Chapter 11: Q&A / Discussions

[Brian]

Before we move on, I need to solve Condign's encumbrance issue--he's simply carrying too much weight if he has to take all of his supplies. Doing the math, I need to find a way to ditch the bedroll, trail rations and rope, all of which add up to 25 lbs. Are those items that can be stored in Streko's haversack? None of them would be needed in an immediate, combat-related situation. Also, I'd have to leave the Cautcadian sword behind.

Jeff? Joe? Does that sound agreeable to you both?

[Jeff]

Streko's haversack can hold another ~58 lbs. And if Streko's okay with it, it can hold Condign's rations and rope. But not the bedroll. It has to fit inside the pockets, which the bedroll's just too bulky for. But as long as you intend to return to the Cornerstone room, why carry a bedroll around, right? Your call, though.

[Jeff]

Adamant is also a little bit encumbered. Rope and rations are also what could put him over. If he hands over either of these to Streko's haversack, he won't be encumbered.

[Dave W.]

I noticed that too Jeff, he's 8 lbs "over. weight". I can fix it by dropping stuff he'll never use (I boought an adventure's kit back in the previous version and it brought this extra stuff):

bedroll (5 lbs)
10 rations (10 lbs)
waterskin (4lbs)

I think Adamant would head outside after his 4 hour rest and find homeless Cryans and start passing out stuff.

Walking the night like he did back in High Walls and he comes across an old woman sleeping in the streets and he covers her with the bedroll... stops to chat with some folks for a bit and gives them each a ration... Oh, he could wear the talbard and tell people that he's Redoubt and is leaving for Sharn before the sun rises.

I kind of like that.

[Brian]

No, the bedroll can stay at the inn, so long as we are coming back here. I was thinking more of a possible journey into the jungle and how I would manage Condign's encumbrance. But we can deal with that issue later.

Regarding where we go next....

Releasing the sphinx's mate seems the best course of action. Assuming we are the only ones with this knowledge, we might have an advantage over the other groups--should be succeed. However, there will be stuff going on around us for which we may need to prepare. Here's a list of my thoughts. Jump in with yours.

1) The Sphinx's Mate: If we decide to go this way, we need to be prepared for the consequences. On the plus side, we win the favor of the sphinx, and he may provide us valuable information that may give us an advantage over the other groups looking for the Eye. On the flip side, the Coin Lords are the ones who imprisoned the other sphinx. Should we free her, they may take umbrage. Our continued presence in Stormreach could likely result in our incarceration or (more likely) our deaths. WE may want to have a plan already in place for getting the hell out of Dodge should we succeed.

2) The Quest for the Eye of Alazar: I suspect plans are already in the works for a few groups to leave the city on the quest, based on what the sphinx told them. It would take time for them to prepare; a couple days to a week at most, I think, but once they leave, even should we succeed and gain useful information, they could be that much further ahead than us. That means we would have to work fast if we want to keep a possible significant advantage.

3) All The People Who Don't Like Us: I'm referring to Krez and, to a lesser degree, Lamara. Both may be intent on either stopping us or at least following us to see what we are up to. Krez understands that we know something he doesn't. That alone would (pardon the pun) drive him batty. I think he will be focused on us and want to take action. And if we take Lerrhana along, he would have the Eberron version of a GPS device to locate us. I don't think either of these two factor into our decision. They simply make our continued efforts to live more complicated. LOL

So those are my thoughts. Time to return to the mundane world of mopping floors. :-p

[Ken]

Ah, I misunderstood the "tomorrow"comment. I'll clarify Belarin's intentions tonight, once weekend chores are done and the child is properly entertained.

[Darren]

I think we have to pursue Argushem's mate. It's the best (and probably only) lead we have. The alternatives are go to the woman at Tharashk and see what she's up to, or head outside and see if we can find those giants who don't want the Eye found at all and try to align ourselves with them.

Jeff's thrown a TON of options at us, and there's no way we can follow everything. I'd say finding the sphinx is probably the most straightforward and best option we can take.

[Dave W.]

Its a good list, Brian.

Adamant would want to free the sphinxette... its going to peeve the coin lords and we should plan on leaving town quickly afterwards.

I'm not worried about other groups getting ahead of us... it doesn't matter if they start ahead of us unless they're going to the right place.

[Dave B.]

Freeing the Sphinx's mate sounds good to me.

[Jeff]

Prolonged baby-wrangling has pushed off my intended post today. Tomorrow sometime, then!

[Ken]

Totally agree with the consensus so far. Freeing the sphinx could give us a much-needed edge. And I'm under no illusion that acquiring such an edge will come easily. We'll have a nasty situation on our hands, whether we succeed or fail. Brian is right in that we need a "Get out of Dodge" move ready.

Jun 1, 2014 9:33:24 GMT -4 Jeff said:

Ken, did you want to write or at least summarize the messages Belarin wishes to send. As for Histra, how did you intend to send a message to her? You know that her family's Stormreach property is in Respite somewhere; that's all you've got. You can't help but think that addresses are few and far between in this city, given its layout and lawless nature.

For the note to the Kundaraks, it's pretty much as Belarin described: a classic Nerrin screed full of regret, self-pity, and disdain for his "lessers," with a brief description of the theft, plus gratitude for Lord Worgan's and Lady Diesa's kindness. He says that he is injured, humbled, shamed and -- with the map stolen -- now ruined, so he is likely already on a ship back to Sharn. Some unworthy soul is now going to get the benefit of his map's priceless information.... He concludes with a postscript "The Ring of Storms" and, written in Sylvan, the words he hinted at during the dinner, "Look for the rat."

Regarding the location of the ir'Sorells' place, since we have a bit of time, he'll discreetly ask around in the morning.

[Brian]

Oh, and we can't forget Greigur. Kal has made promises to him. Darren, you might want to think about how Kal will handle that should we need to leave in a hurry.

[Mike]

Well, I was going to have a post and say "ready to move on", but never mind.

[Darren]

Eh....Kal's not a "plan in advance" kind of guy.