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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Capellan" data-source="post: 951103" data-attributes="member: 6294">Kull's 3rd Report - Part 4The pathetic, spineless attitude of the villagers could not be allowed to continue.  Faced with clear evidence that their homes are under risk of attack - an attack of which their so-called sheriff was unaware - their only response was to offer money for someone else to deal with the problem.  To rely on a handful of outsiders to protect their homes.  These were not people: they were sheep.I demanded to know what the Council proposed to do, to provide for the security of the town.  The mayor made some snivelling excuse about only having a handful of trained men.  As if this was not a problem of their own making!  The village has some hundred able-bodied adults, all of whom could - and should - have received a measure of training, long ago.  I informed the council that I would not even consider their offer until they met my conditions:* they must immediately institute compulsory weapons training for all adults in the village.* they must develop an emergency plan, outlining what should be done in the event of an attack on the village.  This plan must then be communicated to everyone in the town, including the children.* they must send a warning to their overlords, outlining the threat and appealing for an increased military presence in the area.Despite the fact that these conditions were clearly in their own best interests - and my restraint in not demanding the sheriff be dismissed - the Council only agreed to meet them after a clear show of reluctance.With these matters resolved, I began to discuss the details of the mission.  Clearly we had to set off immediately, before the lizardfolk realised that their weapons shipment had been intercepted.  Every delay raised the chances that they would realise what had occurred and launch their attack on the village.  Noting from maps of the region that the land-route to the enemy's encampment would require a long and difficult march through swamps, in which we could be out-manoeuvred or even ambushed by the lizardfolk, I made mention that we would need the use of a boat, so that we could reach our target as swiftly as possible.The council's response was to demand four hundred gold for this 'service'.At this point, Zalich almost had to be physically restrained from assaulting the council members.  He unleashed a furious torrent of abuse that clearly demonstrated how he felt about the village's most recent attempt "to gouge us for what is apparently the privilege of assisting" them.  I have never seen the Halfling so worked up about anything, before.  He ended with an emphatic declaration that he would not assist the town any further.After making it clear to the council that we would not tolerate any further attempts to charge us for items necessary for the mission, I spoke with Zalich and persuaded him to accept the offer of employment from the council, who had hurriedly increased the offered reward for our assistance: something that they would not have needed to do had their attitude been more reasonable from the start.Since it seemed clear that we could not trust the council to undertake any task unsupervised, it was agreed that Troilan would go with their messengers to the local capital, to advise the authorities of the danger to the town and request assistance.  I had little more confidence in the girl than in the villagers, but she at least had been involved first hand in out battles, and more importantly her departure would have the least impact on the effectiveness of the group.  Although an adequate combatant against a distracted opponent, she had neither the strength nor the skill to stand against a trained enemy, and her impulsive nature would likely cause more difficulties than her skills would solve.Once the agreement with the council was finalised, I met with the local merchant in magical items and arranged for him to identify the purpose of the items we had found aboard the ship.  Zalich attempted to purchase the identification spell from the man, but he refused, no doubt more concerned about his financial well-being than anything else.  A typical denizen of Saltmarsh, in other words.Finally, I went to Brodnak's quarters and hammered on the door until the barbarian could ignore me no longer.  Once he finally emerged, I told him of the mission, and warned him to be ready at first light.No doubt we will have need of his axe in the mission ahead.In Hextor's Name,Kull Redfist</blockquote>

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