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Darradarljod wrote:On the morning of the 18th day of Eleint a man decked in ornate platemail made his way from dawn prayers at the Temple of Torm to the pulpit of the square. He was unhurried as he ascended the stair and presented himself.
It was a Senior Knight of the Order of the Radiant Heart Auxiliary, Ser Anthem Arnemeiger. His voice was even and low echoing off of the walls of the city structures and down the nearby alleys.
"Seven days ago an acolyte of Helm stood where I stand now and addressed you, the men of Baldur's Gate. Have you hearkened to her imperatives?
Have you?
... We are the Kingdoms of Men. Glorious - but young.
Who among us can call to mind the Crown Wars? That bitter struggle of the elven races - through which hardship of war the dark tribe that were to become drow corrupted themselves in the worship of evil gods, and received in themselves the penalty for their sin.
There is a reason the drow are expelled from the light we enjoy, condemned in utter darkness by their own kind for thousands upon thousands of years. See how the elves hate them! It is an enduring hatred. And it is a righteous hatred.
We have our own history with the drow. The raids, the rape, the murder, the kidnappings and dark sacrifices... Our ancestors have blooded the altars of Lolth for generations just as - Torm forbid - they would that our descendants do."
Anthem paused, making the sign of Torm over his body slowly with an armored hand. He surveyed those gathering as he continued.
"There is no fellowship to be had with darkness, when we are sons of the light. Those who propagate friendship with the drow are enemies of man. Enemies of the Kingdoms of Men. Whether by depraved indifference or malevolent interest these reprobates are under the wrath of Torm.
Fear not. The law of the land - your land - protects you and yours by the banishment of all drow ... though, did it not also once forbid the presence of the Zhentarim?
Yes, the Zhentarim - that detestable cult of Bane, glutting themslves on human sacrifices and evil magics behind its thin venier of legitimacy; a "merchant organisation". Rest assured, Bane is nothing but a force of malevolent subjugation ever looking outward to increase its domain and authority.
The Dreadlord of Darkhold himself sits among your sons and daughters in the garden bars of our city. He walks your streets without fear. Is it right?
The law forbids wearing the symbology of Bane openly on the person; O vain law - LAUGHABLE law - when we invite those whose hearts we very well know are faithful to the Dark One!
I call it to question; have our Dukes compromised righteous law for love of mercantile, inviting evil herein? Torm the True compells me to say that they have. Laws that exist to protect the innocent have been put aside and the wolves are among the sheep. For that, I call them to repentance.
Already the tiefling go among us; demon seed, devil spawn. They carry in themselves the inheritance of the Hells and Abyss and perpetuate their corruption among the daughters of men. It is grave error, and the fall of many a righteous bloodline, that we tolerate children of beings that are the bodily manifestation of evil.
Listen closely, and you will hear the next perverted chorus; love of the drow from the lips of men.
Shall also those righteous laws set before me here that proclaim the banishment of all drow and orcs from human lands also be yielded up for the love of gold and the insistance of those who are traitors to the Realms of Men?
Stand firm, men of Baldur's Gate, and be not overcome by an evil age. There is a Loyal Fury in your heart and mine, given to us by the gods of righteous wrath for times such as these!"
Charisma check: 10+11 = 21
Active effects:
Natural Leader
Aura of Courage & Aura of Glory (for a total +9 morale bonus save vs. Fear to listeners)
Hidden: showTsidkenu wrote:At the turn of dusk on the 11th day of Eleint, a heavily armoured female figure ascended the public pulpit in the Eastern Gate square and began to preach a boisterous, energetic and direct sermon regarding the recent drow activity in the region.
"Hearken, citizens of Baldur's Gate and its lawful protectors, soldiers and mercenaries of the Flaming Fist. The word has gone out into the streets, alleys and byways that the drow are once again active in our region. No further proof needs to be delivered than what already was: the accursed drow and Hellstorm pirtate named Israe'anna slaughtered on the road some leagues to the south, as every drow discovered in the light of the sun rightfully should be," she started, pausing for dramatic effect before continuing.
"The Watchers were there, Ever-Vigilant, patrolling the road which is so crucial for southward trade when this drow willingly surrendered at my command," she continued, her booming, militaristic voice issuing forth into the square and ably echoing off the distant walls of the Thayan Enclave. "And yet, and yet, there was one, the halfling merchant named Pokey, who decided to come to the defence of this black devil and parade her rights to life, safety and peace as if she were one of the common denizens of this fair city, or any other fair and civilised habitation," she again boomed out with another dramatic pause.
"It was the sensibility of an elf, known and rightful enemies of the black devils, that came to my aid when this fiend decided to take the opportunistic interregnum created by Pokey and flee. It was that elf who sensibly laid the fatal blow upon this menace, ending her life with a deft and efficient strike. And even then we were resisted from destroying the corpse with fire, as is right for this stain of evil, and instead had to 'negotiate' for its passage to Baldur's Gate intact to claim bounty whereas its severed head would have sufficed. And why?" she asked the gathering crowd, lifting her hand in the air to provoke responses from bystanders.
"Because there are those in this city, this very city, who account the black devils as their friends! There are those in this city, this very city, who believe that drow have the same right to life and justice and protection as we do, as if we were ignorant of their evil and their vices, their desires only to pillage, to plunder, to murder, to rape and to sacrifice your children as offerings to their foul and despicable gods. What rights have they under the sun?! What right to protection should they enjoy from those whose duty is to guard and protect the innocent! Their hands are perpetually covered in blood; their hearts black as their ashen skin; their minds are only set on our destruction, if it were not for the fact they are confined in the darkness beneath our feet, where they rightfully belong!!" her voice exclaimed passionately with vigorous religious fervour, trying to whip up the crowd with her impassioned argument.
"Yet hear the words of the ignorant, 'adventurers' who claim to have the best interests of this city at heart:
'I support Pokey; as for Helm, he can sod off!' Signed, one Exordius Vrass.
And more:
'I find it rich that the followers of the Great Protector, are persecuting one, whom wanted to protect another individual. Is this the Stance of the Church of Helm as a Whole? Or just an individual whom be forgetting the ethics of her god.' Signed, one Kendra.
"I warned you in public and I am criticised in public by the enemies of this city, by the collaborators with the drow, by those who would sooner kiss a black devil's lips than place a sword down its throat. The drow can never be trusted! Those who trust the drow can never be trusted! Are these the kind of people who have the best interests of Baldur's Gate at heart? Can a collaborator and defender of the drow have anything in common with us who know better? Where will the foolishness end and sensibility begin? I am criticised for failing to defend the guilty, but tell my why I should ever lift a finger in their defence in the first place! Are they innocent?! Are their hands clean? Are their hearts pure? Is it the calling of the Vigilant One to come to their aid? To give them succour in their time of need? Can anything good ever come from a drow?!" she pleaded her case as powerfully and eloquently as she could.
"It is on the Watch of the Vigilant One that oblivion comes. We are tasked to stand guard, staring into the darkness, standing and watching the evil that so constantly spurts forth into your lives. Where were the drow when this city was beseiged by the Blight? Yet the Everwatch lost many in its sacred defence. The shed blood of your loved ones, our loved ones, your lost, our lost, all whom perished in those times deserves better than this hogwash! Heed not the lies of the delusional and those who defend the drow! They cannot see into the darkness because they themselves are blind!" she emphasised as her crescendo before advancing further into the final exhortation.
"Citizens of Baldur's Gate, you know what to do to these quarrelsome know-it-all, drow-loving adventurers: spurn them from your alehouses and inns! Turn them away from your shops and your stalls! Scowl at them when they pass you in the street; spit at their feet when they wish you greetings. Let the people of Baldur's Gate cry with united voice: tolerance of drow is treason!"
Charisma Check: 10+4 = 14
