"You'll have to stick to yes/no questions if you don't want to hear more 'You'd murder Antionette too,' bull," Mittens says, "Though now that I think of it...  Where's this temple of evil, Antionette?  I'm sure Grayhawk law enforcement would like to know."

"I'd be willing to bet they already do," Lucky says darkly.

  "Hmm, I suppose it would be a case of overenthusiasm that takes them into 'Kill On Sight Followers' territory then.  Also, I still can not believe I bothered asking despite seeing what Mittens just did".

  Yes, 'I just say you rendered incapable of speech, so could you answer this word problem please?' Riiiight.  Maybe Zahir set up shop with those claims to Darkness and Poison because of how many NPC enemies love to abuse their Darkvision against a party without it, and/or have immunity to poison.

The group arrive at the city. The guards welcome them, learn of the ambush and agree to hold the prisoners. "But we can't guarantee what the warden's gonna decide their fate will be."

Antoinette says, "Thank you." before going with the others to the place she was to meet with the king.

"If it helps him decide, the ambassador slash prophetess wants them alive," Mittens sighs, "Compared to the low level sword mage who'd just as soon they die in a fire."

"I wonder how a tribe of shifters would rank on the 'kill on sight' meter?" Lucky muses.

  "Darkness and Poison could easily equate to a night at the tavern.  But so many desire extremes to show how much they care about something." "Chirp, You'd think the former would be a much better sales point.  God of Drunken Night parties vs God of Sneaking gas bombs into your dresser, tweet."

  "Well, you clearly have better public relations than Gnolls."  Hey, we put out a Race template for Gnolls, and a few Gnoll specific feats!...  Every other image is still decapitated Gnolls (Seriously, even the DDI staff has made fun of this aspect).

Antoinette does not comment. She has that right whenever she isn't asked a question, after all. Even if she had a nice answer, she is still slow to respond at times.

The prisoners are put away and the group is escorted to the King. The king says, "I was informed of your troubles. I hope you all are well."

"I've heard rumors of gnoll heroes," Mittens says, "I'll believe it when I see it.  But a kobold hero sure came as a surprising confirmation of rumor, so who knows?  Could be rumors about gnolls are true too."

"Yeah," Lucky says, "Vecna and Tiamat seem to do better at convincing people that 'keeping trade secrets safe' and 'getting rich' are their real purposes."

"I've always found it funny that Vecna was literally the god of skeletons in the closet."

Lucky groans.

---

Scene transition!

Mittens grins and thumbs-up.  Lucky bows a nod.

  Terdisas also puts standard issue courtly bow to use,  "I thank you for your concern, your highness.  Please inform us if we can be of assistance if it coincides with our current obligations."

The king nods and says, "Thank you for your trouble."

He then looks at Antoinette. "Now then. What brings you all this way?"

Antoinette says, "To be sure Barrowbank and Grayhawk become friends." See? She DOES talk that way all the time. Even to a king.

The king says, "I see. And why should we? Grayhawk has been showing all the signs of weakness and is losing favor and respect from all the surrounding nations. Frankly, it's become something of a joke among the rulers."

Antoinette says, "The churches of the good gods have visited and like Grayhawk. The churches of the evil gods have visited and don't like Grayhawk. This has been made official. Those who mock Grayhawk, also mock the gods of good and agree with the gods of evil. Those who are friends with Grayhawk are friends with the gods of good and enemies of the gods of evil. The church has told me to let you know this: They will remove their churches from your lands if you wage war on Grayhawk. But they will give blessings and approval if you befriend Grayhawk."

The king looks furious. "You holy types are all so arrogant! You think you can come in here and boss me around?!"

Antoinette says, "No."

The king says, "Then what do you call all those threats?!"

Antoinette says, "A message from the churches of the gods of good. The churches of the gods of evil had a message too."

The king is still mad, but... is now curious. "Yeah? What'd they say."

Antoinette says, "They said do what you want. But if you decide to go to war with Greyhawk, the gods of evil will fill your city and aid you in Grayhawk's destruction."

The king goes silent, looking deep in thought.

"Am I the only one who's curious about the specifics about what 'signs of weakness' Grayhawk is showing?" Mittens asks to nobody in particular.

"Didn't you say you'd not say anything when we got to the king?" Lucky asks, smearing his face.

"Oops!  So I did.  Sorry."

Mittens big grin.  Lucky big groan.

  Terdisas has the feeling that the local King's definition of 'signs of weakness' is probably along the lines of 'They are not expanding their empire with crushing military force, and like that whole cultural domination victory ending screen better'.  Though he does make a note to look into just what 'surrounding kingdoms' are making fun of Unity.  If only for academic reasons.

  "Such a decision may not be one made lightly.  If the king desires time to consider, it would only be polite for us to give it to them."

The king excuses the group and has guards escort them to a guest room. It's only one room, though there is a king-sized bed and the room is comfortable looking.

Antoinette sits at the edge of the bed.

"'The king decides to send a very nasty message back to Grayhawk,'" Mittens narrates, "'The ambassador's head!  Guards charge the room, but her defenders were ready for them...'"

"That's not very nice," Lucky says.

"But practical!  We need to find a way outta here.  This is a 'guest' room.  Prolly hidden assassin corridors in here."

She begins searching the room for secret doors.
This message was last edited by the GM at 01:11, Wed 25 May 2011.

  Terdisas eyes Mittens, but opts to discreetly check if the windows are barred before passing judgment on her outlook.  "I suppose it would be ironic if we slew any assasins, and this caused a political upset because those from Greyhawk were proven to not be weak compared to Barrowbank."

  You're weak so we hate you lol!... OMG you beat us in a fight? You're strong so we hatez you!
This message was last edited by the GM at 01:31, Wed 25 May 2011.

Antoinette, once again finds herself not exactly addressed, so is quiet. Mittens and Terdisas find no signs of traps, bars, or hidden ninjas. Because the ninjas know how to hide, duh.

"Eh, was worth a shot," Mittens says with a shrug.

"Do you know what the king's going to choose, Antionette?" Lucky asks.

  "In a convenient world, the King would choose to ally with Greyhawk and we could all go home happy.  Alas, I suspect whatever occurs will be the sort of thing geared towards maximum storybook moral lesson, in the old brutal tales sort where it is just passed off as acceptable losses for a whole city to fall due to a less than conformist ruler."

  "Bitter much? Chirp?"  "Cutthroat politics is something of home I would not have minded leaving behind, but here we are."

Antoinette answers Lucky, "Yes." then Terdisas makes his statement. Then Antoinette continues. "If there is a war between Barrowbank and Grayhawk, the responsibility will rest on Barrowbank's king."

She looks at Terdisas. "Sad, but true."

"I understood the first and last sentences of whatever the lightning guy just said," Mittens announces, "Sounded middle garbled part the."

"So...  What is the king going to decide, then, Antionette?" Lucky asks.

  "Somehow, I doubt the responsibility being held by one man will be of much comfort to those not responsible facing the consequences."  Simplified! Whoo!  "Though I will admit, not enough wars have a clear 'they started it' point to them."
This message was last edited by the GM at 02:15, Thu 26 May 2011.

Antoinette answers Lucky, "The king is not making and alliance. But he also is not going to war for now. He wants more time to think than just our visit. But good and evil will continue to try to influence him."

"So who wants to spar to pass the time?" Mittens offers.

"Glad to hear war won't be starting today, clear at-fault point or no," Lucky says, "No thanks, Mittens."

  "That the spin of the moral compass will continue to be a presence in someone's life is possibly one of the least surprising revelations that can be had."   He turns to Mittens and says "I am sorry, but I do not wish to risk scorch marks upon the guest bedroom.  Perhaps when we return home and are in a more suitable environment I may take you up on the recreational brutality.  If only to compare technique."

Antoinette answers Mittens, "No."

A messenger peeks in. "The king wishes you three well and has invited you to remain as long as tomorrow noon, but you may leave before then if you wish. If you need anything, you are to ask me. I will be just outside your door."

"Let's get back to town, then!" Mittens chimes.

"I take it the king has no reply for Antionette, then," Lucky surmises.