[Game Thread] The Atea Gem

[Nevrend]

"I would be pleased with that idea. It would be entertaining if we filled a crypt below a church with dozens of decoy gems. We could even put together some sort of fantastic treasure as well to distract from the real prize."

[Andramal]

Munshin considered the option, and nod. "That seems a workable compromise between the two ideas that could work out well and minimize issues. For a crypt, people will naturally expect to not be down there much, but it will not be utterly alone and unguarded. We shall simply have to theme the atmosphere so the gems make sense, big and small."

[Nevrend]

A note of approval creeps into the cloaked figures voice."Precisely as I was thinking. Even if someone were to know about the gem, they would have a very difficult time separating it from the other decorations."

[TheJeanyus]

Eran contemplated his associate's ideas. Hiding a crypt behind a church would certainly make it harder to discover, and the idea of using decoys was an excellent one. It shouldn't be too difficult to do...

"I agree, a crypt with numerous decoys under a church could certainly work. Perhaps we can incorporate gems into some of the more elaborate headstones, the wealthy wanting to adorn their final resting place seems reasonable enough. Though if that is the course we follow, I doubt a church in this poor neighborhood would have quite so many high class patrons. Perhaps an area of moderate wealth? Nothing too fancy, so as to minimize attention, but something nice enough to fit the profile?"

[Duderlybob]

"Placing a decoy of the gem in plain sight however advertises our knowledge of it." The monk finally speaks up. [b]"I'd say we put it somewhere that makes sense to guard, but has no correlation to anything magical. Say, a brewery, we hire as many of the best and most renowned brewers we can, and employ ourselves and more obvious guards, all in the interest of guarding 'mead.'" Roan shrugs. "To me, at least, that seems the wisest course of action. Hide it within a secret area, hidden beneath something worth guarding, that in no way suggests anything more than business."

 

Hey Eli, still getting my sheet worked out, but figured I should at least stick my head in and say something.

[Nevrend]

Morvian seems a little down trodden at the mention of mead, perhaps because undead can't really enjoy a fine brew. "Perhaps a decent idea, but the obvious problem is that we would need to protect the gem not only from any unseen threats, but our own employees. Any craftsman of any note would be bound to find any hidden secrets within his own work space eventually. On the other hand if we reveal the existence of the secret area, we would always have the threat of a rat looming over our heads."

[Duderlybob]

"A storage area for barrels doesn't receive much traffic. Less than a church, I assure you." The Iroran counters. "The man who works the stills isn't likely to just go stare a barrels that often now would he? We just see some barrels put over the entrance, say that they're the batch being saved for 'aging' and no one will even go near it."

[Nevrend]

"True enough, though we wouldn't exactly be hiding a crypt."

[TheJeanyus]

"Yes, a brewery certainly has its merits. The foremost of which being, instead of sinking our funds into decoy gems and fake treasure, we could actually be making a profit. In addition, a brewery could be based in this district so as to avoid attention."

[Andramal]

"The point of the decoy crystals is more of explaining why such pieces are around." reasoned Munshin, "As cheap crystal is not that hard to procure or even magic up, making some with a glow is a cute, practical way of demonstrating a theme with it. Small crystals, big crystals, the idea is ornamental, so the presence of large ones don't even give a second thought to others, should they for some reason go deep enough to see the real one. Even then, I would figure warding off that room so it is hidden would be recommended."

"While there may not be 'overly wealthy' patrons in the lower districts, there are still those who are better off. Besides, I do not think the wealth should matter in this case. Cremation is an option, and ashes interred in the crypt viable, one can offer up a tomb for those with a good reason, such as if someone very important in the community should pass on, or it could simply be reserved for any important heads of the church in question, for the future. Larger and smaller crystals can be used as lights for the halls in those cases. No one is going to wonder about why we're using them if they don't know about the main one in the first place. It is not like the decoys must be [i]identical]/i]. A simple crystal is a simple crystal."

"The church does not have to be fancy either; The poor need places to worship, and it may help them value the place if they feel it gives them some attention, some respect. Part of this whole debacle has been trying to make others more equal, yes? A little token effort to make the poor feel better should not go too amiss if we find genuine clergy for the above. I do not think the Rich will care if the Poor are promoting themselves to feel better, and if that feels too risky, it does not hurt to place it in a somewhat better area, i suppose, if it still seems too conspicuous."

"As far as a brewery goes, if we are left to our own means of generating wealth to defend the crystal, anything will do. Contrary to belief, even a church can create income of a sorts; a brewery simply generates more obvious income. We would have to branch into many different means in order to afford more and more defenses if we are trying to stack the deck."

[TheJeanyus]

"Perhaps having a number of facilities would be worth it. Both the brewery and the church are a good idea, but consider for a moment how those that oppose us might find the gem. It is less likely that someone will randomly stumble upon it and realize its true significance and more likely that it will become a target. If someone comes looking for Ozan, the first place they will start looking is his associates."

"While we should not easily be labeled as such, if some entity were to link us to Ozan, any facility we owned would become a place of great interest. Yet if we own a number of places, they would have a much wider set of targets. How would they know which building to start searching? And how could they be sure that if they find something, that it isn't merely a decoy?"

"We could even link said facilities, with tunnels or the like, and keep the gem somewhat mobile. That would be ambitious of course, but defending it wil have to be an ongoing endeavor. If we do decide to do this, then the question change slightly: where do we start?"

[Duderlybob]

"A fair few points, but I'd advise against the tunnels. If a location was attacked, we don't want a road that leads directly towards the crystal available. But multiple locations is a wise idea if we've the funding for it." Leaning forward, the monk puts forward a new idea. "That said, Eran brings up a good point. If those who look for Ozan have any information that would lead to us, we could well become the target of their hunt. Perhaps in addition to disguising the intent of facilities and the like, we should also disguise ourselves, go by aliases, and effectively remove ourselves from the map. That way, we're not former associates of Ozan, we're merely Bjorn the brewer or Legault the clergyman."

[Nevrend]

The shade thinks for a moment. "The fact that the most likely way to find the crystal would be through us does lend more credit to my idea to hide it in a crypt no one knows about. I do like the idea of having multiple building and aliases in our possession though. It is a good thing no one except the people in this room have lain eyes upon me in the past several centuries. It would be a little hard for me to adopt an alias otherwise."

[TheJeanyus]

"I understand your concerns about the tunnels, I share them as well. I do feel that we could make such a tunnel very very difficult to pass through for the wrong people however. It would just give us an option for mobility that we otherwise would not have, it is by no means necessary, just a thought."

"Disuises and aliases though... you're quite right, those could prove most useful." Turning towards the shade, Eran chuckled a bit. "I could certainly imagine people not forgetting you easily, you are rather unique."

[Andramal]

Plans plans, plans! It all depended on what sort of starting resources they had to muster with, or what they had to gather to begin such a task. "They will be searching for Ozan first, I agree. They will not look for the crystal unless they find a clue that it is important to do so. Unfortunately, I presume magic may point at it if that is where he is hiding." Munshin gestured towards Ozan at this point, "A fact I presume you have already thought of, and laid proper magic on the crystal to hamper any such detection?"

"I am too entrenched in my role to play Master of Disguises from the beginning - my presentation is my strength. I, however, am merely the accountant, and I doubt they will regard me as good for information if I insult them properly and show proper disdain, along with clean paperwork. If these plans of expansion are the way we go, I can probably be myself and manage well, and disguise my work for future ventures if we need an alternative plan."