Redclaw's Eyes of the Lich Queen

[EvolutionKB]

Talas

"Oh, Tal... we'll spread the Flame's glory out of the church, now.

"As you know I spread glory my own way," he says tapping the handle of his flail.

Talas watches in amusement as Bregan trades jibes with their would be employer. He offered them a quite a bit of money, as well as the choice bits of treasure that they would find. He found it in himself to intercede, before the deal was over before it even started.

...Those items will be given to the proper people, or destroyed entirely...

My life's work is the study of ancient knowledge and art, any piece of which could be groundshaking in its significance.

"Well then," Talas says, slamming his mailed fist on the table for emphasis, "if we find any items of power, we shall bring them back to you like you want, for you are obviously "the proper people". If the items we are to bring radiate an aura of evil, you shall be able to study them in a safe spot, perhaps inside The Blessed Church of the Silver Flame, where the evil objects will be safe and so will you. Right brother?"

"I assume you are one of the scholars of Morgrave then? I am quite the research hound myself, even if I don't look it."

"The place you describe could be anywhere, but if it has relics from that ancient age, I am interested."

[sblock=ooc]I was trying to think of a name for the guild, that will do fine I suppose. I assumed it we be named after Drekhad, since he is the founder. Is that 25gp/wk or 250gp/wk? How about that box o' rations now, as well as horses?[/sblock]

 

[Redclaw]

I shall not and will not have one person, for their own greed, endanger the lives of everyone.

You presume much, feral one. You know naught of me except that I have offered to pay you a substantial sum to unearth ancient works of art for me, yet you seem to assume that I am Khyber bent on destroying all live as we know it. I assure you, I am seeking only what I said, writings and art of ancient times. Should something of some arcane power be discovered, I will endeavor to find a safe place to store it, or, after studying it carefully for any important knowledge it can share, seek a way to eliminate its threat.

However, I WILL NOT agree to blindly destroy it because some paranoid shifter is worried about anything more powerful than a potion of healing falling into "the wrong hands". If those are your demands, I suppose I will have to find a different--

"Well then," Talas says, slamming his mailed fist on the table for emphasis, "if we find any items of power, we shall bring them back to you like you want, for you are obviously "the proper people".

Sur'kil turns to Talas, a look of relief on his face. Excellent, a voice of reason.

"If the items we are to bring radiate an aura of evil, you shall be able to study them in a safe spot, perhaps inside The Blessed Church of the Silver Flame, where the evil objects will be safe and so will you. Right brother?"

While I have no standing with the Church, I will agree that in such a circumstance we may work together to find a suitable location. Again, I feel that all of this detailed discussion is precipitate, as you are highly unlikely to find such an item, whatever your feral friend may think. Another glare finds its way to Bregan.

"I assume you are one of the scholars of Morgrave then? I am quite the research hound myself, even if I don't look it."

"The place you describe could be anywhere, but if it has relics from that ancient age, I am interested."

I am not directly connected to the University, but I have numerous colleagues who call that institution home. I am an independant in terms of my research.

Excellent, I am glad to hear it. What about the rest of you? Have I found my hearty band of adventurers to help me in my studies? He looks expectantly at everyone but Bregan.


[sblock=ooc] Sorry about that, it's 250 gp per week per PC. [/sblock]

 

[OnlytheStrong]

Bregan interupts rudely, In that case, I must take my leave.Bregan walks towards the edge of the room, toward the door they came in. A thought passes through his mind, so he stops and remarks, All is not as it seems is it? Perhaps you are not as you seem or perhaps this mission is not what it seems. Before I go, would you like to inform us the rest of the details? Perhaps then I will not be so openly against the journey.


[sblock=ooc] I have no clue what I'm thinking here. Just something seems out of place. Maybe I'm paranoid, which I probably am. He seems............too interested in the artifacts and as far as any of us can tell he's not lying, which makes him either a fantastic liar or...... idk what. I'm still working on that last part. [/sblock]

 

[Redclaw]

Sur'kil regards the shifter coldly. I fear you are overreaching, shifter. There are more adventurers in Wroat than employers, so I have no doubt that I could hire another band if you are not interested. My research here suggests that you are well-suited to this task, but you are certainly not my only option. In fact, if I weren't hoping to leave immediately I would likely already be finding alternates.

As to any further information I might have, I can only say that getting any more specific before we are agreed and on our way is not an option. The last thing that I want is someone else following my research and making the resulting discoveries ahead of us. You have given me littele reason to trust you at this point, so why would I believe you wouldn't sell my information, or try to use it yourselves.

[sblock=ooc] Or he's telling the truth, but wants to keep some information for himself...
Many people, especially those who can afford over 1000 gp per week plus travel expenses, have a few things they don't tell people they've just met. [/sblock]

 

[WakkaWakka]

How far can we trust this man? Is everyone over-reacting? Even if this man was trying to use us to bring demon-tainted antiquities to the surface... we should accept. To recover those same - the church must know! And if we don't, someone else will get the job - someone with far less scruples, probably.
Only Alexa looks quiet - maybe she's thinking along those lines too - and liking it as little as I do.

As tempers start flaring around, Cholas supports his brother's stance
"So long it's agreed that any item found tainted by evil will be studied under the eye of the Silver Flame's Templars, I can't foresee any harm in undertaking this mission - and much to be gained for everyone. We'd need to know more of the location, however..."
[sblock]OOC: I hope I've got the branch of the church right... I can't remember the names of the others! [/sblock]

 

[Zurai]

Alexa frowns as Bregan starts to argue with their prospective employer, and as Bregan gets up to leave, she sits up straight in her seat and her voice cracks out like a whip. "Bregan, sit down. Do not forget, if nothing else, we all represent the guild. Your actions here reflect poorly on all of us. You have been extremely rude to a prospective employer, and that could ruin our reputation. Do you think we'd continue getting such interesting jobs if Sur'kil here started spreading word that we insult our employers before the deal has even been struck? I will not stand for it." She shifts her gaze to Sur'kil and smiles apologetically. "I'm sorry for my companions' reactions, sir. They hear things like 'artifacts from the Age of Demons' and their thoughts immediately translate it to 'evil things best left buried'. I gather, however, from your descriptions, that your 'artifacts' are things like paintings, pottery shards, ancient coins, and the like, yes? I for one have no problem helping to discover items of such historical import. Of course, anything we found that was tainted with evil would need to be watched over carefully, but I'm sure you have plans for that as well."

[sblock=OOC]Diplomacy +11 to try to soothe Sur'kil and get this job offer back on track...[/sblock]

 

[OnlytheStrong]

Bregan pauses before reaching the door, turns around and walks towards Alexa. He leans over and whispers, I care not. He straightens up and says, I will accept your job provided that you disclose the rest of the information to us.

 

[Creamsteak]

(The fact that I can't get a subscription to this thread going is keeping me from noticing it in time to promptly react to things.)

"Let us form a great partnership! We'll raise our shining blades against the darkness!"

 

[Redclaw]

Sur'kil smiles at the young bard, and then turns his focus to the entire company. Again, I assure you I am expecting little of martial or arcane significance, but am hoping to discover much of historical import. I am glad that there are those among you who understand the appeal of such items, here he nods at Talas and Alexa, and I hope that we can indeed form a partnership.

As for your concern about anything beyond that, you have my word that I have colleagues who will be able to deal with any such items, should the unlikely occur. While not followers of the Church of the Flame, they are trustworthy and will ensure that no such items are used to evil purposes. That is the best that I can offer.

His suddenly icy eyes turn on Bregan again. As for your repeated demands for the whole story, I will again say that I do not feel comfortable revealing any more at present. I have spent many months searching for references of this site, discovering its location and history. I can not afford to lose that time to loose tongues or worse. Rest assured that I will give you the information you need before we arrive. If it helps, I can afford to increase the fee to 350 gp per week.

If those terms are satisfactory, we can begin our journey. I have booked passage for us on the lightning rail, which departs this afternoon.

[sblock=ooc] successful diplomacy check, and the disaster is averted. Don't forget that most rolls can be made on invisible castle. [/sblock]

 

[OnlytheStrong]

Bregan nods and drops the subject, I'll be damned if I turn over anything without having a proper priest or magic user look at it. Good thing the group is as it is.

The man's wording suddenly strikes him. Does he intent on joining our venture? Why not just have the university travel with him? It surely would be far less expensive for him and he would be able to study the items.


**edit** ooc: It seriously struck me as I was fixing leave the site. He said we, which seems like he wants to travel with us. Doesn't matter to Bregan, he will be out ahead of the group most of the time.