Lars jogged to catch up with Shekla. His face slightly flush, he said "Sorry, sorry. Hearing isn't exactly what it used to be." He tapped his left ear with his prosthetic 'hand.' "When it starts ringing, you know? But-" He changed the topic, somewhat awkwardly "-let's find Baskerwhel."
Vilma is eager to get stuff from Eritha, saving time and money.
"If we have 100' right now, maybe another 100' at least. Better to have more than enough than not enough since we can't change our minds once we're a couple of days out in the middle of nowhere."
"I think cheesecloth would work? If it's not fine enough we could double or triple the layers to get better filtration."
William is concerned with his horse. "Hmm, yes, you like fresh water," he says. He then responds to Vilma, "I agree. Maybe we can get three hundred feet of rope."
Eritha nods, "A couple hundred feet of rope and a few yards of cheese cloth is fairly easy to come by, I will make sure that gets transfered to your boat within the hour. Is there anything else you feel you need that I might be able to easily supply?"
It takes a bit before Areland makes an appearance but when he does it looks like he has been bit roughed up. He replies, "Ah sorry to hear that as he left for his home in the Marsh shortly after fog clear. Not sure when he is planning on returning but most likely within the month as usual."
"We could use some food," William said, thinking about what to eat. Iron rations would survive better out in the wetlands, although regular rations could actually work since they weren't dungeoneering.
William asked, "What kind of rations do you have available, Eritha?"
Eritha looks to William, "Ship rations of course, how much do you think you will need."
Shekla looked Areland up over and noted his appearance; not really listening to much after he said Baskerwhel had left. She nodded slightly and shrugged to Lars. "We leave tomorrow morning. We'll make do without him." Shekla paused, and gestured vaguely to his scuffed clothes and bruises. "You okay? Someone hurt you, Areland?"
William wondered at the needed supplies. He made a quick calculation -- "We will need at least a week's worth of food," he quickly stated. That would be hard tack, but it's unknown how much time they will spend in the wetlands. "Do you have swamp boots?" he asked again.
Eritha nods to William's statement and says, "Very well, I will have that loaded as well."
To his question about swamp boots, she shakes her head no, "Nay, boots on a ship are rather rare, and swamp boots even rarer still. So those I cannot supply, further I doubt you could pick up more than one or two pair in town, especially since most of those are custom made, from what I understand. Still it will take me about an hour to get your requests loaded upon the boat, in case you wanted to check for swamp boots or put an order in for a pair."
Shekla frowned, hearing that Areland had been shaken down by ruffians. She might have only been unofficially nighwatch, but Dunwich was her home and locals didn't do these things to each other. "Who were they? Travelers? Do you know where they are now? If nothing else, Eritha should know."
"Does anyone want swamp boots?" William asked.
I am fine.
The swamp boots thing isn't anything Vilma is familiar with.
"What are swamp boots good for exactly William? Never heard for them."
She does mention one more simple item to Eritha.
"A big ball or string or twine might be handy. Rope is too big for some things."
Eritha nods and says, "I am sure we can find a ball of twine.
Arlend replies, "I have no idea who they were, or where they went but I highly doubt they hung around town. I was going to report it, but with the plague I did not feel distracting things for something so minor warranted anything. I mean nothing really serious happened, so why bother the over worked authorities."
The swamp boots thing isn't anything Vilma is familiar with.
"What are swamp boots good for exactly William? Never heard for them."
She does mention one more simple item to Eritha.
"A big ball or string or twine might be handy. Rope is too big for some things."
"They help to protect against disease," said William. "I had swamp boots while I was younger and exploring the wetlands. I still get bitten by mosquitoes, though."
"Oh, well I'm not going to worry about them then. I don't get sick, couldn't exactly tell you when the last time I had so much as a sniffle was."
Shekla nodded, she understood not wanting to bother others, but still wished he had reported it. "Not everyone can help with that. Next time report it, those thugs might bother someone else that can't defend themselves. I'll tell Eritha what happened. Take care of yourself, ok?"
After leaving, Shekla fetched her camping gear from home and made her way to Eritha's to report in and rest for the night. Tomorrow would be the start of an important job -- she wanted to be up early and well rested.
-----------
Shekla was dressed and ready when she joined the others, gnawing on a dried travel sausage for breakfast. "Waders?" she asked, mid-chew, while they were talking about swamp boots. "Fishing waders. Those should work, hmm? Oh. Good morning. No luck finding Baskerwhel, he already went back home. I told Eritha last night, but some thugs attacked him and Areland..." Shekla practically growled in disgust. Eritha would have to have someone else look into it, though.
The group finally gathers at Eritha's house having spent about an hour finalizing anything they wanted to complete. "Right, time to weigh anchor", Eritha says and leads them down towards the docks. It is fairly easy to see that Eritha has traveled this path many a time as she seems to instinctually know where to step to avoid objects that cannot yet be seen within the fog, which gets denser the closer to the water one gets. Eventually the boot tread goes from the sound of solid rock to the more hollow woody sound of the wharf. Soon the boat comes into view it has a single mast towards the bow and 3 sets of oar slots on each side. The gear and supplies sit in an open spot near the aft where the tiller is. Eritha points things out, "That's your water barrel, the two smaller ones contain rum, the large box is your food stuffs and cooking gear. It includes a bag of charcoal and a brazier, in case you can't find a dry place to start a campfire. I have provided you fishing tackle and that small keg has bait in it." Eritha seems to be looking for something out over the water and then she says, "Ah there she is, a final addition to your crew."
Coming out of the fog is someone standing on the water and smoothly gliding forward or at least that is what it appears to look like until they get close enough to see that she, obviously and Aquatic Elf, is standing upon a crocodile. "Let me introduce Salaha Driftmare she has agreed to help you in this venture. Well I have work I must be tendin' to, so here is hoping for good weather, clear sailin', and plenty of bounty."
William wanted the swamp boots, or waders as Shekla called them. It seemed to him he'd better be ready. Especially if there was evil things lurking in that swamp. Things he needs to stomp, and do battle with. And defeat. Undead was the first of his concerns. Skeletons, zombies, vampires, such things existed because of evil magic.
Certainly Vilma would be interested in defeating the Undead. Of course, if there is any lizardmen in the swamp, he would negotiate with them. Still, he was no Face, just a wizard with a single mission.
It takes William a short while to track down a cobbler that others felt might have a pair of wadders. He enter's Bellerak's shop and quickly ascertains that not only does Bellerak have a pair of wadders but that the pair he has might fit him. Trying them on he finds they do actually fit fairly well. Asking how much, Bellerak says, "For you four nobles (gp)." William feels this is a bit pricey but the man would not negotiate with him and ends up paying the four nobles to aquire the boots. Still as he leaves the establishment he cannot help but feel that the man did not like him for some reason.
These waterproof boots are felt lined and have slightly weighted soles. The top of each boot ends just before the knee, with a cord for tying the top shut over exposed skin. These boots assist in prolonged hikes through deep mud or water, granting the wearer a +2 Circumstance Bonus to Fortitude checks versus prolonged exposure. They also do not come off in the sucking mud.
Dain looks at the boat and shuffles his feet, making sure his potions of swimming were where they were supposed to be. Still, he kept making sure and surprisingly did not have his heavy metal armor on, since it would drag him down if he tipped over the side.
I am going to need plenty of rum for this trip. Dain thought glumly.
Coming up from the swamp, was indeed a Elven looking woman. The fact she was on an alligator was perhaps the most surprising part, but she looked friendly enough. She was dressed in simple clothing, reflecting what one would assume is fitting for life spent underwater, more so close fitting leathers and simple shell adornments. Her weapons seemed simple enough, a trident in her hand that seemed more a walking stick if not for the ease and sharp points on the end matching with two blades across her back, and a strange looking crossbow. She seemed prepared for the long journey, but held no proper pack.
Otherwise she seemed to be under dressed, but when she spoke it was clear her common was not her first language. "Be well met. The waters are warm this day, and should guide us. Snapper says the pathway is clear for now. I am Warden of the Water, Salaha Driftmare." The last bit seemed to formal, as if a title over a proper name.
Who Snapper was and what pathway was not clear, but she seemed to know her away around the boat enough to help everything set off. She hands the rope to the medium sized crocodile in the water, clearly no fear of being near something larger than her.
In sharp contrast to Eritha's experienced traversal of the fog, it becomes clear that Travoril has rarely if ever visited the docks of Dunwich. Nevertheless, by following the aged human woman, he does manage to find his way to the docks, albeit with bruised shins attesting to the difficulties he faced along the way.
At Salaha's appearance, he bows in greeting. "Well met, Miss Salaha. I am Travoril, servant of the Sage at Sunset." He gestures to each of his companions in turn. This is Dáin, our representative from the dwarven lands; William, a follower of Heironeous; La... Vilma, of Bale Keep; Shekla the arcanist; and... He looks around as if searching for someone else. "I believe there was a smith of some sort? After looking for a moment, he gives up, muttering an elven imprecation under his breath. "Lótesse i sage - o i núro curse sina hiswe!"
The young priest boards the boat somewhat cautiously. When he sees a hungry-looking reptile waiting in the surrounding water, a look of concern crosses his features, but he remains silent, confident that Salaha has the situation under control. He takes a seat at one of the rowing benches, unused to sailing but prepared to aid in whatever way he can.
Vilma hops aboard the boat and finds a secure, out of the way place to stow her gear. After she's unburdened, Vilma approaches the elf and offers her hand.
"Pleased to make your acquaintance Salaha. I'm Vilma, as Travoril mentioned. Are you our guide, our boat pilot, or both?"
"Nice to meet your aquaintance," William said. He still wasn't a good diplomat, so he left that to Vilma and Travoril. Still, it was amazing that he got the swamp boots anyhow. Still his mission was clear, to destroy evil. Of course, Vilma was there to temper his zeal. The paladin was certainly better informed of the Law.
I am Dain, welcome to the crew. Dain gets into the boat and stows his armor in a safe place. It seems that he is quite the landlubber and not comfortable on boats.
Shekla hadn't made the trek as many times as Eritha, but she kept pace without any issues. She quirked an eyebrow on meeting Salaha; Travoril already introduced her by name and vocation to the newcomer. Moreover, he had pointed out that Lars wasn't in sight anymore. "Lars? Lars!" Shekla groaned and went to round him up and get him into the boat.
"Thank you for the sharing of your strength. As for a guide, I can not say, for I do not travel the swamp often. It changes itself as any. To know it fully would be a task that I am not yet old enough to do. But there is evil around, for the swamp is not happy."
Her words hinted that there was many troubles in the lands, but the swamp having a temperament was strange. Clearly some nature thing she understood a bit more than others
Shekla quickly finds Lars who had momentarily gotten lost in the fog and he arrives at boat. Putting his gear down in the back, he then releases the aft tie and coils it up. He takes one of the two long poles and uses it to push off from the dock before stowing it back on the side. He then sits down and takes hold of the tiller.
With the boat free from the dock and drifting slowly out into the sluggishly moving Dunwich river. The crocodile seems to have little issue with keeping it form drifting downstream as it awaits a command to proceed forward and at what pace.
Since she is closest to his strength, though his is extraordinary and hers is merely a high level of fitness, Vilma pairs with Lars on the first set of oars.
Shekla wasn't very strong, but she could still row. She took her seat at the back.
Travoril takes his seat across from Shekla - despite his earlier bravado in front of Lord Maldeghem, he is well aware of his own relative lack of strength, and he believes that he will cause the least damage with a seat near the back of the boat. Finding Shekla there, he gives the arcanist a brief smile before focusing on his task.
As he rows, he hums a hymn from his decades at the temple. Though its original use was aiding meditation by allowing priests to focus on the rhythmic passage of each second, he hopes that its steady beat will aid his fellow explorers in their shared task.
Dain nods to Vilma and seems to be rather nervous to be on the boat and grabs the oar very tightly. Not too steady on a boat, I very much prefer dry land. Dain hunches over the oar and tries concentrating on rowing when they start moving.
As the group takes positions and ready themselves for the task ahead, Lars speaks out from the tiller,"Okay for this to work well, all of you need to be rowing at the same time. So once you have readied the oar, hold it so the paddle is above the water and you are in a semi-normal sitting position. Then I will say FORE at which point you lean forward which will push the paddle towards the front, then I will say ROW and you lift the oar bringing the paddle down into the water and pull, then I will say UP then you push down raising the paddle out of the water and return to your original sitting position. Then I will repeat the orders FORE... ROW... UP... I will do this in a rhythmatic fashion but be prepared for me to say STOP where you go to the UP position and wait. I will do this if one of you gets out of sync as rowing evenly together is what we need the most. Power is not as important as doing it together. Try to match the person across from you when rowing but of course row with a medium steady speed."
William gets into position, although he isn't strong enough to row either.
Salaha moves over across from William, given that was the only seat left. She would help guide Snapper from her spot, setting a pace that wasn't overly fast, but would get there wherever they were to go. Outside of her own quest against evil, she wasn't exactly sure their direction.
"What exactly is our pathing? The swamp seems ill at ease, but that can be many issues. What is our stated quest, so that we can guide properly. It is good to know the goals so we may work together."
"What exactly is our pathing? The swamp seems ill at ease, but that can be many issues. What is our stated quest, so that we can guide properly. It is good to know the goals so we may work together."
Travoril speaks up from his space behind Salaha. "Have you heard of the Wheezing Cough, Miss Salaha? It struck the town of Dunwich many years ago and killed many of the inhabitants."
"At the moment, all signs point towards a resurgence of the disease, necessitating action on our part to keep the town safe. The town apothecary reported a cure for the Cough, but it needs a number of rare ingredients - Elder Moss, Rat's Tail, and Ironbloom Mushrooms. Somewhere in this swamp is rumored to be a source of Elder Moss, as well as an arcanist who knows more about the cure."
After a little while at the oars, Vilma looks over at Dain and makes the comment "rowing really sucks".