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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Carlo-One" data-source="post: 8050067" data-attributes="member: 7015827">The Prince then formally introduced the visitors to the other Clan notables present. They had already made the acquaintance of Clan Greeter Rumnaher, who was pointed out first. Dalgan then gestured toward his right, introducing Toran Goldfinder as the custodian of the clan’s wealth, and to his left, where Koll Wallbasher, the clan’s war leader, was standing. Boirin was the last one introduced, as sergeant of the guard, and he and Darrow exchanged winks. After another whispered exchange with Koll, Dalgan said that he had expected the presence of High Priest Iskar, but would nevertheless move to introduce the subject of that night’s Council meeting, the clan’s relations with the outside world.With that, the Prince asked Darrow to step forward and be formally recognized as the bearer of Haelgrim. Dalgan publicly proclaimed that Darrow had been sent outside the clan walls to bear the clan’s legendary axe, for its honor and glory, for a term of three months. Although only a month had passed since then, the Prince invited Darrow to speak to his experiences so far.Darrow acknowledged, as he put it, that the tale was only half-written, but said he would be most happy to relate what had been done so far. As Darrow began telling the story of how the party had defeated the Astorians thieves guild and rescued Teziir Council Member Queron Ulanthar’s daughter Janatha, High Priest Iskar arrived and moved to stand with the other notables in the front of the room. Rahnee breathed a small sigh of relief, but otherwise stayed attentive along with the others as Darrow finished the tale. Shanni took a fast look around the room, checking for crowd reactions, and muttered something to Dermot.Dalgan said that Darrow had borne Haelgrim against many foes deserving of their fates, rescued worthy companions – giving Shanni an appreciative look – and done good for many. As the Prince finished his compliments, Toran Goldfinder stepped forward and clapped three times, slowly. With an expression just short of a sneer, he accused Darrow and his companions of comporting themselves as mercenaries and slavers – having admitted to passing themselves off as such in Starmantle while on Janatha’s trail – while bringing neither glory nor gold to the clan. Darrow muttered an imprecation in return and Shanni protested at being called a slaver. Rahnee held her tongue and calmly stared at Toran, putting a hand on Shanni’s shoulder in a gesture of restraint.After the Prince called on Toran to explain himself, over Darrow’s interjection that they had freed half a hundred slaves destined for the Underdark, he launched into a speech. (No doubt prepared and rehearsed in advance, to achieve maximum impact on Toran's listeners. The sarcastic clapping at the end of Darrow's account of his deeds was a nice theatrical touch. --R) The richly-attired dwarf claimed that like all of the clan, he had rejoiced at the recovery of Haelgrim. Yet he questioned whether the clan should be known to the surfacers through Darrow’s tale of skulking and thievery, as the clan should be proud to declare itself to the world and not lurk in the shadows.Given a chance by the Prince to respond, Darrow asserted that without their discretion, they never would have been able to liberate those folk. Nor would they have earned the trust and respect of Queron as a member of Teziir’s Council, who thereby owed the clan a debt. Darrow appealed to his clanmates, saying that as any who knew him would recognize, if there had been a straightforward way to do it, he would have taken it.Dalgan commented favorably on the debt owed to the clan by Queron, which could in the end be more valuable than looted gold or jewels. As Dermot seconded Darrow’s words, the Prince had a whispered exchange with Koll. Once Dermot had finished speaking, the clan war leader addressed Darrow and asked him to recount the odds he had faced in battle. Joking about never bothering to know the odds, Darrow turned to Rahnee and bantered with her about the two score pirates defeated on land and ship, and another score in their underground lair. Koll declared this to be a noble deed against great odds, worthy of the bearer of Haelgrim. Dermot further commented that their enemies had been well-trained and equipped.Toran, who was gritting his teeth, was further refuted by Aerikoth, who asked permission to speak from Prince Dalgan. The wizard in his emotionless manner dismissed the significance of the numbers of enemies, stressing that the true importance of their deeds was the defeat of a nefarious organization that the Teziir ruling council had been unable to deal with. The Prince acknowledged that bravery was not simply a matter of numbers, as Boirin exchanged a prideful look with Darrow. (The wizard, by seemingly deprecating the large numbers of enemies vanquished, at the same time highlighted their quantity again to the audience, while making the argument that achieved results are what truly matters. A subtle point for some, perhaps, but not wasted on the Prince. --C)Rahnee declared that their freeing of the Astorians’ slaves should be a deed that also spoke meaningfully to Clan Ironhelm’s history. High Priest Iskar, speaking for the first time, stated his agreement, saying that the shame of the clan’s historic slavery to the Abomination had been put to rest, thanks in part to the efforts of Lady Roaringhorn. Iskar then declared he believed they had put to rest the matter of Darrow’s deeds and the Prince concurred, saying that they should move on to discussing the future of the clan, rather than past events.</blockquote>

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