" Oh? You're a member of the ruling family? And you're permitted to run about the wilds without a small battalion of guards? Brevoy -is- unlike my home. The family of the Padishah Emperor is... well protected.", Estanos remarks to Zinovia before finishing off the last of his pastries. He pushes his plate away from himself, dabs at his mouth with a napkin (if there were none at the table, he brought one himself), and waits for an opportune hole in the conversation to interject.

" Not to spoil the meal by talk of unpleasant things, but we should figure our next move. Goodman Oleg here seems to think that the remainder of the bandits won't bother him, now that we've removed half of their force. Before, I had thought we could map out the Greenbelt in a methodical manner. Do we proceed with that, or do we head directly for this bandits camp? We would have the element of surprise, but I worry that we'll stray too far from our true purpose here if we spend too much time hunting bandits. "


____________

Estanos nods his head at points as Marrin speaks, listening to the crimes the young man had committed. Worse than he had hoped, better than he had feared. It seemed life was held particularly cheap in this barbarian nation.

" You have to remember that you can always 'go back'. Every moment is a fresh chance. Every moment you can make the choice to do the right thing."

He stands, looming over the ex-brigand as he says in his Serious Priesting Voice," You must strive ever afterwards to make that correct choice. Will you? I won't lie; it will not be easy. If you swear that your days of committing such sins are behind you, I will see what I can do. And you must really -mean- it. To lie in this moment would compound your villainy further, and doom not just your life but your immortal soul."