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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Nonlethal Force" data-source="post: 3136211" data-attributes="member: 35788">Ischarus arrived back at the cave where Charis was protecting the storage of food.  He had the captive Drakontos in tow and honestly had received little trouble from him along the whole walk.  Not once did Ischarus need to do anything more than guide him along the path.  The Drakontos man followed with a beaten and resigned expression upon his face.Once they arrived in the cave, they were greeted with amazement by Charis.  “Ischarus, what happened?”Ischarus shrugged nonchalantly as he guided the man into the cave.  “Apparently this one decided that the plan would not go forward as scheduled.  Last night while we packed up the food store he decided to head into the dragon’s lair and warn his father dragon.  Fortunately, Semeion and Rhema were there to convince him otherwise.”Charis looked to the man with sympathy.  He refused to meet her gaze.  Charis’ hands went to the binding ropes around the man’s wrists and she spoke, “Darrok?”  There was a hint of confusion in Charis’ question.  “If anyone had the most to gain from our promises it would be you.”Darrok still didn’t lift his head.  He remained silent, his head bowed before Charis as if he were a disobedient slave about to be struck.  Charis continued, “Did not the promises of my friends to save even your daughter from the wrath of our father dragon sway you?”Darrok finally lifted his head to meet her eyes.  His own eyes burned with fire.  “You promise only death.  Do they think they can break into the father dragon’s lair without being noticed?  Do they think that they can save my daughter and escape to freedom?  It is one thing to plan and dream, but I have seen the unrelenting wrath of our father dragon.  His wrath knows no end.  Since your departure several months ago he continues to push us to work until we are broken masses of flesh.  Then he expects us to work even more!”Charis held up her hands in a gesture to encourage the man to calm his emotions.  From across the room, Ischarus stood ready at the entrance but didn’t desire to make his presence known unless it was necessary.  As far as Ischarus was concerned, the man was bound and thus harmless.  He was prepared to act in a moment’s notice; but for now he was content to stand behind the man in silence.Charis continued her examination of the man.  “I understand what you are saying, Darrok.  But your daughter will surely be slaughtered as a sacrifice as soon as she has produced enough offspring and her body is worn out.  Then from what I have been told the dragon father will begin breeding those offspring into a new race of loyal Drakontai.  There is no hope for you here.”The man replied bitterly, “Then at least you and I agree on something.  There is no hope for us here.  Yet there is also no hope in pursuing a plan that within a week will place us on the wrong side of a dragon’s breath.  If the plan that you and your friends devised could be stopped at the least our communal life would have continued for some time.”Charis continued to look upon Darrok with sympathy.  “Do you have such little faith in us to be able to make such assumptions?  My new friends were able to free me from our dragon father’s grasp.  They have managed to come back to my land without detection.  They have accomplished many great things to come this far.  Why can you not have faith?”Darrok responded to Charis’ sympathy with even more anger. “How can you have such faith?  Do you not see the cruelty and unrelenting oppression around you?  You should leave now while your freedom is yours to grasp.  Your mission cannot succeed.  Our dragon father is all powerful in his wrath, anger, and lust for power.”Finally Ischarus saw his opening.  Ischarus reached deep within himself and remembered the religious training handed down to him by his own dragon father.  “Nothing that is alive and born is all powerful, Darrok.  Nothing.  The very nature of the process of birth makes a being subject to the rest of the world.  The tighter your dragon father has drawn his claws around the community the more resentment he has allowed to build up.  Your people, Charis’ people, want to cast off their yoke.  The more your dragon father grabs onto his power the more the rest of the world slips through his claws.”Darrok shook his head and spun around on his heels.  “Is that what you live on?  I should hope that your sword is more skillful than your tongue, then.  Do you plan on saving us through your philosophy?  When it comes to the fiery breath of our dragon father you will see how very little truly slips through the grasp of my dragon father’s claws.  I care for him no more than the rest of my village.  But I am not blind to his ability to crush us all in an instant.”Through the conversation Ischarus now saw why Charis pitied and yet simultaneously sympathized with Darrok.  There could be no doubt about it.  His will had been crushed.  The grip that the dragon father held over this man was pure evil.  Grixanthrosilithiss held this man purely in fear solely from the act of taking his daughter from him.  There was little to like about Darrok’s argumentation; but there was much to admire in his desire to continue in slavery if it meant his daughter would continue to live.Ischarus smiled as he hoped he could affect both the freedom of the people and the freedom of the new Provenience.  Darrok gave Ischarus a strange look as the odd smile crept over Ischarus’ face.  The captive Drakontos spoke with a fair amount of venom in his tone, “What do you find so amusing?”Ischarus shook his head.  “I remember what my friend said earlier this morning.  He said that your act of disobedience had taught us a valuable lesson about the days to come and what we would need to do to fool your dragon father.  Through your attempt to stop our plan a bit of fortune had come our way.  Now I realize that a bit of fortune has come your way as well.  In a manner of speaking, you are already safe.  By bringing you here you have already escaped the wrath that you so deeply fear.  You are free from the breath of your dragon father, Darrok.  You have escaped!”The odd smile remained on Ischarus’ face.  However, Darrok didn’t share Ischarus’ amusement with that fact.  Rather, Darrok knew Ischarus was correct and it irritated him even more.  Immediately Darrok silenced himself and returned his gaze to the floor.  He couldn’t stand the fact that Ischarus was right.  He was free now that he was here in the caves.  His freedom would be bought over the coming days by the hard work and even greater likelihood of death in his village.Gently Charis reached out to touch the silenced Darrok.  “Come over to the corner of the room, Darrok.  I will show you mercy and give you comfort and something to eat.”Darrok shrugged away from Charis and refused her charity.  He did follow Charis to the other side of the room on his own power, however.  His spirit was broken and his wounds would need time to heal.  He welcomed the chance to sit alone in the dark in the far corner of the cave.The next several days passed uneventfully for the foursome as they worked hard to make preparations for the exodus out of Quehalost.  Each day the donations for the supplies grew larger as the confidence among the people simultaneously grew.  With each day that they managed to keep from being discovered they strengthened in confidence that the plan might work. As their confidence strengthened, they felt more eager to work in the fields and hold less back at night.  During the night, Ischarus was soon making multiple trips from the village to the cave in keeping up with the pace that the villagers brought forth harvested supplies.  He rotated the horses in pairs with each trip, allowing the horses time to rest between pulls.  Charis became Darrok’s caretaker, although this was a vastly lonely job.  Darrok slipped deeper into depression and spoke less as each day passed.  Charis spent most of her time caring for the silent captive; yet because he would not talk she spent much of her time actually talking to the horses.Semeion and Rhema likewise had an easy time.  Semeion embraced the duty of being Darrok’s doppelganger in an attempt to continue to fool the father dragon.  The village began to anticipate Semeion after a few appearances and Semeion found that with each appearance the people began to give him cakes made of flour and dried meat to take back to his associates.  After a few days, Semeion had learned the worship rites so thoroughly that he was able to participate freely and make his attempt to fool the father dragon even more real.Five days went by until Ischarus declared that they had enough food for the entire village stored for an extended stay underground out of the reach of the father dragon.  The villagers were encouraged to work one more day and get a full night’s sleep the following night.  After that night, the plan would come into being immediately following the Morning Prayer rite.  Ischarus refrained from telling the people how they would know when to break for the caves; but he brought Xando to the cave the final night so that he would know the way to lead the people.  Semeion was instructed to watch for the right time following the Morning Prayer and give Xando the cue.  Xando would lead the people while Rhema and he climbed deeper into the dragon’s cave to find the new Provenience.  It was only a matter of hours before they would find out if Darrok would have his fears proven or refuted.[Sblock=Color-Free Speech Section]Ischarus arrived back at the cave where Charis was protecting the storage of food. He had the captive Drakontos in tow and honestly had received little trouble from him along the whole walk. Not once did Ischarus need to do anything more than guide him along the path. The Drakontos man followed with a beaten and resigned expression upon his face.Once they arrived in the cave, they were greeted with amazement by Charis. “Ischarus, what happened?”Ischarus shrugged nonchalantly as he guided the man into the cave. “Apparently this one decided that the plan would not go forward as scheduled. Last night while we packed up the food store he decided to head into the dragon’s lair and warn his father dragon. Fortunately, Semeion and Rhema were there to convince him otherwise.”Charis looked to the man with sympathy. He refused to meet her gaze. Charis’ hands went to the binding ropes around the man’s wrists and she spoke, “Darrok?” There was a hint of confusion in Charis’ question. “If anyone had the most to gain from our promises it would be you.”Darrok still didn’t lift his head. He remained silent, his head bowed before Charis as if he were a disobedient slave about to be struck. Charis continued, “Did not the promises of my friends to save even your daughter from the wrath of our father dragon sway you?”Darrok finally lifted his head to meet her eyes. His own eyes burned with fire. “You promise only death. Do they think they can break into the father dragon’s lair without being noticed? Do they think that they can save my daughter and escape to freedom? It is one thing to plan and dream, but I have seen the unrelenting wrath of our father dragon. His wrath knows no end. Since your departure several months ago he continues to push us to work until we are broken masses of flesh. Then he expects us to work even more!”Charis held up her hands in a gesture to encourage the man to calm his emotions. From across the room, Ischarus stood ready at the entrance but didn’t desire to make his presence known unless it was necessary. As far as Ischarus was concerned, the man was bound and thus harmless. He was prepared to act in a moment’s notice; but for now he was content to stand behind the man in silence.Charis continued her examination of the man. “I understand what you are saying, Darrok. But your daughter will surely be slaughtered as a sacrifice as soon as she has produced enough offspring and her body is worn out. Then from what I have been told the dragon father will begin breeding those offspring into a new race of loyal Drakontai. There is no hope for you here.”The man replied bitterly, “Then at least you and I agree on something. There is no hope for us here. Yet there is also no hope in pursuing a plan that within a week will place us on the wrong side of a dragon’s breath. If the plan that you and your friends devised could be stopped at the least our communal life would have continued for some time.”Charis continued to look upon Darrok with sympathy. “Do you have such little faith in us to be able to make such assumptions? My new friends were able to free me from our dragon father’s grasp. They have managed to come back to my land without detection. They have accomplished many great things to come this far. Why can you not have faith?”Darrok responded to Charis’ sympathy with even more anger. “How can you have such faith? Do you not see the cruelty and unrelenting oppression around you? You should leave now while your freedom is yours to grasp. Your mission cannot succeed. Our dragon father is all powerful in his wrath, anger, and lust for power.”Finally Ischarus saw his opening. Ischarus reached deep within himself and remembered the religious training handed down to him by his own dragon father. “Nothing that is alive and born is all powerful, Darrok. Nothing. The very nature of the process of birth makes a being subject to the rest of the world. The tighter your dragon father has drawn his claws around the community the more resentment he has allowed to build up. Your people, Charis’ people, want to cast off their yoke. The more your dragon father grabs onto his power the more the rest of the world slips through his claws.”Darrok shook his head and spun around on his heels. “Is that what you live on? I should hope that your sword is more skillful than your tongue, then. Do you plan on saving us through your philosophy? When it comes to the fiery breath of our dragon father you will see how very little truly slips through the grasp of my dragon father’s claws. I care for him no more than the rest of my village. But I am not blind to his ability to crush us all in an instant.”Through the conversation Ischarus now saw why Charis pitied and yet simultaneously sympathized with Darrok. There could be no doubt about it. His will had been crushed. The grip that the dragon father held over this man was pure evil. Grixanthrosilithiss held this man purely in fear solely from the act of taking his daughter from him. There was little to like about Darrok’s argumentation; but there was much to admire in his desire to continue in slavery if it meant his daughter would continue to live.Ischarus smiled as he hoped he could affect both the freedom of the people and the freedom of the new Provenience. Darrok gave Ischarus a strange look as the odd smile crept over Ischarus’ face. The captive Drakontos spoke with a fair amount of venom in his tone, “What do you find so amusing?”Ischarus shook his head. “I remember what my friend said earlier this morning. He said that your act of disobedience had taught us a valuable lesson about the days to come and what we would need to do to fool your dragon father. Through your attempt to stop our plan a bit of fortune had come our way. Now I realize that a bit of fortune has come your way as well. In a manner of speaking, you are already safe. By bringing you here you have already escaped the wrath that you so deeply fear. You are free from the breath of your dragon father, Darrok. You have escaped!”The odd smile remained on Ischarus’ face. However, Darrok didn’t share Ischarus’ amusement with that fact. Rather, Darrok knew Ischarus was correct and it irritated him even more. Immediately Darrok silenced himself and returned his gaze to the floor. He couldn’t stand the fact that Ischarus was right. He was free now that he was here in the caves. His freedom would be bought over the coming days by the hard work and even greater likelihood of death in his village.Gently Charis reached out to touch the silenced Darrok. “Come over to the corner of the room, Darrok. I will show you mercy and give you comfort and something to eat.”Darrok shrugged away from Charis and refused her charity. He did follow Charis to the other side of the room on his own power, however. His spirit was broken and his wounds would need time to heal. He welcomed the chance to sit alone in the dark in the far corner of the cave.The next several days passed uneventfully for the foursome as they worked hard to make preparations for the exodus out of Quehalost. Each day the donations for the supplies grew larger as the confidence among the people simultaneously grew. With each day that they managed to keep from being discovered they strengthened in confidence that the plan might work. As their confidence strengthened, they felt more eager to work in the fields and hold less back at night. During the night, Ischarus was soon making multiple trips from the village to the cave in keeping up with the pace that the villagers brought forth harvested supplies. He rotated the horses in pairs with each trip, allowing the horses time to rest between pulls. Charis became Darrok’s caretaker, although this was a vastly lonely job. Darrok slipped deeper into depression and spoke less as each day passed. Charis spent most of her time caring for the silent captive; yet because he would not talk she spent much of her time actually talking to the horses.Semeion and Rhema likewise had an easy time. Semeion embraced the duty of being Darrok’s doppelganger in an attempt to continue to fool the father dragon. The village began to anticipate Semeion after a few appearances and Semeion found that with each appearance the people began to give him cakes made of flour and dried meat to take back to his associates. After a few days, Semeion had learned the worship rites so thoroughly that he was able to participate freely and make his attempt to fool the father dragon even more real.Five days went by until Ischarus declared that they had enough food for the entire village stored for an extended stay underground out of the reach of the father dragon. The villagers were encouraged to work one more day and get a full night’s sleep the following night. After that night, the plan would come into being immediately following the Morning Prayer rite. Ischarus refrained from telling the people how they would know when to break for the caves; but he brought Xando to the cave the final night so that he would know the way to lead the people. Semeion was instructed to watch for the right time following the Morning Prayer and give Xando the cue. Xando would lead the people while Rhema and he climbed deeper into the dragon’s cave to find the new Provenience. It was only a matter of hours before they would find out if Darrok would have his fears proven or refuted.[/Sblock]</blockquote>

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