Hook Mountain Loot

[Bluedevyl]

I like a lot of those ideas, but we dont know if they might be looking for something in the town that isnt people... the note to Barl said that they were looking for something, but it didnt say what. If M is looking for a thing of one sort or another, and we're hiding out from them, they could get away free and clear, and I dont think we want that. If he's willing to attack a town to find whatever it is, we probably need to stop them from getting away with the item.

I havent been to the area recently, but I seem to recall Sandpoint being a coastal town, correct? I'm not sure we could predict where they'd be coming from, given that.

I'd like to find out more about this "Jorgenfist" they mention in the note. That may tell us more about this "M" character.

Also, if my recollection of the maps is accurate, we'd have to go past Sandpoint to get to Magnimar. Doesn't seem wise, given the situation. Unless we want to split the party.

[Tahlvin]

Completely off topic, but I saw this picture on Twitter and couldn't help thinking of Dothan:

[Tahlvin]

I hadn't thought about Dwyn being from Sandpoint and having family there, or Dothan having a girlfriend there. If you want to stop by Sandpoint on the way to Magnimar, that's certainly a reasonable request. We can check on their safety, warn them to be on alert and begin preparing for a possible attack. But if we're really going to face a dragon, we're going to need more powerful magical items than what we currently have, and we can't get those in Sandpoint or Turtleback Ferry or Nybor. We need a major city to do that, and Magnimar is the most feasible option, especially given that we should really report our findings in person to the Lord Mayor.

As for what they may be looking for in Sandpoint, there was the well underneath the city. But there's also the old ruined tower. Given that some of the locations we have been to on this adventure have been ancient ruins (the goblin fortress on Thistletop, the damn, this cavern on Hook Mountain, Underbridge in Magnimar), it's quite possible they could be looking for something in or underneath those ruins. Maybe we should take a closer look at those ruins when we get back to Sandpoint from Magnimar.

[Elle]

Totally agree with all the above. They might not be looking for a who but for a what, and we need to sell all our massive amounts of loot to be adequately equipped. Personally I would like to prevent these sinister dragon deployers from gaining anything they want, but Dwyn's perspective is going to be totally on protecting the area's people first.

I need to check out a map again but yes, Sandpoint is coastal. Whether we get there first depends on how we travel. By land we get there before Magnimar. We may also be traveling past Dothan's and perhaps Dwyn's home, in which case she would need to stop and warn or ensure they have a plan to evacuate to a hiding place quickly. Because even if Sandpoint is the destination, if some bad army travels to Sandpoint by land, anything is the path is in danger.

[Elle]

[Bluedevyl]

I think it is very possible that time is of the essence in this situation. I think we should stop by Sandpoint on our way down the coast to ensure that everything is okay before heading to Magnimar. I really don't want to get back to Sandpoint to find a smoking ruin because we were shopping.

[Mike]

Now that I can see the map, clearly Sandpoint first. From here, Everything except Magnimar is essentially on our way to Sandpoint. From Hook Mountain to Rannick to Turtleback to Shimmerglens to Sandpoint. If we get a decent boat, following the rivers downstream will probably be the fastest mode of travel until somewhere past Wartle.

And we need to gather info all along, because other than the word dragon and the fact that the stone giant we just defeated seems subordinate to whoever 'M' is, we really know very little.

[Tahlvin]

I still say Shimmerglens before TBF. Based on the muck we marched through last time in the Shimmerglens, we're not going to take our horses into that muck. Which means we have to go back to TBF after the Shimmerglens anyways to get our horses back.

[Bluedevyl]

Anna might be able to get to the Shimmerglens faster by flying than all of us on horseback. We could stay in contact via message spells, and Yap and Anna could go return Lamatar's body while the remainder of the Troubleshooters ensure that TBF is hale and hearty. Then we could regroup and head for Sandpoint/Magnimar, whatever the consensus of the group ends up being.

[Mike]

Split the party! I'm actually on board.

[Tahlvin]

How long does Anna's flight spell last? It took Eldthor 4 hours to fly from the dam to TBF and back, and Hook Mountain to Shimmerglens is much further. I'm okay with splitting the party, if some want to head from the Fort to TBF rather than detouring to the Shimmerglens. Eldthor wants to go to the Shimmerglens to see if she revives Lamatar and he wants his shit back. Otherwise he's keeping the boots.

[Bluedevyl]

I only get 9 minutes per cast, though I have access to 4 casts, 10 if we rest first. I can cover a lot of ground for each casting, though I wasnt thinking of flying the entire way. I was merely thinking of flying across the Shimmerglens, as I'm sure that will be a much faster way to travel than getting stuck in the muck.

So, my proposition is that Anna, Eldthor, Yap, and anyone else capable of flight head back to the Shimmerglens while the rest of the dirt-bound head for TBF after we travel down from Hook Mountain in whatever the most expedient method possible available to us is currently. I unfortunately dont have enough spell slots available to summon mounts for everyone right now.

Man, I can't wait for 5th level spells. Overland Flight and Teleport here I come!

[DMDarcs]

[Tahlvin]

[Elle]

Couple things: yes to what Bluedevyl said about time of the essence in protecting Sandpoint. If we somehow luck out and get there early, we can use all that time to persuade people to act and prepare shelter. There are around a thousand people in Sandpoint, yes? Depending on the development level, that could be 20, 30, or an even higher percentage of children. Another smaller proportion of adults vulnerable due to health or age. So I'm thinking we need shelter vs dragonfire for hundreds of people even if many stay to fight or defend their homes. I would suggest some prepare to evacuate fully to the now-clean Foxglove Manor while others hide in tunnels that can be accessed quickly from first sighting of any invading force or dragon.

I'm not clear on where the Shimmerglen is, but if it's not on the direct route back to TBF, then maybe we all travel together until we reach the closest point of departure to it, and that cuts travel time. And Dothan could start you off with a haste for at least a few minutes. Dwyn will be really happy not to return there and let the group split up at this point. She sees the need to fulfill a promise, but also thinks it's less important than protecting Sandpoint, in the short term.

I thought about securing a boat or renting barge passage at TBF, except what about Black Magga? Still loose downstream? If anything was going to delay Dwyn from heading home, it would be that, since other townspeople might die if that thing ambles by. But the note made things back home seem far more urgent, since we don't know if Black Magga will surface.

Unless Anna can fly the whole time, we will need horses for our two new friends. I hoped we could sell off some armor and weaponry in TBF as they might need it, frankly, and buy two more horses. Does the wagon slow us at all? If so we could trade it in for horses.

[Elle]

Btw I think we should not drop off Kavan at the Fort. It's just V by himself with maybe a few townsfolk! And we know Kavan to be a slippery sort who fooled V before. I think we drag him along with us all the way to TBF or even Nybor/Sandpoint/Magnimar - wherever we think he can be safely jailed. We also need to question him extensively.

[Tahlvin]

It's possible that Shalelu and Jakardos are still at the fort, in which case it might be reasonable to drop Kaven off there. Otherwise, the alternative I like is to take Kevan with us to the Shimmerglens and let the nymph (and Lamatar, if she revives him) decide his fate. Was Kevan present when the nymph was attacked and Lamatar was kidnapped?

[Mike]

If we take him with us, I say we take him all the way to Magnimar. The Arrows are ultimately responsible to the authority there

[Tahlvin]

[Mike]

I don't think he's irredeemable. I saw something in him that sparked a little sympathy.