Sette is very relieved that they passed through the storm without the ship sinking or anyone falling overboard. She fusses a little over the halfling with the broken leg - such injuries were not uncommon where she came from, although she had never tended to broken bones herself, only seen it done.
"I know that it is probably not in anyone's control, but, can we seriously NOT do that again? Please?"
As repairs are made, to both ship and crew, an unfamiliar face emerges from below decks. You may have seen him in passing. He is undoubtedly an undine. Light blue skin and hair. Light clothing only. When the ship was moving slowly, we're completely stalled, he has spent much of his time in the water. Walking up to the group and Lulmener makes their plea, Coldir concurs. "Yes. That was rather turbulent. I believe that I may need to stay aboard until we reach sure. I almost lost my hired laborer as well. That outness lab is far too heavy for me to carry to where we settle on land.". Without so much as an introduction, Coldir moves to a side rail to pier into the cloudy waters.
|
Triix takes the opportunity to cover her antennae with her wizard hat before the new arrival arrives. Outness lab? she asks, obviously curious. But yeah ... I guess I won't be exploring the waters until we make shore either She moves over to the side rail to also look into the cloudy waters. I'm Triix by the way ... astronomer, wizard, and a student of the Azlanti.
"Outness lab? Oh. Thought I said alchemist lab. Sorry. I guess I have not spoken to other people in a while. Wizard? Student of Azlanti? That should come in handy. I'm very excited to see what a sunken city might look like!".
"Starsoul sorceress. I'm not sure what that is, but astrology seems very interesting.". He says the first part rather slowly but picks up speed, and interest, with the last bit. "I've heard said that the stars affect the waves of the oceans. I would like to learn more of this."
Salaamati tries to calm down and help where he can but he does not engage in any further conversations.
He already shared more about himself than he liked.
Sal whistles. "Good thing you secured the alchemy stuff or we coulda had been dealing with fire and storm at the same time! Well done. I'm Cannonball Sal. So are you an alchemist?"
"Alchemist lab? A whole one?" Sette whistles, eyes rounding. "Very nice, very nice, we can make many things with a whole lab, yes yes. I'm Sette, welcome on board, gills are lucky indeed, very good." The ratfolk stuffs a sweet bun in their mouth, chewing contentedly.
Looking back from the murky depths, Coldir addresses the group. "Whole alchemy lab? It is a traveler's set, but it has everything it needs.". Looking at Sal, and then Sette, in turn. "I am a self taught alchemist. There are many good to be found that can be put to good use. Sette, you also make things?"
"Gills and alchemy. What have you gotten yourself into?"
"I can't speak to all that, but I really hope gills won't be that important to the colony. Ya know?"
Coldir lowers his head and looks back out into the water. "Not all undine are born with gills. I was not.". Coldir nods to himself a couple of times and furnishes with, "But I'm working on it."
The ratfolk nods rapidly in response to the undine's question. "Yes, yes, Sette makes many things. Tasty things, that also go boom sometimes, heh heh."
"And what did you say your name was? Or we gonna be getting around to embarrassing nicknames again?"
"Hmm? Oh. I'm Coldir.". He then points to each in turn as he says, "Sette, Sal, Trix."
"And Luimener and Tallagor." His voice kind of fades as he adds the names to the list being rattled off. He seems uncomfortable.
"Somethin' wrong?" Sal asks Luimener.
"Guess not." He looks out across the water, obviously seeing something in his mind that isn't really there. He looks both dejected and wistful.
"Of course something wrong. No sweet buns! Sette fixes." The ratfolk passes around another waxed paper bag filled with sweet confectionery, although after the storm they are a little bit soggy.
After six long weeks, this morning the crew of the Peregrine sighted land to the west. A few hours later, the Peregrine sails into a natural bay with a sandy beach within rowing distance for the ship’s boats.
As the crew begins to untie one of the smaller boats to lower it into the water, the sailors pass a spyglass among themselves and finally hand it back to the captain. Captain Jacob Markosi peers at the island for a moment before grunting and handing the spyglass to expedition leader Ramona Avandth.
“You should see this,” he says quietly.
Ramona accepts the spyglass and peers toward the shore. When she lowers the scope, she is clearly distressed but trying to hide her worry. She approaches and motions toward the far side of the deck, away from where most of the other colonists have congregated. “Can I have a word with you?” she asks.
“We have a problem,” Ramona says bluntly, once once you all have some relative privacy. She offers the spyglass to the party and explains, “Something is wrong. Nobody’s in sight. There’s no smoke from cook fires or the smithy. Some of the buildings look burned out.”
Ramona continues, her voice low.
“Sailors can’t keep their mouths shut. Soon all the other colonists are going to hear about this—if they can’t see for themselves already— and things could become… tense.
Simply put, I need your help.”
"A scouting party then? We see what has happened and report back? Do we know what else lives on this island?"
"I know that look," Sal says to Lumeiner. "I've worn it myself time and again. Ya feel left out. Whatever it is yer thinkin'... all of us here, we're all explorers and misfits, lookin' for new horizons. Ya ain't alone here, unless ya make yerself. And we're gonna need you--this whole venture ain't just this ship voyage. So don't go feelin' sorry for yourself when we need you to help keep us alive."
============
Sal readily takes the spyglass when offered and whistles low. "It's a ghost town."
"How long till we reach shore?"
Salaamati looks through the spyglass and has a blank expression on his face.
"We should take a boat and investigate. We should not jump to conclusions." he says coldly.
"Very bad, not good," mutters Sette after peering through the spyglass. The ratfolk looks a little nervous at the idea of going into the ghost town, but as the others step in and offer to explore she begins nodding along. "Yes, investigate, but we must be careful!"
He gives a half-hearted chuckle as Sette and Sal both try to reach out.
"Guess we'll see."
The elf takes a turn with the spyglass, not saying anything, but recognizing the damage and apparent deserted structures. Without yielding the glass, though, he turns his eyes further afield, looking for signs of either survivors or predators away from the settlement. The wisps of smoke from a small campfire, possibly.
"Doesn't look completely razed. Nor stripped. At least not from here. Means it probably wasn't some sort of people . . .."
Luimener can't see any signs of survivors or violence at all. He sees a little movement but it doesn't seem like more than the birds and animals he would expect.
Ramona looks relieved by your offers to help. "If you are willing to go ashore I will ask Captain Markosi to sail north along the island’s
coast to a secondary landing site determined the expedition’s surveyors found early on."
With some quiet orders she organises one of the ships longboats for you to take ashore.
Salaamati is ready and takes his equipment.
“Let us leave!“
Sette packs up all her belongings, secretly glad to be on solid ground again after so many weeks at sea. The ship diet hadn't been agreeing with her either, the ratfolk being thoroughly sick of dry biscuits and smoked fish, and her previous rotund body is now merely very plump.
Rucksack in hand and giant fishing spear strapped to her back, Sal enthusiastically leaps onto the longboat as soon as it is prepped.
Coldir walks away from the group to have a discussion with what looks like to be a dockworker, or sailor, of some sort. He point to the island, shakes his head no and then yes before he points back to the below decks and turns to walk off. Checking his scimitar, to make sure it is on his belt, and picking up his well worn pack, he rejoins the scouting party.
Once you are all aboard the longboat is lowered into the waves. The bay’s waters are calm, with only a gentle rocking of the ship’s boat. The shore is approximately three hundred feet to the east, where a lonely dock is built off a sandy beach.
The boat has spots for two rowers with an oar each.
Coldir looks at the small boat, and then sits somewhere without an oar. He is not a very strong fellow.
Sal sits at an oar and to whomever takes the second, says, "All right, let's get the rhythm goin', one, two, one two!"
Taking the time to grab his pack first, the elf frowns a bit as he hops into the longboat, Tallagor following behind. "Guess this seat's for me, then." he says to no one in particular as he takes the second oar.
As he and Sal get started, he tries to adapt to her timing, finding the song easier to work with than trying to watch Sal could be, of course.
Luimener and Sal find the well made boat easy to move though the calm waters of the bay.
Sette climbs down into the boat, wedging herself into the bow and watching the shore bright-eyed.
Coldir, as always, is looking outward rather than inward. It may mean that he may miss some of the group's conversation, but there are just so many interesting things out there!
Sette spots two shapes suddenly coming up from seabed.
Everyone except Luminener and Sal see's a murky shape darting towards the boat but no one spots two others which pop up next to the boat and lashes out towards Luminener and Salaamati
Before anyone can move they attack with spears but their aim is poor and the attacks go wide.
Salaamati
Green
Triix
Coldir
Luminener
Pink
Sal
Blue
Sette
You all start this sitting down.
Fighting the grindylows from inside the boat is challenging. PCs who remain seated take a –2 penalty on attack rolls. A character can negate this penalty by standing up and attacking(standing back up is a move action as normal) but anyone standing in the boat must attempt a DC 10 Acrobatics check each round in which they attack. Success means they remain standing until they attack again (or another effect threatens their balance, such as a trip attack by way of the grindylow’s tentacles). A PC who fails must attempt a DC
10 Reflex save. If successful, the PC immediately sits back down as a free action , but a PC who fails this save falls overboard into an adjacent square.