Ed's Rusthenge

Game Master fine_young_misanthrope

Caine frowns at Elder Ordwi. The Amurrun stares hard at Sister Vanda.
Perception(E) to Sense Motive: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (14) + 4 = 18

We find a dead body. We come here to be met by her. She wants us to stay here and take just you to her leader. This won't end well. We should accompany you.

Society: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (4) + 6 = 10

Blueberry Peat looks toward the harbor. "Which ship is the Thassilonian ship? Does it have a flag or something?"

"Aye trust ye, Elder O'diwi." Kazmuk gives her a thumbs up and prepares to go along with her plan.

"Surely something strange is happening. We should keep our eyes peeled." Caleb give their greeter a suspicious glance.

Society: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (6) + 6 = 12

Blueberry Peat looks toward the harbor. "Which ship is the Thassilonian ship? Does it have a flag or something?"

LORE(Thass): 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (15) + 6 = 21

Mentally calling his Aeon Stone down to his hand to fidget with it, the young Aiuvarin says, "It's the one that doesn't look anything like all of the Varisian ships."
He smiles a little at his own joke; "It really does warrant some looking into though. This isn't somewhere they should naturally have interest in."

ouch BP ... leaving the terminator off of your Dice expression ... took me a minute to figure out what was broken

The woman who came with you says, It will be ok. Let's let this play out. Nothing bad will happen to me. You all figure out if anything is happening. Look around and see what's up. Ill go with her and talk. Nothing bad can happen there.

And with that they depart. You are left with the town to explore....
You see and know of a few places of interest in town.
B1 . ELSIE’S (shop)
B2 THE SWORDFISH (ship)
B3. DRYDOCK
B4. STONEHOME ( Gorumite temple)
B5. GOLD’S RUIN (Manors on hill)
B6. FISHER’S POINT
B7. THUNDERHEAD ISLE
B8. STREAM OUTLE

here is a MAP

Where would you like to explore as you friend walks away with the other woman? You are approaching from the east as you walk along the ride there.

What you do know that this is a Grumite village. they are gonna live weapons and armor. You can get some decent equipment here if you have coin. Aside from that nothing jumps out at you regarding the town's background.

Let's check the ship (B2) and the drydock (B3).

Let's check the ship (B2) and the drydock (B3).

and on our way past it, maybe figure out what kind of shop Elsie's is

The Swordfish is a 75-foot-long ship with a small crew of humans. It's sitting in the harbor. How do you want to approach the boat? Do you want to try to speak to the crew?

I'm for this plan of checking Elsie's, the ship and the drydock.

If the distance is not too unreasonable, Kazmuk would swim to the boat. He knows he can't do diplomacy or stealth so he just goes along with the diplomatic people and shuts up.

Yes, let's talk to them.

"Ahoy, ship! Permission to come aboard?" Caleb checks the sails and rigging of the vessel to see if they look sturdy.

Blueberry Peat peeks into Elsie's, but notices others walking out onto the pier, so scurries along. They'll check out Elsie's later. So many new things to investigate!

They are startled as Kazmuk jumps into the water and swims out to the boat. They glance down at the pier, wondering if maybe the dwarf notices some sort of structural problem with the path.

Architecture Lore: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (4) + 6 = 10

They see no issues with the structure and shrug, then hurry after Caleb who is calling out to the sailors. He waves pleasantly at them as well. "Hail and well met!" He carefully looks over the ship and the sailors.

I will drop my "Crashed Boat" lead and switch it to "Thasillonian ship"

Caine follows the group toward the water with weariness, caution, some might see a bit of trepidation. The Catfolk stays as far from shore as possible....

Ship looks fine. What's next.

Sooooooooooo I would totally understand if this question causes Jacen to be banished from spacetime again ... but ... in the picture, the boat is at the end of a dock (ship is at the end of a pier).

Just kinda wondering if swimming & shouting are needed
Thanks!

Kwai - Do you mean you're staying on shore, as far from the water as possible? So you're not coming onto the pier with us? (Split the party?)

Caine seems reluctant to listen to the voice in his head (he attempted to scratch it out),but the Amurrun follows the group down the pier.
This is when the kraken grabs us....

Peat looks around, intrigued. "There is a kraken? Where? I have never seen one!"

"Greetings, fellow mates!" Thalassa shouts across the waters separating them from the shore to the ship. "We are interested to learn something about your beautiful ship here."
Sailing Lore: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (10) + 3 = 13

She initiates by delving into her sailing expertise, aiming to establish rapport and trust, prompting them to reciprocate by divulging pertinent details about their vessel.

Sooooooooooo I would totally understand if this question causes Jacen to be banished from spacetime again ... but ... in the picture, the boat is at the end of a dock (ship is at the end of a pier).

Just kinda wondering if swimming & shouting are needed
Thanks!

Jacen, very rarely one to raise his voice if it wasn't totally needed, walks past Elsie's and heads down the northwesternmost of the towns 3 piers so that he can come up to where the Thassilonian ship is moored, check for a gangway, and observe the vessel ... before thinking about whether he might like to swim today, or shout.

Blueberry looks curiously to try to figure out why Thalassa is shouting from the shore. It is weird to see water druid scared of the water ...
Jacen's psychic power is amazing, given that he asked about shouting before anyone actually posted that they were shouting...

They then see Jacen eyeing the gangplank appraisingly and says, "Jacen, I believe it's rude to board a ship until the crew has given you leave to board their vessel. It is best to see how they respond to Caleb's question first."

As you step up to the boat, an woman in a tricorn hat steps out. She's an older woman whose been beaten by the sea and sun. As you step up to the boat, she says, What do you want? rudely. As you get closer, she softens a bit and says, Step on deck and speak. How can I help you and where are you all up to?

Everyone who is not actively sneaking on board can make a Deception, Diplomacy, or Intimidation check. Does anyone want to sneak on board?

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (4) + 4 = 8

"Where are you guys sailing in from?" they ask, accidentally smearing some berry juice on the deck as they walk.

The woman looks at you and responds, Oh, just around the area. We transfer between the local harbors making some decent coin along the way. Shes unimpressed by your gambit.

its been a bit, so have a heropoint everyone. Hard rolls make for some fun along the way!

All +0 on the skills required. Thalassa will pass for this one.

"No home port?" Blueberry peat lets someone more charismatic take over the questioning, as he carefully looks around the deck for any clues about their chargo.

Perception, w/ lead bonus: 1d20 + 7 + 1 ⇒ (19) + 7 + 1 = 27

I also can use my Clue In ability to assist the next person who makes a check related to finding out what is happening on this ship, including the Charisma-based checks.

Resigned to be Drowned by the kraken, Caine begins to dance up the gang plank, gangway, gang pressed, gang thingy that one dances upon to board a ship.

Grinning, blue eyes bright and fur properly groomed, the swashbuckler makes his way aboard by spinning around his companions to stand near the Captain?
Performance (T): 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (1) + 7 = 8
Fascinating Performance

Madame, please excuse our rush to properly get and meet. Our pleasure to finally be aboard such a fine vessel. Our assurance of cooperation has been represented by your very aporoach.

The Amurrun bows.
Kwai Chang Caine, at your service. And you are?
Deception(T), clue in: 1d20 + 6 + 1 ⇒ (5) + 6 + 1 = 12

The captain turns to Blueberry Peat and says appraisingly, Not really, but we do make friends in many places. critical success!

To Kwai Chang Ciane, [b] Never been much of a dancer...[/ooc]

Any one else have a social check to try?

Nothing from me, no. Unless you guys want another crit fail.

Kazmuk stays uncharacteristically still and silent, trying not to mess this up for anyone. He knows diplomacy requires a level of tact he doesn't have.

Maybe they were impressed by Kazmuk's swimming prowess?

Peat glances between Jacen and Kwai, sort of assuming that one of them will take charge, as he looks around.

So did I find anything of interest with my critical Perception check?

"So, what cargo do you carry?" they ask, curiously beginning to peek in crates.

Maybe they were impressed by Kazmuk's swimming prowess?

Peat glances between Jacen and Kwai, sort of assuming that one of them will take charge, as he looks around.

So did I find anything of interest with my critical Perception check?

"So, what cargo do you carry?" they ask, curiously beginning to peek in crates.

Jacen steps forward and smiles, the way he generally smiled when he knew people were about to do what he wanted. He usually didn't even use powers when this happened, but it was equaly disconcerting back at home ...

"Maybe ... and I am just throwing this out there, maybe we could tell the good captain OUR business before asking theirs? Maybe we should tell them that we came quite a distance from our home to accompany and protect one of town's elders and the last thing that we expected as she went to her meeting was to see such a grand ship in the harbor. We are curious, curious like a cat you could say, but we hope that we are well met in this and have, as yet, given no offense. The vessel truly is grand. I am Jacen, and this is Kwai, Kazmuk, Thalassa, and BP (well, I tend to say BP, because saying Blueberry Peat seems like a lot)."

DECEP: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (1) + 7 = 8
DIPLO: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (6) + 7 = 13

So they will clearly get the impression that there is more to our story ... sorry :(

The Cat grins sheepishly.

Looking over the group the woman come to a gradual conclusion, mmm maybe you all can be useful....You aint from around here, and I dont want anything too crazy to hit my friends here. Would you be willing to head to Stonehome and find out what happened to the our captain? She's been taken there and we have no work on what happening. I'm the acting captain, but we want to find our actual captain. Ill pay and I have a secret way in. What say you?

Looking over the group the woman come to a gradual conclusion, mmm maybe you all can be useful....You aint from around here, and I dont want anything too crazy to hit my friends here. Would you be willing to head to Stonehome and find out what happened to the our captain? She's been taken there and we have no work on what happening. I'm the acting captain, but we want to find our actual captain. Ill pay and I have a secret way in. What say you?

"I truly cannot speak for all of us, but yes I would go. Our elder went there even though we were concerned about it, so to go and check on the whereabouts of your captain makes sense to me."

"Sounds good to me. This might also be helpful for our investigation as well." Thalassa agrees to Jacen.

Kazmuk breaks his silence.

"Adventure and doing a good deed! Aye'm IN!" He yells his approval.

"Buuut!" He continues. "We should take some time to resupply first before storming a castle. We passed by Elsie's store earlier. Aye believe we should stock up on healing pots and the like foirst." He provides his opinion.

"Who was she taken by? And how long has she been gone?"

Caleb gazes off toward where he points at the castle.

Blueberry Peat perks up, gathering as many details as possible from the questions of the others. "What is her name and appearance? Human? Human females generally have hair, so I presume she does ... what color?"

Has it been 10 minutes since we came toward the ship? If so, I'll shift my Pursue a Lead from the Thassilonian Ship to the Missing Thassilonian Captain.

"Could we investigate her quarters? There might be a clue there." They enthusiastically begins running toward the nearest door that looks like it might be the captain's quarters, excited at the prospect of solving a mystery.

Caine just smiles at the Captain. The Amurrun nods at BP's suggestion.

As you all lean toward helping, she says, Capatian Perrios is a human woman with tan, but fair skin and brown hair. She's got all her fingers, toes, and parts, so no hooks or peg legs on her. She dresses well enough compared to the rest of us, but the most distinctive thing is her tricorn hat. She wouldn't give that up for anything. As for getting in, I wouldnt attempt to climb the spiked walls, but I have a possible alternate way to enter the well defended structure. Every sunrise and sunset, the guard posted at the edge of town changes. Two nights ago, I crept up to the guard who stood watch at the edge of town and pickpocketed their key. She stole away, made a quick impression of it in wax, and then managed to return the key to the guard’s belt without them noticing. I haven't yet had the chance to put the mold to use, but I’ll entrust the mold to the you if you promise to help find my captain.

turning to Caleb, We brought a man named Meitremar her on our latest voiage. A priest came and meet with Meitremar. They left after talking, but after a few days, Meitremar didn't return. The captain and a few crew left to check up on them as its time to go. Neither returned, so now I need someone to check up on what happened. Near as I can figure, Stonehome is the only place they could be holding her.

Facing Blueberry, I dont see how that might help. Captain was taken in the city, not the ship.... I hope its her ship, but right now its mine and we're friendly, but not friends quite yet...

Looking to Kazmuk, Oh take the time you need, but be careful. The captain hasnt returned and you never know what might be going on now.

And with that she takes the mold out of her pocket.

With the mold and a set of artisan’s tools , an hour’s work and
a Crafting check can create a new key capable of unlocking the front gate.

Blueberry Peat takes mold and nods to her. "Very clever of you ... We will use it wisely." They consider for a moment, "This priest ... was it Brother Blanton, or perhaps Sister Vanda? And what can you tell us of this Meitremar? If he was intending to return here, did he perhaps leave any of his personal effects here that we could study for clues?"

...

Later, after any other questions that may come up, as they walk back down the pier, Blueberry Peat states the obvious, "Strange that two people have been taken to the Stonehome and missing. Rather than heading straight there, we should investigate around the town, and see if there have been any other disappearances."

They glance around, pointing at the mold for the key. "Maybe they sell artisan kits at Elsie's? I could make this, but not with my alchemist tools."

Looking over the group the woman come to a gradual conclusion, mmm maybe you all can be useful....You aint from around here, and I dont want anything too crazy to hit my friends here. Would you be willing to head to Stonehome and find out what happened to the our captain? She's been taken there and we have no work on what happening. I'm the acting captain, but we want to find our actual captain. Ill pay and I have a secret way in. What say you?

"Before everyone gets too eager, and starts to spend money we may not have, you did mention paying us for this venture. Might we be able to see a little bit of that upfront to resupply ourselves? We would surely appreciate it."

Thalassa nods in agreement at the idea of what the psychic has just suggested about payment. She also agrees that it is indeed better to gather more information about who else is missing and know what they might face when they decide to go next to Stonehome.

"Aye, no complaint from me. We should look around town for a bit. Who knows? Mebbe we'll find a place tae have a drink!" Kazmuk exclaims.

The Amurrun purrs at the mentioning of tea by Kazmuk.
Why that is a splendid idea.

The first mate looks at Peat, Meitremar is a balding man who dressed like a priest. He has longer hair on the side with a bushy beard. Hes a Ulfen man. Beyond that, he didn't talk to me or the crew much.

Turning to Jacen Benedictt, I need help, but I can't throw good coin after bad. What makes you special? Roll me a check to influence this person.

Aside from that, you can hit the town when you are ready.

The first mate looks at Peat, Meitremar is a balding man who dressed like a priest. He has longer hair on the side with a bushy beard. Hes a Ulfen man. Beyond that, he didn't talk to me or the crew much.

Turning to Jacen Benedictt, I need help, but I can't throw good coin after bad. What makes you special? Roll me a check to influence this person.

Aside from that, you can hit the town when you are ready.

"I would say exactly the same things that make YOU special; we were chosen. We were chosen, just like you & your crew, by OUR "Captain" someone we all have an incredible amount of respect for. At the moment, it seems like both "captains" could use our help."

DIPLO (Influence): 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (8) + 7 = 15

Caine smiles at the Captain. The Amurrun absently grooms his face, as he saddles closer.
It seems that our respective authorities have tasked us at a job. Seems helpful to both our causes to work together to solve this mystery.

Diplomacy(T): 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (10) + 6 = 16

The woman thinks for a bit and responds, Fine. Half up front. Just like when we travel. Fair? She then reaches into a pocket and pulls out 15gp and offers it to you.

Is that ok? Anything else?

I'm good. Let's go to town!