OOC: this is really going south. After this encounter we are likely to have do do significant work using the grogs to smooth things up, probably trying to gain the non-elders to our side, since elders seem a lost cause thanks to the Gift.
Quercus frowns. This is not going well. Maybe it is time to just stamp the problem down. Bad neighbours are a real hindrance, but he does not see how he can make this look nice to them anymore. Time for some Realpolitik, he guesses. More blunt, but maybe the Gift can actually help here. They will not like it but maybe the message will enter more easily this time. he adopts a more raised and serious posture.
Forgive me, elders, but maybe we should point out that you might not have the power to prohibit us from settling here since we already have permission to do that by the lord of the island. You might not like him, but he certainly administers the whole island, including the plateau. We want to be good neighbours and want to provide compensation for your limited loss of pastures and make your life better if we can; we like to be good neighbours, but we want to stay by the tree and we will. We will try to make the least impact on your daily life and economy as possible, and we were in fact expecting to help you here, but we are staying like it or not. That is out of the question.
Now, if we can start again, maybe you can tell us what we can do to make our presence less of a hindrance for you and how we can provide services and goods that your community would like to have. As we have said, we can provide quite some stuff, like very cheap wood, better storage and preservation possibilities and access to medicines and medical care, but since we do not know what you need we are making offers without knowing your needs. Our improved land management techniques might even cause an increase in the quality of the grass in all the plateau, but it remains to be seen if we can really achieve that since right now it is only a theory.
As said: we are settling by the tree. We want to help you and compensate you, offering products, improvements and job opportunities. We can do that. We hope you can see the profits in this and how it can improve your lot in life. I would not pass such an opportunity, but it is up to you to do or not do that.
Quercus prepares to just leave if the elders continue to be antagonistic since he has already said all he can say.
The elder who asked the question opens his mouth to reply, but closes it without speaking when he catches the dirty look and quick hand motion from the main spokesman. Who, after sustaining the look for a few moments, turns back to you.
“You may have ‘permission’ from the Dane... lord,” he says in a honeyed tone that shows very little respect for the title, “but life here can be difficult and hazardous. Without our forbearance and help, your life may prove less pleasant than you would wish for.” He raises a bushy eyebrow and lets the unspoken implications sink in before continuing in a more normal tone.
“Give us some time to discuss this amongst ourselves. There may be... accommodations... that can be reached to make cohabitation between us possible.” He nods towards the door, “Come back tomorrow, if you will, or send your woman. We will let you know the conditions we believe could make this possible.”
Fresse sees the magi leave the house. He grimaces. By their faces it is fairly clear this did not go so well. Not surprising considering what a bunch of social impaired jackasses magi are. He falls in line with his cousin, but seeing how storm clouds gather in his brow he decides to say nothing. It seems that they will be experiencing the case of that Fenheld chapter house again... Damn, it was difficult to get ale nearby, he thinks.
((Do you wish to have the magi discuss the meeting amongst themselves before I move on to the next scene? At a minimum, there should be a decision on whether to send Dietlinde the next day, or for the magi to go back themselves.))
Seems our Gift has proven not to be such a thing when dealing with mundanes once again. Yes, sending a grog or two as representatives instead of ourselves seems a good idea.
((After spending some time reflecting on the meeting and discussing it amongst yourselves, your impressions are wildly different -- based on Folk Ken rolls that I just made. I'll send you your impressions by private message and let you decide how to play them. ))
"They didn't seem to like the Danish Lord that's for sure. That we may try to use to our advantage later. On the other hand they seem to be highly suspicious against everyone not of their own kind. Even the people down below are looked upon with some aversion." Japik says when they discuss the meeting in private afterwards.
"What did you make of that woman spinning all through the talks? Did she even listen to us or could she be more than she looks to be?"
Well, this was quite bad, but not as bad as how it started! in the end I think we managed to pull something out of there. Quercus grins wolfishly. They certainly do not like us, Gifted beings, but nothing to worry about. The bout of aggression by that old chap in the end weakened their position since it was made obvious that they can make our lives difficult, but they cannot prevent us from settling there altogether. Since they can't do that their negotiation position is about what kind of settlement we reach with them, not about IF we get a settlement. They do not like foreigners like us settling there, but they have admitted that they need to accommodate us somehow. At least for the time being. And I trust our combined skills to be good enough that they will not want us to leave once they see what we can really offer them.
And they do not like us, but they certainly appreciate dus coming ourselves instead of sending intermediaries in my opinion. So cheer up! Those are tough negotiators, and more skilled at it than ourselves but we came up fairly well from this encounter. I doubt they will make good grogs in the short term, but they can certainly be counted upon in the future if we offer them good deals when negotiating with us in the next few months. it will cost us effort, but I trust we can win them over.
It is now late afternoon as the trio of magi, with their grogs, make their way back to the stairs. They are met there by Pytheas, who inquires about the results of the meeting. The others fill him in quickly, and then resume their discussion about how they should proceed from there.
I suspect we won't get their help for constructing the covenant. We may have to recruit downstairs. No matter. What instructions should we give Dietlinde for tomorrow?
We can send a delegation of 2 or 3 grogs, even if Dietlinde is still our best speaker and front woman. She is better at getting what she wants out of mundanes than we are, but I would say that she needs to listen to what the mundanes want. We need to give clear instructions about the fact that we are settling down, and the kind of easy resources we can provide: cheap products and services like wood and health features, or good (and high) ol' silver payments for their services. Besides that I would not instruct her much. She already knows us, and even if she is less than educated sometimes she seems to get away getting what she wants. And she knows what we want from her.
"I don't think it went that bad. Some of them were acting a little strangely but I can understand them. Alright we need to push them a little and force ourselves upon them since they would prefer not having us here at all. But when we have established ourselves and shown them the benefits of having us around they will not wish us to go away." Japik laughs.
"Send Dietlinde, and Fresse for that matter. They can speak for us better than we do. I agree with you there, Quercus"
I guess we wait and see how the grogs do tomorrow. In the meantime, did you find anything in your last stroll through the bogs you have been exploring this morning? They had a nice circular firm, so the focus should be fairly clear and I trust you have found it. [Arthur, hit hint nudge nudge]
"I'm afraid the area is quite boggy and marshy," Pytheas replies. "Solid ground, I can manage. Water, I can deal with even better. But that awful in-between state is another thing. I looked around the edges, but didn't find anything useful, I'm afraid."
))