Gameplay Dot
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It's cold... dark... save for a single Lamp, your eyes adjust slowly as a splitting headache wakes you. There is a creaking Sound coming from around you and it takes a moment to realize it is wood. As you come to your senses and the pain dies away the room becomes clear.
You all wake up in a 10 by 10 Cell, The Floor is made of hard wood of some dark color. a Single Lantern with a witch-light inside illuminates the Cell, the lantern Welded into the wood above you. the cell has no bars, the walls are solid, and the Door is a thick Ironbound Door with no Handle and a Tiny Window. inside the cell is mostly empty, save for the other prisoners, a bucket against one wall, and what looks to be the intact Skeleton of some humanoid pushed against one wall
The light is dim... and it is clear that you are on a boat of some kind, but.... there is no sound of water.
Rorx opens his eyes slowly - it feels like his whole body aches, even as he rolls around to look at the place where they locked him.
His head is also throbbing, and it only gets worse when he tries to get up. Trying to remember how he got there is painful - Mother, Father? - where were they? Where was he?!
A quick look around before getting up shows there are others around - he immediately drags himself to make sure his back is against a wall. Not much of a protection, but it is something...
Stripped bare from the waist up, no weapons, no equipment, and something heavy around his neck - he had seen and captured enough enemies to understand the current situation - he was a prisoner!
Seating down, the half-orc lean his muscular frame against the wall - his black hair and beard are disheveled, but his dark eyes begin to focus on what surrounds him - "Anyone alive in here?" - the words come out as a growl.
She raised her head and instantly regretted it as the disorienting pounding grew suddenly worse. She felt oddly unbalanced, like any movement might send her toppling in that direction. Moving as little as she could, she looked around at her surroundings. Her burgundy eyes began to glow as she became more and more upset.
Her voice was hoarse as she uttered some guttural, diabolical sounding language, stressed as she was to wake somewhere she did not know.
She raised her hands and found they were bound with her own red wrappings and could not stop a small smile from gracing her lips. They did not realize it, surely, but they had given her a blessing. Pale hands, bound with red cord was the holy symbol of her god, Ilmater, the Broken One Who Endures. They had likely brought her plight to His Holy Attention.
She expected they had bound her because of her claws. You can strip someone of a sword or an axe, but she had been born with these. Somewhere nearby, she heard a voice speak up, though she could not understand what was said. She tried to make out the speaker and the rest of the room though her head was ringing.
Surprisingly, or maybe not, Ayuruk receives a reply.
"I think we are in a cell. Hells damn me if I know why though... Who is Ayuruk? Another prisoner?"
The accent clearly marks him as a non-native, but the half-orc's command of the Infernal language itself is quite good.
Hearing the others speak, the lizard sits up. It is unbound, save for a collar around its neck. Whatever the others were saying was beyond the kobold, but it was plain to see that they were also being held captive. Not certain of the temperament of the intimidating looking prisoners, the skull-wearing dragonkin instead scrabbles up the door, attempting to peek through the window.
The Room shifts a little as the whole Boat turns, Some shouting in some archaic language can be heard outside the cell, .
as believer looks around the room, she could almost swear the Skeleton next to the wall shifted, but it could just be her imagination.
"We are moving" - Rorx mutters to himself as much as to the others - "Do you see anything out there?" - he asks as the kobold peeks outside.
She was surprised to find they were conversing in Infernal. Usually, no one could understand her when she became anxious and began speaking in the tongue of her fiendish blood. She took solace from her bound hands, feeling the blessing of Ilmater upon her, she took a cleansing, calming breath and tried again. This time she spoke in heavily accented common speech.
"A cell... Aye. Ayuruk is... my da'. Missin', he is. Was searchin' fer him in tha Hive. Knew tha drink tasted off, bloody piking Hiver scum! May 'is jink jangle n' call tha coney-catchers down on 'is piking cully's brainbox." She said with a sneer and tried to spit, but she had no moisture in her mouth.
"Are me eyes playin' tricks on me, or is dat deader o'er there movin' too?"
"Deader?" - Rorx grunted, simply pointing out one of the many words spoken to him he did not understand.
His eyes do follow where Believer is looking to though - "The skeleton..?"
when the Kobold manages to jump up to look out the little window they can see a Yellow skinned Elf-like creature sitting on a stool, cards in his hands as he seems to be playing a game with himself, a Huge Silver Blade resting against the wall behind him. a set of stairs leads up to the top deck, but nothing else of use can be seen.
the Pile of Bones here seem out of place, there seems to be a whole skeleton, not a single missing bone. not to mention they seem bleached, as if the bones where cleaned by being dunked in acid to melt away the flesh.
The lizard slips from the window, landing softly on its feet. When asked about what it saw, the kobold opened it's mouth, but nothing came out. Puzzled, it claws at the collar around its neck but is unable to remove it. Instead, the kobold points outside, holds up one finger and flattens its claws against its ears, extending its claws into a singular point.
The skeleton catches the mute lizard's eye, and it approaches slowly. Looking to the others for approval, it moves to examine the bones.
The lizard slips from the window, landing softly on its feet. When asked about what it saw, the kobold opened it's mouth, but nothing came out. Puzzled, it claws at the collar around its neck but is unable to remove it. Instead, the kobold points outside, holds up one finger and flattens its claws against its ears, extending its claws into a singular point.
"An elf?" - Rorx's face scrunches up in confusion.
The skeleton catches the mute lizard's eye, and it approaches slowly. Looking to the others for approval, it moves to examine the bones.
"Take heed - it may be more than it looks" - the half-orc growls as the kobold approaches the skeletal remains. His hand goes instinctively to where his weapon would be, but of course it finds nothing.
as you gather around the pile of bones, you do get the distinct feeling that they are watching you, the empty sockets of the skull glaring into your soul...
At the orc's question, the kobold nodded vigorously, then held both claws before itself, curled into fists. It mimes swinging something in both hands.
When the green warrior warns it, the little lizard scuttles back from the skeleton, watching it from afar.
Almost without noticing it, Rorx stands up to interpose himself defensively between the skeletal figure and the kobold.
After shaking his head once or twice, he feels slightly more stable - "I have absolutely no idea how I ended up here... Or I have only some loose images - are you as lost as I am?" - he asks, not sure if the small one understands him.
"Deader?" - Rorx grunted, simply pointing out one of the many words spoken to him he did not understand.
His eyes do follow where Believer is looking to though - "The skeleton..?"
"Aye," she answered, nodding. "Mebbe it's one of tha Dusties' deaders. Scrubbed all clean 'n' white." She said as she looked over the seemingly alert skull. She saw the confusion on the other's faces and explained. "Dustmen, ya? They pay good jink fer yer meat while yer still walkin' about innit. Then collect once yer name is penned in tha Deadbook. Raise it up to be a minder or fer doin' grunt work."
She wondered if this one might be for giving information, she addressed it clearly, "Ho there, grinner. What ship is this?"
If it didn't answer, she shrugged, "Guess it's not a mimir, then."
The kobold looked at the devil-woman with a mix of confusion and intimidation. Whatever she was talking about was beyond the skull-wearing lizard. As the orc no, half-orc, moved in front of the kobold, it ducked behind him with a sense of relief. He seemed trustworthy enough.
His question brought another nod from the bone-headed lizard.
"Sorry - I am not following" - Rorx replies to the devilishly beautiful woman, his eyes still dead set on the skeleton though.
As you all Admire the Skeleton, a little worried about it, there is a sudden Commotion outside your cell, the guards begin to yell, shouting can be heard on deck above you before you can hear some clashing metal.... followed by an explosion that rocks the entire ship!
The boat rocks as it is hit by something, and a shout can be heard just outside your cell just before something heavy slams against the door.
everything goes silent after about 30 seconds of chaos outside... before a voice can be heard outside your cell.
"is that all of them?" says a woman, her voice gruff and hoarse.
The responding voice is a Masculine voice, Demeaning and seemingly annoyed "I imagine it is- Slavers tend not to keep any more than they need when it comes to crew" they grunt.
there is some shuffling and walking about outside the cell, but they dont appear to have noticed anyone inside yet.
His attention now more focused on what is happening outside their cell, and less on the skeleton at the corner, Rorx moves up to the door and peeks outside.
The kobold throws itself to the floor as the entire ship rocks. It stays low as further impacts rock the ship, hoping to avoid any debris. Luckily the cell they were in was sturdy and nothing collapsed. With a sense of urgency in the air, the little lizard threw itself at the cell door, crashing its small body against the heavy door.
If Believer needed any more confirmation that her cell-mates were clueless Primes after their confusion at her perfectly clear speech, this rush for the door at the first sound of new voices was it.
"Ware..." She hissed low, hoping to warn them. "Ye dinnae of'en meet chums along tha Planes."
"What..?" - again the half-orc does not understand half of what the she-devil is saying, but he does approach her - "You want help with those bonds?"
When the three of you go to the door, It swings open and a Large Man comes in. Unlike the yellow Skinned Gith outside, this Towering Humanoid Wore thick plate mail, his armor covered in Spikes, and a huge Sword in his hand. He looks at you and turns his Head around, the helmet Shaped to look like a demon scowling "We got Prisoners in here" they shout, their voice deep and guttural.
poking her head in, a Gnome woman with a huge grin pokes her face in and gasps "OH MY GOODNESS!" they say apon spotting the Kobold "look at this cutie!" she giggled. the Gnome was dressed in soft white robes, a holy symbol to some Gnomish deity dangling around her neck.
the large man sighs, sliding back out of the room "I'm gonna go check on Khane" he grunts.
Seeing the giggling creature before it, the little lizard shuffles backwards very quickly, putting the half-orc between itself and the gnome's nasty, grabby hands. Now safe, It looks towards the devil-woman expectantly.
"I am Rorx" - the half-orc ends up blurting, without really a better option at hand - "Where are we?"
She was not sure what to make of the newcomers. Were they enemies to the Githyanki? Abolitionists fighting for freedom? Or did they simply hope to acquire their slaves by salvage?
"Aye, we dinnae belong on this ship. Tha piking yellow knights of tha post peeled us right well. Can ye help us? I can take yer suffrin', heal yer woes. If'n ye get this bloody thing off, tha' is." She said to the new arrivals, hoping to garner some good will and escape the silver collar.
The skull-headed kobold peeked at their 'saviors', clawing at it's own collar.
The Gnome Sighs, Looking over the orc with A Scowl before Turning to Believer "well, To Kill two Birds with one stone, We was just passing through this here Astral Plane on our way to the Outlands, Commin' back after A delve into the Prime, what you just happen to be lucky to be on the ship that got in our way" she giggled.
As she spoke, a Man wearing thick Grey Robes(clearly a Dustman) Came in, his face was Haggard, and the Staff he held was clearly for more than Just Walking around "more lost souls for the barge?" he asks, "Lilly, we dont have much more room, we can't jsut take prisoners from every ship we come across"
She still wasn't sure what these folk were about, whether they were a good sort to throw in with or not. Her divinely granted ability to see into a creatures base motivations seemed to be stifled by the silver collars. She did her best to feel out the situation without it.
"The Outlands, aye! Sigil is where they peeled me from. These two mebbe Primes. Brother Dustman, they can kip w' me once we're dropped off n' we can carry our own weight fer tha trip. They'd never reach the True Death pinin' away fer their homes here along tha planes. I'll help them find a colorpool in tha Cage, meself, I will." She tried incorporating the bit of Dustman philosophy she knew to hopefully sway the argument in favor of helping them.
The small lizard drops to its knees and moves its claws in a begging fashion. Lots of practice dealing with literal dragons certainly made one adept at begging for help or forgiveness. It tries to speak, but only air comes out.
The Dustman sighs "oh good, this one is fine with lodging with the lost.... " he Shakes his head and despite her Amazing way with words, He Clearly was not one to be swayed with sweet words "Well, I suppose... we don't have room on our own ship, But we might be able to Teach them the basics of this one" he huffs.
Lilly(the Gnome) nods "aye! I mean what are we gonna do with a Gith Astral barge?" she chuckled "Tell ya what, we aint got no way t' fly this ship along side ours, You Help us get it to sigil to sell, and ya' got ya a free ride, eh?" Lilly holds out a hand to Believer
The Dustman watches, his sunken eyes drifting to the Skeleton in the corner. He tilts his head at it- as if surprised to see it here
The large armored man Comes back "the Ship is clear, All the Gith are dead- look like they were not carrying much... Got a locker ustairs with some decent loot in it- but nothing we don't already have"
Lilly(the Gnome) nods "aye! I mean what are we gonna do with a Gith Astral barge?" she chuckled "Tell ya what, we aint got no way t' fly this ship along side ours, You Help us get it to sigil to sell, and ya' got ya a free ride, eh?" Lilly holds out a hand to Believer
His first instinct is to press the matter, and demand attention in face of the rude gnome and she-demon, who are discussing his life in his presence without a word to him.
He pauses for a moment though, his reasoning taking precedence - "Fine by me. Wherever Sigil may be"
These words, these people are strange. It seemed only the half-orc was as lost as the kobold was and it knew which of them it would trust if it came down to it. Natural fears played in the back of the lizard's mind, but it seemed for now that these people were friendly, or at least indifferent.
Seeing the armored Tallfolk return after presumably looting the ship, Bonehead steps out fully from behind the green warrior and points insistently at its collar.
The Dustman sighs "oh good, this one is fine with lodging with the lost.... " he Shakes his head and despite her Amazing way with words, He Clearly was not one to be swayed with sweet words "Well, I suppose... we don't have room on our own ship, But we might be able to Teach them the basics of this one" he huffs.
Lilly(the Gnome) nods "aye! I mean what are we gonna do with a Gith Astral barge?" she chuckled "Tell ya what, we aint got no way t' fly this ship along side ours, You Help us get it to sigil to sell, and ya' got ya a free ride, eh?" Lilly holds out a hand to Believer
The Dustman watches, his sunken eyes drifting to the Skeleton in the corner. He tilts his head at it- as if surprised to see it here
The large armored man Comes back "the Ship is clear, All the Gith are dead- look like they were not carrying much... Got a locker ustairs with some decent loot in it- but nothing we don't already have"
She nodded and took the gnome's small hand in both of her own, feeling a bit like these folk meant to sell her the clothes on her own back and expect she should call it a bargain. "I've not piloted a ship a'fore. Have either o' ye?" She asked, turning to her two cell-mates.
She saw the Dustman notice the skeleton. "Is it one o' The Dead's workers? I dinnae know what ta make o' it."
He pauses for a moment though, his reasoning taking precedence - "Fine by me. Wherever Sigil may be"
She made a sound of disbelief, "Ach! Sigil is The City at tha Center o' tha Worlds! It sits atop the Spire o' tha Hub. Sigil is the City o' Doors." She said with a sort of reverence in her voice. "If'n a place exists ta call home, there's a door leadin' there in tha Cage." She said with a nod of certainty that she hoped gave them comfort.
When the little one began to worry her collar again, she said "Aye, let's give this cell tha laugh. Mebbe we find the bloody keys ta these piking collars."
She nodded and took the gnome's small hand in both of her own, feeling a bit like these folk meant to sell her the clothes on her own back and expect she should call it a bargain. "I've not piloted a ship a'fore. Have either o' ye?" She asked, turning to her two cell-mates.
"Never - but I learn fast" - Rorx grunts, eager to get out of the cell
"Ach! Sigil is The City at tha Center o' tha Worlds! It sits atop the Spire o' tha Hub. Sigil is the City o' Doors." She said with a sort of reverence in her voice. "If'n a place exists ta call home, there's a door leadin' there in tha Cage." She said with a nod of certainty that she hoped gave them comfort.
"Seems like the right place to be"
Seeing the armored Tallfolk return after presumably looting the ship, Bonehead steps out fully from behind the green warrior and points insistently at its collar.
With a nod of agreement with the kobold, Rorx will set up to search for whatever may release them from the slave collars, if given a chance to do so.
Apon seeing the Kobold point to the Magic Suppressing Collars, the Armored man Shrugs, and Lilly the Gnome shakes Believer's hand and Shakes it "oh this is an Easy one, You just need to tell the ship where ya are going and it does most o' the work fer ya!" she says.
The Dustman on the other hand, shakes his head when asked about the Skeleton, and simply walks out.
The Party takes your out of the Brig, showing you about the Ship. it's a Small ship, With two levels above the Brig, The Center hold and the Deck. there is a Strange Assortment of tools and doodads at the Helm, What looks like the proper tools for stearing the ship.
As you Came out, you could take note of your Saviors. there where 5 of them. First a Gnome Named Lilly, who seemed a Healer based on how much the rest of them Tolerated her Annoying personality and rude looks.
there was Khane- A Tiefling Scout or Thief of some kind- He hardly ever spoke, but got those collars off of you all right and proper.
third was Vox- the Armored man. From what you can tell he must have been an Orc or at least had some blood in him, but his Face was always covered by that Thick Helmet
There was the Dustman, who you could not get a proper name from, and everyone simply Called Duster or Dustman.
and the 5th stayed on the groups own ship, a woman of some sort who spoke to the party through sending stones. their ship was much larger than this one, a huge cannon mounted atop(likely what made that explosion earlier) and More than Capable of tearing this tiny thing apart.
as you Where brought about, you might notice your Equipment being picked through by Khane, Looking for Valuables most likely
The skull-wearing kobold shakes it's head at Believer's question. It'd never even been on a ship before.
The lizard coughs as the collar is finally removed. It breathes deeply, enjoying unrestricted access to air. In a small voice, as if testing its ability to speak, the kobold says; "Thank you." Clearing her throat, she quickly belts out an ascending scale of notes and back down again. Her voice is light, befitting her stature and one of the only indicators of her gender.
Looking around at everyone, Bonehead asks a question. "Are you Wheel of Fire?" She looks to each person in turn, the question clearly important to her.
"So you do speak" - Rorx smiles at the kobold, then nods at the one called Khane - "Thank you" - he could feel the magic surging through his blood again.
"That would be the gear which was stolen from me" - he adds when he notices the tiefling looking it over - "May I have it back?"
"Aye, thank ye." She said, eyeing the tiefling, Khane. The planetouched were not so common a sight, even in Sigil, that a meeting between them was unremarkable. "I think that bit o' sparkle there be mine," she said and nodded to the jewelry in his hand. "Ye won't get sick off'a tha scrap o' jink it'd fetch. Ah, and me clinic bag. Any ye bloods get in a scrape? I can patch ye up, right quick." She said offering her healing arts again, if anyone had the need.
When Rorx came up to the Teifling, he Gave the Half-orc a Wicked smile, his sharp teeth on full Display. one would not Call Khane Handsome If they would describe him. His face was normal for the most part, but his Violet eyes and Mouth of fangs where not very Flattering. with a raspy Voice he spoke to Rorx in harsh, Vile Abyssal
when Believer comes by he scoffs at her and Holds the Amulet up "I think I know exactly what I'd get off this piece of the Wounded one's... been strippin' Berks and Rubes Half 'o my life... If ya want this Rabble, Yer gonna Have t' Take it from me cold... dead... hands"
That's when The Dustman Came up behind Khane and tapped his shoulders "come now, dear Khane- these poor Sods where stollen right out of their homes, each of them deserves to at least have their weapons back... besides... what does a Heartless Namer like you have to do with a wooden Holy symbol? If you really want one so badly I can more than Oblige you" he Chuckles,
It seems to you none of the others seem to know what you ment, are are far too busy doing their own work, The Gnome Managing to pile the Gith over to the side- about 7 in total... A Pile of sword hilts (seemingly Gith Silver swords) Lay to the side.
Being ignored wasn't exactly a surprise, seemed Tallfolk only really cared about her kind when knives sprouted from their backs. It frustrated the lizard, but if anything, it meant they were probably unrelated to her enemies. Shaking such thoughts from her mind, she focuses on what there was to do now.
With a quick trilling of her voice, the kobold casts Summon Instrument, pulling a small lute for herself as well as one for each of her companions, should they remain unarmed. It's better than nothing.
Their destination decided for them, Bonehead taps lightly on the devil-woman's leg. "You live Sigil? Tell me important things." The kobold's Common was stilted and clearly underused.
Bonehead is an astonishing 3 feet tall, towering over the majority of her peers, but obviously much shorter than the Medium races. She's blue scaled and wearing rather simple tribal rags. Her horns (not pictured) extend from under the skull she wears, helping hold it in place. The skull is draconic in shape with its own set of horns jutting proudly from its back.
"So you are but a common thief? I expected more. Do as you please - I will not forget it"
Rorx grunts back at the tiefling in the same guttural tongue, crossing his arms over his chest.
when Believer comes by he scoffs at her and Holds the Amulet up "I think I know exactly what I'd get off this piece of the Wounded one's... been strippin' Berks and Rubes Half 'o my life... If ya want this Rabble, Yer gonna Have t' Take it from me cold... dead... hands"
That's when The Dustman Came up behind Khane and tapped his shoulders "come now, dear Khane- these poor Sods where stollen right out of their homes, each of them deserves to at least have their weapons back... besides... what does a Heartless Namer like you have to do with a wooden Holy symbol? If you really want one so badly I can more than Oblige you" he Chuckles,
Her eyes began to glow as she stepped closer to Khane.
"Aye, what do ye want with it, Taker? Ahh... I see it now. There's a gapin' hole right through yer center. A black void yawnin' in yer soul like a fresh wound. An' it won't matter how much ye take, ye'll never fill it with jink, or bub, or spilled blood. Nay! Ye take 'cause no one ever gave ye anythin'. Ilmater can take from ye, take yer pain, take yer sufferin', take that empty ache inside ye an' fill it with Light. He's a Power what takes care of His own. Not some uninterested Ivory, puppeting proxies fer sport. Ilmater will make ye whole." She was in the full throes of Belief, radiating her god's aura of Goodness and Succor.
Just then she noticed her facial jewelry among the equipment stripped from the Gith's captives. She lifted it up delicately with one claw. "So distracted by me Holy symbol, ye missed this lil' bit o' flash." She said as she lifted it to her ear and began fastening the rings and gems onto her ear, nose and eyebrow, stringing an elegant chain between them that dangled small star shaped crystal clear gems.
When Bonehead tapped to get her attention, she considered her question. Then spoke as plainly as she could. "Important, aye. First off, any enclosed space can be a colorpool. A portal, to another place, another plane, another time, mebbe! Could be a doorway into tha next room one second, an' a portal to tha next, 'cause any thing can be a key. A piece o' scrap, a bit' o tune ye heard some berk whistle once, or rememberin' tha smell o' yer favorite grub. So ye've got ta be on yer toes, eh?" She looked down at her as well as to Rorx to see if they were following what she said while she began donning her armor and gathering her other things she could spot.
When you go on detecting the Dark energies, your Magic flares up, And you can immediatly get a strong presance of hate coming off of not only Khane, but also Vox(the armored man) who Not only has a strong presance of Hate and pain, but his aura almost makes the others pale in comparison.(you can Tell he is a Blackguard of at least lvl 7)
when you alight with power He aproaches, His huge sword to bear- he lifts it and points the tip to Believer "you better be grateful that we don't just slaughter you here..." Vox Growls "but the Deadman is right.... give them their Junk... what harm can they do to us anyways, we got our Haul and this is a pittance"
With a sigh, Khane raises his hands and concedes, letting the party have their equipment back. That's when The little gnome slides up Behind Believer "here is the instructions on the ship!" she coos, handing her a small Pamphlet. "Just read that. it's super simple, the ship basically Flys itself... just dont make the Air Elemental mad" she chuckled, skipping off.
The Party talks with each other and decide to leave the Dustman on the ship with you(to make sure you don't try running off with their looted airship).
Even without the ability to detect evil, Bonehead is able to estimate from their lack of concern that these people are not particularly trustworthy. If she had more time and better equipment, the lizard was certain the three of them could overpower the lone Dustman and take their freedom. But for now, it was better to keep her head down and wait until they either leave or make a mistake.
Struggling with understanding what the devil woman had told her, the skull headed lizard responds. "Door-Portals. Keys...? City is danger, yes? Thieves, dragons?" Bonehead speaks slowly, tryin to ensure she says each word clearly.