<div class="floatright">(https://elliquiy.com/elluiki/images/e/e2/8B39CC2A-1000-4A6D-8442-80198BA60F8F.jpeg)</div><br/>Alisandra accepted the staff with a nod of thanks and a combination of prayer for having her way guided in Celestial along with the actual Guidance spell, taking a deep breath before she began to speak.<br/><br/>"For those who don't know me, my name is Lady Alisandra Starfire."  Her words carried gentle but permeating eloquence.  "Born into the nobility and through association, I've had plenty of time to see people rule each other, both well and poorly.  The same rules of the ownership of slavery extend to governing cities or countries; there are two types of rulers.  When done well, the ruler is seen as kind and benevolent.  Everyone<em>wants</em>them in charge, because they can handle things fairly, they know what they're doing, and it's just not worth it to see what chaos the next person or group will bring if they lose the position."  She shook her head as the smile left her face.  "Then you have the tyrants, those who rule by brutality.  Perhaps they have the strength of arms to win their position through battle, perhaps they were just able to poison their way to the top through treachery.  They treat others as scum beneath them, often because they know, deep down, that they don't deserve what they have.  Too often, they abuse their position with gold, knowing that other corrupt people in positions of power will gladly choose their greed over morality."  If she wasn't going to offer a bribe, she had to cancel out the one that was offered.<br/><br/>She gestured towards the slavers with an upturned palm.  "I find little fault with these men for seeking out slaves, because most slaves are made so for a genuine chance at a better life, and either through the law or their own consent."  Briefly her eyes fixed on them.  "Though I would love to know the name of your employer.  Obviously, though," she gestured to Sondanwe, "someone justly made a slave fleeing their responsibilities was not the case here.  Nor do I recognize the right of a brute to abuse his slaves; a good leader will make his slaves better people just as a good warlord will turn everyone under his command into a better warrior.  A bad warlord won't hold his position of authority for long, failing to command respect and ultimately abandoned."<br/><br/>Another wave of now well-cleaned hands about the crowd.  "To suggest that she should meekly go back with them when she should never have been a slave to begin with is the height of foolishness, just as to say that she should not be allowed to defend herself.  I have absolutely zero belief that she would have been left entirely to her own devices were she to leave them be."  One hand gestured to the orcs, another to the hobgoblins.  "The situation clearly didn't have the civility and understanding that your groups have."  Some might say such things in sarcasm or mockery, but her tone was completely honest and truthful; that they didn't come to blows showed more of a level of society than existed in many places.<br/><br/>"My recommendation is to let the matter rest.  Having her punished and imprisoned isn't something that she, the employer, or the slavers would want, the slavers not only because it'd speak poorly on their ability to have their quarry brought back alive but because they wouldn't want to explain to others that they had to be rescued from near death by the townsfolk.  Better to let them leave peacefully and seek out a slave who actually deserves the title," her eyes turned back to the slavers, "especially since they now know she's no longer alone."<br/><br/><div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">OOC: Persuasion 24</div><div class="spoiler_body">18+1+5</div></div>