"Yes - something like that"
A tall, swarthy man stands up in the corner and moves woodenly towards the magical list.
What does paper say? It lists crimes? What is Shame listed as?
He stares blankly at the sheet, as if willing understanding to come to him.
Hmn. Well that beats being locked up in a prison cell with unwashed masses of true criminals, I suppose. The icy facade slips for a moment and the elf curses. Blast! What a sodding place to end up..
Her hands toy with the robes again, a habit showing her frustration. I can see why you might want a place to work, devil-born. I trust they'll treat you better than they will the rest of this lot..Bloody self included. Although we shall see with several murderers in our midst. Ariana's icy glare moves to encompass Zayid and Ursus.
Ariana scowls and takes a half-step toward Korrith. That was a misunderstanding! I was trying to catch a wererat and he was about to turn the child. The mother is a fool and knows nothing and the city is full of blind old men!
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Ooh, lycanthropes. Nasty critters. We had to deal with a fire giant wereallosaurus once. That wasn't pretty... we were fighting that thing for hours, and the Embermaw was out hunting. Course, then one of our sorcerers turned it into a rabbit and the tribe hacked it to pieces, but that was terrifying.
Fire is power. Fire is life. Sometimes the fires burns out of control...
As Pelgrev speaks, he seems to grow larger and an intensity builds in his eyes.
Pelfrev sighs heavily.
Sometime coals are banked, because fire needed later.
Pelgrev seems to shrink back into himself. He starts staring at the paper again, and starts mumbling.
We can be forgiven?
He absent-mindedly rubs a brand on his neck.
Ariana takes a chair and stares at the guards. They won't respond to you, lizard. They are simply here to guard us and likely don't even know when a supervisor will arrive. It is even possible their supervisor is watching the room to see how we react to one another. Overt aggression may suggest incompatibility with the rehabilitation the teifling referred to. For all we know, she is the supervisor. But I somehow doubt it.
Freia realizes Pelgrevs plight and reads his crime in a hushed tone.
"Murder"
Pelgrev turns and looks at Freia. A sadness shadows his visage.
Murder? I have many crimes, but murder was only in heart.
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Um... I blew a hole in a church. The cleric hired me to kaboom a toolshed, and it was too close to the main building, alright? I'm starting to remember last night. I met this angry-looking dhampir that said he was looking for a goblin, and then I downed a whole cask of ale, and then the cleric hired me, and then kaboom kaboom kaboom, and then I woke up here.
The kobold's rambling degenerates into Draconic at this point.
Korrith decides to address the guards. Hey, uh, are we supposed to be waiting for someone?
Was that a nod, or was there a stray breeze through the perfectly still room that ruffled Absentia's hood?
Lizard makes kabooms? Sczarni bosses would have liked you.
A wry chuckle escapes with a smile before Pelgrev's countenance resumes it's heavy frown.
Korrith's rambling earns a disgusted look from Ariana. She replies, her voice dripping in dry sarcasm. No? I can't possibly imagine you as anything other than the most efficient client this program has seen.
Zayid glances up with a start, his eyes seeking out the one addressed by the blue-skinned woman. He gazes at Pelgrev thoughtfully, then, and seems to tune out the others in his study of the black-bearded man. Another... but is he claiming innocence? Is he lying? He's not saying anything about self-defense...
Pelgrev's feels eyes upon him. He looks around, noticing the seated man's gaze.
He turns to look at him with a surprisingly soft expression. You are quiet. Do you fear death stalks you here? You have not harmed me, you need not fear.
Zayid's eyes widen momentarily as the big native addresses him, then he shakes his head. His voice when he answers is quiet; almost too quiet to be heard above the other conversations. "No... no, I... I'm not afraid. Just... watching. Listening."
Pelgrev drags a chair beside Zayid. Sitting down on it, he places his back against the wall.
Observing your surroundings is wise. It would be poor to be surprised or to flush your prey.
Pelgrev begins to measure up the others.The big blond one looks capable of handling himself. I'm not sure I'd want to square up with him.
The little, blue-skinned girl doesn't seem to fit this group, but she was kind to me. She may need protection.
The lizard is clearly crazy. But is he dangerous?
The younger man nods. "I..." He glances up at the list, then lets his gaze wander back to the assembly. After a moment he continues, though he speaks softly in hopes that only Pelgrev will hear him. "Have you been here... in Magnimar, I mean... have you been here long?"
That shouldn't alarm him... or offend him, I hope... after all, I'm not asking his name or where he's from... or who he works—worked—for...
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What's with the murders? Little man trying to hide in the corner, you don't look like a killer. But then, I probably don't either, and I've force-fed goblins copious amounts of unstable alchemical reagents.
Once he realizes that the dimmer folks don't understand him, he sighs. I threw bombs in their mouths. Very messy. Lots of cleanup. Goblin gibbets don't make for very good decoration, surprisingly.
Johnny stands there listening to the others and then decides that all he really wants is freedom no matter what it will take to gain it.
Murderers, Arsonists, Burglars, and any other miscreant there can be. And yet we are given a chance at redemption and the ability to work off my sentence. I will take it. Tell me what I must do and I will do it. But to be honest I have only done what I have done because of circumstances. I wish to help those that need it because there was no one there to help me when I really needed it.
Johnny stands with his knees slightly bent and his weight centered underneath him. He continues to look around darting his deep blue eyes from side to side almost anticipating something that was going to happen.
I have been in the city for several moons... The boys had me doing "jobs" for them. It was easy work, but hurting people not natural.
A grimace of distaste mars Pelgrevs face as he spits the word "jobs" out.
Pelgrev looks at Korrith. Killing goblins is not shame, in battle. I hurt many, am no innocent. Pelgrev's look becomes one of open challenge. But I am no murderer. The one I would kill... he is gone from my grasp.
"You did not kill him, then? Why... why do they believe you did?"
Careful... getting a bit personal... and with one of the Sczarni's, no less. Tread carefully...
Pelgrev shrugs.
Words not my strength. The guards no believe he was dead when I found him. I was to hurt him, but dead men never pay.
Concentration furrow's Pelgrev's brow. His voice softens to a near whisper.
Guards were there so fast... I had no time.
Zayid nods. "Yes... so fast. The yelling, and the anger and assumption of guilt..." The young man's quiet voice trails off into silence. The same... he is... completely different, and yet... would he have killed him? He said there was murder in his heart...
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Korrith jumps in front of Zayid, So who'd you kill, hidey-man? I think you're Zayid, and the list says a guy named Zayid committed murder. You don't look like a killer. But then, a killer wouldn't want to look like a killer, because then it'd be obvious that he was a killer, so he'd make as much of an effort to look as little like a killer as possible, so maybe you DO look like a killer.
Zayid blinks at the kobold and shrinks away from it slightly, then narrows his eyes. His fists clench as he shakes himself out of his quiet contemplation. "I DIDN'T KILL HIM!" he nearly yells, anger evident in his voice as he jumps from his seat and glares down at the reptile. His breathing is hard, and he looks like he's considering violence.
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Why the yell? Did I confuse you? I'm not surprised, I confuse myself sometimes! And furthermore, pickles ale beverage, goblins kobold deer. What's that mean? It means I'm an alchemical genius in about negative four different languages! Kaboom!
The alchemist is quite clearly too far gone to recognize Zayid's rage for what it is, and the cheerful tone has not left his voice.
"Be quiet." orders Zayid, trembling with anger. "Be quiet or I'll show you 'kaboom'."
He throws a glare toward the Ulfen, but his anger is primarily at the kobold.
Zayid watches the kobold retreat, his fists slowly unclenching even as his breathing becomes calmer. With a final glare he sits back down and puts his head in his hands, his gaze on the floor.
Freia takes a few steps away from the yelling man - her instincts telling her that this might end up bad. However, it all resolves without bloodshed and she exhales deeply in relief. Realizing that almost everyone else is getting seated she hurriedly looks around the room for a vacant chair and drags it back to where she was standing close by the kobold and Ursus before taking her seat.
"Atleast they are not fighting"
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Ursus’s massive frame tenses when Zayid’s behavior becomes erratic. He visibly relaxes again when the kobold retreats and the osiriani man backs down. He gives the darkly tanned man one more dismissive glance before gracelessly taking a seat himself on the floor.
”So what are we waiting for?” he asks aloud with a perfunctory growl. ”Or is this some kind of game?”
Ariana laughs lightly, her laughter like the tinkling of bells--a hard contrast to her sharp appearance and proud demeanor. Her fingers trace arcane runes across the edge of the chair, their meaning obscured by the edge of her robes. She flashes a rare smile at Ursus. Wise words. But it is not wise to taunt those you may be working with in the future. A lesson I have trouble learning myself sometimes. I believe they have us waiting for a superior to arrive. We are convicted, and are not likely to expect punctuality.
Still addressing the Ulfen, Ariana folds her fidgeting hands in her lap. Perhaps we could share names, yes? At least, it may be important if we are expected to do joint work with this organization the tiefling has spoken of. I am Ariana.
She watches the little kobold, tracing the elvish word for a rambunctious child across the wood in pale, green symbols. Explosives and an attitude like that..not surprising that you would find your way here.
"Wow, you guys murdered someone? Did they deserve it?"
I'll assume it has something to do with the man you broke to end up here.
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Um... Just to clarify, I was drunk last night. Piss drunk. Like, I'd downed enough ale to knock out a storm giant. Also, I already introduced myself. Korrith Embermaw, red-scaled brewer, demolitions expert, exiled alchemist, egg-breaker— (Korrith's tail starts twitching violently) —and follower of the ways of Nethys and Cayden Cailean!
Korrith attempts to strike a heroic pose, but the effect is ruined by both his small size and his spastic tail.
I may be mad, but dammit, I'm still alive for a reason! It isn't just luck that I haven't accidentally poisoned myself or turned myself into a pile of charred death! I have the brains to break new ground in alchemical study!
The speech seems well-prepared, though its force is once again marred by his size and tail.
"I've partied with Korrith before ...he's a pretty OK guy, if you ask me. We we together at any point last night? I have no idea what I might have destroyed-slash-stolen."
The slender elf laughs. "So, Amin arwen," Arthiien's voice drips with sarcasm when he addresses the elven woman, "what would bring you here among all us lower folk?"
”And what should I call you sweetheart?”
Ariana. Ariana Rosencruz. And if you call me that again, I shall blind you, put you to sleep, and throw you into a lake.