You say 'Before I begin, I would like to inform you that each of you has been chosen for my fantastic new product.'

You get a decorated statue of a tiny blue creature exchanging glances with a shrunken human head at the end of a rod from a floating chest.

 nod statue
You hold up a decorated statue of a tiny blue creature exchanging glances with a shrunken human head at the end of a rod and nod.

 Durth hugs you.

You say 'My Action Imp Figurine with Real Imp Arm Action.'

You say 'Available after the show for a mere 10 gold.'

Etielise says 'Ooh, arm action?'

Zizzle wiggles the arm...it seems quite loose.

Zizzle clears his throat.

You say 'Just so!'

You say 'Now then, to the tale.'

You say 'One that I'm sure Alietrius already knows by heart: a retelling of how Qaledus obtained his Immortality.'

where
People near you:
 (PK) Zizzle                       On the Stage of Spirits
  Hask                         On the Stage of Spirits (PK) Zannon                       On the Stage of Spirits
  Ralxarn                      On the Stage of Spirits   Ralmer                       On the Stage of Spirits
  Durth                        On the Stage of Spirits   Alietrius                    On the Stage of Spirits
  Ferlynn                      On the Stage of Spirits (PK) Etielise                     On the Stage of Spirits
  Fieguas                      On the Stage of Spirits   Baruf                        On the Stage of Spirits
  Barlaren                     On the Stage of Spirits

Durth yells 'hear hear'

You say 'You see friends, even the most savvy seller of all was once as mortal as you or I.'

You say 'We begin when he was both more and less than a mortal; he had befuddled every barbarian; hoodwinked every Harbinger; and tricked every tribunal.'

You say 'He had everything that his heart desired; riches, art...babes.'

You wink suggestively at Alietrius.

Alietrius gives you a crooked smile.

You say 'But one day, counting his mounds of coin, deep within his hidey-hole (which I will keep secret out of respect for Alietrius), he noticed something amiss.'

Zizzle sighs and gestures broadly.

Alietrius's ears perk with interest at something you said.

You say 'Qaledus, who had the keenest of all senses, was missing a purse of gold.'

Etielise blinks a few times.

Zannon gasps in astonishment.

Etielise says 'No!'

Alietrius says 'I swear that it wasn't me.'

You say 'Wasting no time on the who or why (or how the thief got past Seoirse), he began to sniff out that lonely sack.'

You say 'The scent of the gold was on the wind, and Qaledus's senses were already stuff of legend; he followed it to the road, to the sea, and finally to the edge of the frozen north.'

You say 'When he came to the end of the land, he looked out over the piedmont wastes, and saw only a lone crow sitting in a dead and blasted tree.'

Etielise says 'Heck of a nose he has.'

Durth says 'i like the tale'

You say 'Wise Qaledus, whose eyes could pick out a gnat a mile away, looked into the Eye of the Crow and saw...nothing.'

Baruf says 'must have been orc to be follow like dat'

Alietrius sits down and thinks deeply.

You say 'And as he moved towards it, like the parallax of a great a mountain in the distance, the Eye became larger and larger, while all else remained fixed.'

You say 'When he finally reached it, Qaledus stepped through into the Crow's Eye and into fulgid black nothingness.'

You whisper 'The lair of The Hidden Lord: Jullias.'

Etielise whistles appreciatively.

Ralxarn boggles at the concept.

Durth laughs heartily.

You say 'I shall try to be brief.'

You say 'Wily Qaledus, who needed no light to see, saw the Hidden Lord on his Black Throne.'

Alietrius tells you 'Take the time that you need to complete your tale. You're not being rushed.'

Zizzle rasps "Why have you come?" spake Jullias, if it can be called speech; rather, it was the absence of all other noise that outlined the non-words as a frame outlines a picture.

Etielise shivers uncomfortably.

You say 'Wise Qaledus, who wished to appear anchored to abstruse mortal ways and thus deceive the Hidden Lord from his true goal, replied, "I came for Fame."'

You say 'The Hidden Lord hissed, "You, who has spent his life in shadow and deceit, who cares nothing for the respect of others if it does not line your pockets, likewise care nothing for that fleeting bit of mortal foolishness.  You have not come for Fame."'

Zannon drinks ale from a bottle of ale.

You say '"Well then," spake clever Qaledus, "I have come for Knowledge."'

Ralmer finishes eating a serving of a warm cornbread muffin, stuffed with moist turkey.

Zizzle rasps "Knowledge is only a tool to you; to use delicately or be wedged to leverage your desires.  You do not come for Knowledge."

Celenai drinks hard cider from a noggin of spiced pumpkin cider.

You say 'Qaledus, feeling fear for the first time, then said "Lord, I come for my sack of gold."'

Zizzle shuffles some paper.

A wry little smile crosses Etielise's face.

You say 'The Hidden Lord, on his dark chair, smiled for the first and last time.  "Yes, you have, Lord of Men and King of Thieves."'

Zizzle bounces a sack of gold up and down.

Ralxarn laughs heartily.

Ralxarn gives a round of applause.

Zizzle rasps "And gold you shall have."

You say 'And with that, the Hidden Lord bound Qaledus to the shadows; forever collecting gold, forever wanting more.'

You say 'And even now, though he no longer shows his sun-tanned face, Qaledus collects more, ever wanting, ever living.'

You say 'And that is the end of my tale.'

Zizzle bows once, twice, thrice.

Zannon says 'well told!'

Zannon cheers and sings... he is just BURSTING with joy!
Durth cheers and sings... he is just BURSTING with joy!
Celenai claps at your performance.
Etielise gives you a round of applause.  You must have done something good!
Ralxarn gives a round of applause.

Alietrius leans off the edge of the stage, clapping his hands loudly for Zizzle.

You say 'I apologize for the length; I should have cut more I suppose.'

You say 'But dramatic diction is both my hobby and my pleasure.'

Etielise says 'Oh, not to worry.  I don't think your tale overstayed its welcome at all.'

Ralxarn reaches out and clasps your hand.

Zannon says 'aye, a good tale it was'

Alietrius whispers to you 'Seoirse hasn't been quite the same without Q around the office.'

You tell Alietrius 'I wish I had more time to prepare that tale.  My palavering paucity of punditry does Lord Qaledus false justice at best.'

Alietrius tells you 'I would wager that you did him more justice than keeping quiet with your tale.'

Alietrius says to you 'I would say he would be proud.'

You say 'Don't forget your commemorative Imp Action Figures!  Just ten gold!'

***And I make several sales!***