Porton's hand drifts to the small of his back and his body is tensed as he turns abruptly, just as Nulgha draws up to him. When he sees it's the smuggler and hears her first hurried words, he blinks twice, exhales and falls back into his stride as if nothing had happened, "Walk with me.", he grumbles.
After Nulgha says her second piece he speaks low turning his baritone into a rumble, his voice becoming one with the din of the busy avenue to anyone further than a pace or two away, "I did hear. And I would give you what help I can, but I must be careful just yet. Nicastro will have his eyes within the Hall on me... on everything. And beyond that, the Old Alliance has allowed many men to prosper where they were just as likely to die before. And those many - even in Gallow Hall - would heed a summons under the Writ before me, were it to come to that. ... No, no open revolt, yet." he sighs, "I can't blame them, and I won't ask them to wage war on their livelihoods. No... We would have to have something on the Principal before we could win any numbers away from tradition.", he turns north to walk the street known as "the Strip", which ends in the city gates to the Docks. "My hope is that the Maestro will... return ... before any great conflict arises." he snorts, "But truly, I will not pay dues to Nicastro-ruddy-Saloman, and that... when he has no purse from the Hall at the end of the month... that will bring conflict." as the gates come into sight he stops and turns to face Nulgha, "All the Capo had a reminder by courier's hand this morning, reinforcing the finality of your relinquished status, Nulgha. If you are going to continue working in Greyhawk, be very careful with whom you deal. My advice to you, as your Brother of the Guild and Capo, is to leave town. There is no obligation on any Guildsman to bring you in unless you try to thieve, so just cut your losses. And while Nicastro can't allocate Guild resources to hunting you down for your words last night, he is a privately wealthy man too, and from what I've heard you had flames shooting from his ears he was so hot..." there is no emotion in his face or in his words. His eyes narrow and he draws a slow breath through his nose as he judges the weight of his words on the half-orcish woman.
