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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Joshua Randall" data-source="post: 9591369" data-attributes="member: 7737">207We can't fight the marines [*note this for later*] and their ship is faster than "this old tub" [*we are so diplomatic in front of the fishing boat's captain*], so we tell Dalris to tell the captain to tell his men to let the marines come aboard. After they board, "maybe" [*headdesk*] we can bluff or charm them into letting us go.Dalris turns to give the orders, and we contemplate the approaching "war galley" and whether we should use magic to manipulate the marines.(90) to use a spell we already know;(16) to use a more powerful spell from our traveling spellbook; or(49) to handle them without magic.---This is the Kingdom of Sorcery trilogy, not the Kingdom of Handling Problems Without Using Magic trilogy. We're definitely casting a spell.The three spells in the traveling spellbook are wholly unsuited for this situation.<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Enchant an Item isn't going to convince the marines to let us go.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Contact Other Plane is for information gathering.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Polymorph Other might be useful in a fight, but we've been told we can't fight the marines. [*Why not? We have our full complement of offensive sp -- never mind. It's not worth the SAN loss to contemplate our utter loss of agency.*]</li> </ul>By process of elimination, that means we fall back on a spell we already know.---90As the ship approaches we take note of the TWO DOZEN armored knights who stand ready to board, weapons drawn. We mentally review our prepared spells.(12) to attack the marines with magic, or(43) to control them without violence.---"Attack the marines with magic"? sigh Gamebook, buddy. Please stop second-guessing the decisions we already made. We decided to let the marines board and to manipulate them with magic. Not attack them. In fact we were specifically told that we CAN'T fight the marines!---43We tell Dalris that we should avoid fighting the "several" dozen well-armed marines. "The best way to handle a group that large is by gentler, persuasive magic.""I know about 'white' magic and 'black' magic, but this is the first time I've ever heard of 'yellow' magic!" chides Dalris. "Being cooped up in that cabin for five years with your father's books has made you timid, Carr Delling!"We begin to protest that we are not a coward, but then shrug and turn away from her "sneering expression." Dalris stomps off. Rufyl telepathically asks why we didn't explain the limitations of our attack spells to her."It's useless to say anything to her after she's made up her mind," we think back. "Besides, there's no time. [We've] got to decide on a spell and prepare it."Rufyl stops communicating and we wonder if he's gone to soothe Dalris "as he does after [our] frequent arguments with her."The sound of a grappling hook slamming into the deck jolts us away from our self-pity and back to the "manipulative control spells" we've learned.(38) Friends,(58) Sleep, or(74) Suggestion.Be sure to mark the spell you choose off your Stats Card before turning to the section shown.</blockquote>

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