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Zerubbabel Jangle's Journal (as of 25 April)
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<blockquote data-quote="Mark Chance" data-source="post: 1957494" data-attributes="member: 2795"><p><strong>The Morality of My Actions</strong></p><p></p><p>I’m beginning to question the morality of my actions. I don’t mean I’m feeling a bit guilty like when I use a bit of sleight of hand to steal a pastry or an apple in the market. I mean I’m beginning to seriously wonder what the point is. Allow me to explain, my dear diary.</p><p></p><p>We’re back in the Pomarj. Deeper than we’ve ever been before, still dancing to the tune of the incompetents running Ulek. Remember those carrier pigeons we took from the Nerullite temple? Well, we spent some time in Gyrax while Glyth trained the birds to stop and rest every six or so miles. This way, Glyth could release a bird, it would fly toward its destination, but we could then catch up to it and release it again. Tracking the birds this way is slow going, that’s for sure, but it seems to be working well enough. Shadra helped Glyth do something called “triangularating.” According to Shadra, this is mathematical way to locate a destination. I’ll take her word for it.</p><p></p><p>Anyway, our trip was remarkably uneventful until we encountered the mixed force of kobolds, orcs, humans, and ogres. The battle was fierce. As usual, I fought like a lion, especially in defense of my beloved Zara. I’ve spent so much ink on the details of battles I’m loathe to do so again. Suffice it to say we won. Our enemy either died or fled, except for three we captured.</p><p></p><p>The first and most dangerous of the three was an orcish cleric of Hextor. This deity, if you do not know, is utterly reprehensible. His faithful delight in murder and tyranny. Shadra, who is a psion, felt that this creature could serve our interests if it submitted to mental domination. What utter foolishness! Would you trust a fox in the henhouse even if the fox had been collared? Of course not. But Shadra, otherwise an intelligent woman, apparently saw no harm in taking into our ranks a mad beast.</p><p></p><p>The Hextorite, in no uncertain terms, made it clear that it preferred death to service. Shadra, Glyth, and Ebon were only too happy to oblige it. According to these three, slaying the Hextorite would not be murder, but would be a just execution. I could see some sense to these arguments. After all, if the Hextorite had fallen in battle, would it not be just as dead? And, certainly, a quick execution is more merciful than abandoning it, bound and gagged, in the Pomarj’s wilds. Likewise, letting it loose could very well come back to haunt us, for such a monster would have bloody revenge on its mind.</p><p></p><p>Cord and Mupp were of a different mind, especially Mupp. Moonrise, Zara, and I were mostly quiet during the argument over the Hextorite’s fate. Cord and Mupp objected to the proposed execution. Killing in self-defense or in order to accomplish a military objective is an acceptable use of force. Slaying a defenseless foe, however, is not. When we captured the Hextorite, his welfare became our responsibility. If we are not willing to shoulder that responsibility, the Hextorite must be freed. If he later seeks revenge against us, we would defend ourselves. If he later commits some other evil, that is his burden for which he will be judged in the next life if not this one.</p><p></p><p>The Precepts of Garl say, “A gnome may not commit evil so that good results.” It is perhaps my shame that Mupp takes this precept more to heart than I do. To be honest, the evil that I do seldom even has any sort of noble goal. I don’t steal to feed the poor, for example. I steal to put coin in my purse. But I digress. The reason behind this precept is sound. The evils that I commit, no matter for what ends, stain my soul and put me under the judgement of Garl. It is not acceptable to vex Garl in this manner.</p><p></p><p>Then there is also this: Shadra offered the Hextorite this choice: Either die or else be a slave. And a slave to what end? To serve in battle unto death. This is a choice? No! Beneath Shadra’s appearance of a matronly elder beats a ruthless heart. Her offer to the Hextorite was barely distinguishable from the doctrine of Hextor himself: serve unto death or else die now.</p><p></p><p>The argument became quite heated, and the more Mupp (and to a lesser extent Cord) defended their position, the more insulting and far-fetched became the arguments advanced largely by Shadra. Then, in the midst of all of this bickering, Zara calmly stepped forward and slit the Hextorite’s throat! I was too shocked to react. The orcish cleric bled out rapidly.</p><p></p><p>Shadra then subjected another orc and a wicked human to mental domination. Is this not what the Nerullites were doing to the mountain tribes? Plus, two foxes were let into our henhouse. Mooncrater objected, especially to the orc’s presence. Moonglum’s deity, Corellon Larethian, does not tolerate orcs lightly. I also expressed concern about these enemies in our midst, but the others, especially Glyth, are too ready to dismiss my advice as worthless. Have I played the fool too much? Apparently so. But I digress again. At this point, Mupp’s sensibilities had suffered enough. He handed me a few documents and then took his leave of our party.</p><p></p><p>By Garl! What choice have I made? I have stayed with this band of adventurers rather than stay by my brother’s side. We have never been apart for more than a day or so our entire lives. Is Zara a prize worth this price? How much longer can I associate with these mercenaries and not risk my own immortal soul? I firmly believe our cause is just, but increasingly it seems as if our methods are virtually indistinguishable from those of our enemies. Certainly we kill only those guilty of heinous crimes. Certainly Shadra made slaves of wicked creatures. There is that difference.</p><p></p><p>But: “A gnome may not commit evil so that good results.”</p><p></p><p>The end of my guard shift approaches, and I am tired. I will later tell of the harpies, of the assault on the second Nerullite temple, and of how my sound advice was ignored to the detriment of the party. How sad for us that it seems as if this fool is the voice of wisdom.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Mark Chance, post: 1957494, member: 2795"] [b]The Morality of My Actions[/b] I’m beginning to question the morality of my actions. I don’t mean I’m feeling a bit guilty like when I use a bit of sleight of hand to steal a pastry or an apple in the market. I mean I’m beginning to seriously wonder what the point is. Allow me to explain, my dear diary. We’re back in the Pomarj. Deeper than we’ve ever been before, still dancing to the tune of the incompetents running Ulek. Remember those carrier pigeons we took from the Nerullite temple? Well, we spent some time in Gyrax while Glyth trained the birds to stop and rest every six or so miles. This way, Glyth could release a bird, it would fly toward its destination, but we could then catch up to it and release it again. Tracking the birds this way is slow going, that’s for sure, but it seems to be working well enough. Shadra helped Glyth do something called “triangularating.” According to Shadra, this is mathematical way to locate a destination. I’ll take her word for it. Anyway, our trip was remarkably uneventful until we encountered the mixed force of kobolds, orcs, humans, and ogres. The battle was fierce. As usual, I fought like a lion, especially in defense of my beloved Zara. I’ve spent so much ink on the details of battles I’m loathe to do so again. Suffice it to say we won. Our enemy either died or fled, except for three we captured. The first and most dangerous of the three was an orcish cleric of Hextor. This deity, if you do not know, is utterly reprehensible. His faithful delight in murder and tyranny. Shadra, who is a psion, felt that this creature could serve our interests if it submitted to mental domination. What utter foolishness! Would you trust a fox in the henhouse even if the fox had been collared? Of course not. But Shadra, otherwise an intelligent woman, apparently saw no harm in taking into our ranks a mad beast. The Hextorite, in no uncertain terms, made it clear that it preferred death to service. Shadra, Glyth, and Ebon were only too happy to oblige it. According to these three, slaying the Hextorite would not be murder, but would be a just execution. I could see some sense to these arguments. After all, if the Hextorite had fallen in battle, would it not be just as dead? And, certainly, a quick execution is more merciful than abandoning it, bound and gagged, in the Pomarj’s wilds. Likewise, letting it loose could very well come back to haunt us, for such a monster would have bloody revenge on its mind. Cord and Mupp were of a different mind, especially Mupp. Moonrise, Zara, and I were mostly quiet during the argument over the Hextorite’s fate. Cord and Mupp objected to the proposed execution. Killing in self-defense or in order to accomplish a military objective is an acceptable use of force. Slaying a defenseless foe, however, is not. When we captured the Hextorite, his welfare became our responsibility. If we are not willing to shoulder that responsibility, the Hextorite must be freed. If he later seeks revenge against us, we would defend ourselves. If he later commits some other evil, that is his burden for which he will be judged in the next life if not this one. The Precepts of Garl say, “A gnome may not commit evil so that good results.” It is perhaps my shame that Mupp takes this precept more to heart than I do. To be honest, the evil that I do seldom even has any sort of noble goal. I don’t steal to feed the poor, for example. I steal to put coin in my purse. But I digress. The reason behind this precept is sound. The evils that I commit, no matter for what ends, stain my soul and put me under the judgement of Garl. It is not acceptable to vex Garl in this manner. Then there is also this: Shadra offered the Hextorite this choice: Either die or else be a slave. And a slave to what end? To serve in battle unto death. This is a choice? No! Beneath Shadra’s appearance of a matronly elder beats a ruthless heart. Her offer to the Hextorite was barely distinguishable from the doctrine of Hextor himself: serve unto death or else die now. The argument became quite heated, and the more Mupp (and to a lesser extent Cord) defended their position, the more insulting and far-fetched became the arguments advanced largely by Shadra. Then, in the midst of all of this bickering, Zara calmly stepped forward and slit the Hextorite’s throat! I was too shocked to react. The orcish cleric bled out rapidly. Shadra then subjected another orc and a wicked human to mental domination. Is this not what the Nerullites were doing to the mountain tribes? Plus, two foxes were let into our henhouse. Mooncrater objected, especially to the orc’s presence. Moonglum’s deity, Corellon Larethian, does not tolerate orcs lightly. I also expressed concern about these enemies in our midst, but the others, especially Glyth, are too ready to dismiss my advice as worthless. Have I played the fool too much? Apparently so. But I digress again. At this point, Mupp’s sensibilities had suffered enough. He handed me a few documents and then took his leave of our party. By Garl! What choice have I made? I have stayed with this band of adventurers rather than stay by my brother’s side. We have never been apart for more than a day or so our entire lives. Is Zara a prize worth this price? How much longer can I associate with these mercenaries and not risk my own immortal soul? I firmly believe our cause is just, but increasingly it seems as if our methods are virtually indistinguishable from those of our enemies. Certainly we kill only those guilty of heinous crimes. Certainly Shadra made slaves of wicked creatures. There is that difference. But: “A gnome may not commit evil so that good results.” The end of my guard shift approaches, and I am tired. I will later tell of the harpies, of the assault on the second Nerullite temple, and of how my sound advice was ignored to the detriment of the party. How sad for us that it seems as if this fool is the voice of wisdom. [/QUOTE]
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