Ralf, not satisfied with Surkhoff's recital for some reason, insists on reading the poem. ;-)
"Watever we do, let's be quick to action and do it. If Torch wants to go along the beach, then I shall follow him." though Aerys doesn't sound quite as enthusiastic as she normally does.
"Well if our intrepid Mc Quarry wants to travel along the shore I'll oblige him... I guess he developed an healty distrust of trails... I wonder why..." chuckles Hrakar in his dryly sarcastic tone
Gelik seems distinctly put out that Surkoff would hog the limelight with his recital. He grudgingly admits that both the content and the delivery were "of acceptable quality" but clearly feels that he could have done a better job with the performance. He is uncharacteristically quiet the rest of the evening.
When the discussion about the travel plans arises, he simply nods at the idea of following the beach, then roots through the shovels looking for the one with the shortest handle.
Not to be outdone, Gelik spends the morning sharing some of his better jokes.
Collecting the shovels you set out along the eastern coast, which would be the logical place to look for wreckage. Somewhat later (near the small island south of you) you are rewarded by the remains of a large ship, called the Bloody Doll, lying cast up on the beach.
Aerys eyes the wreck, looking from afar to determine if there's likely to be any treasure, or the waters have battered to just a ships husk?
The ship itself is beyond repair, but you never know where you might find treasure.
"Does this wreck strike any of you as different than the others we saw till now? I can't honestly see any difference, and this is not where the map points at if I recall correctly" says Hrakar with his usual impatience.
Gelik places his hands on his hips and tilts his head to the side. "What an unfortunate name for a ship."
The hull has cracked open, so you won't have to climb in if you want to investigate.
Unsurprisingly, Torch moves toward the wreck, eager to peer inside. He is watching warily for traps or other unpleasant surprises, however, and has his trusty scimitar ready to hand.
Unsurprisingly an unpleasant surprise awaits inside the wreckage. As Torch peers into the darkness a few shapes start to move. The remains of the ship's crew, in the form of four hideously bloated and rotting sailors, start to shamble towards you.
Roll for initiative. Of course, you could probably outrun them if you just want to get away.
Unsurprisingly Hrakar curses at Torch and moves to help
"Mc Quarryyy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Initiative Roll:
Unsurprisingly Aerys has her longsword drawn, long before she gets to the ship, on her guard for anything threatening. She follows just behind Torch, as he moves eagerly to the wreck, an emotion she doesn't share. Another carcass of a fine ship, no doubt lives were lost when it ran aground, her faced saddened by the thought of the sailors whose lives ended in the seas here. A tear escapes and rolls slowly down a cheek, she wipes it away, before anyone can notice. She starts at Hrakar's shout, brought back to alertness.
"Is there anything on this island that isn't disgusting?"
Init:
"Say, you fellers look a mite upset. I wonder what's going on..."
Eventually Ralf notices the living dead creatures down below.
The deceased sailors spend their first round emerging from the carcass of the ship, so you can all act before they do anything else.
You're up, all of you.
Channelling:
"I admit, I did see this coming," Torch says conversationally, falling back to lure the undead out of the confines of the ship.
Ralf moves to K13 and zaps one of the living dead with a bolt of positive energy.
touch attack:
Gelik moves to P14 and fires a Ray of Frost at the rotting sailor in N10.
Hrakar's healing energy wounds the living dead slightly, as does Gelik's magic, while Ralf's bolt goes wide. Torch withdraws, but takes a swipe to his chest for 6 points of damage as he does so. Aerys delays.
The zombies scramble out into the open, undeterred by the sunlight. You easily block their clumsy swings. Ishirou cuts down one of them and now you are up again.
Your turn.
Grunting in pain, Torch begins to circle his target and tries to cut it down with his scimitar.
Hrakar steps back and channels positive energy again intent in destroying the undeads:
Channel energy:
Aerys longsword sweeps through the air at the nearest creature, attempting to sever its head from its body.
Ralf heals Torch, his poor aim not much of an issue now.
heal
Your combined efforts cut down the remaining zombies, [ooc]netting you 133 xp each for the battle. A search of the ship turns up only meagre results, most of the contents having been washed out to sea: 13 gp and a masterwork studded leather armor.
Wiping the dead meat from her sword, Aerys is less than impressed by the remnants found in the ship. "An unwelcoming party, do all the wrecks around here have such friendly remains? I hope not. So onwards?" She starts a jaunty step along the beach.
Gelik agrees. "A pittance, and a pity." He brushes his hands together, then adds, "Yes, let's not linger here. Bad vibes." He follows Aerys, though he struggles too much in the sand for his stride to be called jaunty.
"And now let's go on... possibly without rousing the ire of every stupid monster from here to this supposed treasure"
Survival 20:
As a matter of fact you get as far as J15 without rousing any stupid monster and even then you only run into another wreck.
A ninety-foot-long shipwreck leans against the cliff side and several jagged reefs here, encrusted with salt and moss. Its masts remain intact, but the sails have long since rotted away. At the bow, a leering demonic figurehead of green-caked brass provides an intimidating greeting.
Knowledge (local) 15:
Gelik looks up at the figurehead and shudders. He dismissively says"Pass" but then looks over at Torch, expecting his usual enthusiasm.
Aerys looks on, "Now that looks like it might provide a pretty picking or two. But how best to get there?" She seems deep in thought, as her eyes glaze over, she is motionless for sometime not speaking.
Torch does not disappoint Gelik's expectations, surveying the wreck with open curiosity. "Looks like we might be able to climb to it," he answers Aerys speculatively. "A rope to belay us, just to be safe..."
You shouldn't have any difficulty climbing into the ship if you like.
Survival
"All right, let's get in there and take a look-see."
Wise from experience, you carefully enter the ship. A quick search reveals that the vast majority of its booty has long since either rotted away or been lost to the sea — much of the ship’s hull is missing, wedged tightly amid the jagged rocks. Yet an investigation of the captain’s cabin reveals a skeleton slumped on the floor, its bony hands clutching at a well-made, watertight darkwood coffer sitting in an opened secret compartment in a rotting desk.
Torch approaches the tableau carefully, looking over the coffer and the skeleton alike for clues as to the meaning - or any hidden dangers - it might present.
Aerys follows Torch, a tear attempts to form in one of her eyes. "The poor captain, the last to leave the ship, even in death. We should honor his life and let his bones return to the sea. Torch what is he holding?" She lets her longsword relax, its point resting on the old wooden floor decking.
Ralf tries detecting any magical auras in the ship.
Torch fails to spot any traps, and the only magical aura comes from the box, being rather muffled since it's not the coffer itself which is magical but rather something inside it. It's locked but does not seem trapped.
Torch reaches carefully out, murmuring a quiet prayer to Pharasma in apology as he pries the coffer free from the skeleton's bony fingers.
Examining the coffer carefully, he produces a small set of tools and begins working on the lock.
Torch has no trouble getting the weather-worn coffer open. Inside it are three objects — a gold locket, a masterwork dagger, and several fat ledgers and journals. Only the dagger is magical.
"The captain clutches the coffer still, even in death! That's a great idea for a song." Gelik ruminates over lyrics as he watches Torch investigate the intriguing item. "Open it!" he encourages excitedly, standing on tiptoes to see better. He also will pat down the captain's clothes and the floor all around the skeleton, looking for a key.
"That dagger seems a mite magical, by the way," Ralf cheerfully points out as he goes into a bit of a trance considering the dweomer on it.
use focused trance on spellcraft check to identify and take 10 = 35
The dagger is +1.
Torch hands the dagger off to his companions, looking briefly at the locket before setting it aside as well, then turns eagerly to the ledgers and journals. He begins to flip through them, hoping for a glimpse into the history and lore of the captain and his strange death.
Hrakar doesn't say a word but his scowl explains all that's needed about his mood.
"When will they learn? NOTHING good will come of this... I can see it already!"
"These things were precious to the captain, perhaps we should offer them with his remains to the seas?" says Aerys, "It's how I'd like to be treated in death, but then ..." her voice trails off as she thinks more.
Ralf nods in agreement at whatever people are saying and adds "Who wants a magical dagger? How about you, miss? You never know when we might have to fight some strange beast that can't be harmed with normal weapons."