Rumors

As tough as it is, you and Victor convince everyone to hole up in the inn for today. The innkeeper is friendly, and seems to know Victor and Melora, but there’s too much risk to be wandering the city unnecessarily. Alex and Cassie are the most disappointed, but get over it quickly. Despite their silly personalities, they understand the risks here.

One advantage of staying in is that you get to listen in on a lot of conversation. This inn seems to be popular with travelers, letting you get a few of the rumors that are going around. A recurring theme you hear is a lack of animals for hunters. A group of traders loudly complain to anyone who will listen about how most of the game in the area seems to have vanished, and whatever is left seems on edge and skittish, making hunting difficult. On the positive side, they note, it seems like Order troops are being a bit more lax about security lately, though they are as abundant as ever.

Other travelers agree with the last point, and you wonder if you managed to come in at an especially lucky time. Victor certainly thinks so, noting that had they been more thorough in their inspections, it would have been far more difficult to get into the city. No one seems to know what caused the easing of security, but no one wants to look a gift horse in the mouth. You hear a different group chuckling about the Order possibly getting lazy, but another group interrupts, saying they heard there was a big breakout a couple weeks ago.

That catches your attention, and you listen more closely. It seems that you’ve made a bit of a name for yourself from your raids on the prison ships. It’s generated quite a bit of notice that Victor’s resistance had lacked before. Rumors of your capture had spread, and now there’s rumors of your escape. Very little of it is true, but it paints a picture of you as a dashing, daring hero, something it seems that people have been looking for. From the looks you get from the girls, you can tell that you’re going to get plenty of teasing over it as well.

However, this only solidifies your certainty in your plan to move closer to civilization. If you could nurture this excitement, and defang the nobility somehow, then you’d have fertile ground for a revolution. Then it’s only a matter of time before your group can start gaining control of territory. Once the outlying cities fall to rebellion, it should be like a house of cards, one after another.