In reply to Rayna (msg # 57):

Mistress Rayna. Justin smiles in responce then takes a seat alongside Durzak. He notes Rolf enter the tavern waves him over Yon be Rolf Liefsen Catslayer he indicates in Rolfs direction. A surly type who doth holdeth those who don't prove themselves in combat, in low regard.. Placing his hands on his knees Sir Luthien Thee mentioned a desitre to converse with Captain Kree, hath Thee a mind to joining the Crimson Arrows.

"Indeed I did wish to speak to him about the Arrows and joining them. I could wish for less...brutality on his part, but a man like that will not be swayed by words from an outsider. In the meantime...you know, I think, what kind of Code we Knights must follow. He may know too, but if he doesn't, I'll have to make sure he understands before joining."

Then, to Rayna.

"There is honor to be found in battle. I'll have to remember that."

It's different from his, but there's wisdom in understanding another.

  the Door to the In Opens  Kree  shakes his head,All I am saying, had youo let be use my blade  for  5 more minutes..I...could have made him talk..I softened him up for you... he spoke to Dras  as they enters, He Motioned to the Inn Keeper who as already getting the  HArvest wine  ready.
This message was last edited by the GM at 00:39, Sat 04 Aug 2012.

"dras came in laughing. "You are just upset that you owe me another mug." She shakes her head with a smile, heading for her pillow bench.

  Kree sat inthe  Tbale By the Bench..Ivy was in a corner  witht eh two women and the LIttle girl, he  was deep into telling  some  scarey tale..and  all three hung on his every word.

  One of the servers came over  with a tray  two Glass mugs, a bottle of Elven Gold...behind her came  another  womeb with   a small pot of stew, and two wooden bowls.

Well, the Commander returned, so Luthien does what he came here to do. After all, he was staying at the Temple, and already ate, so he needn't spend too much time here.

"Pardon, Commander, you were busy earlier, do you have time to...discuss things now?"

Rayna sat quietly, watching and listening to everyone as the table became fuller. She would wait until Kree spoke to her first, before speaking to him, or until everything became settled in the room. She pulls a small yellow vile from her sleeve, opens it then takes a sip of it before placing it back into her sleeve.

  Please..have a seat... I can get yhou a bowl if you wish? It has been a few days  since Dras  and I ate proper food, for that matter  are whole Unit...

  This is Drasius Flimtorn....we found her in a raid and freed her...she has  since found our 'calling' to be well suited for her tastes he takes  a deep drink from his mug,..now? Good Luthien, what would you like to speak on?

Luthien switches tables. He watches the drow...he knows well creatures of darkness within 10 feet of him will always be a little...uncomfortable.

"I wish to discuss the Arrows, and how we might work together. But before you agree, or not, you must be fully aware of the Code. I have...quite a few rules to follow, and my Lady Huntress will not look kindly on me if they get broken."

Mmmm.

"Will you listen to it? And I'll pass on the food. Father Bergan is having me stay at the Temple, which is where one such as I belongs."
This message was last edited by the player at 09:57, Sat 04 Aug 2012.

   The Elf  Nods as Luthien passes on the food,  Ahhh...the  Good Priest of Tra...I call on her from time to time, But  i put  most my trust in the sisters,,,,Eta  and Neta....If yoou have luck on your side?..You seldom fail...

 He  takes  a  spoodfull of  Stew  and waits until he swallows, dabbing his  chin with  a cloth 'napkin" the  server girls  put down,..I will, Indded listen...no harm came from hearing  words, whether or  not you agree to them...or nay...But...These lands...and thjose we hunt? do not  fear the deeds of those who follow  strivt, goodly codes. They even use that Code  against them...The slavers..The Red Isle  Halflings...and even those  from Rival Companies..fear us..because they know, we will not  shirk, in treating them, as they treatv others...

  Stirring the stew  just a bit  to help cool it , and before  he takes another  bite he says,..So Tell me..Warrior of Tra? What is the Code you follow..in these dark lands?

"I've known many men who thought themselves 'better lucky then good.' Still, it seems to be working for you. For myself, I trust my Lady's instincts ad skill."

And then, the Code.

"Many parts of the Code are personal. It doesn't affect a unit if I tithe, or use no more then 10 magic items, or so on. Where the problem is most likely to arise is when evil deeds are done in my presence. I won't be able to look the other way, either."

He has to let that sink in.

"This I can tell you, though. I am granted the ability to know when deeds are too far 'wrong.' And I sensed Darkness in you and your friend both when you went to torture the half ogre. I understand you wish to use the tools of your enemies against them. It's a point of tactics. But it's also a slippery slope. And in war, mercy is usually the first thing to go. If you wish to know when something is 'going too far', if you ask me, I'll be able to give you my Lady's opinion on it."

Mmmm.

"But as for me...
A knight is sworn to valor.
His heart knows only virtue.
His blade defends the helpless.
His might upholds the weak.
His word speaks only truth.
His wrath undoes the wicked!
"

Obviously reciting something.

(OOC:Yes, I ripped off Dragonheart (1996). Don't shoot me.)

  The elf   swallowed another spoonful of  stew, then took aother..he watched Luthien as he spoke, Luthien could almost feel himself  being weighed and studied in the elf's  mind.

  wa bit of  a  smile  came to his face as  the man said "going too far". Still , he l;ets the fellow finish and takes a deep pull on the  wine glass befoe  refilling his , and Dras's  and offers  it up once more to Luthien..The he answers.

   Good Fellow? I could tell you any number of stoires that would weigh in my favor..but i will simple tell you this.

  Once there were two men...just like you..Full of the blessing  and teachings of thier gods.... Both..like you  and many...many others...thought it wise to guide us on the path we tread. Until..the first time they saw a real slaver raid... We Incounter  One of them...on the raid that ended in setting Dras  free... Dras did not even wait to come to the Village..she asked for a bow..and we set off to hunt the  rest of the slavers...we came upon  a halfdozen or so..we caught them...tieed them to trees, and began to question them,,using the same methods they use,  to keep parents in line when they protest how the slavers  treat thier young.....The...'holyman'...couldn't take the \sight..and let lose the last two, while we were busy...turns out? One of them was one of them I have searched for...for the  last 2 years or so....The fellow..who would have ended up dead...Now lives..and holds more raids..Kills more people..rather  then rotting in ground....When i explained this to the Holyman? he was distraught...knowing his actions  have aided  the evil..well ours  was ending it....three days later  we caught a ride to Ironmount  on a BArge..the fellow..full plate and all...Jumped into the storm River..and sank from sight...though? Truth be told..a Serpant most likely ate him before  he ever drowned...what made him so distraught? I told him, that very deathy...every heartbreak caused by a missing  family member..any Hunters who would die  fighting those men...were now on his shoulders, because it would have ended...I suppose..his god might have even agreed...because  his incessant praying , did not give him any ease....

  He  hold up a hand  and nods,..YOu spoke to Brgan...he knows my way..of being the fire, that fights the fire...YOu see.. I elarned that  from the  Druids and the  older Rangers....sometime..a fire  breaks out..whether set..or  whether  by lighting? It matters not..the fire is on its way..and it  could  wipe out a village, and kill many animals in its  path...what the druids  and Rangers do?  they clear a path..a few yards  wide...then step onto the "fire's  side" of that  line...and they set another fire.... it does  not take long, before the two walls  fo flame meet...and burn eachother out..what the holy man did ? was like he picked up a brand  from that fore, and tossed it onto the  Village side of the  path...and the fire continued on...\


 ..Now?  Good Luthien..You see my thoughts..and can understand my ways..we do not....very often...torture a slaver for fun...we do..however ..have  fun torturing slavers... To see the same fear in thier eyes..to hear them beg for mercy...in the same way as a Mother  Might..to try to save her child from being taken...or..perhaps ..a Young wife  would do, when her husband  is killed , or she is taken away from him,..

  Smiling  Just a bit,..My Father, and the other  2  elders..see the world  as people like you do...but you saw...in the end..who they called  for aid?  he smiled..saddly..as he swirled the wine  around in his glass...Now? What does Tra..say about that?

Luthien pauses. The Commander heard him and his Code, and gave him his response.

"Why is torture specifically necessary? Would not simply slaying them in combat yield the same end? I acknowledge you can't practically put people in prison...that half ogre would've bent the bars of a prison and escaped eventually. But what good does it do to make him suffer? The ideas is to be better then evildoers, not to do unto them before they do unto you."

Pause.

"If you worry about Justice being done to slain slavers, worry not. I know EXACTLY what the fiends of Hell and the Abyss do to souls sent to them. Every pain they ever inflicted rebounds on them 10 fold and more. My father spent a lot of time in direct conflict with fiends, and passed on much of what he learned."

In reply to Kree Quickshadow (msg # 70):

Pardon Ones interjection Captain Kree, Thy discourse doth show how many things come to pass, which wouldst have taken a different direction hath the actions been altered. For example; If Thy action against such slavers been not so strigent as to drive the holyman to act as he did; Yon slavers would not hath been loosed rather mayhat been taken anst tried for their crimes. Further the holyman may be alive anst with us here now. However such be conjecture. What hath taken place hath taken place, it be a lesson for all to consider well ones actions anst such path each chooses to follow.

Luthien nods to Justin.

"Indeed, as he says. It is not the huntress's way to cause undue suffering in the hunted. When I slay a stag to deliver meat to the village, I do not shoot him in the leg, then chop pieces of his legs off one at a time. I shoot him in the heart or head, so he doesn't suffer, and make use of as much of him as I can. When I slay an evildoer, I likewise see if his equipment is tainted, if not, I can use it, or give it to those who can use it best. But the evildoer, like the stag, need not suffer on the way there."

He hopes that makes sense.

"And if it is information you crave, there are gentler ways to get it. Brother Justin, Rayna, I leave it to you to explain, for magic isn't yet among my abilities."

Though Justin is of a different Faith, men of Faith are rare enough to extend the title 'Brother.'
This message was last edited by the player at 09:17, Sun 05 Aug 2012.

  Kree nods he Looks at dras, then over to Ivy,,the scans he room and settles on Justin, Durzak and Rolf,...The torture..is mostly...to get the information we need..where is there main came..who is the leader...who is in charge of thier opertaion...because.....Just as there is someone like you ..who serves  thier dark gods, with the same Zeal you serve yours?  There  are slavers  who are loyal and caring when it comes to thier  people...so? we use the same tools to get the information...and what is more important? They know this....and they know..thee is less hope in our mercy, then in thiers...because we are colecting our own payments as well...

  He  chuckles  just slightly..For My part...Good Luthien?I was better then the slavers, at one time...stealing only from those  dark merchants who cheated others...allowing  foes to tthrow down thier  arms and go home...only to have to hut them down again,....no..Good Luthien...I am not better then a slaver..I am just on  the side of good....As you might have to crossblades with a dark Holy warrior?..so too..must the slavers  deal with me and mine .

Dras shook her head. "Kree love, pass me a bowl of stew. All this talk of gods is making me hungry." She leaned forward in her cushions to look Luthian in the eyes. "Turn slightly from the light friend or be blinded with it after a few raids." She tells him full with serious in her voice. "And before you ask, I pay my offerings to my god with the deaths of those we kill and torture. Besides, I give them back what they did to me."

  Kree  filled  a bowl  and Placed  a slice of  buttered  bread  on the  top and handed it over. he  chuckles  abit,..You see good Luthien....we are not Killign slavers  and other dark creatures, to gain the favor of the gods.....the gods where not there  when my village needed  them. I work with  Eta and Nata...and  give a nod to Tra...but they get my attentions, onl;y as long as they feel it right to aid  us...shoudl they turn from us? Then we wil do without..or find a god that will aid us....

Rayna looked to those talking and nearly smiled at Kree's last comment. "Lord Kree, I am in need for an escort to Ironmound and was told to seek out your group. I know I have already asked you but I have decided to ask again in front of your company." She said finally, wanting to get her quest into the works before everyone decided it best to call it a night.

  Kree stood  Up and Motioned  for  a Chair  to Rayna,Please..forgive me for not  attending  you sooner...I flet it wise  until Good Luthien and I  discussed   our views in how to handle Evil....most times..such talkes end up in...less-then-happy words....

 As  I offered our Holy warrior here, we have  fresh hot stew..and  Cold  Elven Gold Wine..woudl you wish to partake?  with a wave towards  Dras he adds,..This is Drasius..a member of my Unbit, or the Crimson Arrows....As it so happens. we will need to gio to Ironmound, after the talk we had weith the...Late..leader of the slaves..we needs get to the Walk-thePlank Inn and  see to a ship there...we need to sail the  river....we have a target , IN the  Furman's  Chain..should be  many a target there...

The elf's story seemed to amuse Garme. This village was quite different from his home and so he had chosen to remain quiet since entering. Simply watch and listen to the way they did things here. It really hadn't been particularly enlightening.

"Torture and enslave those who are on the other side. It's all the same one way or the other. Those with money turn the weak against each other by offering money for slaves. In the end, they own both the winners and the losers."

He cast his gaze at the wall, thinking about the various compatriots who ended up as slaves, those who ended up in jail, those who ended up dead. It had brought him to a very simple conclusion, "So long as two people in this world draw breath, they will seek to destroy each other and each will think himself holy and just for doing so. It is simply in the nature of one who can think of himself to think himself above others."

  Kree's  eyes  shifted to Grame,..what of you?  Do you have a path to take? Or  are yuou looking to earn some  coin and wipe  a few of the dark one's  from our  realms?

Rayna looked to Garme as he spoke while dishing herself a bowl of the stew. "And what of the third person who does not see themselves as either type?" She then sat down looking over to Ivy again, something about that elf just wouldn't let her be. "I thank you Lord Kree. If my abilities can aid you, then I hope I am a valuable addition to the arrows." She said to Kree finally able to pry her eyes from the beautiful male.

Dras listened with a smile, holding back a chuckle. She sat her half eaten bowl next to Kree  then stood behind him, lightly putting her hands on his shoulders. "Have you decided when we leave?" she asked him as she gripped at his shoulder muscles."

Durzak helps himself to a bowl of stew, bread and something to drink and take a seat to listen to the discussion that is going on around him for now.