Nice to see this game is still going!
I just wanted to apologize for dropping off the face of the earth, and not telling you about it.
Search Posts
Finn retrieves his spear and busies himself with a new extract, humming lightly while the others interrogate the prisoner.
Finn looks at who remains, and responds with a spear at Silvio's target.
"Aw, come on, I think I've got better..." In a fit of pyromania, Finn grabs another urchin from his pouch, shakes it a bit more, and tosses it into the room.
As it explodes, Finn looks a little quizzically at it, unsure of the results. "Interesting," he notes.
I'm traveling this week with limited Internet access. Please feel free to NPC me as necessary.
Finn shrugs as the illusionist drops. "That's what he's paid for, then, I guess. Adventuring's a preferable way to profit."
Finn grins as he enters. "See? That wasn't too bad, now, was it? Here, Nemian, I'm a charitable sort. Have a Strength potion. I made it myself." He offers him a reddish elixir, little black bits floating inside and smelling of the sea.
Finn responds, "Welp, I'm off for a run." He takes off on a sprint around the building.
Finn shrugs. "Okay! Out we go!" He whispers to Kyson. "You know, this would be the perfect time for Nemian to smack Silvio." He says nothing further.
Finn shrugs. "My crazy days are behind me. But suit yourself, I'm not interested in battle. Not with you, anyway." He puts away his spear and saunters for the door outside.
Finn carefully and gingerly returns an urchin to his belt pouch. "We're only here because we tracked one Vanthus Vanderboren here, and we wish to speak with him. It's possible that this is yet another ruse, but for whatever reason, this is where we ended up. Unfortunately, just saying, 'He's not here' isn't going to be enough to convince us that's not what's going on. That's what you'd say if you were hiding him. And attacking us makes us think that you do have something or someone to hide, so that's not working out, either. So how about we drop the illusions, put away our weapons, assess the damage, and you and I discuss next steps over tea? I believe there's a café on the corner. You've clearly put a lot of hard effort in these displays, and we have absolutely no problem with the taxidermy business, so let's find a way to leave that part out and properly protected. Agreed?"
"Oh, come on!" calls out Finn. "This room is filled with lots of wonderful works! I don't want to have to fight all your illusions and just end up trashing everything! We don't really have a quarrel with you anyway. How about you calm down, get rid of the illusions, and we won't end up stabbing everything by mistake? There's got to be a better way to deal with all this."
"Wow! That's a neat trick! But you know what?"
"You'd never attack us with your pride and joy! That's an illusion." Finn draws his spear and attempts to leap through the wyrmling's open maw. GM:
"Not sure about the monkeys, though."
"Fine," Finn pouts, "I'll stuff these urchins myself. I've got a number of stuffings far more useful than some wood and cotton..."
Finn listens to Silvio a moment and replies, "He's still here, Silvio, he's just invisible. No doubt he is both frightened and enthralled by you, so he can't be seen, but has to watch..." With a keen eye, he adds, "I should be prepared..."
I think we can forgive this... for now. Rock on!
Finn looks around suddenly. "Ummmm..... URCHINS! Yes, urchins! Do you stuff urchins? Can you make their spikes wiggle around? That would be so neat! Oh, hey, is there anything in particular you'd like to stuff? I don't know, do you think that big spider thingy on the ship isn't too burnt to a crisp?"
Finn helpfully adds, "We'll pay to have him stuffed, if you like."
Finn wonders aloud, "What do they use for stuffing?
Finn laughs. "What a silly thing to write! It's like they're trying to invite us in, by promises of misery for questions that need asking because they're so incredibly cryptic!" The gnome doubles over in laughter. "I've never heard of the Lotus Dragon before. What's the Lotus Dragon? Oh! Oh! Haha, look! A tear! By Aroden, this stuff really works!"
Finn instinctively checks his bag. "Ah, good, no, it looks like all my urchins are still here." His items accounted for, he adds, "So what does this mean about your bird, Zstelian? When do we see him again?"
Finn accepts the wand of CLW with a thank you. "Yes, I think Vanthus is still our more pressing concern. Back in the day, I would flitter from idea to idea, paying attention only to the thing presented before me at any moment! Oh, the blissful ignorance of living in the present! At least, up until the point you get sacrificed for some dark god, that is. No, now I'm going to focus on a more long-term goal, and right now, that goal is Vanthus. Discipline and focus! Those are the things that make men great! Does one bout of meditative exercise improve the body and soul? Yes, but only imperceptibly! Rely on your eyes alone, and you'll never see tomorrow! Off to Vanthus!"
Emphasis mine. And the last time we had Potions of Shield was never. Potions were not spells in a bottle in 1e or 2e.
Good point on the potions! Who wants potions of what? Crazily, according to RAW, potions of Expeditious Retreat and Shield aren't possible, because they are Personal range spells. But, the GM is more than able to create an exception, if he so chooses. That leaves Reduce Person and Disguise Self. I was tempted to take Touch of the Sea as my new formulary spell, and that can be potioned as well.
Back in town, Finn opens his backpack. He grins from ear to ear as it becomes apparent that he has stuffed it full of sea urchins. Finding some stinky detritus discarded by the dockside, Finn raids the steaming pile for something unrecognizable. He combines it with some urchin innards and lets out an excited chuckle as the mixture starts flaring up instantly, singeing his hand. "Perfect..." he proclaims. "I'll see you in the morning, gentlemen? These urchins are proving to be more valuable than I originally expected!"
Congratulations for getting into the competition! +1 Level Internal Alchemist HP: Fort +1
+1d6 Bomb damage (by Pyromaniac)
+1 Craft(Alchemy)
Finn rises out of the water, having been mostly content to crawl along the bottom of the sea. Brine sloughing off his frame, the gnome thrusts his mouth in the air, blowing water out of his lungs like a fountain. He spreads his arms wide, and inhales deeply in a prolonged, continuing, marathon-like, extreme, interminable gasp. He shakes his head, his navy hair near-instantly frizzing back out. He smacks the side of his head, causing a rivulet to gush from his ear. "Well, then," Finn imediately starts back up, "what next? Should we walk back to town? I'm thinking that this might be a fine night for a starlit campout on the beach, myself. C'mon, it'll be fun!"
"More potions? Let me see those!"
He then joins Sekathral and Silvio, gets his pouch of urchin paste ready, and starts an elaborate ritual by which he enters a crouch and waves his arms around in large circles as he hyperventilates.
With a big thumbs-up, Finn walks into the water.
Finn stands ready to help, finally quiet for once.
"Oh, I have never been so happy to view a corpse before! Finn exults when it does not move. "I'm guessing the poor soul starved in here or something while keeping that thing back there from getting in. Let me check to see if there's a poison or something about the corpse, then, I'm grabbing the scroll."
Finn looks at the activity in abject shock. "Once, I was almost sacrificed to a group of Zon-Kuthon worshippers, but at least they stopped doing things with you once you finally died. This is patently ridiculous! The poisoned flayleaf and doped grog was one thing, but I don't recall ever actually being involved with necromantic energies quite like the ones encountered down here! Well... hoist me up the yardarm and give me a salute, this is certainly and without a doubt one of the oddest places I've been. Good thing I found these urchins, this won't be going to waste. Oh, and Sekathral? You're better with that dagger than I am, why don't you hold on to it? I'm much more comfortable chucking fire on all our foes from here on out." Then he inhales.
"Silver? Magic weapons? What?" Finn stares in fear at the thing, tossing a gourd. "New plans, please!"
Finn looks at the approaching man, narrows his eyes, and replies, "You know, those urchins we found are amazing! Not only are they useful for nettle-approximants, but their bodies are appropriately gourd-like! Observe!" With that, he pulls out an urchin, jams a odd wick-like contraption in it, and throws it.
Listening to everyone, Finn replies, "Very well, right-hand passage it is!" He starts down the passage.
"Let me know if and when you need me to scout ahead. I can walk along the bottom of the pools if necessary! Hey Silvio, I'll challenge your lungs to mine underwater, anytime! Sea air is excellent, Kyson, but a diet of swamp bladderwort, calisthenics, and Gebite nose-chanting does wonders for lung capacity! Why, I can talk for a quarter hour, now, without needing in inhale once!"
Finn pulls out a dagger and cracks open the urchin while chewing on some crab. Although he plays with the innards much like a child might, he is nonetheless satisfied with something and pulls out a small bamboo tube. He dribbles a black fluid that sizzles in the urchin, and he squeals with delight. "This will work like the spider venom!" he exults as he sets about mixing some green spines with the urchin until it forms a dark paste. He saves the paste for later.
Finn looks around. "Uh... okay. Would anyone like some urchins, while I'm down here?" Finn gingerly wraps a cloth around an urchin and pulls it out of the water to study.
Finn ties the rope around his midsection and enters the water.
"Hmm... Anybody have any rope? I'll, uh, just check this potion while we get some... Might be best before I slip and fall, right?"
"Sure, I'll go!"
"I'm ALL UP for following Silvio to freedom! Either that or I'm going to have to make a supersuperdoublebatch of shrinking potion and swim through an ittybitty tube to the ocean to find someone bottom trawling and cut me out of the sole who swallows me and... oh gosh, I'm blabbermouthing again because of all that nettle--it's a frobbin' good stimulant, everything just so much more there!"
...and the pace advances again. I'm here, nothing more in the way but the usual backlog.
"Yes! Like Silvio! Like this!" Finn cries out as he launches his spear.
The spear strikes true, even though it wobbles limply in his target. "Haha! You see? So easy!" Finn pulls out another spear, preparing for a repeat performance.
Finn launches a bomb at the back of the pack.
Finn pockets the daggers and looks around, despite the pain--is there a passage out to the sea through here?
"Ooh! I'll get it!" Handing off the torch to others. Finn concentrates and begins to hyperventilate. Satisfied, he holds his breath and dives into the pool.
"Crabsaregoodeating!" Finn rambles. "Whatweneedrightnowisabutterelemental! Agreatbigbigbigbutterelemental! Crabkebab! Kecrab-bab!" He throws his spear at a crab to demonstrate, then pulls out his crossbow.
Finn sticks his nettle up his nose. He snorts and shivers as if stabbed with a sprig of horseradish. His whole body increasingly jittery, he sticks the makeshift torch between his teeth and pulls out a spear.
Finn heads over to the pool as well.
Finn picks up the torch again, all too glad to carry the fire.
|