The Temple of Elemental Evil game thread

"You, slave...you will be first. Your first test will be to best this halfling in armour. Fight to kill - do not worry, I can restore his wellness in an instant. Pass this test and I will grant you your first taste of real power."

Lareth smirks, and has the full attention of everyone here, and he himself is watching you carefully. Three guards are in the room with you, and three more line the 10' wide corridor behind you. The rest are in the open space ahead with Lareth. The room you are in is full of wooden tables and chairs which look like they could break with a little force.

Kaxaon stands impassively. His rage almost rises when Lareth calls him a slave, but he chokes back his bile. With his countless wounds he knows he couldn't possibly fight his way out of here, but he would rather die where he stands than obey this pompous fool. Defiant and umoving, Kaxaon looks Lareth in the eye but says nothing.

"What language does this monstrous fellow speak? He looks particularly strong. Perhaps he needs a stronger opponent?"

Lareth casually places his hand on his mace by his side. It's mild as far as threats go, but his sickly smile is really getting to you.

Despite his natural and learned bravery, Anrin barely suppresses a shudder at the thought of being pummelled by Kaxaon, and does not want to be brought back from death a third time, if Lareth can even be trusted.

But, able to see the positive even in the worst of situations, Anrin decides to try and hit this sinister man with the truth, and see if the party can't get out of this situation with words.

"My Lord Lareth, I think there has been some misunderstanding. We are certainly willing to talk of an alliance in the fight against the evil which surrounds us. I myself have fought the orcs of the Pomarj, and me and my men vanquished many. But to join you? Of this we have not spoken. So, my Lord, let us leave this talk of fights to the death, and talk about how we may forge an alliance of equals."

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Ooc: Using inspiration on this one!

Edit after rolling: Oh crap, at least I got us talking :-p

"Ha...ha. Brave words indeed. But, I am entertained. You feel as you are free like the four elements, unwilling to be constrained by any man's will. But, I still have a purpose for you. You are now under my command - I will watch you from the shadows, and certain death will befall you if you disobey or undermine me. You will travel to the village of Nulb, and deliver this package to a man named Otis, an ex-mercenary at the Smithy and my loyal servant. Should you deviate from this path, swift death will befall you. One of my soldiers, Nuraya, will accompany you".

Nuraya, the quietest of the four women you travelled with, steps forward. The lieutenant hands a package to you. It is a small evidently wooden box wrapped in leather and thin rope.

Anrin does a bad job of containing his relief, and an equally bad job of suppressing a smile towards the sinister leader. He holds out his hands naively to accept the package.

Grumble sighs in relief, assuming that Lareth is referring to the group, rather than just Anrin alone.

Kaxaon nods appreciatively at Anrin. The big man has never put much stock in words, but the halfling gallant's words today have probably just saved all their lives. His gaze returns to Lareth. Kaxaon will not be cowed by this man but there will be time later to crush this tyrant.

Anrin catches Kaxaon's eye for a moment, then looks to the rest of the party. Cautiously, the halfling begins to move towards the exit, waiting for the rest of the party to do the same, and keeping his eye on Lareth and the guards for as long as possible.

Matthias inadvertently releases a sigh as they appear to be able to walk away. He looks around to see if anyone noticed and follows Anrin out, giving him an appreciative nod.

While on the road, Anrin tries his best to determine the contents of the package, without actually opening it, and attempting to conceal his actions from Nuraya.

Edit: He also tries to sense if there is anything evil about the package itself. He should also notice anything obviously untoward about Nuraya.

---

Ooc: Using Divine Sense again.

Kaxaon stares at Nuraya openly as the group slowly travels. Could this lone warrior best them all? Or did Lareth place an unknown curse on them all? The accursed man had said certain death would come to any who disobeyed. Even now, Kaxaon's seemed to have no control over his own feet, which moved to carry out Lareth's command.

"What sorcery is this?!" Kaxaon sputters fiercely, speaking to no one in particular "Has the man put strings on us all like a puppetmaster does his toys?!" He grabs Spugnoir's sleeve, "This damned mission of yours is proving far more dangerous than it's worth! Keep your gold. Our contract is void. I look out for myself now!"

Kaxaon tries stalk off away from the path.

Grumble, too, wrestles with the compulsion, but he's glad to be with his new friends - that makes being in this situation somewhat more bearable. Taking away someone's agency is something of an evil, he thinks, but there are philosophical ramifications, which he's engaging in deeply by now.

*If one is unable to act under one's own volition, this is confinement. If one is forced to perform something against one's will, that is coercion at best, but more like slavery, and mind destruction at worst. A moral person will not impose his will upon another...and that includes wizards. I will, therefore, never use a spell to control the mind of another...ah, but where do I draw the line? Do I not know and even now have prepared a spell for telling the Irresistible Joke? Is forcing a person to laugh uncontrollably any better than making a person to perform any other action that he does not wish to do? That's difficult; do I reject my studies of such things, promising never to use them, because they are abhorrent? Or are there circumstances where mind or body control are justified, if not necessary? All this supposes that one's own volition is virtuous, but as Solestes argued, men naturally act in their own interests, and those aren't always good. If a person's will is to do evil things, should that person be allowed to continue? Is controlling that person justified by the evil that the person might do?*

...and so on. It keeps him deeply occupied during the journey, and sometimes this train of thought is internal, and sometimes he speaks it out as a conversation (a practice he developed during his years of solitude in the wild).

(edits for sense and text-formatting)