You tell Aehwic 'Greetings Aehwic.'
Aehwic tells you 'Unseen one.'
You tell Aehwic 'Only me.  No worries.'
Aehwic tells you 'Ah. You are of the Refuge, then?'
You tell Aehwic 'I am.  By the way, I might have set a deadfall near the path to your Fortress.  I did not remember where I was and if it hits you, it is not my intention.'
Aehwic tells you 'Good of you to share.'
Aehwic tells you 'You should know - Tebor has strained the relationship between the Sentinels and the Fortress.'
Aehwic tells you 'You might consider avoiding setting traps in the Redhorn - it could inflame things.'
You tell Aehwic 'I am sure he has.  I am sure I have not made it any better because I have helped them at times.'
You tell Aehwic 'Aye, that's why I let you know.  I was actually looking for you to speak to you in person and forgot where I had stopped to rest.  Your mountains are... comfortable.'
You tell Aehwic 'What is there not to be fond of?'
You tell Aehwic 'I am sorry that Tebor and the Reavers and even myself have caused a rift, although we are not working towards the same goals, the Fortress and the Tree.'
Aehwic tells you 'I would not assume so much'
Aehwic tells you 'I am a student of Lord Ergush, he who Tebor claims falsely to know intimately.'
You tell Aehwic 'I have not found the spirit in some time.'
Aehwic tells you 'I serve the Storm's Light and Lightnings. The shadow will prevent any man or woman or beast from living a life free of slavery'
Aehwic tells you 'The shadow, evil intent, breaks nature's laws. Killing for pleasure instead of sustenance.'
Aehwic tells you 'These ways are all wrong and perverted.'
Aehwic tells you 'Hence why the Storm led me to the Fortress.'
You tell Aehwic 'Really, there are few Reavers at the moment.  And Tebor, if you consider him almost so.'
Aehwic tells you 'And even the Sentinel's branch feels the taint of the Reaver's..disease.'
Aehwic tells you 'Yes, but alas...the branch exists.'
You tell Aehwic 'Unfortunately, there are even fewer Wardens.'
You tell Aehwic 'The branch has to exist.'
You tell Aehwic 'As does the Wardens and the Sentinels.  They each hold a purpose.'
Aehwic tells you 'I do believe you believe that, and I do not seek to dissuade you of that notion'
You tell Aehwic 'Light and dark are within us all.  You as one of the Maran who I understand walk a path that is perilously close to the darkness itself understand that, I believe.'
Aehwic tells you 'But hear the wisdom in my words when I say, should the Refuge but take a step back you would see that our paths parallel one another, for a long ways..'
Aehwic tells you 'Instinct, and choice, are within us all.'
Aehwic tells you 'The Light and the shadow might draw upon the latent instincts, strengthen them. But choice is what makes a man or woman truly evil.'
You tell Aehwic 'That I agree with entirely.'
Aehwic tells you 'That is why Tebor will be destroyed, in time.'
Aehwic tells you 'I have seen it in the Ice - he has fallen away from nature's laws, gone rabid like a wolf killing for pleasure instead of the meat, or his pack.'
Aehwic tells you 'His choices mark him.'
Aehwic tells you 'And have jaded a generation of my Squires and Scribes agains Thar-Eris.'
Aehwic tells you 'Which saddens me.'
Aehwic tells you 'Perhaps if you had come to me when I was a young man, you'd find me, too, less jaded by Tebor the rabid.'
Aehwic tells you 'But now I find I cannot discuss even my own religion without needing to defend it from his ignorance.'
You tell Aehwic 'It saddens me as well.  It saddens me when I see squires come to the Tree and attack Reavers and then wonder why they fall or are helped against them.  Life is not worth the wanton destruction that it seems to bring.'
You tell Aehwic 'I can assure you, friend, I am trying to be different in my faith.  I am but learning, still on the first task of Ergush.'
You tell Aehwic 'Although that is somewhat because I cannot find him since I first spoke with him.'
Aehwic tells you 'The first is the most important...I will guide you as I am able.'
Aehwic tells you 'He slumbers deeply in his ancient copse.'
Aehwic tells you 'The first is what teaches us that the rabbit holds no anger in his heart for the wolf - he knows it is but the way. He feels no guilt that the flower he ate will not spring life from its seeds.'
Aehwic tells you 'It is what taught me, in my youth, to understand the Barbarians who hate magic, without resenting them fo rit.'
Aehwic tells you 'The wolf does not consider the pain of the rabbit - and most importantly - does not revel in it or seek to cause that pain.'
Aehwic tells you 'It is not evil for taking a life.'
Aehwic tells you 'For causing pain and suffering is not its intent.'
You tell Aehwic 'All of these things I understand.  Even when the wolf may be me getting eaten by a bigger predator.'
Aehwic tells you 'Pardon.'
You tell Aehwic 'No worries.'
You tell Aehwic 'You have given me some to think about it.'
Aehwic tells you 'Age has made me more likely to nap, time to time.'
Aehwic tells you 'I miss talking of these things..'
Aehwic tells you 'Tebor puts such a strong feeling of...wrongness...in the pit of my stomach I can't bring myself to try to argue or teach him sense.'
You tell Aehwic 'There is a reason he is him and you are you.'
Aehwic tells you 'I truly believe, once Uevre Ergush has touched you more deeply, you will realize how the Reavers do not fit.'
Aehwic tells you 'For natures laws to maintain a true...equilibrium...for the wolf, and the rabbit, and the hare, and the human, to be free to follow their instincts and live and die to serve the next stage..
Aehwic tells you 'Any selfish drive, any intent that we call evil - the desire to cause pain, destroy for the sake of destruction, not as the Storm destroys...
Aehwic tells you 'Breaks that perfect vision.'
Aehwic tells you 'I believe the Storm will aid Thar-Eris in the destruction required.'
Aehwic tells you 'But even nature's beasts find shelter and succor from the Storm in Her hidey holes and caves, caverns and hollows.'
Aehwic tells you 'So to do humans have a place, living as part of, not apart from.'
Aehwic tells you 'And I believe the Fortress is one of those hollows.'
Aehwic tells you 'Where we, too, fight against those who seek only to prevent others from living a free life.'
You tell Aehwic 'That, friend, is a place where I will disagree.'
Aehwic tells you 'We do not harm the land...yes, we built from stone, and that may be a sin.'
Aehwic tells you 'But our impact is small, and the fight we wage against the perverse is big.
Aehwic tells you 'The impact on the Redhorn mountains, if anything, has been positive. We're constantly keeping that mine to the southeast from expanding.'
Aehwic tells you 'I personally ensure the pines do not want for fire - their cones may burn and spread seeds, and in my century here I have planted slopes upon slopes in the rich, charred soils.'
You tell Aehwic 'Those stones remove that place from nature's touch.  Perhaps yes, you are making the mines less, but it is still a place that is not natural to Thar-Eris.'
You tell Aehwic 'And while you might push for freedom, you are, in my thoughts, looking at freedom from one side of the coin.'
Aehwic tells you 'I see something in the Ice.'
Aehwic tells you 'Thar-Eris does not only destroy, to shape the future.'
Aehwic tells you 'What if the Fortress is the bastion of those who might learn to live a different way, when the threats of the Empire and Spire are gone?'
You tell Aehwic 'If you are free to choose to be good and do good, then why are not free to choose to be evil and do evil?  I understand how wanton destruction is abhorrent, but it is still a choice one should be free to live.'
Aehwic tells you 'Name me a single beast, not perverted by man's domestication, or magic or some dark god's will, that slaughters another animal for sport and pleasure.'
Aehwic tells you 'That is why evil must not be allowed to choose to do evil. For evil is not done in a vaccuum.'
Aehwic tells you 'It ripples out and destroys the cycle. '
You tell Aehwic 'Ah, but see, here is where we get into a fun little debate.'
You tell Aehwic 'What is evil?'
Aehwic tells you 'That is easy.'
Aehwic tells you 'It is the second lesson of Ergush.'
Aehwic tells you 'It is choice, it is action.'
Aehwic tells you 'It is the motivation for the choice you have made, understanding the consequences and that they will affect another life.'
Aehwic tells you 'It is why a young duergar feels proud that he killed the merchant, for his Imperial cronies praise wealth, and now his purse is heavier'
Aehwic tells you 'He is proud of that action.'
Aehwic tells you 'This is where evil reveals itself, in the second lesson.'
Aehwic tells you 'A creature might have an instinct for violence.'
Aehwic tells you 'It is necessary for survival, to eat.'
You tell Aehwic 'Yet the jackal cannot be proud of the kill he made, enjoy the blood rush into its mouth when it bites its jaws down on its prey, not enjoy the taste of the flesh?'
Aehwic tells you 'But when one has the wherewithal to consider his actions, and their affect, that is where evil is born.'
Aehwic tells you 'No he cannot be proud of it'
Aehwic tells you 'No animal is proud of its accomplishments, for pride is how you feel others see you'
Aehwic tells you 'You are proud of your behavior as a Sentinel because other Sentinels have created a culture of proper behavior.'
Aehwic tells you 'Animals do not feel pride.'
Aehwic tells you 'They feel a need met.'
Aehwic tells you 'This is the second part of Uevre Ergush's way.'
Aehwic tells you 'Instinct is the first. It is part of your spirit.'
Aehwic tells you 'Action is the second. Acting in a way that makes others proud of you, and thus you proud of yourself.'
Aehwic tells you 'These are our Lord's words, to your ear.'
You tell Aehwic 'So a wolf cannot be proud?'
You tell Aehwic 'From your words, a animal cannot feel pride, yes?'
Aehwic tells you 'A wolf cannot be proud.'
Aehwic tells you 'Pride comes from doing something admirable.'
Aehwic tells you 'Being admired.'
You tell Aehwic 'Yet a wolf cannot act in a way, such as helping provide food for the pack, that makes the pack proud of the wolf so that the wolf is then, as you said, proud of itself?'
Aehwic tells you 'The wolf does not think "look how swiftly I just slew that fawn, how impressed they will be with me!"'
You tell Aehwic 'Which then causes the wolf to be... "proud".'
Aehwic tells you 'The wolf thinks of the meat, and the need, and the pups it is providing for.'
Aehwic tells you 'Satisfaction and pride are very different. Pride requires others to judge you.'
Aehwic tells you 'Animals do not think as we do'
Aehwic tells you 'I am a selfish creature. You are too.'
Aehwic tells you 'Our entire ways of thinking surround the idea that we are thinking, considering how our actions fit into what we have learned of the world.'
You tell Aehwic 'Judging is a form of order, in my mind.  Putting a title to something, a classification, which then places a constraint upon the person.'
You tell Aehwic 'It takes away freedom.'
Aehwic tells you 'You need to remember the first lesson: the wolf, hare, and grass are not thinking and considering how the world sees them.'
Aehwic tells you 'Your entire way of thinking, of seeing the world, is different than any animal.'
Aehwic tells you 'And this is the second lesson: taking action on your instincts that you can be proud of - that others you value the opinions of would admire and praise.'
Aehwic tells you 'For me, it is easy. I am a conduit of the Light, and my way is often clear.'
You tell Aehwic 'Perhaps.'
Aehwic tells you 'I know it is hard.'
Aehwic tells you 'The thoughts you struggle with now, I promise, are what kept me from a path serving Thar-Eris.'
Aehwic tells you 'Though my spirit is firmly in the Storm's grasp.'
Aehwic tells you 'Just think on my words, and know I am endeavoring to help you to the second lesson, while understanding the first.'
You tell Aehwic 'Oh, I will think on your words.  And I do appreciate them.'
Aehwic tells you 'Were it that you could be proud of a life of teaching the way to live as part of Thar-Eris to those who might be open.'
Aehwic tells you 'That is a future I hope to see'
Aehwic tells you 'I would join you, in tearing down the walls of the Fortress, when our war is at an end.'
Aehwic tells you 'That we need no fortifications is a dream I have.'
Aehwic tells you 'At the very least...you could use a bit of gnomish wile to keep the Reavers focused on the Empire, hmm?'
Aehwic tells you 'Do an old man a favor?'
You tell Aehwic 'What favor is that?'
Aehwic tells you 'Oh, just keeping the Reavers' violence focused upon the wildfire of the Empire and not the candle of a threat the Fortress poses to Thar-Eris.'
You tell Aehwic 'I can do only what I can.  It is hard to try to direct the path of a wildfire.'
Aehwic tells you 'Well, speak for yourself! '
Aehwic tells you 'But analogy aside..
Aehwic tells you 'I don't ask you to excuse the presence of holy knights in our ranks.'
Aehwic tells you 'But even the Villagers do not stalk our gates when no wizards wake.'
Aehwic tells you 'That behavior borders on war...'
Aehwic tells you 'And Tebor is fond of it.'
Aehwic tells you 'The less you are like Tebor, the better you will be for Lord Ergush.'
Aehwic tells you 'I can promise you that.'