Word Gets Around(Reputation)
Khan could not suppress another sigh coming from his mouth as the paladin gazed at the blue, cloudless skies, the sun only partially obscured by the mountain range on the horizon in the first few moments of dawn. Normally a beautiful thing for the group, but fairly normal to see, what with their strange traveling hours. This one however, was definitely appreciated more than normal. It was their first morning above ground since leaving the Underdark; camped about an hour's walk from Athkatla, Khan had risen early enough to see the sunrise, reveling in the beauty that was so nonexistent in the Underdark; the relief of abandoning their dark disguises and finally seeing some peace and quiet from the constant treachery.
No, the Underdark had not been a pleasant journey; the experience in the drow city would have been bad enough, but adding to that was their experiences in a city of Kua-Toa fish men, a hive of beholders, and a city of illithid. Truth be told, it would not have been survivable without the aid of his taint. The Slayer had proven a necessary evil in getting out of several tough situations; he had made the change three times down there; not something he was necessarily proud of, but death had been the alternative. He sighed, clearing his head of such dark thoughts. It was going to be a good day, and he would not ruin it with such depressing memories. Imoen had been returned, they were returning to Athkatla for a time, where it was no small exaggeration to say that most if not all of the populace loved him and the others.
Sure, it may have sounded prideful, but what with stopping the skinner murders, ending the slavery at the Coronet, destroying a beholder cult... word got around. He joined the others as they were waking, the group as a whole traversing the last few miles to Athkatla quickly. Khan smiled as he passed through the entrance archway, nodding to the gate guard... what was his name? Oh yes... Rithlien. "Good to see you, Rithlien; how's the family?" he tossed to the man with a smile.
"Er... fine. Just fine sir... move along now."
Khan frowned as the man refused to meet his eye contact, quickly turning to his fellow guards with hushed whispers. Still, he shrugged it off and after a quick discussion with the others, they headed for the Promenade, hoping to sell some of their excess gear they had scavenged before settling in at the Coronet. Their trek through the city was swift; they were at the sellers and buyers in the Promenade quickly. The group split up, doing what they could with their bartering skills so things would go quicker. Khan had always prided himself on his own particular skills at said bartering; his charisma as a paladin made buying and selling quite profitable for the group.
Eyeing a merchant he had spoken with previously, he put on a broad grin and strode over to the man, his shadow falling over the merchant. The man looked up and flinched at the sight of Khan. "O-oh! I... er, I didn' expect to see you here again, me Lord. Ye haven't been around for a while."
"Can't keep a good adventurer down and all that." he chuckled, hefting the bag of equipment up onto the counter with some effort. "Just thought I'd get rid of some excess gear; I'm sure you're interested, right?"
"Um... well, I suppose so." the merchant said cautiously, peeking into the sack. "I don't... well; I guess I can buy a few things from you. Not too many, though... I would nay want- er, never mind."
"Hmm?" Khan frowned. This was the second person he had met inside the city so far who seemed to be walking on eggshells around him; it couldn't be coincidence, could it? "Is something wrong?"
"Er, no! Nothing at all, why would you think that?" the merchant said hurriedly, almost shrinking away from the Bhaalspawn paladin.
"Because everyone seems like they're afraid of me." he frowned. "Why?"
"Well... it could... maybe... might possibly be because-you-turned-into-a-giant-demon-three-times!" his last sentence all ran together as he ducked under his stand, rapidly crawling away as if expecting to be smote at any second for his words.
Khan, for his part, stood there dumbfounded. How the heck did that merchant know about that? They hadn't been above ground for two days, and nobody had been down there that was up here to witness the Slayer changes, except for his party. Turning to a passerby, he laid one hand on the man's shoulder, only for the poor soul to nearly jump out of his skin. "Ahh! Please don't hurt me, demon-changer!"
"I'm not going to hurt you, I just want to ask you a few questions." Khan said in surprise, the man squirming as he tried to run away. "Stop... stop struggling, I just want to ask-"
He slipped out of Khan's grasp and fled, screaming his head off as he ran. Khan turned to get some answers from somebody else: every merchant, civilian, and possible warm body in the immediate vicinity was gone. Khan slapped his face with his hand; it's not like his reputation could have dropped that much! The rest of the party had finished by then and approached, frowning as they saw Khan. "What's wrong?" Imoen asked.
"Somehow, every single person knows what I did in the Underdark. The Slayer changes, I mean. How is that even possible? What, is there some huge portal somewhere where they can see everything I do all the time?"
"Ah, fear not." Keldorn shook his head. "You reputation is still more than benevolent; you would have to do much more than that to lose the approval of your party."
Khan sighed; it had been shaping up into such a fine day too... an idea popped into his head. No, it wasn't very paladin like, but it would be so much fun. Like Keldorn said, his reputation was still fairly high. And Helm knew his party loved to comment on his reputation whenever it changed-
With a swirl of magic, Khan vanished, replaced by the Slayer. A howl echoed through the Promenade as the Slayer ran around, frightened townsfolk scattering in all directions as the demon chased people here and there, screeching and waving its claws though never striking. He listened intently with a smirk as he made his rounds...
"I approve heartily of the path you have taken; that good has been upheld."
"Now I remember why traveling with you was so much fun."