The Crux of the Matter

[Velmont]

Rinaldo hands his dagger to Vanitri. "I need to talk. If I'm not back here in five minutes, consider Sin have broken her word and destroy it. I'll go pick Hogarth's body and speak to Sin. Exchanging someone for someone else is just too dumb and it is hard to trust someone who have tried to kill you."

On that, Rinaldo float down the stairs back to teh bootom, where Sin is waiting and Hogarth's body is laying.

 

[Rystil Arden]

*Rinaldo finds that Hogarth's body is not still in the stairwell--he will have to descend into view of the lower landing and possibly Sin and the others to see more.*

 

[Velmont]

Rinaldo continue to clinb down the stairs. Anyway, he want to talk to Sin, and he is fully aware of the risk he is taking, but how many time he has taken risk... he remember back in the old moathouse. He had to trick a worg into believing he was his master hobgoblin, and no the human he was. He has risked his life to save two of his companions. It was teh same thing it seems, but all was just bigger. He had more experience, he didn't felt scared like it was that time, just nervous. He was not trying to save two companion from death, he was trying to save Hogarth from Oblivion, the world from that cursed tower and from Sin, and he was risking not only his live, but his soul... it was the same, but all was bigger.

 

[Rystil Arden]

*As Rinaldo heads down the stairs, he sees Gluttony watching the stairs, and she goes to get Sin, who comes to meet him as he exits the Crux-affected area. Sin gives a broad smile.*

"Ah, good. I hoped you would come for your friend," Sin greets him in a friendly, familiar manner, "Though I was preparing to animate him and send him up to beg you for his soul himself. How nice that it will not be necessary. Please, won't you come into my chambers? Do you want a drink? I have divined Elpis's new location for you, so all you have to do is bring her back to me if you want your friend's soul to be safe. To be fair, if you just leave me be and don't destroy the Crux, I will not destroy his soul either, though neither will I free it until you bring me Elpis."

 

[Erekose13]

Tenny had intended to fly up with Rinaldo and cast a Eagle's Splendor on him to help with any Str tasks he would have needed. He'll stay at the top with Vanitri, sorry to see so many die for this silly Crux.

 

[Velmont]

"No thanks, I'm not thirsty." replies Rinaldo politely. "I want to make all things clear in this bargain. You want us to bring you Elpis. In exchange, you'll free Hogarth's soul... and what then? You'll kill us? You'll leave that tower to impose your rule over the region? You leave that tower here to the risk to see it rip up the whole creation into oblivion... you know, that's sound like I'm in the losing side of the bargain. And I don't accept that kind of bargain, it's bad for business, after that, everyone try to drain all they can from you and you have lost your advantage. But I suppose I must have miss something. Or maybe not, what couid I expect from someone who has already kill two of my companions."

 

[Rystil Arden]

"Well dear, I would have liked to be your friend, and I don't relish that we had to kill two of your friends, but you do realise that you were trying to kill me and my children first, right? If you will leave me and mine alone, of course we will not wantonly slay you. I am not a killer, you know, but I do it when I must, in self defense. If someone came to your house and tried to kill your children, would you not fight back?"

"But on to more pleasant matters. If you bring me Elpis, I will release your friend's soul. I would be glad to also spare you and your friends, but if you want that added into the bargain, you will have to promise that they will not then destroy the Crux as soon as your friend's soul is free and it is safe to do so--it is only fair, don't you agree, that if we do not kill you that you will not kill us?"

"For my part, I plan on removing the danger of the tower from this region just as soon as I possibly can--the absolute moment that I determine how to do so while keeping it safe for both the region and for myself and my children. Just destroying the Crux like that...who knows exactly what would happen--you might wind up destroying everything for miles around, including all of the people in that nearby village, you know? It is quite distasteful, at least to me, and I would call that evil."

 

[Velmont]

"Sorry to contradict you, but you make a mistake here. Yes, we have been trying to destroy you and your children. But we didn't start the hostility. It is your goons who threaten us and then starts to throw fireball at us, or they have forgotten to tell you that. I even tried to speak with your goons, but they didn't wanted to hear me. So I don't see why I should blame myself for all that.

My wish, it is to go out of this tower with all my friends alive and see the tower gone for good... but I think bringing back to life two of my friends are out of your reach.

I'll have to think about all this. I'm nto alone in that story, but if you wnat to show a bit of good will, you will surely give me back the body of Hogarth and all his gear. The least I owe him, it is a proper burial. So if I ever get out of here, I'll be able to do so.

But you forgot to answer one of my question. What do you plan once you'll be out of here with your children? After removing the tower?"

 

[Rystil Arden]

"Sorry to contradict you, but you make a mistake here. Yes, we have been trying to destroy you and your children. But we didn't start the hostility. It is your goons who threaten us and then starts to throw fireball at us, or they have forgotten to tell you that. I even tried to speak with your goons, but they didn't wanted to hear me. So I don't see why I should blame myself for all that."

"No, not quite. You may prefer to view yourself as innocent and blameless because you weren't going to be killing us to our faces directly, but you were still in the process of an attempt to kill us all by destroying the Crux. That is the definition of hostilities, I think. Frankly, if I was preparing to cast a spell that would destroy your home city...Orussus?...and you came in here to interrupt my spellcasting, I would not consider you to be the one to blame for starting the violence, would you?"

My wish, it is to go out of this tower with all my friends alive and see the tower gone for good... but I think bringing back to life two of my friends are out of your reach.

I'll have to think about all this. I'm nto alone in that story, but if you wnat to show a bit of good will, you will surely give me back the body of Hogarth and all his gear. The least I owe him, it is a proper burial. So if I ever get out of here, I'll be able to do so.

"If you get Elpis for me quickly--as quickly as possible and I am not sure you will be in time, then I may be able to bring them back to life by reverting them to their state in the past when they were alive. Of course, the longer it takes, the longer in the past it will be and the harder it will become. Even so, I will gladly give you your friend's body--I only took it in the first place so I could send him up with a message for you if you did not come down."

But you forgot to answer one of my question. What do you plan once you'll be out of here with your children? After removing the tower?"

"Just the same as every person and animal on this plan. I plan to live. I am trying not to make too much of a delicate plan because I do not know exactly what the future may bring--to end the Crux peacefully, I may even have to sacrifice myself and my energies, and then I will have no future. But barring that, I am person just like you. I have the same desire to go on living, the same drives to eat, to sleep, to love...Surely you can understand this?"

 

[Velmont]

"No, not quite. You may prefer to view yourself as innocent and blameless because you weren't going to be killing us to our faces directly, but you were still in the process of an attempt to kill us all by destroying the Crux. That is the definition of hostilities, I think. Frankly, if I was preparing to cast a spell that would destroy your home city...Orussus?...and you came in here to interrupt my spellcasting, I would not consider you to be the one to blame for starting the violence, would you?"

"At that moment, we didn't even knew the Crux exist, so we were far from wanting it to be destoryed. And our first contact was with Xu and then Envy. All we know about that moment, it is that tower was a cursed place and could be dangerous and it had to be neutralized... but whoever start that whole thing, it won't change where we are now."

"If you get Elpis for me quickly--as quickly as possible and I am not sure you will be in time, then I may be able to bring them back to life by reverting them to their state in the past when they were alive. Of course, the longer it takes, the longer in the past it will be and the harder it will become. Even so, I will gladly give you your friend's body--I only took it in the first place so I could send him up with a message for you if you did not come down."

"Fine, but one last thing. And what will happen to Laynie... or if you prefer, Elpis?"

[SBLOCk=OOC]Just to know, how much Rinaldo thing that Sin will keep her words, that she is really able to bring to life the otehrs, that she will bring that tower down peacefully and let us leave away?[/SBLOCK]