You'll forgive the late reply, I hope. I have been busy traveling these last nearly 4 months with work to be done.
"Good men don't need rules..."
BDawg said:
Boulder done once Avaran dead. Death for a death. He broke word and rain paid price. Boulder acts on own. Boulders people not part of this. This between boulder and Avaran. Boulder will hear tribunal. But if boulder not satisfied, boulder continue with punishment of boulders people. Remember this word breaker, coward, boulder help kill big blood drinker, boulder help Sam, boulder helping woodfolk girl find scroll, boulder ask for NOTHING! No riches, no prize, no magic, just what boulder need to continue. Rain chose best road, nobody hurt, no big scroll wasted. And you chose wrong punishment. Rat, cat, wolf, furry short humans, all sick and you let murder of healer who just want help happen.
1) Rain had no deal with me. The deal he made was with Dragoon Slice and Dragoon Krieger.
2) All three of us -- Myself, Dragoon Slice, and Dragoon Krieger -- felt that he had attempted to talk his way out of his punishment when he want to see Elder Osmond later that Friday night.
3) After sleeping on the matter, not wanting to make a rash decision based on emotion alone, I was still of the mind that Rain had broken his word to Dragoon Slice and Dragoon Krieger and as a result, his agreement was forfeit.
4) I consulted with Dragoon Slice and Dragoon Krieger and advised them of this opinion and my plan to have Rain executed for Necromancy. I also told them that once that was done, Rain's price was paid and he was free to go about his business. They did not object.
5) Rain was then executed by Squire Hugh later that Saturday, his price now paid in full.
Now let me share some facts that likely are not aware of.
During our private conversation, and again with Slice and Krieger present, Rain flat-out threatened to harm the residents of this valley, with direct and indirect action. He first threatened to stop aiding the locals, to stop helping them hunt for food, to stop protecting them, as well as to stop healing other adventures on the field of battle. Despite the fact that these people weren't even involved with what I was doing, he threatened them. He threatened all of
you.
While difference may arise between myself and other people, one thing that I will never do is leave someone to die on the field of battle; I will always do my best to make sure that everyone makes it back to their bunk in one piece. It won't always happen, but that doesn't mean I won't try. The battlefield is no place for personal vendettas.
When that didn't work to scare me off, he threatened all-out war, and alluded to the terrible things that would befall me
and everyone else in the valley, if I didn't relent and leave. This is the kind of person that Rain showed himself to be.
But the most troubling aspect of all of this was one of the first things he said in his defense; he said Chaos and Necromancy weren't illegal and that he therefore couldn't be punished. He also stated that his tribe and where he is from freely use Chaos magics (more on that later).
Needless to say, I did not relent. He wanted to speak to Dragoon Slice and Dragoon Krieger, and he generally repeated himself and tried to snivel his way out of being punished for his crime -- a crime against the Earth; make no mistake, this has nothing to do with Andarian Law and everything to do with each person's responsibility to protect the Earth from Chaos/Necromantic energies. After all of the things I personally witnessed on both the Undying Isles and in Lantry, Andar, and Shalduk, and the terrible cost to those people and the Earth itself, I will not stand idly by and watch that happen anywhere else, regardless of my station in life or where I am. Anyone who was in and around Andar for the past year to year-and-a-half has seen first-hand the terrible cost of Chaos/Necromancy.
My role here -- the role that I was assigned by the King -- is not to write or even really to enforce the law, but to generally keep everyone as safe as I can; my hope is that a town guard would only be necessary for protecting against the natural dangers in the valley, as well as the Corrupt. While enforcing the law was part of my job for almost 6 years in Andar, 5 of those were spent as the Captain of the Baronial Guard for Keystone Village, old habits are hard to break, and I probably overstepped by bounds a few times, and I apologize for those. But some things, such as Necromancy, I will not tolerate, regardless of my "official" or "non official" status in and around town.
That said, here are the steps I have taken to ensure that this town, and those in it, are safe from any sort of outside duress by the Landslide tribe of Barbarians:
1) The Andarian military and nobles have been informed of the situation and are on guard for a tribe of hostile Barbarians.
2) Based on information conveyed by Rain to me during our conversation that Friday night, I left the valley after that gather and over the last nearly fourth months, I have tracked down 15 barbarian warriors of the Landslide tribe and sent them to the Earth Circle. Three have permanently died and were given an honorable funeral pyre; though they did not deserve such treatment, it was the right thing to do. They were all admitted necromancers, cast necromancy openly and freely, or openly supported their necromancy-casting brothers.
3) A new building is being constructed on the Andarian side of the portal by his Excellency Baron Ott; this building will be constantly warded and protected in case any of the Landslide tribe that are left are able to sneak across our borders and into Iron Falls.
4) After I take care of some business in the valley in the next few days, depending on how things go, I will go back and attempt to finish what I started.
Now, to the current business:
Words have meaning. They have the power to build and the power to destroy. So hear my words:
If you have an opinion of someone (or a group of people), make sure that opinion is based on your personal interactions and experiences. To be specific, I've heard a lot of random rumors about how people are afraid of nobles or think nobles are bad people. Fine. Have you ever spoken to one? Had any personal interactions? Sat down and spoken with them? If you have, base your opinions on that interaction, not the words of someone else.
Not everyone is a criminal. A criminal will be treated a certain way by a noble, and they have likely earned that treatment due to their criminal actions.
If you are not a criminal, then you can and should expect to be treated differently. Unless, of course, you are a criminal.
Being treated differently is a fact of life. While everyone should be treated a certain way as a baseline, your actions (or inaction) will reflect positively and negatively on how you are treated and viewed by others. The same goes for me, or anyone else.
And hear this:
Nobody who was there that day stepped up and took care of this situation when it occurred. So who gets to deal with that unfortunate circumstance? Clearly, nobody else wanted to deal with it, despite the inherent egregious nature of the act.
So ask yourselves "Why?" Adventurers have never been concerned with whether or not hunting down and punishing bandits, thieves, and necromancers was illegal. And it has been made abundantly clear by several of you that certain laws don't apply to you.
And this whole question of my honor is utterly laughable. Out of one side of your mouth, you call me dishonorable and a liar, out of the other side, you say you want to talk and meet and expect me to act all nice and friendly-like and follow the rules, relying on that very honor that you openly call into question.
If I had no honor, believe me, you'd know it.
I have the burden of duty and honor to step up and take care of these kinds of situations, and unless you are willing to step up and take on those responsibilities (as Kasuni and others have), you have zero room to criticize what has been done. And if you had any shred of decency in you, Boulder, you would be thanking me for taking care of something that you should have done yourself. Then again, you are too weak to control your own tribe. You are too weak to step up and tell them to not use Necromancy, too weak to step up and punish them for doing so, too weak to take a stand for something that has meaning. You're too busy serving you own self interests to be concerned with serving others.
The bottom line is that I ordered Rain executed for using a necromantic item, and it stopped there. Had he accepted his punishment with honor, like a true Barbarian, like a man -- an opportunity I openly gave him -- his reputation and standing would not have been tarnished. But he chose to make his punishment a spectacle. He chose to try and talk his way out of it. He chose to make it at least appear that he tried to go back on his word. I chose to call him on it and I do NOT apologize for that, nor will I. The punishment was not cruel, unusual, or out-of-line with the offense.
Further, if you or Rain has any sort of complaint about me, I invite you to make contact with Baron Ott on the other side of the Portal in Andar, or any other Andarian noble. I am subject to Andarian Laws, nobles, and King. I will freely give myself over to their custody if I need to, and will gladly subject myself to justice under Andarian law. For a contact in the valley, I invite you to contact Sir Daylynn, as he is essentially serving in the Ambassador position and duties.
Alternatively we can simply settle this between you and I in a trial of combat to the permanent death. I'll bring your brothers' skulls. You can try and take them back.
Or are you too much of a coward to face me?
In service,
Sir Avaran
