I really needed to sit down by this point but since that wasn't an option I decided to pace instead, clomping with every other step. I arranged my thoughts out loud. "So we have one Cressidus Silvercloak, who by all accounts was a right bastard. Yet his temple who may or may not have approved of his behaviour..." I paused for any additional tidbits of information from my audience. Haloric reluctantly said, "No, they must have at least had suspicions about his character. Balarus made it clear to me at least that Cressidus wasn't behaving substantially different here than he did in Sartar." I looked at Belvani for agreement. He nodded, "Oh yes, he may have been worse behaved and more blatant here than there but he's been behaving like this for years."
I started yet again, "Pardon me, are you implying that you knew the deceased before he came here?" Belvani nodded. "How exactly?" Haloric had a slight smile on his face while a cloud came over Belvani's face. "I spent time some years back at the Sartar Sun Dome where I got to know Cressidus and Balarus. Cressidus was a fun party guy AND a bastard back then and Balarus had a big stick up his arse. My opinions of them haven't changed other than that Balarus has someone found a way to shove an even bigger stick up his arse. Which I wouldn't have thought possible." He shook his head and went on. "In fact Cressidus was sort of a ringleader for the naughty element among the Sun Dome youth there. Nothing too blatant or bad, mostly ways of blowing off steam that the Temple there could ignore as long as it didn't get too out of hand." Haloric had lost his slight smile at the stick comment but didn't disagree about the character descriptions though the bit about being Cressidus being a youth leader seemed news to him. I addressed Belvani, "Why were you there in the first place?" A dangerous closed look came over his face and at first I thought he wouldn't answer me but he did finally saying, "The climate was better there."
I wasn't sure what that was supposed to mean and I didn't really care to get into ancient Temple history, if that's what it was so I continued my thought originization. "So the Sartar Sun Dome sent this bastard here to handle sensitive negotiations along with an underling who hated him. Doesn't sound like they were too serious about these negotiations does it?" My audience greeted this remark with stony silence, which is what I had expected from them. I resumed my pacing. "While here our bad boy basically runs amuck since he's out from under the watchful eye of his temple if not Yemalio. Maybe he was sent here to get offed? Maybe it's all a plan of the Sartar Sun Dome to get rid of him and blame you guys? Perhaps this would get the Lunars to change the local temple government?" They didn't seem to buy this though Haloric's eyes narrowed at the last guess.
"Or maybe he's just the hapless victim of some local gamblers. No,
forget that, he had a small fortune on him. That couldn't be it." I
asked for permission to question temple staff about the deceased and
the fled Balarus. Haloric graciously granted it to get me out of his
hair. I was just leaving with Belvani when I thought of something. I
turned around and said, "Oh and I'll need to speak with Karial the
Pure."
To be continued.
Oliver
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