NOW LIVE! Today's the day you meet your new best friend. You don’t have to leave Wolfy behind... In 'Pets & Sidekicks' your companions level up with you!

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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Kobold Stew" data-source="post: 4809126" data-attributes="member: 23484">"...which is how the Duke himself found himself in Her Majesty's debt." The laughter around the table confirmed the recognition of the situation's awkwardness. "So he needed a hired blade, of which of course there are many, and he needed a threatening face...", at this Lord Baltimore pulled back the lips on his wide jaw to reveal his tusks, "...and he needed discretion. At the time, I was a mere slave -- a condition I resented at the time, to be sure, but the dwarven economy depends on their work, I understand -- plus there was the opportunity for freedom. And the Duke was mine. Lord Baltimore reaches for his drink, a glass of wine, and takes a modest sip. He pauses, savoring the bouquet, before resuming his tale."What he didn't know is that these humans had sold their village out. (Such betrayals are common in the Caradoc hills, I fear.) And so he didn't need a brute, but nor a blade, but a benefactor." His hands open wide, an expansive gesture to all in the tavern who would care to listen, "I was to be that benefactor."The thin mustache the hobgoblin wears is carefully groomed, though the whiskers below his chin are thick and coarse, and bristle as a pelt, extending up his cheeks. The whiskers do not cover the scars on his face. His voice is calm and reassuring, the diction impeccable. The story continues, a tale of comic misunderstandings and diplomatic intrigue, of court intrigue and a series of propmotions, and Lord Baltimore seems so convincing. He defers to his audience from time to time -- "...now, i speak no dwarven, but the words sounded like this...", "...do you own slaves yourself?...", "...in the face of Her Majesty's beauty, what would you have done?..." -- and by the end, a tale in which a hobgoblin slave brokers a peace treaty with an orcish hoard, Lord Baltimore adjusts his glass, the last ounce or two of wine swirling around the bottom. "That is why his Majesty has sent me. I am his ambassador and I carry his letters of marque. Your confusion was natural, and of course I forgive the trespass. It was not His Majesty whom you intended to attack, I understand well. His Majesty feels that a negotiator is what is needed. Someone who speaks their language, knows their culture..., and here Lord Baltimore hesitates, and adds a wry grin, "...and that is something for which He feels I am uniquely qualified.""Of course, when negotiating, one must do so from a position of strength, and so a blade can offer that confidence. I know where my confidence lies."</blockquote>

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