Duvors

"Lind, I can't be captain of the Watch, I am not a member of the watch and have never served in it. And I certainly have no intention of proclaiming myself the leader of an organization I know almost nothing about, that sort of thing is frankly contemptible. And besides, I have too many obligations elsewhere, Babeleth, Xu, wherever the hell Amber Makepeace's accomplices are (yes, I know you have no idea who she is but the words 'bad person' should suffice), and just basically everywhere that people need help. I can't do all that and possess an obligation to the laws and safety of one city. I'm a member of Heroica, I have the whole world to deal with. In fact I intend to resign from the Titaanese Diplomatic Service as soon as this is all over so that I don't have any other obligations preventing me from, well, being a hero." "Err, yeah, about that. Before we go we'll need all the help we can get." he said, turning to address the Miracleworker. "Do you think you can bring back the Doomsayer? I don't know how your... nature effects that but it should be possible, right? And... the Dragonlord, Cain, should be here if at all possible. Åsa is already with us and Jacq, Kukulkan, and Semiramis are probably dead now. And if Hestia was able to join us she would. Even if it would have to wait until after the battle it just feels wrong for him to die such a pointless death." Throlar jumped in shock as the gnome shouted just behind him. "Matthias," he said, "would you mind not giving anyone a heart attack? You may be immortal but the rest of us aren't."

"I fully appreciate that- no that's a lie, no-one can fully appreciate the possibility of their own death- but... you're right. You should probably take the time to get any personal stuff you can off your chest." he sighed,* "You have a right to it after all, I suppose. I shouldn't begrudge you a few seconds." "Lind, why are you looking at me like that? You seem disappointed in me for some reason."

Do you really think that? Throlar was surprised by the angel's sudden remark. What do you mean? he thought. Karie, do you really think she should've waited for Rosier to be defeated to deal with her sister's killer? Throlar tensed for a moment, before deflating like a set of bagpipes that had just been sat on.* Yes, but it's unreasonable to think that isn't it? Asking someone to give up something that big, especially considering the times I've put my issues before everyone else's. But it's not just that, Karie nearly executed someone there! I don't mind the Captain stepping down, or being punished for the actions she's taken to 'keep the peace'. But I don't feel we really have the right to kill someone who isn't fighting back without any semblance of legal process. In an empty wilderness hundreds of miles from any civilization you might have to take such measures, but this is a massive city! Is something the matter? Yes, it's something to do with Heroica, the way everyone's talking in particular. You know why I took the badge? I took it because I was afraid if one of the other heroes did they'd keep it. Throlar held up a hand. "Before anyone leaves there's something I want to say. Detective Hoples," he held out the badge, "this is the badge of the captain of the Watch, it belongs to whoever takes Patricia's place. See that they get it. Oh, and... thanks. For what you did earlier. That was a brave thing to do." "Lind, I think Euflear is coming with us. They are a Heroican after all, albeit a former one." *Except that he was much quieter.

Throlar glowered. He had been growing steadily angrier as Karie and Arthur's confrontation with the Watch captain continued. While he felt sympathetic toward Karie and agreed with Arthur's assessment now was not the time for this. Rosier had probably already reached the portal to the city and every second wasted on personal drama was another second in which innocents could be dying. He had been about to say something to that effect but the whole thing had ended before he had the chance. Now as Patricia's badge lay glittering on the sands he felt an impulse build within him, driving him to act. Almost without thinking his hand lashed out like a serpent and grabbed the badge, stuffing it into his pocket before anyone could react. Then, without a word, he turned on his heel and marched back aboard the ship. Throlar tried to watch the explosion, but he was forced to turn his head away to shield his eyes from the light of the blast. When he looked back there was only a rising cloud of black smoke and the shattered remains of the island, punctuated by the occasional piece of falling debris. For about the fifteen-thousandth time in his life, he sighed. The world had changed today, and only time would tell if it was for better or worse. "Yes. Unfortunately we don't know exactly where though. What we do know is that somewhere under Eubric is a portal that leads to what Euflear described as a 'city between worlds' where the survivors of Rosier's conquest of Faerie fled, that'll be the demon's goal. We don't know where that is exactly but the Temple of Zoot seems to be as good a bet as any."

"Well there's not much else we can do at the moment. The best can do is ho-" Throlar stopped speaking for a moment as he read the letter. "Damn!" he said when he finished, "Hestia isn't actually in charge out there and may not be able to stop the attack. We'll have to leave as fast as possible. And does anyone have a tonic? My ether is completely drained and I have a feeling It'll be needed again shortly."

"Okay... okay. I think I can do that." "To Hestia Bonaparte, The Falconer, aboard the... the... at sea. "Madam, The battle is over, the fortress is pacified, the prisoners are freed, and the Founders and their allies have surrendered to us. However, they have no intention of surrendering to you. The sailors in this fort went to the trouble of throwing you out and they have no intention of letting you back in. And... and neither do we. Everyone here is in agreement that you've done a poor job as protectors of Eubric can't be allowed to resume your position of power in the city. This may sound harsh, but I assure you I'm being moderate here. Everyone else is preparing to blow the fort to high heaven. Currently I'm the only one trying the diplomatic option so listening to me is your best chance of getting out of this with anything. If you come in peacefully and don't try anything we'll be able to talk this out later and come to a agreement. You won't get everything you want, but you won't have to fight us either. "Now, about that 'later' I mentioned. The fact is, although I'd like to have any negotiations take place as soon as possible we have bigger fish to fry. The Archdemon Rosier has infested the city and is currently trying to, and may already have, find and use a portal to- gods I hope she believes this- a portal to a city that allows access to uncountable inhabited worlds. I don't have time to explain why this is happening but if they succeed then not only will they slaughter the inhabitants but they'll be able to access all the worlds in existence. We would've tried to deal with them earlier but unfortunately we were forced to choose between that and dealing with the Founders. However, some of those with us went off to at least try and delay them, specifically The Feathered Serpent, The Copper Fox, and The Sand Queen some of your fellow Veterans and, unless I'm misinterpreting this horribly, your friends. In all honesty they're probably dead right now, but if you care at all about the safety of this city and the memory of the people you've spent your life working with, then I ask that you join us in avenging them rather than fighting us for pride's sake." Throlar stopped momentarily, then, with a look that said 'oh to hell with it' continued; "However, if you choose to continue to attack instead, to dishonor the sacrifice of your fellow Veterans and choose your own petty squabbles over the safety of... well, everyone everywhere- then not only will we scythe the fort from the face of the planet with an ungodly amount of explosives, but once we're done with Rosier we'll throw you and anyone still loyal to you into the sea. "Sincerely yours, "Throlar Wineghilm." "There, I hope that works." said Throlar, hoping against all hope that his diplomatic skills would prevail. "If we do destroy the fort, I'll take the ship. But thanks for the offer."

"Oh hell no. Excuse me Euflear but I have to try and stop these people from doing something incredibly foolish." Throlar turned to face the rest of the group and, with an expression of extreme annoyance, said; "You can't just blow up the fort! For one, doing that will leave the city almost defenseless against attack from the sea, and no self respecting pirate wouldn't take advantage of that. And more pertinently, if we just run away now then we're just making more work for ourselves later. I mean, we'll have to confront that fleet eventually, and we'll have to deal with what's left of the former rulers of Eubric as well, I'd honestly prefer to do it while they're both still in one place and the Bonapartes aren't necessarily hostile to us. We may be able to talk them down now, whereas if we level the island and leave they'll inevitably turn hostile and the situation will become that much more difficult to resolve. I admit I agree that the Bonapartes souldn't be allowed to regain their power or their control of this fort, but I'd prefer to try and negotiate now than fight them later. There's been enough fighting today in my opinion. Arthur, does the Z-Mail system still work? If not," he gestured to the sailor nearest him, "ships use flag codes to communicate over long distances right? Would this fort have the necessary flags and would anyone be able to get a message from here to those ships before they arrived?"

The only thing I can say is; This is fantastic, great job.

Throlar sighed. "You know," he said, "history will probably have some choice things to say about how Heroica has acted up till now. I've been looking through the archives recently and there are certainly some very black spots on our record. But I have to say that these incidents are mostly in the minority, while the vast majority of the things Heroica has done are mostly positive. We've defeated bandits and pirates terrorizing defenseless towns, we've prevented the fall of the empire of Dastan and stopped war from breaking out between Baltarok and the High Kingdoms, we've even defeated nigh-invincible beings planning the destruction of all humanoid life, rescued people from Limbo itself, and slain dragons older than recorded history who threatened the lives of those less powerful than themselves. However, in spite of all this I think that the most impressive thing on those records was a quest from about six years ago, a little girl's friend had gone missing and she was only able to offer one gold apiece to whatever Heroes chose to help. In the end no less than seventeen heroes came, the largest party on record, and they committed themselves to their task with such willingness that even when they unexpectedly found they'd have to fight an Archdemon to complete their task they continued anyway. That was, and still is, what Heroica is, and what it still can be. A place where, if anyone needs an act of heroism, they'll have us at their service. I only wish you'd been able to realize that before..." he waved his hand in the direction of everything, "...all this happened." Throlar stopped talking to the Founders and turned his attention back to Euflear. "It's not your fault." he said, "What happened here was entirely out of your control, there's no way you could've prevented this. If fact I'd say that what's happened here was inevitable from the moment Rosier trapped you in those roots of theirs."

Throlar, for one unable to think of anything to say, simply hugged the Fey One in silence.

Her library entry says that she married into the Hinckwell family before she died, other than that I don't think anything else has ever been mentioned.

With a sigh of relief that it was all more or less over Throlar sheathed his weapons and strode across the battlefield towards the Founders, healing everyone he could until his ether ran out. (Through Ludeus and in order of least to most health remaining.) Finally reaching his destination he addressed Euflear diplomatically. "Look," he said, "I honestly don't know what you're feeling right now, but I can make an educated guess. You feel as if these people are mockeries of your friends and you feel angry that they're walking around alive while your friends are dead. I'll admit- look, I know this doesn't compare to your situation but when I learned that these people weren't the real founders I was angry that there was (what I thought was) a soulless facsimile of the Doomsayer, one of Titaan's greatest heroes, wandering around pretending to be him, using his name and wearing his face. I was even glad when I heard that he'd been killed, I'm ashamed to say. But look, from personal experience I can say that holding onto emotions like that and letting them rule your mind and actions does not do wonders for your mental health, nor does attacking the object of your anger make you feel better. And besides, I no longer think these are mindless imitations of the founders, but rather real beings. Albeit not the ones they think they are. Please try to treat them that way. Not that I'm saying you shouldn't get angry at them for their irresponsible behavior or poor decision making, but that's a different matter. Oh, and while I'm at it," he said, turning his attention to the 'Founders', "sorry to break it to you like this, but you aren't the people you think you are, or even human in a technical sense. The explanation is... rather complicated. Basically, some time back the Faerie was invaded by the archdemon Rosier. Successfully. They conquered the realm and proceeded to feed off the fairy dust that comprises the place and it's inhabitants. Essentially committing mass murder on an immense scale. Euflear here was bound in the dungeons of Rosier's fortress and, weakened by having the life drained from them, fell into a deep sleep. Now, one of the properties of fairy dust is that it reacts to the desires of the fairies in contact with it, essentially allowing them to create anything at a whim. And while Euflear slept they dreamed, dreamed of their companions now long dead and of how much they wished for them to be alive agin. From what we understand the last of the fairy dust untouched by Rosier reacted to that and gave birth to you lot. So in short you're copies of the people you think you are formed from the wistful dreams and time-decayed memories of their last surviving friend due to a unique set of circumstances that involved the painful deaths of a lot of people. I'm sorry."

(The sailors. Also, can I take a normal action and use diplomacy on the same turn or are they mutually exclusive?) (Edit: Finally finished Throlar's speech to the Founders, and wow, I think it might be the longest thing I've written in this game to date. Shows what a windbag I am.) (Edit again: And I realize I left out a single line. A single line.)

Well, I suppose I was tempting fate there.

Throlar nodded with approval at what Arthur had said and, feeling he had properly addressed the men on the wall, decided it was time to turn his attention (and his diplomatic skill) to the Founders as well. Rising to his full (unimpressive) height he revolved on his vertical axis to face them so fast that he seemed to be standing on a turntable and began to speak; "I'm not going to deny what you've said about this," he gestured toward the bodies on the beach, "Look at it, it's a bloody charnel house down there, I don't think that's truly justifiable under any circumstances. Nor will I deny that we're here by our own choice, that's the simple truth. And I'm not going to deny that Heroica has failed this city, we allowed ourselves to grow complacent, swayed by the empty promises offered by the houses, or we fell to hopelessness, thinking we had no chance of enacting change save through influencing their decisions or taking advantage of what few chances our quests provided, I know I did. But I am going talk to you about... well, I apologize for the arrogance of this but I'm going to talk about myself. "When I first joined Heroica I was at a point in my life where I had suffered many failures. I'm an ambassador you see, well, was anyway, I don't think I'm going to be one for much longer after this debacle, and due to my rather abrasive personally I had very little success in my chosen line of work. Often I was forced to return home in disgrace, tail between my legs as it were. And due to this I was... not in the best state of mind. My disappointment in myself, vanity, and my wounded pride all combined to make me feel resentful towards the world for what was entirely my own fault. "And so, on my very first quest as a member of Heroica no less, I killed a man, an elf called Lord Baelanith, in an angry brawl that I started myself for no good reason. "As you can imagine this... this was... it bro... shattered me when I learned the man was dead, even more so because between doing the deed and learning of it's outcome I had also been forced to kill two men, who were drunk at the time and didn't even know what they were doing, in self defense. And then I had to experience seeing people, allies who weren't members of Heroica and who had for some reason decided to let me lead them into battle, die in battle while I was unable to save them. As you can probably guess I felt horrible after all this," he was clearly feeling horrible now as he recounted it, "The person who informed me of the lord's death was his liege, Lady Calaryl, and she gave me a task to perform for her in atonement. One of the houses in Eubric, the Shadeaux to be specific, had made themselves the allies of the Lady and her Elven subjects and through Heroica I was to gain favor with them. Upon doing so I was to deliver a package to the Lady and thus be absolved of my crimes. I myself didn't feel that that alone would be enough to achieve redemption but I accepted, hoping that through Heroica I would be able to do enough good to salve my conscience. Funnily enough I never actually had the opportunity to complete the Lady's request. He was silent for a moment before he began to speak again, clearly overcome by his emotions. And also overcome by the fact that making several long, impassioned speeches in rapid succession had left him out of breath and slightly hoarse. After a moment however he recovered and continued; "But anyway, I soon found that doing good was easier said than done. Have you heard about Quest 100? The one where we were supposed to go to the Tower of Babel? That was a disaster. Aside from the quest failing I saw someone murdered, and another person who was trying to help me, an undead woman named Nazgulie, was also killed in a fight, as well as another person, an Orocand- 'green-skin' -named Orokai, who I rather liked but who I had to fight against due to circumstances of allegiance. And finally I was forced to leave innocents in the thrall of a demon that had convinced them he was a god. And the following quest, while successful, didn't really feel that way. A paladin, Rollinger was his name, who was supposed to accompany us was killed in his sleep and... You must understand that throughout the quest I had been plagued by nightmares of a possibility supernatural origin. On the night Rollinger was killed I had a dream where I attacked what seemed to be an evil cultist but in the morning I awoke and Rollinger was dead and my sword was coated in blood. I don't know whether the weapon was taken from me in the night or if I killed the man in my sleep, but the weapon was certainly used." Another pause, those listening got the impression that Throlar was saying things he had never spoken to anyone about before. "But," he continued, "despite all of this I didn't give up, I continued trying to help people, both to redeem myself and simply because it was right to do so. And I think I've done at least some good. I helped spot a mad necromancer from killing everyone in Eubric and later tracked her down in Fellcrest and captured her, and we stopped to help the citizens of the city on the way! I have also helped to; break up a gang of slavers operating in this very city, save a village of Kappa from a Rakshasa who was trying to corrupt it, break up another group who were trying to set up a knockoff Heroica for their own nefarious ends, the last I know you would object to strenuously. And finally I helped to defeat a dragon named Lethauros who intended to turn the entire island into his hunting ground, destroying it in the process! In fact, I ended his life myself. Even during the quest to the Tower we were able to save two young people from being placed at the mercy of the aforementioned demon-god." As he spoke of his own successes Throlar stumbled at first, seemingly surprised by the nature of his own words, but soon grew more confident in his speech. "That," he said, "is the point of this rather rambling speech. I'm trying to say that, while the Heroes of Heroica have and will continue to stumble, to fail and to do the wrong things when put to the test, we will also continue to do the right thing to redeem ourselves and simply because we feel compelled to do the right thing. Like you said, we're here through our own choice. But that is only the case because we felt what you were doing here is wrong, even Germ, I think, and despite what he says. And yes you're right that there are good men who died today, here and elsewhere. But for once it doesn't have to stay this way! You, Miracleworker, have the power to raise the dead, so use it! Bring them back, make it so that no one has to die this day! Or stay dead as the case may be. But please, all of you, stop this senseless fighting before it's too late."

(Later.) Throlar sighed at what was happening around him, he had this sinking feeling that those few of his allies trying to talk the Founders down wouldn't succeed without anyone else trying to back them up. And that clearly wasn't going to happen with the rest of them either being deliberately antagonistic or simply not addressing them at all. However, he had other things to attend to first. Addressing himself to the enemy sailors on the wall he said, with all the diplomatic training he could muster; "Look, I know you're worried, you fought hard to take what you have now from your former masters and you're afraid that if you give up now things will just go back to the way they were, that the freedom you fought so hard to attain and that you named this fortress after will be forgotten about. Well I won't let that happen. I won't let things go back to the way they were because the way things were sucked. What with the Houses abusing their power, filling their ranks with corrupt bastards, fighting against each other without regard to whoever got in the way, even going so far as to build a bloody wall around the Hovels to keep the poor oppressed and helpless. I know you in particular had special grievances against the Bonapartes, the unreasonably high tariffs they levied on any ships that sailed into Eubric, the way they mistreated the sailors, dockhands, and fishermen that worked here in the city, and how their corrupt harbormasters would use their 'authority' to impound the cargo of any ship that couldn't fight back, essentially robbing them blind! But look, that ship out there? The one used to get here? Well the captain and crew of that ship, people who owed no allegiance to the Bonapartes and who would've been as persecuted under them as you? They are currently rotting in the prison of this fort with your oppressors! Does that make any sense? I know that these Founders that you've put your faith in say they have your best interests at heart, but do you really believe you should follow leaders who lash out blindly at anyone who disagrees with them, even against the people who you did all this to protect? I think not. And if you surrender now I promise that I will do all in my power to make certain that your grievances are not swept aside. And if those who were formerly in power try to do so anyway, then I will fight them to ensure they don't succeed! And I'll do this because I believe that what you've fought for here is fundamentally just, even if you have been lead astray by these Founders' honied words." His words were spoken with such conviction that you could tell he wasn't just saying them to make the sailors back down, he meant what he said. (Not finished yet, but I have to quote something on a different page and that means making a second post.)

(Thats more how Throlar himself sees the situation than how I do, but thanks. I'll be finishing this post later.)

Throlar leant heavily on his staff as he gazed out over the devastation. Everywhere he looked he saw corpses, things that had only moments ago been living, breathing, thinking men who he had so fervently entreated to surrender. And now he'd never know what they'd've done in response, whether or not they'd see reason and relent or simply continue to attack. 'Why?' he thought, gesturing silently at the graveyard around him, 'Every time I try talking to people this happens! It's as if the universe is determined to prevent me from having any positive impact on what happens around me.' Silence. 'I'm talking to you, you know. That wasn't a rhetorical question.' "I'm sorry," said the voice that only he could hear, "I'm being more taciturn then I should. But you're wrong when you say that you have no power over events. In that fight in the tavern earlier you were able to convince some of the soldiers to leave, and you have proven adept at protecting your allies. The battle at the tower in Faerie stands out as an example of that." 'I know all that, but in comparison to the number of failures on my record it seems like nothing. And here I'm up against enemies that vastly outclass me alongside allies that seem nearly godlike in their power (sorry) and I'm the only one here who's trying to avoid unnecessary death. I can't stop my allies from fighting back against people who are attacking them, and I'm not going to help the enemy. I may not like fighting them but I still feel they're on the wrong side, albeit misguided.' "So what will you do now?" 'Well I intend to keep trying for one, I'd be a rather poor paladin if I didn't. And if I will fight if I have to, but I'm feeling less than inspired to be honest.' He looked up at the walls of the fortress. "Still," he said aloud, "I have a duty to perform, regardless of how I feel." With that Throlar set off after his companions towards the outer wall. Striding at first, before breaking out in a run, and finally just barely pulling ahead of his companions to reach the top of the walls. Looking around himself at the forces arrayed against the heroes of Heroica he summoned up all his diplomatic training and said; "You all saw that didn't you? What happened to those men down there? I don't want you to die, but if you choose to keep fighting then I can't save you. You're vastly outnumbered and facing enemies who vastly outclass you. And tell me, do you really want to die an ignominious death here? Surely you have people who matter to you, friends, family, people you care about and care about you, do you think they want you to die?"

(OOC: Sorry to load extra work on your plate, but the actions outlined in my post differ slightly from what was suggested in the battle order.)

(OOC: I think it's already been stated that moving from one area to another takes up all of your actions for the entire turn.) Throlar sighed as he equipped his Shield of Invisibility. He looked across the sea of faces before him, wondering whether or not what he was about to say was worth the effort. Would anyone believe him? Usually he was ignored by those he tried to reason with. But whether or not they would listen he at least had to try, he couldn't let people die for a misguided cause if he could talk them out of it. "Everyone!" he said*, "Please, stop! You have been deceived! The people you follow are not the Founders of Heroica, they are impostors who have manipulated the events in this city to create a favorable atmosphere for them to take control of the city! It is they who are responsible for the scandals that were used to depose the Houses, and now they're using you as their pawns. Doesn't that make more sense that what they've told you? How could the Golden Dragon be alive? Or the Walking Mountain? We even have written records of his and Lady Luck's deaths, for heavens sakes! And don't say that the Miracleworker could just bring them all back to life! After all, it's been 257 years since they were last seen and no human, not even him, can live that long- and it doesn't make sense to say he brought himself back to life does it? "But maybe you don't believe me, this story may have been made up to confuse you, to make you doubt yourselves. After all, these houses are responsible for all of your problems aren't they? And these 'founders' have deposed them, that makes the 'founders' good, doesn't it? Very well, but let me ask you, what else have they done? Well, from my perspective they've instituted an unnecessary and draconian curfew, filled the streets with patrols of armed soldiers, and dragged off everyone who disagrees with them and thrown them into this fortress to be hanged. The Houses you hate so much aren't the only ones in there you know, the Captain of that ship," he pointed at the Magpie, "and near her entire crew for one, and I haven't heard any good reason for having them executed as of yet. And this is only the beginning! You named this bastion Fort Freedom when you took it, but all I see here is the beginnings of tyranny. "But back to the matter of proof, how do we know all of this, and how can we prove it to you? Well, haven't you noticed something wrong with the 'founders' you've seen? Haven't you noticed that one of them is missing? And not any of them, but the Fey One, the one who, as a member of the fair folk, was the most likely to still be alive? Well, the Fey One, the real one, is on that ship! And if you have any doubts that the story I've told you is true, well, then YOU CAN ASK THEM FOR YOURSELVES!" Having said that, Throlar prepared to heal the most injured hero with the Unicorn's Horn or, barring that, do nothing from the front row. *diplomatically.

Throlar throws a Floral Bomb at the Starboard side.

(Since the Obsidian Wyvern was dead by the time he acted Throlar should've thrown an Air Bomb instead, which would've been twice as effective against the Green mob on that side.)

(Erm, not to burst your bubble, but this rounds' Battle Order will be randomized due to one of the Green Mobs getting their special off last round.)

"Right," said Throlar, "I can't really speak for the rest of our foes, but those cannons present an immense threat both to ourselves and those ships coming to our aid. I suggest that we deal with them as soon as possible. Also, someone should be ready to deal with that Vermillion Wyvern, it's not going to be on our side much longer." Throlar will throw a Floral Bomb at the Starboard side. If the Obsidian Wyvern is defeated he will throw an Air Bomb instead. If all enemies on that side save the Vermillion Wyvern are defeated he with throw an Air Bomb at the Port side. If all enemies currently threatening the Magpie are defeated he will Heal the first injured ally.

"You could take over my cannon if that'd make you feel more useful."