(Pregame-??) Work is never over

[L'Orr-hui]

''Good'' they affirmed ''Such business as your should not be delayed.''

Behind them Ratswell, holding a pen in his paws, squeeked

''Ah yes'' the illithid answered ''My familiar pointed out that you do not seem to bear the trappings of a faction. Is that the case?''

[Fyne]

"Well, I'm trying to learn about all of them. I'm new here. Wouldn't want to make a decision that I regret," he says with a shrug. "So I kind of want to see if I can work with a few folks from different groups. See where I can blend in the best."

[L'Orr-hui]

''I understand well and respect the sentiment. As a factotum of the Free League I can answer some questions you might have about us, should you have any.''

[Fyne]

"So... from what I've seen, you all are basically merchants that don't like to hang out unless you're doing or talking business?" he asks, having a pretty unrefined image of the Free League.

[L'Orr-hui]

There was a sound, a deep vibration...a repeated deep modulation. It was a laugh, or something like it.

''Woefully inadequate description'' they commented ''Many of us are merchant or people with trades but that is not what we stand for. We argue for freedom and oppose those who would rob the people of it. We have many different interpretation of what freedom is or means but that is a part of the nature of the ideal we uphold.''

[Fyne]

"Freedom is great and all. But the meaning of it is different from society to society. How much do Free League members agree on what freedom is? Or are they free to define it how they want?" he asks, actually curious about the answer.

[L'Orr-hui]

''Freedom is different from society to society?'' they challenged ''Not true, friend, not true. What it means to be free will change from person to person, from context to context, but freedom always is the same thing.''

''Freedom is the air you need to breathe, the space you need to danse and the time you need to think. Freedom is not a single thing but is what allows other things to take shape or change. It is it's form that morphs, not it's essence.''

[Fyne]

"But societies limit the actions an individual is allowed to take without repercussions. Without society, freedom includes freedom to cause harm. And societies decide what constitutes harm in a society. They limit actions based on that decision. A group of people that decides what you can't do is deciding what freedoms you have in the negative."

[L'Orr-hui]

''Does freedom truly imply the freedom to do harm? Tyrants do harm but used the mechanism of society to do so. You oppose the Spider Queen, yes? Would you say drow society protects it's inhabitant from harm?''

He paused

''Of course not. The mistake you make is associating freedom to chaos, the absence of laws or rule, which is not true. To claim your ability to enslave, kill or steal is an abuse of freedom. Tyranny is just that: the abuse of one's freedom to deny it to others. It is greed exemplified. A just society, however, protect the freedom of it's citizens...it is a society where freedom is recognized as communal.''

[Fyne]

"Abuse of ones freedom is still ones freedom though. It's harmful to others, but for the person exercising greed it's still their freedom to make that choice. It's freedom from repercussions or consequences that lead to greed and tyranny and the infringement of others' freedoms. Saying that being evil and harming others isn't freedom is like trying to have your cake and eat it too. And just to be clear, I don't condone such things, but by definition freedom is just being able to do as you wish without restraint. That's why I say societies define freedom. Because each one claims they are free, but it's not always necessarily in equity. The tyrant loves having the freedom to do whatever they want, and gives that freedom to their agents, just like Menzoberranzan or Ched Nasad, but they don't care about the harms. From their perspective it's freedom because it doesn't place any real societal restraints."

It's clear from his calm and thoughtful demeanor he's speaking from a place of discussion and not that he's claiming he should be able to do what he wants without repercussions.