Initiative
Grisaia -
Torry - delay
Emmett - obsessed
Xasay - obsessed
Scratcher
Crew 5 obsessed, 1 not
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Siren @100 feet distance
Tori, Grisaia and Scratcher manage to drive of the siren without any real effort.
A few days later you approach the western coast of the isle of Besmara’s Throne. Rocky islets and a massive stone arch jut out of the ocean, causing the waters to churn and foam. The arch is taller than a ship’s mast. Thick chains hang from the arch, and corpses dangle several body-lengths from the top. The island coast is only a short row from the arch, but only a few short stretches of beach are accessible along the rocky shoreline. A cave is visible on the shoreline; the ocean water flows freely in and out of it.
Captain Varossa calls you into her cabin "That arch you saw is called Blackwarn’s Gallows and is used by Besmaran priests to execute heretics and religious malefactors."
She stands up and takes a waterskin from a cupboard. "Captain Rahil Harkalm was a Rahadoumi who took that nation’s atheism to an extreme, vehemently hating all gods, priests, and religions. During his piratical career, Rahil made sure to murder every priest on the ships he captured and destroy any religious items he came across. This included priests of Besmara, a policy that eventually led to his crew turning on him and delivering him to a Besmaran temple. The temple priests hung him from an arch in Blackwarn’s Gallows, and made it known that no one should try to recover his body.
She takes a long drink "One of the pieces of the Three Reasons to Live is hidden in his peg leg, and you will retrieve it. Because the hanging arch is so close to shore and the area is full of jagged rock spires both above and below the sea’s surface, the Magpie Princess can’t get closer than within a few hundred feet of it. You will take a launch to get closer. I am not aware of any specific threats in Blackwarn’s Gallows, as I have never been here before, but it would not surprise me if that coastline harbors wild beasts. You should be respectful in the unlikely event that there are any Besmarans around."
After she puts the waterskin away she opens the door for you.
"Forbidding others to enjoy the sea? You should ask a priest, not a captain!"
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"Ok, flying is a neat trick. How 'bout you do that, and I will keep my guns loaded and ready in case something attacks you. As for the Besmara priests, maybe if you only take the peg leg you won't be disobeying their edict about recovering the body. I mean, a wooden leg can't be considered part of the man, can it?"
On deck you see that the arch is approximately four hundred feet away from the ship. The corpses hang at a hundred feet above sea level.
The peg leg is easy to locate, it is the left leg of the middle corpse. Tori tries to detach it while flying, all the while trying to ignore the churning water under the arc. After a few tries she succeeds and sees that the leg is indeed hollow.
Carefully holding the open end up she flies back to the ship. Landing on the deck Captain Varossa is waiting "I see why I hired you, well done! Come, we will see what's inside in my cabin"
You all get inside the captain's cabin, she puts a basket on the table and says "Turn it upside down above that."
Tori complies and holds the peg leg upside down above the basket. Out rolls a tightly bound roll, tied around a foot long metal stick. It seems to be a book with a white leather cover, which is rolled and tied with some ropes. The captain unties the book and rolls it open. Inside lies a short funnel-shaped silver pipe and the metal stick. The stick has a small recessed button in its middle. You note some words scribbled on the book's cover.
"You can keep the book and the stick as an advance on the loot, this one is what we came for" the captain says while she picks up the silver pipe. She hands the book and the stick to you. "I will chart a new course for the night, get some rest if you can" she adds, clearly dismissing you.
Xasay goes outside and looks closely at the book. The words on the cover spell a word...
and explode...
Xasay falls back, and Grisaia rushes towards him. She quickly calls on the power of Shelyn to heal the little Wayang and he recovers, still clutching the scorched book.
The pirates are concerned with the ship and after a quick inspection find that everything is still in working order. They berate the pathfinders on causing an explosion and then get on with their work. It is finally time to inspect the rod and book.
The rod turns out to be an immovable rod and the book is a Tome of the Transmuter, which lacks the lock and now also the explosive runes spell.
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"And dat's why I can barely read! Dun have to worry 'bout books 'splodin atcha, bloke!". Scratcher helping heal any of Xasay's remaining injuries with a pat on the back.
@Tori: As the party makes their way back, he asks, "So, was dat tha new drink, Torro Rojo? I heard it lets ya fly 'sides packin a strong kick!"
A gale spawned from the Eye of Abendego sweeps in from the north just after dusk. This sudden storm grows abnormally quickly, leaving the Magpie’s sailors scrambling to lower the sails. As the rain pelts down and massive waves rock the ship, a blinding bolt of lightning strikes
the main mast!
In the wake of the lightning’s dazzling flash and thunderous boom, a flickering violet mass of pure energy blazes out of the topmost spar. Three crew members (Tom, Bill and Jasper) are still aloft in the rigging attempting to replace broken lines, and find themselves caught with the unnerving thing between them and the way down. Flaming tendrils move from the creature to the sailors...
Ranged weapon attacks are impossible, except for siege weapons, which take a −4 penalty on attack rolls. The storm automatically extinguishes unprotected flames and has 50% chance of extinguishing protected flames. The severe wind imposes a −4 penalty on Fly checks, Small creatures are checked by the wind, and Tiny or smaller creatures are blown away.
The violent motion of the storm means spellcasting requires a successful concentration check to avoid losing the spell (DC = 15 + the spell’s level while on deck or DC = 10 + the spell’s level when belowdecks.)
The wind and rain makes surfaces slippery, increasing the DCs of Acrobatics checks by 2 and Climb checks by 5.
Although Xasay has no clue what kind of creature it is he notices it does not seem to be aggressive, although the frightened sailors high in the rigging might think it is. Perhaps it can be reasoned with? In any case, getting it away from the sailors is probably a good idea.
The creature flies down in a very swift swoop. Just before Xasay it comes to a stop and then slowly advances towards the Wayang.
The strange creature moves ever so closer to Xasay, until it covers his entire head! Through the moving sparks you see Xasay smiling, although his face does show some anxiety. The wayang's upper body is shrouded in cold, buzzing flames.
Suddenly a stroke of lightning flashes down into the water, some hundred feet away from you. The thunderclap that follows immediately almost deafens you in its force.
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The flames around Xasay slowly wink out and the thunderstorm also moves away. A minute later the huge waves are slowly dwindling, although the ship will likely suffer from the aftermath of the storm for the rest of the night. The sailors climb down and approach Xasay "Puppeteer, was that your creature? Why did you send it after us?"
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"'My' creature? Of course not. My art is shadow; I could not make a thing as shiny as that even if I wanted to. It was very much its own creature, and certainly no puppet. It had a mind - a free, good, and beautiful one, in fact! I do not know what it was...it was curious. It only wanted to communicate with you. It did not even understand that lightning could harm us - but I, for want of a better way to say, 'told' it as much, and asked it to take the storm away, so it did. It meant no harm. It feels sorry for us. You might say it was an explorer, just like us...just from much, much farther away."
Although the sailors seem doubtful they accept Xasay's answer. When they walk away Bill can't refrain from muttering "Ok, but don't let it happen again!"
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"Bloody 'ell, you were wearing dat thing like a 'at!", Scratcher patting little Xasay on the back. "Ya gots ta tell me 'ow ya did dat!"
-Posted with Wayfinder
A few days later you are called into the captain's cabin again...
Here Varossa explains that her late husband Warvil Lanterni together with another captain by the name of Zara “Stormeyes” Dahoath killed a great brine dragon called Nicorydine. Nicorydine's son Kelizar took his revenge on Stormeyes and sank her ship the Saber’s Kiss when it sought refuge from a storm inside an atol in the dragon's territory.
"I do not know what the dragon knows about Warvil's involvement in the death of his mother, but that is one of the reasons I made some alterations to the ship near Lillywhite. Still, I think it best if I keep out of the way on this part of the trip, I will stay in my cabin and one of you will act as temporary captain."
"The Saber's Kiss should contain a foot by a foot box, a few inches high. That box and it contents are what we need. It is foolishness to dive for the wreck without permission from the dragon, so you first need to obtain that. Dragons are greedy bastards, so sell the object as a 'memento of only sentimental value.'"
She opens a box filled with a selection of blue and red outfits, wigs, jeweled codpieces, and enormous hats.
"Kelizar is believed to have an appreciation for Taldan items and dress. It’s said that an explorer from Taldor once washed up near Kelizar’s lair and regaled him with Taldan folklore and stories of knights and princesses. The dragon is now widely rumored to have a high regard for courtly manners and poetry. To help with negotiations,
I suggest you dress like Taldans as that will likely put him in a good mood."
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Well, this sure got more interesting...
"I say that whoever is the best smooth talker should act as the temporary captain, since that's who the dragon will expect to parlay with." Tori suggests to the others.
"As for your costumes, I got myself covered with these magical sleeves that make my clothes look like whatever I want. I just need someone to tell me what those weirdos think is fashionable this week."
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"I can attempt to speak for the party, but I hope he isn't offended by my lack of familiarity with his native tongue." Grisaia offers. "I have studied the ways of noble courts with Lady Morilla, which may also be a boon. But those clothes are a bit...out of date. Still, I can't say they won't serve, if this dragon is starved for Taldan culture."
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Xasay raises his hand politely. "I speak Draconic. I can speak for us."
"Though I have made efforts to learn, I would not consider myself an expert on aristocracy - my people have no need of such things - but I did get a VERY good book on the subject, if you wish to look!" He digs out a large, leatherbound, golden-clasped book and shows it to Grisaia.
The captain sits back, takes a drink and looks on as you discuss.
After you have appointed Xasay to be the "captain" you sail on. After two more days the Magpie Princess approaches the atoll. Suddenly a big shape bursts out of the ocean a hundred yards in front of the ship! The dragon ascends to several hundred feet in the air before soaring majestically down to land on the Magpie Princess’ bowsprit and challenging the captain in archaic Taldane.
"Where dost the captain of this vessel be?"
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"Forsooth, you see him before you!" Exclaims Xasay as he swaggers out from the captain's cabin in puffy pantaloons, gaudy shirt, pointy shoes with big gilded buckles, and a hat with a massive brim and an even more massive feather.
"From the far shores of most glorious Taldor we greet ye, in utmost courtly grace!"