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Message: <blockquote data-quote="The_Universe" data-source="post: 1856963" data-attributes="member: 8944">But do the means justify the ends?I don't think it's any easier to negotiate with the Bluestar than it is to negotiate with Tain's generals, or anyone else for that matter.  The ends may not justify the means (although I would contend that they sometimes do), but nor can the means justify the ends.  If you don't ally and somehow lose, you'll have no children or grandchildren who can pat themselves on the backs for there forefathers and foremothers moral rectitude.  The road to hell is not paved with evil intention.   Of course, if you manage to win without the help of the Bluestar, it will be cake and pinatas all around.  The question remains - is that likely?  Possible, even?   While possible, this is not necessarily true.  You'll only leave your children with another war to fight if your terms are so stringent that they cannot allow for peace.  Furthermore, you must ask yourself if even if you win this war without the Bluestar, will there be no battles left to fight?  The lands of the Lord Miagi and Master Ryoko's people has been lost to the same thing that now plagues you. What of them?  Where have these draconids come from?  If you defeat them here and now, will they disappear?   I could contend that the issue is not whether you leave your children to fight a war, but rather what war you leave them to fight, if your children have the luxury of living at all.   In a place far from Aeres, the United States allied with the USSR, only to turn against its former ally and fight a war on a hundred battlefields that lasted over 30 years.  Although Yosef Stalin was hardly an undead sorcerer, he was a bad dude.  There was (and is) a moral high ground.  The question you must ask is if it's really worth walking.    Why?  What do you gain by sacrificing them? What do you lose? Does this serve your cause?  Does it serve any cause?     A noble goal - how are you going to do it?  Where are Tain's generals?  His soldiers?  They're apparently not defending Caer Albion... It should be fairly obvious that the people of Caer Albion asked the King for help before they asked you.  So, simply showing up and saying, "bad things are happening" is unlikely to be enough.  I think I spoke of it above, but the best you can EXPECT from the King's forces is that they won't follow orders if asked to fight you.  You might get more, but it would be insane to depend on it.    I think everyone agrees that Caer Albion is your number one priority.  All of the negotiations and growing plans mentioned above all revolve around making the preservation of Caer Albion possible.  You can't do it with what you have, without leaving your current home wide open for attack.  You need help.   Agreed - no one's arguing that this needs to be done.  The arguments are about HOW.    It would help, yes. Yes they would, although you can likely only expect aid and succor from the Talons you deal with directly, and even then only those who are stationed inside Caer Albion.   No argument there.  You can probably get this, regardless of if you help.   Why will this make it easier?  You've already pushed back a draconic army, and they haven't come calling.  How does this change the case you already have?  Furthermore, I'm not sure you know if Tain's generals are there.  The army of Prydein and its general is usually based in Caer Albion, but they were sent North months ago to fight the Bluestar. If they've not been slaughtered whoselale, they're probably up near or above the Wall.    It sure does, but you can't simultaneously defend Caer Albion and Hyrwl/New Oceanus with what you have, as far as I know.  You need help.  Mercenaries are a start - where are the rest? Yes they did.  And you're going to help them.  Not a bad idea.    Frarathir's not going to make a plan for you.  Think of him as a guy who'll pass along orders and do some to the dirty work for you, but no more.  He's also not much of a diplomat, which you should recall from before.  He believes in the Archonus school of persuasion, and that alone (Freckles, anyone?).   You have some portal stones, as well as access to spells like Lesser Gate.  That's what I can think of.  You've done an admirable job of reminding us why Caer Albion is important, but I don't think that's ever been in question.  The thing that still has to be answered is this:  If you're not going to use the Bluestar, what and who are you going to use, and how are you going to get them?</blockquote>

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