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Overview

Game Description

• Speak with Guard Malkade
• Question Beggar Kal

Speak with beggar Kal and guard Malkade down in the Fated Lovers' Byway about Zhila Mahdavi-Kia's trip down its length, and about the man in black who was seen there at the same time.

Walkthrough

This is the Khal starting quest in the Qalian Web Quests series.

Parley with Guard Melkade then Beggar Kal down in the Fated Lovers Byway (underground/water tunnel that connects the two halves of Khal, located on the far north end of the bay). Return to Mina to complete the quest.

Guard Melkade is at /loc -30554, -59542, -3898, almost halfway through the Byway.
Beggar Kal is at /loc -35437, -58842, -2298, on the west side of the Byway.

Dialogue

Quest Offering

Mina says, "Recently, the Sultan was married to the niece of Jaluna Fenn. The girl is an exceptional beauty, but there is something about her that cannot quite be trusted."

"She passed through town just before the wedding, and late one night, i watched a man in a dark cloak enter the byway. A minute later, she went down the same path. I would have you speak with the guard who was posted there that night, as well as with the beggar who tends to sleep there. See what they know about the meeting."

Guard Malkade

• You say, "Guard Malkade, is this your usual post?"
• Guard Malkade nods and syas, "It is. it's rare you don't find me here."
• "I have a few questions for you then," you say. Guard Malkade nods.
• "Do you remember the day that Zhila Mahdavi-Kia passed through town?" you ask.
• "Jaluna Fenn's niece?" asks Guard Malkade. "On her way to marry the Sultan? I do."
• "That night, do you remember anything strange happening down here?" you ask.
• Guard Malkade shrugs and says, "I remember that the lady herself passed through. I don't recall there being anything strange about it."
• "So you didn't notice a hooded man pass through just before her?" you ask. "Or any interaction between them?"
• "No," she says, shaking her head. "She was walking with a man in a fancy robe. I didn't recognize him, but he seemed respectable enough."
• You nod and ask, "Do you have any idea what they were talking about?"
• She shakes her head and says, "Not anything I was interested in. I think it may have been about trade. Some academic talk."
• I hear that Zhila is quite the smart woman," says Guard Malkade. "Though, if that's true, I'm not sure why she's letting herself get sold off into marriage. Not that marriage with a Sultan is any old marriage."
• You nod and ask, "You don't remember anything at all that they said?"
• Guard Malkade's forehead creases in thought. "I remember them saying something about Ahgram and trade. About not having enough of it. I didn't want to listen in, though."
• "You nod and say, "Fair enough."

Beggar Kal

• You ask, "Kal, do you often sleep down here?"
• Kal shoots you a crooked grin and says, "Every night. It's cooler down here than up top, and the guard is tolerant of me."
• "Do you know who Zhila Mahdavi-Kia is?" you ask.
• He looks guarded and says, "You mean the girl married to the Sultan? Sure I do. real Pretty."
• "Did you happen to see her pass through here shortly before her wedding?" you ask.
• He nods and says, "Took a midnight stroll through here..."
• You press, "Was she alone?"
• He shakes his head and says, "I,,, I don't know if I should be speaking about this with you."
• You say, "Was she with a man wearing a black hooded cloak?"
• He regards you quietly and says, "He was wearing it, but I watched him take it off. beneath he had a fancy purple robe on. And a tattoo of a jackal on his neck."
• "I was asleep, you see," he says, "but I happened to wake up as he walked by. I tried not to not give away that I had woken up, but he didn't seem to notice."
• "She came in and the two of them met and began to walk and talk,' he says. "Like any respectable pair."
• "And you didn't hear anything?" you ask.
• "Not much," he says. "Only, they started talking about trade, and about Ahgram's Dependence on Khal."
• And how it was a weakness," he says. "And anyone could talk about... know that... But their tone of voice sounded almost..."
• "Almost like they were enjoying that," he says. "Like it was a good thing."

Quest Completion

Mina looks thoughtful and says, "This does not sit well with me. I do not trust Zhila, and i think Ahgram is in grave danger with her sitting beside our sultan. You say the man had a jackal tattoo? I wonder..."

Mina Shakes her head and says, "What the pair in the byway said is true. There is less and less trade going overland because of the almost constant raids conducted by bandits on our caravans. Watertrade is all that can be relied on anymore, and so Ahgram's dependency on the river that streams through Khal grows every day. If the few caravan lines still making it were stopped... Ahgram would be completely dependent on Khal."

"I cannot help but think of that tattoo again..."

Parleys

Guard Malkade

Name: Guard Malkade Level: 5 Station: Soldier Title: Visitors in the Night? Conversation: Gossip Presence Needed: 1 Cards Played:

Beggar Kal

Name: Beggar Kal Level: 5 Station: Outsider Title: Hear or See Anything? Conversation: Gossip Presence Needed: 1 Cards Played: