"Ahoy ahoy!" says Kiera in a jaunty tone as the group meets up at the docks. "All aboard that's going aboard!" She has replaced her head-scarf with a jaunty tricorne hat, like some kind of pirate-wizard.
"If you want to bring extra food, in case we're going to be out for a few days, we should load up!" says Kiera cheerfully. "Umm... and any other tools you think we might need."
She gestures to the center of the boat, where there is a small cabin. Stacked neatly around it and lashed to the deck are two large barrels and a box, and a coil of rough rope is nearby. "I spent a little money for supplies. One of the barrels has some fresh water, the other one is in case we need to take on more. There are some rations in the box - hardtack and jerky, mostly, enough for our group for about three days. Oh, and there are some extra blankets in case it gets cold and damp."
She points to the benches along the side of the boat and says, "Sit anywhere you like. I also have some fresh food and a good bottle of wine to celebrate our maiden voyage! My da always used to say that a boat is just a hole in the water into which one throws money..."
Volkar looked at the wizard with a bit of amusement and disbelief as she sprang aboard what was quickly becoming her pride and joy. He smiled, he recognized that tone and that laughter, his brother had the same when he purchased his first ship as well. Volkar shook his head smiling and handed the porter the promised five gold pieces for bringing his purchases to the docks. He nodded at the netted cask and the two boxes of packed dwarven trail rations, and held up his left forefinger at the impatient lad.
He had spent the day mixing the extracts he had discussed with Kiera the night before after buying materials and such. It was gold well spent, albeit three hundred gold at that. He then made sure his gifted pony was stabled and was being taken out and ridden in his absence. There was a value there that needed to be taken care of if nothing else. He also had found a seafarring cloak that was made out of seal skin and lined with a good thick rabbit fur. It was a bit used, but fit well enough and would help with staying warm and dry aboard a ship. It also had a hood which is what had sold him on the thing when he had seen it hanging on a peg.
"Mistress Kiera, Permission to come aboard and have my gear stowed on this fine ship. Volkar smiled as he spread his hands apart waving at the whaling vessel. He twirled the silver bead in the forebeard that had survived his most unpleasant kiss and awaited the happy lady's response.
Andrezi stands silently, blinking quickly and shaking his head at the change in the previously reserved wizardess.
"I think between scrolls, potions, spells, this wand I just purchased, and my ability to channel Desna's healing grace, we should be in fine shape to recover from most anything we would face on Thisletop."
Giving a wry grin to Kiera, the priest says, "Ready when you are, Captain."
The party convenes on the deck of Kieras new boat, with a quiet Daelric filing aboard at the tail of the group. Purchases have been made, gear stowed in lockers, equipment has been sorted, and everyone has made haste to cast off before too much more time has passed. The sun is only a couple of hours above the horizon as the boat is brought about to the proper heading, and veers towards the open sea from the shelter of the harbor.
Volkar enjoyed the new vessel, the smell of the sea, the rocking of the boat, all brought back memories of the new efforts he and the survivors of the Keep had made after the attack. He joined his brother many a time in those early years, but over time he gave up the sea for the role of merchant. He had a knack for the trades and the sales. His brother didn't mind as there were others willing to leave with him for adventures at sea. A few times Kiera asked for help, but he had found himself day dreaming of days past and lost track of time. The first hour flew past, and he realized he had been reliving in his mind too many happier times.
Kiera cracks into a great smile and says to Volkar, "That's Captain Videns to you, landlubber! Arh-arh-arh-arh!", ending with a pirate laugh. Then she can't help herself and the gangly young wizard goes into full-on regular high-pitched laughter, and finally catches herself after several seconds.
"Welcome aboard, Master Volkar. You too, friends!"
With practiced hands she sets out arranging everyone's supplies and the group enjoys a very fine meal before setting off. She uncoils the rope, sets the lateen sail, and the ship is off to the northeast along the coast!
BOOM.
I very quietly walk up onto the ship and give Kiera a slight nod of my head, before finding a little corner where I can sit by myself and nurse my jade stone.
I do not look particularly well and if anyone comes in close they can hear me counting in different tongues to myself. I keep to myself the entire journey.
Volkar snapped in and out of memory, some poignant, some that caused him to sigh, as Kiera exhibited a mastery of the ship that took him by surprise and delight. The coastline changed once they passed the "Old Light," and Volkar had spent a bit of time studying that unusual construction as they passed. He would continue to ask about for any who might be familiar with those old stones. Kiera expertly followed northward along the coast which had a mix of stone, tree and rock cliffs. Volkar was a bit more confused as to how so many of the greenskins could have so easily worked down the coast to the hidden entrance.
As the group leaves Sandpoint behind, Kiera points out a couple of the sights while tackling the sails.
"The Old Light there is presumably a ruined lighthouse. One of the local scholars thinks it was part of an ancient Thassilonian outpost. Before, nobody would give that credence, but with the discovery of the Runewell beneath the town, that seems slightly more plausible. Just north of there is Stoot's Rock -- see that prominent stone outcropping? That's where Jervis Stoot found another set of ruined caves that are undoubtedly part of the same complex that we had discovered. My guess is something that he found there unbalanced him, because he became the Chopper, the serial killer who murdered several locals in 4702."
She clears her throat.
"Anyway, Stoot was caught and executed, and his body burned on the beach and his ashes scattered. The guards collapsed the tunnel that went into the caves under Stoot's Rock."
A pungent smell wafts across the ship.
"Aaand now we're passing around the north side of the town and you can see the lovely collection of trash on the beach there! Since the beach has a cliff side there, the local junk collector hauls all of the garbage out in his cart and dumps it over the edge and it just collects there on the beach at the base of the cliff. When the tide comes in it washes some of it away, but you can still see the big pieces of broken furniture and the stuff wedged in against the rocks. Occasionally goblins even manage to sneak out here to rummage around for stuff. I think it's a bit of a hazard and it's not sustainable, but the town leaders aren't really worried about it and they think it's not a problem."
Kiera pulls hard and the ship follows the coastline out to the east, headed toward Thistletop.
"Sorry about this, Daelric. I know dwarves generally like to have good, solid earth beneath their feet."
I look up at Kiera briefly, with a slightly nauseous look on my face, "Mmmhm ... urgh..." I get back to my counting and distraction as I hope for the journey to be over soon.
"So wait, Captain Kiera," Volkar said with a twinkle in his eye. "So there are a set of these Thassolonian ruins about Sandpoint? That could be where the priest's crypt was secreted away too. May want to go talk to that local scholar to understand a bit more about these ruins.."
Volkar trailed off and looked about as his mind took in the sites and started to wander off into the past.
"Well, the Runewell and the statue of the Runelord of Wrath that we found make it pretty clear that the tunnels we were in used to be some kind of Thassilonian compound," says Kiera. "But nobody ever really went into the tunnels that the Chopper found - so it could be that there are more there; if so, it really adds credence to Brodert's idea that the Old Light was actually some kind of Thassilonian weapon or lookout or something. Er, Brodert Quink is a local scholar, he is quite knowledgeable but he has some eccentric theories and a short temper, so not many people talk to him."
Andrezi sits quietly, listening to the stories about runewells, runelords, serial killers, and the like.
"Who'd of thought all this activity would be around one little village?" the priest off-handedly comments.
"Hmm." Kiera scrutinizes the coastline. "I didn't realize the walls were that high and sheer on Thistletop. We may have no choice but to put in along the shore and see if we can get up to that rope bridge. Maybe that stretch along the west? Damn, if only I knew the spider climb spell..."
The party makes good time, and Captain Kiera makes her maiden voyage like a well-seasoned salt dog. Daelric is quite uncomfortable, but is able to distract himself enough to prevent embarrassing himself.. even when the smell of the fine meal and wine Kiera purchased wafts over to the poor dwarf. In due time, Thistletop is seen approaching. It is odd.. obviously not a natural formation, but there are no legends that you have heard of to explain its existence. It rears its smooth rock face eighty feet from the surface of the ocean, but is connected to the mainland by a narrow and rickety rope bridge. Watchtowers another 30 feet high crown the Thistletop side, and the parapets of walls can just barely be seen from your angle. You cant see anyone moving about, but woodsmoke wafts about on the breeze.
Volkar-
Andreszi-
Kiera-
Kiera finds a sheltered cove on the south side of Thistletop, on the mainland shore, overshadowed by cliffs eighty feet above you. The cliffs are rough, and look like they would be relatively easy to climb. In addition, Kiera just manages to catch sight of a sea cave at the end of the small cove.
"Looks like the cliffs it is." Andrezi says, pulling his silk rope out of his pack.
"I'll climb up about half-way, find a place to tie this off and see if that makes it a bit easier for anyone who is not as certain about the climb."
"Bother," says Kiera. Then she squints and says, "Hang on... there's some kind of sea-cave over there. Do you think we should check it out? Maybe it connects to... somewhere else." She points in the direction of a small cove in the shoreline.
"Your call, captain." Andrezi says with a wink.
"Depends on whether the whole thing is underwater. We can't breathe water so if it's flooded there's not really any point." Kiera angles to try to get a close enough look to see if the sea-cave is an area that the party could walk into without having to swim.
From your angle, you can see that the cave entrance is mostly submerged, but there is enough room between the water and the roof to allow someone to swim into the cave.
"Well, the sea cave seems like an option to me," Volkar said as he watched Andrei scale up part of the cliff wall. He kept glancing back at the sea cave and then at the cliff. His face was a bit pale as he looked up at the cliff. "Don't like the climbing at all."
Volkar wandered inland towards the cave's mouth and near the cliff wall. He looked at the churning and choppy water about the mouth of the cave. "I think I hate the thought of swimming into a dark cave more though."
Volkar let out a heavy sigh. "Let's climb. Volkar took hold of the rope and began the climb.
Kiera purses her lips, then lets out a breath and says, "Yeah. I can swim but not THAT well. Let's see if we can get up the beach cliff."
I look at the churning water and the thought of the boat going over it makes me retch slightly, then when people start talking about swimming I relax a little. "Both paths will be difficult in this armour, but I shall climb so as not to separate from everyone else."
"I'm still willing to climb ahead and lower a rope to help out." Andrezi says, scurrying up ahead.
The party finishes mooring the boat, and decides to take to the cliffs, leaving the cave for another time. You scramble and claw your way to the top, and an exhilarating experience it is.. standing with your heels over 80 ft of open air. Now, you are confronted with thick brush and brambles, but you manage to find a path leading into a small open area. Goblin tracks are all about you, but no clear way is to be seen through the walls of the nettles and undergrowth around you.. much of which seems incredibly pointy and sharp..
The briars and thistles that grow so rampantly in Nettlewood grow even more dense and tangled here, close to the shore. Although not quite dense enough to block the sound of waves crashing on the unseen shores to the west, the undergrowth is certainly thick enough to block sight and access to the coast. Few trees grow this close to the edge of the sea, but the briars themselves often reach heights to rival them; here, the patch is nearly twenty feet high.
As soon as I have feet on solid land again I kneel down and touch it with my palm, then stand up again and stand there for a few moments, relieved to be safe once again. Seeing the thick wall of briar I lift my shield up and try to push a path through for everyone, if that requires me to hack the my axe too I will.
As he is trying to push through the wall of thorns, Daelric notices a cleverly woven trap door hidden in the brush. He carefully lifts it up to reveal a tunnel through the wall of brambles! Looking at it, you realize it is large enough that you can all crawl through in single file.
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I lift up the trap door and speak very quietly, almost in a whisper to the others, "Looks like we may have found a hidden entrance, I bet we could catch them unprepared if we came through here." I make sure to hold the trap door with one hand as I pull thorns out of my cheek and rub the small cuts I have received from the unruly vegetation.
Volkar struggled up the cliff face, not taking in the distance and focused only the rock in front of him. When he crested the top of the cliff and turned about, the height shocked him and the view of the sea far below caused him to retreat backwards right into the thorns and thistles.
The sharp jab to his pack between the links in the mail triggered his reflexes and he spun about axe in hand glaring at the wall. The sting of the large sharp thorn caused his back to twitch. He sighed realizing his folly and dropped his shoulders and ax. His eyes caught the odd door set back just as Daelric whispered about the same entrance.
He spun into the opening of the trap door with an expertise that surprised even himself. He headed down the path behind the trap door.
"Ow! Ugh, let's get out of these thorn bushes," says Kiera with a grimace. "OW! That one really hurt!"
She quickly avails herself of the opportunity to follow Volkar down into the passageway.
Andrezi manages to slink through the brambles unscathed, following Volkar down through the trap door.
"Nasty buggers." Andrezi comments, pulling a few stray needles from his cloak as he reaches the bottom of the passage.
"Everyone alright? At least for the most part?"
The thorns bounce harmlessly off of Daelric as he lifts up the trap door, and everyone scoots safely inside. A four-foot-high tunnel winds through the dense briars and nettles. The floor is hard-packed earth, with patches of wiry plants growing stubbornly here and there. Once inside the tunnel network, you are immediately confronted with a choice: There are three tunnels leading out from where you are, left middle and right.
I walk hunched over trying not to bang my head on the ceiling or the tunnel; a new feeling for me, and stop once I get to the split in the tunnel. I look at all three paths and to the others, "I think we go left, it seems likely to be the part closest to the cliff we were near earlier."
"Right then, over that way," Volkar walked to the left opening carefully in an effort to avoid any more of the spiky thorns. He kept his scanning about trying to find further clues as to what these trails were beig used for.
ALSO ==> Perception check as he advances.
Following the left hand path, the party keeps moving until the way is barred by another trap door. Lifting it, Daelric exposes a small chamber fashioned of the vines. It appears the industrious little buggers have built a watchtower to keep an eye on the sea approaches to their stronghold. However, despite the great vantage point, this watchpoint is unmanned. Moving back to the last crossroads, you veer to your left, taking the next tunnel available. Ahead, you can see another cleverly disguised watch point, and have a tunnel leading away to either side.