Not With a Bang, I: Its Own Reward

[Zerth]

Baril sits down, but like Arkan, he is suspicious. When offered tea he actually won't drink any of it, although he's trying to fake as he did (bluff +5).

 

[Rybaer]

Grinder takes in the details of the room with a scrutinizing eye.

"I don't like this one bit," Grinder mutters under his breath for the benefit of any companion close by. "Just ain't right - humans and goblins, associatin' together. And this civil behavior from a bunch o' thieves..."

 

[Sam]

Arkan does not sit. She edges closer to Grunlor. "Can you tell us, Paladin, if these men are evil?" she whispers. "This is very strange. I hope we have done the right thing to come here."

Grunlor accepts the tea, but before drinking, again casts a discerning gaze at the people in the room, searching for the corrupting radiance of evil.

 

[LazarusLong42]

Grunlor scans the room, turning his gaze to each of the two remaining men in turn, seeing no trace of evil in any of them. Shortly, the man who had answered the door returns from one of the corridors with a tall man in a dressing gown. The tall man is middle-aged, and has only a fringe of greying hair left encircling his head. (Grunlor sees no either of the two men entering the room).

His grey eyes are piercing, as if he can see into the soul of each of you. He looks at the seven of you slowly, a disinterested look on his face, ending with Grunlor. He smiles wryly, then speaks with a deep voice: "Well, laides, gentlemen. Now that we all know that neither side is inherently evil, can we sit down and talk like civilized people? Will you at least let me speak a moment? Good." He continues without pausing to let you answer. "Welcome to the Mettelford branch of the Society of the Irregulars. This is a temporary outpost of ours, really; we've helped these goblins before, and they've been nice enough to lend us some space as a hideout of sorts--because we've been waiting for you."

He notices the queer looks on your faces. "Well, all right, not for you particularly. But... well, let's start from the beginning. You probably believe us thieves and goblin-collaborators, correct?"

Grinder says, "You're bloody well right! Ye've stolen something that--"

Arnis interrupts with a wave of his hand. "We've stolen this gem, right?" He produces a gem exactly like the one Melian showed you from a pocket inside his dressing-gown. "Yes, you're right. We stole it, but not for the reasons you may think. Our profit is not in gold, but in information. And, quite simply, we wanted to know what Melian would do to get this gem back. We were hoping to have a... chat... with him." He pauses for effect. "We can discuss details in a moment, but what would you say to this? I will double whatever he paid you to retrieve this--if you will help me to keep it out of his hands."

 

[Zerth]

Baril listens carefully to every word Arnis speaks. He's trying to find any familiar names or things. OOC: Has Baril ever heard about the Society of Irregulars? What about Arnis?

"That's a nice speech and an intriguing offer", Baril begins, "I'm not that surprised Melian wasn't compeletely honest with us, no that was quite obvious from the very beginning", the bard continues. "But that's not the point, we have a deal with Melian and I have no doubt he wouldn't keep his part of the bargain, if we deliver the gem to him."

Baril smiles cunningly, "But you are willing to double our pay without even knowing what Melian promised us? Now isn't that an offer every greedy mercenary would take?" The bard pauses to look at Arnis, then continues, "Maybe, maybe not. I've been around enough to know that with more gold comes more trouble. Now, I can't say I'm not interested, but please tell us about the trouble ahead, if we chose to take your offer... Who is this Melian and why is the gem so important?"

 

[Rybaer]

"Whether for fun or for profit, theft is still theft," Grinder says. "I'm hoping that the rest of your story is a really compelling one."

 

[Sam]

Grunlor

"But that's not the point, we have a deal with Melian and I have no doubt he wouldn't keep his part of the bargain, if we deliver the gem to him."

"I agree with Baril." adds Grunlor, nodding. "Melian asked us to retreive a stolen gem. You agree that the gem is not yours. Why would we dishonor ourselves and become accomplices in your theft?"

 

[LazarusLong42]

"I agree with Baril." adds Grunlor, nodding. "Melian asked us to retreive a stolen gem. You agree that the gem is not yours. Why would we dishonor ourselves and become accomplices in your theft?"

Arnis smiles. "Well, you see... the gem does not belong to him either. When these gems were first created--and Melian was there for it, as was the founder of the Irregulars--the creators decided that no one could own the gems. The five creators each took two to put them in safe-keeping.

"This gem was given to Frenis the druid for safekeeping. Melian killed her and took it. Accomplices to theft, or acccessories to murder? I'll let you choose."

OOC: Evil DM laugh...

Oh, and Zerth: No, Baril knows nothing of either the Irregulars or Arnis. Rolled two 3's for you, which didn't help much.

 

[Sam]

Grunlor

"And why should we believe you over Melian? He said this gem was a family heirloom that went back 10 generations. You say he's lying, and killing. Yet I sensed no evil in him." Grunlor sips his tea and continues, "Perhaps you should explain what you mean by all this, and who these 'Irregulars' are."

 

[Rybaer]

Grinder shakes his head, as if trying to clear it of confusion.

"Er, let me get this straight," he says. "You're accusing Melian of the theft of something that doesn't belong to anyone? Furthermore, you expect us to believe your story over his...when you're the one associatin' with goblins?

"Call me dubious, but so far you seem more like a sissy thief with a colorful imagination who's afraid to face the music for his crime. I'll listen to yer story, but if it doesn't resonate with some mighty strong truth, don't expect me to be buying it."