Silvio walks over to Sekathral while he waits for Finn to explore the water. "Silvio can see that you've found treasure. What is that potion for?"
Silvio walks over to Sekathral while he waits for Finn to explore the water. "Silvio can see that you've found treasure. What is that potion for?"
Sekathral unstoppers the potion and sniffs it. "Haven't got the faintest, cap'n. Doesn't smell like brandy, more's the pity. Take it if you want it, unless it is brandy, in which case I'm having it back. " He hands Silvio the potion, then sits down and tries the edge of the short sword on his thumb.
"Potion? May I look at it?" If allowed, Kyson will unstopper the potion and sniff at it.
Perception to identify
"*sniff* *sniff*"
Kyson, you're not sure what the potion is.
Sekathral, you don't notice any light in the water.
Finn, as you begin to enter the water, you realize the floor is extremely slippery, which isn't helped by the surging current.
Kyson moves to the edge of shore (but not near the urchins) to watch as Finn 'swims' out.
"Be careful, Finn. Looks slippery."
"Hmm... Anybody have any rope? I'll, uh, just check this potion while we get some... Might be best before I slip and fall, right?"
"Yeah - I've got some rope." Sekathral unwinds his coil of rope and hands it to Finn before he enters the water.
Finn ties the rope around his midsection and enters the water.
The tide quickly knocks Finn off his feet, though fortunately he manages not to land on any of the spiky urchins.
Kyson winces as Finn falls.
"Careful there!"
Kyson turns to look at the rest of the party.
"So maybe someone will swim out now or at low tide and go unlock the top latch and we can climb out?"
I hope to see the sun again.
"Not that I want to stop Finn enjoying himself, but it might be easier to swim out at low tide. Besides, we could all probably do with a rest. A fire'd be nice as well, though we'll be lucky if anything in here'll burn. Shall I haul 'im in?" Sekathral grasps the end of the rope, not expecting anyone to take him entirely seriously.
"Rest! We've not been here but..." Dargon starts to complain, stopping once he realizes it's Sekathral asking for rest. With a sigh Dargon concedes,"Aye, they did get ya pretty good. Suppose a moment for ya to sit an rest ain't a bad idea."
"So we all better all take a moment," Dargon continues as he goes to help Finn back up. Come rest little one, too many strange things going on for us to split up down here."
Kyson looks for a non-urchiny safe rock upon which to sit.
I'll just wait here.
Finn looks around. "Uh... okay. Would anyone like some urchins, while I'm down here?"
Finn gingerly wraps a cloth around an urchin and pulls it out of the water to study.
Sekathral will hand Finn the shortsword, hilt first, then drain his bottle of rum, wrap himself up in his cloak and trance for a couple of hours. Upon awaking, he'll light up, sharpen his weapons, then address Kyson. "How do you get to be a priest? I've never been able to work that out. My wife was one, or she said she was - she threatened me with divine wrath often enough before she ran off with a tanner from Sargava. They both died of the yellow shakes soon after, so fat lot of good it did her"
Kyson looks at Sekathral as if trying to decide if the man is teasing him.
Kyson starts tentatively.
"Well, I didn't want to be a priest necessarily. I just liked being safe and warm and around books, mostly. I entered the Sarenraen monastery when I was 14 because I didn't like working as a farmer...it was too dangerous. Lots of wolves and angry dogs to contend with...so running away to the monastery seemed pretty safe."
Kyson looks at Sekathral to see if man is listening or even caring before continuing.
After several hours -- probably around sunset judging by the sailors' time sense and the grumbling stomachs of those less used to guessing the time -- the water level begins to drop noticeably until finally it appears you're reaching the tide's ebb.
The water level seems to drop enough that the area nearest you is no longer submerged, though it remains very slippery, enough so that all of you but Sekathral have trouble keeping your feet as you step out on it.
Sekathral advances far enough to see that there are deeper pools ahead, though it seems to shallow out again beyond that.
Dargon:
Finn:
Kyson:
Sekathral:
Silvio:
Zstelian:
Dargon being just as comfortable below ground as above, spends some time checking out the little room they’ve found themselves in. Doing it more for something to than anything else he happily shares anything of interest he discovers, whether trival or not.
After that, Dargon gathers some of the splittered door and asks that Finn try to light a fire to cook some of that crab meat, kobob style.
"Eat up!" Dargon says as he offers a stick with some raw crab meat to the closet person, motioning for them to take a seat next to the fire to cook their own crab-on-a-stick.
Eventually after eating crab and some idol chatting, Dargon sits down in a dry spot and tries to meditate , though he's not very good at it and about an hour in falls asleep.
Thus he spends the rest of the time taking a power nap.
Finn pulls out a dagger and cracks open the urchin while chewing on some crab. Although he plays with the innards much like a child might, he is nonetheless satisfied with something and pulls out a small bamboo tube. He dribbles a black fluid that sizzles in the urchin, and he squeals with delight. "This will work like the spider venom!" he exults as he sets about mixing some green spines with the urchin until it forms a dark paste. He saves the paste for later.
Silvio takes the downtime as an opportunity to fill in his companions daring adventures and challenges overcome. Once and again he seasons the stories with bits of truth.
Kyson looks at Sekathral to see if man is listening or even caring before continuing
Sekathral nods, paying close attention to Kyson. "I can understand that. Survival. My wife entered the temple of Calistria because you were warm, got fed regularly and you got more respect than the average drab on the street. Besides, anything's better than farming - being up to your elbows in dung all day"
Kyson looks surprised that the elf still listens, even more surprised that the elf was married.
I didn't know elves got married. It's almost like they are people too.
"Yeah, farming wasn't for me. Not to mention it's work *and* you can get both blisters and splinters. So yeah, I like the monastery...it was easy and safe. I was taught a bunch about Sarenrae and told a bunch about her rituals and prayers."
Kyson fingers his holy symbol as he speaks. His eyes light up as he remembers something important.
"Originally I thought I was just going to be a scribe, I was good at that. But one day they asked us all (we new recruits) to ask Sarenrae for a sign...to show the divine spark. They shoved a holy symbol into my hand and asked me to ask Sarenrae for the divine spark." Kyson looks at the elf.
"You see, the divine spark, the pulse of Sarenrae's light is what defines the true clergy of Sarenrae from the lay people. It shows a direct connection to Sarenrae...or at least one of her Angels...that can't be faked. It shows that a mere man has the faith and support of a Goddess. That was quite a shock when Sarenrae worked through me. It was..." Kyson's eyes tear up "...as amazing as anything could be. I still remember how it felt the first time. I wept for hours at the beauty of it. And for that, I have always given a morning prayer to Sarenrae."
Kyson feels odd revealing this much to the elf, but he knows that Sarenrae wants her light shown to all and tries to keep talking.
"I was inducted into the order not long after that. I still liked copying and writing books, but took more note when copying the prayers of Sarenrae. I never expected to be here though. Never ever."
Kyson's curiosity gets the better of him.
"What happened to your wife?" Kyson asks, wondering if she is still around and if she isn't, then that might explain the drinking and drugs.
* * *
Kyson had been hopeful of getting out another way, but when he learns that he needs to transverse the water, sighs deeply.
This is not going to go well. Hopefully the rope will help.
Kyson will remove his shield as he wades, placing it on his back.
Acrobatics
"What happened to your wife?"
"Like I said, she ran off with a tanner, and they both died of the yellow shakes. You catch that easy as winking in the swamps unless you're a native, and since she was a half-elf from Absalom and he was Chelish..." He runs his finger around his throat "It was while I was in gaol - she didn't like the grog or the flayleaf either, so she felt she'd be better off elsewhere, even though she was just as bad. Still, there you go - plenty of time to find another one." He pauses, thinking. "Helps to talk about it, though. Odd, really. "
Dargon looks for a spot to brace himself. . His goal is to find a spot where he can hold steady and act as an anchor so that others can do this easily with the rope we have.
"Leme hold da rope for ya on this end. Sekathral, ya got a spot down there ta tie the other end?"
Once everyone else is safely past the slip, he makes he way across.
"Leme hold da rope for ya on this end. Sekathral, ya got a spot down there ta tie the other end?"
"Aye aye. I can wedge the grapple in between some rocks over here - you haul away and hold steady there"
Silvio is in his usual good mood as he accepts the rope with a smile and takes a deep breath. "Do you smell that, my friends? That is freedom, beckoning you to catch her"
"I'm too old for this stuff", Zseltian mumbles...
...and I'm too young to die here. Sarenrae guide me.
"Do you smell that, my friends? That is freedom, beckoning you to catch her."
Following behind Silvio and Finn, Kyson takes the opportunity to breathe deep.
Perception
*cough* *cough*
Kyson coughs and gags from the smell.
Apparently, freedom smells like Silvio's unwashed body, Finn's alchemical reagents, and the stagnant tide. I would think freedom would smell better.
"Not one day in here and you already sound sickly, boy", Silvio calls back as he hears Kyson coughing. "You need to get out more. Get away from the books and candles. Take deep breaths of the sea air and gain strong lungs, like Silvio!"
* * *
Kyson looks at Sekathral with a bit of horror.
"Wait. What? You were in jail? When? Why?"
Kyson wonders if he should run away now, but quickly realizes he has no where to run.
Kyson has never met a convicted felon before...or even ever thought that they existed.
Recovering his composure (Kyson realizes that if Sekathral wanted to slit his throat, he could have already), Kyson lets his curiosity get the better of him and asks more questions.
"So, your wife, what did you do when you found out? Did you talk to your priest? Under what God did you marry?"
Kyson ponders for a moment.
"Yeah know, some gods will allow you to stone adulterous mates. Did you do that?"
"Wait. What? You were in jail? When? Why?
Sekathral is slightly confused by the use of the phrase 'adulterous mates' until he realises that Kyson isn't talking about a ship's officer.
"Oh. Right. Bloody hell! She was a prostitute, for sod's sake! Stoning someone to death for having a bit on the side?! *Your* lot don't do that, do you? Anyway, I wasn't that bothered - she was getting on my nerves, wanting to settle down in Absalom and raise kids, so it wouldn't have lasted in any case. Like I'm going near *that* town again after 3 years in the Brines..."
He shudders.
"Got married in the temple of Calistria, and no, I didn't talk to the high priestess when she ran off - I knew what she'd say to me, and besides, I was already seeing someone else. So there you go. I'd recommend marriage to you - fine strapping lad like you should be able to get hitched easily enough. Silvio'll fill you in on the technical details if you ask nicely, I expect."
You all manage to get to cross through the tunnels despite some slipping to a deeper pool where the tunnels branch both north and south.
A cursory check does not reveal how deep it is.
"Best take soundings before we go on" Sekathral ties a stone to his rope and drops it into the water until it touches the bottom, then pulls it back up in an attempt to find out how deep it actually is.
The pool is about 8 feet deep, based on Sekathral's measurements.
Kyson waits and holds up as Sekathral dips his wick into the wet.
Sarenrae, SunGoddess, please see me to your light again. Also, some of these other people too.
"Let's go to the left," Kyson says, having a feeling.
Kyson waits and holds up as Sekathral dips his wick into the wet.
Sarenrae, SunGoddess, please see me to your light again. Also, some of these other people too.
"Let's go to the left," Kyson says, having a feeling.
"Aye, left we'll go, I'm not one ta go 'gainst a priest's gut."
"Does someone want to swim first and see where it goes? Where either of them go?"
As the water gets deeper, Kyson realizes that he might need to remove his armor and begins to take it off.
Dargon will swim ahead to see how far it is until the water dries up, so that we can plan accordingly.
Sekathral will make a perception check first to make sure there are no nasty surprises and, if there aren't (or if he's ignorant of them) he will swim as far as he can, scouting as he does so
The pool appears to be about 15 feet long to the left, at which you reach another slippery section covered with urchins, which presumably would be underwater at high tide.
To the right, it looks like a much narrower deep section -- only about five feet across.
Kyson continues to strip while he awaits the scouting report from Sekathral.
He's helpful.