[maikafanawen]

The point of replying to the Outline, was mainly to take attendance.

That being said, I feel it would be inconsistent with the abilities of the allies to just bop around without protecting themselves, much less to let Devon ramble around on his own. Not to mention that that was just what he was doing when he got involved in the whole mess.

I never intended for them to "bop around". Obviously they're going to be very self-conscious with a nervous eye turned behind them incessantly. The three of them are not going to grasp the enormity of their situation right away. How do they know that Jythralo's words aren't just talk? It's been five years since he's done anything out of character. He's getting older and the four Gondorians have always seen him as nothing more than just an elderly government official. That doesn’t oppose much of a threat.

The whole POINT of the kidnapping attempt is to jerk the Gondorian youths into realization that what they're dealing with goes a little farther than just political discontent. Since Devon will be relaying his story to Calnan, Callath, and Adeline, the tone he adopts and the urgency he speaks with will have the initial effect on his friends. They did not hear Jythralo speaking with Agdar so they can't be sure of his intentions. They might even have doubts towards the importance of what Devon is saying.

After the kidnapping, they will be much more cautious, but Devon will not submit to solitude no matter what Calnan says. [img]smilies/wink.gif[/img] He is capable of defending himself to a point and it is necessary that he is able to be out and about doing his share.

Re-reading the outline, I'm a bit concerned about the lack of action on the Allies' part. They basically do nothing (except for what seems a rather haphazard raid on Jythralo's office) until Jythralo acts and they lose the initiative. The initiative - very important in military matters, as I am learning. But I digress.

THE outline, open to discussion, is a VAGUE idea on what I intend to happen. OBVIOUSLY we have a good deal of time for an RPG chock-full of adventure. I don't intend to waste a moment of it. While Jythralo and his crew are meddling in their unwholesome affairs, the Gondorians will be antagonizing his efforts and causing a good deal of trouble against him as well as developing their own counter-plans. JUST because I do not have their every little step specified on that PRIMITIVE outline DOES NOT mean they are doing NOTHING. I'm sorry I wasn't clear...

(A) Try to put a spoke in Jythralo's wheel themselves, or (B) Find out all they can about his plan, his preparations, and especially his own allies; then, depending on the strength of the evidence they gather, they can again approach the Gondorians with a case worth looking into (and in a manner very different from Devon's first attempt), or they can implement a modified Plan A.

Let's assume Devon overheard Jythralo and Agdar's conversation on Day 1. Okay. The morning of Day 2 he tells his friends. Devon heard no date in their discussion and since things had been EXTREMELY dormant for FIVE YEARS, it would be most acceptable that they settled on an indecisive idea and decided to present it to authorities or whoever TOMORROW (Day 3). The EVENING of Day 2, Jythralo makes his moves and any preemptory attempts at diversion the youths might have had is DASHED. They now are caught up in the madness of Corsair Rebellion as the Gondorian guards try frantically to regain power.

The reason the Gondorian guards fail is because after five years of substantial peace they have grown fat and bored. In their shock, they arrest too many people, overflowing their jails, and even most of the corsairs get away unmolested. It is a futile effort. The pompous Ambassador is just as scared and he and his few delegates are frenzied in their attempt to restore order. Eventually in a matter of three days OR LESS, most government officials, wealthy upper classmen, or foreign merchants have evacuated the city, fleeing for their safety, and leaving it to the few people brave enough to face Jythralo and his rebellious Corsairs.

These few people consist of four Gondorian youths, a retired Navy Sea-Captain, his crew, and (possibly) a handful of others (secondary characters yet to be named). Not very many. So far it appears that Jythralo has even won. But to make sure, he retreats to his Bay to retrieve his ships and bring them to oppose any last-minute (speaking v figuratively) Gondorian efforts to reclaim Umbar. His fleet may consist of only ten or more ships (this is as reasonable as I've decided it can be), BUT they are of the best make, with the most talented crews, and their sea-maneuvering capability exceeds that of any other water-traversing ships. It's a real threat.

How will one sleek ship under Avershire's command defeat Jythralo's modern armada? That remains to be seen... *mysterious smile*

Arvedui: Very nice. Have you by any chance read The Belgariad by David Eddings? Telson reminds me a lot of my FAVORITE character from his books: Silk, or Prince Kheldar. I'll PM you tomorrow, er, actually, maybe Saturday morning.

This weekend is going insane on me. The RPG will probably open Sunday.

Have I covered everything? If there are more questions, do not hesitate to ask, I will not hesitate to answer.

-Maikafanawen