Ireth
Myth Weaver
I have a situation in the early chapters of my story, as follows. Loegaire is a fugitive from the court of King Madoc, hiding in the home of Vincent, while Cadell searches for him by order of the aforesaid king. Cadell and some other guards track Loegaire down and attempts to break-and-enter Vincent's house, while Vincent tries to fend Cadell off. Loegaire hides in an upstairs room, and decides to sneak out of the house so Cadell won't harm Vincent in pursuit of him. I need him to be caught so the plot can progress with his arrest as well as those of Vincent and his family. So as the scene goes right now, I have Loegaire sneak downstairs through the house while invisible and try to escape through a broken window, where he is caught after hurting himself.
Unfortunately for the plot, there are much wiser options Loegaire could take which are well within his power -- jumping out of the upstairs window and luring Cadell away, for one (since he's strong and agile enough to survive such a jump unharmed). But if Loegaire escapes successfully and leaves no reason for Cadell to suspect Vincent of hiding Loegaire, the plot can't go forward, since Vincent and his family need to be arrested, and that charge is the easiest one to go with (as opposed to, say, killing Cadell or one of the other guards). Vincent isn't the type to fight anyone without provocation, and Cadell doesn't actually want to harm Vincent or Loegaire; he's just doing his job. Loegaire has done some stupid things in times of desperation, but only when he saw no other option, and this time the wiser and safer options are pretty darn obvious. How can I keep the plot on-track without throwing any of my characters the Idiot Ball, since it isn't in character for them to hold it?
Unfortunately for the plot, there are much wiser options Loegaire could take which are well within his power -- jumping out of the upstairs window and luring Cadell away, for one (since he's strong and agile enough to survive such a jump unharmed). But if Loegaire escapes successfully and leaves no reason for Cadell to suspect Vincent of hiding Loegaire, the plot can't go forward, since Vincent and his family need to be arrested, and that charge is the easiest one to go with (as opposed to, say, killing Cadell or one of the other guards). Vincent isn't the type to fight anyone without provocation, and Cadell doesn't actually want to harm Vincent or Loegaire; he's just doing his job. Loegaire has done some stupid things in times of desperation, but only when he saw no other option, and this time the wiser and safer options are pretty darn obvious. How can I keep the plot on-track without throwing any of my characters the Idiot Ball, since it isn't in character for them to hold it?