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Cirri gawks over the ship's railing, scanning for any sealife that jumps out of the surface, or coastal creatures that briefly skim underwater. Her other hands cling tightly to a journal and a pen.
Whenever waves hit the ship, they surge a bit closer to her before gravity reclaims its natural property. She also likes mumbling to the Four Winds for blessings right before a good breeze inflates the ship's sails. She also has been reprimanded a few times for climbing up the crow's nest before leaping off and spreading her gray wings to catch her fall- sometimes the winds have threatened to blow her off the ship before she stumbles on the deck. "I gotta practice!" is her usual response.
"Hi! I'm Cirri Merryweather!" The strix woman runs up to shake everyone's hand, often forgetting to pick seaweed out of her blond hair. "Uh, sorry! Dad says the first impression is the best one, but I think it's the second."
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A dashing catfolk dressed in the garb of a Shackles pirate sits with his feet up on one of the tables. His fur is dark but seems to reflect small flecks of light. His hands bear metal studs that appear to be imbedded into his knuckles. He shuffles a deck of cards as he talks.
"People who know me call me Knuckles. So you can call me Knuckles as well."
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"Tsuko-chin. Good to meet you-"
She pauses for just a moment, brief enough to swallow her fear.
"It's been too long since my last trip. I helped defend a chronicler from a rather rowdy crowd. A lot of fun, but also people are so stubborn. They have to learn to cast assumptions aside before making judgements." Her last sentence seems to be mumbling to herself rather than conversing with Tsuko-chin, but she quickly corrects herself.
"Man, I love sailing. You get to see so much of the world!"
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Rolling in sitting in a water filled conch-shaped wheelchair is a young woman looking somewhat annoyed. Her skin is dark with veins of bright red peaking through it in parts like a cracking volcanic rift. On the edge of the chair riding along with her is a small turtle that looks like it flickers between some elemental power of its own.
She looks up from her spell book which she has been fervently flipping through for several minutes. "Oh hello, looks like I'll be working with all of you today. My name is Tk'lalì." She pronounces it with a strange click of the tongue and melodic accent on the end.
"Oh but most land people find that hard to pronounce so I am happy to go by 'Lolly'. I apologize for not being more prepared you see I am a Planar ecologist and I study the influence of the elemental planes on the Universe, with a specialty in fire magic since as you can see I was born and raised near a volcanic rift in our sea and it imbued me with some attachment to the world of fire. I joined the Pathfinders as part of an exchange program so I could better focus on the fire element, since it is incredibly difficult to study its properties where I come from. But it seems... the Pathfinders really needed my sea skills for this mission which is just setting me back in my studies, so I've been adjusting my magical preparations for being 'back home' as it were."
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Cirri practices pronouncing Tk'lalì's name, mumbling to herself a few times before reaching for the handshake.
"My Parent's clan lives at the coasts of Chileax. They make their money either fishing or singing, but some of them get imbued with the gift of water. I guess I got lucky."
"Oh! Can I get some swimming lessons later? I can breathe underwater for as long as we need to. My wings are kind of oily so I can cut through the waves a bit. But rarely do I get to hang out with aquatic folk for so long." Cirri can barely contain her energy. "I can call the winds to push your vehicle along if you want. But sorry if I'm too forward! My Par says I need to reserve my thoughts sometimes."
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T'klalì's face brightens and she does take Cirri's hand. "So you also gained an elemental affinity from exposure to the elements bleeding into this realm! Fascinating, I don't often meet another. Perhaps this mission won't be a complete lost endeavor to my studies after all. You must let me interview you when this is over, I should like to learn of this coastal phenomenon."
"Oh and as far as my chair, do not worry yourself I appreciate the offer, but in truth this is mostly just to keep myself nicely hydrated. The Pathfinders forced me to learn how to transmute my tail to legs within my first year working for them, another pointless bit of magic that has stunted my favored studies but I got into the Arcanimirium because I intern with them so I can't complain..."
You may begin the Introduction: Into the Storm now!
Good luck, and have fun!
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"Oh, that will be useful." Cirri takes more notes. "I've heard of some people who do the opposite and grow gills and stuff. If I can learn the details of it, maybe I can build a nonmagical solution... might have to ask Uncle about the specifics- Oh! New guests!"
"Hi Melenia Nightbreeze! Sorry I didn't see you there- I must have started talking before you said hi! Did I miss anyone else- whoops!"
"Hello Knuckles! I'm Cirri Merryweather. Sorry I didn't hear you before, I started talking before I saw you and I'm repeating myself again. I love your fur, seems like you take good care of it and-"
"Oh. Looks like something is starting. This might be the part where I stop talking."
The adventure begins in Quent, the second-largest settlement in the Shackles, which is ruled by Tessa Fairwind, the pirate nation’s Hurricane Queen.
The briny smell of the ocean fills the air, mingling with the scents of tar, fish, and unwashed bodies. The docks teem with stevedores, sailors, pirates, and Pathfinders making their way toward a massive galleon that dwarfs the other vessels in the harbor. A carved dragon head juts defiantly from the front of the ship, and several smaller jolly boats hang from its side. A flag bearing the Glyph of the Open Road flaps in the wind, and a name painted in bold letters on the ship’s stern proclaims it the Snapdragon.
As the Pathfinders scramble to prepare for the mission, three figures walk to the front of the quarterdeck, Tessa Fairwind, Eando Kline, and Calisro Benarry, commanding the attention of everyone on board the Snapdragon.
"Quiet down!" Venture-Captain Calisro Benarry hollers, her voice cutting through the din and drawing all eyes to the quarterdeck. She’s joined by Venture-Captain Eando Kline, who grimaces as a third figure joins them. The newcomer’s face bears a sly smile, as if she’s laughing at something only she knows.
"Welcome to Quent." Eando calls out. He gestures to the smiling aiuvarin woman at his side. "We’re here at the invitation of the Hurricane Queen, Tessa Fairwind, who brought a discovery of some interest to Calisro."
"Sure," Tessa interrupts with a grin and a glance at the Venture-Captain. "I know Callie recently left the Grinning Pixie, so I assumed she was just sitting around with nothing to do. I wanted to help a friend out with a possible adventure."
"I do just fine, thank you," Calisro shoots back, before turning her attention back to the Pathfinders on deck. "Tessa brought us a report from some of her scouts about a shipwreck in the Eye of Abendego. They didn’t stop to investigate—Tessa failed to mention why exactly they were in such a rush—but they noticed a Pathfinder flag flying from the mast."
Eando continues. "Now, we haven’t sent any missions into the hurricane recently, and happily we don’t have any reports of missing Pathfinder ships. So that led us into the archive. We think this ship might be the Whippoorwill. For those of you who haven’t been studying your Chronicles, the Whippoorwill was one of our very first ventures, from the first 10 years of the Society. Venture-Captain Kimma Atyi led her crew to investigate an island with strange architecture. Unfortunately, we lost touch with her in 4316 ar, and—"
"If Kimma was anything like Callie as a sailor, no surprise." Tessa interrupts again, leaving Eando gritting his teeth. The Hurricane Queen laughs before giving way to the Vigilant Seal’s leader once more.
"As I was saying, they were eventually given up for lost."
"She probably ran into Abendego’s Squall," Tessa says, sounding a touch more serious.
"Or some other mythical sea monster," says Calisro. "At any rate, because of the historic significance of this mission and the dangers of sailing into the Eye of Abendego, we’re marshaling all our forces. The Snapdragon here is the Society’s largest, most durable vessel. She’s not as pretty as my usual ship, but she can hold more people and will see everyone safely through the storm."
"As long as you don’t sail her into some rocks!" Tessa gibes.
Calisro takes a deep breath. "We’ll be fine. As I was saying, this will be a dangerous mission into the teeth of the storm, so we understand if anyone chooses to return to the docks right now."
"There’s no need to worry though, Pathfinders," Tessa says, pulling a pearl from her pouch. "I have duties here in Quent, but I’m sending some of my pirates with you to show Callie where to go. They can take over too if she falls overboard. I’m also loaning her my magical pearl of depths. That way, when she inevitably sinks the Snapdragon, you can breathe underwater long enough to swim to safety!" With those final mocking words, she saunters off the gangplank.
As sailors start casting off lines, Eando calls out. [b]"We’ll be underway in moments, Pathfinders, so if you have any questions, now’s the time to ask.
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"We're going to sail INTO the Eye of Abendego?" Cirri is giddy with excitement. "My Uncle would say it doesn't sound profitable. My Parent would say it's best observed from a paint canvas. But Father would say Full Sail Ahead!" Cirri squawks.
"Okay! So we're looking for a lost ship. And we're sailing into a storm. No. THE Storm." Cirri fiddles for her scroll and quill, realizing she won't get another opportunity to do this again once the wind picks up. "I wonder why the Hurricane Queen dropped out so quickly. Pirate politics is very confusing..." Cirri pulls out one of her journals. "Where's my waterproof journal, anyway?"
vs DC 15
vs DC 13
vs DC 13
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The waves surge as the Snapdragon enters the teeth of the hurricane. The mighty galleon climbs dozens of feet up each wave, its prow aiming at the sky above, before tipping over the crest and racing down to crash into the trough. Gripping the wheel alongside her helmsman, Venture-Captain Calisro Benarry calls out, her powerful voice carrying over the moaning timbers, snapping sails, and roar of the Eye of Abendego, “All hands on deck!”
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T'klalì tries to hold herself steady in her chair as her turtle familiar slips off the edge she was hanging from and into the water of it with her.
And then she yells to the sailors. "When I used to swim in storms like this, the primary necessity was to weave, don't fight the current so hard use its momentum to our advantage!" She hopes her advice keeps the ship on course.
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Melenia shares her understanding of the history of the Eye of Abendego. She also adds what possible creatures they might face: air elementals, sea monsters, and aquatic undead. "Best to prepare on how to take down these creatures."
As the Snapdragon stays on course, Melenia tries to keep her balance.
But can't quite hold herself -- or her insides in this case.
She steadies herself as she tries to hold on to whatever she can find. She then tries to assess wind conditions.
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"Haha! Weee!" The little ragdoll slides along the deck, but he doesn't seem to mind. He's not especially equipped to be helpful, but he's just too small to be in the way as he pops up out of nowhere, shouting helpful words of encouragement to the sailors and not at all startling them into staying more focused.
Knuckles tries to not get motion sickness.
He then helps sailing the ship into calmer parts of the sea.
Tk'lali's voice is drowned by the tempest.
Melenia gets sick from the undulating ship caused by the sea waves, giving her a hard time assessing weather conditions.
Tsuko-chin guesses it is just winds, but it looks like it is more than that.
Cirri thankfully knows how to deal with the tempest at sea and advises the same to the navigators.
Button seems to enjoy the waves crashing unto them and encourages sailors to stay focused.
Knuckles becomes sea-sick but handles the ship with other sailors well.
The ship struggles to handle itself against the waves but the sailors soon manages to get through the rough seas they are at.
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The Snapdragon suddenly lurches as a violent crosswind hits its broadside. Eando grimaces as he tries to see through the raging storm. “Pathfinders,” he calls out, gesturing up to the rigging. “It looks like there’s some sort of elemental up there. Go see what it wants, and if you can get it go bother some other ship!”
The source of the wind is the air elemental Wshallo, self-proclaimed herald to Ranginori, the elemental lord of air. Though they are a braggadocios blowhard, Wshallo is well-meaning, with no liking for pirates. Unfortunately for the Pathfinders, they assume the worst about the Snapdragon and confront them, speaking in what they think is an officious dialect.
“Ahoy, pirates! I hope thou hast made thy tithes to Besmara, because thou art about to meet thy foul mistress!” a booming voice calls out. Whirling winds form multiple humanoids, which cluster together as electricity crackles between them.
“Thou canst tell her that Wshallo—herald of Ranginori, the Zephyrous Prince—didst send thou there as punishment for thy foul behavior,” the stormy figures call out in unison. “Declare unto the Pirate Queen that her perfidious pirates shalt no longer be allowed to roam the Eye of Abendego, for the Duke of Thunder claims this territory!”
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"By the great Mount of Black Fire I am no pirate, I am a scholar of the elements doing an internship with the Pathfinder Society. Certainly one in your service would know their name. On any other day I would love to stop you and ask about your great lord but we ask that you instead leave us be to do our studies here."
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"Hi Mx. Wshallo! It's fun to meet someone so prestigious! I would be happy to tell the hurricane queen, but I can't do it if you sink our ship so please don't. We're with the Pathfinder Society, and we're here to investigate an old ship that sank a long time ago. We're not pirates! Some of them are helping us out, but it's kind of a tenuous alliance..."
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"Hello, Honorable Wshallo!" Cirri lets her wings flutter in the wind. "I'm Cirri Merryweather. We're part of the Pathfinder Society. We don't do piracy. I think. We're actually trying to rescue some people who were lost here. If you could help us out we'll pick them up and be out of your hair- er, wisps of hair as soon as possible!"
"Both of my parents are diplomats, but I never got the hang of it."
"Pathfinder Society, thou sayest?" Wshallo ponders for a while. "Wshallo then will allow passage of thy ship unhampered..."
"Investigate a ship from long time ago? That is thy mission? How Wshallo be assured that thou shalt not plunder such ship?" Wshallo somewhat remembers something from the past.
"Wshallo remembers, a long time ago, a certain wreckage. Ah, yes, I have lain mine many eyes on this wreck. But when I drew close, a foul ghost shot at us, and we departed as quickly as we blew in! A ”
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Tk'lalì sighs slightly. "Well I would think one of Ranginori's circle would know how the Pathfinders operate. I can tell you how to identify a ship of our own stock so then you'll know that if it does happen to be what we're looking for we cannot plunder something of our own. And if it is not our ship we will leave it be, provided it poses no further threats."
"Ah, yes! The most windy master, long live Ranginori! Indeed, I remember now the tales of my master's imprisonment and freedom! Thus, thou hast earned a reward for thy help in freeing my most windy master, mortals! Take it, be grateful! Go thy way and do what you mortals please to do!” Wshallo gives them two bottles and a staff made of dense wood topped with an obsidian sphere before they leave the ship in peace.
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After Wshallo is gone...
“Sailor overboard!” rings out a cry from the lookout, pointing from his perch in the crow’s nest. The alarm provokes an immediate reaction as Calisro orders the helmsman to swing the ship in that direction, where a sodden figure clings to a piece of floating wreckage. Looking around, the venture-captain calls out. “Pathfinders, we’ll get as close as we can, but we only have one chance in this storm! Save that sailor! If you have to, make some tethers and fish that flotsam out of the water!”
The castaway lies on a crate of supplies, slipping in and out of consciousness.
Melenia
Cirri
Knuckles
TK'lali
Tsuko-chin
Button
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"Wow, an >Atmospheric Staff?<... Thank you, Honored Wshallo!" Cirri waves goodbye to the elemental. "Anyone minds if I hold this? Some of the magic in here manipulates air, I can use that!"
"Oh no! We don't have much time!" Cirri's wings twitch. "If we didn't have to keep moving I'd just swim down there and scoop her up."
Cirri looks at all the ropes, nets and weights.
She scrambles to jam it all together. "Okay, I think this will do!"
Calisro calls out from the quarterdeck, standing proudly against the gale and driving rain. “Pathfinders, we’ve found a path through the storm, and we’re making good time!”
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"If we swam for them now we might never meet the ship again. Not a problem for me but certain would complicate this mission. Ugh in all my haste to accommodate the water for this mission I neglected to prepare and spells that help me through this. Something tells me turning it into metallic darts of pain won't help us here."
Seeing no help in her spells she opts to just put together another one of the tethers just for good measure.
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Button sees that most of the team are crafting tethers, so he grabs one to throw. He sings as he does so, and while there aren't many words to it--at least none intelligible over the storm, there's often a bit of magic in his music.
[ooc]If I can get away with a one-action spell as a non-main action, Button will cast courageous anthem to give +1 to attack rolls.
Then he'll Snag the Wreckage with one of those critically crafted tethers.
"Yay, I got her! And so did you. We both got her!"
Knuckles creates a tether for anyone to use. Cirri also makes another one. And a third from Tk'lali. Tsuko, Button, and Melenia use the tethers made to snag it to the drifting wreckage!
With three tethers attached to the cargo with the sailor, and to another cargo, the group pulls them toward their ship.
"Thank you for saving me! I am Mogwenni." she tells them once she settles aboard.
"I was a sailor on the Grindylow’s Grasp, and our captain heard about the the Whippoorwill shipwreck from pirates drinking in Quent and set out to reach it first. Unfortunately, the hurricane destroyed our ship, with all hands lost. I know that Scorched Shark ship is trying to beat us, captained by a the pirate named Sharkskin. I know that Sharkskin’s nickname refers to the material of xir armor and what xe uses to line the rungs of the ladders on xir ship." she shares with them.
Asking around, Knuckles, TK'lali, and Tsuko-chin know that Ila “Sharkskin” Clare is a pangender nephilim pitborn pirate who spent xir youth clawing xir way up their ranks until they finally got their own ship, the Scorched Shark. Enava is xir succubus first mate.
"And for saving me, and also saving this flotsam, I would like you to have it for yourself." she opens the crate and gives the Pathfinders its labeled contents: two minor elixirs of life, two lesser antidotes, and two lesser sea touch elixirs.
Calisro frowns as she looks up from the desk in her cabin. Eando stands behind her, looking furious. “Pathfinders, we’re in the bilges,” Calisro says, gesturing for agents to gather ‘round. “I just discovered someone’s stolen my logs and nautical charts from my cabin. I have to get this ship through this storm without killing us all, so I don’t have time to find the thief myself. Eando wants to go through everyone’s bunks, but we can’t afford to upset the sailors. We need them focused on keeping us all alive!
“We had a decent view from the quarterdeck, and we’ve identified eight people who entered the rear cabins. One of them must be our thief. We need you to find out which one and get the charts back! We can’t alert the whole crew, so ask around quietly.”
She gives the agents the list of suspects.
2. Dostall Krakenbait (male dromaar pirate) takes after his orc parent, with dark green skin and prominent tusks. His head is shaved, revealing a tattooed kraken whose tentacles cover his face.
3. Khizrunk (male kobold Pathfinder inventor) is a green-scaled kobold who joined the Pathfinder Society to learn about more traps. He carries extendable leg braces to help him reach traps set at human eye level.
4. Aulasden Jennirian (female elf pirate) has dark skin and long, densely coiled black hair. Her bright clothing stands in stark contrast to the religious symbol of Besmara that hangs from her neck.
5. Maspad (female vanara Pathfinder trailblazer) is a mischievous Jalmeri monk with golden-colored fur and short, spiky hair. She has a dripping leaf tattooed on one cheek.
6. Tsaraka (male tengu pirate) is a black-feathered beauty, whose talons are adorned with rings and painted the bright colors of sunset.
7. “Fair Wind” Fedge (male iruxi pirate) is a hulking green-scaled iruxi who wears a talisman cord that seems like it’s about to break under the weight of lucky charms attached to it.
8. Beliwa Helequin (male human Pathfinder agent) is a dusky-skinned Bonuwat from Vidris, with short hair in cornrows. Descended from generations of sailors, he goes barefoot while at sea.
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"Thank you Mogwenni! Looks like Captain Sharkskin is making life tough for everyone at sea..." She sighs. "Several of my tribe have resorted to it and it... it's never pretty and it never ends well."
"Oh, >Sea Touch Elixir<? I can swim naturally, and I don't think Tk'lalì needs this either. Someone else should hold onto these."
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Cirri's frown grows when the Venture-Captains alert her of theft. "Okay, well, I'll uh... dance. That should liven the mood enough to get people to talk without feeling weird about it."
Using her acrobatic training, Cirri is an >Acrobatic Performer<, and hopes she can get the crew to talk for a bit.
"So uh... you've heard about theft? Recently? Wait I was supposed to be subtle about that. Lemme try again!"