MOURNHOLD, ROYAL PALACE
Tienius Delitian
:disloyalty among the Guards:
“I’ve replaced many of the former king’s guards with more reliable men. But I had to keep some experienced guards, and I can’t be certain of their loyalties. I will pretend you wish to join the Royal Guards. That’s your excuse for talking to the guards, sounding them out, and looking for evidence of disloyalty. If you find any hint of treason or evidence of disloyalty, report it to me. Take no action. Report to me, and I will judge what action is appropriate.”
Faern Sargtlin
Ask about specific guards.
Tienius Delitian
:disloyalty among the Guards:
“I’m not certain about any of the former king’s guards: Evo Othreloth, Ivulen Irano, and Aleri Aren. None of them are particularly clever. Not stupid enough to admit treason. But perhaps not clever enough to hide evidence of it.”
Faern Sargtlin
“I’ll take care of it.”
Tienius Delitian
:disloyalty among the Guards:
“Good. If you find evidence of disloyalty among the Guards, bring it to me.”
Faern Sargtlin
(meet Evo Othreloth)
Evo Othreloth
“It’s fine with me. Go ahead.”
:join the Royal Guards:
“I don’t care. If Tienius Delitian thinks you’re qualified, that’s fine with me. How do I like being in the Guard? I’m new here, and haven’t formed an opinion. But I know and trust Tienius Delitian, and expect he’ll do right by me.”
Faern Sargtlin
Ask about King Llethan.
Evo Othreloth
:join the Royal Guards:
“Don’t know anything about him. I’m new here.”
Faern Sargtlin
(Ask about King Helseth.)
Evo Othreloth
:join the Royal Guards:
“I bet he makes a bad enemy. Hard to tell what he’s thinking. But if I do my job right, I know Tienius Delitian will take care of me.”
Faern Sargtlin
)Mention your Hlaalu connections.)
Evo Othreloth
:join the Royal Guards:
“Hmm. Nothing wrong with House Hlaalu. Not sure they’re very happy about King Helseth succeeding their King Llethan. But no point in hiding it from Tienius Delitian. He’s bound to find out sooner or later, so you might as well tell him straight off.”
Faern Sargtlin
(meet Ivulen Irano)
Ivulen Irano
“Happy to help. What’s your problem?”
:join the Royal Guards:
“What did Tienius Delitian send you to me for? If he wants you to be a Royal Guard, then you’ll be a Royal Guard. Nothing to do with me. How do I like it? You think I was born yesterday? My mom didn’t teach me to blabber to strangers. So old King Llethan was a bit of a fool, but he was good to me. And King Helseth is no fool. He’s got to keep some experienced men like me around. All these new fellows, like you… someone’s gotta teach them their business, ’cause they don’t know it.”
Faern Sargtlin
)Ask about King Llethan.)
Ivulen Irano
:join the Royal Guards:
“You hear folks say old King Llethan was a fool. Well, folks should keep their mouths shut. Maybe he was a fool, but lots of folk are fools. Maybe he had no business being a king, but that’s what he was, so folk should show some respect to the old fellow.”
Faern Sargtlin
(Ask about King Helseth.)
Ivulen Irano
:join the Royal Guards:
“It’s an honor… to serve…. It is my honor to serve King Helseth and Queen Barenziah. That’s right. Just what I said. An honor.”
Faern Sargtlin
Mention your Hlaalu connections.
Ivulen Irano
:join the Royal Guards:
“Oh? Really? Does Tienius Delitian know that? Did you talk to Aleri Aren? You should tell her that you’re House Hlaalu. Really. But don’t tell Tienius Delitian. Just tell Aleri Aren.”
Faern Sargtlin
(meet Aleri Aren)
Aleri Aren
“I’m not busy now. What do you need?”
:join the Royal Guards:
“I’ve been a Royal Guard all my life, and so was my mother and her mother. I served King Llethan for many years, and now I’ll serve King Helseth. Long live the King, and long live the Emperor. It’s none of my business, of course, but why do you want to be a guard? You look like you’ve done well enough for yourself as an adventurer.”
Faern Sargtlin
(Ask about King Llethan.)
Aleri Aren
:join the Royal Guards:
“What about him? He was what he was. He was the king, and my noble lord, and I served him faithfully.”
Faern Sargtlin
(Ask about King Helseth.)
Aleri Aren
:join the Royal Guards:
“It is my honor to serve King Helseth and Queen Barenziah.”
Faern Sargtlin
Mention your Hlaalu connections.
Aleri Aren
:join the Royal Guards:
“He what? Ivulen Irano told you to tell me about your Hlaalu connections? And told you NOT to tell Tienius Delitian? I have no idea what that’s all about. Are you sure you heard him right? He’s not the brightest star in the sky… he gets confused sometimes. I wouldn’t worry about it. I’ll talk to Ivulen Irano later when I get a chance. I’m sure it’s just a misunderstanding.”
Faern Sargtlin
(go back to Tienius Delitian)
Tienius Delitian
:disloyalty among the Guards:
“So you spoke to Aleri Aren about your Hlaalu connections, as Ivulen Irano suggested, and Aleri Aren acted like she didn’t know what he was talking about. Perhaps you are right. Perhaps Aleri Aren was covering up for Ivulen Irano. See if you can find some more tangible evidence of disloyalty — something in writing, perhaps. Ivulen Irano seems to be the weak link. Take a careful look at his possessions in the Guard Quarters. But be careful. Don’t get caught, or you’ll be attacked like a common thief.”
Faern Sargtlin
(go to Guard Quarter)
(search the room and find “handwritten note“)
(go back to Tienius Delitian)
Tienius Delitian
:disloyalty among the Guards:
“This is Ivulen Irano’s handwriting on the note you found. He notes the watches when Dralen, Aren, and Irano are the only guards in the Throne Room. I believe I’ll change the watch schedules to prevent that. And I’ll need to keep a close eye on all three. Very shrewd work, Faern Sargtlin. You’ve brought me clear evidence of disloyalty among the guards. Now I need your help finding evidence of conspiracy against King Helseth among the Hlaalu nobles.”
