The Invasion of Toril

[Archmage1]

Rolling her eyes, Gale uses silence as her counter.

[Zman]

The only reason a woman wouldn't take an orc in a loin-cloth seriously is because his sword is still sheathed! Krgg returns the elf's smile...this one reminded him of an elf he used to adventure with...he just might be alright!

Turning his gaze to Bleerie, Krgg addresses Zaavariel again, This little one's got some fire in her. Warrior's armor, warrior's attitude. Even has a sword to call on!

"I had heard that Orc men can't always have their swords at the ready." Zaavariel pushes the jovial Orc a bit further.

[Medic!]

Krgg the Lady's Man

If you're devoted to the One-eye, your spear never fails! Perhaps you heard that from elven women, desiring a strong orc after being let down by those skinny little elf-blades...they should take a lesson from the dwarven females and cover their ugly faces with beards!

[Zman]

Zaavariel, The Biggest Elf Youre Likely To Meet

With a hearty laugh, Zaavariel smacks Krgg on the back in a gesture if comaraderie.

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Str Check(d20+6)[19]

[Archmage1]

"Hang on. Krgg, why are all of the half-orcs that I have ever heard of half human? And as to dwarven females, are there such a thing? I have never seen a pregnant dwarf."

[Medic!]

Krgg the Average Orc who is still Bigger than the Biggest Elf!

As to the half-orcs, that much is obvious, elven women are too ugly to mate with. And as for dwarven women, their beards hide their swollen bellies!

Seeing the playful challenge of strength from the elf for what it is and respecting Zaavariel's strength of arm, the orc returns his back-slap as he comments on elven women.

You know, elf, you remind me of an elf I used to travel with, an archer named Sillestros...always a good strong arm to have around. Saving you might not have been a mistake after all!

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Man Check - (1d20+8)[25]

[Zman]

"Too Ugly, ha! Orc seed just doesn't have the energy or longevity for the job. An elven woman can only bear a child after proper satisfaction.". Zaavariel takes a respectful look towards Krgg.

[Medic!]

Krgg

The orc, thouroghly enjoying the chance to bandy words with a true warrior for a change, shoots Zaavariel a sly grin, Orc bedding doesn't involve basket-weaving or bird-watching to satisfy our women...our women are happy that we're men instead of prancing Fey!

[Archmage1]

"I will give you both a hint: if you are focusing on something else, you are doing it wrong. Just saying."

[Zman]

"No, Orc bedding involves rolling in the mud!" Zaavariel pushes up his nose in an imitation if a pig and snorts. "Hahaha!" but can't help but bursting out in a laugh.

[Medic!]

Krgg

If you had a good strong female to wrestle with, you wouldn't care where you did it either! We've got two women here, and neither biased by being orc or elf, so let's ask them. Which would you prefer?

Krgg stands beside Zaavariel and puts his arm around him, showing his tusks and puting the most charming look he can muster on his face.

[Archmage1]

"Well, go on. Kiss and make up"
It is clear that Gale is barely suppressing laughter.

[Zman]

Zaavariel bites, he stands tall(though dwarfed by the huge Orc) and looks to the distance, bringing out every bit of noble bearing that is in his birthright making sure to catch the women's gaze with his golden eyes. He grins slightly and braces his midsection just enough to create a clearly defined midsection.

[mucco]

Bleerie makes some sparkles and pink haze appear around the two men. "They'd make a really hot gay couple, for sure!" she says, giggling.

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Prestidigitation!

[Zman]

We are rather jovial today aren't we!?"

[Medic!]

Krgg

The orc bursts out laughing and returns to his seat, then turns a serious eye on the group. So. What is our next step? I don't recognize Waterdeep anymore, and I hate to rely on this Bailey, but it seems a neccessity for now. I'm not one to make plans, but I'd like to hear where we stand.

[mucco]

"Eh, my plan is to squish bugs, find one without hive mind, and question him. Torture is not written off, of course. Bailey talked about two factions of outsiders, not only the ants; I'd like to pit them one against the other, should be easy enough. We're going to massacre one group of the other side and leave an ant corpse there, so it'll look like the ants were the assailants.

"If I knew whether anyone in our group is able to summon illusions or other creatures, everything would be simpler. You two are warriors, Gale is doing that energy thing, the kobold mostly breathes like a dragon, and skull guy has been terribly vague. I've never seen him do anything more than creating darkness, making undead or shooting arrows, so I'm assuming he's an archer who dabbles in necromancy. Undead are not good allies for making prisoners.

"Anyway, that is my plan. I'm sure nobody will agree to it - we're all very different here, I'm forecasting contrasts between ourselves. But we'll work something out."

[Medic!]

Krgg

It sounds like a good plan to me. Divide and conquer is always a good plan. If the ant-things are some kind of hivemind, capturing one for torture piques my interest. We could interrogate all of them with a fraction of the effort. I'd be happy to facilitate the slaughter side of your plan if the others will agree to do their parts.


Sheathing the falchion with a loving stroke down the scabard, he finds a comfortable place and beds down, being sure the keep his back away from the door. As he begins to drift off he chuckles a bit, and through the growing snores he can be heard mumbling Double-edged...so obvious...stupid ants...double-edged sword....

[Archmage1]

"I don't like the idea of torture. Unreliable, and immoral. We could accomplish the goal just by framing the two groups as attacking each other. Except... if it is a hivemind, we will need to make the other outsiders quite angry about it. Bleerie, I can't summon an illusion, just break stuff."

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Planes: what would annoy the outsiders?(1d20+16)[18]

[mucco]

"Well, yes, torture is not nice. It is not something I would do to my worst enemy, because I recognize a kinship with him, still. We do share the same world, the same plane, the same universe. These things? What are they, further than alien invaders come to destroy all that is dear to us? Would they hesitate in torturing us? Are they not doing that already to us? I did see you suffering at the sight of Waterdeep. You must understand this.

These are beings who came here without asking for mercy, respect, or any kind of interaction. They shall not receive any from me, and I will do whatever is in my power to annihilate every single one of them. I do not enjoy torture, but if it is necessary, I will think about it no more than I would think about torturing a fly before squishing it in my hands. I am sure my god is with me on this.

One thing I ask of you, Krgg: if we do end up catching a prisoner and we question him, if he does tell us what we need, spare him the torture. He is giving us knowledge, so we will give him a peaceful death. It is only fair."

[Medic!]

Krgg

The orc's snort is cut short when he hears his name, drawing him into the realm between sleep and wakefulness for a moment. His eye flicks open once, twice, then closes to a narrow slit.

Speaking matter-of-factly, Krgg responds, Hm? Not a chance in the Nine Hells, Bleerie. If they didn't wanna be tortured they shouldn't have got captured. Besides...could be lying...gotta be sure...stupid ants... The more he speaks the groggier his words get, the last bit followed immediately by the loud continuation of his snoring.

[Archmage1]

"Krgg, Torture gets you information. The accuracy of that information tends to be unreliable. Bleerie, I think you need to ask yourself: why are we doing this? If we become like the planars in our actions, we will have accomplished nothing. Still, I suppose we could have Krgg sing at them."

[mucco]

"I'm not advocating the use of torture, Gale. I don't like it. But it's a tool, and we shouldn't be afraid to use it. And why should we? This situation trascends the limits our morality imposes on us. We are struggling for survival here, we will use whatever means we have to keep existing. We will not become "like the planars", we are fighting for our homes. And when we defeat them, however we do it, we will have accomplished freedom.

You should not bother yourself with every step we take to win this war. We have killed ten invaders so far - we even assaulted a group that wasn't after us. Is that good? Is that right? Is that somehow more acceptable than inflicting pain to gather information? If you object to torture, you object to fighting."

[Archmage1]

"Bleerie, Torture is a tool, but the victims will tell you what they think you want to hear, which may not may not be true. My understanding was that we were not struggling for our survival: we already lost that one, we were struggling for the survival of everyone else.
Killing them, and torturing them are two different things. Comparing them is pointless. They are the enemy, and should be killed, I would just rather not lose my humanity doing it."

[Zman]

"I'd rather just pick a direction and kill everything that disagrees with me in that direction. If we run out of enemies, it was the wrong direction and we pick a new one. Eventually we'll find what we are looking for..." The works 'looking for' hang on the air, as if Zaavariel is looking for something already.

[mucco]

"Ah, but I do have the means to have them tell the truth, you don't worry about that. Oghma gives me the strength to distinguish false stories from true ones.

So, you say, that murder and torture are different, to the point that it is pointless to compare them. To me, torture is hurting someone to gather information in our case; while murder is killing someone because it is an enemy. Therefore, both are a way of harming someone for your own benefit. I fail to see how the two are not comparable.

Surely they are different, and surely the element of the fight can give you the illusion of your violence being 'fair'. It's an illusion, you know. Violence is not fair, ever. Torture might be despicable in our case, but I cannot see anyone in this world, be it a mortal, a god, or whatever else, who would object to us repelling the planars while using torture to gain advantages."

Bleerie pauses for a second. "If, and only if, we were using torture for fun, then I would agree with you. That sort of thing is useless, so it's vile. We are not vile, we are just fighting for ourselves."

[Archmage1]

"Agreed, Zaavaariel. If we can find the Formian's tunnels, we can probably find the hivemind in them somewhere. But you sound like you mean something else entirely. Bleerie, if you have a way to force them to speak the truth, then torture becomes more viable. However, they may have a way to resist your zone of truth, and violence is a bit more fair than torture, as they get the chance to fight back. Just do not expect me to help with torture."

[Tharione]

The dove flaps its wings excitedly at the mention of finding the hiveminds source.

[Zman]

"You've yet to fully explain your actions and goals yet? So far, I'm merely aiding you as repayment."

[mucco]

"You also have to explain the same thing. I thought it fitting that you go first, because of that whole repayment thing."