Eberron meets Nation states

[Cobrateen2000]

Excellent! When the docks are finished, Masayori will need your assistance with that next. Remember, the warforged and whoever it brings along to chop down the Jungle-oak and collect the Jarbri root will need your eye to spot them, so do your best to help them out. It shouldn’t matter if it takes you a few days to get to them, just take your time on the dock so that it lasts a long time. When you are done with that, find Masayori the warforged and tell it that you are the herbalist who will find the plants I talked with it about. You probably can tell from the plants in question, but they are for our beds and possibly new clothing, so we’re not in a big hurry. Oh, and when the time comes to go plant-hunting, please do not stray to far from the village. Masayori seems quite confident in its fighting skills, but we still know very little about what’s out there. Oh, and when that dock is finished, please have someone inform me, I should probably do a quick blessing over it.

Having found the herbalist as he set out to do, Aurell now goes back to his other duties for today.

[Galteland]

Maekrix hisses repeatedly, his own form of laughter.

*"Ah, Quabil, a pleasure that you may join us. Thanks you for putting the obnoxious humanoid out of our misery."

Maekrix returns to his throne and pulls out his old dagger and a vial. He meticulously applies poison to the blade from a small waterskin.

*"I appreciate your input in our affairs. I treasure the suggestions given to me from any of my tribesmen, even the rash ones."

As he says this, Maekrix pointedly pauses in his work and looks up at Quabil.

*"I would like you to think back on how often you have seen me show mercy. Think carefully of what had happened to those in the past that have stood in the way of our tribe's glory. I am sure you realize that if this pathetic human had anything less that a great worth to me, I would have him killed in seconds. It is certainly not out of "mercy" that he is alive!"

Maekrix hisses again at his last comment.

*"You can trust me when I say that I yearn for his and all his kin's death. I know you are newer too this land, and haven't been suffering from the foolish larger tribes who rape our homelands! we could fight the humans, kill them all, eat their young and have a glorified sense of accomplishment without loosing more than one or two of our own, or we could let them think that we are their friends, an asset. Trade food and survival secrets for stronger weapons and soldiers. They see us as dumb monsters, let them think that. Once we steal their power and all they have to give to us, we unite the other tribes under a common enemy, the evil humans, and they will all fight under the most powerful tribe! The tribe that knows the most about fighting them and with the strongest weapons and strongest warriors. Clan Waetonan! Then with all of Lathazar behind us we create our own nation! Drive out the humans! Make the lowliest Waetonan warrior into a noble with riches and power beyond our wildest dreams. These humans are not our downfall! they are our opportunity, our great advancement to the rulers of a new world. We are blessed by the Great Dragon of Darkness that we found them first."

By the time Maekrix finishes his speech, he is standing on top of his thrown holding his stolen sword. He looks every tribe member in the eye and then gives his orders.

*"Meshek, pick another human, whoever you deem strongest, to stay here with the nameless one. Mesheek, you will bring the rest of the humans with us and we will go visit our new tools."

Maekrix then descends his throne and approaches Quabil.

*"I invite you, adversary, to join me in greeting these new comers and assessing them for yourself."

And as soon as preparations are finished and Maekrix explains to the humans that they will be being returned according to the agreement, he moves half his tribe and the human prisoners back into the forest toward Haven.

*translated from draconic

Spoiler

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Diplomacy - (1d20+14)[17]

[Surprise!]

Zukzan's body is stunned, if any where watching it would appear as if he was silently laughing. Eye's lighting up then erupting into righteous fury, muscles tensing Zukzan calls an alarm.

"Alarm! Emergency Council Meeting!"

He calls out as he begins to run a semi circle around the villege.

"Masaori, Aurell, you are needed. Drop what you can, meet at the center."

He arrives in the center of town, and as they are reacting, he starts telling anyone nearby the news.

"Salmor has been captured."

As he is spreading the news he looks grimly at the chaos he has just created.

[WaterTengu]

this is a problem, i doubt he will leak information, he's just stubborn enough. but if he is killed we will be without a lot of trained individuals. We must hope that the lizards in this area are more negotiable than the ones i saw in The War. But i firmly believe we should not send anything outside of these walls while he is at large.

[Cobrateen2000]

That sounds like an excellent plan. In fact, it may be wise to have the town seclude itself inside our most fortified building, in case the ones who took Salimor– and all his men I presume? – come here with intentions of battle. If the Watch is gone, we must do the best we can to defend ourselves, and that means that, for today at least, everyone should be in a secure as possible location. One day of missed labor will not hurt us, and we can send out scouts tomorrow morning to check the surroundings. To Masayori, Are there any structures capable in this regard?

To Zukan, Do we know any more of what happened? How did you learn this? Why did Salimor leave the village?

Spoiler

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If the villagers as a whole start panicking in a dangerous manner, i.e. looking to run away and hide, or to get violent, will loudly ask them to Calm down!

Diplomacy - (1d20+5)[16]

If that is unsuccessful and the situation is still dangerous, cast Calm Emotions, DC 15 Will save, but only if the crowd of villagers look truly dangerous and/or panicky.

[WaterTengu]

"All of the homes are the same so far, with Salmor gone we have not been able to present our plans for his people's home to him. I would say that everyone who needs to sleep a whole night should go to bed, all those who are not capable of spellweaving should take a light sleep and patrol with me for at least one hour over the night. All of you should keep your weapons ready by your beds, out of their chaps and belt-holds, or in whatever way you can fastest draw them."

[Surprise!]

"It came from the mouth of his distraught companion, the noble dwarf feel into an unconscious state before I could learn more."

His eyes go wild as if feeding off of the ensuing panic, "An ordered response is obviously the best, but I am not content to huddle in a dark room while those vicious savages plot our demise.

A restructuring is in order, we cannot wait for council meetings like this when our people's new life is being threatened. I propose a 5th member to the council, one who could only vote to break tie votes and also to lead in these turbulent times. Naturally it should be some one capable on the battle field while possessing leadership experience.

In addition, all citizens should have combat service or at the very least training regiments added to their required labor 'tax'.

Some one check if the watch left any weapons"

[WaterTengu]

"I agree on the counts of another council member, and the weapons.

but we are not just huddling in a corner waiting to be killed zukan, if anything comes near that wall i will blow my whistle and all the people in the village who are prepared to shall come running to protect our home. If you do not want to sleep then please stand watch with me."

[Aquateenflayer]

Aurell-Zukan-Masaori-Haven Camp, The 3rd of Therendor of 998th Year of the Kingdom of Galifar

Torches are lit as the sun dips below the horizon and darkness finally sets in. People scramble to find more weapons but find nothing more than a few knives and farming implements. Panic seems to be on peoples minds as they keep looking over their shoulders as if expecting an army of lizard folk to come bursting out of the jungle at any moment.
"I" says the countess in a regal voice that cuts through the panicked mummers of the settlers. "Would like to nominate myself for the position of the new council member. During the war I held a rank the equivalent of a Major, of for those of you that are from Thrane a Sacrosanct. I am the most powerful caster in this town and I was born into nobility which meant that while all of the other children were having fun I was busy being shaped into a future leader of Khorvaire.
Now I know that I am not the most pleasant person at times and Soverigns know Haven has tried my patience but it does not change the fact that out of all the people here I am the most qualified to lead our young town in our times of crisis and I would more than happy to step down if someone more qualified would be willing to take the great Burdon of responsibility from me.”
She smiles sweetly and her eyes sparkle almost magically in the torchlight of the camp. Most of the settlers seem to be absolutely enthralled by her speech. The countess curtsies and moves back over to her servant who had been silently clapping since her oration concluded.

Maekrix-Lizardfolk Camp, The 3rd of Therendor of 998th Year of the Kingdom of Galifar

Meshek picks a stubby man to stay as you set out on the road with your prisoners. Once again you begin the task of winding through the jungle taking care not to double back near any landmarks. As you walk along Quabil discreetly comes along side you and begins talking is hushed but relaxed tones. “You spoke of the great dragon of darkness yet you have no chance to ever comprehend his will. I give you this final warning, the outsiders are marked by prophecy. A prophecy that runs contrary to lord Kyber’s agenda. Kill the interlopers now and raze their works of you will one day soon take the brunt of his infernal wrath.” Quabil slows his pace so you out distance him and begins conversing with Mesheek.

[Cobrateen2000]

To Zukan, We should not presume that to be the case. These lizardmen might be different, even friendly; Salimor would know not to go near the group from the fort. It’s as I said from the beginning, we should try to create peaceful solutions to our problems, using diplomacy over war. Sometimes good men are forced to resort to war to stop monstrous forces, as we may have to do tonight, but even that is not always the case. History shows numerous examples of civilizations threatened by extinction, their foes too powerful to stop; so they welcomed those foes, made peace, sometimes gave up power, and later generally flourished. I’m not saying we should give them power over our lives, but if we can come to an communal and exemplarily mutually beneficial agreement to live together in relative peace, then that is what we should do first.

As to another council member, I do not agree. While in the future we may need to create new councilor positions, such as of foreign relations or public health, we do not need a tie vote decider. And a councilor of war is already in place, in Salmor and his Watch. That they have seemingly all been captured just means that he was not doing a very good job, but we certainly don’t need to take his position from him so quickly. A tie breaker is a bad idea with such a small council; if we have a tie, we should discuss the issue until we can break that tie ourselves. Besides, when I write the law I try to only use voting in certain situations, that is when it is important that the majority of the council members agree. We are not on a council that votes on issues, we each have our own area which we oversee. The only situations where a vote is required are those in which the decision is important to the areas of all councilors, not just the one it falls under easiest. So in essence, a tie breaker is not needed.

Weapons training for all is a good idea, but not forced military service. To force someone to fight disregards the fact that there are those who do not wish to fight. It is cruel to ask a pacifist to learn how to kill, alone or as a squad; but it is not wrong to teach him how to defend himself. We live in a dangerous land, and having our citizens know how to wield a simple weapon is a most intelligent idea. Even I, a pacifist to the bone, can wield a simple stave or club. But to require combat service is something I must argue against most vehemently. Still, such a decision would be up to the Defense Councilor, not me.

As the Countess has her say, Aurell listens carefully, and looks to be cautiously considering her words. He quickly comes to a decision: I could not agree more; your past as a military leader would serve us quite well. In fact, I can now see that we should have had you as our Defense Councilor all along. Salmor’s mistakes have shown that he does not deserve the position, so I motion we vote to strip him of it. In the laws I wrote up, there is a clear and simple method for doing that. A three-fourths majority of the population, and only those not under consideration for the position or not already in it, can give or take the position of Councilor. I motion that we do so right now. Since the existence of a hefty percent of our population is currently unknown, we shall say that those right here make up the population just for this vote. So, will you the people take away Salmor’s title as Councilor, seeing as he has shown himself unable to hold it properly? And will we instate the Countess Ir'Colo as Councilor Ir'Colo, a woman with years of service to provide us? I think the choice is obvious, but it is up to you to decide. Aurell, finally finished, smiles ingratiatingly at the Countess, then waits for the hands to rise.

[Surprise!]

To Aurell "It is a crueler fate to watch the pacifist die when pressed by war. I am not implying adding everyone to the watch, but look how easily we lost everything. If the basic citizenry are all at the very least trained we will be emphatically safer. No one would be pressed into service that morally opposed it, but they would still learn how to defend themselves in a disaster."

"I do not see how you never envision an irreconcilable tie forming with such strong personalities and differing opinions on the council. Again the powers I am suggesting is only one vote during a tie, and temporary command under times of extreme stress and trouble. To waste the countesses leadership and military skills would be blasphemous to the gods who gave us her as well as us all."

Turning to the assembled masses "I do not know about you, but I will not stand for such a staunch pacifist at the helm against an army of monstrous savages"

[WaterTengu]

I believe you and zukan are agreeing, all should be trained. All should not be forced to serve. I will agree.

As for you countess, I want to know from you what you would like to "rule" over. That shall determine whether I support you. But I shall not allow our disowning of Salmor, when he returns you may bring the point up again Aurell, but until then he should keep his position. He needs to be able to defend himself.

[Cobrateen2000]

To Zukan, So, what you mean to say is that we are in complete agreement? We seem to agree that everyone should have weapon training, but not forced military service. We seem to agree that the incomparable Ir’Colo should take the position of Defense Councilor. We seem to agree that it would be a denial of the wisdom of Aureon to not elect her, although your use of the word ‘blaspheme’ is rather strong.

To the crowd, In fact, I could not agree with him more. A pacifist like me would be a horrible choice to lead us in the face of a monstrous onslaught, but there are several bad assumptions being made there. That I would deign to lead is a false assumption; I have already said that our Defense Councilor should lead us in these times, and that the illustrious Ir’Colo should be that Councilor. That we face a monstrous foe is an unknown; from what we have learned, it seems that a wild animal attacked the Watch, and that the lizard men saved them. Perhaps we should be thanking the lizard men for saving our friends. Which brings me to the third bad assumption, that we need a military leader at this time. It is true that Countess Ir’Colo should become our new Defense Councilor; it is irrefutable that we may need her expertise at this time. Or we may not; in fact, we may need an expert on foreign relations, a Foreign Affairs Councilor. If Salmor has survived this ordeal, he may indeed be the best to handle such a position. Another reason why the impressive Ir’Colo should take his former position! To say that he should be able to defend his actions is admirable, but he has already shown his skill as a Defense Councilor. He traveled into the forest with the entire Watch, leaving the rest of us unprotected I might add; if that is his defense, it will not last long. In fact, he may already be dead, if these lizard men are as monstrous as Zukan claims, in which case we will need a Defense Councilor. If he has survived, he will have shown his talent to be in diplomacy, not defense.

To Zukan again, But there is one way in which I do not agree with you, and it is indicative of the topic itself that we would face such disagreement. I speak of the power of a tie breaker, and our disagreement on whether it should be given. Such a power is unnecessary in our current form of government. Our Defense Councilor, who should obviously be the unquestionable Ir’Colo, will already hold such power in a crisis. In fact, the very nature of our government attests to the fact that a tie breaker is unnecessary. With our individual areas of expertise, there should be very little conflict between Councilors. If there was a vote, as a few points in the law stipulate, it would be for the reason that the issue covers multiple areas, in which case a certain amount of agreement is necessary. So whether we are voting or not, we are never in the position of needing a tie breaker. For example, if I remember correctly, one of the few such situations is when some punishment must be decided for a lazy worker, and a majority vote is required to decide the form of the punishment. In that case, indecision on the Council results in the worker being cleared of all charges; no tie breaker is needed in such a situation. If a tie is reached, that can only mean there is serious disagreement over whether a crime took place, in which case a verdict of no crime is sensible.

[Galteland]

Maekrix walks back towards the end of the caravan and yells at some of the lizard-folk in the rear.

"Bacri qeelak ehaism!"

Before he walks back to the lead posision, Maekrix slowly pulls an ancient, runed stone wand from his pouch on his belt and inconspicuously waves it and mutters under his breath, several tail-lengths behind Quabil. Not knowing whether the damed piece of stone worked like the old wench of a shamman told him it would, Maekrix walks up beside Quabil and Mesheek.

"Quabil, I don't know if you understanded me, I fully plan to kill these humans and raise their buildings, but first we must use them for all their wealth. Only after they have nothing left, and we have no more need of them do we send the lot of them to the Great Dragon of Shadows. Any time before would waste our newest and most valuable resource. I have dealt with these creatures before. They are idealistic and blinded by seening good in others. The all want to be some sort of heros. By far the easiest manipulated beasts we have yet to encounter. I also learned that their numbers are great. The multiply quickly and like to overwhelm the opponent by sheer numbers. I have a simple, yet efficient plan on getting them both under our heels and disposed of when they outlive their usefulness. That's why I have special instructions for you Mesheek, a way to begin using the humans imediatly, after all, now that the nameless one told us of their new ship comming, we must act quickly."

Maekrix then tells Mesheek, infront of Quabil, his new, special instructions. And then sends them off into the forest.

[Galteland]

Spoiler

Show

Use Magic Device, wand of charm person(1d20+7)[21]

[Surprise!]

"I would be most disturbed if the crime in question was murder or treason, and they were let go because of ineffectual bickering.

But let me yield the floor to our Countess."

[Aquateenflayer]

Aurell-Zukan-Masaori-Haven Camp, The 3rd of Therendor of 998th Year of the Kingdom of Galifar

The countess bows graciously to Zukan and once again addresses Haven as a whole as her servant steps back into the shadows and out of sight. "I think the decision to add me to the council is the only one currently of importance. The finer points of law can wait until we are all out of immediate danger. After all we must not allow perfection to become an enemy of good. All in favor of myself being elected to the council and given power enough to safeguard our town in times of crisis say aye." An overwhelming majority of the town voices their approval of the aristocrat. "All opposed she says with a smug grin on her face. A couple murmured nays are heard but are largely ignored as the countess announces her victory. "I accept my new position and as my first act I say that everyone that can hold a weapon arm themselves with whatever you can find and everyone else grab a shovel and begin digging trenches. These savages may know the jungle better than we do but I highly doubt they have ever engaged in trench warfare." After a moment of breif confusion a line of men and women with shovels start digging long trenches periodically dispersed around Haven. "Warforged," The countess says pointing at Masaori,"Take a small team with you, go to the docks and bring as many planks back as possible. You should be able to fashon crude spears from them.
" You half orc!" The countess points at Shag "Take me to the draco-cows I have a special project we can work on."
As Shag and the countess start heading over to the pens Sarius comes running in from the jungle flailing his arms. "The lizard folk are almost here! There's about a dozen of them heading this way. I don't pretend to understand draconic but they're bringing the men they took prisoner so I think they come in peace."
"How far away are they?"The countess demands.
"About ten minuites out although they seem to be taking a winding path to confuse our men."
"Excellent, everyone continue what you are doing. We shall not let on that we expected their arrival. Anyone who lets on that we are expecting them to come in peace will be dealt with mercilessly. As far as you are concerned Sarius never told us anything." She turns to Shag. "Please excuse me while I freshen up."

Maekrix-Lizardfolk Camp, The 3rd of Therendor of 998th Year of the Kingdom of Galifar

A slightly dazed look crosses Quabil's face as your spell is cast. After a breif moment his eyes become focused again and bares his teeth in a grinning threat to you. Suddenly you hear the sound of many things hitting the ground. You look away from your failed spell and see that all but one of your lizardfolk have dropped their weapons and are standing with shocked expressions.
A human cloaked in darkness steps out of the shadows in front of your tribe along the path. All you can see of his face is his devious grin.
*Translated from draconic
*"If you here to see m'lady please leave your weapons here and follow me. If you here to fight please pick up your weapons so that I may gain some amusement from your pathetic attempts."
Quaibil has seemed to have lost all of his confidence and takes a step back to put you in between yourself and the human. He leans over to you and whispers in your ear.
*"We can't defeat him Maekrix. We must retreat. He is Il-Lashtavar. We cannot afford an enemy such as him. This place is lost to us.We must flee the area and take our chances. We must move further inland. At least with the other tribes we will stand a chance." This is the first time you have ever seen genuine fear on Quaibil's face.

[WaterTengu]

"Fine. You, you, you, you, and you" Pointing to five burly men in the crowd, "follow me." Masayori sets his men to work and goes to visit the countess. "I can understand using a type of warfare that they do not understand, but trench warfare will not do. We do not have enough crossbows to engage that way, and polearms are also short on hand. Making too many spears the way you told me to is wasting valuable resources, we are not back in your land where we can order wood by the ton. Every bit used is time wasted. May i suggest instead having the people hoist archers and crossbowmen onto the rooves and having all those not trained that way on the ground positioned in a way to best use the alleyways made by the houses."

[Galteland]

Maekrix's eye lids flicker excidedly as he licks his lips. It appears his new friends are more powerful than he expected, but he knows that they can't all be this way, or the squad wouldn't have been captured so easily. Also, from the look on their captor's faces, the lizard-folk are not the only one surprised with this appearence. Maekrix wonders if the man is speaking in draconic for his benifit, or so that the captors can't overhear what they are saying. Perhaps there are some powerful people in this new camp, but prehaps they are not as united as they like to believe. Oppertunities begin to form in Maekrix's mind, and after a split second he comes to his plan of action.

SLASH

Maekrix claws at Quabil's face as he cowers behind him.

*"How dare you insult our new allies, we come to make piece, and you attempt to ruin my clan's glory by pointing at the first person we see and start calling him a deamon! Waetonan has suffered your naunsense enough, outsider! Flee into the forest like the coward you are and may your tail rot and fall off. I would stab you in the face right now, but you are not worth the poison on my blade!"

Maekrix gives on final kick to Quabil's backside, trying to drive him into the forest.

*"I appologize sir for that creature's comments, although I do not know what it was he was claiming you to be, I can tell that you wish peace between our people and mutual benefit to our societies. We have no fear of you, for we indeed come in peace and lay down our weapons for the time, in hopes to bring them to bear alongside yours against a common foe. These are the soft-skins that were falling the one you call Salmor. We have reached a truce with that brave human who remains at our camp and are retrurning the rest of your people safely home. They should really know better than all running off into the woods like that. but please allow my tribe to follow you to your master and I shall continue in more detail how we can help eachother grow strong in this dangerous place."

Maekrix becons his tribe to grab there weapons and move out, following the mysterious human through the forest.

*Translated from draconic

[Aquateenflayer]

Maekrix-Haven Wilds, The 3rd of Therendor of 998th Year of the Kingdom of Galifar

Your tribe looks at you funny for a moment before placing their weapons in a small pile. After a brief walk you find yourselves in a clearing where it appears obvious massive fortifications are being erected and the knife wielding populace seems to be working together in perfect unison.

"M'lady" The human you met on the road calls out. A graceful human woman comes out one of the settlers' artificial caves. Her puffy human dress glimmer magically in the torchlight which illuminates the camp changing from all the colors of the rainbow and back again. "I met a group who seeks an audience."
"Please take their chief to my quarters while I gather the other members of the council."

You are escorted to a large room decorated in red and black with a set of four highly polished chairs positioned in a circle and are motioned to take a seat upon one.


Aurell-Zukan-Masaori-Haven Camp, The 3rd of Therendor of 998th Year of the Kingdom of Galifar

"Warforged." The countess says with distain in her voice as she takes you aside. "We are not going to be fighting these creatures. We only wish to look prepared to fight these creatures. We are putting on a show for them and their visit. Part of that show is that when WE make war we don’t hide in bushes and let the defenders have their home terrain. WE rip apart their forest from the roots and beat them to death with their own homes. A few extra felled trees and a few holes to fill after we are done is a small price to pay. However I didn't expect them to be coming so early so just send you and your men to help digging the trenches. Now If you excuse me I have a few finishing touches to add to my plan. "
The countess enters one of the long houses. About five minutes latter a large group of lizard men come out of the tree line lead seemingly following the Countess' servant. Following the lizards is almost the entire town guard. None of you can spot Salamor Amoung the prisoners however.
"M'lady" The servant calls out. The Countess steps out of the house with an even more extravagant dress than you have ever seen her in before. A brilliant glimmer weave ball gown with a kaleidoscope of color range. "I met a group who seeks an audience."
"Please take their chief to my quarters while I gather the other members of the council." A small black lizard man is escorted to the house where the new council member just left. "You three councilers please entertain the chief while handle the prisoner situation." She says as she takes out her fan.

The Countess obviously worked hard on the house as you can hardly recognize it as you walk in. In stead of crude sleeping mats scattered all around Four polished bronze wood chairs sit in a circle. The walls are now covered in tapestries depicting Karrnathi heraldry and great battles fought during the last war.

[WaterTengu]

"ne, shomani ra. Turning toward her men, "kinmusha fugenjikkou!"

[Surprise!]

Zukzan informs his people to continue work on the harbor, placing the knowledgeable human in his own stead.

Zukzan then takes his place in the council chamber, and glances at the Lizardfolk. He allows his eyes to stray so as not to be presumed staring. His posture is locked in step with the impassive stern grimace he is managing.

[WaterTengu]

After telling his people to keep working Masayori enters into the tent, he moves the chair by Zukan backward and sits on the floor. He watches the lizardmen closely. Making sure to look them straight in the eye, studying the color of their skin, memorizing the look of the tribe.

[Cobrateen2000]

Aurell enters the hut and looks around in awe of the furnishings. He then takes the last empty seat, next to the squat lizard man, and sits down contentedly. He smiles warmly at his new neighbor, careful not to show any teeth in what could be taken as a threat, then waits patiently for the Countess to arrive.

Spoiler

Show

When the Countess arrives, immediately stand up and offer her his chair. If she takes it, go and stand between the chairs of Zukan and Masayori. If she does not, happily sit down again.

[Galteland]

Maekrix climbs onto his chair. Trying to look unimpressed by his surroundings, he quickly takes in the odd hanging cloths, never seeing anything in so much detail, and the simple chair is more detailed than his great throne, though obviously not as grandeur. As impressive as the room is, Maekrix was much less impressed with the town. The lack of weapons and scared look from many of the populace shows how truly passive these soft-skins are. If it weren't for the shadowy man and the metal creature in front of him (somehow under the town's control), Maekrix could probably take the town with only the half of his tribe that is with him. Another sign of weakness is how quickly these people seem to obey what Maekrix is sure is a female. He thinks it may have something to do with the funny glowing armor she wears. No one else was wearing anything else like it. Maekrix sits in an awkward silence for a while, obviously the group of underlings assumes he doesn't know their language. Maekrix wonders to himself how long it will take them to realize that he can understand their common tongue, probably until one of the released guards tell about it. That weird-looking female is probably questioning them right now. Maekrix gives a thought about the treatment of his tribe, but then quickly returns to the matter at hand.

"Ava'yorn, seltur-molik"

He uses a basic greeting to see if anyone can even speak draconic. He also accentuates the "s" to make him seem even more alien.

[Surprise!]

"Ahem, indeed, if the reptilian cannot understand a civilized tongue I would suggest fetching one that does. Nonverbal communications are far too unreliable."

[Cobrateen2000]

To Zukan, Nonsense. I am sure the fine sir understands Common. As the leader of his tribe, he would most likely know a few languages for the purpose of trade and diplomacy. And Councilor Ir’Colo’s manservant seems to have been understood, to find and guide them so smartly back here. But come, let’s not speak as if he was not in the room.

To Maekrix, Hello. That sounded like Draconic, a greeting I would guess. I’m sorry to say that to my knowledge, no one here speaks your tongue. Please, if you would, speak in Common for our sakes. My name is Aurell Lynzine, and this is the town of Haven. I thank you for bringing our friends back in such good health, it’s good to have someone friendly in these dangerous lands. Did one of our kind stay back at your camp, a man named Salmor? Is he okay?

[Aquateenflayer]

Aurell-Zukan-Masaori-Maekrix-Haven Council Chambers, The 3rd of Therendor of 998th Year of the Kingdom of Galifar


"No need to coddle him councilor Aurell. I give you my most sincere assurances that he is both able to understand the common tongue but is able to reply as such." The servant says stepping out of the shadows. "Now may I present Haven's new defense councilor, Lady Jasmine Ir'Colo." He sweeps his arms in a courtly manner to direct your attention to the aristocrat. Jasmine walks in and curtsies to Aurell before taking his seat and begins smiling at the lizardfolk leader.
"You have held our men against their will and have made many comments about the destruction of our town after you get what you want from us. You have made it clear you are not to be trusted and so I will give you only a short time to defend yourself before we pass judgment upon you and your entire tribe."

[WaterTengu]

Hearing the mysterious man's remarks, followed the Countess's comments, masayori decides that this may turn ugly fast. Masayori slowly moves his right arm down his leg, toward the sai located there.

Spoiler

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roll for sleight of hand to have the lizardman not notice - (1d20+2)[9]

[Cobrateen2000]

Aurell, impasioned, speaks. Now just one moment, let’s not accuse our new friend so quickly. As we all know, our men were brought back to us unharmed and with expediency. They were escorted safely back through the verifiably dangerous jungle, and now we two groups can discuss all the potential aid we can be to each other. To accuse him of “dispatching us when he wishes” is a bad way to start such negotiations, in my opinion. As far as I can tell, this fine sir has been nothing but forthcoming and kind to us, and we should treat him likewise. Besides, there are more important matters at hand. So, to the lizard man, how is Salmor?

Spoiler

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Aurell has no idea what Masayori is doing and wouldn't support it if he did, but his quick speech here might distract attention from him/her. So, a diplomacy roll, both to sway the course of the meeting and aid Masayori.

Diplomacy - (1d20+5)[19]