Archived threads:http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive.html?tags=slaver+questYou are Estavo Zahak, prominent Slave Trader of Narleen, arguably the greatest city in all of the Grand Country. You have a license to deal in both labour and pleasure slaves, and have been named head of the Zahak Narleen offices. Recently you have acquired a ship and a captain to man it, and have opened a cannon foundry with your sister, Theresa. You are already reaping the rewards of this endeavour.Investigating your brother's dealings after his suicide, you have come across disturbing revelations connecting him with the strange bokor-houngan Artur Stonesnake. Lured into an ambush at your brother's mansion, the man-witch almost killed you, slaughtering your men in the attempt. You barely escaped with your life.Rules: Direction is based on consensus rather than rolling, as per anon's suggestion. If there is a deadlock in terms of consensus however, a roll will be called for. First three rolls, highest of a d100 wins.If you have any questions about setting/fluff I'm more than happy to answer them.
Sorry this is later than promised, but life got in the way.
Nobody?If you are put off reading an archive or jumping in late in the game I'm more than happy to fill you in. If no one is interested I might try again tomorrow or on Sunday.
>>19453944Didn't see you there.Ok, we fucked up last session. Get the guard, as many as we can, let them see the zombies within the joint and BURN IT TO THE GROUND.
>>19453944Wait.I'm here!God damn, I've been waiting for more than a week.I'll be back in 10 minutes, I need to get something in order!>>19453975Please don't burn it.Lets hire mercenaries for this job (in addition to guards) and clean it up, later we'll go through the mansion with Dawnstar to make sure it is not tainted
>>19453975(Great!)A plan comes to you as you stand outside the silent manor. Gathering the city guard and burning this place to the ground. Collecting your self, you run for the city wasting no time. Stag-Horn matches your long stride, eyes alert for hidden dangers.The lamp lights of Narleen are a small comfort once you are back in its heart. Night was out and the streets were almost deserted save from the street trash that called it home.The chief offices of the watch was close to the Arena, in the very heart of Narleen. It doesn't take you long to find them, and when you do you find a group in mid-celebration. Watchmen revelled drunkenly at their posts, exchanging shouts across the street while others were sick in the gutters.A throng of citizens made a crowd at the end of the street close to the Arena.It was a common scene, but unwelcome considering your current predicament.
>>19454021>Gathering the city guard and burning this place to the groundDO NOT BURN ITIF WE BURN IT THEN THE WHOLE THING WILL HAVE BEEN FOR NAUGHTWE WONT GAIN ANYTHING IF WE BURN IT AND WILL JUST HAVE LOST A VALUABLE ALLY.Seriously. Hire tons of people (mercenaries, gladiators, whatever), we have a lot of money from the down payment of the musket orders.We should hire them for just this one job. I don't know how much it will cost, but 2-3 stars per person for few hours of work is more than enough, right?
>>19454021We need a lot of guards to see this joint, I just hope that Stonesnake isn't able to clean it up quickly. We need other eye witnesses than ourself if we want to convince people to band together, get a fuckton of cannon and bombard his house until it is smoking rubble. I'm tired of Stonesnake living here.Find whoever is most chief looking, tell him to get the most sober of the guard and inform him that there is a major situation that we need them for.
>>19454048Stonesnake is King's liaison [right word?], just showing them few zombies is not enough to convince anyone to kill him. If anything, they WILL suspect the Zahak family consorting with dark arts because there is NO evidence that those zombies in Esteban's mansion came from Stonesnake.Remember, no one believes that magic exists, that means that no one has means of investigating supernatural shit. Basically, they will jump to conclusions immediately.
>>19454047> but 2-3 stars per person for few hours of work is more than enough, right?This is acceptable, but more experienced mercs would ask for about double that even for only a night's work.So that's a no to burning it down, but still collect guards/soldiers to go back with you and clear it out?
>>19454067We'll need more corroborating evidence to bring a lot of people over but a great deal of people dislike Stonesnake and his being here.We need hard evidence to show some people, though we might be able to bring the Wolfsburgs in on this with what we have and our friendship.
>>19454067Also, Stonesnake is a member of the council. Seriously, it will take hard undisputable evidence and a lot of clout to convince anyone to kill him.>>19454072Yes, guards + mercs. I think 40 cheap mercs and 10-15 experienced ones will be good enough.
>>19454088That's what I'm saying. Those zombies are not any kind of evidence at all. In fact, it would be incredibly easy to spin it to make our family the bad ones.
>>19454096Hopefully we'll be able to get something by clearing the house and finding correspondence. Also for the Zeds, set up a choke point for them to come at people with long spears to prevent them from closing the distance. Don't let them surround or get into close combat.
>>19454107>Hopefully we'll be able to get something by clearing the house and finding correspondence. Hopefully, thought I wont hold my breath over it since it was said that Esteban is not the one to keep records.Also, we should capture a couple of zombies for research, evidence or whatever
>>19454121Even in death Esteban is still a bitch to work with. Even in death he confounds our efforts to get shit done. What an ass.
You think twice on the knee-jerk reaction of burning the whole damn place down, but you are certain you need guards and witnesses. The testimony of one slave trader and his native manservant wasn't the best evidence in the world.You grab the shoulder of one guard who seemed only mildly drunk compared to his compatriots."Where is Phillipe Atois?" you bark.The guard gives a fuzzy smile. "T' commander? Up in his office." He jerks a thumb over at the watch house. "Working late on a night like this. Couldn't pay me to do that."You draw past him impatiently and slam your way into the watch house. Young men in shackles lined the walls under the watchful eye of an experienced old soldier, fat as a sausage but with a hard look in his eye. Riff-raff drawn off the street no doubt, most drunk and bloody to boot."Lord Atois," you demand. The fat man nods up to the stairs leading above. "Be prepared to march out, I'll need every piece of steel behind me," you say ominously before striding on.You come up to the office and give a brief knock before pushing your way in."Estavo!" a mix of surprise and outrage as Phillipe stood poised above a half dressed girl bent over his desk. "What the hell is the meaning of this?"You take a deep breath.(roll a d100 over seventy, three chances)
>>19454130Yeah, that motherfucker. And we lost a valuable ally because of him.We will have to go and buy a good gladiator or two to act as bodyguards. Also, I think Orion was the only one who oversaw beggar information network. We will have to work on that thing again.
rolled 33 = 33>>19454137"My brother's mansion has been besieged. I escaped barely with my life while my bodyguard sacrificed himself. No time to talk!"
rolled 17 = 17>>19454137If he refuses offer money like... 50 taels
rolled 47 = 47>>19454137Bad juju my friend, bad juju.
rolled 71 = 71>>19454162>>19454166>>19454177Well shit.I guess we'll have to offer money or something after all.
>>19454177>>19454166>>19454162Phillipe straps up his britches as you babble. A rush of garbled words that, even as you speak them realise are wasted on the stone faced commander. You belted on his sword, slapped the girl on the rump and rounded his desk to face you. She stood and hitched up her small clothes, smoothing out her skirts."Do you hear what you are saying? Are you drunk?" he sniffed at you suspiciously.Stag-Horn gave a snarl which earned a whip-shot look from Sir Phillipe."It's close to midnight, those damn crowds will be pouring out of the Arena soon. We will be up to our arse in blood drunk bravos looking to prove how tough they are, and you are suggesting I drag away a force of men to guard a dead man's property? The Zahak's can do as all the other families do, hire their own men to keep their private affairs in order."He dug a thick finger into your chest."Get your House in order Estavo," he growled, forcing you out of the office.
>>19454183If you want to try a bribe, roll a d100 over 75. Phillipe isn't corrupt to your knowledge, it'll take some doing and might not go down well if it fails.
>>19454216Well fuck. What other forces do we have access to?
rolled 77 = 77>>19454227Ah well, forget it.Ask him to spare one man as a witness, someone he trusts. We will hire the rest.45 cheap mercs and 15-20 experienced ones.
>>19454233Ben Cohen and another ten or so men, most likely at the Mermaid's Cunny, and the money to hire on more men as you did with the Brothers.Orion usually managed additional hires however. You could probably make a good snap judgement, but the whole hiring process is not something you are intimately familiar with.
>>19454238> a fuck it> roll a 77If you want you can count it.
>>19454250No time to waste. We'll have to just hope that the people we hire are competent. We'll just look for people who look competent by their armaments. Also, in the previous thread we talked to some mercenary commander, didn't we?>>19454256Really? Okay.But I'm a bit worried that removed the guards here will lead to something bad down the line when they can't keep the crowd under control.Ask for 10+ good men.
>>19454256If we can count that then do so, I think he'll understand the rational and not be annoyed at the bribe once he sees what happened.We should still get Cohen and his men and see if we can pick up some extra auxiliary forces.
>>19454272We should send Stag-Horn to Cohen with the orders while we hire some mercs as not to waste too much time.
>>19454266>>19454272"Would a hundred stars make my business your business?" you draw out your purse. Phillipe paused as he was about to slam the door in your face. "All I need from you is ten good men armed with pikes. I can supply the rest.""Well now," he leans on the door frame thoughtfully.You point to the girl, who is fixing her hair under a bonnet. "I don't believe that is your wife Lord Atois," you add.He scowls. "Ten men for a hundred stars, and you don't mention the girl." He spat on his palm and struck it out. You spat and shook it. Throwing him the purse you leap down the stairs. The fat old soldier was strapping his bell helm on."Get nine sober men and follow me, grab some pikes and torches," you say."Do as he says," Phillipe calls down after you.The fat old soldier nods and sets to the task, rounding up a quick batch of junior watchmen."A rough lot, but they'll hold," he said.You nod and head for the Cunny. Tucked by the harbour, it has a roaring trade of sailors, sell-swords and other disreputables.You spot Ben dicing in the corner with Nubian sailors, with your own men backing him. They 'seemed' sober.Across the other side you note Captain Brighton wrestling a burly but short sailor, driven on by the cheers of her crew. Not many sober faces, but the ones that were, were your men.(roll a d100 for hire ons. Fourty for five. Every ten past that nets you an extra five. Three rolls only)
rolled 86 = 86>>19454319come ooooon
rolled 8 = 8>>19454319Good, we've got pikes. Pikes are useful against supernatural charger creature things.
rolled 10 = 10>>19454331Sweet.....Should we send Stag Horn to grab Dawnstar too?She'll hang in the back of course but having someone who understands juju would be valuable.
>>19454331You take a stand upon an over turned seat and throw back your half cape. "All men of grit and valour, grab a sword and stand with me! All men of mercenary nature, I've gold on the offer! You might have heard of me. I crushed the Brothers in weeks past. Now I've found more villains in need of killing. Come with me if it is glory and riches you seek, but be prepared for mortal peril!"The Cunny is silent only for a whisper before clamouring cheers rip out. The Nubian sailors produce wicked cutlasses, and Brighton raises her twin swords in your name.Thirty men, half the tavern, come spilling out after you, surprising the city watchmen waiting outside. Your men march with them.Ben shoulders up through the crowd. "Where's Orion?" he asked. You display his eye patch grimly and he turns paper white.Your men gather behind you in a stream, half a column of troops, half a screaming lynch mob.On to Esteban's manor?
>>19454372Get Dawnstar, we need a juju expert about. Keep her in the back, far from the fighting.We'll do this slow, methodical and patient. No rushing in, no getting swarmed, attract a few Zeds to our death zone at a time, pikes pin them down and keep them at a distance while others chop them to shreds.
rolled 94 = 94>>19454372Yes. Quickly!Hopefully it is still standing and the zombies haven't fled yet.
>>19454388Send Stag-Horn to grab her while we march out. Tell him to be quick
>>19454388>>19454393You grab Stag-Horn by the shoulder. "Get your sister," you say.He stumbles and looks up at you. "I'm sworn to stay beside you," he objects, but a hard push sends him stumbling out of the column."I need her!" you yell across the marching column. You see the boy nod before he ducks away, while you are carried onward to your elder brother's.It was much as you had left it, and on reaching it found the rumbustious crowd much less lively. It stands like a dead sentinel, seemingly normal but giving off a deathly aspect that sends a ripple of fear through the crowd. You note this, but are unaffected by it all the same, a strange dissonance.Drawing your sword you make your plan known. You would draw the enemy into the courtyard and funnel them into a meat grinder under the entrance arch. The pikes would hold them at bay as the swordsmen did the bloody work.The men seem uncertain now more than ever. They start grumbling misgivings and doubts.Just how are these men going to be drawn out into the choke point anyway?
rolled 33 = 33>>19454415>The men seem uncertain now more than ever. They start grumbling misgivings and doubts.Time for some inspirational speech or something. >Just how are these men going to be drawn out into the choke point anyway?Grab few men and go inside, then we will lure the horde after us.I don't have any other ideas to be honest.
>>19454415Inspirational speech, something about a large payout.Small vanguard of veterans along with outself, advance slowly into the foyer, gauge the situation, leave a path back to the meat grinder, grind up what we can get there, advance the meat grinder and repeat.
>>19454443>>19454434You step up. "Scared?" you ask the crowd, not bothering to hide the scorn in your voice. You unlatch your cape and throw it to the grund. "I mean to march in there." You point with your rapier. "And clean out every son of a bitch that means to do my House harm. With you, or without. There's gold for those who stand in here, ready to face those a draw out, a place in my House for those who have the manhood to march in with me. For those who would rather return to their cups and cold tables, there is only the stories they will hear of those that stood here today. Those who will be known as true men. And the whispers of those too craven to stand in their company. Which will you be?"Two Nubian sailors stand forward, as did Brighton and her burly wrestling companion. Ben hanged back, arms crossed and frowning. No man left, but only another handful stepped forward."We will march in," Brighton said, crossing her twin blades, "March on my master."You turn to face the double doorway looming before you. Unlacing your shirt half way you quick a swish of your blade."With me then," you say, striding forward.
rolled 7 = 7>>19454475March IN!Man, I'm still holding out hope that Orion survived somehow
Alright, lets be careful now.Tell everyone to not approach anyone unconscious, even the servants... especially the servant
>>19454482Do not hope too hard my friend, your wishes are likely to be dashed against the rocks of our failure.Be cautious, do not trust that a corpse is a corpse unless it is completely apart, each limb and the head separate from the torso. Keep a viable escape route to the meat grinder.
rolled 83 = 83>>19454496>Do not hope too hard my friend, your wishes are likely to be dashed against the rocks of our failure.Even now, there is hope for man
>>19454508
>>19454475The doors boom open, echoing through out the house and announcing your arrival. Gore splashed the stairs, a trail dragged down to the centre of the entrance. Mutilated bodies, ripped up by blunt teeth, gathered in a heap. You see Orion's face, twisted in pain and terror, in the centre facing you. His eye was glassy and staring, face ravaged and stripped down to muscle.One of the Nubians swore in his native tongue, a curse you remember from hearing your grandfather say once.A creak on the stairway revealed a hunched, leering figure with a blood drenched maw. It gave a cackle that was soon returned. A scittering like insects became heard.Another figure stalked down the stairs on all fours, followed by another. "Master, above!" Brighton cried, pointing upward.The man-beasts roamed across the ceiling as if it were earth, rending a headless body and swallowing bloody strips of meat. They cackled down at you in echo of the others, five of them looking down with eyes flashing yellow."What manner of goblin..." Brighton's voice was tight with fear.The cackle became a howl, the body fell and together the beasts pounced.(roll over 30)
rolled 66 = 66>>19454525RollanBe careful with this whole thing and fight defensively
rolled 52 = 52>>19454525FIGHTING RETREAT TO THE MEAT GRINDER. I think that people will believe us now.
rolled 43 = 43>>19454525Brighton is the captain of our ship, right?What is she doing here?
>>19454541She's a good fighter, she brought men and steel, and she was one of the few with balls to step forth.
>>19454537>>19454540>>19454541"Back!" the corpse splatters on the ground before you and one of the ghouls lands solidly upon it. "Out the door and to the grinder!" You cut it across the face as it lunges forth. Only a square aimed boot to the gut keeps it from closing the distance, sending it flying back into its comrades.Brighton gives a harsh scream as one of them latches onto her arm but she cleaves it off with a slice of her sword. Teeth stick into bloody fair skin. You barrel into one that leapt for her and cover her retreat.All your men make it out and you run with them toward the grinder. The mannequin-men follow after, only to be met by pike point.Your men part for you and close ranks on the creatures. Knives, swords and clubs make work of the ones that dart past the pikes. A sailor drops, screaming as his eye was gouged out by the beast. A sword stabbed through the monster's skull and it fell.As fierce as they were, on even ground and from defensive position their threat was dulled. You urge your men forward, grinding down their number until you stand with flanks in the doorway, the ground behind you littered with boot stomped corpses.At the manor doors the onslaught relents, the creatures retreating into the gullet of the building.You stand at the back of your men, panting hard. A soft hand takes yours and you look down to see Dawnstar looking up at you, young face ashen.
>>19454541She was at the pub when you were rounding up men.
>>19454595Dawnstar, we've got some serious bad juju going on here. Do you have any words of wisdom to share with us on this count.
>>19454595How many have we killed?How many servants could Exteban have anyway?>A sailor drops, screaming as his eye was gouged out by the beast.Have Ben tend to the wounded.>>19454602Second. Lets see if she has anything to say.
She looks at the manor and begins to shiver."Evil lies here," she said, clutching her hands to her chest. Stag-Horn stood beside her, an image of stoicism. "Spirits of murder and rage, twisted up by a blasphemer." She bites her lower lip and closes her eyes. Shivering hard and rocking back and forth on her heels. She dropped to her knees."Blessed spirits, tainted by the touch of mortal flesh," she says through gasping breath. She reached out toward the doorway. "I can hear them screaming."
>>19454630You are about to instruct Ben to see to the wounded but he was already working, bandaging up the ravaged socket of one man while promising assistance to a crying sailor who was staunching the blood flowing from a torn hip with his shirt.you do not recall the exact number of servants Esteban had, but the corpses number eleven in total and you remember much more attacking your party earlier. You couldn't judge how many were lurking within.
>>19454642Ask her if she or we can do anything. I mean in the sense of using juju, I know that we can fight like we have before.If the fight before we fled is any indication, these things will not fall into the same trick twice.
>>19454642I guessed something along those lines Dawnstar. We have bad murder spirits here screaming, what can we do about them? Is there any way to exorcise them, any tricks to dealing with them, any elements or materials that they are weak to like salt, silver or something like that?
>>19454662Damn, we'll have to meticulously and slowly advance or try to lure them into the trap again.
>>19454684>>19454679>>19454673You crouch beside her and take her by the shoulders. "Can we do anything?" you ask, trying to squeeze warmth into her. "Any trick or spell that could free those spirits, like we did before?"She shook her head. "Spirits of lust can be drawn out, not easily but they can. Rage and murder digs deep and devours whole. These folk dead inside. Only death deal with them."Her face screwed up and a sob rang out. "What monster could do this?" she cried, collapsing against your chest."Burn it down, it's the only way to be sure," Stag-Horn interjected, thumbing his long knife.
>>19454719"We wont be burning the manor just yet. There could be evidence in there."Tell Dawnstar to fall back if she can't help us to defeat or weaken them and lets try to draw them out again.
>>19454719Staghorn, as tempting an option as burning this place down is, that means we can't retrieve what little documentation and correspondence may be here. If we can acquire that we have concrete evidence to bring others to our side, without that all we have is a pile of zombies and a burnt down mansion. Set up the grinder once again, this is not going to be fun but we need to slowly and surely dispose of the horde.How many did we see surrounding us when we were in there the first time?
>>19454745You smooth back her hair. "We can't burn it down, everything we need to end this bloody mess could be in there." You set her back and wipe a tear from her cheek. "You stay behind the line, and stay safe."You stand and motion for Stag-Horn to accompany you back into the manner. He ducks in with knife drawn.It was quiet within. The only sight that of corpses. If the ghoul-creatures remain they had taken to some hiding place individually or as a group. You exercised your rapier. This territory was not so clear cut as before.Ordering your men back to the choke point, you remain inside with a small company of fighters."We'll draw them out, repeat what we did before."Stag-Horn gives a bitter grumble.Even with your numbers depleted the ghoul creatures made no sign. Your footsteps rang hollow through the manor. One of the Nubian men approached the stairway uncertainly, looking back to you for guidance.
>>19454755Maybe smoke 'em out like bees?
>>19454755You didn't get a clear count, it could have been as little as fifteen or as many as thirty.
>>19454793Dont move to far in, the beasts could cut us off! We'd need to move the defence line forward or we risk cutting ourselves off from help.And soo to it that our Captain get's her arm checked, she got bit by one of them.
>>19454793We must stay together and keep 360 degree line of sight.Don't move too far in, if we don't come across the creatures nearby, then we should order the other men inside to set up a new defensive position.
>>19454793Slowly advance, make short advances, check all the possible hiding spots and return to safety. Slowly move the defensive line forward after all nearby hiding spots have been checked by opening them from as great a distance as possible. Caution, never let ourselves get cut off, and patience. Room by room, closet by closet.
>>19454817>>19454823>>19454826You give the order to remain close. Stag-Horn takes your left and Brighton takes your right. Keeping watch and proceeding with caution, you make your way through to the first floor dinning room beneath the stairs.Its a broad table in a large room, capable of fitting thirty at least. A body lay across it, chest pried open and guts slopped out.You spot on of the things in the far corner, crouched above you where the wall met the celling. It looked down with a broad toothed grin and put a finger to its lips."Shhhh," it hissed. It purposefully crawled across the ceiling, slipping along languidly, disappearing out the way you came in.
>>19454882Seems like it is trying to draw us into a trap.Do not go after it.Although we should go back to the foyer and search the other nearby rooms, when we have checked all the rooms that border the foyer, order the other men inside and have them set up defensive position there. They could even use that table as a makeshift barricade.
>>19454882Dear god these things are creepy. Return to the foyer in a careful manner while informing the bulwark/meatgrinder of what we have just seen though yells. Keep a close eye on the ceiling.
>>19454896You exit back into the foyer and check the adjacent rooms. Nothing but the sights of a common home, styled in Esteban's ostentatious preference. When you return to the foyer at last you see the same creature sitting at the top of the stairs.It had the aspect of a dog, cocking its head from side to side, making soft keening sounds.You order the men back inside, line forming across the doorway. It watches you from its crouch, curiosity alight in its sockets.
>>19454930Do not head up the stairs, it's a trap. Stay cool and slowly back towards the entrance with our meat grinder of death waiting. Be prepared to bug out at a moments notice.Hey, you ugly zombie fuck. What are you doing up there?
>>19454930The hell is wrong with that thing?Anyone have a throwing dagger or something?Perhaps we should call out to it?
>>19454955>>19454957You inch over to the line of men and look up at the creature. It looks down at you."What the fuck is wrong with that thing?" you matter. You ask for a knife from one of your compatriots and a solid piece of steel finds its way into your hand. Sizing it up you call. "What is it with, eh? We're right here!" You spread your arms as if to invite it inside.It slowly stands."Weeee're right heeeere!" it spreads its arms, grinning down at you.
>>19454986Throw the dagger at its head. We're not going in there yet.Are there any other routes to go up?
>>19454986Now it's mimicking me, did it take its lessons in being creepy from the little kids around the block.Throw the dagger at it, center of mass for best chance of hitting, don't head up those stairs.
>>19454986"And we're right heeere. And we're not going up there, because unlike you, we have functioning brain cells."
>>19454995You look it up and down, take the dagger by the hilt, and fling it with all your skill. It pin wheels off to the side and clatters against the stairs. To be fair it was some distance to throw a knife, and you were no expert at it.The only other way up you can think of is the way you came out, from the rear through the kitchens and up into your brother's study. Perhaps there was a solution in that.
>>19455012Don't head upstairs just yet, we're clearing this place room by room downstairs first. First we make sure the rooms directly by the foyer are clear, then we move the meat grinder into the foyer, we clear the rest of downstairs carefully, then we consider moving upstairs.And if someone has a fucking gun, bow or is damn good at throwing stuff peg the mimicking creepy zombie thing.
>>19455054> Don't head upstairs just yet, we're clearing this place room by room downstairs first. First we make sure the rooms directly by the foyer are clear, then we move the meat grinder into the foyer, we clear the rest of downstairs carefully, then we consider moving upstairs.You've already checked downstairs.You offer a gold coin to whoever can kill that damn zombie and a hail of knives and axes fly out at your word. The creature barely had time to move before its shoulder was caved in by a solid axe hit, its thigh gouged by a long thin knife and its chest festooned with all manner of cutlery.The creature gives a gulping squawk before crumpling in a heap, a mound of meat and glistening metal."Annoying turd," you scowl up at the dead beast.
>>19455086Ha, fucking Zeds. Ok, move the meat grinder in, we've cleared the first bit so they're sure to be waiting up on the higher floor. Set up a defensive position at the bottom of these stairs, pikes pointed up it and bring a smaller contingent to secure the other way up to prevent a flank. Keep an eye on the ceiling.
>>19455086We should take our small gang and go through the Esteban's study while the others wait here for our signal. I know that dividing up is a bad idea but we are out of options.Look at the bunch of weapons, since there is no way to make sure who made the killing blow say "tell you what, I'll buy everyone a round of drinks at the bar when we're done"
>>19455122I like the mental image of the zombie. We say a word and a flood of weapons head up towards it and there is more metal than meat in its chest after we request its death.
>>19455115You move the line of pikes up the stirs and set a perimeter. Keeping an eye above and another below, you take a core group of nine men with you down the hall. Kicking in each door one by one you are greeted with only silence and empty living space.Scowling in frustration you rip open every closet and wardrobe, kick in every door, but find nothing.It is in the last room you check, Esteban's office, that you find a scrawled note on his desk. It simply read -See you at the Mockingjay Lounge.
>>19455146I really hate this guy. No secret compartments in the desk, no hidden safes behind paintings, nothing hidden in door frames?
>>19455146OP, to clarify, we searched the entirety of the second floor, right? And how many men in total do we have with us?Please answer, I need it to make a proper suggestion>See you at the Mockingjay Lounge.The hell is Mockingjay Lounge?
>>19455178Roll a d100, get over sixty to find anything hidden in the manor. It will take some time.
rolled 27 = 27>>19455218
rolled 86 = 86>>19455211It's where we made an arrangement to meet Stonesnake, or as I like to call him Evil Voodoo Douchebag, for dinner later in the week.>>19455218We need some evidence.
>>19455211You've checked the whole house. In the last thread you learned you had an appointment with Stonesnake at a restaurant called the Mockingjay Lounge.
rolled 40 = 40>>19455224>>19455230Should we go there then?I really don't want to meet him on his terms.>>19455146Okay, divide everyone into 6 groups and have them meticulously search the entire manor. Tell them to keep close so that if one group get into trouble others can quickly assist.Also start moving the bodies outside. We'll have to burn them.
Is there a basement or attic to the manor? Someone could hide there.Are there other buildings on the manor grounds? Like sheds or community house for the servants?
>>19455244> I really don't want to meet him on his terms.The appointment isn't for another couple of days. He's just jerking your chain.Organising your men into groups of seven you instruct them to over turn the house. You tell them to watch each others backs, reporting anything strange and deliver everything to your brother's study.Having delegated successfully you finally get a chance to sit and take a load off. The stress of the day lands on your shoulders like a weight. Your back feels constricted and your head feels fuzzy.After what seemed hours men came in carrying books, chests and all manner of bric-a-brac. They reported them found under beds, behind hidden panellings, even in the bottom of closets.Some of it is just useless trivialities, collected gems and such. Others prove to be valuable financial records you had prayed would be here some where. Every last piece was sorted over the desk and you safely place them in piles of valuable and useless.A small fortune in gems, some rare books about esoteric subject matters and solid financial records. It is a bounty.Pleased with the success, you set the task of dealing with the bodies when a man comes up speaking of a hidden passageway leading underground.
>>19455259The servants traditionally commute to the residence when their shift starts, as it is close to the city. Slave housing tends to only be available on working properties, such as plantations or mining camps. And the only slaves kept here were sex ones. Esteban liked them close at hand so they were allowed to sleep in the manor proper.
>>19455292Ok, set some men to guard the top of that passageway, move the stuff outside and arrange for it to be transported to a safe location for further perusal and sorting, the Zahak offices ought to work.Then we will carefully advance down that passageway and hope to the living god that there isn't a hive of zombies, or zombie bees, down there.
>>19455292>A small fortune in gemsMany small, cheaper gems or big, expensive ones? If they are small, then we could give them to the men for their excellent job.>Others prove to be valuable financial records you had prayed would be here some where.Secure these first and foremost. Put them into a fireproof safe. We'll have the men carry it back to Zahak offices.>when a man comes up speaking of a hidden passageway leading underground.Excellent!See where the passage is and check it out. Don't enter yet, just look where it is and the first impression.
I'm not sure I want to enter the passage way right away.Were there any fighters who stood out from which we hired? If there was some excellent warriors, we might want to hire them permanently.Also, we will definitely need to hire permanent guards for our smithy and buy/hire a bodyguard for our head gunsmith.
>>19455315>>19455316It is a mix of large and small gems. You see it securely placed in a spare chest along with the financial records. Seeing it in the care of your direct subordinates, you instruct them to deliver it to the Zahak offices.Taking the man at his word you gather your men about you and head to this strange passage. It is in a ground floor bedroom, beneath a bed and hidden by a trap door. It runs down long and dark, so deep you couldn't make out even an impression of how far it ran."Narleen is a honeycomb of caves and passages," Brighton says, "It has been the boon of many a pirate and smuggler. An entire network beneath the city. No one knows how far it might run, but the criminal rings keep it pretty tightly in their territory. Not a place you want to wander through blindly."It seems an ominous hole, and you've never had much call for climbing through the muck before.
>>19455374We explore the first part, someone with a good sense of direction and distance can determine likely places that it leads out of. We do not rush into this.
>>19455374>"Narleen is a honeycomb of caves and passages," Brighton says, "It has been the boon of many a pirate and smuggler. An entire network beneath the city. No one knows how far it might run, but the criminal rings keep it pretty tightly in their territory. Not a place you want to wander through blindly."We shouldn't go in there then. Secure the passage way. We have other things to deal with for now, like disposing of the bodies.Bring Dawnstar inside so that she can do her juju and sense around. I want to know if this place is haunted and if it is, can we exorcise it.
We REALLY should learn what this who;e "Crusader" thing is. It kinda irks me that we gained almost nothing from the deal but have to pay gargantuan price. What the fuck?
>>19455422Well, we seem to be pretty immune to magical fear and we were able to screw with the evil magicing of those two girls, these Zeds were too far gone I'm guessing or under too direct of a control for us to screw with them like that.
>>19455439>immune to magical fearBah, that doesn't even slightly warrant the price we had to pay. We just wanted a ward against fear, some pendant or other bauble. Instead we retardedly made a pact with something we don't even know what it is, without knowing what we got in return and not knowing what we have to pay. Only a complete imbecile would agree to such terms and we're supposed to be a businessman!>we were able to screw with the evil magicing of those two girlsPretty sure we did it only because of Dawnstar. She didn't need us to do the exorcism.
>>19455399You opt to secure the passage way. You have other duties to see to before exploring the hidden catacombs of the city.Dragging your feet back to the foyer, you organise the removal of the bodies both human and otherwise. Ben carefully collects what is left of Orion, struggling to hold back his grief and disgust.Bit by bit the manor is cleared of the human debris.Stag-Horn brings in Dawnstar. Leaning against the stairway rail for support, you ask her if there is any need to exorcise or otherwise purify the grounds.She looks about fearfully."Cruel spirits come to where cruelty done," she said, "This place stinks of bad things.""So can you fix it?" you ask impatiently.She nods. "Salts should do, nothing much lingers on but it all might draw back. Salts on doorways and smoke. It will be done before dawn.""Do it," you stand up and almost fall, caught by Stag-Horn and Brighton. You'd been running non-stop since early morning, cutting deals and fighting monsters. Your brother's death and all this shit, you felt you could sleep through the rest of the week.
>>19455489Tell the hired-ons to stay for the night to guard before we pass out. We will pay out tomorrow when we wake.Also, we need to call servants to clean the place up.
>>19455489Barricade the living fuck out of that secret passage way. I want it to hold if there is a god damn ballista down there shooting upwards.
I think we should send a letter to our father and grandfather, requesting that they urgently come back because the House Zahak has been under attack. Now that I think about it, Esteban probably wasn't in his right mind when he committed suicide (not just drunk, but I suspect some juju had been done on him).With their help, we could find a way to deal with Snakestone.
>>19455506>>19455501You cut out some quick orders, telling the men they will be paid in the morning, offering a little extra to those willing to stay on through the night. You also make sure that door is barricaded. The best option seemed to be collapsing the wooden bed frame onto it, then piling on as much junk from closets to chests as possible.Ben gave it a kick when it was done. "You'd need a titan's strength to kick that open," he said, wringing his hands in a bloody cloth. "Now as your doctor I suggest you get on home and go to sleep," he ordered, taking him by the shoulder, "Let me deal with this bullshit."You nod numbly and allow Stag-Horn to rag you away.Robbed of adrenaline the walk home is torturous. By the end Stag-Horn is carrying you over the threshold. He kicks his way through the house and drags your sorry hump into the room.Dumping you on the bed and dusting off his hands he gives a satisfied nod."Sleep righteous crusader," he said, before ducking out of the room.
>>19455548Try to remove our no doubt bloody clothing before we completely fall asleep and go to bed. We've had a long day.
>>19455548Right. Pass out.
You awake in your bed, naked as birth. Silty and Hildi lay either side of you, pressed tightly to your sore body. Your clothes had been cast about the room carelessly. As you shift, Silty nuzzles deep into your neck, her body unconsciously pressing you down.As you lie pleasantly trapped, you think of what needs seeing to in the day ahead.
>>19455594Well, the first thing that needs to get done is to stay here in bed for a while, we've had a long week and there are far worse positions to be in than having these two girls pressed against us.Then we get up, eventually, and have breakfast.Then we have an exciting day of sorting through the stuff we found in Esteban's house.
>>19455594Relax for now. Like an hour. We deserve it.Then we should put on clean clothes, have breakfast, etc. Is Dawstar back in the apartment? We will have to ask her what happened when we left.We will have to pay the men first, make sure we pay them adequately maybe even a bonus so that they don't say anything bad about us.Then, we will have to go through the finance records we found.
>>19455612>>19455615You decide first and foremost that you deserve a rest. You linger in bed, enjoying the sensation of two beautiful women pressed up against you. Their bodies are warm and sweltering, adding to the natural humidity of Narleen, but for a change you enjoy every second of it. By the time you get up, the sweat had made flesh stick to flesh and you were more peeling the girls off than actually pushing them aside.They awake slowly with you, and rush to see you dressed."Master had a good rest?" Hildi asked as she helped you into a shirt. You nod, it was good to hear her talk. She almost sounded whole again."We enjoy helping Master rest," Silty said as she assisted with the trousers. It was often the way of them now. Never 'I' or 'me' but always 'we'. Dawnstar had tried to explain it, that they were joined in the soul now, beginning to fill the missing parts of one another.You didn't understand it fully, but you were glad some kind of progress was being made.Once dressed you went out to the kitchens. Adam, massive and flamboyant, was cooking some kind of stir fry while exchanging gossip with Theresa. He spoke often of young Lady Madeline of the Lupin household, and how she was a great fan of Theresa's perfumery.(more coming)
>>19455727"You've an acolyte in waiting there Terry," he said as he served her a bowl of rice and beans.She smiled weakly and ate slowly, heavy bags under her eyes. You sit beside her and wolf down a plate. She jostles your long curly hair, playfully twisting a lock around her finger."I've sent for a priest, to arrange a time for Esteban's funeral," she said, "Don't stress about it, let me handle this one." She kissed you fondly on the cheek.You clean up after the meal and find Stag-Horn. He was standing over his sleeping sister, sprawled out over the couch."She came at dawn, Ben Cohen carried her," he explained. Stag-Horn did not look as if he had slept. All his focus seemed to be on his sister, and you realised you really didn't know all that much about the twins.
>>19455740>and you realised you really didn't know all that much about the twins.True that. I mentioned this previous time. We really don't know anything about them.Maybe we should talk to them later, when Dawnstar is properly rested.Now, lets go to Zahak offices. We will handle the rest of the shit from there. Iirc, we had a good accountant there, right? He could help us with finance records.Also, we need to pay the mercs.
>It is in the last room you check, Esteban's office, that you find a scrawled note on his desk. It simply read ->See you at the Mockingjay Lounge.I hope we put this note among the other documents we took. While not a great piece of evidence, it still points to Stonesnake.
>>19455740So we have a pair of soul-bonded attendants, there are worse things in life.Stag-Horn, how's Dawnstar doing? Also you should probably get some sleep yourself.Make a mental note to have a talk with the twins when they're both rested.For now head to the offices and take care of business.
>>19455762>>19455774>>19455777You take Stag-Horn by the shoulder. "You look like something scraped off a boot. You should get some sleep."Stag-Horn cracks a dark grin. "Time enough for rest in the grave." He runs up the collar of his green doublet, making a cloth gorget for his throat. "Someone's gotta watch you today."He follows you like a shadow out the door, accepting no order to remain.You head first to the Zahak offices. Ancient Desmond, your aid-de-camp, waited for you within. A gang of your thugs stood between him and the collected loot from the night's raid, all bound up in heavy oak chests."Ah, Master estavo, good to see you," he bowed politely. "We have some business today. Some thugs claim you owe them money for services last night. Lord Paravel wishes to see you about a private matter, as does Lord Atois. A shipment of pleasure slaves from the southern colonies have been brought up for your inspection, and a councilman from the Brothel Owner's Guild wishes to speak with you at your earliest convenience. There is also an issue of overcrowding amongst the slave pens. We either need to sell more chattel, decrease our intake or get bigger pens."You started to regret getting out of bed.
>>19455847Desmond, I'm starting to wonder why I got out of bed, but we have work to do.Yes, I do owe these thugs money, pay them with a nice bonus for having to deal with fucking zombies and guarding the house afterwards.Tell Ancient Desmond to sell more chattel and set plans to expand the pens at a reasonable pace.We should deal with Atois first as we borrowed his men for something big last night, then we'll take care of Paravel, then the pleasure slaves as the Brothel Owner's Guild probably has inquiries regarding that sort of thing then we finally get to the Brothel Owner's Guild. Delegate Ancient Desmond to start sorting through the financial reports, give him leave to bring in only the most trusted paper shufflers to help him with this, we'll check in with him once we're done with all the other stuff.
>>19455847First things first, we need to pay the mercs. Pay adequately, to cover their services in full.Then we need to inspect the loot and put a value on it. After that set Desmond to analyze the documents we recovered and prepare us a report.Then we should inspect the slaves and search for anyone with good talents (not pleasure talents, but things that can be useful in our new business) and very smart ones who can be trained a new skill (we could make them apprentices for our smithy or something). >There is also an issue of overcrowding amongst the slave pensWhat are slave pens by the way? Is it a place like jail with cells and chains or just a low-quality building? If the latter, we could turn Esteban's manor into a temporary holding place for the slaves (we could send all the pleasure slaves there too)ONE MORE THING:We NEED few more high-quality bodyguards. Send a request to gladiator slave traders for good ones. We can still buy them for personal use, right?
>>19455891>Tell Ancient Desmond to sell more chattelYou know, we have the ship which we want to use for trading, right? We should put all that loot we found into goods we want to sell.Of course, we want to get good prices for them so it will take a while.Speaking of which, we need to hire someone to delegate the task of trading to. A good trader perhaps? Maybe someone from our slave stock has a knack for economy and trading? We need to make a sweep.
>>19455891You make the arrangements and inform Desmond that indeed, you did owe these thugs money. He arranges for a secretary to pay them out, and calls for some junior assistants to help move the chests to a more intimate setting. You ask him to compile all the financial records within and have a report on your desk for your return.Used to being ordered around by a bigger bully than you, he takes the orders with grace and care.When it comes to the matter of the chattel slaves however he pauses."While I can gladly arrange for the pens to be expanded, selling them might be a problem. All our orders are full, and I've no license to make new arrangements. If it please you I will look into finding a new client, and you can arrange the terms of the sale."You nod, and head out to speak with Lord Atois.He is at his command centre, as he always seemed to be. You were admitted briskly and without fuss to find him armoured and waiting, his top officers either side. Black Damien, a recent immigrant from Nubia who had rocketed up the ranks, and fair skinned but dark haired Tuatha Malley, one of the few female constables in Narleen.They all seemed expressly grim."Explain last night, and if I ever hear the word 'monster' out of your mouth, I'll have Damien hit you," Phillipe said, taking a seat.
>>19455909> Is it a place like jail with cells and chains or just a low-quality building? The slave district was originally just a temporary holding pen for slaves being sent up river to work, but it has kind of grown into a small town on the side of Narleen. The Zahak area is part compound, part camp ground. There is a building where most are housed, and an excess area of tents where new arrivals or exess stock is kept. It is not a particularly nice place.You wouldn't have much luck hiring a gladiator as a bodyguard. Orion only became one after he was done with the circuit and freed from slavery. You are better off hiring a non-slave professional.
>>19455986Before I really go into explanations get I would like the solemn vows of everyone here that none of what is said here will be overheard or spread by any of you.The most succinct explanation I've heard so far is bad juju. The more complete answer is that someone, and I have a reasonable idea who but I'm not planning on making announcements until I have concrete proof so I can get everyone on my side at once, did mad evil mystic voodoo to those people, tore out their humanity and left ravenous evil beasts. To be more specific my local expert on these matters something about spirits of rage getting twisted and presumably shoved inside those poor folks.Before you go talking about how this couldn't be real you should really examine the fact that we have multiple eye witnesses of what happened last night.
>>19455986We have Stag-horn with us, right? He probably knows how those things are called."Those.... things, used to be servants. They were possessed by foul spirits. I admit, I don't know much about them.I've seen them before, just few weeks ago. You remember those two slave girls I had with me during the the ceremony, the ones who clung to the young native girl? Well, they used to be possessed too. My brother had sold them and in fact, I personally delivered them to the client, I was the last one to see them while they were still human and their souls were whole. That is the only reason I was able to remove the possession without killing them.""Who I delivered them to, the same man who made those foul things? Well, none other than our esteemed Stonesnake."..."I know it was him, no doubt about it. He even spoke to me through one of those things."
>>19456036We should avoid words like "vodoo", "magic" and "juju".We must be diplomatic when talking about this because otherwise we will sound raving mad.
>>19456065What other words could we use?Seeing a pile of zombies launch themselves at you is really pretty strong proof of the supernatural.There isn't a good way to explain this without words like voodoo, magic, possessed or spirits.I don't think he'd believe us if we said it was drugs or brainwashing. If you can think of something please do, but I can't, maybe it's because I'm tired right now.
>>19456046>>19456036You give your explanation with as much gravity as you can manage, and look to Stag-Horn to fill in the gaps of your knowledge. By the time you are done with your long winded explanation, Phillipe was rocking back in his chair while his subordinates wore expressions or wry amusement."Sounds like horse shit," was all Damien said, while Malley made a scoffing remark about goblins.Phillipe was unreadable.After a long stretch of thought he simply said "Get out of my office." He didn't sound angry or upset. As you left he added, "We will talk more about this, later."What did he mean by that?
>>19456095Without using those words, we should just talk about it in a roundabout way. At least in the beginning as to ease them into the situation.
>>19456108Well this is either him contemplating whether we're telling the truth, getting independent reports from his people, or planning on killing us because he's working for Stonesnake.Aside from that it went swimmingly.Next up is Paravel.
>>19456108>"Sounds like horse shit," was all Damien said, while Malley made a scoffing remark about goblins."Horseshit? I suppose those men walking on all fours on the ceiling were just flies then.">He didn't sound angry or upset. As you left he added, "We will talk more about this, later."Hmm... I wish we had someone to keep an eye out on him.Anyway, lets do this now >>19455909>Then we should inspect the slaves and search for anyone with good talents (not pleasure talents, but things that can be useful in our new business) and very smart ones who can be trained a new skill (we could make them apprentices for our smithy or something).Also this >>19455948
Jean Paravel is currently serving in his office at the Court of Law. You catch his first case coming to a close, where he orders the gelding of a rapist and his internment in a mining camp up north. You note it is a Paravel owned camp, but that is how these things work.The man struggles with his guards as he is dragged out past you, and Paravel motions for you to follow.Once in his chambers, he draws off the purple robes of his office and pours to cups f whiskey, passing one to you."Partner," he said, raising a toast before sitting."There's something I wanted to talk to you about. A private deal we might cut. One outside the official dealings between our families. It could be worth a good bit of coin, if you are interested. It involves an old arrangement I had with your grandfather that...well it didn't end well."He gives you a broad, honest smile.
>>19456190"Depends what the deal is."
>>19456190Judge Paravel do go on, but if the deal is what I think it is I will likely not acquiesce to your request. This is not meant as an insult and I hope we can continue our partnership outside of this.We may be a slave trader but I'd rather not sell him kids to carve up.
>>19456236Wait, it was him who was the murderous pedophile?Yeah, you're right. No amount of money will make us reconsider this.
>>19456251As for reasons for refusal we can cite that we already know of the dealings and are unwilling to break family tradition in this matter, especially so early in our tenure as the representative of the Zahak family in Narleen.
>>19456236>>19456205You reply that yes, you are interested, depending on the context of the deal.He happily throws back his dram of whiskey. "Do you know, in the Old Empire there was a tradition where young boys were kept as cup bearers for the powerful? Some times they were the sons of powerful men, other times slaves. There was an understanding about their relationship. It was very...intimate. I have always enjoyed the concept. With our dealing together so closely, I thought you might find me two bright young boys to serve as my cup bearers. Obedient, quiet boys. If you did that, why I might even out our stakes in this foundry we have going. Make us proper partners. I sank a lot of money into that for you and your dear sister. And there will be other rewards of course, I'm a powerful man."
>>19456280Not sure how to exactly phrase it but turn him down without insulting him, using every opportunity to stroke his ego. Sure, money and other rewards are great but we don't want to deal with what our grandfather had to deal.Hopefully he wont take it the wrong way and wont becoem angry at us.
>>19456251>>19456267> (I'm about to reveal something y'all aren't going to like)You politely turn down the deal. Your grandfather educated you on that little bit of dirty business very carefully when you came of age, and it did not sit right with you. You suggest that it needn't get in the way of your current partnership however, and when you say that his grin turns...sharkish."Partnership, yes that. I don't see us as 'partners'. I put up the majority, found the location, provide most of the raw material. All you brought was an idea and your sweet sister's big doe eyes to win me over. If you don't want me to cut you out of that 'partnership' you better be prepared to satisfy something for me." He sits back in his chair, smile twisting into something revolting."If I can't have my boys I want to fuck that uppity sister of yours. All dressed up like a slave girl. For a week. Or that Foundry can be a Paravel interest only, and you can be left up shit creek as far as I'm concerned."Your blood runs cold at his threats and demands. He was in the perfect situation to do just as he threatened. He was one of the wealthiest men in the city, sat on the city council, and all but ruled the courts.> (sorry, I do feel this requires a sincere apology. This is something I've been planning since thread one if you partnered up with Paravel. Hope y'all can find a creative solution. Sorry again.)
>>19456375In my defence, you all knew he was a murdering paedophile well in advance.
>>19456375I was afraid that this was going to happen.I don't want to send kids off to get sliced up, not even taking the moral considerations into account it could fuck up our relationship with our grandfather along with untold numbers of other business relationships if it got out, it means we no longer have ANY leverage on him since we're tied to him. Also our sister is pretty much off limits.We have some amount of leverage on him but I'm not sure it's enough for this.The first thing we need to do is play for time, give us a chance to get more pieces on our side of the table. Say that for a decision of such import that we would like perhaps a week to consider the possibilities and to look through our options and the availability of said boys and sister before committing to a decision that would steer both of our fates.Plans for after this to deal with this, talk to the information brokers we know, like Estelle Brannagh, who is now engaged to his son, see what she's got on him, we can disguise this easily as a good friend visiting another.
>>19456375I seem to remember that our grandfather uses that dirt on him to hold him in line. I don't know how he can threaten us anyway. If he wouldn't come between us and his son if it came to a life and death duel, I can't see how he can do this either.>Rikard would most certainly challenge you to a duel if he found out. His father won't touch you because of the dirt your grandfather has on him i.e he's a pedophile that killed some slave children.>>19456433But didn't the partnership happen off-screen? Believe me, I wasn't happy when I found up we partnered with him but we really had no stake in the matter.
>>19456473We knew it was happening, we knew she was going to be asking him for favors, we could have intervened but let it go.
>>19456498Was it so? Favours is one thing but a partnership is completely other.Oh well.We'll have to speak with our grandfather about this. I'm going to re-suggest sending a message to him, asking him to urgently come back.
>>19456473You discussed the potential partnerships with your sister before hand. It kind of did happen of screen, for which I'm sorry, but you could have easily quelled that by ruling Paravel out as a candidate immediately when Theresa brought him up.And the reason he isn't scared of you the way he's scared of your grandfather Charlemagne will become obvious when and if you ever meet Charlemagne. Suffice to say he has more than just dead children to hang Paravel with, while Paravel is most certainly in the stronger position when it comes to dealing with you.
>>19456537Well, we're just going to have to fix that. The children was enough to keep him off of us if it was just us having a wild orgy with Estelle but this is bigger.Once again I say we buy time, get messages to our Grandfather to get back her yesterday and check with our info sources. We may owe them big for this but it'd be better than being obliged to this fuck.Grandfather will probably be the most obliging of the sources given the family binds, the fact that he doesn't want his granddaughter used like that or to sell kids to this guy. We can offer being better than Esteban at running this joint in return as a big draw for letting us in on the family blackmail deposits.But we should hit up other sources first just in case we have to make a play before he gets back.
>>19456537>And the reason he isn't scared of you the way he's scared of your grandfather Charlemagne will become obvious when and if you ever meet Charlemagne. Suffice to say he has more than just dead children to hang Paravel with, while Paravel is most certainly in the stronger position when it comes to dealing with you.So what makes him think that our grandfather will not use those things when it comes to dealing Zahak foundry?Eh, lets do what this guy says >>19456454I have no better ideas anyway.>>19456537Man, the first thread was full of stupid shit, wasn't it? We agreed to that awful Crusader pact not knowing absolutely anything about it and now this.I didn't participate in that one so I'm hazy about details.
You ask for a week to think about his offer while in your mind you are already certain it is a definite no. Thinking he has bullied you into agreement, Paravel indulgently agrees to give you a week's grace. In his words he wants your sister 'wet and willing' and it takes all your grit to keep from striking him then and there.You resolve to use this week well, and find a way to put Paravel in his place, if not down for good. You resolve to send for your grandfather immediately. He was returning for Esteban's funeral, but the Turtle Islands were close enough he could arrive well in advance. He had managed to build the Zahak family from a glorified gang into a powerful slave trading ring.If anyone could help you, it was him.You still had a meeting with the Brothel Owners and a slave inspection to make.
>>19456590Lets not meet the brother owners and do this instead for now >>19456141I knew going to these meeting was bad idea and should have done other things first (not like it would have helped but hey)
>>19456590Start with the slave inspection, I'm betting the Brothel Owners will have questions about them.How hard would it be to get a nice meeting with Estelle, she may be pissed off at us refusing her orgy invitation way back when, while I wasn't there I applaud those that were there on their restraint, we should probably talk to her.
>>19456608She's married into Paravel family. You think she would help us with the dirt on him?
>>19456625Estelle is engaged to Rikard, not married.It wouldn't be hard, Rikard considers you a boon companion now and Estelle has been a friend of yours since childhood.
>>19456653Okay, now lets inspect the slaves.
>>19456625Technically engaged but I see your point but I would offer a counter point. It is almost certainly a completely politically motivated marriage which is meant to bring the Brannagh and Paravel families together. This means anything that negatively affects the Paravels will splash over to her family, which she holds much more allegiance to. We don't have enough to completely fuck Jean but we have enough to make it rather uncomfortable for the Paravel family and by extension her family. It's a bit like sticking a gun at someone and mugging them for a closed bag they have full of guns. Except Estelle and Rikard like us and I doubt Rikard would like knowing this so we can also threaten to bring internal strife to the family she's marrying into. We'll do this very politely of course and only if our bonds of childhood friendship fail.
>>19456687Okay, you're right.We should try that.First send letter to our grandfather for expedient return.
>>19456698Well duh, but we have no idea if Judge Pedorapistmurder is going to adhere strongly to the 1 week thing so we should have contingencies in place he does, which means we hit up Estelle for info. Hell we might even get dirt our dear Grandfather doesn't have which will please him to no end.
> Man, the first thread was full of stupid shit, wasn't it? We agreed to that awful Crusader pact not knowing absolutely anything about it and now this.It all made sense at the time.You decide to inspect the slave pens for any potential recruits.It is a miserable place, you've never liked going there. A squat wood building of poor repair sat in the centre of a fenced pavilion. Brutal guards stood watch over the dejected refuse of humanity that crowded it tightly. It really was overflowing.You didn't dare enter the pens proper, the crowd had a vicious, hungry look. Instead you called for the overseer. A disarmingly cheerful man named Juares, he had a steel corded whip at his hip and a knife through his belt."You are looking for something in particular master?" he asked."Talent," you say, eyes scanning the crowd.Roll a d100. Get over fifty and you get two talented young people who can be taught. Get over seventy and you get a talented and experienced fellow who can also teach. Get over ninety and you get something very special indeed.
rolled 60 = 60>>19456734Slavery!
rolled 16 = 16>>19456734>It all made sense at the time.The Crusader thing?No, it didn't.It NEVER made sense. I was facepalming so hard when they agreed to that.It's like making a deal with a Devil but the difference is that when you make a deal with a devil you know what you pay (soul, sacrifice, etc), you know who you are making the deal with and you know what you get in return (money, power, etc).In our case, we knew ABSO-fucking-LUTELY nothing and still don't. And if we refuse to make the bidding of the 'spirits' we will DIE.
rolled 91 = 91>>19456734
>>19456773good job sir!
>>19456773Score, score indeed.Also we should spend some time improving the slave pits, we don't want any buildings collapsing and killing merchandise, also if we get a reputation for producing healthy hearty slaves we can charge more. Obviously this is just me rationalizing not being a dick but I'll allow it due to the positive or at least neutral economic consequences, not to mention the good will it gains with people like our ship captain.
>>19456796I wouldn't mind turning Eteban's mansion into holding house for Zahak slaves.Though that will mean getting some good security up there.
>>19456813Not the chattel of course, that'd be unheard of. But for the skilled ones, the pleasure slaves and maybe eventually the gladiators that'd be a good place to stick them.
>>19456821I wouldn't even mind putting the menial workers there.
>>19456832Just think of what the other families would say? It's one thing to give them better conditions and make sure they're fit before we sell them off, that's just good business mixed with a tinge of our sister's influence. But housing farm workers in a fucking mansion? Why we'd be the laughingstock of Narleen.
>>19456773> Fucking wow. I was not expecting that to actually happen.you remember hearing stories of a powerful man who was a master of everything he put his hand to. Politics, finances, warfare, seduction. It was said a dozen kings had tried to kill him to keep the other kings from hiring him.When last he had stood on the world stage he had been the Chancellor of Alba, and had taken that back water and turned it into a power in Uropa. Right before it had turned to ashes. After the fall of Alba he had fallen out of history, but legends still bounced around about what he had been, and what had become of him.No one had expected him to turn up in a mouldy old slave pen, a crook back old man with only a tail of hair left on his head and a bad hip.Gabriel Juno, called the Kingmaker by some, the Thrice Blessed Swordsman by others. He had as many names and titles as beggars had fleas. Many people were hunting for his head, many thought he had died years ago.You bought him for five stars, and couldn't fathom your good fortune. How you knew him you could not say, but there was a stir in your soul, and when your eyes locked a connection that opened up his entire life to you."I serve the new crusader happily," he mumbled softly for only you to hear as he bowed low to your feet, "May you have more success than I did."
>>19456858wowLets get him to Ben so that he fixes him up.He might be the key we need to bring down Paravel.
>>19456858>>19456885Also ask him how he knows who we are
>>19456858on the way to Ben, ask Juno what he knows about being a Crusader
>>19456858Well, it looks like this Crusader title has some perks.Resist the urge to laugh like a madman in joy.Tell NO ONE here about who and what he is, say that we think he would be talented in X field with X being a believable field. Get him to Ben to make sure he's in good health then have instructions for him to be given some food, cooked by someone other than our sister, and sent to our residence so we can have a nice long chat with him about this whole Crusader business.Next we deal with the pleasure slave inspections, make sure they're up to par.
>>19456890"We are brothers, are we not?" he said, "Though our order is not what it was, still there are brothers-in-arms that stand against the World-Killer. We unfortunate few. I knew you as you knew me, Estavo Zahak."
>>19456916he obviously knows much more than we do about this, he can be our Yoda
I'm going to end it here. It's 4 am and my girl wants me in bed.Good night all. See you next time. Maybe tomorrow or the day after. Who knows? But hope to see you then.
>>19456934Damn you and your inconsistent update schedule. If only there was some way for you to inform us of them and give us future warning. Like Twitter or some similar future device.
>>19456934DAMN you and your having of the sex!
>>19456946I'm sorry, I just really don't care for twitter in general. Facebook is too much for me sometimes. Not a fan of social networking in generally.
>>19456946yeah, get yourself a twitter page
>>19456969@SlaveQuestYeah, that'll go over well
>>19456955How dare he partake in the sex while Estavo Zahak did not. This will not stand.Though there are interesting possibilities concerning Silty and Hildi to consider.>>19456962Even if it is only for the informing your loyal followers of when this shall occur and not occur?
>>19456976Don't call it SlaverQuest, just name it under @EstavoZahak or something like that.
Seriously, get a twitter, OP. I don't care for it either but it is good for small things like this. In fact, this is the reason why it was made in the first place. And you can avoid the situation that almost happened beginning this thread when no one was around for the first 30 minutes and you almost gave up.I use it solely to follow several Quests here on /tg/....He's probably gone already, isn't he? Oh well, gonna bother him next time.
