Caelum heads into the forest as quietly as he can. He communicates telepathically I have travelled about 200 feet. I can see a spring, however there is no lake around it and it doesn't seem to be hot. The trees are sparser for 100 feet, but there is more undergrowth, very hard to move through and to not to make a sound.
There are 5 toad-like humanoids here. Two of them are splashing around in the stream, perhaps catching fish? Two more are armed in tattered and disgusting leather and have cruel club-like weapons hewn of bone. The last one is looking around but hasn't seen me yet. He has a smaller bone club and heavier armor with bits of tortoise shell in it and a small shell shield. He's also wearing some kind of wooden symbol from his neck.
Zork says, "We have the opportunity for a surprise attack, if that's what you want. Perhaps some of us well positioned with bows in the bushes and someone as bait to lure them out?"
In a whisper, I relay what Caelum shares to the group. As Zork and Theaton speak, a look of shock appears on my face and with no small measure of disbelief in my voice I harshly whisper, “You would act as the briggands for which we are chartered to fight against! Not everything that appears different from you is evil! I am loathe to think how you would have treated Caelum if he were not with me. Attacking these beings, of obvious sentience, would be an evil act!” As I state this I shoot a look to Grogdrol and Mykael, looking for agreement with my convictions.
“These are unknown entities. We should not treat them as a threat unless it has been established that they are indeed one. I mean, who knows – maybe we can even get them to aid us in patrolling for bandits if we are able to communicate. I'm not asking that you put your lives in danger. Allow me to dismiss Caelum's invisibility and have him parley with them. If they attack, we respond in kind. I will be prepared to remove Caelum from harm should they do so.”
Out of Character: Because I cast Invisibility on Caelum, he gets a +20 on his Stealth while moving (Meaning he's at a 32 Stealth). While standing still the bonus goes up to +40, meaning he has a 52 Stealth! I didn't add the bonuses in the original post because I was in bed when I posted, so I didn't have access to my books.
If the group agrees on this course of action, I will ready an action to unsummon Caelum as he moves forward to parley with the creatures.
I agree, it does seem a bit harsh to just kill indiscriminately. I do believe that Archival's idea is the most sound plan.
In Character: Zork looks at Archival puzzled about his explanation. "They don't look like the type I would picnic with but hey... I'll observe how you handle it and back it up with my arrows later, just for you."
"I've never seen these sort of creatures before" Mykael whispers to his companions "They do seem sentient, and armed for that matter, but they have yet to give us any indication that they are hostile." Mykael's senses reach out toward the creatures (Using detect evil if they are within range)
"Couldn't hurt to give Caelum a chance to parlay with them. Be honorable, friendly and courteous" Mykael smirks "But have a plan to kill everyone in the room, I always say. First sign of aggression we strike though. If they move against Caelum I will present myself to draw their attention and then the rest of you can engage from cover."
Theaton says, "By all means parlay with them and we will try your approach. Granted we do not know if they are hostile or not but being out here for a long time and having everything you encounter attack you, you tend to shoot first and ask questions later."