7th day of Arodus, 4710
The Sargavan merchant vessel, Jenivere, has been sailing for seventy-one days of it's one-hundred and four day journey. She has begun her final stretch across Desperation Bay. Some of the crew have begun to comment that the course is a bit unusual. That the stars are not lined up the way they would normally be for this final stage. Brief arguments have been heard between the captain and first mate regarding course corrections.
Today the captain has called a ships dinner. Many of the sailors expect the issue to be resolved one way or another tonight. One of the cabin boys has given the invitation to each of the passengers and some of the note-worthy crew. Quariel is found at the fore of the ship watching the waves the ships path. Tark'kanas has been wondering the ships commons staying out of the way of the sailors, but observing their work. Tania Teg sits at the aft possibly meditating, watching, or just being. Eranla sits with her legs over the edge awaiting the arrival to her land of mystery. Fi'Vannali stands near Quariel but watches the rest of the ship.
Not currently needed for any duties around the ship, Quariel stares at the waves off the bow, wondering about the unusual path. Though unfamiliar with the route, he has studied enough astronomy to know that something isn't quite right. He envisions the previous night's sky while absent-mindedly petting Reeds, his water rat familiar, who is comfortably nestled in a modified belt pouch. Anyone nearby can hear him muttering bearings and names of constellations as he tries to work out what's going on.
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Eranla, wide-eyed girl that she is, sits quietly at the bow of the ship, looking down at her invitation. She was, at first, so eager to get there that she tried helping everyone out all she could.
After the third 'incident' involving a mop and bucket, four lengths of rope, and a cabin boy dangling two feet over the railing, a few people pulled her aside and suggested that her particular brand of 'help' might better be saved for treating injuries. She still swears that that kind of luck isn't normal for her and she really normally isn't that clumsy, but it's just a little too great a risk.
Another unusual thing about her is her reactions to many of the other passengers. While Shelyn isn't exactly a goddess for the prudish normally, Eranla has been polite but somewhat firm with potential paramours, preferring to create beautiful music after dinner rather than in the cabins. It's even odder considering the reputation of her priesthood inside Cheliax itself. If asked, she would have simply shrugged and claimed "The favor of the Goddess comes in many forms."
During his musing a rugged Tian man who appears much older than he is, with graying hair worn in a ponytail and a perpetual scruffy beard approaches Quariel. His clothing and armor are well kept and clean, but obviously of low quality. He places his hands carefully on the rail and speaks slowly and clearly, "Ship-wizard, you are disturbed. Not good. Ishirou been on many ship. Ship-wizard should ever be disturbed."
Quariel's sea-blue eyes snap up at Ishirou's first words; he had been quite intent on his musings."Something is amiss here...I wish I knew what. This is only my first journey with the Jenivere, but I've spoken with the first mate and he is certain our course is incorrect. It's not my place to question the captain..." He trails off for a moment, watching the waves once again. "The sea is a fickle thing. Unforgiving. I hope the captain knows what he's doing."
Tar'kanas avoiding all to the best of his ability, overhears the grumblings from several sailors, decides to ask one of them what all the commotion is about. "Human." Being several there he points to one randomly. "Yes you. What is all this talk about our course being 'unusual'? Is there something wrong? This issue is not going to delay us is it?" He asks with irritation in his voice.
Curious about the fellow elf's mutterings, Fi'Vannali approaches the mysterious stranger. "Did I hear you say our course is incorrect? I sure hope not, I can't wait to get off this ship and do some hunting. I'm sure Captain Kovack will get us where we need to go, they say he's made this journey several times before. Although, I can tell from the way you study the skies that you suspect something is amiss. Care to share your opinion with a fellow high elf? By the way, name's Fi'Vannali what's yours?"
Ishirou turns to the two elves, "I do not know. Perhaps it is just the musings of idle hands and minds. I will see if I can help."
The small man leaves the fore deck as quickly heading to speak with the First Mate at the wheel. In his stead a spry, energetic gnome with blond hair and a neat goatee runs up the stairs. He is dressed in a pristine lavender silk nobleman's outfit with gold trim and a foppish hat. "That Ishirou, so stern his face could sharpen knives! Why I'm surprised he can see the way he squints and scowls so much."
He leaps up onto the railing and sways dangerously. When he suddenly catches his balance he sings a little diddy, "Oh! They say the ships off course, behind the Captains back, with very much remorse. We'll crash on rocks, find the native women, and impress with giant c-" The ship hits a large wave and rolls, sending the gnome tumbling. He quickly grabs the rail and swings back under to the deck.
Standing on her two feet, at the edge of the bow, robes flowing about in mysterious spirals dictated by the winds, Tania feels the fresh air whistling through her hair, crashing against her face with a salty granular quality. Her body responds to the movements and jerks of the ship, as it crashes against the waves in quasi-rythmic patterns. She is fond of those balance exercises. It reminds her of how she met her master.
Reverend Mother Karax would be pleased if she saw me. I'm finally getting the hang of it!
After an hour, she gathers her black robe and moves back towards the middle of the ship to get some fresh water. She sees the Shelyn priestess watching the horizon and wonders: Could she be the one who stopped the hand of the asmodean? It's been a while, but she sure looks like her. With quiet grace, she moves towards her. With a smooth and low voice, she asks: "Good Dawn it is in this lovely morning. I am Tania and am headed for Sargava. Could I ask your name please?"
When commotion arises with the rantings of Gelik, she will listen intently, but pretend not to notice. This can't be good. Rumors of being lost should not be on the crew's lips. It's bad for morale. We are going to need morale if we are truly off course.
"The captain and the first mate have been arguing for days...I don't know either of them particularly well--I only joined the crew to pay my passage to Sargava--but I think the first mate is right. Something seems wrong about this course. I'm not familiar with the astronomy of this area, though, so it's hard to be sure." He glances with annoyance at the singing gnome before turning his attention back to Fi'Vannali. "My name is Quariel. I'm from western Kyonin; I grew up on the rivers there, though the waterways of the world have been my home for some time now."
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After an hour, she gathers her black robe and moves back towards the middle of the ship to get some fresh water. She sees the Shelyn priestess watching the horizon and wonders: Could she be the one who stopped the hand of the asmodean? It's been a while, but she sure looks like her. With quiet grace, she moves towards her. With a smooth and low voice, she asks: "Good Dawn it is in this lovely morning. I am Tania and am headed for Sargava. Could I ask your name please?"
Eranla smiles and stands up, dragging herself by the railing. "Eranla," she says to the other woman, confirming her probable suspicion. [b]"And yes, it is a lovely dawn. I always try to get up early enough to see it, but that isn't always possible. Moreso on the ship of course. You're going to Sargava? That's where I'm going too! What brings you there? Me, I inherited this map and there's all sorts of interesting looking stuff on it and -" It looks like she could readily go on for hours in this vein if not stopped...
"You are Eranla. That's marvelous! Someone who stands up to the asmodeans merits Cheliax's thanks, and my arm, should you need it. I'm curious too about the colony. Let me buy you a drink when we get to shore."
"Nevermind." Not giving the sailor a chance to speak, figuring he's not going to know anything anyway, Tar'kanas takes his leave. Guess it'll have to wait until tonight during the dinner. As much as I hate to have to go, if I want answers, that's probably the only time I'm going to get them. I need to get topside. Need some fresh air.
Well, perhaps this dinner tonight will explain matters...I wonder why I was invited? Nevermind...all this worrying is doing me no good. I should take advantage of the downtime... Taking a seat, Quariel takes out a vial of ink and a small book with a blue cover and resumes work on his newest spell, a wind-based spell he hopes might be useful for the Jenivere.
7th day of Arodus, 4710
Dinnrtime
As the night begins to fall and the seventh bell chimes the cabin boy runs around again inviting people directly to the captain's quarters. The bulkheads have been moved back so there is enough room at the table for everyone invited. While everyone takes their place one chair remains empty. The Varisian-scholar must still be secluded in her cabin.
A trim, athletic woman with short dark hair, tanned skin, and fierce blue eyes stumbles to her chair. She is dressed in tightly fitted leather armor and with dark clothing and a tilted tricorn hat barely on her head. Her face is flushed and she seems to have started drinkign early. After sitting she reaches for the wine. Sitting beside her is a pretty young lady with tousled red hair and mischievous green eyes. The redhead grabs the bottle before the half-elf and keeps it out of reach laughing merrily.
The gnome from before comments on how he loves a good cat-fight. To his side sits Ishirou looking disapproving. He remains silent and keeps his arms crossed while waiting for the meal.
Captain Kovack clears his throat for an announcement, "Tonight is a farewell dinner. We are soon to reach our destination of Eleder, the captial of Sargave. As gateway to the Mwangi Expanse I'm sure it will be the gateway for many new adventures. The ships cook tells me he has prepared a special lucky soup as our first course. At the bottom of each bowl is a meatball. One of them contains a piece o' eight, whoever gets it will recieve great fortune in the days to come." He sits down and pours himself some wine as well.
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Eranla gives Tania a wan smile. "Maybe. We'll have to see once I start making arrangements."
Eranla smiles at the captain's little bit of fun indulgently, although something occurs to her, even though she missed the rumors of being off course. How she missed them is anybody's guess. "...Captain, wasn't the ship scheduled to sail another week or more yet? That would seem to be making excellent time."
Quariel pours a little wine into his cup and tastes it; pleasantly surprised (by comparison to what the crew was normally served), he pours himself a cup. "My days among your crew are numbered, then. Thank you for taking me on as one of your crew; I have learned a great deal these past few months."
Quariel raises his glass in a toast. "Thank you for inviting us to this meal. To the Jenivere and Captain Kovack! May she make many more journeys."
Tar'kanas sits quietly, the hood of his cloak drawn up, and with no desire to partake of the so-called "soup". He instead nibbles on some of his own bread and cheese he brought with him, being discreetly as possible of course so as not to seem rude.
Picking up on the comment from the human woman about, "making excellent time", he waits patiently to see if the captain will address that.
Watching the girls going for the wine, Tania says: "This has been a merry and joyful gang so far, but I'm afraid I don't know my travel mates half as much as I should or as I would like. Perhaps, once acquainted, I might be so rude as to ask you girls for my fair share of the wine. I am Tania Teg, from Cheliax. Sargava is, to me, a great place to learn and discover. What about you?" She looks around, inviting the other to tell more about themselves.
Quariel raises his glass in a toast. "Thank you for inviting us to this meal. To the Jenivere and Captain Kovack! May she make many more journeys."
"Indeed Quariel! To the Jeniver! To a Captain that has done everything to make this journey as safe and comfortable as possible! And to my travel mates, who have kept a smile on my face!"
Eating from the bowl of soup sparingly, Fi'Vannali perks up from her meal when Tania introduces herself. "Well met Tania, I'm Fi'Vannali, and I too am excited about the secrets Sargava has to offer. I originally hail from Kyonin like Quariel over there, but as of late I've been spending my time with the Ekujae tribes, learning their ways and how to survive in the harsh Mwangi jungle. Truth be told, I'm not much of a seafarer, but my short journey aboard the Jenivere has been a pleasant one, and the captain and crew have been plenty courteous. As far as this being off course business, I can tell you that I can't wait to get ashore and hunt something. No offense to the cook but this meatball is bland, I prefer my meat freshly killed, and I can imagine this meatball spent weeks in the ships storage. Can anyone tell me anything useful about the flora and fauna of Eleder? I like to do my research when it comes to hunting in foreign lands." Fi'Vannali motions to the tatooed hooded elf sitting quietly by himself. "You there, you look like your from around here. Do you belong to one of the Ekujae tribes? Perhaps you know something about our destination? And don't think I didn't see you with that cheese buddy, I need something to get this taste out of my mouth, care to share with a fellow elf?"
Shortly after Fi'Vannali bites down on a piece of metal everything starts to grow blurry. The elf girl collapses on the table.
Following her the other two ladies, Aeyrs and Sasha, tumble to the floor. Gelik seems to have slid under the table when everybody was ignoring him. The men in the room succumb to whatever is going on as well. Tar'kanas simply thunking his head directly on the table. Tania's training helps her to hold off on succumbing for a few seconds longer she sees Ieana enter the room and whisper into the ear of the Captain. The two leave as darkness envelopes the monk.
Aaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrgghgghghghh! I hate spoilers! Except when I can read them...
Just trying to show off to the others... As if I know something...
Round 1, sea scorpions
(24)
(16) Now that their prey has awakened the sea scorpions begin to attack in earnest. The first one snips and stabs at the awakening Eranla.
It cuts a chunk from her leg, and stabs her hip with a stinger injecting a muscle clenching poison.
The second one skitters off of Quariel carrying the index finger from his right hand in it's mandibles. It turns around and tries to take more pieces of the wizard.
(13) "Gah!" Quariel bolts upright, jerking his arm away from the source of the pain. His first impulse is to use hydraulic push to rid himself of the sea creature, but he finds his mind fogged and empty. Instead, he tries to extricate himself from the sea scorpion without angering it. He checks the belt pouch on his right hip to find Reeds fast asleep.
Looking around the area reveals an early morning beach with several other unconscious people laying in the surf. There are three of the lobster scorpion creatures including the one that just snipped him several times. Quariel moves over to the pile of goods nearby. Perhaps in a moment he can find his trident.
(2) Eranla snaps completely awake with a yelp, kicking mightily at whatever just cut at her and sitting up. An ocher colored creature looking like the cross between a scorpion and a 30lb lobster rolls off and lands beside her as the cleric springs to her feet and steps away.
Immediately beside your head is the tail of a large ochre crustacean. It appears to be a cross between a lobster and a scorpion.
Round 2, sea scorpions
(24) Frantically trying to ascertain the situation, Tania spits the sand from her mouth and leaps up on her feet. Immediately, she is overcome by a strong nausea and she stumbles a little. Frowning, she sees the crustacean and moves towards it, as she passes one of the elves, she gives her a sharp but pulled kick, hoping to snap him to consciousness. "Wake up or die! This is no longer a love boat!"
(25)
(24)
(16) The sea scorpion having tasted blood pursues Quariel.
Another slice is cut from the elf as he searches the pile.
Rather than follow Eranla the eurypterid turns and begins to chew on the unconscious Tar'kanas.
Undisturbed by the commotion the third one continues to try and get at Aerys' soft elf flesh beneath her armor.
(13) Quariel frantically digs through the pile to find his favored weapon, cursing fluently in Elvish as his right hand bleeds freely. Once armed, he moves over to Fi'Vannali, hoping to help the other elf. As he steps away from gear the sea scorpion behind him strikes again.
(2) Eranla stumbles away from the crustacean, trying to get behind the pile and use it as cover. While never quite graceful the girl is now moving with a pronounced limp and trembling in her leg that only seems to be getting worse. After quickly searching the pile she is able to find the haft for her glaive and retrieve.
What the....Where am I? How did I get here? And why am I on my way to being sea food?! Tar'kanas jumps out of the sand and moves away from the creature, searching all the while for a weapon. Got to find a weapon...any weapon. Last thing I want to be is this creature's lunch.
Seeing the sea scorpion attempting to snack on Aerys, Quariel tries to defend the helpless half-elf, stabbing at the crustacean, significantly favoring his intact left hand.
Motioning Quariel to move opposite the lobspion, she yells "We've been betrayed! We need to survive this and bring punishment to the culprits." She then crouches slightly, bringing her lines of tension towards her and, exhaling, she suddenly explodes, lashing out at the monster.
Round 3, sea scorpions
(25) What the....Where am I? How did I get here? And why am I on my way to being sea food?! Tar'kanas jumps out of the sand and moves away from the creature, searching all the while for a weapon. Got to find a weapon...any weapon. Last thing I want to be is this creature's lunch.
Tar'kanas' sudden movement startles the sea scorpion and it strikes at him with it's tail.
The crippling poison from the stinger oozes into the wound causing his muscles to burn.
(24) Motioning Quariel to move opposite the lobspion, she yells "We've been betrayed! We need to survive this and bring punishment to the culprits." She then crouches slightly, bringing her lines of tension towards her and, exhaling, she suddenly explodes, lashing out at the monster. It dodges the first strike, and the second is stopped by the creatures thick shell.
(24) "UUNNGGHH," Where the devil am I? I don't feel right, the last thing I remember was eating that blasted meatball. Perhaps it was poisoned but who would want to poison me. Where is the Jenivere, where are my shoes? Better yet where are my weapons? Alarmed at the thought of being without her trusty longbow, Fi'Vannali springs into action.
(16) After being assualted by Tania the scoprion stops messing with Aerys and attacks the monk.
Disgruntled that it's prey has fled the eurypterid turns and begins to pick at Gelik instead, snipping through his silk clothing.
Since Eranla has hidden behind the crates the sea scorpion begins to nudge the bloody stand on the ground, sifting through it with its mandibles.
(13) Seeing the sea scorpion attempting to snack on Aerys, Quariel tries to defend the helpless half-elf, stabbing at the crustacean, significantly favoring his intact left hand.
(2) With a cry that's probably a bit more about bolstering her courage than any sort of martial discipline, Eranla brings her long weapon down on the nearest crustacean. The broad blade hacks cleanly through the creature, pinkish gore spreads on the sand.
Tar'kanas looks for the nearest melee weapon in the pile and then turns and runs back toward the scorpion. When he makes it back, he attempts to draw its attention away from Gelik, "Come on sea beast. Come an feast on this."
Tania does her best to suppress the pain as it seeps through her. That's it, leave the sleaper alone. She feints left, then moving right and low, with two successive kicks.
Watching in awe as Tania pummels the sea vermin, Fi'Vannali quickly surveys her surroundings. Noticing others on the beach are still unconscious, she begins by trying to wake the closest one. Grabbing the stranger about the shoulders, she shakes him awake. "I don't know who you are, but you had better get up unless you wanna end up as food for the sea bugs!"
As the scope of the situation dawns on him, Quariel is filled with fury; he screams "Die, sea vermin!" as he tries to skewer the sea scorpion.
Round 4, sea scorpions
(25) Tar'kanas looks for the nearest melee weapon in the pile and then turns and runs back toward the scorpion. His curve blade is easy to find among the other weapons. When he makes it back, he attempts to draw its attention away from Gelik, "Come on sea beast. Come an feast on this."
(24) Tania does her best to suppress the pain as it seeps through her. That's it, leave the sleeper alone. She feints left, then moving right and low, with two successive kicks.
The blows tear apart the eurypterid knocking it in twain.
(24) Watching in awe as Tania pummels the sea vermin, Fi'Vannali quickly surveys her surroundings. Noticing others on the beach are still unconscious, she begins by trying to wake the closest one. Grabbing the stranger about the shoulders, she shakes him awake. "I don't know who you are, but you had better get up unless you wanna end up as food for the sea bugs!"
(16) Agitated by Tar'kanas' threat the last sea scorpion turns to him.
It swipes two claws once is deflected by his armor, the other tears through and wounds him. The stinger is easily dodged.
(13) As the scope of the situation dawns on him, Quariel is filled with fury; he screams "Die, sea vermin!" as he tries to skewer the sea scorpion attacking Tar'kanas.
(2) Perhaps a bit too emboldened by Eranla success, steps up and takes another clumsy swing, still stumbling. "Get away from them!" she shouts out.
In her eagerness the glaive flies from her hands landing in the surf almost hitting Quariel.