[HQ Ignorance] Scene 89: Palbar, City of the Oraya Sultanate

[Nic Hughes]

Lev Lafayette wrote:
> On Sat, 2009-06-06 at 09:34 +0100, Nic Hughes wrote:
>
>   
>>>   
>>>       
>> Aalmon chews a while on the last mouthful of unspilled food. He
>> appreciated local customs well enough to know that the thumbing of a
>> table was a serious matter here on the wild frontier, so he tried to
>> hold his irritation in check and not inflame the situation more than
>> was needed.
>>
>> "What sort of courier would I be were I to blab the details of my
>> mission to everyone who asked? I did not undertake such an epic
>> journey through uncharted lands and ungodly horrors for idle fun or
>> for a few silver coins. My home city and many others are doomed if my
>> task fails."
>>
>>     
>
> "As is this one, a city most holy to the Empire of the Moon".
>
>
>   

Aalmon's mind raced as the official bragged proudly of his ramshackle 
city, once more Fate was playing with him like a cat with a mouse - 
setting this officious fool in his path just to show how she could 
torment him for as long as she liked before finally letting him be 
crushed under the weight of prophesy. Well he had been in tight spots 
all his life and he had a well developed nose for trouble, maybe his 
instincts could spoil Her game for the moment if he trusted them.

He eyed up the official trying to gauge the status and character of the 
man and took in the crowd, trying to get a feel for its mood. A flat 
refusal might be too dangerous, if so he would have to get this annoying 
little popinjay to buy back the time that they lost. Out of the corner 
of his eye he could see Icthya, despite her cleverness he doubted she 
could understand much of their quick-fire New Pelorian but surely enough 
to see that it was a sticky situation. Unless she could come up with 
something fast the matter would be in his hands.

>> "It is not that I am unwilling to help, the question is whether you
>> can find a way in which this helps my existing commission more than
>> the diversion harms it. If you cannot then I would be a poor and
>> useless courier to be so easily diverted."
>>     
>
> "Well where are you going then? You say north, but the only thing north
> is a cold wastelands and the Blue Moon plateau. No human can live there
> and there's nothing but trolls anyway."
>
>   
Aalmon nodded "That is where I must go, I have travelled through worse 
places although I am travelling a little light right now." He indicated 
to the chair again "Why don't we sit and sort this out while I eat to 
regain my strength, I can travel no further without a decent meal inside 
me anyway. It will take no longer than for one of your underlings to 
make the necessary preparations."

OOC: Aalmon would like to refuse and walk away but that would probably 
be a bad idea, so he is trying to judge whether he can get a desperate 
local official to stump up a sufficient amount of cash or credit note to 
equip themselves properly for the journey North. Essentially he is 
trusting his Nose for Trouble to help him find the way out of this that 
involves least trouble (or least probability of certain death).

Nic

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