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A Gentlemen’s Agreement

A Gentlemen’s Agreement published on 9 Comments on A Gentlemen’s Agreement

Ask in what manner do they notarize their contracts. Is it a verbal agreement, or must something be signed?

Violet the Screeching Creature

Hold on. You don’t have nearly enough details to sign this contract, and surely there needs to be a notary or at least a third party witness. If this is a legal agreement, then legal procedure must be followed.

The beast’s tail whips from side to side. “Come now, mouse. You are an honest knight, are you not? And you know that I am an honest fox in an honest profession. We do not need to quibble over details or waste our time with solicitors. This is a gentlemen’s agreement! When we swear an oath, we do not break it.”

Ask for more information on the contract and say you need to check with your boss to make a deal.

Patrick

You scratch the back of your head and shuffle your feet. You would like to sign the contract, you say, but it’s not your deal to make. Blademaster Alex would be furious if you signed a contract on his behalf.

“Alex? Ah, your commanding officer. It’s true that our seniors can sometimes be stubborn to reason. But you are a convincing mouse. And I am sure that, once you give him this, he will be much more understanding.”

The vulpes reaches behind a nearby bush and tosses a gold-plumed, red hat at your feet. You pick it up gingerly. You feel a swirling mess of emotions, a bitter cocktail of relief and anger and helplessness.

You mutter a “thank you”.

Hurriedly agree with whatever the vulpes says so you can escape this encounter unscathed!

Cal

You reluctantly agree to the terms of the vulpes’s contract. You say that you will return home with the knights immediately. You add that you aren’t sure if this hat will be enough to appease Alex, but you’ll do your best to convince him.

“See that you do,” says the vulpes. “The contract has been sealed. You are free to go.”

You walk backwards slowly, refusing to break eye contact with the beast. Only once you’ve left the vulpes’s line of sight do you turn and run, scrambling through undergrowth and brushwood, over rocks and under hedges, until eventually you find yourself back in the clearing outside Solhill.

There’s nobody here. The group must have started their investigation without you.

The air hangs still and silent. You take the opportunity to dust off your clothes and wipe off your sweat. You take a deep breath. You ought to form a strategy before you venture into Solhill. Will you tell your comrades about the contract? Will you try to convince Alex to go home or to stay put?

What will you tell the group?

9 Comments

Tell them everything. You encountered a titan who confessed to killing shrews, he’s trying to justify it with talk of some contract, and that more are in danger. Surely they’ll be impressed that you’ve found out so much!

Why are you so hung up about this contract? This titan is eating people. You don’t need to honor deals with an admitted murderer. Tell them what happened. Also tell them that the titan claims that it will be back in the night to feed again. Come up with a plan with your comrades together.

Be honest. You met a titan that admitted he is eating the shrews and claims he has a legal agreement allowing him to do so. You agreed to take the knights and leave so that you could escape alive with hat intact. Do not deviate from the truth. Do not leave out the important details.

Tell the full truth, followed up by a plan.

The contract is only good for today, by the titan’s own admission. Have all of the residents shelter deep where they cannot be reached for a full lock down. No one goes outside. Return home for the night and as soon as dawn strikes, return with a full force to take down the titan.

Tell them everything, including the agreement. We’re not here to fight a titan ourselves, but should prioritize getting the truth back home so they can send a force properly sized to handle it.

Our mission is only investigation and reconnaissance. We’re here to find out why the shrews were disappearing, and hey, mission accomplished. Now we just need to get out with our lives. The faster we get home, the fewer shrews will disappear down that vulpes’s gullet.

Be prepared for Alex to have different opinions after telling the story, though. Are deals with titans like this considered crimes of themselves?