Besides the obvious answer of the siege slooowly bleeding resources out of the city, I just procc'd the Hobgoblin mob for the first time on a new character and, well, I kinda wanna know if I should connect the dots between this diatribe and recent revelations about the Royal Family from the Khor'Minos Ball.
So obviously, quarantines come with certain unavoidable drawbacks, as we've all learned too well in the last couple years. But is that all there is to this, or did NPC dialogue or the banquet quest offer any more insight on that front?
"Look, you just pay the hobgoblin toll, and we can pretend that we didn't see you, okay? Or if you'd rather, we can do this the hard way."
The hobgoblin toll, huh? And what would the hard way be, out of sheer curiosity?
"Look, sister. I don't want to fight you — trust me on that, I really, really don't. People might get hurt, and pretty badly at that. But you know what I don't want more? To simply curl up in a slum gutter and wait to die of hunger because food's costing far too much thanks to the slum lords."
Brint grunts and folds his arms. "If you haven't noticed, there're demons wandering the roads. Imps and other nasty things."
The lead hobgoblin waves him off dismissively. "If you haven't noticed, brother, there're a lot more people inside the city as of now. You're fine, the king and his cows look out for citizens like you. We slum trash, he thinks his glorious city would be cleaner without useless eaters like us, so screw him."
"Is that really what you think of King Kelsaz?"
"You wouldn't know, would you, bull? When bread costs five to ten times what it used to? The charges sure aren't enforcing his price controls in the slums, and wages aren't what they used to be. Not like there's any call for porters or tunnel guides within the walls, either. Demons? I might die from demons, I will die from starvation. Those are odds I'm willing to take.
"Now then. Are you going to pay us, or what?"
What's he looking at?
"I don't know, you look pretty rich, what with your Izkanti dress, Chrysanthemum Petal and all. Wealthy folk like you, a handful of coin isn't nothing to your coinpurse — how about we call it 300 EC and leave it at that? Feed me, my crew and our families for a little bit? That used to be thirty mugs of beer in the slums. Now, it's maybe eight on a good day."
The hobgoblin toll, huh? And what would the hard way be, out of sheer curiosity?
"Look, sister. I don't want to fight you — trust me on that, I really, really don't. People might get hurt, and pretty badly at that. But you know what I don't want more? To simply curl up in a slum gutter and wait to die of hunger because food's costing far too much thanks to the slum lords."
Brint grunts and folds his arms. "If you haven't noticed, there're demons wandering the roads. Imps and other nasty things."
The lead hobgoblin waves him off dismissively. "If you haven't noticed, brother, there're a lot more people inside the city as of now. You're fine, the king and his cows look out for citizens like you. We slum trash, he thinks his glorious city would be cleaner without useless eaters like us, so screw him."
"Is that really what you think of King Kelsaz?"
"You wouldn't know, would you, bull? When bread costs five to ten times what it used to? The charges sure aren't enforcing his price controls in the slums, and wages aren't what they used to be. Not like there's any call for porters or tunnel guides within the walls, either. Demons? I might die from demons, I will die from starvation. Those are odds I'm willing to take.
"Now then. Are you going to pay us, or what?"
What's he looking at?
"I don't know, you look pretty rich, what with your Izkanti dress, Chrysanthemum Petal and all. Wealthy folk like you, a handful of coin isn't nothing to your coinpurse — how about we call it 300 EC and leave it at that? Feed me, my crew and our families for a little bit? That used to be thirty mugs of beer in the slums. Now, it's maybe eight on a good day."
So obviously, quarantines come with certain unavoidable drawbacks, as we've all learned too well in the last couple years. But is that all there is to this, or did NPC dialogue or the banquet quest offer any more insight on that front?
