IC Inbox

[greatcleavage]

Look! It's an IC inbox! I SURRENDER! I'VE MADE ONE!

...contact Roy here!

Comments

[a_noble_flame]

[Oh pish posh, Roy, it's definitely good. You don't want a mild lecturing from Alice?]

Did you tell her exactly what we were going out for? I mean beyond finding a Cockafreeze.

[greatcleavage]

Did I specifically tell her we were going to find it and kill it? No. Not in so many words.

You probably think that's unnecessarily cruel... and maybe you're right. But I thought it was better she understand, really understand, what she had asked to get into.

[a_noble_flame]

[She's ready to say something but he's already said it for her really.]

I would agree that there is nothing quite like an actual fight to impress the realities of fighting to a person.

[The sadness Maya had displayed hit far too close to home. And it was the image of a very large man with a very soft heart that compelled her to speak.]

And there is also readying them for it. Some people, no matter how much they wish to fight, will never be able to wield a weapon. Their hearts won't permit them to. There is nothing wrong in that and we that can protect those people.

[greatcleavage]

I know.

[There's a moment of silence, there.]

She asked to learn. She went farther than I thought she would, in all honesty. And that is something she had to experience.. had to decide for herself. I couldn't make that choice for her.

[a_noble_flame]

You're correct. If she does choose to continue though, it's something she has to learn to overcome with her own strength as well.

[Alice nods to herself.]

I was just concerned that she went into this with little knowledge of the possible outcome or that it wasn't impressed on her enough. She seemed very adverse to the idea.

[A slight pause.]

... Not that I expect anyone to be eager.

[greatcleavage]

Weren't you eager, when you first had your chance to take up a weapon and go on an adventure? I have to admit that I was, although I ended up regretting it not because of what I had to do to foes, but how I had to deal with the allies that were allegedly on my side. So different matter entirely.

[a_noble_flame]

Well for the adventure, yes. Not for the harm I had to do others though.

... I certainly was naive though.

[greatcleavage]

Well. Then you understand why I did that. So she could see it first-hand.

I've been trying my very best not to go too easy on her from the very beginning. It's hard when I have to admit I'm not entirely objective here. But I think I did the right thing.

[a_noble_flame]

I do understand why but it may be better to give them some warning next time.

[It's just advice she feels needs to be said. Her tone of voice is very matter of fact about it.]

[greatcleavage]

I understand what you're saying. I just don't think, "we may have to kill this creature in less than pleasant circumstances" is going to really work. You and I know what it means, but to someone with no experience, it's just words.

I might have been wrong. I think I did the right thing. But it was going to hit her hard, no matter what. Maybe there is no real right answer.

[a_noble_flame]

Perhaps not. We can always learn from past situations to do better in future ones however.

[greatcleavage]

Yeah, though if another situation quite like this one shows up again I'll be shocked as hell.

[a_noble_flame]

If she intends to keep practicing, I would say this sort of situation will show up many times over. The best training really is in the field after all.

[greatcleavage]

Oh, well, there'll never be one quite like this. Not the first time you have to face the fact that your chosen path involved ending life.

[a_noble_flame]

That's true. It isn't much easier no matter how many times you do face it though.

[greatcleavage]

I'll admit I'm not entirely certain I agree. I know my lines, my convictions, and my morals. I don't particularly like the prospect of killing in general, but I'm usually pretty confident that I'm only killing things that need to be killed according to the standards of my alignment.

Then again, there's a lot more moral clarity in killing demons, the undead, and so forth than humans. So I have that fortune.

[a_noble_flame]

... The undead.

[Demons? No, wait, she wants clarification on the undead thing first.]

[greatcleavage]

Corpses animated by necromantic magic. The worst of them are malevolently intelligent and oftentimes extremely powerful.

[a_noble_flame]

That's... barbaric.

[To say the least.]

[greatcleavage]

It certainly can't ever be described as 'Good', that's for certain. There is very little moral ambiguity in cutting down an animated corpse or skeleton.

[a_noble_flame]

I would say so. You haven't seen anything like that here, have you?

[greatcleavage]

Oh, absolutely. It happens relatively frequently, actually, because of emotional effects rather than deliberate dark magic.

1/2

[a_noble_flame]

... I never realized--

[Somehow this is a shock to her system and amazingly abhorrent to her at the same time.]

[a_noble_flame]

It only makes sense though. Emotions are such powerful things here.

[She's been naive so far. Incredibly naive. This never occurred to her and there's a pang of remembrance in the feeling of guilt.]

[greatcleavage]

If it helps, I haven't seen any of the truly powerful undead here. No wights... or vampires, or liches... [Both those two words hold a massive weight of entangled emotion that comes and goes like two brief flares of heat so intense it's solid.]