un: whitewolf / video: ota / text: private to Vanessa Ives / forward dated to 2 March

[northerndragon]

[Jon Snow has looked better, but he's also looked worse. His dark hair is not pulled back smoothly, as it typically is; curls escape to hang around his face. He has small wounds, nothing too recent, a scabby scrape on his cheek. His expression is complicated: troubled, angry, disgusted, but all in a quiet way.]

I've just returned from a meeting with Rathakku.

He makes an offer. He will withdraw his forces from Alem and allow evacuation, if --

[(his lips press together; this is clearly the part that he mislikes so greatly)]

Ten of us agree to join his ranks. Ten, and Deimar, as the dead who walk, who fight for Rathakku.

[A hard shake of his head.]

If this is enough for him -- if he has the fortress, I think the lives of those who leave are like to be forfeit either way. But I think they may leave ten of us tied in the yard to have that chance.

Half, then twelve, then ten. The numbers keep getting smaller.

I say none.

[He has decided, perhaps, that he does not wish to negotiate with undead lords after all.]

[PRIVATE TO VANESSA IVES]

My lady, I have what you wanted.

[OOC: Mod post for volunteers! Hit it up if it's a "yes" from your character.]

Comments

un : dappled peals of the parted seas (voice)

[beitangmoran]

Absolutely not.

un: Black Prince; text

[blackscales]

I think this undead lord is fond of games. If he can control some of us already, why ask?

un: bee

[allforthecause]

Why they think he can be bargained with, I don’t know.

un: white pawn; video

[chosenbylight]

[The frown on Anduin's face feels permanent these days.]

I do not doubt that you are right. If Deimar -- or anyone else in the royal family here for that matter -- thinks there is any truth in these words, there is a chance they might try and take him up on his bargain.

But there is no line in the sand for men like Rathakku. Nothing to hold him to his word, once he has been given exactly what he wants. Especially once he understands he can frighten us into just handing him whatever he so desires.

un: absterge

[downswing]

We stand in agreement.

Concede to evil once, concede unto eternity.

un: man's greatest treasure;

[reparo]

No - absolutely not. None. What a clever way to sow discord too. Give Deimar's soldiers a reason to want to fight us, keep them distracted, give Rathakku the city as well as a weakened army.

[northerndragon]

What will he do if he doesn't get his ten soldiers? Next he'll ask for eight, or five.

It's the place that he wants.

[northerndragon]

He can't keep control. He knows it. It must be easier for him to have willing soldiers.

[northerndragon]

Why this offer after such a long siege? He wants as many of us as he can get, and he wants this place.

What will anyone's lives be worth after he gets it?

[This isn't a rhetorical question. He remembers the tales of the dead coming to Ellethia.]

[northerndragon]

Better to take away as much of his power to cause fear as we can.

If he gets what he wants here, how long will the survivors really live? This is one lord wanting something held by another, and he must have a reason for wanting it.

[northerndragon]

What next? He asks for eight, five, three, and always the place itself.

If he makes any offer at all, he fears that he might lose. I do not think he means his offer as a kindness.

[northerndragon]

He fears that he will lose. But so do they -- and their fear might be more trouble to us for now. A hungry man is a desperate man.

[reparo]

And a desperate man is foolish. You could not claim that the women and children in the Keep are not hungry, but they are not walking around plotting to walk us straight into Rathakku's arms.

I'll let the people in the Eastern Tower know to watch their backs, since we're still trying to hold Alem so more bloodshed can be prevented.

un: headless ragdoll (private)

[matermali]

[ Curious, but straight to business. She'll write out some directions to a supply space behind one of the abandoned forges. ]

Well done. Meet me near the forges in an hour.

[allforthecause]

Nothing. No one's life is worth anything to him now.

I don't trust him to hold up his end of the deal. Nor should anyone. He doesn't care.

[northerndragon]

Not that they wouldn't if they had the chance -- some of them.

Watch their backs, but don't be so suspicious that they begin to treat friends as enemies.

If we accept his terms, he wins. If we fight each other, he wins. If we do neither of these things -- he may still win. But we do what we can, as much as we can, to make it hard for him.

text/action

[northerndragon]

I'll be there.

[And so he is, with a curious, tired expression on his face. He holds a small, folded packet of cloth. Dubiously clean, but there is only one hair within it, dark and bristly.]

What do you mean to do with this?

[northerndragon]

You have the right of it. These lords... I have heard that Anurr was not so much trouble as the others, and The Beastmaster... he had a sad tale. He was nothing much worse than a father who cared for his son enough to make a bad bargain.

I know little and less of Rathakku, but I've seen nothing to make me think that anyone here is worth more to him alive than dead. Dead is meat for his army.

[Jon is not projecting in the least. But gods, is this even a taste of what awaits him back at home, when he reaches Winterfell with Daenerys's armies?]

audio | un: off scarlet

[westviews]

Not a chance.

[downswing]

To ridicule.

As you have said: to humble.

[matermali]

[ Still in no mood for wasted inquiries, especially given the stresses of recent events unleashed throughout the citadel, she doesn't respond immediately. Her gaze carries no softness, and she keeps her hand outstretched with a misleading patience.

Vanessa's voice rasps softly, scratching the space between them. ]

What do you think I mean to do?

[reparo]

It's about as much as we can do at every turn. Save as many lives as we can, and refuse to give into the demands of an evil villain who rules over the undead.

I've been here before, and I agree with you - if we give into his demands now, he will make worse demands when he wins.

[northerndragon]

Good.

We haven't spoken before. How much of this place have you seen?

[westviews]

I'm Wanda.

I've seen a lot, above ground. I've been on the towers for the most part since we arrived.

un: ut malum pluvia | audio

[somebadnews]

[ This would be a time when the math should seem easy. Sacrifice ten to save the world. Unfortunately, their group is too powerful to trust in the hands of a death lord. ]

...He must think a lot of us if he's willing to negotiate. How long did he give you to decide?