The New World: Arcadia

Game Master Molly Narr

As the storms die down for the first time in nearly a week and the sun begins to peer through the clouds, you hear a shout on the deck above. "Come on now, the Paracount wishes to address the crew and passengers!" Within minutes, everyone rose from the decks and squeezed on the deck. Though tightly packed, you look around and see that there are noticeably fewer people than originally started this journey with you, some of which you may have even gotten to know in this past month.

"Gentleman. Ladies." You look up and see Paracount Dominicus Avranxi standing in his old Hellknight armor, looking down at everyone with his arms folded behind his back. In a somber tone, he continues. "As you all well know, we begun this trip with five ships total and about three hundred passengers on each. It was supposed to be a simple trip to Magnimar... unfortunately Gozreh had other plans for us."

He stops, looking down at his feet for a brief moment before bringing his gaze back to the crowd. "We have forty-two people unaccounted for on this ship alone. Furthermore, we witnessed one of the ships -The Queen's Wrath- splintering into pieces during one of the fiercest moments of last weeks storms. Lastly, we have one more ship -Anarchy's Bane- unaccounted for. The other two ships, -Order's Pride and The Inheritor- are thankfully within sight. We have all lost people we cared about in the past few days, myself included. If you must grieve, by all means, I encourage you to.

Dominicus turns his back to everyone and makes for the wheel. [b]"We will survive. We will return home. And by the gods, we will be stronger for it. Thank you for your time."

With the Paracount's speech finished the crowd uneasily begins dispersing, with most heading back down the stairs to their rooms. There is talk of those who were lost and an uncertainty lingering as to what the future lies.

Nymarchemadias stood breathing the fresh air that was sorely missed below deck. He imagined that it was already working it's curative magic when his attention was called to the Paracount Dominicus Avraxani standing in HellKnight armor. Nymarchemadias listened attentively to the Paracount's words and felt a surge of nervous excitement in his stomach, different from the sea sickness that had plagued him this voyage. If he understood the Paracount correctly, and why should he be mistaken, they had just sailed through a magical storm that had taken them into uncharted seas. How wonderful this news was! Nymarchemadias almost danced a jig as his mind raced itself with possibilities of the discoveries that they might make.

How fortunate the Paracount is that I am here to help considering the likely grand expedition this venture is likely to become. I should offer my services properly but certainly the Paracount is emotionally overwhelmed and it does seem that human culture suggest that I should give him proper time to enjoy his on experiences. Especially on this most auspicious day.

Arlan leaned on a crate, his face turned skyward as he soaked up the sunlight and fresh air. He listened intently as the Paracount gave his speech, whistling at the mention of how far off course they had come. "Looks like interesting times ahead...' he murmured to himself, reaching into his coat to retrieve a hidden treasure. He drew a slightly over-ripe red apple and a small knife from his pocket, and began to slice it. Popping a small piece into his mouth, he cast his eyes toward the remaining members of the crew...

What nightmare of a travel... mumbled Nicholas when he walked outside after the storm has passed "Surely Gozreh has a wicked sense of humor"

The smell of salt in the air felt like fine beer after the hours tumbling crowded in the lower deck. Then it stroke him, the visage of a tower of iron with human form. The Paracount surely looked intimidating when wearing his old armor, but his voice was chilling, like the breeze in the plains.

Nick just remained there, listening to the Paracount's words, thinking about where would they arrive... and wondering if he could find somewhere to call home there.

After the speech had ended he felt renewed, Dominicus sure knew how to lift the spirit around him.

But what to do until the landing? He knew no one there, but that could be helped. His eyes catched the young man casually eating an apple and walked to him.

"With all the thunders and near-death experiences I think we haven't been presented, my name's Nicholas, but they call me Nick. One hell of a trip, ain't it?"

Tenark felt a strange sense of joy mixed in with the usual sea sickness he had been experiencing on the trip as he gathered above the deck. At the news of the loss of the Queen's Wrath he was shocked with grief. He didn't really hear the rest of the speech. After it concluded he went to the railing, hoping nobody noticed him sobbing.

Grunyar turns and walks over to Nick and the man with the apple. "Aye. I've been on ships all over the Inner Sea, and I've never seen a storm like that. My name's Grunyar. Any idea where we'll end up? My best guess would be probably one of the fragment ilands left over from Azlant. Maybe we'll go all the way around the world and end up in Tan Xia." He chuckles a bit, and begins carefully sharpening his axe.

Arlan smiles at Grunyar's joke, crunching noisily on his apple. "Wherever we end up, I'll be glad to see dry land again. I'm Arlan Sandor, of Isger. Well met to you both." he replies, nodding at Nick.

Arlan cuts three more slices from his apple, offering a piece each to the men. "It's a little ripe, " he says as he throws the third piece into the air and attempts to catch it in his mouth.

Dex check to catch apple in mouth: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (10) + 2 = 12

I'd call that a pass, 12 ain't so bad :)

"So, what brings you two gentlemen out to sea on a voyage like this?"

"What makes anybody sane board a floating coffin across an endlesss sea with monsters, pirates and hellish storms? Well, there was nothing back there for me."
He answers before eating the piece of apple

"Better than dried ones from trail rations *munch* Well, you could say I'm looking for a place to call home. Maybe I can find it wherever we land, be it Varisia or Tan Xia. What about you, Arlan? And you, Grunyar? Never heard of one of your kind venturing across the sea, not that I know many dwarves anyway.

Nick looks to where Nymarchemadias stands and gestures with his head "And who's that funky looking guy? I don't even recall seeing him thru the storm, and I bet I'd remember someone with an appearance so... unique" He smiles before clearing his throat "Hey lad! Wanna come here and join our little chat? It seems that we be exchanging campfire stories before even landing" He shouts before looking back to Grunyar and Arlan.

Sorry if the posts are too long, too short or in between, still getting used to this. Any tip will be well received ^^

"I'm a follower of Abadar, but I also travel a lot, both to see new things and places, and also to spread civilization. I decided Cheliax wasn't my mug of ale and when I heard about this, and I've been wanting to go to Varisia for a long time, heard a lot of things about it. Doesn't look like we're going to end up there now though.

Nymarchemadias watches a small group of passengers begin a lively conversation. He is quite delighted to see a dwarf among their company.

A dwarf at sea! Amazing! I have never heard of a sea faring dwarf before. Surely this shall be a grand adventure indeed.

After congratulating himself on obtaining passage on such a sea worthy vessel with most interesting passengers, Nymarchemadias grinned with a mischievous thought. Gathering the natural magic some of his people still carry in their fey blood, he performed a minor prestidigitation adding a flavor of Chelaxian peppers to the apple that the companions were sharing. He giggled in delight as one of them tossed a slice into his mouth. Nymarchemadias mischievous delight was short lived as one of the companions noticed him and called out a friendly greeting. Not one to ignore a welcome, he approached the group with an enthusiastic smile.

"Greetings and salutations my friends and boon companions on this most memorable voyage! I am Nymarchemadias, seeker of lost artifacts and knowledge, curator of curiosities and purveyor of antiques. I am most excited to share this fine voyage with such interesting fellows! A dwarf at sea! I am most surprised that I have not seen you all earlier in our most interesting voyage but considering the weather and my likely importance in the matter at hand considering that exploration of unknown places is my specialty it is in fact not surprising that we may have missed each other but fortunate that we have now met!"

"Cheliax be damned then! I'm glad to see I'm not the only one with no fondness for the devil lovers! Maybe we'll all find a new home, even if it is in Tian Xia!" Arlan exclaimed to his new companions. As he chewed on the piece of fruit, his expression changed first to confusion then disgust. He turned, spitting furiously over the side of the ship. "Gods, it must've been riper than I thought..." he muttered.

"Master Gnome, forgive me but your name is quite a mouthful. Do you go by any shorter?"

Nymarchemadias smiled as he saw Arlan's reaction to the spiced apple and quickly frowned when Arlan inquired about an abbreviated name. The frown quickly turned to a look of compassionate understanding.

"I understand good sir. My name is quite sophisticated. I knew an Orgre once, well actually a half Orgre on his mothers side, that had problems with my name also. He was as strong as...well an Orgre but not the sharpest sword in the armory if you know what I mean. Of course you don't know what I mean or you could pronounce my name. It is okay though because you look like you are big and strong. The Orgre called me Nym and you can too."

Nymarchemadias response was sincere and not the least bit condescending in his tone.

Damn gods... the young girl mutters aloud, doing a quick equipment check, ensuring her various knives and blades are all in place. Hanging from her neck and incredibly old and unfamiliar holy symbol. You all may call me Ash... Her expression is eerily calm,.

"And I thought I was quite a talker! Pleased to meet you, Nym, wherever we land I'll be glad to have you along" Says Nick, reaching out to him for a friendly handshake "And nice to meet you too, Ash. What brings you to this boat? Looking at your gear you could be a travelling knife vendor hahahaha!"

A dwarf at sea!

"Heh. Well, I'm not your typical dwarf, that's for sure."

I was here due to work, i'm an As... Mercenary, i hunt things for money. Knives are just a fascination of mine, easy to carry and hide. On my person right know i have a set of blades in my boots, my gladius, and a set of throwing knives. Oh and i have a bit of magic, nothing too impressive however. her voice is soft, turning to Grunyar Pleasure to meet you as well

It's a symbol of Acavna, not sure what that would look like but i liked the minor details floating around for her

Acavna. Interesting. My 17 is not enough to recognize that, but if you want to know, I believe her symbol is a crescent moon-shaped blade.

Thanks, i couldn't find any info on it myself I was using the wiki. Go figure. So anyone who watches naruto will recognize this but believe me when i say completely unintentional in this case Ashling has an older brother who murdered her family and left her alive just because he could bear to kill her...the focus of her backstory...

Nymarchemadias claps excitedly when he is introduced to Ash and notices to antique hoy symbol hanging around here neck, "Oooh that looks very interesting. Yes definitely old and well kept."

Knowledge(Religeon): 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (18) + 1 = 19

"M'lady Ash, that symbol seems to escape me although it is on the tip of my tongue. Where did you find it? Whose symbol is it? Are you one of their faithful? May I get a closer look?", Nymarchemadias' questions tumble out one after the other like a flood of excitement over an interesting find. Everything and everyone else is all but forgotten for the moment.

It is a symbol of Acavna goddess of the moon and battle, i am not one of her faithful, as she was an Azlanti diety lost some time ago . It was my brother's before he disappeared, he was experimenting with using divine power as part of arcane magics along with drawing power from faith and beliefs rather than prayer...his experiments were successful.She removes the silvery symbol holding it out to Nymarchemadias, Be careful with it

"So he can draw power from it despite Acavna being gone?"

Sort of, he spent much time learning to turn magic into formulas and equations. He hypothesized that it all boiled down to faith and belief, nothing truly ever dies in this world it just moves on to a different plane of existence, with that theory he thought he could drawn on her fragments of power where ever they may be. He succeeded shortly before his disappearance, substituting in divine power instead of the normal material ingredients required for arcane magic. She explains, speaking as though this were simple.

"Faith and willpower are what allows us to succeed. You can't just use it as a component nor make it into formulae. You are just... emulating it. It will be weaker, it will be fake. It won't achieve the same" says Nicholas, becoming increasingly serious "My God's intentions live through me, channel through my faith in his teachings and my will to live up to him. You can't copy that, because you either feel it inside or you don't."

He looks up to the sky, and then looks straight into Ash' eyes,a little ashamed but still agitated.

"I... apologize. I've gotten really zealot there. But for me the divine isn't that simple. It's a way of life, a choice of trying to strive for greatness even in the face of death. I didn't want to turn this conversation into a sea of awkward stares..."

After saying that he step back trying to calm down again.

Ash looks back at Nick, her eyes give off an unsympathetic look, as if she doesn't understand or care, It is okay, his work was controversial. I barely understood his thought process, but he did succeed, i saw it...He would tell me that power is power, it all comes from the same root...You say that it is just an emulation, A copy does that mean that it can't equal up to what it is emulating? Can you prove that it will be weaker? She questions, her face still blank and passionless.

"I can't. I know it, I can feel it in my guts... but I can't prove it. It's faith" Answer Nick, almost a whisper to himself. "I can't explain it because I don't know it, I just feel it.

Nicks reaches for his bow and knocks an arrow, pointing to the vastness of the sea.

"When I pull the string I can't see the force that drives my arrows to my target, byt I feel it pushing forward. Relentless. My will is the hand that pulls the string. My faith is the force that pushes the arrow. If both my faith and my will are strong, I can hit any mark I target." As he finishes his speech the arrow flies through the sky "This may seem like a stupid, or childish example but that's the best I got. I can't explain the power of faith to nonbelievers, the same way you can't explain colours to the blind. They just won't see it.

You can't explain it so you assume it's weaker? How does your prayer and faith make you better than anyone else? In the end it all comes back to the same root, your faith is no different than mine...Magic is magic.You should try asking more questions... you cannot grow without learning She holds the same monotone and expressions continuing to question the older boy.

"I think there's a difference between Ash's type of faith and magic, and Nick's, and also mine. Nick and I's power comes from a God, whether it be Abadar for me or Knowledge Religion: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (17) + 5 = 22 Erastil for Nick. It is augmented by our faith, but the power itself comes from outside. Ash can't gain power from Acavna, she's gone and can't grant power to her followers. Thus I think that Ash's power comes from within, even of it's from faith. I don't think either is better or stronger, but they're different.

"I ain't better than you or anyone else, Ash. My faith makes me better than myself, it makes me try to be a better man than I was. Grunyar, though, got it right: you and me are different... but you are right, I ain't be growing without learning."

He hangs his bow from his shoulders again and gets some trail rations from his leather bag, offering a snack to the rest.

"For example, I've just learned that nobody shouldn't argue while hungry. It's bad for making friends. You want some?"

He smiles, still ashamed of having creared quite a debate.

the pale skinned girl smiles, somehow it still feels eerie no thank you... She replies to Nick

Back home... She pauses for a moment as if thinking, Back home in Irrisen, i was one of my clan's hunters...if people are missing and washed ashore here i might be able to find them. at the very least i can hunt for food. She suggests thinking on their current plight.

"Alright, let's get those dice rolling. But first I'll go down and pick something so we can play comfy, ok?"

at the very least i can hunt for food.

"Aye, I can help with that too. Reckon I can help myself and maybe four or so others?"

two maybe three people in total... we need to keep quiet and fast. More people means more noise, smaller groups will be better for scouting the island as well

[

Nick comes back carrying six or so pieces of woodwork.

"I built these for those long nights by the campfire, but never had I thought about using them while on a boat to play dice. Hahahaha!

He starts unfolding and placing the now chairs and table, and takes a seat.

"Suit yourselves!"

Nymarchemadias continues to examine Ash's holy symbol until his attention is diverted by Arlan's suggestion of a new nickname, Archie. He absently hands the holy symbol back to Ash and catches the apple slice thrown at him by Arlan and grins at the mention of dice.

Archie....not bad....maybe it might work...A game of dice! Now that sounds like a bit of fun! Wonder if the stodgy Hellknights will object? Only one way to find out...

"A game of dice? I would love to learn,"Archie grins slyly.

Anyone know where to find the cost of a saddle?

Saddle
Military 20 gp 30 lbs.
Pack 5 gp 15 lbs.
Riding 10 gp 25 lbs.

Thank you, that was fast.

Ah yes, I must please remind everyone that there may be a few differences in... alignment. I know this and think that it will make for interesting interactions, but ask EVERYONE that there be no PVP. None. Just don't do it. I know this should be a given, but I sometimes find myself reminding people in my home games. The party is sacred. Do not fight with your party.

I assumed as much when you picked the Paladin and the semi-anti-Paladin. I disallow PvP in my own games as well for a similar reason.

Akkad is a jerk. And self-centered, but he won't turn on the party.

Who's the other paladin?
There's you, me, the gnome bard, the ranger, and the inquisitor.

Did you mean the inquisitor?

Nicholas is a Paladin.

Ah. He has not posted in gameplay yet, so his character didn't appear on the character page.

There should not be near as much tension as you would think.
He and I have the same goals, the same enemies.

Just slightly different methods.

I actually happen to consider LE a more co operative alignment than CN, myself. Bad experiences. I'm just worried for poor Akkads sake about the "Duel to the death for my honor" part of the oath you made. As a whole I actually dig it.

Okey guys, I'm real sorry. As I've already said to Molly I didn't noticed my name between the chosen ones... I feel very stupid now.

Gonna go and fix that about now!.

Glad to be here,

Nick.

Note. I was here this entire time, but I was letting dialogue play out. You'll notice I do that sometimes; forgo posting if two characters are having an interesting conversation of sorts.

I'm not real sure what Azrielan would do now, as her line (and threat therein) has been delivered.

So I'm kinda just waiting until they either report back with the stowaway, or tell her their methods failed.

Right on. I understand that you're in a bit of a tricky spot as you are in a bit of a different situation than the other PCs.

Hahaha. Big heavy metal objects tend to sink indeed.

Well, it's not like I would ever start a combat which had the potential to send you overboard... right?