Actually, Roy said "friends" and Gannji said "you and every other family member or comrade in arms. No can do, Sparky".
He didn't care whether it was friend, family member, or comrade in arms- he simply gave Enor the "attack" codeword.
A "female rogue" and a "elf wizard" were on the Wanted poster. So they knew Nale had cohorts.
The key part is knowing that they are high level- thus- they can deliver at least one lethal blow without actual danger of death to the target.
Any target at negative hit points (-1 to -9) is "dying"- that is, they automatically lose hit points every round, but have a chance of stabilizing.
However, a character who has taken both lethal and nonlethal damage, will usually fall unconscious before they reach negative hit points.