begintalkscript;
variables;
short choice,i;

begintalknode 1;
	state = -1;
	nextstate = 1;
	question = "Merchant";
	text1 = "_Here to see the spectacle?_ Although there was a constant buzz of voices in the courtyard, I somehow picked out this one and knew that it was directed at me.";
	text2 = "I turned to find the speaker, a middled-aged man standing next to me in the crowd. His only hair was a thick brown mustache, for his head was shaved completely bald and judging by his even tan it had been for some time.";
	text3 = "He was a large, broad shouldered man, but I didn't feel threatened by him. He seemed friendly, and perhaps he'd prove helpful as well.";

begintalknode 2;
	state = 1;
	nextstate = 2;
	question = "I guess so-- what exactly are we all standing here for again?";
	text1 = "_Why, it's the first Saturday milady, and everyone's here for the same reason they come every other first Saturday. And I'm here.... well I'm not really sure why I come here anymore. It's the least I can do, I guess._";

begintalknode 3;
	state = 2;
	nextstate = -1;
	question = "I'm afraid I don't follow.";
	text1 = "_Oh, I'm sorry, are you not from the city? Well you chose an-- interesting-- time to visit._";
	text2 = "_It's Execution Saturday, you see, the one day of the month that brings our fair city together. When estranged neighbors stand side by side and lift their voices, when the debtor and the loan shark can put aside their affairs to cheer together._";
	text3 = "_A day that brings out the best in all of us.... Oh but you'll see for yourself._ My eyes followed his pointing finger towards the doors of the large stone building to the north.";
	code =
	set_flag(28,2,2);
	end();
break;

begintalknode 4;
	state = -1;
	nextstate = 3;
	question = "Merchant2";
	text1 = "_I asked if you were alright, you looked rather pale. This kind of stuff isn't for everyone you know, I'd be more than willing to clear a way out for you if you want to leave._";

begintalknode 5;
	state = 3;
	nextstate = 4;
	question = "No, I'm fine. Who are these men anyhow, bandits?";
	text1 = "_Bandits? Lass, if Gromwell were half as hard on bandits as he is on authors, the countryside would be safe to walk at night-- during the day too for that matter._";
	text2 = "_No, you won't find any bandits at these gallows. Writers, dissenters, wizards, debtors-- they're who fill the prisons._ Disappointing.";

begintalknode 6;
	state = 4;
	nextstate = -1;
	question = "What's everyone hollering about?";
	text1 = "_They're jeering, child, because that's what you do at an execution. This Saturday, though, they came out to jeer at one man in particular._ He pointed to the man at the center gibbet. He was a hard faced man, who stared back at the crowd defiantly."; 
	text2 = "_Have you heard of Cedric Durant? The Cascadaca killing spree? He was an assassin, responsible for a string of murders in the capital-- mostly government officials and aristocrats._";
	text3 = "_He is to be executed today, after six years rotting in the Hangman's Tower._ He indicated the massive tower I'd noticed rising above the stone building to the north. _Probably the only one who deserves it-- depending on who you talk to._";
	text4 = "I watched with grim fascination as the guard lowered a black hood over the assassin's thin face, hiding his wrathful eyes. Without them he was much less imposing.";
	text5 = "He was a thin man, weakened by malnutrition and years in a prison cell. He wore a blue uniform with a strange flag emblem on the breast, which the years had reduced to little more than rags. Pathetic almost.";
	code =
	set_flag(28,2,4);
	end();
break;