Sunrise: 0350Sunset: 2020
- No Greyhawk Events today
Tempers flare on the Plain [1 Jun 1211]
It’s early in the evening, when Nyra approaches Tar and tells him that Ballanuvial has told her that there is an evil presence in the forest near the river. They bear us ill will. He asks her if our path will cross theirs and she tells him that it probably won’t. He thanks her and mentions it to Firena. Firena then approaches Dreune and asks what he has arranged to deal with the situation.
Dreune:
Well, there are a lot of things to be considered. Many preporations are in order. Ah, who brought this issue to your attention?
Firena:
Tar.
Dreune:
Rest assured that the situation will be handeled in the best way possible. You will be updated frquently. I will speak to my
subordinates in a minute and we will decide the best course of action. Is there anything else that you needed?
Firena:
At this time, no. We’ll want a full rundown at the Command Staff brief tomorrow morning.
Dreune:
Excelent! Well, I must be off then. Tell you about it later.
Dreune moves as quickly as possible away from Firena towards Nyra. Firena watches him go and then heads back to Tar to inform him that
Dreune has no idea what is going on, which means that Nyra circumvented him in the communications process. He’ll be updating the
Command Staff in the morning.
Tar smiles:
I’ll be gla’ do see whad he has do say!
Firena very nearly smiles, but manages to refrain.
Dreune (steaming) goes up to Nyra:
Nyra dear. Is there something I should know about?
Nyra:
No, not really.
Dreune:
Well, you see, Firena just walked up to me and asked me how we are going to deal with this situation. I don’t mean to single you out, and when I say that I mean I do, but I can assume that the only person who would willings sabotage me is you. I’ll ask again…would you like to tell me what’s going on? I’d like to be able to tell Tar something tomorrow morning.
Nyra smiles very disturbingly:
Look, Dreune, if I wanted to..um…sabotage you, is that what you said? Yea, sabotage you I would do so such that you didn’t walk away from it. I don’t think enough of you to sabotage you. I don’t think enough of you to even attack you. Now, go away and play your little army games.
Dreune (boiling with rage):
NYRA! Why are you doing this to me? I have not stopped telling Tar of your great efforts on the battle field. He knows, daily, how blessed he is to have you and Morven in the group with him. I know I am blessed to have you in the group with
us, but yet you continually refuse to work with me. Always you are working against me. I am not in the mood for your shit attitude. Tell me what’s going on.
Nyra:
You insolent little pig! I have not worked against you. I’ve already told you that i don’t think of you enough to plot against you. I have no use for you, that is true. If you don’t like it, then bugger off!
Dreune (throws his hands in the air):
I’ve had it. Now I understand why you were an incapable archery Sergeant. You can’t work with anyone! Not a sinlge person.
With that Dreune walks away; heading toward Firena. Nyra goes back to what she was doing.
Dreune:
Firena, may I speak with you about something.
Firena:
Of course. I assume it is about Nyra.
Dreune:
Actually, it is about Nyra. You see, the bloom of her ugliness is going off.
Firena:
Tell me.
Dreune:
You see, I have no clue what’s going on. You do, and Tar does. But I am left in the dark. Nyra won’t tell me because she has no use for me. After repeated attempts of kindness and small talk, I am lost. There is simply nothing that I can do to work with her. She has to decide to work with me, however, that is a decision that I don’t think she will make on her own. I have never come closer to hitting a woman than I have just now.
Firena:
If it’s any comfort, and I doubt it is, it isn’t you. Well, it is you, but not because of who you are, but rather because of what you are. You’re a man. Nyra doesn’t get along well with men. I thought, naively perhaps, that her issue was limited to younger men – men who may have only been interested in her for … well, for less than professional reasons. For that reason, I thought she would be more amenable to working with you. I may have been mistaken. Her problem may go deeper than that. I shall have to give this some thought. Thank you for bringing this to my attention.
Dreune:
Well, there is something else. Right now I have to deal with the cards that I have. But once this mission is complete, perhaps I could get a new hand? See, I have an ace, but it is no use to me.
Firena:
I don’t play cards, but I think I understand your analogy. I’ll speak with Tar. This may not be a problem we can fix. On the other hand, it may be fixable. Give us a chance.
Dreune:
I will wait as patiently as I can. By the way, what is the almighty situaiton that I can’t handle?
Firena:
To be honest, I’m not sure. Apparently Nyra didn’t tell Tar, so he couldn’t tell me. I just wanted to know whether she had informed you. Apparently, she didn’t. Whatever it is, it is obviously nothing major, or she would have shared that up front.
Dreune:
I suppose. By the way, if I am late for the staff meeting it’s because she has driven me to kill myself. Maybe tonight…maybe the next altercation that she causes. Who knows. I just thought you’d like to know in advance.
Firena:
Don’t be late.
Dreune:
Well, I’ll be there in spirit anyway. Thank you for looking into this situation. I have full faith in you.
Firena:
Thank you.
With that Dreune takes off and trys to mediate. When that doesn’t work he walks off into the forest a little and beat sticks against trees, throw rocks…anything to express the anger that Nyra has caused him. Firena heads away from him and enter’s Tar’s tent.
Firena:
Tar, it’s Nyra. She is circumventing Dreune and refusing to work within the chain of command. Dreune cannot operate efficiently if he doesn’t know what’s going on with the people he is supposed to be in charge of.
Tar sighs and responds mentally:
This is Nyra we’re talking about. It may be a long time before she follows any chain of command. By the gods, she may not even continue with us after we get back to Greyhawk. If not for Aphic she may not have joined us on this trip.
Firena [responding the same way]:
I agree, but perhaps I have a solution. We could take her out of Dreune’s team. Make her answerable directly to you. She WILL answer to you, or at least she doesn’t play the same games with you that she does with Dreune. Or perhaps make her report to Yalinari. They seem to get on … well, if not well, at least not combatively.
Tar nods thinking:
Not a bad idea. I think I have another idea though. Can you get Dreune for me Firena? We’ll chat about it in my tent without those to overhear.
Firena:
Give me five minutes. I’ll just follow the sound of wood striking wood.
Then she fetches Dreune and takes him in to see Tar. When Firena tells Dreune that he is to report to Tar, Dreune simply says that the only day that has ever come close to this one in terms of how bad it is, is the day he almost died by way of death dog
Firena:
It isn’t over yet.
Dreune:
I’ll assume that’s your version of a sadistic joke. I’ll laugh about that in a couple years.
Firena:
I don’t joke.
Dreune:
women… (and he follows her)
When Dreune gets there, Tar offers them both a seat and a drink. As Dreune accepts he can almsot feel the anger fade from his body.
Tar:
Ray, I’ dired. Whe’ I’ dired, I prever doo use a differen’ for’
o’ spee’. (Dreune can then hear Tar’s voice in his head). I prefer
this method of communication. It is so much simpler that these broken
ears and indecipherable speech.
Dreune:
Now that’s a cool trick. I’ll have to learn that from you, if you’ll teach me.
Tar:
I don’t know that I can. Besides, I hear that you have other things to work on!
Dreune:
I woudln’t know. Care to update me please?
Tar:
Well, you seem to not be getting on with Nyra very well. (He raises his hand) No, I know its not your fault. Well, at least not all of it is your fault; most of it is hers.
Dreune:
Yea…I was hoping that it was something tha I was doing…at least that way I could have corrected the problem. However, it seems there are parts of me that attract Nyra’s hatred.
Tar chuckles:
Yes, she has a problem with men. There’s some history and baggage there that is for her to tell and not for me. In any case, I thnk we need to work on your approach to Nyra. More importantly, I think we need to work on your approach to the arcane wing of the Company.
Dreune:
Sir? I’ve enjoyed and adapted to this group. I would rather do this than gardening. I would be willing to work under Nyra if it means my staying here. There is more purpose to this than making gardens. I suppose, what I’m trying to say is that I will try harder. Please don’t fire me.
Tar laughs out loud to the point of crying.
Tar:
Fire you? Fire you? Why on Greyhawk would I do that?
Dreune (a deep sign of relief):
Oh thank the gods…and you of course. I’ve been worrying about that since I got in here. Torture it was.
Tar:
Why would you … ? Nevermind. I’ve seen many powerful people in my time and met more than a few mages. One thing that I’ve found with them is that they are … uh … spirited and individualistic. I think maybe you’re trying to overly militarize that particular wing of the Company. Just as I couldn’t expect Vanith and Plynsen to act like Cust and Shasivin, I dont think that we can expect Nyra to do so either. She’s used to freedom. Freedom of movement, freedom of Spirit, and freedom of action. She may be feeling hemmed in by you. She will always react negatively to that.
Dreune:
Ah. Interesting. I suppose it’s my fault for taking what Drathon has said to literally. He is strict but respected. The expections he has set are continually met. I was trying to learn from his example. Perhaps I am applying to much.
Tar:
You are dealing with different people. Morven is playing at this army thing. It excites her and gets her out of Greyhawk and the boring job of interviewing criminals. Besides mommy and daddy approve of this even less. She’ll play along. Nyra? Nyra is an outcast looking for a home and feeling at home no where but the Grove in Aphic’s personal residence. She, of the two of them, will fall more into line militarily when she feels comfortable and not trapped by its strictures.
My advice? Don’t look at her as a soldier. Look at her as a friend; wounded and hurt.
Dreune:
Well, I’ll tell ya sir, I don’t really want to look at her at all. However, I have already said to Firena that I will deal with the cards that are delt to me…at least until the opperutnity to get a new hand arrises. (he hints)
Tar:
Don’t expect much to come on that angle. Mages aren’t just up and willing to join a travelling mercenary Company. I’d not think we’d find too many. On the other hand, Nyra can be likable, but you have to talk to her as a person first. Oh, and you have to ignore all her little barbs.
Dreune:
So what you’re telling me is…i suppose I could…but that would mean…I will make it happen.
Tar:
Do it. After the rough water it will be worth it. Look, Ray, she comes to me becaus she trusts me and doesn’t think about you. Its not personal. She doesn’t see that she needs a leader…at least not in the Company. I will talk to her as well about this. I assure you. However, I want you to understand that the people you are dealing with are not soldiers who have been drilled about obeying immediately. They are people who are well schooled, well experienced, and individuals. You need to treat them differently.
Dreune:
Ray? Never mind. So it is mentally said, so it shall be done. Altough the next time we go into town we might need to purchase some new capes for me. Call it precautionary.
Tar smiles.
Very good. Thank you for you’re time. Feel free to talk to me about this in the future.
He stands and Firena does likewise. Dreune follows suit and says:
The time is mine to give. Thank you for putting aside all the important matters of the company aside to
help me deal with this one. I can only hope to thank you by having the mages perform in the way that we always have. Excelently. As much as I hate to say it, she is pretty damn good.
Tar smiles but does not respond. Dreune takes that oppertunity to leave and mediate on the days events.
Firena [to Tar]:
Shall I talk to Nyra?
Tar sits back down with a sigh:
Well, I guess I’ll be talking to Nyra. I think tomorrow morning I shall to that.
Tar:
Let’s talk to her before tomorow’s staff meeting.
Firena:
Tar, do you think it wise to leave Nyra under Dreune’s command? Do you have that much faith that they will be able to work together? Since I and Yalinari have spoken to him I’ve seen changes in Dreune. He no longer approaches Nyra as if she were a raw recruit. He tries to work with her, talk to her, ask her opinion, seek her advice, give her options, allow her choices. After all this, I’ve seen no concessions at all on her part. She just doesn’t try, and shows no sign of wanting to try. Quite the contrary, she maintains a frigid distance, waiting until he gives her any small opportunity to jump down his throat, and when he does, takes full advantage of it. Unfortunately, he’s not a subtle man. He gives her those opportunities far too often. All in all, I simply believe them to be a bad fit for each other, and their inability to function as a team will hurt the Company – is currently hurting the Company.
Tar:
What you say is indeed true. Things haven’t really become better. I think one thing a good leader needs to do is learn how to deal with, how to lead, and how work with those that disagree or even hate you. Dreune certainly has made changes. Nyra hasn’t. That much is true. Look, I don’t want to lose Nyra. She’s a friend and an valuable asset to this Company. You have talked to Nyra once. I will do so myself and maybe I can make more of an impact. However, Dreune needs to learn not to rise to her, or anyone’s bait.
Firena:
No, I don’t want to lose Nyra. We are in complete agreement about her value. But that value is lessened when it detracts others from their mission, and I think it may. All I’m proposing is that we take her from Dreune’s command and either place her directly under you, or maybe under another female – Morven or me. Gods save us, she may even be willing to take direction from Yalinari, but that would be my last choice. I’d sooner place her under Meluvia’s control. ... I agree about Dreune as well, but I’m not sure leaving him in charge of Nyra is good training material on how to deal with difficult subordinates. Of course, if he ultimately manages it, he’ll never again encounter a problem he couldn’t handle, but it’s a bit like trying to train a new healer by presenting them with a corpse dug from a graveyard.
Tar:
He he. Corpse from a graveyard. I do beleive that you’ve made a joke. Seriously though. I want you to think about something. What is the chain of command in the Company. Certainly, there’s me and then you. That much is established. What then? I know you’ll say things farm out to the master sergeants and senior leaders, but what I mean is: “What if I were to die?” Would you take over? Let’s say you did and ran the Company and then you died or left. Then who? Who’s our number three person? Drathon? I don’t think so. Maybe in time, we’re pushing him as a Master Sergeant. He’s learning, but I suspect that my position isn’t his cup of tea. Morven? Maybe, but I don’t see her leading the troops either. Yalinari? No way. That leaves Dreune. Dreune, just may be a good leader. So far as I can tell he has not truly decided to play the cards that he’s been dealt. He’s come running to you and I. Of course, to his defense he’s new and Nyra’s can be…well, she can be a bitch if she wants. What’s he going to do when the same thing happens and he’s running things? What would he do if Nyra was under his command. He’d leave her go and probably make an ill-wanted enemy. No, I’ll help him by talking to Nyra, but I want both of them to come to an agreement. If they can’t and they’ve both tried, then, well I guess we have a decision to make. Let’s make no bones about this. This is a leadership failure.
Firena:
Actually, that was no joke. Nyra’s response level is at approximately that of the corpse, and they both care at about the same level. But I see your point. The question is what do we do about it? For now, I have no better answer. We’ll try it your way. See where that goes. Hopefully she’ll listen to you. Failing that, I’ll try talking to her. ... Good luck, Tar. I don’t envy you your next conversation.
Tar nods in quiet reflection as Firena bids him good night and leaves the tent.
