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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Nonlethal Force" data-source="post: 3104032" data-attributes="member: 35788">Once Druff had made his speech, nobody bothered challenging the ideas of freedom anymore.  Of course there were people in the gathering who doubted and there were a few who even thought it was a foolish plan.  But if Druff was behind the party and thought the plan was legitimate there was no longer any point to argue.  Points of caution had been made, but if they had convinced Druff the plan was going to go forward.The rest of the meeting ended quickly; everyone was concerned about staying out too long.  If the dragon father was indeed watching from above, he would certainly already be suspicious anyway.  Druff called upon Ischarus to explain the plan for preparation over the next few days.  Ischarus explained how they would need to store food, reduce food consumption, and work sparingly throughout the night to produce rations to store in the caverns under the Tongra-Quehalost Mountains.  Ischarus explained that once the rations were properly gathered that they planned to distract the dragon father.  Once the red wyrm was distracted they would only have a few minutes to get far enough into the mountains to be free of the wyrm’s breath and magical powers.  As he explained the plan, Ischarus gave several questioning glances to Rhema as if to question the sincerity of her attempt to snag the new Provenience.  At each moment, Rhema appeared solid and confident.Once Ischarus had concluded his explanation in the language of the dragons, Druff dismissed the crowd.  The party stood by Druff as people left Xando’s home and returned to their own.  Druff caught Ischarus by the elbow as Semeion approached to work his magic ways and reduce him in size once more.Druff’s raspy voice once more issued forth out of his mouth.  “Ischarus, you need to post a sentry at the foot of the mountain.  There are several prominent villagers that were here today who had their doubts regarding the success of the mission.  If they have doubts, they may be tempted to go to the dragon father and request a private meeting.  If they are granted such a meeting, they will be seeking their own glory at what will most likely be the destruction of us all.  If the dragon learns of our deception, all but the collaborator will likely be destroyed.”Rhema listened intently.  “Druff, is that entrance hidden well?  And does it lead up to the dragon’s lair?”Druff nodded.  “It does.  I know the way.”Xando shook his head.  “Druff, you are not fit for such a journey.  You couldn’t possibly go with her up the mountain.”Druff smiled and for an instant a glimpse of his powerful old self showed through his eyes.  “I will take pleasure in traveling up that tunnel one more time.  I cannot go tonight, but I will go with Rhema on the day that the plan unfolds.”Ischarus shook his head.  “No, Druff.  You have suffered enough.  You deserve your freedom more than anyone else.  You’re coming with me to the caves.”Druff shook his head even more fervently than Ischarus.  “No, Ischarus.  My life is fragile.  You’ll have a better chance at success if I am not slowing you down.  I will only slow the main advance of the town as they head for the mountains.  You said it yourself.  We could only have a matter of minutes.  I will go with Rhema where I can do some good.”Semeion added to Druff’s assertion before anyone else could argue.  “I am going as well.  I’ll be of little help motivating these people.  Rhema may need a translator if she hopes to bring the new Provenience with her.  Ischarus, you and Charis are both Drakontos and strong leaders.  The people will look up to your natural leadership.  You’ll be needed for the evacuation.  Rhema and I will use our talents to bring the new Provenience and return with the additional cargo that Rhema so secretly desires.”Ischarus began to object once more, but Charis stopped him with a hand gesture and a speech of her own.  “I don’t like it any more than you do, Ischarus.  But Semeion has a point.  He and Rhema are best suited for that mission.  You and I are going to be needed here on that day.”Xando approached the door and nodded to Ischarus before he opened it.  “Your friends speak wisely, Ischarus.  A wise person knows when to trust their friends.  As for now, we should be leaving.  Semeion, if you will arrange for Druff’s return, I will show Rhema the secret passage.  Charis, you and Ischarus can head into the forest a bit and wait for the collection to come for this night.  We will trust you to store what few food supplies we have.”Charis nodded.  “Yes.  We brought our horses and left them away from village a bit.  We’ll be waiting.”Xando nodded and opened the door.  He hopped outside and started walking across the village.  There was no real regulation preventing the people from using the night as they saw fit, but he didn’t want to draw any unnecessary attention from their dragon father, either.  As he crossed by the horizontal stone slab he heard the squeak of his door as it opened again.Rhema had taken time to change and she then popped out of Xando’s home.  She headed in a different direction than Xando, but once outside the village she quickly circled around to Xando’s position and met up with him.  Neither of them noticed that they were being followed.  The light gray figure materialized behind them and followed them closely.  The figure occasionally stopped in the middle of a tree to staying hidden for a while.Semeion cast his magic over Druff, but this time it was Ischarus who would take Druff to the cage.  Ischarus hadn’t been near the cage at all that night, so they had hoped his presence wouldn’t draw any attention.  Besides the potential mind games, Ischarus was much stronger and able to carry the magically reduced Druff without being obvious.  Ischarus departed from the house and headed quickly for the cage.Semeion and Charis waited a proper amount of time and left the building at the same time.  As soon as they descended the steps they split up and headed in different directions into the surrounding forest.  The hope was that if someone was watching, they wouldn’t be able to watch everyone at the same time.  If their attention was diverted even for an instant, Ischarus and Druff might go unnoticed.  Ischarus approached the cage and carefully lifted Druff up to a level that would allow him to climb in easily enough.  In a matter of seconds Druff was inside.Ischarus found himself saying something that only a few days earlier he would have thought impossible.  Druff had once been a great adversary.  Now Druff was his most important ally.  “I am sorry to have to imprison you once more, my new friend.  I will send Semeion several times tomorrow to cast his magic upon you.  There will be no need for his magic until we have stored up enough rations in the tunnel.  If we can ease your pain even for a few minutes each day, we shall.”Druff reached his hand out of the cage to rest it upon the back of Ischarus’ hand.  He found himself in an equally unbelievable position.  “I appreciate all that you can do.  Just save my people.”Ischarus nodded and stepped back from the cage.  He swallowed hard, lost in what it would be like for Druff in a few minutes when Semeion’s magic wore off.  Not wanting to linger too long, Ischarus turned and headed away out of the village.  He circled back to where Charis and Semeion were waiting with the horses.[Sblock=Color-Free Speech Section]Once Druff had made his speech, nobody bothered challenging the ideas of freedom anymore. Of course there were people in the gathering who doubted and there were a few who even thought it was a foolish plan. But if Druff was behind the party and thought the plan was legitimate there was no longer any point to argue. Points of caution had been made, but if they had convinced Druff the plan was going to go forward.The rest of the meeting ended quickly; everyone was concerned about staying out too long. If the dragon father was indeed watching from above, he would certainly already be suspicious anyway. Druff called upon Ischarus to explain the plan for preparation over the next few days. Ischarus explained how they would need to store food, reduce food consumption, and work sparingly throughout the night to produce rations to store in the caverns under the Tongra-Quehalost Mountains. Ischarus explained that once the rations were properly gathered that they planned to distract the dragon father. Once the red wyrm was distracted they would only have a few minutes to get far enough into the mountains to be free of the wyrm’s breath and magical powers. As he explained the plan, Ischarus gave several questioning glances to Rhema as if to question the sincerity of her attempt to snag the new Provenience. At each moment, Rhema appeared solid and confident.Once Ischarus had concluded his explanation in the language of the dragons, Druff dismissed the crowd. The party stood by Druff as people left Xando’s home and returned to their own. Druff caught Ischarus by the elbow as Semeion approached to work his magic ways and reduce him in size once more.Druff’s raspy voice once more issued forth out of his mouth. “Ischarus, you need to post a sentry at the foot of the mountain. There are several prominent villagers that were here today who had their doubts regarding the success of the mission. If they have doubts, they may be tempted to go to the dragon father and request a private meeting. If they are granted such a meeting, they will be seeking their own glory at what will most likely be the destruction of us all. If the dragon learns of our deception, all but the collaborator will likely be destroyed.”Rhema listened intently. “Druff, is that entrance hidden well? And does it lead up to the dragon’s lair?”Druff nodded. “It does. I know the way.”Xando shook his head. “Druff, you are not fit for such a journey. You couldn’t possibly go with her up the mountain.”Druff smiled and for an instant a glimpse of his powerful old self showed through his eyes. “I will take pleasure in traveling up that tunnel one more time. I cannot go tonight, but I will go with Rhema on the day that the plan unfolds.”Ischarus shook his head. “No, Druff. You have suffered enough. You deserve your freedom more than anyone else. You’re coming with me to the caves.”Druff shook his head even more fervently than Ischarus. “No, Ischarus. My life is fragile. You’ll have a better chance at success if I am not slowing you down. I will only slow the main advance of the town as they head for the mountains. You said it yourself. We could only have a matter of minutes. I will go with Rhema where I can do some good.”Semeion added to Druff’s assertion before anyone else could argue. “I am going as well. I’ll be of little help motivating these people. Rhema may need a translator if she hopes to bring the new Provenience with her. Ischarus, you and Charis are both Drakontos and strong leaders. The people will look up to your natural leadership. You’ll be needed for the evacuation. Rhema and I will use our talents to bring the new Provenience and return with the additional cargo that Rhema so secretly desires.”Ischarus began to object once more, but Charis stopped him with a hand gesture and a speech of her own. “I don’t like it any more than you do, Ischarus. But Semeion has a point. He and Rhema are best suited for that mission. You and I are going to be needed here on that day.”Xando approached the door and nodded to Ischarus before he opened it. “Your friends speak wisely, Ischarus. A wise person knows when to trust their friends. As for now, we should be leaving. Semeion, if you will arrange for Druff’s return, I will show Rhema the secret passage. Charis, you and Ischarus can head into the forest a bit and wait for the collection to come for this night. We will trust you to store what few food supplies we have.”Charis nodded. “Yes. We brought our horses and left them away from village a bit. We’ll be waiting.”Xando nodded and opened the door. He hopped outside and started walking across the village. There was no real regulation preventing the people from using the night as they saw fit, but he didn’t want to draw any unnecessary attention from their dragon father, either. As he crossed by the horizontal stone slab he heard the squeak of his door as it opened again.Rhema had taken time to change and she then popped out of Xando’s home. She headed in a different direction than Xando, but once outside the village she quickly circled around to Xando’s position and met up with him. Neither of them noticed that they were being followed. The light gray figure materialized behind them and followed them closely. The figure occasionally stopped in the middle of a tree to staying hidden for a while.Semeion cast his magic over Druff, but this time it was Ischarus who would take Druff to the cage. Ischarus hadn’t been near the cage at all that night, so they had hoped his presence wouldn’t draw any attention. Besides the potential mind games, Ischarus was much stronger and able to carry the magically reduced Druff without being obvious. Ischarus departed from the house and headed quickly for the cage.Semeion and Charis waited a proper amount of time and left the building at the same time. As soon as they descended the steps they split up and headed in different directions into the surrounding forest. The hope was that if someone was watching, they wouldn’t be able to watch everyone at the same time. If their attention was diverted even for an instant, Ischarus and Druff might go unnoticed. Ischarus approached the cage and carefully lifted Druff up to a level that would allow him to climb in easily enough. In a matter of seconds Druff was inside.Ischarus found himself saying something that only a few days earlier he would have thought impossible. Druff had once been a great adversary. Now Druff was his most important ally. “I am sorry to have to imprison you once more, my new friend. I will send Semeion several times tomorrow to cast his magic upon you. There will be no need for his magic until we have stored up enough rations in the tunnel. If we can ease your pain even for a few minutes each day, we shall.”Druff reached his hand out of the cage to rest it upon the back of Ischarus’ hand. He found himself in an equally unbelievable position. “I appreciate all that you can do. Just save my people.”Ischarus nodded and stepped back from the cage. He swallowed hard, lost in what it would be like for Druff in a few minutes when Semeion’s magic wore off. Not wanting to linger too long, Ischarus turned and headed away out of the village. He circled back to where Charis and Semeion were waiting with the horses.[/Sblock]</blockquote>

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