Shackled City - Chapter I

[Verbatim]

Zeric looked over at the dandy as he confessed his attempt at sleeping with a dwarven female, and wondered why some men could not find enjoyment with leaving well enough alone. Zeric thought of the two brief encounters he had experienced while serving under Hextor's flag, and while they had been arranged for his enjoyment, Zeric took little pleasure in knowing that the women had been with him out of fear for their life instead of their own free will.

~Thoughts of the flesh only lead to weakness, and weakness is not an option with the life of the children in peril...~

Zeric focused his attention back to his companions as Raven began to speak of her knowledge of the gnomish locksmith who worked on the locks for the orphanage.

"If you will lead me there, I will speak to the locksmith. However, if you feel that your presence will be a distraction to him, you are more than welcome to wait outside while I speak to him."

 

[kirinke]

Alinis frowns. "From the lines of this oracle? We can assume that the children are not meant to be sold as slaves, but rather as sacrifices to something.... Unpleasant to say the least. Who or what exactly is the 'Last Laugh?' Is it a thieve's organization of some sort? How can we identify them? Do you know their strengths or weaknesses?" she asks carefully. "Also, I have to ask this. Do you suspect anyone in high authority of supporting them, ones that we can ask pointed and uncomfortable questions to?"

 

[Manzanita]

Raven

"I can lead you there, Zeric. It does seem that the riddle would indicate that to be a good place to start. I will let you do the talking."

"As for the Last Laugh, they are but one of the thieves guilds in the city, and these men did represent it. It is widely suspected they have support within the highest eschelons of the city, but I wouldn't know who in particular we could confront, even if we wanted to. The Last Laugh is very dangerous. I would suggest avoiding direct confrontation for as long as possible."

 

[Majin]

"I thank you all for agreeing to help us in the matter. As you follow up on these leads and for as long as you work under the church's banner you will be awarded a 20% discount on any potion or spell services you may require through the church. If you are ever in need of help and I am not available you may also go to Alek Tercival, the temple's paladin protector. He will help you as I would."

"All we ask is that while assuming work as official emissaries of the church you all be on your best behavior, and represent us as such," she says, eyeing Zeric hard.

 

[hippocrachus]

"Do not worry, priestess; I'm sure we are all capable of minding our manners," the bard replies in a humorless tone, still having his doubts about the muscle-brained fighter with a chip on his shoulder.

 

[Jarval]

"I am happy to help with this matter, but I am a visitor to this city." Kiyoshi says. "I would like to know more of the laws of this city, so I may 'be on my best behaviour'."

 

[kirinke]

"Don't worry, I can be as well behaved as the next elf when the situation calls for it," Alinis smiles. "But seriously, I will help you rescue those children." she adds.

 

[Manzanita]

Raven

Raven bows to the priestess. "I have put my old ways behind me. I will help as best I can. Who would like to accompany me to Ghelbs? Or are there other leads we could investigate as well?"

 

[Majin]

"You do not need to be overly worried Kiyoshi, we have no special laws here in Cauldron that one would not know of from any other cities in this land," she eyes Zeric again while saying, "I think keeping your behavior above the actions of what Legate Zeric did earlier would be a useful gauge to weigh you actions by," she smiles.

 

[kirinke]

"I think we should keep together at least until we know the lay of the land better. Seperately, this last laugh organization could pick us off easily enough. Together, we're a harder target to tackle," Alinis offers.