(Tavern) City of Orussus, The Red Dragon Inn II

[Jack Haggerty]

"Begging your pardons," Jack interrupts as gestures for another bottle of whiskey, "but really, what difference does it make? Whether for good or bad, this fellow wants us to knock off another bloke for a handful of cash. Either way, the culley's laid out for a dirt nap, eh?"

"So, if it makes you squeamish, there's some sport hunting rats the other side of the Big-Little Pass, or there's the grubbies what need help with bandits over in Red Oak.

"Otherwise, I'd be much obliged if you'd quit your preaching all that high-and-mightyness so's we can get the job on, eh? Nothing personal Mr. Quickwhip and no offense meant Miss Fant, of course, just business, you know."

"Now, what truly worries me, Mr. Audron," Jack continues, after starting in on that fresh bottle of liquor, "is why this fellow's so expensive to you. What do you get out of this, eh? You've no claim on the house or the inheritance, sure enough. And certainly any wizard who's muddled up a new spell all on his own would keep an spare copy stashed away... just in case. It'd be foolish not to. So why are you so hot to jigger this fellow without letting the lawmen in on it first? Doesn't sound like he's going anywhere. Just what makes him so dangerous, eh?"

 

[Thomas Hobbes]

"Although I can't speak for Quickwhip here, it has less to do with high and mightiness," says Fant in a neutral tone, "than it does with what, I think, you're asking about. I do not wish to, how do you people," (it is unclear which people she is referring to- people of Blackjack's profession or race, but she doesn't refer to them with any sort of malice) "say it, 'get burned.'" She rolls the unfamiliar saying off her tongue. Truth be told, she would find out-and-out assination distasteful beneath her, but she doubts her morals would hold much weight with Jack.

"More to the point, you'll have little chance of success with neither Quickwhip or myself." She turns to Janos, one corner of her lip rising slightly. "You'll pardon my suspicions, but your story," stinks like an unwashed Gnoll "seems less than complete." She awaits the answer of her questions, ready to focus on any evasion or incompleteness.

 

[Janos Audron]

[No need to apologize Thomas, I had expected no less ]

"So, the details then...I come from a land named Ushad. The basic hierarchy is as follows: on top there is a council of mages, eight specialists and one who hasn't specialized. They make the decicions, both for the country and for the national order of mages. Further, there are those wizards who belong to the order. Wizards who rule a province are from this order, as are wizards who govern a city. Though I too belong to the order, I am just a common citizen, not interested in politics."

"So, summarized, all seats of power are held by those of the order. The only way to rise in the order if someone above you dies and you get elected as the best replacement. At first, all deaths were natural, but when wizards began extending their lives, not all deaths were natural anymore. Well, this system has led to a lot of wizards plotting against eachother. Mostly the lower ranked against wizards just above them, since the rulers of the country have too many funds and are generally very powerful. The Law, or at least, the wizards who have to uphold the law are not that different and they too spend a long time thinking up plans to become more powerful, which is why they are so busy..."

"Another reason is that is has become 'accepted practice' for a wizard from the order to kill his superior and get rid of the evidence. It shows he's good at what he does, he made a plan that worked and is willing to 'kill for his country' - while everyone knows he actually killed because he wanted more power - and so he may deserve the position."

"Now, the travel issue won't be a problem, as I possess a spell that covers great distances instantly. The spell that was stolen from me affects one house, tower, mansion or a castle and it bars a specific person from entering. The reason I don't take care of this myself is because that man barred me from his house. I cannot touch him unless he goes outside, which he never does...Because of the same spell, I cannot go inside to search for evidence, so I can't really turn him in."

"The evil wizard who goes by the name of Mirrek has inherited the mansion of his brother, along with everything else he possessed. Slaves, the library, some magical constructs, research notes, gold, spells, magical items, such as wands, scrolls, potions, the magical headband, everything."

"Lady Fant, I trust that this satisfies your lust for information?"

[Janos seems a bit uncomfortable telling you this, especially when he talks about his ... corrupt country, as though he is ashamed by it. You feel he really wants you to do this task and that's why he cut back on the evasiveness and incompleteness of his stories.]

"Jack, do you have any idea what it takes to create a new spell? It takes a lot of time and a lot of money. What I pay you is not even half the price of a new spell...and that is why it is worth it. And obviously you have no idea about the price of 'spare copies' of a spell as well. Trust me when I say it is cheaper and quicker if I pay you to get it back than when I have to make a 'spare copy'."

"Now that this is out of the way, can we go, or are there other questions?"

 

[Jack Haggerty]

"Although I can't speak for Quickwhip here, it has less to do with high and mightiness," says Fant in a neutral tone, "than it does with what, I think, you're asking about. I do not wish to, how do you people, say it, 'get burned.'"

"My sentiments, precisely, Miss Fant, and pardon my misunderstandings. Seems we might have more in common than you might suspect, you and I."

"The spell that was stolen from me affects one house, tower, mansion or a castle and it bars a specific person from entering. The reason I don't take care of this myself is because that man barred me from his house. I cannot touch him unless he goes outside, which he never does...Because of the same spell, I cannot go inside to search for evidence, so I can't really turn him in."

"I suppose there's no way to simply blast the house? Seems to me, that with a house to protect, that spell'd be pretty useless, eh?"

"Jack, do you have any idea what it takes to create a new spell? It takes a lot of time and a lot of money. What I pay you is not even half the price of a new spell...and that is why it is worth it. And obviously you have no idea about the price of 'spare copies' of a spell as well. Trust me when I say it is cheaper and quicker if I pay you to get it back than when I have to make a 'spare copy'."

"Course I do. It seemed like a reasonable precaution to take for a wizard with any sense, though. Must be a pretty powerful spell for it to cost that much... How come you didn't use it to keep him out?"

 

[Thomas Hobbes]

Fant nods and leans back in her chair, satisfied. His story fit together well, and he didn't appear to be lying now, whatever his previous equivocation, evasion, and general sketchiness. Her previous fears- that they would be used to murder a rival and take the fall- haven't been totally allayed, but she's sure enough to go along now. Just one more question....

"This wizard sounds... powerful. Magical constructs, potent items... how are we expected to defeat him?"

 

[Janos Audron]

"Jack, I'd really appreciate it if you would stop doubting my intelligence. Blasting of the house is impossible, unless I acquire some non magical way to blast the house or hire a terribly expensive wizard to do the blasting for me. There is no way I can affect the house..."

"And the reason I haven't cast the spell to protect myself from him is because it requires an object which beloned to the person you want to keep out. He obviously had such an item, while I didn't."

"Lady Fant, this wizard we are talking about is not an evoker. I even doubt he memorizes attack spells, because I think most of his time is spent finding out what his brother had thought up, and my friend wrote his notes in a tongue not known to many. I have however two suggestions how you could handle it, though I'd rather discuss them once we are on our way."

 

[Thomas Hobbes]

"Aye, that is fair enough." She turns to the others. "If none of you have any objections, we can begin the," and she directs this last paticularly to Quickwhip,"'investigation'?"

 

[Mithreander]

Quickwhip, sitting back and watching the conversation, nearly drew his sword on the upstart man who seemed to lack any type of morality. Oh, Quickwhip had questions, and plenty of them.

"Janos, thank you for clearing up the political aspect of this mission, and in that regard I have a question for you? What is the law in regards to someone other then a wizard that kills a member of that council?" Quickwhip knows that it's fine for one swardsman to chellange and kill another. Happens all the time. But if anyone else did, the rest of the Swoprdsmen would hunt them down to the end of their days... unless the Swordsman challeged them in a matter of honor first and lost. That was completely legal.

"Also, you never did agre to pay us for our time, regardless of the death of the wizard. Maybe, I did not make myself clear. I require that my time is not wasted, and my time is expensive. You will pay us regardless of the outcome of the mission. In return I garentee that anything that was taken from you unlawfully will be returned, and furthermore, if this mage had killed his brother in cold blood that his brother will be avenged. You have my oath." Quickwhip smiles at the man, almost hoping that the man questions his oath, his fingers iching for his blade.

 

[Janos Audron]

"You are quite an intelligent man, Quickwhip, and I think you half suspect the answer yourself. Murder of a wizard is good for instant execution. However, you should not worry about that. I will make sure you are out of the country before any message reaches any official. You *do* have to be careful though not to leave any of your belongings behind. Clothes, a dagger, a vial that used to hold a potion, even arrows should be collected. Though very unlikely they would use such powerful magic to find you, you cannot be sure enough."

"I agree that a man's time is valuable. Should you not find enough evidence to kill him, I shall compensate your efforts though. I do, however, require my spell back. You can have a hundred gold pieces for investigating, four hundred for retrieval of the spell and the full five hundred if you avenge the death of my friend. Is that acceptable?"

 

[Mithreander]

Quickwhip smiles and nods. It seems that the Swordsmans word had been heard about here. "This I can agree with." He turns to the other group and says "I think we have discussed all that we need to discuss at this point. Are you ready to go?" Normally, Swordsmen only worked with other swordsmen, but, in this case, he's not in his country, so there are no other Swordsmen. You had to work with what the Goddess provides.