Chapter II: House Thalavar’s Need
Chapter II: House Thalavar’s Need
An Odd Couple
After exiting the Rotten Root tavern in Mulsantir's Gate district, where he was working as a bouncer, Marik Tann was engulfed by darkness and fell into unconsciousness. Marik woke up, somewhat dazed, in a room inside Castle Thalavar. When Jokull of Arabel first entered the room where Marik had been locked up, Marik accused Jokull of being a thief and warned Jokull that he was more than capable of defending himself, despite the sword on Jokull's hip. Introductions were made and Jokull explained where Marik was. Jokull then said that he had heard Marik was involved with a local assassins guild. At first Marik denied this, saying he was merely a bouncer at a local tavern. Eventually, with his hand on his sword hilt, Jokull asked what Marik knew of the Fire Knives.
Marik cagily said he knew a little about them. He explained that they were ex-Cormyrian nobles and still had many contacts with the nobility, but he was not aware they were in Westgate. Marik thought the local guild, the Night Masks, wouldn't allow it. Jokull then stated that he and House Thalavar needed help in tracking down the Fire Knives in Westgate. Marik said he would help as long as he was well paid.
Jokull told Marik that he knew Marik used to work with the Fire Knives; Marik reluctantly confirmed the story. He said he had left them, not on very good terms, about three years ago. Marik asserted that he could still recognize some faces in the organization, though it wouldn't help to start naming names, because those changed every day. Later, after Jokull insisted on knowing exactly why he had left the Fire Knives, Marik admitted that he had been kicked out for beating up the wrong noble. Jokull then asked Marik what he could do to help find the Fire Knives in Westgate and Marik presented a few suggestions. Among other things, Marik mentioned that back in Tilverton, the guild had hidden themselves in the city's sewers, so it was possible that they done the same in Westgate as well.
Jokull told Marik to make himself comfortable and went outside to summon Iono, the Castle Thalavar Steward. After Jokull returned, Marik asked him why he was doing this - why did Jokull want to find the Fire Knives? Jokull refused to reveal his personal motives, but he showed his Purple Dragon tower shield to Marik, who, although surprised, nodded with understanding. They both agreed on the irony of an ex-Fire Knife working with a former Purple Dragon soldier. Iono arrived and, after hearing Marik's tentative commitment to work against the Fire Knives, mentioned that he believed the Fire Knives might be connected with two of Westgate's newest noble houses, Cormaeril and Bleth, both exiles from Cormyr.
After Iono left, Jokull resumed his questioning, asking Marik about his past connections with the guild. Marik tried to avoid the subject by responding with questions of his own, but eventually he was convinced to speak about his work for the Fire Knives. Marik said that, in the beginning, the jobs were quite simple. The leaders of the guild would ask him to beat up an enemy (or a client), or scare customers into paying their debts to the guild. Slowly he progressed through the lower ranks of the guild, but he never heard any details of what was going on with the higher-ups in the Knives' organization. Marik revealed that besides the usual smuggling activities and charging inns or taverns for "protection" (from the Fire Knives themselves, of course), the guild often dealt with politics, because of their connections with the nobility, and performed assassinations. Marik did not speak much more about his removal from the guild, other than that he had messed with the wrong people, and was still paying for it.
The final topic of their conversation was to determine Marik's compensation - a subject Marik had insisted on raising quite frequently. It was agreed that he would not be paid until the job was done, except regarding whatever equipment he needed for protection. When the proposal was presented to Iono, he asked Jokull what he thought of the offer and of Marik's capabilities. Jokull agreed that opposing the Fire Knives was a dangerous task, and though he wished things were different, the only option they had was working with an ex-Fire Knife. Marik added that the low number of ex-Fire Knives who could remain alive was proof enough that he was more than capable, and Iono agreed to the proposal. Jokull was relieved that he was finding aid in his quest and believed the Steel Regent, Alusair of Cormyr, would be pleased once this threat was eradicated, as would Jokull himself. Iono handed Marik a sum of gold to allow him to buy the necessary supplies for their investigation and asked that they return to the castle the afternoon of the following day to discuss details.
When Jokull asked for a suggestion regarding a good inn, Iono said that they could stay at the castle for that night. Departing the castle, Jokull lead Marik to the Market district, and they quickly found the store that Iono had indicated. While Marik went to buy a chain shirt and a scimitar, Jokull went looking for a map of the city. Once they had both bought maps, they left the store. On the street, Marik warily asked Jokull if he was known as a Purple Dragon. Jokull said that he had been a sergeant in the army and the men in his family had fought for Cormyr for many generations. However, while his fame lied mostly with his family's name, that name had been left behind in Arabel. Nevertheless, Marik was a little bothered, believing it might not be a good thing if they were seen together.
With still a few hours to go before the evening, Jokull and Marik stopped at a nearby tavern. Jokull was still unsure of Marik's intentions; Marik said that his only intention was to get enough coin to go to a peaceful place, one that was as far away as possible. If Marik could eliminate the reason for being forced to be on the run, even better. Jokull asked if he would return to Cormyr, as the kingdom still needed capable men to clear the lands of the remnants of the Goblin Wars. Jokull spoke of his kingdom with pride, but Marik indicated he did not yet know where he would go afterwards. Sitting at their table in the Black Eye tavern, they spoke of many things, until the time came to return to Castle Thalavar and get some rest after a long day. As they both knew, the next day would be even longer.
Chapter II: House Thalavar’s Need
An Odd Couple
After exiting the Rotten Root tavern in Mulsantir's Gate district, where he was working as a bouncer, Marik Tann was engulfed by darkness and fell into unconsciousness. Marik woke up, somewhat dazed, in a room inside Castle Thalavar. When Jokull of Arabel first entered the room where Marik had been locked up, Marik accused Jokull of being a thief and warned Jokull that he was more than capable of defending himself, despite the sword on Jokull's hip. Introductions were made and Jokull explained where Marik was. Jokull then said that he had heard Marik was involved with a local assassins guild. At first Marik denied this, saying he was merely a bouncer at a local tavern. Eventually, with his hand on his sword hilt, Jokull asked what Marik knew of the Fire Knives.
Marik cagily said he knew a little about them. He explained that they were ex-Cormyrian nobles and still had many contacts with the nobility, but he was not aware they were in Westgate. Marik thought the local guild, the Night Masks, wouldn't allow it. Jokull then stated that he and House Thalavar needed help in tracking down the Fire Knives in Westgate. Marik said he would help as long as he was well paid.
Jokull told Marik that he knew Marik used to work with the Fire Knives; Marik reluctantly confirmed the story. He said he had left them, not on very good terms, about three years ago. Marik asserted that he could still recognize some faces in the organization, though it wouldn't help to start naming names, because those changed every day. Later, after Jokull insisted on knowing exactly why he had left the Fire Knives, Marik admitted that he had been kicked out for beating up the wrong noble. Jokull then asked Marik what he could do to help find the Fire Knives in Westgate and Marik presented a few suggestions. Among other things, Marik mentioned that back in Tilverton, the guild had hidden themselves in the city's sewers, so it was possible that they done the same in Westgate as well.
Jokull told Marik to make himself comfortable and went outside to summon Iono, the Castle Thalavar Steward. After Jokull returned, Marik asked him why he was doing this - why did Jokull want to find the Fire Knives? Jokull refused to reveal his personal motives, but he showed his Purple Dragon tower shield to Marik, who, although surprised, nodded with understanding. They both agreed on the irony of an ex-Fire Knife working with a former Purple Dragon soldier. Iono arrived and, after hearing Marik's tentative commitment to work against the Fire Knives, mentioned that he believed the Fire Knives might be connected with two of Westgate's newest noble houses, Cormaeril and Bleth, both exiles from Cormyr.
After Iono left, Jokull resumed his questioning, asking Marik about his past connections with the guild. Marik tried to avoid the subject by responding with questions of his own, but eventually he was convinced to speak about his work for the Fire Knives. Marik said that, in the beginning, the jobs were quite simple. The leaders of the guild would ask him to beat up an enemy (or a client), or scare customers into paying their debts to the guild. Slowly he progressed through the lower ranks of the guild, but he never heard any details of what was going on with the higher-ups in the Knives' organization. Marik revealed that besides the usual smuggling activities and charging inns or taverns for "protection" (from the Fire Knives themselves, of course), the guild often dealt with politics, because of their connections with the nobility, and performed assassinations. Marik did not speak much more about his removal from the guild, other than that he had messed with the wrong people, and was still paying for it.
The final topic of their conversation was to determine Marik's compensation - a subject Marik had insisted on raising quite frequently. It was agreed that he would not be paid until the job was done, except regarding whatever equipment he needed for protection. When the proposal was presented to Iono, he asked Jokull what he thought of the offer and of Marik's capabilities. Jokull agreed that opposing the Fire Knives was a dangerous task, and though he wished things were different, the only option they had was working with an ex-Fire Knife. Marik added that the low number of ex-Fire Knives who could remain alive was proof enough that he was more than capable, and Iono agreed to the proposal. Jokull was relieved that he was finding aid in his quest and believed the Steel Regent, Alusair of Cormyr, would be pleased once this threat was eradicated, as would Jokull himself. Iono handed Marik a sum of gold to allow him to buy the necessary supplies for their investigation and asked that they return to the castle the afternoon of the following day to discuss details.
When Jokull asked for a suggestion regarding a good inn, Iono said that they could stay at the castle for that night. Departing the castle, Jokull lead Marik to the Market district, and they quickly found the store that Iono had indicated. While Marik went to buy a chain shirt and a scimitar, Jokull went looking for a map of the city. Once they had both bought maps, they left the store. On the street, Marik warily asked Jokull if he was known as a Purple Dragon. Jokull said that he had been a sergeant in the army and the men in his family had fought for Cormyr for many generations. However, while his fame lied mostly with his family's name, that name had been left behind in Arabel. Nevertheless, Marik was a little bothered, believing it might not be a good thing if they were seen together.
With still a few hours to go before the evening, Jokull and Marik stopped at a nearby tavern. Jokull was still unsure of Marik's intentions; Marik said that his only intention was to get enough coin to go to a peaceful place, one that was as far away as possible. If Marik could eliminate the reason for being forced to be on the run, even better. Jokull asked if he would return to Cormyr, as the kingdom still needed capable men to clear the lands of the remnants of the Goblin Wars. Jokull spoke of his kingdom with pride, but Marik indicated he did not yet know where he would go afterwards. Sitting at their table in the Black Eye tavern, they spoke of many things, until the time came to return to Castle Thalavar and get some rest after a long day. As they both knew, the next day would be even longer.