[Continued] - Quirin/Dwarves - 5 April, 1 VC

[KingOfCowards]

I like Fangir as well. Unfortunately I am not sure this is a battle we can win. Furthermore, I don't know if anybody else here really wants to fight it in the first place. Crivit, for one, expressed ideas for finding a way to use it for good.
Spartakos pointed out it can be hit. It also can charm and cast druid spells, and take on eight lizardmen at once who are all tougher than any of us. This has TPK written all over it. If we want to get back to Vaul, we do so by avoiding this beast. That being said, Bertram is a man of honor (and has no idea how powerful the black beast is) and his pride would not allow him to turn down Fangir. So he will be joining him on this suicide mission. But I highly recommend that the rest of you do not.

[KingOfCowards]

"I am sorry, Fangir old friend. I think you misunderstand our purpose here. I told you we had bad news, Vaul has sided with the black beast and not against it. These companions are not here to fight with you against the wolf. They had come to seek out new areas and new peoples. I brought clerics, not soldiers. There may be some in Vaul who would fight with us, but they are still yet to be found. However, if you are set on facing this beast now, I will not let it said that men had abandoned you in your time of need. I will accompany you."

[sulldawga]

Quirin

Fangir, the Thane spoke very poorly of you at dinner tonight. Did something happen between you and him?

As far as the Black Beast is concerned, I agree with you that he must be killed. But he is too powerful for us, at this moment in time, to face in battle. Even alone, without any of his wolf companions, he could kill all of us and all of your dwarf companions with ease.

If we were to set out to defeat him now, we would need to use trickery. We need to make a foolproof plan. Are you willing to go down that path?

[Keehnelf]

Fangir sighs deeply, and much of the fire that had kindled in him seems to dissipate.

"You are true friends, speaking the truth to me when I know it must be difficult in such circumstances. The Thane spoke ill of me, you say? It is no wonder. He is nervous of me, and will remain so as long as I remain here, but I cannot leave. The truth of the matter is this. My father, and his father before him for fourteen generations, was thane of the Firedeep clan. When our hold fell to evil, my father fell with it, and Drogmir and his advisors took advantage of my grief and a twisted interpretation of ancient laws to wrest the lordship of the clan from my family, and thus from me.

"In the process, many lies were told about the dead, but none so grievous as to raise the specter of the coup that was taking place. When all was done, I found myself bound by my obligations to my people to raise no hand against what is, in all ways except in the eyes of the law, a usurper. If I took action on behalf of my wounded pride and that of my family, I would still be in the wrong.

"So I have served, and waited. The people here recognize my dedication, but they also respect the force of our laws, which is almost all we have in this miserable hole, and fear offering me their support so they are not seen as divisive or challenging the thane's authority. But the black beast--he is more of a threat than the thane suspects, and if we hesitate any longer, it will destroy us. If I were to slay the beast and bring some safety at last to our people, perhaps finally the people--"

He pauses and sighs once again.

"I am worried that our time grows too short for waiting and plotting. I am convinced that the creature grows in power through our inaction, that it is not as deadly as it appears but through its cunning it creates an illusion of power, as when a small animal expands its fur to appear larger to dissuade predators.

"I am driven by fear for my people, pride for my fallen lineage, and shame before my young son, who knows little of his family's history but will grow in a home of born lords poisoned by servility and suspicion."

[sulldawga]

Quirin

Fangir, we are not short-lived Men or easily distracted Halflings. We can play a longer game. Let us work on weakening the Black Beast in preparation for facing him and defeating him.

We can hunt his wolves down in their dens and kill their pups so fewer of them prey on your clan.

We can search for hidden caches of arms and treasure, so we may better arm ourselves and hire mercenaries for our final battle against the Black Beast.

Or, if you want to bring the Arch-Duke around to your way of thinking, we can exterminate the goblins and regain the mountain. No one could deny your birthright after that!

What say you?

[Keehnelf]

"I too thought as you--that we have time to prepare and marshal our strength against the beast. But as I have prepared, he too has laid the foundations of his victory. And each month, more of my kin are lost: on hunting and foraging journeys, slain by goblins or wolves, or subject to the disease that is only too inevitable when you surround yourself with the dead.

"I understand if you wish to wait: but I do not believe this task will be made easier with time, or if it is I worry that I will have already lost that for which I fight.

"You are an elf, and more long-lived than I, so I will not presume to contradict your wisdom, but these are concerns that weigh on my heart. Like elves, we dwarves do not breed so fast as to avoid extinction when we are thus harried."

[sulldawga]

Quirin

Fangir, if you are really going to fight the Black Beast face-to-face, and soon, at least return with me to Vaul and let us rally some of the other adventurers there. In any battle like that, there is some strength in numbers and your plan has a chance of success if there's 20 of us and not five or six.

[Keehnelf]

Quirin

Fangir, if you are really going to fight the Black Beast face-to-face, and soon, at least return with me to Vaul and let us rally some of the other adventurers there. In any battle like that, there is some strength in numbers and your plan has a chance of success if there's 20 of us and not five or six.

In fact, there are seven of you (plus four proposed dwarves)

Fangir looks troubled. "How long would it take to go to Vaul and rally these others? And would doing so cause strife with your lord given his agreement with the beast? I would not travel far from my people only to be arrested or killed by him only for attempting to do my duty. At least fighting the creature directly I will know I had died in the business of achieving my ends."

[sulldawga]

Quirin

At some point, I imagine that you and the Arch-Duke will have to hash things out. He's claimed this entire valley in the name of the Lords of the South. He is, however, quite incapable of enforcing that claim at the moment (and probably for a long time). And I suspect you'll find him easier to deal with than either the goblins or the wolves.

But if you want, you can camp outside of Vaul and still be safe while we go in and recruit some others. If we head directly there, skirting the Black Beast's lands and staying to the south, it should take about two days.

I spoke only of myself and the dwarves, and perhaps Bertram. Don't want to recruit the rest of the party against their will.

Still, who wouldn't want a piece of this action? Lots of XP, loot most likely, a reward from the Arch-Duke and probably the dwarves too, not to mention the glory and fame that comes from defeating a legendary opponent.

[KingOfCowards]

Seven of us? Likely the lizard-men thought their numbers sufficient as well. Either way we will need others to chime in to get their feelings before we move on. I am guessing they had other plans, besides dying. There is that obsidian tower still, an offer of employment from the Thane, and probably much more exploring to be done in the east. Even if we are to agree on a fighting this beast, I agree with sulldawga. Better to get what reinforcements we can. It wouldn't be fair not to offer Orrin and Lug a chance at revenge.

"I promise that you shall not be accosted while in Vaul, not while I am still standing. Besides, the archduke was looking for you dwarves to join the citizenry of Vaul, and when I voiced my concern about the beast he explained that his bounty was still intact.

While recruiting others may not be easy, we at least have to try. Vaul is three days travel from here, and only a half day from the standing stones where the beast seems to rest. It would make a better location to stage an attack from."

[GTan_Baq]

Abi says, "I will fight with you against the wolf but we need more help. Vaul may have some extra hands willing to get part of that bounty on the wolf."

[AleBelly]

Crivit weighs in. "I must divine the will of Veles before deciding whether I would join such a battle. You'll have my answer in Vaul."

[sulldawga]

I have no intention of going after the Black Beast with only seven of us. I like 20 better. If we can get another adventuring party or two, and hire a couple mercs, we have a shot.

Too bad he can shapechange. Otherwise, I'd say we go with a smaller group, get close, jump him, and then stab him to death, Caesar in the Senate-style.

[KingOfCowards]

I have no intention of going after the Black Beast with only seven of us. I like 20 better. If we can get another adventuring party or two, and hire a couple mercs, we have a shot.

Too bad he can shapechange. Otherwise, I'd say we go with a smaller group, get close, jump him, and then stab him to death, Caesar in the Senate-style.

I think it will be hard to get 20 people, even if Keehnelf suspends the duplicate character per player rule. There are 26 active characters by 14 unique players. One group is practically allied with him, and I am not sure the payoff is nearly enough for many people to risk their lives. There are much easier ways of making money and gaining xp in Vaul. I would hazard a guess that most characters would have Mr. M very low on their list of priorities, unless there is a preexisting grudge. I would be happy with 10.

[Keehnelf]

Too bad you can't somehow corner him in bunny form and cook him up over a campfire...

Fangir weighs this proposal for a long time. "I am unsure how safe I would be less than half a day's travel from the beast's home as I wait outside the city walls hoping for aid that may not come, but I trust you, Quirin, and I feel that together we may be able to marshal the resources needed to slay the black monster. The situation is this, however: if i leave with you now, I must return with the beast's head or not at all, because the moment I depart with you the Thane will spread mistrust of me among those who remain. Further, I cannot remain gone for an extended period, so this much be a priority for you. Otherwise, it is a wiser course for me to remain here and you can seek me out when you consider yourselves ready for such an endeavor."

[Keehnelf]

I have no intention of going after the Black Beast with only seven of us. I like 20 better. If we can get another adventuring party or two, and hire a couple mercs, we have a shot.

Too bad he can shapechange. Otherwise, I'd say we go with a smaller group, get close, jump him, and then stab him to death, Caesar in the Senate-style.

I think it will be hard to get 20 people, even if Keehnelf suspends the duplicate character per player rule. There are 26 active characters by 14 unique players. One group is practically allied with him, and I am not sure the payoff is nearly enough for many people to risk their lives. There are much easier ways of making money and gaining xp in Vaul. I would hazard a guess that most characters would have Mr. M very low on their list of priorities, unless there is a preexisting grudge. I would be happy with 10.

Also, if you split the reward money from the duke among 20 that's like 15 gold pieces each, with a relatively high risk of death for any single individual.

However, the Thane also wants to get the creature dead and Fangir obviously does, so either way that power struggle falls out you might be able to leverage a reward from it...

But I agree that it's a big question mark in terms of risk vs. reward and the likelihood of getting a "safe-sized" party together in the first place.

I also like the fact that Varas' party is seen as allied with the beast. I guess it's true, at least in terms of the actions they've taken to date--I wonder how fragile or strong that alliance actually is?

[sulldawga]

Quirin

Fangir, I will be blunt with you, as true friends should. I am not personally powerful enough to face the Black Beast in combat. Even if we travel back to Vaul and get 10 more adventurers, and hire another five mercenaries, I still doubt our chances against this evil. He is that powerful. I would only do this if you were hell-bent on facing the Beast today.

If you're willing to be patient and wait for a better chance to present itself, I would counsel you to do so. And when that chance presents itself, call for me and I will come. This, I pledge on the spirits of my ancestors.

That being said, I wonder what you will do now. I have little desire to return to Vaul, except that it's a safe place to rest and buy supplies. If I can get the same things from you, perhaps I can convince you and your fellow dwarves to explore with me? As I said before, if we can find arms and treasure, it will speed up the process of growing strong enough to face the Beast in combat.

[Keehnelf]

Quirin

Fangir, I will be blunt with you, as true friends should. I am not personally powerful enough to face the Black Beast in combat. Even if we travel back to Vaul and get 10 more adventurers, and hire another five mercenaries, I still doubt our chances against this evil. He is that powerful. I would only do this if you were hell-bent on facing the Beast today.

If you're willing to be patient and wait for a better chance to present itself, I would counsel you to do so. And when that chance presents itself, call for me and I will come. This, I pledge on the spirits of my ancestors.

That being said, I wonder what you will do now. I have little desire to return to Vaul, except that it's a safe place to rest and buy supplies. If I can get the same things from you, perhaps I can convince you and your fellow dwarves to explore with me? As I said before, if we can find arms and treasure, it will speed up the process of growing strong enough to face the Beast in combat.

"Unfortunately, I do not have the freedom for exploration--that is why I said that time would be a precious thing if we were to leave now. I can depart on sanctioned hunting and foraging expeditions to keep our supplies in order, but if I were seen leaving with your band it would be a clear sign to the Thane that something else is afoot. As I say, I have very little freedom of action at this time. I will be here, and hopefully the beast will not be too strong, once you and your allies consider yourselves ready. I hope that it is not too late by then."

[OGRE MAGE]

Buryl listens to the loooooong conversations quietly. When it seems as though the parties have said their last, he speaks.

Well master dwarf, I don't know you but you seem like a good soul to me. If this creature that you speak of is truly a wolf, then we CAN kill it. He says this while stroking his wolf pelt clothing.

If this party stays strong and is successful out in the wild, I see no reason for us not to come back and help your folk exterminate this black beast.

[Keehnelf]

April 9, 1 VC - 8:00am

Fangir leaves the chamber, mood dampened.

Night passes uneventfully, though Quirin and others keep up a vigilant watch.