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Message: <blockquote data-quote="(contact)" data-source="post: 663401" data-attributes="member: 41">43: A Noble Exchange, continued.Heydricus stands in the main hall at Cur’ruth, his hands on his hips.  “So maybe we just kill the halfling.”  Dabus nods sagely.“You are so impetuous,” Prisantha says.  “And you can both stop looking at me like that, it’s not my fault the boy was killed.”“You’re the one who teleported an assassin into the midst of Nyronesse Nobles!” Heydricus exclaims.“Yes, yes, we’ve been over that.  Everyone makes mistakes.”  Pris frowns at Heydricus.  “What I want to know is what is wrong with his family?  Why not raise the boy?”Dabus examines a plate of left-over pastries, and grimaces.  “To call someone back from the dead, you need the body to lure the soul.”Prisantha shakes her head, “No, no—a corpse could be raised without a body.” “Yes, in theory.  But the spells required are extremely powerful, and very few clerics even possess them, nonetheless cast them for the whim of Nyrondeese Nobility.”“Or for cash,” Heydricus says.“Well, and what of that?”  Pris asks.  “There is always someone willing to cast a spell if the price is right.  Who are these Talnith, do they have money?  Have they fallen on hard times?”Heydricus laughs, “Everyone in Nyrond has fallen on hard times.  The nation was bankrupted fighting the Pale, the Great Kindgom and the armies of Iuz.  There are rumors that the throne is unstable.” “Which is why they sent Eyeh packing,” Dabus says.“Feh,” Heydricus scoffs.  “Eyeh scurried under the skirts of his masters at Wintershiven once the well proved dry in Nyrond.  He converted to Pholtus to drum up support for his campaign.”“They could say the same about you, Heydricus,” Pris says.Dabus intercedes.  “No, no, the Liberator is a chosen position.  Tritherion must call a Holy Liberator to service.  There are many of the faithful, like myself or young Anon, who spend their whole lives praying for this honor in vain.  Make no mistake, Heydricus was called.”  Dabus looks at his master.  “And that is why I will follow him blindly.”Heydricus smiles and places a hand on Dabus’ shoulder.  “Your fanaticism is a warm comfort during trying times like these, my friend.  We are glad to have you with us.”  Heydricus releases his cohort, and clasps his hands behind his back.  “But the choice remains, do we go to the Lord and just demand the boy’s corpse, or do we go around the Lord, and retrieve it ourselves?  When the Lord was euphemizing the massacre, did we ask him what he did with the bodies?”“Of course not,” Prisantha says, “It would not have been polite.”“We’re considering killing him, but we balk at offending his sensibilities?” Heydricus asks.  “Look, he’s a squirmy little fella, but it would take all of three strikes, and all that would be left is a pair of booted stumps.  No, no, he’s terrified of us, and well he should be.” “Oh, that’s fantastic diplomacy, Heydricus.  Is that your ‘Three strikes, two stumps’ doctrine?”Prisantha and Heydricus stare at one another.  Dabus speaks up, “Really, you two.  You sound like Jespo and his cat, the way you carry on.”“We do?” Heydricus asks.  “I sound like Jespo?”“No, you’re more like the cat.  I can commune with Tritherion, and perhaps our Lord of Freedom will shed some light on our dilemma.”  -----As Dabus prepares himself for the draining trance that must precede a commune, Heydricus and Prisantha seek out Jespo Crim.  They walk together across the grand hall that once was the room where Suel and Martak built their gargantuan zombie-golems, so inured to the ever present chill in the place that they no longer notice it.“You know, I have my doubts about Thrommel's capacities,” Prisantha says.“As do I,” Heydricus says.  “But he is the Crown Prince."  Heydricus pauses, lost for a moment in thought.  "You know Pris, we really need more people with access to resurrection magic. Thrommel could get killed sacking a preschool.”</blockquote>

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