How My Players Surprised Me

[algi]

Shira: a barbarian from the cold mountains of the distant north, who began a "peaceful" life as a mercenary among the native nador.
Amron: a magician from a far eastern island tought in the mental and temporal arcana.
Two native nador people: Teekair was raised in a hut and then taught in a school of martial arts in the high mountains; and Sabiir born and raised in the capital of the natives, wich isn't a big city, but the biggest what these primitive people could afford.

We begin our adventure here: Sabiir started an expedition to find Mother Mayaan, who ventured back to burry the dead of a village wich was exterminated by a monster, the stonescorpion. Its teeth are still hanging on the neck of Shira. They arrived at the village. Teekair found the footprints of Mother Mayaan wich led them to one of the huts, while Sabiir was asking the spirits where she could be. They found her with a little girl, the last survivor of the village. Although they thought they found the last survivor when they passed the village some 20 days ago. It all seemed strange. The magician open his Third Eye and saw: the whole village was dead, and he saw no sign of Mother Mayaan, nor the little girl.

And now comes the killer: He lit a torch and wanted to burn down the hut with Mother Mayaan and the little girl in it. The character is good, helps anybody, is searching for the harmony in the world. Mother Mayaan escorted on their former journey and is an old, shaman woman. And now Amron goes towards the hut in wich she is and plans to throw the torch to the base of its wall.

I ask the player: Why?
He sais: Because they are just an image, an illusion.
I ask the player: why not the roof of it? The place won't burn like this.
He sais: Because if I'm wrong I want to blame the wind blowing some sparks from the campfire.
I ask him: Your character "is of good heart" as your character sheet tells. I don't want to ruin it if you want to burn the hut, but if you are totally sure that the ones whom you saw are illusions, why the secrecy? Throw it on the roof and burn the whole place to the ground.
He sais: Okay, then I just get the attention of the other players by putting the torch to the base of the hut.
Teekair's player asks: Is this stupid?
I say to Amron: Teekair throws a face. You got their attention. What do you want to tell them?
He sair: I still don't know.
Shira asks: Cocoa, anyone?

I let them think while I flied back 13 days in the past and into the capital of the kingdom. And GMed this little story, wich I posted earlier at Knife-Fight:

The noblewoman knocked on his door and when he asked who is that, she answered with a muffled voice. He surpried but then hiding the surprisedness he opened the door. She was gorgeuos, the first time he saw her in a real dress and not hiking gear. With black and red delicate patterns top and with red and black stripes hiding each other and swirling on the rock. (I really don't know anything about women's historical dressing, nor anything about today's trends, I just wanted to do some enjoying thing.) I told him it made him dizzy how her rock swirled. She entered the room, she was excited. The player asked wich manner excited in good manner or meaning danger (meaing some physical attack)? I answered him in a good manner, but meaning danger (meaning the social danger). She leand against the door with her back, he leaned against the wall with his shoulder. She kissed him on the lips. He led her to the bed.

She was trembling in her whole body. I told the player that there is some axiouty in her wich will cause her not to enjoy what would came, but he felt that she would make through even like that. (His character is very sensitive, having very high attributes in this area.) They were sitting on the side of the bed. The player asked me what the problem might be and I told him that it has nothing to do with this. He asked her what the problem is. And I told the player in the voice of the character "My father. No, it's Garullis (the master assassin of the family, but it's not an obvious fact). His soul is constatly shifting in a bad way. We thought it's the stress, the job he is doing for us, but now... When my father (she loves her father very much as shown in former sessions) became sick again last time, I asked Menedis (the defensis wizard of the family) to read his emotions. He not even felt apathy, but he was happy about it. (pause) Do you remember when I asked you whether you would kill for us? Whether you would murder for us? Would you do that now?" He leaned back in the bed. The player said making a pause for greater effect. (How do you call that in English?) And he totally said "Yes." I told him the anxoiuty vanished.

And the most important thing is coming now! Before I could GM further, the player asked me whether she leans beside him. I said yes. And the player said "cut" and clapped his hands together. He knew exactly where to draw the line, where to fade out. It was awesome.

I planned for the most possibilities, for example if he wouldn't care. Well, that would've been a big ouch afterwards. I planned what if he asks to clarify "Do you want me to kill Garullis?" One other thing was awesome: he is a very loud and happy guy and is talking all the time. This time he didn't want to clarify things (except OOC), he felt exactly what can go in this situation and what not.

While I GMed this, the other talked among them. After I finished, Sabiir's player told me:

The PCs talked about the situation and we agreeed upon something: The spirits guided us here, therefor they are real.

Now, this blew my head off. They didn't know the books, they didn't read it while I was GMing, they didn't know the setting. It was just sheer logic, that the special abilities of the nador used to find them is the gift of the spirits, therefor theyhave to be right.

This had the same impact on me as the quoted scene had. Totally awesomeness. Unfortunatly we had to stop right here, because the short timeframe, but I can't wait for the next time we're going to play.