You wouldn't get too far from the shop before Dimos catches up to you. He seemed embarrassed, tense even, but stands in front of you with a look of stubborn determination. "I... Please help. My mother won't ask you to because... Because if the guards knew what happened, I'd be arrested too." He looks around and motions you into an alleyway next to his shop. It wasn't very far from the street but it was at least out of the way, and there he'd explain his situation. "Look I... I used to be part of this gang. We were friends since we were kids and we always wanted to join the guard growing up. But things... Things changed, and after a while my friends turned into nothing more than petty thugs. I was still their friend though so I stuck with them until... Until we got paid by a bastard name Erandel. He's the son of some rich noble, hired us to shake down some merchants for some reason. Paid us a lot of money. All we had to do was smash up their shops and leave before the guard found out. I... I helped the gang yeah, because the pay was good. Until I found out we were going to smash up my family's shop too. I told me friends to back off but they didn't and..."

Dimos took a deep breath and tried to calm himself down. All he accomplished though was looking sad and depressed. "My parents are hoping the guards will figure out who did it, but the problem is that the guards are already paid off by Erandel too. They know it's my old gang who's doing this, and as long as they're getting paid they're not really going to look into it too seriously. That's also why they told me to clean up the mess, precisely to get rid of the evidence. My dad... My dad thinks I'm just a regular dock worker, but my mom knows I was friends with bad people. She's giving me the benefit of the doubt but also doesn't want me to get involved any further." Leaning against the wall Dimos just slid down onto the ground with a defeated sigh. "I don't really know what to do. I can't take on those guys on my own. But even if I tell the guards or anyone about Erandel, it's his word against mines, and as far as anyone else knows Erandel has never done anything wrong, guy's basically a scholar, compared to some thug like me."

Pylia looked thoroughly unimpressed with Dimos. More annoyed than angry really, almost as if she doesn't like Dimos himself. Shortfang's face harden to a more serious look. You've seen him look like this in combat, especially against the trogs. That look of righteous anger. Buddy as usual was completely featureless so it was neigh impossible to tell what he was thinking. 

Pylia spoke up first. "Like my friend here said, you should be honest. If you can't trust these guards, we know a guard captain who isn't as corrupt who'll properly investigate these attacks. Of course [i]you[/i] will need to turn yourself in too. You're hands are just as dirty as your friends, and you've ruined businesses just as they've ruined yours." Her voice was cold. Yet there was also a hint of pleading, like Pylia wanted to tell him to not so much do the "right" thing, but the "good" thing.

Shortfang flexed his fingers like a gunman about to do a quickdraw. He was ready for a fight. "We gotta go beat up bad guys. If guards can't help, if we beat up bad guys, they can't hurt no one. We bring em to guards, tell em they did it. Maybe even make em say noble son paid them." Shortfang seemed more focused on dealing with the criminals themselves. He seemed sympathetic to Dimos' plight, and considering some of the things you've heard about the kobolds while in Underhaven, you could imagine that the kobolds after end up in similar situations. Known mostly as thieves and troublemakers, yet there are those among them with a certain noble spirit.

Buddy simply wrote you a note. [b][i]"This is a complex situation. We should see the others who could use our help and weigh which ones is of a higher priority."[/i][/b]