Adventurer's Guild 3 (IC)

[Bonecrusher Doc]

Marko, Dravick, Sandra, Kyte, Durx, Shiela, Althea, Amethyst, and Marshal Picket ride into Bridgeport.

Picket bids them farewell as they get close to the guildhall. Amethyst also rides on, wanting to meet Bruce - the Doge.

Matthew has just finished a conversation with Verona and was looking out the window to see if Ana had returned yet from her shopping trip with Father Eldon when he spies the party riding in.

[Daryk]

Marko

Thankful they weren't thronged when they entered the gates, Marko was looking forward to a short rest (and a drink) before heading to the docks to formally announce the liberation of Khorinis. Spying Matthew at the window as they approached the guild house, he asked, "Hey Dravick, was that Matthew up there?"

[Thymin]

Dravick:

The trip back had been less eventful than the one to Khorinis, though for Dravick that wasn't necessarily for the better. It had given him time to reflect on their adventures thus far, add a few more stanzas to his as-yet-untitled ballad of the Adventurer's Guild, and to generally relax a little. With mixed feelings about the lack of fanfare upon their arrival, Dravick strolled quietly along the route to the guildhall, lost in thought. He had rather expected a bit of a hero's welcome, as surely word had arrived faster than they could have regarding Khorinis' liberation, but he was a bit thankful to be out of the spotlight for now. Though he did have machinations on how to make best use of the fame that the guild would doubtless receive after their deeds.

Rounding the corner and approaching the guildhall, Dravick was dragged from his thoughts by Marko's question. "Indeed, I believe it is." A smile springing as readily to his face as to his voice. "And good it is to see a friend." he continued. "Hey there, Matthew! We have at last returned. Triumphant in our quest!" He called.

[DavidByron]

Matthew rushes out to greet his friends. He stops at the doorway, makes a motion with his hands and a dozen liveried trumpeteers appear, six to either side of the short path from the gate to the doorway of the guild head quarters. They wear shirts with the staff and sword design of the guild.

The lead herald on the left shouts out, "All hail the returning heroes!" and then they all blow their horns and give a cheer before standing still in a salute.

Matthew,
"You've made good time. We weren't expecting you all until tomorrow!"

Seeing Zan he adds,
"Ana is out on an errand; I know she'll be disappointed to have missed your return. Come on in, come on in!"

Evidently the heralds are all illusions. The lead one who called out the welcome has a Western accent. In fact he sounds a bit like Ulysses' stentorian voice of authority. Matthew is pretty casual with his spell slinging but you can sense he's quite proud of this one.

[Daryk]

Marko

"Matthew! Wonderful illusions! Would you be able to do that again, in say, an hour or two? I'll have to discharge my oath to the refugees from Khorinis, and I think that just might help get the point across," Marko said grinning broadly.

[Jokes]

Darrien

The shouting of the illusionary herald is followed by a rustling in the foliage. A leg juts out from beneath the bushes, followed by an arm. The rest of Darrien flops from the undergrowth and lays in the sun, covering his eyes from the light. He yawns and stretches and slowly sits up. Covered in dirt and leaves, he isn't much to look at, but they work well to cover his pallid complexion and wiry frame. In fact, if it weren't for the gleaming sword or fancy clothing, it wouldn't be unreasonable to think him a homeless vagrant.

He squints in your general direction, his eyes still not adjusted to the light.

"What's all this noise about?"

[DavidByron]

As a guild officer (treasurer) Matthew decides he should say something to the stranger.

"Hey! You can't sleep there you know. This is guild property. You know. The guild."

Patrons have taken to referring to the Adventurers' Guild as "the guild" down at The Jasmine and Clove, the regular hang-out of the adventurers while in Bridgeport these days. Matthew is hoping it will catch on across the city.

On catching sight of the shiny sword and oddly dirty but expensive clothing (in part),

"Oh. A recruit maybe? You better come in too, if you know how to use that sword. Father Eldon handles recruits but he's out at the moment. You can wait inside."

Father Eldon had mentioned something about expecting a new influx of green recruits and foolish youths seeking adventure, as soon as word about Khorinis got out. But that hadn't really happened yet and this guy didn't look ... keen for the job somehow.

In reply to Marko:
"I think I could 'go again' this afternoon but I suspect you might rate some real heralds by then. Bruce--- excuse me--- the Doge has probably got something planned for you."

Surely the stranger will be impressed that Matthew and the other Adventurers are on a first name basis with the entire city's ruler, former Adventurers' Guild guildmaster Bruce Wrightson?

I don't recall if Bruce took a new name upon becoming Doge, as is common practise it seems. Aloysious IV would be about right since Aloysious III was the doge assassinated by Argos the weaver guildmaster, and it seems like, reading between the lines, Bruce must have been on good terms with "the old Doge".

[Jokes]

"Sword?" Darrien looks down at the scabbard, as if noticing it for the first time. He grips the hilt and draws it half out. "You have expensive tastes, you know that?" he mutters. He slides the rapier back into its sheath and awkwardly gets to his feet. He looks around, not recognizing any landmarks.

He'd been in a daze the last few weeks; his mind had needed rest, so he lent out his body while his mind slept. The problem with Vestiges is that they tend to have their own agenda, which tends to lead to some erratic actions.

He sniffs at his cloak, smelling salt and fish. "I guess I came here by boat. Focalor, probably, he seems to like the ocean. Probably reminds him of his endless despair..."

Darrien's mutterings switch into several different languages, as he attempts to backtrack his possible steps, pulling a twig from his coat here, remarking on a scratch on his arm there. In the end, the exercise proves fruitless. "Where exactly am I?"

[Daryk]

Marko

Quirking an eyebrow at the stranger, Marko said, "You're in Bridgeport, of course, the luckiest port on the continent! Where are you from, stranger?"

[Akyana]

Sandra was impressed with the greeting the received upon their return. Though when the strange man tumbled out of the bush she reached for her sword ready for a fight.

She kept her hand on her blade seeing his going for the sword, but when he just showed the blade off she stood down keeping an eye on him. She didn't say anything for a while. She walks over to the water elemental horse that was given to them as a reward for helping Lady Irmak.

[Bonecrusher Doc]

A somewhat elderly human man in mage's robes follows Matthew out the doors.

Jerris
"Come in, come in! Oh, and you look like a vagrant with a sword - <nods to Darrien> - you've come to the right place! Everyone into the hall and get something to drink. There's still trouble a-plenty along the Timber River, but you need to rest and refit.

Jerris leads the way into the Common Room of the guildhall and sits at one of the several tables. With Ana gone, Kyte gets behind the bar and starts serving up drinks.

The guildhall: bedrooms upstairs; Common Room and library on the ground floor; equipment, treasure, and prisoners are kept in the basement. There is a stable out back.

[Jokes]

Darrien

"Bridgeport? Then I am indeed a long way from home... Not that it is home any more..." His stomach makes a deep rumbling noise. He smiles, but doesn't follow Jerris right away. "I will be a few minutes, I have some business to attend to."

If anyone stays to watch, Darrien simply remarks, "I may not know how to use this," he draws his sword, "but I know someone that does." With that he begins to mark a circle in the ground, followed by many intricate loops and swirls within it. As he finishes, he takes a step back, as a small whirlwind begins sending dust flying.


Paimon appears in a whirl, his form spinning like a top on an arm that ends in a metal blade instead of a forearm and hand. He turns counterclockwise so rapidly that his summoner can make little sense of what he sees. Paimon quickly switches the arm on which he spins with a hop, and then he switches to a leg, which also ends in a blade rather than an ankle and foot. With each switch, Paimon slows, until at last he stands on one leg before his summoner, balancing within the seal on its daggerlike point. Paimon’s almost featureless gray body has a dancer’s physique. His face is stretched to disfigurement around the right side of his head, and no ears are visible. Paimon speaks in a garbled voice from his twisted mouth while hopping from appendage to appendage, making small turns as though he is impatient to be whirling again.

[roll0]

As Paimon appears, he seems to spot Darrien's rapier, and the disfigured face seems to smile. With a flash, he thrusts his razor sharp arms at Darrien, who, while surprised to be attacked by his vestige, easily parries the assault. The pair continue their duel, neither gaining the upper hand. Finally, Paimon twists in an inhuman fashion and thrusts his sword into Darrien's chest. Paimon laughs at the binder. "It... is a good sword... you will... thank me." With that, his form fades, leaving Darrien clutching at his chest. But there is no wound, just a scar where Paimon had done the same thing hundreds of times over.

Darrien calmly walks over to the circle and begins wiping it away with his foot.

"Now, how about a meal?"

Passed the Binding check, so I am not influenced by Paimon, and I supress his sign.

While bound to Paimon I gain the following:
Dance of Death: When you use this ability, you can move up to your speed and make a single attack against any creature you move past, provoking attacks of opportunity normally.
When you use your dance of death, you forfeit any bonus or extra attacks granted by other feats or abilities (such as the Cleave feat or the haste spell), and you cannot attack any single creature more than once. Once you have used this ability, you cannot do so again for 5 rounds.
Paimon’s Blades: You gain proficiency with the rapier and short sword, and the benefit of the Weapon Finesse feat when you wield such weapons.
Paimon’s Dexterity: You gain a +4 bonus to Dexterity.
Paimon’s Skills: You can use the Tumble skill untrained. You gain a +4 bonus on Tumble checks and Perform (dance) checks.
Uncanny Dodge: You retain your Dexterity bonus to AC (if any) even if caught fl at-footed or struck by an invisible attacker. If you have uncanny dodge from another source, you gain improved uncanny dodge instead. See the rogue class features on page 50 of the Player’s Handbook.
Whirlwind Attack: You gain the benefi t of the Whirlwind Attack feat.

[DavidByron]

As usual Jerris' lack of ceremony grates Matthew slightly, but, well if you're a powerful archmage, (as well as a guild master) you can do anything any way you like.

Matthew tries to get a look at the magical summoning circle (as it seems) drawn by the stranger, but the man stands so as to block getting a good view and then rub it out afterwards. It's all over with quickly.

"He must be from the Southern continent", he mutters to nobody in particular, and without too much conviction, "They all seem to be crazy down there. Sharn, Amethyst and now this guy.".

Sharn had been the strange and aloof scarlet clad priest of some sort of death religion who tried torturing Klesha when his team captured her. Bruce hadn't kicked him out immediately for the crime, and Matthew wasn't party to what happened, but Sharn wasn't around any more. At least some good had come of it when Matthew's team was given responsibility for both prisoners, and only then did the sisters meet and discover they were both alive, both servants of the same "master", both with identical ceremonial daggers even.... what kind of weirdo does that to two girls, essentially kidnapped as kids and separated....

....oh yes, an evil super powerful magician of some sort, that's who. Abramelin the Mage, (Matthew's sometime stage name or othertime alter ego) would not behave that way, but then he wouldn't be Jerris either. And he'd know exactly what that funny circle had been.

Matthew shakes his head before he loses his train of thought.

Amethyst was the only other Southerner to join. Again very secretive. Joined the guild -- well officially she never signed the book -- to escape being chased by some sort of temple police officer / assassin. She claimed she was innocent of whatever crime it was - stealing something? Matthew had briefly met the "hound" and he had been as creepy as they come. And that was mostly what Amethyst had going for her on trust. The other guy was worse even if he had been chillingly polite. That and she had somehow managed to come across as a damsel in distress despite herself.

Matthew was surprised to see Amethyst hadn't ditched the party and run off. It's good to be wrong sometimes.

Continuing out loud he says,
"I suppose if you come all that way, maybe something is chasing you? Maybe all the Northers who go down there have secrets to keep?"

Summoned mentally, a small black bird lands on Matthew's shoulder as he turns and walks after Jerris and the others to the common room. Jumping out of his serious thoughts Matthew chats with his friends.

"I can't believe you guys got to visit the elemental plane of fire and I completely missed it!"

[DavidByron]

Matthew tends to think of himself as no scholar but he has actually been reading a lot of stuff recently. So he might surprise himself and have a clue about Binding.

[roll0] +2 more if it's an illusion.
[roll1]

[Thymin]

Dravick:

With his signature extravagant bow and flourish, Dravick replies to the new guildmaster. "And good it is to come home and be greeted so warmly, guildmaster. I think a drink sounds quite tempting just now." With no hesitation, Dravick strolls inside barely taking notice of the 'new recruit'. Carrying his gear directly up stairs and stowing them in his footlocker, Dravick takes stock of the dorm, noting the number of no-longer-unused bunks. Well, the guild seems to be doing well. He thought to himself with a smile. He stops at the wash room and cleans his hands a face with cool water before going into the main hall for a drink. "Kyte, my good man," he said, noting the rogue's self-appointed role as bartender, "I'll have an ale, if you don't mind." Meanwhile, he automatically makes the subtle gestures and incantations necessary to chill his mug, as he scanned the room for unknown faces.

[Jokes]

Continuing out loud he says,
"I suppose if you come all that way, maybe something is chasing you? Maybe all the Northers who go down there have secrets to keep?"

Darrien

Darrien follows Matthew inside. "Secrets, yes. Where I am from, my practice isn't looked upon at all kindly. If the church had caught me, I'd have been labelled a heretic and burnt at the stake. Unfortunately, it wasn't the church who found me..." Darrien's face shows a flash of anger, but returns to a calm smile. "I just hope you Northerners are a little more... open minded. I would, however, prefer some manner of secrecy from you all. Just in case."

[MK Kilmarnock]

Zan:

The greeting that he had received was outstanding to him as well, just as he had perceived similar surprise from Sandra's face. Zan smiled in response to Matthew's greeting and, while the news of Ana missing his return was keeping him anxious, it was not enough to remove the smile from his face. The stranger, however, was.

Paying him as little mind as he could, Zan turned back to Matthew. "W-Well, then... m-m-my flask is dry as hell, b-but I can always w-wait her return! Y... Yeah..." He carried off from there and averted his eyes as he entered the guild hall, mumbling further greetings to Father Eldon and Jerris.

True to his word, Zan would stay away from the taps for now, instead idly wandering around the far corners of the guild hall, reaching behind him to ensure that his wrapped scythe was still there (the foul thing that it was), and generally not going out of his way to interact with people more than he had to.

[Daryk]

Marko

Marko nodded in understanding and left the newcomer to his business. Heading inside, he took a seat at the bar and ordered an ale as well.

[Bonecrusher Doc]

Jerris waits until he gets a good swig from a cold one before he continues to speak.

Guildmaster Jerris
"Well, Matthew tells me you did well in Khorinis. We've been busy here - mostly dirty politics more than outright bloodshed - but there are problems all up and down the Timber these days, as far away as Falls.
"For individuals with your particular talents, I'm sure there's no shortage, though I don't think there will be much work that pays well these days - times are hard, what with fighting the goblins, disruption in trade, and the local revolution - though our newly politically empowered halfling citizens are showing great enthusiasm in building and rebuilding projects around the city. If our oceanic trade was stronger, perhaps Bridgeport would have the funds to extend a positive influence north, beyond the small but valuable help of you adventurers. As it is now, Bruce is borrowing heavily from several of the guilds and churches' coffers."

Kyte whistles sharply to draw everyone's attention, and jerks his head in the direction of the front doors. An elderly halfling in cleric's robes stumbles but recovers as he enters the guildhall and hastens into the Common Room. He would look very distinguished were it not for the sweat on his brow and his distressed countenance.

Father Eldon
"Jerris! Matthew! B... thank the Forest Lady, you're all here! It's Ana. We were at the Docks - myself, Ana, and two of my friends. Well, there was an odd-looking ship there, and... they took her! These two hulking fellows, human I think, snatched her up, put her on their ship and cast off with some foul magic blowing unnatural wind in their sails. It all happened so fast - and then I couldn't get anyone to chase after them! I finally got a mounted city guard to give me a ride back here!"

[DavidByron]

Matthew's thoughts on Binders:

Darrien's statement about persecution makes Matthew recall a snippet he read about Binder's from the Southern continent. There were rumours that the companion creatures, presumably like the one that briefly sparred with Darrien before merging into him outside, were some sort of demon. But that was most likely false according to a hand written note in the margin. "It looked more like an elemental to me", thinks Matthew. Would having a Binder in the Guild get them in trouble with their allied churches? Matthew mentally goes down the list:

[B]Yondalla: they've been keeping their distance since they took over West Bridgeport as a Halfling haven. I doubt they'll have heard of Binding anyway.

The Druids: those guys are inscrutable. If they see it as unnatural it might be trouble. And their giant owl dispatch riders still come by the HQ often enough still.

Pelorites: their church certainly extends to the Southern continent but I don't know if they communicate much. With the high priest's residence right here in Bridgeport they will have some top level archivists about.

Garl: the Gnomes are based in the Islands not Bridgeport but since they're such good seafarers they will doubtless have good contacts with the Southern continent. Still I doubt that Dragutin will have heard of Binding.

I wonder if the creature would have detected for evil? Did Jerris notice the Binder? He didn't seem concerned.

Quietly Matthew says to Darrien:
"Well plenty of people have secrets and we won't intrude. My name is Matthew. Let me introduce some of the others to you...."

[DavidByron]

[after Father Eldon's speech]

Matthew's introduction is interrupted by Father Eldon's news. He runs at Eldon and grabs his shoulders shaking him.

"HOW COULD YOU LET THEM GET AWAY WITH HER!!?!?"

Then he realises what he is doing to the elderly halfling and superior officer of the Guild. Takes his hands off Eldon. Backs off. Takes a breath. Gets riled up again.

"Sorry, sorry, but--- Auuugh! You KNEW they would be looking for her!!"

[Bonecrusher Doc]

Jerris jumps up from his chair and raises a hand in the air menacingly when Matthew lays hands on Eldon.

Eldon shoots Matthew a withering look briefly but quickly composes himself.
Eldon
"I accept some of the blame. But there were three of us protecting her, Matthew - myself and two experienced warriors. And I'm not just a healer, you know. Ana would have been safe if she'd been obedient and stayed by my side. But she said 'I want to get that for Zan,' and rushed down the pier where they grabbed her."

[Bonecrusher Doc]

The conversation is further interrupted when Bil, the guildhall's night watchman (having come down from upstairs), opens the front doors for another halfling. This one is a muscular young adult male, in studded leather armor with a spiked chain over his shoulder. Like Father Eldon he is sweating from exertion, but he catches his breath quickly.

Halfling Warrior
"Father Eldon! We've found the Sampo. They're just comin' in from sea. Me brother said he'd tell them to make ready for chase."


The Sampo was last seen in this (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=5356140&postcount=100) post.

[Daryk]

Marko

Downing the rest of his ale, Marko cried, "There's not a moment to lose! To the Sampo! We'll need all the oarsmen we can spare, come on!"

Gathering up his gear and rushing out the door, he inquired of the most recent arrival, "What dock?"

[MK Kilmarnock]

Zan turned the moment he heard Ana's name mentioned, and the rest of the story Father Eldon told was... horrifying, to say the least. He stared out into the center of the guild hall in general for the next few seconds, ignoring the events that transpired as he attempted to process what had happened.

Ana had been taken away, but by whom? Why? Even Eldon didn't seem to know, and most of the details were hardly helpful. Pier... he went pale when he re-listened to that word in his mind. She could be spirited away in no time at all...

When he heard of the Sampo's reappearance, however, Zan wasted no time in making a straight path for the door. "T-T-THEN LET'S GO!"

The drink could wait.

[Bonecrusher Doc]

Halfling Warrior
"Pier Six, sir. You'd be Captain Marko? Me brother Shamus'll be there with Mister Woetjans. He's already asked the dockworkers to get some barrels of water out on the pier."

Eldon looks at Darrien, then Jerris quizzically. Jerris makes some sort of small gesture for Eldon to see, then Eldon nods. Eldon quietly casts Detect Evil on Darrien.

[Thymin]

Dravick:

Listening as Guildmaster Jerris explained the situations unfolding in the region, Dravick couldn't help but notice similarities to the stories of large wars. He never really cared much for the way things like trade and transit worked, but he started to understand that everything was somehow connected.

When Father Eldon arrived, he Dravick knew that something major was afoot. As the story came out, Dravick agreed with the others' decision. "A hero's work is never done." He remarked as he sprinted up the stairs, to retrieve his gear. "I will be along presently Captain, he called to Marko, "Don't leave without me."

At least I got to wash up, and a mug of ale. He thought as he grabbed his gear from the trunk, and ran back downstairs and out the door.

[Bonecrusher Doc]

Jerris
"STOP!
"Hear me out for one moment. Marko, Zan, Matthew, Dravick, and Sandra may go. The rest of you must stay - I have work for you, and if the Sampo is not immediately successful, you may yet help us find Ana through some detective work here in Bridgeport. I especially need Kyte for some... diplomatic missions. I'm sorry to deprive the rescue party of his talents - why don't you take our guest with you?"
(Jerris turns to Darrien)
"You could use some work, couldn't you, wandering swordsman? I'm putting you in Matthew's charge."
(without waiting for an answer)
"Matthew, I know this is unexpected, but I have reason to believe this gentleman will serve the guild well. That's why he's here, after all. His name is Darrien. If he gives you any trouble, have Sandra throw him overboard."
"Now - finish gathering your equipment, and take whatever mounts you need from the stable. If you don't want them on the boat with you, Shamus will bring them back to the guildhall. Go!"

[Daryk]

Marko

"Another oarsman is always welcome! Have him sign the book while we get the mounts, would you please Guildmaster?" Marko said, heading for the stables.

[MK Kilmarnock]

When Jerris yelled 'Stop!' in such a manner, Zan turned around on his heel, ready to give the man a sizeable piece of his mind. If he was actually daring to stop him from rescuing Ana..

Luckily, Zan heard Jerris out long enough to realize that by yelling, he would've made a fool of himself in front of the others, and possibly made himself out to be so passionate that he shouldn't be on the mission at all. Nodding silently at what he heard, he continued on his way to the ship. Everybody else would have to hurry, because he wasn't lagging.

[Akyana]

Sandra had remained quite through the actions. She didn't feel she was in a high enough rank to be giving orders and followed along behind, though for her it was a painfully slow pace.

She did question the logic of having someone they just met come along with them on a mission, but smiled a little when she was told she could throw him overboard if he caused trouble and walks over to Darrien So looks like you and I are going to be around each other a lot more. she shifts the rather large great sword on her back as she tries to intimidate the new guy.

It was more then just showing how much she did not trust him, as much as testing to see how his resolve was.

[Jokes]

Darrien

Darrien raises an eyebrow when Jerris mentions his name, somthing he hadn't given anyone yet. He surmises an interaction with Jerris during his blackout. He gives a slight bow and a nod. At the mention of being thrown overboard, he makes a mental note to bind to Focalor tomorrow, just in case.

"I promise I won't be trouble. Focalor loves the sea, he'll be glad to be able to experience it again. I wouldn't want to ruin that for him."

Heading outside, Darrien falls to the ground near the shrubbery and reaches in, struggling and straining. He finally drags out a beaten old pack that makes an odd rattling noise as he hefts it. "Ok, off we go."

[Bonecrusher Doc]

Marko, Zan, Dravick, Matthew, Sandra, and Darrien mount up - their steeds include Sandra's "Podarge," four fresh horses from the guild stable, and the water elemental horse from the Khorinis mission. Their fellow members assist them by loading on pre-packed saddlebags the guild keeps handy for scenarios such as this. They ride quickly to Pier 6, where they find Mister Woetjans, the boatswain, supervising as the last barrel of water is loaded onto the Sampo. The slender galley with a row of oars on each side and a single sail was won by the Adventurer's Guild in a river battle, and is already manned by experienced sailors. Amidships there is only the one deck, exposed to the elements, but there are "castles" fore and aft for shelter and storage. The helmsman stands on top of the rear castle, where there is also a small dinghy which can be lowered into the water (though the Sampo's draft is shallow enough that the dinghy is usually not needed). The boat's crew, supplies, and docking fees are currently the biggest expense of the guild.

With Woetjans is a young halfling man who bears a strong resemblance to the halfling the adventurers spoke with at the guildhall. Woetjans has a rough demeanor but is deferential to all members of the guild, especially Marko, who knows his way around a boat better than any of the other guild members.

"The Nose" Woetjans
"Adventurers! Welcome back. Young Shamus here has told me we need to intercept another boat, so I hope you brought plenty of steel. You manage the fightin', I'll manage the sailin'. Though I've a couple of our lads who are well trained on the ballistae now."

The vessel is now ready to cast off, and Woetjans is back on board. He inspects the rigging systematically, continuing to speak to the adventurers even though he is no longer making eye contact.

"Get on board quickly now. And best to leave your horses with Shamus here, though I suppose we could take one or two - we do have space and feed for them in the forecastle.
"We did see one boat matching Shamus' description headed west - and fast. It's out of sight from us here at the docks, but if we're quick, we may get out to sea fast enough to see her mast drop over the horizon."

The sea and sky are almost the same shade of blue as the afternoon sun reflects dazzlingly off the water. Bridgeport is the southernmost city on the Timber River and the weather can be oppressively hot at times (especially for those wearing armor!), but summer has not yet come into its full strength.

[Daryk]

Marko

Boarding hastily, casting his gear under a rowing bench and making for the mast, Marko called, "Aye! Cast off now Mr. Woetjans! I'll sing the wind once we're off the pier. Every spare hand to the oars! We'll need every knot we can make!"

Once the lines were away and he was settled at the masthead, Marko clasped his holy symbol and took up a song of the sea, bending the breeze to their need.

Using Bardic Music through his Windsinger feat.
Various rolls:
Climb: [roll0]
Profession (Sailor): [roll1]
Spot (Bardic Knack): [roll2]

[MK Kilmarnock]

Zan boarded as soon as he was able, nodding at the mention of them being the muscle of this whole endeavor. Usually, he hated fighting, and he was more than likely to explain this to another member of the party at least once daily, but today had just crossed him in the wrong direction. If his scythe wanted blood, it would get all the blood it could drink as soon as he found out who was responsible for this.

Kissing his symbol of Boccob to soothe himself, Zan rested on a rail of the ship and looking seaward, muttering.

"We're coming, Ana. H-hold on.

[Bonecrusher Doc]

After Marko dismounts, the water elemental horse changes form to a large humanoid, startling many of those who were standing near. With saddle and saddlebags on it could easily be overlooked from a distance as simply a horse with very glossy fur, but in humanoid form its otherworldliness is unmistakeable. As it changes form it slips out of its saddle and other gear and carries them in its hands as it walks over the gangplank on board the Sampo.

Large Water Elemental (pausing to speak to Woetjans, before taking up a position on the forecastle)
"I don't need any hay. And you may call me Equus."

Woetjans is startled for an instant, then looks annoyed briefly before getting reabsorbed in his work. The other sailors stare at Equus until Woetjans chides them for it.

[DavidByron]

Matthew's thoughts again:

Matthew is not at home on a boat and makes himself inconspicuous. Although he's spent his whole life up and down the Timber river between Bridgeport and Lauden, most of his travelling was on foot. The Sampo is a river boat but the crew seem to be saying their quarry has set out to open sea. West. What is out West by sea? Westguard is the only big city in that direction, but it is many miles in land. Along the coast are few towns because of the large marshes inhabited by monsters and some halflings.

Matthew feels for the pair of magical hand mirrors that he keeps by his side at all times. Each mirror allows the bearer to communicate with the person holding it's pair. Two halves of two pairs had been held by Matthew to co-ordinate communications between the away groups. The other half of the pairs were held by Ulysses and Marko respectively, as team leaders. Not much use now. Ulysses is still in Khorinis and Marko is not twenty paces away. If only the ship that snatched Ana had headed up river Ulysses could have been warned and easily prepared a reception as the ship passed Khorinis. Could the ship they are following be a feint and Ana was taken some other direction? When the "master" last tried to kidnap someone, Kata, the singer of the band, "Kata and the last Hope", the kidnappers had taken flight up river in a boat -- in fact the very same boat Matthew was now standing in.

Matthew had always suspected Kata was taken because she was mistaken for Ana.

"I should notify Ulysses of what has happened -- just in case".

But.... this was not the only reason Matthew held the mirrors carefully as if trying to sense a contact.

It seemed as if Jerris thought that Ana could use the mirrors to practise her powers. The mirrors had all four come from Jerris' old adventuring stash. Ana had managed to boost their power of one mirror to reach Marko's team when they were stuck behind a magical veil. Maybe she could somehow tune in without even holding a mirror? A long shot but while even a chance of it existed Matthew was determined to keep his mirrors close at hand.

The truth of the matter is that although Matthew blamed Father Eldon publicly, a lot of this was probably Matthew's own fault. After all Eldon and Bruce had been keeping the truth from Ana her whole adult life, keeping her secretly hidden against exactly this sort of possibility. The whole reason Ana had been magically made mute since childhood was to prevent her accidentally using her powers and drawing attention to herself. Matthew's investigation, strictly against Father Eldon's warning, had led him to uncover the secret and that led to the decision to lift the spell on her that had kept her silenced but safe for so long.

On the other hand the "master" had targeted the Guild even before Jerris lifted the spell he had cast on Ana so many years before. Had the "master" already found Ana? Or maybe this whole thing had nothing to do with the "master". Maybe the "master" was never interested in Ana. The guy had been killed (and Matthew saw it) at broken Mountain. Somehow that didn't feel like a final victory though.

[DavidByron]

Fiona, Matthew's raven familiar is with him as usual. The open sea is a frightening place for her species since there are no trees to hide within, should a predator bird come along, and no ground to land on. Given the obvious use of a flying scout during a long distance chase, Matthew tries to soothe her feelings, which were already unsettled reflecting Matthew's own state of mind, the empathic link working both ways.

[Jokes]

Darrien

The binder seems delighted to be heading off to sea. To Darrien, nothing represents freedom and wanderlust quite like a ship. He throws his pack casually in a safe place and darts across the ship to the bow and sits, his legs dangling over the side. As the ship starts moving, he delights in watching the water crash against the prow. The gravity of the situation is lost on him, not knowing exactly why or where he is going, nor who it is he is supposed to be rescuing.

[Daryk]

Marko

Before ascending the mast, Marko spoke with Equus: "Equus, are you able to push a vessel on the surface of the water? We may need your help to catch the ship we're chasing. If you can't do it directly, perhaps you could take an oar and help us that way."

[Akyana]

Sandra wasn't so easy on the boat. She was normally one to stand on solid land. The idea that going over the side would end up in her dying wasn't something she was very keen on. She stayed with Podrage enough to calm him down before resuming her guard duty over the newest addition to the team. Taking her great sword out to sharpen as the tip had dulled some from the last combat they were in.

[Bonecrusher Doc]

Marko reaches the top and begins to sing, holding on tight against the oscillations of the mast of the smallish boat in the ocean waves. Equus silently dives overboard and vanishes. A moment later the boat picks up speed noticeably. The oarsmen smile at the lessened resistance on the oars, but Woetjans orders them to dig in harder. Marko changes the key of his song and Woetjans watches closely to best take advantage of the wind Marko is steering their way.

The Sampo passes a few halfling villages along the shore, and start to leave the Bridgeport sea area behind them. They pass close to one of the last fishing boats in sight, and Woetjans hails the two halflings on board. Yes, they say a dark-colored boat passed this way not long ago, moving fast toward the west. There's no time for further conversation as the Sampo knifes through the water. Woetjans has synergized a steady pull from the the now-silent, sweating oarsmen, with clever angling of the sails in cooperation with the force from under the hull.

Finally Marko spots a dark sail on the horizon. The Sampo is gaining on it... but slowly. Even at their current furious speed, it does not look like they will catch the boat ahead of them while there is still daylight enough for Marko to see it, even with his gnomish low-light vision.

[DavidByron]

Matthew casts Disguise Self upon Fiona to make her look like a (small) seagull.

"Fiona, you have to go and spy on that ship. See if they have Ana aboard. See if you can read the name of the ship -- it might be written on the side. If the men are not suspicious you might be able to hear what they are saying as they notice they are being followed by us. Don't fly straight there but circle a little towards land to get to their boat. At the least sign of danger get out of there. Don't be gone more than fifty minutes... beyond sunset... as the spell will end and you will change back."

"Now repeat what I just told you to do."

Fiona has an Int of seven now so she's well capable of this task but Matthew is extra cautious here. Disguise Self cast as a Beguiller spell at 5th level (because of Practised Spellcaster feat) = 50 minutes duration. Since there may be no opportunity to interact with the illusion in all likelihood there will be no save but if there is it is at DC 15 (I think paying very close attention counts as an interaction if you're close enough). I am assuming Fiona can read as she can speak Common and in general with other familiars she shares all the skill ranks of her master, which would include the free literacy skill. For that matter Fiona would have a good chance of recognising spells as they are cast too (d20+6) because she inherits Matthew's 8 ranks in spellcraft.

[Bonecrusher Doc]

Fiona inspects her new plumage and backbriefs Matthew correctly. Matthew lifts his hand and she takes off. At first she tries to follow Matthew's instructions of making a circuitous route towards land but quickly discovers that she will be left behind by the speeding boats if she does this. She changes to a beeline course for the other boat and still has to flap hard.

The oarsmen are exhausted, and Woetjans allows them to lie on the oars (http://www.wordswarm.net/dictionary/to_lie_on_the_oars.html). The sun dips below the horizon, though in the twilight Marko can still make out the distant sail. As soon as this happens, the boat shudders and slows. Equus, in large humanoid form, jumps back on deck. His watery body shifts and sways as though he is having difficulty maintaining form.

Equus
"That is all I can push you today."

At the end of fifty minutes Fiona returns, her plumage changing back as she lands on the Sampo. She gives her report.

Fiona
"I stayed low so they wouldn't see me. I didn't see Ana. I couldn't see the name of the boat. I listened to them talk. They didn't say anything about us chasing them - maybe they haven't seen us. One of them said in Common, 'We should be there by dawn. Those laggards had better see us coming and lower the chain or I'll have their skins.'"

[DavidByron]

Matthew,
"Very good work Fiona. I'll have to get you something shiny when we get home."

And to Marko,
"This doesn't sound like the "master" so much after all. I figured the big humanoids Father Eldon described were more ogres or half ogres which he has been known to use.... These guys sound more like smugglers. But smugglers with magical aid."

And to Dravick,
"I've not been out this way before but you used to live out West didn't you? Have you ever heard of a group of smugglers having some base around these parts?"

Matthew's Local Knowledge is for the Timber river area between Bridgeport and Lauden.

[MK Kilmarnock]

Zan was still at the railing of the ship, but at least his attention had been momentarily diverted to the other ship that may or may not have held Ana. At least, this was the case until Fiona said she did not see her.

Then again... why would they be keeping her on deck? Surely, it was possible that she was below deck or... something. Yet there didn't seem like much of a possibility of getting onto the other ship, particularly not at this time of day, or with nobody powerful enough to cast a spell to close the distance or cast a watchful eye to seek out Ana.

"S-Sanda, are you d-doing alright?" He said idly, trying to pass the time. It would do no good to pester Matthew now, not when he was busy.

[Thymin]

Dravick:

Doing what he can to aid the ship, though he is not much of a seafarer himself, Dravick busied himself with whatever needed to be done. When Matthew asked him about bandits in the area, Dravick replied that he didn't, and then thought for a few seconds to see if any stories he had heard lined up.

[roll0]

[Bonecrusher Doc]

Dravick recalls nothing of any shady characters along the few roads this far west of Bridgeport - just the occasional halfling hermit living in the marsh.

He does finally recall a story somberly told in West Bridgeport taverns: a few years ago one of the larger halfling fishing boats sailed out this way on a lark and never returned, despite clear sailing weather, and the boats who went searching for them never found a trace of the missing boat.

Sea traffic doesn't avoid this area for any particular reason, there's just little reason for anyone to travel out this way.

http://i271.photobucket.com/albums/jj157/AdvGuild/guildmap.jpg
Dwarves in the north, Elves in Far East (over high, dangerous mountains), Humans in the southern 7 cities on the mainland, with halflings more common in the most southerly cities. Gnomes in the southern islands are born sailors who provide trade between the elves and the westerly cities. The wild west in untamed, just a sparsely populated horse-riding civilization on the plains and a few explorer/trappers further west. There is known to be another continent south of the gnomish islands, only reachable by by the sturdiest sailing vessels.

[Akyana]

Sandra nods at Zan I am doing alright. I was not really very fond of going on the sea she really was trying her hardest to keep everything in. She didn't look at the horizon, she kept herself busy with working her sword getting all the dull spots out with her sharpening stone

[Thymin]

Dravick:

"I did live out west, but I don't know anything of a smuggler's base. Though the region is so vast, there could easily be one that I've never encountered." He replied to Matthew's question. "I do recall hearing of a boat going mysteriously missing around these parts no so long ago, though. Wonder if that's connected?"

Once the order is given for the men to lay on the oars, Dravick finds a spot to sit and strum a tune on his lute. He begins with a much abridged version of the battle of broken mountain, and continues on with more well known shanty's that the whole crew would be likely to know by heart.

[Jokes]

Darrien

Dravick's music makes Darrien smile. There is a slight burning in his chest, as if his heart is set afire. "You don't have to goad me, spirit," he mutters, "sometimes my own indulgences converge with yours." With that, he tears himself away from the railing and begins to dance to the music. He urges the other members of the crew to join in, even attempting to take Sandra for a spin on the dance floor.

[roll0]

[Akyana]

Sandra wasn't exactly ready for someone to grab her to dance and it normally wasn't wise to grab the professional warrior in the group without warning her first as Sandra grabs Darrien and picks him up after he grabs her and throws him into the middle of the deck before readying her greatsword What did you think you were trying to do?


[roll0]
[roll1]

[Daryk]

Marko

Alone at the masthead, Marko adapted his own singing to Dravick's on the deck below, not releasing his hold on the wind, but weaving the music together.

[Jokes]

Darrien

Darrien is obviously not prepared to be thrown across the ship and lands awkwardly, his head smacking on the deck knocking him out cold.

[roll0]

[MK Kilmarnock]

"B-B-Blessed B-Boccob!!! Zan sputtered as Sandra just up and hurled the strange newcomer. Maybe he wasn't particularly accustomed to his presence yet, but he just got tossed like a damn shotput by the ever-surprising strength of Sandra.

He suppresed the mental search of whether or not he had tasted her wrath first hand as he rushed to check on the tossed man. "G-Guess he scared you? I... I think he'll be alright, but..."


[roll0]

[Jokes]

There are no signs of blood, and Darrien murmurs something softly as you check him over. He'll be fine.

[Akyana]

Sandra didn't stop Zan and laughed at saying he scared her He didn't scare me, I thought he was trying something and reacted she walks over pulling the canteen out from her cloak and splashes him with some water before going back to working on her sword with her back to a wall this time.

[DavidByron]

"What's that going on back there?", Matthew is jarred out of his "discussion" with Marko, already difficult enough because Marko is singing up a wind, at the same time. How long can the gnomish captain continue to strain his voice and keep their speed up?

"Stop messing about!"

Matthew tries to use what little authority he might have as either guild treasurer or as just being a few slight years older and a little more mature than the other human Adventurers. He fixes the apparent trouble maker and new guy, with a cold stare, hoping this will achieve something without detracting from captain Marko's authority.

Which I am sure captain Marko doesn't care about but Matthew is a bit of a worrier about chain of command and stuff sometimes; the more so in the last month or so as he's had to take on a position of trying to sort out the Guilds lines of communication with its "field" operatives.

"Does anyone have any ideas on how to keep track of the enemy ship over the course of the night? If we lose them it may take a long time to find them again in the morning."

[Bonecrusher Doc]

Marko's feels his voice tire, despite his careful efforts to sing without straining. He feels that if he stops now and rests his voice now he will still have a voice tomorrow - though probably not capable of another hours-long bout of continuous singing! On the other hand, he could push his voice a bit further, but it would probably leave him whispering for a day or two. If only he could magic the wind with drumbeats the same way he could with song!

[Daryk]

Marko

Marko wound down his last song with the enemy ship still in sight. He summoned a lookout to the masthead, and conducted a proper turn over before descending. Once on deck, he spoke to the bosun in a low voice, trying to preserve it for the next day: "Mr. Woetjans, my compliments on your handling of the ship today. Truly excellent work. We'll need to insure the crew is rested so we can turn in a similar performance tomorrow. I'll speak with my fellow guildsmen as to what part they can play in spelling the crew during the night watches. And perhaps they can take a hand at the oars tomorrow, too."

Turning to Equus, Marko similarly complimented the elemental on its aid in its native tongue. Switching back to common for the benefit of the others, he continued, "Are you fully spent for the day, Equus, or could you perhaps do a bit of scouting yet tonight? We're losing sight of our quarry as the sun fades, and we can't waste our efforts going in the wrong direction in the morning."

Finally coming back to Matthew and the others, Marko had to cough lightly before speaking: "I fear we've done all we can today, but there is yet tomorrow. I believe we'll need the efforts of all hands to catch our quarry. Specifically, I think every able body should take a turn at the oars tomorrow, preferably early in the chase. That will leave our best oarsmen fresh for the sprint while we catch our collective breaths and prepare for battle. The crew could also use a relief or two overnight. I'll take the tiller for a watch myself. The other watches are at the masthead and in the waist to handle the sail as the wind shifts, though unless you've had experience working at sea, I'd advise you to stick to being a lookout. Are there any volunteers?"

I envision a normal night watch being only two crew members (one at the tiller, one acting as lookout and handling the sail as necessary), but since we're in pursuit, I think we need a constant presence at the masthead.

[Bonecrusher Doc]

Equus

"I am done for the day. I must rest now."

With that, he (?) assumes his equine form and stands against the forecastle. As he becomes still, his form shimmers and the details fade, so he looks less like a horse with glossy fur and more like a horse made of glass, swirling full of water.

[DavidByron]

Matthew (pacing a little),
"If Fiona's report is correct there will be no chase tomorrow because the enemy plan to dock at or before dawn, and we cannot chase what we cannot see."

"But maybe it is for the best. If we had to catch up to them gradually in a chase by daylight then they would certainly see us coming. At the moment they must feel they got away cleanly. We might gain by surprise. If they have some sort of hidden base, we will have to find it. We know roughly how much further up the coast it would be. The question is : would it be most beneficial to search by land or by sea, or by both?"

"Do you still have that pair of communicating amulets from the dead druid and her cat?"

[MK Kilmarnock]

Rising from his attendance to the floored new fellow and having eased his worries, Zan turned to Matthew.

"I, uh... w-well, I've p-prayed and retained... um... all of my sp-spells, so f-f-following my prayers to... to Boccob, I can stay... yeah, I can stay up and watch."

He noted that his stuttering had gotten worse, frowning a little at that.

[Thymin]

Dravick:

"I can pull a turn at the watch as well." Dravick added, "I'm certain my music can help keep people focused."

[Bonecrusher Doc]

Matthew pats himself down and discovers that he actually has one of the cat's eye amulets - ah, now he remembers it being pressed into his hand when the other guild members were helping them gather their equipment hurriedly to begin the rescue mission. Matthew's emotional state was not the calmest at that time. Nobody else on the boat seems to have the other one... hm, he thinks now that he saw Kyte holding it last...

Their quarry is no longer visible, not even the light of a lantern. The Sampo glides on with a few sailors making occasional adjustments to the sail while most of them get a bite to eat and then sprawl on the rowing benches to sleep with aching muscles.

The adventurers take shifts throughout the night, making certain that everyone gets adequate rest, especially the spellcasters. The night is clear but very dark without a moon. The dark silhouette of the shore is just visible thanks to light from the stars. There are no lights visible on the shore - those who know their geography know that it is an almost uninhabited wetland. Well, uninhabited by civilized folk anyway.

With the first light of morning Marko is back up in the crow's nest. There is still no sight of their quarry. To starboard, they seem to have cleared the marshes and the land is becoming rockier. They are currently too far out from the shore to see something the size of a man, but it should be easy to see a boat from this distance if it is anchored in plain view. It looks like it will be another clear day with blue skies.

[Daryk]

Marko

Frowning at the masthead, Marko called down to the deck, "Matthew, can you send Fiona aloft? She can get a much better view than I can. Mr. Woetjans, send another lookout to the masthead. I have some navigating to do."

Once back on deck, Marko went below to the chart table, made some estimations regarding their target's position last night and plotted a semi-circle of where they might have gone overnight. Armed with that information, he went back out on deck to relay directions to Fiona and the helmsman.

Profession (Sailor):[roll0]

[Jokes]

Darrien

Darrien awakes in the morning with a splitting headache. He slowly rises to his feet and approaches Sandra. "You have quite an arm on you. Sorry if I provoked you, when I'm bound it is... difficult to think clearly. It is like having a second conscience that tells you only what it wants. Again, sorry if I overstepped my bounds." He bows courtly and walks away, grabbing his pack and heading below deck, away from the prying eyes of the crew.

Finding a peaceful spot, Darrien pulls out an ornate box from his pack and sets it down beside him. He first removes three small crystal balls and places them in a large triangle in front of him, once placed they begin to glow softly like a candle and don't move, despite being perfect spheres on a rocking boat. Next he removes a bronze serpentine knife and makes a small cut on each of his palms. He drops the dagger and quickly grabs an ivory chalice, squeezing the blood into the bowl. He then mixes the blood with some water and begins to pour it on the deck, tracing a seal.

Focalor manifests slowly, appearing first as a single tear that drops from thin air to strike the ground. Next his weeping eyes appear, and gradually his whole body becomes visible. Focalor looks like a handsome human male whose face is twisted by grief. He wears no clothes, but he cloaks his body in the griffon wings that grow from his back and shudder with each of his wracking sobs.

[roll0]

The blow to the Binder's head obviously issn't doing him any favours in the 'thinking clearly' department. Or it was the blood loss. When was the last time he ate? Darrien's distracted mind is easy prey for the Crying Prince, who blasts Darrien's chest with lightning, then, amid sobs, fades into nothingness. Darrien sits, impassive, as tears begin to stream down his face. He sobs at his thoughtlessness as he begins to clean up the ritual site.

Finished, he heads back above deck and breathes in the sea air, but doesn't find any joy in it as he had done yesterday.



I had forgotten last time that Implements of Binding has a little ritual you do to make it work, unlike most other skill booster items that provide a +2 competence bonus. The ritual deals 1 point of damage.

Despite that, I failed the check, which means I am under Focalor's Influence and I cannot suppress his sign.

Sign: While you serve as host to Focalor, your eyes constantly weep, regardless of your mood or thoughts.
Influence: While influenced by Focalor, you feel some of his inestimable grief and act morose, rarely smiling or finding cause to laugh. Whenever you kill a creature, Focalor demands that as soon as you have a peaceful moment, you take a round to say a few words of sorrow and regret for the life cut short by your actions.

If I don't abide by the influence, I take a –1 penalty on attack rolls, saves, and checks until the vestige leaves.

Granted Abilities: Focalor gives you the ability to breathe water, strike foes down with lightning, blind enemies with a puff of your breath, and cause creatures to be stricken with grief in your presence.
Aura of Sadness: You emit an aura of depression and anguish that overtakes even the strongest-willed creatures. Every adjacent creature is overcome with grief, which manifests as a –2 penalty on attack rolls, saving throws, and skill checks, for as long as it remains adjacent to you. You can suppress or activate this ability as a standard action. Aura of sadness is a mind-affecting ability.
Focalor’s Breath: As a standard action, you can exhale toward a single living target within 30 feet. That target is blinded for 1 round unless it succeeds on a Fortitude save. Once you have used this ability, you cannot do so again for 5 rounds.
Lightning Strike: Once per round as a standard action, you can call down a bolt of lightning that strikes any target you designate, as long as it is within 10 feet per effective binder level of your position. The lightning bolt deals 3d6 points of electricity damage, plus an additional 1d6 points of electricity damage for every three effective binder levels you possess above 5th. A successful Refl ex save halves this damage. This ability functions outdoors, indoors, underground, and even underwater.
Water Breathing: You can breathe both water and air easily.

[Bonecrusher Doc]

Lookout
"Mister Woetjans! Starboard bow!"


The sailors interact with Woetjans rather than Marko or any of the other guild members, though this is only natural considering the history of the Sampo and its crew. Fortunately Woetjans is always perfectly respectful and deferring to the authority of the guild, who pays their wages.

Woetjans finds a good vantage point and produces from his cloak a small brass spyglass. He examines a spit of land on the shore for a moment, then finds Marko and points to it.

Woetjans
"Nothing but a cairn of rocks. Pretty big though, about thrice my height."

http://misshelen.files.wordpress.com/2009/01/applecross-cairn1.jpg?w=477&h=357

Other than that the rocky shore could hide many things. Something seems a little strange about the weather.
Roll whatever you think might be appropriate to help you figure out what's strange about the weather.

[Daryk]

Marko

"Yes, a large cairn. Odd, that," Marko agreed, peering through the glass. Squinting as he looked around, something struck him as odd about the weather.

Let's see if I can roll higher than a 2 this time. Profession (Sailor):[roll0]

[MK Kilmarnock]

Zan shifted in his sleep, the rocking of the ship helping him through the night. As morning came though, it sought to wake him up with its brightness, warmth, and other such annoying qualities. He sat up to the motions and voices of the newcomer talking with Sandra, which made Zan smirk a little. He didn't know why, but... something about it was sort of funny.

"T-T-Think h-he likes you, Sandra!" Zan teased, sitting up and getting ready for what was likely going to be another long day. He pulled his mummified scythe out of bed from the position where he had cradled it, throwing on the rest of his robes and situating himself. It was only when he felt the tinnish 'tink' of the silver flask that he remembered it was emtpy... and he was completely sober, with hangover to boot.

"T... Terii... great."

[Bonecrusher Doc]

Marko realizes it's the clouds that seem strange - specifically, there is a dark cloud on the southern horizon which looks out of place with the rest of the sky so blue.

[Daryk]

Marko

Tugging his beard thoughtfully, Marko pointed out the cloud to Woetjans: "Have you ever seen anything like that, Mr. Woetjans? I fear it doesn't bode well for our chase."

Turning to Matthew, he continued, "Matthew, could you please have Fiona report on both the cairn and that odd cloud to the south? I think we need to know more about both."

[Bonecrusher Doc]

Woetjans stares at the cloud a bit and nods slowly.

Woetjans
"A bad omen."

He spits into the sea three times in rapid succession.

Fiona ruffles her feathers a bit and confides to Matthew that she doesn't relish the thought of an hour-long flight over open water to a dark cloud. (She's not a migratory bird, and she's a tad lazy.) However, inspecting a pile of rocks on the shore sounds like fun!

[Akyana]

Sandra looks at the man she tossed the other day and blinks I'm not sure what you are talking about magic didn't seem to make much sense to her as it was, but adding another personality to yourself seemed like a bad idea.

After he leaves and Zan makes a comment to her she stands up walking up behind Zan and leans against him pressing her chest into his back Well what makes you say that? she was just teasing him like she use to do when they were younger.


Why do I feel like someone's going to make a comment about it being bad luck to have a woman on board

[DavidByron]

Matthew to Fiona: "I agree about the cloud and I am not much happier about the cairn, but you're a land bird so nobody would get suspicious of you I suppose. Go and look around the cairn. Look for signs of humans. Fencing, doors, poles, string and anything with an unnatural straight edge. Be safe!"

Fiona sets off.

Matthew to Marko: "They will likely see us now before we can find them as we are a ship at sea and they are likely hidden in some secluded cove. Perhaps we should sail on past as if none the wiser that their lair is close by? Then we could send a party ashore and secretly double back."

"What is the new guy crying about? Is he alright?"

Is he entirely stable, wonders Matthew.

[Daryk]

Marko

"Our new member appears not to be well at all. With the omen of that dark cloud added to his strangeness, I hope we don't spook the crew. Perhaps you could speak to him, Matthew? You're rather more familiar with things arcane than I am," Marko said quietly.

[Thymin]

Dravick:

After a mostly uneventful watch, Dravick easily slipped into sleep. The dreams he had, while not bad, were unsettling. In his dreams, he was constantly running, hither and yon. Not away from anything, but rather towards something. Some amorphous need to get somewhere. But each time, when he arrived at 'there', he needed to get to somewhere else. He awoke as the sun crested the horizon, feeling mentally wasted. For the first time in a long time, his smile did not come easily to his face. He made his way to the prow of the boat, sat quietly, and stared out at the horizon. The sea shimmered as the sun light glinted off of the waves, and slowly a sense of peace and purpose crept back into him. Perhaps it was the salt air, maybe it was the sheer beauty of the seemingly limitless expanse of the horizon, maybe it was something else entirely. In any case, Dravick was feeling better about things, and he even began to softly hum a happy tune. He decided to head below deck to retrieve his lute from whence he'd stowed it when he came across the new fellow weeping his eyes out. Weird, must be something in the air. He wrongly guessed.

"What is wrong, new friend?" Dravick asked, hoping to pass on some of his newly regained happiness through a friendly conversation. "You seem in much different humor than yesterday. It's not because of Sandra is it? Don't feel bad just because she's a girl. She'd probably beat any one of us in a fist fight."

[Bonecrusher Doc]

Fiona returns after twenty or thirty minutes of inspecting the shore around the cairn.

She carries back a small decayed strip of leather, such as might be used to tie an article of clothing, and an ordinary copper piece, equally weatherbeaten with a crusty patina.

Fiona
"I found these by the big pile of rocks, Matthew. No people. Lots of birds. And mice. A couple of little snakes on the warm rocks. Fish in some little creeks. I saw no boats, and I flew up and down coast a bit. The beach is rocky, Matthew. Don't let them break the boat on the rocks."

[Jokes]

Darrien

"I'll be fine." He wipes away the tears with his hand, but they are quickly replaced. "It is just a side effect of my magic. Here." Darrien closes his eyes for a moment and Dravick is overcome by feelings of loss and grief. Darrien continues concentrating for a few more moments and the feelings begin to fade. "It is like that. Only I can't turn in off for me." He sighs, looking at the dark cloud on the horizon. "Sea and storm... To think that this is what Focalor seems to enjoy." He grips his chest. "He is a little less sad than usual..."

[DavidByron]

"Good work, Fiona."

"Well it is not easy to hide something the size of a ship, but it seems they have managed it, both from the sea, and from the air."

----------------------------------------------

Matthew goes to tackle the new guy, Darrien, and finds Dravick with him too. Something seems different about the Binder this morning. Especially the eyes. Presumably a new spirit is in possession of the man. How much of this is voluntary? The one time Matthew witnessed the possession it seemed to be at the will of the human. Did the new spirit push out the old? Presumably this accounts for the odd mood swings, but who would subject themselves to such things? For power?

"You're a binder, aren't you? I've heard of your kind."

The binder looks traumatised about something, possibly the incident with Sandra yesterday night.

"People round here don't know what it is .. you are .. but you should probably be more circumspect about transforming in front of people."

Matthew was going to say more, and maybe talk about proper guild membership and the contract, but he feels distinctly uncomfortable near to the Binder.

[Jokes]

Darrien

"I think you ought to know I'm feeling very depressed," Darrien sighs as Matthew walks over. "We've lost the other ship, haven't we? If you like, I could take Equus and search around the ocean. I mean, if they aren't on the sea, they might be under it." He looks up at the clouds. "Or over it."

[DavidByron]

The suggestion would remove both of the oddities that appear to be spooking the crew, with one stroke, thinks Matthew.

"Good idea, but Equus might only follow the orders of the members that he is indentured to-- he's a sort of lease as I understand it. A gift or reward from an elemental noble they helped."

"Is you present manifestation able to swim under water without breathing?"

Matthew hadn't thought of them being under the water itself. Searching under water was a good idea anyway of course as it would find any hidden dock more easily and without being seen.... if the enemy had sea dwellers the scouting might prove dangerous. But then if they had under water capability would they still use a mundane ship? Perhaps for carrying stuff.

"Perhaps a small team of you, Equus and another crew member could scout around? And cheer up. We will find her."

[roll0]

If only Matthew felt as confident as he was suggesting. The truth is he had expected Fiona to find more to go on. What she had found was suggestive of some human activity (as was the cairn's existence itself) but it might have been many years ago. In short they were running out of options.

[MK Kilmarnock]

Zan was just about to answer when he felt Sandra push up against him. And, of course, in her sleeping wear, she had to press up against him with a particular set of assets. He had no liquor... he was NOT prepared to handle this.

He let out a small, self-subdued shriek as he darted forward, thinking of a way to get himself out of the room. "I, uh.. M-m-morning watch... b-breakfa... .. P-POOP DECK!" He stammered, running out of the room.

Wearing the important effects of his robe, symbol and flask (but having forgotten the scythe on his bed), Zan ran out on deck, struggling to keep the flush in his face down.

"I-I, uh... a-erm... ... A-Any sign of... t-... the ship?"

[Thymin]

Dravick:

"Wow." Dravick said, after the feeling of sadness had left him."That is powerful magic indeed." At Matthew's mention of Binders, Dravick makes a mental note to ask more about that later. "Over it?" He replies to Darrien's suggestion. "I hadn't thought of that, but that cloud out there does look unnatural. Perhaps it is magic of some sort."

I wonder... He thought to himself as he pondered the ominous looking cloud.

Use whichever roll (if any) is applicable for the strange storm cloud.
[roll0]
[roll1]

[Bonecrusher Doc]

Equus
"I can always live underwater, in any form."

Dravick thinks of all the stories and magic he has heard of that involve clouds. In legends, dark clouds are usually sent by a god or goddess to express displeasure, usually preceding some calamity. Clouds created by arcane magic are sometimes illusory and sometimes they are real. Usually magic clouds are used to obscure vision, to hide something or someone - though there are also clouds that can harm, like poison.

Woetjans (to Marko)
"Captain - I've been watching that cloud for almost an hour now and hasn't moved, nor barely changed form. It's like no natural weather I've ever seen."

The Sampo is now abreast of the cairn on its starboard side and the cloud on its port. The oarsmen are at their benches, rested and fed, though sore from the previous day's long sprint. Marko hums a snatch of a song - his voice seems to be intact for now.

[Daryk]

Marko

"Me either, Mr. Woetjans, me either. I'm inclined to have our best swimmers, Equus and Darrien, investigate the cloud while we bring the ship to the shore to investigate the cairn. With a mirror, we can communicate to recall one force to the aid of the other if necessary. Matthew, Dravick, what do you think?" Marko said thoughtfully.

[DavidByron]

"I agree we need to investigate both remaining leads. That cairn is really big. It wasn't made for no reason. I'm afraid my two mirrors won't communicate with each other though. Although they look (almost!) identical, they are from separate pairs. One communicates with its pair held by Ulysses in Khorinis, the other.... I'm not sure who has it. I thought you did...?"

(Explanations follow as to where the other mirror got to - left in Bridgeport somehow).

"Well if it was left behind in Bridgeport too, then maybe I can use it to get the other half of the cats eye amulets which Kyte has. That is -- if it has been a week since we last used this pair to pass a physical object through. Hmm. It's been about a week. I'll give it a try. If not this morning certainly by tomorrow. I guess I need to make a note of when we use them."

Matthew will use a Message spell to try to open a contact through the mirror that is presumably held by someone in Bridgeport. If successful he'll ask about the other half of the cats eye amulet and try to get it passed through.

[Bonecrusher Doc]

Matthew is able to reach Jerris... but is not able to get the other cat's eye. Jerris says Kyte and Sharn have it, and they are away from the guildhall at present. Jerris tersely says that he doesn't know when Kyte and Sharn will be back.

[Thymin]

Dravick:

"Well, without a means to communicate at a distance, it would seem that we would have to choose a direction and follow it at risk of losing the trail completely." Dravick says thoughtfully. "Marko, could the ship have made it to where the cloud is overnight? What I mean is, from what we know of how fast it was going, and what Fiona told us their expected arrival time was, do you think they could have made it to that place where that cloud is? I know from the histories*, that magical clouds are frequently used for concealment, so I'm thinking that they may be trying to conceal themselves somehow. Also, I'm thinking that the cloud is the more transient of our leads. Presumably, we'd be able to find the cairn again and begin searching there later should we come up empty on the cloud front."

Dravick is referring to fables and stories of old, and he usually refers to them as the histories, rather than the tales.

[Daryk]

Marko

"An excellent point, Dravick. Mr. Woetjans! Bring us around, if you please. We're headed for that cloud, with all speed. Once we're on course, I'll sing the wind into our sails," Marko said. He then set about marking the cairn on the chart so they'd be able to come back to it later.

Ok, one more time with the Profession (Sailor) thing: [roll0]

[Akyana]

Sandra looks at Darrien Why would someone put themselves through that kind of treatment for magic? magic that had that much influence on you made her feel uneasy. She was also starting to wonder if it would backfire and they would have to fight what ever took Darrien over one day.

She looked around a bit at the land If I could get on shore I could scout a little. Unfortunately I can not walk on water.

[Bonecrusher Doc]

Woetjans directs the helmsman and the Sampo turns hard to port, heading away from shore and straight south towards the dark cloud on the horizon.

It is now midmorning and getting hot in these southern waters. A curious seagull flies in circles around the Adventurers' boat, and some dolphins can be seen frolicking in the waves.

Marko gently clears his throat and and smiles slightly. It seems that the sea air agrees with his singing voice.

[DavidByron]

Matthew takes careful note of the seagull, the better to mimic it with his illusionary magic.

[Thymin]

Dravick:

"I hadn't expected to make the decision," Dravick muttered as Marko started shouting orders to send the ship towards his suggested destination. "I hope my hunch is right."

As the ship changed course, Dravick took a seat at the oars, figuring that it wouldn't hurt him to help out.

[Daryk]

Marko

Before he started singing, Marko smiled at Dravick and said, "Don't look so glum, Dravick! Your hunch informed my decision, which is why I asked. And you're right: the cairn at least isn't going anywhere. It will still be there to investigate after we look into this cloud."

[Bonecrusher Doc]

The Sampo proceeds up to a few hundred yards from the dark cloud. It is high noon, but mysteriously, the sun's rays do not seem to pierce the cloud at all - the adventurers cannot make out even the faintest outline of anything within the cloud. Woetjans spits three times into the sea, mutters to himself, then calls for a sounding. The lead is cast three times and the results reported to Woetjans, who then informs the adventurers.

Woetjans
"I thought the color of the water looked strange. The sea here is getting shallow fast. Still plenty of depth for our boat, but unusual for being this far out from shore."

Though it's difficult to judge without much of a frame of reference, the cloud looks to be about the area of a city the size of Bridgeport, reaching from the waves to an altitude of about 1000 yards.

[Daryk]

Marko

Ending is song, Marko ordered, "Mr. Woetjans, bring us around this cloud, and keep the lead going. This hazard must be charted."

Gathering the adventurers together, Marko said, "Something is clearly not right here, and I am loath to hazard the ship or the crew. Between Equus and the skiff, I think we can adequately investigate without doing so. Does anyone have a better idea?"

[DavidByron]

Matthew cannot determine if the cloud is magical until he is within sixty feet of it, but it seems likely. It might be worthwhile finding if the cloud is an illusion or some sort of conjuration. A conjuration, no different from a naturally created fog, would be easier to accomplish, and yet would block the vision of the defenders as much as any attackers. Where would you place watch guards under such circumstances?

"Let's get to it. If these people are hired thugs they may plan to hand over Ana to some third party soon."

[Thymin]

Dravick:

"I agree. It would seem that time is of the essence." Dravick said as he hurried to the skiff to help lower it into the water.

[Daryk]

Marko

"Mr. Woetjans, make ready the skiff! The adventurers and I shall take it into the cloud," Marko ordered.

[Jokes]

Darrien

Darrien throws his things into the skiff, along with his boots. He climbs over the railing and drops into the water, disappearing under the surface.

[Bonecrusher Doc]

With the exception of Darrien, the adventurers climb into the dinghy. Podarge is left behind, as it would be nigh impossible to get the warhorse onto the dinghy safely. Equus jumps overboard next to Darrien, shaping himself into a strange hybrid form with a horse's head, humanoid arms and torso, and a fish's tail. Together they advance up to the cloud.

As they get closer, they see another thing definitely unnatural about the thick, swirling mist. The edges of the cloud are constantly dissipating, blown away by the brisk sea breezes and evaporated by the hot noonday sun - and yet, the cloud is constantly replenished from within. There is a definite boundary of the cloud that never advances nor retreats more than an inch.

If the cloud is an illusion, it's a very good one. Even though the adventurers are all scrutinizing it skeptically, their eyes cannot pierce it.

Equus swims ahead into the cloud. He disappears from view as he does so. He immediately calls back, his voice clear and only sounding a few feet away.

Equus
"Nothing but thick fog so far. But it's made from ordinary water - it shouldn't harm any of you to touch or breath it."

The adventurers pull on the oars - and Darrien swims alongside. They endure a few moments in the thick of the cloud. It is not as black as night, but the fog is so thick that they can barely make out the silhouettes of their fellow passengers on the little dinghy.

Please finalize whatever equipment your character has with him/her, and post the current link to your character sheet in your signature, if you don't mind.

They follow the sound of Equus' voice as he fearlessly proceeds another fifty yards or so, and are happy to hear when he calls back:

"The cloud stops here. It's only a ring - a ring of fog around an island."

The dinghy finally exits the fog, and the adventurers blink in the bright sun. The cloud is indeed a ring, and in the center is a mountain-island rising from the sea. The shore is about half a mile distant, with the jagged rocks of the mountain rising steeply almost immediately. Anchored at the shore is the boat they had chased from Bridgeport. But between the adventurers and their quarry, perhaps just over two hundred feet away, are two hewn stone towers jutting from the waves.

Each tower is round, three stories tall, and narrow. They are only as wide as a one-room peasant's cottage. They have slate tile rooves and many arrow slits. There are no people in sight - just the towers and the distant boat. Equus, at the internal edge of the cloud ring, puts a hand on the gunnel of the dinghy and stops its progress forward. In the bright sun they are clearly exposed to any watchful eyes in the tower. Equus looks to the adventurers and speaks softly:

"Now what do you wish to do?"

[Bonecrusher Doc]

Marko notices that, beyond the towers, the water is very still - as opposed to the waves that rock their dinghy hear. He thinks about other places he's seen this sailing, and figures there is some sort of barrier around the island, or at least around part of the island... that would actually be one of the few scenarios in which it would make sense to have two towers out in the open water like this - perhaps a channel between the two towers for boats to pass through.

[Daryk]

Marko

"Matthew, can you obscure the skiff with an illusion? I fear we'll be easy targets if we pass between them openly," Marko asked, rubbing his chin.

[MK Kilmarnock]

The question that Sandra had asked on the ship still bothered Zan quite a bit. Ana truly had suffered quite a bit, and only for magic. That was a rather... blunt way to put it, and of course when the others talked about it, it made far more sense. But if you remove the eloquence out of a situation and it becomes far more barbaric, sometimes it's indicative of a problem.

The other issue coming to his mind was the 'third party' that Matthew mentioned. He hardly dared ask, but the words were too burning.

"M-Matthew... w-what kind of... augh, what k-kind of third party are we t-talking about!?" His nerves were too jittery to even think the words properly. "A-And I f-forget if you... y-you speak Dwarven... th... that would make things easier on m-me...

[DavidByron]

Sorry for being late to reply - sometimes happens at the weekends.
In answer to Captain Marko's question Matthew bites his tongue back to avoid a lengthy technically explanation of why it's not his fault, and how no wizard could do it, because it is the nature of "illusions" to have a little tiny piece of solidity so they can't be formed with other solid objects within them, as obviously useful as that would be.

"I can't make an illusion hide us within it, but I could make an illusion of something big enough for us to hide behind it. It would have to be something like a big piece of driftwood. I don't know if I could cover the whole boat plausibly, and like a real piece of driftwood it would only give us cover from one side -- if there's two watch towers we have to pass between... we couldn't be hid on both sides.

We don't want to wait for nightfall.... is there any back entrance?

I could make a number of us invisible individually.... let me see... . The wizard rummages through his rolled up stack of (to others) identical looking scrolls quickly as if double-checking an answer he already knows very well. " I have two scrolls of invisibility, one learned spell and I could learn another one in about 15 minutes, for four total. Maybe some of us could go underwater to get to the shore. Darrien and another with Equus? That's six. The invisbility would last exactly five minutes.

The invisible people would have to swim fast.

I'd rather not get too wet if I can help it....

Equus, if you were willing, could you ferry us underwater safely to shore one at a time? But that would mean splitting us up while that went on.

Oh I could cover us with something that is a natural concave shape -- like an illusion of an overturned dinghy floating along. But they'd be sure to investigate it and check. Or for that matter we could use this real dinghy to hide under, and slip out from under it, invisible, close to the shore. But that might raise their suspicions even when they found it to be empty.

I see no good options.

Can we pull a diversion of some kind? Can we scout further to see if there are any weaknesses we don't know about yet?"

Mostly what Matthew would have as interesting items would be scrolls which I haven't got to writing down yet but Invisibility is just the sort of thing that when you need it you may need it a lot so a very good spell to scroll. I have written down on sheet currently that he has one Invisibility prepared and an empty spell slot at 2nd level which he can use to memorize Invisibility (or any other 2nd level spell) in about 15 minutes. In fact plausibly he'd have half a dozen scrolls of Invisibility thinking about it but 2 will do at a minimum since I hadn't got his stash written up. He makes these scrolls himself so they cost very little. OK so I need to write down what other scrolls he has, and probably what spells he knows. If it is OK he'll take one scroll of any spell he knows and 2 of extra useful ones that are situational.

Mathew doesn't want to get wet because of all the paper valuables on him. naturally wizard's journeybooks are waterproof (and fire "resistant") and the scrolls would be in a scroll container. Even so as a wizard you don't want to push your luck.

[DavidByron]

Matthew speaks Dwarf but he speaks it with a strong River-Dwarf accent. Zan of course would not be prejudiced as his Dwarven foster father was himself an exile from the Dwarven kingdoms, although he was no River Dwarf. So he'll understand anything Zan wants to say in the language that makes him more comfortable and less prone to stutter. However he answers Zan's question in Common.

"Who else but the Master? They hid Ana most of her life because they knew someone was looking for her. I assume it is the same guy we faced in Broken Mountain.

It was just a hunch based on the snatches of conversation Fiona overheard that these guys were regular joes. Smugglers or pirates not super loyal religious cultists like ... well like Verona and Keysha used to be."

Used to be? Matthew is perhaps kidding himself about the progress he has been making with the surviving sister, last seen, locked up back at the Adventurers' HQ.

"Fiona has an emotional link with me so I get a little more nuance of what she is saying. It was just a hunch."

[Daryk]

Marko

Marko looked a little surprised at Matthew's initial explanation and asked, "So you can't make an illusion of a fog bank, cloud or whale? Hm. As far as a back entrance, we might be able to manage the cliffs, but it's at least as risky as the towers, I think. Equus may be our best option."

[Akyana]

Sandra sighs as again she was going to have to leave Podarge behind. She collected the gear that she didn't keep on her saddle and starts readies to board the skiff. A landing was an unsure thing. If you could get to land before being spotted you were in good shape as you would get the drop on your enemy, but if they saw you running up a beach vulnerable to arrow fire wasn't a good thing.

[DavidByron]

"A fog bank yes, whale no. You can walk inside a real fog bank but not a real whale."

see OOC thread

[Thymin]

Dravick:

"Maybe if Equus could ferry a few of us to infiltrate the towers while the skiff waits just at the edge of the cloud ring?" Dravick suggests helpfully. "Then, when the coast is clear, we can signal for the skiff to come to land."

[Bonecrusher Doc]

[roll0][roll1][roll2]

A heavy crossbow bolt flies the 200 feet from the closer of the two towers and strikes Marko in the shoulder blade. The loud --crack-- of breaking bone is clearly heard by all over the sound of the waves.

[DavidByron]

"Fog bank coming right up."

[Daryk]

Marko

"Ouch!" Marko said, trying to keep his eyes from crossing with the pain. "Being that we've already been spotted, let's just get the skiff to shore as quickly as possible, shall we?" he asked in a tight voice. "Equus, help us along if you will, and yes, Matthew, I think an illusory fog bank might at least hinder their aim," he continued in the same tight voice. Orders given, he took a moment to attempt to remove the quarrel and cast a minor healing on himself, then turned to Zan: "I think I might need a little help here, Zan. The wound is somewhat beyond my ability to tend."

[Jokes]

Darrien

Darrien bobs up from under the water and grabs onto the skiff; he's holding a starfish in his hand, which he turns over, curiously. "Hey, check this thing out..." He's about to climb into the boat when he sees the wound in Marko's shoulder. "Oh, no, you're going to die aren't you?" He begins to sob and lowers himself back under the water. "Come on *sob* Equus, we have to get to *sob* shore."

Going to grab onto the boat and swim at the same time, hopefully making it a little easier for Equus to drag. And to avoid errant crossbow bolts...

[MK Kilmarnock]

"Just so long as I know that she won't be hurt immediately, I think I can operate-" Zan was speaking in Dwarven, until he was so rudely interrupted by a crossbow bolt that had decided to fly out of nowhere and sink itself into Marko.

"O-OH BOCCOB!" Having said that and a few other explicit words that were probably never translated out of Dwarven, he suppressed his first instinct of running and hiding behind the nearest solid object he could find. Instead, he did his best to maintain focus and tend to Marko's wound, all while trying to disguise his attempt to hide behind something a little more armored (even if it's another person).


[roll0]
[roll1]

[Bonecrusher Doc]

Equus ducks under the dinghy lurches suddenly as he kicks in whatever sort of propulsion it is he uses in the water. The adventurers fortunately are already as low in the boat as they can get to avoid incoming projectiles, or they would have fallen overboard. Darrien grabs onto the boat to avoid being left behind.
Equus goes straight for the shore, keeping both towers to the starboard side of the dinghy (not attempting to go between them).

Another crossbow bolt flies from the tower.
[roll0][roll1][roll2][roll3] (2 HP damage)
This one grazes Matthew's forehead. Fiona squawks as the bolt brushes her feathers before plunging into the sea. An impressive amount of blood runs down Matthew's face and soaks his garments, but it is not a deep wound and the blood does not spurt like a severed artery.

As the dinghy passes the tower, the bow goes airborne, and the stern of the boat smacks hard against something under the water. There is a sound of splintering wood before the bow crashes down into the water again, yet Equus does not slow. The dinghy shudders as it levels out and then slices through the water as fast as a thrown spear.

At last Equus pulls up on a thin strip of gravel beach, coming out from under the boat in humanoid form. Not 150 meters starboard is the boat the adventurers chased from Bridgeport, tied to a small pier. The mountainous terrain rises steeply in front of them. Fortunately Equus was considerate enough to deposit the dinghy on the beach with a large boulder immediately to starboard, hiding them from the larger boat. In the spraying ride to shore, none of the adventurers saw any persons on the shore or on the boat, but you didn't get much of a look before hiding behind the boulder. The boulder also hides the dinghy from the towers, now some 2500 feet behind you. The stern of the dinghy, still resting in the gentle sea, starts to fill slowly with water through cracks in the floor.

Equus
"I must rest."

He slips back into the sea and is quickly gone from sight.


http://jimyunker.com/images/DSCN4565.JPG

[DavidByron]

Check for maintaining fog illusion after hit by bolt (DC13):
[roll0]

Matthew is surprised by the wound and drops the illusion, but it seems as if they have passed out of range anyway. Once they get to the shore Matthew dabs the blood off his face. He looks back at the two towers (while remaining hidden from the ship) for any sign of pursuit or of raising the alarm, also for any sign of an entrance to the towers such as a door.

"I vote we keep moving."

[Daryk]

Marko

"MUCH better, Zan, thank you!" Marko exclaimed as the pain receded. Seeing Matthew grazed, the gnome laid a hand on his friend and muttered a charm to at least staunch the bleeding.

Cure Minor Wounds for the scalp wound!

[Thymin]

Dravick:

"I agree with Matthew. I think we need to keep moving." Looking back at the skiff as he spoke, he added. "I don't think we'll be getting back the same way we came."

[Daryk]

Marko

"Dravick, you're brilliant! The guild could certainly use another ship. But we definitely need to get Ana back first," Marko said, peering around the boulder toward their quarry. He searched first for a small boat that might have ferried anyone from the ship to shore, then for a path away from the beach, and finally for a destination to which any such path would lead.

[Bonecrusher Doc]

The thin strip of beach is walkable around the island, as far as what is visible from here at this point of the tide. It seems that there may be some sort of trail or at least a widening of the beach where the dark boat is tied up on the shore, but it's impossible to see now hiding behind this boulder.

The mountain slopes up fairly steeply before them but looks to be more of a "scramble" than a technical climb at this point. There is no sign of life visible from the adventurers' current vantage point.

The boat has sepia-colored wood and gray sails.

So the adventurers are left with five options:
1) Remain where they are
2) Walk on the beach towards the dark boat
3) Walk on the beach away from the dark boat
4) Start climbing the boulder-strewn slope of the mountain (not too difficult but will need to use hands some, and only partial cover/concealment)
5) Swim back into the sea

[MK Kilmarnock]

"I don't care what option we take..." Zan said, speaking in Dwarven to reduce his annoying stuttering. "As long as we get Ana back.

He wasn't going to make the decision, he'd wait on somebody else, somebody closer to a leader position.

[Daryk]

Marko

Leaning back behind the boulder again, Marko said, "It looks like we can either approach in the open on the beach, or get some cover at the cost of some speed by going up slope a bit. Having been shot once already today, I'm for some cover, but most of you would do if we rush them as a group. Any preferences? Zan seems indifferent."

[Akyana]

Sandra was trying to hold her shield up to protect the others from the incoming crossbow fire. When they reached land she jumped out of the boat as soon as she could and looked around to get her bearings. She saw the boat that took Ana I could reach that boat rather quickly if I were to run... the tower could be reached as well but it would take longer. she could move up to 200 feet in no time. She also kept an eye out to see if anyone was coming closer

[Jokes]

Darrien

"I could head straight to the boat." He points back to the water. "Slip in, cause a commotion, slip out."

[Daryk]

Marko

"Could you take anyone with you? If we're going to board her, it would be better to have more than one boarder," Marko asked.

[Jokes]

Darrien

Darrien shrugs. "Only if they can breathe water."

[DavidByron]

"Does this strike you as odd? No alarm has been sounded (yet) and I didn't see any crew on the ship as we came in. Perhaps we happened to come at a good time and they are all distracted by something. I vote for racing to their ship and perhaps secure it initially depending on what we find there. I suspect that they need Ana alive and that the ship is their only way off the island."

[Daryk]

Marko

Marko nodded as Matthew spoke, forming a plan. "All right, then. If we're to board the ship first, we should give Darrien a head start so we can hit her simulataneously from two directions. Did anyone else see a boat we can use to get to the ship from the shore, or do we have to swim as well?" he asked, the gears still visibly turning in his head.

[Bonecrusher Doc]

Marko risks a quick peek around the boulder. It is possible to walk along the beach to the other boat, though a stealthy swimmer may be slightly less obvious.

[Daryk]

Marko

After a quick peek of his own, Marko said, "All right, give Darrien and me about two minutes to swim under her lee, then rush the ship. We'll board from seaward to catch the watch in a pincer. Last chance for any other ideas..."

Marko will also say a quiet prayer over his holy symbol before embarking on this endeavor.
Swim: [roll0]
Hide: [roll1]
Move Silently: [roll2]

[MK Kilmarnock]

"I..... I agree with whatever the method, just tell me what to do!" Zan urgently said in Dwarven, having basically abandoned Common for now. "I don't see a boat, but I can swim. If this scythe doesn't like water, it will just have to deal with it."

Noticing Marko praying, he decided it really wasn't a bad idea. As he pressed the holy symbol of Boccob to his lips, he prayed... for their success, but moreso for Ana's safety.

[Thymin]

Dravick:

Assessing the situation, Dravick interjected, "Sandra, I could make you invisible when you run to the ship. Then maybe you could get aboard and set an ambush in case they try to fight us off as we approach."

[Jokes]

Darrien wades back into the water. Since there's little point in trying to keep his head above water, his swimming style is somewhat lackadaisical. He slips underwater to avoid being seen, rather than slow himself down trying to keep quiet.

[roll0]
edit: if the water is calm, we can take 10, yeah?

[DavidByron]

Matthew prepares to sprint down the rocky beach towards the ship when the time is right.

[Bonecrusher Doc]

Darrien and Marko swim out a few yards into the calm, warm water, then head for the boat. It's easy for Darrien to remain hidden. Marko has to be more careful not to splash or expose himself above the surface unnecessarily.

They swim around the stern of the dark boat, which is seaward, until they get to the little pier which is on the starboard side of the boat. They hide under the weathered planks of the pier, and looking up through the cracks they see no-one. It should be fairly easy to hoist themselves up on the pier and then jump over the gunnel and onto the deck of the boat, which is slightly larger than the Sampo.


[roll0]
[roll1]
[roll2]
[roll3]
[roll4]
[roll5]


Risking a quick check around the boulder, the other team members see no-one between them and the boat on the beach, nor do they see anyone visible on the deck or rigging of the boat. However, the guards could be easily hidden from view or even below the deck of the boat (unlike the Sampo, the dark boat is large enough for there to be a small hold area under the deck.

[DavidByron]

Matthew mutters under his breath,
"89, 90, 91, 92..."

[MK Kilmarnock]

Zan stood near Matthew, listening to the quiet countdown and getting himself ready. There was not much he could do to be useful yet, but he would aid Matthew the best he could. For once, though, he felt that if he had to cut some people down in order to get Ana back...

Well, so be it.

[Jokes]

Darrien slips onto the pier, then pulls the gnome out of the water. He then lifts Marko up toward the railing, letting him see if there is anyone about before climbing up.

[Bonecrusher Doc]

Remember to throw in some rolls even if you're not sure you'll need them. Perhaps some that might be appropriate in this situation would be Hide, Move Silently, Spot, Climb, and Initiative. Unless you think you'll have better luck with the DM rolling for you, but doesn't that take some of the fun out of it?
[roll0]
[roll1]
[roll2]
[roll3]
[roll4]
[roll5]


Darrien - and then Marko - pop their heads up over the gunnel and see no-one on the deck of the boat. The boat is secured by two ropes to the small pier and by an anchor in the shallow water. The sails are furled. There are only two oarlocks on each side of the boat - it is obvious to any seaman that they are only for tight maneuvering in a harbor, that the intended source of propulsion when underway is solely the sail. The rudder is on top of an aftcastle with a door under it similar to the Sampo, but this door is on a slope (halfway between a regular door and a trap-door), indicating that it leads downwards into some sort of cargo hold under the deck.

Marko glances to his right (inland) and sees that there is a path winding up the mountain from here. He cannot follow the path with his eyes very far; the craggy mountain is too large and jagged.

Darrien and Marko climb aboard as quietly as they can. The rest of the adventurers catch sight of them climbing over the gunnel and know that the assault on the dark boat has begun.

[Thymin]

Dravick:

"Looks like they're on board." Dravick points out to the group. "I think that's our cue." He adds as he prepares to run towards the ship.



[roll1]
[roll2]
[roll3]
[roll=Tumble?]1d20+4

[MK Kilmarnock]

Silently agreeing with Dravick, Zan finishes unwrapping his scythe and prepares to go.


[roll0]
[roll1]
[roll2]

[Akyana]

Sandra places her hand on her sword as everyone gets ready to move. She takes a few deep breaths ready for the signal to charge before she would take off at full speed towards the boat.


[roll0]
[roll1]
Assuming we are running over the clear path and not rocks

[DavidByron]

"118, 119, 120.... and GO!"

Matthew is up and running, knowing that Sandra will soon speed past him.

[Bonecrusher Doc]

The other adventurers reach the boat, weapons drawn, but see that Marko and Darrien have not found anyone to fight, at least not on deck.

To get on the boat, Zan, Sandra, Matthew, and Dravick cross the beach in front of the bow, near the start of a path leading uphill and inland. There is a piece of canvas about 6' x 6' on the ground, weighed down by small rocks on each corner, with something underneath it that looks to be about the size of a medium-sized chair.

[DavidByron]

Glad that it appears he won't have to get wet, Matthew waits for someone more nautical to figure out how to get on board the ship. In the meantime, spotting the odd shape underneath the tarp, he removes the rocks from one corner and tries to get a look at what is underneath.

[Akyana]

Sandra ignored the tarp. Her goal was the boat, which she kept heading towards at full speed with her hand ready to draw her sword.


It should take Sandra 3 rounds to get onto the boat as it was 2.5 rounds of full run speed away from her

[Daryk]

Marko

After sweeping the main deck and checking the rigging for lookouts, Marko waited for Darrien to get in position on the other side of the hatch before venturing below.

[Bonecrusher Doc]

Matthew peeks under the canvas. Underneath is a pile of torches, in several bundles of a dozen or so. He notices that under the rock he removed is a flint and steel. The he hustles to catch up with the others, who walk onto the pier and then climb over the gunnel to join Marko and Darrien.

The slanted door that leads under the deck has its hinges arranged so that it opens outward, but when Marko tries to open it, he finds that it is locked from the inside. The door is made of the same dark wood as the hull of the ship, and looks fairly sturdy.

[DavidByron]

Matthew catches up with the others.

"Good news and bad. There are dozens of torches under a tarp back there. If there was a larger group of bandits they wouldn't need to do that. I think the crew of the ship are the only ones here. Bad news is they must be heading underground."

".... why is that door locked from the inside?"

[Daryk]

Marko

"Just a moment," Marko said quietly, pulling a thin knife from his pouch. He then tried to jimmy the lock.

Open Lock: [roll0] (Bardic Knack)

[Akyana]

Sandra looks at the door Unless we are trying to be stealthy about this. she pulls one of her throwing axes out placing it on the hinges which they had access to looking like she was about ready to try and break it off.

[Bonecrusher Doc]

<click!>

Marko successfully opens the lock.

He carefully and quietly lifts open the door, flooding sunlight down a six-foot ladder into the hold of the boat. The trap-door and ladder being in the aft of the boat, it is impossible to see into most of the hold space further forward without putting one's head partially down the ladder. What little hold space that is aft of the ladder is empty, but the adventurers can see the flicker of lamplight and hear the mutter of deep voices coming from the space forward of the ladder.

[Daryk]

Marko

The gnome silently pressed a finger to his lips, then motioned the others to follow him quietly into the hold.

Move Silently: [roll]1d20+8
Hide: [roll]1d20+12[/spoiler]
If necessary:
Initiative: [roll]1d20+3[/spoiler]
To Hit (Hvy Crossbow): [roll0]
Damage: [roll1]
Sneak Attack: [roll2][/Spoiler]

[Bonecrusher Doc]

Marko is the first down the ladder. As he descends, he sees what appears to be four humans sitting on stools around a small table and lantern, playing cards. They're all pretty big guys, almost looking comical in the cramped space, among barrels and crates of various sizes. Unfortunately they have stopped talking and they turn to look at what is apparently the only entrance/exit to the cargo hold. Quick as can be, Marko jumps back into the shadows behind the ladder, where he is no longer illuminated by the spotlight of sunshine coming from the open trap door above. One of the men says a short phrase in an unknown language with a harsh sound to his voice, and all four of them stand and face the ladder. Each man is tall, broad and muscular, with a heavy-boned face and a kukri hanging from each belt

The other adventurers are not aware of what is going on below, except Darrien is the next in line to go down the ladder, and he has seen Marko jump back into the shadows and heard the stools scooting on the floor, indicating that there are several people down below. Darrien quickly holds up a hand, warning the others on deck to be quiet.

[DavidByron]

Matthew is about to go on about his latest theory concerning the bandits, but sees Darrien's sign and instead shuts up and thinks about drawing his crossbow. That might cause a clatter though. Instead he stands still and mentally prepares to cast Sleep down the hatch, figuring that if Marko has met some crew they will get knocked out instead of him. Also who knows at this point if any strangers are friend or foe?

Prepare action: cast Sleep, but only if Matthew hears signs of a fight.


http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/sleep.htm
Will DC 14, 4hd effected

[Jokes]

Darrien eases out his rapier, and then lays flat on the ground ready to peer inside should the noises get too close.


[roll0]

[MK Kilmarnock]

Zan followed the group in, trying to remain quiet.


Forgot about this, here...
[roll0]


When he encountered the ladder, though, he was unsure what to do. It looked like he would very likely be one of the last people down, as his weapon was two-handed, unwieldly, and required lots of effort to be wrapped up again. Perhaps he'd drop it down for somebody else to hold while he climbed...

[Bonecrusher Doc]

The four men advance to the ladder. Marko shrinks back as best as he can in his hiding place, his crossbow at the ready. One of the men says something again, and all four draw their kukris. With the other three men standing at the bottom, one of them starts to climb the short slanted ladder. The man being over six feet tall, there is no need for him to climb in order to see who is on deck. As soon as the man stands erect, his head emerges from the doorway and he sees all the adventurers gathered around. His facial expression is hard to read, but he raises his kukri.


[roll0]
Roll initiative. If you beat this score, go ahead and act (or talk) before the man on the stepladder does.

[Daryk]

Marko

The gnome held his breath and his fire until the last target was ascending the stairs.

Initiative, to hit, damage etc. are all in a previous post.

[DavidByron]

[roll0]
As above Matthew continues with his prepared action: cast Sleep spell if there is a fight. Since there's been no fight as yet, he does not cast it yet.

[Akyana]

Sandra hadn't put the throwing axe away so she still had that out. She brings her arm back preparing to throw the axe at the man's head


[roll0]

[MK Kilmarnock]

[roll0]


Zan readied his scythe to swing at the man's neck and lop his head off if he so much as tried to move or warn his colleagues.

"I-I have no sympathy for you... i-if you move, y-you die..." He whispered, though he didn't feel particularly scary himself. Maybe the scythe would do the talking more effectively...

[Bonecrusher Doc]

The first man on the ladder takes one look at the pathetic little man who looks like he's about to drop his scythe and stifles back a guffaw.

He's not stupid though. He leans back so his head is no longer protruding from the doorway.

Man #1 (in thickly accented Common)
"Calm, calm, or someone will hurt. But now you must be off boat."

[MK Kilmarnock]

"D-Don't give me that..." Zan hissed, a little further angered that the man didn't seem to be bothered in the slightest by his threats. "Y... Y-You forfeited your right to even breathe the moment you t-took my Ana, s-so start begging f-for your damn life!"

[Bonecrusher Doc]

The man shrugged.

Man #1
"If you want then girl, go up the mountain. Here only we sailors."

[DavidByron]

"Only sailors?"

"You are in this up to your neck. In case you did not know it, the woman who was kidnapped aboard this ship was the ward of the Doge of Bridgeport himself. No less. There's a ballista-armed warship patrolling off this island. We're here for the girl. I suggest you co-operate."

"If you are only sailors then who hired you? Talk and be quick."

Mostly true. Ana was under Bruce's care and supervision but was staying with in-laws of some sort nearby until she was adult when she moved to the Guild HQ. So technically she was never a ward but of course Bruce would be exceedingly concerned about her, that is certainly true. And the Sampo is armed with a ballista.

And of course we really will kill them / beat them up if they don't co-operate.

So not much of a bluff (for some reason Matthew's got nothing in bluff) but here's a roll:

[roll0]

[Jokes]

Darrien stands up, tears streaming down his face. "She *sniff* means so much to us. Please, help us *sniff* get her back." He grabs the man in a warm embrace and begins sobbing on his shoulder. "You don't know what it's like to lose a loved one, do you?"


Activate Aura of Sadness: You emit an aura of depression and anguish that overtakes even the strongest-willed creatures. Every adjacent creature is overcome with grief, which manifests as a –2 penalty on attack rolls, saving throws, and skill checks, for as long as it remains adjacent to you. You can suppress or activate this ability as a standard action. Aura of sadness is a mind-affecting ability.

[roll0]
[roll1]

[Bonecrusher Doc]

[roll0]


The large man surprisingly lowers his weapon and accepts Darrien's embrace. For a lingering moment his face softens, and a single tear spills from his eye. A man down below the deck says something brief in an unknown tongue, and suddenly the first man's face is hard again. He shoves Darrien off of him and sniffs hard. Then he raises his kukri.

Man #1 (somewhat hysterically)
"GET OFF THE BOAT!"

His face turns beet red, and he snarls animalistically. He lunges at Darrien with his kukri, but catches his foot on the top step of the ladder and falters for a moment.

Matthew releases his Sleep spell (with a faint sound of nightingales) but it only makes the attacker blink.

PCs win initiative. Don't worry about posting in the correct order as individuals; I'll sort it out. If you choose to attack I need new rolls as some time/events have passed.

[MK Kilmarnock]

"S-Stop LYING to me!!"

Zan was one of the adventurers to strike at the man, incensed that they may have had some role in Ana's disappearance, and must've been hiding SOMETHING.

[Jokes]

Darrien sighs. "How sad." He snaps his fingers and a bolt of lightning strikes at the man.

Lightning Strike: Once per round as a standard action, you can call down a bolt of lightning that strikes any target you designate, as long as it is within 10 feet per effective binder level of your position. The lightning bolt deals 3d6 points of electricity damage, plus an additional 1d6 points of electricity damage for every three effective binder levels you possess above 5th. A successful Reflex save halves this damage. This ability functions outdoors, indoors, underground, and even underwater.

[roll0] DC15 Reflex save for half.

[Thymin]

Dravick:

Having let things play out without his intervention, Dravick finally decided that it was time to speak. "We would rather not have to kill you..." He began from the back of the group, before his words were cut short by the command to get off the boat. As the man made to attack Darrien, Dravick slid his sword free of it's sheath and continued, "...but if you'd rather die than help us. So be it."

Rather than charge directly at the man, Dravick pulls a small candle from a pouch on his belt, says a few arcane words and gestures with his hand, calling forth a celestial badger to fight for the party.

[DavidByron]

Matthew will cast Color Spray in another attempt to knock out the sailors non-lethally. He strikes last (just before the sailors again per readied action rules) and so gets to see the results of the others' actions. If the sailor who spoke has been knocked back down the hatch Matthew should have no problem spraying down into the below deck area. If he has not, then Matthew will still try, but will cast defensively (requiring a DC 15 concentration check) to avoid an AOO. In either case Matthew has little idea where exactly captain Marko is bellow deck but will try to avoid accidentally hitting him, so far as that is possible, but again, Matthew figures the captain will be able to shrug off the effects where the sailors will not.

[roll0]

The Will save is DC 15.
Color Spray (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/colorSpray.htm)

[Akyana]

Sandra was letting the diplomatic approach work for now, mostly because she didn't want to hit an ally with her axe. Once he was free though and the sailor lunged at him she let lose throwing her axe at the man.


[roll0]
[roll1]
[roll2]

[Bonecrusher Doc]

Man #1 grimaces as Darrien's lightning bolt sears entrance and exit wounds on his shoulder and thigh, respectively. Then blood spatters the deck as Zan's scythe rips open the man's cheek and knocks loose a few teeth. Dravick's badger appears and rushes at the man, sinking two claws and its teeth into a muscular calf, ripping flesh from bone and falling down the stairs before it spins to attack its next foe. Sandra's axe lodges in the man's right collarbone as blazing colors leap at the man's face from Matthew's hands.

Incredibly, the man knocks the axe out of his collarbone with the back of his left hand and merely squints at the dazzling spray of colors... and continues to advance, bellowing in his guttural tongue. He slashes expertly at Darrien with his kukri, opening a deep gash across the binder's chest, with Darrien fortunate just to twist away in order to avoid a disembowelment as the man attempts to swerve the blade back at the end of his strike.

In other words, the guy got a critical hit but missed the confirmation roll for double damage, so Darrien's lucky to only lose 10 HP.

Man #2 has now fully emerged from below deck and is choosing his target to attack.

Marko lets fly his bolt at Man #4 who is hunched under the deck - too tall to stand erect. He easily hits, but still it takes a moment before his target locates him in the dim light, then gets the attention of one of his comrades and points out Marko. Man #4 angrily snaps off the shaft of the crossbow bolt protruding from the left side of his rib cage and roars in fury, while Man #3 bares his teeth and sticks out his tongue at Marko... which under most circumstances would seem comical, but it doesn't take a master anthropologist to know that this man means it to be no laughing matter.

Marko is fortunate not to be attacked this round, but he is now trapped down under the deck of the boat with his crossbow unloaded, two enemies up the stair/ladder between him and his allies, and two more enraged men with drawn kukris looking right into his eyes.

At least he's got Dravick's badger down there with him.

OK, PC's turn again.

[Daryk]

Marko

Rapidly assessing the situation and not liking the result, Marko set about making as much of a nuisance of himself as possible to the two men not choosing to venture above deck.

And that would be by going "Total Defense" for +6 AC (yay Tumble!) and letting the badger do as much damage as it can. If possible, Marko will sling his crossbow while doing so. Next round, he'll draw a dagger.

[MK Kilmarnock]

As disturbing as the man now looked with his brand new Glasgow grin (Keopara grin?), Zan could still practically feel the thirst of the scythe. This man clearly didn't feel like giving up... and if that was the case, then there was to be no shame in sending him to whichever deity he worshipped to explain why he had helped kidnap somebody. Because, no matter the facts or however the truth turned out, this man WAS responsible.

And so Zan swung again.


[roll0]
[roll1]
[roll2]

[Akyana]

Sandra sees the guy pull the axe from him and quickly readies her sword before charging him. She leans over and swings her sword at the man twirling around as she does.


[roll0]
[roll1]
[roll2]

[Jokes]

Darrien grimaces in pain as the blade slashes at him. He draws his rapier and slashes right back.


Draw Rapier.
[roll0]
[roll1]
[roll2]
5ft step away.

[Thymin]

Dravick:

As the man comes charging at the group, Dravick draws his sword, and begins to sing one of the stanzas of the song that he's been crafting. He has come to call it "The Song of the Guild".
"Beware! Our Foes,
Prepare to Yield,
The Adventurer's Guild,
From Bridgeport Sailed.

To save our friend,
From evil plots,
Whatever plans,
They will have failed."

[DavidByron]

If the first seaman out of the hatch goes down, Matthew will cast Obscuring Mist down the hatch to help Marko (using his Beguiller spontaneous casting of level 5).
Obscuring Mist (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/obscuringMist.htm)

If the first seaman out of the hatch survives the attacks, Matthew will also try to attack him, using Shocking Grasp (cast as a 4th level Wizard). If possible he'll cast the spell with cover from his companions to avoid an AOO and then make a touch attack the same round. If he cannot get cover he'll defensively cast the spell (DC 15 Concentration check required). If he can't strike at the seaman he'll step back to cast Shocking Grasp for next round.

If Matthew attacks then use:
[roll0], he may not need this check
[roll1] includes +3 assuming the seaman has some metal on him and +1 bard song - a touch attack so ignores armor.
[roll2], +1 damage bard song, no save, electrical damage type
Shocking Grasp (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/shockingGrasp.htm)

[Bonecrusher Doc]

Zan, Sandra, & Darrien all draw blood with their blades, but the roaring beast of a man still stands, until Matthew steps forward and gives him a second dose of electricity. The man falls to his knees and screams soundlessly, his leather armor smoking as blue arcs crackle from Matthew's hands and the air smells of a mix of ozone and charred flesh. Man #1's eyes roll upwards and his skin turns and ashy grey even before his body goes limp and falls facedown on the deck, his bloody kukri clattering from his hand.

Man #2 is now clearly in a state of rage, but selects a new target... Matthew, the spellcaster now standing within melee distance, is the second adventurer to feel a kukri's bite. The sharp blade slices down Matthew's outstretched left arm, opening a gash all the way from his shoulder to his wrist, and blood streams down Matthew's hand, hissing as it encounters the last remaining sparks of electricity still dancing across Matthew's fingers.
9 HP damage to Matthew

The celestial badger rakes Man #3's thigh, but the man sends the creature flying with his his kukri. The badger vanishes before it strikes the inside of the boat's hull.

Man #4, still with the stub of a crossbow bolt protruding from his side, presses his attack on Marko, but the little gnome surprises his opponent - first by whipping the butt of his crossbow up at the man's face as he slings it, then by vaulting sideways over a crate and landing on his feet. Marko is untouched by the deadly kukri, but now alone under the deck with two raging enemies who show no signs of hesitancy despite their wounds.

[Daryk]

Marko

With no obvious help coming and the badger banished back to wherever it came from, Marko concentrated on avoiding the blades of his foes.

Total Defense for the duration, and try to avoid being flanked. If there's an opportunity to get above deck without getting stabbed, Marko will take it.

[DavidByron]

OOC: is man 2 out of the hatch yet? Clambering up might give away an AOO to the adventurers standing close to the hatch or else he might be fighting on lower ground if he hasn't got up on deck yet. OTOH, If he is on deck maybe he can be flanked.

Matthew looks at his bloodied arm in disbelief. So much blood. Shouldn't that be hurting a lot more than it is? (16/25 hp left)

[Thymin]

Dravick:

Continuing his song, Dravick steps forward, trying to flank the man who hit Matthew. He swings at the man hoping that he can bring him down quickly.


Dravick will tumble to get behind the man, if necessary.
[roll0]
[roll1] BAB +3, Inspire Courage +1; If flanking works, then it'll get another +2.
[roll2]
[roll3]
[roll4]

[DavidByron]

Realising Marko's difficulty, Matthew decides to step back and then go ahead with the Obscuring Mist (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/obscuringMist.htm) spell, casting it just after his companions have a chance to strike at the 2nd mariner. The summoned mist is real; no illusion this time. It should seep down into lower decks but there will be enough still on deck to make combat more difficult there too.

So basically after one more hit this round, folks will need to start rolling an additional d100 and getting 21 or more to pierce the concealment. It's 20' radius from Matthew who is about ten feet from the hatch I guess.

Matthew instructs Fiona, "Harry".

This is a trick she has recently learned, to add confusion in the fog of battle by whipping around the enemy and calling out from different angles, while (hopefully) remaining just out of reach. Went OK in practise. Never tested in a real fight.

[Akyana]

Sandra saw the man resist falling after her hit with her sword, but saw him fall after the hit with the lightning. She looks at the second man coming through and looked around as she saw things become harder to see. In addition to her training in the saddle she also trained with fighting with her eyes closed, this making any concealment pointless.


Using Alt feat for Mounted combat, Blind Fighting
[roll0]
[roll1]
[roll2]

[Jokes]

Darrien snaps his fingers again and sends a lightning bolt at the second man.

[roll0], dc15 reflex for half.

[MK Kilmarnock]

"Matthew!" Zan uttered from reflex, running into the fray and approaching the second mariner from the opposite side Matthew was standing on.

No mercy...
No mercy...
No mercy!!!


[roll0]
[roll1]
[roll2]
[roll3]

[Bonecrusher Doc]

Dravick, Sandra, and Zan all bloody their second opponent. Darrien's lightning strikes true again. Matthew's luck with spells is getting better - the thick mist forms almost instantaneously around them, as high as the rigging and down into the belly of the boat. Still, Man #2 rages on. He selects Sandra as his opponent and attacks her... or at least attacks in the mist where he thinks she is... and his razor-sharp kukri slices off a lock of hair at her temple and angles downward, gouging her cheekbone and missing her eyeball just narrowly.
6 damage to Sandra

Marko continues to stay on the defensive, and Man #3 can not touch him, but even with the difficulty of Matthew's magic mist, Man #4 manages to cut Marko in the thigh as he tries to tumble out of the way. Oof! The force behind the savage man's blow is unlike that of any human that Marko has fought before.
9 damage to Marko

[Daryk]

Marko

Gritting his teeth against the pain, Marko continued to duck and weave among what few obstacles there were below deck. Desperately he cast about for an exit, either deeper into the ship, or above deck. Even a porthole would do in his current situation.

Continuing to stay on Total Defense, with an eye toward escape. Marko's thinking is all he has to do is stay alive until the rest of the team can come to his aid. If a porthole does present itself, Marko would be willing to retrieve his crossbow later.

[Thymin]

Dravick:

As he continues his song, Dravick takes one more swing to the area where the man was standing when the fog rolled in. Then he took a large step away from the man, to make it harder for him to get hit. As he does so, he slightly increases the volume of his song, hoping that it won't let the man know just how far away he'd gotten.


Attack, then a 5 ft. step away from the man.
[roll0]This does not include the flanking bonus, so if one should apply, it will be an additional +2.
[roll1]
[roll2]
[roll3]
[roll4]
[roll5]If necessary.

[MK Kilmarnock]

Something about this felt completely right... and everything about that was flat-out wrong. The scythe in Zan's hands clearly wanted more, to taste his enemy's blood again. With the lives of his friends and comrades at stake, as well as the well being of Ana, there was nothing more Zan could do. At the very best, they'd just kill as many as they had to before the sailors relinquished some more useful, and truthful information. Or maybe just useful, damning the possibility that they might be telling the truth now.


[roll0] (flanking bonus is included here, still)
[roll1]
[roll2]
[roll3]

[Jokes]

Still keeping his distance for now, Darrien does another shock


[roll0] DC15 Reflex for half
If he dies this round, move up closer to the door.

[Bonecrusher Doc]

Sandra maintains her swordfighter's pose in the cloud... it doesn't seem to matter that all this visible is a shifting hazy outline of her opponent, as she swings her sword confidently.


[roll0]
[roll1]
[roll2]
[roll3]

[Bonecrusher Doc]

As Man #2 arches his back and grimaces from Darrien's electricity, Zan and Sandra's heavy blades slice into him from opposite sides. Their enemy is momentarily hung in the air like a carcass in a butcher's shop before he falls to the deck, his thorax twisting where ribs were severed.

The mist swirls slightly in a path from Matthew's fingers down the hatch of the boat, where it coalesces (no longer visible to those on deck) into a fairly believable copy of Marko, complete with audible heavy breathing as he dodges and tumbles around the stepladder and crates below.

Marko's two opponents get confused in the darkness. One continues trying to hit the real Marko, while the other pivots in the darkness and swings at the vague shape and sound of the illusionary adventurer.

Marko has not yet realized what has happened as he focuses on his tumbling. He does note that there seems to be no way out of the hold but he way he came down. There are no portholes, the only light coming from what sun pierces the mist above deck and the glow from the center of the hold that he knows to be the lantern on the table. He considers trying to scramble back up the stepladder... it would be risky, as his opponents no doubt suspect he will try it.

What that means is: Marko is probably going to suffer at least one AoO on him if he tries to go up the stepladder right now. For those adventurers on deck (currently unopposed) it should not be so risky to go down into the hold, but they will have to go one at a time.

[Daryk]

Marko

Unsure why one of his opponents appeared to be no longer pursuing him, but thankful nonetheless, Marko continued to duck and weave, exploiting the mist pouring down the hatch to the fullest. He judged his efforts to tie up two of the enemy to be worth more than an attempted escape.

Marko will remain on Total Defense until there are more people involved below decks. Depending on how many there are, he may assist by flanking an opponent with his dagger.

[Akyana]

Sandra cries out as his blade cuts into her cheek. She doesn't stop though closing the eye closest to the cut she keeps moving in her swing this time trying to make it hurt him more. She cries out as she swings, not guessing where the man was like he did with her.


Didn't noticed I had been rolled for. Sorry for being away things got pretty busy for me IRL... but the rolls I did were about as good as the ones done for me.
[roll0]
[roll1]
[roll2]

[DavidByron]

Matthew continues concentrating on his illusion so there's not much else he can do. It looks like the fight could go on a while. The other sailors would be foolish to come out on deck but they don't seem to be acting quite rationally. What exactly is going on down below decks? There's a commotion but not exactly a fight by the sound of it.

Perhaps a taunt might work?

"Surrender or get up here and fight us, you cowardly scum!"

OK, that's never going to work.

No idea if there's a skill for goading people. It would probably be charisma based. In any case Matthew is concentrating so can't put a lot into it like an action.
[roll0]

[MK Kilmarnock]

The teamwork of blades hanging the man in the air felt so satisfying, and it was at this point that Zan normally would've pointed out that something was wrong. Unfortunately, he wasn't really in the right frame of mind to realize anything. The blood dripped from his scythe... the blood of his enemy, and that was all the confirmation that he needed.

"H-heh... I'll just keep killing all of you until I get what I want!" the usually-timid cleric called in the dwarven tongue once more, booking it for the stepladder down into the hold. Healing, caution, all those things were being put on hold. There needed to be more blood shed.

[Bonecrusher Doc]

The enemies in the hold pay Matthew no heed. Zan makes it down the ladder first. Marko continues to bob and weave for his life, now soaked with sweat. Illusionary Marko tumbles similarly.

Man #3 swings at the real Marko and only manages to shave a splinter off a crate in the darkness. Man#4 abandons his pursuit of the illusionary Marko and instead attacks Zan. His kukri shaves some hair from one side of Zan's head... and some flesh from Zan's scalp... and the tip of Zan's ear. Blood soaks into the dry planks that form the floor of the hold.

7 damage to Zan. PC's turn again. There is now room for another adventurer to descend the stepladder.

[Daryk]

Marko

The gnome continued to occupy at least one of the seamen until more reinforcements could arrive.

Total defense for one more round. By next round, there should be enough of us for Marko to switch to flanking maneuvers to help the friendlies.

[Jokes]

Darrien takes a deep breath before the descending the stairs, as if psyching himself up. Once down, however, he opens his mouth and breaths a thick black acrid smoke as Marko's attacker.


Move: Down the stairs, preferably adjacent to the guy attacking Marko, so he takes the -2 penalty to saves, attacks etc from Aura.
Standard: Focalor's Breath on the one attacking Marko, DC15 Fort negates, failing means blinded for one round.

[Akyana]

Sandra saw that there was no one left on the deck of the ship and was about to head down until Zan started to head down. She waited still bleeding on her face for him to get below and then followed after. She would only spend enough time at the bottom of the stairs to find the closest opponent before charging.

[MK Kilmarnock]

Zan shrieked in pain, but there was no time to nurse the wound given to him. He could heal it later. For now, he turned to the man who had cut him with malice in his eyes and began attacking once more.


[roll0]
[roll1]
[roll2]

[Bonecrusher Doc]

Man #3 yells and rubs his eyes furiously after Darrien breathes smoke at him, but does not drop his blade. He stumbles about, not even coming close to harming any of the adventurers this round. Zan misses with his scythe in the darkness, but so does his opponent. Utter chaos reigns in the hold of the boat. Most of those present begin to realize that fratricide is becoming a possibility.

[Daryk]

Marko

Seeing an opportunity for escape, Marko tumbled for the ladder in an effort to get on deck.

Tumble: [roll0]

[Akyana]

Sandra witnessed Zan getting hit "Everyone get above deck. We are getting to confined in this place." she tries to hold the man back while her group withdraws up the stairs, at least she hoped they were. She swings at the man trying to land a good solid hit.


[roll0]
[roll1]
[roll2]

[MK Kilmarnock]

That should have been it... that was perfect, the man's blood should have spattered all over the walls. But the scythe in his hands had missed, and his target still lived. Zan felt his irritation growing to the point of rage when Sandra called out, working to interrupt the fever.

Get back out... yes. If he could see, he could fight. If he could fight, he could stomp out the information he needed. Zan needed no more urging than the brutal cut on his head to get him climbing back up that ladder, though he wasn't in the best of moods...

[DavidByron]

Matthew is unsure about what is going on down below, so continues to power the Marko-illusion to caper and duck around. Just he and Dravick remain on deck, with two corpses. Mathew moves to flank the hatch with Dravick.

[Bonecrusher Doc]

Dravick continues to sing, and takes up a position to lend a hand to any of his allies coming up the stepladder, to help them quickly out of harm's way.

Sandra swings in the dark, misty, smoky, bloody chaos under the deck. Most swordsmen would be able to hit neither friend nor foe, but Sandra has spent hours training for a situation exactly like this one, and moves her sword in a quick pattern that sure enough, makes contact with her enemy - she hears him grunt and feels through her sword that he staggers but does not seem to fall. Sandra's attack allows her comrades to escape back up the stepladder unscathed this round, leaving her - and Marko's illusionary twin - alone down below with their enemies.

Man #3 swings at Sandra and misses. Man #4 swings wildly at the illusion and sound of Marko, but his blade of course connects with no flesh. He squints, then turns to face Sandra along with his comrade. He speaks sharply in his strange language, the sound of it harsh and profane.

Up on deck in the fresh sea breeze the mist has cleared, and the sun reflecting off the waves is almost dazzlingly bright.

[Daryk]

Marko

Marko grinned broadly as he emerged into the fresh air. Unslinging his crossbow, he quickly reloaded and took up position to shoot the first enemy to come on deck.

[DavidByron]

Matthew senses that Marko is changing tactics. The Marko illusion's use may be about up. Oh well, it'll last another two rounds without him. He draws his own crossbow and readies an attack against any enemy that he can see clearly through the fog. For example an enemy trying to climb up or stop someone else doing so.

"Are we going to burn them out?"

if he shoots (includes bard song):
[roll0]
[roll1]
[roll2]

[Akyana]

Sandra takes another swing at the man before she backs up towards the ladder, trying to make sure she didn't leave herself up for attack from the second man as she goes.


[roll0]
[roll1]
[roll2]

[Daryk]

Marko

Momentary horror crossed Marko's face at the suggestion of burning out the enemy. Recovering, he said, "No, not that. That'd make for a long swim back to the Sampo, eh?"

[Jokes]

Seeing as everyone else had gone above deck, Darrien followed suit.

[Withdraw Action]

[Bonecrusher Doc]

Sandra, now flanked by an attacker on either side, strikes another solid blow at Man #3 - a blow that would have easily felled some peasant farmer, but these are evidently no ordinary sailors she is fighting.

Both men now attack her (evidently considering Sandra a worthier ally than the shape and sound of Marko in darkness). Both miss. Sandra may be outnumbered 2 to 1 in the hold of the boat, but she has the advantage of having trained to fight unseen foes.

Both men now being adjacent to Sandra at the foot of the stepladder, they are now vulnerable to attack by projectile or reach weapons from those standing around the top of the stepladder - though they may have some difficulty aiming their weapons, as the mist still contained in the hold still swirls, intermittently obscuring their view.

PC's turn yet again. Man #3 and Man #4 are still on their feet. Sandra will suffer an attack of opportunity from each of them if she chooses to climb the ladder. Matthew did not have the opportunity to shoot his crossbow. Now he does, but I will need new dice rolls (fortunately for the PCs - that 8 would not have hit anything!).

[Daryk]

Marko

Having loaded his crossbow, Marko waited for an opportunity to loose the bolt against one of their foes, trying to avoid hitting Sandra.

Marko holds his action until after Sandra has disengaged (or if she doesn't, he'll take the -4 for firing into melee to avoid hitting her).
To Hit: [roll0]
Damage: [roll1]

[Jokes]

Darrien peeks his head through the doorway and summons another lightning bolt.

[roll0] DC15 Reflex for half Edit: Targeting the closest, I guess

[Akyana]

Sandra wanted to get out of the area before the two got close, but she found she couldn't easily get out of the area. She moves so that man 4 would have to stand in front of the ladder to attack her, and swings at Man 3 again. She was working on the one before she went to the second.


[ ][ ][S]
[4][ ][3]
[ ][L][ ]
A simple 5 foot step on an angle assuming the spaces next to the ladder are a wall.
[roll0]
[roll1]
[roll2]

[MK Kilmarnock]

The dangers of having Sandra down in the hold all by herself finally shook Zan awake to the fact that he had recklessly endangered himself, and possibly others. Given the short breather that everybody on deck had (emphasis on short), he gave a quick look around. "Who up here needs healing?" he asked, though he forgot to switch back to common from dwarven to ask. To drive the point home, though, one hand came off the scythe as he began to mutter a healing prayer.


Giving a heal to the first friendly who wants it within reach (thus, on the deck).
[roll0]

[Thymin]

Dravick:

As the men crowd around the bottom of the ladder, Dravick decides to nock an hour and take a shot, continuing his song as he does so. "Like the fish in the barrels, at the carnival try, Gods let my arrow, straight and true fly."


[roll0]
[roll1]
[roll2]
[roll3]
[roll4]
[roll5]

[DavidByron]

OOC: sorry for being late - compute trouble


Matthew fires along with Marko:

[roll0]
[roll1]
[roll2]

[Bonecrusher Doc]

Marko and Darrien attack Man #3. Marko's bolt only grazes the man, but Darrien's powerful lightning fells him.

Sandra, Dravick, and Matthew attack Man #4. Sandra lands a solid blow, and Matthew's bolt strikes home as well. Dravick's bolt thunks into the wooden deck below when a thick swirl of mist obscures his vision just as his enemy moves out of his point of aim.

Zan lays his hand on Matthew, and the pain in the mage's face eases as the power of Boccob heals him.

Man #4 is bloody but still standing. With a haymaking motion, he swings his blade up, Sandra fails to block, and all present hear a crack as her jawbone breaks. Sandra's wobbles momentarily and her face turns pale as the man pulls his notched kukri back and blood spurts from her throat. She still maintains a firm grip on her sword and shield, however, and resumes her fighting stance immediately.

One man left! Sandra lost 16 HP to critical hit. Link to HP totals in my sig.

[Daryk]

Marko

Marko's eyes widened at the tremendous blow the man inflicted on Sandra. Slinging his now unloaded crossbow, he rushed back down the hatch reciting a prayer to Ahto.

Cure Light Wounds on Sandra: [roll0]

[Akyana]

Sandra stands there looking at the man pretty bloody at this point and panting looking almost defeated, then something changes in her eyes and her breathing becomes harder. Then growling up to a yell she swings her sword at him harder then before as she seemed to get a second wind. Her eyes wild as she flies into a rage not doing the dance style of fighting, but swinging her sword like it was nothing.


RAGE!
+10 HP
-2 AC
Str 22
Con 19
[roll0]
[roll1]
[roll2]
Rage will last for 7 rounds

[MK Kilmarnock]

It took everything he had not to just leap back down into the hold of the ship and help Sandra. His friend was looking bad... very bad, and she was covered in an amount of blood that he really wasn't all that comfortable with. Even though there was only one more person down there, meaning that going down wouldn't exactly be suicide, Zan found himself hesitant to re-enter the fray.

"C-Come up here, d-... Damn it!" he shouted to Sandra, the rushing adrenaline still allowing him to ignore the fact that blood was dripping down the side of his head.

[Bonecrusher Doc]

Sandra's rage is quick and effective. She brings her sword down with such force that she easily pushes through the man's attempt to block her strike and slices through his collarbone and two ribs. Her enemy is down, sprawled on the floor, his kukri fallen a few inches from his hand. Sandra catches her breath and stretches her neck, a thin scar where Marko healed her wound.

Don't read into the scar thing. I just think you should have some scars from your battles, even if you get magical healing. Good work staying alive everybody.

[Daryk]

Marko

Breathing a sigh of relief, Marko casually kicked the man's kukri farther from his reach, reloaded his crossbow, and cautiously investigated the rest of the below decks for more enemies. Once satisfied the ship was secure, he said, "We should get these bodies up on deck and over the side soon. The rig is a bit different than I'm used to, but I think we can handle her once we've retrieved our friend. Zan, I think you may want to take a closer look at our various wounds before we head up the mountain. Those knives were vicious."

[Jokes]

As the sounds of fighting suddenly stop, Darrien puts away his rapier and heads below deck. He gently looks over each of the bodies before grabbing one behind the arms and dragging him upstairs. He looks over at Sandra, tears streaming down his face. "Please help them."

With the four bodies on deck, Darrien stands over each one and speaks a few words. "It is with great sorrow that, through my actions, these lives have been cut short, their mortal journeys over. May they find peace in the next life."

Edit: This is to appease Focalor. You may search the bodies for valuables and ditch them overboard at your own leisure. :smallwink:

edit edit: ditch the bodies, not the valuables. :smallamused:

[Akyana]

Sandra walks up to above deck and sits down resting after the fight. She lays her head back wiping some of the blood from her head. She pulls out the flask from her cloak and starts to drink some of the sweetened tea from the flask. She was quite as she sat on the deck looking out towards the tower thinking of the fight she was about to head to.


Currently Fatigued
HP 20

[Thymin]

Dravick:

"Well. That could have gone better. But at least we have a ship now." Dravick said after ending his song. "Should we leave a rear guard? Or just push forward to find Ana?"

[Bonecrusher Doc]

As the adventurers lay the bodies out on deck, they take stock of their foes' possessions. They are few. Each man is dressed in leather armor. The kukris are their only weapons - they appear well made, especially the one belonging to Man #1, which doesn't have a mite of tarnish on the blade. Each man has a small leather bag in which are contained some coins (a total of 3 gp, 19 sp, 37 cp), and Man #2 has four small pieces of carved bone with different markings on each side. Man #1 also has a crude leather and horn pendant around his neck.

[Daryk]

Marko

Once the bodies were stripped of valuables, Marko said a brief prayer over each one in preparation for commiting them to the sea. "We'll need stones to weigh them down, so perhaps we should wait until after we've retrieved Ana," he said when he finished.

[Akyana]

Sandra watched as the men were dropped overboard. She felt like they deserved more then that, but didn't say anything. What was more of a concern was the next fight which she needed to recover from the recent one to handle. It had been so long since she had been in a war time situation, but they were at war with these captors, and they needed to win. She tried to recover as quickly as possibly without the help of magic, as she was often required to do with the battles of her past.

[MK Kilmarnock]

Zan said nothing to the bodies. He hardly presided over them at all, except maybe to help lay them out on deck. He had spent some time exhausting some of his energy and ambition to healing others, but when the adrenaline of the situation gave way, he found his own body to be in less than superb condition. A few moments were spent simply wondering if he'd be okay, more or less 'freaking out' about his wound, but he went on about it to heal himself all the same.

Zan said nothing more once his duties were performed, standing a few meters away from the rest of the group and cleaning his scythe.

[Daryk]

Marko

Once the bodies were over the side and the excess loot stored below decks, Marko gestured toward the path up the mountain and said, "I suspect we may need those torches further up the path. Shall we?"

[Bonecrusher Doc]

Equus surfaces off the starboard. He calls up from the water.

Equus
"Four bodies here... I see you won a fight. I must rest still here - in water - but I can guard this boat for you."

[Daryk]

Marko

Leaning over the side so Equus could also hear his words, Marko said, "Excellent! I believe we'll be able to get the ship underway in a minimal amount of time once we've retrieved Ana. To the mountain!"

With that, the gnome strode down the gang plank to the dock and turned toward the path.

[Akyana]

Sandra thanks Zan for the help as Sandra walks up to Marko after he speaks to the water horse Do you think it would be possible to get the horses from the boat? I could go ahead and scout to see what we are facing against

[DavidByron]

Matthew:
"We don't have this harbor entirely secured. Remember there's the two towers that fired at us as we arrived. I don't know if the shots were fired by guards or some sort of device, and we don't have time to find out."

Matthew guesses that the rest of the crew has gone ahead to some sort of underground base or cave. It seems safe to send Fiona on ahead to scout out the pathway up the mountain, although it seems likely she will find nothing from the air.

"Fly ahead and look out for more bad men Fiona."

[Bonecrusher Doc]

Matthew paused to Detect Magic and, sure enough, finds something - after several rounds determines faint auras are coming from Man #1's kukri and necklace. Then he hurries to join the others who are now at the foot of the trail going up the mountain, where Marko is handing out torches from the pile to anyone who wants one. Fiona flies ahead of them and disappears from sight along the trail, which is so steep that the adventurers wonder if they may even have to use their hands at times, grabbing boulders to keep their footing.

[Daryk]

Marko

Once Matthew had finished laying out the tactical situation, Marko concluded with, "As Matthew said, not without risking those towers again, and I don't think we can spare the time or the blood."

[MK Kilmarnock]

Having wrapped up his instrument of war, Zan listened to Marka, Sandra and Matthew's plan, but didn't have much of a word to add of his own until everybody else seemed to have their say. Clearing his throat, he stumbled around verbally in common for the first time since the battle.

"W-whatever g-gets us to Ana. We s-s... sh... should have already f-found her by now..."

[Akyana]

Sandra watches the raven fly out It would make things hard. I wasn't sure what magical capabilities we had to accomplish the move. she was uneasy, since she got Podarge she had never been in this many fights without Podarge with her.

Even without her horse she could scout ahead of the group as she was much faster then the other members I'll move ahead and keep an eye out for anything on the ground. Taking out her own torch she attaches it to her backpack and puts it on so the torch was next to her head on the right side and she holds a throwing axe in that hand in case she needs it.


I did forget to mention this, but after the fight on the ship she would have recovered the one throwing axe she did throw

Also the torch is an ever burning torch and thus gives off 0 heat

[Bonecrusher Doc]

The adventurers climb the steep trail up the mountainside, sweating in the warm southern afternoon, with Sandra leading the way. At times their feet slip on the loose gravel and they must hold onto the tall boulders to keep their balance. Sandra realizes that it would have been almost impossible for Podarge to climb this path, but she misses him all the same.

Finally the ascent levels out. Looking back, they can see the two towers rising from the water where they were shot at with crossbow bolts, and beyond that, a cloud curtain which appears to be encircling this island (at least when viewed from this northern end). The Sampo is not visible, which stands to reason as they last left it with Mr. Woetjans on the other side of the cloud curtain.

The adventurers are now on a sort of ledge or sub-peak of the mountain. Before them lies a flat boulder field roughly a half-mile square, and beyond that the mountain climbs a bit higher before coming to summit that is still not visible from their vantage point, though it appears to be a much shorter climb than the one they just completed. Many of the boulders are six to ten feet tall, and should the adventurers choose to travel across the, it will be a bit of a scramble using hands and feet. However, the trail continues. Here it is wider - it can no longer be mistaken for the path of erosion or an animal trail. Boulders have clearly been moved out of the way by some intelligent creature to make a path wide enough for a two-oxen cart to travel on smoothly.

Grass and wildflowers grow thinly along the path, taking advantage of the bit of wind-blown soil that has accumulated where there are no boulders. Halfway across the plateau, next to the path, is an ancient and mighty olive tree, appearing as big as Marko has ever seen in the gnomish isles. There appear to be some small creatures prancing about at the foot of the tree - probably rabbits, though it is difficult to tell at this distance, and hard to judge the size of both tree and animals with only boulders for reference.

Fiona returns to Matthew, and announces for the good of everyone,

"There's a big house on top, on top of the mountain. The road leads there, up the hill, over a bridge, to the big house. No people."

It has been quite some time since the adventurers had much of a meal, and even in their fervor to find Ana, rumbling stomachs remind them of their hunger.

[Bonecrusher Doc]

The bottom of the hill you just climbed: a small dock, a thin strip of beach, a steep, rocky mountainside:
http://www.sunblessedhorizons.com/gozo_photos/rocky_coast550.jpg

Something like the ledge of the mountain you now stand on, except the boulders should be tall rather than flat, and there should be the path leading to the final climb to the summit:
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Hb5UAUDmtbE/SM8khBUrCHI/AAAAAAAAA5M/tXpUGiLoQDQ/s400/5_BoulderField.jpg

[Daryk]

Marko

Wiping his brow, Marko saw the further difficulty ahead and sighed. The massive tree ahead gave him an idea. "What say we rest in the shade of that tree and have a quick lunch? We'll need our strength if we're to save Ana," he said, unlimbering his waterskin for a quick drink.

[MK Kilmarnock]

"A-And just what are we g-going to..." Zan mumbled. As much as he didn't want to admit it, he was suffering the same needs as everybody else. Before they went on, they'd likely have to take care of themselves.