npc inbox: sa-hareth + stairs of sighs

[groundrules]

NPC INBOX: SA-HARETH

Reach out to your (not-so-)favourite NPC here, putting their name in the comment header. Try to keep it to just quick text/audio/written exchanges or inquiries that can accept summarised answers, please!

CURRENTLY WITH THE PARTY

	THE MERCHANT username: raven master The patron saint of etiquette and the eastbound getaway expedition. Seems to largely trade information alongside wares. Appreciates spices, strategy and collaboration. Has an eerie and overly cautious manner. Committed. Defends the benefit of the many, to the detriment of the few.
	KARSA username: lady of the willow tree Sorceress, young (?). Employed by the Merchant and deferential to him. Talented but fiery and frequently impatient, intolerant of fools. She will get today's job done yesterday. Struggles to sympathise with men, objections and those who cannot absorb information quickly. Enchanted the group's translation devices.
	ASGEIRR The ghost of a scholar monk. Haunts the tattered execution cloak that the party stole from the La Rea bank in Sa-Hareth. Once a champion of equality and freedom, he faced ire for converting his followers against the regionally profitable trade of slavery. Soft-spoken but wise and just, slow to regain his strength. Will speak to those who visit his cloak in brief interludes. Favours necromancers.
	MAZYAR Charlatan, crook or wise man, Mazyar has worn all the names. Once an exceptionally skilled smuggler, now an equally apt tradesman and caravan master, allied with the Merchant. Less cryptic than his 'associate,' if more prone to riddles and keen on items with value.
	GHOST ARMY OF ARHA A maudlin, marauding and eerily fixated army led by the young lord Arha through the Stairs of Sighs. They seek to rescue Arha's oracle lover Hatisse from Taravast.
	OUHRSSON Guys, it's a bear.

SA-HARETH

	"HALTHAM" | ANURR username: Haltham | illiterate The undead warlord Anurr, previously posing as gentle-mannered giant Haltham. An embodiment of Sa-Hareth's cold storms and wind, who regained his territory from contender Unhalad with the inadvertent help of the party in Arc I. Frostily rational and amenable to some negotiation.
	THE (NOT-SO) GOOD PEOPLE From distressed locals to busy-bee merchants, guards, enchanters, tradesmen, politicians and looser-tongued courtesans — never underestimate the value of indiscretion in a citadel built on commerce, rumour and stubbornly choosing to ignore the expanding rule of the undead. Not every piece of gossip or legend's worth your time, but beggars can't be choosers.

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Comments

[jeoha]

With a somber voice, Lee Chang tells the man that he may describe him.

"Tell him I wore the whites of mourning, drenched in blood. That I slew their guard, and tossed them the keys to their freedom."

1/2

[groundrules]

The forest man conveys as he is instructed, waiting at length for an answer that comes staggered. He passes the quartz stone back to Lee Chang, saying Anurr will hear him.

un: arne olsen

[aprescoup]

( Not one voice, but a consortium, some human, some jarring, some whistled. Men and women and wind and children. At times they take turns, at others they speak together: )


Y oU   ToS sEd   W eLl.

[jeoha]

[ Well: that was extremely unsettling. He took a breath, settling himself without glancing at the others in the small room, before raising the quartz and speaking again. ]

So it appears.

I claim no debt. I will not demand your aid. But I will tell you: our mutual enemy descends upon us and this house.

We have done our best not to interfere. This land is not our own, we do not know its secrets. I do not claim to know yours. But I know enough to say this: we are under siege from a warlord who would see you and yours destroyed, and return you under steel and key.

If ever you cared to toss the key back, the time is now.

[aprescoup]

( Another silence, extended — as if the voice thinks, or verifies. )

U nHa Lad ?

[jeoha]

[ This time he does look at Mingyu and Five. He does not have the words or even the thoughts for what his mind is picking at - many voices, as one. He doesn't like it, but they have little option. ]

Yes.

And his legions. Some... fresher than others.

[aprescoup]

H e   COmE s   tO mY   Ho U sE?

LaY s   SiEg e   To   MY   ho USe?

[jeoha]

He does. He has.

[ He turns to the free man and holds out the quartz. ]

Tell him if I speak truly.

[aprescoup]

( The man of the forest confirms the matter, enthusiastically, before Anurr pauses once more. It appears to strain him to speak. )



Yo U   ASk   M e   ReTUrneD   to   My   HOUSe?

[jeoha]

[ He pauses, frowning a little as he glances over at the others.

Plainly. He needed to speak as plainly as possible, and leave as little room for doubt as he possibly could. ]

We keep your house and guard it. Unhalad and his armies surround us.

I ask you to keep him from the house.

[ A pause, a breath, before firmly and with conviction: ]

I ask you to help us destroy him, and his army.

[aprescoup]

H Ow   ManY   o f   HiS   Cr E aT u REs?

[jeoha]

[ He breathes out, closes his eyes, tries to estimate a count. ]

Enough to surround on all sides, to keep us trapped within.

Enough to keep me from seeing far enough into the dark to tell you.

We slay those that breach the walls. Dozens in the first night, but his forces seem to bolster by the hour.

[aprescoup]

( And another pause. )

YoUR   pe OpL e   nEGlecT ed   m Y   Of FEr.

NoW   Yo U   COM e   to   M E.

[jeoha]

We did.

And now I do.

[aprescoup]

Wh Om   Do   y o u   SpEAk   fo R?

[jeoha]

Myself.

[ He looked at Mingyu when he said this, knowing full well this particular plea would not be popular. Even he didn't like it. ]

My cell mate.

We were alone in the jail. We aren't now.

But I speak for myself. And any debt such help incurs will fall to me.

Will you come?

[aprescoup]

UnHa LAd   AtT aCK eD   YoU   iN   LarG E   NUM be Rs.

ThE N   th E   MINES   A rE   U n deFEnDed.

[jeoha]

[ He grit his teeth. Yes, well done Lee Chang, point out that Anurr's target lay bare for the taking.

The people of Sa'Hareth seemed to think that Anurr cared more for them than Unhalad did. Lee Chang wasn't so sure. But this would put that to the test. ]

If he leaves them undefended, then he considers us a deeper threat than the loss of his mines.

If he never leaves this place, then the mines will earn him nothing, but benefit the people he has oppressed that now rise under your banner.

He thinks himself untouchable. [ Who knew if that was true, of course, but in the end it didn't matter if it was or not. ] He watches the house and thinks that those that could truly oppose him all reside within. He would not lay siege this way if he expected a knife in the back.

[aprescoup]

( Hastily, dismissive — )

We   G O   to   t He   MiN eS.

But   YoU   w IlL   HAve   SoM E   As SistancE.


( From the forest, expect a dozen possessed great arctic bears, four musk oxen, eight snowy owls, and about 10-15 free people to come assist the party over the course of the siege. The animals will arrive first. )

[jeoha]

[ He took the dismissal as it was meant, grimacing as he returned the crystal to Mingyu. ]

We will see how well valued Unhalad keeps those mines, or if he has brought all his forces to us. I do not think any pretty words would have dissuaded them of that course.

If it comes back to us - it was my decision.