"I am not pleased to align myself with one who speaks so lightly of torture, nor am I convinced that your shapeshifting powers prove you are who you claim. Nonetheless, if you can win the support of my comrades, then you will have mine as well, for I promised to aid them for as long as my chief permits me. "
"Our hosts have kindly offered to allow us to use their city and make use of its facilities." High Priest Ulramis nods. Rilik continues, "I suggest you relax and recuperate for a few days, given the rigours of your sojourn in the Qbarran jungle.
"Then you should head for Regalport. The airship can take you there. Our only real lead at the moment is Grinnersen. We need to determine who hired his men and what are their plans. Though you have demonstrated your resourcefulness in the face of privation, you will be re-equipped so you do not have to go to battle wielding toothpicks again."
"Please provide us with a list of your requirements," says Ulramis, "We will try and provide you with what you need."
"I trust you can bring your absent colleagues on board. Any questions?"
"Bokehn gave us good gear when we left Pooma's village, and you seem to know more about the enemies we will encounter than we do. What gear should we ask for?"
He considers the question of gear, "Nalverren has been planning to see to some of our own equipment needs. Do you have workshops and possibly some assistants who could aid him?"
"We know that the mercenaries take warforged," says Shanquo pointedly to Cole.
"The thing most likely to cause you to be rumbled would be your little necromancer's bony friend," adds Rilik, "Most people prefer not to linger with the undead if they can avoid it, and it's a fairly obvious calling card. If you can disguise or hide it, that would help." He looks critically at the two lizardfolk. "You two might stand out as well, although lizardfolk are not completely unknown in the Principalities. I doubt most mammals would recognise you individually as such, they might realise the Qbarran connection. Not to mention Old Four-Arms..."
"We have magic we use to hide our true appearance when we go abroad," says Leshlec, "We can provide you with some of these items."
"So we are to infiltrate this group of magical mercenaries. To what end? Feed intel to you? Dismantle them?"
With the conference over, the group inside rejoin the party members cooling their heels on the boulevard outside.
Once the others rejoin Tal and Wultram, he bows to the child, and excuses himself and his companions, thanking her for her time.
He motions his head to a large open area nearby, and once they are all isolated he huffs. "So, we found out the smarmy ones were dragons, if I'd known, I'd have tried even harder to insult them. Knowing they are dragons, I'm assuming that as soon as I left, their egos went even further out of control, and they began to let more slip than they would have otherwise." He chuffs in amusement. "It is good to know that some things don't change, anything less than an Ancient Dragon has a built in weakness, their own ego. So, what machinations are they after? I'm sure they insulted you, and us, and then explained how they were much smarter than all of us, claimed some honor that an ancestor did since they haven't actually done anything important, and then bribed you to do their bidding?"
"They were fine." Nalverren states. "Pretty much none of that happened except for the 'bribe' part I guess. Though I don't know about you, but when someone asks me to do something I expect recompense. Since they didn't ask me to do anything I wouldn't already do, I consider it payment. They asked us to infiltrate the group responsible for Da'Sheth and trace them back to who hired them, then shut them down."
"They want something else, dragons never tell you the whole truth, even the honorable ones." Tal warns. "Also assume they may decide you are a loose scale in one of their machinations. Unless you know who they are, and know their outlook on others."
"That's just another Zol for me, friend."
Tal nods, and looks up at the sky. "Well, two things. One, there is a dragon prophecy in the chasm, which is mildly dangerous to visit. Companion Wultrum and I were thinking we should go visit it, as we may get some insight into what the dragons want. However, given it is dangerous, we thought it would be best to take you all along with us so there is someone slower than us should we need to run away from anything." He chuffs in amusement. "Seriously, it could be of use to us. And I suspect we'll need to some time for the bribes to arrive."
Then he sighs. "And two... Does anyone know what happened to the moon that's missing? I've been looking for weeks and it's just gone..."
Tal chuffs. "Odd that we agree on so much while disagreeing on so much."
"Incompetent? Incompetent people don't tend to have their own utopia put together in the depths of a chasm protected by locale and distance, and perhaps magic, from the outside world. As for desires, name me someone who does something for nothing and I will show you a damn liar. Honestly, for people as intelligent as you two are, you are acting rather petulant." Nalverren says, his tone that of surprise rather than of admonishment.
"This isn't their city, Nalverren, they just barged in and showed their true forms and impressed the locals and talked them into letting them work out of this place." Tal corrects Nalverren. "And as to being childish, if you mean my earlier insulting of them, that was intentional to push them and see what they were going to do. Based on their actions, and their lies, I see no reason you would trust them to do anything more than use you like a tool and discard you the first moment you become less than useful."
"Your tone is most amusing, especially when paired with your words" Nalverren responds, mimicking the tone used with him. "It doesn't matter if it was their city, it is now. And regarding your tone, and that of Wultram, I refer to your sulking and refusing to see the bigger picture. I don't care that you insulted them, they aren't my friends and insulting them caused me no harm. We agree in one thing, I do not trust them to do more than use me like a tool and discard me when I become less than useful. That is the life I lead. I monetize my utility, I don't give it away for free to some being claiming divinity."
Nalverren chuckles.
"What are you gonna do, take your toys and go home? Go play the hero, saving damsels and rescuing pets from trees and pretend Da'Sheth never happened? Is your desire to do good in the world so little that you would rather ignore it than see it done while being paid by someone you despise?" He pauses a moment. "You know what happened at Da'Sheth was wrong. You know you should be working towards setting it right. If the payment insults you, gladly tell them that your share can go to me. I'm not too good for money. If it's the employer that insults you, then you aren't willing to do what is right for free. Think on that. If you agree, let me know and I will have them give me your share."
"I never said I was not going to do what I need to do. I simply question the wisdom of letting dragons, whose purpose and hidden desires we do not know, become involved. For all we know, they wish to find out how to replicate what happened at Da'Sheth. Or they were responsible and now that we've survived, they are trying to figure out how. Or they are competitors with those who caused Da'Sheth. Blindly following their lead is as foolish as ignoring what happened. They have shown they cannot be trusted. It would be one thing if someone approached us openly and wanted to help us, but even then, I would be suspicious. Trust is earned, not given. And these have done nothing to earn it, and everything to lose it. Your assumptions are feeble. If you wish to take the Dragon Gold, by all means, take as much as you want. But I warn you, once you take a Dragon's gold, you are the Dragon's Property. Until you die... and even thereafter..." He taps his armor. "Even death cannot prevent the demands of an oath to a Dragon from demanding your soul. Think on that before you become so eager to be the property of those."
"Telling me I get to live again after I die doesn't exactly dissuade me, hah!"
"Anyway, I don't actually care about doing good. I care about being paid. Good and evil both existed before me and will exist after me. They both have money; one takes it and the other has the masses all too willing to donate. Who wins is not my worry, as neither ever truly will. I might as well get paid for my trouble. You sound like you'd be suspicious of your own mother, so your suspicions, given so freely, mean little to me. You are basing your worldviews off of your previous life centuries ago. Eberron's a dynamic place, a lot of what you knew doesn't apply."
"But don't be so sulky, I don't actually trust them. In my line of work, trust is rarely even earned, much less given. Even when earned, it is only so in small measures."
Tal shakes his head. "I'm not sulky, I fully expected you to take gold over common sense." He chuffs. "I am just making sure that I can tell you that I warned you later." He chuffs again.
"Fair enough," Nalverren laughs, "Though, to date, the only thing that has made me experience regret is trekking through that jungle."
Ashshar kept his fangs shut during the whole meeting, briefing and arguing.
The others were, perhaps, too focused on their own debate to notice it but his silence wasn't born from his usual distrust of civilization nor from his shyness.
He was fascinated by the 'serpentfolk' and later on by the actual dragon. A dragon that decided he and the others were so important as to betray his facade and show himself as he truly was.
Ashshar fondly remembered the tribe's stories of legendary hunters, chiefs and warriors. All of them paled in comparison with the bigger picture that the Chamber members presented them.
As the group gathered again, the lizardfolk stood ever silent, deep inside his introspection. That's it, until he spoke.
"I will help them." he atarted, his words trembling "They... they may have betrayed our trusst, and I don't think they told uss everything there iss... but I will help them."
"I am not a hero like Cole Bane of the Devourer and neither I am intelligent like Nalverren or Wultram... but I will help them anyway becaussse I can't return to my tribe knowing I could help sssave the world and refussed becaussse I wass treated wrongly. The deception paless in comparisson with the importance of the tassk."
"I will help them..." he finishes, moatly to himself.
"Take their gear, and do what we need to stop another Da'Sheth, but remember the prophecy warned that some were seeking to do good, but were actually going to ruin. Tal is right that we must not blindly follow the dragons."
"If you want to go into the pit, I will too."
"Companion Wultrum is correct. If you take their gear, be aware that they can likely trace you with it. Scrying on you, or using it to find you if they want to eliminate you. In the war, high ranking officers were all marked by senior wizards so they could be tracked if need be." Tal warns Rehil and those taking the equipment. "I do not think the arcane marks would survive Companion Nalverren's process of disassembly though, so if you do take equipment from the dragons, I would suggest that you have him slowly dismantle all equipment and rebuild it as quickly as he is able. Even if it slows us slightly, it might be worth it in the long run."
"Being on the losing side builds character. Makes you work harder and be a better version of yourself, or you die. And yeah we will take precautions with the gear, you all are right to be cautious."
Cole’s head bounces back and forth, following the conversation. Frankly, this whole engagement was above his rank, and Cole found himself hoping to hear something promising among the points made by his teammates.
” Trust is earned, not given.”
The big warforged cocks his head, “How can that be true? Any creature of free will decides who and what it trusts. Otherwise, it doesn’t have free will, does it?”
"I am not a hero like Cole Bane of the Devourer and …”
At this, Cole’s head whips around. He says nothing, but it’s obvious the big ‘forged doesn’t consider himself to measure up to Ashshar’s words.
Not finding either side of the debate fully swaying, Cole finally weighs in. “I don’t know dragons, demons, or Dust Lords. What I know is I feel the weight of our task pressing down on me; I don’t think we have time on our side. And I don’t want to confront enemies with this much experience without as many advantages as possible,” He taps his warmaul, “including battle provisions.”
He looks to Nalverren, holding up a thick finger, “One. Given our timetable, can you actually strip down and re-construct any gear they give us enough time to use it? And is that something you’re actually interested in doing?”
He looks to the group at large, his second finger joining the first. “Two. Our hosts suggested we go to Regalport to track down one of our leads. The leader of this group of arcane-warriors. Is that our next step? I think it’s our strongest lead without taking more time to go do our own research. But again, time is an issue.”
He looks to Tal’Va’Nocht, raising his thumb (his last finger on one hand) to complete his count. “And three.” His tone lightens, “Who is it that you think you can outrun, friend? But seriously, I am happy to help investigate the pit.”
Tal turns to the construct. "Trust that is given without thought or reason is less than worthless. It is dangerous, for it gives one who has not shown they are trustworthy the same deference that one who has proved themselves, meaning that an enemy can infiltrate your number and disrupt your allies because you foolishly trusted them without reason. This is not to say that everyone must be instantly treated as an enemy, it means you must judge people based on their words and actions, and be judicious in how much trust you put into them until you have tested their trustworthyness. It means that it is unreasonable to expect someone to trust you until you have proven yourself. I do not expect anyone here to trust me because I say they should. I hope they will do so after they have heard my words, observed my actions, and considered it thoughtfully." He looks curious. "What are 'dust lords'?"
When Cole turns light, Tal chuffs in amusement. "I expect to outrun the skeleton to be honest..."
"I didn't say you should trust lightly. I just don't agree with what you originally said. No one can earn my trust without me giving it to them."
At mention of dust lords, Cole turns to open the question to the group, "If I followed the conversation well enough," his tone indicates he thinks it's likely he's missed something, "that is who our hosts believe we oppose. An old foe, to hear them tell it, who wish to break the seals on their prison to rise up and run rampant on Eberron." He pauses considering, "They didn't sound pleasant."
He looks to Nalverren, holding up a thick finger, “One. Given our timetable, can you actually strip down and re-construct any gear they give us enough time to use it? And is that something you’re actually interested in doing?”
"If we take their items, which I will, I almost certainly will not have time to break it down and reconstruct it before departure, and even working on it with maximum effort would likely not allow for it to be done even before our arrival in Regalport. It is a threat we will have to stomach, though, in my opinion. As for interest in doing so, yes, I am."
"As for all this talk of trust. I don't always think actions can be the metric for trust. After all, people are people, they will deceive if they need to. I've deceived people in the past, yet I am trustworthy. Deceit is often necessary to protect oneself, or others."
Wultram smirks a bit. "You would do well to read up on the last war and learn one of the primary advantages that undead troops have." The mage is now a bit more relaxed getting out of the confrontational mindset that the meeting had left him in. "I still have not heard their proposal that some of you seem so keen on following. I seriously doubt it was, here have some free gear and here is a clue we discovered and while you are at it visit this house of pleasure with the finest women from five kingdoms, put it on our tab. We expect nothing in turn. Even they aren't dumb enough to think we would buy that level of deceit."
"Honestly, I don't have a problem with undead. Magic is magic. I haven't awakened to its claws at my throat, and as long as it stays that way, it's fine with me. As for these insidious great wyrms so bored that they play with any motley group they come across, they want us to infiltrate the group that caused Da'Sheth and put an end to them. The group wasn't exactly kind to us so I don't mind. The skeleton might be hard to disguise, same with the four-armed knight. Mundane AND magical disguises are in order. Simple deceit," he says, stopping just shy of winking at the kasatha, "goes a long way."