CH. 10: Hard Choices

[TristenC]

Common isn't my first language either, so don't worry about it. Grubnick says with a wink as he studies the map carefully, trying to trace the way he first came to Haven. I don't suppose you know when they plan to move on the dwarves... before true winter? A week?

[HorizonsDream]

"Of course, you couldn't trust your daughter for having reasons for joining," Kendra says before she turns back to her mother. "Norris is fine, and we are eating well. You don't need to worry," she assures her.

[djhyland]

"Paladine, of course," says Arulia to correct herself. "It is just...just that I know him as Fizban. I hadn't thought that others might know him differently."

Arulia listens gravely as the man speaks of the brothel. She recalls that the Dragon Queen's people had spoken of reopening the temple during her quickly-ended foray into joining the army. She'd tried not to think about it since, but the idea that she and her family could be forced into such a place has been gnawing at the back of her mind. "Of course," she says. "I'll do whatever I can to help. How can we keep it from opening?"

[JadedDM]

Haahqae and Tulbas (Steel Tankard Inn, Common Room)
The baaz don't seem to be paying any attention to what's going on at the bar, as they are too busy drinking and carousing. The kapak by the door is watching them, though. But he's literally on the other end of the room. Could he hear what they were saying? Do kapaks have good hearing? I mean, they don't even have ears...

"What's funny to me, is you are talking like any of this is new," Keira says. "This city has always had problems. There has always been less jobs than people, and those on the wrong side of that line have always suffered. The only difference between then and now, is that you are now on the wrong side with the rest of us. You were part of the privileged and now you are not. At least you still have options, whatever they are. That's more than most of us ever had. Really, you're lucky."

At Haahqae's offer, Zoya snorts. "Count me out. The last job I went on with you, Mateo died and I got almost nothing out of it. The whole thing turned out to be a waste of time. Even the people we saved just got rounded up and sent off to slave mines a day later. Mateo died for nothing. To the Abyss with both of you," she grumbles, polishing off her drink. She sways slightly, indicating she may have had more than one before they arrived.

Kendra Synclair (2723 Crooked Road, Synclair residence)
"I'm so glad to hear that," Garnet says. "How have you been feeling? Any weight gain? Nausea?" She puts a hand to Kendra's forehead. "Especially in the mornings?"

Arulia Seroth (Thoron's Blacksmithy)
The young man clears his throat. "Actually, I was hoping you might have some ideas. I just got here and don't really know the lay of things yet. But there's only two of us, so I guess our options are limited. Goblins and draconians roaming the streets...dragons in the skies...not sure how you get through each day, to be honest."

Gobax, Felran and Ne-Chanz (High Hand Inn, Common Room)
"It is my understanding that they are heading there as we speak," Green Tears answers. "There was some kind of incident at Pax Tharkas. I have not heard the details, but there was a delay. The army from there was supposed to meet the army from Haven, and together burn down Qualinesti. But the Pax Tharkas army was several days late. By the time they finally reached the elflands, most of them had fled on boats to Ergoth. The Haven army then headed back here. They are supposed to arrive this morning. The Pax Tharkas army went south. I think they are chasing something...or someone, but I'm not sure."

Shima Longfoot (The Happee Ohgr Tavern)
"Wow, guess I can close early today," the barman says upon receiving the copper. Shima leaves and makes his way to the Happee Ohgr. If he thought the Tankard and the Grinning Goat were dives, he was in for a surprise. The Ohgr makes both of them look nice in comparison.

When Shima enters, the entire place goes quiet. Most of the people present are goblins, including the bartender herself. She has short black hair and red skin. She is standing on some kind of raised platform so she can reach the bar easily. Her yellow eyes narrow at the sight of Shima. The other goblins present do likewise. Dwarves and goblins aren't really known for getting along.

Many of the goblins here are soldiers, but not all. Shima notes a few are dressed like sailors, craftsmen, laborers and even mercenaries.

=============

Shima gives a copper piece to the Barman of the Grinning Goat.

[TristenC]

Sounds like someone broke their winning streak... he murmurs quietly. I wonder if the slaves were able to revolt with some help... This kind of confusion could be a good opportunity to stir things up here... but I'll need help... he muses to himself. Only one person crazy enough for it... and he's impossible to predict or control... Thanks for the info. he says, sliding a silver coin to the plainswoman. I'd appreciate it if our little talks remain secret...

Grubnick heads off to Gregeddin's house, and then to the Steel Tankard if nobody is home.

[Chris1234]

~Maybe not~ thinks Shima and reverses back out of the door. ~That's one less to visit tomorrow.~
If not pursued, he heads off to the Blind Chandler.

[Haahque]

"I'm really sorry Zoya. That mission went wrong there at the end. I don't even know why people betray well intentioned heroes like myself like that. Greed probably, geed or spite. I wish I could fix things and make it better I really do. But I haven't discovered any hidden secrets to bring the dead back to life and I don't have the money to make things better for you even if I wish I did." Haahqae notices her sway, that probably means she's a little drunk. And as Haahqae knows, when someone's drunk that's when he should listen to their wisdom the most. Drunk people don't hide behind deceit or complexity, they just say it like it is.

And that thought makes him just a little more glum "No one knew the dragon army was coming."

"The big difference before before and now is that before I was able to help out the less fortunate and feel good about my actions. Now if I try to help out the less fortunate I feel hungry for it instead. I see that you might see it differently, but I like helping people out and it's a pretty big deal for me that I can't. If you don't want in then maybe I will just go and see if the army needs a juggler. Maybe if helping people causes me so many problems all the time I should try thinking about myself for once. Think about what I need for change. Maybe if I get myself on solid footing I can think about helping other people again."
However, as usual, Haahqae's mood is quick to swing. finishing off his breakfast he musters up his courage and stands for what he believes in (currently). Him standing is much of an impressive feat, given his height, but it does make him feel good, at least for now.

So... how does one act greedy? He's pretty sure it has something to do with counting steel pieces over and over again.

Oh, never mind that, what he had meant is that he should find himself a job that pays well and not worry about helping others while doing so. It would be good to get Tulbas's opinion on it though, the elf has been rather quiet right now and he sometimes has good insight.

[spyguy1503]

"Any messages for me?" Ne-Chanz inquires.

[HorizonsDream]

Kendra lightly bats her mother's hand away from her forehead, and takes a step back. "I'm not pregnant, mom," she says. "And I don't really plan to be for awhile."

[mgbevan]

Gregeddin raises his eyebrows at the beheading remark by the prefect, "I volunteered actually, and I hope that one would have to do something quite spectacular to earn such a fate. "

Clearing his throat the bard replies, "My Lord, may I then persuade you towards another perspective. Many belts are indeed tight and can take no more. People are being forced to leave the city. Increasing the rate of tax to generate income is reducing the size of the city's economy. As more people leave, default or starve, you will be forced to again increase the rate of tax just to keep the same level of income as before, more will then leave, and soon there will be no economy left to finance your army." the bard pauses looking concerned for the financial situation of the dragon army. "What I would suggest, is that to increase the amount of revenue you will make, a solution could be to revoke the tax, let trade flow, and increase the amount of money passing through the Haven economy. You could make your city a trading hub of the empire! Has quite a ring to i,t no? And more importantly it would be your city with veins of steel, not some other town." gtegeddin stops waiting for the prefects next move

[chese780]

Felran's just been listening at this point. "So, now what..."

[djhyland]

Arulia is silent for a while, and uses the task of repairing the man's shield to cover the silence. She had hoped that he would have a plan, and she'd never been good at thinking of ideas herself--Cassilda was much better at that sort of thing. Finally, she says, "The lay of things...it's not good. People are terrified of the army and what they've done to the town. Even if there weren't soldiers patrolling the town and bashing heads of everyone who steps out of line, hardly anyone can afford to live here anymore. Those that can't afford to pay for a house or an inn are sent off as slave labor."

"Maybe...maybe there's strength in numbers? If enough people are mad about the brothel, maybe the army would think twice about arresting them all. I don't think that that would keep them from opening the brothel for good, but it might buy some time." She shakes her head. "The only other thing I could think of is setting the brothel on fire before it opens. But that's dangerous, and the army would surely kill whoever did it. And even then, they could just find another building to use. With so many people without money, there's plenty of empty buildings in town."

[JadedDM]

Haahqae and Tulbas (Steel Tankard Inn, Common Room)
Keira chuckles darkly. "If you perform for the army, I hope you're really good then. I heard that a pair of minstrels performed for them once and the dracs didn't care for them. Nearly beat the two of them to death as a result. And to think, some performers worry about being pelted with old tomatoes."

Kendra Synclair (2723 Crooked Road, Synclair residence)
Garnet snickers. "Nobody plans to ever get pregnant, Kendra. It just happens. I was younger than you are now when I had you. Do you think I planned that?" she asks, teasing.

Gregeddin (Prefect's mansion)
Tethys chuckles. "An interesting theory. But with one fatal flaw. It would take time; a great deal of time. Time which we do not have. The Emperor intends for the war to end come spring time. We require that tax money now. The sooner we win the war, the sooner things could go back to normal." He shakes his head. "Even if I agreed to lower taxes, Verminaard would step in and replace me with someone who would raise them back up. Unless you can come up with an alternate source of funds, my hands are tied on the matter."

Arulia Seroth (Thoron's Blacksmithy)
The young man considers carefully before replying. "So...incite a riot or commit arson." He chuckles. "Not quite as heroic sounding as I had hoped. But I suppose beggars can't be choosers."

He shrugs. "In any case, let's consider them. For the riot, how many people do you think we'd need to rile up to be enough? Is there a place where we could speak to a large group of people without being noticed by the dragonarmy? For the fire...I agree that they could always find a new place, but they've already invested a lot of coin and time into the current place. They would have to start over again, which would not only cost them, but buy us some time. The real tricky part is controlling the fire, so it doesn't spread and take out the whole city with it. What do you think?"

Gobax, Felran and Ne-Chanz (High Hand Inn, Common Room)
Green Tears rolls up her map and places it back under the counter. "Yes, in fact," she says to the minotaur. "Someone left a message asking to meet you at the Grinning Goat."

Gobax slips the old woman a silver piece, then turns to leave. Just as he is about to open the door, though, it swings open on its own suddenly, slamming the wall with a loud crack. A figure steps inside, about the same height as the goblin, but stouter. He looks like a dwarf, but he is wearing a heavy cloak and the cowl conceals most of his face. His bright red beard easily is seen, though.

"Well, well, well!" the dwarf says. "I had heard this was a reputable establishment! But if they serve gobbos here, maybe not!" He grins mischievously and approaches Gobax.

Shima Longfoot (The Blind Chandler)
Quickly stepping back out, Shima instead heads for The Blind Chandler. Stepping inside, he is greeted by the pleasant scent of oils, soaps and candles. Hanging by the window is a rack with multiple candles tied to it, drying in the sun. There are no other customers currently present.

Candles.jpg (95.3 KiB) Viewed 7785 times

The proprietor is a human woman, middle-aged, who steps out from behind the back when she hears Shima enter. Despite the name of the place, she does not seem to be blind whatsoever. "Hello? Is there something I can help you with today?" she asks. "Are you looking for soap? Candles? Perfume?"

[spyguy1503]

Ne-Chanz glances up, in case the dwarf starts something.

[TristenC]

Grubnick quirks a mirthless grin at the newcomer. It's a cleaner place than I'm used to, he banters. Green Tears there, he gestures to the plainswoman, She keeps a good place. I guess I'm the only goblin staying here and I doubt we'll see much of each other. He steps around the dwarf to the door, but turns back a moment. What's with the hood, you hiding or something?