[Continues] Morcrux Campaign: Tale of Two Scales

Grimoire

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[Tar'lak]
Tar'lak walking with his answer reaching Draco's 'ears'. He ponders for a moment before taking his first step to walk with him in step. Shimbala takes Mellow with her going up the street leaving Draco to follow Tar'lak.

Walking beside him, Draco looks to Tar'lak: "This business you have involving your tribe ... this wouldn't happen to be preparation for a war of some sort, is it?"
 

Khorne

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"The Ashen cannot risk war. but we will defend our home until death, and do what must be done to keep it for our hatchlings." he says as they continue their walk.
 

Grimoire

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[Tar'lak]
Draco listens intently: "The Ashen cannot risk war. But we will defend our home until death, do what must be done to keep it for our hatchlings"

Draco nods to the Lizardman, respecting his resolve and determination to do what he believes is right. Something Draco understands completely even if his hands aren't as clean.

"Are you familiar with an outpost in Wraithmarsh? Small colony of dwarves, humans, elves working deep in the swamps?" Tar'lak doesn't. Draco continues: "Olium, it's part of New Canaan we took from Shurifon. We've had our conflicts with some of the tribes for nearly a year. I've heard about the other tribes,I know of the Ashen. Tribe living in the Hollows, old civil war burial site, not a place most tribes settle. Advantageous for your kind, but is it worth holding on to?"

Draco looks down to Tar'lak as he continues to ignore him. Draco keeps talking: "Your kin have been pushed underground for years. Sooner or later, you'll move again or die with the rest of the souls residing there. If you're going to prepare for that day when the time comes, you think about it.

I'm offering you a chance to make a difference. Not for just yourself but for your kind, your tribe. Maybe I can help you if you're willing to help us in kind"
 

Grimoire

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[Jibril]
Jibril says in a deadpan way: "I was a guard. After training they send their students to the outside world to get experience."

Kor'da laughs half-heartedly at this but he learns that this was a serious topic that she shared. He tapers off his laugh then let's out a "Hmm"
then he looks to her. Looking her over, appraisal of her physique and toned body. He looks away and refocused his questions to her.

They walked the Dunbar Row boulevard towards the Apple Garden eatery and stepped inside. Once in the interior is welcoming with many tables and a single stairway going over the bar stuck up in the back of the room to the second floor. The room has many patrons and a lot of folks looking to get something to eat.

Taking a seat at an empty table, Jibril whips out a chair for Kor'da with a flair. thenshe cuts Kor'da's bindings and takes her own seat. Kor'da wrings his wrists and looks at Jibril thinking to himself that this isn't another one of the thugs muscling in on him. This was a genuinely nice person forced into this ... This life.

As a feathery harpy waltzes over to their table in a nice tight ruin and her birdlike begs showing while her human half shows off her bust: "Hello! Can I get you two something to eat?"

Kor'da looks to Jibril for a reply to the server.
 

sora21345

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"Jibril well are you going to order something or do you want me to hold your hand and get you a kiddie's meal
 

Khorne

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Tar'Lak stops as the dragonborn finishes his request to full turn to him looking up into his eyes. "The Ahsen have known the hallow for generations. It may not be worth anything to you but it is worth everything to us. you would not understand the weight it holds. I care not for who you are, kin or otherwise, but I know those who live on the surface cannot be trusted. In time we shall see if you and your tribe show there worth to me, then and only then will your offer be taken into consideration." Tar'Lak says as he turns away from the dragonborn and starts to walk again. "Until that time I will see what your leader wish with me, and then Mother's guidance shall decide my fate."
 

Grimoire

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[Tar'lak]
Draco hears this and nods to Tar'lak, he strokes the horny beard of his thinking on this a bit more.

"You raid caravans, barely survive on your own. You may not think of us surface dwellers as civilized." Draco answers, "But if you keep going down this path of resistence. You and your clan of Ashen will fall as those before you."

Then Draco drops a heavy truth on him.

"New Canaan owns Wraithmarsh, Tar'lak of Ashen. Whether you or your kin like it or not, you will be at war with not just your kind but ours as well. Olium is just an outpost for now but that will change. When we reach the Hollows and mine it, there will be no chance for us to be diplomatic about this. I've tried to be civil with your rivals, they paid the price for not taking our presents seriously.

Wraithmarsh will not be the same when you return home. The Hollows will be stripped barren, unless you do something to convince us to reconsider. If you can be the voice to your tribe and make them see reason, we can stop the fate of your people from ending where they sleep.

You would be the first tribe we've tried this with. If you want to save what is left of them, help me do this. I'll aid you however I can if you speak to your chieftain, Tor'uk. We can discuss their relocation to a better home or make arrangements to minimize our interference."

Draco stops Tar'lak in his steps.

"War with the Republic will be a slaughter. I'm not one for it, I wish to prevent it from happening again. You want to defend it, I can respect that. You need weapons, I can get you weapons, I'll take you back to your people safely if you speak for us. We can be your friends on the surface or enemies that will not stop until Wraithmarsh is cleansed. The choice, as Kane puts it, is yours."

He lets go of Tar'lak's shoulder. With a serious face drawn he y at him worried he will make the same mistakes as his enemies have.

"We'll help offload any cargo you have bought, give me the chance to show you we're all not as evil as these people have you believe."
 

Grimoire

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[Jibril]
The harpy walks on her talons towards the kitchen and she puts in the orders. Jibril waits with Tar'lak until their meal arrives. When it does, two large fish appear with a side of lettuce and butter melting on top with a large tankard filled with ale. Jibril gets a glass of water resting with a few cubes of ice in front of her.

Kor'da licks his lips but stops to look up at Jibril, should he eat it? What if were poisoned? But his stomach answers for him. He groans and says: "Shah" then digs into his fish, ripping through the scales with his large teeth then licks out the slitted belly to scarp out the guts before licking his pencil lips. His tail wags as he eats the fish with needy gusto.

He's very happy for it!
 

Khorne

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Tar'Lak does not respond for several seconds before turning and continues to walk. "We shall see Dragonborn. We shall see if your words speak truth or are dipped in venom." he says as they get closer to the market and the blacksmith Tar'Lak ordered from earlier today.
 

Grimoire

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[Tar'lak]
Tar'lak approach the Mitheril Anvil to look over the progress of his order. Sven and his "foot stool" see Tar'lak approach them and they're wiping the sweat off their brows and foreheads with lead gloves and dropping everything down to check with him. When they see Draco, they were cautious.

"Hey, your order isn't ready yet. Scales" the short dwarves answers, he points to Draco, "You two together?
Draco's nods his head to him: "Yes, he is. I hear you've been giving our Commander an issue with our request for raw ore."
"That's right! The Dark Elf!" Sven answers, "Yeah, wanted everything we got got. Says we can deliver it to a caravan outside the city at the Midnight Rider Stables. I said no can do! We ain't got the manpower to move over twenty shipping crates to a destination that far!"

Draco appraisal of the situation: "What's the price for this inconvenience if we did the work ourselves?"

Sven, intrigued: "Welp. We're looking at 1000 Silver plus the spearheads and arrowheads your friend requested totalling to 1500 Silver"

Draco: "That price is steep for the ore."
Sven: "With I got, pal, you're lucky I even have that much. Iron, Brass, Tin, Sulfur and a large amount of reforged steel for that greatsword of yours, plus the spearheads and arrows. That's the best offer I can get ya, otherwise we're gonna have to renegotiate the terms"

Draco reaches down to grab his coin pouch and tosses it to the elf beside him. The elf looks inside, he is shocked and nods to the Dragonborn with a smile.

"We good Thebes?" Sven asks, looking to the elf.
"Oh, were in business" Thebes answers.
"Then we have an accord!" Sven reaches up to shake Draco's hand. "I'll draw up a bill of sale to take with ya. Be back in a minute"

Sven goes back into his forge and takes his associate with him.
 

Grimoire

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[Jibril]
Kor'da looks to Jibril, gulping down his sour Apple ale with glee: "Not recently. No. I've been loyal to Silvermane for his help when I got here and giving me a new start. But I'm struggling to get by paying him back."

He sets his tankard down: belching.

"Until you came, we've only had sellers pawning off things to get by. Few people buy lousy goods falling apart from rust or decay. If I had better goods, they'd buy them up. I can't make a living nor feed myself and my sons. It's no way to live. As much as I want to repay him, I don't have the means to do it."
 

Khorne

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Tar'Lak raises an eye ridge as the dragonborn just threw a pouch full of coin seemingly without a care in the world. "I'm guessing I'm going to be paying you back the coin you used on my order?"
 

Grimoire

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[Tar'lak]
Draco looks to Tar'lak waving his hand to his assumption: "No. We're taking you away from your tribe for a while to discuss the other business. It's the least I can do. Besides, no sense in making us split the bill. Too much hassle. We've been having a really hard month lately, for once, I just wanna give our group a smooth evening. Consider it a gesture of good will. That means I'm trying to be nice, in case you're wondering."

Draco taps Tar'lak on the shoulder before dropping it to his side: "Come, our compatriots will stop by to collect the shipments. Shimbala mentioned you were at the Apothecary shop?"

Sven returns with a few papers with signature on all of them and hands it to Draco. Draco hands Tar'lak part of the bill for his order. Draco rolls up the bill of sale and tucks it into his satchel dangling off his side.
 

Khorne

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Tar'Lak grunted as he put the paper and stuffs it into his bag. "I was. I required healing after a fight with one of Shimbala's warriors." he says pointing to his missing scales and fang.
 

Grimoire

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[Jibril]
Just as the events unfolded after leaving the Apple Garden, Jibril lead Kor'da to Silvermane and everything rapidly descends into a very chaotic evening of horror, ecstacy and more horror. Her dreams turns to nightmares as Jibril remembers the large man lumbering through the halls of Dunwich. The basement of horrors filling her mind, seeing all those bodies decaying and wafting the air rattling her nerves.

The Alter. That's all her mind focused on was the Alter beyond the twist iron devices and the stained transmutation circles. Casks filled with entrails and bloody pools spilling out. The smell is suffocating. Intoxicated. Jibril wants this nightmare to end as she pictures herself being dragged through the dungeon with chains wrapped around her soft neck.

She struggles in vain as the words fa to meet her lips as she felt the lumbering man shackles her to the walls, reliving what the others have suffered. Her mind replays the events of tortured souls beaten, maimed and butchered to such extremes that she screams to herself to wake up.

When it became her time, she was pulled from her shackles, resisting, she's thrown into the open bleeding Iron Maiden with another corpse that expired before her. The purple robes figure laugh as they force the spiked doors closed on her.

"WAKE UP!!!!!!"
 

sora21345

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"Jabril wake's up from her nightmare breathing heavily as if she was being suffocated and covered in sweat
 

Grimoire

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[Jibril]
Jibril wakes up in a cold sweat (if she could) and pants heavily with her heart racing to burst from her chest urging herself to scream. When she awakens, her room was peaceful and secured, not in the deep dungeons being filleted alive or skewered into a big metal coffin. She's only shaking from just how real the nightmares were, but she was in no mortal danger.

From outside her room, she can hear the sound of metal strings being plucked and tuned like a lite from a traveling bard coming from the suite lobby.
 

Grimoire

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[Jibril]
Jibril puts on her tunic and shuffles her feet towards the door, eyes dilated and focusing on the light beneath her door. She opens the door slightly and sees Red-Eye alone on the couch with a large instrument made of wood but it was much bigger than a lute that it was mimicking earlier.

Dangling his legs on the edge of the armrest, it appears he's fully recovered from the broken leg. Seems way too chirper for someone that just had their ass kicked by a guy twice his size. Seems he doesn't sleep a wink at all and keeps his cheerful humming playing to his own tune.