"Chaos hates organized meetings, so why have so many?" (Afina, Jaela, Moore)

[Nephrite]

My mistake! Moore is still fine with whatever!

[Anastasia]

"That'll work," Adrian says, "Though we'll need to greatly extend the courtyard."

Giving Jaela a chance here.

[Ebiris]

I overestimated Auroras size. First time for everything!

"That raises it's own problem of slowing our ability to deploy forces out the gate in a hurry," Afina says thoughtfully. "Maybe this isn't worthwhile?"

[Corwin]

"What if we integrated it as a guardhouse, complete with portcullis, that everyone would need to pass through to and from Aurora proper?" Jaela muses. "Keep it within the walls, of course, and still run the trap on the gates just outside it. But it'll let us keep a garrison right there at our one entry point instead of having people be out in the open or run all the distance from the barracks. And there would be a way through, even if we have to force it. Perhaps even one-way walls? I know there's a spell for it. Reinforcements would just rush through them, but invaders would have to navigate the fortifications properly. How feasible's that?"

[Ebiris]

"This is starting to feel like more trouble than its worth," Afina says, "If we want a gatehouse we may as well build one to specification rather than coopting unsuitable giant architecture."

[Nephrite]

"Perhaps, then, it'd be best to just break it down and use it as materials?" Moore offers. "If it won't fit quite right anywhere... better to make a round ball out of a cube than try and fit the cube somewhere it doesn't go, right?"

[Corwin]

"So long as we have proper housing for the giants, I'm not married to this particular castle integration," Jaela says agreeably. "What are our options, Adrian?"

[Anastasia]

Adrian kicks back again, "Well, now it's all complicated," he hmphs, "Break off parts and use them rather than the whole thing? We have the magic and power to do it, the earth elementals will be great at that. Hell, I don't know. It's a oversized castle."

[Nephrite]

"Then let's un-complicate it -- it seems like it'd take a lot more time and effort to integrate it than to just use it to reinforce what we have." Moore says. "I think it's best just broken down unless there's some part of it that houses some useful functionality."

[Ebiris]

"I haven't heard any complaints - certainly if I were the Jarl I'd be a lot happier with quarters in Aurora than in a drafty looted castle," Afina says with respect to the furniture situation. "As to breaking it down... it's just stone and wood, we can get that to order if we wanted but we'd be better off using adamantine or the like for any fortifications. Or whatever Aurora is made of, considering its self repair properties."

[Anastasia]

Adrian holds a hand up, "Alright then, I'll have Elder Magi Tepen and some others take a look at it, see how viable any of that is. One more thing before we're done. Moore, didn't you mention being able to help forge?"

[Nephrite]

"Hm? Oh, yes." Moore nods a few times. "Part of my life has been devoted to motivation and giving speeches. I'm very good at making people attain skills higher than they're normally able to. A little magic here, a little motivation there. I'm sure I could help with that."

[Ebiris]

"The main bottleneck is people focused on magical enchantment," Afina says. "I have a few assistants but almost all equipment used in Aurora is made by me, with the exception of magical rings that Sylvie usually helps with. Still, there are a few techniques to improve weapons and armour through sheer craftsmanship that can rival enchantments, so help at making that more consistent would be useful."

[Corwin]

"One thing I think we should look into is improving our wardstone," Jaela muses. "I think I heard something about the castle's locking down planar travel for miles? It could be a nice feature if we're expecting an attack or want to prevent a retreat."

[Anastasia]

"Two sided sword, since it'll stop us," Adrian points out, "The wardstone's main attribute is the sheer range on it. From what I understand, it's much harder to make it something you can turn off and on at will. I'll talk to Elder Magi Tepen about it."