Might and magic, Lords of the Contested Lands

Game Master Chyrone

Distance +1 for getting it up the stairs from the water.

The team goes underwater again, after informing Estelle of the currently unrecovered cargo.

Daniel almost single handedly starts rolling the barrel towards the stairs. Everyone's making a few swims back and forth to take new breaths of air.

One of the unmarked crates makes it towards the stairs, yet, as the team is about to push it up, Daniel's foot is stuck underneath a step of the stairs, and the corner of the crate slips from his grip. With the weight, it tumbles down, crashing down onto the floor, giving off a dulled sound of things breaking inside.

The other medium crates are, through team effort, recovered.

The big barrels, get stuck in the process of rolling and sliding across the water flooded floor.

The medium barrel contains food supplies, grains, seeds.
The unmarked crate, if messing with the lock, (Disable device 25) contains clothing of tailored quality. Things you'd see a merchant selling on a market.
Approximately a dozen outfits, approx 650gp worth if purchased.

The crates marked with a seal, oddly have no lock on them. In fact, they won't open even despite it.
Seal.

Can we open up the ones we can't get up the stairs where they are and see what we can recover from there? (Also see if anything is salvagable from the one where we could hear things breaking?)

Knowledge Local: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (14) + 3 = 17

Astella notes that the seal on the crates belongs to the Stanford merchant house.

She casts detect magic to see if they are magically sealed, since it seems strange to her that they wouldn't open.

She attempts to open the unmarked crate...

Disable Device: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (18) + 7 = 25
...and shows everyone the really nice clothing.

"If only we were not in a middle of nowhere village, we could make quite a good amount of gold selling these clothes." Brunhild said. "Though with them, I am sure that we could hire a local seamstress to make the hat we found quite fancy."

That's a good idea. And if someone else has already won, then we can keep them for job seeking clothing, or sell them to keep ourselves going a few more months.

The outfits are not job specific, in case you were wondering.

The ones you can't get up the stairs, you mean that one that slipped from grasp, i assume? You'll find it now has a lot of shattered (former) items. Someone must have shipped table wares, only several sets of cutlery remain.
The large barrels are firmly shut where they are now, if you meant those instead.

To clarify: did we get the large barrels out of the water with the lids stuck, or are they stuck in place underwater at their original location?

"I don't suppose any of these outfits include a hat?" Estelle asks, looking through the collection. "Pity... but these are really nice pieces!" she notes excitedly, holding up a noble's gown that nicely contrasts her hair and eyes. "Maybe we could keep a few for ourselves? For when we win this contest and become lords!"

The barrels are stuck underwater, lids shut for now.

"Anyway... I guess we're currently stuck with the plan of making this hat fancy ourselves. Let's go find Sally outside and ask her where we can find the best local weaver."

So, we can't open the barrels in any way?

Unless it is no longer submerged. But the hold is at both eb and flow.

Scanning the Stanford crates pings for magic. Astella gets the feeling of strong abjuration energies. Some strong magic keeps the crates shut, is the impression.

Wondering, what is the plan to get everything back to dry land? And will you take everything? (Barrel contents, more specifically)

Disappointed that they can't recover the things that are right there in front of them, Astella sees that Estelle is anxious to go, so she starts packing what they have already up.

We can probably lower this stuff over the side to take it... what do we want to take back? We probably don't need the food supplies, although we should take what we can easily carry as rations in case we need them in the future. These clothes are probably worth taking though... can everyone pack a couple of extra outfits into their packs?

How about the crab meat... you guys want to save it and try to sell it like last time, or leave it here for scavengers?

I believe at least some of you have rope, so lowering containers into the water and onto the beach works just fine.

The team applies some more elbow grease, and moves the containers up deck, where rope is tied around them. Lowering them over the rail carefully, the team hauls their findings onto the beach.

On the inquiery of the crab meat, Estelle looks back at the cleaved-in-twain version of shelly hermit execution. It was a bloody, gooey mess at best. "That's going to be a lot... um, 'less pleasant' to carry with us than the whole one. It's also a lot more smelly, and it might attract more of those serpentflies and other dangerous wildlife to us," Estelle muses, drawing on her experiences hunting for herself in the forests.

"I mean, we could try, and maybe it'd fetch us another bit of gold. But if Daniel and I are going to each carry a half of the thing, will the two of you be all right dragging these barrels after us? It'll be slow going, I think, and we are still on an unknown time limit, too. I'm leaning towards leaving it behind."

Estelle will do what the group wants, however, and would shoulder half of the crab if desired.

Sally wasn't with you. You had followed directions she had given you. She'll be pretty surprised seeing you guys, for sure.

Oh, oops :') I'll edit that out.

”Aye…leave the meat. Even moving all the clothes will be a hassle. Got to have the right priority here. Though we could stop for a bite now. If the meat would go to waste, we might as well make use of it ourselves.”

That's a good idea. We could have a little impromptu lunch here, with crab and supplies from the barrel, and then we can get going with whatever else we can carry.

I'll try casting some mending spells on the hat while we're eating, so that it will be ready for whatever Estelle has in mind to make it more fancy.

Someone roll a Craft: Krab lunch, please.

On an unskilled craft: cooking I would have a +2. Rolling it, but if anyone has higher, please go with that one and mine can be an aid roll instead.

Craft: Cooking: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (20) + 2 = 22

Holy crab sandwiches, nevermind. I think we're good. :)

Astella makes an excellent guess where to get the best parts from the crab's meat. Granted, most of the meat was on display after that clean cleaving, but still.

Searching the barrel of food supplies, she finds two pouches with herbs, perfect for a seasoning.

After the team hauls the two halves of crab ashore, a spitroast is made on the beach, and the smell of cooked, seasoned crab, makes your mouths water in anticipation. The result was very good.

And there was much rejoicing.

Yaaaay.

Daniel eats almost an entire half of the crab for his part. Rolling onto his back in a minor food coma at the end. He takes the hat and places it over his eyes.

Now that, is a good reward for some hard work.

Considering the size of half the crab, does Daniel have a stomach of holding, like Obelix does? You're talking at least your torso. ^^

Estelle chuckles at Daniel's antics and resumes eating her delicious, impromptu crab roast. She thanks Astelle again for cooking and glances sideways to the sun standing high above the sea, made all the more special by the wrecked ship on the side and the cool breeze. "Looking at the view, I'd almost think we were shipwrecked on some deserted island! Except we'd be doing just fine for ourselves. Not that things haven't been exciting as they were, of course. I don't think I'll forget these days any time soon."

Streching, she lays back down to enjoy a moment of coastline sunbathing next to her armor and sighs in content. "Say... what are you all going to do if we don't end up winning? I suppose I've been so focused on the contest that it occurs to me only now that I don't know that much about you, even though you're my team mates. You seem like really nice people, and I can't deny being curious. Though I'd understand if anyone doesn't want to share, of course!"

I don't know actually, though I have been thinking about it... there is nothing really to go back to where I am from, but if I had some money maybe I could travel and try to find out what happened to my mother. I doubt she is still alive and free, or she would have come back to find me, but I guess being able to know about what happened to her would provide some closure. If I don't have anything, I'll go back... the elves won't turn me away, but I don't really want to be a burden on them either. I need to find out what my place in the world is. There is usually a ceremony for that, but I guess with the war, it's more just a personal decision than a community decision anyway...

Maybe full time adventuring? It seems to work well for Alexis and her group. Friends that you rely on that much are pretty close to a family bond.

After a great lunch and downtime, you notice the sun in an afternoon position. It'd be a fair estimate you're looking at 15:00/15:30 or so.

This leaves you with your next puzzle.....how to get all that stuff to town. Or will you?

Plans for transport, if so? Any for afternoon activities?

Move on to the next potential job that would get my armor fixed.. I can't go home until then, since I'd surely get an ear full or worse for letting it get into such a state.. Not to mention the worry it would cause.

He answers, quite clearly unaware of the worry that he might cause by not returning home.

"Oh... I'm so sorry to hear that, Astella! Did she go missing recently? I could help you find her!" The offer was out before she knew it and Estelle mentally kicked herself for making a promise she might not be able to keep. One that might also get her in way more danger than she could handle. But... could she really just abandon the other girl to her plight if it came down to it?

She shook her head slightly, unsure, as Daniel shared his plans. "Don't you think they would prefer having you back home over repairing your armor?" she asks him, eyes glazing over. Images of a seemingly endless supply of injured and dying troops to the first aid tents flashed before her mind's eye. "A lot of people died in the Restoration Wars... a lot of parents won't ever see their children again. I think... if I was a parent, most of all I'd want my son to come home, so I could hug him and know for sure he was safe."

A mental of hugging the handsome paladin image flushes through her mind, and she does her best to banish it amidst the conversation. Maybe she should have picked her words a bit more carefully...

Astella takes stock of everything they have and writes it down so they can decide what to take and what to leave.

Some of this list is ooc stuff, but let's just pretend that I listed it normally and told you the rest ooc okay?

What all did we find?

Barrel of food
12 outfits
giant crab (now mostly eaten)
--25 gold
--tobacco
--old pipe
--sealed letter from a merchant house (carried by Astella who hasn't tried to open it yet--guessing this has to do with the Stanford containers, but not sure/don't remember if the seal on the letter was the same house)
--Coin purse containing 150 gold
--Spare clothing
--A fine amber colored vest (Masterwork Reinforced Tunic)
--Masterwork dagger
--Box with Carpenter tools, nails, a spare rope.
--Box with two compartments. One contains a decent sized cache of spare dried food supplies. The other a lockbox, non removeable, but containing a coinpurse containing further 75 gold.
--Spare men's shoes, size 13.5 you'd guess.
--Spare clothing, typical men tailored, its main showcase a stylish marine blue overcoat. And an old battered tricorne, far from fancy quality though.
--Books on a variety of topics, such as navigation, ports, one labeled 'Crew Log 2', and some of likely personal interests.
A stained piece of paper and part of a sea chart.

Things we can't open or bring

--Sealed containers from Stanford Merchant house are stuck in the hold unopenable.
--Broken stuff in chest that was dropped.
--Maybe other containers we couldn't get up the stairs... don't think we got them all (5 medium and 3 large). I think the Stanford stuff is large, but maybe only two--not fully certain.

Came across mention of two desk drawers that might not have been opened, so not sure if they were checked or not.

Maybe leave the food that we didn't eat here, unless we need it for personal rations... and the tools if we can't carry them? The rest I think we can carry, unless we need to leave some of the books.

I should open up this letter though I think.

Anything I missed or got wrong?

Astella smiles at Estelle.

That's so nice of you to say. Let's see if we can win the contest first. If not, then maybe we'll talk about it after.

"Ah, you're right! We were about the read it earlier and then we got sidetracked..." The soldier realises, happy for a shift of topic on borth fronts. "Sure, go on. Meanwhile, maybe if we organize all this stuff into four of the crates and barrels, we could each carry or roll one along back to town. Let's see what we can do..."

She then begins the process of packing all the found items so that they were hopefully easier to transport back.

Glancing over the list, I think the four of us can carry it without too much difficulty if we use a few of the found containers? I don't have any specific plans for the afternoon other than finding the priest at the temple to mend the hat and then Sally and/or a Weaver to make the repaired hat fancy. Might have to sell some loot for the casting of mend object.

Brunhild ate in silence, barely listening to the others. Their talk was so…human. The well wishing, with dreams of possible futures and the easy talk in general. She didn’t like it. Why promise to help someone if you didn’t know if you could do it? To be oathbound over a plate of crab. It boggled the mind. Granted, humans didn’t take such talk seriously. It was like when they said “we should have dinner sometime” and then acted surprised when you showed up at their place. She had come to learn that humans made promises to show that they cared, not out of the expectation of truly seeing it through. For it a dwarf said “I will join in searching for your kin” then they would see it out. A human? More than likely would wander off in a few months. Proof that knowing a language was not the same as knowing a culture. Not wanting to ruin their levity, she kept to her food, knowing from experience that few really wanted to hear her unyielding pragmatism.

Through some inventive way or another, the team hauls the three crates and a barrel back to town.

It is nearly 18:00 as town comes into view, and the afternoon sun is low on the horizon, hiding behind the single mountain of the island, leaving lower light to creep in steadily.

The few guardsmen out take not of the most unusual sight. Those people had but bare possessions when they got here.

They steadily wait until you are near.

"Evening, folks. I don't recall crates and a barrel been mentioned on the scavenger hunt. Where'd you find those?"

Estelle blinks, then glances around at her teammates, wondering if they'd broken some unknown rule or such. But since no one here seemed like the kind of person to lie, she decided to tell the truth. "We found this in a shipwrecked ship off the coast, which we searched as part of the scavenger hunt. Most of this was found underwater in the cargo hold, and it was pretty hard to get it back up. Judging by the state of bodies of the crew and the prescence of monsters, it's probably been there a while."

I think we probably pocketed and ditributed the gold we found evenly amongst ourselves and that someone is carrying the masterwork dagger on their person. If not, Estelle would take the masterwork dagger along as it's an upgrade to her backup weapon. I can't remember if Sally ever said how long ago this ship crashed here, but If I can't, Estelle might not either.

The guards's bud turns at his friend.

"Ah! Now that she mentions it, we did get those sailors and their captain passing through to catch a ship back to the mainland recently.
But that was, what, two weeks ago?"

The 1st nods.
"Indeed. Not very talkative, that captain, very much business talk only.
Couldn't blame him though, running afoul of the rocks would ruin anyone's mood."

"What flag was she showing? Just so Lord Markham knows if he should bother writing letters about its location. If it's any other than Erathian colors, or specifics he knows, there's usually no immediate rush."

Sorry, I meant for Astella to open the sealed letter before we took off, but either way... if we can't retcon it, she will open it when they get back to the hotel... carefully, trying not to break the seal if possible, but opening it either way. What should I roll for that? (Or feel free to roll for me if it is easier for you.)

I don't remember seeing a flag on it, sorry.

Guardsman 1: "Pity. May as well send a few guys over to double check tomorrow."

If you do, tell them to be careful... there are holes in the ship and lots of nasty things have moved in.

If you do, tell them to be careful... there are holes in the ship and lots of nasty things have moved in.

"We'll keep that in mind. Well, best get inside, seems there's going to be some hefty raining tonight.", as he nods to an area in the sky.

"Though, may want to consider how and where to store whatever items you have within the containers."

#2: "Could try asking, and paying likely, the innkeep. He's got a spacious room for his supplies. Might see if there's room left."

The guardsmen give a nod, then resume their evening round.

"Aye. Let's do that. And try to unload this as soon as we can. Costs money to haul it around and keep it safe, as well as time. We have very little of either at our disposal."

"Yes, the inn would have been my first suggestion as well. Let's ask for the rate. And maybe the innkeeper knows a few people whom we might be able to sell this all to!"

She's about to leave when she suddenly remembers something. "Actually... would the two of you have any idea where the missing group of adventurers was last seen, or roughly where they went missing? You know - the ones people think were attacked by a dragon, of all creatures. If there's a rumor about something that specific, it suggests there might have been a witness, too."

The guardsmen look over their shoulder at the question.

# 1: "I believe they headed into the western forest, which is also the way towards a path near the mountain."

"All right, thank you!" she gives the guards a small smile and turns to the others. "Since it's going to rain heavily soon, do we just stash everything at the inn and call it a day? Or is anyone in favor of setting out a night afterwards to have more of a headstart on the competition? Means we might have to camp out, though."

(Recalls the cold humidity the following morning after a rainstorm, waking up in a tent)

Whatever the course of action for tomorrow will be, one or two of you enter the tavern to ask about storing your haul.
Inside has but a limited crowd. Brent Flinn and his friends, and one other table of other contestants.
Granted, dinner's not being served for a short while still.

The innkeep is arranging tankards and bottles on the shelves behind the counter, as you approach. He turns at hearing your footsteps.

"Ah, good evening young lady. How can i help you?"
Hearing the question of storing your haul in his storage, and the size of it, he is a bit surprised.

"I've got some room left, yes. I charge rent for such safe keeping, mind you. For that amount of containers, 5 silvers for a night."

If you agree, he shows you to the storage, and locks it afterwards.

Astella nods agreement at the idea of heading into the western forest, but she votes that they should get a good night's sleep before heading out.

Agreeing with that it was probably best, Estelle helps hauling the crates further into the storage locker. She asks the Innkeeper if he had an idea for a potential nearby buyer of high quality clothes, then joins the others for dinner.

Before turning in for the night, she heads off to the small temple in the village, and if it were still open, offers a quiet prayer to Shaymara. Even though she felt she herself was jinxed, she had been placed in a group with very skilled warriors who seemingly couldn't fail. It was an acceptable trade, no, probably a gift from the golden dragon of luck. Perhaps a subtle reminder, too, that her real talents lay elsewhere, and that pretending to be a soldier was not the way forward...

The innkeeper thinks for a moment.
"If it's only clothing you want to sell, you could try the general store. Out the door, and 4th on the left. You'd probably surprise him if the clothing is as good as you say it is."

The small temple is still open, as Estelle arrives.
An attendant has just lit two candles above the entrance, a small roof giving cover from the elements to the candles.

The air within is. Candles burn, illuminating the few benches and altar, alongside the smaller pedestal shrines on both hand sides.
As Estelle sits down on a bench, folding her hands in silent prayer...there is, a faint feeling of being watched, and she opens her eyes to check.

5ft away, stands an elf woman., hair colored like summer brown-yellow leaves.
A bluish-purple attire, adorned with a crest of golden leaves, is what she wears.
A pair of amber/hazel eyes look down at the young lady.

"An unusual place to pray from, to my mistress. Did you seek some guidance, young one?"