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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Nonlethal Force" data-source="post: 3060476" data-attributes="member: 35788">The wait seemed to be eternal for the party.  The pair of goblin kin stood silently waiting in the midst of the party knowing that they had been outmaneuvered.  The party had taken up opposite positions with Ischarus and Rhema protecting the trail toward the goblin village and Semeion and Charis protecting the path away from the village.  Although they outnumbered the goblins two to one, there was still a need to be watchful and keep them at bay.Eventually Granknog returned, toting a pair of swords.  He looked a bit ridiculous carrying the swords, for although they were normal sized swords for Ischarus and his companions they were about double the length of a sword designed for someone of Granknog’s more diminutive size.  As Granknog walked, he kept one sword resting precariously on his shoulder.  The other sword he tried to hold out before him and practiced maneuvering with it.  Of course, the weapon weighed more than weapons normally of his size.  The extra weight more than once brought the sword down to the ground.  When the tip stuck fast in the ground the hilt would drive itself into Granknog’s gut.  After coughing and evading the sharp blade of the sword resting on his shoulder, Gronknog would pull the tip of the blade out of the ground try again, only to have the same results a few steps later.As Frang heard Granknog returning, he mumbled slightly under his breath so that nobody could hear him.  Even Bahkahr gave Frang a strange look.Ischarus couldn’t help disputing with the smaller goblin at the mumble.  There was a sharp tone in his voice. “What’d you say, goblin?” Frang snarled at Ischarus, allowing his sharp teeth to show between his blue tinted lips.  Once Granknog had come into view Frang spoke loudly.  “I said that it is a shame Granknog only brought the swords back.  The true sacrifice contained armor, too.  It is displayed in our village as a testimony to our resilience and a sacrifice to our god to keep us safe.”Rhema stood up straight.  She was intrigued by Frang’s words.  Ischarus turned to look at her and could tell that she had a plan scheming in her mind.  He stepped back as she stepped forward and approached the goblin.  “Careful what you wish for, Frang.  It could be arranged.”Frang snarled again as Rhema threatened to touch him.  “Ha!  I’m not scared of your powers, witch.  Granknog is a weak-minded fool.  He’s sneaky, of course, but you cannot overcome my greatness with your sorcery.”Rhema reached out with a single finger and held it a few inches away from Frang’s face.  His eyes glared down his pointed nose and he watched the tip of her finger.  As the finger drew near to her, he lunged forward and snapped at her finger.  His razor sharp teeth caught nothing but air as Rhema dodged his attack.  Before he could get out of the way, Rhema had her right hand underneath the goblin’s jaw in a firm grip.  She looked deep into his eyes and the two locked in a stare down for a few seconds.  No words were exchanged, but eventually Rhema smiled and pushed Frang back, releasing his jaw.Frang glared at Rhema.  “I’d think twice about doing that to a goblin that has flayed more than one of your kind, witch.  If I had that suit of armor to prove it, you’d know the power that I speak of.”Rhema smiled at Ischarus, exchanging a look with her oldest friend.  As she turned her back on Frang she added, “Fine.  Once Granknog has returned, we’ll exchange him for you.  You can go and get that leather armor that you are so proud of.  When you return, we’ll see how powerful I see you.”A greedy look flashed through Frang’s eyes.  “Done.  And when I return, you shall feel the same force as the fool who was burned for the same arrogance that you now display.  When I have that armor, you will see my power!”Granknog reached the party at the same time as Frang finished speaking.  His eyes shifted back and forth from Ischarus to Rhema and finally to Frang.  He held the swords out menacingly, one of the tips pointed at Ischarus and one of the tips pointed at Rhema.  “See?  These swords are clearly not of goblin make, and they are clearly not goblin sized.  And with these beautiful pieces of equipment I shall slice open your guts and expose your innards across the trail for the bear to find.”Semeion approached from the other side of the trail, keeping an eye on Bahkahr while making Granknog chose between him and his other two targets.  The maneuver was a tactical ploy to remind him that they were still unbalanced as far as numbers were concerned.  “Be that as it may, Granknog, but we have arranged another deal with your associate.  He seems to think that if you have the swords and he has the leather armor then we will truly be intimidated.  While I likely doubt anything you or Frang could bring would intimidate us, it seems as though Frang would like an opportunity to try.”Ischarus drew his sword out of its scabbard and used the tip of his sword to knock the blade pointed at him into the ground.  Granknog was unable to keep it from hitting the ground on account of its great weight for his small frame.  As the blade struck the ground, Ischarus spoke mockingly to Granknog.  “And just like these two were kept safe until you returned to prove your point, you will join Bahkahr over there until Frang returns.”Granknog shrugged and lifted the heavy blade once more off of the ground.  An air of pleasure passed over the goblin’s face as the blade rose under his minimal control.  “It makes no matter.  Now that I have the swords, nothing can stop me.  If Frang needs the armor, who cares?”Bahkahr stood between the goblins with a dumbfounded look upon his hairy face.  He raised a thick hand up to scratch his left hairy eyebrow and curled his lip on the left side of his mouth as he sucked in a deep breath.  Frang looked to Granknog as he focused intently upon the blades, allowing the rest of the world pass him by.  From Frang’s perspective Granknog was too impulsively self-absorbed into the blades to be of any good.  “You and those blades, Granknog.  Those blades will be the end of you, mark my words!  But once I have the armor from the human that we burned then you shall see what true power is, fool.”Granknog broke out of his trance to offer a snarl to Frang and then smiled subtly.  “You think that you are so smart, but you’ll not be able to avoid being seen taking the armor.  My skills came in much more handy in borrowing these great blades than yours will in getting you the leather.”Frang merely smiled and mumbled again.  This time the mumble was audible.  “Ruinous Fool.”  As he spoke he cast a quick glance to Ischarus and then looked to Rhema.  “If you’ll excuse me, I have a suit of leather to retrieve.  Then you will see exactly how powerful we can be.”Rhema spit in Frang’s direction.  She was careful not to hit him with it.  “Go and get your precious treasure, goblin.  I can hardly wait to see your false power.”Frang almost seemed to laugh as he smirked at Rhema’s words.  The goblin slipped past her just out of reach and replied to her bravado.  “Oh, you will see power.  You will see a power that slew the last arrogant human who met us.  And like him, I will make sure that your body is burned upon our stone slab.  And I will wear his leather armor as you are lit on fire!”Rhema turned her back on Frang and let him disappear down the path.  Ischarus smiled once he was out of earshot.  Rhema knew the smile and she knew that Ischarus understood that she had used her power on Frang when she grabbed him by the jaw.  Frang was now obsessed with the leather much like Granknog was obsessed with the blades.  She turned from Ischarus to look at the pair of goblin kin that were left.  Granknog seemed oblivious to the world around him and played joyfully with the much too large pair of swords.  He didn’t even seem to need to be guarded because he certainly didn’t seem to care that Ischarus was near him.  Bahkahr stood by his smaller kin, fascinated by Granknog’s play with the swords.  The swords would have looked natural in Bahkahr’s hands but Granknog was not about to give them up.Charis left Semeion on the backside of the party and approached Rhema.  She whispered, “Alright, I trust that you and Ischarus know what you guys are doing.  But can you fill me in a bit?”Rhema smiled and nodded to Ischarus.  She stepped back and turned around so that she faced away from the goblin pair and into the undergrowth of the woods.  Once Charis had turned with her she replied, “One of the powers that I possess allows me to create an obsession within someone.  Once they are obsessed, so long as they are not threatened they will do anything they can to get close to and claim the objects of their desire.  That is why I knew Granknog would get the swords.  I also knew that if he wanted to keep them without getting into trouble he would find a way to do it without alerting the rest of his goblin clan.”Charis smiled.  “So then you did the same thing within Frang?”Rhema nodded.  “Yep.  At this moment his mind should be obsessing over how he can get the leather armor away from his clan without getting caught.  I only hope he is up to the task as much as Granknog apparently was.”Chairs smiled in understanding and appreciation for Rhema’s ability to manipulate these weaker minded opponents.  “But why do we want them to get it?  And who is this person that they killed to get this armor?”Rhema nodded, realizing for the first time that neither Charis nor Semeion knew about the light gray figure that she and Ischarus had met in the woods.  Rhema turned to look over her shoulder and make sure that the goblins were behaving.  Once she was sure that they weren’t up to anything foolish, she motioned for Charis to follow her.  Together they approached Semeion and while they waited for Frang to return Rhema explained to Charis and Semeion what they had learned in the forest.After what seemed an eternity equal to that which they had spent waiting for Granknog to return, the party finally heard Frang coming down the trail.  Once he was in view, they could see that he had the leather armor in tow.  He was smiling broadly from ear to ear and a greedy twinkle flashed through his eyes.  As he approached the party he stepped in beside Granknog and Bahkahr.  His smile vanished and his look of greed transmuted into a sly devious scowl.  As best he could, he tossed the leather armor at the feet of Rhema.Rhema looked to him, unsure of what he was doing.  Granknog was only now coming out from under the effects of her charm; Frang shouldn’t want to part with the leather armor for a good while yet.  She crouched down and caught the leather collar in her hand.  As she stood, Frang began to laugh and explain her smile.  “I promised you power, and I promised that you would see it, human.”  The goblin spoke defiantly now.  Something was wrong.  Semeion, Charis, and Ischarus all looked to Rhema for understanding, but Rhema had none.  Her heart rate accelerated as the goblin spoke.  “I give you the power that killed the human whose things we brought to you.”The undergrowth around them began to rustle and Rhema knew what was happening.  It was too late.  Her eyes flashed wide with understanding as over twenty goblins emerged around them from within the undergrowth.  They had been double-crossed.  Her attempt to control Frang had failed and Frang had beaten her in her own game.  Frang had understood from the beginning what she did to Granknog, and had used that knowledge against her!The sound of steel rang out as every one of the goblins and their larger kin were instantly armed.   Everyone, including the party, were sweating, breathing hard, and judging their opponents.[Sblock=Color-Free Speech Section]The wait seemed to be eternal for the party. The pair of goblin kin stood silently waiting in the midst of the party knowing that they had been outmaneuvered. The party had taken up opposite positions with Ischarus and Rhema protecting the trail toward the goblin village and Semeion and Charis protecting the path away from the village. Although they outnumbered the goblins two to one, there was still a need to be watchful and keep them at bay.Eventually Granknog returned, toting a pair of swords. He looked a bit ridiculous carrying the swords, for although they were normal sized swords for Ischarus and his companions they were about double the length of a sword designed for someone of Granknog’s more diminutive size. As Granknog walked, he kept one sword resting precariously on his shoulder. The other sword he tried to hold out before him and practiced maneuvering with it. Of course, the weapon weighed more than weapons normally of his size. The extra weight more than once brought the sword down to the ground. When the tip stuck fast in the ground the hilt would drive itself into Granknog’s gut. After coughing and evading the sharp blade of the sword resting on his shoulder, Gronknog would pull the tip of the blade out of the ground try again, only to have the same results a few steps later.As Frang heard Granknog returning, he mumbled slightly under his breath so that nobody could hear him. Even Bahkahr gave Frang a strange look.Ischarus couldn’t help disputing with the smaller goblin at the mumble. There was a sharp tone in his voice. “What’d you say, goblin?” Frang snarled at Ischarus, allowing his sharp teeth to show between his blue tinted lips. Once Granknog had come into view Frang spoke loudly. “I said that it is a shame Granknog only brought the swords back. The true sacrifice contained armor, too. It is displayed in our village as a testimony to our resilience and a sacrifice to our god to keep us safe.”Rhema stood up straight. She was intrigued by Frang’s words. Ischarus turned to look at her and could tell that she had a plan scheming in her mind. He stepped back as she stepped forward and approached the goblin. “Careful what you wish for, Frang. It could be arranged.”Frang snarled again as Rhema threatened to touch him. “Ha! I’m not scared of your powers, witch. Granknog is a weak-minded fool. He’s sneaky, of course, but you cannot overcome my greatness with your sorcery.”Rhema reached out with a single finger and held it a few inches away from Frang’s face. His eyes glared down his pointed nose and he watched the tip of her finger. As the finger drew near to her, he lunged forward and snapped at her finger. His razor sharp teeth caught nothing but air as Rhema dodged his attack. Before he could get out of the way, Rhema had her right hand underneath the goblin’s jaw in a firm grip. She looked deep into his eyes and the two locked in a stare down for a few seconds. No words were exchanged, but eventually Rhema smiled and pushed Frang back, releasing his jaw.Frang glared at Rhema. “I’d think twice about doing that to a goblin that has flayed more than one of your kind, witch. If I had that suit of armor to prove it, you’d know the power that I speak of.”Rhema smiled at Ischarus, exchanging a look with her oldest friend. As she turned her back on Frang she added, “Fine. Once Granknog has returned, we’ll exchange him for you. You can go and get that leather armor that you are so proud of. When you return, we’ll see how powerful I see you.”A greedy look flashed through Frang’s eyes. “Done. And when I return, you shall feel the same force as the fool who was burned for the same arrogance that you now display. When I have that armor, you will see my power!”Granknog reached the party at the same time as Frang finished speaking. His eyes shifted back and forth from Ischarus to Rhema and finally to Frang. He held the swords out menacingly, one of the tips pointed at Ischarus and one of the tips pointed at Rhema. “See? These swords are clearly not of goblin make, and they are clearly not goblin sized. And with these beautiful pieces of equipment I shall slice open your guts and expose your innards across the trail for the bear to find.”Semeion approached from the other side of the trail, keeping an eye on Bahkahr while making Granknog chose between him and his other two targets. The maneuver was a tactical ploy to remind him that they were still unbalanced as far as numbers were concerned. “Be that as it may, Granknog, but we have arranged another deal with your associate. He seems to think that if you have the swords and he has the leather armor then we will truly be intimidated. While I likely doubt anything you or Frang could bring would intimidate us, it seems as though Frang would like an opportunity to try.”Ischarus drew his sword out of its scabbard and used the tip of his sword to knock the blade pointed at him into the ground. Granknog was unable to keep it from hitting the ground on account of its great weight for his small frame. As the blade struck the ground, Ischarus spoke mockingly to Granknog. “And just like these two were kept safe until you returned to prove your point, you will join Bahkahr over there until Frang returns.”Granknog shrugged and lifted the heavy blade once more off of the ground. An air of pleasure passed over the goblin’s face as the blade rose under his minimal control. “It makes no matter. Now that I have the swords, nothing can stop me. If Frang needs the armor, who cares?”Bahkahr stood between the goblins with a dumbfounded look upon his hairy face. He raised a thick hand up to scratch his left hairy eyebrow and curled his lip on the left side of his mouth as he sucked in a deep breath. Frang looked to Granknog as he focused intently upon the blades, allowing the rest of the world pass him by. From Frang’s perspective Granknog was too impulsively self-absorbed into the blades to be of any good. “You and those blades, Granknog. Those blades will be the end of you, mark my words! But once I have the armor from the human that we burned then you shall see what true power is, fool.”Granknog broke out of his trance to offer a snarl to Frang and then smiled subtly. “You think that you are so smart, but you’ll not be able to avoid being seen taking the armor. My skills came in much more handy in borrowing these great blades than yours will in getting you the leather.”Frang merely smiled and mumbled again. This time the mumble was audible. “Ruinous Fool.” As he spoke he cast a quick glance to Ischarus and then looked to Rhema. “If you’ll excuse me, I have a suit of leather to retrieve. Then you will see exactly how powerful we can be.”Rhema spit in Frang’s direction. She was careful not to hit him with it. “Go and get your precious treasure, goblin. I can hardly wait to see your false power.”Frang almost seemed to laugh as he smirked at Rhema’s words. The goblin slipped past her just out of reach and replied to her bravado. “Oh, you will see power. You will see a power that slew the last arrogant human who met us. And like him, I will make sure that your body is burned upon our stone slab. And I will wear his leather armor as you are lit on fire!”Rhema turned her back on Frang and let him disappear down the path. Ischarus smiled once he was out of earshot. Rhema knew the smile and she knew that Ischarus understood that she had used her power on Frang when she grabbed him by the jaw. Frang was now obsessed with the leather much like Granknog was obsessed with the blades. She turned from Ischarus to look at the pair of goblin kin that were left. Granknog seemed oblivious to the world around him and played joyfully with the much too large pair of swords. He didn’t even seem to need to be guarded because he certainly didn’t seem to care that Ischarus was near him. Bahkahr stood by his smaller kin, fascinated by Granknog’s play with the swords. The swords would have looked natural in Bahkahr’s hands but Granknog was not about to give them up.Charis left Semeion on the backside of the party and approached Rhema. She whispered, “Alright, I trust that you and Ischarus know what you guys are doing. But can you fill me in a bit?”Rhema smiled and nodded to Ischarus. She stepped back and turned around so that she faced away from the goblin pair and into the undergrowth of the woods. Once Charis had turned with her she replied, “One of the powers that I possess allows me to create an obsession within someone. Once they are obsessed, so long as they are not threatened they will do anything they can to get close to and claim the objects of their desire. That is why I knew Granknog would get the swords. I also knew that if he wanted to keep them without getting into trouble he would find a way to do it without alerting the rest of his goblin clan.”Charis smiled. “So then you did the same thing within Frang?”Rhema nodded. “Yep. At this moment his mind should be obsessing over how he can get the leather armor away from his clan without getting caught. I only hope he is up to the task as much as Granknog apparently was.”Chairs smiled in understanding and appreciation for Rhema’s ability to manipulate these weaker minded opponents. “But why do we want them to get it? And who is this person that they killed to get this armor?”Rhema nodded, realizing for the first time that neither Charis nor Semeion knew about the light gray figure that she and Ischarus had met in the woods. Rhema turned to look over her shoulder and make sure that the goblins were behaving. Once she was sure that they weren’t up to anything foolish, she motioned for Charis to follow her. Together they approached Semeion and while they waited for Frang to return Rhema explained to Charis and Semeion what they had learned in the forest.After what seemed an eternity equal to that which they had spent waiting for Granknog to return, the party finally heard Frang coming down the trail. Once he was in view, they could see that he had the leather armor in tow. He was smiling broadly from ear to ear and a greedy twinkle flashed through his eyes. As he approached the party he stepped in beside Granknog and Bahkahr. His smile vanished and his look of greed transmuted into a sly devious scowl. As best he could, he tossed the leather armor at the feet of Rhema.Rhema looked to him, unsure of what he was doing. Granknog was only now coming out from under the effects of her charm; Frang shouldn’t want to part with the leather armor for a good while yet. She crouched down and caught the leather collar in her hand. As she stood, Frang began to laugh and explain her smile. “I promised you power, and I promised that you would see it, human.” The goblin spoke defiantly now. Something was wrong. Semeion, Charis, and Ischarus all looked to Rhema for understanding, but Rhema had none. Her heart rate accelerated as the goblin spoke. “I give you the power that killed the human whose things we brought to you.”The undergrowth around them began to rustle and Rhema knew what was happening. It was too late. Her eyes flashed wide with understanding as over twenty goblins emerged around them from within the undergrowth. They had been double-crossed. Her attempt to control Frang had failed and Frang had beaten her in her own game. Frang had understood from the beginning what she did to Granknog, and had used that knowledge against her!The sound of steel rang out as every one of the goblins and their larger kin were instantly armed. Everyone, including the party, were sweating, breathing hard, and judging their opponents.[/Sblock]</blockquote>

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