Rauch lounges into a seat and waits for the gnome to speak.
After everyone has taken a seat, the forest gnome savors another sip of brandy and begins, ”Greetings. My name is Belbajak Sweetwater. My cousin just delivered a note that mentioned you and has a tight delivery schedule. A small group of Red Hand slavers are transporting an elf slave through Estfalk without official sanction from the dukedom. They’re hiding out in an abandoned mine in the hills north of here until the Red Hand comes to collect ‘em in at most four days. The note suggested that you would be interested in helping to free the slave and demotivate the slavers.” He pauses and lets that sink in.
”If you’re in, who are ya’? And we’ll leave at dawn from here.” He sips his brandy and watches reactions.
Barazi crouched down on the floor between Ruach and Argyri, watching the gnome speak a long speech in human-tongue. She didn’t understand very many words, but “elf slave” was a phrase she had been taught. She becomes quite anxious, and grips at the leg of Ruach’s pants near his knee and looks to him for a sign of what to do.
At the first mention of the Red Hand, Ruach falls backward off his chair. He quickly scrambles back up, brushing himself off. All vestige of his drunkenness disappears under focused attention as he absorbs the rest of Belbajak's words. His hand subconsciously tightens on the hilt of the longsword at his waist.
"Now you're speaking my language, Belbie. They call me Rosetongue, they do. And a happy wee clam I'd be were the Red Hand to meet their end by me."
He absently pats Barazi on the head as she clings to his leg. "S'ok , lass. We've just found a golden opportunity to free more of our less fortunate kin, we 'ave." He motions in front of her, and a smoky pink illusion of a pair of shackles flows between his hands before breaking, then disappearing like a popped soap bubble.
Seeing an elf huddled under the table with the same look as some of his fey friends, Belbajak repeats himself in Sylvan, ”Cyfarchion. Fy enw i yw Belbajak Sweetwater. Dim ond nodyn a roddais atoch chi ac mae ganddi amserlen gyflenwi dynn yn unig. Mae grŵp bach o garcharorion Red Hand yn cludo caethwasiaeth elf trwy Estfalk heb gosb swyddogol gan y ddedfryd. Maent yn cuddio allan mewn mwynglawdd sydd wedi ei adael yn y bryniau i'r gogledd o'r fan hon hyd nes y bydd y Red Hand yn dod i gasglu yn ystod y pedwar diwrnod mwyaf. Awgrymodd y nodyn y byddai gennych ddiddordeb mewn helpu i ryddhau'r caethweision a difetha'r caethweision. "
The forest gnome pauses again and continues, "Os ydych chi i mewn, pwy yw ya? A byddwn yn gadael yn y bore o'r fan hon."
A look of excitement comes over Barazi’s face as she understands perfectly the gnome’s words! ”Helo! fy enw i yw Barazi! Rydw i o dir arall, a chyn belled ag y gwn, y olaf o'm bobl. Daeth dynion sy'n dwyn baneri o law coch a'u lladd neu eu gweini i ni i gyd. Achubodd Ruach ac Argyri fi, ac rwyf wedi bod yn ceisio eu helpu erioed ers hynny.”
Belbajak recognizes and appreciates that internal light in a creature being finally understood. "Wel, mae gennych gyfle i gael dial yna. A gobeithio mai Elf yw'r teulu."
Barazi’s eyes first look nervous, but at the last part of the gnome’s statement, she clearly grows hopeful.