Van, I believe we could handle it. But it is a dangerous place, the shadow lands, and I fear that some of our charges will die if we go there. And is there anyone here that can repair a wagon wheel?
[OOC: Mike, the phrase "shadow lands" and perhaps "Lands of Shadow" are literally the only common knowledge regarding that of which you speak. Without Ranks in a knowledge skill, you know nothing abut that except vague rumors of a dark power rising in the northern deserts...perhaps a war last year in which elves might have been involved...be careful not to use knowledge Darabrac does not possess...]
Whatever we choose, we must be cautious, and devote much of our time, attention and spellwork to the protection of our charges. Some of the caravan masters passing through Arabel believe the Empire of Shadow was responsible for wiping Tilverton off the face of Faerun, after all.
And before we decide anything for sure, we need to hear from Lenet cor Tarak.
Sorry, I must have dozed off there for a second. Yes, I'm anxious to meet this Lady cor Tarak myself. Tell me, is she betrothed to anyone?
But in any case, I vote to go the way of the Anauroch trail. They say the desert sun is quite good for the skin! We also may want to avoid Waterdeep for the time being. It is a terrible place ... filled with all sorts of evil that many of you would want to stay away from.
Oh, and just a little, tiny question ... how will we be payed for this job? Sundabar is a fairly weathy city, will we receive payment when we reach there? Mind you, coin is not my motivation in life, but spell components (as well as nice clothing) are expensive. And I fear there will be little chance for adventuring since we obviously need to safeguard our charges (and cannot go to explore an ancient tomb we come across for example).