An unheard of opportunity

#1

Junior Inquisitor Barov was quite nervous, he had been sent on a very secretive assignment, one that probably end with his death. He was a young inquisitor and knew that climbing up the ranks would be difficult without something impressive under his belt, which is why he agreed to this mission.

He clutched the bow in his hands tightly as he approached the boarders of Brez, he had already fired out several of these arrows with the message tied to them into known Goblin tribe territories, this would be the last one. He fired the shot then retreated without bothering to find out if it landed in the right place. He headed to the meeting place and secretly hoped that no one would show up, he would stay for a few days, if no one showed up he could go home safe and sound.

Any Olgog who happened across one of the message arrows would read this

Greetings Goblin tribes of the Goblin Lands, there has been much fighting between the blessed servants of God and you who serve the great enemy. Many thousands of years of death and destruction. Perhaps there is a better way. I am Junior Inquisitor Barov, I am here on behalf of influential citizens of the blessed lands of Dunesphere and am authorized to begin negotiations for possibilities of peace. There are so many threats to these lands, do we really need open war here and now? You are gathering your infernal armies, we are gathering our divine armies, when we clash many will die but no one will truly win. Please, if you wish to try to stop this war please meet me in the following place. (directions to the meeting place are given)

Signed
Junior Inquisitor Barov

All Olgog tribes are allowed to post here as many many message arrows were shot out in various areas. The meeting place is in the territory of Unen though.

#2

Having proven himself capable to operate on his own, NAmeless Finality had volunteered to go see if these eathers were for real or if it was a trap. Better a Dead be lost than one of the fragile lives.

Carefully approaching the metting place, he looked for any signs of the contact. if he sees nothing, he will take the chance and enter. he will make sure that he is always in reach of a shadow to escape if neccesary. then he will sit down and wait for up to 5 days before returning to check on the Dead he left at the mine.

#3

Junior Inquisitor Barov was tending a small fire, he was currently cooking several small lizards no more then a couple of bites in size.

He looked up and seemed slightly startled, the look shifted several times, with a second of revultion before it faded back to a hint of fear. His hand fell to a revolver but didn’t draw it.

"Umm, hello? I must admit I doubted any Goblins would show up, much less an undead one. I guess you won’t be interested in a bite to eat. So if you want we can begin, what exactly does an undead Goblin want from the nation of Dunesphere?

#4

“We would like for you earthers to return to your city and the areas around it. And to stop invading and slaughting the innocents. You say that you ae doing the work of your god, but yours is a young race. there are ancient demons that feed on the pain and suffering of wars. All you do with your religious attacks is strengthen these beings. i bring a messaage for my leader. He will attempt to stop the other tribes from outright warfare against your people. Alas he leads but a small group and other groups of the ‘undead’ want nothing more than to slaughter all of the living to feed the Ancient Evils they worship. I may be undead but I have found a new purpose. I serve one who would see the endless conflicts stop and wishes for peace to return to these lands. But that can not happen so long as your ‘Paladins’ continue to pursue their crusade of hatred. We have seen how they cut down and torture all who disagree with them in even the smallest thing.”

Sitting down across the fire, Nameless continued “I ma called Nameless Finality. i serve in Unit 817 of the Dead, also known as ‘the Shield of the Redeemer’. And so now I turn your question on it’s head and ask you what does the ‘influential citizens of the blessed lands of Dunesphere’ want in these blasted lands that we have been driven into?”

#5

Barov listened intently wide eyed with facination, “Amazing, so you Goblins understand the concept of Satan, amazing!” This trip was already a facinating glimpse into the minds of the Goblins, if he managed to survive this mission and not get crucified this could be his ticket to the top!

"So you are saying that Satan and his demons feed on the fighting, this is only partially true. The beings who dwel in hell can only feed upon the wicked of heart, the souls of the righerous ascend to heaven to be at God’s side. As it is written “Any man who persevear through the Devil’s temptation and maintainith God’s vigil is a blessing and shall have a place reserved at the Holy One’s side.”

Barov the considered the claim of how this creature’s leader had broken from the devil’s control, it hardly seemed possible. “You said that these other zombie goblin tribes still serve the Cursed One but your group does not? How did your tribe break free from his infernal clutches? Could what freed you free others?”
The idea was almost laughable, alien creatures not serving the Lord of Lies? Most likely this was an attempt of deception but it should be investigated all the same.

"Thes lands are troubled, they have muxh evil ingrained within them. As you have mentioned, there are other abominations who directly worship demons, but besides those there are also the reddish Goblins which wprship the demonic…what were they called again? Something with a Q or something.
there are also the Goblins who worship those rock creatures which I believe tend to eat human and Goblin alike. These are threats that if left alone would pose a threat to countless.

Should the Children of God rely on Goblins to stop these threats? How many Goblins directly serve those demons openly? How many serve them secretly? If we left, how long before you are all pressed into the service of one demon or another? Once that happens what would stop the tides of doom from washing over the world? These hidden cabals of evil must be cleansed by the holy wrath of the faithful or else this world will be consumed by the Devil’s minions."

#6

As the two spoke, a rather odd looking figure ambled up. He was clearly an olgog, around six feet tall with greenish skin. He appeared to have gone to great length to disguise himself as a local of Unen. A large, shapeless trench coat style jacket covered a dirty, ruffled white shirt. He wore ragged pantaloons, with tall, gangly boots more suited for a mountain trail than a ship’s deck. Atop his head was perched a crooked tricorn hat, and at his side, a somewhat battered looking cutlass. All in all, he succeeded in looking like he didn’t belong there. There was a swagger to his walk as he stepped, bow legged, up to the fire. He removed his hat, went through a large motion of dusting it off, then placed it back on his head. He squinted at Inquisitor Barov, as If noticing him for the first time. Then after a moment, said “Me name be Marok’tor, but ye can call me Jeff…most earthers do… I be here about this here note” he fumbles in a small, salt encrusted leather bag, then procures a wrinkled, slightly torn note, the same as was shot on the arrows. “I be…how you say, the speaker, for Ka’Rhug.” He sits near the fire, not waiting for a reply, nor does he give any other reason for being there.

#7

Once again the Inquisitor shifted a bit uncomfortably, with his hand never far away from his gun. He turned to his new…guest thing? Two of them now, at least this Goblin was alive…he thought, yeah, probably.

"So…Jeff…you speak for Ka…something or another, I assume that is a tribe of Goblins, or maybe not? Is it a demon lord or something? I am not familiar with infernal faiths, I am still young and haven’t gotten to those classes yet so forgive myincomplete knowledge of demonic lore.
Have a bit to eat. " Barov guestures to one of the cooked lizards, after a moment of nothing happening he picks one up and takes a bite out of one as if to show how. "I am no cook so their flavor leaves a bit to be desired but it is edible…mostly.

What can I do for you today, speaker Jeff of the Ka Goblins?"

#8

A scrawny olgog cautiously walks to up to the fire and eyes everyone present wearily.
“I’m Dreg. I’ve been sent by Uirk to see if this offer is real.” he waved a piece of rolled parchment vaguely in the inquisitors direction.

#9

Barov, nodded at the newest addition to this now growing meeting, obviously no coordination among the Goblins. Inquisitor Barov considered this and wasn’t too surprised, evil didn’t work well with anyone evil other evil. Looks like he would have to repet himself quite a bit before this ended.

“Welcome, all may join even dregs like yourself. This meeting is indeed real, come, speek, tell me your concerns and I will tell you ours, first let me catch you all up”

Junior Inquisitor Barov summerizes what he said before. (All previous info is now known to everyone present. Any new people who join will be told the same things when they arrive)

#10

Being that he had lived undercover in Unen for all of 3 weeks, Jeff liked to think that he was pretty good at ignoring such biased and racist remarks about his people. After, all, he had heard it all before, what was one more time to him? He shifted on the bench, succeeding in clattering his worn cutlass on the ground. Finally, he decided to stand, and straightened his jacket. He cleared his throat, creating an awkward silence before saying,

“Aye, I speak for Chieftain Kolgol, he says he’s sorry he cant be 'ere right now, but I’m the closest…er, member in the area. He wants me to tell you that although we’ve had some bad times in the past, you know with the whole Bartsport incident”. He chuckles, then becomes aware that he is doing a poor job of maintaining a diplomatic demeanor, he assumes a somewhat serious face. “Aye, and uh, we would like to extend the hand of friendship to our…neighbors…the Church of One. I think we may be able to work something out, maybe a trade agreement? That’d certainly spice things up”. He smiles again, thinking of his favorite vintages of alcohol, which sadly were not produced nor bought by Ka’Rhug.

He nods briefly at the next representative, seizes a cooked lizard, and returns to his seat. Out of respect, he does his best to gnaw the lizard quietly.

#11

Junior Inquisitor Barov makes an annoyed face, “Yes, I figure that the deaths of so many defenseless women and children would amuse you.” Barov’s expression turns a bit sly, “as for trade, that is possible, we have many fine Goblin fur coats, Goblin skull goblets, fresh Goblin steaks that we would be happy to trade.”

#12

Jeff’s eyes widen at the comment, and his hand twitches, dropping his lizard. He seems to pause for a moment and looks at the hilt of his blade, then takes a deep breath and leans back. After recollecting himself, he kicks the half eaten lizard away, scowling. “You would know about that wouldn’t you human? At least we do not walk about in the skins of our enemies. We honor the fallen of our foes, committing them to the fires of Ka’Rhug as brave warriors. You claim we are the monsters? If you truly wish peace, then I would ask that you do not raise yourselves above us you arrogant…” He stops again, then, resuming his accent “Aye mate, I’ll forgive ye that one, but spit on me people again and I’ll gut you like the spineless fish ye are.”

#13

Junior Inquisitor Barov had a bitter expression on his face, “Honor? I am sure the citizens of Bartsport felt a lot of honor as they were slaughtered without warning, also threats at a diplomatic meeting? Truly I am the savage amonst men.
You first chuckle at the thought of thousands of deaths caused by your people then bring up trade. I simply informed you of the items we have available. Also, what greater honor for the bodies of your enemies then to be put to good use?”

Barov sighed, this was as he feared, hypocrites who only see themselves as victims therefore justifying anything that they do while comdemning the actions of anyone else.

#14

Glaring, Jeff stood and stalked to the other side of the fire, sitting down a good distance from Barov. “This is not going as planned” he thought. He should have kept his temper in check, and he couldn’t let Kolgol down. He decided to simply keep his quiet for now, and cool off to let the others speak their part. Hopefully someone else might be able to reason with this pugnacious human.

He takes out a small knife and begins taking his anger out on a small piece of wood that lay nearby.

#15

When the arrow had landed by the K’iorn Nngao, Urog had been miffed. Granted, the K’iorn had seen it coming, and had known that an Earther had shot it and several others, but it didn’t make him any less miffed. Vektor had just returned to report on the mines of Hob’tor when Goblin King Urog got the message. He sent Vektor immediately, knowing full well that it required a ‘diplomatic’ touch.

Vektor had travelled quite a distance. As he walked to the group, he saw one of his fellow Olgogs grab a knife and look at the Earther hatefully. He immediately took a spear and charged the Earther. As the Earther had not seen him, the Earther was caught completely by surprise. The spear ran the Earther straight through. The Earther spewed blood from his mouth, screaming vilely as he twitched on the floor. Vektor and the other gogs laughed at the Earther’s plight.

It took less than a moment for Vektor to imagine killing the Eather where he stood. However, killing the Earther wouldn’t solve anything… not today at least. As he approached the group, he non-verbally greeted everyone already gathered. “I am the Goblin King Vektor, servant to The Goblin King Urog. We are the Gang of the Uf Mag’og.” He threw the note on the ground before the junior inquisitor. “Goblins is not the name of our peoples. We are not goblin tribes. If you’re serious about ending war, start by addressing us properly. We are the Olgog.”

He looked around and saw the tension. Too bad Vektor had no idea if what he said diffused the situation or not.

#16

Shaking his head, Nameless glanced at the group before continuing. “Inquistor, I was not present at incident at Bartsport, but i have heard of it. A member of my unit was there. His report was that it was supposed to be a raid, but due to miscomunication it was turned into an atrocity. The scout who was there left when the raid turned to a massacre. He wanted nothing to do with slaughtering innocents. Honestly our people have no reason to kill innocents, your paladins are more than willing to fight us and die. that is honorable so we accept.”

#17

Tor’Lur had been the one to find the note. Knowing that this could be invaluable in negotiating with the Church of One, he showed it to “The Auf”, but cautioned that it could still be a trap. To the Tor’og’s dismay, his Chief assigned him to go to the meeting place, instead of one of the younger gogs. Tor’Lur had no particular love of earthers, and especially not the Church of One, but he greatly respected his Auf, and obeyed his wishes.

It took longer than Tor’Lur had anticipated to reach the camp, but as he and his horse neared it, he heard voices raise to near-shouts, and his keen ears picked up nearly every word. The situation seemed, as he’d expected, tense. However, since other Olgogs appeared to bee there, he made no attempt to remain hidden. In fact, he made certain that he was in plain sight of everyone as he dismounted his horse and secured his weapons to the loyal beast, entering the camp unarmed. He didn’t like it, but if he’d learned anything from his Auf, it was that threatening appearances were not the way to persue diplomatic solutions.

“Greetings. I am Tor’Lur of the Ol’Lur Tribe. And you are Inquisitor Barov, I presume? As I arrived I heard mention of Bartsport.” he said as he looked around at each of those gathered. “My Chieftan told me of the happenings at Bartsport. What happened was no laughing matter. I was told that they lost control of the Leyas, or as you call it magic. The storm was only intended as a ruse, and I saw it in my Auf’s eyes when he told me, that he deeply regrets the loss of life that day. I’m sure that given the chance, he would resurrect all that he could.” he nodded solemnly as he had been taught, to show compassion.

“In any case, we of the Ol’Lur are greatful for your offer of negotiations. Not many of either of our kinds would be so brave, and it solves the problem of contacting each other without being killed on sight. Clever.” Finally, Tor’Lur took a moment to sit down. “Now, in order to end the fighting between our peoples, we obviously must come to some sort of agreement. And I assume that you’ve come here ready with a proposal? I’m listening.”

#18

Barov, was a bit taken aback by how many were here now, guess he would go through them one at a time.
firstly Jeff, he was now assaulting a stick with aa knife, Barov supposed that if the Goblin couldn’t stab aa living creature anything would do.

Now on the next, “Goblin King Vektor, servant to Goblin King Urog. You are a Goblin King, but you are not a Goblin? Then who are your subject? Is there a different species here I am not aware of? As long as you are a Goblin king, you are a Goblin. Please pick one species name, it will make things far simplier.”

Barov turned back to the undead who arrived first. “I suppose that is something, a degree of honor. Apparently one needs to die, then free themselves from the devil’s grasp before one develops”

Onto the newest one “Tor’lur, it might surprise you but I understand. We are taught from a young age bout the dangers of demonic magic. Weilding is corrupts the soul and is wild, losing control of it is inevitable, it is a shame that so many had to die for it too be seen.” Barov’s expression turns dark "As for bringing them back, we would be pleased if you didn’t use your demonic magics upon our people alive or dead.

As for a proposal, I am mainly hear to speak to you as a first step toward bigger things. In the future a plan can be made to stop the violence. This is the first step, the opening of dialog."

#19

Was this Earther purposefully being dense, or was he trying to be offensive??

Vektor looked at Barov, “We’ve always been the Olgogs. If the choice in title confuses you, then let me simplify. Refer to me as a Cheiftan if it helps you understand. One day, maybe I will explain the irony of my title. Until then, spiting our existence by referring to us by a word that your people made-up does little to imbue faith in your peace offering.”

#20

Looking up as Vector answers, Jeff loses control of his knife and slices a deep rend in his thumb. Disgusted, he throws both stick and knife away. He awkwardly paces for a moment before saying, “Inquisitor Barov, forgive me for my earlier comment, I did not mean to offend you. I wish to create this peace as much as you do”. He then studies the man for a moment, as if judging his intentions, then sits down nearer to the fire and begins bandaging his thumb.