A word on charity
Blades!
Oft have I heard various of this mighty band
Bemoan my magnanimity as regards the party's gold;
But hear first, my purposes ere you roll your eyes!
For although a genuine love of the commonfolk is at the heart of the matter
There is also another purpose....
It is known to us all that we face a faceless peril in Demoraz
Of which we have seen yet only lowly agents:
Driders, orcs, and the like.
But we must not let our recent successes lull us into complacency
For I deem that the unknown evil has yet to put forth the main part of its strength;
In time, we may need an army to assist us in our struggle;
And the young men of Esirup are valiant and strong;
With Mighty General Hetti at their lead,
And with the valorous Trueheart Grimbergen lighting the way with his terrible sword,
Could any withstand?
With our gold, given generously to benefit the needy,
We win much love from the townsfolk;
Therefore, I ask of each of you
That you consider this when next you think on how to dispose of the gold that may fall into your hands....
The love of the people is a treasure indeed!
I remain your humble servant.
The bard bows.
Polradia responds
Aye bard but the decision should be each of ours to make as we see fit. For to take away the ability of each of us to choose is to take away our own freedom.
And it was for the right to decide for herself that Pol spoke up for. And once given that freedom of choice, she did in fact give Malcolm 10% of her earings. But the right to choose is a precious thing, to me.
Maglor speaks again
How is't the woman can still misunderstand?
Nay, let it rest. Maglor himself will raise an army.....but to Maglor will it owe its alleigance.
"Indeed Maglor, charity is to be commended...
I have here my share, and a voluntary offering from Lady Pol as well.
Maglor, the charity of yourself and our wonderful group is a great start. But there is even more we can do.
We must help these people, our people, meet their basic needs, as this group's great charity has oft done.
And I do believe someday the people will be called upon to fight for themselves. And to prepare, we must provide leadership and training.
I do urge caution on how we provide charity tho. Charity alone will not make a man risk his life for your cause. For that to succeed, he must make your cause his own.
We need to give these people, our people, something they will fight for. That will take coin, there is no doubt! But we must give them more.
Give them shelter for their families, medicine for their children &?viewsection=151; give them the belief that there is a greater purpose to life than surviving. And give them the hope for a better tomorrow! We must teach them how to fight for it, and keep it.
This is our fight, but it is their fight too. They need to be shown the truth of this.
And that is where we can have the most influence. That I believe is our true task."
Malcolm bows his head in silent prayer...
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