Nevill said:
Fangshi, can we have Lyssa tame a rat or two to act as a scout, or will it take too much time to catch and condition one?
Any animal will do, really. Do they keep dogs around here?
It is likely to take a fair amount of time unless you get very lucky. A rat also can not outrun a ghôl so it is doubtful you could catch them that way. (Ghôls are fast when they want to be, many of them can keep up with a horse over short distances for example.)
No dogs I am afraid. The only animals you are certain to have easy access to are the pair of eagles Lyssa brought with you.
Re: Money Worries:
If you fail to pay the interest the Guild likely won't immediately kick down your door but you would be expected to pay every cent of it eventually and your reputation would start to take a hit across the board. Nothing will lose you respect amongst the dwarves quicker than failing to honour your commitments.
There may be a few ways to make money quickly as well using Derryth or Thaïs' unique skill sets or the assets you currently have but I doubt any of them will be terribly appealing.
For example there are a few dwarven nobles that would pay quite well for a evening of discrete 'discussion' with the 'Heroes of the Kingdom', not exactly noble work and best to avoid the potential scandal if you can but it is an option. Alternatively many of the Great Houses maintain large family mausoleums outside Stoneheim. Rich dwarves are usually buried with a fair amount of wealth and Derryth is a
grave robber treasure hunter. Of course robbing some of the most holy sites in all the kingdom is also likely to have consequences if you are caught. Finally, Blackrock is skilled in extracting funds from, shall we say 'unwilling' partners. If you wanted to run them like the Eberhardts did then you could potentially bring in a lot of money quickly.
Absinthe said:
Also, about Uttu and Lyssa, I was wondering about that. First, Uttu fires frost arrows, so conceivably whatever she hits wouldn't necessarily detonate.
If it is an explosive then it should be fine to hit it with frost arrows, if it is wight bits then the impact could be enough to set them off and trigger an explosion. Wight bits are essentially sacks of flesh filled with corrosive, explosive and paralytic juices and gases. Enough force and you will get a reaction. So it will depend on what is in the sack really.
Absinthe said:
As for Lyssa, a chance of ending up in the blast radius is still better than a certainty of getting destroyed by the bag's contents.
Sure, I can add it as option E.
She will have to begin casting before she knows if you succeed or not since the spell is not instantaneous, it has a longer casting time than firebolt and a much longer casting time than your mental spells.
The way the option will work is as follows. You yell to her to begin casting the spell. You and Thaïs will have time to launch a single round of mental spells. Either the ghôl goes down or she throws the bag. Lyssa will launch the spell if she sees the sack released and will push everyone and everything in front of her away. You, Thaïs and Jawbone will get a check to see if you can grab the door frame or each other to avoid getting thrown into the room. The situation will then unfold from there.
Absinthe said:
Fangshi, er, I'm hoping our crew's stance relaxes much faster than the societal stance on this.
It is possible but the right conditions would be necessary. Almost every member of your group has lost at least one person to the undead so there is a large emotional barrier that has to be overcome. Then there are the legal issues as well, even a hint of necromancy can be enough to ruin reputations. If you get caught trying it you will be killed along with the rest of your organization.
There is also the moral issue caused by utilizing a spell school that permanently traps the soul of the deceased within a rotting frame, often in a damaged or twisted form. It is not the most healthy school available.
Still, it is possible that over time they may become more open to the idea and it may be possible to alter the spells so that they are less morally troublesome as well.
Anyway, the vote will close on Monday (so another 24 hours) and an update will follow some time after that. Your current leading option is A, slam the doors and ride out any blast that may be coming.