Gold-Bottom Bay, A Hero's Welcome
Electric excitement fills the air. After months aboard the passenger frigate Resolution, the promise of land and freedom is almost too much to bear, especially in a place as magical as Gold-Bottom Bay. Indeed, just peering over the side of the boat you can see how the Bay got its name. Coppers, silvers, and shiny gold pieces seem to carpet the sea floor and twinkle as you glide across the crystal clear waters. Several patrons aboard the ship toss in a coin themselves as a token of thanks to Lady Luck for granting them safe passage.
Up ahead, the port city is a riot of color as the Festival of Fortune is in full swing. Thousands of fluttering kites fill the sky, intermingling with the singing sea birds that wing lazily overhead. A crowd forms at the bow of the vessel, eager to take in the sights, sounds, and smells of this majestic city. At the very forefront of this crowd stand six individuals.
The first is Samisel, the tall elven cavalier hailing from distant Verdan. Behind him stands Deston, the lean swashbuckler sporting a half masque across his face to hide his scars. He is a local, having spent his childhood here, but he hasn't been home in years, and a lot has changed since then. Next to him is young Qarxan the brilliant gnome wizard, schooled in the ways of air magic. Also present is the gnome druid Emmentian, holding his pet snake high so he may get a better view. Standing quietly behind him is Lynnara the Wavespeaker, enjoying the salt spray on her beautiful tanned skin. And finally, standing propped up on the railing, the mischievous halfling Talic looks longingly at the glittering city, eager to ply one of his many trades.
They are all friends and companions now, the inevitable result of living together over the past three months, sharing food and drink and stories. Since this land is foreign to most of them, there exists an unspoken agreement that this little band of companions will persist while each of them gets their feet wet. Though newly friends, there exists a feeling of trust and respect among them, almost as if their meeting aboard this vessel were more than mere chance.
As the Resolution pulls into port and the passengers offload, a large commotion begins further down the docks. An excited crowd is gathering around a peculiar ship as a large cage is offloaded. Within it lay a dark figure, perhaps some sort of creature, but it's impossible to tell without a closer look. Whatever it is, it seems to have caused quite a stir among the locals, as fierce looking men in black and white uniforms angrily push the crowd back to make room for the cage and its mysterious inhabitant.
Thank Gaea! I thought this voyage would never end. It is good to fell solid ground beneath my boots once more, even if this place does reek of fish guts. Apparently we are not the only new arrivals today. I wonder what those fellows have brought?
"Yes, as much as the open sea air is pleasant, it will be nice to be back on dry land." Emmentian agrees, lowering the snake, Cirrus, to rest around his shoulders. Following the elf's gaze across to the cage, he arches an eyebrow in consideration, "whatever it is, I hope it doesn't object too strongly to its incarceration, it looks large enough to cause some trouble if angered."
"Who are the men in black and white?" the gnome asks of the masked swordsman, nodding his head to indicate the group surrounding the cage.
A closer look at the ship reveals it to be the Othello, with the letters ORCA stenciled above its waterline. The figure in the cage remains a mystery, and it appears that the crowd is swelling in number despite the attempts of the uniformed men. You catch snippets of whispers as the locals talk excitedly amongst one another. At one point you hear a name, Carmella, and then hear someone else mention "sea witch". It's quite obvious that this mob isn't going to clear anytime soon, and getting a good look at the cage will involve either climbing to a higher vantage point, or muscling through the throng.
'Well, chums! It seems we are to be tantalised, teased with mystery, tickled with envy for those with knowledge of what lies in yon cage! And so I ask you, which among you counts as a vantage point for a poor, curiosity beleagured gnome!' Qarxan smiles widely, his eyes twinkling!
'What say we try and climb some crates? Deston old chum, can you reccommend a rendezvous point should we get seperated in the throng, me, Emmetian and Talic won't exactly be visible over any shoulders!'
A few hundred feet away lies a shipping yard with a tall pulley crane used to offload crates and cargo. It seems like the best place to view the proceedings, as the road the armed men are taking doubles back underneath the crane. It's quite tall, however, and looks to be a risky climb at best.
Peering out over Gold-Bottom Bay, Talic can taste the excitement and opportunity here. Though he enjoyed the feel of the sea breeze on his face, Talic is ready for a bit more freedom than the ship had to offer.
Having his attention drawn to the cage and it's mysterious inhabitant, Talic's curiosity begins to grow, and upon seeing the crane, curiosity wins the day. I think I know how to find a better view With a wink and a smile at his companions, Talic will disembark as soon as possible, slipping quickly and easily among the dock traffic heading towards the crane. Giving a quick study of the crane, looking for the best climbing route, Talic will begin to ascend.
Emmentian follows behind the halfling, sensing his eventual destination and similarly curious as to who, or indeed what, may be imprisoned within the cage. Upon reaching the crane, he lowers Cirrus to allow the snake to wrap around the structure, while he himself follows Talic's lead in looking for an effective route to a sufficient height to see over the teeming crowd.
As the crowd mills about below, no one notices the two small figures scurrying up the side of the crane. At first the climb is fairly straight-forward, but as Talic rises higher he realizes the boards he thought would make great handholds turned out to be old and powdery with rot. Emmentian, following Cirrus' lead, manages to find an alternate route, and soon both companions make their way to a haphazardous perch on the boom of the crane.
Below, the crowd is reaching a frenzy, with shouts of "Let her go!", and "You've got no right!" occasionally being heard. From their higher vantage point, Talic and Emmentian can see that it is not some large black beast in the cage, but rather someone or something covered completely by a large, heavy black cloth. Whatever it is, it seems to have plenty of fight left in it, as it struggles against the thick chains binding it to the floor of the cage. There appears to be something sticking small sticking out from beneath the shroud, but in the chaos, it is difficult to discern precisely what it is.
Emmentian frowns down at the spectacle, grasping tightly to the crane as he leans forwards. "The crowd looks like it could turn ugly at any moment," he whispers to his companion, unnecessarily quiet above the roar of the mass below.
Talic nods at emmentian's statement, as the idea of sneaking in for a peak at ehat's in the cage enters his mind. He absently fingers a sling bullet, as he counts the number of guards. " I wonder who or what ORCA is?" talic says as much to his companion as to himself.
Lynnara looks towards the sea as she prepares to set foot on land.
At least the sea air blows away most of the offensive smells. Hopefully we'll get a lot of sea breezes to do the same here.
Lynnara reacts to Emmentian's comment. It's a mob of landers with a spectacle... they're never anything other than ugly.
Perception
Knowledge Local (untrained)
'I say, getting excited aren't they?'
Qarxan peers as hard as he can towards the shrouded figure.
With his keen eyes, Talic detects a hint of movement from the cage. Amidst the chaos, the black folds of fabric part for an instant to reveal the young, moon shaped face of girl. She locks eyes with the halfling, almost as if she knew he would be there all along.
Just as soon as it appears, it vanishes, and Talic was so surprised by the sight that he almost missed a thin, skeletal hand snaking out from underneath the fabric, between the bars and innocuously dropping something small on the cobblestones below. The rogue rubs his eyes and does a double take; sure enough, a tiny little object is there, being bounced around and trampled by the street crowd, now in a full roar as the guards from ORCA resort to violence to keep the mob at bay.
Whatever it is, Talic knows that either he or someone else better get down there fast before things turn ugly, and the mysterious object is lost forever!
Qarxen casts message and whispers up to Talic.
'Talic, old friend! What do you see? What's going on down there?'
Once more startled by the sudden message, Talic composes himself. "I need to get to that cage fast, a girl and a shiny object"
Talic then begins a climb down till he's close enough to drop down. Once he lands, he will dash through the crowd searching for the object. I wonder who that girl is?
Samisel sees Talic trying to make his way through the angry mob and realizes the impulsive young halfling might need a little help. He makes his way down the dock and starts to shove his way to Talic's side.
As the daring rogue releases his grip and falls from his lofty perch, he hears Qarxan's rhythmic whispering echo through his head, and suddenly a warm updraft surrounds him, slowing his rate of descent to a survivable level.
On the ground, the world suddenly turned into a sea of stomping legs and shuffling bodies for the halfling, and he had to remain quick on his feet to avoid getting trampled by the mob. Somewhere off to his right, Samisel was muscling his way to where his companion had descended.
The fervor of the crowd was slowly shifting from anger to panic as reinforcements arrived in the form of more ORCA guards, these more heavily armed and armored than their beleaguered companions. They begin to indiscriminately lay into the crowd, whether people are resisting or not. It becomes evident that soon this street will turn into a place you do not want to be.
As the warm updraft from Qaraxan's spell slows Talic's fall, A smile spreads across the halfling's face. I've always wanted to fly thought Talic. As soon as his feet touched the ground, Talic began the deadly game of Dodge. Through the crowd, he could cath glimpses of the object being kicked and rolled about in the sea of running boots. Hoping, rolling, diving, and ducking he deserately tries grasp that mysterious object which seems to call to him stronger the closer he gets.
[ooc] acrobatics
Deston frowns at the black and white uniforms. "ORCA riff raff." He spits."We can probably learn more about the occupant of that cage at the Calypsia."
Always quick on his feet, the halfling was nevertheless jostled roughly as he closed with the mysterious object. Just as his fingers wrapped around it, a knee from a frantic citizen crashed painfully into Talic's side, bowling him over. Luckily, he maintained control of the item.
However, there was no time for a closer inspection, as one of the heavily armed guards spotted the rogue and began to draw closer to investigate.
Deston watches the guard as he approaches Talic and prepares to intervene in Talic's behalf.
The big armed man approaches cautiously, but not with open hostility. He has a slight look of concern on his face, almost as if he has mistaken Talic for a child who got trampled in the riot.
"You there, boy! Are you okay?" he booms as he draws near.
Emmentian makes use of his higher vantage, still up on the crane, to survey the street and try to assess the best route of escape for his friends on the ground.
Once confident of the best course for them to take, he focuses intensely for a moment as he calls upon some inner power to send forth the information to sound out beside Qarxan. Trusting in the wizard's ability to disseminate the message more effectively.
Qarxan casts message on Samisel and Emmetian, so that he can keep in contact, he does the same for anyone who enters the press.
'I think,' he says with growing worry, 'that this is going to get nasty! I hope those low-browed thugs don't hurt anyone too badly.'
"Ouch, that will leave a mark. Aha, got it!" Noticing the guards approach Talic tries to look as innocent as possible.
One more detail, if it comes to flight, Lynnnara will cast an Obscuring Mist to cover our exit, possibly also a Create Ice to make a strategic 5 foot square difficult terrain. If instead the group stands for battle, her first move will be to Bless the party
From his perch, Emmentian watches the flood of panicked civilians spill and separate like tributaries down alleyways and side streets. He makes note of a group of particularly clever men who disappear into a local pub down an alley not too far away; it effectively gets them off the street and away from the armed cronies, two things that occur to him as great ideas at the moment. He conveys it via sound to Qarxan, hoping the bright young gnome gets the idea that laughter, merriment and the sound of drinks being poured equals safety.
Now if only he could get down quietly...
Meanwhile, the other companions hover across the street, just within earshot of where Talic is slowly rising and dusting himself off. The guard is now within spitting distance of the small halfling, and easily more than double his size, but he has yet to make a move. Though his friends are worried for him, they know that Talic has been in worse situations, and for now they hang back, so as not to break the small rogue's ruse.
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The ORCA thug looked the small boy up and down for a second. Something about his countenance didn't sit right with the guard, but he couldn't quite pin it down. It was almost as if the boy looked guilty of something.
"Likely the little bugger was trying to snatch a purse and then got trampled for his trouble" the large man thought to himself.
Still, the boy was empty-handed, and it looked as if the licks he had taken were punishment enough.
"Oy, look here boy," he barked. "This street ain't no place for a little one such as yourself, you hear? Go on then, get out of here and keep your nose out of trouble!"
Samisel's strong arms, tall physique, and serious face do wonders to encourage the press of people to make way as he and his companions finally regroup with their young halfling friend. The ORCA muscle has moved on by this time, his attention occupied by more aggressive rioters further down the street. However, more black and white garbed men mill about, and they are viewing everyone they come across with cold scrutiny.
Talic, you little scamp! Your mother is beside herself with worry! Why must you run off like that? Have you been bothering the soldiers, son? Come along, come along. You have chores that need doing.
"I've heard of Carmella, but I don't know much about her. If she is a pirate and ORCA has her, then she is done. We can go in that tavern and see what we can hear because it's been a long while since I've been here and I'm not exactly current on events." Deston pauses and frowns. "If we need more info, there is someone here that I know that would be well informed. I am loathe to talk with him as we did not exactly part on good terms, but he also might have some other information that I am in need of."
Talic will give a half smile to Samisel and say "Sorry Pa. I'm Hungry can we go some where quiet and get somethign to eat? Once they are gathered he will nod at Deston's mention of the tavern. "We need to talk where there are less ears." Talic will keep one hand close to the pocket, protecting the shiny object. For the first time he recalls the girl with the moon shaped face. How did she know I was there and who is she? He is unusually thoughtful until the reach somewhere relatively safe to talk.
The pub the party enters is a small stuffy venue, exacerbated by the packed crowd that ceases its hushed conversations as it gives the companions a once-over. Satisfied that they are simple travelers and not more of ORCA's goons, the talk in the room once again turns to the events of moments ago.
It soon becomes clear that this mysterious Carmella, whoever she may be, is evidently quite popular among the locals. There is an air of incense and outrage over her incarceration.
After locating a (relatively) quiet and secluded table, Talic fishes into his pocket, and the companions finally get a good look at the mysterious object. It turns out to be a smudged, blood-stained swatch of green fabric wrapped around a ring.
The ring is made of some sort of black metal and surprisingly heavy and slightly warm to the touch. Other than the symbol on the device of the ring, it is rather unremarkable and nondescript.
On the backside of the piece of fabric is a smeared and hastily-scrawled message, written in what appears to be blood.
Talic quietly tells the companions about the moon faced girl"It was like she new I would be there! And those eyes! I'm not sure why, but I think she wanted me to find this ring and message."
While Talic's attention is grasped by the potentially valuable ring, Emmentian leans in to scrutinize the bloody scrawls on the fabric. "Help Calipsia, find dad..." he recites, muttering his musings to himself, "or is it Help... Calipsia... Find Dad... So the Calipsia is where she is going to be held? And the V and circled F? Initials?"
After a few moments, the gnome prods the fabric with a finger, indicating the sketch in the lower right corner, "Does anyone else think this looks like a ship? With a something highlighted beneath it?"
"Does anyone else think this looks like a ship? With a something highlighted beneath it?"
Perhaps something that attacked the ship, causing 'Dad' to be lost or need help?
Talic holds the ring out to Qarxan "Qarxan, what do you make of this ring, it is unusually warm. Is it enchanted?" The halfling's eyes sparkle at the thought of an enchanted ring.
"Hmm," Emmentian muses as the ring is held out, "that symbol looks almost as if it could be representative of the unity of all four elements... I'm not sure if that has any bearing on any enchantment that it may hold though."
"Let me take a look, although I'd swear that the device on the ring looks like a compass."
Qarxan casts detect magic and uses Spellcraft to try and identify any magical qualities.
'Let me see,let me see...'