Quest Log: Suit Up!

[modforged]

Who: Dragon mages and dragonsworn.
What: You have been given a quest to infiltrate Sin'thalas and rescue your fellow dragonsworn. Also discussion of scrying orbs.
Where: The sanctums.
When: May 4th and ongoing for a week.
Warnings: Please PM the mods if needed.


Despite the chaos surrounding the disappearances of several Dragonsworn, your sanctum's dragon mage is trying to be calm about this. After a brief discussion behind the scenes with the others, he or she has returned.

"Gather 'round, I have some grave news. Several Dragonsworn have gone missing. We found them, but we are unable to rescue them by ourselves. It would look very bad if dragons were to attack a settlement. That is why we are asking you for help.

"Southeast of Suramar is a village named Sin'thalas. It is these elves who have taken and imprisoned the Dragonsworn. Whether you negotiate or use force to ensure the return of your brethren, it will not be easy. These elves are highly-trained and knowledgeable, far from the refugees you may have seen in the Retreat.

"In light of this, we have implemented a system to communicate over great distances." The dragon mage unveils a magical orb nearby, the perfect size for gazing. "This is a scrying orb. Approach it and think of Sin'thalas, and you will be seen and heard from the orb at that location. It also works in reverse. This should allow us to coordinate our movements depending on the flow of the situation.

"I urge you to think carefully about how best to retrieve your fellow Dragonsworn. You are yet a small force and highly outnumbered. We cannot afford to lose any of you."

[ooc: If characters want to use the orbs, lookingformore is now OPEN. Remember, orbs CANNOT connect from sanctum to sanctum!]

Comments

RED FLIGHT

[mortalforged]

[wilder]

[Zelos had a sinking feeling when Luke hadn't been anywhere to be found in the past while. Seems like that sinking feeling's been proved right. Elves doing this was a surprise though. He was expecting trouble from the demons, but not-]

Wait- seriously? Do we know why they snatched them up?

[guerriera]

[ There's a faint snort from a late arrival to the group, Carolina pushing back the grey burnoose she's taken to wearing over her armor back from her shoulders as she steps into the loose circle formed. She hasn't changed out her blue power armor yet, in spite of much side-eye from the native red dragonsworn; those brought here, much like she was, don't seem to care about the colour choice. ]

They want to see how we react.

What we do will likely reflect on the hostages.

[mortalforged]

Most likely. [He sighs quietly.] We are, after all, infringing on their territory. They are sending a message.

[wilder]

You think so? Talk about one risky test of character....

[You know, considering we have dragons on our side. What if we were psychopaths?? But he looks over at Krasus]

Are we now? [THATS NEW INFORMATION] Well, you're the native to this world- any idea what's the best way to approach these elves?

[guerriera]

Not for them. Just us. And by comparison, we're the 'lesser' threat. They took our people, which means they likely have some idea of our numbers.

[ Arms fold, and for a moment, Carolina closes her eyes, thinking. ]

Do we know the identities of all those taken?

[stormcalling]

[If the Light taught them one thing it was patience. A missing Vastania however was a very good way to break that patience. It's hard not to instantly snap at him, she's tempted to but she's trying to be level-headed.]

You haven't considered using your magic to attempt to bring them back, hm? No portals or tearing into anything?

[mortalforged]

They have magical wards against such things.

[Hah, if only it were so easy he could just portal them out of wherever.]

Antagonizing them further is not something I recommend, and using magic in such an open way would certainly heighten the aggression-- even if it were possible.

[stormcalling]

Yet you expect the lot of us to be able to handle them when the lot of you are unable to. You ask a lot of strangers.

[Even if she wants to be vindictive about it...sigh. The situation is more important then her frustrations.]

If they are so hostile as to take those who are clearly not part of this world you've put the rest of us in an awkward situation. A rescue, while possible, seems like it would give them even more incentive to strike out again. Am I wrong?

[mortalforged]

We have always asked a lot, but we will not abandon you. If this is truly beyond you then we will find a way.

[Even if you act vindictive and patronizing, you're still a Red.]

Speak to them first. In my years, words have gone a long way toward dismantling political problems.

[stormcalling]

[She'll stop being angry everything and be more Red. Eventually.]

My problem with the idea of speaking to them is that they are already willing to kidnap us. Not to mention if we approach with the desire to discuss their release, we have little to offer. Services we may have are likely all basic among them. The most we can offer is aid against the Legion which they may not take.

Re: RED FLIGHT

[skystrikes]

[Quinn has been listening to the others deliberate and fret over the kidnapped -- her nature tells her to quit the talking and head out of the sanctum Right This Second, but her heart tells her it would be unwise.

Especially if they were dealing with an army who took hostages. Still, she has some experience with reconnaissance, and it would be improper not to offer it. Thus, she stands off to the side in her new red and gold mishmoshed armor, arms folded with the giant blue eagle, Valor, scraping the ground for something to amuse himself with.]

I have a suggestion, if anyone wishes to hear it.

[She won't demand to be heard by anyone -- her voice is steady, if not mildly anxious. There were lives at stake after all.]

[wilder]

[He was trying to work his own mind around the situation, but he'll turn to look at the other human when she speaks]

Yeah? What is it?

[skystrikes]

[When Zelos acknowledges her, she straightens just a little.]

We don't really have any idea of what we're charging into. I can send Valor to scope out the city -- find out where they're holding everyone.

[Upon hearing his name, Valor quits his task and looks up between Quinn and Zelos, ruffling his wings in acknowledgement.]

We could use him to communicate with them too, but I wouldn't be comfortable with that risk until we were ready to make a move. It'd ruin our advantage.

[guerriera]

Having someone or something to survey the location would be beneficial.

[ She remembers Quinn from when she first arrived, though neither woman had had much reason to interact again there after. Until now. Carolina moves closer, arms dropping to remain at her sides, one fist propping against her hip. ]

How much information can he convey to you? [smart bird looks smart, but she's not sure he speaks people]

[skystrikes]

Enough.

[She does a good job of hiding her smirk -- she and Valor had a bond most other people didn't understand, but she is certain Valor will do the talking for her.

And sure enough, the eagle seems to recognize that Carolina is talking about him. He caws and waddles over to her, nudging her nearby hand with his head, simultaneously opening his beak in expectation.]

We're used to this kind of work.

[seesbosscrotch]

"The answer," Mar proclaimed at raidspeak volume, "is diplomacy!"

He raised a hand to forestall the inevitable complaints. "Hear me out! Our true enemy is the Burning Legion! If we attack Sin'thalas, we are only making another enemy out of them! We can't afford to do that without making an effort to reconcile with them! If diplomacy fails, we can always try a rescue by stealth or force, but we need to try to make friends before we make enemies!

"I'll volunteer to go talk to them directly," he continued, "because no one really minds if I get captured or killed for the efforts, and that'll be a good sign of their intent. However, we need to immediately get the other flights behind this plan! If they act, the Sin'thalas elves will most likely view their actions as speaking for all of us and condemn us all accordingly!"

[stormcalling]

Valamia had already considered the idea, not him being the one to talk though. Diplomacy did have it's benefits. "There's a inherit problem with that. If one enters a negotiation with hostiles with the belief they could be captured or killed, what good is their argument?" She took a second to try and consider how she wanted to word everything else. The idea was to do so carefully but repressed rage only helped.

"The belief of nothing to lose is not a good mindset when dealing with those who will take others without reasons." She crossed her arms over her chest and sighed. "Diplomacy has a place in the situation now but not from someone with such a mindset. Someone who is not so careful with their words will likely easily upset them. I will not see them doomed because someone can't watch their tongue." Because Vastania mattered far more to her then all of her anger, grudges and much else.

[wilder]

Zelos was also considering diplomacy first, since he knew the odds were very strongly against them fighting power wise. But Mar being their choice for a diplomat was definitely not something he thought was a good idea, though for reasons that didn't sound nearly as pretty as Valamia's. But he'll nod along.

"She's right. Besides, you're one of the only people from this crazy planet." Even the Draenei weren't native to this place, right? He's sure their knowledge was limited too. "If you get captured or killed, then us from other worlds won't have a clue about what's going on."

Okay sure...half of what Mar said didn't make sense anyway, but half a clue was better than none!

[seesbosscrotch]

Huh. That was much, much more civil than he expected.

"Nothing to lose? Oh, we have several things to lose -- the element of surprise being chief among them, and in the short term, that's something very valuable we're giving up if we need to rescue them later. We also risk the life or freedom of the diplomat, which is why I suggested I go." Like he'd said, who'd consider his loss a loss?

"We may have had our misunderstandings in the past," he continued, sketching her a short bow, "but I will not risk the lives of those they've taken through careless words or thoughtless gesture. I vow that on the strength of my arms, that carry my sword and my shield."

[stormcalling]

That was all a pretty little speech and the gesture was a nice touch. It didn't instill any faith in her. She didn't have any reason to trust his words and the bonds of the being the same flight wasn't near enough to make her consider it. "You are not a person to be a lead negotiator." That was about as clear with her intentions as she could be regarding that matter. "A person who is not placing proper value on their own life...is not a person I am willing to trust to lead talks with the freedom of the lives of the hostages."

She does have a problem however. She'd kept to herself and has no proof she'd be any better. Age helped but she couldn't deny part of her wanted to simply bust all of them out of there without talking. "What we need is the ability to do a few things. One, offer something they would want and two, help them realize that the Legion is not a force any singular race can stand against. We also need the ability to convince them not to take the actions of one flight and assume all others will act the same."

[bloodpainter]

"Um... I just thought of something." She wasn't the world's greatest diplomat, though she did have some skill in soothing tempers, so she'd kept quiet for most of the discussion. But there was one little detail that Nepeta thought no one else seemed to be addressing, or at least not addressing the right way. "The elves took people furrom all the flights, didn't they? Shouldn't we talk to the others and see if maybe we can work together to get them back? That would keep us furrom having to worry about what the other flights are going to do, too. And if we all come to them together we'll look stronger."

[mortalforged]

"Absolutely." Thank the Great Mother that someone had a head on their shoulders. "However, communicating with them might be difficult unless you meet up near Sin'thalas. I imagine that is where the other flights are going to be, considering the placement of the scrying orb."

[bloodpainter]

"And we won't have any idea what they're planning until we can talk to them..." That worried her. It worried her because she knew a great deal about what could happen when someone made a plan and launched into it too hurriedly and without consulting anyone, no matter how good (or not) their intentions were.

"Do you think I might be able to catch them all before they leave for the city if I go for the orb right away? I don't think it's a good idea to risk anyone doing something foolish befur we have a chance to decide on something together, and the elves shouldn't notice me coming in as long as I'm careful."

[skystrikes]

Quinn has reservations about bring a child along with her, but she also recognizes the value of spirit. She and her brother had done quite a lot at a young age, after all. So she wanders over to Krasus (taking care to offer him a polite bow of her head) and Nepeta, focusing on the latter while Valor waddles behind her.

"I am going to scout with Valor to see what we are up against inside the City," she replies gently. "Do you have anything to offer to help us?"