• Memory • A Just Act

[Ilinis]

114, Ashan 117
Ne'haer, Crest Break Tavern

Ilinis sat at the bar of the Crest Break Tavern. It had always been one of his favorite establishments to visit when he was in need of information, and today he was most certainly in need of something interesting. With thoughts of the great fight during the Day of Armistice, which lead to the destruction of quite a few buildings in the town square, he had found that information was sorely needed by the populace of Ne'haer. In times of panic and distress, many wish to acquire anything they feel will save their family or business, and Ilinis was happy to trade them what he had for information more valuable. In truth, none of the whisperings he had heard were worth much recently. It was becoming difficult to determine what was truth regarding the attack and the negative word that quickly flooded the citizenry about Lysoria and Ironridge. It was of no surprise that the citizenry consumed such negativity of Lysoria and Ironridge as feverishly as they did; Lysoria and Ironridge were cities of savages.

Even from a neutral standpoint, it was certain to Ilinis that Lysoria, Ironridge, or both of the cities had orchestrated the attack on the town square. The most substantial information he had gained recently was that Lord Vurris Lokhert had thrown another visiting messenger in the fighting pits, but that was of no surprise really. He sighed.

"Come now. I see you in here often enough. You having the usual?" , the barmaid said as she sauntered up to his table near the bar.

Ilinis once again took note that she was wasting her life in this establishment. While the environment was ripe for gaining all sorts of knowledge, she had to spend her days catering to the patrons and avoiding any who were too rambunctious and made unwanted advances. Not all sentient beings could be as useful to the world as he was, nor even more useful as his mother and father were. When he replied, he made no effort to hide how wasted his words were on here. "Yes. Sweetest as usual."

She scoffed, and then forced a smile back onto her lips as she left to gather his drink. Ilinis attempted to ignore the normal sounds that permeated the inn. The sounds of patrons drinking, laughter, the clink of silverware on plate, and the words of the staff. The barmaid returned with his wine. Ignoring what she said, he shooed her away after tossing her the coin she required. Later, he would realize that such rudeness would likely impede his ability to work here at a later date, but he would apologize, make an excuse, and hope it held. For now, however, he was working, and he had no time to cater to the social constructs of such a lowly creature.

Ilinis took a sip of the Orcage Wine and sighed contently. It was as pleasant as he last remembered - maybe more. Moments later, he placed the drained glass on the table. He had meant to make it last the entire of this reconnaissance, but the wine had other intentions. He placed his elbows upon the table rest his head in them, and then cupped a hand over his ear. He had always found that this improved his hearing, much like an animal did in the wild with their cupped ears. The first table he listened to he dismissed, at present he cared very little for the suspicions of a lower class citizen that their husband was stealing her pies, eating most of them, and then blaming it on the neighbor children. The second table was equally as dull; a man complaining to his friend about the shoddy dagger he had purchased from a man who swore it was made by a legendary blacksmith of Nashaki.

The barmaid returned to his table and inquired if he'd like another glass. Twenty minutes later, he was uncertain how he had consumed two more glasses of the wine, but it was always so pleasant. He cursed under his breath. This was why they always allowed him back in - no self control. When the barmaid returned again, he swore he saw her roll her eyes when he told her he didn't have enough money for another glass. Ilinis assumed it was an excuse many patrons had given before, but for him, this time, it was true.

The room was airy, and he found the previous conversations he had dismissed more amusing. When the woman told her friend that she had caught her husband with berries in his mustache, he snorted, and had to quickly turn it into a cough to avoid suspicion. He saw a few of the patrons glance at him, but he was certain it was only for his concern. He was a rarer breed after all. They would certainly want to keep something like him alive.

He shook his head. Now it was the wine talking. He needed to dismiss it and resume his work. Next time, he would have to ensure that he enjoyed himself and his experiments after he had completed what he had set out to do. The door swung open and a few of the guards of the city stepped in, and quickly seated themselves at a nearby table.

They looked tired, Ilinis noted. A while passed and drinks flowed to their table. He continued to listen to the room as the barmaid that served him earlier gave him increasingly dirty looks for occupying a table while not ordering anything. He ignored her as he paid attention to their conversation. It was boring. A lot of talk about women, their ale, petty crimes stopped. Ilinis was ready to call this day a waste when they finally spoke of something interesting.

"You hear about that Lysorian woman?", one of the men asked his comrade.

"The death magic whore? Nasty business. Was caught grave robbing, using necromancy, and murdering." The second man took a swig from his tankard.

The third guard, youngest of the group, frowned. "How'd they catch her, you reckon?"

The second man took another swig and downed his remaining ale as he guffawed. "Doesn't matter anymore! She'll receive her punishment tomorrow! Public execution! Wish I could see her get what she deserves, but they've stationed me at the docks tomorrow."

The first man shrugged. "I'm sure she deserves it, but was there a trial even?"

The second man narrowed his eyes at the first. "You watch your mouth. She's a dog of Lysoria and an arcane user at that. She deserves to die. They all do."

The third man nodded. "My mum says that the arcane art is like a poison. It infects you. Makes you do terrible things. All those who practice it need to be cleansed with fire."

The first man chuckled softly. "You're right. And if fire doesn't work. Drown 'em. If that doesn't work. Give 'em a knife in the heart. Eventually they'll be cleansed."

Ilinis ignored the rest of their conversation as it turned into rants against Lysoria and those who practiced the arcane. Any useful information within that conversation now would be too tainted by their biases. Those biases, while justified, had the habit of changing information and omitting useful bits.

He wondered to himself how the woman had been caught, and he like the guards determined it didn't matter. Those who practiced the arcane arts were a plague upon this plane. So many lives ruined in the name of their magical pursuits, so much knowledge destroyed. One day he hoped his information could lead to the execution of a Lysorian witch, as someone else's certainly had. For now, he was content that there was one less of them within the world. Stumbling up from his table, he chucked. Who knew, maybe his information could even bring in an Ironridge witch who would undoubtedly be much worse than the Lysorian cur. That would be something!

As he exited the establishment, he wondered to himself if he would attend the execution. It would be enjoyable to see, certainly. Yet, at the same time, he almost wished he could put his blade into her throat. After what had happened to his older brother...He shrugged to himself. He had never known his older brother, but he had heard the pain in his parent's voices the two times they had spoken of him. The first of when they told Ilinis of when they had moved to this city with his brother, and the second time when they told him of how he had been taken by a zealot who felt that those who were not human should burn for their sins. That had led his parents to joining the Academies and seeking a way to remove one's ability to access the arcane. He chucked. Here the wine was again, trying to make him think of it as revenge. No, it was a simple fact of life. The arcane arts were evil and needed to cleansed away before they festered the world.

Ledger

• -15 GN on wine

[Pegasus]

Ilinis

Overview

This was a well written and interesting thread! I enjoyed reading it, but I would just like to give you some advice. Your request for knowledge did not include any skill knowledge at all. You could have claimed a number of knowledge for the skills Intelligence and Deception, for example, in this thread. I would urge you to read the guide to claiming knowledge here and the knowledge and skills guide here. For your next review, if you want any support, please do feel free to drop me a pm before you submit it, I'll be happy to help you out / give you advice. A good thread, a good read - enjoy the rewards!

Points

XP: 10 (solo)

Devotion: None
Fame: NA

Loot

-15 gn (as identified in your ledger, thank you)

Knowledge

Knowledge: Magic: It's Evil
Place: Crest Break Tavern
Lysoria: Filled with Evil Magic
People: Lord Vurris Lokhert
People: Lord Vurris Lokhert (Is a savage)
Misc: Orcage Wine is good stuff

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