You are Hippomedon Aristomachides, and your travel to the Lernaean village been thankfully untroubled. Argive patrols range through the Argolid endlessly – the roads and trails are generally safe, and your size and appearance, even when unarmored as you are, marks you as one of the line of Talaus. All commoners within your uncle’s realm recognize you as such, even if they do not know your name.
As you approach the village, you remember what you know of it:
A poor and muddy place, ruled over by some very distant cousins – a far-flung branch of the Argive royal line; practically commoners. The man who rules here is named Gryllogus, a man of forty summers – by your standards, he is in poverty, but in your brief contacts with him (for you’ve traveled through his village many times), you have always found him a proud man, and an honest one. He has accepted his lot in life without complaint, and simply seeks to rule his petty realm as best as he can. You respect him for that, even if this means he has resigned himself to obscurity. His wealth is measured in livestock, not in gold – so you will be negotiating for cattle, sheep or goat, in all likelihood. If you approach him as Hippomedon Aristomachides, you expect that his loyalty to the Argive throne will prompt favorable negotiations. However, by revealing yourself, you increase the chances that your Tegean hostage learns of your true identity. If you approach him as a Heraclid, in Heraclidean bronze – negotiations may be strained, but you might successfully preserve your anonymity. Finally, you consider that you might simply abandon the hostage for recovery by Gryllogus, forgoing any reward for certainty that you will not be discovered as the kidnapper.
Additionally, you consider how you might approach the negotiations themselves – to press hard for a maximum sale price, or to accept less-profitable arrangements…
>okay /qst/, there’s two votes here. Please select one option each!
>Approach Gryllogus as Hippomedon. Please note: Hippo's Kleos would apply, which practically guarantees success, but risks conflict between Tegea and Argos.
>Approach Gryllogus as a Heraclid. Negotiations would be much more difficult, given that the Heraclids are theoretically at war with Argos. Success would mean that your identity is preserved, but significant failure might even prompt Gryllogus to attack you.
>Drop the hostage outside the village to be recovered by Gryllogus, forgoing any chance of reward in return for anonymity.
>Something else?
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>Press hard in the negotiations for cattle from Gryllogus. He is quite poor and so this would be significantly difficult (-5 penalty for “full” Timae)
>Stay reasonable, accepting a lesser price of sheep for the Tegean hostage (no penalty, but halved rewards)
>Accept a lesser deal, taking goat from Gryllogus (+2 bonus, but only 25% of the rewards)
>Something else?
