An Enterprise

[ThePaganKing]

Gabe sits back in his chair, stretches out his long legs, and pulls his hood back to reveal his seamed and cracked face.

He casts a few spells and then peers into all shadowy corners, ensuring that there are no persons hiding or otherwise concealed.

Gabe then gives his full attention to the Hin sitting across from him. " So, why have you called me to this place?"

[ManUtd4Ever]

((Any general statements about Sundren and / or any feelings, beliefs, etc. attributed to an NPC were taken from DM comments made on the forum so as to tell a story without god-modding.))

((Written in collaboration with TPK.))

*Two males sit in quiet conversation around a fireplace in an undisclosed location. One is of average height for a human; the other is the size of a child. Both sip Elven wine from expensive goblets and smoke scented tobacco from elegantly craved bone pipes.*

“…I saw her in one of our tunnels and again coming out of a room in Second Wind Inn,” said the smaller of the two.


“So?” responded the human.


“Seriously, must I spell it out for you?”

*The Hin first takes a small sip of wine and then a long draw on his pipe to extend the dramatic pause*

“It may be common knowledge nobility has privileges, private laws, and a lot of resources and connections,” offers the Hin before blowing smoke rings into the air. “But, what chaps me is that it’s considered a lot less risky for a rich noble to wander about than a rich commoner. I mean… We exploit commoners all too often, why aren’t we doing the same with these high brows?”

*The human looks at the child sized man sitting in his rather large chair appearing to struggle a bit while managing his goblet and pipe. A sly smile crosses his face.*

“Well… if you must know my good man, it is also common knowledge mugging or kidnapping a noble means extra harsh sentences and vicious punishments. We take from commoners because the city’s lawmen are inept. Nobles have the full force of the law both public and private,” he says adding extra emphasis on the private so as to add his own dramatic flair.

*The tale of caution resonates with the Hin causing him to nod in agreement. After a moment, a small smile begins appear on his face too.*

“Well then,” says the Hin, “I believe we may need to change everyone’s mind about what is and is not considered risky in Sundren. But first I need to speak with the Gray.”


“Before you do… how much do you actually know about our Veiro,” asks the Human.

*Refilling his wine and offering to do the same for his small guest, the Human begins to retell a familiar story. *

“You see… Veiro himself was of noble birth. I’ll spare you the drab details of his upbringing. You can’t throw a dead cat without hearing some poor soul telling and retelling the tale when at headquarters.

*The man raises his goblet in mock salute*

“To the point!”


“Gray believes money and power corrupted his parents. In his mind’s eye, nobles should value their families and wealth and do something good with both.”

*The man settles back in his chair and pauses to yawn before continuing his story*

“Gray knows from personal experience that nobles are corrupt and selfish. Now don’t get me wrong, He still believes wealth, in of itself, is not bad. No, his concern is that wealth corrupts. It makes nobles callous.”


“So, if you want Veiro to support your plan, whatever it is… then you must convince him this noble, the lady you spoke of, is not using her power and influence to improve Sundren. If you do this, then perhaps you have a chance.”

*The man closes his eyes in apparent exhaustion for having to explain to the Hin the game of Sundren politics*

*The Hin smiles…*

“Thank you sincerely for your council. But, I could care less about that Noble at this point. No, what I want to discuss is something far more important.”

*And with that the Hin smothers his pipe and places it in his cloak before taking the last sip of Elven wine and standing to depart.*

[ManUtd4Ever]

((No attempt was made to animate the Gray [NPC]. DM’s comments or interactions are most welcomed.))

*A tall man with gray hair wearing dark purple padded leathers stands over a table. Next to him is a Hin, who using a chair to stand on, is reviewing set of hand drawn maps and notes he pulled from his cloak moments before. Standing with a good view of the table, but well back is another man of average height.*

*The Hin begins speaking in an even, but respectful tone.*

“I found the tunnel’s entrance here,” starts the Hin using the point of his blade to identify a location on a crude hand drawn map.

*Another Man standing away from the table steps forward wanting to be heard.*

“It may have been a while. Tell him exactly what you had to do to reach that location,” He says without any hint of sarcasm or support.

Directing his comments to the Gray, dressed in deep purple padded leathers, the Hin says, “Well… departing Arbiter’s Stand I head into the forest until I reach the Lost Marshes. Getting in is fairly routine. There is usually a group of adventurers taking their turn in the Bloodmaim rotation, so it’s easy to ghost’em as they clear out the Orcs. The putrid swamp is easy enough if disease doesn’t get you. The creatures move slow and are easy to hit. I have no problems, but I don’t loiter either. On the far end of the swamp you come to a slight incline where an old graveyard is.”


“The Mossdale Graveyard is tough. There are Departed Guardians, Decomposed Warriors, and Skeletons that fight like there is a prize at the end. So I normally sneak my way through,” says the Hin evenly still directing his comments to the Man in deep purple padded leathers.

“There is a tall arse gate at the end of the graveyard. A met a Gatekeeper there… asking me my intentions. He likes riddles, so I played along with him since he promised to open his gate if I answered the riddle correctly. I decided to work my way around his big arse though. I simply reached into my sack and pulled out a dimension door scroll and made quick work of his silly arse gate.”

*The Hin stood to his full height on the chair showing his pride for his own resourcefulness.*

“Then!” shouted the Hin, "I looked up just in time to see a commotion ahead. Good thing I did! There are things no man or Hin should ever see appeared before me. I had just enough time to cast invisibility on myself,” offers the Hin with a look of relief. “I asked around and explained what I saw. It was Kelrak De’Victus and a Revenant with a handful of other deaders. So, I skirted them as fast I could.”

*The tall man with gray hair was emotionless hearing the Hin retell his story. This concerned the Hin, who jumped down from the chair and went to fill his bone pipe with scented tobacco. He turned back to the table and lit his tobacco before completing his tale *

“After that,” continued the Hin between long draws on his pipe, “I walked through an area with Guardians, Priests, and Scions of Bane. There was even a disciple of Colibrus from the looks of her dress. I crept past ‘em all and searched the gullies for a way out. That’s when I found the tunnel I was pointing at earlier.”

*With that the Hin sits in the chair and works his pipe while letting the full weight of his endeavors sink in the Gray *

((To be continued))

[ManUtd4Ever]

((No attempt was made to animate the Gray [NPC]. DM’s comments or interactions are most welcomed.))

*A tall man with gray hair wearing dark purple padded leathers stands over a table. Next to him is a Hin sitting in a chair. Standing close by is another man of average height.*

*The Hin waits for any response, but the Gray remains silent. So, he continues his story.*

“The tunnel leads to a deep, deep cave complex,” starts the Hin again.

*The Hin remains seated in his chair working his pipe.*

“I counted a total of four level changes. The first was a bit of a challenge. I killed the biggest stag beetles anyone’s ever seen in Sundren. There were spiders, crawlers and elementals about too. Oh! …and pesky Fire Newts,” He finishes while exhaling sweet scented smoke in a manner indicating much practice. “Good news is all of them were fairly easy to dispatch.”

“When I reached the last tunnel I felt an intense heat. It was manageable, but the smell of sulfur was a bit too much for long periods. Mind you, it did not hurt me, but I was relieved to be out of the cave.” “But,” he says through clenched teeth as he took another long pull on his pipe, “If I was in a frying pan I jumped right out and into the fire.”

*The other Man crosses the room and pours himself a goblet of fine Elven wine. He knew the story already and was readying himself for the better parts.*

*The Hin begins using his hands while speaking foretelling his excitement of the events about to unfold, but out of respect for the Gray he kept his flair for the dramatic to a minimum.*

“What lay in front of me was a large lava field full of fire elementals,” said the Hin, his eyes growing bigger. “I used my stealth here too and outwitted roaming elementals until I arrived at the end of a bridge. Golias Pass I believe. As I stood there, my eyes began to water from the smell and heat; that is when I looked up and saw the symbol. I knew then what I had found. It was… the Banite Citadel,” whispers the Hin in a low and steady voice.

*With that the Hin stood and walked over to grab a goblet of wine hoping to use the time to assess the Pactmaster’s reaction to his news. Nothing.*

Beginning again the Hin says, “Standing there at the other end of the bridge was two Dread Guards. The walls were as high as a five story inn, at least. I checked my weapons and made sure anything that would make noise was tied down good. Then, as happy as you like, I snuck across the bridge, past the guards, and into the Citadel.”

*Across the Hin’s face appeared a wide smile*

“Then” said the Hin, “I spent a good long time mapping out the Citadel’s interior… or the parts I could reach without the need for a special key. In total, I’ve made the trip four times that I can remember. There was one trip I remember starting, but I’m not sure how I got out.”

*The other Man turns to the Gray and in an even and matter-a-fact tones begins to explain their plan.*

“You see my good man that the Hin here proves to be a good and capable scout” says the Other Man. “So, if we can enter the Citadel when we want, then we believe we can strike a bit more fear in the Nobles of Sundren if we were to kidnap a Banite from their own Citadel, what?”

*Feeling a loss of control, the Hin reasserts himself and directs his comments to the Gray.*

“As I was saying earlier before we came here” begins the Hin again, “If it’s considered a lot less risky for a rich noble to wander about than a rich commoner without any fear of being abducted, and if it is also true nobility has privileges, private laws, and a lot of resources and connections… Then why not create fear throughout all of Sundren that abductions can and are occurring under the most severe conditions. By creating fear… we can use this to line our pockets with Noble coin by offering them protection from such abductions. Thus no noble is taken and less Banites are walking about to propagate fear and whatever else they do in their free time,” concludes the Hin before tampering his pipe and putting it to rest in his cloak.

*The other Man looks to seal the deal.*

“We plan to focus our efforts on Myrkul and Bane Clergy who take sacrifices at the Altar of Hate. Swifty has seen this altar and believes it is sufficiently isolated so as to allow him and me to enter and remove two victims. I am confident in my abilities to use my own skills to effortlessly remove the bodies without detection,” Gabe concludes with a sly smile.

*Together, Gabe and Swifty ask the Gray*

“What say you?”

((To be continued))

[ManUtd4Ever]

*Swifty and Gabe remain silent awaiting Viero’s response to their proposal. When none is given, Swifty and Gabe depart.*

“We need to make some of the others aware and see what they have to say,” Gabe concludes with a sly smile.

*Gabe departs and Swifty decides to run over to Jimmy’s for a glass of Elven wine.*

((To be continued))