Despite the majority of his companions being in disagreement, Tirion continues to try to set forth his position:
I think you misunderstand me. If we have the phylactery with us, then he will simply seek to take it, whether it is in one lead box or ten. But, if it is here and under the protection of a church dedicated to law, then we can use as a threat that if he does not withdraw his troops we will order it destroyed. More importantly, we will direct the church that if we do not return within 30 days, that they are to destroy the evil item. Thus, he will have but two choices. Attack Brindol full force and hope that he wins before the church of Iomedae destroys the phylactery. Or withdraw his support of the Wyrmlords, which seems to have been coerced in the first place. We can pledge to not destroy the phylactery as long as he remains in his crypt and does not attack the people of the Vale. I believe the southern term for this would be détente.
"Can I trust that you have more than pretty music and sweet tea to protect them should agents of the Hand seek to wrest them from you?"
The wizard looks at Edvard quizzically and replies, "You need not worry about such things. I assure you, the Red Hand does not like my Elma Chai nor my cookies."
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See, Tirion, I'm 100% in agreement with you. If we have it with us and the Ghostlord knows this, he's going to squish us like so many bugs and take it. I'm not exactly sure how Edvard thinks we're going to be able to keep it safer with *us* carrying it right to the lich, than the church can keep it behind walls and with armies to protect it. That's why I suggested it in the first place!!
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And I'm willing to change my vote back to My Idea if there is actually anyone else--and I see there is--who will entertain it.
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But if we can't agree on that and we end up bringing it, then I want to be ready to maximize our chances.
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I suggest that Edvard, you argue with Tirion here about the phylactery. Maybe one of you can convince the other, since I wasn't able to do it.
Tirion looks at Bofus and shakes his head. You only make one assumption in your recitation. I doubt that he will squish us like bugs. After all, we have caused several fairly large dragons to have REALLY bad days. There is no reason we cannot do the same thing to this lich. However, I would prefer to avoid having to take the risk. Every time that we go into combat, there is a chance that some mindless skeleton with a greataxe will land a luck blow. I would really like to not have this chance come to fruition.
The paladin listens to both Tirion and Edvard make their arguments.
"You only make one assumption in your recitation. I doubt that he will squish us like bugs. After all, we have caused several fairly large dragons to have REALLY bad days."
"I am a paladin of the Inheritor and I will fight to the death until I have slain the evil that threatens this land, but I am not bold enough to think that I could slay a lich and his army of undead without a legion of archons at my back! Such an act would be foolhardy! I have great respect for you, Tirion and Bofus. You are both exceptional in all that you do. Furthermore, I am honored to have fought at your side these last several weeks. However, I still find myself agreeing with Edvard in this matter."
"The Ghostlord is of a completely different magnitude than the young dragons that we have fought thus far. I mean, even Tirion fell unconscious by simply looking into the aura given off by the phylactery. If I knew how to destroy it, I would feel better about this course of action. However, I do not believe Iomedae would have me sacrifice my own life at a time when the people of the Elsir Vale need our help more than ever! The code of a paladin is strong, but it does not limit me from using common sense. If time was not an issue, and we could plan and research this more, you may be able to persuade me better, but Edvard is right. Within thirty days, the horde will be upon the gates of Brindol and we will have difficulty enough without the Ghostlord's alliance. I hate to think what we will be facing should he remain angry! We simply do not have the time. Perhaps when this whole affair with the dragons and the horde of the Red Hand is over, we can turn our attention to the lich, but for now, would it not be wise to let him return to his slumber?!"
Oi'm not sure wot te think! Oi certainly don't care te leave all these evil things in Brindol an' leave tha people here te keep em' safe, drawin' tha horde an' tha Ghostlord an' every bastard sunnova murderin' wrongdoer here... But if tha Harpwizard thinks he can find out more about tha eyes, Oi'd give him them an' hold off tha horde until e's done! As fer tha necklace, Oi think we REALLY need te figure out HOW to destroy it, so when we need to, or need te bluff, we can. After that, Oi'd say no, Oi don't wanna go up against that sonova lich with me bein' tha only thing standin' between him an' his evil necklace an' the destruction of tha vale--from a totally different source than tha horde we're already tryin' te deal with.
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Bofus narrows his eyes, listening to Edvard's argument and suggestion, and Mantooths' affirmation of the same.
With a long gaze at Edvard . . .I think I understand you better now, Ed. And I ask your pardon if I offended you due to my lack of understanding of your position.
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You certainly present a pretty straightforward approach, but it does sound as if it might work--IF your measure of the Ghostlord is correct. But now that you present it this way, my gut tells me that you may just be right. I mean, he'd been sequestered away for decades, only now coming out because of the Hand . . .
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OK, I'm with you Ed and Mantooth. I say we plan to simply give the Ghostlord his jewelry back, and hope that this will get him out of the immediate picutre. BUT, I *am* going to insist we make a couple of lead boxes and fake phylacteries to bring with us, so we can be prepared--both in our dealings with Lichy Boy and with the Red Hand, because THEY won't necessarily know that we've returned the bauble, savvy??
And, Thordak, I don't think we have time to research how to break this thing permanently--besides, DMWH thinks the answer will be in the Ghostlord's lair, if it can be found at all.
Bofus takes a deep breath, and smiles.
Whadayasay, Thordak? Tirion? You with this crazy straightforward "honest" (here Bofus shivers) plan?? We simply bargain in good faith with a lich to pull out of a war by giving him his soul back?? And, we leave the good Harp Wizard here a pair of eyes for research and safe keeping?
"And, we leave the good Harp Wizard here a pair of eyes for research and safe keeping?"
"I will make no promises as to what I will discover, but the more of these dragon eyes the better. It is the interconnectedness of these gems that intrigues me the most. I want to know what they can do when brought together. How many of them would you be willing to part with?"
We cannot give him his soul back. If Edvard wants to be responsible for it, that is his choice. If we return it, who knows what will be done. We need to keep it so that the threat of if being destroyed can be hung over the lich's head. If he gets it back, why wouldn't he attack us, then the horde and then Brindol just for fun. We have to keep control of the phylactery. I prefer keeping it in a bastion of good dedicated to law - for only the truly lawful will abide by a promise to not destroy the phylactery as long as the lich remains in his crypt and does not interfere with the Vale. But if you all wish to keep it with you, that is your choice, I just think that it is a very bad choice.
The harpwizard watches the discussion unfold and smiles to himself as he watches Edvard come straight to the point and question Tirion.
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Ok, ok, I've had enough of this.
Bofus stomps up to Edvard and levels a tiny finger toward his face (but from waist level)
YOU, sir, are NOT the boss of us!! I and the rest of us respect what you have done, and your valour and assistance. But you can't expect to just dictate what we all decide to do based on a threat of leaving! Do you have any idea how incredibly arrogant you're coming across?? Yes, you've been helpful and I'm certain you'd continue to be--but we were doing pretty well without you, and if you decide to leave us, well, we'll survive and continue to do well. So, knock off your obnoxious threats!!
calming down for a moment with a deep breath . . .
We respect each other. Part of that is discussion--discourse. Talking. Not threats, not ultimatums. If you think your idea is the best, convince us. Don't threaten us. It's VERY bad form.
Now, the way I see it, we could definitley make the plan of 'leave the phylactery in the care of the Iomedae priesthood' work, with some danger but manageable. We could also make the plan of 'bring the phylactery with us and give it back to the Ghostlord' work, but at much more considerable risk to our own skins. What I belive we CANNOT make work is bringing it with us, and thinking we'll leave the Ghostlord's presence with it, and our lives, intact.
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Edvard, I understand your reasoning behind giving it back, and I can get behind it. But I still prefer leaving it here, as it's a FAR stronger bargaining position. What I don't understand is your aversion to the safer plan of leaving it here in the priest's--that's singular, not plural--care. Kindly argue your case specific to that point.
Tirion simply shakes his head:
Edvard, before you go. Tell me, how many times have you formally negotiated with a bear? Or a ruler of a land? Or a military leader? Or a dragon? Or, most importantly, with a lich. Unless I am terribly mistaken, a she bear without its cub is very different than a lich. The she-bear cares about nothing by getting its cub back safely, even if this means risking its own life. The lich on the other hand cares only about its own survival above all else. This survival is directly tied to its phylactery. If it has the phylactery, it is all but immortal. If the phylactery is destroyed, well, then the lich is only as mortal as the next swing of a paladins sword. If we give the phylactery to the lich, then it will not care about bargains. After all, it is practically immortal. It might well go back to stewing in its crypt, but it might also decide to take revenge on those who if views caused it pain. This might be the horde, but it might also be the people of Brindol. After all, this lich is ancient, it might hold grudges against the people of this Vale that nobody living today has any clue about.
As I said, if everyone else wishes to return the only bargaining chip we have to an undead monstrosity which is unlikely to abide by any agreement, then I will accompany you and hope for the best. But, I really think that this is a very poor choice.
"My friends, I do not like seeing us argue as we are. I also do not like the idea of losing Edvard over such a disagreement. I believe he could be of great help to us. We will need to work together if we are to save the Elsir Vale and that may mean working with others who share different points of view. Clearly this is a difficult issue that even I am not feeling good about. I certainly do not like the fact that the Ghostlord has awakened and is raising an army of undead. He has been silent for many years and I hope that somehow we could return him to that state or simply destroy him. If we move forward with the hope to destroy him, obviously the phylactery will need to be destroyed as well. At the present we do not know how to do that, but the gracious harpwizard believes that we will find that information in the tomb itself. For that reason alone, I think that we should bring the phylactery with us in case the way to destroy it is in the tomb itself. However, if we find that destroying the Lich is beyond our means at this time, then perhaps the next best option would be to return the phylactery to him and hope that he goes back to sleep or doing whatever evil liches like to do. I understand that Urikel Zarl was once a druid. Perhaps he would prefer to stay a hermit as so many of them are. The one piece in all of this that does make me wonder is the note from Wymlord Ulwai to Wyrmlord Saarvith. Do you recall what it said? Let us read it again."
Saarvith -
Take great care with the enclosed phylactery. I need not explain to you what the Ghostlord would do if he knew where I had sent his little bauble for safekeeping. Hide it somewhere safe - perhaps it could be trusted to your dragon friend's keeping? Keep it hidden until Brindol is taken. Should it fall into the hands of someone who could return it to its owner, the consequences for our effort could be dire indeed.
- Ulwai
"This note makes me wonder why the Red Hand does not want it returned to the Ghostlord? They seem confident that the consequences would be dire. Do you think this note should be believed?"
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Now, see, THAT is actually a *good argument!!* Being reminded of the note's contents--that the Red Hand categorically does not want teh phylactery to go back to the lich--is probalby the single best argument to DO it. *sigh* I just don't take well to threats and bullying, and that's how I feel Edvard was handling this.
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My thieves' instinct is telling me the last thing we should do is bring it back--that we need to make sure it's safe and secret so we can bargain from a position of power, like Tirion says. But the evidence we have points to a leap of faith: that returning it will get us more of what we want.
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Harpwizard, please correct me if I'm wrong, but you *did* sya that the Ghostlord had been hiding out for time immemorial, didn't you? If that's true, there's no reason to think he wouldn't go back to doing whatever it was he was doing--in solitude--before the Hand stole his jewelry.
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Taking in all the evidence, I *do* think Edvard is right. I think we should simply bring it back to the lich. I don't *want* to, I *want* to leave it here and secure his aid or non-participation. But . . . well, that's where I stand.
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and if we can figure out how to destroy it while we're there, well, we can keep that information in our back pockets for later!
Bah, Ed's bein' an arse! An as fer tha note, how de we know it's not just another trick? After all that's been said, Oi think Oi'm fer leavin' tha damn thing here an' makin' sure we have tha upper hand. O' course, tha bastard could just kill us an' come fer Brindol next...Dammit! Alright, let's bring it back an' hope fer tha best Oi guess.
Tirion sighs: I still do not think this is a wise choice, irrespective of what the note said. But, if this is your decision, I will abide by it and travel with you to the Ghostlord's crypt. You are going to need my magic. Tirion looks at the door where Edvard just stormed out. And I also think that you will need my tongue as I doubt that bullying will work well on a powerful undead spellcaster.
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Honestly Tirion, it grates on my sensibilities as well. But thinking about the situation, it makes sense. And Thordak, if the Ghostlord had wanted to sack Brindol, he'd have done it decades ago. I think he just wants to be left alone, to do his lichy sorcerey things in solitude. We give him that out, he'll leave everyone alone!
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So--we're agreed? We bring the Ghostlord his toy back, and see if we can't convince him to go back to sleep or something? And if we can find clues to destorying it, so much the better! Right?
And the Harpwizard gets the black gems to hold for now.
Aye, but should we leave more eyes so he can...well, Oi dunno, rub 'em together an' see wot happens?
"Harpwizard, please correct me if I'm wrong, but you *did* say that the Ghostlord had been hiding out for time immemorial, didn't you? If that's true, there's no reason to think he wouldn't go back to doing whatever it was he was doing--in solitude--before the Hand stole his jewelry."
"What I have said is true, Bofus. The ghostlord has not been seen in many many years. It has been so long that for most people, the story of the ghostlord is considered to be an old legend or even perhaps a tale to frighten misbehaving children. However, I also assure you, that despite what most people think, the ghostlord is indeed very real, very powerful, and of course, very evil."
"Bah, Ed's bein' an arse!"
The harpwizard watches and listens but does not say a word about the interaction.
"So--we're agreed? We bring the Ghostlord his toy back, and see if we can't convince him to go back to sleep or something? And if we can find clues to destorying it, so much the better! Right?"
"I am glad to see you reach agreement. I do not mean to lecture to you, but it is most important that you let go of your differences and become united against the common enemy. If we are not united, we will not have a chance against the the evil that comes this way."
And the Harpwizard gets the black gems to hold for now.
"And the Harpwizard gets the black gems to hold for now."
"This is certainly a start, but I assure you Thordak, I will be doing more than simply rubbing the gems together. I know you have all found these gems useful in your encounters against the dragons, but the more of these gems that you are able to part with, the greater the chances of me finding insight into them. I promise, I will return them to you before the Battle of Brindol."
Edvard makes his way out of Brindol Academy and through the throngs of people toward the northern gates, across the bridge and out to the forest on the northern side of the river. You are able to easily find your way to the Tiri Kitor's encampment. As you approach, Killiar stands up to greet you as he smiles and grins to himself.
"I see the comforts of castle life do not sit well with you, my hermit friend. How did you escape, or did they simply throw you after you forgot how to use a napkin? Hehe. I don't think you and I are quite as different when compared to these humans, my friend. I'm sure the differences are quite obvious."
Alright, here ye are. Thordak says, placing the two green eyes on the Harpwizard's table as well.
"Alright, here ye are." Thordak says, placing the two green eyes on the Harpwizard's table as well.
"Thank you very much, my good dwarf.
"So unless you have any further questions for me, let me say my farewells for the present. I wish you all very well on your journey, my friends. May the good gods look down upon you and guide you safely. I hope to see you all when you return."
The wizard stands up and escorts you to the door.
"Tooteloo!"
"Suffice it to say that I find little within the walls to interest me... if it were not for the Hand I would be happy to leave them be."
"I find the Hand to be making me do a rather great many things that I would rather not be doing. However, it is interesting to watch them interact with each other. They all seem so removed from the natural world that surrounds them."
"And what of yourselves, has the cripple saw fit to give you any instruction?"
"Oh yes, the good captain." Killiar replies with a grin. "I am not sure the captain and I are on the same page yet. I don't think he trusts me and I will admit, I am surprised that he has risen to the rank he has with such a limp. I doubt he would fare very well in my own hunting party. He certainly has not told me much of their plans, but to be honest, I'm not sure these humans have much of a plan. Until I hear otherwise, I will simply send my fellow hunters out on scouting patrols to see that nothing takes us by surprise."
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Thank you Professor. Good luck in your endeavours, and we'll be talking ot you soon, I'm sure!
As they leave . . .
I'm gong to get some props made. Then we can find Edvard and get ready to leave. We all good with that?
Bofus uses his pretty decent street knowledge of Brindol to find to establishemnts.
First, a place where he can get lead-lined boxes to buy, or made to order, ready for tomorrow morning at the latest. They don't need to be identical or anything. As many as I can get by tomorrow.
Second, a jeweler who can create at least one (or more!) paste piece to my exact specifications--I'll describe the phylactery's physical characteristics as closely as I can. There's extra coin in it for you if they look identical, as well as if you can squeeze out more than one!!
The rest of you leave Brindol Academy and find yourselves on the crowded streets of Brindol.
"Do you fly today?"
"Indeed we will. I take the opportunity to stay away from Brindol as often as I can. I find it rather peaceful to be floating on the wind currents far above this vale. So far, we have not seen any sign of the approaching horde."
"If you would take an extra passenger then I would fly with you... perhaps we will have more luck today."
Killiar smiles at the request. "Are you certain you want to ride on an owl? You could certainly come with me, but I can also leave Kelarius here at the camp and you could take his great owl, Hestar. She's a fine raptor to take out if you've never flown before. You would be able to experience the thrill of the flight all on your own. I would fly at your side and perhaps together we would be able to see more than my eyes alone."
"By your leave Killiar... in this, at least so far, I will follow."
"Very well then, Hermit. Let us fly!"
@Edvard
You mount up the great owl and feel the strength of Hestar's great wings flap at your side. As Killiar lifts off, you urge Hestar off the ground with a pull up of the lead lines and a command in elven "Enlever!"
Hestar takes off at a terrific speed and you hang on for your dear life. You are not sure that the bird really likes her new passenger, but you manage to stay securely on the creature and begin maneuvering it about.
"I see Hestar has really taken a liking to you, Edvard. Now that you've got her under control, where would you like to go?"
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OK everyone, I've got some fake boxes . . . Bofus hands one to each of the currently not-flying companions, keeping the fourth aside. we can pick up the fake(s) tomorrow morning on our way out. I spent the group money for this purchase--seemed appropriate, don't you think? We may not even end up using these, but if we need to buy some time or fool some lackey--or the Red Hand after the lich goes back to sleep!--you'll thank me for getting them! Now, let's find Edvard and fill him in.
I'll ask around for Edvard--unless he told us where he was going, I can't remember . . .[/ooc]
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Edvard is flying high above the land with Killiar Arrowswift scanning forests and fields of Autumn brown. For hours you loop around and soar to great heights. Although you do not yet see any evidence of the horde, after several hours, you spot a brigade of dwarfs marching east along the Dawnway far below you.
The dwarves, startled at the sight of someone falling from the sky, raise their crossbows directly at Edvard and keep him locked in their sites. One young dwarf steps forward in front of the others and declares loudly,"Who are yae, magic weildin Skyfaller? State yer name and tell us what yae're daein commin down frae up there? Are there any mair of yae tae come?"
"I am Edvard, and I come only to trade words. Trust me when I say that if I had ill intent I would not have landed... We" pointing momentarily above to where the owls might circle still "have come from Brindol in search of savages to kill. Will you trade your own intent for that which I have freely given?"
The dwarf looks startled and perhaps a little confused at your comments.
”Uhmm, whatdayamean, Edvard? Oi hear yae tradin words, but Oi’m not sure what yae mean by oor intent. Mind yae Oi dae know that if yae’re here tae fight savages, Oi doubt yae’ll find any savages in Brindol. However, yae should know that we are the Dwarves from the Hammerfist Holds and we are not savages either. But if yae wait here long enough, there is a savage horde comin in fram the west that should give yae plenty tae fight. So Edvard, who are all o’ yae who ride those big eagles and come tae Brindol to fight savages?”