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Shilsen's Eberron SH (Finished - The Last Word : 9/20/15)
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<blockquote data-quote="shilsen" data-source="post: 3250340" data-attributes="member: 198"><p>Six has been added to the Rogues Gallery <a href="http://www.enworld.org/showthread.php?p=3250336#post3250336" target="_blank">here</a>.</p><p></p><p>And now, going back a little in time, to see what actually happened to Gareth and Nameless:</p><p></p><p>* * * * * *</p><p><strong>In the Hands of Daask</strong></p><p>Earlier…</p><p></p><p>The first thing Gareth and Nameless are aware of is the sensation of having unseen people holding them down while someone forces a thick, incredibly smelly, bitter liquid down their throats. Unfortunately, being blindfolded, near naked, and still groggy from their wounds, which apparently have been tended only enough to keep them alive, there is no way to resist short of letting the person drown them with the liquid. In fact, struggle or not, the process itself is enough to send them back into unconsciousness, the last memory being the nauseating feeling of the liquid burning down their throats.</p><p></p><p>The next time they awake, it is less painful. It is to the warmth of healing magic, if a limited amount, closing their wounds and bringing them back to reality. It is a painful one, accompanied by a churning in their gut as if they had eaten – or drunk – something that disagreed very strongly with them. They open their eyes to see they are sitting in a dark room, lit dimly by a lantern, in a pair of chairs. Both Nameless and Gareth are tied to their respective seats, with hands pinioned to the armrests, and are dressed in only their underclothes. From the corners of their eyes, they can make out that a pair of people – or creatures – stands behind and beside each of them. Even if they could not see them, the cold feeling of steel pressed to the back of their necks would be unmistakable. </p><p></p><p>Across the table from them, mostly shrouded in shadow, is a humanoid figure. Nameless is unable to see her features, but Gareth, able to see in the dark, sees that she is a human woman, perhaps in her early thirties. Her long hair hangs open, framing a strong, rather than attractive, face. Behind the woman stands a figure that even in the shadows that make vision difficult for Nameless, is clearly a minotaur, and a particularly muscular one. Gareth, able to make out more details, thinks that he is very likely the one they saw in Shamukaar, the Daask lieutenant called Torarg Blackhorn.</p><p></p><p>An elderly human stands between Gareth and Nameless, and he removes his hands from their shoulders. He looks at the woman and says, “They are healed. But not too much.” The woman nods and he turns away, heading towards a door to the right of the two prisoners. As he opens and steps through it, there is a glimpse of a dark hallway beyond. Gareth also notices the holy symbol hanging openly on his chest. It is the black, twisted symbol of the Mockery, the deity of dark magic and the corruption of nature.</p><p></p><p>As the door closes, the woman speaks. Her voice is smooth and pleasant. “First, let’s make one thing clear. Please don’t try to cast any spells. You’re not likely to be able to, considering your current condition, and even if you could, you’d never get it out fast enough to prevent a blade removing your head. And that would be regrettable.” She leans forward slightly, clasping her hands in front of her. “Tell me, Gareth Byron Deneith and Nameless, what do you have against Daask?”</p><p></p><p>Gareth instinctively struggles with his bonds, and asks, “Where are we located? And who are you?” He quickly realizes they put some effort into the bonds. He could break out if he had a couple of minutes of uninterrupted time to work on them. Unfortunately, that’s not the case here, as evidenced by a growl from the rear and a quick, “Don’t do that,” from the woman. She looks past Gareth and says to the two behind him, “If he tries to get out again, smack him. But no killing.”</p><p></p><p>She looks back at Gareth and smiles, though there’s little humor in it. “You are ... elsewhere from Malleon’s Gate. And I am the woman who’s asking you the questions. If you want to leave alive, and let me say now that I have no intention of hurting you if we can reach an understanding, then you will answer my questions.”</p><p></p><p>She leans forward again. “Let me explain my question a little better, so that you understand. This is the second time you have attacked a Daask establishment ... no, make that third, since you were the ones who took our payroll. Why are you so interested in attacking us? As far as I know, Daask has not bothered you in any way.”</p><p></p><p>Gareth stops struggling, and replies, “I wouldn’t say Daask has never hurt me or my friends in the past. Your guild members have stolen from us, and we never did reclaim all of our items. But a better answer to your question – what we have against Daask - your ever annoying presence in Sharn hurting those who cannot stand up to you. No better then Boromar.” He snorts, “As for not killing us, I highly doubt you will not.”</p><p></p><p>The minotaur growls angrily, but the woman waves a hand and he falls silent. “Don’t be silly,” she says, irritation clear in her voice. “If I was going to kill you, why would I be talking to you? Believe me, your coversation isn’t <em>that</em> scintillating.”</p><p></p><p>She gives a sigh and seems to compose herself. “So this is all some great heroic effort to clean up the city? If, as you say, we are no better than the Boromars, why don’t you spread the love and go bother them somewhat? I know, I know - there is no arguing with holy crusaders, so I shouldn’t bother. According to some,” and she glances at the minotaur, “I should just kill you and be done with it.”</p><p></p><p>“But, however, and I am being completely honest here, you face me with a big problem. I could have you killed right now. But you have powerful friends. Not just the two which escaped and that druid Luna, but others you know in the city. For all I know, killing you will send them seeking revenge on us. And while I can deal with that, I would much rather not.”</p><p></p><p>Gareth interrupts, “Yes, I think a few people would be bothered if something happened to Nameless and myself, people who are above bribery.” </p><p></p><p>The woman simply continues, “So, I have a proposition for you. I will let you go free, with all of your equipment and money returned to you, in return for a promise that you will never bother Daask again. What say you?”</p><p></p><p>She glances at Nameless. “And you, mage?”</p><p></p><p>“Can I think on your offer?” replies Gareth, sarcastically. “Wait, let me see, save myself on the promise that I never come by your way again – meaning you would have leave of the city – and me and my friends whenever you want – and you would have my promise of non-retaliation.” Gareth finally shuts up when Nameless, who has been a little groggier and responded more slowly, gives him a dirty look.</p><p></p><p>Instead of speaking directly to the woman, Nameless addresses the minotaur, using the time to collect his thoughts and asses the situation. “Ah, Torarg. We meet again, though under rather less pleasant circumstances. I take it you’re not quite as pleased with this display as you were with our last one. Shamukaar and his bar doing okay, I trust?”</p><p></p><p>The woman looks over at Torarg, whose face now bears a look of bovine confusion. “Shamukaar and the bar are...,” he begins, before switching subjects. “If I’d known the trouble you’d cause, I’d have taken care of you outside Shamukaar myself.” The tone isn’t that angry, however.</p><p></p><p>Nameless nods and then turns to the woman. “We don’t really have anything against Daask. Well, obviously Gareth is still a bit put out over his sword being stolen by some of your flunkies. But mostly it was just a slow day and we had some new toys to try out. Your drug den was convenient and unlikely to be missed. If you can point us towards some Boromar drug dens that would be appreciated. They don’t seem to be quite as blatant about these things as you do.”</p><p></p><p>“I must say though, I was really very impressed with the effectiveness of your defenses and troops. You must follow the hobgoblin maxim that troops should fear being eaten by their officers more than they fear their enemies.”</p><p></p><p>“As for promising to leave you alone forever, obviously that’s not a possibility for my friend here. But we could negotiate a temporary truce, for say 6 months or so. Many of my companions are easily distracted by other things and we may find other things to occupy our time.” </p><p></p><p>“I am guessing however, that this would be insufficient to persuade you to let us go. So perhaps we can scratch your back as well. If you have a Boromar target you’d like destroyed. Nothing ambiguous, mind you, my comrade here doesn’t deal well with ambiguity. Someplace chock full of nicely black-hearted Boromars engaged in some sort of socially reprehensible activities. Destruction is what we are best at after all, recent slipups aside.”</p><p></p><p>The woman listens intently, and then a slow grin crosses her face. “I’d heard that you were a strange man, who summons weird monsters, but I’ll give you this – you’re smart.” She looks at Gareth and says, “You could learn some diplomacy from this guy.”</p><p></p><p>She turns back to Nameless, and says dryly, “Honored as I am to know that we were chosen as a convenient place to try out your new toys, avoiding that is in my best interests, and presumably avoiding death is in yours.” Her eyes flicker to Gareth, and back again.</p><p></p><p>“As you say, we can look after ourselves, and better than the Boromars can against such as you. Still, you’ve done a lot of damage to us, and since killing you would just lead to more, I’d like to avoid it. A pity that you can’t promise to leave us be, but even a truce of 6 months would be very preferable to the current situation.”</p><p></p><p>She grins. “And a truce during which you can bother the Boromars would be eminently preferable. I can easily suggest a few places – and ways – you can hurt them. Their establishments are only less blatant than ours in that they’re often dealing with a ... better class of client.” Her tone makes it clear that she isn’t using ‘better’ as a compliment. </p><p></p><p>“I can promise you this. If you do not attack a Daask establishment or member for 6 months, I will ensure that we will not bother any of you.” She glances at Gareth and says, “Other than to offend your sensibilities, but that can’t be helped. So – do we have an understanding? I suggest you listen to your friend here.” She indicates Nameless with a nod.</p><p></p><p>Gareth, chafing at this conversation, ignores her for a moment while looking at the minotaur. “Ah, my old friend, we should have a drink and talk about old times. There is a lot of information about the lower areas of Sharn that we could use.” Half expecting a blow to the head, he adds, “I guess you do not drink alcohol anymore. That is fine.” </p><p></p><p>Torarg again looks a little confused, as if unsure what to say. He finally settles for a shake of his massive head and a comment of “You are strange.”</p><p></p><p>Gareth looks back at the woman. “So, would you please explain the details – how would this exactly work?”</p><p></p><p>Hiding her irritation with little success, she replies, “Very simple, actually. You agree, as Nameless here said, not to attack any Daask members or outposts for six months, and in return, I release you, alive and unharmed with all belongings intact, and make sure that no Daask members attack you five – I believe it’s five – personally. Simple, as I said.”</p><p></p><p>“Those terms are acceptable to me. Death is so... inconvenient.” Nameless stares at her as he says this, his gaze backed by the full force of his growing insanity, which he normally does to reveal to others. </p><p></p><p>“Then there’s the expense of coming back from the dead and it does have a way of diminishing one. There’s also the murderous rampage we’d have to go on to recover our equipment. It takes so much time... and leaves so many bodies....” He sighs. </p><p></p><p>“We just got back into Sharn too, after chasing down and killing a pair of Rakshasas that stole something from us. We had to chase them hundreds of miles into the Demon Wastes and fighting in an active volcano is.... Well, I can bore you with war stories some other time.”</p><p></p><p>Abruptly turning to Gareth, he continues. “Gareth, when are the drapes we’re making from the Rakshasas going to be ready? Next week, was it? I forget. Moving into a new place and all that. I’m still disappointed that we lost the white one; he would really have gone well in the Solarium.”</p><p></p><p>Seeing Nameless’ tactics, Gareth plays along. “Yes, it is a shame the wall of lava burned the white one down – I told you not to have Luna push them in there. I needed a new cloak for the winter, and it would have made a wonderful present for some girl.”</p><p></p><p>The woman does not look intimidated or worried so much as slightly off-put by Nameless’ words and expressions. She listens and watches the byplay between Nameless and Gareth, and then comments, “I had been told your group was ... unusual, but you two seem especially so.” She shrugs. “Presumably an advantage in, or result of, your line of work.”</p><p></p><p>Nameless suddenly asks, “By the way approximately how long has it been since you captured us? If it’s been longer than an hour or so, I hope you won’t hold it against us.”</p><p></p><p>She smiles. “No, I don’t hold it against you – yet. And it’s not been that long since we captured you. You’ll find out soon enough.”</p><p></p><p>Nameless shrugs. “In any case, I’d been meaning to go pound some Boromar establishments. I find things run better if a certain... balance is maintained and our activities had been hurting your group, without a counterbalancing blow to them.”</p><p></p><p>Gareth nods slowly. “All right. If your group does not harass mine, and you give us locations of some Boromar outposts, I would be willing to put a truce.”</p><p></p><p>“Good. As I said, we will not harass you in any way if you leave us alone. And as for Boromar outposts, I will be very happy to give you a number of locations. You can amuse yourself with them, as you see fit.” She smiles again. “I am glad we can come to such an understanding, and....”</p><p></p><p>Even as she is speaking, Gareth attempts to <em>detect thoughts</em> and discovers that he can only detect one mind ahead of him, even though he can clearly see both Torarg and the woman. It is as if one is immune to it or protected in some way. Gareth realizes that the one mind he detects is less intelligent than him, and surmises that it is the minotaur’s.</p><p></p><p>He then concentrates on reading Torarg’s mind. The minotaur immediately raises a hand to his head and gives an angry bellow. “One of them used magic on me, Cavallah!”</p><p></p><p>The woman identified as Cavallah rises, glaring at both Gareth and Nameless. She quickly fixes her attention on Gareth and says, to someone behind him, “Knock him out.” Immediately, Gareth feels a powerful blow to the head and everything goes black.</p><p></p><p>Cavallah looks coldly at Nameless and says, “I hope for your sake, and those of your companions, that you are smarter than this fool. Luckily, so far, you seem to be.” </p><p></p><p>She then looks back at the guards behind Gareth, and says to one, “You can revive him now.” The guard, who Nameless can now see is a gnoll, roughly opens Gareth’s mouth and pours a potion down his throat. After a couple of seconds, his eyes flutter open. The guard steps back into position and Cavallah says, “That was <em>really</em> stupid. Try something like that again and I will remove two of your fingers.”</p><p></p><p>Then she pauses, takes a deep breath to compose herself, reseats herself, and says, “That was unfortunate. It also leads me to believe that you don’t fully understand the depth of my seriousness. Believe me, if you lie to me, I will see you dead. And those who you hold dear in this city.” </p><p></p><p>“You are powerful and have many resources; we both know that. But there are some things that money and power cannot help with. If you lie to me and break your word, I promise you this, I will set House Tarkanan on you. And I will ask for them to use a Keeper’s Fang.”</p><p></p><p>Gareth does not recognize House Tarkanan, and neither does Nameless, but the latter recognizes the name. 1500 years ago, there was a huge conflict across Khorvaire, where the pure dragonmarked families exterminated the holders of mixed and aberrant dragonmarks. During the War of the Mark, Lord Halas Tarkanan was a brilliant tactician who led the forces of those with aberrant dragonmarks. Despite being heavily outnumbered, he waged a long war, seizing Sharn and taking it as his capital. Finally, sheer numbers defeated him, and he and his wife (called the Lady of the Plague) released horrific magical forces, destroying much of Sharn and themselves. Only 500 years later was Sharn rebuilt. </p><p></p><p>In view of this history, the idea of a House Tarkanan would, of course, be ludicrous. </p><p></p><p>A Keeper’s Fang, however, they both recognize. By reputation. It is a special type of dragonshard bound weapon, which not only kills but also automatically sends the soul of the slain to the domain of the Keeper, the Sovereign Lord of Death and Decay. The victim cannot be brought back to life by any method known. No weapon is more illegal – or dangerous. </p><p></p><p>Cavallah continues, “However good you are, none of you are immune to a dedicated assassination attempt. And neither are your friends and acquaintances. I believe the going rate to kill someone of your abilities would be 5000 galifars. It is a lot of money, but then again, the resources used in capturing you today were over that amount, and that doesn’t include the loss of a number of my soldiers, especially the elite ones. If you had completely destroyed our establishment, it would have been much much more costly to us. So, you see, it will be very much a justifiable expense.” </p><p></p><p>“I am telling you this to underline how serious I am. You are a problem I do not want to have to deal with, and if you are willing not to bother me, I will not bother you. Now, without further foolishness, do we have a deal?”</p><p></p><p>In a severely groggy and slurred voice, Gareth mutters, “Hmm – that felt good. So I didn’t hear, since I have this ringing in my head – what is it you said?”</p><p></p><p>Cavallah, ignoring him, looks coldly at Nameless and says, “I hope for your sake, and those of your companions, that you are smarter than this fool. Luckily, so far, you seem to be.”</p><p></p><p>Nameless shakes his head sadly. “My apologies. I’ve tried to break him of this habit, but he seems incapable of learning when it comes to this. Actually, could you hit him once or twice more for me, please? I’d do it myself, but I’m kind of tied up at the moment. I wish he’d learn some manners or discretion at least. But that’s likely to be the work of several more years.”</p><p></p><p>“I have had no doubts as to your seriousness. I don’t think he does either, unfortunately he has this compulsion to try probing other people. Despite the fact that he keeps getting caught, for some reason he thinks he can get away with it. However, despite his ‘limitations’, he does honor his word once given. As do I.”</p><p></p><p>“I assure you I have no doubts as to your seriousness or ... Wait. Did you say only 5,000 galifars? That’s it? Or... do you get a volume discount? No. Never mind... that’s not important. We have a deal as far as I am concerned.” </p><p></p><p>“Gareth, if you can stop being rude for a moment...”</p><p></p><p>Gareth looks at Nameless for a moment and wonders why he is basically telling them what Gareth did. He then says in a flat tone, “Fine, when you release us then your terms shall be met. Dying here serves no purpose and is counterproductive to the greater good.”</p><p></p><p>Cavallah listens with some amusement to Nameless’ comments and then nods as Gareth agrees. “Good. Unfortunately, you’ll have to suffer a little discomfort, since we can’t risk you seeing anything of our operation here. We will have to render you both unconscious. You’ll be revived when back above ground and will be free to go your way.”</p><p></p><p>At this point, Torarg clears his throat loudly. “Yes?” asks Cavallah, turning to him.</p><p></p><p>The minotaur steps forward and begins to whisper something to her. Due to the volume of his tones, certain snippets float across to Nameless and Gareth. “... volume of damage ... costs ... dead gnolls ... may have to be abandoned ... ogres ...”</p><p></p><p>Cavallah frowns slightly and then sighs. “Yes, you are right.” She turns back to Gareth and Nameless as Torarg steps back, and says, “As Torarg just reminded me, your actions today have caused a significant loss of resources to us, and may cause us more damage in the long term. Hence, I’m sorry to say that, to recover somewhat of damage you inflicted, we will have to retain a certain amount of your wealth.”</p><p></p><p>“Each of you, I gather, has an account at the Kundarak bank. We will take care of removing an appropriate amount from your accounts. Since you are evidently very wealthy people, the amount taken should hardly cause a problem for you.”</p><p></p><p>“Unless you would prefer me to retain some of the valuable equipment you were carrying. That’s a little less helpful to us than actual money, but I can find someone or other who would benefit from it, if not sell it outright. I would, of course, take significantly minor items.” </p><p></p><p>“What would you prefer?”</p><p></p><p>Gareth replies coldly, “I would prefer our previous arrangement. For one, we are going to help you against Boromar – that in and of itself has a high value add. For second, your fence has cost us a lot of money in the past - thousands of gold. I would say that makes us even”</p><p></p><p>More calmly, Nameless says, “Now you’re disappointing me. I thought we had reached a deal. Is this how you live up to your end of a bargain? Nothing about the damages inflicted is new information. Furthermore, the longer you keep us here haggling over prices, the more likely our comrades are likely to start ripping apart your installations looking for us and they are going to be hitting hard and taking no chances. You did surprise us the first time around, but this time they’ll have Luna with them....”</p><p></p><p>Cavallah simply looks at the pair for the moment. Torarg begins to say something, but she waves him silent. “You have a point. Two points, actually. Not the one about the fence, however. He was a freelancer, doing business with us among others, and what he did with your items had nothing to do with us.”</p><p></p><p>“Anyway, as I said, you have a point. The original bargain it is. I wish you much success bothering the Boromars and in your travels, especially if you take them far from this city.” She pauses and then smiles, this time with real amusement. “I’m told that you might find Droaam to have a particularly bracing climate.”</p><p></p><p>Cavallah rises to her feet. “Anyhow, I hope to not have to see you ever again, and definitely not for the next six months. Goodbye.” She nods to the gnolls behind the pair and the last thing Nameless and Gareth feel is something hitting the backs of their heads.</p><p></p><p>…</p><p></p><p>When they next open their eyes, they are lying inside a large, dilapidated building, which looks like an abandoned warehouse. There is the sound of voices and movement outside, though some distance away. A quick check reveals that they are both dressed in their usual clothing, with all their equipment on them. Nothing has been removed. The only change is a folded parchment in Nameless’ hand, which contains a list of about twenty names, all of establishments and locations around the city. Some of the entries have an attached name or two, and/or a short description, such as “officially dream parlor; actually dreamlily den” or “business funded by Boromars.” </p><p></p><p>Both Gareth and Nameless remain seriously wounded, however. Gareth uses all of his remaining magic to heal the two of them. “Now let’s get out of here.”</p><p></p><p>Emerging from the building, the pair find that it is actually an abandoned warehouse, one among a few others. The area around them contains many more warehouses, most of them active, and it is the transport of goods in and out of them that Gareth and Nameless heard from inside the building. A little checking reveals that they are in Cogsgate, in Lower Tavick’s Landing.</p><p></p><p>The two head back up to Upper Tavick’s and the group’s house up in Ocean View. The fairly bedraggled appearance of the two draws some dirty looks from passersby once they hit Upper Tavick’s and especially as they near their home, and they are stopped twice, once by Deneith guards and once by local watchmen, before being allowed to go on.</p><p></p><p>Arriving at home, they find that the other three members of the group are nowhere to be found. Signs indicate that Luna left in a hurry, so, in all likelihood, the rescue attempt is currently under way.</p><p></p><p>Gareth says to Nameless, “Guess they took too long releasing us. Ah well – I am going up to my room. I need to crash.”</p><p></p><p>Nameless waits till he leaves, casts a <em>cat’s grace</em> and then <em>teleport</em>s back to the drug den to stop his companions.</p><p></p><p>As he casts the spell, Nameless feels the usual sense of his stomach dropping out of his shoes as he is displaced and reappears instantly 6 miles across the city. Unfortunately, since he is <em>teleport</em>ing to a place he has visited only once, his memory of it isn’t quite good enough for a perfect arrival.</p><p></p><p>When Nameless reappears, everything around him is pitch-black. It is also solid. There is a moment of surprise, followed by realization that he is inside some object, and then a tearing sensation of excruciating pain, as if shards of stone were being ripped through his internal organs, as the magic hurls him through the object towards the closest open space. </p><p></p><p>To the horrified stare of a passing pair of goblins, Nameless emerges from the stone of the huge base of a nearby pillar, his clothes ripped and with blood trickling from myriad small wounds [OOC: 30 pts of damage]. The goblins promptly flee.</p><p></p><p>Nameless realizes, after dazedly looking around, that he is down the street and around the corner from the drug den. Hurrying to it, he finds that his companions have definitely been here. What looks like a makeshift barricade is smashed into pieces, and the corpses of four gnolls lie beyond it.</p><p></p><p>Another pair of goblins, these two in ragged clothes, are quietly trying to leave the main chamber when Nameless arrives. They take one look at him, give a shriek and fall to their knees, gabbling in goblin as fast as they can about how happy they are to see him alive, how they never did anything to him, how his friends are looking for him down the hole, and how they’d really really appreciate it if he didn’t kill them.</p><p></p><p>Nameless barely stops to guzzle a healing potion, correct the goblins’ grammar, and <em>fly</em> down the hole. After a minute or so of flying as fast as he can through the winding tunnel, he sees lights ahead and recognizes his companions’ voices, evidently speaking to someone. Nameless yells a warning that he’s coming and that they shouldn’t kill anyone, and flies up to join them.</p><p></p><p>Luckily, neither Luna nor the gnolls respond precipitously to the sound. Once Nameless reaches them, with him to corroborate the cloaked man’s story, the discussion ends quickly. The Angels return through the tunnels to the battered drug den and leaving. The Daask members follow, keeping a fair distance between them, evidently intending to restore the operation once the adventurers are gone.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="shilsen, post: 3250340, member: 198"] Six has been added to the Rogues Gallery [url=http://www.enworld.org/showthread.php?p=3250336#post3250336]here[/url]. And now, going back a little in time, to see what actually happened to Gareth and Nameless: * * * * * * [b]In the Hands of Daask[/b] Earlier… The first thing Gareth and Nameless are aware of is the sensation of having unseen people holding them down while someone forces a thick, incredibly smelly, bitter liquid down their throats. Unfortunately, being blindfolded, near naked, and still groggy from their wounds, which apparently have been tended only enough to keep them alive, there is no way to resist short of letting the person drown them with the liquid. In fact, struggle or not, the process itself is enough to send them back into unconsciousness, the last memory being the nauseating feeling of the liquid burning down their throats. The next time they awake, it is less painful. It is to the warmth of healing magic, if a limited amount, closing their wounds and bringing them back to reality. It is a painful one, accompanied by a churning in their gut as if they had eaten – or drunk – something that disagreed very strongly with them. They open their eyes to see they are sitting in a dark room, lit dimly by a lantern, in a pair of chairs. Both Nameless and Gareth are tied to their respective seats, with hands pinioned to the armrests, and are dressed in only their underclothes. From the corners of their eyes, they can make out that a pair of people – or creatures – stands behind and beside each of them. Even if they could not see them, the cold feeling of steel pressed to the back of their necks would be unmistakable. Across the table from them, mostly shrouded in shadow, is a humanoid figure. Nameless is unable to see her features, but Gareth, able to see in the dark, sees that she is a human woman, perhaps in her early thirties. Her long hair hangs open, framing a strong, rather than attractive, face. Behind the woman stands a figure that even in the shadows that make vision difficult for Nameless, is clearly a minotaur, and a particularly muscular one. Gareth, able to make out more details, thinks that he is very likely the one they saw in Shamukaar, the Daask lieutenant called Torarg Blackhorn. An elderly human stands between Gareth and Nameless, and he removes his hands from their shoulders. He looks at the woman and says, “They are healed. But not too much.” The woman nods and he turns away, heading towards a door to the right of the two prisoners. As he opens and steps through it, there is a glimpse of a dark hallway beyond. Gareth also notices the holy symbol hanging openly on his chest. It is the black, twisted symbol of the Mockery, the deity of dark magic and the corruption of nature. As the door closes, the woman speaks. Her voice is smooth and pleasant. “First, let’s make one thing clear. Please don’t try to cast any spells. You’re not likely to be able to, considering your current condition, and even if you could, you’d never get it out fast enough to prevent a blade removing your head. And that would be regrettable.” She leans forward slightly, clasping her hands in front of her. “Tell me, Gareth Byron Deneith and Nameless, what do you have against Daask?” Gareth instinctively struggles with his bonds, and asks, “Where are we located? And who are you?” He quickly realizes they put some effort into the bonds. He could break out if he had a couple of minutes of uninterrupted time to work on them. Unfortunately, that’s not the case here, as evidenced by a growl from the rear and a quick, “Don’t do that,” from the woman. She looks past Gareth and says to the two behind him, “If he tries to get out again, smack him. But no killing.” She looks back at Gareth and smiles, though there’s little humor in it. “You are ... elsewhere from Malleon’s Gate. And I am the woman who’s asking you the questions. If you want to leave alive, and let me say now that I have no intention of hurting you if we can reach an understanding, then you will answer my questions.” She leans forward again. “Let me explain my question a little better, so that you understand. This is the second time you have attacked a Daask establishment ... no, make that third, since you were the ones who took our payroll. Why are you so interested in attacking us? As far as I know, Daask has not bothered you in any way.” Gareth stops struggling, and replies, “I wouldn’t say Daask has never hurt me or my friends in the past. Your guild members have stolen from us, and we never did reclaim all of our items. But a better answer to your question – what we have against Daask - your ever annoying presence in Sharn hurting those who cannot stand up to you. No better then Boromar.” He snorts, “As for not killing us, I highly doubt you will not.” The minotaur growls angrily, but the woman waves a hand and he falls silent. “Don’t be silly,” she says, irritation clear in her voice. “If I was going to kill you, why would I be talking to you? Believe me, your coversation isn’t [i]that[/i] scintillating.” She gives a sigh and seems to compose herself. “So this is all some great heroic effort to clean up the city? If, as you say, we are no better than the Boromars, why don’t you spread the love and go bother them somewhat? I know, I know - there is no arguing with holy crusaders, so I shouldn’t bother. According to some,” and she glances at the minotaur, “I should just kill you and be done with it.” “But, however, and I am being completely honest here, you face me with a big problem. I could have you killed right now. But you have powerful friends. Not just the two which escaped and that druid Luna, but others you know in the city. For all I know, killing you will send them seeking revenge on us. And while I can deal with that, I would much rather not.” Gareth interrupts, “Yes, I think a few people would be bothered if something happened to Nameless and myself, people who are above bribery.” The woman simply continues, “So, I have a proposition for you. I will let you go free, with all of your equipment and money returned to you, in return for a promise that you will never bother Daask again. What say you?” She glances at Nameless. “And you, mage?” “Can I think on your offer?” replies Gareth, sarcastically. “Wait, let me see, save myself on the promise that I never come by your way again – meaning you would have leave of the city – and me and my friends whenever you want – and you would have my promise of non-retaliation.” Gareth finally shuts up when Nameless, who has been a little groggier and responded more slowly, gives him a dirty look. Instead of speaking directly to the woman, Nameless addresses the minotaur, using the time to collect his thoughts and asses the situation. “Ah, Torarg. We meet again, though under rather less pleasant circumstances. I take it you’re not quite as pleased with this display as you were with our last one. Shamukaar and his bar doing okay, I trust?” The woman looks over at Torarg, whose face now bears a look of bovine confusion. “Shamukaar and the bar are...,” he begins, before switching subjects. “If I’d known the trouble you’d cause, I’d have taken care of you outside Shamukaar myself.” The tone isn’t that angry, however. Nameless nods and then turns to the woman. “We don’t really have anything against Daask. Well, obviously Gareth is still a bit put out over his sword being stolen by some of your flunkies. But mostly it was just a slow day and we had some new toys to try out. Your drug den was convenient and unlikely to be missed. If you can point us towards some Boromar drug dens that would be appreciated. They don’t seem to be quite as blatant about these things as you do.” “I must say though, I was really very impressed with the effectiveness of your defenses and troops. You must follow the hobgoblin maxim that troops should fear being eaten by their officers more than they fear their enemies.” “As for promising to leave you alone forever, obviously that’s not a possibility for my friend here. But we could negotiate a temporary truce, for say 6 months or so. Many of my companions are easily distracted by other things and we may find other things to occupy our time.” “I am guessing however, that this would be insufficient to persuade you to let us go. So perhaps we can scratch your back as well. If you have a Boromar target you’d like destroyed. Nothing ambiguous, mind you, my comrade here doesn’t deal well with ambiguity. Someplace chock full of nicely black-hearted Boromars engaged in some sort of socially reprehensible activities. Destruction is what we are best at after all, recent slipups aside.” The woman listens intently, and then a slow grin crosses her face. “I’d heard that you were a strange man, who summons weird monsters, but I’ll give you this – you’re smart.” She looks at Gareth and says, “You could learn some diplomacy from this guy.” She turns back to Nameless, and says dryly, “Honored as I am to know that we were chosen as a convenient place to try out your new toys, avoiding that is in my best interests, and presumably avoiding death is in yours.” Her eyes flicker to Gareth, and back again. “As you say, we can look after ourselves, and better than the Boromars can against such as you. Still, you’ve done a lot of damage to us, and since killing you would just lead to more, I’d like to avoid it. A pity that you can’t promise to leave us be, but even a truce of 6 months would be very preferable to the current situation.” She grins. “And a truce during which you can bother the Boromars would be eminently preferable. I can easily suggest a few places – and ways – you can hurt them. Their establishments are only less blatant than ours in that they’re often dealing with a ... better class of client.” Her tone makes it clear that she isn’t using ‘better’ as a compliment. “I can promise you this. If you do not attack a Daask establishment or member for 6 months, I will ensure that we will not bother any of you.” She glances at Gareth and says, “Other than to offend your sensibilities, but that can’t be helped. So – do we have an understanding? I suggest you listen to your friend here.” She indicates Nameless with a nod. Gareth, chafing at this conversation, ignores her for a moment while looking at the minotaur. “Ah, my old friend, we should have a drink and talk about old times. There is a lot of information about the lower areas of Sharn that we could use.” Half expecting a blow to the head, he adds, “I guess you do not drink alcohol anymore. That is fine.” Torarg again looks a little confused, as if unsure what to say. He finally settles for a shake of his massive head and a comment of “You are strange.” Gareth looks back at the woman. “So, would you please explain the details – how would this exactly work?” Hiding her irritation with little success, she replies, “Very simple, actually. You agree, as Nameless here said, not to attack any Daask members or outposts for six months, and in return, I release you, alive and unharmed with all belongings intact, and make sure that no Daask members attack you five – I believe it’s five – personally. Simple, as I said.” “Those terms are acceptable to me. Death is so... inconvenient.” Nameless stares at her as he says this, his gaze backed by the full force of his growing insanity, which he normally does to reveal to others. “Then there’s the expense of coming back from the dead and it does have a way of diminishing one. There’s also the murderous rampage we’d have to go on to recover our equipment. It takes so much time... and leaves so many bodies....” He sighs. “We just got back into Sharn too, after chasing down and killing a pair of Rakshasas that stole something from us. We had to chase them hundreds of miles into the Demon Wastes and fighting in an active volcano is.... Well, I can bore you with war stories some other time.” Abruptly turning to Gareth, he continues. “Gareth, when are the drapes we’re making from the Rakshasas going to be ready? Next week, was it? I forget. Moving into a new place and all that. I’m still disappointed that we lost the white one; he would really have gone well in the Solarium.” Seeing Nameless’ tactics, Gareth plays along. “Yes, it is a shame the wall of lava burned the white one down – I told you not to have Luna push them in there. I needed a new cloak for the winter, and it would have made a wonderful present for some girl.” The woman does not look intimidated or worried so much as slightly off-put by Nameless’ words and expressions. She listens and watches the byplay between Nameless and Gareth, and then comments, “I had been told your group was ... unusual, but you two seem especially so.” She shrugs. “Presumably an advantage in, or result of, your line of work.” Nameless suddenly asks, “By the way approximately how long has it been since you captured us? If it’s been longer than an hour or so, I hope you won’t hold it against us.” She smiles. “No, I don’t hold it against you – yet. And it’s not been that long since we captured you. You’ll find out soon enough.” Nameless shrugs. “In any case, I’d been meaning to go pound some Boromar establishments. I find things run better if a certain... balance is maintained and our activities had been hurting your group, without a counterbalancing blow to them.” Gareth nods slowly. “All right. If your group does not harass mine, and you give us locations of some Boromar outposts, I would be willing to put a truce.” “Good. As I said, we will not harass you in any way if you leave us alone. And as for Boromar outposts, I will be very happy to give you a number of locations. You can amuse yourself with them, as you see fit.” She smiles again. “I am glad we can come to such an understanding, and....” Even as she is speaking, Gareth attempts to [i]detect thoughts[/i] and discovers that he can only detect one mind ahead of him, even though he can clearly see both Torarg and the woman. It is as if one is immune to it or protected in some way. Gareth realizes that the one mind he detects is less intelligent than him, and surmises that it is the minotaur’s. He then concentrates on reading Torarg’s mind. The minotaur immediately raises a hand to his head and gives an angry bellow. “One of them used magic on me, Cavallah!” The woman identified as Cavallah rises, glaring at both Gareth and Nameless. She quickly fixes her attention on Gareth and says, to someone behind him, “Knock him out.” Immediately, Gareth feels a powerful blow to the head and everything goes black. Cavallah looks coldly at Nameless and says, “I hope for your sake, and those of your companions, that you are smarter than this fool. Luckily, so far, you seem to be.” She then looks back at the guards behind Gareth, and says to one, “You can revive him now.” The guard, who Nameless can now see is a gnoll, roughly opens Gareth’s mouth and pours a potion down his throat. After a couple of seconds, his eyes flutter open. The guard steps back into position and Cavallah says, “That was [i]really[/i] stupid. Try something like that again and I will remove two of your fingers.” Then she pauses, takes a deep breath to compose herself, reseats herself, and says, “That was unfortunate. It also leads me to believe that you don’t fully understand the depth of my seriousness. Believe me, if you lie to me, I will see you dead. And those who you hold dear in this city.” “You are powerful and have many resources; we both know that. But there are some things that money and power cannot help with. If you lie to me and break your word, I promise you this, I will set House Tarkanan on you. And I will ask for them to use a Keeper’s Fang.” Gareth does not recognize House Tarkanan, and neither does Nameless, but the latter recognizes the name. 1500 years ago, there was a huge conflict across Khorvaire, where the pure dragonmarked families exterminated the holders of mixed and aberrant dragonmarks. During the War of the Mark, Lord Halas Tarkanan was a brilliant tactician who led the forces of those with aberrant dragonmarks. Despite being heavily outnumbered, he waged a long war, seizing Sharn and taking it as his capital. Finally, sheer numbers defeated him, and he and his wife (called the Lady of the Plague) released horrific magical forces, destroying much of Sharn and themselves. Only 500 years later was Sharn rebuilt. In view of this history, the idea of a House Tarkanan would, of course, be ludicrous. A Keeper’s Fang, however, they both recognize. By reputation. It is a special type of dragonshard bound weapon, which not only kills but also automatically sends the soul of the slain to the domain of the Keeper, the Sovereign Lord of Death and Decay. The victim cannot be brought back to life by any method known. No weapon is more illegal – or dangerous. Cavallah continues, “However good you are, none of you are immune to a dedicated assassination attempt. And neither are your friends and acquaintances. I believe the going rate to kill someone of your abilities would be 5000 galifars. It is a lot of money, but then again, the resources used in capturing you today were over that amount, and that doesn’t include the loss of a number of my soldiers, especially the elite ones. If you had completely destroyed our establishment, it would have been much much more costly to us. So, you see, it will be very much a justifiable expense.” “I am telling you this to underline how serious I am. You are a problem I do not want to have to deal with, and if you are willing not to bother me, I will not bother you. Now, without further foolishness, do we have a deal?” In a severely groggy and slurred voice, Gareth mutters, “Hmm – that felt good. So I didn’t hear, since I have this ringing in my head – what is it you said?” Cavallah, ignoring him, looks coldly at Nameless and says, “I hope for your sake, and those of your companions, that you are smarter than this fool. Luckily, so far, you seem to be.” Nameless shakes his head sadly. “My apologies. I’ve tried to break him of this habit, but he seems incapable of learning when it comes to this. Actually, could you hit him once or twice more for me, please? I’d do it myself, but I’m kind of tied up at the moment. I wish he’d learn some manners or discretion at least. But that’s likely to be the work of several more years.” “I have had no doubts as to your seriousness. I don’t think he does either, unfortunately he has this compulsion to try probing other people. Despite the fact that he keeps getting caught, for some reason he thinks he can get away with it. However, despite his ‘limitations’, he does honor his word once given. As do I.” “I assure you I have no doubts as to your seriousness or ... Wait. Did you say only 5,000 galifars? That’s it? Or... do you get a volume discount? No. Never mind... that’s not important. We have a deal as far as I am concerned.” “Gareth, if you can stop being rude for a moment...” Gareth looks at Nameless for a moment and wonders why he is basically telling them what Gareth did. He then says in a flat tone, “Fine, when you release us then your terms shall be met. Dying here serves no purpose and is counterproductive to the greater good.” Cavallah listens with some amusement to Nameless’ comments and then nods as Gareth agrees. “Good. Unfortunately, you’ll have to suffer a little discomfort, since we can’t risk you seeing anything of our operation here. We will have to render you both unconscious. You’ll be revived when back above ground and will be free to go your way.” At this point, Torarg clears his throat loudly. “Yes?” asks Cavallah, turning to him. The minotaur steps forward and begins to whisper something to her. Due to the volume of his tones, certain snippets float across to Nameless and Gareth. “... volume of damage ... costs ... dead gnolls ... may have to be abandoned ... ogres ...” Cavallah frowns slightly and then sighs. “Yes, you are right.” She turns back to Gareth and Nameless as Torarg steps back, and says, “As Torarg just reminded me, your actions today have caused a significant loss of resources to us, and may cause us more damage in the long term. Hence, I’m sorry to say that, to recover somewhat of damage you inflicted, we will have to retain a certain amount of your wealth.” “Each of you, I gather, has an account at the Kundarak bank. We will take care of removing an appropriate amount from your accounts. Since you are evidently very wealthy people, the amount taken should hardly cause a problem for you.” “Unless you would prefer me to retain some of the valuable equipment you were carrying. That’s a little less helpful to us than actual money, but I can find someone or other who would benefit from it, if not sell it outright. I would, of course, take significantly minor items.” “What would you prefer?” Gareth replies coldly, “I would prefer our previous arrangement. For one, we are going to help you against Boromar – that in and of itself has a high value add. For second, your fence has cost us a lot of money in the past - thousands of gold. I would say that makes us even” More calmly, Nameless says, “Now you’re disappointing me. I thought we had reached a deal. Is this how you live up to your end of a bargain? Nothing about the damages inflicted is new information. Furthermore, the longer you keep us here haggling over prices, the more likely our comrades are likely to start ripping apart your installations looking for us and they are going to be hitting hard and taking no chances. You did surprise us the first time around, but this time they’ll have Luna with them....” Cavallah simply looks at the pair for the moment. Torarg begins to say something, but she waves him silent. “You have a point. Two points, actually. Not the one about the fence, however. He was a freelancer, doing business with us among others, and what he did with your items had nothing to do with us.” “Anyway, as I said, you have a point. The original bargain it is. I wish you much success bothering the Boromars and in your travels, especially if you take them far from this city.” She pauses and then smiles, this time with real amusement. “I’m told that you might find Droaam to have a particularly bracing climate.” Cavallah rises to her feet. “Anyhow, I hope to not have to see you ever again, and definitely not for the next six months. Goodbye.” She nods to the gnolls behind the pair and the last thing Nameless and Gareth feel is something hitting the backs of their heads. … When they next open their eyes, they are lying inside a large, dilapidated building, which looks like an abandoned warehouse. There is the sound of voices and movement outside, though some distance away. A quick check reveals that they are both dressed in their usual clothing, with all their equipment on them. Nothing has been removed. The only change is a folded parchment in Nameless’ hand, which contains a list of about twenty names, all of establishments and locations around the city. Some of the entries have an attached name or two, and/or a short description, such as “officially dream parlor; actually dreamlily den” or “business funded by Boromars.” Both Gareth and Nameless remain seriously wounded, however. Gareth uses all of his remaining magic to heal the two of them. “Now let’s get out of here.” Emerging from the building, the pair find that it is actually an abandoned warehouse, one among a few others. The area around them contains many more warehouses, most of them active, and it is the transport of goods in and out of them that Gareth and Nameless heard from inside the building. A little checking reveals that they are in Cogsgate, in Lower Tavick’s Landing. The two head back up to Upper Tavick’s and the group’s house up in Ocean View. The fairly bedraggled appearance of the two draws some dirty looks from passersby once they hit Upper Tavick’s and especially as they near their home, and they are stopped twice, once by Deneith guards and once by local watchmen, before being allowed to go on. Arriving at home, they find that the other three members of the group are nowhere to be found. Signs indicate that Luna left in a hurry, so, in all likelihood, the rescue attempt is currently under way. Gareth says to Nameless, “Guess they took too long releasing us. Ah well – I am going up to my room. I need to crash.” Nameless waits till he leaves, casts a [i]cat’s grace[/i] and then [i]teleport[/i]s back to the drug den to stop his companions. As he casts the spell, Nameless feels the usual sense of his stomach dropping out of his shoes as he is displaced and reappears instantly 6 miles across the city. Unfortunately, since he is [i]teleport[/i]ing to a place he has visited only once, his memory of it isn’t quite good enough for a perfect arrival. When Nameless reappears, everything around him is pitch-black. It is also solid. There is a moment of surprise, followed by realization that he is inside some object, and then a tearing sensation of excruciating pain, as if shards of stone were being ripped through his internal organs, as the magic hurls him through the object towards the closest open space. To the horrified stare of a passing pair of goblins, Nameless emerges from the stone of the huge base of a nearby pillar, his clothes ripped and with blood trickling from myriad small wounds [OOC: 30 pts of damage]. The goblins promptly flee. Nameless realizes, after dazedly looking around, that he is down the street and around the corner from the drug den. Hurrying to it, he finds that his companions have definitely been here. What looks like a makeshift barricade is smashed into pieces, and the corpses of four gnolls lie beyond it. Another pair of goblins, these two in ragged clothes, are quietly trying to leave the main chamber when Nameless arrives. They take one look at him, give a shriek and fall to their knees, gabbling in goblin as fast as they can about how happy they are to see him alive, how they never did anything to him, how his friends are looking for him down the hole, and how they’d really really appreciate it if he didn’t kill them. Nameless barely stops to guzzle a healing potion, correct the goblins’ grammar, and [i]fly[/i] down the hole. After a minute or so of flying as fast as he can through the winding tunnel, he sees lights ahead and recognizes his companions’ voices, evidently speaking to someone. Nameless yells a warning that he’s coming and that they shouldn’t kill anyone, and flies up to join them. Luckily, neither Luna nor the gnolls respond precipitously to the sound. Once Nameless reaches them, with him to corroborate the cloaked man’s story, the discussion ends quickly. The Angels return through the tunnels to the battered drug den and leaving. The Daask members follow, keeping a fair distance between them, evidently intending to restore the operation once the adventurers are gone. [/QUOTE]
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