DM Carbide - Dark Road |
Besmarial doesn't sleep, and translates for Versey that he has some ability to perceive things without the need for light.
The rest of the day is quiet. At some point, though, Lum asks, "Not to pry or anything, but what are you people doing out here? I mean, I'm not complaining about you being here, but we don't get a lot of visitors, know what I mean?"
Miscellaneous roll W: 1d100 ⇒ 94
Miscellaneous roll A: 1d100 ⇒ 100
Miscellaneous roll E': 1d100 ⇒ 31
Miscellaneous roll E": 1d100 ⇒ 92
Darc Jonash |
Darc just issues one word in response to Lum, in a matter of fact tone, not challenging, just a fact. "Fight."
Darc is of average intelligence, but uses it mainly to fight.
Sami Johoro |
Sami inclines his head to acknowledge Lum's point. True, but we fight out of necessity, not because we wish to. The easiest path is usually not the most rewarding, my friend; we do what we must to, as Rashun said, get rid of evil.
DM Carbide - Dark Road |
The party is undisturbed through the rest of the day. Around nightfall the rain stops and the clouds move out of the area, leaving a beautiful starry sky. Nothing troubles the night.
The next morning, the wind is out of the east, it's bright and warm, and in general it's a better day than just about any you've had since leaving Cassomir.
Sami Johoro |
Sami awakens even more curious than he was the night before. He eyes Versey and Lum, unsure if he could understand how the larger being may understand his question.
Versey was in a ship from...where, exactly? Beyond the skies? If we get to the power source for his ship - how will that help you get rid of the plants?
The question seems to be merely for the sake of slating his curiousity; he is still fully willing to help.
DM Carbide - Dark Road |
Lum chortles. "Ah, I never did tell you that. He's from Verces*--the story he gave was that his ship was out in the Diaspora** collecting stuff and they got hit by the falling star. They got from it before it hit us, but couldn't do more than land hard here. The survivors went to sleep, or something, to wait for rescue, but Versey woke up early."
Xavier Longsaddle |
Xavier continued to look lost. What the hells is Verces or Dias...dia..that other word you said? Oh, never mind. Just tell me when we are going and I'll get the camp together.
The fighter goes to watch outside. He didn't like problems he couldn't solve by hitting it.
DM Carbide - Dark Road |
You have two options for going after the power source: first, you could travel over land, which has the virtue of being direct. Second, you could sail back down the Sellen to where the Dragonfly River flows into it, then sail west up the Dragonfly; this has the virtue of possibly being faster (the wind is out of the east today, and blowing strongly), and definitely being easier on everyone. Your choice?
DM Carbide - Dark Road |
Sorry about the delay; the aftermath of the con, catching up at work, and dealing with probably replacing my daughter's car have soaked up way too much time these past few days.
After a bit of discussion, the party sets out via the river. (The deciding piece of evidence was when Lum pointed out that the worst of the plants stayed out of the water.) Lum has some idea how to handle the boat, but Versey isn't terribly useful. He spends the time talking with Besmarial about what you're looking for, and what it's supposed to do.
Essentially (Besmarial eventually reports) Versey's ship was collecting specimens of various plants from little worlds. Some of those plants were ambulatory and quite dangerous, so the crew had a magical (or something) device that could call the hostile plants towards it from great distances and keep them tranquil. Because the plants were so dangerous, the device was not only powered by the ship, but it also had its own power source in case the ship's power failed. After the crash, ship's power mostly failed; there was just enough to put the crew to sleep, send out a call for help, and start to fix the ship. Versey doesn't know how it happened, but the power source was removed from the device soon after the crash and taken away. (The alien is sure that the power source is not very far from the ship, though.) The plants escaped and started to spread from the ship. Eventually, Versey's sleep box failed, and he woke up. He had no time to get anything from the wreckage, though, because the plants that were there came after him. He was able to outrun them and made it to the settlement.
Versey cautions you that the power source is quite dangerous to hold for any length of time. Besmarial has some trouble translating the concept; apparently, the power source shines with a light no one can see, that burns people up slowly from the inside. It's best to stay far away from it, and not touch it except in dire need. The control device holds it in a way that blocks the light, so it's safe once it's installed. (The control device is also quite large.)
Xavier Longsaddle |
Once more, with a decision made and a course set, Xavier is in high spirits again. He passes the time quietly fishing, softly singing drinking songs and when the mood takes her, asking Eretria about magic. She could tell that Magic obviously fascinated and scared him. He was particularly interested in Magic that either boosted or stole your Will.
He'd already made plain his desire to get a wand of Protection from evil and was determined to learn to use them.
Survival: Provide food1d20 + 7 ⇒ (16) + 7 = 23
Sami Johoro |
Sami merely shakes his head at the absurdity of it all. In his previous life, he was a farmer, a fighter, and little else. This talk of other planets, ships that fly above the sky, and control devices was talk that he would have immediately dismissed if not for what he had already seen firsthand. That, coupled with the fact that the story was translated through a flying helmet that he could confidently call a friend was enough to make him listen intently to Versey's story.
So...the plan is to break our way through the plantlife so that Versey can repair the device, correct? Does Versey know if there's any advantage we can use over the plants? I would think that they'd be particularly vulnerable to fire; is there anything else that could drive them away or confound them?
DM Carbide - Dark Road |
Sami, you recall that the assassin vine was resistant to fire.
Lum replies, "First thing is to get that source widget, then go for the ship. When Versey went to sleep, the control thingy was still working, so if we're lucky all it'll need is the source. Versey showed us how to brew up some weed killer stuff, and I still have a couple of flasks of it."
Splash weapon, inflicts 2d6 damage on primary plant target + 1d6 on targets in 5' range of primary. Non-plants make a DC 12 Fort save to avoid 1 point of nonlethal damage from contact with the weed killer.
Sami Johoro |
You have our thanks; this will help immensely. I'm not certain how many of these plants we'll face, but from what you said, we'll be far outnumbered. So...they're all slightly different, then? You mention that these are specimens from different worlds; is there some sort of controlling mind to them, or are they acting at random?
Don't wait for me...Sami's just killing time during the trip; none of the answers would in any way prohibit plant bashing, which sounds so non-green of us.
DM Carbide - Dark Road |
It's late morning. With the wind out of the east-northeast, you've been trying to stay towards the middle of the river so you won't be blown into a snag or sandbar if a gust comes through. The river at this point is upwards of a quarter-mile across. Rashun is keeping an eye out for anything odd when he spots movement on the east bank, a bit over two hundred yards away.
There is something large and vaguely serpentine floating through the air over the scrub undergrowth. That doesn't begin to describe the disquieting way it moves--not the way it seems to swim through the air, but the quick and darting shifts in position that punctuate its progress. It's far enough away that you can't pick out much in the way of fine detail, and Eretria, Sami, and Darc in particular feel a twinge of something akin to the seugathi's effects on your minds.
It does not appear to be moving towards you at this point. What do you do?
Xavier Longsaddle |
Xavier looks over at the thing and knows this river is not going to help matters should whatever the thing was turn hostile.
We should probably get of the water. On the OTHER side of the river perhaps?
Perception to get a better look at the thing1d20 + 1 ⇒ (8) + 1 = 9
Eretria Whitethorne |
I say let it be but keep watch of where it is so it doesn't come up behind us.
"Let's avoid it if we can but keep watch so it doesn't catch us off our guard... may want to check the water as well."
Eretria is gonna... set up the chain on the boat so it can be stood in just in case... and then stand in it.
Sami Johoro |
Sami watches as the creature passes by, thoughts of that darkness invading his mind once again forcing him to clench his hands into fists and narrow his eyes in anger. He gives a satisfied nod as it leaves his field of vision.
Perhaps whatever that was doesn't like water; we can only hope. Lum, have you or Versey ever seen anything like that?
DM Carbide - Dark Road |
Versey's never heard of anything like that. Lum ponders a moment, looking in the direction it was last seen. "Never seen nothing like it before...might've heard of it, though. This one human showed up at the camp oh, twenty or thirty years ago, babbling about flying worms. He was in a bad way. The few priests we had were good enough to fix his body, but he never really got better. All it took was seeing something flying and he'd either curl up in a ball and gibber or run around frothing at the mouth."
Knowledge (appropriate) check for Lum: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (17) + 6 = 23
Sami Johoro |
Sami nods solemnly, remembering the effects that the Seugathi had on his own mind. I agree - we should avoid it; we came here for fights of a more specific purpose, and to a specific end result. We can't lose time trying to chase down one of those creatures; besides - who knows how many are out there?
DM Carbide - Dark Road |
Between sailing south with the current to where the Sellen is joined by the Dragonfly and running before the wind up the Dragonfly, the party covers a lot of ground before twilight approaches. It's around this point, as the light is fading, that you see a ruined jetty on the south shore of the Dragonfly.