I made the same observation, Jin, as to the weaponry of the hobgoblins, though I drew a somewhat different inference from that. It appears that the hobgoblins have not developed the more cerebral psionic abilities possessed by vitalists or psions such as myself. That information may prove useful at some point.
Jin and Zara discuss current events for a short while, then hear a knock at the door. Through the window they see the errand boy from town hall.
Jin places his hand up politely and motions to the door, " I shall be right back " To which he opens it and greets the young man well, seeing that he had received his gift. " I see you return, that could only mean that The Council is ready for our report yes? "
"Yes sir, Elder Haldir waits your arrival. You'll find him in his chambers."
Jin gives a warm smile and nods in acknowledgement, " Perfect, I shall inform the rest of The Hunting Party and gather soon. Please relay this to him. "
Lan would most likely be found within the Tavern the group had initially met... assuming the day hadn't pressed forward. He was studying people while they ate. Decidedly less offputting than would be expected, as Lan had done this for the majority of his life. Three dots glowing under he cheek as he does so.
I'm ready to head over to the Council chambers when you are, Jin.
The boy confirms and runs off.
Jin gives Zara a nod picking up his bushels of recently hunted food and carries it as they move on to find the other members of 'The Hunting Party'
They check the areas Ln and Elisa are known to frequent. Jin unaware of exactly where Elisa's residence may be perhaps asking a villager or two the specifics.
Jin finds Lan people-watching, then Lan shows Jin where Eliza would normally be this time of day. Because Lan is good at knowing what people would be doing, though the why still often eludes him.
Unless she had been called off Elisa would be at her home when the others arrived. "Now what?"
"We are going to meet with the council." Lan said, simply.
Zaralastra accompanies everyone to the Council chambers.
"No other information? Regardless of the answer she followed.
Lan shrugs and looks to the others. "The old man with sciatica feels better today, because the sun is out." he offers.
" What other information would there be? It is simply a summons like any other. We are to report our progress to the Council and then one of the Elders may give our group further guidance and possibly rewards for our deeds. I know of no other information. " Jin says flatly.
The clerk gestures you toward a meeting room as you enter Town Hall, then walks back to retrieve Elder Haldir. Moments later, he enters the room and has a seat.
"So, you made it back, all of you, and in good health. This is good. What other news have you for me?"
"Hobgoblins are a crude bunch, smooth talkers may even anger them". The old man stops throwing seed for just a moment to look at Jin. "Jin my boy, you may find this task cut just for you". A hint of a smile peeks out from the mans face, and he goes back to feeding the birds.
"But, your concerns are also ours. Your groups safety is a top priority. We will send you with payment which should suffice as tribute for your lives if things should come to that. Bury it before you reach them. It's a large sum. Use it as a bargaining chip only if absolutely necessary."
Jin salutes the Elder in a respectful and militaristic way. " On route the party encountered a local bear. Said bear was swiftly handled and hide used as a bargaining chip with The Hobgolins. When felled it had signs of encountering another hunter and had been eating what we could guess was such a meal. After a bumpy start the group examined and was lead among the race. They seem to lack any advanced weaponry nor those of mental superiority. They were lead by a wizened, Older Hobgoblin. After deliberation the final determining factor was trade of guns sir, that was their price. Though we would not need much, simply prove we can procure said amount and the makeup. "
"So they wish to make trade for guns do they?" The old man adjusts himself in his chair and leans back. "Excellent. These are things we can procure with little trouble". He smiles as he reaches for his pipe and begins to load it. "They will come to depend on us for gunpowder. Maintaining a peace should be relatively easy with such an arrangement in place." He takes a nice long pull from his pipe, then continues. "Now what's this price you mentioned, did they make an offer in return?"
" Their offer would be assistance and a alliance against the Giants Sir. Upon demonstration of our being truthful with the weapons I'm sure the other end, cultural, weapon, techniques will come along with it. "
It would be wise to understate our capacity to produce gunpowder, as that is the "chokepoint" that will keep the relationship under control.
"I see. And how much firepower did they request for this bargain?"
" That is something I believe should be a small amount for now. Showing them the product first before establishing large quantities. They simply wished to examine our wares, so to speak. Would you say One loads worth about 10-15 would suffice? "
I know nothing of firearms, having never built, used or even maintained them. Is there some way in which they can be made more useful against giants, at the cost of being less useful against beings such as ourselves? I can't help but wonder what the hobgoblins will be doing with the firearms we give them if and when the giant threat is eliminated.
" It would not matter even if they had such items as they would be reliant on our providing them with the materials to create proper maintenance. Our supply is much more grand as well and the act of slaying that bear clearly showed our status. Another thing is that I am not a liar and when it comes to negotiations it is normally frowned upon to promise one thing but not deliver. "
"There is no reason to believe once we give them the guns that they will remain reliant upon them. It is better to simply choose to take their word or not. It will be like a relationship."
"I'll speak with the rest of he council at once. It'll take a few weeks to acquire the arms. In the meantime, enjoy some downtime". As he finishes on the topic, e begins to scribble on some parchment. "One more thing before you go. What of the cache?"
Jin straightens up once more unbuckles a few areas and releases other straps to show the bag the cache was in that he cleverly hid within the making of the large tent. " I had not informed the group before as it seemed like you wanted this to be a last resort. You will be glad to know that the cache was not needed to be used for the negotiation. I shall return it to your capable hands Elder. " Jin begins placing out to the man.
"Very good, very good. You've all done very well". The old man opens the chest, revealing it's contents to you for the first time. The box shines with gems and gold, and as he retrieves a sack to hand over to he party, he smiles. "I believe a prize is in order?
The sack is large and heavy. As the party leans over to peer inside, they find it to be full of platinum. Haldir then hand Jin some sort of writ. "This document names you all. Show it to any shop owner for whatever supplies you need, but keep it within reason".
Jin is taken aback by the sheer wealth being bestowed to them but quickly recovers himself as the proper thing to do at this time would be to distribute the wealth. He made sure each person got an equal share about 200pp each. " We will Elder. If you ever feel the need to call on The Hunting Party we shall be here. As all of your decisions are for the betterment of our village in your accumulated wisdom. "
Jin goes over the people he owed a favor to and begins filtering what would be the best way to repay them.
"What is our plans if the giant should return to attack us? The new allies will be a lot of help but can our defenses handle a direct attack from it?"
Jin nods having a similar question, " I was curious in the process as well. No doubt I would attempt to defend the village as well with my life but we can throw only so many at the creature, It will not allow us to pummel it at range without recourse. "
I assume we have a civil defense plan in place that would involve large numbers of people firing ranged weaponry from assorted hiding places. Face to face confrontation is probably inadvisable. But now that you mention it, I can't recall such a plan ever being discussed. Perhaps the appearance of the giants is new, so that there has not yet been time to formulate a plan.
"A lone giant would be wise to pass us by. It could do heavy damage to our town, but would inevitably fail, should its goal be successful assault. A tribe of giants though, that is an entirely different matter. Our monks are strong, but even Kunchen can not fight giants forever. This has been on the councils mind".
Jin nods agreeing with the wisdom of the Elder as clearly he had thought ahead on the matter. " So sheer numbers from two fronts should quell them. "
Since you mention a "tribe" of giants, do we know much about their social organization? Are they essentially loners, or do they live in large groups? Are they nomadic or do they tend to live in fixed settlements? Are they invariably violent, or are they subject to reason and diplomacy? Needless to say, if there is some means by which we can avoid conflict with them entirely, that is something that, it seems to me, should be explored.
"The races of giants vary, but frost giants typically form large societies and are well known to be violent".
Elder Haldir buttons up conversation with genuine thanks. As you head out, you take comfort in the notion that, to your knowledge, you will have a few weeks of leisure before the council has further need of you.