A Sojourn in Sairundan [Judge: Manzanita]

"It is an old story," says Conuld to the others. "This one, Jilna, is fleeing an arranged marriage with her lover Jonka... that man. Their tribe will pursue them, and know which way they must have gone. If they had not attacked us, they could be many miles from here, and still moving. As it is, they cannot travel, and will surely be recovered by their people before long... unless we get involved. But I do not see that it is any of our concern. We are all responsible for the consequences of our own decisions...." But he looks uncomfortable as he says it. "It... it does not look good for the couple... or their child."

(OOC: I think it is possible that you accidentally used the name Jonka twice on two separate bandits--let me know if I'm just confused)

[SBLOCK=Sylvan]"Very well then Jilsa," Lasair replies with quiet compassion, "I understand how it is to be alant, truly I do. But you must know that this is no excuse to sully your vhal so. You attacked us with weapons used with intent to kill, and my allies responded in kind--you could have asked us for help instead, and you are very very lucky that nobody died on either side. With either choice, you would have zij, but right now, your zij to us is great, and deep is the stain to your vhal. You must know this, but your spirit-sister's freedom from the terrible acts performed by your tribe is so important to you that you risk everything, even your vhal, which is your most precious possession. I must tell you that even as alant away from your tribe, though you may have thought of yourselves as outlaws or outcasts who already have no vhal, your vhal matters more than ever, as it is the only way to gain acceptance from outsiders you will meet, and those you call 'Northerners' are a strange lot. I am not from those lands either--I hail from south of here but east, and the other 'mousy girl', well she's an important warrior from Sairundan, so ambushing her is not a good way to get on their good side,"[/SBLOCK] Lasair gives a faint ironic smile, [SBLOCK=Lasair]"Something similar to this happened in a horrible place called Covington, but Jilna's part was played by the mayor's daughter, and the monster of a mayor was the antagonist. This time, however, I am in a position to help. And I will do so, but you must first make me a promise. I would like all of you to do that. Do any of the others speak the Sylvan tongue? If not, I will need you to be my translator, Jilsa. And I trust you to perform that role admirably--your Sylvan is very good. I want you to promise me that you will never again compromise your vhal in such a way. I do not know what my companions will ask of you to repay your zij to them, but you must do so as well, as I am but one of many, and I cannot take action to help you if they are opposed. Besides, I am sure it will lift a weight on your heart to know when the zij has been repaid."[/SBLOCK]

It is a little poorly phrased, but B3 is Jonka, and B4 is his unnamed

Spoiler

spirit-brother

.

Jilsa nods as Lasair speaks. She replies, "

Spoiler

You say that I speak Sylvan well, yet I do not understand several of the words you speak. Vhal, zij? But I am willing to repay you for your mercy, if that is what you mean. And I will certainly translate for the others, when they awaken

." She turns to Jilna and babbles with her in their native tongue. Jilna nods a few times and then looks at Lasair, hope in her eyes. Jilsa speaks to Lasair and Conuld, in Sylvan now, "

Spoiler

I must be honest, we think it strange that you are so forgiving and trusting, but we are grateful. To the best of our abilities, we will act... honorably

." Lasair believes... ( ).

[SBLOCK=Sylvan]"It is custom amongst my people that once the zij is repaid, it is forgotten. I find, though, that it is true among these Western lands that people are not as 'forgiving', you say. Nonetheless, you must repay your zij before you truly earn my trust. Zij...how to say this best. It is like...how is it best said here--a debt, or perhaps an obligation. And vhal, it is, I think, like your honour, though a man named Richard Rawen told me that the honour in these lands is more corrupt than vhal and sometimes ignores those of lower status. Maintaining vhal and repaying zij, these are the ways of my people. Surely you have similar customs? What would be the zij for your actions among your people? No, wait, you have already told me that your people's laws are unjust. In that case, tell me what you think your zij should be."[/SBLOCK]

Cludge Slatefist, Dwarven Fighter 2 HP:22 AC:15

Cludge sighs and sits wearily on a fallen tree. Well, this would be a fine mess, he says, hearing Conuld and Lasair's translation. I spose if'n the tribe's really on these youngster's heels mebbe we could slow 'em up a bit.
He thinks for a bit and eyes the bridge up and down. Tell ya what, he says. I ain't one fer great idears, but what if we put these upstarts on the far side o' the bridge frum their chasers, then put a wee hole, say, somewhere's near the middle of the bridge. Just enough enough to slow down the chasin' tribe, mebbe that would buy 'em some time?

*Lasair smiles slightly, glad that Cludge has also decided to help them.*

"That could be a good idea, but on the other hand, when the bridge is out, it can harm other travelers or lead them to ambushes like that of the ogre. I have a few thoughts as well, though they won't work so well if there are none of the pursuers who share a language with me. Hmm...how far is it to the next town--once they get there, they can probably vanish, but they are vulnerable so long as their path is obvious to their pursuers. Also, we need to keep in mind that their wounded could take days to wake up without magical healing, so they are going to need much more of an aid in slowing down pursuers than they would have if they had not attacked us. Of course, that is entirely their own faults for attacking us, but still, I cannot help but feel that they acted out of desperation. I am in favour of giving them a chance to repay their zij to us and recover their lost vhal."

"They have two healing potions," says Conuld, "and we have the wand. We can get them all back on their feet. We can let them go, if we trust that their desperation will not outweigh their good sense again."

"I'm not sure about that yet. Let me keep talking with them. Also, since these magical wands you have in the Western lands are much like dorjes and can only be used by certain people, if we were going to use their potions anyway, we are likely better off using the wand for all the healing and then keeping the potions in exchange."

"Oh, there certainly should be payment for the trouble to which they put us," says Conuld. "Speaking of which, they have rather a lot of money with them, more than one might expect of desperate fugitives in need of horses. Lasair, are we getting the full story here?"

"Well, let's put it this way--in this world, you may have encountered those with a strength of ziivash greater than other people. They are more heroic, more powerful, yes? Anyone who could lie to me this consistently would need to have a strength of ziivash beyond what we have seen from them in the fight--does that make sense? Thus, I believe them. The issue with the money, I believe, is that the money is useless to them if they have nowhere to spend it. Their home tribe wouldn't just sell them things to run away, and they haven't reached the next town yet. I was thinking of possibly giving them a horse in exchange for the funds to buy another, for instance. I will ask how they came across that amount, though. How much of your gold was it?"