Voices
Subject taking a listen
OOC: Mark, is Salix the only person able to hear the other side of the converstation? If not, what impression do the other who can hear (and Salix for that matter) get? Male/Female, large creature (i.e. sound is coming from above their normal hearing level, or small creature (sound is coming from closer to the floor), old/young. I realize that we will not know for sure, but Salix at a minimum will have a basic idea of what he *thinks* he is talking to - a booming male sounding voice from 8-10 feet above his head vs. a wispy girls voice coming from waist height.
From: Mark
Subject Voices
The voice is hard to peg. It did not seem female or too old or young and while it is hard to tell through the door, it did not seem to come from very high or low.
From: Derek
Subject Voices
OOC: In other words, D&D does not reflect reality in this case. DM ain't tellin us `squat. ;)
Also, sensing motive doesn't seem to be much of a problem (assuming they are telling the truth and not just trying to get the door open so they can kill us...). Now we need some diplomacy and persuasion to convice these guys we didn't put them there.
From: Karl
Subject Voices
Salix responds, "We did not bring you here. We are looking for our way out of this place as well. I have told you my name and station. What is yours? How many of you are in there?" He says this with as much diplomacy as he can. He should be able to sound sincere since what he's said so far is true.
From: Mark
Subject Voices
Or it means that the usual descriptors do not apply. :)
From: Mark
Subject Voices
"I am called Sharpspike. There are 4 of us in here. And if you did not bring us here who did? How many of you are there?"
From: Karl
Subject Voices
Salix looks to Harp for a nod. If he gets one, he will reply "We are 7. We do not know who brought you here. We believe this place is a magical construct and assume it is that magic which brought you here."
Salix whispers to Harp, asking if there is anything else he wants to know. If not, he will proceed.
"We have no quarrel with you. If we open the door do we have your promise that none of you will attack us?"
From: Kevin
Subject Voices
Harp gives a nod, concerned about giving too much information away without knowing anything about those on the other side. He will wisper to Salix "Tell them we were brought here by the same magic and seem to be in the same basic position as they are - away from our home and looking for a way out."
He hears Salix's proposal to them about opening the door. If he gets the impression that they will actually open the door, he will move himself up, tapping the other fighters to move up with him and moving Allistair toward the rear.
OOC: He will also be prepared to cast Bless on the group before they open the door. He will rely on Salix to work out the best way to work out opening up the door.
From: Karl
Subject Voices
Salix will add, before proposing opening the door, what Harp suggests about them being in the same position, wording it as "We were also brought here by the magic of this place. . ." etc, to be more precisely correct. (He's concerned with being as honest as possible without giving too much away.)
From: Mark
Subject Voices
"How do we know we can trust you? That you will not kill us when you come in here?"
From: Mark
Subject Voices
"How were you able to get out of your prison? We have been unable to open the door, no matter how hard we try?"
From: Karl
Subject Voices
ooc - I'm taking the two question emails as both said before Salix could reply. /ooc)
"We do not understand the magic of this place. Some doors only open after others have been opened. I'm confident we can open your door if we try. As to killing you, well, others we have encountered here have attacked us without provocation or warning. If we wanted to kill you, we'd have opened the door and attacked. When we heard you talking we gained hope that we had encountered beings with which we could reason. We do not want bloodshed if it can be avoided."
All the while, Salix is watching Harp's face to see if the Half-Orc thinks he's revealing too much. He is also using all his skill to convey his sincerity to the beings on the other side.
From: Kevin
Subject Voices
Harp watches as Salix continues to talk to the creature on the other side of the door. He was doing this so much more easily than Harp would have thought. Harp would have said - you don't know anything - you will do as we say or we will leave you here to die. But, then, Salix might be able to get them out of this without having to fight. Harp was still unsure, but glad the druid was willing to make the effort - he just hoped it was not in vain.
From: Mark
Subject Voices
"We don't want to die either. What do you suggest?"
From: Karl
Subject Voices
Salix will turn to Harp and whisper, "Are we prepared to offer them a pledge of peace if they will do the same? I will not pledge to them peaceful intentions on our part only to have one of us attack them on principle of their race or species." He looks past Harp to Kal with suspicion.
From: Karl
Subject Voices
I'm going for the afternoon and may not respond again tonight. If Harp agrees, Salix will say to the beings "If you will vow that you will not attack us, we will give you the same promise. We also ask that you step back from the door so that we may open it."
From: Porter
Subject Voices
"Damn right we pledge peace to them," Mund says, raising his voice so that both parties can hear his voice. Brandishing his weapon, he says "If one of anybody tries to kill anybody else because of their race, they'll have to do it while defending against me."
From: Kevin
Subject Voices
Harp has misgivings, but can think of no other way short of a straight out attack. They had chosen this road, and they must now tread down it. He motions to Salix to come back toward the rest of the group, so they can talk quietly. "Salix make your proposal" He whispers to him (and the others around him) "Lets see what happens, but under no circumstance are we to attack first (he looks hard at Kal - trying to get a nod of agreement) - wait for my order. I know that I am exposing us here, but we must take this risk to keep our word to these creatures. But, if you see something that seems wrong, pipe up."
"Mund, I want you up there with Salix. The rest of us, lets back up slightly, but I want you, Ran, and Kal up front, then Ragnar and I and Allistair and Surin."
"Salix, if you see anything that does not ring true, I want to hear it."
OOC: Mark, Harp will still cast Bless on the group before they open the door.
From: Randy
Subject Voices
Ranthir speaks quietly before Salix returns to the door. "Have we not in the past had the ability to magically detect if there is evil nearby? Could we use some magic of that type in this situation to better prepare ourselves?"
OOC - Detect Evil?