Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Nonlethal Force" data-source="post: 3055180" data-attributes="member: 35788">Ischarus looked at Rhema as the figure vanished into thin air.  “I hate to be the one to state the obvious,” Ischarus spoke and stopped to breathe.Rhema cut Ischarus short.  “But that can’t be good …” Rhema smiled as Ischarus looked to her in mild irritation for stealing his thunder.  She shrugged her shoulders and extended her hands palm up.  “What?  I didn’t want you to be the one to state the obvious!”Ischarus offered up a single laugh and stepped away from the stone into the undergrowth of the woods.  As Rhema listened to him run away, she heard the draw of steel as his sword slipped out of its scabbard.  She breathed deeply and took off after him.  She listened closely to follow his path.  Ischarus always had better directional sense than she did and he’d know the shortest way back to the horses.  She yelled ahead as Ischarus charged through the trees.  “Let’s not jump to conclusions, Ischarus!”As the two dashed through the undergrowth, suddenly Ischarus saw a light gray object before him.  He was running too hard to stop before reaching the figure and before he knew it he heard the voice of the ghostly image speaking to him.  “Stop, Ischarus!”  It was too late.  Ischarus passed straight through the figure and emerged out the other side before he could stop.  By that point in time Ischarus could see the trail just beyond a few more trees.  He was able to stop before emerging onto the trail.  As Rhema approached Ischarus’ back she both heard and saw the light gray figure and was able to stop before passing through it.  As she watched Ischarus pass completely through the shadowy gray figure, she also watched as the figure vanished before her.  She slowly approached Ischarus’ position only a few feet from the road and she saw the light gray figure reappear before Ischarus.  He had a finger raised to his lips as a sign to be quiet.Ischarus raised an eyebrow at the appearance of the light gray figure.  “What was that about?” Ischarus whispered in annoyance.The figure breathed in and smiled.  As he exhaled, Ischarus noticed again that there was no noticeable movement of air as he breathed.  “That was the only way I could get you to stop on time.  Now listen!”Both Ischarus and Rhema paused and their breathing became shallower.  They listened intently and heard five voices rapidly talking.The first voice they heard was familiar to them.  It was in fact Charis speaking fast.  They could tell from her tone that she was clearly nervous and trying to be persuasive.  “Listen, Granknog, There is no reason that your friends and I have to get into any kind of fight here.  I respect your power, but you don’t have any idea what kind of fight you are in for.  I’d suggest that you put that mace away and ask your friends to step back.”A hostile voice replied.  “Bah, you speak foolish, human.  We will drag you off whether you come willingly or we have to kill you first.”  The voice was higher pitched than Charis’ own voice, and there were two chuckles added to the haughty arrogance of the first speaker.Ischarus smiled at Rhema.  “Goblins.”  His smile broadened as he whispered to Rhema and his hand clenched his sword even tighter.Rhema reached out with her hand and placed it on Ischarus’ shoulder.  She continued the whispering as she replied.  “Wait.  There might be another way.  There might be a way that can get them out of their jam without bloodshed as well as get us what we need for our gray friend here.”  Rhema’s face displayed a devious smile and as she gave Ischarus a wink she knew that he was caught with curiosity to her plan.  With careful silence he stowed his blade and waited for Rhema’s signal.Back on the trail, Semeion was adding to Charis’ statement.  “I don’t think you really do know what you are talking about.  You see how many horses we have here, right?”Another voice, this one slightly deeper than Semeion’s own voice, replied.  “Yes, but horse thieves go with more horses than they need all the time.  You steal horses; we kill you and steal them back.”Ischarus couldn’t help but to chuckle at the fairly obscure logic of the not-so-brilliant voice of the second goblin that they heard speak.  With her hand still on his shoulder, Rhema felt Ischarus’ shoulders begin to shake as he snickered to himself.  She too couldn’t help but laugh and shake her head.Of course, Semeion responded with a bit of confusion.  “What on earth does the fact that we have four horses have to do with us being horse thieves?”The not-so-logical voice replied again, “There, you admit you are horse thieves.  We now have more reason to kill you.”  Two high pitched goblin sounding snickers accompanied the lower pitched voice’s assertion.The third goblin voice followed up the conclusion of the lower voice.  “Listen, basically what my friend, Bahkahr, is trying to say here is that we don’t need any more reasons to kill you.  We basically just want to kill you because you’re on our territory and we defend it pretty fiercely.  So you can either give up and let us take you back to town or you can put up a fight and recognize that the day of your death has come.”Rhema stepped forward out onto the trail, emerging from the undergrowth a single pace behind the goblin trio.  She wasn’t terribly surprised to find two goblins and one of their nastier large kin standing before her.  As they turned in surprise, Rhema reached out and touched the goblin closest to her.  Granknog stepped back, but was unable to avoid her touch.  Ischarus stepped out behind her and smiled grimly at the large one as Rhema spoke.  “You don’t really want to take on the four of us, do you?”The smaller goblin that Rhema had not touched spoke in reply.  From the voice, she could tell that it was the more intelligent goblin who had spoken last.  “Yeah, well, this changes things a little.  Perhaps we might be willing to talk a bit longer.”Rhema smiled deviously once more and looked directly at the goblin that she had touched.  “Why don’t you tell your friends here that you’d rather they stay behind while you leave and go back to the village.  If you do that much for me, I’ll guarantee that my big friend here with the sword won’t get nasty.”Bahkahr spoke in his low voice.  “Why Granknog say that?”Granknog spoke harshly to his larger affiliate.  “Cause it’s true you oversized muscle.  She’s right.  I knew that we should’ve brought the pair of swords that hangs in the center of our village.  If we had those swords, we could intimidate these losers even more through our gloating of what our tribe did to that spy a year ago.  If I had those swords, I’d be much more powerful.”Bahkahr looked dumbfounded by Granknog’s speech.  “But those swords are too big for you, Granknog.”The third goblin didn’t seem to follow Granknog’s logic any more than Bahkahr.  The third goblin spoke, exposing his growing irritation.  “Granknog, you’re not making any sense even for you.  What does having those swords have to do with these people?”Granknog merely snarled in return.  “You wouldn’t understand anyway.  That skin of yours is so thick that a good idea would just bounce off your head anyway.”Granknog pushed forward past Rhema in irritation towards his companions, and Rhema let him go.  Ischarus didn’t try to stop him either.  He’d seen this trick before.  Rhema wasn’t the most charming person without her powers, but he knew that she had the ability to create a burning desire for any one thing within most people.  All it took was a simple touch of her hand.  He had seen her turn an enemy into a non-threat merely by touching the creature and creating an obsession within them.  Once the obsession was born, it was merely a matter of removing the threat of violence and letting the obsession take over.Bahkahr stepped forward as if to follow Granknog, but Ischarus placed his hand threateningly upon the hilt of his sword and stepped directly into his path.  His calm voice took on a sly tone as he spoke to the less than intelligent larger opponent.  “I wouldn’t, if I were you.  Granknog has indicated that you are to stay here.  Now, I believe the battle currently stands at four on two.  I’d recommend you stay right where you were.”The third goblin wasn’t sure what to make of this odd run of events.  However, he knew when he had been beaten.  He also knew that fighting now would lead to an unpleasant end.  He decided that keeping his large friend under control was the best way to ensure his safety for the longest time.  “Bahkahr, stay here.  Granknog will be back soon enough.  The village isn’t that far and I doubt he’ll be able to come back with those swords anyway.”Bahkahr stood still and stuck out his lower lip as if he was deep in thought.  After a few moments he looked to Ischarus and added, “Okay, Frang.  I’ll stay with you for now.  But Bahkahr better come back soon.  I don’t wait well.”Ischarus looked over top of the goblin and caught Charis’ and Semeion’s attention.  He gave them a knowing smile.  “Now, I am assuming that since you goblins don’t want any trouble that you are going put your weapons on the ground.”Bahkahr began to obey the suggestion until Frang spoke.  “Don’t be a fool, Bahkahr.  They don’t want to fight us unless they have to.  We keep our weapons and wait.  When Granknog comes back, we’ll continue this.  For now, they can be happy simply keeping us here without complaint.”Bahkahr smiled, “Okay.  We wait then.  Big man looses.”Semeion began to step forward, but Ischarus looked him off.  “Fine.  We wait here in a standoff until Granknog comes back.  Don’t try anything stupid.”  He’d rather they wait without the threat of violence, but Rhema had worked hard to create a way to recover the weapons.  If that was able to succeed they’d be that much closer to avoiding conflict with the goblin tribe and recovering the light gray figure’s equipment.[Sblock=Color-Free Speech Section]Ischarus looked at Rhema as the figure vanished into thin air. “I hate to be the one to state the obvious,” Ischarus spoke and stopped to breathe.Rhema cut Ischarus short. “But that can’t be good …” Rhema smiled as Ischarus looked to her in mild irritation for stealing his thunder. She shrugged her shoulders and extended her hands palm up. “What? I didn’t want you to be the one to state the obvious!”Ischarus offered up a single laugh and stepped away from the stone into the undergrowth of the woods. As Rhema listened to him run away, she heard the draw of steel as his sword slipped out of its scabbard. She breathed deeply and took off after him. She listened closely to follow his path. Ischarus always had better directional sense than she did and he’d know the shortest way back to the horses. She yelled ahead as Ischarus charged through the trees. “Let’s not jump to conclusions, Ischarus!”As the two dashed through the undergrowth, suddenly Ischarus saw a light gray object before him. He was running too hard to stop before reaching the figure and before he knew it he heard the voice of the ghostly image speaking to him. “Stop, Ischarus!” It was too late. Ischarus passed straight through the figure and emerged out the other side before he could stop. By that point in time Ischarus could see the trail just beyond a few more trees. He was able to stop before emerging onto the trail. As Rhema approached Ischarus’ back she both heard and saw the light gray figure and was able to stop before passing through it. As she watched Ischarus pass completely through the shadowy gray figure, she also watched as the figure vanished before her. She slowly approached Ischarus’ position only a few feet from the road and she saw the light gray figure reappear before Ischarus. He had a finger raised to his lips as a sign to be quiet.Ischarus raised an eyebrow at the appearance of the light gray figure. “What was that about?” Ischarus whispered in annoyance.The figure breathed in and smiled. As he exhaled, Ischarus noticed again that there was no noticeable movement of air as he breathed. “That was the only way I could get you to stop on time. Now listen!”Both Ischarus and Rhema paused and their breathing became shallower. They listened intently and heard five voices rapidly talking.The first voice they heard was familiar to them. It was in fact Charis speaking fast. They could tell from her tone that she was clearly nervous and trying to be persuasive. “Listen, Granknog, There is no reason that your friends and I have to get into any kind of fight here. I respect your power, but you don’t have any idea what kind of fight you are in for. I’d suggest that you put that mace away and ask your friends to step back.”A hostile voice replied. “Bah, you speak foolish, human. We will drag you off whether you come willingly or we have to kill you first.” The voice was higher pitched than Charis’ own voice, and there were two chuckles added to the haughty arrogance of the first speaker.Ischarus smiled at Rhema. “Goblins.” His smile broadened as he whispered to Rhema and his hand clenched his sword even tighter.Rhema reached out with her hand and placed it on Ischarus’ shoulder. She continued the whispering as she replied. “Wait. There might be another way. There might be a way that can get them out of their jam without bloodshed as well as get us what we need for our gray friend here.” Rhema’s face displayed a devious smile and as she gave Ischarus a wink she knew that he was caught with curiosity to her plan. With careful silence he stowed his blade and waited for Rhema’s signal.Back on the trail, Semeion was adding to Charis’ statement. “I don’t think you really do know what you are talking about. You see how many horses we have here, right?”Another voice, this one slightly deeper than Semeion’s own voice, replied. “Yes, but horse thieves go with more horses than they need all the time. You steal horses; we kill you and steal them back.”Ischarus couldn’t help but to chuckle at the fairly obscure logic of the not-so-brilliant voice of the second goblin that they heard speak. With her hand still on his shoulder, Rhema felt Ischarus’ shoulders begin to shake as he snickered to himself. She too couldn’t help but laugh and shake her head.Of course, Semeion responded with a bit of confusion. “What on earth does the fact that we have four horses have to do with us being horse thieves?”The not-so-logical voice replied again, “There, you admit you are horse thieves. We now have more reason to kill you.” Two high pitched goblin sounding snickers accompanied the lower pitched voice’s assertion.The third goblin voice followed up the conclusion of the lower voice. “Listen, basically what my friend, Bahkahr, is trying to say here is that we don’t need any more reasons to kill you. We basically just want to kill you because you’re on our territory and we defend it pretty fiercely. So you can either give up and let us take you back to town or you can put up a fight and recognize that the day of your death has come.”Rhema stepped forward out onto the trail, emerging from the undergrowth a single pace behind the goblin trio. She wasn’t terribly surprised to find two goblins and one of their nastier large kin standing before her. As they turned in surprise, Rhema reached out and touched the goblin closest to her. Granknog stepped back, but was unable to avoid her touch. Ischarus stepped out behind her and smiled grimly at the large one as Rhema spoke. “You don’t really want to take on the four of us, do you?”The smaller goblin that Rhema had not touched spoke in reply. From the voice, she could tell that it was the more intelligent goblin who had spoken last. “Yeah, well, this changes things a little. Perhaps we might be willing to talk a bit longer.”Rhema smiled deviously once more and looked directly at the goblin that she had touched. “Why don’t you tell your friends here that you’d rather they stay behind while you leave and go back to the village. If you do that much for me, I’ll guarantee that my big friend here with the sword won’t get nasty.”Bahkahr spoke in his low voice. “Why Granknog say that?”Granknog spoke harshly to his larger affiliate. “Cause it’s true you oversized muscle. She’s right. I knew that we should’ve brought the pair of swords that hangs in the center of our village. If we had those swords, we could intimidate these losers even more through our gloating of what our tribe did to that spy a year ago. If I had those swords, I’d be much more powerful.”Bahkahr looked dumbfounded by Granknog’s speech. “But those swords are too big for you, Granknog.”The third goblin didn’t seem to follow Granknog’s logic any more than Bahkahr. The third goblin spoke, exposing his growing irritation. “Granknog, you’re not making any sense even for you. What does having those swords have to do with these people?”Granknog merely snarled in return. “You wouldn’t understand anyway. That skin of yours is so thick that a good idea would just bounce off your head anyway.”Granknog pushed forward past Rhema in irritation towards his companions, and Rhema let him go. Ischarus didn’t try to stop him either. He’d seen this trick before. Rhema wasn’t the most charming person without her powers, but he knew that she had the ability to create a burning desire for any one thing within most people. All it took was a simple touch of her hand. He had seen her turn an enemy into a non-threat merely by touching the creature and creating an obsession within them. Once the obsession was born, it was merely a matter of removing the threat of violence and letting the obsession take over.Bahkahr stepped forward as if to follow Granknog, but Ischarus placed his hand threateningly upon the hilt of his sword and stepped directly into his path. His calm voice took on a sly tone as he spoke to the less than intelligent larger opponent. “I wouldn’t, if I were you. Granknog has indicated that you are to stay here. Now, I believe the battle currently stands at four on two. I’d recommend you stay right where you were.”The third goblin wasn’t sure what to make of this odd run of events. However, he knew when he had been beaten. He also knew that fighting now would lead to an unpleasant end. He decided that keeping his large friend under control was the best way to ensure his safety for the longest time. “Bahkahr, stay here. Granknog will be back soon enough. The village isn’t that far and I doubt he’ll be able to come back with those swords anyway.”Bahkahr stood still and stuck out his lower lip as if he was deep in thought. After a few moments he looked to Ischarus and added, “Okay, Frang. I’ll stay with you for now. But Bahkahr better come back soon. I don’t wait well.”Ischarus looked over top of the goblin and caught Charis’ and Semeion’s attention. He gave them a knowing smile. “Now, I am assuming that since you goblins don’t want any trouble that you are going put your weapons on the ground.”Bahkahr began to obey the suggestion until Frang spoke. “Don’t be a fool, Bahkahr. They don’t want to fight us unless they have to. We keep our weapons and wait. When Granknog comes back, we’ll continue this. For now, they can be happy simply keeping us here without complaint.”Bahkahr smiled, “Okay. We wait then. Big man looses.”Semeion began to step forward, but Ischarus looked him off. “Fine. We wait here in a standoff until Granknog comes back. Don’t try anything stupid.” He’d rather they wait without the threat of violence, but Rhema had worked hard to create a way to recover the weapons. If that was able to succeed they’d be that much closer to avoiding conflict with the goblin tribe and recovering the light gray figure’s equipment.[/Sblock]</blockquote>

Verification