Rain had taken to wearing the kerchief that generally held her hair back over her nose and mouth. Any sailor or officer showing signs of the illness she gave a wide berth to. It seemed Variel had not succumbed to the illness either and she was grateful for it.
Turning to Variel, she asks in quiet voice, "How many are going into the jungle in search of the cure? Have the other officers' succumbed to the illness? If they are not well enough, it may just be you and I going onto shore."
Rain had taken to wearing the kerchief that generally held her hair back over her nose and mouth. Any sailor or officer showing signs of the illness she gave a wide berth to. It seemed Variel had not succumbed to the illness either and she was grateful for it.
Turning to Variel, she asks in quiet voice, "How many are going into the jungle in search of the cure? Have the other officers' succumbed to the illness? If they are not well enough, it may just be you and I going onto shore."
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As Variel was up most of the night on watch he drifts off to sleep as the ships search out the shore of the jungle. As is his ritual Variel prepares for the day ahead refreshing his mind and pondering what is to happen to the crew and how many they will lose before the cure is found. His preparations completed Variel exits the cabin and makes sure that he avoids contact if at all possible even though the crew he is with is currently unaffected by the disease. For what seems like long hours the coast slowly approaches until they are able to discern telltale features. It is still a pn hour before the mouth of the river is found and the ships make their way among the giant trees. Variel tries to pass the time and keep from straining his eyes in the jungle canopy by checking on the crew and seeing how they are fairing. He helps out where he can and periodically casts prestidigitation to cool a crew member or wipe the sweat off of a brow.
Upon reaching heir destination, as far up river spas they could get safely, Variel calls, over to the other ship to have Flynn and Adular come by boat to discuss what the next step is.
It is nearly nightfall. Do you think we should press onward with the little light available to see what we can find or wait till morning? I ask you both this as I don't know how much time we will have to find the cure. If you think we need to go now then we leave immediately towards the jungle canopy just yonder.
Adular understands folks avoiding him. He may cast purification upon the food (Without touching it) as he's still not sure where the original disease came from.
*Edited for clarity. thanks rain. I was refering to flynn and adular and got confuzzled. I knew she and Variel were fine. =]
I was talking to Flynn there, but then wrote Flynn instead of himself. Fix'd
Horatio’s eyes are dark, bitter and somewhat disgusted at this point.
”Oh stop this nonsense,” he growls.
”The disease is in the air; it spreads through the air.”
”And right now, you don’t know who has it, and who doesn’t. You think you do, but even if you have avoided the people who show signs – that doesn’t matter.”
”Clothes may have it, gear may have it – it sticks to things like filth.”
"Know this also, even if you have been "cured" today, or have felt no ill effects today, that may not matter."
"If that was the case, we could simply stay here and be comfortable. Every day our priest could be curing more and more folk, until we were all cured - for even now Rain and Nightstorm have felt no ill effects; if their resistance today meant they were immune tomorrow, than we would have no need to leave the ship."
"If one spell was enough to cure a man permanently, we would need only wait here and heal people each day gradually; they will lose strength and cannot even feed themselves, this is true, yes."
"But they will last long enough to live for the cure, and all they shall be is a little hungry at most until Adular can heal them."
His eyes glitter.
"But I do not think the solution will be easy as that... if it was, we should have no need to go into the jungle. And my heart tells us that is where the gods wish us to go."
His mind drifts back to his time studying such diseases.
”If someone dies of the plague, you need to burn the body and all their gear and all the gear they have touched needs to be burned as well; because a scrap of clothing that touched a plagued man carry transmit death to an entire town later, if it is not destroyed,” he says, a harsh rasp in his throat, as he coughs suddenly for a moment.
”Unless…” he adds, coughing again.
”Unless there is a cure. If there is a cure and you take it, than you do not need to worry about such things,” he adds dryly.
”So please stop the charade. Since the disease was on both ships when the men were transshipped back and forth, these precautions are useless.”
"The plague is here - Death is here... and He is coming for all of us if we do not act."
His throat pains him, and he cuts to the quick.
”We find the cure, or we die; let us talk about that, instead of worrying about these unnecessary precautions.”
Horatio’s eyes grow from glittering to somewhat dim.
”Apologies, a madness has gripped me for a moment – but it is past.” he says, his tone becoming dull and somewhat listless.
He lifts a rag over his mouth as he coughs a bit, stifling the germs as best as he can.
”I will stay on the ship to guard it – or I will come with you into the wild; either way, I care not – in this I defer to your collective judgment. I confess…. my mind is troubled… the sickness, you see… it has caused me to be… I have not been myself… I hope that we may find the cure sooner, rather than later… but I… I… I am sorry, he sickness is wearing on my mind…”
I'm at work so i dont' have time po post in character but i wanna get this out there.
Dhaavan thinks it's a bad idea not to bring the priest or teh guy that remembers what the plant actually looks like, so How about we wait till morning, and Adular can cure Flynn and himself and the 6 of us can set out at first light. solves all our probles except for loosing the night of searching, but i feel like having our 2 sick characters will make the mission more successful than not having them.
cause leaving FLynn and bringing adular wouldn't really keep us any less at-risk as Adular's also got the sickness.
The thing about that is, Dhaavan, in the morning I have to roll for Strength loss, I believe. After the roll, I may not be able to help you much, depending on what I roll. Ability drain can come back with time (generally) but tomorrow I may not be able to help you much in the morning. I have a lot of “meta-game” reasons to think that we also have to go tonight, but never mind those. The thing is – in the morning I have to roll Horatio’s strength drain and he may not be able to do much walking than. It's a gamble, but we'll see what happens.
There are 6 PC's - only 6 spots on the boat. I think we have to do this with only the PC's and we have to go tonight. But I may be wrong.
Okay, that’s pretty much it. I'm late for work, I'll see you guys when you come back. Just let me know what you want to do. If we wait until tomorrow, that's cool to.
If everyone has to roll again for the disease whether they we were healed or not in the morning (we may) I probably would know that via the Heal Check to diagnose it (I'm hoping).
I'll go where the party goes, just toss that up there.
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waiting till they get closer so he can converse without the crew overhearing them, I understand your frustrations Flynn, but limiting the contact with the sick is the best still for those who have not succumbed to the disease. Now that we are no longer sailing I will have the crew scrub the ship as best as they can even though you say it may not do much good. It will give them something to do and a sense of accomplishment. Besides it won't hurt to clean what we can. We will have the sick burn the bodies of the dead to remove that corruption. If you wish to stay here that is fine but your skills may be needed in the jungle. I know that Adular's will. Yes he could probably cure 2 more in the morning but unless we find the cure those two will just get sick like you mentioned.
Turning to all, So what is it, leave tonight and start sooner or wait till the morning to have the light of day but have less time? I am of the opinion to leave now, but I have slept recently as well and am not tired.
"I think we should get at least some travel together tonight for a few hours at least, we've spells for light if need be. I'll sleep away from the uninfected, and then in the morn, cure flynn and meself. I know no one likes leaving the crew behind, but these aren't children, they're sailors, and they need their strongest mates... that's us, finding the cure a lot more than they need us holding their hands." Adular states rather directly, "Pardon if I sound a touch snippy, but I think this whole thing has everyone on edge, meself included."
Horatio waves his hand somewhat at Variel, as if to suggest he has heard him and agrees, but turns his head and coughs again, feeling the tickle in this throat progress.
”No, no – you are correct,” he says to Variel after the coughing has subsided.
”I have been in a dark mood with this sickness… your suggestion to clean the ship is quite reasonable, for both reasons that you mentioned. It was my own dark mood which prompted my words…”
"I apologize for that," he adds, stifling another cough.
He breathes deeply for a bit, and tries to organize his thoughts.
”For better or worse we have been plagued. I do no think it was due to entirely natural causes, and in fact – well, I have my own opinions. But it is not entirely unreasonable to assume that as we have taken another faithful to Besmara that She may be taking a personal interest in our ship…”
”If She, or another divine being, noticed our ship and plagued us; this may indeed be a dark thing – aye. But tonight I shall put my dark thoughts aside and hope this plague is instead a harbinger of good things.”
He coughs again, and tries to explain, turning to Adular.
”When I and the others first me we had many quarrels, some still persist today,” he adds with a dry smile ”but we were all agreed that our chief calamity was a villain who needed to die; a black-hearted rogue who tasked us cruelly.”
”Hard did he press us, and death from him was likely... Only by coming together and uniting could we overthrow that scum and be free – and not only that, but now we have a ship to our name.”
"Was it chance alone which sent that knave to press us and force us to stand united as a true crew - or was it the goddess Besmara who was there all along; using that dog as nothing but a tool to forge for herself a crew for her divine purposes?"
He lets that question hang for a moment, as he picks up a cup and drinks deeply of the water to refresh himself.
"Who knows..." he adds with a gasp after the long drink.
"But, in the past several days there was much tension with us; it felt as if blood may have been spilled… and now we are plagued,” he says looking at everyone in turn.
”There are many possibilities – for myself, I choose to believe that we are plagued because the gods wish it so."
"Consider the signs – we have taken a priest of the goddess of pirates on board. Less than two days after he was joined us we found a fat prize, ripe for the taking – and we bested it! But then, while en route to offload the plunder, we had no joy or true merrymaking as true Pirate Brethren might; there was only distrust and talk of mutiny and at best, angst with each other and perhaps worse.”
He shakes his head, clearing his throat, but stifling the coughing.
”That is not the conduct of a Brotherhood – to quarrel with our mates is not the way the Pirate Queen would wish her followers to act on a ship.”
He drinks again.
”I do not name her my goddess; but she – like Milani – loves freedom and other deeper principles. And though we may plunder and pillage, we do these things as a crew that conforms to a higher purpose – one I cannot pretend to understand, but at least I can grasp that much of her theology – but if we are pirates that walk her path, we must act like a crew. Myself especially,” he adds by way of apology, and turns to cough again.
He waves his hand, as if to hurry himself on.
”Since we have not acted like a true crew of mates; like a brotherhood should – I think now the goddess has given us the plague to test us.”
”After all, the plague is deadly, yes – but not right away. We have time to act, but we shall certainly fail, I think, unless we stand together and act as one; as a brotherhood, as a Crew,” he adds the last a bit forcefully, than coughs again.
He breathes a bit more, than adds one more thought.
”Consider this last thing – the wisest course would be to sit by until the dawn comes. We would be better rested; more at ease – with more light the terrain would be safer and more easy to discover the cure. We would be more sure of the carriers of the plague in the morning, and better able to act on it. We would be better able to guard against trouble on the ships in daylight, and better prepared to send in a larger group into the wild to find this gear, once we know who may be infected by it, or not.”
”The other choice is that we leave tonight; right now - and only the officers who are in charge of the crew. And we that go know that some of us may be sick already and we do not know who they are, though I certainly feel it… And we know that some of us may perish in the dark jungles as we are not all accustomed to the nature of the wild. And though wisdom suggests we could take more men by sending the boats back and forth; we will instead leave all of the crew and simply go alone, leaving the safety of both ship's in the hands of the gods alone, trusting to their will, not ours!”
He clears his throat, and proceeds.
”The first course is wise, logical, safe, reasonable, sound and sensible.”
”The other choice is risky, dangerous, foolhardy… In short, there is a certainty of death, and I see at best only a small chance success!” he adds, thumping the table.
”But,” he adds, looking to the others slyly ”we honor The Pirate Queen; goddess of foolhardy rogues who spit at death for the chance to live life on their terms.”
”So – what are we waiting for?” he adds with a dark smile.
Speaking to her comrades, Rain finally gives voice to a doubt that had been gnawing and growing in her mind. "If this illness was brought to us by the Rahadoumi, then why have they not succumbed to it and died? They were sailing, possibly for days, weeks even, before we saw their ship and then it was days from first we gave chase. Why is it that it is only now they exhibit symptoms as do our people. This makes no natural sense." Rain's last statement seemed to be directed at Adular and Flynn, being they were the most proficient in the skill of healing. "No black flag was flown to warn of disease on the Sanbalot. That too is strange."
I will respond to you both with a question. What was exposed after the battle but not before the battle and think about the ways this disease might be trasmitted. What existed in abundance after the battle that wasn't there before it?
Carriers of diseases sometimes don't trigger in all the ways a disease can manifest once it is caught by someone else. For example, a carrier might not have any symptoms and therefore won't transmit the disease by coughing, where someone who caught the disease COULD and WOULD transmit by coughing.
Horatio turns a rather bland look to Rain.
"You know, I had asked that same question before... but truly, does it matter?" he asks, his eyes suddenly animated by a thought.
”It is possible that the dying captain cursed us; it is possible that the plunder we unloaded was infected, and there are other possibilities as well… we could speculate on that all night.”
”For myself; I choose to believe the gods provided us a hardship – a difficulty – to test us.”
"Perhaps that is a foolish thought - but I do not think it is so unreasonable..."
”I choose now to believe that it came from Besmara herself – I choose to believe that she grants her followers a wide berth in terms of a moral compass; but in the end, I believe she feels that her followers treat their crew as a true “Crew” – and do not argue with each other.”
He clears his throat, the talking making it feel raw.
”Perhaps I am completely wrong; and this is a result of some other thing…”
”I do not mean to disrespect your questions – but ultimately, we will still need the cure and it seems our best course is to seek it, and the only question we debate now is “when” we will seek it.”
”I feel that tonight is both foolish and dangerous – but I feel that if the curse comes from Besmara, that jumping recklessly into danger with less planning and a bold heart, knowing only that the leap may bear fruit, though it cost us our lives… I believe such demonstrations of audacity please the Dark Lady – I think if we left – only officers; in the dark; in the jungle – leaving two ships protected by our underlings alone and commend ourselves to our fate – I think even if she did not send the plague to force us to act as one – I think it would make her pleased to see our passion and determination to laugh at Death.”
”Of course, that is just an opinion, but I do choose to believe it."
"But if I am right, that would mean that Besmara herself has either a need, or a desire for us to act as a crew... perhaps our unity is for a purpose - and in time, our company will do great things for her followers - in her name - but that shall only come if we stand united as a brotherhood must, and not divided; and though most of that is my own fault, that division - well, in any case, now we have a common threat to bond us better... for me, that is enough.”
"...Oh...heh. Heh heh heh. Heh heeheeheehee. Ha ha ha Hah. AH HA HA HA HAAHAAHAAHAA!" A few moments after Flynn's answer to Rain's question, the sorcerer starts laughing uncontrolabely. "What, You dont' see the joke?" Dhaavan asks in response to the strange looks from the officers.
He takes a moment to compose himself, and quietly says, "Maybe you're right, and it is divine punishment. That Manticore could have been a carrier o' the disease, not affected, but when killed would spread it. Maybe their Cap'n new about it, and killed herself to avoid the sickness. Soon as the thing fell we were in for it."
Then looking at Flynn, "But perhaps it is not so easily spread as just killing a carrier, but rather your bathing in gore got you infected?" he adds in a whisper, raising a bemused eyebrow.
"Then again, it could be that a human can carry it, and not pass it along until they're dead and rotting, like in the time it took fur us to decide how to make port, and our notions about crewing the ship gave it time to show up."
"No way o' knowing exactly at this point, but I say we get us-selves a wand to test for disease, and send the dead out on a pyre right off, eh?"
what DID we do with the bodies. If they were useless, Dhaavan would want ot get rid of them, suggesting something honorable for the crew, nice and flashy to improve morale, like funeral pyre on a raft of planks, like the ruined and useless wood of the catapult. and do whatever Rahadoumi do with their dead.
[ooc]Not trying to sow discord, but Dhaavan would suggest these ideas, in order to promote saver practices on the boat, like not getting too gored up (and worying his targets) as well as dealing with bodies promptly and in a sanitary manner. (Diagnos Disease before animate dead, too. He's going to want us to get a wand of it, as disease seems to be a thing, asn we dont' want to waste the cleric's spell-slots every time)
"I don't think Besmara would be out to kill me by plague, even if she were angry with me. Now, a great honking sea monster to bite my head clean off, that be more her style. The blood of the captain ,or gore period? Mayhaps. There be many a reason a clean ship is a godly ship," He chuckles, "But as o thers have already said, the whys aren't as important as the nows. I'll keep praying, rest assured, for answers as well as healing."
Horatio hears both Adular and Dhaavan’s comments, and sighs, attempting one more time to explain his point.
First, he turns to Adular –
”I never said the Dark Lady wished you to die by a plague – that is not her nature, for – in my opinion, a death by a mere plague for a one of her priests would be quite… anticlimactic?” he says, after searching for the right word.
”But as I said, I did not believe the disease is meant to kill us. At most, we are weakened by it and in time we will die – but only if we do not act.”
”That is the key; we must take action. Failure to act means that we are doomed. Sitting and arguing means we are doomed. Being at each other’s throats means we are doomed. Wasting time, debating in circles, complaining, whining, coming to blows, threats… all of those things will mean we die.”
”If – on the other hand – we attempt bold acts of high risk, and potential death with slim chance of reward – even then I think we will die.”
”However,” he adds patiently, wiping a stream of spittle from his lips ”If we do these things as team, a unit, a crew – a brotherhood – then we shall show your goddess we are worthy of her name. In which case, I think we might have a chance.”
Horatio turns a dry look to Dhaavan’s comment about – perhaps… it was your bathing in gore…
”Perhaps,” he says, his voice dry.
He strums his fingers on the table a moment.
”But if so, I should say that I find your lack of faith… disturbing,” he adds eventually, giving Dhaavan the ghost of a smile.
”The creature carried the plague and came to our ship and was slaughtered.”
”Its blood splattered everywhere with the ballista bolt – but to make matters worse, I gutted it and feasted on its heart as the warriors of the Mwangi tribes will do to a lion; to taste of its strength and power.”
”But who sent the ship to us; and the plagued manticore to us; and allowed the blood to splatter if not the gods?”
He shakes his head.
”Now, let us assume my actions may have been the only thing that caused this to spread – aye – but my actions were prompted by discord and strife with my mates. That strife lead to my anger, the anger led to the killing, the killing lead to the evisceration, and now we are plagued.”
He takes a deep drink, than gasps from the draught.
”Perhaps,” he adds ”if we had all been more friendly with each – me especially, though I was hard pressed with my own difficulties – we may have acted more like a crew; a team and a brotherhood. “
”And if we had acted more like a team, or a crew, or a brotherhood, we may have all seen the manticore in the sky; realized that it would be a great threat to us as it could fly overhead and our swordsmen would not be able to do anything to it as it attacked us at range – and we may have acted as a team and all fired arrows and spells at the manticore and killed it before it returned to its ship.”
”If we did that, than its dead body would have plummeted harmlessly into the sea, and we would be quite safe from this nonsense.”
He sighs.
”But as we didn’t act as solid team, and as there was discord, and the creature lived to the ship, and now we are plagued.”
”I am not sure of facts, so in this case I must trust my heart. And my heart tells me that we have been given a test by the goddess.”
”I believe that we must now put aside those differences between us and act as one – go forth into danger – complete this task – help each other as mates and allies – and stand together as one; as a crew – for the good of our lives, and to please the goddess,” he adds, than breaks off with a long coughing fit.
Having spoken his peace, he calms down a bit, and regards Dhaavan.
”I say this is comes from the gods; by Their will we have it – and if we would live, we must follow the quest they gave us. And all scientific evidence which can show us “how” this plague happened is, to me, less important to me than “why” this happened – though, as I said, I believe now I know why,” he says smiling a bit as he reaches over to clap the young lad on his shoulder in a fraternal way.
Horatio then thinks on this matter a moment, and stands up.
”Very well; enough talking, eh? Let us get to the boats, tell Sandara she has the conn while we are gone; instruct her and the others who we trust to keep an eye on things, and make all haste to action, danger, high risk, adventure, and of course – the cure.”
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Variel listens to the others and chimes in with his own thoughts. While finding the cure is of paramount importance, knowing the cause should also be of interest so we know where the disease came from. That way we can get rid of it now before it has a chance to come back. Your ideas are sound and I will defer to your judgement as the it's true cause. Curse, divine misfortune, manticore, or captain we can only really worry about the latter two. Therefore let us have the crew scour the ship clean to remove its taint. And in the future the first action after victory is the immediate moving of the bodies after rites are performed into a longboat until a pyre raft is completed. We then scour the longboat to remove any taint. Those actions are the past and future, we are concerned about the present.
It seems that Adular, Flynn, Dhaavan and myself are at least open to if not completely in favor of starting tonight. That being the case let us not tarry any longer here. Gather our equipment and all of us be ready to leave in ten minutes. Sandara will be in charge of the sick while we are gone and Rosie, Ambrose, and one other you suggest can organize the crew to clean the ships and maintain a watch.
Variel listens to the others and chimes in with his own thoughts. While finding the cure is of paramount importance, knowing the cause should also be of interest so we know where the disease came from. That way we can get rid of it now before it has a chance to come back. Your ideas are sound and I will defer to your judgement as the it's true cause. Curse, divine misfortune, manticore, or captain we can only really worry about the latter two. Therefore let us have the crew scour the ship clean to remove its taint. And in the future the first action after victory is the immediate moving of the bodies after rites are performed into a longboat until a pyre raft is completed. We then scour the longboat to remove any taint. Those actions are the past and future, we are concerned about the present.
It seems that Adular, Flynn, Dhaavan and myself are at least open to if not completely in favor of starting tonight. That being the case let us not tarry any longer here. Gather our equipment and all of us be ready to leave in ten minutes. Sandara will be in charge of the sick while we are gone and Rosie, Ambrose, and one other you suggest can organize the crew to clean the ships and maintain a watch.
Horatio nods at Variel.
"Oh, make no mistake, I'd rather relax through the night and wait until dawn when most of the predators are sleeping in the summer sun, rather than hunting under a full moon down by the waterline. But if I did that, what kind of brother would I be to you all?" he adds with a grin at the group, giving Variel a wink to show he is only trying to joke a bit and lighten the mood.
Hearing his suggestion, he ponders a bit.
"Perhaps Conchobar would be useful for the organization of the cleaning? He is trusty, well-known and charismatic with the group. As a gnome, he can see well-enough in the dark if he will be on watch, and likely has a better grasp than most on the particulars of how to make things as ship-shape as possible," he adds, slinging his kit over his shoulder, and following Variel to the door.
"Would he suffice, do you think?" he asks politely.
"...Oh...heh. Heh heh heh. Heh heeheeheehee. Ha ha ha Hah. AH HA HA HA HAAHAAHAAHAA!" A few moments after Flynn's answer to Rain's question, the sorcerer starts laughing uncontrolabely. "What, You dont' see the joke?" Dhaavan asks in response to the strange looks from the officers.
He takes a moment to compose himself, and quietly says, "Maybe you're right, and it is divine punishment. That Manticore could have been a carrier o' the disease, not affected, but when killed would spread it. Maybe their Cap'n new about it, and killed herself to avoid the sickness. Soon as the thing fell we were in for it."
Then looking at Flynn, "But perhaps it is not so easily spread as just killing a carrier, but rather your bathing in gore got you infected?" he adds in a whisper, raising a bemused eyebrow.
"Then again, it could be that a human can carry it, and not pass it along until they're dead and rotting, like in the time it took fur us to decide how to make port, and our notions about crewing the ship gave it time to show up."
"No way o' knowing exactly at this point, but I say we get us-selves a wand to test for disease, and send the dead out on a pyre right off, eh?"
what DID we do with the bodies. If they were useless, Dhaavan would want ot get rid of them, suggesting something honorable for the crew, nice and flashy to improve morale, like funeral pyre on a raft of planks, like the ruined and useless...
Horatio leans against the oars, and watches the waters as the boat moves slowly toward the coast. He feels the gear on his hips, and over his back, and wonders if it will be too heavy for him to lift in the morning… if he lasts that long.
Bah! That is fools talk! You will last long enough, aye – if you are bold, and do not let cowardly thoughts dominate your mind.
And if you should stumble?
But of course you shall stumble, and likely you shall fall as well; that is the point of this expedition, eh? That you should advance forward manfully, and fall!
But – when you fall – your mates will catch you; as you catch them. If you cannot catch each other, than you all die. So just stop your blather and put your back into the rowing.
He grins savagely at the thought, and pulls harder on the oar.
When they reach the shore, he will hop out onto the land and attempt to search the terrain for any signs of where they need to journey to find this mysterious cure.
Horatio, you are able to find an offshoot of the swampy river to head down that you are sure will lead to the copse of trees that you saw earlier. You also suspect that a rainstorm is coming in and will be upon you within an hour. You don't suspect that it will be dangerous as far as wind or lightning, just miserable. Most of the way will need to be taken by boat as there is little in the way of usable trails.
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After the discussion with the officers, Variel heads to his cabin to grab his supplies. While there Variel spends a little time casting prestidigitation to clean the area so the crew does not have to enter. Exiting he sees Ambrose and tells him what the plans are and for him, Conchabar and Rosie to organize the crew for watches and cleaning detail.
Meeting with the others he tries to keep as much space as the little craft allows between Adular and Flynn to the others. Following Rain and Flynn's recommendations as to where to go Variel helps with the oars going up the offshoot. Just when it seems tht they are making good time and pregressing quickly, the sky darkens cutting off what little light from the setting sun was given to them. It would be a long night but one that was promised to be full of adventure and intrigue.
If needed...
Diplomacy with crew
Perception as travel along river
prof sailor to help with the boat
"Ah, I did misunderstand ye, Flynn. Still, I'd not be telling the rest of the crew that Besmara inflicted this on them, if you would? I have enough time making sure the lovable heathens see the true way without scarin em everytime I flash me holy symbol."
Adular ponders the possibilities The goddess ain't the like to teach moral lessons, not many anyway. And retrieving of some odd flower gives her little glory. Mayhaps she's responding to the captain's wish to sway the enemy prisoners? If we save them along with our own, they might be grateful enough to reconsider? Ah. Who knows. she's a fickle lady.
"Ah, I did misunderstand ye, Flynn. Still, I'd not be telling the rest of the crew that Besmara inflicted this on them, if you would? I have enough time making sure the lovable heathens see the true way without scarin em everytime I flash me holy symbol."
Adular ponders the possibilities The goddess ain't the like to teach moral lessons, not many anyway. And retrieving of some odd flower gives her little glory. Mayhaps she's responding to the captain's wish to sway the enemy prisoners? If we save them along with our own, they might be grateful enough to reconsider? Ah. Who knows. she's a fickle lady.
Horatio’s eyes light up as he easily discovers the location of a small river that he believes will guide them to the flowers for this cure.
As they row, his eyes are on the sky, and the terrain around them, and he listens to Adular’s comment.
He turns to the priest –
”Do not fear; I keep my own councils. I will say little to upset the crew; do not worry much on that case,” he says as they continue to row.
Than he thinks a bit as they journey.
”With this task… well, I think that a Pirate Queen would at least wish that her followers act like a proper crew. And no matter what task or duty they undertake – be it to pirate ships, to sack towns, or to assault the celestial realms, even as her own ship does… well, even she has a crew, I hear.”
”Yet still; how can her own ship sail if her crew cannot work as one? If the crew she handles was at each other’s throats, rather than the enemy, how could they do anything but fight – and she is a god of piracy, not warfare; or rather – she encourages piracy, not simply fighting for the sake of fighting, eh?”
”But to me, this quest is only a modest concern,” he adds, his eyes flicking through the trees.
He takes a moment to organize his thought a bit better.
”You see, if it is through her doing that we are bound together, and this is a test to make it so… than I suspect all of these things join us for a higher purpose. But if so, what is that higher purpose?”
He frowns as he thinks.
”On that course, I am unsure. But I suppose we shall find out.”
The thickness of the swamp and mazelike quality of the swamp make the going slow. You guess you are about halfway to your suspected search area when the rain begins. There is very little wind due to the heavy tree cover but the rain itself is very heavy and pounds down with relentless force. One thing is for certain, this is going to be a miserable night. The swampy jungle itself is heavy with vegetation. The roots of the mangrove trees reach into the water like skeletal figures.
As you progress through you jump at each splash in the water, any number of monstrous creatures could be hiding within it.
"All is revealed in time, Flynn, I'm sure o that," Adular tries to stay chipper.
........
As you progress through you jump at each splash in the water, any number of monstrous creatures could be hiding within it.
"This place sets the mind to wandering with wicked thoughts"
While he does crack a smile, and think briefly on the nature of their bond and destiny, Dhaavan is not his usual cheerful self. He keeps shying away from the others, save Sejiro, squirming slightly as he can't move farther without falling into the water.
He is very glad of his old slicked Cloak (fur lined and hooded) Which while heavy with water in the for mantle, is keeping him warm wrapped within in in the downpour. He wraps it tightly roudn him, and looks out into the swamp, whispering something and Jack too opos his head out, eyes peering from underneath the hood, hunting for potential dangers
"All is revealed in time, Flynn, I'm sure o that," Adular tries to stay chipper.
........
As you progress through you jump at each splash in the water, any number of monstrous creatures could be hiding within it."This place sets the mind to wandering with wicked thoughts"
”Aye,” Horatio says as he glances through the trees and, turns to look over his back at prow sliding forward through the morass.
He spits to the leeward in frustration at the weather and the pace.
”We’ll find out when we find out, sure as hellfire; and we’ll get there when we get there, too, I suspect. But when?”
He looks to the water with a frown.
What could be in that muck? Alligators? Snakes? Eels; rats; panthers in the trees, perhaps… and what of the native folk? Is it possible that some sort of creature makes this place their abode other than beasts?
Would that we knew!
He considers the priest again.
Damnation that we wasted the majority of our healing powers before we started this little expedition. Still – it is like the half-elf suggested; the Dark Lady would not likely prepare a death for our folk as dull as choking on some jungle rot, but a manful death with high adventure!
He glances at the sliding coast of slowly moving trees and watches the falling deluge and continues to count the time until they reach their goal.
Watching the rain, the trees and the water, he sighs and spits again.
Than again; I have been wrong before…
Seijiro sits miserably in the boat, rowing if he must, though he lacks the strength to put much oomph into such an effort, he will do his best if he's needed to pull an oar. His russet hair is pulled back in its usual ponytail, drenched and hanging limp behind him. Tomo sits on his shoulder, his own fur shedding water as it was designed to do, but still looking drenched and water-laden, as only so much water can sheet off even the most well-groomed fur.
Seijiro glances at each of his companions and sighs a little, not voicing his thoughts at present. Nervously, he jumps at every little burble in the water, scowling in self-recrimination at every little nervous jump. He watches the others for their reactions to these trying circumstances and wishes he had Variel's strength of will, Rain's calm demeanor, Adular's enduring faith, or Dhaavan's water-resistant cloak .
He glances at the sorceror, wondering at his reluctance to be near anyone else right now. I hope Dhaavan is alright... he seems edgy.. but then so do we all. This disease is making us all afraid of each other... and the rain isn't helping either.
I hope Flynn finds this flower quickly and we get back to the ships before we lose any of our crew or even any prisoners. I wonder, if we cure them, will any others perhaps see us in a better light and maybe join us. And if they do, will we be able to truly trust them? Not much sense troubling myself over the thought... time will tell.
Rain's mind was occupied with a number of thoughts and concerns. When the rain began to fall and grow heavier with each drop, Rain did not mind the downpour, as she rowed. She was more concerned about the jungle and finding the required bromeliad. She began speaking aloud to anyone who would listen, "We will need our best climber to reach the canopy where the flower grows. Jiro, in my opinion, is the best, followed by myself."
Rain looks into the murky water, having heard the splashing sounds of the creatures which resided in its depths. The rain fell hard upon its surface. The water creatures did not frighten her; not as much as the idea of being stranded in the jungle with sick or dying companions and losing their ships.
Horatio glances toward the sky above briefly.
I am lucky that I can aid them rowing. If we do not find the cure soon, than tomorrow I shall be naught but dead-weight in this boat, and more for them to haul.
He growls in frustration and decides that worrying about such details is a waste of time, and decides to take his mind of the issue by attempting to change the subject.
Sensing Adular’s uncertainty about his thoughts on Besmara, he attempts to elaborate on his opinions with more pragmatic, if not at least metaphysical, evidence.
”I understand you are not very sure about my thoughts on the gods being behind this, perhaps. And perhaps you believe that my thoughts about our crew arguing with each other does not likely inspire the notice of the gods, but I think the gods want us to sail together, whether we believe it or not, and I have thought long on the proof, though it may not be true "proof", at the least, it seems possible," he begins with a bit of effort to talk over the sound of the rain, though not so loud that it will impede their observations of the surrounding terrain.
”Yet as I think on it, I feel more and more that there is a certain destiny attached to our united presence. But let me give further support, if I may, for the more I consider things, the more I wonder on our destiny as a company,” he adds, pulling on the oars.
With little to do but talk, and guessing the others are too distracted to offer much back-and-forth, he begins a brief summary of the facts he has witnessed since arriving on the ship. His tone shifts somewhat into a bit of “lecture style” which is a habit he developed while at the Sargavan Naval Academy he studied at several years ago.
He does his best to avoid such methods of communication, but at this time, he lapses a bit, if only to get the facts out quickly to their new comrade.
”Our first most obvious clue came from our excellent pilot, Rain,” he says.
”As I had mentioned earlier, we were hard pressed with a villain on our first ship, he was scum – so we killed him and took the ship,” he says quickly.
”Yet shortly before we had that battle; the lady Rain had a vision or dream of some sort which suggested that this scum we dealt with would lose his power quickly and so be defeated.”
”That dream occurred on the sixth of this very month,” he adds, knowing that although the dream was literally only a few weeks ago – with all that had happened, to some it might have seemed like months or years.
”You’re a priest, and wise besides, so this may seem redundant to you – my apologies if it is – but anyhow, I looked on toward the date of the dream, checking for any auspicious quality to it, and – what do you know – there is.”
”The sixth day of Arodus is, as you likely recall, the same day in which the servants of Iomedae take their “Crusaders Oath”, which is basically when they swear to fight against tyranny and injustice.”
”It kind of makes sense to me that she got that dream when she did, as the basterd that was grinding us – name of “Plugg”, by the way – anyhow, he was kind of like a tyrant, and I assumed that the dream was to show Rain – a strong warrior woman type, even as Iomedae is – that she should have courage, and trust that we would overcome the tyrant and achieve freedom. That said, while pleased with the dream and its portent, I kind of chalked it up to, shall we say – spiritual coincidence?”
He snorts derisively at the thought.
”If that was all there was to it, maybe… but consider some more details, again – random they seem, but together… I’m not so certain,” he continues, becoming a bit more animated, the weather seeming to keep his dry throat wet enough to forestall coughing.
”During our last little “jaunt” in Bloodcove, I was feeling like I needed to practice a bit of my own faith, as it were – so I took the liberty of busting out some poor bodies that had been kept slaves; high risk – no reward, and nearly got my ass knifed several times. However – I picked up a lass from the cells, you met her already – she's grateful for my help and insists on signing on with me. I figure sure, why not? She can fight, sail, knows a few healing tricks – so I do not protest.”
He rolls a kink in his neck and continues.
”Anyhow – our guiding pilot gets a vision that shows her we will defeat the tyrant and cruel actions of Plugg - than, a few days later - we beat Plugg, kill that tyrant, and take his ship.”
”Next; all of us got our own reasons for hating slavers, some more than others – and I decided for the sake of my faith, I’d fight some slavers directly in Bloodcove and we picked up a girl who talks of how all our gods are too “new”, and makes jokes about how are gods don’t amount to much to her – on account of the fact that our gods can “die” and some of our gods were once men who became gods. You know, like Iomedae, and also – like Arodun himself – this being Arodus, and the month dedicated to Arodun.”
”Than I thought about Rain’s dream – the date, the month – the girl, which was connected to me; and – obviously, how that all connects to the others.”
He clears his throat of the phlegm that formed and spits it over the side quickly.
”The goddess Iomedae – a goddess who fights injustice and such, and is pretty popular with Halfling paladins, especially in Cheliax as they fight slavers hard – I picked that tip up from Piper, you know, the Halfling lass that I hired on, from Cheliax?”
”So I started thinking on what happened to old Arodun – and I remembered some old lore about him from school.”
”We all know he was the first human to become a god; and that seems to make my girl Amen-set think our gods do not matter much; but consider this – his race was Azlanti. Now, she is not that race of men, obviously… but it did get me thinking on the race itself – oh, and how it all ties back to us… I have not forgotten that point,” he says, continuing to talk and hoping the conversation at least would distract them from the boredom of rowing and the weather.
”Anyhow, they all came from a place called Azlant, which was destroyed by the Starstone a long time ago. When sailors came to the last surviving ruins to that land – what did they find?”
”Nothing, except for a temple dedicated to some lost Azlanti sun god…” he adds with a droll tone.
”Now; let me get to my conclusion…”
”If this is not a coincidence – that seems to suggest that the girl Amen-set may be venerating – either through intention or accident – a god very similar to those in the Azlanti culture.”
”They also say that some folk who were related to the Azlanti were called “gillman”; though they’re kind of rare…” he adds with a dry voice, glancing at the others.
”Anyhow, there is a rumor that there is some sort of remains of that culture, near Varisia, by the way,” he says, giving Dhaavan a quick glance ”that the elves protect very intently from any who would trespass there.”
”They call those elves “gray elves”; and rumor has it that they fight hard against Aboleth’s especially… Of course, we do not know any gray elves… or do we?” he adds, thoughtfully.
”During our entire time in Bloodcove, we were set on by scoundrels who followed Nightstorm there intently; he does not know why, and has no true knowledge of his full history, from what I understand, and is only aware of the word “Shanxia” – a name that seems to be connected to his history.”
”So…”
”Could it be that Rain had prophecy from the servant of Aroden to fight tyranny; we followed that vision and defeated that “Plugg” person; than – having accomplished this – a former crewmate, who was, by the way, an actual gillman – saw we had finished our task and decided to leave us – and even as we bicker about quite a few things, we seem all agreed that slavery and tyrants are bad business…”
”We pick up an orphan with no knowledge of her history, but following a deity which seems oddly out of place – and laughs at our gods, and her own faith seems similar to the religion in a temple which existed over 10,000 years ago – and she has no real connection with us, except her presence with us now is a direct results of – yes, you guessed it, fighting slavery and the tyrants who would use slaves – and right before I got her out of a slave pen in Bloodcove, Nighststorm and the rest of us were attacked."
"The men who attacked him came from lands on the other side of the world, where ol' Jiro-san comes from. These attackers keep pressing Nightstorm on his history; one which he himself does not know – but may be mixed up in all of this, too.”
”Perhaps one of his ancestors was, in fact, a “Gray Elf”, though I do not know, it is merely speculation – but if so, it kind of links his destiny with us better, especially given the fact that Nightstorm was hunted by folk from Jiro-san’s nation."
"But why that nation; and why these attackers, called ninja? Was that another coincidence?"
"Possibly, but I don't think so. Consider - those ninja came from a continent which is on the other side of the world; they could journey overland from that continent, or sail… but if they sailed that takes them right through the Steaming Sea – which would lead them right past the very same islands that the Gray Elves inhabit…”
”Could it be that these ninja folk were sailing from their homeland through the Steaming Sea, looking for work, and were hired by an agent from the these same Gray Elves to find Nightstorm for some reason?”
”While that also seems unlikely, it would mean that the faith Amen-set seems to follow aligns closely to that of a temple that stretches back 10,000 years or more, and that the last bastion of those people may also be connected to Nightstorm, possibly, as Gray Elves guard a place that is at least as old as the Azlanti culture and that ancient "sun temple".. though of course, that is only guesswork on my part, as I have no idea if Gray Elves and the good mister Nightstorm are actually related, if at all,” he adds, coughing again after so much talking.
”Our history's by themselves are all very unique, but put together and someone could easily craft a tale in which we were all united since before we by some common thread; and that link could mean that our company journeying together is more than just coincidence. And though it may only be coincidence, and most of my theories are - at best – guesswork made on flimsy circumstantial evidence… Well, I am not so sure...”
”To me; I choose to believe that they are not coincidence at all.”
”And now I choose to believe that we are meant to sail together for a higher cause – I do not know that either, but my guesses, and my heart – they suggest to me that somehow we are bound to at least fight against any who would stand as tyrants to us… and that our destiny is mixed up in that cause.”
”There are simply too many coincidences these past few weeks for my taste,” he adds, musing a bit.
”Perhaps that is why the gods have sent us so many ships from Rahadoum to plunder – for that land is a nation that keeps slaves and spits on the gods; besting them does not seem so bad to me, and better still with the cause of defeating tyrants and slavers as our motivator.”
”Perhaps we are meant to sail and fight others like the Rahdoum folk, godless tyrants."
"Perhaps our destiny is to fight others like Plugg and to make sure that no other sailor is forced to be ground under the heel of a tyrant or dark master, even as we were!”
”Perhaps we were meant to fight the folk of Cheliax – they are an Empire who has slavery and crushes freedom; ask the Halfling lass Piper, she will tell you the truth on that, if you do not believe my word for it…”
”But with our varied crew; dreams and prophecies on holy days aligned to fighting tyrants; a combination of backgrounds which seem widely varied at first, yet not so different or estranged when examined in another light... well, it seems more likely – to me – that all of these things may seem random; I sense the gods above have kept watch on our paths from the beginning and led us all together to fulfill their plans somehow. I think that the gods have a purpose for us, and that we were meant to sail together – especially given the facts I have stated – and that all of us will play a part in this journey, and that we are all necessary to some great destiny.”
”And I do not think that destiny will be achieved, unless we stand as one – and work well as a crew – hence this task, which I deem as a test to molding us into a better crew.”
He coughs again, finally finished with his points.
”Or,” he adds a bit dryly ”It could all be coincidence, and we are merely meant to attack ships for plunder alone.”
He grins viciously.
”Maybe… but I choose not to believe that.”
Rain's mind was occupied with a number of thoughts and concerns. When the rain began to fall and grow heavier with each drop, Rain did not mind the downpour, as she rowed. She was more concerned about the jungle and finding the required bromeliad. She began speaking aloud to anyone who would listen, "We will need our best climber to reach the canopy where the flower grows. Jiro, in my opinion, is the best, followed by myself."
Rain looks into the murky water, having heard the splashing sounds of the creatures which resided in its depths. The rain fell hard upon its surface. The water creatures did not frighten her; not as much as the idea of being stranded in the jungle with sick or dying companions and losing their ships.
[dice=Knowledge, Nature (re water creatures in this region)]1d20+9
[dice=Survival]1d20+10
Horatio finishes his long speech, clearly it has not dulled his energy.
Hearing Rain's praise for Jiro's climbing skill and hearing her speak of her own skill, Horatio turns to look back at Rain.
"For what it's worth, I thought I was second to Jiro-san in climbing, pilot; though I'll concede that we are likely equal in skill," he adds with a grin and a wink, trying to brighten the mood a bit.
"I don't mind climbing and doing whatever might be needed aloft. But I don't know what we're looking for. Only Flynn has that knowledge. Unless he can show me what I need to know..." Seijiro sighs, knowing that he is best at climbing perhaps, but flowers seem to be everywhere in this place... though some not so beautiful.. and how can he tell one from another?
Listening to Flynn's talk, Adular smiles, "Besmara has often gone her own way, though tis said she and Cayden have shared hammocks more than once. So I wonder if there is a grand plan by many gods, or a game of cards with more than one, with us AS the cards. Tis more my mind racing at the possibilities than saying yer right or wrong flat out. We clerics sometimes get heady that the gods entrust US with power, but we must never confuse that with the idea that the gods consider us the most important. Bes is a wicked woman, not above dancing with someone else in front of me from time to time if that's what's happening. I've grown to accept it. Now, this place?" He gestures at their surrounding, "This sets wrong on me nerves and I'm not alone in that I'm sure. But in me own case, I feel like a pile o healing potions just waiting to be needed. Course I am a pile o healing potions with a rapier...tis comforting that." A smirk.
Turning back to Seijiro, he gives the kitsune a mild shrug.
”When I see what is worth finding; I will happily let everyone know – but for now, I think we will be forced to continue to make our way down this watery track until the gods present the goal more directly… in their time, not ours, it will be found, I should think.”
He continues to row slowly, simply accepting the summer rain at this point; if it is meant to pour – being upset about it shall do nothing.
Horatio laughs at Adular’s comments; but it is a good natured laugh.
”A pile of potions and a rapier, eh?”
He turns a little and examines the cleric for a bit; studying the lean half-elf, nodding at what he sees.
”A rapier is all well and good for those standing in our face – but what of those in the distance, eh?” he adds, turning back to rowing as he talks.
”Our last encounter we were hurt badly because there was none with a bow to aid my shots – except, of course, for Amen-set; and Dhaavan’s magic. Nighstorm jumped well to strike the creature - but his swing may have been for naught, if the creature had but flown a bit higher…”
He ponders a bit, considering Adular’s physique – his dimensions, and his proportions in general.
”You ever thought of learning the ways of Black Powder?” he asks with an innocent tone.
”You have the look of a lad that it would sit well on; and you need not study it long, I think – just enough to learn the basics… You’ve got a decent eye; and with your nimble hands, courage and stout heart, I think you’d have enough gumption and grit to do great things at range. And you need not forsake your priestly duties – but it is a potent path to follow, even if you only study it for a very brief season.”
”In any case, it is just a suggestion… but if you are willing, I would happily teach you,” he says casually.
”That said – did you at least bring a bow on this outing? If we are floundering about in the water; well, that is not easy terrain to move and swing a sword with much grace… I would think that a bow, or a pistol,” he adds with a grin ”would be ideal in this muck, rather trying to fight while standing the water...”
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Variel listens only half heartedly to the conversation going around him. He is more preoccupied with his surroundings and trying to figure out just what creatures and foes they will come across. The movements in the water draw his attention but Variel forces himself to outwardly remain calm. The only signs that show that he is nervous is to check that his cutlass is secured to his belt so if the boat tips it will not fall to the bottom of the river. He also checks to make sure the rest of his equipment is secure as well.
He continues rowing for awhile in silence letting the others relieve their nervous energy by talking. When there's a lull in the chatter, Variel softly asks, When those that need light want it, just ask and I will place it 30ft in front of the boat. In order to do this Variel will cast Mage hand and light on an arrow head and use the Mage hand to hold it 30ft out in front. In the meantime, Variel whispers a few quick chants between strokes hoping to help whisk the rain away from everyon's face.
Variel listens only half heartedly to the conversation going around him. He is more preoccupied with his surroundings and trying to figure out just what creatures and foes they will come across. The movements in the water draw his attention but Variel forces himself to outwardly remain calm. The only signs that show that he is nervous is to check that his cutlass is secured to his belt so if the boat tips it will not fall to the bottom of the river. He also checks to make sure the rest of his equipment is secure as well.
He continues rowing for awhile in silence letting the others relieve their nervous energy by talking. When there's a lull in the chatter, Variel softly asks, When those that need light want it, just ask and I will place it 30ft in front of the boat. In order to do this Variel will cast Mage hand and light on an arrow head and use the Mage hand to hold it 30ft out in front. In the meantime, Variel whispers a few quick chants between strokes hoping to help whisk the rain away from everyon's face.
Horatio sees what Variel is doing –
”Whoa – Nighstorm – mind your oars, eh?” he calls out good naturedly, attempting to boost the elf's seemingly damp spirits as he sees Variel casting spells.
Horatio assumes that the others weren’t really listening to him when he spoke to Adular at length, but he merely shrugs and simply cuts to the quick.
”Oye – while I’m at,” he adds to Variel ”your kin – do you know if they are, in fact, Gray Elves? I’m curious is all, but I don’t know if there’s a way of knowing just by looking.”
”And if you don’t know, is that something we can find out? It could be important…” he adds over the sound of the falling rain.
Responding to Flynn quietly with a shake of the head, Not that I know of Flynn. Then again I have no idea and there could be all manner of elves in my ancestry.
Though Variel didn’t say much, Horatio guessed that even such casual questions troubled the elf.
Knowing that it was a difficult subject to talk about, he simply nods his head a bit, to express some understanding.
”Aye… “ he says after a long moment, not knowing what more could be said.
And though his mind was now churning with possibilities, Horatio knew it wasn’t the time to press the issue, with so many dark things weighing on them already.
Maybe when we get this thing nailed down and have some time to look into it, when things have brightened a bit… but aye, now isn’t the time…
Well, don’t trouble about it… if the gods have a plan to unveil, no doubt we’ll discover it in time, if we have patience and faith…
Then he continues to row.