F : Arrest the Ullurac for slavery, grant goods to the Obong-Zongian's
C : Inform about sentients
Well, then. It would not be a fair trial if the Judge is not aware of all the facts, is it. You lay open Princess Ishtar's mind, explore her thoughts, and prepare to insert what information you think she needs to know. It's a bit of a risk, it won't do after all to have the Princess collapse even momentarily at the trial, but if you're careful ...
5
Despite the exhaustion, everything goes swimmingly. You place the knowledge inside her brain, and then expertly weave connections until it is as intertwined as any other memory. You attach the new memory to both Ishtar's childhood stories and the testimonies, twist a few of the memories to add words never said, add conclusions that Ishtar never made.
Then, work finished, you give the memory a shove
Princess Ishtar"Yes, princess?" Ishtar's eyes snapped up in surprise, looking at the guard standing next to her. For a moment she'd been lost in thought, gone from the world. Quick to reassert herself, she answered. "I've come to my decision. Now, to ensure both parties obey by the settlements, the goods that are disputed will first be unloaded here on the dock, as will their payment".
Neither party appears happy with this idea, but since both are unhappy, they grumble and agree. Crates are unloaded both from the Obong-Zongian' ship and the Urrullacian craft. The beasts are kept in closed crates, concealing them from sight, from light, and from the noise of the harbor. Everything is done, it appears, to keep the beasts sedate. It reminds Ishtar of a story she once heard, a traveling bards tale about a young boy led a tribe of gnolls into a cave. The Gnolls, tired of the chase, decided to wait until sunrise, and so stayed in the cave forever. It was not a great story, and annoyed by her lapse of concentration, Ishtar pushes it out of her mind.
While the beasts are unloaded carefully, the other ship unloads it's valuable currency. Bags of gold, silver and copper are placed carefully in the middle of the dock, far away from everything else and under perpetual watch of no less than four Obong-Zongian's. Truly, this is quite a fortune they're willing to pay. But one thing catches Princess Ishtar's eye. Several crates of sulphur and cinnabar stand near, most unusual materials. Placed next to barrels of salted meat and chests of grains, it seems they intend them to be food. But what animals eat cinnabar or sulphur. The only creature said to do so are the dragons, but there's no way one can fit a dragon in a 6 foot cage. Mayhaps, their kin, the lizardfolk? With annoyed sigh, Ishtar snaps out of the distraction again. Truly, this is not her best day.
With the unloading complete, the final part of the procedure arrives, the settling of the debt. First, appraising the goods. The metals and valuable materials are appraised easily, the Obong-Zongians delighted that Ishtar uses local valuations, which appear to be far higher than their own. Now, to appraise the beasts...
6
The Urrullarians object loudly, stating that many of the beasts are far too dangerous to be disturbed, and then rambles of a horrifying description of what terrible deaths the closest specimen can cause. In response, the guards grisp their weapons tightly, and the crowd moves back. The terrain is cleared, and the final moves are being played. Ishtar answers deftly, demanding to know what creatures lie within.
The Urrullarian answers for each create, until finally only two are left, and he has ran out of answers. For a moment, he stumbles, claiming that the name does not exist in the language, but Ishtar presses on, asking questions about what it's it like, what it eats, whether it's dangerous. In the confusion, the man flounders completely, contradicting himself. In desperation, he insists the crate was placed by mistake, being merely rations for the men.
Ishtar answers simply. If the crate is harmless, why not open it? On a gesture, one of the guards steps forwards, and with the tip of his spear wrenches open the lock. Inside is a child. Not a human child, but a gnoll child, the hyena's features clear and unmistakable. The guard closes the cage.
8
Ishtar looks displeased. It's a very good look, for the clan patriarch leaves his position with the other Urrullarians to plead his case personally, saying that he did not mean to offend royal sensibilities. She is merciless in her response. They lied to her, in front of the royal court. They smuggled dangerous creatures into the city, without permission. They enslaved sentients, as if they had the right to decide over life and death, a right that belongs only to the royal family and those they grant it too.
With a nod, the guard next to you grabs the Urrullarian patriarch, putting his long serated knive to his throat. For a moment it seems the others may decide to fight, but with three score soldiers standing between them, their vessel and all their supplies on the docks, they see the futility. It helps, perhaps, that they likely do not know what the sentence for perjury in front of the royal court is. They're led away to the royal prison.
The Obong-Zongian's look worried for a moment, until the princess declares that their sentence is that they will be responsible for disposing of all the dangerous creatures. With a shrug, they start loading everything into their ship.
Princess Ishtar (Pick 2)
A. Got a promise from the captain that he would return here, perhaps for interesting trade goods
B. Got paid some "administrative fees" by the merchant as a compensation for her inconvenience
C. Personally claimed the Urrullarian Patriarch's meticulously decorated knife
D. Successfully explained the entire debacle to her father
E. Kept one of the less dangerous animals for herself [Write-in => Desert animal + 1-3 nouns. For example => Friendly Blue desert tortoise]
Treatment of the Gnoll-child and lizard folkA. Given to the Obong Zongian to "resettle"
B. Expelled at the edge of the our territory
C. Kept as "guests" in the royal prison
D. Taken care of by princess Ishtar herself [Contrary to character. Need unanimous vote to go through]
Princess IshtarOver the next few weeks and months, Ishtar felt sickly, not quite herself. It was no severe sickness, like the wasting fever, sleeping sickness or river fever, but it was annoying, persistent and just wouldn't go away. It was no more than that however, an annoyance. She still went and did many things, such as (pick 1) [You get 2 of these before the next quarter. They shouldn't be as long as this]
A : Try to convince father to cancel the marriage
B : Visit Market square
C : Talk to the Traders at the Docks
D : Observe rites at the Temples
E : Go for a Hunt
F : Write-in suggestions
Nur-SkalenThe amulet still has not recovered it's internal power, the oppressiveness of reality slowing the power you can grant it to a trickle. For better or worse, it has sought it elsewhere, draining it from princess Ishtar. For now, the princess is merely annoyed but unaware, but worse may happen if you require the power again.
A : Observe Princess Ishtar as she does her business, taking the opportunity to glean knowledge from everyone she meets
B : Aid Princess Ishtar in her doings, lending her your strength and intellect. Such action is draining however, and your powers in the mortal realm are very limited.
!C : Aid Princess Ishtar in her doings, by shoving a piece of knowledge into her mind. Such action is far less draining than others, but she may be distraught to suddenly speak another language, or to know about mythical beasts.
D : Communicate with Princess Ishtar. The Princess has no idea that you exist within this gem, while you can manipulate her actions, having a willing and informed accomplice makes things that much easier
E : (Long-Term) Manipulate the Princesses body to be more in tune with your demonic power. This would allow you to deploy your power, and the power of your amulet, more effectively through her as a conduit. It may have leave traces, but as long as you can focus correctly and do not need to interrupt the process to blast a bunch of energy through the carefully woven spells (option B/C), you should be fine.
Note : Yeah, I guess I kind of forgot to mention that slavery is not exactly illegal in this time and place. Just unusual and a restricted privilege, usually only used for criminals and debtors. The Urrullarians are not exactly aware either, given that they only chose this Kingdom as exchange point because it happened to be between both in them. As they have just discovered however, lying in a royal court is illegal however and smuggling in creatures hostile to the realm even more so.
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Topic: SPAMDEMONIUM! : Nur-Skalen : The Silver Stone (Read 6435 times)