Ruceeglaelsktinag: "Justifiable Genocide", Contradiction in terms? (IC)

[Terrador]

Forseti, more than slightly perturbed by the fact that there are is a living weapon at the table, hops to his plate and begins to eat.

(1d20-1)[2]

[Prehysterical]

Disdaining the use of the utensils, Vaex seizes the steak in his claws and begins digging in with his sharp teeth. He can't help but feel a bit spoiled eating something this far above his usual fare, despite missing the finer details of the prepared dish.

Remembering his kobold manners, Vaex tries to continue discussion during the meal so as not to lose productive time. As much as he wants answers about the two newest arrivals, his mind is firmly on business.

"So, now that we have done the name-sharing and the niceties, can we discuss the particulars of our assignment? Some of us don't live for hundreds of years, you know."

[DracoDei]

"So this group is acceptable to you then Vaex?" asks Mebar, pleasantly surprised at the convenience of the kobold's apparent snap judgement.

[Cogsrow]

-taps his sister against his foot- Better sister? -he asks as he looks at the plate tilting his head, he never quite got the custom.-

[Prehysterical]

Vaex looks over at Mebar, a piece of steak dangling from his jaws before snapping his head back and swallowing the chunk. Some would remark that the motion is similar in manner to the way birds of prey consume their meals.

"Other than the obvious weak link, who somehow seems harder to extract from my hide than a hoard beetle, they seem combat-capable. As for yourself and Sir Luskwood, I will just have to take your word on that. As my elders say, 'The dragon who seeks a mate with five heads, platinum scales or rainbow hide, dies alone.'

So what is our assignment? Reconnaissance? Sabotage? Assassination?"

[DracoDei]

"Rescue and capture.

But let us start at the beginning. The tribe of goblins this unit is currently on its way to do battle with previously had what was SUPPOSED to be peaceful co-settlement go badly wrong. I believe that Sir Luskwood can tell you more about the Tralfaz family than I could? All I was actually told was 'eccentric, and that is an understatement'."

[Spheniscine]

Wisdom: (1d20+2)[22]

[Spheniscine]

Sir Luskwood chews on the steak and mutters slightly under his breath, before he suddenly realizes he is meant to speak. He quickly swallows.

"Oh, the House of Tralfaz? I'm somewhat acquainted with them. Old family friends. Decent people, but... Mebar's right. They'd decorate their mansions with the oddest things; a fishing trophy enchanted to sing, a gravy boat that looks like a chamber pot, rainbow-colored doilies, that sort of thing."

"They came out here to help make peace with the goblins. Hired a few of them as handservants around the house. The pay was incredibly generous, or so I am told, even though the uniforms were... peculiar."

[DracoDei]

"Right.

So, the Murz tribe decided they wanted second helpings of Ruceeglaelsktinag's might, and this this unit*Gestures towards the main encampment*is going to be one of those giving it to them. The problem being that not all of them were on board with this by any means. Including the entirety of the household staff, err... meaning NOT the armsmen, just the butlers, grooms, maids, pages, non-weapon blacksmiths, etc etc, of the Tralfaz house in the region. The Tralfaz's themselves got off with only light causalities, since they weren't really the main target of the raid. Apparently the attackers thought that the hairbows and such were a denigration of their race, rather than a purely personal matter between employer and employee.

Fortunately, we know where they are, and we are going to get them back... along with as many of their captors as possible, to stand trial for targeting civilians.

The Murzites tried to hide their 're-education camp' off in the woods away from their main settlements. It's about 4 days march from here, over terrain too rough to take a cart.

The scouting party that discovered the place couldn't get too close, because most cover has been cleared out for a distance of over a hundred feet in all directions. We can probably find some if we look carefully though.

The compound is rectangular and has one entrance probably with a single pair of double doors in the middle of one of the shorter approximately 100' long sides. The longer sides are about 130' according to our scout. The walls are palisade style, about 10' tall with some wooden spikes at the bottom... probably more to discourage any prisoner who managed to climb the walls than to keep out any external attack.

Wooden archery towers, about 15' tall, and designed more for field of view than cover. One at each corner, and one approximately in the middle of each of the 3 uninterupted sides, and one on each side of the doors. The only internal structure our scout could see was a windowless wooden building, probably the top floor of where they are actually keeping the prisoners.

There was something over the doors, our scout said it looked like large clay jars.

There appears to be a pair of dog-houses near the entrance, probably for bloodhounds. A chain was seen leading inside each of the structures.

Overall, the impression was that the place was of a singularly poor design for repelling attack, and that the guards were much more attentive to the interior than the exterior. In total, they seem to have been counting on their obscure location to protect them from outside attack until the site could be upgraded.

One of the design flaws the scouting unit noticed was that the archery towers probably have small but significant blind spots at their feet on the OUTSIDES of the wall (with the exception of the two flanking the doors), and the roofs limit visibility above them.

According to our agents in the enemy units and scrying of the enemy command structure, the commanding officer is probably the most valuable enemy asset on site, and I'm given to understand that any one of us could take him one on one. It is especially desirable that we take him alive. Some of his subordinates may be equally formidable in battle, since a good deal of his value is his ability to break the will of prisoners through purely mundane means.

So... we've got the element of surprise, some of us are stealthy, and at least one of us can fly so, once we get on-site, we should be able to get a better picture of the situation.

Between my ability to stabilize the wounded, Forseti's sleep breath, and Sir Luskwood's net, the "capture preferred to killing" option will be something we should be able to do fairly well although I expect there will still be a number of deaths among the enemy.

I've been told we can requisition up to 1,000 gold pieces worth of consumables for this mission, and another 500 gold pieces worth of non-consumables. All remaining of these materials to be returned at the end of the mission. This is in addition to the additional pack-animals carrying medical supplies, shoes, food, etc for the liberated goblins and three medical dishes*. I'd suggest some of the poison made popular by the Drow for our weapons, and perhaps a strength boosting potion for myself if anyone will need to be boosted over the wall.

Now... let's figure out how to crack this nut!
"

*((Tenser's Floating Disk but an oval 2.5' wide and 6' long, slaved to a pack-saddle or belt. Basically a stretcher with a very smooth ride. Everyone present knows what these are.))

Mebar begins drawing in the dirt with a stick.


^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
^D--------D------------D^
^|..............................|^
^|..............................|^
^|...........____.............D^ T?
^D..........|%$&|...........\
^|...........|*^%|........../
^|...........|###|..........D^
^|...........------..........|^
^|..............................|^
^D--------D------------D^
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

"Sorry, I'm not much of an artist..."

((The "D"s are Mebar's attempt at drawing bows.))

[Prehysterical]

Vaex gazes down at the map and mulls over what Mebar has said. All trace of sarcasm and spite vanishes as he focuses on the information, rubbing his thin chin thoughtfully. Sunlight glares off of his goggles as he looks down, plotting.

"What is the estimated troop count besides the hounds, the commander, and the sentries? How often do their sentries rotate? When is the camp most active? Is there a difference between the amount of sentries on duty during the day and during the night?"

The kobold looks up at Forseti and speaks to him, speaking in Common for the convenience of the rest of the party.

"Forseti, if you can put one of the tower guards to sleep with your breath, I can try to grapnel my way up and sneak inside. If there is some kind of lever that opens the main gate, I can make my way down there and pull it. If not, it will give me an elevated vantage point and establish a line of fire. Our orders may be to take as many alive as possible, but I won't hesitate if it comes to me or them. Meanwhile, you can run reconnaissance on the central structure. If there are truly no windows, it should be hatchling's play for you to find a way in and see what you can see."

[Terrador]

Forseti chirps with delight, tail whipping to and fro eagerly as he surveys the situation.

"Yeah! Maybe you can tie them up, too, after I put them to sleep! We can make our way around the walls, take care of the archers, then open the gate before anyone realizes what's happening!"

"Come to think--do we know anything about the dirt? If it isn't bedrock, I can probably find out a lot about who's where before the rest of you have to even get over the horizon!"

The wyrmling turns, realizing that his caretaker is doubtlessly going to object to a solo scouting mission. Forseti pre-empts Vaex's unspoken concerns, habitually reverting to his native tongue.

"*Isthasy*... sjek nomeno othokentinw ui harkt, ti *ir* di astahi ui throdenilt versvesh loupon wer *jilnpel*. *Si* mi *throdenilt* loupon krathin! Nomenoi re plythu ias *ruliyna* arytissi; *si* mi vi *darastrix*, vur si mi throdenilt loupon asta apzig, ghoros yth tangis siofme nomeno svih."
Brother... if this intelligence is right, not one of them is as strong as the bard. I am more than ready! These are weak among biped warriors; I am a dragon, and I am more than their match before we even consider this group."

[DracoDei]

Vaex gazes down at the map and mulls over what Mebar has said. All trace of sarcasm and spite vanishes as he focuses on the information, rubbing his thin chin thoughtfully. Sunlight glares off of his goggles as he looks down, plotting.

"What is the estimated troop count besides the hounds, the commander, and the sentries? How often do their sentries rotate? When is the camp most active? Is there a difference between the amount of sentries on duty during the day and during the night?"

"Troop count is unknown since our scouts weren't able to get a look inside, and we have no intelligence on their supply distribution or deployment orders for the site. The tower guards seem to keep 12 hour shifts, and the towers are all crewed day and night so at least 18 personnel right there. If they keep to the standard goblin practices for prison camps, most of the containment of the prisoners is exercised from the towers. They probably have some more melee oriented guards inside too, but those should actually be much less of a threat overall, although individual for individual they are probably tougher.

Everything about the construction points to the prisoners themselves being considered the main threat. As such, it doesn't seem likely to me that these would be anything close to skilled troops. Meeting numbers with numbers, and barely more skill than the prisoners themselves would fit the profile.

We will have to balance the element of surprise with my healing you all up between stages of the combat to overcome their superior numbers. The towers, obviously, are difficult to access from the ground. The scout reported no visible ladders. They are probably using rope ladders that they pull up after themselves. That means that any tower with an unconscious or dead archer in it is probably out of the fight for at least a minute or two, especially if we keep them covered well enough to attack any enemy trying to, for instance, climb a rope from a grappling hood up to one.

One thing is that the archers aren't moving around much in the course of the day, so their armor was selected for effectiveness against ranged attacks, and economy, rather than speed of motion... which ALSO means that any who are asleep are going to either be unarmored, or delayed in joining battle.

We don't want to lose too much tempo though, or they might think of using the prisoners as hostages.

The kobold looks up at Forseti and speaks to him, speaking in Common for the convenience of the rest of the party.

"Forseti, if you can put one of the tower guards to sleep with your breath, I can try to grapnel my way up and sneak inside. If there is some kind of lever that opens the main gate, I can make my way down there and pull it. If not, it will give me an elevated vantage point and establish a line of fire. Our orders may be to take as many alive as possible, but I won't hesitate if it comes to me or them. Meanwhile, you can run reconnaissance on the central structure. If there are truly no windows, it should be hatchling's play for you to find a way in and see what you can see."

"We might want to neutralize the guard-beasts along the way, since even a chained dog can still bark perfectly well... we hardly need THOSE alive though."

Forseti chirps with delight, tail whipping to and fro eagerly as he surveys the situation.

"Yeah! Maybe you can tie them up, too, after I put them to sleep! We can make our way around the walls, take care of the archers, then open the gate before anyone realizes what's happening!"

"Come to think--do we know anything about the dirt? If it isn't bedrock, I can probably find out a lot about who's where before the rest of you have to even get over the horizon!".

"You should be able to tunnel through it well enough... I'd actually be most worried about your missing the direction or distance and coming up in the middle of an open area, rather than underneath the building... or of it turning out to be the guard barracks instead of the place were the prisoners are kept. In the second case, the element of surprise would almost ensure your escape, but we would then have alerted the entire compound without the rest of us knowing immediately.

And before you think of it, no, I don't think that your trying to bushwack the entire guard barracks would be a wise idea. It could be very effective, but it is also incredibly risky. If we were desperate, such tactics might be worthy of consideration, but as it stands, it is off the table.

Another option might be your sapping the wall to cause some of the palisade stakes to fall over, preferably outwards to crush the field of spikes. That would make our entrance and exit, but might not be punchy as neutralizing the guards on the gate. Of course, a breech is a preferable entrance to a gatehouse... at least for an actual fortification, which this only half qualifies as, so who knows."

[Terrador]

Forseti giggles with a sort of chirping sound at the notion of popping up in the wrong place.

"I can find out where things are even when I can't see. I still hear, smell, feel them walking... it isn't perfect, but I'm not gonna get lost!"

[DracoDei]

Sir Luskwood: "I do believe I have something that may be helpful to a stealth venture such as this. These potions should be helpful to you and Vaex... it would make your frames even smaller. Keeping hidden should be a piece of cake after that."
"I do however have to warn that it may weaken your combat ability somewhat. The effect lasts for two hours."

Forseti: "I don't think that will be a problem! We're fighting goblins, not elves, right?"

Sir Luskwood: "Hm. I suppose I need to lighten my load somewhat. Won't do any good to bring Betsy (?) there - can't risk her making any noise and giving us away."

Forseti: "Who's Betsy?"

Sir Luskwood: "My mule."

Forseti: "Cool! Have you seen the mantis?"

Sir Luskwood: "What mantis?"

Forseti: (that said, with three ranks in Know(Nature), you probably know what mantises are :P)

Forseti: "Vaex has a giant mantis! It's super strong--one time, it killed a cow! It's -crazy-!"

Sir Luskwood: "That's very interesting."
"Could come in handy."


Forseti: "It shouldn't come with us, though. It's not very smart."

Sir Luskwood: "Someday, I meant."

Forseti: *shakes head*
"It should probably stay with the supplies. It's not smart enough for Vaex to ride it. I think he likes weasels more anyway?"
"Wait--what if it eats Betsy?"

Sir Luskwood: "Huh. Didn't think of that"

Forseti: "It's really strong, too--your mule wouldn't have a chance. It might be even stronger than you!"

Sir Luskwood: "Where does he even keep the thing?"

Forseti: "He ties it down when we're not moving. I dunno who trained it, but I didn't even know training bugs was -possible-!"

Sir Luskwood: "I confess that is quite a novelty"

Vaex: "It wasn't a cow, Forseti. It was a rampant bull that was upset with your pestering of its calves. And I can indeed ride it! It's just that most of the time riding a giant green insect through the sky isn't very subtle."

Forseti: *meep*
"Well, you shouldn't. It's big and scary and it might try to eat you!"

Vaex: "We have been over this, Forseti. A dire weasel is too twitchy to bring on our missions. The mantis was the only reasonable choice!"

Forseti: "We're strong enough that that stupid bug is -overkill-, and weasels hide better!"

Vaex: "'Overkill is better than not enough", as the old proverb goes. In a forest, a mantis hides much better than a weasel. Also, do you know how much feed it takes to keep a dire weasel going? A mantis can go for weeks without a good meal.

Sir Luskwood: :D

Forseti: "This isn't much of a forest! Besides, we're more than good enough hunters to take care of it!"

Vaex: "...I would not consider buying our rations from kobold merchants 'hunting', my young apprentice."
Forseti: Forseti snorts, unable to come up with a good retort.

Vaex: lol

Forseti: *mumbling* "Still not gonna go near the damned thing."

Sir Luskwood: ((OK now I suppose I won't be able to resist laughing in-character))

Vaex: "I don't expect you to. I just throw a steak now-and-again and avoid mistreating it. Just don't pester it and everything will be fine."

Forseti: *mutters something about vermin*

Mebar: "I can boost some of you over the wall with temporary levitation with the right potions... unfortunately, the potion to increase strength is rather expensive, and increasing my size would tend to defeat the idea of stealth. In addition, I can only levitate one of you at a time so we might be better off with... hmmm..." ((GM Fiat to prevent timewasting -> Natural 20 on a Spellcraft/Knowledge[Military Logistics] check)). "There is a specific potion for this sort of thing. Give an extremely powerful jumping ability for a single leap. It is valued at 250 GP, and should allow most or all of us to grab the top of the palisade if we do not burden ourselves too heavily." ((2 minute duration, or until you make a jump check. +30 to that jump check.))

[Saskia]

Aria furrows her brow as the others speak. Guard dogs are simple enough, and the noise and distraction might even be an asset. Maybe. The idea of Forseti burrowing a hole for the team sounds good as a means of getting in unnoticed sounds fantastic, but having him dig a tunnel like that rather than just burrowing through could take ages. The possibility of getting turned around might have been a difficult one, if Aria hadn't spent so much of her life in mines. It's a simple enough problem, and the blind spots at the base of the towers will prove perfect weaknesses for a burrowing wyrmling who can disrupt the soil stability beneath the tower. A couple of potions and that's not a problem at all. Overall though, this hardly seems like the sort of proportional response she would expect. There must be something more behind what's going on here, but they probably won't be able to figure out what until the prison and its commanders are theirs.

When she speaks she sobers up a bit, now suddenly more professional than cheerful. "Forseti, how badly could you disrupt the earth beneath those towers? I expect you can do it well enough to bring them down, yeah? I'm with Mebar, I can't imagine they dug foundations down to bedrock, or even to be terribly secure; I could be wrong, but I just can't see such a hastily constructed prison having that sort of effort put into it. I'm thinking we get you to sap one or two of the towers. That'll get their attention centered on one side of the fort, and those of us who aren't so good at hiding creep up behind a glamered mantlet to keep us unseen until the last minute, and when we get close Vaex takes his wall-crawling mantis and gets up to a perch in one of the towers on the other side to get some nice, clear pot-shots at unsuspecting enemies before they realize what's going on. After that he can give us some covering fire to keep too many of them from noticing us coming through the sapped gaps in the walls until we're right on them, and I can shoot anyone who tries to get up the tower to him so he doesn't have to drop out of cover." She looks over to Vaex, drumming her fingers on her thigh. "I can make a single-use deployable battlement for you to take with you, since there apparently isn't anything to take cover behind up there, or I guess we can get a couple from the King's armories like Mebar said; shouldn't be too expensive for an operation like this. It should be easy to get clear shots at an angle like that, though, and you can warn us if you see more guys coming along from somewhere we can't see, like an outside patrol or whatever. Once you're up there you take out the other bowmen from safely behind cover. I can infuse your crossbow with whatever seems most appropriate, figuring probably a simple bane, and you shouldn't have much problem taking them out. Once the courtyard is clear, we take over the barracks and hit them hard. It's all about keeping them confused and in disarray so they can't do anything but react to us until we hold the whole facility. We don't want them acting on their own tactics, only reacting to what we do, so we have to have the time between these phases as short as possible. We can't rehearse this so we've got to get it all right." She looks to Mebar next, and continues "If they do end up using the prisoners as hostages then we've already won. If they kill innocents, they die horribly; it's just a matter of convincing them we won't slaughter our prisoners, which should be a bit easier because it'll be true. I'd rather not deal with that happening, Luskwood, but you should probably start thinking of what you're going to say, just in case."

Aria takes a deep breath. "Of course if somebody has another plan I'm all ears. Mebar, have you got a requisition form for us?"

[Spheniscine]

"Aria is correct. I do not foresee a need to parley much, but should they get the idea of threatening the prisoners, a gentle reminder of the consequences of further violating the rules of warfare might do the trick."

[Terrador]

Forseti tilts his head, confused as to why diplomacy would even be necessary in such a situation.

"...why couldn't we just punch our way in and take them down, if we already have them cornered?"

[Spheniscine]

"Contingencies, wyrmling. In battle, as in diplomacy, or a big game hunt... one must be prepared for every eventuality. And though this may appear to be but a simple police action, overconfidence may yet cause one to make costly mistakes."

[Terrador]

After a brief pause to absorb Sir Luskwood's advice, the wyrmling turns abruptly, barreling towards Aria!

"Aria! Aria! You can make a lot of stuff, right, as long as it isn't too fancy? Could you possibly make something we can use to make magical silence for a little while? I mean, as long as we're sneaking around and beating up goblins, we want to stay quiet, right?"

[Saskia]

"I can make things fancier than most wizards can, Forseti, but making people move without sound without training or equipment to do so is going to be costly and time consuming. I could infuse a simple spell into a makeshift wand on-site, but it wouldn't be able to affect more than one of us." Aria clears her throat and with some reluctance adds "And casting spells in such a roundabout way might not be all that reliable anyway."

[Terrador]

After a long chat with Aria and Vaex about the tactical particulars of the mission, Forseti abruptly wings over to Mebar's shoulder, paying no heed to the elf's current task and turning to his ear before barraging him with his little dissertation on supply requisition.

"Heya, Mebar! Okay, so, we're gonna need 300 gold to cover Aria's scroll creation costs, a Potion of Invisibility for me, three doses of that incapacitating poison to catch the peskiest targets, two of... Aria! ARIA! What are they called again?" After an umpteenth reminder from his friend, Forseti continues. "Lord Arwyn's Deployable Battlements, right! Besides that, we'll need... a hundred pounds of feed, for that... thing, and as many manacles as we can afford!"

"...you haven't been writing this down?"

Spoiler

Show

There's a more accurate list of the items in the OoC thread, for what it's worth.

[DracoDei]

"Paper is expensive young one. Everything will be noted down at the quartermasters. I'll be drawing some additional gear myself too. An amulet so I can keep the food we will be carrying for the prisoners we are going to liberate in good condition, and some goggles for triage.*"

*

Spoiler: OOC, Homebrewing on the fly.

Show

Superior Deathwatch, which gives the number of hitpoints below 0 if below zero on a free-action at-a-glance DC 15 Heal Check

(Cut-scene mode!)
You head back through the camp. Mebar gets the goggles, and an amulet that contains a perfect** miniature loaf of bread inside a glass vial.
**(read: it looks like it came out of a modern bakery, but before it gets sliced, rather than the crust being a cousin to charcoal)

Some lingering ideas about the Mantlet are dispelled when Mebar takes a stone giant aside for some reason and they have a whispered conversation. Mebar comes back and says that the mantlet is out of the question for pragmatic reasons.

You head to the quartermaster, and request the items in question. You are all informed that they are available, but... there seems to be some sort of hang-up. you are directed to a specific location, where you see an orc, wearing several magic items (bracers, amulet, belt, sword, throwing axes), but... surprisingly little else. Think "platemail cod-piece". He looks utterly bored. He is standing near a rickshaw of solid bronze, except rigged for cargo, rather than a passenger. The ground around him has been scorched and blackened and you can see the fire-break trench surrounding the area. And there you stand around and wait, and maybe talk some more, because the wheels of bureaucracy around here are only USUALLY extremely well oiled and highly efficient and there is some sort of "hurry up and wait" going on here. You have been told specifically not to enter the scorched area.

[DracoDei]

And then someone comes and collects you and tells you your original requisitions have been approved, and never-mind the alternative set up they were going to give you.

Aria does her crafting, and at about noon of the next day you are ready to set out.

You arrive within one mile of the target area in good time (about 1 mile from where you were told the fort is), with Mebar casting Purify Food and Drink on the meat the mules are carrying often enough to keep it from maggots, but not often enough to prevent it from aging properly.

((Feel free to insert roleplay at any point along here if you want. Your choice about advancing the plot vs the characterization. If no further pure characterization roleplay is desired at this time, discuss how you are going to do your scouting... time of day, methods, etc. I need a statement of these things.))

[Saskia]

"So Luskwood, what all do you know about these people, exactly? The goblins or the old estate owners? Do we know what tribe they belong to? Maybe what they do in their off time, when they're not murdering people because of perceived insults? Their arms? Where did the family get their fortune? Any information you've got might give us an edge, and you're the one who seems to know most about them, yeah?"

[Spheniscine]

"Goblins, as a rule, favor ranged weapons, as they don't quite have the build for hand-to-hand combat. Our targets are from a tribe called Murz. They were a warlord tribe that made their living by terrorizing the surrounding populace. Their strongest warriors often wear a ghoul-wolf skin, as a badge of honor of some sort."

"As for the Tralfaz, they used to be a family of adventurers and questors; that's how they earned their fortune. Not so much the current generation though; they prefer to maintain their wealth through the less-eventful life of trade and investments."

[Prehysterical]

"Adventurers, huh? I'm beginning to wonder if the Tralfaz did a little goblin-hunting and their new servants found out about it."

Adjusting the scope on his crossbow as he speaks, Vaex pauses for a moment.

"I know you scaleless don't like to discuss this, but... what are the protocols if these goblins have killed some of the hostages? Is there any difference?"

[DracoDei]

"Adventurers, huh? I'm beginning to wonder if the Tralfaz did a little goblin-hunting and their new servants found out about it."

Mebar furrows his brow in confusion.
"That wouldn't fit with the... well, I guess it would be THEORETICALLY possible to explain the raid as a rescue mission for goblins whom the Tralfaz family was blackmailing somehow, but that wouldn't explain the reports we have of the servants being prisoners right now. I rather suspect that in such a situation their would have been more deaths among the Tralfaz's, or perhaps even some of them captured themselves. Even if the business about the ex-servants being prisoners were a doctored cover-story on the goblin military's part, our squad right here will find out easily enough. But until and unless we find out differently, we are fully justified in our mission. It seems highly unlikely, to say the least, to me anyway... or am I missing something?

Of course, if I had to bet, I'd say that the elder Tralfaz's DID go against goblins at one time or another. Most adventures who become as wealthy as they are have seen an incredibly wide variety of combat. But even if they did, I'm sure it was all above board from a legal perspective, and thus they would have no particular fear of the facts getting out.

That would have been rather the point of hiring the goblins I suspect, aside from shear eccentricity. To show that they, meaning the Tralfaz's, although I guess the same could be said of the goblins to, were willing to try to do their small part to mend the enmity between the races."

"I know you scaleless don't like to discuss this, but... what are the protocols if these goblins have killed some of the hostages? Is there any difference?"

"It would make a difference at the trial, yes. As far as our own operations, it shouldn't make a bit of difference what has happened prior to this very moment in time.

Or did you mean if the goblin military tries to use the threat of violence against the prisoners to influence our tactical actions? If that is what you mean, then I'll give you the simple version. Just two phrases to remember:

'The nation of Ruceeglaelsktinag does not negotiate with violators of The Code.'

and

'In any conflict with hostage takers, the priority shall always be the neutralization of said hostage takers, with the safety of the hostages as a VERY close second.'"

He pauses a moment to let those sink in.

"It has been found that those two policies save innocent lives in the long-run due to making hostage-taking a more obviously unprofitable tactic."

[Prehysterical]

Vaex coolly regards Mebar from behind his goggles.

"I wasn't implying that the current goblin servants were 'rescued' by these Murzites or blackmailed by the nobles, but that some of the goblins would hold a grudge against them for the actions of their kin. Even if the nobles' descendants mean well. And I'm sure that the Tralfaz got their tags for goblin season hunting legitimately. Never seemed to be a problem before, at least," he remarks dryly. "As for justification, I really don't give a weasel's hindquarters."

Upon hearing the elf's statement about hostage-threatening, Vaex nods in understanding. "Uphold the Martau or be punished. Got it." The latch shuts on his crossbow with finality as the string pulls back.

[Saskia]

Aria snorts. "Too bad. That isn't true, and our goal isn't the safety of the enemy. There's no possible way a trial with a necessarily unpredictable outcome is less favorable than death, so the premise is stupid on its face, and the criminals' lives will most certainly not be the priority on this operation. I will not sacrifice an innocent life on the altar of a dumb rule to preserve the life of a murderer, and nobody else here is going to do that, either."

[DracoDei]

Mebar simply nods to Vaex.

To Aria he says:
"Everything I said is the best way to save lives in the long run. That includes preferring captures to kills of our enemies, despite the fact that I don't think any of them shall escape death for their crime in the long run...

I would understand if you can't keep to the general policy on tactical reactions to hostage-taking. You aren't in the army proper, and I won't hold you accountable on that point, my good gnome. It is unlikely to come up in any case.

The part about working for surrenders rather than kills where possible? That part IS an order. There are many reasons that trials exist, and part of..."

He pauses and looks down, first thoughtful, and then sad.

"No, hold." he says to himself. Then raises his eyes to meet Aria's.

"We are within a hour's march of the enemy and may not have any room for philosophy. I do not know how truly innocent you might be. Err.. 'innocent' as the opposite of 'worldly-wise', not 'innocent' as the opposite of 'guilty'. I'll leave it to Sir Luskwood to decide if an explanation is desirable at this time.

If he does not explain now, then another shall explain at the conclusion of our mission, after testimony is given, and sentence carried out. At that time, plus a single week for you to consider your decision, I simply offer you my life, to take from me by your own hand or leave whole, and without consequence to you if you should you decide to slay me, provided you then hold all others blameless in this matter. In exchange for which oath, I shall expect your unquestioning loyalty to this principle during this mission.

Of all the times for a scholar such as yourself to do only the minimum required study... ah well, can't be helped."

He suddenly brightens, and gives a joyful little laugh.

"BUT WAIT! Perhaps this is all a mere misunderstanding of a single word! You do realize that 'neutralize' usually means 'capture or kill' and if the enemy has a knife held to someone's throat, thinking it will do him any good, then betwixt capture or death on the spot, the answer is, and must be 'Whichever is most likely to preserve the life of the hostage.'. In this we are agreed!"