"Honor? I misspoke. Honor is for the weak. Loyalty, maybe. Bloodline. It's clear you would quickly subdue me in a fight. My mortal body is no threat to you. I will not fight you again."

Studying her closely, Kei sees no indications of bluffing.

Kei 

Kei stands against the wall in a relaxed fashion."She speaks the truth. As far as one of her kind can at least." He gruffs after she admits her intention. "This one's on you my liege." He continues to study the intricacies of his cards.

Peri:

Peri nods at Kei's words, both confirming Kei's assertion that she isn't lying, and agreeing with putting her fate in Gerrard's hands. It would have been better if Dwal had been with them to represent the dwsrves' interests, but Peri believes Xondros had no involvement with the sinking of the Soul of Winter. He's not pleased that she took a run at his friends, but he's willing to let it go for the sake of the town's trade. 

Gerrard:

”I value your opinions, but if you would like me to make the decision, I will,” says Gerrard to Kei and Peri, giving them an opportunity to share further if they desire.

To Xondros, he says, “I am satisfied that you did not collude with or support your brother in his murdering spree.  If you had, I would haul you before the guard and seek judgement on behalf of the dead of the Soul of Winter, in the process exposing every secret of Iuz’s plans for Saltmarsh that could be extracted from your papers, your person, or your corpse should they wish to use magic to plumb your memories.”

”This can still be done if you truly wish to die, though exposing Iuz’s secrets to the people of Saltmarsh would turn out poorly for you I expect—even in death.  In any case, having you killed could prove tiresome and rather inconvenient for us, as more minions of Iuz pop out of the woodwork at us, looking for revenge;  it would also be an undue burden on the economics of our small town,” Gerrard thinks aloud.

Still not having arrived at a decision, Gerrard asks, “What do those magical items do and are any of them necessary for you to continue to do your fishing export business?  What do these papers say that mention Master Fenwader’s name?  If we were to spare your life, what would you do with it?”

Kei 

Kie interjects "If we allow her to live and stay here I think a cut of the profits from this fish mongering is in order!" He looks at Gerrard for his approval of the idea. When the noble gives him a stern look in reply he simply states "What?! A passive income from this damned town would go a long way as recompense for the hell we go through to protect it. Just saying."

"The items you took from me include my gloves," she looks down at her bare hands, "which can catch missiles, and two potions – one to provide resistance to all damage for one minute; the other to hasten the imbiber. You may keep them with my blessing. Those notes on Fenwader," she glances at the halfling before averting her eyes, "are simply business notes I keep on my customers. If you spare me, my intent would be to continue to feed my people. That is my mission here. Iuz’s realm does not produce enough food to feed all our citizens, so we relies on imports for the rest, and Saltmarsh is one of our major suppliers. However," she looks carefully at the three of you, "I would welcome your partnership in the trade, and provide a 'cut' of the profit."

Peri:

Peri gives a small but emphatic head shake No! at the mention of getting involved with the Iuz crackpots. Then he begins moving toward the door, indicating his desire to be done here.

Gerrard:

“All three of us were attacked by Xondros and her minions.  As such, I think we all three have a claim on her life,” starts Gerrard, “but I think we should give her a chance to purchase her life back if she agrees to discharge this debt.”

“Kei, in my opinion, it is a poor idea to form an alliance, trade or otherwise, with the devotees of Iuz.  However, the fishermen of Saltmarsh have effectively done just that, so I leave that to you if you wish it as your life debt from Xondros,” he continues.

”For my part, Xondros, if you stick to trade that feeds your people and pays the fishermen honestly for their catch, if you keep your word to not attack me or those in my group, and if you commit to send the message to your superiors that we are off-limits, I will be content to let you live and forgive your attack on us,” says Gerrard.

”Master Fenwader, I suggest you take the papers associated with your name and, if you find out Xondros is lying to us about its content, we come back and deal with her appropriately—this is her one chance to be straight with us.  You may also make a claim against her life debt, if you so desire,” he adds.

Turning to fully face Xondros, Gerrard says, ”Once we are done with this, assuming you are being straightforwardly honest with us and agree to our terms, I am prepared to leave here and let the matter of your attack be dropped.  If you betray us or are false in your fulfillment of our terms, we will seek retribution, and you should expect no mercy.”

After pausing for Peri to make his claim if he wishes, Gerrard looks to Xondros and waits for her answer.  If she agrees, he prepares to leave with the others.

Peri:

Peri takes the papers, a chill running down his spine at the sight of his name amidst the twisted script. "I'll have these translated. As long as there's nothin' threatening to me and mine, I'll return 'em and keep any secrets I find in them. I don't care to have any ties with your like, so after this consider us quits. Renege on this, and you won't see your end comin' til it's too late." Peri exits with the others when they're finished with Xondros.

((If Kei wants to negotiate a deal Peri will stay to back him up, unless Kei wants to do it in private.))

"I agree to your terms," responds Xondros, soberly. "My mission here is to buy and transport fish, not start battles. You have my protection, and my peace."

Gerrard:

Satisfied, Gerrard nods and leaves once all are ready.  Once they are outside, he asks, “Where to next?  I was hoping to go visit this manor house at the edge of town you said would be a good base of operations, Master Fenwader, but we used up more time than I had hoped with our…visit…to the Quartermaster.”

Peri:

"Well, just because Dwal is foolish enough to miss out on Lankus's cookin doesn't mean we have to. Oh, and while you were talkin to Xondros I saw the boat return. We can grab Boko and introduce her to the one spot of light in this otherwise drab place. You all aren't plannin on spendin the night in those cottages again, are you?"

Gerrard:

”No, I think it is time to move on.  If this house you mentioned is salvageable, perhaps I can rehabilitate it to use eventually,” says Gerrard, his stomach starting to growl.  “Yes, let’s get Boko, grab some food, and book rooms at the Goat for the night.  We wouldn’t want to endure a Town Council meeting on an empty stomach,” he adds with a smile.

Kei 

As the others inform Xondros of their choices Kei meanders about feigning disinterest. When it's time to move on he ensures he is last to leave the room. Sneaking his head back in the door and out of earshot of the other says a final few words.

You step outside. The day is gray and dark and bitter cold. Peri spots a face in the filthy tavern window across the street before it vanishes into the gloomy interior.

Unless you have any other business on this side of town, we'll presume you have found Boko and retreated up the hill to The Wicker Goat. The two-story building is clearly of ancient construct, with dozens of layers of patched masonry, brickwork, and whitewash visible on its uneven sides. But the interior is warm and tidy, already beginning to fill with patrons - principally dwarven miners, travelers, and guardsmen. 

Time is short - the meeting downtown begins in barely 30 minutes. You have enough time for a quick round and snack.

Dwal is still absent. But Lankus and his assistant are both here, preparing for the supper rush.

Gerrard:

Filling Boko in on the basics of their recent misadventure quietly as they walk to the Goat, Gerrard says nothing more about it as they enter earshot of those in the tavern.  Moving over to Lankus, he says, “A quick round and some hot foot for us, if you would, Master Lankus, we have a meeting shortly and it wouldn’t do for us to be late.”

Moving a bit closer, he asks more quietly, “Any leads on the death investigation at the cabins?  You haven’t seen Brother Fiercehammer around, have you?”

Peri:

Peri is thoughtful and quiet on the walk to the cottages and back to the inn. But he perks up as they enter and the smell of Lankus's cooking fills his nose. "The only place worth eatin or drinkin at in the whole of Saltmarsh," he tells Boko. "Good beds, and the only thing I've had stolen from here was my pants, and to be fair I can't say for certain they were stolen here." He orders a full meal for himself -- "I'm famished, and what're they gonna do, start the fight without us? We should be so lucky!" -- and tells Lankus to put whatever the others want on his bill. Then he excuses himself. "Gotta pop upstairs for a minute; I'll be down before the food hits the table."

He hurries up to his room, where he quickly dresses in the finest of the clothes Gerrard had given him. He exchanges the ugly slippers for the shined boots (although he does tuck the slippers into his bag, just in case) and even dons the fancy hat. He still leaves the kerchief thing off since he has no idea how it's supposed to be worn. He wishes there was a full mirror to check himself out, but there's only a small shaving mirror over the basin. He takes a deep breath, squares his shoulders, and thinks, Captain Fenwader, of Fiercehammer's Curse, friend of Queen Othokent. They want you to do their dirty work, they're gonna have to ask nicely. He makes his way back to the table with all the arrogant swagger of a Commodore returning after smashing an enemy fleet. "Let's eat, shall we? That astral stuff takes it outta me!"

Gerrard:

Drinking and eating relatively quickly, Gerrard goes up to his room to freshen up as well. Getting prepared, the young noble heads to the common room to regroup with the others and head to the Council Meeting.

The party (minus Dwal) settles in for a quick meal before the meeting. Peri disappears for a bit before reemerging in his full captain's regalia. The food is filling, if salty.

Lankus, who looks drawn and exhausted, confides that he hasn't learned anything new about his uncle's killers. He's still pursuing the mass-poisoning strategy to exterminate the rats and bats, but he admits - only half-jokingly - that even though he's not religious he may approach the Procanites for a religious solution to the neighborhood. As to Dwal, he hasn't seen him; he never booked a room.

He does have rooms for each of you, however. (1 gp/night, including board.) 

It's time to head to the meeting. Any further business beforehand?

Peri:

Peri is halfway through his first bowl of stew when Gerrard comes down and announces his intention to be on time for the meeting. "Oh, come on!" Peri pleads around a mouthful of turnip. Seeing the others ready to go he hurriedly wolfs down the rest of his stew, in the process dribbling a bit on his coat, but the droplets roll off the fabric like quicksilver off a mirror. He stuffs half a loaf into his coat pocket, skewers a couple of roasted vegetables on a fork, and hurries out the door behind them. Hard to look dignified scrambling along behind the group with a forkful of veggies! He quickly eats the vegetables and sticks the fork in his other coat pocket, then tries to regain his former swagger.