As the sun heads toward the horizon, the crew and passengers of the Jenivere continue their daily routine. The crew take turns in the crow's nest, scrubbing decks, serving food, and making life comfortable for the passengers. The passengers rest, soaking in the sun and enjoying the pleasant breeze as the Jenivere coasts along on its route to Eleder. Captain Kovack announced that morning that they were wthin four days of the capital city.
This severe half-elven woman boarded in Port Peril, where she immediately got into a scrape with a crude sailor. She spends most of her time in her bunk, seeming to purposefully avoid fraternizing with the ship’s other passengers. Aerys is a trim, athletic woman with short dark hair, tanned skin, and fierce blue eyes. She dresses in tightly fitted leather armor and favors dark clothing and tricorn hats. The few times you have seen her, you get the impression she spends most of the day drunk; the smell of alcohol is always present on her breath.
A Chelish man whose family has made the Magnimar to Eleder run for generations, Captain Kovack is pleasant enough with his passengers, but a strict disciplinarian when dealing with his crew. He is strict, but generally very competent.
The Jenivere’s first mate is friendly with both passengers and crew, but he sometimes seems to chafe under the strong discipline of Captain Kovack. Of all the crew, he is the friendlist to the PC's.
A sharply dressed gnome from Magnimar, Gelik spends much of his time writing in the ships’ common areas, and takes every opportunity to tell long-winded stories, boast of past journeys, or quip about anything in his field of view. Gelik is a spry, energetic gnome with blond hair and a neat goatee. He dresses like a noble at all times (“If you can’t take the time to dress properly, no one will take what you have to say seriously—and they’d be right not to!”). With liberal use of prestidigitation, his fine clothes always seem freshly cleaned. Only the ink stains on his fingers break the illusion of a proper gnome nobleman (“If you don’t have ink stains on your fingers, no one will take your writing seriously—and they’d be right not to!”). Gelik has something of a cruel streak, and a tendency to mock others.
A bookish Varisian scholar who tends to keep to herself, Ieana is traveling to Sargava to explore the ancient ruins there. Rumors aboard the ship alternately suggest that she’s the Jenivere’s owner, a Chelish agent, or Captain Kovack’s secret lover. Ieana keeps mostly to herself, and grows more intent on her studies with each mile the ship travels closer to Eleder. A small and quiet woman, Ieana has shown no interest in socialising or making friends on the voyage. but causes no trouble.
A scruffy human of Tian heritage, Ishirou boarded at Bloodcove and waits to reach Sargava with a quiet eagerness. Aloof but not rude, he gives the impression of one who has had a hard life but finds himself currently without direction. Ishirou is a rugged Tian man who appears much older than he is, with graying hair worn in a ponytail and a perpetual scruffy beard. His clothing and armor are well kept and clean, but obviously of low quality. Only his sword, a beautiful katana, has any real value. Ishirou is fiercely protective of it, as it is his only material link to his cultural heritage.
A prisoner loaded aboard in Corentyn, Captain Kovack sees to this taciturn human’s needs with curt courtesy, but insists he be left alone, sequestered in the ship’s brig. Jask is a middle-aged, plain-looking Garundi man with hair starting to gray and watery eyes.
A taciturn man from Senghor, Ship’s Cook Terillo has served in that capacity aboard several ships, though apparently not on account of his culinary skills, which seem to be limited to watery soups.
This red-haired human boarded the Jenivere in Ilizmagorti. Since leaving Mediogalti Island, the woman’s somber demeanor has gradually faded, revealing a boisterous and optimistic personality. None have yet questioned her about her missing left pinky finger.Sasha has tousled red hair and mischievous green eyes, and is extremely attractive, in a somewhat manic way.
From high above the deck on her duty in the crow's nest, Rowena is all smiles, which unfortunately do little to improve her plain, almost masculine features. Up here, the heat isn't nearly as oppressive despite the lack of shade, due to the constant breeze in her face. She giggles with girlish delight at the beautiful breaching a hundred yards off the starboard side. She's learned by now not to bother the jaded seafaring veterans with something so trivial after the last mass panic she created announcing the presence of a giant squid - apparently, there are really giant squid that can swallow whole ships, although Rowena suspects a certain amount of 'pull-the-noob's-leg going on there.
Looking down, she sees Embrianna climbing up to the nest. She frowns as the cleric takes her spot on watch, not because she dislikes her presence, but because it means her shift up top has ended and it's time to scrub decks again.
"Nothing to report, the seas are clear. And now I guess it's time to give the decks their third daily scrubbing. Honestly, sometimes I think the capt'n just makes us scrub it so much out of sheer spite."
Ace is up in the rigging, working on making sure the variety of pulleys, ropes and other bits of wood don't become tangled. It isn't necessarily an easy job, but not one that isn't overly hard either. He whistles as he works content that he is up here and not scrubbing the decks below.
He watches Embrianna climb up to take her duty on the Crow's Nest. Ace's Weather Reading had given clear skies for quite some time, and he knew there would be no storm clouds on the horizon. However, there was always the threat of pirates and other nasties to come up. Why, when one of the new crew members had declared there to be a giant squid it had driven everyone to a sheer panic. Thankfully all she was a large squid and that was the end of that.
Ace takes his time moving through the rigging, examining each knot carefully as he slowly works his way upward.
Embrianna climbs up to the crow's nest, eager to begin her turn at watch. She enjoy's the solitude up here. It is quiet and peaceful, with a spectacular view of the ocean all around. A very fitting place to offer up her daily prayers to Gozreh. When she reaches the top, she receives shift report from Rowena. Laughing a little at Ro's comment regarding the scrubbing, Embrianna responds: "More likely he's just trying to make the ship look as good as possible for all those paying passengers. Probably thinks the better the ship looks the more he can charge."
As she trades places with Rowena she adds, "I'll catch up with you later at dinner."
Embrianna scans all around her, appreciating the beauty of the day. She notices Ace up in the rigging and gives a little wave of hello. I hope he's careful, I always worry someone is going to fall out of that rigging if a sudden wind picks up and I'd hate to see him go splat on the deck.
Sorin began to take comfort from the daily routine of the ship. Despite wind and weather, the same actions took place aboard the ship at the same time each day. Soon, he found his own place in the order.
When the morning meals were done, and if the weather was in a pleasant way he would find himself above decks in the breeze and brisk salt air. He always brought his journal and leads for sketching, and would typically begin the day checking a compass, discussing the heading with the helmsman, and writing down sets of sails and whatever else he could divine from the rigging. All of this information would end up notated in his journal in the cryptic shorthand notation that he used. Then, for a few bells he would sketch and take in the sun, tucked out of the way of the crew by the bowsprit or sitting on an unused coil of rope. Occasionally he would have one of the numerous books borrowed from Gelik with him and read histories of the Mwangi Expanse, Marithan’s theories on the Doorway to the Red Star and Tesswick’s epic travels (and brief enslavement) among the Gorilla Kings.
At the change of the watch it was time for his exercises. As the decks were getting washed, he would be on the aft castle, standing behind the helmsman, practicing difficult (and wince inducing) hand and finger positions or pronunciation of contorted syllables. Occasionally a streak of color or a skirl of wind would fall away into the wake behind the ship from a movement and Sorin would stop to make notations in his journal before resuming his practice.
Djal spends most of his time looking at the sea. Somehow, life had brought him to this realm, so far away from his roots as a Dwarf, and he had to make sense of it. The flapping of his clothes in the strong and salty wing felt good after all.
He kept a pleasant company and tried to give a hand with the sails, mending carefully the ones that weren't in use. He learned to know the sailors, in particular Rowena, Ace and Embrianna, and appreciated their dangerous work.
But his thoughts often turned to the future ahead, to his return to Eleder. Gloom washed over him and settled like foam on his features. Having been exiled, he wondered what life had in store for return, and whether he would be able to make best of it, for the Land required change.
"Ace! Embrianna! Come on down! We're going t' have dinner t'gether t'night!" Captain Kovack, surprisingly, is having the crew and passengers eat dinner together tonight. It seems he's in a rather good mood, probably because the journey to Eleder is nearing an end. He turns to Rowena next, "Take a break, Rowena. I want you to take the prisoner his meal and then meet us for dinner."
The captain continues to gather the passengers, including Sorin and Djal. Gelik and Sasha jump up and rush to find a good spot at the table, excited about dinner. Gelik quips, "I hope the food is better than what we've been served so far... I'm getting a little tired of watery soup." Ishirou and Aerys move slowly and don't speak to anyone else on the way there.
"Aye, aye, Capt'n. Right away!" She drops the scrub brush into her bucket with so much glee, the captain had to step lively to keep the dirty water from coating his boots. She heads to the mess to get the prisoner's tray.
As she makes her way deeper into the ship towards the brig, her mood grows more solemn. She's been down this way a few times before, and she mutters something about, "Just don't know how to talk to...bad guys. Sigh. Extend the light to those who sit in darkness, literally in this case."
She nervously approaches the prisoner's cell and extends the tray. "Dinner."
The prisoner, Jask, solemnly looks up from his corner in the small cell he is housed in. He stands up slowly and walks to the door, graciously accepting the food. "Thank you, Miss." He nods to Rowena before walking back to his corner, where he eats slowly. Rowena can see that his wrists are restrained by manacles.
Rowena has brought food to Jask fairly often throughout the course of the voyage, and he has always shown himself to be gracious, though resigned to his fate.
Rowena turns to go as she usually does, then stops, digs down deep and turns back to the cell.
"You know, we're only a few days out from Eleder. Well, maybe that's not good news for you, is it? Ummm...so you never told me. What did you do? I mean, why are you here?"
She blushes furiously, but it's pretty dark, so maybe he doesn't notice.
Jask looks up from his meager meal. "I used to work for the government of Sargava. That was until I uncovered evidence of illegal dealings between the government and the Free Captains of the Shackles. When I brought it to the attention of my superior... well, I was betrayed and framed for the very crime I uncovered. I fled to Corentyn and ten years later I was caught. And now here I am." He looks up at Rowena and smiles at her. "I understand if you do not believe me. But please, you don't want to be caught conversing with me for too long."
Ro turns as if to leave, then turns back. "What was your job? What did you do for the government?"
"I wasn't all that important, actually. I was a translator, primarily. I scribed government documents into a few other languages." He looks up at Rowena again and smiles briefly. But then he turns back to his food, apparently not willing to give much more.
"I always wanted to learn to speak another language. Maybe you can teach me one? Anyway, I gotta get back. What are they going to do to you when we get back to Eelder?"
"They'll lock me up, probably. Most likely they'll sentence me to death. Sargava can be harsh, especially to someone who has exposed corruption. Alas, I don't believe four days is enough time to teach you a new language. Maybe you can visit me in my cell in Eleder." He smiles once again, obviously comforted by Rowena's presence and interest in him.
At the beginning of the journey, as a child of the street, his personal table manners had been atrocious. Thus Sorin had conducted a subtle observation, very nearly a game, whereon he attempted to divine the rules of the table. After nearly 2 months of observation he felt that he had determined everything that was important…well for shipboard etiquette at the least…and thus was now quite comfortable at the table.
It was typical for he and Gelik to discuss whatever book Gelik had last produced for Sorin’s education, or some finer point of magical theory. Very early on Sorin had realized that Gelik had some sort of inferiority complex, and needed to be reassured that he was the most knowledgeable in a situation…which had been fine with Sorin at the beginning, but now as the journey began to reach its conclusion, was becoming tiring quite quickly.
Sorin found his customary seat across from Gelik at the table. ”Gelik, that last book you gave me on Tesswick’s travels through the Mwangi seems far too fantastical…it is nearly as bad as an adventure epic written by a cheap bard. He was able to escape enslavement by travelling into the city under Usaro…an undercity that is never mentioned in any other treatise I might add, then fought giant feathered serpents in its depths before escaping into Lake Ocata? It is impossible to know where the fabrications begin and end! It is hardly a worthy document for a scholar.”
Gauntlet thrown, Sorin settles back into his chair for the ensuing battle.
Embrianna reluctantly makes her way down from the crows nest. Wonderful, with everyone eating together the room is sure to be twice as crowded as usual. Giving a loud sigh, she jumps down the last couple feet. Deciding that the captain may not want his crew looking to scruffy in front of the paying passengers, Embrianna will stop by her cabin long enough to pull on her boots, wash off her face and brush out her hair. My poor hair looks like a rat's nest from all the wind whipping around. Ah well, I look presentable enough for dinner at least.
Embrianna then makes her way to dinner and takes a seat, finding herself on the other side of Gelik. She gives a nod of greeting to both Sorin and Gelik as she sits down and then tries to stifle a groan as she realizes that Sorin has just begun what is sure to a long arguement between the two that will most likely last all of dinner.
Ace climbs out of the rigging much in the way of monkey, taking the time to do a couple more checks as he goes to make sure he doesn't miss anything. He lands on the deck, a smile playing across his face as nods once to the captain, an understand of orders given. He stops by his chest and rummages around his pack, pulling out a nice, albeit simple hat of Varisian design and sets it on his head, wearing it jauntily as he snags his food and drink. He settles in the empty seat next to Embrianna, and eats slowly.
Ace savors the food, then realizes that the gauntlet thrown by Sorin, grins. Always eager to pick up an extra tale or two, or that odd bit of information, the duel of wits shows great potential.
Embrianna favors Ace with a nod and a smile as he settles down next to her. I see he made it down from the rigging safely. I wonder what brought him aboard the ship as crew?
"I will," Ro promises Jask, then heads to her berth. She quickly changes to her other shirt, hangs the one she was wearing on the edge of her hammock so she remembers to wash it before going to bed, runs her fingers through her short hair and heads to where the food is. She eagerly takes her portion and goes to sit next to Ace and Embrianna.
"Is Sorin talking about books again?" she whispers to Embrianna with a giggle as she sits down.
"Does he ever talk about anything else? I'm almost willing to bet he was born with a book in his hand"
"That would have hurt his poor mother terribly," Rowena whispers, stiffling more giggles.
Gelik immediately starts sputtering upon Sorin's statement. "P... pfff... fabrications?! Really?! This city under Usaro is quite real my friend. It is possible there may be some embellishments in the text, but I believe the story is true. You know, feathered serpents are real too. You've heard of couatl, have you not?"
Sasha pipes in here. "I would love to see a couatl! A feathered serpent? How amazing is that?!"
Looking a bit puzzled, Embrianna chimes in, "I don't think a feathered serpent would be very amazing. Just imagine how dirty and bedraggled all of its poor feathers would be after crawling around on and under the ground all day? Also, would it shed its feathers the same way a snake sheds its skin?"
Sense Motive:
Rowena gives Embrianna and Ace a knowing wink with a nod of her head towards Gelik and a roll of her eyes.
Sensing a bit of wobble from Gelik and that the "coatl" might be a bit of an irrelevance, Sorin presses his point, smoothly moving past that he knows nothing of "coatl".
"Whether or not the coatl are real Gelik does not matter, what matters is that they are an artistic embellishment that destroys the internal integrity of the work. As Embrianna mentions it is ecologically ridiculous for a feathered serpent, or any feathered beast to live underground. However, let us put that aside for a moment to look at the finer point."
"Suppose I told you that the sewers of Corentyn were ruled by an ancient wingless black dragon? I am from that city, I have been in its underpinnings, I would therefore be the most qualified to know if the sewers of Corentyn were dragonless or not.” Sorin has a fork from his place setting, and is now waving it around like a wand, punctuating his remarks with little jabs, as if shooting off spells. ”If you had never been in the sewers, but were travelling there for some purpose, such as a reclamation expedition for some old treasure, you would not personally be able to say if there was a dragon or not, you would have to rely on my personal report. Thus you would waste valuable time, money and effort preparing yourself for a threat that simply does not exist.”
”Embellishment destroys integrity and can cause harm to those who require the knowledge contained in the work.” Seemingly finally realizing what he was doing with the fork, Sorin stops waving his fork around like a wand and returns it to the table.
"I guess it depends on what a person wants to get from the book. If it's facts, embellishment is bad. If it's entertainment, embellishment is good. Sometimes, even in the search for enlightenment, it's good to have a bit of humour in one's life. As my master used to say to me, 'Man who keep both feet firmly on ground has trouble putting on pants.'"
"Personally, I feel that a little exaggeration in a tale can serve as a warning. Does the wingless black dragon actually live in the sewers? No. But there could be bandits. Your preparation for the dragons still has served you well." Ace grins, throwing in his support, and then digging back into his dinner.
Initially surprised by the explosion of interest from the crew, Sorin grins and thinking furiously, begins to parry the various arguments.
"Djal, you need to look to poetry for your passion. In a travelogue it is best to let the journey speak for itself, otherwise how will others be able to follow in the footsteps?"
"Rowena, while I agree on principle, it does explain why so many wise men seem to wear robes.", he says grinning.
"Ace, you mistake my point. If you prepare for a dragon, for instance with a large ballista, poison spears and heavy crossbows, you are very likely mis-prepared for a few lightly armored bandits sniping at you...or even more likely in the sewers, rats and spiders. Over-preparation can be just as much of a problem as under-preparation."
Fully knowing that this argument has no real answer and that it will probably last most of the meal, Sorin continues to eat, enjoying the combination of mental entertainment and gustatory challenge.
2:
3:
4:
Baddy 3 - 23
Baddy 4 - 20
Baddy 2 - 15
Baddy 1 - 12
Djal - 8
Everything is dark and silent. Then sensation begins to creep back in as Djal feels sand below him and something wet lapping at his feet. He hears the sound of ocean waves and realizes he is lying on his back. He also feels something on his legs. As he slowly opens his eyes, a sudden sharp pain lances through his foot . Looking at it, he notices a strange lobster-like creature pinching him.
As Djal comes to, he feels suddenly nauseous and a little bit dizzy . He is lying on a beach, with four of those lobster things nearby and a bunch of stuff in a pile next to him. He notes his own items are there. Nine other people lay nearby.
Everything is dark and silent.
Baddy 3 - 23
Baddy 4 - 20
Rowena - 16 (you are up!)
Baddy 2 - 15
Baddy 1 - 12A
Ace - 12B
Djal - 8
Everything is dark and silent. Then sensation begins to creep back in as Rowena feels sand below her and something wet lapping at her feet. She hears the sound of ocean waves and realizes she is lying on her back. She also hears the sounds of grunting as an angry Djal stands to defend himself from some sort of odd creature. Rowena feels nauseous upon waking up and notices a few more creature creeping toward Ace.
AoO: ,
AoO:
As Djal stands up and swings his fists at one of the sea creatures, both of the odd things next to him take the opportunity to fight back, lashing at him with their small stingers. One of them connects, injecting some sort of poison into Djal's leg. Djal notices his Dorn Dergar and armor lying in the pile of stuff nearby.
,
,
Ace wakes up suddenly as two creatures pinch him with their moderately sized claws. He opens his eyes and notices he is on a beach. Suddenly he feels very nauseous and disoriented.
Embrianna and Sorin, you'll wake up shortly.
[spoiler=Awake people]"Wha-what's going on?" she asks nobody in particular as she opens her eyes. Seeing Ace in danger, she leaps (woozily) to her feet, calls out, "Ace! Watch yourself!", then takes a 5-foot step northwest and strikes at the lobster thing directly north of Djal.
attack:
Damage:
Despite her sickened state, she swings a low kick aimed at the lobster's head, and gives it a hearty thwack (I assume).
1: , , stinger
2: , , stinger
,
Rowena's kick lands, but the creature continues it's relentless attacks. Thankfully, it only manages to barely pinch Djal and sting him one more time. The other creature turns its attacks to Rowena, who turns out to be too quick for the thing.
Ace awakens, pulling forth his innards into some semblance of order as he stands shakily. He glances around, noticing the forms of those still asleep and those who are awake. He also notices his kukri is lying atop the pile, and pulls it forth to defend himself against the advancing lobster beasties.
Baddy 3 - 23
Baddy 4 - 20
Rowena - 16 (you are up!)
Baddy 2 - 15
Baddy 1 - 12A
Ace - 12B
Sorin - 10
Djal - 8
As Ace stands up and grabs for his kukri, the two scorpion/lobster hybrids next to him take the opportunity to attack attempting to keep him down with their stingers. Ace is too quick for them, however.
,
,
As Djal reaches for his Dorn Dergar, having to spend a few seconds to untangle it from a rope, the sea creatures sting at him once again, both managing to connect.
, , stinger:
,
, , stinger:
,
The creatures adjacent to Ace press their attack, pinching and stinging Ace.
Rowena takes a five foot step west, then full attacks. First, an attempted ki throw of the uninjured lobster to the square between herself and Aago, then an attack on the injured one.
Ki throw (trip) attempt:
Kick on injured lobster:
Neither venture appears to be successful.
Sorin swims out of a dreamless dark to the sounds of battle. Cracking open his eyelids he is momentarily dazzled as the sun stabs into his eyes. Blinking, the sight of the odd crustaceans attacking the passengers and crew...well some of the crew at least, the captain and first mate appear to be missing...swims into focus.
Well this is unexpected.
Sorin quickly sorts through his mental inventory, and feels the familiar magic still buzzing around in the back of his mind. Pushing outward from his own mind he senses Abrogail's presence as well, and that for the moment she is safe...most likely burrowed in the pile of equipment.
After a quick scan of the battle he sees an opportunity. As he unfurls a formulae in his mind, his fingers weave through various hand positions, tounge twisting for a moment around words that sound like gibberish. Finally the magic twists to his command and he feels the familiar tingle in the tips of his fingers. With his arms outstretched he frames Rowena with his hands as she fights the crustaceans, his right above her head, his left at her feet, and the moment she stops gyrating and both feet are in the sand he pinches her head and feet and pulls his hands apart. In the space of a breath, Rowena suddenly towers over everyone...more than a match for some mere bugs.
Satisfied, Sorin turns to look through the equipment pile for a crossbow and some bolts.
1: , ,
2: , ,
The injured creature (), too stupid to run to safety, presses his attack against Djal, but fails to connect. Meanwhile, the uninjured creature (), suddenly displaced, fights back hard against Rowena. The stinger connects, injecting some poison into her foot.
These strange half-lobster, half-scorpion sea creaturs are known as Eurypterids. These specific eurypterids, which are smaller than most, are called Ochre Eurypterids and aren't quite as dangerous as their larger brethren. Other than just their small size, Ochre Eurypterids are also different in that their poison tends to inhibit reflexes and dexterity, instead of constitution. They are classified as aquatic vermin and are known to have low-light vision and tremorsense.
Shaking off the effects of the venom, Ace shakes loose the cobwebs of sleep and starts to dance. His dance, while shaky because of the sand, is enough to bite into one of the crab creatures in front of him. Though the damage may be negligible...
"Ochre Eurypterids?! Will wonders never cease!"
Attack on lobster 2:
Rowena kicks sand instead (free dirty trick blinding maneuver, maybe, or just on herself!)
Edit: Oh, and Fortitude save: Wow! The dice love me tonight. Also, if she was successful with the throw, that lobster should be prone, with all the usuL ramifications that go along with being prone.
Attack of opportunity:
Damage: