voice any longer so I pulled a dagger and held it to his neck to silence him. He merely grinned and suddenly tried to cut his own throat! I managed not to kill him instantly but he was bleeding out quickly. That didn't seem to bother him in the least however. He said his soul was already promised to his dark lord who would reward his service and his sacrifice."</span></p><p><span style="color: #996600"></span></p><p><span style="color: #996600">"Somehow that conviction in his voice convinced me that I was more afraid of what might happen if I let him die than if I let him live. I put pressure on his wounds and drove my cart straight to the Shrine of Ishvar who's waters were known to have healing properties. However as soon as I approached it Athir went mad, screaming obscenities at me. Somehow he feared those holy waters more than death itself. I couldn't make him stop yelling, and I knew the Vulkyrie would hear it, so I strangled him in a panic." </span></p><p></p><p>Jabbar takes a deep drought of his wine and refills his cup. </p><p> </p><p><span style="color: #996600">"I left his body by the shrine and fled the city through one of my smuggling routes, never so happy as I was at that moment to have the skills and the means to be a smuggler again. I embraced my trade with all the zeal and fervor I had left in my soul, except this time I wasn't motivated by greed I was motivated by a cause to help anyone wronged by the Vulfear or the Black Network. Still I avoided Masaeus for almost twenty years, fearing Athirs contacts there would remember me somehow."</span></p><p></p><p><span style="color: #996600">"It wasn't until I got word a couple years ago that my lost love's father finally passed from old age that I decided I should return and pay my respects. He was right to keep me away from his daughter after all. There was no such thing as a normal life for me I was just too naive realize that. Still I took precautions and wore a cloak, smuggled myself in and didn't speak to anyone."</span></p><p><span style="color: #996600"></span></p><p><span style="color: #996600">"I observed his funeral and saw my love was now happily married with children. They didn't see me watching them or recognize me when I prayed, but something did. I sensed I was being watched and attempted to leave the city at once. Someone cornered me in an alley as I fled. It was Athir! Back from the dead! I knew it was impossible, yet there he stood as if he hadn't aged a day!" </span></p><p><span style="color: #996600"></span></p><p><span style="color: #996600">"I told you I would be rewarded! He said with that same grin and evil laugh. Of course I pulled my sword and attacked him only to watch his form shift into something else... something too terrible to behold. His eyes glowed red, his grin elongated into a fang-filled maw and his hands grew long claws!"</span></p><p></p><p>Jabbar shudders and drains his cup of wine a second time.</p><p></p><p><span style="color: #996600">"I battled him with all my might but I was losing. At least the sound of my yelling attracted Vulkyrie to the rooftops. They were just as disturbed as I was with that they saw, but their javelins flew indiscriminately."</span> He says tracing the path of his scar absently with this finger. <span style="color: #996600">"Thankfully he was slowed down enough that I managed to make a run for it. Somehow I made it out of the city a second time... but I don't imagine there will be a third."</span> He says matter-of-factly. </p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p><strong>Avar:</strong> <span style="color: #999900">"Are you forgetting the network's headquarters is one of the most well fortified fortresses in all of Akhenaten atop a mountain overrun with legions of evil humanoids? It took my clan two hundred years of planning and sacrifice to finally escape that place and most of us died trying. Going back there without an army seems rather foolhardy to me..."</span> He comments... but then adds. <span style="color: #999900">"...But who says we have to go there to get one of their leaders in our clutches? Jabbar just described how Athir still roams Masaeus despite his new-found form and evil powers. Surely his severed head would have many secrets to tell!" </span></p><p></p><p><strong>Jabbar:</strong> Scoffs. <span style="color: #996600">"You've got to be kidding? I'm not going back there!" </span></p><p></p><p><strong>Avar:</strong> Shrugs. <span style="color: #999900">"It doesn't have to be him necessarily. But Billanverthorne is right, we need undeniable proof of what we're dealing with if anyone is going to commit an entire army to our cause."</span></p><p><span style="color: #999900"></span></p><p><span style="color: #999900"></span><span style="color: #000000"><em><strong>[Billanverthorne: </strong>What do you do?<strong>]</strong></em></span></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="narayan, post: 6731650, member: 6677509"] [b]Avar, Billanverthorne, Jabbar[/b] Avar and Jabbar share a look before they start to chuckle together with disbelief. [B]Jabbar:[/B] [COLOR=#996600]"You cant be serious? Jarahdrin was helping your father investigate the Black Network? Forgive me but thats hard to believe. Jarahdrin is one of the corrupt merchant elite! He's never demonstrated any care for the miseries of the common people. Why would he help your father so far away while ignoring the plight all around him?"[/COLOR] He paused then as his eyes unfocused while he focused inwardly on a thought. [COLOR=#996600]"Unlessss..."[/COLOR] He says with a slight smile. [COLOR=#996600]"...his cold demeanor is just a ruse? I should certainly understand the need for appearances in this land, plagued as it is with so much evil!"[/COLOR] He remarks, focusing his gaze at you once again Billanverthorne. [COLOR=#996600]"Did you not want to ask me about this scar?"[/COLOR] He asks gesturing to his face. [COLOR=#996600]"This is what happens when you forget they're watching you. Jarahdrin might be smarter than I am in that regard.... Avar here convinced me of the threat of the black network beyond a doubt, but I still knew they existed before I ever met him... just not exactly where they came from. Until now I was better educated about another secretive network of spies, informants and thugs known as the Vulfear." "The only difference between these groups, in principle, is whom they serve. The Vulfear do their worst to keep the Vul in power. The Black Network does their worst for darker plans and even darker powers, hard though that is to imagine sometimes. Proof of the network is all around us. Anyone with courage enough to explore the backrooms, alleyways and cave networks of this land can find it." "I know this because I've spent most of my adult life as a smuggler. What I glimpsed in such places made my blood run cold on more than one occasion. At one point it bothered me so much I decided to give it up. I was frightened the network would try and get me involved. I knew if they did I'd refuse and refusal is as good as suicide." "I met a woman at a shop in Masaeus who was kind and beautiful. She made me ache for a life of joy and simplicity. I courted her for a while and eventually asked her father for her hand in marriage. Much to my dismay he refused my proposal. He said only an honest man deserved his daughters hand which made me realize he'd been asking around about me." "My reputation soured my chances to be happy it would seem, even when I was trying my hardest to escape that life. I was so angry I begged her to elope with me without her fathers blessing. Such a thing is very shameful in our culture Billanverthorne. We both might be killed if she agreed but I didn't care because I was being selfish. I assumed our happiness meant everything. I was wrong..." "...The night we were supposed to meet and run away together, her father caught her packing some things. He became incensed and locked her away, then he asked some thugs in the neighborhood to do him a favor and make sure I never came near his home again. They left me near dead in an nearby alleyway." "In truth at that moment I didn't care if I lived or died. I knew my chances with her were over and I believed the only good thing I ever had was gone. It was then they finally came for me. A man I remembered as a fellow smuggler named Athir seemingly happened upon that alley by happenstance and pretended to save me from my wounds." "He brought me to a backroom in a tavern where he probably bedded whores and let me rest until I could sit up and speak again. Then he started in with the luring promises of revenge against my loves father and those thugs. He said he could 'make arrangements' to see them all disappear. He said all his fathers possessions could be mine, including his home. He promised I could have my marriage with her and live the rest of my days running that shop together, and none would ever be the wiser." "I hated him for putting these notions in my head because I was almost tempted to say yes. The truth is I brought it all on myself. My past associations made me known to them. They only waited to approach me until I was at my weakest. In essence trying to escape them made me fall right into their trap. As I said refusal would be the same as suicide so I played along for a few days." "I agreed to plant some black market goods in the mans shop and report it to the Vulfear. They'd confiscate everything he owned and throw him in prison. He assured me of course that my love would not be harmed. After I married her he promised a powerful friend in the city government would bestow the deed of his shop and home to me." [/COLOR] Jabbar pauses for a minute and switches out tea for wine. [COLOR=#996600]"I snuck into the shop as I was asked, but instead of planting the goods I left a note warning them to flee the city. That same night I met with Athir and asked him to celebrate with me at the tavern. I drugged his wine and dragged him out the back. My intention was to take him to the local Vulfear headquarters and turn him in as a traitor. I had no love for the Vulfear of course, but in that strange circumstance whoever he served seemed to be the greater enemy." "The drugs wore off sooner than I expected however and Athir started to laugh at me before I reached them, swearing my days were numbered. I told him he was going to rot in a Vulkyrie prison but that only made him laugh louder. He said the Vulkyrie were fools his masters kept in power only because they kept the people weak and disorganized. He said they would eventually be forced to kneel like all the rest." "I couldn't stand the sound of his voice any longer so I pulled a dagger and held it to his neck to silence him. He merely grinned and suddenly tried to cut his own throat! I managed not to kill him instantly but he was bleeding out quickly. That didn't seem to bother him in the least however. He said his soul was already promised to his dark lord who would reward his service and his sacrifice." "Somehow that conviction in his voice convinced me that I was more afraid of what might happen if I let him die than if I let him live. I put pressure on his wounds and drove my cart straight to the Shrine of Ishvar who's waters were known to have healing properties. However as soon as I approached it Athir went mad, screaming obscenities at me. Somehow he feared those holy waters more than death itself. I couldn't make him stop yelling, and I knew the Vulkyrie would hear it, so I strangled him in a panic." [/COLOR] Jabbar takes a deep drought of his wine and refills his cup. [COLOR=#996600]"I left his body by the shrine and fled the city through one of my smuggling routes, never so happy as I was at that moment to have the skills and the means to be a smuggler again. I embraced my trade with all the zeal and fervor I had left in my soul, except this time I wasn't motivated by greed I was motivated by a cause to help anyone wronged by the Vulfear or the Black Network. Still I avoided Masaeus for almost twenty years, fearing Athirs contacts there would remember me somehow."[/COLOR] [COLOR=#996600]"It wasn't until I got word a couple years ago that my lost love's father finally passed from old age that I decided I should return and pay my respects. He was right to keep me away from his daughter after all. There was no such thing as a normal life for me I was just too naive realize that. Still I took precautions and wore a cloak, smuggled myself in and didn't speak to anyone." "I observed his funeral and saw my love was now happily married with children. They didn't see me watching them or recognize me when I prayed, but something did. I sensed I was being watched and attempted to leave the city at once. Someone cornered me in an alley as I fled. It was Athir! Back from the dead! I knew it was impossible, yet there he stood as if he hadn't aged a day!" "I told you I would be rewarded! He said with that same grin and evil laugh. Of course I pulled my sword and attacked him only to watch his form shift into something else... something too terrible to behold. His eyes glowed red, his grin elongated into a fang-filled maw and his hands grew long claws!"[/COLOR] Jabbar shudders and drains his cup of wine a second time. [COLOR=#996600]"I battled him with all my might but I was losing. At least the sound of my yelling attracted Vulkyrie to the rooftops. They were just as disturbed as I was with that they saw, but their javelins flew indiscriminately."[/COLOR] He says tracing the path of his scar absently with this finger. [COLOR=#996600]"Thankfully he was slowed down enough that I managed to make a run for it. Somehow I made it out of the city a second time... but I don't imagine there will be a third."[/COLOR] He says matter-of-factly. [B]Avar:[/B] [COLOR=#999900]"Are you forgetting the network's headquarters is one of the most well fortified fortresses in all of Akhenaten atop a mountain overrun with legions of evil humanoids? It took my clan two hundred years of planning and sacrifice to finally escape that place and most of us died trying. Going back there without an army seems rather foolhardy to me..."[/COLOR] He comments... but then adds. [COLOR=#999900]"...But who says we have to go there to get one of their leaders in our clutches? Jabbar just described how Athir still roams Masaeus despite his new-found form and evil powers. Surely his severed head would have many secrets to tell!" [/COLOR] [B]Jabbar:[/B] Scoffs. [COLOR=#996600]"You've got to be kidding? I'm not going back there!" [/COLOR] [B]Avar:[/B] Shrugs. [COLOR=#999900]"It doesn't have to be him necessarily. But Billanverthorne is right, we need undeniable proof of what we're dealing with if anyone is going to commit an entire army to our cause." [/COLOR][COLOR=#000000][I][B][Billanverthorne: [/B]What do you do?[B]][/B][/I][/COLOR][COLOR=#999900][/COLOR] [/QUOTE]
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