Flipz

Zpilf somehow emerges from the pocket of Skrupp's trousers, opens his mouth to say something, then decides to scribble it on a potato instead. He nonetheless turns to face the Nord to finish the second half of his thought. "Well, I'd rather focus on not becomin' corpses--or at tha very leas', makin' tha kidney-men pay fer tryin'. They're mor'tal like tha rest o' us, so 'f we can make ourselves poor targets..."

"There is an epithet commonly used against me kind, one tha' is viewed with great disgus' an' disdain: a 'troll'. I's me opinion tha' tha gremlin's a troll. Speakin' ta all o' us, evil an' good alike, I pers'nally feel tha' tha' sort o' behavior ough' never ta be rewarded, no mat'er tha price." "One thing ta keep in min'--if we steal stuff from those who're flailin', then they can't cause problems wi' em later on. O' course, that leaves 'em rather useless against tha kidney-people, but tha's tha price o' makin' things hard on tha rest o' us." "Ah...thank'ee, lass. Ta answer yer questions, i's ta do with a different angle o' approach tha' we discussed. Both of us have too many doubts about this plan ta put our eggs in tha basket wi' tha rest o' ya." "If they hit it tonight, then tha' core don' have a chance ta form--we'll be back ta square one. An' wi' two targets, tha actions'll be split, makin' things even harder ta track. Alternatively, they could wait fer tha opp'rtune time an' strike out o' nowhere ta foul things up--they don' have ta attack every time to disrupt us. I still think, if we go through wi' this, tha' tha list should be kept secret." "Also, 'm thinkin' tha Telescope migh' be more useful than I firs' though'--does anyone know if it sees who took tha actions, or if it jus' sees tha actions themselves, or jus' tha folks in gen'ral who targeted tha person ya look at? I've been thinkin' tha second, but now I think abou' it some more, I'm startin' ta lean toward tha firs' one...I need ta take a Nap ta thin' abou' this..."

"...Tha's brilliant, tha' is." The chandelier begins to applaud, before snoring. It was clear that the ogre had decided to take a brief Nap.

Ah, damn it, I knew I'd eff up the color tags eventually. I've gotten Arthur's color so well memorized that Damn You Muscle Memory comes into play. Anyone opposed to me editing to fix it? While I'm at it, a "Nap" will be my in-character way of saying, "I'll be physically away from the computer, not just busy with other stuff." Because a.) it's in-character, and b.) it's a hell of a lot shorter.

"A thought--we're all strong 'nough tha' wec'n attack both day an' night. If needs be, we c'n mark someone fer death at Nigh' as well as in tha Day, so we wouldn't be wastin' as much if we got rid o' a troublesome Hero early on. Still not somethin' ta do lightly, but if it continues ta cause problems..." "Dear gods: if ye be at all real an' aren't naught but ancien' rites an' hokey religions, hear my plea: jus' strike us all down now b'fore we have ta tolerate any more o' 'is madness. An' send us ta a diff'ren' af'erlife than 'im, if af'erlives exist. Hel, I'd e'en settle fer tha Void itself--it'd be less painful."

"'M just as afraid o' Confusion, act'ally. Nothin' worse than losin' two Quest-mates ta mistrust when ya could've lost only one. 'Specially when 'ey were some o' tha only Heroes ya could act'ally call 'decent'..." "I'd call it 'obfuscatin' ' rather than 'explainin' ', actually. An' tha answer's 'no'. Don' think I'd be out o' line by sayin' I speak for all o' us on tha' one..." "Back in Tarok, tha's wha' we'd call an 'unnersta'ment'," a mirror near the gallery says.

"Then tha' still leaves tha pro'lem o' tha kidney-people knowin' who's bein' targeted when. Unless ya can pass items AND use them at tha same time--an' if tha's the case, tha' still don' protect tha plan o'ernight. It'd still be a cost o' 60 gold a day ta keep e'rythin' on tha up-an-up." "It ain' a bad idea, there's jus' too many holes in it."

"Eh, tha's still subject to tha same prob'ems tha Magnifying Glass has. Person'lly, I doubt any o' those things'd be here if at leas' some among us di'nt have 'em already, or at leas' some kind o' ability ta do it fer themselves. They're jus' bein' smar'er an' keepin quiet instead o' paintin' a big ol' target on their backs."

A goblet of ale on the bar began to speak. "An' wha's stoppin' a kidney-person from passin' tha thing on at Nigh' instead o' investigatin' like they're s'posed ta? They said in tha' letter they're willin' ta die, I don' doubt they'd be willin' ta make a sacr'fice play. An' if tha schedule's known, there's nothin' stoppin' 'em from messin' wi' tha results anyway, jus' by timin'." "Wait--I'm a bi' mixed up. Ye're suggestin' that the use o' tha Magnifyin' Glass take place in tha Day, an' that tha passin' take place at Nigh'? Tha's e'en worse! Tha' makes it trivial fer them ta waste our time an' money on tha glasses, by theft, killin' o' tha passer, killin' o' tha receiver, or all three!" "I don' know why I'm both'rin' wi' this. All I got ta do is keep me own hide intact until tha end. If ya wan' ta waste yer money on some mad scheme, be me guest. Person'ly, I'd rather buy tha' nice pair o' gloves, so at least tha kidney-folk can't take me down wi'out a figh'."

"Ninjas. Ninjas everywhere. They're all ninjas, out ta put a knife in me back firs' chance they get...Shoulda made like ol' Tarantus an' got while tha gettin' was good...*grumble grumble*"

"Lass, if ya keep sneakin' about like that, folks'll start callin' ya 'ninja' instead o'...whate'er ya are. Still, ye're righ'--an' I di'n't e'en think o tha money aspect."

This time it's the end of a plush rug that speaks. "Yeah, and who'd a Nephi...kidney-person be more likely ta pass tha bloody thing to? Makes i' too easy fer them ta play silly games wi' glasses o' wine, if ya get me drift. 'Sides, what if they kill th' poor bloke who has tha glass in tha night? Or simply swipe it? Or do somethin' else ta mess wi' tha results? If ye're dedicated ta such risky pans, ye ought ta do tha work in secret, passin' tha glass 'round when tha kidney-people can't see, formin' a chain o' tha trusted that they can't see."

"That'd jes give tha Nephilim a way ta frame tha innocent, by passin' it on ta an innocent person." A voice rumbles from beneath a flowerpot in the dining room. Though the ogre remained hidden, everyone could practically hear his eyes rolling.

"Y'can't trus' sheep, neither--folks seem ta like ta slather 'em in poison, jes' ta spite hungry greenskins like me." "Well, I ain' about ta let no one kill me. I kno' who's bin kind ta me in th' pas', an' i's no' bin any'ne in 'ere, so I ain' riskin' my skin fer no one." The ogre yawns as if preparing for a nap ( ), and then crams his improbably large mass behind the Quest board to Hide.

Zpilf grunts, still standing next to the Quest Board, which was still littered with papers pertaining to the previously-prosperous business the Hall had run. Major announcements, bills of trade, sign-ups for Quests that now would never depart. The ogre spotted his own name, the thin, neat lines contrasting with the messy scrawls of most of the Heroes. "Pheh. 'sif it'd 've been worth it an'way. Th' Mercutians won't ferget this, tho." "Eh. T'be hones', 'M s'prised 's not happened 'fore now. Ev'ryone knows y'can't trust a Hero. Or any'n else, fer that mat'er."

I keep thinking I'm WBD with this avatar. This makes things very confusing as I'm re-reading the Dastan trilogy.

Odd...I only count 37 different classes, but there are 42 characters...are your special NPC classes (i.e. Skuld's and Jensen's) being used, or are we getting 5 new Expert Classes out of this??

"Oh, I definitely think you're more in the right than anyone else in this town. I'm just not one for unnecessary bloodshed. If we can gain the elves' support without violence or coercion, this town will be much more stable than it would be otherwise." "Lady Nerwen has more experience with the elves than I--I defer to her judgment as far as their likely reaction goes."

I can't seem to find the reference--the internet has failed me.

I could play two, if you want!

"Lady Ellaria explained the bare essentials of your plan to us, but I was a little unclear as to certain details. I wondered if it would be possible to obtain the cooperation of the Elves peaceably--and perhaps even to earn their aid against the Pongcanae. I also wonder if perhaps the mere might of our combined forces might make the Mopags think twice about trying to attack or betray us after we deal with the Pogs." Throughout the conversation, Arthur's tone remained Diplomatic.

Come on, you make it too easy for me!

OOC: Tomorrow's the first day of the new semester--this semester I'm going to try to be more busy talking to people instead of huddling over my laptop screen. It probably won't make much of a difference from you guys' perspective--no one ever seems to notice when I feel like I'm less active than usual --but still, something to keep in mind. "Fine by me."

"Of course. I've little interest in visiting the Mopag leader, and I daresay I'm not at all inclined to offer the Dread Pirate Indiacca the dignity of my presence on a diplomatic envoy. But I still want to see Shawe--I'm inclined to trust him, but I want to meet him in person to be sure."

"Ah. If he thinks that way, then I doubt he'll approve of our actions, no matter what we do. And I highly doubt anyone here believes the Mopags have more right to this place than the humans who already lived here." "I wanted to speak to Shawe. Is anyone who's already met him planning to go back, so as to introduce us?"