Tests and Trials (Manzanita Judging)

[Rae ArdGaoth]

Sneakily, sneakily, they creep through the woods... though the loggers are making as much noises as a gnomish contraption gone wrong, what with the sawing and crashing and singing and yelling. It's quite a disturbance in the natural serenity of the forest, but it makes things quite easy for the group. They make their way around the loggers, to the other side of the settlement, and walk purposefully towards the center tent.

The security is clearly more lax during the day, not a single sentinel is even posted. The group reaches the center tent without encountering a single man. They pause for a moment in front of it, wondering whether they should just waltz in or look for someone with authority, but their indecision is quickly ended when the large tent flap opens and a large, black bearded human with thick arms and tree trunk legs appears before them. He looks surprised, but not scared. He says in a jaunty voice, "Well 'allo theah, mates! Ye jus' come in from town, eh? Got news fer us? What be yer business?"

 

[Dungannon]

Devlin gives his companions a sideways glance, then steps up to the large man. "Greetings, sir. Yes, we are from town and we do bring you news. It's not terribly good news for you, though, mores the pity. See, the rightful owners of this patch of forest haven't taken to kindly to you coming out here and chopping up their property. They've filed an injunction against you with the local Council, demanding that you cease and desist any and all logging activities. I'm afraid you're going to have to close up shop, sir, until the legalities of the situation can be sorted out back in town." Devlin grabs the man by the arm and tries to gently but firmly lead him back into the tent. "We are extremely sorry for this inconvenience, but we do live in a lawful society, don't we, and must let the issue run its course legally. I suggest you recall your men as soon as possible, of course, and explain the situation to them so they can find other work before its too late. A real pity, it is, taking honest work away from honest men, but these counselors, these lawyers as they sometimes call themselves, don't care about details like that. No sir, all they care about is the law, and making sure it's enforced by the letter, if not always the spirit. But what can we do about that, eh? We are merely servants of greater men, men who are supposed to know what's best for all involved. So it's our job to carry out our orders without much question, regardless of any personal feelings we may have on the matter. So, is there anything we can do to help you close up the camp in an orderly manner?"

 

[scout989]

Luthiel just barely manages to stop his mouth from dropping open in admiration at the line of bull Devlin was feeding the guy. <So that's how it's done, eh?>

He plays the part of the sullen apprentice, looking around surreptitiously but rudely, and letting Devlin do all the talking.

 

[Rae ArdGaoth]

"G-Great... great Scott! I... I don't know what to say! 'Ave ye got ... er... legal documentation? I... we... I guess I'd bettah tell the men, eh?" He hangs his head a bit and begins to trudge in the direction of the loggers. He slowly grabs all their attention by yelling at them. The work stops, the forest is silent again. The large man relays the news. The men are... some infuriated and some sad, some both. They look to Devlin, their dissenting voices asking too many questions. The large leader-like man gets their attention back, with some difficulty, and manages to silence them again. He looks plaintively at Devlin.

 

[Dungannon]

Devlin surveys the crowd, then raises his hands in an effort to quiet the throng. "I know this is coming as something of a shock to you all, but I assure you it is in everyone's best interests that we proceed in a civilized, orderly fashion. Your employer awaits you back in town, with severence pay and bonus and a contract guaranteeing your rehire once this matter is resolved, either for this site or another one. Now this deal is only available today, for those that willingly follow the orders and act in a responsible manner." Devlin looks up at the sun and gives his head a small shake. "I advise you now to head back to town immediately, as we all know it's not a short hike from here to there. Don't worry about packing up your belongings or the camp, we are here as council-appointed caretakers for the purpose of taking care of that for you. We will see that the camp is properly closed up and secured and that all personal belongings are packed up and returned to you back in town."

Devlin looks back at his group and offers a small, quick smile before turning back to the crowd with an even bigger grin on his face. "Well, what are you waiting for, men? Your money and your future await you back in town, so GO! And may the Gods continue to smile upon you!"

 

[Rae ArdGaoth]

The response is, to say the least, skeptical. The leader-like man Devlin spoke with earlier looks confused and somewhat aggravated, as though he has just had his authority yanked right out from under his feet (which has indeed happened). He looks about, perhaps in an attempt to gain the crowd's attention again, but by the time he regains his composure, the men have already split up and are headed back to the small settlement.

One man says loudly, "Damn city officials'll screw it up and send me John's stuff instead o' mine! I'm 'a gettin' me own load an' bringin' it back to town!" A few grunts of agreement come from the other loggers. Devlin's ploy seems to have worked. The men slowly gather what personal belongings they have and hop in carts, headed away from the forest.

The sun is now high in the sky. The settlement is deserted. The group stands near the central tent, debating their next move. But now a more pressing matter arises, because the tent flap flies open and the large man and three others burly men are now standing in front of the group, axes in hand, all four of them. The leader says, "Alrigh', ye may 'ave fooled the rest o' me mates, but no' us, no sir, no sir! He pauses. "Tell us, then, good... 'city officials'... what is our 'employer's' name?"

 

[Dungannon]

Devlin looks at the loggers for a second before he collects himself, "Curst the Gods, you're still here? I would've thought you smarter than that, man. I don't know what you 'suspect', but I just did you and your men a rather large favor, maybe even saved their lives. Yours too, if you smarten up and leave now." Devlin slowly maneuvers while talking, trying to position himself off to the side instead of smack in the middle. "Look, you're right, we aren't from town and we don't know who your employer is. But we do represent a party who claims to be the rightful owner of this land. There's a crazy elven druid in that forest who is very unhappy with your presence here, and he has an army of wolves on his side. Not just any wolves, either, these things are smart. Human smart. The only reason they haven't ravaged this camp during the night already is because we managed to convince the old man to let us try to convince you to leave without bloodshed." Devlin gives the woods a couple of nervous glances during his speech. "Now you can stay here if you want, the four of you, and try to defend the camp against a large pack of intelligent dire wolves, but as for me and my men, we're heading out before it gets too late. Good day and good luck to you." Devlin backs away from the party during the last part of his monologue, motioning for Garrit, Luthiel, and Malen to do the same.

 

[Rae ArdGaoth]

The large man seems taken aback by this new information. He even steps backward a foot, a stunned expression on his face. "Then... it's true, those 'owls and yips and... the ghost wolves are real mates! They're real, we gotta get outta 'ere!" He almost takes off running before one of the other three grabs his arm. "Nah, 'old on a moment there, mate. Cool yerself dahn a bit, an' think o' what these lyin' blokes are sayin' t'ye! Firs' they're from the city, kickin' us out with authoritative force, an' nah they're tryin' t'scare us away by tellin' us a ghost story abou' some smart-ass wolves! Well, Ah fer one won' be scared o' them!" The other two men nod in resolute agreement. The leader, who no longer seems so intimidating, has a strange look on his face, a mixture of terror, shame, and indecision.

The new leader, who seems to be the brains of the group, nods at his strong companions. "Alrigh' sirs, Ah believe we got us some figurin' to do. Ye either come with us peaceful-like or we'll take ye by force and tie ye up. How d'ye like the sounds o' that?"

 

[Dungannon]

Devlin continues to back up. "I'm afraid you must not have heard me. My men and I aren't sticking around. We have no quarrel with the druid and his legions, nor do we want one. We have done our duty, given you proper warning and gotten as many innocents away as possible. Our job is done. You're on your own." As he backs away, Devlin drops his hand to the hilt of his rapier, just in case.

 

[Rae ArdGaoth]

The four men look at each other for a moment as the group backs away. The original leader still looks terrified, the new leader looks furious, but the other two have more neutral expressions. They nod to each other once and then turn to Devlin.

One says, "Alrigh', mate. We think ye're tellin' the truth, but it don' mean we like ye. Whether or not these wolves are an immediate threat don' much matter at the moment, the others are 'alfway to town by now. But if ye're so concerned about our safety, what'd ye think would 'appen when we all got back t'town an' found out there was no eviction after all? We'd all come righ' back to what we were doin'." The other man speaks up, "Aye, ye've got some kinda ulterior motive, methinks. Else ye'd have just been out with it."

Turning to their companions, the two men say, "Nah look you two, get a hold o' yerselves! Fightin' these blokes won' do no good, an' runnin' away from them wolves won' do no good neither." The other: "Aye, we got to pull together an' fight for our livelihoods, eh mates? We won' let the damn lawyers take it away, an' we won' let the damn ghosties take it neither!" The second man adds, "Ah ain't much fer deceivin' folk, so Ah don' like these strangers, but ye're right mate, better safe than sorry. The others may be trudgin', and we ought to be able to catch up on a horse. They need to know the truth, an' that they're wastin' their time goin' back to town lookin' for a new job." They all nod.

The four loggers are one unit again, all seemingly of like mind. The largest, the first leader, seems to have recovered from his temporary fit of terror. He says to the group (that is still backing away), "Alrigh' mates, ye're either with us or against us. Ye don' sound like ye like these ghost-wolf-thingers so much either, so if ye're wantin' to fight, tha's what we'll be doin'. If ye're wantin' to run away like scared li'l girlies, so be it. But be quick about it."

The irony of his taunt is not lost on any of those present, but the group now has a choice...