Asking for justice

28th November 5000

From the deck where he was on guard, Jack saw a little group approach the ship. He quickly counted 7 guards, 5 prisoners and 2 persons opening the way. He cursed in his beard. It didn't take him long to understand what was going on. Besides the Green Rat, there wasn't anything on this side of the shore... and no one important enough to be escorted. Someone would however consider himself important enough to need a personal guard.... As they came closer, his eyes inadvertently met those of the leader. He cursed louder. There was nowhere to hide now. Leaving his position, he ran to the cabin : "Captain ! Captain ! Someone is here to see you !"

Enuri, to whom Rameldin was walking close, chatting, stopped before getting under the aircraft. Lifting his eyes to the ship, he called : "Padoka ! my old friend ! Won't you come and salute me ? Don't be shy and come here. We have things to discuss".

Meanwhile, Jack had managed to find the Captain and drag him out of his studies. He leaned over the railing and forcing a smile acknowledged Enuri. "Enuri ! What are you doing here ?"

The prisoners didn't miss the accusatory look, of course it was their fault that Enuri came to learn of his presence. Sighing, Padoka gestured for the crew to unfold the rope ladder and letting them climb. Rameldin was first, followed by Enuri and Takira. The prisoners followed under the solid watch of their guards. On the deck, the mood was dark, except for Enuri who clearly had the upper hand. Soon everybody was made aware of some sort of business left unfinished between the inn owner and the Captain.

There were talks of debts, of responsibility, of guilt even, accusations, explanations and then a mention of trial. Unfortunately, all those talks were done without the prisoners. Every time one of them tried to say something, Takira, Captain of the guard, would toward him and hit with either the butt of her gun, a good kick or a strong push. Gustavius soon ended up on the floor, biting dust, refusing to listen to Mulchanor or Erleothir advices to shut up. Yesnarel and even Alast tried to intercede at get through to Enuri, to no avail. The pouting - whining of Rameldin, to whom her father couldn't refuse anything, wasn't helping them at help. She knew when to cry to catch his attention.

In the end, seeing the conversation wasn't going anywhere, it was suggested to go on trial. The company was actually at first enthusiastic: being innocent, they would for sure win. They quickly discovered the trap though. Being in Valerion, they would have to be judged according to its law and by its judge. They were however just out of the Boari jungle, far from any Valeran institution. They would have to travel to its capital city, Kelis, and would thus waste a precious time on their way to Shotia. In all that, none of the companions had forgotten their original mission.

Rameldin on the other hand was over excited and kept trying to push her dad in that direction to the point that Enuri was seriously considering this option. Since he hadn't been there in a while, he could make use of the trip for some shopping. Erleothir then spontaneously suggested to ask Halukel to be the judge: he was a Father of the Truth after all, wasn't he ? Both parties looked pleased with the idea except Rameldin who was now pouting.

Having found the judge, it was easier to select the attorneys. For some mysterious reasons, Enuri trusted Padoka with this role and the young Yesnarel was chosen to represent his companions on the idea that his knowledge of court and diplomacy would be a bonus. Each group took a while to discuss their strategy. From the side, one could see that Padoka wasn't discussing much but agreeing a lot. What kind of history did the Captain and the inn owner had ? No time to wonder about that. The audience - taking place in the kitche, was about to start.

Halukel was obviously taking the situation very seriously. He opened the trial with a long and inspired speech.

Padoka opened the session by telling his version of the fact as seen by Enuri. Yesnarel countered with a few selected questions about the inn security and focusing on how a bomb could be introduced in the main room. There were talks about a certain "Mister K." : regular visitor and guest. his quire was also mentioned, a good lad from Summerlund. Conclusion : Mister K was beyond suspicion.

Rameldin came to testify after her father. She got all emotional clearly trying to get the heart of the judge, repeating over and over again that her mother was dead and that they killed her. Between sobs, she also talked about the fight and how killing the pirate was a diversion, so that the bag could be left behind and the poor Xcéphia would die. To her, it was clearly all planned, it had been a trap. She couldn't figure the motive but she was convinced that those foreigners came in looking for a fight. Once more, Yesnarel tried his bast to weaken the accusation and was actually doing a pretty good job.

During the break, Padoka and Enuri worked on negotiation. They started the session with their offer : they would die if they were proven guilty, but they could pay for the inn damages all at once ( 30 000 gold coins, how hard could it be ? ) or pay 1000 Gold a month with only a 20% penalty for unpaid months. They didn't even consider those options, Erleothir even laughed out loud at something so "ridiculous". That was before Alast was called to testify ... before he confirmed that yes Mulchanor and Gustavius had been seen carrying and even crafting bombs... yes, they laughed before, when they thought they were winning.

Seeing how Halukel was changing his mind and not willing to lose the money ( who would pay if they received the death sentence ? ). Halukel would be satisfied and Enuri would have to use his savings to rebuilt the inn which had already burnt too many times and was getting really expensive.

Using a second break, Enuri widened his offers, hoping that this time they wouldn't be too foolish to refuse. The session reopened and Padoka started right away :

" Let's say you are innocent ... then Karnelian would be the culprit. And to prove that, we will have to find him first. So, here is the deal. You'll pay 200 gold coins a month until the debt is paid or you bring Karnelian back. If you manage that, then I'll repay you 25% of the sum received. Of course, just like before, if you miss a payment, you'll have a 20% penalty the following month. How does that sound ? "

Yesnarel knew this was the last offer and before anyone could ruin it, he motioned for everyone to shut up. He then thanked Enuri for the offer and asked for a few minutes with his friends to take their decision. He of course returned with a positive answer and details were quickly discussed : Rameldin would travel with them and would make sure the money would be paid on time and properly delivered.

Though they did manage to avoid death, there was little celebration that night. Indeed, Rameldin wasn't exactly who they would pick as "adventure partner number 1". To sum it up : they had lost a warrior and were now gaining a spoiled whining brat... But who could tell what talents she had in store for them ?

Welcome to the Green Rat !

28th November 5000

After the guards at the entrance had vanished behind a side door with their equipment, the group stepped to the next one and discovered a huge room on the other side. Two long tables were using most of the place and it seemed that a hundred pirates, buccaneers and sea adventurers were sitting on either sides, happily drinking, playing and cheering at one another. The wooden paneled room was lacking windows and was enlightened by some large iron braziers. At the other end of the room, a large balcony could be seen and a few dwarven guards were keeping an eye on the festivities from there. On the left, there was a large curtain behind which the waitresses disappeared and reappeared, carrying frothy pints and large trays of food.

As the company was sitting at the end of one of the tables, Gustavius decided to take a quick peek behind the curtains and, as he stepped further, he discovered a second smaller and more comfortable room. There were a few tables and a large bar to his left, its shelves were displaying all kinds of liquors and glasses. At the opposite corner, one could see a staircase leading up to the balcony which was in fact running all along the wall. Access to the stairs was guarded by a bored dwarf.

Gustavius turned to one of the barmaid and started a little conversation while asking for a local drink. The waitress, Rameldin, informed him of the inn qualities and charms, of its guest rooms. When he mentioned that they were waiting for a friend, she replied that no, unfortunately, she could not remember having seen a Sommerlander lately. However pleasant the conversation was, she had business to attend to and she interrupted the conversation before the dwarf could ask all his questions.

In the meantime, the group had met the other waitress, Malatania, and ordered some beer and roasted meat. They were discussing about the options the Green Rat offered. There were two empty rooms left and as it seemed that Eolfrid had not shown up yet, they decided to rent a room so as to leave only one available. They were hoping this would force Eolfrid to take this one when he arrives. Seeing how little privacy the main room offered, he surely would then meet Karnelian there. Moreover, booking a room would grant the company access to the first floor. The rules were clear however : a room is for 3 persons only and no one climbs the stairs without proving he carries the key.

Meanwhile, curious of the people and their games, Erleothir observed the pirates and asked the waitress to explain the rules, Mulchanor was also intending to learn more and asked her about the visitors and usual guests of the Green Rat. Xcephia couldn't stay forever though, she had other tables to wait and was getting uncomfortable having to answer all those questions. One of the dwarves came to their table soon after she left. From the red band on her right arm, Erleothir assumed she was one of the captains. She nicely though clearly told them to stop harassing people, workers and guests alike. They quietly agreed even if this reaction somehow surprised them. While they were chatting and working on something vaguely similar to a plan of action, an old mage entered the inn. It would not have been of real interest if he had not loudly called : "Yesnarel ! my old friend! What a pleasant surprise to see you here!" and without further introduction, he seated himself right next to the group.

Yesnarel enthusiastically welcomed his fellow companion too "Oh my ! Father XYZ, it's so nice to see you again!" .

While Mulchanor and Gustavius stared at each other in a most absent-minded way, still unsure about asking Yesnarel more about the newcomer, Erleothir chocked on his beer after getting a better look at the face of the old mage. He lowered his voice to a conspiratorial whisper and turned to his two dwarven companions "Do not worry about him my friends, it's just..."

"ALAST!!" shouted a voice next to them. They had no time to jump of surprise that Xcephia, the second waitress, went on : "I hope for you that you're here to pay your debts" . Alast, because it was indeed him, tried briefly to keep his identity secret but he quickly had to admit the truth and the whole table could listen to their argument. Turned out Alast hadn't payed for her services the last time he stopped at the inn and she was determined to get her money. Seeing it was taking too long for him to unlace his purse, she motioned for the guards to come closer.

The groups sighed as the argument escalated and Mulchanor decided it was the perfect time to pay a visit to Sareftin. He walked to the bar, followed by Yesnarel who wanted to proceed with the room arrangement. Yesnarel talked to Rameldin and payed to get the room 10, last in the hall, on the left. Mulchanor, carrying his raccoon, addressed the older woman and gave it to her as he promised Jack. He engaged in a short conversation and the company, gathering clues, understood that the inn was a family run business. Enuri was the father and owner of the Green Rat that he ran together with his wife, Sareftin and Rameldin, their daughter. The family didn't look that perfect though in regard of the letter Sareftin discreetly handed back to Mulchanor, asking him to give it to Jack. All the dwarves around were hired security, they couldn't possibly keep it under control without them.

Yesnarel and Mulchanor were now slowly coming back to the table where the conversation between Malatania and Alast wasn't over. It was getting boring for the outsiders and as they were looking around, Gus and Leo happened to see the barmaid spill a drink on a hooded guest. It looked suspicious to them, as if she had done it on purpose. They looked at one another, wondering but before they could discuss it, to their surprise, they saw Eolfrid stepping in the main room. Coming from behind the curtains, and seating right in front of the hooded man.

" How did he manage to arrive before us ?! " Their strategy would had to be rethought ... Nothing was going according to plan.

By then, Malatania was done with her scene and a grim Alast, still disguised, was now silent, he had lost and ended up paying the full 150 Gold pieces she asked him for. And he knew he would give even more as it was now Sareftin's turn to present her bill. Clearly, he should have sticked to his idea of staying on the ship.

His companions attention was entirely on Eolfrid and the mysterious man he was talking to. The conversation couldn't be overheard because of the noise in the room. They all focused very hard all the same to decipher as much as they could from the positions, the moves, the general expression. If Eolfrid's face was open, the hooded guy couldn't be seen at all. It was clear to all that they were in disagreement and suddenly, the hooded man slapped Eolfrid who remained collected. The company was now certain it was Karnelian. They all were equally puzzled. And Malatania coming back to Leo, holding out a message from Eolfrid wasn't bringing any answer.

Eolfrid was now standing, followed by Karnelian. The conversation was over, they were about to leave and the little group would lose them. It was time to act, to do something : but what ? As usual, the company suffered of its lack of cohesion. No one could decide and so Gustavius played it all on a hunch.

He stood up and loudly proclaimed : "Ladies and Gentlemen ! We have a hero here !" while pointing at Eolfrid. Seeing no reaction whether from the guests in the tavern nor from Eolfrid who continued walking towards the second room he went on acting drunk and proclaiming "One of the greatest heroes of the Tantarias, the scourge of the pirates !" Unfortunatley no-one reacted. Except for Karnelian and a pirate accolyte who headed straight for Erleothir asking who the leader in the group was. Erleothir, probably still under the shock of Gustavius completely unprepared intervention simply pointed at him "he is."

While realising at the same moment it was a mistake, both Mulchanor and himself stood up and quickly followed Karnelian, right in time to see him facing down Gustavius, plunging a knife in the back of his own accolyte and yelling for murder before anyone could react.

This time the people in the room reacted. A group of pirates jumped at Mulchanor and immobilized him on the ground, Gustavius was suddenly dragged away in the small room behind the bar by some of the guards. It was in fact a small prison. Soon enough he was in the company of a slightly beaten up Mulchanor. And then, only seconds later, by Erleothir as well.

Karnelian had fled to the top floor and they had lost all traces of Eolfrid.

At the table, in the main hall, Alast and Yesnarel were perfectly fine though and making the best efforts not to get caught into anything. They went on drinking and eating casually.
Normality was quickly coming back...

Until one of the waitresses, Xcephia, noticed that there was a big package at the place where Karnelian and Eolfrid where sitting a few moments ago. As she called for a dwarf to help her carry the bag away, it exploded in a large ball of fire and heat.

The shockwave was so strong that the complete building shook. In their prison cell, the 3 friends could feel the rumble. The guards left the prison to see what had happened. Immediatly Mulchanor picked the lock of their cell, before leaving, the dwarves quickly looted the chests near the bunkbeds, while Erleothir stood watch at the door. Their devised plan to disguise themselves as dwarven guard escorting the prisoner out failed since no uniform could be found in the chests. But, to their joy they discovered 2 pistols and 10 shots.

In the meantime the guards had started the evacuation of the building, the flames were spreading, devouring the wooden furnitures and panels, thick black smoke was slowly starting to accumulate.

Still doing their best to look inconspicious Alast and Yesnarel were calmly finishing their dishes and tankards while the place burned around them.
"shouldn't we do something?" asked Yesnarel
"nah, I really don't want trouble here" replied Alast with indifference.

Knowing that her mother, Sareftin, was upstairs in the guestrooms and the whole building was about to collapse, Rameldin ran upstairs, taking with her the guard who was still standing watch at the stairs. Erleothir, Gustavius and Mulchanor choose that moment to get out of their prison. They crossed the room and rushed up the stairs as well.

They crossed the threshold and found Rameldin crying over her mother. Sareftin was dead. Through sobs, Rameldin lifted her head and soon spotted the companions : "the prisoners and murderers are fleeing ! stop them!"

During the ongoing evacuation some foolhardy pirates suddenly jumped over the counter to the armory and started pillaging the place. Yesnarel immediately reacted outraged and was encouraging Alast to do something. That's when a guard shot a fleeing pirate, whose arms were fully loaded with loot. Logically, and for their own interest, they decided to follow the orders of the guards overseeing the evacuation and quickly stopping the robberies. The dwarven guards did not only evacuated the guests but also took care of the equipments and weapons, putting those on two different piles in front of the the building. Soon everyone was outside the inn, the Green Rat was now completely ablaze.

The situation inside had not improved for our three heroes, they were encircled by flames. As they were slowly advancing on the balcony, Erleothir managed to throw the first guard over the railing. The two other guards who were rushing for them did not made it as a burning beam collapsed over them. Rameldin had disappeared. Erleothir broke open the door of the room he last saw Karnelian going in, but they were far too late. The room was empty, so was the open chest at the end of the bed. Suddenly a loud noise was to be heard, the stairs just had collapsed leaving them only one possible way out. One after the other they jumped out of the window. First Erleothir quickly followed by Mulchanor.

After Gustavius jumped off the window, at the precise moment it collapsed, they all stood in an alley. On their right, the inn was still burning, unrecognizable. On their left, two other buildings were in flames. A man was standing in the middle of it, and the young barmaid was at his side. She was completely panicked and ran to the guards as soon as she spotted the three survivors. Her yells were clear, to her they were the culprits and she was urging the men to arrest them, repeating how dangerous they were. There was nothing Erleothir or the dwarves could say to calm her down or plead their case. The man was all about the girl, he was his dad apparently,the owner of the Inn then : Enuri. That was just great.

All three mentioned the hooded man, Karnelian. All the man was listening to was what her daughter was saying : his wife was dead in a fire started by those men and their companions after a fight with a pirate they ended up killing. That they broke free from the cell they had been placed into. That they had been trying to escape. There was nothing to shut her up. Their only break was when a little furry thing brought her something. She kissed the animal and seemed somehow relieved.

As the men were pleading their case, they got punched KO by the guards : too much insolence or disrespect. Listing the security weaknesses, asking for their money back, talking about Huldrak made no difference. Erleothir finally said the name "Halukel" and with that caught Enuri's attention.

"Halukel ? but he lives in the fort in the forest. You want me to believe he is here ?"

Forgetting all caution, Leo went on and mistakenly added " yes he is here, we all came with the airship, driven by Captain Padoka "

The moment the name was out he realized that was too much. Enuri's eyes shone of interest. " Padoka is here ? Ohh, what a pleasant surprise... we'll make a lot of money then ... Take me to him, and no trap. " Following the instructions, they all walked back to the ship... The meeting would sure be entertaining.