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Message: <blockquote data-quote="spyscribe" data-source="post: 2671635" data-attributes="member: 5808">Part the One-Hundred Sixty-SixthIn which: the party finally finds someone who seems glad for their involvement.“What was that?” Lt. Katib demands of Reyu once they are back in daylight again.“A desert dialect,” Reyu offers.  “Perhaps your translator is unfamiliar with it.”“Ehkt’s left testicle it was.  And what was that part about you living with the elves?  I thought you were disinterested parties here.”“I have spent time with the elves south of the Halmae.  Not the Shesher.  I promise, we are not spies.”  Eventually, Reyu’s explanations and Anvil’s assurances convince Katib that the party members have not come with covert purposes.  Also, he is soon distracted.An old man hurries up.  He is dressed like a soldier, but one long out of practice.  His armor barely fits anymore, and his sword is badly tarnished.  The man does not salute, nor even present himself to the Lieutenant.  Instead, he is entirely focused on the party. “Have you come to stop the elves?” he asks.“Corporal—” Katib begins, but the other man talks right over him.“Please, you’ve got to help us.  We are innocents here.  We have women and children.  We don’t deserve to be living under siege.  We’ll all be killed if you can’t hold the walls.”“Corporal!”  Katib’s tone causes even Reyu to unconsciously stiffen to attention.  The soldier stops talking, realizing how far he has overstepped his bounds.“I’m sorry, Lieutenant,” he says, “but this village has been my home for longer than I was a Corporal.  I know it’s not the same for you, but this place means a lot more to me now than orders.”Lt. Katib responds coldly.  “Was there something you came here to inform me of, or are you merely harassing our guests?”The man responds equally coldly.  “The medics sent me to fetch you sir.  The sergeant has taken a turn for the worse.”  He looks beseechingly once more at the party.  “I didn’t mean to bother you.  Just… this village is my home.”“We will certainly do what we can,” Reyu tells him.(See?  Once someone asks us to help, we’ve entirely willing.)Lt. Katib addresses the other man sharply.  “Tell the medics I’ll be there shortly.  Dismissed.”The man takes to his heels.  Lt. Katib looks to Anvil.  “Justicar, you mentioned you could provide healing?”Anvil does not waste time repeating himself.  “Where is this sergeant?”“I’ll show you.”###While Anvil sees to Katib’s men, the rest of the party gathers to see if they have learned anything that will help them bring this situation to a peaceful resolution.Jamaladeen’s whip has been produced for their inspection, and Lira excuses herself so that she can cast read magic unobserved by the Ebisites.  She returns a few moments later and confirms Reyu’s hunch.“Two of the strands are definitely the elven equivalent of scrolls of cure light wounds.  The Shesher were telling us the truth.  They did leave behind healing, they just didn’t leave that much.”“It wouldn’t restore the ear though,” Eva clarifies.“No,” Reyu allows, “but it would have healed the wound left behind.”“Except that they’d be short an ear.”“Well, yes.”“What about the other cords?” Thatch asks.“They’re knotted to look like scrolls, but whoever did it was just copying the other two strands, there’s no magic in them.”Thatch rolls his eyes, “Flogged with healing?  What’s that got to be like?  ‘Ow!... Oh, that’s better.’”Annika is either not amused, or doesn’t get that Thatch was trying to be funny.  “Probably more like just, ‘Ow!’”Thatch lets it go.  “Elves, they’re all nuts.”  He looks over at Reyu and ducks his head, just a little bit.  “Present company excluded.”Reyu cannot help but admit that Thatch might not be completely wrong, at least, not as far as Zili is concerned.  “Never have I met someone so… determined to be martyred.”“Is there any chance we can convince Jamaladeen to change his mind?” Kiara asks.“You met him, what do you think?”“Okay, probably not.”“Lieutenant Katib doesn’t seem thrilled with the situation,” Lira points out.  “Unfortunately, I think his hands are tied.”“He said he had to bring the children to Nyarii to stand trial,” Kiara recalls.  “Couldn’t Anvil make a ruling right here?  That would at least settle things.”“Anvil isn’t an Ebisite Justicar though,” Annika reminds her.Eva suddenly claps her hands.  “Wait a second, there’s huge reinforcement of soldiers three days away, right?  I bet they’ll have an Ebisite Justicar with them.”There is a brief silence.“Umm,” Thatch finally says, “I think that’s the first not-crazy plan I’ve heard in days.”###Although Lieutenant Katib has no problem with having this matter settled here instead of Nyarii, he is dubious that the elves will be agreeable.“I can’t authorize anything unless I have assurances from the elves they will accept the ruling.  But I’m willing to negotiate in good faith if they are.”  Reyu and the rest of the party go back to the elves under cover of a while flag to explain the human side of the situation.  As expected, the War Hand is not any more sympathetic, but she does agree to meet with the humans if there is someone who can negotiate the return of the children.  As a gesture of good faith, she promises that the elves will not attack the village that night.  The party quickly sends back word to Lt. Katib, and with another exchange of messages, a meeting is set for the next morning.###The chosen spot for the negotiations is in the middle of the burned-out buffer zone between the wild scrub and the earthworks surrounding the village.The party goes ahead to arrive at the designated sport first.  The Ebisites are next.  Lieutenant Katib waits nervously, as though expecting an ambush at any time.  He only relaxes fractionally when the elves appear—much closer than Eva would have thought possible with the limited cover available—and join them.The War Hand and her retinue arrive wearing full war-paint and armor.  Not to be outdone, Lt. Katib and his men are in full battle-dress as well.Lira, having been nominated as the most diplomatic and bilingual of the group, looks from one side to the other.  Yup, this is going to be interesting.</blockquote>

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