"Oh I love shellfish," Karrin says as she looks around, "Although in this world that could be blasphemous. I wonder if they got butter here."
Justin can't help but smile at Karrin's comments.
Only SHE could note that something might be blasphemous where they were, and then ask for more blasphemy on top in the same breath.
<It HAS to be an act. Right?!?,...>
The Barbarian merely looks around at the wonders of a new world laid bare, again, before him. It seems that he still has not become as blase' as the others in the group to the wonders of plane hopping.
Hamar's keen eye searches the seaside city. The crowd seems harmless enough. There are merchants selling shellfish, a large contingent of more sea-faring races, but no obvious dangers or menacing locals.
Karrin can see several vendor stalls selling fresh fish and shellfish dishes. The smell of chowder wafts up to her nostrils. There is even a raw bar - with oysters on the half shell in a bed of ice
Memnon answers Justin's question
"Well Boss, I've never been to this plane. I've read a bit about it though. Ossa is the name, but some also call it Aquallor. It's big among the Olympian deities set, and the Elves. Eladrin live here as well"
He bobs his skull over towards a winged elven looking cutter eating a plate of fried shrimp nearby
"The water here is relatively shallow, most of it under 10 meters. Perfect for water-breathers who don't like the murky depths"
Mel shivers
“I would have hoped an ocean setting would be a bit warmer “
The temperature is indeed on the cool and damp side. Most of the land dwelling residents wear heavy clothing.
Buckling the upper part of her duster, while leaving everything from her hips down free, so as not to affect her draw, Blayze si8lently takes in the new environment nodding at Mel's comment on the temperature.
"Always a new experience with this crew, huh?"
Justin barely restrains himself from tapping one of the pom-poms on the Mimir's hat to watch it swing again. But he manages to resist the urge.
(See? Wizardly willpower. He CAN be taught!)
The wizard jabs his hands in his coat pockets and nods instead.
"Thanks Mem. At least with the the Olympians and their followers we know what we're getting into. Or at least what to try and avoid to stay out of trouble."
Mel shivers
“I would have hoped an ocean setting would be a bit warmer “
Justin grins and claps the cleric on his armored shoulder.
"You're thinking the 'Retirement Beach' plane. THIS is clearly the 'cooler waters fishing plane'.""Always a new experience with this crew, huh?"
Justin smirks. "OH yeah. Never a dull moment with the Rose Crew. And it's not always our fault!" he chuckles.
"Well. THIS is supposed to be the EASY part. Lets go see if we can find a ride to the next level of Arborea."
The party troops along the dockside of the city. Although chill, there is no precipitation in the air, and the sky is bright (although no sun, but they are used to that by now). They pull their thick Cager Cloaks around them and move on. Karrin stops to buy a large bag of fried shrimp and happily munches them.
Several fishermen have the time to speak with them. They nod when Pelion is mentioned. One speaks up
“I know the way to Pelion through the Great Salt Marsh. It’ll keep me from the fishing beds for a full day, so I’d need 200 gold to make up for the lost time”
"I muve me s'mom Frid Smimp!" Karrin says as she munches away.
Karrin mostly listens when they talk to the fishermen but can't help but comment at the offer:
"You make 200 a day?" Karrin says between mouthfuls of shrimp, "I think we got into the wrong business guys"
The fisherman gives Karrin a frowning look
“I can, specially since most of my catch is sold fresh over to Sigil. They pay good money for our fish”
He sighs, resting on a mooring pole on the dock.
“I’ll take 150, since I won’t be working nets or n’owt”
Justin nods at Karrin.
"I'm with her. 200 gold a day is pretty good. Especially since you dont have to worry about traps or monsters between you and your payday." The wizard grins cheerfully.
Then he glances out at the waters.
"At least, I'm PRESUMING you don't have to worry about monsters?" He adds apologetically, trying NOT to insult the first person to offer his services to transport them.
"Your bargain sounds fair sir. We accept your kind offer." Justin says with a smile. "We can leave whenever you say you are ready."
Inwardly, the wizard is calculating the remainder of their liquid assets.
Yes they can afford the fisherman's offer well enough. But they were going to run out of cold cash soon. At least They only needed enough to get them to where they need to go. Once everything was said and done, if they still survived, they could WORK their way back if need be. And for Emergencies, they did have the Sigil-attuned portal stone.
The fisherman harumphs
"You've never been fishing on the planes, have yeh?"
He boards his boat, accepts his payment and sets off. The boat is a large round coracle, with a deep central well where fish are usually kept. It is currently empty, but the odor of past piscatory residents remain. The water around the city is very calm, not even a real swell rippling the surface. The fisherman they had spoken to and his crew of two sons navigate using long oars, one as a rudder, the other two propelling the round craft.
A few hours journey, and they begin to enter fenlands. the boat navigates the various reed beds handily, and the land seems to tighten up around them. The fisherman, who has been very quiet the whole journey speaks up:
"We near Pelion. It's a strange way, so be prepared."
A few minutes on and there is a slight shiver and waver in reality. The party gets that portal crossing feeling in the innards, but there is no obvious gate. One moment they are in a wide expanse of autumnal marshwater, the next moment, the boat is seemingly high and dry in a white sand desert.
"Welcome to Pelion" The fisherman grunts, waving his hand to take in the sand stretching to the horizon. "This is as far as we can go, obviously. You'll have to find another path off it, we won't be able to come back to any exact spot. Best of luck to yeh."
As the party disembarks, the vessel's crew begins sticking their oars in the sand and trying to row. It doesn't seem to be doing anything, but all of a sudden the ship begins to waver and fades from view. The party is left standing in a cold desert, the wind whistling and raising small dust devils
Justin smiles, and confesses to the fisherman that he has not.
He also mentally amends his list of 'Things To Be Wary Of' to include Interplanar Fishing.
As they travel, Justin entertains himself by doing a closer, non-rushed examination of some of the items they had picked up recently but never completely identified. With some rest and a clearer head, he cheerfully tackles the challenge of unusual magical item classification.
Justin focuses his attention on the two stone wands from the Xorn that previously defied his efforts. The wizard murmurs his magical seeing charm, turning his eyes a faint glowing azure. He reaches out to tap one of the ioun stones floating lazily around his head and it flashes briefly. He then begins to turn the wands over slowly in his hands,...
<AFter results of that>
Justin tucks the wands away as the captain warns them about the transition. It wasn't the worst crossing he'd had. Or maybe he was actually getting used to them?
Justin thanks the captain politely for the journey, and disembarks with the others. HE hangs back a little, curious to observe how the captain planned to return with no water, and raises an eyebrow as the grounded craft fades from view.
The wizard turns back to observe their new surroundings. He elbows Mel slightly.
"We found that beach. It's still a little cool though." He says dryly.
Justin looks around. Not much to see. He peers into the distance and tries to recall anything he can about Pelion's geography that might aid them in where to go next.
Justin hmphs and sticks his hands into his coat pockets in frustration.
"I should write a 'Planar Compass' Spell. Or a 'Locate Nearest City' charm. Make a fortune as an interplanar guide." he grumbles.
"Hey Memnon. I don't suppose you've been to Pelion before? Or have a way of knowing which way to head?" He asks, trying not to sound TOO hopeful.
“Well boss, I haven’t been here in the flesh”
Memnon snorts, his hat’s Pom Pom jiggling with his mirth
“But I do know a bit about the landscape. This is what the sages call a ‘deteriorating plane’. At one point it was very active. There were a lot of gods and their petitioners that dwelt here. Then, something changed. Maybe some pantheons went out of fashion, maybe the moral ethos that sustained it became less popular among the primes.
“Whatever the reason, Pelion became depopulated. Its realms dried up, its cities became uninhabited. Deities that were left moved to greener pastures. Chunks of the plane itself began to decay away or get pulled to other realms. Nothing is forever, even the afterlife. “
Memnon looks around at the cold desert scene
“Now the plane serves as a giant burial tomb. The few deities that still operate here are concerned with death and secrets. They tend to be from older religions as well. There aren’t a lot of petitioners here, but those that are will be wary of strangers”
Memnon hovers by Justin
“As to our location, I would think that we’ll stumble on something fairly quick. The plane is getting smaller and smaller. I’ll take a look topside “
With that, Memnon zips straight up
"Wow, you guys think there's not much to see or a lot to see because there's nothing to get in the way of what you can see?"
Justin watches Memnon zip straight up, then snorts at Karrin's question.
He thinks about what she said for a second, and his head starts hurting.
'It's too early in the adventure for this kind of mental gymnastics.' Justin thinks tiredly to himself.
"Sure Karrin. Kind of like the old saying, 'You can't see the forest for the trees'. Only in reverse."
"Well, on the bright side, if the plane is getting smaller, it means we won't have to wander FOREVER to find someone. Or something."
"Sure Karrin. Kind of like the old saying, 'You can't see the forest for the trees'. Only in reverse."
Alessia pans her head slowly along the horizon.
"No trees... only sand."
Justin looks UP to try and catch a glimpse of Memnon.
"Just how high is he planing on going anyway? Hang on guys."
And Justin rises smoothly into the air on his long-lasting flight magics.
The wizard also goes straight up, trying to find Memnon, and looking around at the horizon for any signs of civilization.
Justin rises into the chilly grit-filled air. There are no clouds, just a dim sourceless light lighting up the undulating pale dunes marching off into the distance. As he gets higher, he sees a cluster of buildings in the distance. There are also some indications of other buildings in the distance, but it’s hard to judge how far away
He suddenly sees a small dot coming at him at speed. As it approaches, the purple hue and orange hat identify his wayward mimir sidekick.
“Hey boss. There’s a village about 10 klicks ahead. Petitioners walking around. Look vaguely like typical desert folk. “
"Well desert people are usually friendly so long as you know their customs," Karrin says, "Unless they're dessert people in which case they can be really snippy and rude if they haven't had their sugar rush."
"Rrrright." Merle deadpan at Karrin's comment
my interpretation of Justin chasing Memnon
Justin recovers from Memnon's rapid approach, covering his reflexive action of raising his arms in a defensive position by rubbing his shoulders as if chilled by the altitude.
"Thanks Mem. Now we have a direction." Justin says as they float down to the others.
"I don't suppose you noticed any 'wildlife' in the area? This area seems suspiciously devoid of any beasties or bad guys that normally relieve the boredom of our travels."
Upon landing, Justin reports their findings, and points in the direction of the village.
He merely nods and "Uh-Huh's" blandly at Karrin's comment. But it is Merle's reaction that causes him to turn towards their destination with sudden enthusiasm. he steps briskly forward, trying valiantly to hide his mirth at the exchange.
Memnon twirls slowly in place. Justin has figured that this is his peculiar way of shrugging
"I didn't see a whole lot, but desert creatures usually like to hide."
The party sets out towards the village
The going is a bit of a slog. The sand here is extremely fine, to the point of being dust-like. The party, those who must walk, sink up to their calves.
Perception DC 15
After a couple of hours walk they come across the small village. It seems to be build around an ancient rock formation, taking advantage of the windbreak the eroded rock gives. A small oasis is visible, lined with several sad-looking palm trees. No one approaches the party as they enter the village, although they receive a few sidelong glances from the locals.
The buildings are mud brick, and there are murals of a distinctly Egyptian flavor upon their faded exteriors. The locals are a reddish-skinned lot, dressed in white linen and wearing elaborate headgear of various types to fend off the stinging wind. There are a few cutters who don't fit the local type. One sits at an outside table at what looks to be the local tavern, sipping a beverage. He is a lean half-elven man, weathered in a way you rarely see elves. He is dressed in local garb, but is armed with a preponderance of cutlery and a wicked-looking bow.
Memnon twirls slowly in place. Justin has figured that this is his peculiar way of shrugging
"I didn't see a whole lot, but desert creatures usually like to hide."
The wizard nods in agreement with the floating skull. (Not as much of a rarity as both of them would have you believe.)
"True."
The party sets out towards the village. Justin turns his magical headgear into a turban w/ face cloth, to keep the worst of the sand and grit from his mouth and eyes. Justin squints as they walk, and eventually bends over to pick up a handful of sand, and lets it slide through his fingers.
"Sand, ashes, and ground bones? What kind of post-apocalyptic sand dune is this?" Justin murmurs aloud to no one in particular.
The wizard had a sudden, fleeting desire to see their friend Ekuur. This sand reminds him of tales the implacable fire priest would tell, (When he could be convinced to talk at all), about his home Prime. Some powers-forsaken, spell-blasted world called,... Pathos? No, Athas.
As they enter the town, Justin resumes walking, and is careful to make sure that all of his weapons are carefully tucked away in their magical hidey-holes.
Without even trying, the wizard notes the obviously 'not-locals' who stand out from the general desert crowd.
"So, what do you guys think? Stop for a drink? I'm parched. And then we can decide who we should ask for travel advice first. The locals? Or the obviously well-traveled and well-armed individual giving us the side eye?"
"Hmmmm..."
The party walks up to the table where the leathery-skinned half elf sips a large earthenware beaker. He looks up, his eyes narrowing. His hand discretely drifts to the pommel of his sword
“Can I help you , cutters?” He says in accented Planar Common
Justin glances at his comrades, and puts on what he thinks of as his most disarming smile.
(it's probably closer to an 'Who, me? I'M not up to anything' look. But he tries.)
"I certainly hope so cutter!" Justin replies cheerfully. The wizard resorts to his cultured educator voice, but a thought of Issac turns it into a slight drawl. He is careful to keep his hands in plain sight, Holding them up briefly to show they are empty, and moves casually slowly as he draws near enough to talk to the fellow without raising his voice.
"You seem to be a well-traveled cutter. We were hoping you could suggest anything they serve to drink here that might actually be any good. And, we wondered if you might be able to point us to where we might arrange swift transportation. We have a lot of Planes to cover, and a short time to get there. Isn't that always the way?" Justin asks pleasantly.
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"We're not looking to nab anyone's tiramisu though, only non glycemic gastronomy, as, well we don't have anything against sweets, we usually only indulge ourselves once the journey is over."
"Just covering our bases," Karrin whispers to Justin, "In case he's a dessert person."
The wizard manages not to facepalm himself at Karrin's mix up of the pronunciation of the word "desert".
But one eye begins twitching.
'It HAS to be an act! Doesn't it?!??'
"Um, and what She said. More or less." Justin says, still smiling.
Although his teeth are more clenched now.
".........................." Merle and Seph just look at each other at Karrin's comment and shrug.
The half elf shrugs
“Can’t say as it’s good, but they serve Mother’s Milk here”
He hefts the earthenware jug
“It’s rations and beer all in one. Almost an alcoholic porridge “
The liquid in his jug does look rather sludgy
“If you are looking for fast transport, you are looking for camels. That’s about the long and short of things. It’s a cold desert, but it’s still a desert. You want to stock up on water if you are going anywhere far”
He raises an eyebrow at Karrin
“Sadly, the only dessert you’ll find in this desert is honey cake. They’re a simple lot here, and bees are about their only source of sweet. Never heard of chocolate, sugar berry, or cane. Mores the pity”
The half elf shrugs
“Can’t say as it’s good, but they serve Mother’s Milk here”
He hefts the earthenware jug
“It’s rations and beer all in one. Almost an alcoholic porridge “
The liquid in his jug does look rather sludgy
Justin arches an eyebrow.
"Well, if you're going to eat porridge, you may as well get a buzz from it. Makes it more enjoyable at least."
“If you are looking for fast transport, you are looking for camels. That’s about the long and short of things. It’s a cold desert, but it’s still a desert. You want to stock up on water if you are going anywhere far”He raises an eyebrow at Karrin
“Sadly, the only dessert you’ll find in this desert is honey cake. They’re a simple lot here, and bees are about their only source of sweet. Never heard of chocolate, sugar berry, or cane. Mores the pity”
Justin nods. "Now that IS a shame. Chocolate and Cane is one thing that makes some planes downright enjoyable. Or at least bearable."
"Still, I bet Karrin wouldn't turn down a good honey cake. Or ANY cake for that matter."
"Much appreciate the tips cutter. May I buy you another Mug for your kindness?" Justin asks the half elf, already reaching for his (obvious) coin purse.
(The one he leaves dangling in plain sight on his belt, so that thieves wont think to look in pockets and haversack for goodies to swipe.)
"I don't suppose you know of a trustworthy guide for hire do you? As I mentioned, we're in a bit of a hurry. Long way to go and all that rubbish. And of course we didn't have time to wait for an approved route map from our travel agent." Justin grins at his own (attempt at) humor.
The wizard pauses in opening his coin purse, and sticks out a hand to the half elf. "My name is Justin."
The half elf shakes Justin's hand firmly
"The name's Manhayth. I'll take a refill"
He speaks an odd sibilant tongue to a server who brings a round of mugs to the group
The half elf finishes his current mug and starts the new. Anyone who samples the drink finds it the consistency of smooth barley porridge, but much less alcohol than typical Sigilian brews. The party gets the feeling they would fill up from the thick smoothie-like texture before any serious drunkeness would occur
"If you are interested in local destinations, I am open to doing a bit of freelancing. Where are you headed?"
Justin pays for the mugs and takes an experimental sip. Not bad actually. I mean, It won't be on the wizard's 'Top Ten Beverages of the Planes' list anytime soon. But it was different, and enjoyable after trekking through a portion of desert.
Justin idly wonders if the heaviness of the drink will help Karrin fill up the bottomless pit the warrior woman has in place of a stomach. Or if she'll say, 'That was nice!', and immediately drink three more.
He starts calculating odds in his head,...
"Pleasure to meet you Ser" Justin salutes the man with his mug.
Justin glances at the others, raising an eyebrow. He wonders how it is that he usually ends up the 'Face' man of the group. (Especially given his recent habits of jumping before using his big brain.)
Well, to be fair, he DOES like to talk. He reminds himself to 'think first, talk second', and gives himself time to do exactly that by taking another sip of his alcoholic smoothie drink.
Deciding that the truth is their best option, (Just being VERY careful of how MUCH truth he lets out. The wizard is still smarting from his most recent reminder of how 'A little knowledge is a dangerous thing'.) Justin purses his lips thoughtfully as he savors his last sip (Bite?!?) of Mothers Milk.
"Well Ser Manhayth, we are looking to travel to Amun-Thys. I am hoping to be able to find the answers to a pressing research question there."
The barbarian is silent on the boat ride but has a hard time hiding the shock on his face as the boat ride ends on a desert.
He scouts a bit ahead of the party in their run up to the village, it is after all, what he does best, identify problems ahead of time. He scowls at Justin's findings in the sand. He despises the sand, the land of his ancient oppressors is sand ridden. Much as drowning is unpleasant dying of no water is a worse fate in Hamar's mind as it is slower and more agonizing.
He watches the interactions with the possible new elven guide a bit warily. All strangers are questionable in the eyes of one who grew up in a land of fierce inter-tribal skirmishes. Still, the value in a familiar guide is priceless and Hamar knows it. He will just have to keep an eye on the elf, just in case.
Manhayth nods
“I know it well. It’s about a half ten-day from here. The travel isn’t bad, assuming the weather holds. For possible trouble there is a fair amount of undead about, bandit gangs, and my personal favorites- werebeasts “
He gestures to a necklace peeping from under his collar. Several fangs can be seen strung on it
“Hunting lycans is my specialty “
"Good specialty." Justin says sincerely.
"I could have used a zombie specialist recently." The wizard murmurs.
Justin chucks a thumb over his shoulders at his friends.
"Well, conveniently, I happen to have a group here that specializes in 'possible trouble'. Including undead, bandit gangs, and other assorted traveling issues. But we'd appreciate a good guide. I presume that the travel estimate includes using camels like you mentioned? How much are you asking for your services ser?"
Manhayth looks at the party
“I’m happy with five ounces of gold . I would be headed that way anyway. The camels you can buy here. I have one already. “
Justin raises an eyebrow. He has gotten so used to the exorbitant prices of Sigil, that he sometimes forgets the Primes can be downright, reasonable at times.
The wizard nods.
"I can cover your your fees ser. We should probably obtain the rides and stock up before we make for the desert. When is the best time to depart? And where should we meet you?"
- - - -
Later, Justin goes over the plans with the group.
"I can cover the guide fees, and maybe some supplies."
"We should be able to sell the camels when we return and recover most of the gold for them. Presuming we aren't running for our lives on the way back of course." Justin jests with a grin,
Then his grin gets a little smaller, "We DO seem to do an unpower-ly amount of running at times."
"Anything else we need to get? Or that anyone is concerned about?"
The wizard looks innocently at Karrin,...
Mentally, Justin calculates odds and weighs pros and cons,...
On one hand he would prefer to save the gold on a camel, and trust in his own long-term flight spell for the journey. (He casts it daily out of habit now anyway. And it is doubtful that camels could out-speed his spell.) But it does require a minimum of concentration, which makes it all but impossible to do anything else that requires focus, like reading a spellbook. And his griffon figurine, 'Goldenwing', has an unfortunately short summoned duration, and limited to weekly uses, not daily. More than suitable for emergencies and fun use, but impractical for traveling.
In the end, Justin decides upon buying the camel. JUST in case their daily travel times outlast his spells. And he picks up some extra waterskins and an amorpha of Mothers Milk to add to his travel rations. They all fit easily into his magical haversack.
'This place seems pretty peaceful," Karrin says, oblivious to the hints of great violence or death in the sand, 'Can't imagine we'll run into anything dangerous out here, and if we do we'll probably be able to see them coming for miles."
Hamar grunts in response to Karrin's comments, "Near my lands was a kingdom of great sand dunes, it was said that death lurked below the surface, waiting to rise.
Never did I see such a thing first hand but... I heard stories".
Justin raises his eyebrows. "Most deserts seem to have stories of,... Something, that lives beneath the sand. Just because I haven't seen it yet does not mean it's not true." Justin agrees sagely.
"And deserts are beautiful. Except for the sandy parts. That stuff gets EVERYwhere. At least at the beach you have the water to enjoy and try to rinse it off with."
Manhayth nods at the plainsman
"your peoples' stories were likely true"
He turns to Karrin
"You are right, that often you can see threats coming a ways off. And, of course, the other part of that is that they can see you too. If we attract any vulture lycans they will likely stalk us as until we fight them or die from something else."
However, it's the threats you don't see coming that can really get you. And a lot of things prefer to live just below the surface. Or, in the case of undead, not live just below the surface."
The party procures the supplies they need, Manhayth brings them to a camel dealer and they bargain for a beast. Manhayth gets them a reasonable price for it
The camel drover offers to throw in tack, saddle and bags for another 30GP and the group is set. Manhayth sets off, heading out on point
The group leaves the small village behind, trekking out onto the billowing sands. It is still cold, and a fitful keening wind sounds, washing the fine gritty sand into their mouths. The travel on for several hours, until the sourceless planar light begin to fade. Unlike many skies they have experienced, there is a 'sunset' of a kind. The sand and grit reflects the waning light, casuing a brilliant reddish glow. Manhayth leads them to a large rocky outcropping. A smallish cave has been scoured from the rock over millennia, and a pile of rocks at its entrance show where many travelers have set up a campfire in the past. Various graffiti wind its way along the smooth sandstone, in a hundred languages. Manhayth gets a fire going with a few tumbleweeds and some sticks he got from somewhere. As they settle in to rest a the wind begins to pick up
"I don't like the sound of that" Manhayth says, looking at the darkening sky.
He brings the snorting camel into the cave's entrance and gestures to the others
"It looks as if a sandstorm might be forming. We need to camp in the cave." The cave is just big enough for the party to squeeze in, sardine fashion. Manhayth positions the camel at the entrance and has it lay down. He offers to take the first watch
"These storms are not to be taken lightly. Many things use the cover to hunt"