scuttlebutt

[2007-03-22 16:09:38] <Kyrie[dial-up]> PMs are harder for me to visually follow

[2007-03-22 16:10:07] <ST> ok :)

[2007-03-22 16:10:16] <Kyrie[dial-up]> so i head first to the nomads, they like kyrie already and know things

[2007-03-22 16:10:46] <ST> right

[2007-03-22 16:11:00] <Kyrie[dial-up]> I assume slatnak would have said something when raheen mentioned it, but i visit him first to tell me where to head

[2007-03-22 16:11:55] <ST> well, what exactly are you looking for?

[2007-03-22 16:12:16] <Kyrie[dial-up]> well so as not to blow my cover, I ask as follows:

[2007-03-22 16:13:49] <Kyrie[dial-up]> "I am doing research for a book on _the legends and tales of glorious vertia_, do you know any good stories? Also, I heard something about a princess and a noble from another city, that sounded fascinating, do you know anything about that?"

[2007-03-22 16:16:10] <Kyrie[dial-up]> (i'm sure a lot of people will tell me about the escape from the prison and the murder of mahbir

[2007-03-22 16:16:25] <Kyrie[dial-up]> (i take notes at all people's stories, of course)

[2007-03-22 16:16:28] <ST> "Princess Tashry?" he says, frowning. "Everyone knows about that..... if you want to talk to the person who knows the most, though, that would be old Barkamef, he's been trading in Drahn since before i was born"

[2007-03-22 16:17:05] <Kyrie[dial-up]> Very good! I'm sure he has loads of stories!

[2007-03-22 16:17:18] <ST> "I'm sure he does!" Slatnak says with a smile

[2007-03-22 16:17:23] <Kyrie[dial-up]> where can i find him :P

[2007-03-22 16:17:42] <Kyrie[dial-up]> is he the sort that i have to sort the story from the history?

[2007-03-22 16:18:13] <ST> "You'd find him in his rooms above the inn at Silent Street corner"

[2007-03-22 16:18:24] <Kyrie[dial-up]> splendid

[2007-03-22 16:18:39] <Kyrie[dial-up]> thanks for taking care of my friends again!

[2007-03-22 16:18:42] <Kyrie[dial-up]> see you soon!

[2007-03-22 16:18:59] * Kyrie[dial-up] goes to silent street

[2007-03-22 16:19:49] <ST> you go to the inn, and ask for Barkamef as directed; everyone knows him, so there's no problem at all about finding him, and he's happy to have an audience for his stories

[2007-03-22 16:20:12] <Kyrie[dial-up]> So, where would you like to begin, sir?

[2007-03-22 16:21:46] <ST> "You wanted to hear the story of Princess Tashry?"

[2007-03-22 16:22:10] <Kyrie[dial-up]> of course!

[2007-03-22 16:23:24] <ST> "Ah, that was a real tragedy , that was....."

[2007-03-22 16:24:00] <Kyrie[dial-up]> so i heard, so i heard, sounded like a sweet love story at first but...

[2007-03-22 16:25:44] <ST> "Well, that's what everyone thought when she first came over from Pelagry, lovely girl she was as well, only fourteen, and she and the Prince had never met each other before they married, but it was love at first sight....."

[2007-03-22 16:27:25] <Kyrie[dial-up]> how sweet

[2007-03-22 16:27:31] <Kyrie[dial-up]> only 14?!

[2007-03-22 16:29:38] <ST> He shrugs.... "That's what it's like with royalty..... it's not always nice, but she seems to have been happy enough with the Prince, or was, until he died..."

[2007-03-22 16:30:35] <Kyrie[dial-up]> was he much older?

[2007-03-22 16:31:50] <ST> "No, he was.... let me see now..... sixteen? Sixteen when they married, and only eighteen when he died. A real tragedy."

[2007-03-22 16:32:22] <Kyrie[dial-up]> was it natural or...sudspicious? that is quite young! a tradgedy indeed

[2007-03-22 16:33:31] <ST> "It was an accident..... he was out hunting, and fell...... perfectly natural, but you have to admit it could be arranged to happen, and quite a few people whispered things about it...."

[2007-03-22 16:34:30] <Kyrie[dial-up]> how sad! what sort of things? you know we authors thrive on talk!

[2007-03-22 16:36:54] <ST> He smiles. "Well, that's so, of course," he says. "Let me see now....... some said, and I'm afraid there always are people who say such things, that the young Princess wanted to be free of him so she could marry someone else..... others said it was the Queen herself who wanted rid of him so she wouldn't have to hand over the throne when he came of age, either her or the vizier..."

[2007-03-22 16:37:30] <Kyrie[dial-up]> what's a vizier

[2007-03-22 16:38:16] <ST> "That's the Queen's chief advisor.... his name's Hadareth, an old man, he served King Antor for years and the Queen after him"

[2007-03-22 16:39:17] =-= ST is now known as Nuntar

[2007-03-22 16:40:43] <Kyrie[dial-up]> brb

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[2007-03-22 18:20:32] [INFO] Channel view for ``#scuttlebutt'' opened.

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[2007-04-03 14:17:43] =-= Nuntar is now known as ST

[2007-04-03 14:18:23] <Kyrie> where shall we play?

[2007-04-03 14:18:57] <ST> here should be good enough -- i can kick tata if you're worried about privacy ;)

[2007-04-03 14:19:16] =-= ST is now known as nuntar

[2007-04-03 14:19:23] =-= Mode #atragam +oq nuntar nuntar by ChanServ

[2007-04-03 14:19:26] <Kyrie> heh i'm not concerned

[2007-04-03 14:19:27] =-= nuntar is now known as ST

[2007-04-03 14:19:35] =-= Mode #atragam +oo Kyrie Hokulani by ST

[2007-04-03 14:20:00] <ST> then let's start :) but you'll have to remind me where we were -- you were questioning the old man about the princess, i think?

[2007-04-03 14:20:50] <Kyrie> yes, i was

[2007-04-03 14:21:07] <Kyrie> he had told me she was princess by marriage not birth

[2007-04-03 14:22:04] <ST> do you remember exactly where we were when i got cut off?

[2007-04-03 14:22:10] <ST> i'm afraid i don't

[2007-04-03 14:23:17] <Kyrie> let me check

[2007-04-03 14:23:23] <ST> :) thanks

[2007-04-03 14:26:42] |<-- Naima has left irc.xelium.net (Quit: Scheduled reload)

[2007-04-03 14:31:41] <Kyrie> [2007-03-22 16:19:49] <ST> you go to the inn, and ask for Barkamef as directed; everyone knows him, so there's no problem at all about finding him, and he's happy to have an audience for his stories

[2007-04-03 14:31:41] <Kyrie> [2007-03-22 16:20:12] <Kyrie[dial-up]> So, where would you like to begin, sir?

[2007-04-03 14:31:41] <Kyrie> [2007-03-22 16:21:46] <ST> "You wanted to hear the story of Princess Tashry?"

[2007-04-03 14:31:41] <Kyrie> [2007-03-22 16:22:10] <Kyrie[dial-up]> of course!

[2007-04-03 14:31:41] <Kyrie> [2007-03-22 16:23:24] <ST> "Ah, that was a real tragedy , that was....."

[2007-04-03 14:31:41] <Kyrie> [2007-03-22 16:24:00] <Kyrie[dial-up]> so i heard, so i heard, sounded like a sweet love story at first but...

[2007-04-03 14:31:41] <Kyrie> [2007-03-22 16:25:44] <ST> "Well, that's what everyone thought when she first came over from Pelagry, lovely girl she was as well, only fourteen, and she and the Prince had never met each other before they married, but it was love at first sight....."

[2007-04-03 14:31:41] <Kyrie> [2007-03-22 16:27:25] <Kyrie[dial-up]> how sweet

[2007-04-03 14:31:41] <Kyrie> [2007-03-22 16:27:31] <Kyrie[dial-up]> only 14?!

[2007-04-03 14:31:41] <Kyrie> [2007-03-22 16:29:38] <ST> He shrugs.... "That's what it's like with royalty..... it's not always nice, but she seems to have been happy enough with the Prince, or was, until he died..."

[2007-04-03 14:31:41] <Kyrie> [2007-03-22 16:30:35] <Kyrie[dial-up]> was he much older?

[2007-04-03 14:31:41] <Kyrie> [2007-03-22 16:31:50] <ST> "No, he was.... let me see now..... sixteen? Sixteen when they married, and only eighteen when he died. A real tragedy."

[2007-04-03 14:31:41] <Kyrie> [2007-03-22 16:32:22] <Kyrie[dial-up]> was it natural or...sudspicious? that is quite young! a tradgedy indeed

[2007-04-03 14:31:41] <Kyrie> [2007-03-22 16:33:31] <ST> "It was an accident..... he was out hunting, and fell...... perfectly natural, but you have to admit it could be arranged to happen, and quite a few people whispered things about it...."

[2007-04-03 14:31:41] <Kyrie> [2007-03-22 16:34:30] <Kyrie[dial-up]> how sad! what sort of things? you know we authors thrive on talk!

[2007-04-03 14:31:41] <Kyrie> [2007-03-22 16:36:54] <ST> He smiles. "Well, that's so, of course," he says. "Let me see now....... some said, and I'm afraid there always are people who say such things, that the young Princess wanted to be free of him so she could marry someone else..... others said it was the Queen herself who wanted rid of him so she wouldn't have to hand over the throne when he came of age, either her or the vizier..."

[2007-04-03 14:31:41] <Kyrie> [2007-03-22 16:37:30] <Kyrie[dial-up]> what's a vizier

[2007-04-03 14:31:41] <Kyrie> [2007-03-22 16:38:16] <ST> "That's the Queen's chief advisor.... his name's Hadareth, an old man, he served King Antor for years and the Queen after him"

[2007-04-03 14:32:53] <ST> thanks :)

[2007-04-03 14:33:03] <ST> so, we continue from there!

[2007-04-03 14:35:15] <Kyrie> so then what happened, after the prince died?

[2007-04-03 14:37:01] <ST> "Ah," he says. "The Queen tried to refuse the crown, said it was too big a responsibility for a woman to take, but there's no knowing if she really didn't want it or if she was just protesting for the sake of appearance. We all knew she'd get it -- the ministers convened and offered it to her unanimously, there was never going to be any other outcome."

[2007-04-03 14:37:16] |<-- Hokulani has left irc.xelium.net (Quit: )

[2007-04-03 14:37:34] <Kyrie> oh, really?

[2007-04-03 14:37:39] <Kyrie> fascinating

[2007-04-03 14:38:12] <Kyrie> and the princess and the vaisia, what became of them?

[2007-04-03 14:38:44] <Kyrie> i mean, she married into the family, right? what are the customs around here about being widowed?

[2007-04-03 14:41:17] <ST> "Ah, that was a sad end to the story," the old man murmurs. "The guards caught her one night letting a man into her room, and they jumped to the obvious conclusion, although it was never proved, and many said she could never have done such a thing. After that she just disappeared, no-one knows where... most likely the Queen had a word with her and told her it would be wise to slip quietly...

[2007-04-03 14:41:19] <ST> ...out of the picture."

[2007-04-03 14:43:55] <Kyrie> i heard there was a lord from pellagry, but that version was all sorts of jumbled

[2007-04-03 14:46:18] <ST> "That's because no-one really knows the truth," he said. "It was to everyone's advantage to keep the thing hushed up, and many of us think the Queen told him to get back to Pelagry as quickly as he could and never return."

[2007-04-03 14:47:59] <Kyrie> and if foul play befelled the princess, who do people think would have caused it?

[2007-04-03 14:51:06] <ST> "Foul play?" he says. "I wonder what makes you ask that.... no-one would have benefitted from killing her, she was disgraced and powerless. Most likely she's in exile somewhere under another name, perhaps married to some poor farmer and well out of the way."

[2007-04-03 14:52:08] <Kyrie> well not harm necessarily, but something more...underhanded...than being asked to leave

[2007-04-03 14:52:29] <Kyrie> you know how these stories run amok

[2007-04-03 14:52:58] <Kyrie> i figure if anyone has any sensible...or more intriguing...ideas you would

[2007-04-03 14:53:23] <ST> "I do," he says. "I wonder who you've been talking to and what they said? I never heard talk of anything, as you put it, underhanded."

[2007-04-03 14:53:59] <Kyrie> hmm, the person i was talking to was a bit of a gossip...and inclined to...amend the stories...

[2007-04-03 14:54:30] <Kyrie> you know how some people are, for a single good morsel of info you have to sift through wagonloads of chaff

[2007-04-03 14:54:52] * Kyrie flips a page in her notebook

[2007-04-03 14:55:02] <ST> "I know the sort," he says. "All my stories are reliable, you can count on that. What did you hear?"

[2007-04-03 14:55:19] <Kyrie> just an insinuation that she crossed th ewrong people

[2007-04-03 14:55:47] <Kyrie> but this person insinuated that about all sorts of people

[2007-04-03 14:56:13] <Kyrie> and who is a disgraced and powerless girl gonna cross that badly?

[2007-04-03 14:56:55] <ST> He shrugs. "Revenge can be a powerful motivation," he said. "So can spite and jealousy. As I told you, she was very beautiful, even in her grief."

[2007-04-03 14:58:12] <Kyrie> indeed

[2007-04-03 14:58:35] <Kyrie> have you heard any stories about the noble that died or the escaped bandits?

[2007-04-03 14:59:22] <ST> "The noble that died?" he said. "Nobles seem to die so many more times than common people. Which one do you mean?"

[2007-04-03 14:59:51] <Kyrie> well there was the one really recently, up in trader quarters

[2007-04-03 14:59:58] <Kyrie> the name escapes me...

[2007-04-03 15:00:06] * Kyrie flips through her notebook

[2007-04-03 15:00:13] <Kyrie> mahbia maybe?

[2007-04-03 15:00:26] <ST> "Ah!" he says. "The Lord Mahbir, who was found murdered... the day before yesterday?"

[2007-04-03 15:00:31] <Kyrie> yes!

[2007-04-03 15:00:34] <Kyrie> him

[2007-04-03 15:02:28] <Kyrie> what do you know about him and about his rather sudden murder

[2007-04-03 15:02:38] <ST> "A dark mystery there," he says. "I need hardly tell you that rumours have already begun to sprout like fungus. Most heads are looking towards his son, the Lord Rahdun, who fled into the night, but I wonder..... the one who really benefited from his father's death was the elder son, Lord Zalth, and Rahdun might well flee if he knew his brother was a dangerous man....."

[2007-04-03 15:04:14] <Kyrie> i heard something about a breakin earlier that week

[2007-04-03 15:04:32] <Kyrie> burglars or something

[2007-04-03 15:04:53] <Kyrie> i wondered if they might be connected?

[2007-04-03 15:05:26] <ST> "Earlier that week?" he says. "No, I think you're wrong, it was the very night before his body was found, most likely the night of his death. And he was found some distance from the house, somewhere he was unlikely to be that late at night, and that's never been explained either."

[2007-04-03 15:06:10] <Kyrie> what rumors have you hears, even conflicting?

[2007-04-03 15:07:28] <ST> "So certainly there's a connection, but as to what...... that's the one thing that makes me have doubts. Lord Zalth, of course, would hardly need to burgle his father's house if he'd already decided to kill him -- he inherited everything. But maybe the original plan was just to burgle, and the murder was an accidental result, the body taken away from the house to draw suspicion away?"

[2007-04-03 15:08:02] <Kyrie> possibly

[2007-04-03 15:08:24] <Kyrie> what do you know of the household?

[2007-04-03 15:08:27] <ST> "Most, however, say the Lord Rahdun paid a few of his friends to burgle the house and kill the old man, and he was found where he was because he tried to flee from them."

[2007-04-03 15:08:29] <Kyrie> any external enemies?

[2007-04-03 15:08:43] <Kyrie> that might make sense

[2007-04-03 15:09:00] <ST> "A family in the Mahbirs' position always has enemies," he says. "Do you know the story of Sambrut Mahbir?"

[2007-04-03 15:09:02] <Kyrie> I got the impression Lord Rahdun was...shall we say "sleazy"

[2007-04-03 15:09:15] <Kyrie> no i do not, but i would love to hear it

[2007-04-03 15:09:29] <ST> He smiles. "I always like a good listener," he says.

[2007-04-03 15:12:03] <ST> "Lord Sambrut, now, he was the king's man through and through, and he and Lord Labry Baharth were in the forefront of the battle when the South was conquered and Riarbis sacked. They made many enemies that day -- thousands of Southeners were murdered, raped or robbed, their houses destroyed, their farms and livelihoods set afire. But the worst enemies they made were each other -- there was...

[2007-04-03 15:12:05] <ST> ...some quarrel about division of the loot, and the Mahbirs and Baharths have been at war ever since."

[2007-04-03 15:15:04] <Kyrie> whoa

[2007-04-03 15:15:32] <Kyrie> what was the war with the south about?

[2007-04-03 15:16:53] <ST> He shrugs. "A trivial quarrel blown up into something much bigger," he says. "Such is the way of kings..... the truth behind it is that King Antor wasn't happy leaving the South free when it was small enough that he could reach down and conquer it with relative ease."

[2007-04-03 15:17:33] <Kyrie> ohh

[2007-04-03 15:18:15] <Kyrie> we know what became of the mahbirs, but what of the baharths

[2007-04-03 15:20:48] <ST> "Well," he said, "there's another story in that. Lord Labry rose high in the king's favour with the spoils and glory he brought back from the war, and he looked secure and at ease, and never risked his gains by going to war again. But someone must have resented his stolen riches, for he was poisoned in his library -- only three weeks ago."

[2007-04-03 15:21:14] <ST> (bathroom break)

[2007-04-03 15:26:03] <ST> (back)

[2007-04-03 15:29:59] <Kyrie> poisoned?

[2007-04-03 15:30:14] <Kyrie> did they ever find out who did it?

[2007-04-03 15:31:42] <ST> "No, they never did," he said. "The rich can afford to hire assassins who don't make mistakes."

[2007-04-03 15:38:03] <Kyrie> anything else of interest around here you would like to tell me about?

[2007-04-03 15:39:13] <ST> "Well," he says, "that depends on what you consider of interest, doesn't it?"

[2007-04-03 15:40:08] =-= mars[z|a] is now known as tatapyranga

[2007-04-03 15:40:19] <ST> hi tata

[2007-04-03 15:40:49] <Kyrie> anything the average nomad reader might be interested in or amused by, something with plot, if you get my drift

[2007-04-03 15:41:35] <tatapyranga> 'ey

[2007-04-03 15:41:48] <tatapyranga> (oh, am I interrupting?)

[2007-04-03 15:41:54] <ST> (not at all)

[2007-04-03 15:44:07] <ST> "Hmm," he says. "I can't think of much else -- the Mahbir burglary and murder is what everyone's talking about at the moment, and if you wait another few days, you might have enough to fill a book just with that. The Queen's closed off the city in order to find the renegade Lord Rahdun, and not even a mouse can get out any more. And there's rumour that Lord Sambrut is on his way to Drahn to...

[2007-04-03 15:44:09] <ST> ...see justice done, and if you want my opinion, it's not at all impossible that the murder wasn't committed for just that reason -- there are a good many who'd like to make sure he never goes home again."

[2007-04-03 15:47:33] <Kyrie> whoa

[2007-04-03 15:47:48] <Kyrie> the city's on lockdown?

[2007-04-03 15:48:15] <Kyrie> i guess i never tried to leave

[2007-04-03 15:48:21] <Kyrie> what is this doing to commerce?

[2007-04-03 15:49:43] <ST> "That's right," he said. "The gates have been shut since last night. Commerce? It will hurt, but they say the Queen's like a woman possessed -- she won't think of anything but catching Lord Rahdun. It'll only be a day or two until they get him, you can be sure, and then the city will open again. There's nowhere he can possibly hide."

[2007-04-03 15:51:59] <Kyrie> what do the baharths think of the latest with the mahbirs?

[2007-04-03 15:53:24] <ST> "The Baharths?" he says. "There are none left; Labry was the last, unless you count young Nezzar, who was exiled by his uncle for a youthful indiscretion -- sent off to see with the Traders and never came back.2

[2007-04-03 15:55:50] <Kyrie> so of two main houses, one is dead and one is in turmoil...

[2007-04-03 15:56:12] <Kyrie> so fast they fall

[2007-04-03 15:56:16] <Kyrie> one more thing

[2007-04-03 15:56:58] * Kyrie rummages in her bag and pulls out the newspaper with the story about the escape (but only if it has nothing that could identify her)

[2007-04-03 15:57:04] <Kyrie> what do you know about this?

[2007-04-03 15:57:21] <Kyrie> I mean, the city's locked down, and these people might still be in it...

[2007-04-03 15:59:29] <ST> He takes the paper and looks at it curiously. "A few people broke out of Drahn Prison..... yes, I remember that," he said. "As far as I know, they were never recaptured. They're probably far away by now."

[2007-04-03 16:01:46] * Kyrie acts reassured

[2007-04-03 16:02:19] <Kyrie> yeah, you're probably right, i bet they left drahn as quickly as they could, and possibly left vertai

[2007-04-03 16:03:04] <ST> "Probably," he said. "Though if they did stay, with all the fuss over the Mahbirs, no-one will have any thought left for them any more."

[2007-04-03 16:05:56] <Kyrie> makes sense

[2007-04-03 16:06:17] <Kyrie> ((OOC: i'm not sure what to do now...)

[2007-04-03 16:07:03] <ST> leave? you've probably learned enough -- we can call it a day there and you can rejoin the others

[2007-04-03 16:08:28] <Kyrie> sounds good

[2007-04-03 16:08:39] <Kyrie> well thank you very much, sir.

[2007-04-03 16:09:20] <Kyrie> may i come back and ask you more questions later if i thijnk of them?

[2007-04-03 16:09:48] <ST> "Certainly," he says with a smile. "It's been a real pleasure talking to you."

[2007-04-03 16:11:19] <tatapyranga> ((do you still have your pendant that communicates with Hoyt?))

[2007-04-03 16:18:37] <ST> (i think so...... Kyrie?)

[2007-04-03 16:36:32] <tatapyranga> hmm she's gone

[2007-04-03 16:36:49] <tatapyranga> afk in IM

[2007-04-03 16:39:49] <ST> i noticed -- ah well, we'd completed the session :)

[2007-04-03 16:45:22] <Kyrie> yes

[2007-04-03 16:45:26] <Kyrie> phone

[2007-04-03 16:45:54] <tatapyranga> wabi

[2007-04-03 16:46:31] <ST> :)

[2007-04-03 16:47:51] <ST> so -- are we done?

[2007-04-03 17:02:55] <Kyrie> yes

[2007-04-03 17:02:59] [INFO] Disconnecting from IRC.  Click close again to exit now.

[2007-04-03 17:02:59] [QUIT] Disconnected from irc://irc.xelium.net/ (irc://irc.xelium.net/).