Of Dreams and Despair (Inactive)

Game Master Slaughtersea

Ritti continues down the stairs quietly and carefully, eyes and ears searching for signs of trouble.

Stealth: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (16) + 8 = 24
Perception (Take 20): 20 + 5 = 25

"These are nonsense," Garr'ak would exclaim before tossing any papers he picked up over his shoulder. "Is there nothing of use in here?"

"And for that matter, where is everyone? Should there not be people manning this ship?"

So nothing of interest with those 20s we took? Is it just the desk in there?

Ritti Rallo
You continue down the stairs... and continue... and continue. After about twenty minutes of walking you still haven't reached the bottom.

Shuo and cie
Duke, you see no hole in the other roon. Eiron, as far as you can tell, your training advises you to calm down, man up and keep searching for a way out. Shuo, as you slowly inch out the "window hole" you feel gravity pulling you down to the water below. Looking up, you see that the tower top is barely 20 paces above you, and the brickwork is full of cracks, holes and handholds.

Garr'ak and Archibald
There is indeed a desk and the bookcase and a bed. Nothing seems quite important though. And no, there is no one manning the ship as far as you can see.

Ritti stops on the stair and considers the lesson of the fog. On a lark, she heads back up the stairs, seeing if something has changed.

Ritti Rallo
Same effect happens as you climb back up. After twenty minutes you still do not reach the top. If you glance out a window though, you can see that you've barely moved down/up at all.

Remembering what he had found earlier, Garr'ak would pull the scroll tube out from earlier and place it down upon the desk.

"Do you know anyway to open this without the key?" he would ask sipmly before adding in. "If not, I'm going to try and break the lock off."

If Archibald does not answer before you get back on Herald of Omens, Garr'ak will start trying to smash the lock off with one of his light hammers.

Archibald shrugs.

Shuo pulls himself back into the room and stands up. "Well, I think I might have found us a way out. It's only about a 20 pace climb to the top of this tower, and there are plenty of handholds. If one of you can't climb that well, we can send our best climber up with my rope, hammer and a piton. They can secure the rope, then throw it down for the others to climb up with. Or if all of us know how to climb we can all go up at once." Shuo looks down at his greasy hands. "I'll go myself if neither of you can climb that well, but I'm not sure how well I'll be able to climb with my hands like this."

If I were to obtain gloves, would that cancel out the climb penalty caused by my Skin Seeps?

Duke reenters the room containing the hole. "I'm not much of a climber, and it doesn't help that I'm wearing this hide" he states, tugging at his armor. He looks to the soldier. "What about you, Eiron?"

Remembering wiser words Eiron pulls himself together.

"I'm alright at climbing. Let me go first."

He had always been a good climber and after getting the others to help secure him in case he slipped he moved up to the hole. always wondered what it's like to fly He stepped off the edge and fell, the change in gravity disorienting him but bringing him to his senses as he was stopped by the wall. Taking hand holds and any borrowed tool from Shuo he begins to climb.
Fly: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (2) + 2 = 4
Climb(take 10): 17 = 17

Ritti deflates at her lack of progress and considers the bruise on her back that healed as if a long time had passed while she spent mere moments in the sun... or was it really a lot longer?

Hoping to get out of the possibly cursed area, she sees only three possibilities...
1. Break the glass and hope it ends the effect, but who know what else that might unleash.
2. Run up the stairs and hope to escape the field... which leaves her on the roof and a hard but fast way down.
3. Run down the stairs for a very long time and hope it will be enough to escape.

She makes her choice and heads down the stairs at a good ground-eating clip.

Ritti will head down stairs for 4 hours and see if anything changes. If not, she'll go for another 2. If it seems like she's trapped, she'll head back up to the glass windows and try to bust one out.

Question - is there an open center to this stairwell or is it just a winding staircase around a central point?

Ritti Rallo
It is just a winding staircase around a central point unfortunately

As you hurry down the stairs, timing out 4 hours... and then 2 hours... before heading back up. Taking a good long swing, you smash one of the windows.

The glass shatters and cool fresh wind blows into the tower.

You do not feel as if anything particularly important happened.

Shuo and cie
As Eiron begins the ascent, he hears a sound like breaking glass. Looking up, you see a shower of glass fall your way. You manage to pull yourself to the side. The glass appears to have fallen only a few feet ahead of you.

Garr'ak and Archibald
After a few attempts the lock finally gives way. Opening the case, you pull out an old crumpled sea chart with plenty of scribbling written on it. Landmasses are noted and someone with particular knowledge in geography might be able to recognize some of the features.

Heart beating fast at having been narrowly sliced to pieces, Eiron takes several full round actions to calm himself and continue climbing upwards, towards the (he supposes window) direction the glass fell. Climbing up and finding the opening he lifts himself up and takes a look inside as carefully as possible.

If it's safe he pulls himself up and in, calling down to the others to climb the rope as he acts as an anchor.

Knowledge Geography: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (17) + 8 = 25 Sawworthy examines the map.

Finding the scribbling on the map to be gibberish, Garr'ak would take his time studying the container for anything hidden.

Perception - Take 20 for 21

Eiron
You continue up and reach a small glass window... which probably had glass before. Peering inside you spot a small girl who seems as surprised to see you as you are to see her.

For having successfully merged two groups together the Collective earns 100 XP

Garr'ak and Archibald
The charts seem to indicate that you are far from your normal world. In fact, you seem to recognize some areas but others completely make no sense.

As for Garr'ak, as you peer into the container you spy a small metallic circle at the bottom. Prying it out, you see that it secreted a small compartment with a small silver key within it.

The key is ornate and has a small parchment tag on it, with the words Chapel on it.

Taking the key out of its compartment, he would softly bite it before placing that and the 'Breath of the Sea' relic into it.

"Nothing of much use it seems. Perhaps we should check the front of the boat now."

Ritti stares at the man outside the window, blurting her surprise, "Fv&< me with a titan's tallywacker!" She clamps a hand over her mouth, mortified at what she said in front of an adult.

Flushed crimson, she amends her response. "Uh, hi. I meant to say how did you manage to get up here?"

Eiron holds the rope or tries to secure it on something until Shuo and Duke climb up.

He frowns, trying to understand what the girl had said. A titan's what!? She seemed harmless so he assumed she wasnt an enemy and also trapped here in this strange place. "I could ask you the same. I woke up chained in a cell but with all my possessions nearby then we broke out then we heard a noise then the door was a reverse upside down door and we had to dig through the stone floor which opened down there in the wall so I climbed up..." He takes a deep breath and is silent, wondering if he made any sense and if this little girl thinks he is crazy. "What's your name little girl? I'm Eiron. Do you know how to get out of here?'

"Okay, here goes."

Duke grabs on to the rope, and makes an effort to climb it as well. He uses his strength to overcome the stiffness of the armor he wears, hoping that Eiron's work will make the task easier.

Climb, take 10 = 10+3-3 = 10

After Duke looks like he's up and inside the window, Shuo takes the rope and tries to climb up himself.

Climb, take 10: 10 + 6 - 2 = 14

Ritti straightens her mop of of auburn hair and adjusts her comically over-sized armor, striking what she imagines is a heroic pose with hand over heart. She announces as forcefully as she can, "Uh... I am Ritti 'Red' Rallo - Daring Adventuress and Lady Thief." When Eiron blinks, she adds a quieter explanation as if they conspire, That's like a Gentleman Thief - only for girls. I read it in a book once... the Gentleman Thief bit."

Trying to be helpful, she adds, "Unless things have changed, the only way out of here might be that window. But if you mean out of the castle... I'm not sure there is a way. Least not one I'm willing to try yet. There's this mist at the end of the bridge over the moat. That's where I showed up but I don't know how I got there."

Ritti notes the weight on the rope Eiron is holding and waits for whoever is climbing up to finish climbing in before she looks out the window.

Got selected for jury duty the same day as my parents came into town ...I might be awol-ish, especially during the day.

His impatience on the rise, Garr'ak would take hold of his lucerne hammar before heading out the door and towards the front of the ship while keeping his eyes peeled for danger and anything of use.

Perception 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (7) + 1 = 8

The Company of Four
Everyone makes it up safely and reaches Ritti's location.

Garr'ak
You make your way to the front of the ship, and in the distance spot what looks like a large plume of water soaring high.

"What the hel..." Garr'ak would start to say while starting to back away. Then, realizing the likely situation that whatever it was was heading his way, he would start back for the captian's cabin at a sprint. If able to make it within the cabin, he'll quickly slam the door and brace himself against it.

Ritti scoots past the men to look out the window - up and down. Then she curls up in the window-sill. "So, there is something cursed about these stairs. I walked down them for hours and never hit the bottom. And the top has gotta be hundreds of feet above us. Maybe things are different now that I busted the window... but I dunno."

Garr'ak
Fine decision

As you bolt yourself in the cabin's room, a tremendous shriek resonates throughout the air. A huge thud can be heard against the door, and you see water come rushing in through the crack at the bottom of it.

Everyone else in the castle also hears these shrieks.

Are the four of us "in the castle" for purposes of hearing these shrieks? I'm guessing yes, but I wanted to double check.

As he climbs through the window, Duke can't help but be shocked by seeing Ritti. "What the devil is a little girl doing here?" Then, regaining his composure, he remembers his chivalrous duty. "Fear not, my young friend. I, Lord McAdams, will protect you from harm's way!"

Duke nods as Ritti describes the seemingly infinite staircase. "We too came from a cursed room just now, one where the room was inverted and we walked along the ceiling. We should see if the windows are still broken further down. If not, let's try breaking another one, and see if we wind up elsewhere."

Duke walks down the staircase, and looks for another sunlit stained-glass window, to see if it is also broken. If not, he will break it. If it is already broken, he will take some time to see if there are other windows available, or perhaps a trapdoor.

Perception (take 20) = 28.

"Perhaps we will run into each other if one goes down and one goes up?"

"Seems were not so alone anymore" Garr'ak would yell at Archibald as he did his best to keep the door closed to prevent the room from filling with water.

"We could always try climbing the rest of the way to the roof of the tower." Shuo turns to address the new girl. "My name is Shuo by the way, what's your..." Shuo cuts off and cocks his head to the side as he hears the distant shrieks. "What the devil is that noise?"

"Oh my."

The roaring continues from outside, and anyone looking out towards the water sees huge spouts rising and falling as a faint dragonesque figure wings its way around.

You each get a nagging sensation that this is one of the creatures that needs to be defeated to escape.

Problem is, it's fast, flying, and seems to love water.

Ritti stands in the sill and practically falls out the window while she gawks at the dragon. "Well, I ain't never seen nothing like that before!" If the creature draws remotely close she quickly vanishes back into the window.

Herald, does Ritti see a way to climb back onto/in the castle by going out the window? Some option other than climbing into the strange set of rooms the guys just escaped from?

She addresses the men from the sill, after garnering a few strange looks and the Duke's questions. "I am Ritti Rallo, Lady Adventurer. Nice to meetcha."

Ritti, you can always go back into the room the men came from. But aside from that no, just the stairs.

Knowledge Arcana, what the hell is that thing?: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (19) + 7 = 26

As they all stare out the broken window Eiron can't take his eyes off the flying creature. It was magnificent. He remembers stories of dragons and thinks perhaps he has been transported into one. Perhaps there was a princess that needed rescuing inside the castle somewhere. He looked at Ritti. No she ccouldn't be her. She didn't look like a princess, or seem at all helpless right now. Princesses weren't thieves either that he knew. Perhaps he would be the one to find her.

This is funny, two fighters looking for a princess to rescue.

Duke looks quizzically at the little girl. "Lady Adventurer? You mean you don't need to be rescued?" Duke was puzzled, but as the watery dragon takes form, it was clear there were more pressing matters.

Duke looks intently at the creature, trying to discern any weakness, any clue for how it might be defeated.

Perception: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (1) + 8 = 9

"We need to get to some dry land, and fast. I'd hate to meet that thing in open water." Any information from going up and down the stairs? Do we run across ourselves if we go up and down? Is there another broken window?

"Rescue? Me? I'm Ritti Rallo." she says as if her name should carry some meaning, "I've got more lives than a basketful of kittens. I get out of more jams than a... jam-maker." She glances out of the window at the dragon once more and phrases her answer a little less confidently. "I might need some help here. I hope that breaking the glass has helped some. Cuz' if it didn't then we are stuck on an endless stair. I walked down for like 6 hours and never hit the bottom. And I got back to this window in short order. And the top of this stair leads to a hel-er... heck of a view. Had to be a drop of hund'erds or a thousand feet. I hope something has changed. I don't fancy swimming in that again - not with that fellow flapping around."

"Well swimming is definitely out anyway. That thing would have us for lunch as we are. We cannot face it now. I will go down and see what happens."

Eiron walks downstairs for what he guesses is one rotation of the central column.

"I might know how we can check if breaking the window changed anything about the way the room works."

Shuo pulls a copper coin out from his money pouch and throws it down the stairs as hard as he can, then looks up the stairs to see if he can see it coming down.

"Any of you men have some rope?"

we climbed up with rope so yes, you already know we do.

Doh. Totally forgot about that in the wake (no pun intended) of the Soup Dragon.

Everyone

The draconic figure seems unabated in its task of washing the ship off the seas, and continues its assault, occasionally winging back over to the castle.

Do we need to deal with the dragon this instant, or can we keep moving? What happens when Eiron walks down the stairs and Shuo (again) throws a coin at his rear?

Eiron hides from the dragon, hoping to find another way out of this cursed staircase.

Garr'ak would continue to do his best to keep the door shut.

"What the hell is going on out there?!?!"

"Bad things."