Aubrey:
Aub:
Marc stretches, and looks curiously as he notices Aleph surreptitiously enter the barn where the prisoners are kept.
Raising an eyebrow, Marc glances over his shoulder at the others. He leaves them to their conversations, and casually walks over to the barn himself to see what Aleph is up to,...
Aubrey:
damage
damn. my mods to hit aren't on there. must add that today.
Aubrey:
** spoiler omitted **
ooc]I think the setting of the Adventure Path has a alittle to do with this as well as the group. Any other crawl-type setting and we put 'em to the sword, no question. But in the back of our minds, we will be building something here, and the first steps can set a tone for the rest of the kingdom as it were.[/ooc]
"What the h,...?!? ALEPH! Don't do it!" Marc shouts, raising his own hands which glow with their own magical light.
Marc glances at the prisoners, then back to Aleph. He gives a small smile, relaxing slightly, but his glowing hands still held at the ready.
"Alright Aleph, how about we both just put our hands down, and go outside and talk about this?" Marc says calmly. "I am willing to listen to anything you have to say. But I am not going to let you kill these men. Not like this." He adds.
Meanwhile, his mind is reeling. 'What is going on? What is his problem? And WHY am I trying to SAVE men who were trying, quite admirably, to kill me a little while ago?!?'
marc and aub...
follows Marc outside.
yes, I was going to whack them. the crowd...I saw something from Cheliax in them. It's called the mob...it's only in the developing stages but,....it's an evil power that possesses many men at once. I merely....sought to give it succour so it would go away. with those prisoners....
I tell you now, that THE MOB is infinitely more dangerous than anything else around here. You have to pay it its due, Marc.
I didn't mean to go against you all. I just....didn't think any of you had the heart to do them. And that's a good thing. a good thing.
BUT. I will adhere. It makes no sense, for us to fight it out now. Over their sorry hides.
You guys got the good of me.
Aub and Aleph:
Marc relaxes visibly when Aleph does. He listens to Aleph silently, and remains mute a few moments more, thinking. When he looks up, it is with a debonair half grin.
"Well. Your right about one thing at least. I, personally, do not have the heart to do in those men. Not in cold blood anyway. IN battle,...?" The dandy shrugs with a 'meh'. "My father always said that I did not have the 'killer' instinct. Except for the ladies, of course. I always presumed that he meant in business."
"Aleph. I do not pretend to understand 'the mob'. But I have seen it before, and you are correct, It IS here. At least it wanted to be for a moment. You cannot underestimate it, but neither can you give in to it. To join a mob, or to attempt to placate it, is to surrender yourself. To become less than you are. We have to be better than that. We have a vast plot of unexplored wilderness that we have vowed to tame. That includes the inhabitants as well as the wild beasts. To do that, we have to set the standard. And that means we all must agree on how to proceed. By vote if not unanimously. And we must stick to it."
Marc pauses a moment, then grins amiably. "I like you Aleph. Although we are but recently met. I think you and I are two sides of a coin. I shall make you a deal. I shall listen to any warnings or advice that you care to share with me. In return, I shall do the same for you. We shall be each others Yin and Yang, achieving balance in our lives and becoming more than we were before we met! Not to mention that with the two of us together, the opportunities for mayh,... I mean fun, are almost limitless! What say you?!" MArc asks smiling, extending his arm in friendship.
"Excellent! Now let us rejoin the others. And thank you for not blasting me. I have been pummeled quite enough for one day, thank you!"
Marc heads back towards the others,...
The party march towards the barn the prisoners are held in. Outside stand Marc and Aleph. Something has clearly passed between them from the wary body language, but now is a solemn and dark moment and not the time to pry.
Inside, one of the bandits lies insensible on the ground. Happ and the other one look up, eyes wide. "What is it now? Some more target practice?"
who wants to do the job?
Aleph starts limbering up his fingers
Marc takes a breath, and lets it out slowly.
"It's time. Bring him." He says softly but firmly, pointing to the leader.
"Hasren, would you be so kind as to gather Oleg and whomever he thinks should be included from the village? Perhaps that nice man we just chatted with? But keep it small. This is NOT a show for their entertainment." MArc asks the bard politely.
"Heimoth, You and the others will be the official witnesses." The dandy eyes flick to Aleph, then Thomdril.
"Thomdril, I'll ask you first. Will you perform the execution? It will have to be quick and,... well, quick." He asks the warrior.
'Listen to me! Divvying and delegating. Father would be proud. But Father doesn't have to deal with,... this.'
"Execution?" stammers Happ, "Now wait, you ain't got the authority!"
Thom nods grimly, unconsciously touching the hilt of his great blade. His face is a mask of determination, just a hint of youthful uncertainty peaking through.
Marc just gives the prisoners a small, almost sad, half-smile.
"Actually, we DO have the authority. We have a legal writ and everything. And we DID offer you the chance to surrender. You,... declined." Marc says pleasantly, absent-mindedly rubbing at one of his recent wounds.
Marc faces the leader.
"Your testimony, actions and attitude have proven that you are a willing participant in the robbing and murder of innocents. Since you have chosen to serve evil in life, we have decided that you shall serve good in death. You shall serve as a warning to all that wanton acts of violence and crimes against others shall no longer be tolerated. Take him away."
MArc looks at the two remaining men.
"You two shall also serve as a warning. And as an example of our mercy. Your testimony has shown that while you were willing participants, you have not, yet, descended so far that there is no hope of repentance. When we return from dealing with your former compatriots, You shall be beaten for your crimes. It shall be painful, but not fatal. You will then be given your life, your freedom, and 1 week of rations. You are to leave these lands, never to return upon pain of death. Tell all you meet that law and order have been brought to this land."
Marc leans closer, and speaks softly.
"You are to be given that which your companions were denied in battle. A second chance. I suggest that you take it. Go out and do something with your lives. Be a carriage driver or cook, a barkeep or businessman. But DO something, anything! except return to this way of life. There are ALWAYS options."
Marc takes a breath, and lets it out slowly.
"It's time. Bring him." He says softly but firmly, pointing to the leader.
"Hasren, would you be so kind as to gather Oleg and whomever he thinks should be included from the village? Perhaps that nice man we just chatted with? But keep it small. This is NOT a show for their entertainment." Marc asks the bard politely.
"Heimoth, You and the others will be the official witnesses." The dandy eyes flick to Aleph, then Thomdril.
"Thomdril, I'll ask you first. Will you perform the execution? It will have to be quick and,... well, quick." He asks the warrior.
'Listen to me! Divvying and delegating. Father would be proud. But Father doesn't have to deal with,... this.'
Hasren nods, exits the stable & seeks out Oleg. Upon finding Oleg, Hasren will ask for the name of the man leading the mob & if there is an official leader of the people living outside the trading post. If so, they'll go collect him first. If not, they will head for the leader of the mob. As they travel to as many people as needed, Hasren will ask Oleg to introduce him to the men. After being introduced, Hasren will say the following:
"As a recognized leader of these people, your presence is requested as official witness to the execution of the leader of today's bandit raid. We can leave when you are ready."
I'm not too strong, so if I do it I'll just fire away where he is.
Somebody else needs to do any requisite manhandling.
Heimoth and Marc drag the struggling Happ out of the barn and out of the trading post. A small knot of villagers stands outside, collected by Hasren, by an old tree stump. Thomdril stands nearby, his sword unsheathed. Marc and Heimoth force Happ to his knees.
Marc clears his throat gently. Other than that, if he shows any nervousness or second thoughts regarding what is about to occur, he gives no indication. He holds down the hapless Happ and repeats what he said earlier for the benefit of those gathered.
"Happ. You have been found guilty of thievery and murder against your fellows. Your testimony, attitude and actions have made it clear that you are without remorse. It is the judgment of this jury," He indicates his fellow adventurers. "That you shall be put to death for your crimes. Your death will serve as a warning to your fellows."
He pulls out a small bag he found in the barn.
"Do you have any last words?"
"Devils take you all!" snarls Happ.
For the first time, Marc's superior demeanor cracks slightly. He looks, sad.
"Quite possibly." He whispers in response. Marc then swiftly places the bag over the man's head, and holds him down with Heimoth. He grimly nods to Thomdril,...
Thom nods in response to Marc's words. My spirit is Gorum's either way…
A hush falls when the moment comes. The past day had been a terrible struggle of patience and rage; and those emotions war on his young features.
Two white-knuckled fists grasp the great blade, tip resting on the ground. His anger-consumed eyes close as he drops his head momentarily. Gorum, I've lived my end of the deal this day. Strengthen my hand. Guide your blade.
As his head rises, his emotions have been drained, leaving an oddly calm mask over his features. The fall of the blade is jarringly loud in the still of the scene.
Thom wil finish out the exection with the Gorum-granted emotionless mask, but that evening, as things get quiet, the others will witness him struggling with what was done. Not that he regrets it… indeed, his anger at the world and people like Happ in general dull the emotional sting of the execution, but this is still the first time he's taken a life in this fasion. He's preparing himself for it not to be his last.
Feel free to use any of that you want as you move forward - then again, your story-tellign is part of why i'm so engaged in this thread.
I'm praying for your little dude to come; they sure do change your life.
The deed is done. Happ's decapitated corpse has stopped twitching and the spray of blood lies soaking into the earth. The villagers drift away, some pausing to spit on the corpse, others just looking depressed. Thom leans thoughtfully on his sword before grabbing a fistful of grass to clean off the blade.
Oleg walks over. "It was well done. Clean and swift. That's frontier justice. I know some of you didn't like doing it, preferring to fight a man fair and square. But they didn't deserve it. He was scum and so are the rest. I respect that you want to let 'em go, and if they have any sense they won't come back, not after this."
He pauses, squints up at the rising sun. "You gentlemen have done us a good turn. You can stay here in the trading post when are are back from your explorations." Without any further comment, he walks away.
"Yeah; lettem go now."
to them;
"go.....hunt game. build a cabin maybe, but F&!* WITH MY PEOPLE AND I WILL BE BACK TO BURN YOU WITH ALL OF HELL'S FIRE."
The remaining bandits are given a thrashing and sent on their way. A few villagers assemble to throw dung at the them to give them some impetus, and soon they are gone.
After the execution and the corporal punishment and exile, things calm down a bit. Svetlana walks over to where the party are relaxing before the next stage of their conquest of the Stolen Lands.
"I thank you gentlemen for ridding us of those bandits. I wonder if, as part of your explorations, you could do me a favour? My Oleg's been very het up, what with everything, and I'd like to make him a bowl of his favorite soup. But I don't have the key ingredient, moon radishes. They grow in the woods south of here, but with the bandits it isn't really safe to go there. But since you are going there anyway, if you see some, could you bring them back to me? I'll pay you seventy-five gold if you do." She goes on to describe what they look like.
"Also, have you seen the wanted posters outside? You might want to take a look and see if you can do the village a few more favours - for the right coin, of course."
Wanted: Bandits
Reward: 100 gp.
Wanted: Kobolds
Reward: 200 gp
Wanted: Tatzlwyrm
Reward: 200 gp for a relatively undamaged tatzlwyrm head.
Wanted: Tuskgutter
Reward: Vekkel promises his magical longbow to whoever can kill Tuskgutter. He also promises to share the head cheese he plans to make out of this trophy.
"What the hells is a Tatzlwyrm?"
"Some sorta snake, I guess. Does anyone know if it's poisonous? Otherwise, how dangerous can it be?"
"I wonder what's pissed in the porridge of the kobolds?..."
Marc nods in acceptance of Oleg's speech. He expresses gratitude for the offer of lodging in short sentences that the gruff frontiersman will appreciate.
The dandy "Hm's" thoughtfully over the posters.
" Hm. 'Tuskgutter'. How colorful. Yes, I also wonder what rodent crawled into teh porridge of our neighboring Kobolds. The bandits, I'd say that we're pretty much already planned on taking care of that one." HE grins.
"And What IS a 'tatzlewyrm' anyway?!?"
Quinn looks curiously at the wanted posters, especially at the one depicting the tatzlwyrm.
"The sketch on that poster is wrong. The tatzlwyrm only has two limbs." he says quietly.
My grandfather loved it IRL. He also ate raw onions like an apple.