Play along and act subserviently, find out what they want from you

Whatever this alliance wants with you, you need to get out of here and back to your people. If you can gather intelligence or cause some damage on the way then all the better. Your predicament is serious.. what you need is an opportunity!

“Look.. I don’t know what it is you expect to gain from me. I’m not a trusted counsellor.. I have some tactical knowledge, but I can’t tell you anything of the movements of the elven forces now. We were a scout mission, nothing was planned until we reported in and the army engaged. Other than that..? What can one elf possibly do for you? I can’t give you my magic. I will not fight for you, and even if I would, my brothers and sisters would destroy me with only a little more difficulty than they will you”

The gnome simply watches you, whilst the woman Marissa taps her finger on her lips thoughtfully. Eventually she nods and speaks carefully, her eyes intent on you

“Indeed.. your brethren are the problem here. You ask what we want from you? The answer is peace. If we don’t act here and now, that queen of yours intends to destroy our races for good. Or almost all of them in any case. Just like the trolls, and the goblins, like they have been doing to the Orcs. For the last hundred years you elves have been taking the ‘lower’ races piecemeal. Grinding then down when they would not submit. All under the guise of self protection.”

You can’t help but snort, and mentally chastise yourself. You are trying to play along with these people.

“Forgive me but I have been involved with these wars and skirmishes. I was still in training through the goblin wars but the rest.. I mean you fight alongside the Orc.. you know what they are! They don’t want to live alongside anyone. Neither did the trolls. I’ve seen settlements destroyed, battlefields littered with elven dead. You can’t tell me that wasn’t real”

She shrugs, her face neutral and hard to read.

“The war was real enough.. they just didn’t start it.”

Your bonds clink as you forget they are there and try to throw up your hands.

“You are saying this is all the work of the elves, that we have been starting wars with the other races in order to.. what? Wipe them out? But those of us who fought, who led, have no clue about the plan, not even an inkling that we were conquering not defending? It’s ridiculous. Elves love peace not slaughter!”

The gnome cuts in before his companion can respond.

“Indeed my dear. Peace at any cost. And your warlike orcs which won’t work with anyone? As you said, they fight alongside us. Doesn’t that tell you a great deal about their true nature? In actual fact the Orcs are close to being lost in this realm already. Their scattered strongholds produce fewer and fewer offspring. And they are almost all besieged or fleeing. If you were faced with extinction I imagine you would fight quite hard too. I expect even if we were to win this war they will slowly fade away in time.”

You sigh, looking back and forth between the pair. Whatever madness this is, they are clearly both convinced and there seems little point in arguing.

“Very well.. but what would you have me do? You want peace. How? Should I begin diplomacy with my people to try to come to terms ? Spy for you?”

He snorts and Marissa merely shakes her head as he responds.

“Even if we trusted you to let you leave, we have spies. And you would be silenced before you could even broach the subject of diplomacy. The Queen means to end this in one fell swoop. Her word cannot be trusted. No.. what you can do for us is quite simple. You can tell us the key to destroying your magic. We’ll do the rest..”