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<blockquote data-quote="Nonlethal Force" data-source="post: 2950358" data-attributes="member: 35788"><p>The guard quickly drew closer to the combat, approached the downed invisible force slinger, and backed Ischarus out of the area. As the guard approached Ischarus he drew his sword out of the ground underneath and sheathed it in his scabbard. <span style="color: LightBlue">“He’s all yours, boys. You can have him. But can I have the name of your captain just in case I want to get some specific information out of him later on?”</span></p><p></p><p>Two of the guards stepped forward and grabbed Ischarus by the elbows, much to his dismay and shock. At the sudden arrest Ischarus exclaimed a loud protest. <span style="color: LightBlue">“Wait just a minute, here! I was giving chase to this rascal! He’s the one that fired his force attack at the guard! I was merely keeping people safe!”</span></p><p></p><p>The largest of the guards smiled and replied. <span style="color: Lime">“Yeah, that’s what they all say when the other one can’t talk.”</span> The guard on Ischarus’ left side bent Ischarus’ left arm behind his back and began to push him forward. The other guard pulled Ischarus’ sword from his scabbard and stowed it safely on his person before directing Ischarus to move.</p><p></p><p>Rhema stepped forward and tried to innocently defend Ischarus. <span style="color: PaleGreen">“Listen, boys. You don’t need to take that man into custody. I saw the whole thing and I can vouch for this man’s innocence in pursuing a criminal. My father has a villa in Huetown, and he is quite the loyal supporter of Lord Ironblood. I don’t imagine you’d want Lord Ironblood to have to inquire directly into this matter, would you?”</span></p><p></p><p>Ischarus didn’t need to turn around to know the voice and to hear the power within the voice. Rhema was up to her old tricks. This kind of situation was her forte. It was a deadly game of mind persuasion. Most of the time it worked, but if it didn’t work right here in this situation it could get her landed in jail for interfering with a local investigation of the city guard. It was a bold move, but Ischarus was not at all surprised that Rhema had decided to play the game.</p><p></p><p>As the guard with Ischarus’ sword turned to face the speaker, he reached out to motion the other guard to turn Ischarus around as well. <span style="color: Lime">“You boys take that other one to the jail, we’ll be along shortly.”</span> Refocusing his attention on the speaker he found himself face to face with a woman who was taller and much thinner than he had expected. He looked slightly downward to the 5’8” tall Rhema and her brown eyes that showed through her flowing brown hair. She looked innocent enough to pull off the game.</p><p></p><p>The guard acting in control of the others continued as he faced Rhema. <span style="color: Lime">“Listen, lady, I certainly don’t want Lord Ironblood involved into a simple matter of city security. But you have to understand that there was a fight here and we don’t know who was at fault!”</span></p><p></p><p>A voice from behind Rhema spoke out. <span style="color: Lime">“It wasn’t that sword wielding one, that’s for sure! I saw the whole thing! I was actually amazed at it all. That sword wielding one had several opportunities to cleave that other mage in two. He was easily the more experienced fighter, but I could tell that there was an intention on this sword wielding one to not want to maim the other guy.”</span></p><p></p><p>Rhema turned her head to view the source of the unlikely support. It was the guy whose tobacco she had used to ignite Grick’s cloak on fire. She smiled a bit knowing that drawing the tobacco into the fight had certainly caught this man’s attention. Her actions might have paid off in more ways than she had first imagined.</p><p></p><p>From behind Ischarus another voice spoke up. <span style="color: Lime">“Yeah. That one throwing those invisible balls of force had it in for the city guard. He’s the one that made the guard up there sick. This sword wielder didn’t even strike the other guy until after the city guard was attacked!”</span></p><p></p><p>Rhema smiled as a third voice spoke up. She knew that with each voice her position grew stronger. With each word of support her power of suggestion grew. <span style="color: Lime">“I was almost hit by one of those invisible balls. It sailed past my head and hit the brick building behind me hard enough to break of some of the brick. You can’t tell me that this sword wielding man was attacking with as much effort as the other guy. The other guy wanted to kill, it looked to me. This guy just wanted to defend himself!”</span></p><p></p><p>Rhema jumped into speech before another voice could add to the gaining momentum. <span style="color: PaleGreen">“See, good officer? The people here do not lie. They saw what happened. There is no reason to bother an innocent man by showing him the inside of a jail. I promise you that if you release him into my custody that no further harm will come to him or from him.”</span></p><p></p><p>A woman who stood to Ischarus’ right piped up, <span style="color: Lime">“And don’t forget to tell them the name of your captain so that they can go and find out why that other mean guy was harassing them and the guard!”</span></p><p></p><p>Ischarus could only smile. This was too much. Surely even Rhema could not have foreseen the effectiveness that her pleas would have on the crowd. Apparently they had enjoyed the fight, had been scared by the other man, and approved of Ischarus’ bold strike to capture and not injure.</p><p></p><p>The head guard turned to the other guard and motioned for Ischarus’ release. The gathered crowd began to cheer, although the guard raised a hand to quiet them down. <span style="color: Lime">“Some laws can be overlooked without consequence as in taking this man to jail. However, some laws cannot be ignored on account of the future repercussions being too great. I will not take this man into custody on account of all of your testimony. But I cannot hand the weapon used in open conflict in the streets back to a man without the captain’s permission. I will retain your sword, fighter. You can retrieve it later in the day from Captain Jacobseille at the prison where your name will be cleared if he sees fit. I release you in good faith that you will go to the prison and discuss this matter more in depth with him.”</span></p><p></p><p>The crowd began to murmur about this being an equitable solution and that Ischarus was innocent and should have no trouble. It seemed as though the captain had his own experience at knowing how to work a crowd.</p><p></p><p>Ischarus replied to the conclusion reached by guard. <span style="color: LightBlue">“Good sir, I will not only retrieve my sword from your captain, but I will tell him how pleased I was to have been given the pleasure of working with men of excellent ability such as yourself. You are a good judge of character, and your men follow you with honor.”</span> </p><p></p><p>Ischarus knew that he laid it on intentionally thick, but with a compliment like this the captain would have no option of reconsidering his assertion to free Ischarus. Furthermore, by adding the information about Ischarus praising this guard to his captain Ischarus ensured that the guards would report Ischarus favorably. That would come in handy not only in retrieving a simple sword that he could replace; but it would also help him to convince the captain to let them see the Drakontos he had just fought. At the very least it might allow him to get the information gleaned at the interrogation out of the captain.</p><p></p><p>The guard smiled and nodded to Ischarus and then turned to the crowd. <span style="color: Lime">“Our work here is done, people. Disperse and go about your regular lives, now. The show is over and life can return to its orderly status.”</span></p><p></p><p>The crowds began to disperse as Rhema and Ischarus turned together and headed back to the temple district. As they left, Rhema knew she heard the man with the pipe boasting, <span style="color: Lime">“… and then my tobacco flew through the air, right up out of my pipe! It was my tobacco that caused the man’s hood to ignite in flames! Honestly, I tell you all. I saw it with my own eyes!”</span> Rhema smiled at the simply unbelievable testimony.</p><p></p><p>Once they had returned to the temple, they noticed that Semeion and Charis were no longer where they had left them. Ischarus turned a bit to Rhema and asked, <span style="color: LightBlue">“You don’t suppose Grick was a decoy, do you? Could we have fallen into that trap so easily?”</span></p><p></p><p>Rhema shook her head. There was no sign of a conflict here and the people mulled around as if nothing happened. <span style="color: PaleGreen">“I doubt it. Perhaps they went back inside where the thick stone walls cooled the air.”</span></p><p></p><p>A hand thumped hard against Ischarus’ shoulder. The owner of the hand stood directly behind Ischarus and spoke. <span style="color: Plum">“We thought the same thing, Ischarus. So we decided to take shelter across the street from the temple and watch for anyone that Charis might know.”</span></p><p></p><p>Charis shook her head as Ischarus and Rhema turned to face Semeion and Charis. <span style="color: Orange">“We didn’t see anyone, though. When we saw you two coming we thought we might just give you both a moment to realize how much you’d miss us if we were gone.”</span></p><p></p><p>Rhema completely turned around and embraced Charis with a big hug. <span style="color: PaleGreen">“You need not go to such lengths to know that, Charis!’</span></p><p></p><p>Semeion furthered the discussion. <span style="color: Plum">“So, what happened to Grick? I notice that you return without your sword.”</span></p><p></p><p>Rhema smiled as Semeion took note of the fighter’s loss of a weapon.</p><p></p><p>[Sblock=Color-Free Speech Section]</p><p>The guard quickly drew closer to the combat, approached the downed invisible force slinger, and backed Ischarus out of the area. As the guard approached Ischarus he drew his sword out of the ground underneath and sheathed it in his scabbard. “He’s all yours, boys. You can have him. But can I have the name of your captain just in case I want to get some specific information out of him later on?”</p><p></p><p>Two of the guards stepped forward and grabbed Ischarus by the elbows, much to his dismay and shock. At the sudden arrest Ischarus exclaimed a loud protest. “Wait just a minute, here! I was giving chase to this rascal! He’s the one that fired his force attack at the guard! I was merely keeping people safe!”</p><p></p><p>The largest of the guards smiled and replied. “Yeah, that’s what they all say when the other one can’t talk.” The guard on Ischarus’ left side bent Ischarus’ left arm behind his back and began to push him forward. The other guard pulled Ischarus’ sword from his scabbard and stowed it safely on his person before directing Ischarus to move.</p><p></p><p>Rhema stepped forward and tried to innocently defend Ischarus. “Listen, boys. You don’t need to take that man into custody. I saw the whole thing and I can vouch for this man’s innocence in pursuing a criminal. My father has a villa in Huetown, and he is quite the loyal supporter of Lord Ironblood. I don’t imagine you’d want Lord Ironblood to have to inquire directly into this matter, would you?”</p><p></p><p>Ischarus didn’t need to turn around to know the voice and to hear the power within the voice. Rhema was up to her old tricks. This kind of situation was her forte. It was a deadly game of mind persuasion. Most of the time it worked, but if it didn’t work right here in this situation it could get her landed in jail for interfering with a local investigation of the city guard. It was a bold move, but Ischarus was not at all surprised that Rhema had decided to play the game.</p><p></p><p>As the guard with Ischarus’ sword turned to face the speaker, he reached out to motion the other guard to turn Ischarus around as well. “You boys take that other one to the jail, we’ll be along shortly.” Refocusing his attention on the speaker he found himself face to face with a woman who was taller and much thinner than he had expected. He looked slightly downward to the 5’8” tall Rhema and her brown eyes that showed through her flowing brown hair. She looked innocent enough to pull off the game.</p><p></p><p>The guard acting in control of the others continued as he faced Rhema. “Listen, lady, I certainly don’t want Lord Ironblood involved into a simple matter of city security. But you have to understand that there was a fight here and we don’t know who was at fault!”</p><p></p><p>A voice from behind Rhema spoke out. “It wasn’t that sword wielding one, that’s for sure! I saw the whole thing! I was actually amazed at it all. That sword wielding one had several opportunities to cleave that other mage in two. He was easily the more experienced fighter, but I could tell that there was an intention on this sword wielding one to not want to maim the other guy.”</p><p></p><p>Rhema turned her head to view the source of the unlikely support. It was the guy whose tobacco she had used to ignite Grick’s cloak on fire. She smiled a bit knowing that drawing the tobacco into the fight had certainly caught this man’s attention. Her actions might have paid off in more ways than she had first imagined.</p><p></p><p>From behind Ischarus another voice spoke up. “Yeah. That one throwing those invisible balls of force had it in for the city guard. He’s the one that made the guard up there sick. This sword wielder didn’t even strike the other guy until after the city guard was attacked!”</p><p></p><p>Rhema smiled as a third voice spoke up. She knew that with each voice her position grew stronger. With each word of support her power of suggestion grew. “I was almost hit by one of those invisible balls. It sailed past my head and hit the brick building behind me hard enough to break of some of the brick. You can’t tell me that this sword wielding man was attacking with as much effort as the other guy. The other guy wanted to kill, it looked to me. This guy just wanted to defend himself!”</p><p></p><p>Rhema jumped into speech before another voice could add to the gaining momentum. “See, good officer? The people here do not lie. They saw what happened. There is no reason to bother an innocent man by showing him the inside of a jail. I promise you that if you release him into my custody that no further harm will come to him or from him.”</p><p></p><p>A woman who stood to Ischarus’ right piped up, “And don’t forget to tell them the name of your captain so that they can go and find out why that other mean guy was harassing them and the guard!”</p><p></p><p>Ischarus could only smile. This was too much. Surely even Rhema could not have foreseen the effectiveness that her pleas would have on the crowd. Apparently they had enjoyed the fight, had been scared by the other man, and approved of Ischarus’ bold strike to capture and not injure.</p><p></p><p>The head guard turned to the other guard and motioned for Ischarus’ release. The gathered crowd began to cheer, although the guard raised a hand to quiet them down. “Some laws can be overlooked without consequence as in taking this man to jail. However, some laws cannot be ignored on account of the future repercussions being too great. I will not take this man into custody on account of all of your testimony. But I cannot hand the weapon used in open conflict in the streets back to a man without the captain’s permission. I will retain your sword, fighter. You can retrieve it later in the day from Captain Jacobseille at the prison where your name will be cleared if he sees fit. I release you in good faith that you will go to the prison and discuss this matter more in depth with him.”</p><p></p><p>The crowd began to murmur about this being an equitable solution and that Ischarus was innocent and should have no trouble. It seemed as though the captain had his own experience at knowing how to work a crowd.</p><p></p><p>Ischarus replied to the conclusion reached by guard. “Good sir, I will not only retrieve my sword from your captain, but I will tell him how pleased I was to have been given the pleasure of working with men of excellent ability such as yourself. You are a good judge of character, and your men follow you with honor.” </p><p></p><p>Ischarus knew that he laid it on intentionally thick, but with a compliment like this the captain would have no option of reconsidering his assertion to free Ischarus. Furthermore, by adding the information about Ischarus praising this guard to his captain Ischarus ensured that the guards would report Ischarus favorably. That would come in handy not only in retrieving a simple sword that he could replace; but it would also help him to convince the captain to let them see the Drakontos he had just fought. At the very least it might allow him to get the information gleaned at the interrogation out of the captain.</p><p></p><p>The guard smiled and nodded to Ischarus and then turned to the crowd. “Our work here is done, people. Disperse and go about your regular lives, now. The show is over and life can return to its orderly status.”</p><p></p><p>The crowds began to disperse as Rhema and Ischarus turned together and headed back to the temple district. As they left, Rhema knew she heard the man with the pipe boasting, “… and then my tobacco flew through the air, right up out of my pipe! It was my tobacco that caused the man’s hood to ignite in flames! Honestly, I tell you all. I saw it with my own eyes!” Rhema smiled at the simply unbelievable testimony.</p><p></p><p>Once they had returned to the temple, they noticed that Semeion and Charis were no longer where they had left them. Ischarus turned a bit to Rhema and asked, “You don’t suppose Grick was a decoy, do you? Could we have fallen into that trap so easily?”</p><p></p><p>Rhema shook her head. There was no sign of a conflict here and the people mulled around as if nothing happened. “I doubt it. Perhaps they went back inside where the thick stone walls cooled the air.”</p><p></p><p>A hand thumped hard against Ischarus’ shoulder. The owner of the hand stood directly behind Ischarus and spoke. “We thought the same thing, Ischarus. So we decided to take shelter across the street from the temple and watch for anyone that Charis might know.”</p><p></p><p>Charis shook her head as Ischarus and Rhema turned to face Semeion and Charis. “We didn’t see anyone, though. When we saw you two coming we thought we might just give you both a moment to realize how much you’d miss us if we were gone.”</p><p></p><p>Rhema completely turned around and embraced Charis with a big hug. “You need not go to such lengths to know that, Charis!’</p><p></p><p>Semeion furthered the discussion. “So, what happened to Grick? I notice that you return without your sword.”</p><p></p><p>Rhema smiled as Semeion took note of the fighter’s loss of a weapon.[/Sblock]</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Nonlethal Force, post: 2950358, member: 35788"] The guard quickly drew closer to the combat, approached the downed invisible force slinger, and backed Ischarus out of the area. As the guard approached Ischarus he drew his sword out of the ground underneath and sheathed it in his scabbard. [Color=LightBlue]“He’s all yours, boys. You can have him. But can I have the name of your captain just in case I want to get some specific information out of him later on?”[/Color] Two of the guards stepped forward and grabbed Ischarus by the elbows, much to his dismay and shock. At the sudden arrest Ischarus exclaimed a loud protest. [Color=LightBlue]“Wait just a minute, here! I was giving chase to this rascal! He’s the one that fired his force attack at the guard! I was merely keeping people safe!”[/Color] The largest of the guards smiled and replied. [Color=Lime]“Yeah, that’s what they all say when the other one can’t talk.”[/Color] The guard on Ischarus’ left side bent Ischarus’ left arm behind his back and began to push him forward. The other guard pulled Ischarus’ sword from his scabbard and stowed it safely on his person before directing Ischarus to move. Rhema stepped forward and tried to innocently defend Ischarus. [Color=PaleGreen]“Listen, boys. You don’t need to take that man into custody. I saw the whole thing and I can vouch for this man’s innocence in pursuing a criminal. My father has a villa in Huetown, and he is quite the loyal supporter of Lord Ironblood. I don’t imagine you’d want Lord Ironblood to have to inquire directly into this matter, would you?”[/Color] Ischarus didn’t need to turn around to know the voice and to hear the power within the voice. Rhema was up to her old tricks. This kind of situation was her forte. It was a deadly game of mind persuasion. Most of the time it worked, but if it didn’t work right here in this situation it could get her landed in jail for interfering with a local investigation of the city guard. It was a bold move, but Ischarus was not at all surprised that Rhema had decided to play the game. As the guard with Ischarus’ sword turned to face the speaker, he reached out to motion the other guard to turn Ischarus around as well. [Color=Lime]“You boys take that other one to the jail, we’ll be along shortly.”[/Color] Refocusing his attention on the speaker he found himself face to face with a woman who was taller and much thinner than he had expected. He looked slightly downward to the 5’8” tall Rhema and her brown eyes that showed through her flowing brown hair. She looked innocent enough to pull off the game. The guard acting in control of the others continued as he faced Rhema. [Color=Lime]“Listen, lady, I certainly don’t want Lord Ironblood involved into a simple matter of city security. But you have to understand that there was a fight here and we don’t know who was at fault!”[/Color] A voice from behind Rhema spoke out. [Color=Lime]“It wasn’t that sword wielding one, that’s for sure! I saw the whole thing! I was actually amazed at it all. That sword wielding one had several opportunities to cleave that other mage in two. He was easily the more experienced fighter, but I could tell that there was an intention on this sword wielding one to not want to maim the other guy.”[/Color] Rhema turned her head to view the source of the unlikely support. It was the guy whose tobacco she had used to ignite Grick’s cloak on fire. She smiled a bit knowing that drawing the tobacco into the fight had certainly caught this man’s attention. Her actions might have paid off in more ways than she had first imagined. From behind Ischarus another voice spoke up. [Color=Lime]“Yeah. That one throwing those invisible balls of force had it in for the city guard. He’s the one that made the guard up there sick. This sword wielder didn’t even strike the other guy until after the city guard was attacked!”[/Color] Rhema smiled as a third voice spoke up. She knew that with each voice her position grew stronger. With each word of support her power of suggestion grew. [Color=Lime]“I was almost hit by one of those invisible balls. It sailed past my head and hit the brick building behind me hard enough to break of some of the brick. You can’t tell me that this sword wielding man was attacking with as much effort as the other guy. The other guy wanted to kill, it looked to me. This guy just wanted to defend himself!”[/Color] Rhema jumped into speech before another voice could add to the gaining momentum. [Color=PaleGreen]“See, good officer? The people here do not lie. They saw what happened. There is no reason to bother an innocent man by showing him the inside of a jail. I promise you that if you release him into my custody that no further harm will come to him or from him.”[/Color] A woman who stood to Ischarus’ right piped up, [Color=Lime]“And don’t forget to tell them the name of your captain so that they can go and find out why that other mean guy was harassing them and the guard!”[/Color] Ischarus could only smile. This was too much. Surely even Rhema could not have foreseen the effectiveness that her pleas would have on the crowd. Apparently they had enjoyed the fight, had been scared by the other man, and approved of Ischarus’ bold strike to capture and not injure. The head guard turned to the other guard and motioned for Ischarus’ release. The gathered crowd began to cheer, although the guard raised a hand to quiet them down. [Color=Lime]“Some laws can be overlooked without consequence as in taking this man to jail. However, some laws cannot be ignored on account of the future repercussions being too great. I will not take this man into custody on account of all of your testimony. But I cannot hand the weapon used in open conflict in the streets back to a man without the captain’s permission. I will retain your sword, fighter. You can retrieve it later in the day from Captain Jacobseille at the prison where your name will be cleared if he sees fit. I release you in good faith that you will go to the prison and discuss this matter more in depth with him.”[/Color] The crowd began to murmur about this being an equitable solution and that Ischarus was innocent and should have no trouble. It seemed as though the captain had his own experience at knowing how to work a crowd. Ischarus replied to the conclusion reached by guard. [Color=LightBlue]“Good sir, I will not only retrieve my sword from your captain, but I will tell him how pleased I was to have been given the pleasure of working with men of excellent ability such as yourself. You are a good judge of character, and your men follow you with honor.”[/Color] Ischarus knew that he laid it on intentionally thick, but with a compliment like this the captain would have no option of reconsidering his assertion to free Ischarus. Furthermore, by adding the information about Ischarus praising this guard to his captain Ischarus ensured that the guards would report Ischarus favorably. That would come in handy not only in retrieving a simple sword that he could replace; but it would also help him to convince the captain to let them see the Drakontos he had just fought. At the very least it might allow him to get the information gleaned at the interrogation out of the captain. The guard smiled and nodded to Ischarus and then turned to the crowd. [Color=Lime]“Our work here is done, people. Disperse and go about your regular lives, now. The show is over and life can return to its orderly status.”[/Color] The crowds began to disperse as Rhema and Ischarus turned together and headed back to the temple district. As they left, Rhema knew she heard the man with the pipe boasting, [Color=Lime]“… and then my tobacco flew through the air, right up out of my pipe! It was my tobacco that caused the man’s hood to ignite in flames! Honestly, I tell you all. I saw it with my own eyes!”[/Color] Rhema smiled at the simply unbelievable testimony. Once they had returned to the temple, they noticed that Semeion and Charis were no longer where they had left them. Ischarus turned a bit to Rhema and asked, [Color=LightBlue]“You don’t suppose Grick was a decoy, do you? Could we have fallen into that trap so easily?”[/Color] Rhema shook her head. There was no sign of a conflict here and the people mulled around as if nothing happened. [Color=PaleGreen]“I doubt it. Perhaps they went back inside where the thick stone walls cooled the air.”[/Color] A hand thumped hard against Ischarus’ shoulder. The owner of the hand stood directly behind Ischarus and spoke. [Color=Plum]“We thought the same thing, Ischarus. So we decided to take shelter across the street from the temple and watch for anyone that Charis might know.”[/Color] Charis shook her head as Ischarus and Rhema turned to face Semeion and Charis. [Color=Orange]“We didn’t see anyone, though. When we saw you two coming we thought we might just give you both a moment to realize how much you’d miss us if we were gone.”[/Color] Rhema completely turned around and embraced Charis with a big hug. [Color=PaleGreen]“You need not go to such lengths to know that, Charis!’[/Color] Semeion furthered the discussion. [Color=Plum]“So, what happened to Grick? I notice that you return without your sword.”[/Color] Rhema smiled as Semeion took note of the fighter’s loss of a weapon. [Sblock=Color-Free Speech Section] The guard quickly drew closer to the combat, approached the downed invisible force slinger, and backed Ischarus out of the area. As the guard approached Ischarus he drew his sword out of the ground underneath and sheathed it in his scabbard. “He’s all yours, boys. You can have him. But can I have the name of your captain just in case I want to get some specific information out of him later on?” Two of the guards stepped forward and grabbed Ischarus by the elbows, much to his dismay and shock. At the sudden arrest Ischarus exclaimed a loud protest. “Wait just a minute, here! I was giving chase to this rascal! He’s the one that fired his force attack at the guard! I was merely keeping people safe!” The largest of the guards smiled and replied. “Yeah, that’s what they all say when the other one can’t talk.” The guard on Ischarus’ left side bent Ischarus’ left arm behind his back and began to push him forward. The other guard pulled Ischarus’ sword from his scabbard and stowed it safely on his person before directing Ischarus to move. Rhema stepped forward and tried to innocently defend Ischarus. “Listen, boys. You don’t need to take that man into custody. I saw the whole thing and I can vouch for this man’s innocence in pursuing a criminal. My father has a villa in Huetown, and he is quite the loyal supporter of Lord Ironblood. I don’t imagine you’d want Lord Ironblood to have to inquire directly into this matter, would you?” Ischarus didn’t need to turn around to know the voice and to hear the power within the voice. Rhema was up to her old tricks. This kind of situation was her forte. It was a deadly game of mind persuasion. Most of the time it worked, but if it didn’t work right here in this situation it could get her landed in jail for interfering with a local investigation of the city guard. It was a bold move, but Ischarus was not at all surprised that Rhema had decided to play the game. As the guard with Ischarus’ sword turned to face the speaker, he reached out to motion the other guard to turn Ischarus around as well. “You boys take that other one to the jail, we’ll be along shortly.” Refocusing his attention on the speaker he found himself face to face with a woman who was taller and much thinner than he had expected. He looked slightly downward to the 5’8” tall Rhema and her brown eyes that showed through her flowing brown hair. She looked innocent enough to pull off the game. The guard acting in control of the others continued as he faced Rhema. “Listen, lady, I certainly don’t want Lord Ironblood involved into a simple matter of city security. But you have to understand that there was a fight here and we don’t know who was at fault!” A voice from behind Rhema spoke out. “It wasn’t that sword wielding one, that’s for sure! I saw the whole thing! I was actually amazed at it all. That sword wielding one had several opportunities to cleave that other mage in two. He was easily the more experienced fighter, but I could tell that there was an intention on this sword wielding one to not want to maim the other guy.” Rhema turned her head to view the source of the unlikely support. It was the guy whose tobacco she had used to ignite Grick’s cloak on fire. She smiled a bit knowing that drawing the tobacco into the fight had certainly caught this man’s attention. Her actions might have paid off in more ways than she had first imagined. From behind Ischarus another voice spoke up. “Yeah. That one throwing those invisible balls of force had it in for the city guard. He’s the one that made the guard up there sick. This sword wielder didn’t even strike the other guy until after the city guard was attacked!” Rhema smiled as a third voice spoke up. She knew that with each voice her position grew stronger. With each word of support her power of suggestion grew. “I was almost hit by one of those invisible balls. It sailed past my head and hit the brick building behind me hard enough to break of some of the brick. You can’t tell me that this sword wielding man was attacking with as much effort as the other guy. The other guy wanted to kill, it looked to me. This guy just wanted to defend himself!” Rhema jumped into speech before another voice could add to the gaining momentum. “See, good officer? The people here do not lie. They saw what happened. There is no reason to bother an innocent man by showing him the inside of a jail. I promise you that if you release him into my custody that no further harm will come to him or from him.” A woman who stood to Ischarus’ right piped up, “And don’t forget to tell them the name of your captain so that they can go and find out why that other mean guy was harassing them and the guard!” Ischarus could only smile. This was too much. Surely even Rhema could not have foreseen the effectiveness that her pleas would have on the crowd. Apparently they had enjoyed the fight, had been scared by the other man, and approved of Ischarus’ bold strike to capture and not injure. The head guard turned to the other guard and motioned for Ischarus’ release. The gathered crowd began to cheer, although the guard raised a hand to quiet them down. “Some laws can be overlooked without consequence as in taking this man to jail. However, some laws cannot be ignored on account of the future repercussions being too great. I will not take this man into custody on account of all of your testimony. But I cannot hand the weapon used in open conflict in the streets back to a man without the captain’s permission. I will retain your sword, fighter. You can retrieve it later in the day from Captain Jacobseille at the prison where your name will be cleared if he sees fit. I release you in good faith that you will go to the prison and discuss this matter more in depth with him.” The crowd began to murmur about this being an equitable solution and that Ischarus was innocent and should have no trouble. It seemed as though the captain had his own experience at knowing how to work a crowd. Ischarus replied to the conclusion reached by guard. “Good sir, I will not only retrieve my sword from your captain, but I will tell him how pleased I was to have been given the pleasure of working with men of excellent ability such as yourself. You are a good judge of character, and your men follow you with honor.” Ischarus knew that he laid it on intentionally thick, but with a compliment like this the captain would have no option of reconsidering his assertion to free Ischarus. Furthermore, by adding the information about Ischarus praising this guard to his captain Ischarus ensured that the guards would report Ischarus favorably. That would come in handy not only in retrieving a simple sword that he could replace; but it would also help him to convince the captain to let them see the Drakontos he had just fought. At the very least it might allow him to get the information gleaned at the interrogation out of the captain. The guard smiled and nodded to Ischarus and then turned to the crowd. “Our work here is done, people. Disperse and go about your regular lives, now. The show is over and life can return to its orderly status.” The crowds began to disperse as Rhema and Ischarus turned together and headed back to the temple district. As they left, Rhema knew she heard the man with the pipe boasting, “… and then my tobacco flew through the air, right up out of my pipe! It was my tobacco that caused the man’s hood to ignite in flames! Honestly, I tell you all. I saw it with my own eyes!” Rhema smiled at the simply unbelievable testimony. Once they had returned to the temple, they noticed that Semeion and Charis were no longer where they had left them. Ischarus turned a bit to Rhema and asked, “You don’t suppose Grick was a decoy, do you? Could we have fallen into that trap so easily?” Rhema shook her head. There was no sign of a conflict here and the people mulled around as if nothing happened. “I doubt it. Perhaps they went back inside where the thick stone walls cooled the air.” A hand thumped hard against Ischarus’ shoulder. The owner of the hand stood directly behind Ischarus and spoke. “We thought the same thing, Ischarus. So we decided to take shelter across the street from the temple and watch for anyone that Charis might know.” Charis shook her head as Ischarus and Rhema turned to face Semeion and Charis. “We didn’t see anyone, though. When we saw you two coming we thought we might just give you both a moment to realize how much you’d miss us if we were gone.” Rhema completely turned around and embraced Charis with a big hug. “You need not go to such lengths to know that, Charis!’ Semeion furthered the discussion. “So, what happened to Grick? I notice that you return without your sword.” Rhema smiled as Semeion took note of the fighter’s loss of a weapon.[/Sblock] [/QUOTE]
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