The Kidnap

[Solophoenix]

[In character posts start directly after this one]


This is the in character thread for the D&D campaign, "The Kidnap"

As you as players already know, the game is in progress, being continued here from tabletop form, so let's jump right into it.

OOC Thread (http://trpb.proboards54.com/index.cgi?board=kidnap&action=display&thread=1172649294)

[Solophoenix]

You are all currently on board a small ship bound for the island nation of Aicamaj. The ship is expected to arrive tomorrow, and when we left you last you were talking to the captain of the small militia force accompanying you.

[OOC: Post now guys]

[styro]

the bird-like creature (xander) after checking through his backpack moves down towards the donkey, caboose. seeing him still loaded with equipment starts to unload. at this point, xander puts down his pack. Once he had finished unpacking caboose, xander walks around exploring the rest of the ship.

[Rurik]

Having changed into his Clerics vestment, Rurik sits down for an hour to pray for guidance, and to thank Hanseath for delivering them from evil. Before pouring a small libation of beer onto the deck of the ship.

[Furius]

Furius, having spoken to the captain to his hearts content walks to the prow of the boat and spreads his arms, allowing the air to rush over them, tugging at his billowing orange sleeves and pulling his patch-work cape out behind him like a multi-coloured sail. The salt in the air and the rays of the sun assault his skin.

He looks upon the wide sea with a calm face, but his eyes twitch furtively across the horizon, searching for birds, clouds- any sign of land.

Eventually, Furius tires of this and heads back to his cabin to powder his face and recomb his windswept hair

[Acetic]

The tumbling seas... calming for most but hellish for the rest. Xeyphon sat at bow of the ship looking into the horizon, searching. Though encounters on the open seas proves to be infrequent at best, it is still better to be alert and occupied rather then bored and dim.... Getting up slowly, Xeyphon began his usual wander of the decks, doing what needs to be done and keeping busy, only two days left in this voyage, with any luck, by dawn tomorrow the island should be in site and the next phase of the quest should begin. Unconsciously, Xeyphon reached for his sword, the behemoth of a blade which he kept close at all times. Master worked by the legendary dwarven blacksmiths, forged with the heat of a volcano and cooled with the glaciers of the highest mountains, It stands much taller then Xeyphon. An ogres great sword. The blade provided comfort, comfort against the impending chaos and challenges which awaits.

Down the small and winding corridors of the lower decks, Xeyphon approached the stable where is steed, Erathiel rested. Horses are not sea creatures and as clearly indicated by Erathiel, they don't thrive in the bobbing of the ship nor the tight space. Erathiel jolted at the new comer and relaxed when it recognized its master. Patting his steed on the head, Xeyphon dragged another bail of hay into the stall and cleaned up what needed to be cleaned. After 15 minutes of work, Xeyphon was happy.

After his jobs around the place was done, Xeyphon went up to his room where he spotted his companion, Xander plodding along, bored out of his mind and sharpening his long sword till it looks more like a rapier.

'You really need to get something better to do... We'll be there in only 2 days. Perhaps emptying excrements or doing kitchen duty till then will occupy your time.'

Plodding himself onto his bed, Xeyphon Drew his full blade and began to wipe the sea spray from it. Even though it was forged in a volcano and glaciers and stuff, the simple fact is that it is still made of steel and steel rusts. Xeyphon sighed, if only he had an adamant sword instead.

[Rurik]

Seeing the whetstone and cloth lying beside Caboose, Rurik proceeds to sharpen and maintain his Dwarven forged Master-forged Great Axe, ready for what ever perils that my appear ahead. Seeing his reflection in the beautifully crafted axe, Rurik notices all the marks and scratches in the blade caused by centuries use. 'Orcs-Bane' (the axe) was first wielded by Rurik's great Grandfather who wielded it in the defense of his homeland against a horde of angry Orcs (no one knows why they were angry) single handedly defeating twenty five of them (a great feat considering the dwarf's size!), and becoming the hero of the mountain.
Having removed all superficial damage from the blade Rurik then proceeds in a search of the ship to speak with the party's Psionic, of whom he had not yet had the chance to meet.

[Johnny Chaotic]

Johnny Chaotic woke with a start, and realised he had overslept. It took a moment to get his bearings and remember where he was. Getting up, he was vaguely aware of a dull pain in his head. He made a mental note to ease up on the drinking sometime.

After he got dressed, he picked up his Warhammer and decided to get some fresh air. He didn't think he would need it, but he always liked it close at hand. It was essentially a solid chunk of steel, bolted to a long reinforced wooden handle. Not the most elegant of weapons, but it could do a lot of damage.

With his weapon in hand, he walked over and opened the door...........only to be blinded by the most intense light he had ever experienced! As he grunted and doubled over in agony, he made another mental note; light plus hangover equals bad.

After recovering from this, he straightened and went to meet up with the others.

[Solophoenix]

The night comes and goes uneventfully, and everyone got a decent sleep. As the morning sun rises over the horizon, golden rays peek through the portholes into cabins. The boat's night watchman gives the trumpet signaling the morning, and changing of the watch, rousing you all from your slumber.

[OOC: We had a bit of a mess, so I apologise for railroading you into cabins, but a fresh day now awaits us, this is still free-action time, just don't do too much, let's say we limit you to twenty minutes, I'll jump in with responses to any of your senses that you care to direct about. Also, sorry for taking so long, I'll be more active now]

[Rurik]

The next day, Rurik strapped on his full set of masterwork amour, being very careful not to touch the sharpened spikes. Then sensing that something was about to change, packed all of his belongings into his pack, and placed it against the wall, ready to move at a moments notice. Then placing Orcs-bane on the floor in front of him, sat down to begin his hour of worship...

[Furius]

As the early morning rays shined into his cabin, Furius awoke from a less than comfortable sleep. Furius attempted to sit up, lost his balance and fell out of his hammock onto the hard wooden floor.
Nursing his side, Furius slowly rose and went over to his pack. He pulled out his shirt and put it on, slowly knotting up his buttons. Then he pulled on his colourfully patched cloak, clasping it at front with a wooden fastner carved in the shape of a peacock.
He pulled his hair back and tied it into ponytail with a purple leather thong which he felt went well with his blue hair. Having done that he lightly powdered his face and then headed for the door. He hesitated right before opening it and returned to his bag to find his pants.

[styro]

upon waking, xander sits up and is overcome with light headiness. stopping for a moment to take in his surroundings xander unhooks his waterskin and goes to refill it from the ships supply. after tipping half on his head he refills it and ties the end to prevent it from spilling. moving on deck he stretches his wings to there fullest extent and ruffles them to remove any loose feathers. while performing this maneuver he notices that some are out of place, so sits down and starts to sort them into nice orderly rows

[Johnny Chaotic]

Johnny Chaotic woke up to a bright and cheerful day, with only one though in mind; I really wish i had brought more beer.

Putting those thoughts out of his head he got ready, picked up his equipment and weapon, and walked out of his cabin to see what the others were doing.

There was not much to do really, much like the other days. Rurik was doing his morning prayer to, if he understood correctly, a god of beer. He made a mental note to discuss that further with him later. Xander appeared to be sorting out his feathers, which seemed quite pedantic really, however he did not question it.

He didn't see the others yet, so he sat down and checked that his weapons were in good condition.

[Solophoenix]

As Xander emerges onto the deck of the ship, he can see that there is a landmass ahead, what looks to be a decent sized island.

"Beautiful day eh birdman?" utters the sailor in the crowsnest on Xander's arrival. Without waiting for a reply, he goes on
"Yup, that's Aicamaj, home, beautiful"

[Rurik]

Rurik scratches his beard... licks his lips... and carry on chanting.

[styro]

taking a small portion of the much needed attention from his grooming, xander trains one eye on the sailor

"oh really? can you describe it to me?" xander proceeds to question the sailor about the size of the island and the people they might encounter on their travels

[Solophoenix]

"Well, Aicamaj as I said, is my home, and we all certainly do love it. It's nothing special if you want to get into the learn-ed man details, but you won't find a better pub anywhere! People look at us and they all expect us to be sittin' around drinking elven wine...Pah, maybe for those upper class twits who run the place, not for us working men! Though I don''t really see right to speak ill of the upper class, they do a damn fine job of running things!"

The sailor looks back at the island

"Ah, we're coming around the point, we'll be able to see the harbour and capitol soon."

A few minutes pass in which the sailor says nothing, just looks over at the island. The ship circles around until the outskirts of a city come into view.

"There she is mate! You can see the pub from up here! Oh, I can't wait t..."

his words cut off as if he has just noticed something very strange.

Xander, from your vantage point, you cannot yet see what the sailor has seen.

[Furius]

Having found some leather pants Furius ascended onto the deck, taking each step carefully so as to keep his balance on the rolling deck. Furius actually had pretty good balance, but boats and seas are not the natural environment of elves- well, except for strange nerieds and the like... They were kinda like elves, Furius supposed. Boats and seas are not the natural environment of normal elves, anyway, and Furius was quite definite in considering himself a normal elf and therefore was one to step carefully when at sea.

Having thus reached the main deck of the ship, Furius noted the long hump of an island ahead. He overheard a sailor in the crowsnest explaining to Xander that the island was Aicamaj, but the sailor then began to make ruminations against elven wine, expressing views so incomprehensibly common among humans, particularly those suffering from inadequate hygiene; and Furius's attention shifted elsewhere.
Rurik was being notably devout, as clerics are inclined to be and Johnny Chaotic was displaying a similar devotion to his weapons. Xeyphon was not visible, and Furius was just imagining what sort of 'interesting' things could be holding him up, when the poorly groomed inhabitant of the crowsnest began to make some sort of exclamation of joy for his local pub. A pub was good news... Furius could surely 'earn' some coin serving the patrons as a gleeman, and he was sure he had some 'lucky' dice around somewhere. Furius suddenly became aware that the sailor had lapsed into one of those all-too-familiar awkward silences that generally presages things being dangerously wrong.

[Solophoenix]

After a short moment of suspense in which no-one on deck knew what the crows nest man had seen, the ship rounded the point far enough for everyone to see what had taken the speech out of him. A galleon sized, sausage-shaped...thing was levitating above the city.

Furius, please make a Bardic Knowledge roll

[Furius]

Bardic Knowledge Roll

[roll0] = 7

As the ship moved on Furius was able to see the cause of the unshaven crowsnest man's now rather disturbing silence. Obnoxiously loud men of his sort did not find being silent easy, and Furius imagined he'd probably be sweating profusely from the stress of being silent so long.

From an objective point of view, that Furius was considering this kind of thing when faced by a gigantic levitating sausage does seem kind of bizarre. But then again, what do you consider when faced with a gigantic levitating sausage?

[Solophoenix]

Xeyphon, you hear a frantic knocking on your cabin door, shortly followed by a small voice

"Sir, sir, begging your pardon sir, but the captain wants you on deck, he says we're nearly there"

[styro]

seeing that his feathers were finally in order and wondering as to why the helpful elf had gone silent xander calls up "what is it, what do you see?"

[Acetic]

In his room, Xeyphon finished his preparations for the day, the usual prayers and cleaning of equipment. Slotting on the last section of armor, he made a last scan of his room. Bed... check, Packs... check, Over sized sword of doom... check.

Suddenly, banging on his door can be herd and a small voice alerted him that he should go above deck to meet the captain. Grabbing his sword an bow, Acetic made his way above deck.

Reaching there, he noticed everyone was staring at something. Looking up, he saw a massive floating ship thing... Unsure of what it is, he felt content just to ask the captain when they will arrive.

[Johnny Chaotic]

Johnny Chaotic was enjoying the fresh air, while readying his weapons, when he overheard one of the sailors mention a pub. He was, of course, immediately interested.

He decided to have a talk with the sailor about this pub, but as he got up he noticed the sailor, as well as a few of the others, had gone strangely quiet.

He stared out in the direction they were looking and saw a huge object that seemed to be floating in the air near the island, but he could not really be sure what it was till they got closer.

He decided to wait and see, as it would not be long till they arrived.

[Solophoenix]

The captain appears on deck and, on seeing the strange object, is quick to yell

"Ship, full stop!"

As the ship's sails are dropped it slows in the water and then stops. The sounds of the ship slicing through the ocean are replaced by the gently lapping of the waves against the hull.

The sailor in the crows nest yells down

"Captain, contact off the port bow, small yacht, inland type, they're heading this way, I can't make out the flag yet, might be one of ours, might not"

"Alright, I want everyone ready for anything, this is certainly not your everyday encounter." the captain warns.

[styro]

Startled by the bellowing, Xander immediately focuses his attention on the captain. After taking stock of his surroundings, making sure to note all the protective spaces, Xander prepares himself for a potential battle. Removing both scimitars from his back, he checks them both for any damage.

Happy with his analysis, he lays the points of the scimitars on the deck, where he quickly changes his grips. This new style has the blades facing back, towards his elbows, with the blades facing away from his body.

Seeing this as a safer stance, Xander rushes to the port railing, where he ducks down to prevent possible arrows from finding its mark on him. He focuses his attention on the small yacht and attempts to make out the flag and crewmen.

[Acetic]

Turning from the captain, Acetic Drew his sword laying the point on the ground to support its own weight. Behind the blade, Xeyphon used a rarely seen grip based in the monkey. To wield a sword this big, the precise momentum of it must be controlled at all times. Gazing across the water, Xeyphon noticed the small yacht making its way towards them.

[Solophoenix]

Xander, the boat appears to be around 300ft away, you can just make out that the flag contains some green, possibly brown. Knowing nothing of the flags of this island, this does not tell you anything.

[Rurik]

having finnished his daily prayers (ooc. DM has it been an hour... there have been no markers to explain the passage of time, if not I will ajust my post accordingly) Rurik stands up in search of nomething to eat and lubricate his parched throat. But immediatley notices everyone staring at a large saussage shapped thing hovering over a large city. Noticing everyones drawn weapons, Rurik draws his battle scared axe... not wanting to feel left out. He then moves over to stand besides Xeyphon to provide any magical assistance that might be required by this heavily amoured paladin. Feeling the blood rushing to his head Rurik gives a battle cry... head pointed towards the heavens... despite not noticing any enemys yet.

[Solophoenix]

The small yacht closes in on your ship, the Captain stands firm, watching it come closer, straining his eyes to make out the small flag flying atop its mast.

When the yacht gets to 100ft away the sailor in the crows nest calls out.

"They're flying a friendly flag sir!"

The captain looks relieved but not totally, he responds.

"Alright, things are looking better, but keep wary, this situation is still unusual, this may be a trick of some kind."

[Acetic]

Xeyphon seeing this change of events decided that his longsword would be better for this situation, Sheathing his fullblade, he instead pulls out his longsword.

[styro]

Xander keeps still trying to make his presence unknown to the passengers of the yacht.

[Furius]

The sailor in the crow's nest suddenly announced that someone was flying a 'friendly flag.' Furius was temporarily confused, and then noticed that everyone else's attention was focused not on the floating sausage but on a rather innocent looking yacht, rather than on the sausage. Typical of seamen and adventurers, Furius thought, but he did realise that the yacht might be more a more immediate issue... Unless the sausage was ranged? But no, if it was ranged surely it would have killed them already? Killed by a sausage?! Furius saw where that line of thought was going and halted it abruptly, and, refocussing on the yacht at hand reached for his famed weapon, which struck fear into the hearts of millions at the merest whisper of its name, 'Exoberithus' (Admitedly, this was mostly due to an identically named weapon wielded by a homicidal maniac, of three centuries past, but surely some was related to Furius' own exploits).
His hand closed on empty air, but after scrabbling around for a while, Furius located his sap, hitched up on his left pant rather than the right one. Furius wondered if it could actually be called a 'pant' but, thankfully, managed to refocus his train of thought on what was going on before he got completly lost in irrelevancies.

Furius transfered his sap into his right hand and positioned himself and it in a menacing fashion.

[Rurik]

Some what disheartened, Rurik rolled his shoulders, flexed his back, and rested the head of his axe on the deck of the ship, but still watching prepared to leap in to action.

[Solophoenix]

The small yacht continues it's advance toward your ship, tacking to approach side-on as it gets within 50 feet. A man appears on the deck of the yacht and calls out.

"Ahoy Elishor, where is your captain?"

The captain responds

"I am Alryl, captain and commander of the RNS Elishor, what is your business?"

"Ahoy captain, I come bearing news about the strange sight you have no doubt noticed" replies the sailor as he tosses up a bone scroll case onto the deck of the ship.

The captain approaches the scroll case, picks it up, opens it, unfurls the paper inside and begins reading.

[Furius]

At the discovery of the yacht's peaceful intentions, Furius was both relieved and a little bit disheartened. He imagined the dwarf, whose name, he suddenly realised, much to his horror, he did not know, would be greatly dissappointed, but even as an elf he could see the layers of prejudice there. Furius therefore made a mental note to talk to this dwarf, it would not do to expect the dwarf to be the stereotypical homocidal maniac, only to discover, in the heat of battle that he was a pacifist, who enjoyed sketching flowers.

That would have to wait, for right now, the scroll in the Captain's hand seemed of prime importance to the plot of this ballad of life, and so he quietly moved to the Captain's side, and feigning innocent curiosity when his curiosity was in fact, anything but, he asked "What's it say, Captain?"

[Solophoenix]

"Gah" exclaimed a surprised captain as Furius suddenly appeared to be next to him. Taking a second to regain his thoughts, he responded.

"It is a letter from the Governor's office, it explains that this strange banana thing is some mode of transport, like a ship for the sky, and is nothing to be worried about, merely a very important guest to the city."

"With all due respect captain, who the hell are these arm-bearing miscreants you've picked up? Did you not see our flag?" Asked the man on the yacht, now halfway up his vessel's mast to properly see onto the deck of the Elishor

[Furius]

Furius was less than impressed with the Captain's version of events, perhaps the scroll made it more believable, but Furius' gut told him that giant floating sausages were never good news... If the Governor truly felt this... 'thing' to be "nothing to be worried about" he was either a fool or something to be worried about himself. Obviously Furius knew better than to voice such suspicions about his liege.

Of more immediate issue was the insult from the yachtsman, which had the potential to cause issues. Furius decided to step in before any incident occured. He walked deliberatly over to the... the keel? the mast? the side of the boat, anyway, whatever it was called in boat language, and delibratly flourished the certificate that identified him as an official of Aicamaj and called down in the somewhat formal manner expected of officials, "I am Furius, Minister of the Mainland & Agricultural Expansion. This ship is host to none who could be described as 'miscreant.' There is myself, of whom such a discription would be a treasonous offence against the Office of Aicamaj by whom I was appointed, and my retainers, an insult to whom would be an insult to me and hence to the Office. I assume you misspoke in your haste?"

[Rurik]

Seeing that there did not appear to be a battle about to take place, Rurik slid his battle-axe back into the loop in his belt. He then walked over to the captain to find out what had been discovered about the flying sausage. Mmm... sausage.... Rurik thought... and remembered that he hadn't had anything to eat since last night. Deciding that no one would miss him, he then set off in search of something to eat... and maybe a beer. (ooc. DM, do I say I found something or do you?)

[Solophoenix]

"That will be all, Ensign," says the captain, nodding his head to the yachtsman.

"I merely had my crew prepare for a hostile situation, which I think, given the circumstances, was the right action."

Sneering at Furius, the yachtsman descends the mast onto the deck of his vessel.

"Spinnaker up, let's move!" he orders to his crew. The yacht quickly picks up speed and moves away.

Captain Alryl also gives an order. "Take her into dock, let's finish this voyage."

The sails are raised and the Elishor heads for home.

[styro]

Thoroughly annoyed with the outcome of the situation, Xander sheaths his swords and stands at the rail to watch the Spinnaker move further into the distance.

[Acetic]

Acetic sighs with great discontent. Still nothing to prove my mental and physical fortitude.... Sheathing his sword, acetic went below deck to get ready to unload Erathiel.

[Solophoenix]

((OOC: I think you guys are intelligent enough to figure out which one to read))

Rurik
Below deck, in the galley, you find some basic ship's rations, but unfortunately, no alcohol

Xeyphon
Below deck, in the cargo hold, you find Erathiel slightly distressed but still in generally good health, being attended to by crew members.

Those Above Deck
The island of Aicamaj grows larger and larger as the Elishor approaches the harbour. Soon you can make out signs on shops, and people milling about around the docks, there seems to be a bustling trade going on. This close to the city, you notice an unusual pattern, the buildings closest to you seem partly rundown and sprawled all over the place, whereas, looking deeper into the city, there is a definite cutoff point for this sort of neighborhood, where tall, orderly buildings begin.

The captain breaks the uncomfortable silence.

"If there is anything you will need right away when we port, get it from the hold now, before you get in the way of the docksmen."

[Acetic]

Acetic pats the slightly distressed Erathiel on the forehead and said a few calming words to its ear. Picking up the saddlebag with all his belongings -except for what he is wearing- Acetic gears Erathiel for departure.

[Rurik]

After eating his fill... slightly let down by the lack of alcohol... Rurik goes to his cabin, and puts on his clerics vestment, and attaches his morning star to his belt. Rurik then walks to the cart and places all of his other belongings in to it and proceeds up onto the deck.

[styro]

Xander eagerly looks forward to his arrival on Aicamaj where he can finally put his skills to the test.

In his mind he pictures the distinct shape, size and weight of a cargo kite as it gracefully soars through the sky and puts together a list of materials he would need.

[Johnny Chaotic]

Johnny Chaotic was slightly disappointed, and decidedly bored at the anticlimactic turn of events, however did put away his weapons when the captain assured him that everything was fine.

He went back to his cabin and collected the rest of his belongings before returning to the deck to wait for departure.

[Furius]

Furius has no intention whatsoever of getting in the way of the docksmen, while they are busy working, so he heads down to his room and picks up his sack-o'-stuff- a rather worn thing of brown sack-cloth, the best material for sacks, with various hooks and straps sewn onto it, both in order to make things easily accessible, and to patch up holes. This 'thing' is, in fact, the pack part of a pack-saddle and once Furius has gathered everything up inside it, he pulls a sort of drawstring like thing shut around the top, pulls a flap over the top of that and buckles it in place and then ties a few extra straps in place for good measure.

Heaving the rather unweildy bag onto his shoulder, Furius exits his room carefully, setting his feet down cautiously, as he gets used to the sack's weight, which shifts his centre of gravity in a slightly disorientating fashion. Something within it pokes at his should blade, but he daren't shift the bag for fear of over-balancing, 'or under-balancing, which sounds worse, to my ears,' Furius mutters in his head.
* * *
One internal monologue later, Furius arrives at the ship's glorified steed cages

[Solophoenix]

Furius
Arriving at the "Steed Cages", you find Caboose stoically standing exactly as you left him, apparently immune to the stresses of being at sea. Nearby, Xeyphon is apparently talking to his horse and getting it ready for departure.

Xeyphon
You see Furius arrive in the stables and head to Caboose, who is contained adjacent to Erathiel

[Furius]

Arriving at the "Steed Cages", Furius finds Caboose stoically standing exactly as you left him, apparently immune to the stresses of being at sea. If only the same could be said for myself, Furius reflects and then marches somewhat (over?)confidently to Caboose, and greets him with a standard Aquan greeting:
(People who speak Aquan)
Greetings, my land-dugong!, pats him on the head and straps the pack of the pack saddle back onto the saddle itself, carefully securing the bedroll, which had remained attached to the saddle- the ship had supplied the uncomfortable hammocks.

Having secured the tenth, and final, strap, Furius raises himself up and looks Caboose over to assure himself that the pack was adequatly secured and somewhat balanced. At this point, he notices that the person talking to his horse in the stall next to Caboose's is Xeyphon. This seems a good oppurtunity to find out about the fellow, Furius decides.

"Xeyphon, how does the day find you? Were you on deck for the business earlier?" Furius inquires

[Acetic]

Hearing the voice of Furius beside him, Xeyphon turns away from Erathiel and greets the Bard.

"Good day Noble bard. Tis been a good day of sorts - Save the comments of the yachtsman earlier..... And yes I was on deck with my sword drawn, ready to strike."

Pausing for a moment, Xeyphon contemplates his next words carefully.

"Does your home island always produce such colourful artifacts? That massive flying vessel was not something you see everyday."

[Solophoenix]

Those above deck
The Elishor successfully docks without disturbance and the boarding ramp is lowered.

"Ok, safe to depart, be sure to check in with the port official before leaving the docks" calls the sailor in the crow's nest

Furius
As soon as Xeyphon finishes his sentence, the captain appears in the doorway to the stables.

"Sorry to interrupt, I bring important news"

He walks over to you, talking quietly so only you can hear.

"Master Furius, the ship is now docked and ready for your departure, also I have received word from the Governor's office regarding you. The Governor requests an audience with you immediately, and I believe that you should try to convince as many of the others as possible to attend. There is a carriage waiting, it will accommodate all of you if one is willing to sit by the driver."

((OOC: You know nothing about any previous history of flying vessels and your island, other colourful artifacts I trust you can ad-lib))

Xeyphon
Right as you finish your sentence, you see the captain enter

"Sorry to interrupt, I bring important news"

The captain walks over to Furius and begins talking to him quietly, you can not hear what is being said.

[styro]

Coming out of his mental contemplations, Xander discovers they've already docked and listens to the sailor in the crows nest.

Eagerly looking around, he tries to take note of the city layout and especially this mysterious port official.

[Furius]

Furius raises one aquamarine eyebrow at the Captain's rather cryptic message. "The Governor 'requests', an audience? sounds worrying" Furius thinks. "Well, thank you for that, Captain. I suppose the carriage is awaiting my response? I would greatly appreciate it if you told them I will be there momentarily," Dismissing the captain from his thoughts in his haste, Furius turned to Xeyphon.
"It seems life's got much more exciting around here, since I left! Great sausages-in-the-sky and now 'his worship' the Governor requests an audience. It could go well and there might be money and promotions, but personally I'm not inclined to exercise that much optimism given that my ministry is probably a bunch of smoking ruins.
Well, things seem bizarre around here, anyhow, so it might be an idea for you and the others to accompany me to this and ask the Governor for your payment in person, as I might not be in any position to request them for you. What do you say?"

[Solophoenix]

Xander
Looking around the docks, you can see that the piers themselves are fenced off from the rest of the bustling dock, presumably to allow for some sort of customs. Around the centre of the complex you see a man in a blue nautical uniform standing behind a table with a large noticeboard to the side. You can only assume that he must be the dock official that the crow's nest man talked about.

Furius, Xeyphon
After receiving Furius' response, the captain hurries off to what must be important duties during such an important time on the boat. Soon after he leaves, the crewmen in the stables open a wall to reveal that it is in fact a loading ramp for the stables. The ramp is lowered and the stall doors to Caboose and Erathiel are opened.

"Remember to check in with the port official before trying to get into the city" says one of the sailors.

Above Deck
Crew members extend a plank onto the dock and gesture you off the boat

[Acetic]

"Hmm... yes... I shall follow you to the Office to see if anything needs to be done."

Xeyphon then proceeded to lead Erathiel down the loading ramp and register with the dock official.

[Solophoenix]

Xeyphon
You approach the man who you assume must be the port official, a tall gray elf in a blue nautical uniform complete with tricorner hat. He stands behind a table with a large noticeboard to the side. Looking up as you approach the currently non-busy table he asks "New arrival?"

[Acetic]

"Indeed, My name is Xeyphon Ulysi and this is Erathiel." Xeyphon Leveled a gaze at the elf.

[Solophoenix]

Xeyphon
"Ok then, please fill out this form"

He hands you a form, pointing to a line he says

"Name here"

Pointing to another spot

"And sign here"

He hands you a quill.

[Acetic]

Xeyphon looked down at the sheet of paper.

"I see..."

Picking up the quill Xeyphon wrote down his name and signed with a flourish.

"Is that all?"

[Solophoenix]

Xeyphon
The elf hands you a clay token

"That will be all, take this and give it to the guard when you want to leave the customs area"

[Acetic]

"Thank you" Turning away from the official, Xeyphon proceeded to the Guard and hands him the token.

[Solophoenix]

Xeyphon
The guard takes the token and ushers you through the metal gate in the fence that separates the piers from the rest of the dock. You now stand within the boundaries of Aicamaj City.

((OOC: That's far enough for you to move before the next round))

[Furius]

After Xeyphon leaves, Furius, calls a dock-hand over and asks him to, "take this donkey, Caboose, after that guy, Xeyphon, with the horse and the oversized sword, please," and sticks his hand in his purse and pulls out ten gold pieces and gives them to him, "for your trouble," and he then rushes off without waiting for his answer.

Furius heads upstairs to the deck to try and intercept the other rag-tag adventurers. Experience tells him that such rag-tag bands tend to be helpful in awkward situations, "Especially their swords!", Furius laughs, My Goodness, did I say that out-loud? This is bad! On reaching the deck he looks around to see if he can find any of the aforementioned adventurers

[Solophoenix]

On Deck
Furius arrives on deck and looks around excitedly

Furius
As you arrive on deck you see the human, the dwarf, and the raptoran getting ready to depart

[Furius]

As Furius looks around excitedly he spots the human drunkard, the dwarven drunkard and the raptoran who shows no signs of drunkeness, but is decidedly freaky. Still, when the Dee'em gives you lemons...
Furius quickly closes the distance between them and him, and announces in a hushed but audible tone, "The Governor of the Isle has requested an audience with myself. In my opinion, if you wish to receive your payment, it might be an idea for you to accompany me"

[styro]

Seeing that the immaculate Furius had arrived on deck Xander quickly moves to follow him so he can claim his well deserved paycheck. Thinking to himself he composes a shopping list and the places he needs to go.

Xander looks to Furius and asks "by any chance you wouldn't happen to know where i could find a map to this spectacular city?".

Xander views the city (the tallest part) once more and wonders why people without wings would want such a vertical city. This thought had been nagging him for some time as he was only just getting used to seeing so many people without elegant plumage, and even a midget (also grounded). He knew he would have some interesting tales to tell the people back home.

[Furius]

Furius is secretly surprised that it is so easy. He hesitates for the merest moment 'oooh! nice alliteration!' he thinks, and then, seeing that Xander has gotten so bored that he is just staring into space, bird people must have real short attention spans! Or maybe it's just this one?, he responds to Xander's query, "It's been a while since I was last here, but you ought to still be able to aquire cheap maps at the Governor's office."

Having dealt with that, he looks at the others hopefully, "Well? Will you come?"

[Johnny Chaotic]

Johnny Chaotic was glad they had finally docked, and as he was ready, he went to follow the others.

((can't do long posts on weekdays))

[Rurik]

"Of course, I would be delighted to join you on this trip to meet the governor" Rurik replied. "Do you suggest that I go to meet him in my full combat outfit... or the humble vestment of my profession? Also do you know where we will be staying as I would like to make arrangements for the cart we acquired."

[Furius]

Furius wishes he could tell Rurik to meet the governor in full combat readiness (He fears it may be neccessary), but common sense prevails and he tells Rurik, instead,
"I think the humble vestment might be in order. One does not want to give the governor the wrong impression, after all. As for the cart," Furius considers for an instant, "I believe the dock authority will hold onto it for the moment. It might be an idea to inquire of it at the dock office if we have time. However, time is of the essence, the Governor is not the most patient of souls. And, neither, I suspect is the official he has sent for us. Let us find this carriage."
With that Furius heads over the gangplank and into the port itself.

[Rurik]

Noting a slight amount of hesitation in Furius' voice, Rurik loosens the morning star on his belt, and makes sure it will come loose at the slightest tug... just in case, and follows Furius over the gangplank into the port.

[Furius]

Having crossed the gangplank (OOC: I assume Furius accomplished this without issue :P) Furius pauses to await the birdman, Xander, and to give himself an oppurtunity to aquaint himself with his surroundings. It was a while since Furius had been here, and his memory was not quite clear on how to proceed. Was that building here before?! Were there always this many people?. Aicamaj was not really Furius's home, but he had dwelt here some time before he had left for the mainland. He had never quite grown accustommed to its hustle and bustle (Maybe the hustle, a little, actually, but never the bustle), and now it seems busier than ever to him.

[Solophoenix]

Furius
Looking around the docks, you can see that the piers themselves are fenced off from the rest of the bustling dock, presumably to allow for some sort of customs. Around the centre of the complex you see a man in a blue nautical uniform standing behind a table with a large noticeboard to the side. You can only assume that he must be the dock official that the crow's nest man talked about.

[styro]

Coming out of his humorous day-dream, Xander notices that the party had left without. Linking this with an experience he had as a fledgling, he hurries to catch up and falls in behind the gang.

[Furius]

Seeing that his entourage has caught up with him, Furius walks over to a man in blue nautical uniform who appears official-y. He announces his existance to said man thus, "Sir! I am Furius, Minister of Mainland Agricultural Development. I have been told to report to an official to be escorted to our esteemed Governor. Would you be that official?"

At the same time he keeps an eye out for any signs of Xeyphon

[Solophoenix]

//New Round//

Everyone but Xeyphon :P
"Keep yer shirt on ya stupid twit..." the man mumbles to himself.

"Are your friends here newcomers?" he asks, reaching for a stack of papers behind the desk.

Furius
You catch a glimpse through the crowds of a man with a stupidly large sword across his back, leaning against the customs fence, on the other side.


Xeyphon
A man rushes up to you leading a donkey, which you soon recognise as caboose.

"Please sir, the elf sent me to bring you this"

He hands you the lead and rushes back through the gate, flashing papers as he goes.

[styro]

Xander addresses the man in the blue nautical uniform and replies "yes"

[Solophoenix]

No Xeyphons Club
"In that case, I need each of you to fill out these forms" the man says, handing everyone but Furius a form and a quill.

"Name here" he says, pointing.

"Sign here" pointing at a different spot.

[Furius]

As the others full in their customs forms or whatever, Furius looks for Xeyphon in an ever more obvious manner, eventually, stood on the very tips of his toes he sights Xeyphon over by the customs fence.

He turns to the official, "I have to collect an additional retainer from the other side of this yard. I will collect him and return her momentarily."

Furius bows slightly further then the official probably deserves, and heads over to where he can see Xeyphon resting against the customs fence, trying to attract his attention, subtly, as he goes

[styro]

Seeing the form Xander immediately strikes a pose and congratulates himself on his ability to read. He then proceeds to print his name in 'common' and signs in 'Draconic'. Proud of his masterful artwork he hands them form back to the dude in blue.

[Johnny Chaotic]

Johnny Chaotic filled in the necessary forms, handed them back to the man in the blue uniform and proceeded to follow the others.

[Acetic]

Xeyphon takes the reigns of the donkey and thanks the man. Checking that Eratherial's saddle is secured onto her back, Acetic prepares for a quick exit.

[Furius]

On behalf of Orton (And with his permission):

"Tired of the rigmarole of customs, Rurik roughly scrawls his name on the form in Common, and then rushes after the devishly handsome Furius"

[Solophoenix]

Everyone but Xeyphon

"Get back here ya stupid dwarf!" Yells the port official at Rurik.

Taking the forms from the rest of you, he takes some clay tokens from behind his desk, and hands one to each of you.

"Hand those to the guard when you are ready to enter the city. And please keep your dwarf to yourselves."


Xeyphon
You are now fully prepared for a quick exit.

[Furius]

On arriving at the customs fence which seperated Xeyphon from everyone else, Furius flourishes a finger and seemingly miraculously avoided poking any passers-by with said finger stretched it through the fence and, with a premptory, "Oi! Xeyphon! Over here!" poked the selfsame Xeyphon with it.

[styro]

Seeing Furius jab Xeyphon, Xander trys to fight but fails and bursts out laughing. Seeing such a prestigious Paladin being poked by a Bard was too much for his birdlike mind and chooses to tail Furius for the next few minutes so he can LEAVE. to burn through the few moments, Xander looks around to see i he can locate any form of organised transport.

[Acetic]

Xeyphon turns to the poke in the side and sees his Bard companion Furius.

"Greetings, kind Bard, what can I do for you?"

[Furius]

"Just thought I had better alert you to our presence over there," with an excessively dramatic movement Furius extends his finger back to whence he came.
"We'll be moving off towards the carriage soon, I assume, so you should keep on us and try to trail us. It might be an idea if you trail us at a bit of a distance on your horse, rather than travelling right beside us- in case of foul play or the like... One can never be too cautious"

[Acetic]

"I see.... Then I shall escort you On Eratherial..."

Grabbing the reigns, Xeyphon mounts the saddle.

[Furius]

(OOC: Can we go yet?)

[Rurik]

Rurik does a quick about face and goes back to collect his token. "Sorry mate, hey let my buy you a drink some time... where is the nearest watering hole?" Rurik gives his best smile while waiting for a reply.

[Solophoenix]

New Round

Rurik
Looking slightly surprised at your politeness the elf replies.

"The nearest bar is just over there," he says while gesturing toward a small building on the waterfront. "Not a very nice place though. I'd check with whoever you're here to see about any others, I don't tend to dwell in the lower town. As for your offer, I'm afraid I have more pressing matters here, until five bells that is, and judging from the agitated look of your companions, it seems you need to be somewhere."

He hands you a round clay token.

"Give that to the gate guard when you're ready to enter the city."

Xander
You can see a few horse drawn carts around, and near the gate, a covered carriage.

[Acetic]

Xeyphon Pulls out his lance ready to charge.... and waits........ getting intensely bored at the lack of activity.

(OOC: don't god mod any of our emotions. I'll be pissed when i feel like I'm pissed)

[Rurik]

Giving a slight bow, Rurik truns away and runs off to catch up with the rest of the party.

[styro]

Xander, noticing the gate and carriage briskly walks towards the guardsmen and offers the token.

"Here you go sir"

[Solophoenix]

Xander
The guard takes your token and ushers you through the gate. Before you lies the rest of the port area, and beyond that, the city.

[Rurik]

Rurik hands his token to the man waiting at the gate, and look expectantly past the guard after the rest of the party.

[Johnny Chaotic]

Johnny Chaotic handed his token to the man at the gate and continued to follow the others.

[Furius]

Furius sees the other members of his party disappearing through the gate and follows them.

[Solophoenix]

//New Round//

All of you successfully pass through customs and regroup on the other side of the fence. The area you are now in appears to be some form of major trading hub, abuzz with people of all races imaginable and hundreds of prospective traders calling out from their various stalls. Directly ahead of you, between you and the crowds, is a covered carriage being drawn by two fine looking, but small, horses. The side of the carriage bears what looks like an official crest of some type.

From here you can see that the strange floating behemoth appears to be hovering further inland.

Furius
You recognise the crest as that of the Governor's office

[Furius]

Furius looks at the carriage, and notices the Governor's crest on it. Turning he announces "this is our carriage." He turns back to it and realises he is unsure how to enter. He pauses to think.
[roll0]

[Rurik]

Rurik heads past the guard and stands next to Furius, waiting for him to enter the carriage first.

[Solophoenix]

Furius
(You just wanted to roll something, didn't you)

As you approach the carriage, the driver tips his hat at you and beckons you enter. Your astounding knowledge of carriages of this type assures you that the door located on the side facing you is the correct means of entering the carriage. The carriage appears to be a late model with wheels manufactured by Kororo.

[Furius]

(OOC: Well, that amuses me so much that I'll post all of what Sam said: "As you approach the carriage, the driver tips his hat at you and beckons you enter. Your astounding knowledge of carriages of this type assures you that the door located on the side facing you is the correct means of entering the carriage. The carriage appears to be a late model with wheels manufactured by Kororo.")

After a short, but rather awkward pause while Furius looks somewhat blankly at the carriage, and Rurik stands beside him, Furius's advanced knowledge of carriages returns to him and he walks up to the carriage. He points out the Kororo wheels to Rurik and compliments the carriage driver on his carriage. He then reaches the door, "This," he announces in a lecturous tone to Rurik, "is a door. We open it like so," Furius struggles with the door for a while and finally pulls at it sharply, "It allows entry to the carriage itself. Amazing invention, yes?"

Furius sticks his head into the carriage and considers. "This won't hold all of us... I think Xeyphon was going on his horse, though, so maybe we'll all fit then... Xander, Rurik, Johnny Chaotic, are you all comfortable with riding in this here HPTD?" (OOC: Horse Propelled Transportation Device)

[Acetic]

Acetic reins Erathiel in next to the carriage where the others were gathering just in time to here Furius's enlightening description of what looks to be just a normal carriage. Shrugging the thought of the carriage out of his head, Acetic approaches the driver.

"I'm going to act as an escort for this carriage I'll keep back to prevent any suspicion by would be ambushers. Any sign of trouble then dive for safety. I'm pretty sure all this is unnecessary but then again, I don't really feel comfortable with that thing above us."

Acetic gestures at the floating thing.

"You wouldn't happen to know what that thing is though would you?"

[styro]

Seeing that he had once again been left behind with his thoughts he decides that it would be more fun riding up on top (not with the driver). Getting a running start, he attempts to jump onto the top in one leap, knowing that it isn't going to end well.

(i expect this will be interesting)

[Johnny Chaotic]

Johnny Chaotic followed the others into the carriage, and noticed that Xander was not with them.

[Rurik]

Seeing as there were only three of them in the carriage, there was pleanty of room for Rurik to spread out. He then settles down to give a short prayer to Hanseth, before attempting to start a conversaton with the rest of the passangers in the cab.

[styro]

(After finally figuring out how to roll the damn dice, and proceeding to roll the damn thing i know that my characters life sorta depends on suck a stupid thing)

[roll0]

[Solophoenix]

Acetic
The driver looks at you strangely
"I really think that is most unnecessary, have you not noticed the wonderful town guard we have here?"

(after seeing you point to the sky-thing)

"Ah, I suppose that would have you newcomers a bit worried, nothing to be worried about there, it is merely the rather extravagant and amazing mode of transport used by a visiting foreign guest. I don't know much about them, but they must be important...Imagine, flying in that! Like a giant dra-"

Your conversation is suddenly cut short by a loud and dull thud as Xander's waist collides with the top edge of the carriage.
End of Round


Xander
You leap into the air and spread your wings to assist your travel, but immediately you can see that this is not going to work. If only the carriage was 4 feet or so shorter, but it isn't, your waist smashes into the top edge, momentum carrying your torso around the corner and into the roof.

Take [roll0] points of lethal damage, and make a reflex save.


Everyone inside
You hear a dull thud reverberate through the carriaged, accompanied by a muffled squawk of pain.

End of Round

[Solophoenix]

Xander
((OOC: At the time of posting this, the forum diceroller appears not to be working, so I will roll here and post, use this value if the above still displays [roll0]: 1d6 = 2 damage

[styro]

Grunting with the unique pain of crashing into a carriage, and kicking himself for not looking to see how tall the damn thing was before attempting such an awesome stunt, Xander launches into a very loud tirade of cursing in all his known languages. Part way through his prepared list of curses he starts to laugh as he just figured out what the whole gravity idea really meant.

[roll0]

[Acetic]

Xeyphon reacts instantly by tilting his lance for an attack, but stopped to realize that Xander, the bird man of the group was flexing his wings a bit. With catastrophic results.

"....Now why did he go and do that....."

Turning back to the Driver, "Thanks for the information good sir, I'll keep to my horse anyway though, Crammed in with that bunch doesn't really sound that nice to me anyway"

Turning Erathiel around, Xeyphon approaches the sore looking Xander.

"Need a bit of healing there?"

[Solophoenix]

((OOC: Xeyphon, I have to ignore your post as it is posted after I ended the round, and doesn't quite work now, given the fast pace of what just happened. Copy and paste it to below if you still want to take the same actions.))

Xander and Xeyphon...X..
Thanks to quick reflexes Xander manages to catch the edge of the carriage and lower himself to the ground in safety.

The carriage driver turns to the sudden noise and exclaims,

"What in the nine hells do you think you're doing!?"


Inside the carriage
You can hear the muffled cries of the driver shouting something along the lines of "What in the nine hells are you doing?"

//New Round//

[Rurik]

Having heard the crash and thud of something rather heavy hitting the carriage, and the driver calling out "What in the nine hells do you think you're doing!?" Rurik quickley jumps out of the carriage to see what is going on. Apon seeing the the wounds on the bird man, and the paladins upheld lance, he quickley goes over to Xander saying "hey the matey do you want me to patch you up alittle, before our friend the paladin over there decides to attack you again... never can trust a paladin can you, no matter what they say!?"

[styro]

Recovering from his bout of laughter, Xander flys into a rage (not literal) and draws both scimitars. Spreading his wings to their full extent (hopefully a little frightening) Xander looks directly at the driver he says

" WHAT THE BLOODY HELL DOES IT LOOK LIKE I'M DOING?."

Not waiting for a reply he turns around and starts walking away from the driver. He walks around to the other side, sheaths the scimitars and enters the 8 ft carriage. Expecting to find a swimming pool inside he's slightly disappointed by the almost overcrowded 8ft carriage. Being an 8 ft carriage he realises that its no ordinary mode of transportation and with seeing no amounts of alcohol in the vast vicinity plonks himself down, in the 8ft carriage, and once again bursts out laughing.

[Rurik]

((ooc.) Um Xander, did you read my post, either your character is thick beyond measure, or you decieded to ignore me, um I was talking to you:smallmad: )

[Acetic]

Xeyphon glances down at the dwarf and shrugs off the comment. Turning Erathiel back toward the front, Xeyphon takes a position near the carriage ready to move out.....as soon as the dwarf gets his clerical behind in to the flaming 8 foot carraige.

[Furius]

Furius grows impatient, and leans out the door and says, as nicely as he can manage, "Rurik! We are operating within time constraints. Do you think you can threaten your paladin comrade some other time?"

He sighs

[styro]

Xander rushes out to Rurik apologizing profusely:smallconfused: then says

"now that i have hopefully made up for ignoring your royal, moronic nature, land lubber, can we please get moving as i" (just loud enough for the driver to hear) "am getting edgy and need to gut a few drivers as we're ALREADY LATE"

turning around Xander acts as if the comment was never uttered and walks off around and back inside the carrriage:smallbiggrin:

[Solophoenix]

We'll assume from here that Rurik is now seated beside the driver.

You hear the driver spur the horses into motion and the carriage lurches forward, the wheels clanking gently over the cobbled yard.

Inside
You feel a slight bumping as the carriage moves off at a fairly slow pace, most likely due to the crowds. Soon after the carriage picks up some speed and the ride seems smoother. You see buildings sprawled about through the windows, and all kinds of people moving about. Minutes later you feel the carriage slowing to a stop. A few moments later there is a knock at the door and it opens. A young Elf who looks to be a city guard pokes his head in and speaks in a cheerful voice.

"Good morning sirs, I'm afraid you'll need to check your weapons here before we let you through into the high town, you can pick them up on your way out again of course."

With that he opens the door further to reveal a second guard, this one holding a notepad.

"This officer will take your details, and I assure you your weapons will be safe with us" he says with a smile.


Rurik
You feel a slight bumping as the carriage moves off at a fairly slow pace, due to the crowds you can see slowly moving out of the way. Shortly the carriage makes it on to the road and picks up speed. This road is straight and wide, seemingly the city's main transport artery, it heads uphill toward the centre of the island, indicating that the governer's house must be somewhere near the top edge of the city, before it runs into the rocky cliffs.

Ahead you can see what appears to be another fence, this one separating your current location from a much more ordered and wealthy looking part of the city, as you get closer, you see the fence gate is staffed by several guards. The driver slows the carriage to a stop at the gate and guards approach it. Two head around to the door and one walks up to the front. The driver flashing his papers and handing the guard a dagger. The guard then approaches you.

"Morning sir, I'll need you to check any weapons you may have on you here, you can pick them up when you leave the high town." he says gruffly.

"The driver also said something about an unstable winged companion of yours, are you sure he's safe to take into the high town?"

Xeyphon
The carriages moves off and you follow at a distance, you travel on a road that appears the be the city's main transport artery for a short time before the carriage begins to slow, and then stop at a fence that appears to be separating a much more ordered and wealthy looking district from the one you're currently in.

((OOC: I'm assuming you're stopping to watch from a distance.))

Some guards approach the carriage, one appears to talk to Rurik and the driver, another opening the door and looking inside.

[Furius]

Furius turns to the others within the carriage.

"well, you heard the well-armed chap here didn't you? Hand your weapons over would you please? You will get them back. The quicker we get this done, the quicker we can continue to the Governor's Palace."

Furius turns to the pubescent elf, "Ah. Now. I am carrying one sap" Furius carefully hoists it into plain view and passes it to him with an admonition, "Careful! It's quite dangerous"

[Rurik]

"Ok then" Rurik replies as he hands over his morning-star feeling pleased
that he had had the presence of mind to leave his axe with the rest of his
gear on the cart.
"As for the bird-man, I cant understand a word he says, but I wouldn't be too worried about him, he seems nice enough... just make sure you get all of his weapons, and Ill keep an eye on him for ye."

"Um.... don't suppose you could shed any light on the strange thing in the
air over there?" he says gesturing towards the sausage shaped thing in the
air.

[Acetic]

Xeyphon Sits tight and decides to observe the happenings from a distance for now.

[Johnny Chaotic]

Johnny Chaotic handed over some of his weapons, not bothering to mention his alchemists fire.

He did however protest about giving up the warhammer.:smallfrown:

"It's just a large blacksmiths hammer, given to me by a friend. Surely you don't mind me carrying around a simple tool? It doesn't pose a threat.":smallsmile:

[Johnny Chaotic]

Bluff check.
[roll0]

[Solophoenix]

Rurik
"You've been on the island how long? And nobody told you yet! That marvelous creation is said to be the form of transport by which an important visitor of the Governor has arrived by. Nobody knows more than that, 'cept the Governor of course..."

In the carriage
Turning to Johnny, the young elf says.

"I may be new in this game, but blacksmithing tool or not, it certainly does pose a threat, hand it over"

[Johnny Chaotic]

Johnny Chaotic sighed, and handed his warhammer over.

"Fine, I guess it would look threatening to some people.":smallsigh:

He settled back with the others and made a mental note to work on his people skills.

[Rurik]

Yes, thank you, I did already know that but I was hoping to find out more... Well thank you for your time, I wont detain you any longer, Oh, just one thing, do I just come back here to collect my things afterwards?

[Acetic]

Viewing carriage being vacated of all its weaponry, Xeyphon decided to just get it over with as his paladin conscience wouldn't let him withhold any of his weapons from the guard.

Trotting up to the road block, Xeyphon unbuckles his weapons.

"Right sir, might as well as get this over with..."

He first pulled off his long sword and handed it to the man, then he handed over his lance, then his bow, then his full complement of arrows, then his caltrops. Pausing, Xeyphon turned to the man carrying his equipment.

"Do you want the shield as well?"

[Solophoenix]

Rurik
"Yes, that's correct" the guard informs you

Xeyphon
A guard runs up to your horse and begins taking your weapons.

"The shield is fine, but you can leave it here with us if you want, you won't be needing it I'm sure. You with them?" he asks indicating the carriage.

[Acetic]

Xeyphon considered it for a second.

"Perhaps I'll keep it with me its more fitting this way, and yeah, I'm with these guys, as a somewhat of an escort..." Xeyphon leaned over on his saddle and said in a hoarse whisper "Also because I can't stand being stuck in the carriage with those guys."

Sitting back upright, Xeyphon salutes the guard on duty and proceeds to pass through.

[styro]

feeling mightily pissed off and slightly disgruntled Xander hands over his weapons making sure guard number 2 writes them down

" 5 javelins, 20 arrows, one footbow and 2 masterwork scimitars, with handles. "

((when you post you should check to see if the players are being truthful, ie are all their weapons accounted for, either the guards were blind or I'm very good at hiding a javelin, god knows where, also what happens if this sort of thing should happen again, i didn't roll anything so they should have noticed it straight away))

[Furius]

Furius continues to dangle his sap in front of the guard's face.
"Hellooooo! I've got a dangerous weapon here. Are you going to take it or not?"

[Rurik]

"Thank you very much, well ill be seeing you!" Rurik replies

[Solophoenix]

Inside the carriage
The guard takes your weapons and double checks that they are documented, pausing to take special care of Furius' sap, possibly slightly exaggerating the process, dangling the sap between pinched fingers.

After all the weapons are dealt with the guard pokes his head inside a final time.

"All right then folks, you'll be off again in moments"

He closes the door.

Soon afterward, you feel the carriage lurch forward once more, this time the ride seeming much smoother.

Rurik
"Looking forward to it" the guard replies as he steps back from the carriage and signals the driver all clear.

The carriage lurches forward as the little horses pull, this time the ride seeming much smoother as you continue up the road.

Xeyphon
Looking back, you see the carriage get the all clear and pass through the gate, once again heading up the road.

[styro]

still annoyed, xander is at least happy that he wasn't caught out in trying to hide the purpose of the slightly deadly warhammer.

[Acetic]

Xeyphon Follows dragging the reins of caboose the donkey behind him.

[Solophoenix]

The carriage clatters along the cobbled street, which is now much smoother and cleaner. The buildings you pass are arranged in a far more ordered manner and many expensive looking shop fronts flash past.

Soon after starting off, the carriage stops again. The driver calls out.

"Well folks, we're here, head up the path and those men at the door should handle you from here."

Before you stands an impressive three-storied house with an ample lawn surrounded by a metal fence, of which you are standing in the gate of. In front of you a path snakes up to the front door where two armoured men stand waiting.

"I don't think they'd appreciate horses on the nice path though, you'd better tie him to the fence" comments the driver to Xeyphon.

[Acetic]

Sighing, Xeyphon dismounts and ties Erathiel and Caboose to the nearest fence post, though not too tightly in case of a quick getaway. Checking that his equipment is in pristine condition, Xeyphon dramatically pushes open the gate and proceeds up the path to the people who will 'take care of them'

Approaching the guards, Xeyphon snaps to attention and salutes. Summing up all his formal prowess (which wasn't much as Xeyphon is a paladin of freedom and didn't really care for all the political formalities) He began.

"Greetings, I am Xeyphon, a companion of Furius, I believe the governor wanted to have us report to him?"

Xeyphon pauses briefly, and relaxes from his formal pose

"Sorry about the formality... The dwarf getting off there thinks I got a stick shoved up my behind and I'd hate to disappoint...so play along please"

[Furius]

Furius gracefully exits the carriage in time to hear the comments of Xeyphon and Xander. He walks over and comes up between them,
"Xeyphon, Xander, I'm quite sure the Guard has better things to do than listen to your petty quarrels" Furius sighs with just the slightest hint of dramatical exhaustion, and switches his attention to the guard,
"Now, I am Furius, Minister of Mainland Agricultural Expansion,and the Governor has honoured me by offering an audience. I trust that is in order?"

[Johnny Chaotic]

Johnny Chaotic exited the carriage, and continued to follow the others.

[Acetic]

Xeyphon lets out a loud sigh...

"And they call me the one with the stick up by rear..."

[Acetic]

"Personally, I'd prefer to have nothing up the rear... don't know about the dwarf though... he seems too interested in this stuff..."

[styro]

wondering why it suddenly felt like months since anything had happened, Xander exits the carriage and sits down in front of the guard, preening his feathers

[Rurik]

Rurik clambers down from the top of the carriage just in time to hear Xeyphon's rude remarks. He rolled his eyes, but decided to be the "bigger Dwarf" and just ignore his comments. So instead went to stand beside Johnny Chaotic and wait for Furius to lead them in.

[Solophoenix]

"If you would please follow me" requests the guard Furius addressed.

He leads you through the impressive dark wooded doors and up a staircase directly in front of you. The staircase emerges in the centre of a large round room with checkered tile flooring. The guard leads you around to another heavy door behind the staircase and knocks three times.

After a short while, a call is heard from inside.

"Enter"

The guard shows you through the door and closes it after you. This room is longer than it is wide, with an impressive desk at the far end, before two large windows overlooking the island, you can see all the way down to the dock from here. Behind the desk sits a middle-aged Elven man wearing noble-looking garments. To his right, at the edge of his desk stands a man clad in full plate armour. Strapped across his back is a fierce looking glaive. The walls of the room are lined with full bookcases up to the halfway point, where windows begin appearing, various tapestries and wall displays between them. A third man stands at the right edge the right window, looking through it.

The man behind the desk speaks.

"Mister Furius, I've been expecting you. I trust your appearance here means bad news. Please, introduce these companions of yours, and tell me what happened."

[Furius]

"Mister Governor, these men are mercenaries in the pay of the State of Aicamaj (That's inventoried in my budget request for the year, here," Furius produces a tattered, ledger bound with a thick piece of cord, and turns to the appropriate page, "and here. My apologies on the size of the fee. There were lives at stake"

Furius continues, "by name they are Rurik the Dwarf, Xander the Raptoran, Xeyphon the Human, and Johnny Chaotic the Other Human. Which is also recorded in the colony's customs documents, here," Furius produces another ledger.

"As for the Mainland Agricultural Expansion, I am afraid that its existance proved completely and impossibly inviable and uneconomical, as you can, no doubt, tell from the budgetry ledger. The amounts that had to be spent on defenses, and the amount of produce lost (Tallied up in the production ledger, here)," Furius produces a third thicker ledger, with bloodstains on it, "Made the whole enterprise utterly impossible. Of that, I assume you are well aware, as I have sent many dispatches on this topic. I have another ledger, here, and various odds and ends that were salvaged from the colony as we evacuated are in our vessel. Is that an adequate run-through, or do you desire further details?"

[Solophoenix]

"So basically, you were driven out by the Orcs?" asks the governor as he brushes the piles of paperwork aside.

"These men will be paid for their services"

He stamps 4 sheets of official looking paper, and turning to address the group.

"I thank you for your contributions"

Now focusing on Furius

"I also regret to inform you that due to the termination of the colony, there is no longer a position in the office for you. You will receive a handsome severance package."

He stamps another sheet of paper.

"It is not all bad news however, I do happen to have an interesting prospect for you. This man-"

He indicates the man standing by the window. The man looks up, and seems rather surprised to see so many people have suddenly appeared.

"-is a representative of the Conaissance National Museum. You will have undoubtedly noticed his unusual form of transportation moored outside. He is here on a mission to retrieve an interesting artifact from a nearby island."

The man by the window speaks, his accent is noticeably Half-Elven (French).

"I vould 'ardly call et an artifact, dear Aeron. Merely a local curiosity that most 'av dismissed as a myth. The museum knows better zan zat of course.

The Half-Elf walks over to the desk.

"Allow me to introduce myself, I am Jean Vilon, curator of ze Conaissance Museum.

In my studies 'ere I have located ze "mythical" 'Sapphire of Aicamaj' zat features in a small number of zis island's children's stories. It resides on a little island to ze west. Zis island is relatively famous for a stange door in a rockface zat no-one has been able to open, until now. Careful research in the museum's library, combined with a visit to ze door itself, has yielded a solution.

Vot I need now, is a team experienced in ze "dungeon delving" to go beyond ze door and retrieve it for me. You vill be paid handsomely for you services if you agree to this. I vould send my own crew, but for all zeir combat training, they are inexperienced in dealing with ze ozer things zat commonly come up in these "adventures."

So, have I enticed anyone?"

[styro]

wots the pay and how longs this gonna take

[Rurik]

"Despite my feathered friends lack of eliquence, he does, however have a point... How long do you expect this to take, how well are we to be paid... and what sort of dangers might we expect in the dungen?" Rurik thinks for a moment before continuing " And you may aswell tell us what the significance of this 'Sapphire of Aicamaj,' so that we know that we can retrieve it with a clear consicience... we are not grave robbers and the last thing we want to do is be removing someones treasured possesions from a grave."

[Furius]

Furius thinks

Bardic Knowledge: The Sapphire of Aicamaj

[roll0]

[Solophoenix]

"I am afraid zat ze length of time required is essentially unknown. We av not yet been beyond ze door, but from vot I have seen of ze island, ze area beyond can not be very large, unless it goes deep underground. Travel to ze island should take around a day. Vot I can assure you of is zat ze mission is most certainly not grave robbing. Ze gem is merely somezing zat was lost to ze ages years ago. As ze gemstone has little actual value, ze museum feels it vould be better for all concerned if it vere to be retrieved and put on display vithin zeir trusted halls. I vill pay six hundred gold pieces to each of you on retrieval, and you may keep votever else you find beyond ze door."

Furius
The Sapphire of Aicamaj appears briefly in the mythology of Aicamaj as being gifted to the people by an early ruler, and put on display in the town square. One day, the sapphire was no longer there, presumably stolen, never to be seen again. It is a common story told to young children to teach them never to take their possessions for granted.

[Furius]

Furius pauses.
"You are willing to pay... six hundred gold pieces each? Between the five of us that would be three thousand gold pieces. Plus whatever it costs you to operate that skyboat of yours- I'm guessing that is not cheap. This sapphire must be more than the trinket of 'little actual value' that you (and myth) claim it to be."

Feeling that this is a satisfactory conclusion, Furius stops for a moment and mentally pats himself on the back.

"Anyway, as this seems more interesting than you make out I think I will aid you in this."

Furius turns to the other player characters in the room, "I would advise that if you do likewise you make more of an effort to get along than you have thus far."

[Solophoenix]

"Ze money is to compensate for ze considerable risks involved. We do not know much of vot lies beyond ze door, it may be quite deadly. The museum receives considerable funding from ze government and we are entrusted with ze mission of bringing knowledge to the people. Zis is really a fairly minor expense in comparison with vot ze museum often finances. As for ze skyship, she is an older vessel, and I am..how you say..borrowing er. I am glad to have av someone with your deductive capabilities on ze team, you may prove vital for your companions."

[styro]

sure, might be good to be able to finally line my pockets with some coin

[Acetic]

Xeyphon wanders away from the party and stares at an over sized mosaic while his team mates bargain from the man with his z's confused with every other letter of the alphabet.

[Solophoenix]

The man nods slightly at the agreement of Xander. He turns to Xeyphon.

"You are not interested? A shame, you look strong."

[Acetic]

"...No, not really interested, but if it can cure my boredom problem... Then sure, why not."

[Solophoenix]

"Excellent"

Jean turns to Johnny

"And you, silent von, vot is your decision?"

[Johnny Chaotic]

"Okay, if they are doing it, I might as well."

[Rurik]

RUrik thinks for a moment before replying "well I could do with a distraction before I start upon my holy quest... count me in"

[Solophoenix]

"Vary good! I shall confirm ze travel arrangements immdediately. Your ship vill leave ze dock at 8 bells tomorrow morning, do not be late. I suggest you use ze rest of today to stock up on votever adventuring supplies you vish to purchase vith your newly aqquired capital"
Says Jean, indicating the stamped papers.

The governor speaks again

"Yes, just take those down to the bank and you'll recieve your payment. I've also been informed that your luggage included a substantial amount of copper pieces, those have been taken to the bank, where you can claim them in a more easily carried form"

He hands another stamped paper to Furius

"That should be all you need, have fun experiencing our beautiful city"

With that, you are escorted by guards out of the mansion, back into the carriage with your weapons returned to you, a quick call is made to the bank, and then you are deposited in the town centre, pockets bulging with new wealth.

((OOC: Those of you who did not make characters starting with second level wealth, now have 900gp to spend, post what you want to buy and I'll give you availability/prices. Those who have already spent their 2nd level wealth, find an inn or something))

[styro]

((OOC: we haven't played this for so long so i'm not sure if i've spent it, can you post all the names that haven't spent it seeing as some are still interested in playing. also, we might no t be very good at remembering rules so stop us weneva))

[Solophoenix]

((OOC: It's just Johnny and Furius who are catching up gold-wise. The rules are always online here (www.d20srd.org)))

[Rurik]

Rurik looks around for someone to ask about the local attractions.
(ooc. DM, you need 2 let me know about some1 right?)

[styro]

Xander flaps his wings irritated at the fact that his pockets feel so light. This causes massive quantities of preened feathers to fall to the immaculate, tile floor. He quickly looks around for a guide or someone who may know his way around a city. Desperately looking for a tavern and wanting tomorrow to come quickly.

((OOC: I really haven't looked at this much. A bit of a name change was ok, think of it as a nickname))

[Solophoenix]

Rurik and Xander grab the closest elf passing by. With a slight look of terror on his face at the sight of the two armoured warriors he quietly utters:

"Yes?"

[styro]

Xander looks at the scrawny elf and says, I seem to be in need of a place to stay tonight, you wouldn't happen to know of such a place?

He thinks for a moment then adds, A tavern would be nice:smallbiggrin: .

[Solophoenix]

"Err, the nearest tavern would be Whisky Castle" he says as he points out a shop front decorated with immitation battlements.

[Furius]

Meanwhile in the market, Furius was shopping.

He buys a silk rope for 10gp, and continues wandering through the stalls. A particularly eager saleself draws his attention to a vial of Holy Water. Furius takes two, at 25gp each. He then spends 40gp on caltrops.

Continuing on he comes upon a weapons stand and gasps at a large longbow. Its red lacquered surface gleams in the sunlight, and Furius, inexpert as he was, judged it as clearly of high quality, and only 75 gp!!!!1 Furius spends 25 gp on blunt arrows. (OOC: 25 x 20 = 500 arrows).

That left 700gp which Furius didn't really have a use for. He decides after some consideration that this money should be saved for later use.

However, given the weight of his purchases, Furius hires a porter to carry said purchases back to the inn.

[Acetic]

Deciding that it was probably best not to have another heavy mail clad person to approach the already terror stricken elf, Xeyphon follows after Rurik and Xander to the weird castle thingy. Stopping at the fence temporarily to untie Caboose and Erathiel.

[Solophoenix]

After a busy afternoon of shopping and elf-scaring, you all arrive at Whisky Castle. Inside is a pretty normal looking tavern, it seems the themed design is exterior only. A sign on the wall offers stabling at 5sp per night, and rooms at 2gp per night. The current clientele seem to be a generic bunch of anonymous drunks.

A menu is displayed on a wall behind the bar.

Today's Menu:

Breakfast: Beef steak, Duck eggs, Goose eggs, Apple, Oatmeal (cost 6sp).

Lunch: Leg of mutton, Soft cheese, Okra, Peach (cost 8sp).

Supper: Mixed grill, Broccoli, Broad beans, Oatmeal, Custard (cost 1gp).

Snack: Griffin-milk cheese, Currants, Mush (cost 4sp).

The prices for drinks are nearby. Ale is 5cp a mug, also on offer is fine wine for a gold piece a glass.

[Acetic]

Xeyphon entered the castle and immediately took a survey of the place. Drunks, drunks, and more drunks. Deciding not to join them in their moment of stupor Xeyphon dropped off 7 gp and said that if he was gone for more then 1 week then he'll pay for the rest later. He then went to get caboose and Erathiel stabled. Returning from the stable, Xeyphon them paid 1gp to buy dinner and took it to a nearby table to eat.

[Rurik]

Rurik quickley surveys the menu, turns to the Bartender and says "Um.. ill have the supper... mmm.. oh and the lunch, and three tankards of your coldest ale!"
"Here's 2gp, keep the change!"
Then looks around for Furius to ask him some more questions about this mission they were about to embark on.

[styro]

Xander enters the bar in a cloud of feathers ((OOC: i must say this feather problem is quite fun to play with lol)). After surveying the room taking note of the veterans, Xander sits himself down in the corner putting his feet up, just hoping that someone might be cool enough to shout him a beer, or two, or three, or even some gold mmm, gold, how it used to be nice to have excessively overweighted pockets.

((OOC: surveyed the room? is there anyone of note? maybe someone to kill the time :smallcool: ))

[Solophoenix]

Xander

As you look around the pub you notice one thing that seems fairly odd. There are no women here...or at least no women that look like women.

[styro]

Xander, seeing that theres no fun to be had leans a chair against the wall and trys to catch some sleep.

((OOC: don't look like woman? you have a seriously unusual mind to visualise woman that don't look like them lol))

[Solophoenix]

((OOC: These are mostly elves too, a race in which most of the men look like women, just to give you some perspective on how tough and ugly the clientelle are))

[styro]

((OOC: (can you move it to the next day seeing as theres nothing else to achieve))

[Solophoenix]

After an evening of quiet drinks, the night passes uneventfully, other than Johnny's rampant streaking and sodomising of the tavern's stable's occupants, finally being dragged off by the city guard somewhere around dawn.

The rest of you awake and prepare for the day, heading down to the docks. As you arrive, you are approached by an elf dressed as one would expect a ship's captain to be dressed.

"You must be the adventurers, please, follow me."

He leads you onboard a small and sleek, hopefully swift ship, and gives the order to cast off. Crewmen hustle about and soon the ship is away from the dock and in transit. Once more the elf approaches.

"Sorry about the rush, I wanted to make the most of this wind."

He clears his throat, and in a booming and happy voice

"I am Captain Alel, in the employ of the Governor of Aicamaj, and I now welcome you aboard this fine vessel, the Hindentanic!"

[styro]

Xander spends a few moments admiring the ship and wondering why there weren't departure customs. this seemed strange but dismisses his worries of being kidnapped with one look at his swords. he politely asks the captian to be shown his quarters.

[Acetic]

"Ugh.."

Xeyphon mumbled before following on to the little dingy. He really just wanted to get this job over with. Sure he likes to help people but being of the chaotic nature, can't help but want to get the action on...

[styro]

((Behalf of Rurik)

Because of the copious amounts of raw alcohol consumed the previous night, Rurik was in no state to be making any comments. Therefore with a mighty heave, the elfin crew dragged the dwarf on board making sure to hit as much as they could, using his head as a battering ram. They finally dropped him, hard, on his head on the middle of the ship and dumped a bucket of the putrid harbor water all over his head. Now smelling worse then a tanners he started to come to.

[Solophoenix]

With Furius soon dragged on board in a similar state, the crew cast off and the ship sails. The trip is uneventful, and at dawn the next day, your destination is reached. The ship anchors in a quiet bay of the small island. It is densely covered in jungle, but for a path that begins not far from where the rowboat drops you on the beach.

As you stand looking at the path, the captain approaches you.

"Your boss asked me to give you this thing on arrival-"

he hands a palm sized metal device to Xeyphon

"-and there was a warning too...strange, I could have sworn he said to beware the weasels...but that can't be right. Oh well, I'm sure you'll figure it out if it comes up. Heh, weasels indeed..."

((OOC: Assuming you guys want to head up the path immediately, choose your marching order))

[Acetic]

Xeyphon looks down on the strange metal thing in his hand then promptly shoved it into his pack.

"Whatever it is..." He muttered.

Checking his shield straps and amour condition, Xeyphon started up the path.

"I'll take point." He said to the guys behind.

[styro]

Only Briefly wondering if Rurik and Furius would be able to follow, Xander holds his scimitars against his shoulder straps and quickly follows Xeyphon.

While wandering, Xander starts looking around for a sturdy piece of wood about 4 x 4 x 4 inchs

[Furius]

With an aching head and a blank spot where his memories of the previous night ought to have been, Furius gingerly disembarks from the Hindentanic, and vaguely hears something about weasels....

Weasels?

[roll0]

Anyway, Furius climbs out of the boat, woozily, the bright sunlight barraging his skull and the world dancing wildly in front of his eyes. His stomach joins in the dance and divests itself of its scalding acidic contents on the sandy beach.

"Ugh..."

[Furius]

Once his stomach is completely empty, Furius heads off after Xander

[Solophoenix]

Furius
"Weasels" is a word that starts with the letter "W"

[styro]

Rurik follows Xander empty headedly, blindly tripping over every root in sight (even ones which are way off the beaten path) causing himself to have an extremely messy appearance.

[Solophoenix]

As you march up the path, the first ten minutes pass uneventfully. Suddenly though, a rustling is heard in the bushes to your right. Seconds later, a flash of fur and the largest weasel you have ever seen bounds out of the bushes and clamps it's jaws down on Xeyphon.

Xeyphon takes 6 damage from the bite, and the weasel remains attatched.

Initiative Order:

Rurik
Xeyphon
Furius
Weasel
Xander

Map:
http://img383.imageshack.us/img383/9247/weasel01uj1.jpg
You should be able to work out your colour from the marching order. The green is dense forest, passing through a square that has any green in it costs double for movement.


((OOC:Although the weasel is attatched to Xeyphon, he is not technically grappled, and so retains the ability to take normal actions))

[styro]

((Rurik))

Seeing that he hadn't fully recovered from the previous nights drinking expeditions his thoughts became jumbled and fell on his face.

[Acetic]

it hurt... alot... as much as a man sized weasel bite should hurt. Worse was that the thing was now attached to Xeyphon. Seizing the moment, He rapidly drew his sword and lined up a cut against the thing and tried to slash it away.

Standard action: Draw sword
Attack Action: Masterwork Long sword

[roll0]

edit: sorry, +6 because its masterwork making a total of 12

[Acetic]

Xeyphon watched as his blade bit into the creature.

[roll0]

[Furius]

Furius flees over Rurik (to 7, 3) and then, reflecting on the need to protect his fellow party members charges back at the the weasel (8, 6) and attacks it with his sap, ineffectively.

Attack
[roll0]
Damage (if applicable)
[roll1]

[Solophoenix]

Xeyphon's blade cute a slash across the weasel's side, it look slightly deterred but still holds on strong. Furius dashes through undergrowth and swings wildly with his sap, striking nothing but air.

Xeyphon's wound is now bleeding badly with the attatchment of the weasel and he takes [roll0] points of constitution damage.

[styro]

((is the weasel gonna do something or can i try to hit it

[styro]

seeing that the midget beast has been mortaly wounded Xander moved up closer to attempt the final blow

[roll0]



((i was sure my base attack was +6))

((if i'm able to use both weapons then
[roll1]))

[styro]

Umm, assuming my first roll was correct then ((Remember this can be deleted))

[roll0]

((I'm still gonna assume that its only +2 and not +6))

[roll1]

[styro]

Rurik, stands up, takes one step and falls over the next root in sight (In the same square) and is unable to make any other moves.

[Acetic]

(if it died then just ignore this post)
Xeyphon seeing the weakened creature pushes the attack with a jab to the side of the creature hoping to get the vitals.

[roll0]

[roll1]

[Solophoenix]

Xander lands a solid hit on the weasel and rends it in twain, covering Xeyphon in warm, wet weasel guts.

Well done guys, 150xp each

Continuing along the path, you encounter no more weasels. At the end of the path is a large round door set into a mound of earth. The door is covered in archaic decoration, and in the centre is a seashell shaped indentation.

[Acetic]

Xeyphon went up the track clutching his wound. The bleeding had ceased but the pain was still there.arriving at the destination, he quickly sat down next to the wall.

"Hold on for a minute, I just need to do something." He said to the rest of the people.

holding his hand over the wound, it began to heal.

[Lay on hands: 6 hp heal none left for the day. hp back to 19.]

feeling better though still a bit crippled from the blood loss, Xeyphon got up and waited at the front of the door. His sword drawn.

[styro]

Xander wipes clean his scimitar on the dwarfs clothes making sure to smear the messy remains everywhere, then falls in to follow Xeyphon.

[styro]

Rurik looks at the blood, shrugs, then quickly walks into a tree. He stands again and continues to follow the ever growing line like a lemming.

((I hold nothing against lemmings, they are cool little animals forming the base of the largest myth known to man, curse the people who think that a reason to escape an overcrowded population is sometimes to literally jump off a cliff.))

[Furius]

Furius breathes a sigh of relief that the weasel's innards ended up on Xeyphon rather than himself and then heads up the path until he reaches the end. There Furius beholds an ancient door. It looks large and heavy and Furius resolves not to open it, instead sitting down beside it.

He idly composes a haiku of the weasel encounter while waiting for the rest of the group to assemble

A rabid weasel attack'd
Furius fought back
His mighty sap brings justice

Furius nodded contentedly

[styro]

Wtf happened, why can't i see my player, i don't intend to have to reroll those again, did anyone have the brilliant idea to save everyones?

[Solophoenix]

((OOC: Campaign Blog's server is down at the moment, I expect this is only temporary, and if I remember correctly it has happened in the past. All we can do right now is wait until it comes back online.))

[styro]

I propose that if/when the server comes online that we each get a copy of everyones profile therefore we never have this problem

[styro]

We could still continue unless you expect us to inspect the mysterious door other then that:

Xander tries to open the door.

[Solophoenix]

Xander's attempts to open the door fail miserably.

[Acetic]

Watching this Xeyphon decided that the only way to get anywhere would be to barge it in. Setting his shield in front of him, Xeyphon made an attempt to open the door.

[roll0]

[Solophoenix]

Xeyphon bounces off of the door and crashes loudly to the ground.

[Acetic]

The knock helped alot and Xeyphon realized that the indentation was probably the way in. Taking out the object the people gave him when they disembarked, He tried to fit it into the indent. Again with his shield in front in case their were traps.

[Solophoenix]

The object, now obviously some form of key, fits perfectly into the indentation. Turning it causes the sound of many gears turning to ring out, and slowly the door opens inwards to reveal a narrow, downward leading corridor.

[Acetic]

" Right guys, now we get to the business end of the day."

Cautiously walking into the corridor, Xeyphon remained alert for any potential threats with his sword drawn."

[Furius]

Having cleaned most of the weasel guts off of himself while the strongmen of the team were throwing themselves against the door, and returned to find the door open, much to his surprise.

Cautiously walking into the corridor, Furius remained alert for any potential threats with his sap drawn.

[styro]

Remembering the time where just reading a book managed to get them blown up Xander cautiously follows the stampeding idiots into the dark corridor with both scimitars at the ready.

[styro]

Rurik follows, clumsily stumbling over everything in sight. He follows the group blah blah blah.

[Solophoenix]

The corridor darkens to a point where all but Rurik can no longer see.

[styro]

((thats bloody horse sht))

fine: Rurik moves to the front of the cue and continues walking (clumsily)

[Furius]

Furius continues to follow. It is dark.

Worried by Rurik's general clumsiness, and the fact that he is now the only one who can see, Furius tries to check his profile to see if he has any torches, but the website is still down.

Furius reluctantly attempts to put his faith in Rurik's pathfinding abilities.

[Acetic]

/me continues to follow the cohort

[Solophoenix]

Just to prove I do care about you guys...


4 shiny new characters, expertly built to concept by your wonderful DM.

Xander, fatal feathered flurry of blades (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheets/view.php?id=57115)
M CN Raptoran Barbarian, Level 2, Init +1, HP 26/26, Speed 40ft (30ft)
AC 16, Touch 11, Flat-footed 15, Fort +7, Ref +1, Will -1, Base Attack Bonus 2
Masterwork Scimitar (Single Attack) +7 (1d6+4, 18-20/x2)
Masterwork Scimitar (TWF) +5 (1d6+4, 18-20/x2)
Masterwork Kukri (TWF) +5 (1d4+2, 18-20/x2)
Light Crossbow (20) +3 (1d8, 19-20/x2)
Breastplate (+5 Armor, +1 Dex)
Abilities Str 18, Dex 12, Con 18, Int 8, Wis 8, Cha 8
Condition None

Xeyphon, the Paladin for whom the ends do justify the means (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheets/view.php?id=57116)
M CG Human Paladin, Level 2, Init +1, HP 19/19, Speed 30ft (20ft)
AC 19, Touch 11, Flat-footed 18, Fort +8, Ref +4, Will +8, Base Attack Bonus 2
Masterwork Longsword +6 (1d8+3, 19-20/x2)
Javelin (5) +3 (1d6+3, x2)
Longbow (20) +3 (1d8, x3)
Banded Mail, Heavy Steel Shield (+6 Armor, +2 Shield, +1 Dex)
Abilities Str 16, Dex 12, Con 14, Int 8, Wis 14, Cha 16
Condition None

Furius, the latest, greatest triangle sensation (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheets/view.php?id=57117)
M CG Elf Bard, Level 2, Init +3, HP 11/11, Speed 30ft
AC 16, Touch 13, Flat-footed 13, Fort +1, Ref +6, Will +2, Base Attack Bonus 1
Masterwork Longbow (40) +5 (1d8, x3)
Masterwork Studded Leather (+3 Armor, +3 Dex)
Abilities Str 10, Dex 16, Con 12, Int 16, Wis 8, Cha 18
Condition None

and ever dependable Rurik, axiest axer to ever axe an axe (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheets/view.php?id=57118)
M CG Dwarf Cleric, Level 2, Init +1, HP 19/19, Speed 20ft
AC 17, Touch 11, Flat-footed 16, Fort +6, Ref +1, Will +6, Base Attack Bonus 1
Masterwork Greataxe +5 (1d12+3, x3)
Light Crossbow (30) +2 (1d8, 19-20/x2)
Banded Mail (+6 Armor, +1 Dex)
Abilities Str 14, Dex 12, Con 16, Int 10, Wis 16, Cha 14
Condition None


Here (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheets/?) is the new character sheet host, log in with the same username and password as the old campaign blog account, tell it to remember you.

[Acetic]

Xeyphon takes out his sun rod and cracks it against the ground. A warm yellow light enveloped them.

[styro]

((Far out give me time to look at my character, i was about to do that, but, because you just lit it, you didn't bother to look around))

Nearly blinded by the harsh light of the sunrod, Xander's eyes adjust and look around their horrible underground environment.

[styro]

Sensing that his usefulness had finally expired, Rurik quietly trudges to the back of the line where he continues his drunken strut.

[Solophoenix]

Looking around you in the newly lit corridor, you can see that it has widened to about 10ft wide and levelled out. At the edge of the illumination, 50ft ahead of you, you can see that the dry floor of the corridor becomes water.

[Acetic]

Xeyphon just kept walking towards the water hoping to discern depth or distance.

[Solophoenix]

Approaching the water's edge, you can see it is very clear, completely still, and looks to be only thigh-deep (for a human). The corridor's floor has simply lowered suddenly, with water filling it up to the level of the floor you're standing on. The water extends for 40ft before a right angle bend in the corridor, heading left.

Rurik, Xeyphon

You see on the floor a skeletal hand protruding from around the corner ahead.

[styro]

Xander moves towards the edge of the new found lake searching for any movement beneath the placid surface.

[Acetic]

Xeyphon takes out one of his arrows and sticks it in to the water to check acidity and such.

[styro]

Rurik looks at the water, drools a little and does nothing.

[Solophoenix]

As soon as the tip of the arrow breaks the surface of the water, there is a faint whooshing sound, and a faint blue glow appears at the corner of the corridor. Within a second, there is another whoosh sound, then another. With each whoosh the glow gets steadily brighter...

[Acetic]

Xeyphon drops the arrow and quickly draws his sword. Putting his shield in front he backs away from the pool of water.

"...this is gonna be bad..." he muttered.

[styro]

Xander admires the light and how it reflects off the shiny wall trying to understand exactly how it may have been created.

recovering, Xander retreats a step before raising his falchion ready to strike.

((falchion - falcon, i only just realised))

[styro]

Rurik drools a little more and takes a step closer to the pretty light

[Furius]

Just as Furius recovers from the explosion of light from the sunrod the hallway begins to glow and blow.

Sensing that this can not possibly be a good sign Furius gulps and steps behind Xeyphon.

He reaches for his sap, only to find that it has been magically replaced by a longbow, which he pulls out and examines dolefully.
It appears to be of outstanding quality. Certainly more than a fair trade for a sap.
Still, he was going to miss that frayed sack of marbles that he had called his sap. A brief montage ensued....

Anyway, Furius notches an arrow, and prepares to draw the newly appeared bow.

(OOC: What happened to all the money I was given a couple of pages back?)

[Solophoenix]

((OOC: It got spent on that gear your character's wearing))

The whooshes grow louder, and the blue light brighter, at the end of the corridor, before it turns, two blue torchflames erupt from the walls as you hear the next whoosh, it happens again 20ft closer, and again, until the entirity of the corridor is bathed in flickering blue light. There is a slight disturbance in the crystal water as a school of fish rush to your end, following the light. They swim about calmly at your end of the water.

[Acetic]

"fish..... only fish..." Xeyphon sighed in a mixture of relief and disappointment. Lifting up his gear he decided to walk into the water and down the corridor.

[styro]

Xander waits behind to see if anything happens ((So you just rush in? not too clever))

if nothing happens then xander continues following.

Rurik follows blindly.

[Furius]

Furius lets out a sigh of relief.

Fish are nothing to worry about... As Xeyphon marches into the water, Furius begins to follow.
But wait! What about that ominous blue torchlight? What's the deal with that?

Furius calls out to Xeyphon, Xander and Rurik (For what that's worth), asking them to wait while he inspects these strange blue torches.

"Hmm..."

And then Furius looks around and rushes after the party.

[Solophoenix]

As Xeyphon steps into the water the fish freeze at the intrusion, a moment after Furius steps into the water, the fish dart toward the two of them, kicking up a froth in their frenzied rush. Briefly they bare their tiny razor-sharp teeth, before sinking them into the leg flesh of Xeyphon and Furius.

Each of them take [roll0] damage.

Initiative Rolls

[roll1]
[roll2]
[roll3]
[roll4]

Initiative Order

Furius
Rurik
"only fish"
Xander
Xeyphon

Map

http://img167.imageshack.us/img167/2223/pirhanabattle01ps2.jpg

[Furius]

Furius gasps as over half of his hit points evaporate, and jumps out of the water, nearly colliding with Xander.

"They're not just fish! They're swimming teeth!" he shouted.

Noticing that some of the 'fish' remain firmly clamped to his legs, Furius pulls out an arrow and drives it into eyes of the fish, attempting to loosen their grip on his calves.

[styro]

Rurik strikes out at the swarm after nearly having a heart-attack with his greataxe.

[roll0]

[roll1]

[styro]

Taken aback by the swarm of man eating fish, Xander pauses then strikes at the swarm of fish with all his strength with his falchion.

Attack - 1d20+6 (13)

Damage - 2d4+4 (8)

[Solophoenix]

Rurik swings his mighty into the swarm of fish, now even more ferocious after tasting blood, but manages to miss every single one of them, slicing only water. The fish, in an attempt to follow Furius out of the water, are now jumping in and out, and flapping on the ground near Rurik and Xander, who, along with Xeyphon, feel the pain of their razor teeth.

Rurik, Xander and Xeyphon take [roll0] damage.

The sickening sensation of the pain threatens to take hold of your stomachs.

Fotitude Saves, DC 13 to avoid Nausea (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/conditionSummary.htm#nauseated) for 1 round.

[roll1]
[roll2]
[roll3]

Xander and Rurik successfully fight off the nausea, but Xeyphon's stomach begins turning.

Xander strikes out at the swarm with his falchion, but hits none of them.

Map
http://img525.imageshack.us/img525/1375/pirhanabattle02ck4.jpg

[styro]

Xander, royally pissed off that a certain member was unaffected even though THEY'RE STANDING IN THE BLOODY WATER, WHY WAS I SO MUCH EASIER TO BITE, he lashes out hoping for better luck this time


[roll0]

[roll1]