I have the idea most of it can be chalked up to miscommunication.
I do agree though, it is a shame but like this it doesn't work.
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Leandric takes the note from Edmund and gives the letters a long, hard look. "I don't speak Abyssal either. Never had the need to learn it. Maybe I can figure something out though, some commonalities with languages I do speak."
Would it be possible to try and translate it with Linguistics? Or at the least get a rough idea of the contents?
No idea. Leandric has nothing to add so he remains silent.
"If the local officials come calling because of your ridiculous behaviour I will insist the lady hands you over for proper punishment. By now you should know behaving like a petulant noble brat does not get you anywhere." What follow is a selection of choice curses in Kelish questioning the tiefling's sanity and decency. "You're not a Hellknight yet nor would they tolerate such rash behaviour."
Infernal:
"I don't care. Drunk or not drunk, annoyed or not annoyed, any fight reflects badly on our actual mission here. You sound like a Gorumite." "He jests. Now please, gentlemen. There must be some home you need to be getting to? Some wife waiting for you, all cold and alone in her bed? Wouldn't it be better to go an keep her warm than start a shouting match on the streets?" Despite his words Leandric drew his rapier, though he kept it more or less in the same place it had been before.
"So keep our heads low if we can. We don't want an angry mob chasing us out of the city." The last part was added with a smile and a sideways glance at Edward.
Hiram, have you checked the new Meet the Villains blogpost here on Paizo? A Hellknight from the same place as Hiram himself.
"Edmund, don't be a fool and just hand her over. She's just a dumb kid who made a big mistake. You scared her, she learns not to steal again and the guards will handle the rest." He then moved a bit closer to Edmund before he spoke again, in hushed voice.
Infernal: "Remember that everything you do will reflect back on Lady Dressarose. We do not want trouble with the guards on our first day in."
Leandric followed the whole scene and turned towards any crowd when the urchin shouted in Varisian. Varisian:
"Nothing to see here folks. It's just a thief getting apprehended and soon turned over to the guards." He shook his head at Sclivian's words. There was no way the urchin even had a clue as to what he said. That probably was the point but it wasn't something Leandric liked. That language was used to confound colleagues and competitors, not to spout at clients and other laypeople.
Leandric moves after the tiefling, even if only to make sure the child survives and Edmund doesn't get caught by a lynch mob.
Leandric just wants this situation resolved. Both overreacting and ignoring the situation would reflect badly on the mission and their charge while proper handling could be a boon. If it's up to him they apprehend the thief and then turn him over to local law enforcement, which the inn is filled with.
Yeah, but it's just the Order of the Scourge that believes in very harsh punishment for even minor crimes and would formulate their own sentences. The other Orders are stern but tend to be more sensible when it comes to normal lawbreaking outside of their focus. They'd consider themselves proper authority but would judge according to the exact letter of local laws. In fact I wouldn't be surprised if most Hellknights would simply hand the kid over to the city guard or other authority so they can continue to focus on the mission of their Order. Then again, Edmund does not have proper Hellknight education and probably misses the nuances of the position of the Hellknights.
Following the law is good but chopping a kid's hand off is rather harsh and not to mention unlawful. Edmund is not the proper authority and is not in any position to judge or execute a sentence. Basically Leandric would step aside if the mob comes after you. You'd be an idiot, just like the kid, and just like the kid that has consequences. Now if Leandric were to sentence the kid would end up in indentured servitude till he paid off the 20 gold, no matter if it's recovered.
Leandric offers the man a smile and a nod at his comment before he turns away to check his purse, finding all his money accounted for. "Check your purses. Don't do anything rash." Meanwhile Leandric looks around, looking for this supposed "kid". It could be Beto but the boy was shaking in his boots and would most likely be sacked if he ever was caught stealing.
Like Edmund, Leandric turns around to face the Shoanti. He ignores the words in Infernal and instead sticks to the common tongue, "What's so funny big man? You know, it's awfully rude not to share a good joke."
Well, the guy was pretty good at both stealth and sleight of hand and the dice roller hates us.
I wonder how many dirty tricks I can pull off if a combat breaks out now. Already looking forward to lvl 3 when I'll be pulling off a +10 on CMB for Dirty Tricks, +14 if flanking. The +7 and +11 next level are already quite nice.
Leandric smiles, "Give me the same drink as my friend here. As for food. Do you have some sort of beef stew perhaps? If you do I'd love some, preferably with bread and not potatoes or something."
Leandric takes a seat next to Edmund and leans in to whisper to the tiefling, "I got the bartender to turn a blind eye but that likely means your drinks will be watered down. Just tell me what you want and you'll get my orders instead. And smile, trouble now reflects badly on our charge." He then sat back and relaxed, turning to the server, "Good day Beto. Don't worry, my friend here has already eaten. You are safe." The smile in Leandric's eyes suggested it was a jest but his tone was dead serious.
As you may have guessed, Leandric would rather not cause trouble on the first day in a new town that he might be staying in for quite a while.
Leandric didn't immediately join his fellows, instead heading for the bar. There he spoke to whomever stood behind it, lowering his voice so to such an extent that nearby patrons would still hear him, "Could you do me a favor add a part water to whatever the tiefling orders? I'm afraid my friend there has had a bit too much already and I don't really feel like carrying him home yet again."
"Unless you can raise the dead I doubt that Hiram, but good luck trying." He smirked. "I don't drink either, at least not more than one or two glasses of wine so I should be just fine."
"Good luck contacting my mother if I don't." Leandric smiled at Hiram as he spoke. The old coot was a decent sorts but he could be grumpy. "Relax a bit Hiram. I know part of your job is making sure milady stays safe but she is safe now, at the palace. With a little luck her royal sister will ask her to stay around so that there is enough time to fix the windows." He then turned to Ruttle, "Now that I think of it. Did you arrange any other guards for this estate? Hounds maybe?"
"Don't forget the Hellknights are guests in these lands, as we are. The only power they wield is power that is granted to them but the very groups that do not like them. This isn't Chelish soil, not any more." Somehow both Edmund and Tellis still had the thickness of nobility even while both could barely be considered to belong among them. Edmund only further cemented that believe when he mentioned Marcus' "stock". The only difference between Marcus and Leandric himself was luck. For a moment he wondered if he could set it up so that Edmund would be refused by the Hellknights but quickly dismissed the thought. What he and Tellis needed was education, not abuse. "I need to see if I can get myself some more information on this city. Where the movers and shakers go, where the middle class goes and where the unfortunates live."
"It's not just the populace though, no one here likes them. They work according to their own edicts and defy the authority of the City Guard and they don't listen to the city's rulers either." He wanted to make sure Edmund knew what he was getting himself into. "I can try to figure out who their recruiting officer is and what he demands of new armigers." When Marcus arrived he nodded at the square man but left the answering to Edmund.
Leandric didn't pay much attention to the appearance of the house. He was used to sleeping in inns and while it often were expensive ones it still left something to be desired. "As long as it has a good bed, a decent chair and a proper desk for me to do my writing I am happy." He then walked over to Edmund, placing a hand on the tiefling's shoulder, "If you still want to find the Hellknights here, I can help you. They don't have a place within the city but Citadel Vraid isn't too far from here, only about 50 miles to the South West. It is up in the mountains though. You must also know that the people here aren't fond of them."
Leandric quietly made his notes, adding more personal comments as well. His official reports would be made on official stationary, these were just the drafts. As such he was free to make notations of anything that could prove of interest including his own, personal interest. When the lady left he made a short bow, "You know where to find me should you require my aid milady." Once she was gone he turned to the others, "So Ruttle, what can you tell us about the manor? Any information on the area it is situated in, the grounds belonging to the manor and the previous inhabitants?"
Not Ruttle: The trip had been less than pleasant. While keeping note for lady Arvanxi was what he was hired to do and he found the task quite agreeable, the smell of sick that surrounded her ever since they left port was not. Luckily she deposited most of her stomach contents over board for he could not stand the thought of having to clean up after her should the sailors be otherwise occupied.
As such reaching port was a blessing. It wasn't just that he would have solid ground under his feet again but that she did. From now on recording should be a lot more pleasant. When they all had disembarked and she ordered him to make note of her discomfort he had to suppress a grin. "Of course milady. With your permission I will also add a note for them to further investigate an alternate route via Molthune."
Leandric does not care about Edmund's Tiefling-ness. In fact, from the vague memories he has of his father he thinks he might have been a tiefling as well. He's not sure though, because those memories are vague and he was only 6 years old when he last saw his father and if he was a tiefling the features weren't as dominant as they are in Edmund. He also doesn't mind working with Tellis despite any previous history with his family. Work is just that and when a job is done Leandric moves on to the next. Nothing about it was personal, just business. As for Marcus being a peasant, Leandric cares even less about that than he does about Edmund being a tiefling. He himself is nothing but a lucky orphan, as far as those things exist, and it's only this luck that kept him from a life as less than a peasant. Besides, Marcus seems to be a decent sorts and maybe even more deserving of noble status than some of the babbling hedonists that do hold a title. The rest of the crew, well Hiram is an old, vague acquaintance and a dependable fellow so good in his book and Sclivian holds a job similar to his own. It does mean that he'll instinctively distrust Sclivian, at least at the start, mostly because he knows how he deals with other in his profession.
In case of Leandric I can say that while he is Lawful Evil he leans somewhat towards neutral on both axis. His evil also mostly stems from his selfishness and lack of empathy for all but a select few people. He isn't going out to hurt others just for the fun of it. His is a lazy, passive evil so to speak. One thing I did notice is that we're quite melee heavy with only Sclivian functioning at range.
This should prove very interesting indeed |