There and Back Again, an Assassin's Tale of Vengeance - Scene VI - Gathering Storm

A slender elven lady stood in front of nearly two hundred slaves.  Laying behind her were the task masters' corpses.  The snowy skinned Gwenyth Merteuil stood to her left, holding a metal coffer with three lines scratched in the bottom.  On her right was Suleth Aeshnai, who somehow managed to look more intimidating by the wound on his right shoulder, and the way he undauntedly held a thinbladed sword in his offhand.1

But before the lady stood a large crowd of slaves.  They stared at the three elves in fearful awe because even the lowest slaves of Rinmar had not heard that the entire militia was searching for them, complete with large search patterns, wanted posters and even blocking off major roads and temporarily cancelling the noonmarket.   The tension was almost tangeable as they tried to guess if they too were to be murdered or perhaps merely stolen.2

She finally stepped forward to adress them.  "Let me get right to the point.  The name is Lillian Lithis, and despite what lies Shaden has been feeding the government, I am the Queen of Thieves.  I've come back to Rinmar - my homeland - to officially reclaim the criminal empire that Syle Shaden had thought belonged to him.  Damned thing is, I don't like slavery.  So that means you're all free."   3

There was a moment of silence as the former slaves took in what she had said.  Shaden had come gone way to far, their plans had been delayed a full two weeks so far.  But then, for every action there is an equal opposing reaction, and that is precisely what she was going to give him.  He sicked the militia on her and so now it was time to raise her own army - except unlike Shaden, she knew exactly where her enemy was hidden.4

She gestured to Gwenyth, who opened up the coffer and held it high for them all to see the money that had previously been the slaver's take.  "I know how hard it can be to start an honest life when you've not got a copper to you're name though, and that is why I'm prepared to off you all a deal.  This was Syle Shaden's money.  He made this gold by selling you're labor.  By trading your kin away like pack animals.  He made this money by whoring you out to any low life who would pay a decent sum." 5

She paused a moment, letting their minds realize the truth in her words.  "But now, this money is to be paid equally to any and all who will come with me to take their vengeance upon Shaden and those loyal to him."  There was now doubt in any of their minds that she was offering to pay them to help her fight against their captors.  But the idea went over quite well.  There was not a single one among the now emancipated slaves who had not longed to give their former masters a healthy dose of what they had coming to them.   6

And in the rush of being free, the idea of being made at least momentarily rich by having the vengeance they wanted seemed too good to be true.  They felt invincible as they all enthusiastically shouted their consent.  Mob mentality convinced the few who otherwise might have been skeptic.  The keys were already being passed around and slaves were already being un-bound.  Now that they were freed, nothing could stand before them. 7

And the Queen of Thieves smiled to herself.  There were few pleasures quite like inciting a riot.8