Thar Shaddin

Welcome back, Lyl! I hope you had a good visit with your parents.

Lylessa Uluki wrote:Aorle meeting Quinn would be fun, so I don't want to squash that. Maybe Quinn could come back to the base with Julen, Uluki, and Rollick, and meet Aorle there? That way we don't have to find an excuse to get him into our scene, and a new scene can start more smoothly when people are ready. That would also eliminate Julen and Uluki having to just stand there awkwardly while Aorle and Quinn talk. I know at least I have stuff to do back at the base, and Julen has some women who urgently need talking to.

Julen and his women...

Quinn coming back to the base and meeting Aorle there works quite well for me. I want to do one more post in the Estate thread, covering another dream (edit: written and posted now), but after that Rosemary doesn't have much else to say. So Aorle could jump ahead in time and talk to Quinn while Julen and Uluki deal with some other stuff.

And then...Shim?

EDIT: I'm going to remove Julen's question from his last post. That was just intended to give him and Quinn something to chat about until Uluki could post again. Now that she's back, I think we should just move things along.

Welcome back, Lyl! I hope you had a good visit with your parents.

Thanks! I did have a very good time.

EDIT: I'm going to remove Julen's question from his last post. That was just intended to give him and Quinn something to chat about until Uluki could post again. Now that she's back, I think we should just move things along.

I also edited the ending of my post, because I was having Uluki wait for a break in the conversation. Now that Julen's post is changed, I thought it made more sense for Uluki to bring up the idea of heading back. I hope that change works OK for you two, but in the interests of moving on I didn't want to end my post with the Duskling sitting like a log... so before you guys post, you should probably check out what I've changed. Only the end of the last paragraph, and added another short one.

Quinn coming back to the base and meeting Aorle there works quite well for me. I want to do one more post in the Estate thread, covering a few more dreams, but after that Rosemary doesn't have much else to say. So Aorle could jump ahead in time and talk to Quinn while Julen and Uluki deal with some other stuff.

And then...Shim?

That timing works fine for me.

Lylessa Uluki wrote:I also edited the ending of my post, because I was having Uluki wait for a break in the conversation. Now that Julen's post is changed, I thought it made more sense for Uluki to bring up the idea of heading back. I hope that change works OK for you two, but in the interests of moving on I didn't want to end my post with the Duskling sitting like a log... so before you guys post, you should probably check out what I've changed. Only the end of the last paragraph, and added another short one.

I think that works very well! I was actually going to change Julen's post to include the invitation, but you've got it handled nicely. Onward!

Our discussion thread is already two pages long. Do we talk about our plot way too much or what?

Posted!

I was thinking that Aorle and Quinn can have their conversation in Bargains. I'll probaby start a short sub-thread for Julen's conversations with his various women. Uluki is welcome to be in that, or she could start her own sub-thread for whatever she wants to do.

I was ready to post, so I went ahead and started my own sub-thread.

You can post the stuff with Julen in the same thread if you wish, or you can start your own if you prefer. It doesn't really matter to me; whatever you think works best.

I am projecting (though this is always subject to change) two more posts for this sub-thread: one with Kira talking to Dash, and one with her talking to Uluki and Rollick again. It's just easier to break it up like that than to do it in one massive post... but that'll give you an idea where my little thread is going, so you can decide what you want to do.

OK, remember how I did that thing where I found pictures online of what my major NPCs looked like? For some reason I got a bee in my proverbial bonnet to do so again, only with minor NPCs this time. Bear in mind, of course, I'm just picking these for the faces, so the clothing/hairstyle/jewelery/etc. isn't necessarily accurate to the character.

(Side note: I am still struggling to find a satisfactory Callie. If I do, I will post her later.)

So... here's how I imagine the following people:

Delphina





Petra



(Except Petra has her scar, of course.)



Mamie



(Minus the facial piercing; Mamie doesn't have one. Also minus the face paint, though Mamie could have grime.)



Becky



(Although I picture Becky with darker hair than that... still brown, but several shades darker.)



Ambrose



(Definitely with this goofy expression most of the time. )



Jenny





Alessar Hornwood, a.k.a. Lord Honey Hair





Vernon





Masha





Louise

Hornwood looks exactly like I imagined him! He came accross quite well in your writing, obviously.

Lylessa Uluki wrote:Also minus the face paint, though Mamie could have grime.

Or it could be the mark from Jenny's broom...

Or it could be the mark from Jenny's broom...

Hehe. Jenny basically just swatted her with the bristle part, so she wouldn't be bruised, but she could definitely have some broom dust.

In terms of your post, if you actually want to have Aorle ask Rollick why he didn't have sharpshooters in place, this can happen off-camera, and the explanation will be this:

The building interior does not have cover to hide them. This is deliberate, because that cover would be easier for Panterras and potential cronies to use against our side (bearing in mind they use magic) than for us to use against him, and Rollick doesn't like that kind of nasty surprise in battle. Rollick wants to be able to see what's coming, rather than having extra evil mages popping out from behind concealing objects.

That means the sharpshooters would have to hide outside, and pick off Panterras as he approached or left the building (and chances are he'll be leaving by magic one way or the other.) Since he does have "protection" against arrows in the sense he'll just teleport when he realizes someone is shooting at him, the first arrow would basically have to kill him instantly, or he'd just leave. If he caught sight of one of them, again, he'd just leave.

Now, it's very possible the nomads are good enough shots to pull that off. But since Rollick has never actually seen them fight anything (and hasn't seen their NPC profiles ) he really has no way of knowing what they can do. Other than their own description of their abilities and maybe seeing them train a little, he really has no idea whether they'd be a help or a hindrance, whether they'd stick to the plan or decide to do their own thing, whether they panic under pressure (what little evidence he's seen so far would indicate at least some of them do,) or heck, if they could be convinced to change sides. He just doesn't know them, and something that requires this much precision-- and upon which Kira's and possibly Uluki's life depends-- Rollick is going to stick to people he knows he can trust, not only in a moral sense but in terms of their combat abilities.

If this ambush went wrong, they'd never be able to get Panterras into another one, and then Kira's pretty much dead. The nomads are definitely potentially useful, but they are also a very unknown quantity and there are about a thousand different ways they could, intentionally or unintentionally, complicate the plan and mess everything up. And of course, the fewer people who know the details, the less chance someone will let them slip in the wrong place.

They've also had to assume (correctly, as we discovered when Delphina was spotted and followed) that Panterras and friends have at least some eye on the compound, and probably the ambush site. Therefore everyone there must be accounted for in some way: the assassin, the bard, the traitor, the two victims. They took a gamble on Julen not being recognized, and it paid off, but Rollick would assume it would be pushing their luck a bit to think that half a dozen armed nomad sharpshooters would go unnoticed as they moved into position, and there's no good way to explain them to Panterras. ("Oh, don't mind them, they're friendly!" ) This is stealth, not outright warfare. Panterras would not knowingly join a battle unless he found himself embroiled in it (as happened.)

The potential benefits to having sharpshooters are, in Rollick's mind, far exceeded by the risks and problems they would pose. Aorle may or may not agree with that line of reasoning, but that's what the reasoning is.

That all sounds very good, extremely good in fact. Yes, Aorle would want to discuss strategy with Rollick - purely because he wants to support the guy somehow.

PS: Mostly for Quinn - if you want an idea of what Kreuzlunder means, think feudal Germany and the Holy Roman Empire. There is a split among the nobility between chivalric/knightly nobles and Renaissance-based nobles. Basically there are two very different cultures living in the same area and not co-existing well at all.

EDIT: Something I would like to throw out for possible ideas? How about Phelan and Hornwood working together?

That all sounds very good, extremely good in fact. Yes, Aorle would want to discuss strategy with Rollick - purely because he wants to support the guy somehow.

Cool. Unless you want to write that scene out, feel free to assume they have that discussion off-screen at any point Rollick isn't doing anything else.

EDIT: Something I would like to throw out for possible ideas? How about Phelan and Hornwood working together?

We've discussed this idea before, but it still sounds good to me. I'm not sure exactly what they'd be working on-- so I'm glad you threw it out there for others to comment on too. (Please comment, people! )

Hornwood has (very deliberately on my part) not given Delphina any identifying information that would lead to our people figuring out who he is-- he hasn't said his name or where specifically he lives, she couldn't read the fake documents, and he'll be working through proxies when he puts his plan into motion-- so I think it's pretty much a certainty he'll survive, at least for now.

Once he's done with his plan to kidnap Dash and Zee and hostage-trade them for Rollick so he can again trade Rollick for magical boons (not saying this will work as he hopes, but once this little episode is completed) he'll be free to work with Phelan. I'm expecting Hornwood's stuff to go down during Shim.

So... we just need something for our two villainous NPCs to do.

I think the question is more how they'd start working together since both lead double-lives. Phelan will gladly assist in sabotaging the compound. Anything which undermines the City Guard as well (he hates them ever since Camulous chased him out with a pistol).

My main goal with Phelan is to establish him as a dangerous and competant villain who knows what he's doing.

I think the question is more how they'd start working together since both lead double-lives. Phelan will gladly assist in sabotaging the compound. Anything which undermines the City Guard as well (he hates them ever since Camulous chased him out with a pistol).

Cool. Hornwood has nothing against the City Guard, but he doesn't have any particular love for them either, so it wouldn't be hard to convince him to work against them as long as he perceived that there was some sort of advantage for him (generally any way of increasing his power will be sufficient,) and he thought the risk-- not only to his life but also to his social position-- was minimal.

That's one important thing about Hornwood... he's evil through and through, but what restrains him from being a rampaging killer in pursuit of what he wants is that he's very, very conscious of his image and reputation. There isn't really anything he'd feel was morally repugnant, but there are things that could make him look bad, and he'll avoid those things.

As for undermining the compound-- he'll definitely have a more personal stake in that and will want to, but even so the benefits will have to outweigh the risks. But that's something that should be pretty easy to work out between us.

One thing I could see bringing them together is the fairy pact you were considering for Phelan. Hornwood has no specific interest in fairies per se, but he's always on the lookout for things that could increase his power, particularly his magical power. If he somehow found out what Phelan was doing, it would definitely be enough to get him talking to Phelan. Of course, the finding out part may still be an issue... that's just one thing I could see bringing them together.

Maybe Phelan could know about the Skull and Hand?

Maybe Phelan could know about the Skull and Hand?

Good thinking!

Hornwood did take off his hood (not entirely willingly) so I'm sure that at least a few people recognized him. Phelan could find out from one of them that Hornwood was there-- Hornwood did draw some degree of attention to himself when he offered to get Rollick for Priscilla to trade for magic stuff, which may have been noteworthy enough someone would mention him to Phelan.

That would indeed be a good way for them to meet. Phelan probably already knows where Hornwood lives, so he could just pay a call on him when it's time for them to meet.

Sounds good to me.