>>5173971>>5173972>>5173973"Where is Gunpowder?"
"Your horse? At the barn, where else? Didn't want to wound the poor animal since you've taken a liking to him, so I gave him some of our best medicine."
"You've better not have turned him into an apostle!" You growl back at Barnham.
"What? No, I've merely gave him a dose of our elf powder. With so many gladiators coming and going, they need something to keep fighting regularly." He shows you a small bag of white sand, containing a magical essence that when applied to someone's body, could magically heal months of damage in a single day with a right dosage. "I've answered your question, I would appreciate if you did the same to mine."
"...I'm here to free the slaves in the riverbank, my mother included. Also to kill you if possible."
"Wouldn't be the first time I heard this. But what exactly would motivate you to kill me?"
"Because my horse told me to. Why else?" You remark snidely.
"Hmph, that's a first." Barnham legitimately chuckles at your answer, already acknowledging that he's pretty unlikeable. "Usually, I would have no interest in the words of people who have no power, but you have made a considerable dent in my numbers for me to listen to what you have to say. Surely you wouldn't reconsider an offer to stay here, would you?"
"After you've let Gorrister torture people who couldn't fight back? I have no respect for you."
"Right, still on the fence about that. A shame, because I have no ill will towards you. You even seem to be informed of the apostles."
"Of course, I know about those who got their powers through deals. You weren't born this strong, you took a shortcut to it."
"Wrong. I've became strong. I've only used an unconventional method." The owner of the coliseum snaps his fingers and calls for his chef, serving a plate with a single heart on it, no doubt being from Gorrister. Barnham elegantly takes a bite out of it, your vision of him turning blurry as the density of his Od increases.
"I also know plenty of you, Vlad Santana. A noble accused of being a wizard, forced to be arrested after helping to end the Hundred Year War against Tudor. Betrayed by his own master, now sits here today, having a conversation with another detractor of the royal family. It's not normal for a noble nobody to turn into a hero of the capital either, or to regularly climb the Wall of Corpses, wouldn't you agree?"
Barnham seems to know of your background, indicating that the rumors of Griffith having an impostor have reached far and wide across Midland.
"For a man to disguise himself as someone else... That would require the use of magic, would that make you an average man? A weakling, perhaps? No, no matter what path you had in life, you've attained power, yet you were detained by those weaker than you! Why is that, Vlad? Do you not feel betrayed? This would not have happened in a world where might controls everything. And I plan to bring that world into fruition!"
