aggienaut | Another D&D Ethical Dilemma (in universe) (Reply)

   Gralsk bounds into the room, over the face down fellow bugbear in the doorway, running tot he far end but the door is barricaded. He knew this of course, he barricaded it, but in his desperate flight -- he turns around Just as his pursuers reach the doorway. The first one, a tiefling, bends down to check the bugbear on the floor but the next one, a ferengi, is leveling a crossbow at him. Gralsk quickly drops his weapons and puts his hands up, exclaiming "I surrender I surrender!" in common.
   An armored human pushes the ferengi's crossbow down saying "he surrenders, Margin!"
   "I didn't agree to anything! How can he just outsource his external risks onto me like that!" Fortunately the rest of the party prevails and they swarm in to take his weapons, the Ferengi all the while grumbling incomprehensible things about "attaching a cost center to me!"
   Once the party has secured the area and determined that their ally, the bugbear down by the door is safe, they seem unsure what to do with him. Several members of the party step out to discuss things. When they come back in, to Gralsk's relief they announce they'll keep him prisoner until such time as they finally return to the surface. The hobgoblin among them, "Krusk," apparently, strongly objects but fortunately he doesn't seem to hold sway on decisions. The party occupy themselves hauling supplies out of this room to somewhere else, leaving the timid dwarf to guard him. Gralsk looks around, there's another human, apparently asleep, the enemy bugbear still unconcious but recovering on a cot, and, very carelessly they've left a magic looking sword practically within reach of him and.. he can slowly work his way out of these bindings ... slowly.. yes. Hah the ferengi had been preoccupied arguing with the hobgoblin while tying them. He picks his moment and bursts from his bindings, grabbing the sword, the dwarf shrieks in genuine shock and surprise...

   But going back just fifteen minutes or so, to when they all stepped outside:
   "We can't keep him prisoner while we clear this place, the risk of him escaping sooner or later or causing us trouble is just too much" Vexira the tiefling says.
   "But we can't just execute a prisoner!" Sildar the knight exclaims.
   "Oh but there's at least two more options" Margin the ferengi says thoughtfully
   "You're not thinking of employing him? We could never trust him, he's not like Krusk who joined us after we're replaced his king" Sildar objects.
   "Oh no no no." Margin says, and then into the expectant silence he elaborates: "A surrender is a contract, unfortunately an involuntary one on the captor's part! But a contract nonetheless. Maybe we can't execute a prisoner but if we hand him back his weapon, return to the positions we had when he surrendered and make it clear it won't be accepted, we can continue the combat without having violated any contracts, social, implied, or real."
   "Re-arm him? I'm for justice but that can't be right, then we'd be responsible for one of us getting hurt" Sildar objects.
   "Is that not justice?" the ferengi asks, genuinely not seeing the problem.
   "Anyway, you said you had one more opton?"
   "Ah yess..." he smiles slyly "So surrender is a contract. It's not OUR fault if HE violates and nullifies it. We tie him up just badly enough that he can escape, leave my trusty -4 Sword of Chimbo (a special item that looks like a valuable sword but actually has major penalties) near at hand, and wait out here to ambush him."
   Sildar looks uncomfortable still, but Vexira likes the idea. Margin moves on to the details:
   "We won't tell Gundren what we're up to, that way his reactions will be genuine. Connor will pretend to be asleep in there in case Gralsk tries to kill Gundren instead of immediately run from the room..."