Newsgroups: alt.pub.dragons-inn From: arsmith@lamar.ColoState.EDU (Alan Smith) Subject: [NTY] Negotiation Message-ID: Date: Mon, 23 Aug 1993 04:25:09 GMT References: <2594umINNmqh@news.gac.edu> "I'm not saying it isn't unfortunate, I'm saying that's the way things are." Palandun said. It was the last night of the ceremony, and the negotiations would start the next day. He and the Il-Shar were parked on a rock, doing something Palandun never expected to be doing with the leader of a barbarian horde...staring at the stars. The two of them were discussing the Rameshander ambassador, and the Il-Shar's low opinion of him. "But to have to deal with many more people like him..." "If you want to be the ruler of Parahan, that's the price you pay." "You're not like him." "I'm more like him than I am like you, besides, I'm a biologist by profession. This is more like a hobby." "What is a biologist, a type of warrior?" "Heck no. Biologists study all the living things, the mushrooms, the plants, pack animals, worms, and rats. I'm specializing in rats right now." This was a deliberate bait to expand on his theories about rat populations, but the Il-Shar didn't take it. "Then how do you have a warrior's skill?" "Where I come from we don't have a ruler, instead certain people get together and decide what the country should do. However, we can't have the country run by the greedy, or the dishonest, or the immoral, so what we do is we make everybody qualify for citizenship- that's the right to be a ruler- by a series of tests and interviews, then everybody who actually becomes a citizen must sacrifice some of his time and energy keeping the government running. I wound up in the army." "Ah, how many great battles did you fight?" "None, they were mostly horrible battles. I had a pretty good battle once, but it was more of a skirmish, really. That's another thing about the differences between your people and mine, or the Ramshanders, for that matter: you consider battle a glorious exercise, while we consider it a gory waste of human life." "Then both your tribes must fall." "Don't you get it? My people have better things to *do*, maintain a garden, make a cask, play with their children, knit a boat, stuff like that. Why go through the pain and stress of a war when there's all kinds of people who love you and much more fun things to do at home?" "For Honor, Glory-" "Fuck honor and glory! I got plenty of that in the last two orc wars, not to mention your tent. You know something, it only helped once? I also lost more good friends than I'd care to think about." "If you hate fighting so much, then why did you fight?" "The consequences of not fighting were worse than the consequenses of fighting." "Will this ambassador think the same way?" "No, he'll fight if he can get a better deal that way. He doesn't personally have to fight, and as a rule monarchies aren't that concerned about the well- being of their armies." "But he would prefer not to fight." "I wouldn't say that. I can't tell." At noon the next day, the three delegates met in Palandun's tent. he had three cusions set up, one on each side of the one he was sitting on. Palandun spoke formal greetings, bade them to sit, and pronounced the rules: each side would state what it wanted and was willing to give, taking turns. It took all day, but finally they hammered out a treaty: RESOLVED: That this day, the third of Zepek, second year of the Shaheran Akal-ab-Talok, We, the Royal Shaheranate of Rameshan and the Il-Shar of the people of C'har do agree, in the interests of peace between our peoples, on this treaty for the disposal of the land of Parahan. AGREEMENT THE FIRST: The land of Parahan shall be divided along a line running from the coast of the Gulf to the southern end of Parahan, aligned from the north pole of nexus to the south pole of nexus, situated exactly halfway between the easternmost point in Parahan and the westernmost point in Parahan. AGREEMENT THE SECOND: The Il-Shar and people of C'har shall have total control over all lands in Parahan east of the aforementioned dividing line, with power to impose and repeal laws, levy and lift taxes, and all other things without obligation to any person or persons save where mentioned below in this document. AGREEMENT THE THIRD: The Shaheran of Rameshan shall control all territory in Parahan west of the aforementioned dividing line, with power to impose and repeal laws, levy and lift taxes, and all other things without obligation to any person or persons save where mentioned below in this document. AGREEMENT THE FOURTH: All military forces of both sides agree to repair to their own territories, along with any civilians the governing body or its designates shall decree. AGREEMENT THE FIFTH: Caravans, Convoys and merchants travelling along the Silk road to the distant lands of Cathay, Etrus'ta, and suchlike may pass through all of Parahan without paying any tribute, and both governments agree to garentee it's safety. [This clause was surprisingly easy, the Il-Shar mentioning something about there being no honor in killing a wine-seller] AGREEMENT THE SIXTH: All settled agriculture in the territory of the people of C'har shall cease immediately. TO these agreements we hearby pledge our eternal devotion and fidelity: X (The Il-Shar) Altala-ab-Kayuk, Ambassador of Rameshan Witnessed by Palandun Lintesul, Ambassador of Bismania and mediator. Palandun included one of his copies in his report to Bismania, along with his comments: It is my opinion that the Treaty of Parahan, by forcing the deposition of a large number of people and making no provision for it's enforcement, is unstable. I severely doubt that all barbarian tribes will remove themselves to their own territory, or that the Silk Road will retain it's integrity for any great length of time. I expect that a treachery by the Rameshanders, though, will be the real or imagined cause of the forthcoming Rameshan- Barbarian war. Travellers are advised to avoid the area. Impact: A breakdown of this treaty may impact merchants who traffick in goods from the Silk Road. Otherwise, there will be no effect on bismanian business, aside from a change in the maps.