[Adventure] The Paper Chase, Part 2 (Judge: renau1g)

[MetaVoid]

"I don't think we can all get in the mail carriage. There are six of us and we're mostly armored so I don't think others would take kindly to us rubbing shoulders with them. And I would probably get to ride on the roof anyhow." says the giant, a bit sadly.
"I don't know how you can get through everything making it so small. Dwarves do it right. They are smaller then humans, but build for giants."

"I suggest we either get the horses or private coach and right now so that our followers have harder time catching up since it's harder to find something in the night. And we can rest and be ready for the morning when we arrive. We'll get more done if we get there early. And besides, if they know our destination it doesn't matter if we lose them here."

 

[Antithetist]

OOC: For the record, you would be able to as long as there weren't too many other passengers. The mail coaches have room for eight passengers, and Orsik could probably sit up front with the driver if he (or somebody with a +13 untrained diplomacy check) asked nicely.

 

[MetaVoid]

OOC: For the record, you would be able to as long as there weren't too many other passengers. The mail coaches have room for eight passengers, and Orsik could probably sit up front with the driver if he (or somebody with a +13 untrained diplomacy check) asked nicely.

That's what I said!

 

[Voda Vosa]

"'f course we do it right, we always do." Winks the dwarf to no one in particular. "We could also run instead of usin' horses. It'll be harder for them to track us down. How far could this place be?"

 

[KarinsDad]

"Let's find out how far it is. Grys replies to Muzdum. "A stablemaster always knows every flyspeck village for at least twenty leagues. We could ask him the name and directions to every nearby village and town, and he would know. Plus if anyone came to him and asked where we were headed, he wouldn't know which one we were interested in. I agree that we should leave now, but we should leave on horses in a different direction than the one we are really heading towards."

 

[Voda Vosa]

"Ye elves always runnin' from e good fight. I say we ambush the ambushers!" says the dwarf, excited with the prospective of a fight.

 

[MetaVoid]

"Nah, they couldn't run the way even if their life depended on it." Orsik whispers to Muzdum. Given size difference, the whisper is heard by all.

He then turns to Grys "We would need to know about such villages to be able to ask about them. Why don't we just take the coach and get on our way. We know already there is trouble there. And since we weren't, as far as we know, directly followed or observed here, we can assume they know where we're going.

It's good to plan in advance, but we can waste time overthinking every possible contingency or we can get there to see what's up and then make an informed decision.

Lady Alexia, please ask around and get us a coach or floating sleds or something."

 

[TwoHeadsBarking]

Alexia nods to Orsik in agreement, "Right, I'll find us something. Faster would be better." and then darts away through the streets.

ooc: Streetwise 25 to find the fastest means of transportation to Sharford. Diplomacy 35 (with Words of Friendship) to acquire the services of said transportation.

 

[KarinsDad]

He then turns to Grys "We would need to know about such villages to be able to ask about them. Why don't we just take the coach and get on our way. We know already there is trouble there. And since we weren't, as far as we know, directly followed or observed here, we can assume they know where we're going.

It's good to plan in advance, but we can waste time overthinking every possible contingency or we can get there to see what's up and then make an informed decision."

"Actually, we would not need to know the name of the villages. We merely ask the ostler the names of nearby villages and towns. And such a plan takes a few minutes of effort and is not a waste of time. There is no need to get directly to Sharford with all due haste. The letter was sent a while back and took quite a bit of time to get to the Professor's hands even once it arrived at the University. So, any sense of urgency is long since unnecessary.

Each of us has our own personal strengths. Mine are tactics and strategies. It's what I do. If you choose to ignore my strengths in order to cut to the chase, you are free to do so. I would defer to you in your areas of expertise, but you are free to not defer to me in mine.

But the fact that you are rushing headlong into a situation of which you know nothing or little without covering your trail when you know that you are being either watched or followed, without thinking about it at all and calling that overthinking, and without even attempting to find out any information from the locals means that you cannot make an informed decision once you get there. Our enemies already know that we are here, so asking questions of the locals will not harm us and might actually help us.

But, I will defer to your decision in this case. Let us move on completely blind to the situation and hope that Mythra can pull your bacon out of the fire.

You do realize, of course, that since the watcher on the lightning rail did not get off, that there are watchers already assigned here in this town. They already know that we are here and are already watching us."

 

[Antithetist]

OOC: If speed is the only concern then you would be able to hire horses, and if necessary, change them at coaching inns along the way. This would be the fastest option, but compared to getting a coach, it's more conspicuous, more expensive, and doesn't enable you to get any rest while moving. Let me know which option Alexia will be applying that Diplomacy check to. Incidentally, Sharford is a good deal further than twenty leagues from here. Hatheril is the closest lightning rail stop, but that's not saying much since Breland only has seven stops to cover the whole enormous country. It's somewhere in the region of 200-300 miles.