Aldara thanks Hyborius, and silently observes each of you for a few moments. When she speaks, her voice is clear and incisive, crisp as a late November breeze.
"Recruits, I am Aldara Stormborn, and I will be your liason with the Circle of Light. This means that I will deliver your assignments to you, provide background support and assistance, and in some ways, act as a mentor until you have been with the DCL for a while. I was previously a field agent, so I can answer some questions about what that is like." Her voice seems to catch here for a moment, and she pauses briefly. "I can offer some suggestions while you are getting your bearings. And of course, I will arrange your funeral, when the time comes." You are uncertain, but there might be a brief twinkle in her eye as she says this last bit.
"Stow your gear in the barracks, there," she points to one of the buildings. "That one over there is the mess hall, next to it is the armory, and next to that the classroom. We will do physical training here in the courtyard every morning at 5 AM. From 9 AM to noon, you will have classroom training and testing, with Brother Cephas, and after a midday meal, we will have some simulated mission scenarios in the afternoon from 2 PM to 7 PM. The remainder of your time is your own, but you may not leave the compound until I give you permission."
As she speaks, the 4 AM bell rings. She smiles,"See you in one hour!"
[Use this opportunity to introduce yourselves and describe your appearance.]
A slender sun elf walks toward the barracks to deposit his gear. His movement, reminiscent of the light and shadow falling on the forest floor, further obscures his features before he turns his back. He stops at the entrance to the barracks, assessing the optimal open bunk to claim, then proceeds in to deposit his belongings.
Once done, he returns, with a light, but measured, step. He wears no armor and seems to be only lightly armed with a sword and dagger. His clothes' dark natural tones blend perfectly with his physique. Now you can fully appreciate his features as the light falls warmly muted by his bronze skin. His black hair, also absorbs the light, except where it is reflected by the strands of golden hair interspersed on his head.
This interplay of dark and light is furthered by the glimmer in his coal black eyes as he smiles and extends a lean but strong hand in introduction to each of his new team:
A stocky wood elf with yellow-green hair and lavender eyes takes Jhaartael's hand in a firm grip. As they shake, he gives Jhaartael a look up and down, trying to take in as much information about the sun elf as he can.
"It is good to meet you. I am Tamryn. What do you make of our new employers?"
"Hmmm," says Jhaartael thoughtfully, "they seem organized... although I think we are more 'recruits' than 'employees'. Quite the paramilitary organization they have going here."
Mina stands there trying to gather her thoughts. The way to the warehouse and the process there was no big deal, but the teleporting? Wow, her mind was still spinning. The sea elf was clad in midnight blue leather armor, with a long bow and spear attached to her back. A net hung to the side that appeared to have some fish hooks of sort intertwined. The blue-skinned elf with long, untamed black hair and golden eyes, looks around at her surroundings once she settles herself.
She nods to Aldara, then heads over to the barracks herself, quickly finds a spot, drops off her extra stuff then heads back to the rest of the group for apparent introductions. She watches as a couple start chatting and she comes over to join. She joins in the handshaking and adds, "Morning, the name is Mina. This is, uh, quite the place."
"Ahhhh, a daughter of Deep Shashelas!", Jhaartael says with welcoming delight at seeing Mina, "It has been far too long since I have visited among the Alu'Tel'quessir. You are of the people of the Sea of Fallen Stars?"As he speaks of the Sea of Fallen Stars, a whistful look passes over Jhaartael's face. "Well, a sea elf and a wood elf! The impact on Abeir-Toril must run deep. However, what could have happened to draw out even one of our dark cousins?", he says nodding subtly toward the drow.
When the blinder is taken off, The drow squints as the sunlight hits his silver eyes. Grumbling, he straights his flat-brimmed hat so the shadow covers his face.
He nods to Aldara before walking over to the barracks, where he somewhat carelessly tosses his rapier, bow and arrows. Apart from his weapons, he doesn’t seem to have many personal belongings. Once done, he quickly turns to face the rest of the group, dark brown trench coat fluttering as he does so. He carries the look of one who has been traveling for a long while. His clothes are tattered and his charcoal skin and light grey hair, cut just above his shoulders, have a dusty appearance.
“You can say that again,” he says to Jhaartael as he scans the area. He nods to Mina, “I’m called Akyan.”
Mina looks at Jhaartael with surprise. "Wow, I am impressed. Not only do you know my race in my own tongue, but that my clan is from the Sea of Fallen Stars. I gotta say, you must be very knowledgeable. What gave it away, my skin tone? Have you been there before?"
An elf with pale blue skin and white hair listens carefully as Aldara speaks. She thanks her politely before making her way towards the barracks. Clad in light armor, and bearing a pair of short swords, she walks with the stiff posture of a soldier. Her hair is pulled back in a high bun, keeping it away from her face. Marring the left side of her face, a thin scar runs across her cheek, barely visible against her pale skin. More such scars cover her arms crisscrossing over her skin and hinting at more hidden beneath her clothing. Neither slender, nor overly stout, she possesses the form of a warrior.
"Well met," she says, firmly shaking hands with Jhaartael, Mina, and Tamryn. She holds her hand towards Akyan last, "I am Kyrsa Dwarsiri."
Jhaartael turns toward Mina, but keeps Akyan in his line of sight. "Yes, your skin tone. Alu'Tel'quessir from the Great Sea, Bahr Al-kibar, have a more greenish tone, I believe. It is only the fair Alu'Tel'quessir of The Sea of Fallen Stars whose skin reflect the blue waters of that sea. I remember meeting several when I accompanied my father on a trip there as a youth. He always impressed upon me a great deal of respect for your kin. I remember him telling me, 'Jhaartael, the world is large and our lives are long. You will wander far and long from home. If ever your heart longs for the great Telquessir culture, look to the Alu'Telquessir to balm your heart.'" Then speaking more generally, Jhaartael lifts his head and says in a quiet and charming voice, "But we are all Tel'quessir! One kin. One family. I have long studied the histories of all our lines."
Akyan, still watching Jhaartael, jumps sightly when he notices Kyrsa's outstretched hand. He takes it hesitantly, "Akyan." After shaking her hand, his eyes dart back to Jhaartael. When Jhaartael finishes his last sentence, it suddenly dawns on Akyan that he had never been around that many so many other elves at once. He quickly takes his hand back from Kyrsa, shrinking back from the group slightly. (The others would probably have noticed that Akyan appears pretty young for an elf he's about 85.)
(Assuming you all gather in the courtyard as instructed)
Aldara reappears from the Administration building at 4:59 and crosses over to your group. Her gait is light and precise, almost gliding, like a trained dancer. She smiles at you, but her eyes are tinged with another emotion, perhaps sorrow, as she motions you to huddle together.
"I know that many if not all of you chafe at rigid rules and schedules. If you were strict rule-followers you probably wouldn't have signed up for our organization as we definitely operate outside normal legal channels. I want to reassure you that your time here at the Farm is not representative of how life in the field will be. Once you leave here you will have much more freedom, both as an individual and as a team. But you must realize, the DCL is going to be placing a lot of trust in you and your behavior, so first, we must reassure ourselves you are worthy of that trust. I will not force you to participate in our physical and mental training this week, but if you choose to do so, you will be demonstrating your commitment to the Circle and its mission. The entire farm program has been designed by former field agents like myself, in order to give you some controlled exposure to situations you might encounter out there, in the real world. Unlike the real world, here you will get a chance to discuss and debate your course of action, and take your time learning how to function as a team. In the past, we have had teams fail because they were called on missions too quickly, and had not found their rhythm yet. So... let us begin!"
She leads you on a 30 minute run around the perimeter of the courtyard, followed by strength and agility exercises. You practice climbing walls, balancing on narrow ledges, and crossing gaps by swinging across ropes, or else going hand-over-hand along them.
After two hours of this, you are definitely feeling the effects on your body, as you gather in the mess hall for a morning meal together. Aldara does not sit with you, but joins some other instructors at a separate table, laughing and sharing a camaraderie that you as yet do not enjoy.
At 9 AM your first class with Brother Cephas begins. Cephas is a wizened old creature, stooped with age, but with bright, alert eyes. You think he is an elf of some sort, but you have never seen nor heard of an elf in such an elderly state. If you had to guess, he would seem to be well past the millennium mark in age, perhaps doubling that figure.
Cephas, dressed in a simple brown robe with a rope for a belt, sits on the floor of the classroom building, and motions for you to do likewise. You are unable to determine what class of adventurer he is or was. After asking your names and places of origin, he begins:
"You are here to advance 'The Good". But what does this mean? To some, it will mean peace and security. To others, it will mean personal liberty, and lack of compulsion or control. 'Goodness' has been variously defined through the ages as:
Following the laws of the land, be they from a monarch or a parliament
Being valiant in defense of one's family or homeland
Renouncing violence altogether
Being willing to set aside one's own self-interest in order to assist or improve the lives of others.
Kindness to others
Devotion to a deity
Encouraging or even Forcing others to be devoted to a deity
"I am not here to try to tell you how to define Good. But if you are going to put your lives, and your teammate's lives, on the line to serve 'The Good' you ought to at least understand what each other believes that to be. If not completely in agreement, you should at least strive not to be in direct opposition to one another as to what the correct action, or inaction is in a particular situation.
"Please discuss now the following hypothetical: Your team has been tasked with bringing down a humanoid-trafficking ring. You have infiltrated and captured a low-level operative of this organization, who offers to give you valuable information you do not currently possess that will help bring down the organization as a whole. But, in exchange, he demands that his own small brothel be left alone to operate as he sees fit. How do you proceed? Do you torture the information out of him? Do you consent to his demand, 'for the greater good'? Do you promise him what he wants, and then betray your word to him at some future point? What if this betrayal will cause future potential informants to refuse to work with you?
"There is not an absolute answer to every scenario, but you must come together on what your purpose here is. The Circle will assign you mission objectives, it is true, but the exact route you take to achieve those objectives will be up to your team to decide. And you must consider the effects of your decisions on others, and on yourselves. Begin!"
"It seems to me that we should brainstorm our options before committing to specific course of action. So, I'll name some potential alternate ways to get the information because all of those seem daft.
Regarding the valued information, there are dozens of ways to acquire it that don't require him to actually be there to offer it. If it can be found in an office or home, infiltration is possible. However, if it is to be found only in his head, we still have numerous means of leverage available. We can, of course, threaten something he values more, but that's a bit gauche, is it not? Perhaps we can alter the circumstances so that the information he holds no longer seems valuable and he'll let it slip out of indifference. Perhaps we can find something he values more than the information and offer him a means to acquire it. It would, of course, all depend on the pimp and the situation, but usually an accommodation can be found. And think of what a valuable ally we might acquire?
Turning to this specific case, as I see it, there are two things that draw someone into becoming a pimp. First, the desire for a steady income. Mortals are, after all, only mortal and we all have needs that require occasional (or frequent) satisfaction. Second, the desire to have people completely dependent on you, along with the delusions of grandeur that brings. If the man in question is of the first persuasion, there are many better ways to make money, some to be found in an organization like ours. The overhead for a brothel is high and the profit margins are thin, especially if you have to make regular payments to some superior. We can surely help this aspiring entrepreneur into a new profession and, in the process, acquire sufficient trust to capture the wanted content. If our source is of the second persuasion, I would do my level best to acquire the information and dissuade him from his chosen profession. Such should not be given charge of women, or of anything really, including their own life.
In either case, we will find ourselves with an opportunity: a suddenly unemployed group of former temporary companions. This is a resource that must not be driven away or otherwise mishandled. In an occupation such as ours, there is no group more suited to go anywhere in society (as escort, servant, or slave) and every purveyor of pleasure knows well how to observe and when to listen. And astonishingly, they are often treated by the mobsters and nobles we seek to pull down as nothing more worthy of notice than a potted plant. Employ them as quickly as possible. If they wish to continue to ply their trade, choose the one from among them who is best suited to run a fair and clean house, let them set their own wages, and avail yourself of the succulent information that will make it's way to your door. If they no longer have an interest their old profession, encourage and support them in finding new work, ideally as servants, but having a network of craftsmen and small-time merchants can also cast a wide net. Don't require money of them; just let them know that you are interested in the doings of the corrupt and see how the necessary information will come to you in drips and drabs.
Thus we will give the impression, no matter what happens to our former pimp, that we are good to those who come to us in confidence, fair to our employees, and, ideally, not really of interest to the authorities of the land. We will have room to operate, a wellspring of information, and operatives to assist us in our projects. What more could you want?"
Being more of a woman of action, rather than of words, as Tamryn spins his web of possibilities, her head spins. She thinks about it for a minute, then speaks, "Tamryn, that is a, wow, lot of different ways to look at it. I for one, am willing to work with most people, I do not feel I am too stubborn about things, so I look forward to working with you all. As for the question laid out? Honestly, I would torture him for the information. He obviously has it and we need it.
I abhor the thought of a human-trafficking ring, but even if it wasn't something so vile... if we let him have his place of business for the information, what's to stop him from being the next ring leader? Then we'd be back where we started. Betraying him could be fruitful, but as you pointed out, could create issues with future informants."
Tamryn smiles at Mina, glad to have a partner in this game.
”I agree that, on occasion, torture can be necessary, but it can be so unreliable. People will say anything to get it to stop. Better to dangle something before them that they want, like a kitten with string. They’ll dance to your tune and, if necessary, you can always take away the string later.”
Aldara thanks Hyborius, and silently observes each of you for a few moments. When she speaks, her voice is clear and incisive, crisp as a late November breeze.
"Recruits, I am Aldara Stormborn, and I will be your liason with the Circle of Light. This means that I will deliver your assignments to you, provide background support and assistance, and in some ways, act as a mentor until you have been with the DCL for a while. I was previously a field agent, so I can answer some questions about what that is like." Her voice seems to catch here for a moment, and she pauses briefly. "I can offer some suggestions while you are getting your bearings. And of course, I will arrange your funeral, when the time comes." You are uncertain, but there might be a brief twinkle in her eye as she says this last bit.
"Stow your gear in the barracks, there," she points to one of the buildings. "That one over there is the mess hall, next to it is the armory, and next to that the classroom. We will do physical training here in the courtyard every morning at 5 AM. From 9 AM to noon, you will have classroom training and testing, with Brother Cephas, and after a midday meal, we will have some simulated mission scenarios in the afternoon from 2 PM to 7 PM. The remainder of your time is your own, but you may not leave the compound until I give you permission."
As she speaks, the 4 AM bell rings. She smiles, "See you in one hour!"
[Use this opportunity to introduce yourselves and describe your appearance.]
A slender sun elf walks toward the barracks to deposit his gear. His movement, reminiscent of the light and shadow falling on the forest floor, further obscures his features before he turns his back. He stops at the entrance to the barracks, assessing the optimal open bunk to claim, then proceeds in to deposit his belongings.
Once done, he returns, with a light, but measured, step. He wears no armor and seems to be only lightly armed with a sword and dagger. His clothes' dark natural tones blend perfectly with his physique. Now you can fully appreciate his features as the light falls warmly muted by his bronze skin. His black hair, also absorbs the light, except where it is reflected by the strands of golden hair interspersed on his head.
This interplay of dark and light is furthered by the glimmer in his coal black eyes as he smiles and extends a lean but strong hand in introduction to each of his new team:
"Greetings, I'm Jhaartael."
Eryndor - Red Dead Annihilation | GM - Volo's Trade Franchise - PF2e Adventures set in the Forgotten Realms
A stocky wood elf with yellow-green hair and lavender eyes takes Jhaartael's hand in a firm grip. As they shake, he gives Jhaartael a look up and down, trying to take in as much information about the sun elf as he can.
"It is good to meet you. I am Tamryn. What do you make of our new employers?"
Tamryn - lvl 4 Wood Elf Rogue - Circle of Light Campaign || Drusilla - lvl 1 Half-Elf Ranger - Sleeping Gods || Grrzark - lvl 1 Goblin Barbarian - Danger at Darkshelf Quarry || DM - LTG - Curse of Strahd
"Hmmm," says Jhaartael thoughtfully, "they seem organized... although I think we are more 'recruits' than 'employees'. Quite the paramilitary organization they have going here."
Eryndor - Red Dead Annihilation | GM - Volo's Trade Franchise - PF2e Adventures set in the Forgotten Realms
Mina stands there trying to gather her thoughts. The way to the warehouse and the process there was no big deal, but the teleporting? Wow, her mind was still spinning. The sea elf was clad in midnight blue leather armor, with a long bow and spear attached to her back. A net hung to the side that appeared to have some fish hooks of sort intertwined. The blue-skinned elf with long, untamed black hair and golden eyes, looks around at her surroundings once she settles herself.
She nods to Aldara, then heads over to the barracks herself, quickly finds a spot, drops off her extra stuff then heads back to the rest of the group for apparent introductions. She watches as a couple start chatting and she comes over to join. She joins in the handshaking and adds, "Morning, the name is Mina. This is, uh, quite the place."
"Ahhhh, a daughter of Deep Shashelas!", Jhaartael says with welcoming delight at seeing Mina, "It has been far too long since I have visited among the Alu'Tel'quessir. You are of the people of the Sea of Fallen Stars?" As he speaks of the Sea of Fallen Stars, a whistful look passes over Jhaartael's face. "Well, a sea elf and a wood elf! The impact on Abeir-Toril must run deep. However, what could have happened to draw out even one of our dark cousins?", he says nodding subtly toward the drow.
Eryndor - Red Dead Annihilation | GM - Volo's Trade Franchise - PF2e Adventures set in the Forgotten Realms
When the blinder is taken off, The drow squints as the sunlight hits his silver eyes. Grumbling, he straights his flat-brimmed hat so the shadow covers his face.
He nods to Aldara before walking over to the barracks, where he somewhat carelessly tosses his rapier, bow and arrows. Apart from his weapons, he doesn’t seem to have many personal belongings. Once done, he quickly turns to face the rest of the group, dark brown trench coat fluttering as he does so. He carries the look of one who has been traveling for a long while. His clothes are tattered and his charcoal skin and light grey hair, cut just above his shoulders, have a dusty appearance.
“You can say that again,” he says to Jhaartael as he scans the area. He nods to Mina, “I’m called Akyan.”
Jhaartael crosses his arms and remains quiet, not letting his eyes wander far from the drow.
Eryndor - Red Dead Annihilation | GM - Volo's Trade Franchise - PF2e Adventures set in the Forgotten Realms
Mina looks at Jhaartael with surprise. "Wow, I am impressed. Not only do you know my race in my own tongue, but that my clan is from the Sea of Fallen Stars. I gotta say, you must be very knowledgeable. What gave it away, my skin tone? Have you been there before?"
Noticing his gaze, Akyan narrows his eyes at Jhaartael, suspicion written clearly on his face. “I do not know what you mean.”
(OOC: I think I missed a post so I apologize if Akyan’s reaction was a bit late.)
An elf with pale blue skin and white hair listens carefully as Aldara speaks. She thanks her politely before making her way towards the barracks. Clad in light armor, and bearing a pair of short swords, she walks with the stiff posture of a soldier. Her hair is pulled back in a high bun, keeping it away from her face. Marring the left side of her face, a thin scar runs across her cheek, barely visible against her pale skin. More such scars cover her arms crisscrossing over her skin and hinting at more hidden beneath her clothing. Neither slender, nor overly stout, she possesses the form of a warrior.
"Well met," she says, firmly shaking hands with Jhaartael, Mina, and Tamryn. She holds her hand towards Akyan last, "I am Kyrsa Dwarsiri."
Jhaartael turns toward Mina, but keeps Akyan in his line of sight. "Yes, your skin tone. Alu'Tel'quessir from the Great Sea, Bahr Al-kibar, have a more greenish tone, I believe. It is only the fair Alu'Tel'quessir of The Sea of Fallen Stars whose skin reflect the blue waters of that sea. I remember meeting several when I accompanied my father on a trip there as a youth. He always impressed upon me a great deal of respect for your kin. I remember him telling me, 'Jhaartael, the world is large and our lives are long. You will wander far and long from home. If ever your heart longs for the great Telquessir culture, look to the Alu'Telquessir to balm your heart.'" Then speaking more generally, Jhaartael lifts his head and says in a quiet and charming voice, "But we are all Tel'quessir! One kin. One family. I have long studied the histories of all our lines."
Eryndor - Red Dead Annihilation | GM - Volo's Trade Franchise - PF2e Adventures set in the Forgotten Realms
Akyan, still watching Jhaartael, jumps sightly when he notices Kyrsa's outstretched hand. He takes it hesitantly, "Akyan." After shaking her hand, his eyes dart back to Jhaartael. When Jhaartael finishes his last sentence, it suddenly dawns on Akyan that he had never been around that many so many other elves at once. He quickly takes his hand back from Kyrsa, shrinking back from the group slightly. (The others would probably have noticed that Akyan appears pretty young for an elf he's about 85.)
With a slightly raised eyebrow, Jhaartael notices Krysa's proffer of her hand and Akyan's response, but he does and says nothing more.
Eryndor - Red Dead Annihilation | GM - Volo's Trade Franchise - PF2e Adventures set in the Forgotten Realms
Kyrsa takes note of both Akyan’s and Jhaartael’s responses, silently watching both of them. She seems…curious.
(Assuming you all gather in the courtyard as instructed)
Aldara reappears from the Administration building at 4:59 and crosses over to your group. Her gait is light and precise, almost gliding, like a trained dancer. She smiles at you, but her eyes are tinged with another emotion, perhaps sorrow, as she motions you to huddle together.
"I know that many if not all of you chafe at rigid rules and schedules. If you were strict rule-followers you probably wouldn't have signed up for our organization as we definitely operate outside normal legal channels. I want to reassure you that your time here at the Farm is not representative of how life in the field will be. Once you leave here you will have much more freedom, both as an individual and as a team. But you must realize, the DCL is going to be placing a lot of trust in you and your behavior, so first, we must reassure ourselves you are worthy of that trust. I will not force you to participate in our physical and mental training this week, but if you choose to do so, you will be demonstrating your commitment to the Circle and its mission. The entire farm program has been designed by former field agents like myself, in order to give you some controlled exposure to situations you might encounter out there, in the real world. Unlike the real world, here you will get a chance to discuss and debate your course of action, and take your time learning how to function as a team. In the past, we have had teams fail because they were called on missions too quickly, and had not found their rhythm yet. So... let us begin!"
She leads you on a 30 minute run around the perimeter of the courtyard, followed by strength and agility exercises. You practice climbing walls, balancing on narrow ledges, and crossing gaps by swinging across ropes, or else going hand-over-hand along them.
After two hours of this, you are definitely feeling the effects on your body, as you gather in the mess hall for a morning meal together. Aldara does not sit with you, but joins some other instructors at a separate table, laughing and sharing a camaraderie that you as yet do not enjoy.
At 9 AM your first class with Brother Cephas begins. Cephas is a wizened old creature, stooped with age, but with bright, alert eyes. You think he is an elf of some sort, but you have never seen nor heard of an elf in such an elderly state. If you had to guess, he would seem to be well past the millennium mark in age, perhaps doubling that figure.
Cephas, dressed in a simple brown robe with a rope for a belt, sits on the floor of the classroom building, and motions for you to do likewise. You are unable to determine what class of adventurer he is or was. After asking your names and places of origin, he begins:
"You are here to advance 'The Good". But what does this mean? To some, it will mean peace and security. To others, it will mean personal liberty, and lack of compulsion or control. 'Goodness' has been variously defined through the ages as:
"I am not here to try to tell you how to define Good. But if you are going to put your lives, and your teammate's lives, on the line to serve 'The Good' you ought to at least understand what each other believes that to be. If not completely in agreement, you should at least strive not to be in direct opposition to one another as to what the correct action, or inaction is in a particular situation.
"Please discuss now the following hypothetical: Your team has been tasked with bringing down a humanoid-trafficking ring. You have infiltrated and captured a low-level operative of this organization, who offers to give you valuable information you do not currently possess that will help bring down the organization as a whole. But, in exchange, he demands that his own small brothel be left alone to operate as he sees fit. How do you proceed? Do you torture the information out of him? Do you consent to his demand, 'for the greater good'? Do you promise him what he wants, and then betray your word to him at some future point? What if this betrayal will cause future potential informants to refuse to work with you?
"There is not an absolute answer to every scenario, but you must come together on what your purpose here is. The Circle will assign you mission objectives, it is true, but the exact route you take to achieve those objectives will be up to your team to decide. And you must consider the effects of your decisions on others, and on yourselves. Begin!"
Tamryn strokes his chin thoughtfully.
"It seems to me that we should brainstorm our options before committing to specific course of action. So, I'll name some potential alternate ways to get the information because all of those seem daft.
Regarding the valued information, there are dozens of ways to acquire it that don't require him to actually be there to offer it. If it can be found in an office or home, infiltration is possible. However, if it is to be found only in his head, we still have numerous means of leverage available. We can, of course, threaten something he values more, but that's a bit gauche, is it not? Perhaps we can alter the circumstances so that the information he holds no longer seems valuable and he'll let it slip out of indifference. Perhaps we can find something he values more than the information and offer him a means to acquire it. It would, of course, all depend on the pimp and the situation, but usually an accommodation can be found. And think of what a valuable ally we might acquire?
Turning to this specific case, as I see it, there are two things that draw someone into becoming a pimp. First, the desire for a steady income. Mortals are, after all, only mortal and we all have needs that require occasional (or frequent) satisfaction. Second, the desire to have people completely dependent on you, along with the delusions of grandeur that brings. If the man in question is of the first persuasion, there are many better ways to make money, some to be found in an organization like ours. The overhead for a brothel is high and the profit margins are thin, especially if you have to make regular payments to some superior. We can surely help this aspiring entrepreneur into a new profession and, in the process, acquire sufficient trust to capture the wanted content. If our source is of the second persuasion, I would do my level best to acquire the information and dissuade him from his chosen profession. Such should not be given charge of women, or of anything really, including their own life.
In either case, we will find ourselves with an opportunity: a suddenly unemployed group of former temporary companions. This is a resource that must not be driven away or otherwise mishandled. In an occupation such as ours, there is no group more suited to go anywhere in society (as escort, servant, or slave) and every purveyor of pleasure knows well how to observe and when to listen. And astonishingly, they are often treated by the mobsters and nobles we seek to pull down as nothing more worthy of notice than a potted plant. Employ them as quickly as possible. If they wish to continue to ply their trade, choose the one from among them who is best suited to run a fair and clean house, let them set their own wages, and avail yourself of the succulent information that will make it's way to your door. If they no longer have an interest their old profession, encourage and support them in finding new work, ideally as servants, but having a network of craftsmen and small-time merchants can also cast a wide net. Don't require money of them; just let them know that you are interested in the doings of the corrupt and see how the necessary information will come to you in drips and drabs.
Thus we will give the impression, no matter what happens to our former pimp, that we are good to those who come to us in confidence, fair to our employees, and, ideally, not really of interest to the authorities of the land. We will have room to operate, a wellspring of information, and operatives to assist us in our projects. What more could you want?"
Tamryn - lvl 4 Wood Elf Rogue - Circle of Light Campaign || Drusilla - lvl 1 Half-Elf Ranger - Sleeping Gods || Grrzark - lvl 1 Goblin Barbarian - Danger at Darkshelf Quarry || DM - LTG - Curse of Strahd
Being more of a woman of action, rather than of words, as Tamryn spins his web of possibilities, her head spins. She thinks about it for a minute, then speaks, "Tamryn, that is a, wow, lot of different ways to look at it. I for one, am willing to work with most people, I do not feel I am too stubborn about things, so I look forward to working with you all. As for the question laid out? Honestly, I would torture him for the information. He obviously has it and we need it.
I abhor the thought of a human-trafficking ring, but even if it wasn't something so vile... if we let him have his place of business for the information, what's to stop him from being the next ring leader? Then we'd be back where we started. Betraying him could be fruitful, but as you pointed out, could create issues with future informants."
Tamryn smiles at Mina, glad to have a partner in this game.
”I agree that, on occasion, torture can be necessary, but it can be so unreliable. People will say anything to get it to stop. Better to dangle something before them that they want, like a kitten with string. They’ll dance to your tune and, if necessary, you can always take away the string later.”
Tamryn - lvl 4 Wood Elf Rogue - Circle of Light Campaign || Drusilla - lvl 1 Half-Elf Ranger - Sleeping Gods || Grrzark - lvl 1 Goblin Barbarian - Danger at Darkshelf Quarry || DM - LTG - Curse of Strahd