The brown kobold makes an approving nod at his friend's suggestions.

"Meepo also thinks the same."

Karst Persuasion: 13
Bartram Persuasion: 18

"It is tempting, but I am afraid we must know that this deal is made in good faith. Luruar sends the Warblade and Watchblade of Sundabar to treat with us, but cannot allow us to do so within their city walls?" Azetbu says, and his tone grows darker. "There is one more term that we cannot accept. Luruar requests that the southern tribes surrender their weapons before relocating. It is clear that we do not get the same trust that we give you in this alliance. The southern tribes should be able to keep their weapons," he says.

Glendale whispers to you, "That term is only there to remove the magic weapons from orc hands. It's not the end of the world if they get to keep their crude weapons, but we may have an easier time just getting the magical weapons back."

“Your Lordship Azetbu”, Aradurk states.

”To unify, it is important to make the provisions that ensure peace. Is it odd to be without weapons in a new land and culture? Absolutely! But it forces the tribes to acclimate through the inherent systems presnet instead of cleaving through the problem like a sandwich. It is a temporary resolution to ensure the best chance of success, your highness.”

"Meepo thinks the Luruar trusts you enough to come here without any weapons. Besides, they don't plan on taking all of the relocating tribe's weapons.

If you still doubt them, perhaps you can arrange so that Meepo's tribe could have the said weapons. That way, no one will have an advantage against the other.

If that doesn't seem fair, Meepo doesn't know what is."

"It seems to me that you losing a few weapons isn't much of a setback.  You'll be able to make, or even buy, weapons afterwards.  I'm sure if an alliance has been reached, you'll be able to buy even dwarven crafted weapons.  I myself would sell my creations to you, for sure."

Aradurk Persuasion: 18
Meepo Persuasion: 12
Murmen Persuasion: 10

"What you speak is true. You all came here unarmed. It was a surprise, and not a bad one. This trust you have shown us, and our consulate in Sundabar, are enough of a show of faith that we will strip the southern tribes of their weapons before they begin the transfer through the Underdark," Azetbu says.

There is a moment of brief silence as Azetbu shares a glance with Shang. Though her frown does not move, his nod prompts Glendale to step forward again. "Are the terms to your liking, Lord Azetbu? I have authority to speak on behalf of Luruar, and we find your amendments agreeable," she says.

"Almost, Warblade," the massive orc speaks. "The southern tribes will be weaponless, as agreed. That will not be easy. We need something to persuade them to come along peacefully. The solution will be simple. Allow them to work out their aggression freely. The southern tribes will be granted amnesty for all actions taken during the next three moons."

Somebody gasps behind you. Roccar's hand instinctively moves to his greataxe, which no longer hangs at his back. "This is no--" Glendale begins to say.

"Not from you," Azetbu interrupts, "from your soldiers."

Roccar growls behind you, "We cannot allow this. It would spark the very war we are trying to avoid!"

The kobold contemplates as to what to add to their proposition.

"Meepo is fine with that if your proposition also includes your camp.

Also, since we have fewer people, Meepo thinks it is honorable if you send your legion of orcs back along with a few others to match our numbers and order them to return after three moons.

That way, the southern tribes could truly let out their aggression."

The kobold then looks at the rest of his team.

"How about you guys. Any helpful suggestions?"

"So you would have Luruar and the southern orcs bloody themselves for a season and then take in the survivors at the end leaving your neighbours weakened and your new responsibilities lessened through their own losses in the wars that must come, a war that during which Luruar will exact a heavy toll on them at great cost to themselves?  I have to say your plan is bold, brazen even, and but surely you cannot expect this to be agreed upon?"  Karst steps forward palms open "MIghty Azetbu, you have shown good sense, wisdom and an eye for detail thus far, let this not end in disappointment so close to an agreement we could all be happy with.  I implore you."

“Let’s be a bit more blunt.  We’re supposed to grant ye amnesty?  Why would we treat ye different than our own people?  Yer a durned fool if ye think ye ken just waltz in and do whatever ye wish.”

Murnen’s accent becomes more pronounced as he gets excited.

Aradurk slowly walks across the Orc leader's field of view, his hands clasped behind him. 

"Are you actually proposing free reign of the southern tribes to molest and pillage without consequence? If it a simple fight in the woods, I can oblige as long as blood runs in my veins. But if you are asking us to look away while the tribes get foul deeds out of their system, I cannot abide. We are born creatures of chaos but are not beholden to it. I urge you to reconsider."

OOC: Inspiration has been used by Meepo for his persuasion.

Meepo Persuasion: 19
Karst Persuasion: 5
Murmen Intimidation: 15
Aradurk Persuasion: 16

Even the orc legion falls silent as Azetbu thinks for a long, uncomfortable moment. "You underestimate the difficulty we will face in taming these wild clans. I am willing to drop the amnesty...if you reconsider some of the terms we have compromised on. We have agreed to bring in goblins and giants, pay the fee owed to Zhentarim escorts, and remove all weaponry before relocating the orcs. Deferring to us on two of those decisions should suffice," he states.

"Clever bastard," Glendale mutters behind you. "We're in no position to fight these terms. You have my permission to 'trade' two compromises. You have done admirably thus far...I leave the choice of which two up to you all."

"Meepo thinks the weapons should be retained. That way, the Luruar can sell them to offset the Zhentarim's fee.

As for the goblins and giants, I guess they'll have to tough it up. Let's try talking to the kobold union and see if they have space to spare."

“Meepo”, Aradurk calls out quietly. “Solid ideas. There is also the abandoned town we stayed at with respect to lodging for the goblins and giants.”

Aradurk motions oover Meepo and  pulls closer to Karst and quietly poses, ”In light of their desire to go wild for 3 moons, what if we propose a hunt to get the Minotaur from the Undersark being pursued by the crew we ran across. This might repurpose their bloodlust to a useful end and provide more attainable goals for the negotiations. Thoughts?”

"It is settled, then," Azetbu shuffles some parchment and motions for Juds to bring him a quill. Next to him, Shang clears her throat and looks across Azetbu at Gorcrom, who stands and interrupts, "There is one more issue."

Roccar's eyes narrow. "We've reached terms that we both agree upon. Let's not make this ugly," he says.

"As ugly as a dragonspear orc?" Shang's voice rings across the table. "You have a child that does not belong to you, Reaver. Your so-called 'civilized' races treat us as pigs. The child should be with its people!"

Roccar clenches his teeth, again grabbing for a greataxe that he does not carry. He looks as if he may literally fly into a rage at any moment. Sal shifts nervously toward Glendale, who quickly steps in front of Roccar and bows to Azetbu. "Honored host, the road was long, and the negotiations have tired us all. Shall we adjourn for the evening?

Azetbu, to his credit, appears displeased with the sudden outburst from his mate. He simply nods and stands. Shang shoots an angry glare at him and stomps off.

Glendale grabs Roccar before he can act on his rage, and an orc procession leads you to a site a half-mile away, where you are able to light a fire, set up camp, discuss the day's events and wind down for the night.

OOC: Each character has received 25 XP for the social encounter, 100 XP for winning the weapons negotiation, and 400 XP for winning the amnesty negotiation, for a total of 525 XP.

Meepo feeds his camel for the day before returning to camp.

"That was a fierce discussion. Meepo is grateful things went smoothly."

The kobold breaks the awkward silence between Glendale and Roccar by asking a question.

"So, what was written on the parchment? Many things were discussed furiously and everthing went so fast for Meepo to remember everything."

"That parchment is our deal: The Devilsfall Pact. Even with the terms Azetbu brought forth, that is enough to get the southern tribes out of our hair and avert war. Shang and Gorcrom, it seems, wanted to make it as difficult as possible," Glendale sighs. With a resigned look at Roccar, she asks, "Roccar, what is the life of one child compared--"

"Say your next words carefully, Warblade. The child may be more than half orc to you, but he is of Uthgardt blood, and I will be damned if I hand a defenseless child to that *****!" Roccar growls.

Glendale doesn't finish her sentence. "Get some rest, everyone. We were right to put our faith in you. You saved many lives today; however, we are not done yet," she says.

"Roccar, who is the half orc child you are speaking of?  Why would they care so much about one child?  They clearly mean a great deal to you, but I must know the tale." 

Karst sits up by the fire his cold white eyes staring at the warchief.  The paladin looks back towards the orc camp and then into the fire remembering when another small child of unusual heritage was dumped at a temple by parents so disappointed by his differences to them that they would rather he spent his entire childhood being shaped into a weapon bereft of love and compassion, than struggle to raise him themselves. 

Roccar stares into the fire as he recounts the tale. "The Longhunt clan were a brutal tribe. Before we knew what we were up against, they baited the majority of my forces away and struck down an Uthgardt homestead. Arugg Andarson, his wife, his son, and their entire household was slain, raped, and pillaged while their best fighters were away. His oldest two daughters, Lucia and Abby, were taken captive. We underestimated them. We split into two forces; I took my Reavers and Arugg's brother Thane took the remainder of Arugg's warriors. We chased them for months with no success, tracking them all the way to the ruins of Ascore. Lucia was raped and murdered before we could find them, and Abby was taken as one of the wives of Scar, their chieftain. When we finally arrived at Ascore, my Reavers and I attacked hard under cover of a sandstorm, while Thane and his warriors snuck into the midst of camp to rescue Abby. She was slain, by Scar, right in front of them, before they cut off his head. When the battle was over, we managed to save her unborn child. A half-orc, named Dazzar, who is in Uthgardt custody. Shang is Scar's sister. She has been using Dazzar as leverage to incite Many Arrows into ending the truce. To no avail, until apparently sleeping her way up to Azetbu."

“Roccar, as a half orc, I tell you that I know the cruelty of the Orc people. My father stretched outside the convention of the Orc with his sense of right and wrong, left the tribe. He wandered until, throughout much mistrust, he was accepted into the confederated army. He brought me up with the explicit understanding that lawful order is better than chaos. I believe Azetbu is struggling with a sense of that but this burden of Shang holds on to him, either from tribal accountability or another reason. In either case, moving against the directive of the accord is not advisable. Not without more reason to guide our hand.”

Karst continues to look into the fire but answers Roccar after his comrade has finished. "Thank you for sharing your tale with me. I agree the child must not be used as a bargaining chip. To offer even a single life we hold dear for the fleeting chance of peace would be the worst sort of betrayal to those you lead and those you protect." The paladin lays down by the fireside to sleep. "Should you need my sword Roccar in defense of this child, you only have to ask."