Linnorm Kingmaking [IC]

[ylvathrall]

Eclaire cuts the least-damaged troll almost in half and leaves it gutted and burning on the ground, while Tabrak knocks another one unconscious. One of those which had previously been put down starts to rise again, but Lanerlei reaches out and smacks it casually back down. Meanwhile, Abigail stalks around, ready to deliver a truly devastating strike to anything still fighting...but sadly it seems that all of your enemies are already down. One of the trolls and two of the winter wolves are actually dead, while the rest are unconscious.

The winter wolf who had accompanied you paces forward and sniffs at one of the bodies, then settles back into a sort of sitting position and stares at the scene. The mountain troll rumbles another incomprehensible statement.

Spoiler: OOC

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All enemies are incapacitated. Note that the encounter is not over for the purpose of any abilities which are timed by the encounter.

[Tuvarkz]

As the fighting ends, Davis carefully approaches the scene and picks up his arrows, thankful that their high durability makes them useable once more. In the meantime, Eclaire turns to their wolf ally, and asks: "I'd like you to relay a message to the mountain troll if you would. Tell him I apologize for bringing violence to his home, but it was a necessary action, and please ask him whether he wishes to provide shelter to his still alive cousins or not. Of course, the shelter is conditional on the ice trolls being forbidden from attacking civilians again. Apart from the message, do you wish for your own last living cousin to be spared? Similarly, the same condition would apply."

[Llyarden]

"If you can explain it to him," Lanerlei said to the wolf, pulling a ring from her finger and resting the pommel of her glaive on the ground once more as the magical glow faded from around her, "this would allow him to communicate with us as long as he wore it. You have my vow that there is nothing malicious about it."

[ylvathrall]

The winter wolf says something in Giant, then turns to look at you. "I tried to explain what you said to him," it says. "We'll see if he gets it. About my cousin...I don't know. I want to think she could move on, but I'm not sure she can. You have to understand, Irrisen is...it's like a poison. Or a disease. It just taints everything." The wolf sighs and shakes its head. "I don't know what to do. Let me try and get him to take the ring."

The wolf delicately takes the ring in its mouth and jogs over to the ravine as the mountain troll replies.

Spoiler: OOC

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My assumption is that you will keep smacking the trolls down without killing them if they start to wake up. Let me know if this is incorrect.

[Tuvarkz]

"I understand. It needs to be done." Eclaire nods, her face taking a solemn sight to it, and just by saying "Davis!" the ranger approaches and pushes the fainted wolf around, exposing her head for a clean cut. Approaching the fainted beast, the knight raises her blade, and she starts making prayers to Al'Asadriel, Damerrich and Ragathiel.

[Hjolnai]

"Stop!"

Tabrak steps forward.

"You would kill a helpless foe, without offering a chance of parole? This is hardly the honourable course."

[Tuvarkz]

"Had it been just a foe? I wouldn't have considered doing this. However, not only have we been told that Irrisen seems to have a corrupting influence on its inhabitants; but this foe was acting as a soldier in an attempt to declare war, attacking unarmed civilians unannounced. Can you guarantee that this foe won't go back to Irrisen and give whatever information she has gathered, or that she won't attack civilians again, or that she won't bolster the enemy's ranks? Can you guarantee me that her mind isn't twisted beyond redemption? I also have to account to take the actions that won't endanger my men needlessly in the war that will soon happen.
Furthermore, an execution while she is unconscious is first of all merciful as in she won't have to go through the fear before her death; and should she break her restraints, others could be at risk. I don't take an execution lightly."

[Hjolnai]

"Irrisen corrupts, as you said. Thus what chance has she had for redemption, before now? Who could have taught her a better way? She was a soldier in a war of aggression, yes. But the fault for that lies at the hand of the Queen, and I doubt she has any mercy for those who show signs of remorse or who fail to obey. If you would kill all her servants, Irrisen will be left as no more than a vast grave. This is the first, perhaps the only chance for this one to change. And for guarantees... I can give you those. I can place a geas, commanding her to leave these lands and not return. I could do the same for the trolls, though they are more likely to choose death instead; I'll not take that choice away."

Tabrak pauses, striking yet again at a downed troll.

"I was born in a war camp. If not for the mercy of others, I would not stand here today; I will not betray them by failing to offer the same chance in turn."

[Frosty]

The succubus seems...uncomfortable with the conversation. "I...umm...I thik we need to at least try. Conversion and redemption is a...long and tricky process. Take it from me, you need time. I...I want to try to convert them, but our top priority is the protection of innocents. If there's any way we can keep them contained, I say we have a DUTY to try to convert. Sometimes even the most corrupt at first glance has a chance to...turn around. Perhaps some nearby city will have facilities capable of holding them?"

In response To Tabrak, Abigail says, "Even if you convince the trolls to leave, if they are still evil, then would they not be harming others?"

[Tuvarkz]

"First of all, such a condition could just make the winter wolf kill elsewhere, and placing a permanent compulsion spell on an intelligent being isn't exactly merciful solution. We gave them the chance when we announced our intention yesterday and left before violence sparked. One of them decided to confess their crimes, and thus will be spared. Today, did any of the rest decide to surrender?
And in regards to Irrisen, of course I would not kill them all. The queen of Irrisen is certainly the mastermind in all this. Dedicating resources for a full culling would be wasteful and useless. And that could also potentially trigger Baba Yaga's wrath, which is most certainly something we don't want to do at all."
Eclaire turns to Abigail, and speaks: "I don't think there is anywhere near enough steel or iron to craft cages strong enough for all of them, and even then, in the process of caging them one of them could flail about or temporarily break his bonds and hurt one of my men. I would rather not risk men I know to be good at heart for creatures who we don't know about."

[Llyarden]

"If Irrisen is a corrupting influence upon them, perhaps time away from it would allow them to return to peaceful ways," Lanerlei pointed out. "Amongst your men, do you have anyone capable of reading the thoughts of these? Perhaps we could see what exactly has been done to them."

More quietly, she muttered to herself. "All things that live love beauty, and I will show beauty's answer to them."

[Tuvarkz]

"Besides their basic cantrips, my magi followers only know the most basic combat spells, and I don't think it suits Derfel's domain either."

[Hjolnai]

Tabrak nods at Lanerlei's words on the influence of Irrisen.

"I do not suggest that we free them incautiously, but only that we offer them a chance. I'll not place a compulsion upon them unless they accept it voluntarily - and those who do, will be those who would accept our suggestions anyway; the geas merely prevents them from slipping so easily, such that when at last it runs its course they will have learned a better way and no longer need it. Thus, here is my proposition: We offer each individually the choice: a clean death, for those who dare not seek a better life; or an oath to improve, backed by the geas. Those who accept can certainly be persuaded to travel somewhere where they will do little harm - perhaps the Worldwound, where there are acceptable targets for their violent tendencies."

[Tuvarkz]

"However, do you suppose that those who don't accept the geas will just offer their neck to the sword?"

[ylvathrall]

As this whole interplay is going on, you can hear a conversation going on in that grumbling language. It's a quiet conversation, to the extent that any conversation involving a thirty-foot tall troll can be quiet, which means you can hear it from where you're standing.

After several seconds of this, the wolf apparently gets the idea across to the troll, because he starts to speak in a different language. He makes a few false starts before settling on Common.

"Why you have sword?" the troll asks. "Fight is over. You win. You not need sword now."

Spoiler: Lanerlei

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You detect a faint evil aura from each of the unconscious creatures. You do not detect an evil aura from the wolf which defected. The mountain troll is out of range.

[Tuvarkz]

Considering that the mountain troll remains technically the ruler of the place, Eclaire sheathes her sword, and turning to him, says: "We wanted to know whether you can make sure your fellows won't attack people again or not. What they did wasn't something we can just forgive that lightly; so we were still deciding what to do with them."

[Frosty]

"If Irrisen is a corrupting influence upon them, perhaps time away from it would allow them to return to peaceful ways," Lanerlei pointed out. "Amongst your men, do you have anyone capable of reading the thoughts of these? Perhaps we could see what exactly has been done to them."

More quietly, she muttered to herself. "All things that live love beauty, and I will show beauty's answer to them."

"Besides their basic cantrips, my magi followers only know the most basic combat spells, and I don't think it suits Derfel's domain either."

The succubus looks a bit uncomfortable at Lanerlei's suggestion. "Well, Sarenrae has deemed it fit to allow me to spend my magical energies to...read the thoughts of others. I can only cast this spell once per day however. I think since we are trying to protect people and redeem evil it is...acceptable to read the thoughts of others. Generally I stay away from it however."

At the mountain troll's question, Abigail immediately sheaths her sword. "We just want to prevent these trolls and wolves from hurting others. Nothing more. We are not your enemies."

[ylvathrall]

"What you saying?" the mountain troll asks. "I not understand. Why is problem? Fight is over."

Meanwhile, the winter wolf moves back to where you're standing. "Use little words," it says quietly. "He's not that good with the big ones, if you get my drift."

[Hjolnai]

Tabrak keeps his axe low and unthreatening as he addresses the mountain troll. He points at the defeated foes.

"They attacked traders, made war. We want to stop them doing it again."

He pauses, working out how to shorten the words of his next sentence.

"We were... talking about... how to do that, if we need to kill them or if we can spare them without them attacking people again."

[Llyarden]

"If their minds have been twisted by the Irrisen power, then your abilities would allow us to discover whether they are under some kind of enchantment or whether they have merely been lured with propoganda and honeyed words. The former would be...easier to deal with."

To the mountain troll, she said "If we leave now, most of them will get back up. And they will do exactly what they have done before, and bring more warriors and more fights to your home. How would you suggest we avoid that?" She was...not exactly good at the 'use little words' thing.

[ylvathrall]

The mountain troll considers this for a few seconds. Some of the ideas you brought up are obviously giving him trouble, but he seems to be genuinely trying to work through the meaning.

Eventually, he nods. Even that motion is so exaggerated by his sheer size that it's easy to see, even at a distance. "Is problem," he agrees. "When I want to not fight I growl and things go away. That works good. But maybe not so good when you are not troll."

[Tuvarkz]

Nodding at the mountain troll and gesturing with her hands to explain the situation, she says: "We only have few strong, but most are weak. When we fight war, the strong fight the strong." She decides to simplify concepts and omit that not all trained soldiers are equally strong, but would rather not confuse the mountain troll with more complicated stuff, and that while villages get raided, it's seen as dishonorable and immoral. "They want war, and they attacked the weak ones. When our strong kill our weak, they get killed by our other strong. I want to know if you can make them stop attacking us in the future."

[Frosty]

Abigail feels the others are already making good points, and lets them take the lead. She hangs back and converses with the wolf mentally. "Your...cousins...would you want them to be brought back to life? If they return, could you now talk them into nonviolence, given what they've faced?"

[ylvathrall]

The troll seems confused at Eclaire's words. "You won," he says. "Why would they attack you again? They would lose. Is stupid to attack people stronger than you. Is why no one attacks me." He then nods slowly. "I tell them attacking you is like attacking me. Then they know it is stupid."

Meanwhile, the winter wolf is sitting near Abigail. "I want them to be alive," it replies, looking over the scene miserably. "But I know things can't go back to the way they were. And I don't think I could convince them of anything now. I'm not good with words, and then I left them." It then looks at the paladin with something approaching hope. "Maybe you could explain to them. You're good at talking."

[Tuvarkz]

Eclaire decides that while the message didn't entirely go through, with the mountain troll guaranteeing his cousins won't cause problems anymore, the issue has been fundamentally solved. In the meantime, she considers ordering her men to retrieve the wolves' corpses. While one of them was set on fire by her attack, some of the fur and hide should still be salvageable and probably able to sell well enough to both resupply and give her followers some coin for them to spend.

[Frosty]

"Friend wolf, what are you planning on doing? Taking your cousins and going away elsewhere? That's even assuming I can talk them down. If I can't, we have to kill them...again."

Abigail uses her mind to speak to the others, informing them of her intentions to possibly raise the dead wolves and try diplomacy again now that they have had a show of strength. "Our friend wolf would really like it if this can work out. I told him I can try, but I might have to kill them again if they don't agree to back down."

[Llyarden]

If their minds have been poisoned by magic, no amount of talking will help them. But we have to try, just on the possibility that they did not do this of their own volition entirely. "Do any of them speak Common?" This latter was out loud and addressed to the friendly wolf.

[Tuvarkz]

Actually, I was considering having my men carry their corpses back to camp. Their hide could either be used for cold-resistant cloaks or jerkins; or sold for a considerable amount of coin. Could afford to give my men a nice feast and some coin for their efforts. Not entirely sure if the meat could be used for emergency rations, though. While knowing that her idea is not going to gather much support, it's pragmatical, and the knight is most certainly not one to let resources go to waste.

[Frosty]

"And what kind of signal would that send to our friend wolf here if we start eating his cousins and wearing them as cloaks? Even if we are not bringing them back to life for a chance at redemption, we are going to at least give them a proper burial and show respect how we can. These are not unintelligent animals we are talking about here, but sentient beings. Evil, true, but so was I in the past. And I'd be upset if I see people wearing succubi skin.

[Tuvarkz]

"First of all, to respect the dead is to make sure their deaths weren't in vain, and thus we take the most by obtaining something of worth from them. Secondly, it's known that dragon scales, hide and bone have powerful properties and legends more than once have spoken of heroes wielding gear made from them and I don't see how this is any different. Thirdly, there's a double pronged reason why people don't wear skin from fiends in general. To begin with, most of the time we face summoned and not called fiends, which means they get sent back to their home plane when they get defeated. In addition, when a fiend is truly slain and leaves a corpse, there's no certainty that wearing something made from them will not corrupt the user, or if it is possible to purge said corrupting property without destroying the remains. And lastly, I was planning on giving a proper funeral pyre to the remains that weren't to be used."