Part 12: Interlude
InterludeThe Tavern of Broken Dreams (Music)
"By Moradin's beard, what BE this tripe!?" G'mir growls, "Chattering with ghosts? Yammering with blood-eyed Dustmen? Getting scolded by old women!? Just last week I pissed at the base of that black eyesore of an obelisk and yer tellin' me the most vicious killer the Planes spat out was fiddlin' and sobbing over it like a wee girl!?"
"Pike it, berk!"
"Aye, shove it up yer bone-box!"
One of the three gray-coated noblemen sitting in the corner stands up, one hand proudly crossing his chest. A member of the Covenant of Swords, you've heard from chatter nearby, a foppish but skilled trio that cleared the streets of Sigil more out of a sense of adventure than virtue.
"We, the Covenant of Swords, have heard no such thing, friend dwarf! The Nameless One was a man of skill and cunning, who skimmed the Planes, saving damsels and vanquishing demons and devils alike!"
"Don't be ridiculous!" This time, Scii-tavakis, the dust-covered elf wielding the obsidian spear, "He was smarter than that. No, the Nameless One was an opportunist who knew when to take advantage of a debt, and knew better still how to trick people into such bindings."
"Me own great grandfather, Valakai the Heartslayer, knew this man!" a black abishai snorts, "He was a mere madman who scuttled into the streetcorners like a rat, I've heard: nothing more, nothing less."
"A sorcerer whose might could've challenged the gods!"
"No, a warrior of brutish strength and skill!"
"A sneak-thief who stole the Tome of Forbidden Knowledge from right under Factol Hashkar's nose himself!"
"He was a priest of Aoskar, I swear it's true!"
Oudilin's lips are pressed tight as he raises an eyebrow, plucking a few strings. The thrumming resonance that emits soothes the crowd, and quickly the clamoring voices snap silent. "I am merely telling the tale as it occurred, good friend," Oudilin addresses the dwarf, "The Nameless One came from humble beginnings, scratched and scraped his way to the legend he has become. I'm afraid that some falsehoods have become intermixed with the truths. Quite a few, in fact, and those few facts that survived have fragmented."
"At least they aren't as boring as a Guvner's lectures," G'mir growls.
"Ah, but think of this," Oudilin smiles over his winecup, "This shows that the Nameless One had walked these same streets as you have, had been patron to the same taverns, perhaps even sat at the very seat you're currently hopping about on, good dwarf. Now as I was saying, the Nameless One pursued his quarry upon recognizing the glint in her eyes. He followed in the hopes that she might reveal his true nature..."