begintalkscript;
variables;
short choice,i;

begintalknode 1;
	state = -1;
	nextstate = 1;
	question = "Miller";
	text1 = "The serving girl came and cleared the plates away. The red haired man remained silent this whole time, content to leave me to my thoughts and my meal. He probably could tell what bad shape I was in--  he'd have had to be blind not to.";
	text2 = "I spoke first, since he wasn't willing to intrude.";

begintalknode 2;
	state = 1;
	nextstate = 2;
	question = "What was going on back there?";
	text1 = "_A rescue attempt. They drove a cart right up to the gallows, got their man, and rode off. Almost trampled you in the process._";
	text2 = "_Those blue armored men organized it, although if I'm not deceived I still saw Durant standing at the gallows after the cart rode away. Doesn't make a bit of sense._";

begintalknode 3;
	state = 2;
	nextstate = 3;
	question = "Thanks for saving me.";
	text1 = "_It's no problem. I don't suppose I can take much of the credit anyhow. I got there too late-- it was pure luck, and a timely fireball, that saved you._";

begintalknode 4;
	state = 3;
	nextstate = 4;
	question = "Well thanks anyway. I hardly even know you, though.";
	text1 = "_The name's Ethan. I'm a traveling merchant-- although I've been cutting back on the traveling of late because of the danger. I guess that just makes me a plain old shopkeeper._ He chuckled.";
	text2 = "_I miss the road, though. I miss the days when I could escape to the wilderness, the days spent traveling without seeing a single soul._";

begintalknode 5;
	state = 4;
	nextstate = 5;
	question = "So you don't like Cigosal?";
	text1 = "_A city is a city, Adrianna. There will be evil no matter where you go. It's just the way of things._";
	text2 = "_Sometimes though, like on the first Saturdays, I tire of this city. There are places where neighbors speak to each other. Where distrust doesn't keep people from greeting the people they see in the streets._";
	text3 = "_There are places where men do not cheer for each other's blood, and sometimes I wonder why I am here instead of one of those places._";

begintalknode 6;
	state = 5;
	nextstate = 6;
	question = "So why do you go to the executions if you dislike them so much?";
	text1 = "_I have asked myself the same question many a time, and always I reach the same conclusion: because it will happen regardless of whether I go._";
	text2 = "_I may not support Lord Gromwell, but he represents this city and everyone in it, including myself. His decisions are my decisions, and when he sentences a man to die so too do I._";
	text3 = "_ So I go to the gallows every first Saturday to watch them, and I try to understand who they are. To learn their past, their crimes, and their stories. It is not easy, this information is not often made public, but I do my best._";
	text4 = "_I owe it to them to not ignore that this is happening. It is the least I can do._";

begintalknode 7;
	state = 6;
	nextstate = 7;
	question = "Wait-- so you know about every single one of the prisoners today?";
	text1 = "_Yes. I already told you about Durant, but every fool in the city knows his story. But what about the man on his left, who knows about him? I do-- he was accused of having an affair with an aristocrat's wife, and lost his life for a man's pride._";
	text2 = "_Or the woman on the right? She was a servant accused of steeling from Lord Gromwell's estate. Oddly enough, though, she was also one of his mistresses. What a convenient way to dispose of her when the Lady began to grow suspicious._";
	text3 = "_Or the man on the opposite side? He was sentenced to death for attacking one of Lord Gromwell's officers after he found out he had assaulted his wife. But nobody knows about that._";
	text4 = "_They don't know about the non celebrities. Nobody knows why they're killing them. They jeer just the same, but they don't know why._";

begintalknode 8;
	state = 7;
	nextstate = 8;
	question = "What about the last man? The one who escaped.";
	text1 = "_He was a writer who criticized Gromwell before he came to power. He warned of his tyranny and urged the people to elect a new governor, but went unheeded. Even after the coup he remained outspoken against Gromwell, right up until his arrest._";
	text2 = "_He was arrested on charges of inciting a riot, but was released due to insufficient evidence. Two days later he was arrested again, this time on trumped charges of illegal wizardry. He was convicted and sentenced to death._"; 

begintalknode 9;
	state = 8;
	nextstate = 9;
	question = "I don't understand, none of them really did anything. Where are the thieves and murderers?";
	text1 = "_Roaming the streets, mostly. The courts don't waste their time with them, they know that if they're to rid the city of men desperate enough to kill and steal they'll have to do more than haul people off to jail._";
	text2 = "_Men are given to do evil, yes, but these are often crimes of necessity, not malice. A good man will steal as soon as an evil man when he must feed his family. And neither will consider whether he might end up at the gallows. He does what he must._";
	text3 = "_They do not threaten order, so they are left to harass the rest of the populace. But if you talk about changing things for the better-- so that nobody needs to steal to live-- your neck will certainly wind up in a noose._";
	text4 = "_It's the way things are around here. It's why Gromwell is still in power and why we haven't had an election in recent memory._";

begintalknode 10;
	state = 9;
	nextstate = 10;
	question = "So what happens now-- to the four who were left?";
	text1 = "_Once order is restored they will waste no time in executing them. If they are still alive right now I would be shocked._";

begintalknode 11;
	state = 10;
	nextstate = 11;
	question = "So you missed the execution this time.";
	text1 = "_Yes... I suppose I did. But there were more important things to be done, you were in no condition to watch an execution, and I couldn't leave you there._";
	text2 = "_What brought you there anyway? You don't seem like the type for a scene like that. You wear a priestess's robes-- where are you from and what brings you to Cigosal?_";

begintalknode 12;
	state = 11;
	nextstate = 12;
	question = "I'm an acolyte of the Order of Compassion... And I'm not really sure why I'm here.";
	text1 = "_Order of Compassion, eh? Funny place to meet you, considering._ He chuckled, but it wasn't a mean laugh.";
	text2 = "_I like the sound of that, though. Sounds... appropriate. I'm surprised I've never heard of it, where is it located?_";

begintalknode 13;
	state = 12;
	nextstate = 13;
	question = "Don't bother looking for it. It burned to the ground last night.";
	text1 = "I found myself spilling the whole story. From my first days at the Chapel right up to the fire, and everything in between. All the work I watched the Order do, my lessons, the things Father Kay used to teach me-- it all came tumbling out.";
	text2 = "It felt like a great weight lifted from my shoulders. It left me drained, but relieved. Ethan nodded slowly. I could see that things were falling into place in his mind, he was beginning to make sense of the wreck across from him.";
	text3 = "I'm sorry to hear that... Sorry to hear something happened to a place like that._";

begintalknode 14;
	state = 13;
	nextstate = -1;
	question = "Don't be-- it didn't work anyways. They're all dead now, and they didn't make a bit of difference.";
	text1 = "_Perhaps not. But charity is a slow growing seed, and it takes a long while to reap the benefits of work like that. One day perhaps..._";
	text2 = "_Or maybe you're right, and it was all in vain. You knew them better than I, certainly. But doing what is right and falling short is better than doing what is wrong and succeeding. Keep that in mind._";
	text3 = "He stood from the table abruptly. I looked up questioningly.";
	code =
	erase_char(33);
	activate_hidden_group(1);
	set_name(7,"Ethan");
	set_flag(29,0,1);
	end();
break;