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Message: <blockquote data-quote="talien" data-source="post: 4541583" data-attributes="member: 3285">Silence, Silver, and Secrets: Part 2a – LasherThe Velvet Glove was an innocuous-looking establishment in the Trade Quarter. Upon entering, however, it quickly became obvious that it was no ordinary public house. Beyond the bar was what looked like a fighting ring, a roped-off area whose floor was stained with blood and sweat. Around the ring sat a few benches, presumably for spectators. A match wasn’t taking place at the moment, though judging by the hardened appearance of the patrons and the way they were constantly sizing one another up, a bout could erupt at any time. Beldin the Solani dwarf seated himself at the bar. He knew his way around a mug or two.  Seated next to him was a most unusual sight: a dark-kin. What made this particular dark-kin unusual was not his heritage, but rather his clothing, which was a close approximation of the uniform of the Knights of the Red Fist. “I’m looking for a body,” Beldin ordered some ale.  He and Sebastian had begun combing Nishanpur for Haron von Grebel’s corpse; without it, the Nierites would never stop hunting them. “Know where I might find one?”The dark-kin looked over at him.  He was a young man, not much above twenty years old. “Name’s Ayrus Dhat.  And you are?”“Beldin Soulforge,” said the dwarf. “You with the Knights of the Red Fist?”“I am.”  Ayrus nodded deferentially. “A mere stable hand, but I am honored to be a member.”Beldin’s brows knitted together.  He didn’t like talking to Nierites, especially about such a sensitive topic.“You must be looking for the Commander’s corpse,” Ayrus said matter-of-factly.Beldin took a sip from a mug the bartender provided.  “I might.”“You and the rest of the Nierite army.  I wouldn’t try too hard though.  Seems that they caught one of the murderer’s compatriots; nearly caught the killer himself, but he’s a wily fellow.”Beldin nearly spat out the contents of his mug.  “Oh?”“Yeah, a val’Abebi, right?  They caught his Milandisian friend.  And the Nierites like nothing more than capturing a Milandisian after the defeat of Leonydas’ army. You know him?”“I know of him,” Beldin said carefully. “They think this Kham guy is the leader of a rebellion they staged.  He’s obviously organized enough to coordinate a break out from prison; then there was the incident with the Burning Man…”Beldin nodded.  “I heard.  You think he’s behind that too?”“The Autocrat thinks so, and that’s all that matters,” said Ayrus.  “Hey!” shouted a gruff voice from across the bar.  “Hey, you!  Dwarf!  You’re Beldin, right?”Beldin turned around.  “Who wants to know?”A grinning dark-kin with pitch-black skin and bright white horns glared down at him.  “Name’s Marekal.  I heard about you.  You came over here from de islands with a couple of Freeporters—“Beldin hopped off the bench. Before the rival dark-kin could finger him as a compatriot of Kham’s, he shoved one pudgy finger into the dark-kin’s chest.  “You looking for trouble?”The dark-kin grinned a mouthful of jagged teeth.  “Oh yeah, you’ve got to be de same guy.  You’re de dwarf who beat Aggro!  I fought dat orc.  He’s one mean son of a bitch.  But I beat him.  And if I can beat him, I can beat you!”Beldin handed his axe to Ayrus.  “Hold on to this for a moment.”  He turned back to big dark-kin. “I’m used to beating hunks of metal into something useful.  Let’s see what you’ve got.”</blockquote>

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