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Leaving the Grand Lodge not long after dawn, it takes most of the morning to cross the vast city of Absalom and find the ship you are to board. The sun is almost at its peak by the time you finally arrive at your destination.
The Copper Griffon is a medium sized vessel, with twin masts and a modest figurehead depicting its namesake. The crew lounge lazily on its deck, its cargo already loaded, “You the passengers?” yells a scruffy lad leaning against the port-side railing as you approach.
"That's us", yells Alexian as he stands at the pier garbed in his travelers clothing consisting of a plain grey tunic and leggings, hard boots, and red cloak. Strapped to his waist is his bastard sword, while concealed underneath his clothing is a chain shirt. At his feet lies a sack, which contains his traveling gear and half-plate armor. "Guess I'm earlier" he murmurs to himself as he waits paitently for the others to arrive.
Daryan approaches the dock with some trepidation. His last sea voyage had been quite a memorable experience for him, his seasickness providing great amusement for the sailors on board that vessel. Daryan found his sea legs near the end of it, and so he feels that this trip shouldn't be as bad.
Daryan carries two bags. One holds nothing but his scale armor and various other clothing, and the other the rest of his gear. He wears a faded blue shirt and leather breeches, a good set of boots, and a wide-brimmed hat. He carries his holy symbol around his neck, and has his wayfinder hanging on a strap from his belt.
"We are indeed," Daryan calls up to the lad, "and if everything is in order, we should be ready go to momentarily."
Shuriken approaches the ship. wearing her usual black kimono. a matching scarf across her neck. she decided to wear her hair in a necklength ponytail today. with the same ribbon she always wore. over her black gloves, she had a signet ring upon her right ring finger. modeled to resemble the eye of a tiger. her boots were as black as her kimono. she had a rather new looking sword sheathed at her left hip. at her right hip, she had a steel wand sized baton. any tools of hers were concealed. her Obi was black and designed to attach sheathes with no problems. she had her backpack slung over her left shoulder. she was still only 5'1" tall (61 inches) and still only weighed 80 pounds. "I am one of the passengers as well." she smiled and pulled her wayfinder out of her massive sleeve.
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"Well, come on then," the boy yells down to the near-Pathfinders, "we ain't got all day!"
At this, an older sailor moves over to the railings and clips the boy around the ear, "Watch yer tongue laddie, or it'll be gettin' ye in trouble. These folk's are our guests, now help em get their things onboard."
As the boy hurries down the gangplank to help carry the passenger's bags aboard, the older sailor looks down at the group with a not-so-toothy smile, "I be Joe, welcome aboard the Copper Griffon!"
As the boy hurries down the gangplank to help carry the passenger's bags aboard, the older sailor looks down at the group with a not-so-toothy smile, "I be Joe, welcome aboard the Copper Griffon!"
Daryan hands the lighter of his two bags to the lad and walks up the gangplank to give Joe a firm handshake. "I am Daryan. Where shall I put my equipment?"
Alexian lifts his heavy sack and slings it over his shoulder. "Good to meet ya, Joe", says Alexian with a nod.
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"Ah, this way me friends," Joe says cheerily, leading the group to a hatch leading below deck, "I'll show ye to yer berths."
The sailor takes the passengers towards the stern of the vessel, where he points to a group of four bunks built into the side of the hull, "Here ye go, there's a storage space under there for yer things."
Alexian settles down into his bunk bed, sliding his sack of traveling gear under his bed. With that he makes his way onto the deck to get some fresh air.
Out of curiosity, Daryan pulls out his wayfinder and glances at the needle after setting his bags down at a bunk. He then locates Joe again and asks, "Are you the captain of this vessel?"
Shuriken also sits down at her bunk. she pulls her wayfinder out of her sleeve yet again, as she places her backapck beside her bunk. she begins to play around with her wayfinder. hoping to find out what it does. she will try to find out all that she can about it. she had read about them, but had never actually touched one before. Shuriken wasn't even seasick at all. she had made it absalom before her 13th birthday after spending a fair portion of her 12th year crossing the crown of the world. to survive the trip, she had to be lucky. to be more specififc, it took only the last month of her preteen years.
Alexian's crotch itches slightly for a brief moment, but it quickly passes.
"Naw, me boy, I'm the first mate, the captain be in his cabin," Joe says, nodding to a doorway to the front of the ship, "he'll be out once we're underway."
Daryan's Wayfinder wavers gently, pointing towards a stack of large wooden barrels.
Daryan nods, not wishing to take too much of the busy man's time. "Perhaps once we are underway, I'd like to hear your thoughts about our destination." Daryan makes a mental note that the wayfinder points to the nearest source of drinkable water. Very important distinction.
Alexian's crotch itches slightly for a brief moment, but it quickly passes.
Caught off guard by the sudden "itch", Alexian suspiciously looks side to side with a very perturbed expression on his face...
"That's strange...I haven't...that was months ago...hmmm", mutters Alexian to himself.
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"Aye, ye'll have plenty o' time to be askin' me all about Cassomir durin' the voyage," Joe replies, flashing his half-toothless grin, "we'll be at sea fer about a week."
With that statement, the ship begins to pull away from the port, and Alexian's position on deck affords him a view of the grand city of Absalom in all its glory as the voyage begins.
Caught off guard by the sudden "itch", Alexian suspiciously looks side to side with a very perturbed expression on his face..."That's strange...I haven't...that was months ago...hmmm", mutters Alexian to himself.
Caught off guard by the sudden "itch", Alexian suspiciously looks side to side with a very perturbed expression on his face..."That's strange...I haven't...that was months ago...hmmm", mutters Alexian to himself.
"Aye, ye'll have plenty o' time to be askin' me all about Cassomir durin' the voyage," Joe replies, flashing his half-toothless grin, "we'll be at sea fer about a week."
With that statement, the ship begins to pull away from the port, and Alexian's position on deck affords him a view of the grand city of Absalom in all its glory as the voyage begins.
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The voyage is mostly uneventful, the calm waters of the inner sea proving no difficulty, with the occasional other sea-traffic appearing and disappearing on the horizon. The captain of the Copper Griffon emerges from his cabin soon after leaving Absalom, he is a tall man from Andoran by the name of Mercius Drooma and speaks little except to instruct his crew in their tasks.
Joe is good as his word, and makes himself available to the Pathfinder initiates for their questions during the week-long voyage to Cassomir, where a barge waits to convey them the remainder of the way to Ustalav.
Shuriken continues to play around with her wayfinder. trying to figure out more about it's functions. when she has learned what she can of the functions, she will put it back inside her sleeve and look for ways to pass the time. her shoulder length hair should not interfere. not only was styling it into a ponytail simpler, it held her ribbon more efficiently.
The voyage is mostly uneventful, the calm waters of the inner sea proving no difficulty, with the occasional other sea-traffic appearing and disappearing on the horizon. The captain of the Copper Griffon emerges from his cabin soon after leaving Absalom, he is a tall man from Andoran by the name of Mercius Drooma and speaks little except to instruct his crew in their tasks.
Joe is good as his word, and makes himself available to the Pathfinder initiates for their questions during the week-long voyage to Cassomir, where a barge waits to convey them the remainder of the way to Ustalav.
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Joe has never been as far as Ustalav, being based around the Inner Sea himself, but he has heard that the country has a dark reputation for being a breeding ground for all manner of monstrosities and things that go bump in the night.
Cassomir on the other hand he is quite familiar with, it is a major centre of Taldor's naval power, with shipyards that churn out ships at an impressive rate, the timber provided by fey and druids within the Verduran Forest. It is an ancient city that has been through many changes, rebuilt over several incarnations of the city's buildings, so there is a range of architecture from a variety of periods.
Shuriken finds over the duration of the voyage that her Wayfinder consistently points north, , though she finds that the green symbols within seem to be flashing in an unpredictable pattern.
Joe has never been as far as Ustalav, being based around the Inner Sea himself, but he has heard that the country has a dark reputation for being a breeding ground for all manner of monstrosities and things that go bump in the night.
Cassomir on the other hand he is quite familiar with, it is a major centre of Taldor's naval power, with shipyards that churn out ships at an impressive rate, the timber provided by fey and druids within the Verduran Forest. It is an ancient city that has been through many changes, rebuilt over several incarnations of the city's buildings, so there is a range of architecture from a variety of periods.
Daryan makes conversation with Joe and the other sailors for a lot of the time, listening to any stories that they have about their travels around the Inner Sea. He also makes sure to check up on his fellow Pathfinder companions to make sure they're handling the journey well.
After spending some time on deck, Alexian makes his way to confer with Daryan. "Some interesting things to hear, Daryan. Cassomir sounds fine, from what I gather, but it's Ustalav that concerns me more. Apparently that place could be a bit dangerous from what it sounds. Did you manage to hear anything from the captain or sailors?"
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The sailors all seem to share Joe's opinion of Ustalav, though they tell various stories of their experiences around the inner sea, from the devil worshiping ports of Cheliax, to the mercantile port cities of Qadira, one even claims to have bought his ring from a mummy in Osirion (though this seems suspect). The captain himself seems reluctant to make conversation, mostly keeping to himself in his cabin.
Shuriken will attempt to get the captain to speak. not through seduction, but through use of her childish figure in other, more creative but nonsexual methods, using the playful side of her "Childlike Charm" to loosen the captain up. she will perform this task as soon as she gets either daryan or alexian (possibly both) in the same room.
Diplomacy check (to loosen the captain into speaking whilst within the company of either alexian, daryan or both of them)
Shuriken begins to give the captain a massage, she presses against tense nerves in his back and shoulders, hoping to bring relief that way. if she wanted to, she could cause paralysis by doing this, but she didn't quite want to use that variation of the technique.
Heal Check (The Massage)
Diplomacy Check (to get him to speak in after a relaxed state)
Since the captain is staying to his cabin, then Daryan is respecting his wish for privacy and staying away unless specifically called for.
"I'm afraid the sailors don't really seem to have much information to share with us about Ustalav, so we may have to wait to get more inland to get more information. Perhaps the captain would know more, though. I'll ask the sailors if any of them have a contact or two in Cassomir that could tell us more about Ustalav."
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Captain Drooma tenses up as Shuriken moves behind him, but slowly relaxes as she massages his shoulders, "where did you learn that?" he asks eventually.
Several of the sailors know of a retired explorer by the name of Old Brakkus who lives in the Dog's Teeth, a shanty town on a series of rocky islets along the mouth of Cassomir's harbour. They suggest that he might know something more about Ustalav.
Captain Drooma tenses up as Shuriken moves behind him, but slowly relaxes as she massages his shoulders, "where did you learn that?" he asks eventually.
Several of the sailors know of a retired explorer by the name of Old Brakkus who lives in the Dog's Teeth, a shanty town on a series of rocky islets along the mouth of Cassomir's harbour. They suggest that he might know something more about Ustalav.
Captain Drooma tenses up as Shuriken moves behind him, but slowly relaxes as she massages his shoulders, "where did you learn that?" he asks eventually.
"from people i knew before crossing the crown of the world." Shuriken says, as she resumes her massage, hoping not to make a single mistake. " have you been to minkai?