HP 48/61 (current max 56)
AC 23 (+1 vs. traps), deny advantage, cold resistance 2
Fort +9, Ref +13, Will +10 (+1 vs. traps)
Hero Points: 2
Deviant backlash DC: 10
Effects: tale spun (+1 status bonus to attack rolls and saving throws against the villain), drained 1
Daehalya steps forward, calling out to the fey fish in Fey: "Leave him alone, creature. Take your water and go!" She punctuates her words with a couple of blows from her staff.
|
Daehalya smacks the small fishy around with her staff. Meanwhile the wight contiues to bite and claw at Onye.
+ Drain Life
Onye is able to dodge most of the claws, but finds that his arm still got nicked in the frey.
──────────
BOLD IS UP!:
──────────
➤ Onye
⠀⠀➤ Uhu
➤ Nicholo
Fey Fishy
Daehalya
Wight (Yellow)
➤ Grundle
➤ Alvarius
➤ Ezgara
Alvarius moves his bony fingers through a series of arcane gestures, enhancing his next spell with recursive elements that push it beyond its normal range. When he completes the spell an arc of electric power launches out from his fingertips.
Gurgling grodair gives up, lives to tell another tale. This is wisdom.
Esgara continues to eave his tale… he ignores the fish and sends a tiny puff of flame into the wight's face.
The leopard withers more under the restless dead's assault. He moves to take advantage of Nicholo's position and then pounces upon the wight.
Grundle point his finger at the remaining Wight.
"You there. The fact that you have crossed into the realm of the deceased offers no justification for attempting to drag us into the shadows alongside you. It is frankly petty."
A (phase) bolt of magical energy stutters in and out of phase as it makes its way towards the undead.
|
|
Drentched, and wet - Nicky is startled by his predicament.
◆ - move- stand up. Please advise if the Wight has an AoO.
Dang! This water is so frigid. Triple dang!
He looks at the situation. He likes that the wight is being assaulted by fire, lightening and Onye's claw assault.
◆ ◆ DaS
◆ ◆ ◆ Attack - Note flaking with Onye for any bonuses.
◆ ◆ stride
◆ ◆ ◆ - climb out of water.Moving 10 feet south to stand next to D.
|
|
Grundle fires off a phase bolt at the undead, killing it on the spot. As the wight falls it reaches for Nicholo in its death throes.
Alvarius shocks the water around the fish as Ezgara burns the fey with fire. Onye claws at the fish, stripping some of the scales from its body as Nicholo tries to regain his footing. Wounded and afraid the fey gurgles as it dives below the waters, swimming out of sight.
Onye
⠀⠀Uhu
Nicholo
Daehalya
Grundle
Alvarius
Ezgara
"Well done," Daehalya congratulates everyone as the fight ends, though she keeps an eye on the water to make sure the grodair doesn't come back. "Is everyone OK?"
|
|
I'm a bit beat up. But I also still have my rosy complexion. The same can't be said about how the wight took some color from your faces.
Nicky indicates to Onye and Daehalya.
I'm kinda impress Daehalya. You got some lemon juice squeezed out of your rind, and yet you are the first person to ask if anyone else is okay? That's a mighty fine and lovin' heart you got beating.
See, I realize -- unless your name is Fia - my true blue girl - I'm probably cursing and wondering about myself first. It's kinda a personal fault o' mine.
Yet You and Onye are always thinking of others before oneself. Pretty damn admirable.
Alvarius moves to catch up with the others, having hurled all his magic from afar. "Well that was less than fun, right? We have more to explore here, so patch yourselves up. If you need help, I've got some understanding of anatomy. Might say I've got a better than normal understanding of bone placement."
"Nicky, I think you underestimate yourself. Professor Ritalson wouldn't have asked you to investigate if he hadn't seen something in you," she replies. "And even if he didn't, we certainly have in the days -- or is it weeks now? -- we've been traveling and working together."
"Here, allow me..."
Alvarius goes into the water to retrieve the scales.
|
|
With the scales in and you head deeper into the temple. In the center of this broad altar chamber, a staircase built of countless frozen bones ascends to a raised balcony. Twin fountains in the shape of water-spewing serpents create streams of icy water that cascade down the balcony and into bone pools on either side of the stairway. Between the fountains, looming over the room like a coiling shepherd, is a massive wooden sculpture of a writhing snake eating its own tail.
This room is filled with bright light thanks to the chandeliers hanging by chains from the ceiling. As you enter you notice Pholebis is praying before the sculpture here, singing paeans in Ragadahn’s name.
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
"Pholebis? I apologize for interrupting, but we've come to speak with you." Daehalya calls out.
|
|
Yuppers. We are here to talk. We even helped drive off a couple Fey Giants that were trying to act on behalf of The Lantern King to pull a prank on Ragadahn's temple!
Drove two of them off before they destroyed stuff. We handed you a solid.
As visitors to your temple, we are here to ask a favor in obtaining a spell that turns a ship into a ghost ship. Or ethereal. Or astral. Or planar. We really aren't picky, we are a flexible and easy going bunch.
Nicky tries to turn on the charm, appearing to ask for something super easy and that we are a chill group.
Nicky also likes how pretty she is. Any sense motive will show that he's got big eyes for the Naiad princess (not queen!) Pholebis.
|
|
Pholebis' body jerks in irritation at being interrupted. But it seems Nicky quickly soothes her with his words. "You rid me of a problem so quickly." Pholebis seems inpressed. "That pair stuck the waterwheel I use to grind the bones to dust. Quite a nusance." She clicks her tongue.
"Normally I would have taken care of that pair myself, but I wasn't sure if the kvernknurrs might be agents of some other Eldest come to stir trouble between myself and Ragadahn. I didn't want to risk damaging the temple and accidentally offending Ragadahn by attacking the kvernknurrs myself. But you..." She smiles "You were able to take care of it just fine. I know of this ritual and will allow you a copy for what you have done. You may also take enough pearls and aquamarines to cast the ritual one time."
"That sounds more than generous, right folks?"
Alvarius is probably more excited at the prospect of learning a ritual than is healthy for a dead man.
Daehalya nods her head.
"Thank you, Pholebis. We appreciate your generosity." Though I am concerned about grinding bones into dust, but we have bigger worries at the moment.
|
|
MINGA! That was mighty amiable of you. You have a friend in me, and a debt is personally owed to you and a tip of a tiefling's horns to Ragadahn.
When I pay bards to write of our tales, I'm going to have a solid chapter giving you street credentials -and Ragadahn as a who's who in Dieties to worship.
Nicky then gives a deep theatrical bow. One skillfully practiced during his days as a carnie.
Internally, he totally digs the clicking of the priestesses tongue. That was a good effect. He might just use that same thing in his conversations with others.
Remember, have a face of solid concentration, and click the tongue.
The observer will take you serious and consider you brooding but level headed.
|
|
Pholebis escorts you to her backroom where you see a staff, several differnt scrolls that seem unfamiliar to you, a compendium of scholarly journals about the Lake of Mists and Veils’ history, geography, legends, locations, and inhabitants.
She pulls forth one of the books and sets it on the table, open in the middle as she sets a blank piece of parchment next to it. With a wave of her hand she magically copies the ritual from the book to the parchment. With practiced ease she rolls the parchment and holds it out to you. "Thank you for taking care of my little problem for me."
|
|
Excellent! It's business doing pleasure with you. Uh, I mean it's pleasure doing business with you. Oh wow. That was a verbal switch-a-roo.
As a famous Wonka once said. Strike that. Reverse it!.
Nicky lets one of the others grab the parchment - probably Alvarius as he's got lustful eyes for it. Nicky will help gather the pearls and aquamarines needed for the ritual.
As they leave the temple, he is whistling all the way back to the sea captain of the weeping mermaid.
|
|
Pholebis begins to look annoyed again, but this quickly leaves her as she realizes you are leaving.
Leaving the cold temple behind you rush back to the ship to leave the frigid air behind for good. Climbing back aboard the Mermaid's Tears the ghostly Captain Adney Tinhill hoots and cheers. "Well done taking care of that vile sea witch. I was sure she would have put up more of a fight. You lot must be strong indeed."
Show this ship of fools the way Ezgara. Make them think Ezgara is ohh sooo nice what a helpful harmless old elf. They cannot follow your winding inscrutable ways. Heee heee.
Daehalya knows of rituals, certainly, but not this one. She steps aside to let the skeletal wizard take the lead, since he seems well suited to handling just such a spell.
She prepares uncomfortably for the lake voyage, still not thrilled to be on a boat.
|
|
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
The night was moonless and still as you gather aboard the Mermaid's Tears main deck. Captain Adney watches with keen interest. The black volcanic sands crunched under your boots as Sakuachi forms a ritualistic circle. One by one she alternates the gems along the lines of the circle.
In the center of the circle, Sakuachi, has drawn arcane symbols in the sand using a mixture of saltwater and shark's blood. She begins the ritual by chanting ominous phrases in Aklo, the language of the denizens of the Dark Tapestry.
The sands begin to smoke as it slowly billows upward inot the night sky, taking on a ghostly green hue as the ritual progresses. One by one, you joined in chanting the eerie incantations led by Sakuachi. The air thickens with an unnatural chill as the hairs on the back of your necks stand on end. A terrific boom echoes across the water as the Mermaid's Tears begin to grow translucent and lurch forwrd - its tattered sails spelling out the ship's name in faded letters.
The ritual was complete. The Mermaid's Tears has been reborn as a dread phantom ship, ready to prowl the seas as an unstoppable force, crewed by the vengeful spirits of those lost at sea. Sakuachi locks eyes with the spectral vessel, a faint smile crossing her withered features as she looks exhausted. "We did it..." Innumma catches Sakuachi as she passes out from the exertion of the spell.
Several hours goes by and Sakuachi has not yet awoken. Captain Adney motions for Innumma to take her to a cot below deck to rest up. "It will take 4 days to reach Egede from here. I would get settled in."
Daehlaya nods. Sailing might be even worse on a phantom ship. She heads below to look over Sakauchi and do what she can for her after the successful ritual.
"Do you think she should awaken soon?" she asks Alvarius, concern in her voice.
|
|
I'm concerned about her health. I was thinking a few hour long nap might get her back up. But it's been longer than it should. Anyone good at figuring out if this is normal?
I mean, I don't want to overreact - but I don't want to underreact. I'd feel bad if we made her do a ceremony that robs her of her life.
Nicky does give about 15-minutes of concern, but after that- moves to the helm and near the wheel. He wants to strike up conversation with Captain Adney. Get important information from the captain. First and foremost, he wants to learn more bawdy sea shanties, hints on how to make chum to attract the right fishing, and how to tie various knots.
Flexible studies.
Ohhh so helpful Ezgara what a nice old elf.
At Daehalya's concern all the skeletal wizard can do is shrug within his robes. "I haven't the foggiest idea what happened. I don't think I could have led that ritual either. Not without me studying for far longer than we have time for. So I'm glad she did it, and I'm glad it wasn't me. Though maybe it wouldn't have affected me the same. Again, no clue."
Alvarius' posture seems to suggest that this lack of knowing annoys him.
Unhappy with Alvarius' answer, Daehalya tries to determine what she can about the strange sleep.
|
|
As Alvarius checks blood pressure, and Daehalya talks about The Dark Tapestry, Nicky joins the conversation he's most familiar with. The Dark Tapestry and the mysteries of the otherworldly. Trying to aid in her train of thoughts.
Well Mygo's lobotomize their victims. Right? Did the ghost spell bring a spiritual mygo ?
Daehalya can just hear Nicky misspell the creature's true name- Mi-go -in the way he talks.
|
|
Ezgara and Daehalya realize the ritual mostly just took its toll on her body and mosty her mind. She is over exerted and will likely need a couple days of rest and sleep before she reawakens.
The first 2 days of this voyage are uneventful, with the exception of a minor squall on the second evening. About halfway between the Jundlan Wrecks and Egede, sailors have reported sightings of enormous gaseous bubbles that rise from the depths of the Lake of Mists and Veils. When these bubbles pop, they release sweet, poisonous gas that causes sailors to experience mass hallucinations or lose their senses of self entirely.
The afternoon of their third day of sailing, Daehalya spots a vessel on the horizon. Time reveals that the ship—a two-masted caravel painted black and bearing a crimson flag—is heading straight toward The Mermaid’s Tears is fast, but the incoming ship is even faster—supernaturally fast, it seems.
Wearing the wooden cheetah mask from his collection, the amurrun makes his way to the prow. He peers toward the approaching ship.
Alvarius works through a pair of protective spells, shielding both his physical form and his own vitality.
Daehalya grips her staff in both hands as she watches the ship approach. At the last minute, she crouches down below the gunwale.
"Let them not realize we know they're coming," she urges the others.
|
|
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
"That there be the Red Duchess, a Chelaxian caravel operating between Egede, Chesed, and Port Ice. The crew are all former guards of House Thrune who took up sailing after they failed to stamp out the revolution in Kintargo several years ago." The ghostly Captain says as he recognizes the vessel.
As the Red Duchess comes within a few dozen yards of the Mermaid’s Tears, a strong breeze wafts a sweet odor—like lilacs and vanilla—from the invaders’ ship. As you catch a whiff of the aroma, you're suddenly overcome with a hallucinatory vision of the past.
The sweet-smelling breeze sends your mind reeling and provokes a vision so vivid it seems real. This hallucination is no random, meaningless delusion, though—it’s a memory. And not just any memory, either, but one which you recalled only hazily until now, rendered in vivid detail before your very eyes: the sun low in the sky, the chill of the fall air, the glowing gateway before you. It’s the evening of the Missing Moment, the night everything changed.
The only thing out of place is that, in this memory, you’re not alone. Several other figures—your fellow party members—stand beside you as you all gaze at the gate, though Alvarius seems to be much more alive. Standing at a distance is the seer Sakuachi, who silently watches your group. In unspoken agreement, your party strides forward and walks through the gate together.
The vision dissipates as quickly as it formed. In the meantime, the crew of the Red Duchess hasn’t been idle. When you snap to, you discover that the Mermaid’s Tears has already been boarded!
The Red Duchess’s bosun and four of her crewmates stand on the Mermaid’s Tears’ deck, brandishing their weapons with murder in their eyes. While Captain Adney tangles with the ropes connecting the two ships, Sakuachi and her companions are still lost in their own hallucinatory reveries.
──────────
BOLD IS UP!:
──────────
➤ Onye
⠀⠀➤ Uhu
➤ Daehalya
➤ Grundle
➤ Ezgara
Pirate Bosun (Blue)
Pirate (Red)
Pirate (Yellow)
Pirate (Pink)
Pirate (Green)
Nicholo
Alvarius
The amurrun prowler comes to his senses to find the ship boarded by raiders. He quickly calls upon the spirits of creation and transforms into a cheetah, matching the wooden mask he wore.
He takes a swift bite at the pirate in front of him.
Grundle finally untangles himself from the pile of rope that he has been stuck in for days.
Grundle sees the pirates and speaks to the one nearest to him (red).
"Should you choose not to retreat from this unwarranted incursion, be forewarned: you are imperiling your very lives. This is not a threat, but a stark reality of the path you now tread."
He then summons an electric arc towards the nearest pirates (red, yellow).
"I remember!" Daehalya says. "We knew each other on the other side of the auidara! Did Dr. Ritalson know when he brought us together?"
But then her attention is back on the moment. She steps forward, staff swinging. She knocks one of the interlopers to the deck, and then drives her staff home in his chest.
|
|
Onye quickly shifts into another more agile catform as he takes a large bite out of the pirate still boarding.
Daehalya sweeps the man right off his feet. He hits his head and has little time to recover as she quickly flips him overboard and into the water below.
The pirate's eyes go wide at Grundle's words. He begins to stammer as a jolt of electricity coarses through his body.
Seeing that the pirates are a little wet Ezgara shocks the same pair. "This is too easy!" He spins a tale of Daelaya sweeping pirates into the water and lightning killing them before they strike the surface.
The pirates all strike back as the bosun commands them into a better position.
Everyone avoids the pirates blades as Grundle only manages to take a small cut across his arm from the frightened pirate. "We will end you treasonous revolution in Kintargo!" The pirates scream with bloodlust in their eyes.
──────────
BOLD IS UP!:
──────────
➤ Onye
⠀⠀➤ Uhu
➤ Daehalya
➤ Grundle
➤ Ezgara
Pirate Bosun (Blue)
Pirate (Red)
Pirate (Pink)
Pirate (Green)
➤ Nicholo
➤ Alvarius
HP 61/61
AC 23 (+1 vs. traps), deny advantage, cold resistance 2
Fort +9, Ref +13, Will +10 (+1 vs. traps)
Hero Points: 1
Deviant backlash DC: 5
Effects: tale spun (+1 status bonus to attack rolls and saving throws against the villain)
"We aren't in Kintargo," Daehalya shoots back. Unless there is more here than we know; does this have something to do with the Missing Moment? Why did that memory come back right now?
She tries to eliminate another pirate with a brutal blow, the power that she thinks she received when she went through the gate surging through her once more. She nearly hits a halyard, throwing off her aim, but Ezgara's tale seems to set the blow right. The slight tug of the rope tilts the entire ship ever so slightly as Daehalya's stafff swings through its course, throwing a second pirate off balance just enough for her to send him crashing to the deck.
"Wait... is that what I looked like? I'm not sure I like it..."
With the Chelish soldiers turned pirates aboard, Alvarius dismisses the memory for now so that he can address the threat. And he's heard a little of what went on in Kintargo. "You idiots! Do we look like Silver Ravens? You're attacking the wrong people, and I won't stand for it! And neither with Onye Dinta!"
To punctuate his point, Alvarius calls upon his prepared magicks. "Ar frys," he says as arcane sigils appear in midair around the skeleton, providing a visible manifestation of his arcane might. The wizard then directs that energy into Onye, who feels immediately lighter and faster.
"Tarian," he says next, the magical invocation erecting a shield made of force to protect himself.
The cheetah looks to the owl on the mast and snarls. Enhanced by Alvarius' magic, the cheetah darts and weaves through the pirates; the owl swoops down to join him.
Stopping amongst the rigging behind the bosun, he bites and claws at the pirate while the owl claws at their eyes.
|
|
OH! SNAP! Chelaxian girl with the tricorn hat, you are in a big pile of Otyugh lair . I haven't heard what does in magical ways just yet. But ANYTHING involving Onye Dinta being bigger, faster, stronger means death in a big-ly kinda way!
Damn! Alvarius just Ar Frys Onye. Where's the popcorn? Hey Chelaxian guard in green- if I stab you, will you get me popcorn to watch this fight and enjoy?
◆ Bon Mot - Target Pirate Bosun.
◆ ◆Devise a strategy. failed
◆ ◆ ◆ - Ranged Attack with Blasting Beam- Against Pink Pirate .
Nicky , having given his verbal repartee, wants to attack Green. But, his adroit mind see's that green's defenses are too strong. He instead raises a hand and a beam of fire issues forth attacking the pirate in pink- trying to catch the Chelaxian off guard.
|
|
Nicholo ignites one of the pirates with his deviant flames. Alvarius speeds up the large battle cat with his magic as he laments on his prior skinned condition.
Onye and Uhu scratch up the Bosun's face and chest until the pirate collapses onto your deck. Daehalya breaks the neck of another pirate as she looks around for a new target.
──────────
BOLD IS UP!:
──────────
Onye
⠀⠀Uhu
Daehalya
➤ Grundle
➤ Ezgara
Pirate (Red)
Pirate (Green)
Nicholo
Alvarius