@0    = ~Damn that stupid, precious bitch!~
@1    = ~*you gesture at Krystin's body* She was nasty enough but why are *you* so excited about her?~
@2    = ~Not her, you fool! SKIE!~
@3    = ~Huh, what...~
@4    = ~Duke Silvershield these two killed - that was Skie's father. If she hadn't been so dumb, so slow, so... so SKIE, she would have owned it all! She'd have been rich! *I* would have been on Easy Street forever!~
@5    = ~Nice to know you're such a sentimental fellow at heart. I guess you'll want to take a bit of revenge on this Sarevok, then.~
@6    = ~Not I. I've literally lost a golden opportunity here, but there are other such plums in the world. One must, however, be alive to taste of such. Farewell, <CHARNAME>!~
@7    = ~Try it.~
@8    = ~Hmph! I know you're a cad, but I never thought you were stupid – until now.~
@9    = ~Fine. If that's the way you feel, I don't want you at my back. Beat it.~
@10   = ~Eh? What do you mean?~
@11   = ~I mean if you back out on me now, I'll give you three steps toward the door and two-to-one odds you don't reach it.~
@12   = ~Ahhhh... your... I won't call it thought, but your instinct is correct. To so a true gentleman as myself, such a matter of honor must be paramount. (And, no doubt, the surviving dukes will prove tangibly grateful.)~
@13   = ~Would you mind terribly explaining that rather offensive remark?~
@14   = ~I mean one of their dukes is dead, but we are going to save the other two. I don't know about you, but *I* expect them to be grateful.~
@15   = ~I... see. Yes. One might do worse than to face the judgment of Baldur's Gate in such propitious circumstances. (Especially since that old fool, Silvershield, *won't* be one of those doing the judging.)~
@16   = ~Skie! My dear! My heart! I grieve with you.~
@17   = ~I... I heard them aright, then? Duke... my father... dead...~
@18   = ~This is no place for you, dearest, at such a time as this.~
@19   = ~Come now, let us away.~
@20   = ~Skie! Pull yourself together!~
@21   = ~Skie, it is not yet time for grieving. This affair must be ended first.~
@22   = ~Skie, I... I know what you are feeling. Go if you must. And you, Eldoth...~
@23   = ~You clumsy fool! I shall be hearing about this for days now, thanks to you!~
@24   = ~You think you are being generous, <CHARNAME>, but what of me? I shall be forced to endure her lachrymose maunderings interminably now because of your pitying 'generosity'.~
@25   = ~Be quick, <CHARNAME>, for I must go to coffer... er... comfort poor Lady Skie.~
@26   = ~Oh, sod off, you gutless bastard!~
@27   = ~I don't know why you are in such a hurry to leave. The surviving dukes are going to be *very* grateful when we save their necks.~
@28   = ~I don't believe you've thought this through, rogue.~
@29   = ~My dear! Think what you are saying! The funeral... the inheritance... uh... taxes... so much now depends on you and you alone, my love!~
@30   = ~*sigh* Then my place is behind... beside you, my lady. Of course.~
@31   = ~For *your* sake, I hope the old dukes prove so. For myself, I regard the generosity of the young duchess as far more certain. Farewell, <CHARNAME>.~
@32   = ~Ha! I am so fortunate as to possess the devotion of a new and very wealthy heiress. What else, pray tell, am I to think of?~
@33   = ~I'd give that ‘devotion' some more thought, if I were you. If I gain her vengeance, while you sit patting her hand, do you think you might suffer in her esteem by comparison? In the long run?~
@34   = ~In the long run, we are all dead. Isn't that what they say? And in the short, I have every confidence in her generous... and malleable... nature.~
@35   = ~Malleable enough, with the shock she's had, even to conclude you are a bit of a fraud – if I lay Sarevok's head beside the foot you aren't drooling over.~
@36   = ~And what satisfaction could *you* possibly derive from upsetting poor Lady Skie with so grisly a trophy?~
@37   = ~The satisfaction of screwing someone who abandons me *now* when I need all the help I can get.~
@38   = ~*sigh* And so the blackmailer trumps the poor, inoffensive confidence trickster. I *really* should have listened to what my dear mother told me.~
@39   = ~What was that?~
@40   = ~Alas, I do not know. I never listened.~
@41   = ~Your hair loves the moonlight, dark lady!~
@42   = ~The bard comes stalking my way in the hour of the Nightsinger's reign? What do you want with me, jaluk?~
@43   = ~Oh, a bit more than a mere social call. An exchange of information, perhaps?~
@44   = ~And what might you have to offer that would entice me?~
@45   = ~You have noted more than once that the customs in your new home differ from those of your former abode. In particular, as between man and woman, minds must be dazzled that hearts may be won. Here, you see, it is not a matter of simple command but of allure; an art, if I may say so, in which I am not unaccomplished. Whereas your race is renowned for the subtle manipulation of the flesh...~
@46   = ~Pheh! The rivven always do desire a taste of what the drow can offer, don't they? You've come groveling for just that, I see, like all the others would.~
@47   = ~One may grovel prettily or not but that is not my point just now. After the groveling is done, for the nonce, there must yet be... unfulfillment; a sense that there is more, far more, to be had.~
@48   = ~*You* would lecture *me* upon such a childish theme?~
@49   = ~Not ‘lecture'... precisely, but, among us weak, degenerate surfacers, avoidance of the tongs and the rack is not usually an effective or immediate consideration. Here, there are more... exotic... alternatives which I might impart to you.~
@50   = ~Well, Eldoth, allow me to restate for you - since it seems you haven't understood it yet - that you are exceptionally repulsive to me, even more so than most jaluken d'rivven. I would only indulge your passions, had you something to offer in return, and as I see it there is naught to be found in that regard.~
@51   = ~Forgive me, milady. I had forgotten how young... so very young... you are in this place. Should you live long enough to feel less wise, you may even regret that answer.~
@52   = ~My dear, come sit beside me to lighten the gloom.~
@53   = ~I will, for there is something we should discuss.~
@54   = ~(Damn! That's never a good thing!) Of course, my lady fair.~
@55   = ~Do you know, darling, some of the others have hinted to me that you don't care about me? That you're only after my money?~
@56   = ~Then I'm doing very badly at it, my sweet. I rejoice in your presence once again, but the only connection that shekels have to either of us at present is that your ‘dear Papa' has undoubtedly placed a price on my head by now.~
@57   = ~Oh, I know that, darling! I just think it's funny how spiteful and petty *some* people can be.~
@58   = ~Yet, you know, there's some justice there for I *ought* to lay celestial kingdoms at your feet that you might choose of which to be the queen.~
@59   = ~Silly! We have the world and time and love. What more could we possibly desire?~
@60   = ~Nothing, my sweet. Nothing at all. (GAG!)~
@61   = ~I'm not apart, damn you! I just... want... to go home...~
@62   = ~I... know, but... what can I do? What will I do?~
@63   = ~You can stand with us and prevent many more deaths.~
@64   = ~Apparently, you will lose all touch with reality. Leave, if you want. I don't care.~
@65   = ~Skie, I don't know if the priests can... undo this but... either way... you owe it to *yourself* not to abandon the quest now.~
@66   = ~Thank you, <CHARNAME>...~
@67   = ~You are so... so insensitive, <CHARNAME>! But what can one expect from someone of such... mean extraction.~
@68   = ~Can I? CAN I??? I could not prevent... father's... FATHER!!!~
@69   = ~Me? What can I do? You... you will avenge us, <CHARNAME>... won't you?~
@70   = ~Yes. I will have our vengeance. Go in peace, lady.~
@71   = ~Skie, I need you here... to be certain that I do not fail.~
@72   = ~O...~
@73   = ~You? You... need *me*? Then it shall be so, <CHARNAME>.~
@74   = ~I am Lady Silvershield and I have spoken, my dear.~
@75   = ~Truly, my friend, your feats of arms will make your name a terror to your enemies ere long.~
@76   = ~And you sing well about it; not, to my mind, an equitable distribution of effort.~
@77   = ~But a successful application of our respective talents. Your superiors in the Noble Order will be mightily impressed, I judge.~
@78   = ~My superiors have the highest standards and will not be swayed by mere tales of brawling.~
@79   = ~But surely you have noted that Truth, like a fair maiden, may be got up in garb so dull as to lose all appeal? Whereas if the songs of the people about your deeds precede your own account, your modesty of recital will accrue to your credit as much as the magnitude of your achievements.~
@80   = ~Perhaps. I have not noticed, however, the people being so given to song before.~
@81   = ~Because they had not *my* songs to sing of you. But they shall! If I survive the long, dark road still ahead, they surely shall!~
@82   = ~Yes... an alternate account would not be... unjust... from a witness...~
@83   = ~Ahem! Henceforward, minstrel, you are in my care. Leave undue peril to me, and be faithful to the service of Truth.~
@84   = ~Oh, I shall, my friend. I shall.~
@85   = ~Ah, the charming little lady Lightfingers. So delightful... carefree... so trusting.~
@86   = ~You say that like it's a bad thing. What's wrong with trusting people?~
@87   = ~Perhaps trusting... excessively... that they will be inattentive at the critical moment.~
@88   = ~Oh, poo! I just explore, that's all. And trusting people is just a matter of liking them. If you like other people, they'll like you back, you know.~
@89   = ~Then your experience has been more blessed by Lady Tymora than my own. I can honestly say that I have liked practically every person I have ever met. However, experience has taught me that I cannot trust them not to want to have me riding a one-legged horse in the town square.~
@90   = ~Then you must have a very odd way of liking people. How about your Lady Skie? She seems awfully nice. You like *her*, don't you?~
@91   = ~I *adore* Lady Skie.~
@92   = ~But you don't say you *like* her. Does that mean you don't trust her, either?~
@93   = ~Ah, call me a fool to trust in the vagaries of a lady's heart, but I do trust her. Exaltedly. I am in love, you see.~
@94   = ~Teehee. That's cute.~
@95   = ~(I am glad you think so. It will make a pretty little fairy tale for you to carry back to her.)~
@96   = ~Never have my own eyes seen, a woman so like a tree as thee.~
@97   = ~Begging your pardon?~
@98   = ~My latest lyrical endeavor, only just materialized in my head. Such is the genius of my muse, it would seem.~
@99   = ~But of course, though the meaning does escape me.~
@100  = ~I hadn't known, priestess, that the gods had it in them to make women so... substantial, so sturdy, so... thick.~
@101  = ~Do you mock? Do you make jest, bard?~
@102  = ~That, my dear, is a matter for your own interpretation.~
@103  = ~What? What do you-~
@104  = ~Shh. Don't strain yourself now.~
@105  = ~D'you know, Coran, that noisome foundling might have a golden future... if you exercise your responsibility in a practical fashion.~
@106  = ~In what manner?~
@107  = ~That wench has foisted this bastard child upon you, claiming, on no known evidence, that it is yours. You clearly should be happy to get rid of it... if it assures her own future. For his part, Duke Silvershield has that stubborn pride of place which would control events far beyond his comprehension.~
@108  = ~No, I do not see the connection, Eldoth. You will also refrain from calling my Namara a bastard, or saying that I'd be happy to get rid of her. That gives the wrong idea about her place in society and in my heart...~
@109  = ~Why, it is her place in society of which I speak. If Duke Silvershield were given to understand that she were Skie's baby and mine, he might prove far more generous in funding my... and your... silence upon the matter than he would in the case of his daughter's mere return to his household.~
@110  = ~Has it occurred to you that Skie herself might have something to say about that scam?~
@111  = ~*chuckles* The Lady Skie's... uh... mentality is of a quality that she could be induced to believe the truth of the assertion herself, if properly approached.~
@112  = ~And the Duke? He'd likely run you through the guts, or he'll hire someone that will. I, for one, would not even ask for payment. Phew, asking me to risk Namara's life for coin!~
@113  = ~Indeed? There is a sentimentality about you that is almost feminine. Which is, immediately, just as well for I perceive *sniff* that your ‘daughter' needs changing... again.~
@114  = ~O, the most honorable among the witches, may I share an observation with you?~
@115  = ~I knew not that thou art inclined to observe; I rather thought thee a man of simpler pastimes.~
@116  = ~You were mistaken then. Why, we minstrels are among those with the sharpest eye and nose. And I smell gold better than others. Secrets, I noticed, have the pleasant fragrance of gold quite often. *sniffs air about Dynaheir*~
@117  = ~‘Tis thine observation then? Very well, I have listened. Now I shall go rejoin with the others.~
@118  = ~This, Dynaheir, was but an opening verse. I believe that it is you, who should sing the rest of the ballad. How about a lovely tale of the deeds of a Rashemi travelling to Baldur's Gate?~
@119  = ~I have spent mine singing voice on casting spells. Quite harmful spells, I must add.~
@120  = ~There is no need to strain yourself excessively. I'll catch the tune after you sing me but a line or two.~
@121  = ~An account of a spiritual quest, such as dajemma, will be lost on thee.~
@122  = ~Indeed? Then permit me to serve as your doorwarden, a humble functionary who, for tips, opens the way for others, if not himself.~
@123  = ~Your companions are quite amiable, milady, and full of enthusiasm for your dajemma. Minsc and Boo have the most interesting tales of your comings and goings round Baldur's Gate.~
@124  = ~Thou art yet another one smitten by the wisdom of Boo? I would'st not think that thou would'st trust a word out of a hamster's mouth.~
@125  = ~How could one fail to be beguiled by such charming eccentricity? Yet, though fluent, Boo is not so well-traveled as yourself. Might you tell me of Rashemen? It seems a most illuminated country so to support their youth in learning. Would that Ruathym was like that. I could have studied in New Olamn without imposing such a material sacrifice upon my own poor family.~
@126  = ~I heard it said that ‘twas not thy family, but thy lady-friends that wert supportive of thine education in arts.~
@127  = ~Alas for the golden days of innocence! But such beneficence is rare. Outside Rashemen, that is. You gather ancient scrolls of lore – an occupation not far off my own – yet, by the look of it, you are not needy, as wandering philosophers too often are.~
@128  = ~Mine studies have naught to do with the riches of this world. How I support myself here – I am trained to survive upon less. That is all.~
@129  = ~I doubt it not. My concern is that you imperil your quest by failing to consider how and when the coin of understanding may increase by judicious use of gold – and vice versa, of course.~
@130  = ~Indeed?!? If I comprehend thee, thou propoundeth an ‘exchange rate' between the coin of understanding and the yellow dirt beloved of Faerun?~
@131  = ~Certainly. A bard's trade is nothing else, milady, but the conversion of one to the other.~
@132  = ~But not the conversion of thy ‘other' to the one. The Wise do not sell wisdom nor, if it be at market, *is* it wisdom.~
@133  = ~A donkey is no wiser, madam, if it be laden with tomes of lore rather than bales of straw. Indeed, if one asked the creature, it would prefer straw for it can digest that better. It has been my fate, lady, to have become something of an expert upon donkeys.~
@134  = ~I do not find myself to be in need of a teamster, bard. Should that change, I knoweth well how to find thee.~
@135  = ~As you would, milady. I can only pray that you do not find yourself wholly in the other world through ignoring too zealously the requirements of this one.~
@136  = ~Excuse me, my good mage. I am impressed by your talents...~
@137  = ~Everyone is.~
@138  = ~And I was wondering if they extended in an... um... alchemical direction.~
@139  = ~Bah! Alchemists are hirelings. Menials! The lowest artisans of the Art.~
@140  = ~Quite so. Their knowledge would be trivial in fact to one so learned as yourself, therefore I surmised that...~
@141  = ~*I* surmise that you have a point to this interrogation. If so, speak it plainly as I have no time to waste in observing you tiptoe clumsily in circles about it.~
@142  = ~Uh... well, I was wondering if you knew the secret of creating a truly effective love philter.~
@143  = ~*Why?* Are the denizens of the sty growing cold and distant to you?~
@144  = ~(As they should if they could choose *you* instead.) No. It is a contingency only. A certain lady of Baldur's Gate... I fear she may require some assistance in knowing her own heart clearly.~
@145  = ~A lady? You would conspire against your betters? (Though I concede that you would have some difficulty in finding inferiors for that or any other purpose.)~
@146  = ~If so, I am but the co-conspirator of love itself...~
@147  = ~Begone! I'll have nothing to do with so infamous a plot! (Hmm. I wonder why this moron regards his doxie as being worth so much trouble.)~
@148  = ~(Faugh! I should have known that blowhard wouldn't know how to do anything useful.)~
@149  = ~Enchanting Lady, you are redolent of the very strength of the Earth, our common Mother.~
@150  = ~Am I to credit such nonsense from a town-bred degenerate such as yourself?~
@151  = ~My dear, even an urban gentleman may recognize... pay tribute... to one who draws upon the strength... the unbounded wealth of Nature herself!~
@152  = ~Riches I have found, indeed. But none such as corrupted townlings evaluate them.~
@153  = ~Oh?... Your words wound me more deeply than any blade. In the future, I shall restrain my address to you to that of a comrade-in-arms only.~
@154  = ~May I be granted long life then, if I am to wait until I observe you wielding any weapon other than your tongue.~
@155  = ~By the silver verse of the Nameless, Garrick, would you cease that dreadful wailing?~
@156  = ~Your snide comments fall on deaf ears, Eldoth.~
@157  = ~Would that your tunes did likewise.~
@158  = ~I won't be lured into confrontation today. Not when the day is so ripe and the air so fresh.~
@159  = ~Your tedious optimism will be the death of you, boy. Not that this is any real objection to it...~
@160  = ~I think Garrick's songs are pretty, Eldoth, dear.~
@161  = ~Thank you, milady.~
@162  = ~Skie! Weren't you off busy doing... whatever it is that you do?~
@163  = ~Yes, but I heard the singing and came back. You know how much I enjoy beautiful singing like-~
@164  = ~Yes, of course. I would not deny that his sort of candy is as appealing to the ear as the confectioner's is to the tongue... um... but you know it isn't good for you, my sweet... my love, so let us be off before...~
@165  = ~Oh, don't be silly. Why, my dear, I would think you were *jealous* of him, if I didn't know you so well.~
@166  = ~Those are lovely earrings, Imoen. Very becoming to you.~
@167  = ~Why, thanks... oh, I guess you saw me clip ‘em, heh?~
@168  = ~And leave a covert ten gold in return. You overpaid, you know.~
@169  = ~They were marked at twenty-five!~
@170  = ~But are not worth more than eight. It saddens me to say so, but those aren't real pearls.~
@171  = ~Oh *I* know that! If they were real, they wouldn't have been shown right out on a street stall. I just liked the filigree work, is all.~
@172  = ~And they *are* very pretty. You know, you have excellent taste, you take what you want and you give fair value for it. Those are characteristics of a young lady who won't have to do without real pearls all her life.~
@173  = ~Uh-huh. So what's your pitch? You giving a concert, you want me to dip at it?~
@174  = ~You *will* have to outgrow your childish suspicions, though. I was merely making an observation, my dear... young... lady.~
@175  = ~Might I spin you a tale, milady?~
@176  = ~If it is the despairing nonsense of your usual fare, then I decline, to spare us both the tedium.~
@177  = ~Ah, but this is an immensely intriguing tale, bright lady of Faerie.~
@178  = ~I grant that intrigue is a specialty of yours. However, the mind that would conjoin so rotten a fruit of civilization with the harmonies of nature is not...~
@179  = ~Shh, shh. It's a tale of a bold and determined lady, who sacrificed even the spirits of her loved ones to her vision of righteousness.~
@180  = ~Ah, a fantasy then? Proceed, for I would hear a tale so foreign to my own experiences...~
@181  = ~Truly? Know then that my tale begins...~
@182  = ~BUT!!! Do bear in mind the fate of Lalgrinor of Miramar. *He* was wont to amuse himself in slanders which he concocted deliberately to infuriate his audience.~
@183  = ~Ahhh... do you know, perchance, if they ever found enough of the bits to have a proper interment for poor Lalgrinor?~
@184  = ~His tongue, certainly, was missing. So, I believe, was another organ of similar size... and function.~
@185  = ~Well! Your... ah... interpolation has suggested an alteration to my tale which will... um... take some little time to compose. So, if you will forgive me for the moment, milady?~
@186  = ~With *great* pleasure.~
@187  = ~Do you know, my good Kagain, I believe there might be a niche here for our joint talents.~
@188  = ~Pfeh! As though I'd trust one of your blood or tongue!~
@189  = ~Why, our diverse ancestry would be an advantage for what I have in mind. A refined salon; a place of discrete but various entertainment for the adventurous rich.~
@190  = ~Fergit it. Doxy house, clip joint or whatever ye has in mind, ye find ye gets too many “partners” in a place like this to make a good investment.~
@191  = ~Which is where you enter my calculations. Your stalwart merits would... um... discourage any such unwanted ‘investors'.~
@192  = ~‘Til me merits get me kilt, anyway.~
@193  = ~You would of course hire judiciously to prevent any such premature termination of our little arrangement. I should think that possible out of a return of... say... twenty to thirty percent on your investment. Each month.~
@194  = ~My *investment*?!? More late news here. You're saying I'm to front up the gold as well as take the lumps. What's *your* contribution t'be if I may make so bold?~
@195  = ~I *did* hypothecate a setting of refinement, perhaps even a hint of elegance. You'll forgive my suggesting, I am sure, that the creation of such a milieu is... shall we say, beyond you?~
@196  = ~Sure. And you'll fergive me saying that the carriage trade you're banking on, when they wants their kicks, will wallow with the pigs very happy, so long as they gets ‘em on the cheap.~
@197  = ~And, doubtless, a depraved minority will continue so to wallow. The majority, those prepared to exchange gold for status and prestige, are an unexploited in the market here at present.~
@198  = ~Aye. They'll trade ye *promises* of gold for your prestige, right enough. Actually finding the coin in your hand's another matter.~
@199  = ~Ah, there are advantages to conferring with confirmed pessimists. Perhaps, after a bit more thought, we might continue this discussion.~
@200  = ~Ah, tell me, my mercenary friend; is there anything which you would not do for gold?~
@201  = ~No, but I wouldn't touch *your* game for just the promise of it, by-me-bye.~
@202  = ~Exactly. Promises are worth their weight in gold, are they not? Still, I do have a minor proposition for you, if you are interested.~
@203  = ~I'm hearin' ya, ain't I?~
@204  = ~I have observed your manly and... um... straightforward style of combat. It occurs to me that with very little embellishment, you could plausibly impersonate a true berserker.~
@205  = ~Berserk?!? Not me! I'm not gonna take me eye off the main chance for the sake of slobberin' inta me beard!~
@206  = ~I said *impersonate*. And no excessive salivation would be required, merely incoherent shouting and waving your axe about after the combat is over. And you would certainly be free to pick your opportunity: goblins, petty street thugs or something equally unthreatening.~
@207  = ~Uh-huh. And what would happen *next*, I ask ye.~
@208  = ~Nothing too onerous. I would employ *my* talents to soothe the untethered beast; to restore you to the practical realist, whom we all know and admire.~
@209  = ~*If* you just sing at me, I can stand it - for a little while, anyways. But what's your angle in this, eh?~
@210  = ~*sigh* Dear Lady Skie has led such a sheltered life. She is, indeed, a trifle naive regarding even her own mortality. I would wish to impress upon her the multiplicity of unforeseen circumstances in life - unforeseen by *her* at any rate - through which my humble self might prove her surest guide.~
@211  = ~Oh. You wanna play hero for the dame, eh? Sounds simple enough, but then everything you say *sounds* simple. I'll think on it and let ye know back.~
@212  = ~My dear fellow, I really do admire your technique. Would you mind a question or two about it?~
@213  = ~What t-technique? What are you talking about?~
@214  = ~Why, with your wife, of course. Domineering women are so difficult to get on with, and yet they so often are the ones with the resources to best repay the effort. How do you, my friend, feign that fawning attitude so well? The one which conveys that her opinions are not only correct, but more important to *you* than your own?~
@215  = ~I d-don't understand. Jaheira very rarely tells me to do something that I wouldn't do anyway. And when we d-disagree, it's usually about something so t-trivial that it pleases me better to please her than to have my own way.~
@216  = ~But do you not find it rasps your self-respect to be ordered about so? Are you not tempted to disobey simply to assert your independent existence?~
@217  = ~No. Jaheira and I love each other. That gives me more self-respect than I'd ever have on my own.~
@218  = ~You've missed your calling, my friend. You should have been a priest of one of the more demanding deities which afflict mortal existence. Still, I do appreciate your help. It has given me a fresh insight into a role that certain... circumstances... might one day require of me.~
@219  = ~Hmmm. Then you had better p-pray that your ‘leading lady' is enough of a fool not to realize that you *are* playing a role. I wouldn't envy you otherwise.~
@220  = ~Kivan, I have heard elves have some sort of unusual vocal abilities. Will you sing me a song?~
@221  = ~In olden days I might have serenaded a fair maiden if bid, but Eldoth, you are not a maiden. Nor, moreover a fair one.~
@222  = ~Do you jest, my friend? You need a maiden to inspire a song rather than the reverse?~
@223  = ~I am simply not inclined to sing. Let us stop this pointless conversation.~
@224  = ~As you wish. I shall scout ahead for maidens, if you don't mind.~
@225  = ~You need a maide... uh, a lady? Of quality? Skie, my dear, come hither.~
@226  = ~You called, Eldoth?~
@227  = ~Yes, sit your charms down, my love. This elf is going to sing to you.~
@228  = ~Kivan wants to serenade me? *giggles*~
@229  = ~Eldoth, I am not...~
@230  = ~What, my Lady Skie is not fair enough to inspire you?~
@231  = ~What... what do you mean? You find me unattractive?~
@232  = ~Skie, you are a very beautiful young lady, do not ever doubt that. But elven song is called forth by a heart to be won in love. Yours has already fallen. *nods at Eldoth*~
@233  = ~Well! I *still* don't think that's very flattering! *flounces off*~
@234  = ~Eldoth, you would do better to stay as far away from me as possible.~
@235  = ~If you will reciprocate, I'll not violate your terms. (Good! That cow will now mistrust anything this busybody may say in derogation of me.)~
@236  = ~My dear fellow, ever I admire the mighty union between the man and the hamster. I easily believe that the two of you can protect your witch against any danger.~
@237  = ~Minsc and Boo will protect Dynaheir till they can wield weapons and bite!~
@238  = ~So, that gnoll attack must have been a severe thing indeed, if Minsc and Boo had been overwhelmed?~
@239  = ~Aye, Boo fought with the ferocity of a black bear, and a dozen of evil gnolls' butts bear Minsc's heel print, but they kept coming in greater numbers... and Minsc do not remember much else, though Boo says that Minsc's fury grew until a large stone fell on his head, and he fell.~
@240  = ~So it was well planned... and against their custom, gnolls did not finish you off, but ran away with Dynaheir. The witch was then kept alive and unspoiled... as if they wanted to trade her... or if they had done job for someone else and waited for his coming.~
@241  = ~Boo sniffed out in Beregost that Edwin, the evil Thayvian, was seeking assassins to kill glorious Dynaheir!~
@242  = ~Your hamster has a keen nose, then. It is always a pleasure to chat with you two. Very refreshing.~
@243  = ~(No, if that man, Edwin, looked for assassins, he would not have commanded to keep her alive. It must be someone else, someone powerful enough, ready to pay good coin for his secrets to stay hidden. Unless, of course, this Edwin was as fond of tortures as Thayvians are rumored to be... Hmm...)~
@244  = ~Must I always be bothered by a hamster and a man who consults with a hamster? Shoo, shoo... all three of you!~
@245  = ~Edwin... of course. Boo is a smart one, indeed.~
@246  = ~(If that red-robed clown has enough coin and wits to hire out the clan of gnolls, I will eat my hat! It must be someone else, someone powerful enough, ready to pay with gold for his secrets to stay hidden. Hmmm...)~
@247  = ~Dynaheir has the air of power and confidence. She must be an influential woman in Rashemen. Right, Minsc?~
@248  = ~Oh, Dynaheir is smart. She helps the Keeper of them... man... scripts. What is it, Boo? Yes, that's what I said. Manscripts.~
@249  = ~Tell me, friend Minsc, did you travel... speedily... to the Sword Coast?~
@250  = ~Oh, we never travel at the same speed. Sometimes we hired horses or took a passage on a ship - that's much faster than going about on foot. And of course if there is evil to fight, it slows things down. Like now, when we are helping <CHARNAME>, we do not really go far... only there and back, back and there.~
@251  = ~So you made haste until you arrived to Baldur's Gate, then Dynaheir gets abducted, then you join with <CHARNAME>, and sort of slow down... Interesting...~
@252  = ~*mumbles to himself* So they lay low now. It is amazing what secrets of the people in high places can be uncovered in remote locations... or how far the important political intrigues reach.~
@253  = ~Tell me, brave warrior, did you ever happen to guard Dynaheir when she went to a rich house... or a palace in the Gate in the small hours of the morning, or maybe she left you somewhere to stand your ground, while meeting someone you do not know? A nobleman? Were there messages waiting for her when you arrived at Baldur's Gate?~
@254  = ~Minsc and Boo do anything Dynaheir says! We go many places and meet many people, though not all are as talkative as Eldoth. But Minsc do not remember going to palaces... and Boo says that he will not tell Eldoth anything. He is cranky today... I gave him hazelnuts, but we are out of sunflower seeds. *sighs* Boo loves sunflower seeds.~
@255  = ~That must be why. You should get him some sunflower seeds when we get back to town. I'll gladly accompany you... to show you ‘round.~
@256  = ~A word with you if I may, young lawyer?~
@257  = ~Eh? What's yer take on lawyers ‘n' me?~
@258  = ~Why merely that I have never met anyone of more... proximate... or effective... interest to heirs and assigns than yourself.~
@259  = ~Uh-huh. One o' yer yarns be approachin', I dessay. One as'll leave me so starry-eyed that I wanders off t' trip over the edge o' th' world, eh?~
@260  = ~Heheh. Would that I had such powers of persuasion as *that*, my clear-headed friend. No, it is just that I may... *may*... in certain, future circumstances... benefit from the talents which you so liberally possess. You see, I am in love...~
@261  = ~Aye. The bimb's Lady Skie, daughter o' Gran' Duke Entar Silvershield, hisself.~
@262  = ~Hmmm. Do I talk in my sleep then?~
@263  = ~Ye talks, fer fair. Ye can't scatter ten thousan' words without one er two o' ‘em havin' they bits o' truth. I can take what ye says, ‘n' don't say, wi' what I knowed already, t‘ make two ‘n' two come four. So git on wi' it.~
@264  = ~Then you will appreciate that my Lady Skie's father has already lived long enough to have attained a high position in the world and to have amassed a very substantial fortune. That, surely, is achievement enough for one life. Especially for one who may... just *may*, mind you... underhandedly attempt to terminate a straight-forward business arrangement.~
@265  = ~Stop *right* there! Since we met, ye been rubbin' two coppers together like ye thought they could breed attaway. Yer silver words ain't gonna pay fer *nuthin'* on them lines ‘n' don't you think it!~
@266  = ~My dear fellow, would I ask you to perform so serious an undertaking with no better payment than mere promises?~
@267  = ~Sure!~
@268  = ~Well, so I might. If I though you sufficiently gullible. As things are, I shall simply ask you to name a sum of hard, honest gold for your labor.~
@269  = ~First, I'd like t' know the name o' the roc that's gonna lay a egg like *that* in yer lap.~
@270  = ~Recall, please, that I hypothecated a business arrangement between myself and his Lordship. I would imagine that the returns from that, before any untoward occurrences, would be sufficient to satisfy you. And it would amuse *me* to observe his Lordship paying, in effect, to achieve his own removal, should he prove treacherous to his word.~
@271  = ~Hmmm. <CHARNAME> ain't big on freelancin'. Nor are the... me pals as set me here. So I tells ye what. Start yer game amovin' ‘n' I'll sniff about as I can. Then, if yer “imagine” turns out t' be more'n just ‘nother word, we'll see. I "imagine" sumpin might be worked out.~
@272  = ~Good old reliable Montaron. I must tell you how much I admire the economy of effort involved in your method of operation.~
@273  = ~Uh-oh! The oily tongue's in full spate. Lemme just check me wallet's drawed tight here – an' me blade's loose.~
@274  = ~Hehe. No need for you to take such trouble. No. I genuinely do admire the... um... finality of your... deeds. So very different from my own little tasks which, I fear, are liable to indefinite prolongation.~
@275  = ~Sure. I grabs, you lie. Why dint ye switch stools then, mine suits ye better?~
@276  = ~Alas! A youth misspent on song, romance and poetry debilitated me for such practical endeavors.~
@277  = ~Turned ye out a lazy coward, eh?~
@278  = ~Worse! I was a fool! I genuinely believed that the true, pure love of a woman would embark me upon an unending journey amidst celestial climes through gardens of sensuous delight. When at last I discovered just how far short reality fell of my expectation... um... any further career was quite out of the question for me there.~
@279  = ~I bet! No longer welcome in yer home place by then, eh?~
@280  = ~As you say, but any loss was theirs. In any event, I have since acquired an appreciation of the finer things in life. In all walks of life. And I find one of those finer things to be you, my dear fellow.~
@281  = ~Uh-huh. Sounds like ye wants a job done fer free. Talk t' <CHARNAME> then. <PRO_HESHE>'s callin' th' shots this trip 'n' I ain't a grand one fer no giveaways.~
@282  = ~Eminently practical advice, which I shall certainly follow. Thank you, my friend.~
@283  = ~Master Quayle? I am trying to puzzle out something that requires quicker wits than mine and gnomish expertise...~
@284  = ~Ah, anyone who thirsts shall have a drink of the ocean of my wisdom... Though, of course, I should have said "stream" or "lake", since the ocean's water is too foul for drinking, but lake or stream do not adequately describe the grandeur of my intellect. Such a paradox...~
@285  = ~You are absolutely right, Master Quayle. Freshwater ocean it is. But back to my puzzle - imagine a necklace which has five ruby stones as big as pigeon's egg, and thirty lesser ones, say half the size, all cut into cabochons...~
@286  = ~‘Twill have thirty-five gems in total, Eldoth. Do not thank me, ‘twas nothing for a person of my exceptional brain power to puzzle it out.~
@287  = ~Truly amazing! Master gnome, mayhap you can invoke yet another miracle of reasoning for your humble admirer and guess at the cost of such a necklace?~
@288  = ~Impossible, Eldoth. The value of gems changes greatly depending on the color, radiance, clarity... I have to see your imaginary necklace to appraise it.~
@289  = ~Well, look here... How much?~
@290  = ~Those are balas rubies, Eldoth, not true rubies - cheaper stones and more abundant- but they are really large and well-cut... though, of course, no comparison to gnomish work. Hmm... a pricey gift for a lady.~
@291  = ~For a rich lady like her it's but a bauble, not worthy of particular attention. I am glad it's not set with glass at least. Glass is a pain to pass for gems, no matter how elaborate the workmanship. If you only knew what sort of stories I had to invent to distract a merchant-~
@292  = ~Oh... You mean, a lady gave you this?~
@293  = ~In a way, Master Quayle, in a way. Women hate solitude, and value consolation above trinkets. View it as a gift or payment for the job well done, my friend. So what's your take on the price?~
@294  = ~Erm... hmmm... I tell you what - if you want to get a fair price for it - ask some dwarf to buy it from you, and multiply his first offer threefold... Aye, and do not sell for less. That is, if you know how to multiply. *sighs* I need to learn how to downscale appropriately. Otherwise I will never get the idea about the intellectual potential of someone with an average brain size.~
@295  = ~So, wench, all this talk of sophistication and using men to your own end - and you are mooning over an elf, no better than a peasant girl of sixteen years.~
@296  = ~Darling, you are as superficial as any other man. I am not mooning, I am watching. I am a lioness, who is waiting patiently for satisfactory prey to appear, studies its habits and then jumps-~
@297  = ~And keeps jumping on her hind legs in front of that so called prey. Might be worth it sometimes, but Coran is not much of a dish, lioness. A penniless quick-fingered brat, and slanted-eyed to boot.~
@298  = ~The boy has useful skills, is pretty of face, and I can make him do anything with just a hint. Quite a toy, he is, quite a toy.~
@299  = ~My dear, toys are for children. And they break so easily.~
@300  = ~Sooner than old mares, like your Lady Silvershield? Phew, I hear you help her choosing dresses for her dolls - a sophisticated pastime, I must say. Leave me to *my* poor boy toys... boy.~
@301  = ~Sweet Shar-Teel, we bards ever live in the world of revels and tend to forget things of uttermost importance. Why, for the past few days I have failed to get a hold of a silence spell. Would you remind me to look for one?~
@302  = ~YOU MALE WORM! How dare you treat me like some serving wench! I'd rip your throat out before leaping to remind you of your fool errands! I will knot your bloody ears-~
@303  = ~Many thanks, honey-tongued maiden. My longing and my need for the spell are so great now, that it is inconceivable for me to forget it.~
@304  = ~My lady, I don't believe life on the road suits you.~
@305  = ~What? Am I becoming worn and haggard already? Aged before my time? *giggle* Are you saying you can't love me in the character of an old grandmamma?~
@306  = ~Of course, I shall, but... if I may say so, “pensive” is new to your repertoire of expressions, and it is not particularly becoming for you.~
@307  = ~Well, I've been thinking...~
@308  = ~My dear! Thought is a bane and a curse! I never have aught to do with it, and I advise you not to either.~
@309  = ~(Phhhht!) *I* have been doing it anyway. We've been doing an awful lot of fighting – this horrible conspiracy – and... one... one of those we... who died... looked rather like me.~
@310  = ~My love! You may take from an expert on *you* that there was no comparison...~
@311  = ~Oh, hush. No. I mean she was about my size and hair color. Similar complexion and the face... well, the manner of her passing made those differences moot. So, if we meet another like that... couldn't we dress her in my clothes? Put this signet ring on her? Wouldn't that help?~
@312  = ~My thought processes, I regret to say, have so atrophied from desuetude that I must ask – help what?~
@313  = ~Why... about Daddy, of course. If he thinks I'm dead, wouldn't he have no reason to send people to try to force me back there?~
@314  = ~Uh, no... I mean, yes. But he is shockingly conventional. He might conceive it his duty to send other, more determined people to exact vengeance upon myself for your assumed passing. I don't object to dying *for* you, my love but... bleeding all over you would be inelegant of me, don't you agree?~
@315  = ~What of it? If Daddy sends bounty hunters and they catch us, I'll just tell them who I am. They could hardly blame you for murdering me if I'm standing right beside you!~
@316  = ~Not if they could be convinced that you *are* yourself. But they might be – almost certainly would be – strangers to you personally. And having been previously informed of your demise, I *doubt* that they would take your unsupported word in a matter affecting their pecuniary interests so directly.~
@317  = ~Oh. I hadn't thought of that.~
@318  = ~Observe, then, the excellence of my advice upon the subject. Thought taxes the faculties and strains the features while, far too often, leading nowhere.~
@319  = ~Uh-huh. You remember that fellow upstairs? His body could have passed for *you*... at least to someone who only had your description.~
@320  = ~*sigh* Yes, dear.~
@321  = ~*crinkling his nose in disgust* Tiax, you DO realize that it is within the rights of a world conquerer to bathe every once in awhile, don't you?~
@322  = ~Tiax has no need of bathing! His smell changes upon his whim, from the sweetest fragrance of the flowers to the most choking and horrific stench! Not even the senses can escape Tiax's all-encompassing rule!~
@323  = ~So you don't bathe!?~
@324  = ~Tiax does not NEED to bathe! Do you not hear? Nor does he groom his hair, trim his beard, clip his toenails, wipe his...~
@325  = ~STOP! Enough! I need to hear no more, you repellent little creature. Away from me, and take your stench with you! And you had best sleep on the OTHER side of the campfire tonight! By the gods, but I wonder sometimes why I stay with this misbegotten group...~
@326  = ~Ah, wizard, ‘twould seem we have started wrongly. We should do better than snap at one another to no end or purpose. How about if we share this excellent bottle of wine and chat amiably of roads we traveled, foes we vanquished, women we loved, the lands we came from-~
@327  = ~Bard, good wine requires good company to enjoy it. Drink alone, or share it with that maid who must never sober up, if she cannot see your true coloring.~
@328  = ~Trading an insult for a heartfelt offer of friendship is not a custom amongst humans, Xan.~
@329  = ~And stealing women is not a custom among elves. I wish that humans' traditions and heartfelt offers were not bestowed upon my people quite so often. Elven maidens abducted and sold to slavery by humans who call themselves merchants-~
@330  = ~Xan, let us not engage into a fruitless debate of the... cultural differences. Skie and I are both humans, and with so much love and tender devotion how can anyone begrudge us our urgent escape from the cruel fate of being separated? The stolen maiden herself finds it quite romantic.~
@331  = ~‘Twas a barbarian deed, no matter how you dress it. I grieve deeply that we are accessories to it. If we continue on like that, we are deservingly doomed.~
@332  = ~Barbarian I am, then... but a barbarian in love - should that not elevate me slightly above the rest of us savages? Perhaps I'm not yet spoiled to the core, and you can enlighten and save me by talking of the ways of a cultured and rich society as Evereska?~
@333  = ~I will tell you the only thing about Evereska you need to know: it is well-guarded against thieves like you.~
@334  = ~Tchah! A maiden here, a bauble there. These are nothing. It is the lore to which I refer, and this is not diminished by being shared.~
@335  = ~No, it is destroyed utterly by foolish trust. That is the more usual case.~
@336  = ~Since, by your own reckoning, it is doomed in any case, surely imparting a simple song or two to me – that I may dance the better on the edge of the pit – cannot make a difference.~
@337  = ~Many dooms I can foresee. The one begotten of false logic I can also avoid. Begone, knave!~
@338  = ~Ah, my dear chap! Are you lucid today?~
@339  = ~I? When has lucidity ever failed me?~
@340  = ~Forgive me for expressing myself so badly. I meant, Are you currently perceptive of the dreary scape which afflicts us mundane creatures constantly?~
@341  = ~Oh. An excellent question. Let's see... sky up there... cracked paving stone down there... badly designed tenements... a tree... a turnip patch over yonder infested by gnomes and voles... Yes, I fear that I am.~
@342  = ~Excellent... uh... for purely selfish reasons. You see, I have a problem with which you might prove of material assistance.~
@343  = ~That's uncommonly perceptive of you. I should be delighted to help you out.~
@344  = ~That is most generous of you. You see, there is a young lady in this very city whom I love and who loves me. Her most unpleasant father takes a very prejudiced view of my suit, however, so...~
@345  = ~Wait a minute! You want me to kill someone *else*? Not you??? That changes everyth... uh... excuse me a moment, won't you?~
@346  = ~Yes... yes... uh, noooo... yes... nine-and-a-half... yes... no... no, of course not... certainly. Now, what was your question again, bard?~
@347  = ~Again, your pardon for allowing myself to be misunderstood, but I have no question for you. (That you haven't already answered, idiot!)~
@348  = ~So, Yeslick, your clan... rich, were they?~
@349  = ~There's always need fer iron. We made a livin'.~
@350  = ~And, no doubt, like all dwarf clans, you had your fair share of treasured relics and heirlooms, precious gold and silver worked into items of considerable... sentimental value?~
@351  = ~Urm... I dunno where ye humans 're gettin' these stories. Me home were an *iron* mine, bard. Ye might as well look fer gold bread in one o' yer bakeries.~
@352  = ~From where do my fanciful ideas of gilded orbs and glittering jewels come, do you ask, master dwarf? Why, from the sagas of your own people! I was once privileged enough to hear a recital of some of the greatest epic poems of the dwarves. Indeed, I can still remember one or two, long though they may be, so deep were their words etched upon my soul.~
@353  = ~Ye might try recitin' a few o those, then, instead o' yer own ballads.~
@354  = ~A superb idea, Yeslick! Why, the sagas of old Dwarvish lore are such to stir the memory of deeds long remembered, to recall the great splendour of the dwarf race; wonders that shall never come again... a time of heroes, when loyalty and honor to one's own really *meant* something, hmm? Sad how things have changed...~
@355  = ~Aye, that be the truth. Some o' th' young dwarves around these days, they wouldn't know a proper oath if it -~
@356  = ~But you, Yeslick, in you... I think I see the times of old come again. Yes - *you*, of all of us, understand what honor truly is, don't you, my old dwarf? You know far more than these whelps who travel with us, what it is to respect one's elders, to pay homage to the ancestors, to 'protect and defend one's kin and clan', as I believe I have heard you proclaim in grim, resolute tones?~
@357  = ~Well, I... I do me best ta maintain the old traditions, aye...~
@358  = ~And you'd never tell such as me about the treasures buried with your clan, would you?~
@359  = ~No, I'd never tell ye 'bout those... hoi - that is - there's no such thing! I'm warning ye, Eldoth, if ye dares even try ta plunder me clan's tomb so help me I'll wring yer scrawny little...~
@360  = ~Oh, don't fret, dwarf, I'm only curious! As if one such as I would dive down into a watery grave like that to dirty my hands digging! That's not my style... eugh, I can't imagine myself being desperate enough for gold to do *that*.~
@361  = ~Well, then, that's as it should be. Don't ye mention this again, bard, or I'll get angry with ye.~
@362  = ~*quietly* I was more thinking along the lines of employing some people to do it for me... ah, honorable, yes, but not quick on the uptake. In other words... perfect.~
