Woes in the Deep

[thehungrydude]

The fragrance of spices, the briny scent of fresh catches and the unmistakable odour of salted sun-dried kelp: an unmistakable cacophony of smells that welcomed you to the Merril Bay’s illustrious port long before you stepped foot on its weathered wooden slats. The port’s usual hustle and bustle proved to be hardly an obstacle in finding your intended destination, a lone frigate docked at the port amongst a veritable fleet of merchant and fishing boats, its flag bearing the mark of the Averrisian navy flapping proudly in the wind atop its mast.

At the base of the plank leading up to the frigate stood a lean and muscular man with a dark tan in his mid-twenties dressed in the typical dark blue uniforms of the Averrisian navy with the name ‘Mitas’ sewn on the right breast. He looks up from a list of information pinned to a board as you approach and asks for the authorization letter and paperwork from the Averrisian navy that you received a month ago to confirm your participation. “Ah hm.. This letter is the real deal alright. Just to authenticate a few more details, Sir, could I have your birth name and hometown location?”

A quick check with his lists later, he steps aside from the plank to allow you to pass. “Alright, everything seems to be in order. I’m Sergeant Mitas, welcome aboard the Black Marlin. Please head on board and turn right towards the stern, where the other contractors are to be gathered. Be sure to have any non-humanoid companions you may have brought along to follow the ship when it sails.”

The upper deck of the frigate is awash with activity not unlike the port below as crewmen dressed in similar uniforms hurry about to finish the preparations for the imminent journey. You find that you are certainly not the first to board the ship for it is hard not to notice a small but raucous group of five humans dressed in markedly different garbs, conversing excitedly with a familiarity that suggested that they had known each other well before this meeting. Thankfully, you are not left alone for long as a myriad of more diverse characters quickly board and gather at the stern with you.

[Othniel]

Ruarc Stormbrow

Ruarc slowly approaches the frigate, his eyes roving around the port. "It's been too long," he mutters to himself, and then continues on toward the man at the base of the plank.

“Ah hm.. This letter is the real deal alright. Just to authenticate a few more details, Sir, could I have your birth name and hometown location?”

Spitting out the juice from his tobacco, he eyes the man up and down before answering, "Ruarc. Might 'ave me on there as Ruarc Stormbrow. Village o' Whitefoam."

“Alright, everything seems to be in order. I’m Sergeant Mitas, welcome aboard the Black Marlin. Please head on board and turn right towards the stern, where the other contractors are to be gathered. Be sure to have any non-humanoid companions you may have brought along to follow the ship when it sails.”

"Don't 'ave none," he replies and heads up the plank, finding a place at the stern where he can lean against the railing and watch as any others embark.

[Diachronos]

Mari breathes in deeply with a wide grin; she always loved the smells of the portside markets. The salty sea air, the various cooking foods and exotic spices on sale... It just reminded her of home.

She comes up to the frigate, her long hair blowing in the breeze. When asked for the letter, she fumbles around in her pockets for a few seconds before pulling out the somewhat-crumpled envelope. "My name is Maarin Tidestrider, hopefully you have it down under 'Mari' and not Maarin."

After being let through, she strides up the gangplank and onto the frigate.

[UristMcRandom]

Vran remains silent in line, his demeanor reminiscent of a rock. He looks at the ship, the dock, the Sergeant, and his fellows in line, all with a critical eye. When his turn comes to address the Sergeant, he looks him square in the eye, handing him the requested documents, "Acolyte Vran Smithson, formerly of Winterpass, now of the Brotherhood of the Sacred Fist."

[SpeedWitch]

“Ah hm.. This letter is the real deal alright. Just to authenticate a few more details, Sir, could I have your birth name and hometown location?”

"Samuel Striker, Crystal Cliff." The mercenary glanced around the harbor, barley concealing his anxiety underneath his proud stature and body language. It had been a long time since he'd done any navy work.


“Alright, everything seems to be in order. I’m Sergeant Mitas, welcome aboard the Black Marlin. Please head on board and turn right towards the stern, where the other contractors are to be gathered. Be sure to have any non-humanoid companions you may have brought along to follow the ship when it sails.”

Samuel raised an eyebrow at the Sergeant's parting words, wondering just how many wizards and druids worked for the navy, but immediately dismissed it, shook the officer's hand, and boarded the ship.

[DaOldeWolf]

Free moves forward barely able to contain his excitement over being there with a coral capuchin walking besides him. He closes his eyes for a second and uses his other senses to feel his surroundings. He could smell the fish, the deliciously diverse spices and the wind that could only be felt near the sea. He walks to the plank and looks at the man with the board waiting for him to respond as he checks the letter he requested from Free.


“Ah hm.. This letter is the real deal alright. Just to authenticate a few more details, Sir, could I have your birth name and hometown location?”

"My name is Francisco Stahr, sir. I was born in Raksha though I haven't been there since I was born. And this is Cometh, my companion on this journey." He lifted his paw and placed it on his forehead to perform the hand salute staying as straight as he can.


“Alright, everything seems to be in order. I’m Sergeant Mitas, welcome aboard the Black Marlin. Please head on board and turn right towards the stern, where the other contractors are to be gathered. Be sure to have any non-humanoid companions you may have brought along to follow the ship when it sails.”

"Thank you, sir." Free jumped once happily before continuing his way on board with the coral capuchin staying close but looking his surroundings.

[thehungrydude]

Faces, familiar or otherwise, lurk in the group but before you can sort out your thoughts, a striking figure emerges from the underlying main deck with the captain of the ship in tow and begins to turn towards your general vicinity. Mitas, who had been waiting on board as well, intercepts him with a salute as he emerges; unintentionally emphasizing the humanoid’s eye catching attributes as he stands a full foot taller and nearly twice as heavily built. A stern nod in response to Mitas’ report and a quick word to the captain later, he continues his quick stride towards you as crewmen scamper about in accordance to the captain’s orders to set sail. The humanoid’s red eyes and tan, nearly black, skin leaves no ambiguity about his heritage: a half-giant.

“Welcome aboard, contractors. Let us proceed down to the main deck, where you shall be briefed on your duties.” His gravelly voice continues as you all enter the relative quiet of the main deck, “You should have noticed by now, so I hope, that the mission details released to you previously were excessively brief. Much pain has gone into ensuring the secrecy of this project afterall.

To sum up your roles briefly, you will all be stationed in a deep sea base during the duration of your service to assist in recovery and salvage operations of the highest importance. The seas we are headed to are rich in wrecks, ruins and sealife to be… requisitioned. We expect great things from your efforts and rest assured that you will be compensated satisfactorily in accordance to your contributions. Sergeant Mitas and I will be descending with you as well and will serve to oversee your efforts. Ah, I’ve failed to introduce myself, have I. Lieutenant Kurtz will do.” He pauses briefly, as if expecting queries, walking briskly deeper into the ship and stopping at the end of a corridor of doors.

Kurtz gestures at the last two doors at the end. “Your quarters until we reach our destination before we begin our descent. I would appreciate it if you did not make unnecessary attempts to uncover your geographical location. It would be a shame if we had a reduction in manpower before your duties have even begun. In fact, you are now confined from the upper deck until we reach our desired location. Fear not, meals and other necessary supplies will be delivered to you.”

He pushes a door open, revealing a spartan, window-less room with three bunk beds and an attached toilet built more for function than comfort. You notice that the interior face of the door lacks a door knob and key hole.

Pointing at a small bell mounted on the wall beside the door, he adds, “Ring if you need anything. We need you all hale and hearty afterall.” Kurtz waits patiently outside for you to enter the room as the men enter the other and closes the doors behind you. An audible click follows as his heavy footsteps echo down the corridor.

[DaOldeWolf]

"Well, he seems nice." He replies breaking the silence between the group when the door got closed. Free could fill Cometh less than satisfied feeling about the current state they were in and tried his best to ignore it. Still, not really paying attention to the faces of the people sharing the room, he decided to greet to the others. "Its a pleasure to meet you."

He took a good look at the others. Two of them were strangely familiar looking. He jumped and got really close to the man with a face full of admiration. "Samuel, is that you?!"

[Diachronos]

Mari's expression seems to be fixed into a wide grin at the captain's initial explanation of their duties. It was a lot better than she'd been expecting; now she was scavenging things from the wreckage of ships and sunken treasures on commission! Much better than swimming down and prying open clams for a handful of misshapen pearls!

Her smile gradually fades as the captain explained how things were going to work on the way to the base. So they weren't allowed to go above deck, or ask about their location, or do much of anything... and why were there no opening mechanisms on the inside of the door?! This is starting to seem like they were being kept prisoner!

She pairs up with the catfolk, only to stare when he spoke up. Why did his voice sound so familiar?

[SpeedWitch]

He took a good look at the others. Two of them were strangely familiar looking. He jumped and got really close to the man with a face full of admiration. "Samuel, is that you?!"

Samuel set his gear down and turned to look at the Shaman. He didn't recognize the voice all that well, but the face... wait, it can't be...

"Free? Gods above man, how have you been?" He firmly grasps his paw and shakes it. "How many years has it been? Ten? More?"

[DaOldeWolf]

Free accepts the gesture and shakes hands with a big grin. "Yeah, its been so long. Last time I saw you was when you set off on that distant day. But just look at yourself, its obvious life has been treating you well. I am glad for you"

[Othniel]

Ruarc

Ruarc enters the room behind the others and sets his backpack down in a corner of his choosing. Waiting until Kurtz leaves the room, the Maenad grumbles his displeasure at being cooped up below. "Oughta be able t' see the sea. Don't like it."

[SpeedWitch]

"I'm glad to see you too." He spotted Cometh monkeying about on Free's shoulder. "And who is this? A familiar? I knew you were made of wizard material." He laughed.



"Oughta be able t' see the sea. Don't like it."

"Yes, I'm a little disappointing about the conditions as well—" Samuel suddenly notices the toilet in the corner and stares at it in shock. "Wait, do they expect us to..."

[DaOldeWolf]

"I'm glad to see you too." He spotted Cometh monkeying about on Free's shoulder. "And who is this? A familiar? I knew you were made of wizard material." He laughed.

"He is my familiar, yes but a familiar sent by the spirits of heaven. I learnt to wield the power of the spirits to great effect and became a shaman. I just recently learnt how to wield the power from other types of spirits. Its really amazing." he replied until he noticed he was being watched.

[QUOTE=Diachronos;19357016]
She pairs up with the catfolk, only to stare when he spoke up. Why did his voice sound so familiar?

He walked towards Mari and give a brief sniff in front of her. He recognized the scent immediately. "Umm.... Mari?" What started a s a nervous face soon turned into a smile.

[Diachronos]

"Free?" The undine squeals in delight and hugs the catfolk. "It's so good to see you again!"

[DaOldeWolf]

Free spins once as they hug. "Its so great to finally see you again. From your last letter, I heard you were joining the navy too but who would have guessed we would get to be on the same mission. And you have grown so much." Free rubs his head against her cheek gently as he purrs.

[Diachronos]

Mari returns Free's nuzzling. "I know, it's like we were meant to meet again!"

[thehungrydude]

The surprise reunion is interrupted with a sharp knocking on the door before it opens noiselessly on well oiled hinges. "Sorry for the interruption," Mitas begins half-apologetically as he enters with a large plate of grilled squid. "Lieutenant Kurtz can be ... rather curt at times. The measures at hand are to disorientate your sense of time as our destination is rather sensitive, we are using a border patrol vess-" Mitas catches himself mid-sentence with a sigh. "It's probably for the best if you don't know too much about it. Ah, here they come."

Grunts of exertion can be heard coming down the hallway and shortly after a pair of crewmen struggle to haul a heavy wooden chest into the room. "You'll find your customised experimental suits in there to protect you from the environmental extremes down in the depths. That's what we prepared with your specifications and the armor you sent in. Have some squid and try to relax, we'll be there in -" Mitas catches himself again. "Well, we'll be there soon enough." he mentions as he closes the door behind him.

[SpeedWitch]

Mari returns Free's nuzzling. "I know, it's like we were meant to meet again!"

"Indeed, it's like a reunion party!" Samuel laughed.


The surprise reunion is interrupted with a sharp knocking on the door before it opens noiselessly on well oiled hinges. "Sorry for the interruption..."

"Well, we'll be there soon enough." he mentions as he closes the door behind him.

"Hold on—" Samuel tries to go after them, but they're already gone. "Ahh, another time then." He looks down at the squid, leers at it for a moment, then opens the chest. "Hmm. Quite the clunky ornaments. These things really let one travel under the ocean...?"

[Diachronos]

Mari eyes the suits with obvious skepticism. "I don't know why they gave me one of those. I mean, I can already breathe underwater, it's not like I need the extra protection..."

She picks up a chunk of squid and idly chews it while she thinks. Then it occurs to her. "Any idea how deep they're expecting us to dive?"

[DaOldeWolf]

"I don't think I have been underwater before. But this is a perfect chance to know more about the life under the sea and its even more amazing because I am doing it with two of the most awesome people on the planet." he replied as he imagined the whole thing in his head. He wondered "I just hope this is good equipment for water traveling. "

[Othniel]

Ruarc

Ruarc had concentrated on eating up until this point, but he puts his utensils down to answer the question, "On the sea bed, more'n likely. The better question is how far out from shore we're headed, and what the underwater geography looks like." The Maenad eyed the girl for a moment. "There're hills 'n valleys in the sea, just as there are on land, lass, as I'm sure you know. Undine, right?"

[Diachronos]

Mari nods. "It's a lot like being on land, other than the seaweed and wildlife. And it's wet. But most people don't need this kind of protection," she prods one of the suits, "with how deep I've gone."

[SpeedWitch]

"Alright, before we go diving down to the blackest depths of the ocean to salvage secret squid or whatever we're up to, let's finish up introductions. So I know you Free, bravest catfolk on the face of the planet, you're Mari, nice to meet you my lady..." Samuel bows slightly. "And I am Samuel Striker. And you, my friend?" He looks at the Maenad.

[Othniel]

Ruarc

"Ruarc Stormbrow out of Whitefoam to the east," states the Maenad as he offers a handshake. "Part-time fisherman, helmsman, and retired Navy. Got word o' the job from an old naval connection, and needing the money for my family, I signed up. Still not quite sure what I'm in for. Spent plenty o' time in the water, but never gone so far under it than what I could hold my breath for."

[thehungrydude]

The absence of day and night in the cabin makes it difficult to gauge how long the voyage has been going on, though the number of meals so far (14) give an inkling of the duration of the journey for those who were keeping count. The trip is largely uneventful aside from some rough seas and at some point, Mitas brings a pack of playing cards to help out with the boredom.

You're partway through a plate of grey fishy sausage fritters when you realise the ship has slowed to a stop as the wind and waves toss it more than usual. A knock and a now-familiar voice interrupts the meal. "You might be glad to know that you don't have to be cooped up in that room anymore. Grab your gear and everything you need, you won't be back for a while, hopefully." Mitas leaves the door ajar and repeats the same for the men in the other room, which elicits an immediate cheer from them.

When everyone is ready and accounted for, Mitas leads you down the corridor into a stairwell and heads for the hold of the ship. The hold is surprisingly expansive for a frigate and in its centre sits a pair of large metal hollow spheres more than capable of fitting six people inside hung up via chains. Some crewmen are loading crates and sacks of supplies with a ladder into the spheres through a door-like porthole at the top.

The spheres vaguely resemble prototypical designs of watercraft designed to withstand great pressures but the lack of any fins, propeller or oars is unusual.
The large amount of metal invested to create the spheres may be surprising considering the traditional lack of good quality ores in Averris and its dependence on expensive ore imports to keep up with demand.

Lieutenant Kurtz, appearing even bulkier than before in a heavily armored suit, turns as he notices your arrival. "Ah, contractors. It's time to make our descent to our new home for the next half year or so. I suggest donning your suits before your descent."

"Unfortunate accidents involving hull integrity have happened during descent before. Terrible shame, hardly any survivors." Mitas adds as he begins putting on his own suit.

Mitas corrals you into one of the spheres once you are properly attired, which is decidedly less spacious with all the cargo crammed inside it. A rope ladder hangs down from the door into the dark interior of the sphere, lit only by a two foot wide window-like porthole on the side letting in some light from the outside. Closing the door behind him, Mitas descends and squeezes his way past you to reach the window. "Coming through!" Shortly after Mitas makes a quick hand signal to the crewmen outside, who begin lowering the sphere. The sphere descends smoothly through a hole in the hull and sinks into the inky blackness of the sea.

You notice a shimmering transparent blue surface covering the door of the sphere when you entered as well as the hole in the hull the sphere passed through. It appears to be magical and does not impede movement through it.

[DaOldeWolf]

Ruarc

"Ruarc Stormbrow out of Whitefoam to the east," states the Maenad as he offers a handshake. "Part-time fisherman, helmsman, and retired Navy. Got word o' the job from an old naval connection, and needing the money for my family, I signed up. Still not quite sure what I'm in for. Spent plenty o' time in the water, but never gone so far under it than what I could hold my breath for."

"Really? I am also a fisherman. Well, kinda. Father is better at fishing. I am better when it comes to understanding water currents, the weather, finding my way through places. I am here mostly because I have some navigation skill." he admitted.


"You might be glad to know that you don't have to be cooped up in that room anymore. Grab your gear and everything you need, you won't be back for a while, hopefully."

"Yay! Finally our time has come. Better get ready." He starts to get all equipment ready.


Rolls to know what is under those tags. I imagine that is how it goes. Then I will edit and add reactions.
Untrained K. Engineering [roll0]
K. Geography [roll1]
U. Perception [roll2]


Edit:
So, we will be traveling in those. Amazing. he thinks when he sees the quality of the material.


Lieutenant Kurtz, appearing even bulkier than before in a heavily armored suit, turns as he notices your arrival. "Ah, contractors. It's time to make our descent to our new home for the next half year or so. I suggest donning your suits before your descent."

"Unfortunate accidents involving hull integrity have happened during descent before. Terrible shame, hardly any survivors." Mitas adds as he begins putting on his own suit.

A smile crosses Free´s face when he hears those words. "Sounds so much exciting. Can you imagine the hull breaking because we get attacked by a giant squid? Now, I understand the confinement. It was to make sure we will keep our energy levels high for the excitement of what is to come. Thank you sir."

While descending, Free´s eyes remain closed as he waits for his scenario to unfold. When nothing happens, he opens his eyes to see the transparent blue surface. "What is that?" he decides to ask.

[UristMcRandom]

Perception: [roll0]

Vran dons his suit and quietly takes his place within the sphere, eyeing the blue barrier but not commenting on it. In the past few days (or weeks? Who knew how long they had been in that cabin) he had said very little. He ate the food provided him, but then spent much of time sitting cross-legged with his sword on his lap meditating. At Free's comment about a squid attack, his brow furled, "As absolutely thrilling as being assaulted by an overgrown squid sounds, I'd much prefer to make it to our destination alive."

[Diachronos]

Mari's demeanor becomes increasingly irritable throughout the trip, though she's quick to apologize for any outbursts, explaining that she's not used to being confined in a small and boring space for so long. Her cheers match the other groups' when they're told they can finally come out, and she hastily grabs her belongings before heading up onto the deck.


Engineering: [roll0]
Geography: [roll1]
History: [roll2]
Perception: [roll3]


She eyes the contraptions with wonder, even as they all climb in and settle down for the descent. "This is the last time we're going to be locked up in a tight space, right?"

[Othniel]

Ruarc

Happy to leave the room (which was starting to feel like a prison) behind, Ruarc follows the others to the spheres. He looks them over for a minute before finally stating "Must not be self propelled? Just for lowering down, hm? Expensive too, I'd bet."

Ruarc slowly pulls on the suit, unaccustomed to armor that covers the entire body. Once he has donned it fully, he again joins the others, but can't help snorting derisively at Free's comment about keeping their energy levels high.

[SpeedWitch]

"Sounds so much exciting. Can you imagine the hull breaking because we get attacked by a giant squid? Now, I understand the confinement. It was to make sure we will keep our energy levels high for the excitement of what is to come. Thank you sir."


Perception: [roll0]

Vran dons his suit and quietly takes his place within the sphere, eyeing the blue barrier but not commenting on it. In the past few days (or weeks? Who knew how long they had been in that cabin) he had said very little. He ate the food provided him, but then spent much of time sitting cross-legged with his sword on his lap meditating. At Free's comment about a squid attack, his brow furled, "As absolutely thrilling as being assaulted by an overgrown squid sounds, I'd much prefer to make it to our destination alive."

"Yeah, let's... keep the talk about squid down a bit, yeah? Down to..." Samuel leans on a railway for a monent, a weary look on his face. "... none. I can eat all the weird fish-sausage you'd like (damn that stuff is tasty) but squid? Never. Again."


Ruarc

Happy to leave the room (which was starting to feel like a prison) behind, Ruarc follows the others to the spheres. He looks them over for a minute before finally stating "Must not be self propelled? Just for lowering down, hm? Expensive too, I'd bet."

"Meanwhile, cramped spaces and rusty toilets in their best ships. With both genders in the room." The oracle shakes his head. "I mean, I might be getting my points mixed up here, but I'd really like to know who makes all these decisions."


While descending, Free´s eyes remain closed as he waits for his scenario to unfold. When nothing happens, he opens his eyes to see the transparent blue surface. "What is that?" he decides to ask.

"Dunno. Perhaps it helps keep the water out?" Samuel guessed as he fastened the locks on his suit.

History:[roll0]
Perception: 17 (Other thread)

[thehungrydude]

@Francisco, Vran, Ruarc, In the hold


"Sounds so much exciting. Can you imagine the hull breaking because we get attacked by a giant squid? Now, I understand the confinement. It was to make sure we will keep our energy levels high for the excitement of what is to come. Thank you sir."

Mitas turns to Kurtz, "Sir, we got an optimist this time."

"I was told they're good for morale." Kurtz answers wryly.


"As absolutely thrilling as being assaulted by an overgrown squid sounds, I'd much prefer to make it to our destination alive."

"Our spheres have some limited self defense capabilities but they really aren't designed to be combat craft though. S.O.P. dictates that combatants onboard should exit the craft to defend it should extended combat become a necessity."


"Must not be self propelled? Just for lowering down, hm? Expensive too, I'd bet."

"Honestly I don't quite understand how it works either but it moves well enough. The early prototypes were fully mechanical and the bits hanging out kept getting damaged by curious beasties and fouling organisms. You'll see what I mean when you get in."



"Meanwhile, cramped spaces and rusty toilets in their best ships. With both genders in the room." The oracle shakes his head. "I mean, I might be getting my points mixed up here, but I'd really like to know who makes all these decisions."

"The people mostly. Or rather how much they're willing to get taxed before they riot. The budget limitations mean functionality takes priority over comfort." Kurtz grunts.



@All, in the sphere


"This is the last time we're going to be locked up in a tight space, right?"
"Well you won't be locked up but I sense you're not going to like your quarters much. You'll get your own quarters at least."


"What is that?" he decides to ask.


"Dunno. Perhaps it helps keep the water out?"

"You got it, it's another one of those experimental magitech things the eggheads are coming up with down there. I'll let Elif and Jaeldun do the explaining instead when we get there, they can go on for days talking about these things. Basically everything but plain old seawater can go through it. Elif is especially proud about that one."


A faint green glow under the window porthole is the only light source within the dark sphere. As your eyes adjust to the dim light, you can vaguely see Mitas handling not one, but two ship's wheels. The fluorescence is being emanated from a pair of moving symbols, an "X" and an "O", as Mitas busies himself with adjusting the wheels to keep both symbols together. As the symbols' erratic movement gradually stabilises, Mitas relaxes somewhat and breaks his silence, "Good, we're on course. So you might have noticed that the inside is a little odd." Mitas' hands fade from view as he moves it away from the light and slaps it against an exposed interior wall with a "smack" more akin to a gelatinous substance than a metal interior. "We're inside a living sea creature actually. It was much cheaper to armor one up and get it to ferry stuff around than to build a tough craft from scratch with expensive metals. Another one of Elif and Jaeldun's handiwork."

The descent continues fairly uneventfully, or at least it appears so as you can hardly see anything outside the sphere. From the window, the waters appear pitch black at first but as your eyes gradually adjust to the dark, small moving specks of green, blue and yellow light can be seen, with occasional larger ones. It's hard to tell if the lights sources are small or simply far away.

After what feels like a couple of hours, a distant stationary light comes into view from below at the sphere heads directly for it. "And there's home away from home for the next half year or so."

[SpeedWitch]

"You got it, it's another one of those experimental magitech things the eggheads are coming up with down there. I'll let Elif and Jaeldun do the explaining instead when we get there, they can go on for days talking about these things. Basically everything but plain old seawater can go through it. Elif is especially proud about that one."


"Huh." Samuel watched the lights of the boat above them disappear as they went deeper into the ocean. "My old man told me that a lot more wizards and sorcerers had been joining up with the navy, but I didn't expect to see this much magic."


A faint green glow under the window porthole is the only light source within the dark sphere. As your eyes adjust to the dim light, you can vaguely see Mitas handling not one, but two ship's wheels. The fluorescence is being emanated from a pair of moving symbols, an "X" and an "O", as Mitas busies himself with adjusting the wheels to keep both symbols together. As the symbols' erratic movement gradually stabilises, Mitas relaxes somewhat and breaks his silence, "Good, we're on course. So you might have noticed that the inside is a little odd." Mitas' hands fade from view as he moves it away from the light and slaps it against an exposed interior wall with a "smack" more akin to a gelatinous substance than a metal interior. "We're inside a living sea creature actually. It was much cheaper to armor one up and get it to ferry stuff around than to build a tough craft from scratch with expensive metals. Another one of Elif and Jaeldun's handiwork."

"Wait, we're inside a living thing?" Samuel says, glancing around. "What the hell is it?"

[Diachronos]

Mari frowns at the idea that their new quarters wouldn't be much better than the ones on the ship, but at least they'd have some privacy. "The pods are living creatures? How did they manage to train it to let people control them like this?" Looking out through the "window", she squints to try getting a better look at the lights. "Are those from the base, or from the creatures down here?"

[DaOldeWolf]

Free was amazed. He had never seen or heard about magitech. He couldn't wait to see what else he would learn today. He was really anxious and couldn't decide what he should ask about first. I wonder if its even compatible with my own kind of magic. I should meditate about this later after I know more about this. He though as he remained in silent for quite a bit until....


"We're inside a living sea creature actually. It was much cheaper to armor one up and get it to ferry stuff around than to build a tough craft from scratch with expensive metals. Another one of Elif and Jaeldun's handiwork."

"We will be traveling inside a creature from the depths!? WOAH!!!! This is so much better than a undersea attack. Now I want to see two see monsters dishing it out in an epic battle. " A glimmer could be seen in his eyes as he imagined the scenario. "Umm... what kind of creature are we talking about? I am curious."

[Othniel]

Ruarc

The Maenad scratches his head, and the look upon his face shows that this is really just a bit too much for the fellow. "Now I've seen everything," he mutters.

[thehungrydude]

"Are those from the base, or from the creatures down here?"
"The lights on the bottom we're heading towards? That's the base. Everything else comes from the beasties. Matter of fact, last time I was down there, they were harvesting lights from the beasties to make heatless torches. Kind of like these things here." Mitas points at the glowing symbols.


"The pods are living creatures? How did they manage to train it to let people control them like this?"


"Wait, we're inside a living thing?" Samuel says, glancing around. "What the hell is it?"

"Umm... what kind of creature are we talking about? I am curious."
"Eh it's kind of like a living bubble thing, like a sealed up jellyfish, you know. Pretty nifty, they make breathable air inside too. Helps with the stale air down there. Can't tell you much about how they stuck a pair of steering wheels on it and made it work though. It's hard to stay focused with Elif's rambling. Something something hijacking the newer mat or something. What I do know is one wheel controls the pitch and the other, the yaw and that's all I need to get it around." Mitas slaps the wheels for emphasis.

You vaguely recall the slurred tales of drunken seamen at seedy taverns about how they fell overboard in a dramatic accident and awoke in giant bubbles of air underwater, followed by an equally dramatic escape back to the surface.
You recall some old records about strange sea creatures known sea spheres which match pretty closely to Mitas' descriptions. Some are known to glow in the dark and they require carbon dioxide to live.
You also recall that they may exhibit limited telepathic abilities, though their "minds" are very alien compared to your own.

As Mitas speaks, he maneuvers the sphere closer to base and a glimpse of it from the outside comes into view. The undersea base superficially resembles a massive dome larger than the frigate, with four legs from its base lifting it from the sea floor. The light from the base is revealed to actually originate from two sources, one at the top of the dome and the other from a large rectangular hole on the underside with the same shimmering blue filter. Four other spheres can be seen in the hole, two of which depart as your own gradually surfaces through the hole into the base. "There goes the previous shift." Mitas explains.

Mitas leads the way, opening the door port and jumping out into what looks like a cargo bay of some form. White washed metal walls line the bay, with white lighting provided by melon-sized crystals hanging from the ceiling. A mix of mostly undine and human soldiers moor the spheres by attaching multiple magnets tied to thick ropes onto the metal plates. They climb into the sphere as you follow Mitas towards the only door in the bay, forming a chain to unload the cargo within.

A weedy man with glasses and a slate oversees the unloading, checking the cargo and yelling at any horsing around. "That's Corporal Rabi, our resident quartermaster. Very passionate about his job, a tad uptight though. Nick your stuff or do some poor maintenance and the nagging never ends." Mitas sighs as he continues without slowing down towards what appears to be a closed door and walks straight through it. "Don't mind the door, it's basically the same thing as the blue filter thingmajib, only opaque."

Passing through the "door", you climb a flight of stairs into a different floor with a similar white walls and crystal lit layout. This room is also vaguely circular but is considerably smaller than the bay with multiple doors lining the circumference of the room. "The bay, which we just left, takes up the bottom and biggest floor of the dome, and is where most of the bulky cargo is stored.

This floor is where the heart of the dome is. We're in the central room now, which links the mess, your sleeping quarters, the operations room, a smaller but more secure storeroom, and others. Just follow the signs, you'll get used to it after a bit.

If this is the heart, then further up is the brains, where the laboratories are located. You'll find Elif and Jaeldun cooped up in there most of the time and at the very top is the accommodations for staff like Lieutenant Kurtz and myself."

Kurtz's gravelly voice could be heard faintly from the bay below, grumbling about a wonky steering wheel. "Hm.. Why don't you all pick out your own quarters while Kurtz and myself catch up with the recent happenings from Elif and Jaeldun. When you're done we can meet in the ops room.. say, half an hour?"

The closest door to your left is labeled "Sleeping Quarters". Upon entering it, a curved wall covered with actual physical doors not very much wider and taller than the width of your body at the shoulders presents itself. Opening the door reveals a sector shaped burrow-like room behind it that is widest at the end furthest from the door. A bed occupies most of the sector, with space at the sides for some personal belongings. Unlike the bay, the "rooms" are lit by flat panels of off-white light that appear to be controlled by a small switch on the wall inside. At least this time there's an actual toilet with a real door, albeit a communal one.

https://housephoenix.files.wordpress.com/2013/02/capsule-hotel-room-in-japan.jpg

[DaOldeWolf]

Free looks around as they are guided across the base. He had never seen such advanced technology in his entire life. Cometh clinging on his back looked with distrust at all the technology unable to understand one bit. "Everything is fine." He told to his familiar with a smile.

He looked a bit disappointed about the place for sleeping. "Its so tiny." It was followed by hissing from the coral capuchin. "Can my partner have its own bunk? I am kinda big and i don't think both of us are going to fit comfortably together in one of those."

[Othniel]

Ruarc

Still following the others, and feeling overwhelmed, Ruarc remarks on the bubbles, "Just like them takes of sailors falling overboard and floatin' to the surface in air bubbles. Same thing, mebbe?"

Ruarc eyes the "quarters" dubiously and sets his belongings inside one, "Like sleepin' in a coffin," he mutters.

[SpeedWitch]

If this is the heart, then further up is the brains, where the laboratories are located. You'll find Elif and Jaeldun cooped up in there most of the time and at the very top is the accommodations for staff like Lieutenant Kurtz and myself."[/B][/COLOR]

"So we get to be directly below all the crazy experimentation going on in this ship?" Samuel looks up the ladder. "... well, that'll be fun."

He quickly undresses from the outer armor layer as he examines the area. Looking at the beds, Samuel steps forward and knocks his hand against the wall. He stood there with his eyes closed for a moment, before opening them quickly and shouting "Mine!" He hops into one of the small rooms and dives under the matress. For a fully grown man weighing nearly 200 pounds wearing a full suit of armor, it's loud. Really loud. But Samuel doesn't seem to mind, even though the mattress is squeezed to the top of the ceiling.

"Ahh, perfect," a muffled voice announces from beneath the sheets.

[UristMcRandom]

Vran, who had been inspecting one of the bunks, finches when Samuel made his dive. He sighed, then began the process of stowing his gear, with the exception of the sword on his back.

[thehungrydude]

@All, in the sleeping quarters

You hear Kurtz's voice as he leads the other group up the stairs as he mentions what is essentially a rehashing of Mitas' tour with the exception of a certain titbit. "... You see the big red button by the side of each door? Pushing it solidifies it into an actual barrier. The button is NOT a toy. It is an emergency measure against breaches or to keep other unwanted occurrences isolated. I repeat, it is NOT a toy."

The other team of men stream into the sleeping quarters shortly after and it is clear that there are more quarters available than occupants. They largely ignore your presence and nod politely when eye contact is made whilst chattering amongst themselves and examining the foreign fixtures with interest. Shortly after taking possession of a cluster of sleeping tubes closer to the right corner, they leave the sleeping quarters to explore the rest of the complex.

FYI you're free to do your own thing and explore the base complex and interact with the NPCs if you want or you can head straight for the ops room if you would all rather get some action on track. Interaction with the main NPCs will definitely happen at some point anyway.

[thehungrydude]

@Samuel, A moment ago

"So we get to be directly below all the crazy experimentation going on in this ship?" Samuel looks up the ladder. "... well, that'll be fun."
Mitas absentmindedly rubs his chin as he considers the validity of the threat imposed by the lab.
"It should be alright. Last I remember, we had gone about 62 days without significant lab accidents! Also, no new lab technicians came down with us, which implies they should still be alive and capable of productivity. No, no undead technicians. This isn't Vrocka."

One of the nations in the south which are currently in a non-aggression pact with Averris. Vrocka is most well known for their extensive use of necromancy in their brutal war tactics, which has traditionally served as a fairly effective deterrent against conflicts.

The difficulties of penetrating enemy nation defenses, establishing a strong foothold with sufficient manpower and keeping the supply lines open have largely kept the wars in a stalemate over the long term. Vrocka's nasty favored strategy of sending kamikaze undead shock troops and raising the casualties as fresh soldiers for further land invasions. Rival nations are thus wary of entering overtly hostile relations with Vrocka over milder misagreements. Luckily for all involved, Vrocka prefers to refrain from such hostile overtures as well to avoid becoming a prime target for its rivals to rally together against.

[DaOldeWolf]

After leaving his stuff on two of the bunks to give the appearance that the two are occupied, he decides to go and check the labs. "I think I will go and meet Elif and Jaeldun. I want to know more about this magitech stuff. Not to mention, I want to see what else they could be working on right now. The invitation for coming with me is open. Anyways, see you later guys." He declares before heading outside accompanied by his familiar to go to the laboratory.

[thehungrydude]

@Francisco (& possibly others), in the Research Floor

You continue up the stairwell that brought you to the Common Floor from the cargo bay and exit into a small landing with two barrier doors, each with a sign above them, marking them as the laboratory and the library respectively. Sounds of activity can be heard from both rooms, though they are quite distinct indeed. Sporadic but noisy banging dominates most of the clamor from the laboratory while thunderous chanting, almost as if in competition with the banging, can be heard coming from the library. It is probably for the best that the thick flooring has prevented most of the noise from reaching the Common Floor.

[DaOldeWolf]

Being a bit more attracted by the chanting in the library, he decides to look for whomever is chanting first. Free was never much into books preferring to learn from personal experience or from knowledge given by people he came by. He decided to listen the chant carefully trying to unravel as much as he could as he looked for the source by sound and by smell.


Lets see if I can learn more about the chanting.

U. Knowledge Arcana for DC10 check [roll0]
Knowledge Religion [roll1]
Spellcraft [roll2]

[thehungrydude]

@Francisco, in the library

You do your best at attempting to decipher the chants but the chant is going too fast for you to make out the key identifying elements. The incessant banging next door hardly helps either. Passing through the barrier, you enter an expansive library that appears on first impressions to be second only to the Grand Library in National Averrisian Academy of Magic, albeit a rather distant second. Shelves and the thick musty tomes on them cover the walls of the library and go all the way up to the ceiling. Two aged oak tables stand in stark contrast to the white metal flooring, lined up near the shelves closer to the dividing wall. More tomes are stacked up on the table and the floor around the table, with parchment and quill pens at the side.

The centre of the room, however, is what catches your attention. Three dwarves stand in a magic circle, chanting and gesturing in unison in a near trance-like state of concentration. They don't seem to notice your presence at all. You gather that the one with the most elaborate robes is likely to be Jaeldun.

The scene is not unlike the study rooms of most magi, though something foreign can be seen at the distant corner of the library. Occupying the corner is what appears to be a small stack of solid glass or crystal cubes. One of the cubes left on the ground, however, appears to be filled with a harsh white light that does not seem to be casting shadows.

[Diachronos]

Mari is nearly devastated to find the tiny size of their quarters. "You've got to be kidding me, my bed was almost as big as this back home!" She decided to hold her tongue against any further complaints. The sheer amount of metal they'd used likely meant that space was limited, and they likely had to make sacrifices somewhere. If only it had been somewhere other than living quarters!

She stows her gear and heads up to the Ops center, hoping to get an idea of what the base's goal was down here.


Dungeoneering for the creatures: [roll0]
History: [roll1] (maximum DC 10)

[DaOldeWolf]

Francisco was amazed by the concentration of the dwarves while chanting and seemingly not noticing him. He though about checking around while he waited for them to finish. He decided to check the crystals with the help of a spell especially the one releasing the light. "Detect Magic"


Assuming I check them for three rounds.
Spellcraft check [roll0]

[thehungrydude]

@Mari, Ops Room

You pass by the mess and the infirmary as you make your way to the Ops room. Passing through the barrier door, you see that Kurtz and Mitas are poring over documents and nautical maps of sea bottom spread over a long oaken table. The room itself is fairly small and appears to have little additional functions beyond serving as a meeting or briefing room of some form. The walls are adorned with various pictures, which appear to be anatomically correct paintings and drawings of unfamiliar sealife with remarkable detail. A small signature in the corner identifies the artist as a certain Gelbin.

"... based on these findings, they conclude that the signal can be narrowed down to this sector." Mitas draws a large circle on one of the maps with his finger.

"So it was the wrong direction all this time." Kurtz sighs. "Not a good one either. We're lacking crucial intel in that area. How long until Jaeldun is done?"

"Ten, Fifteen minutes tops he says. Should be in time for the brief-" Mitas notices your presence and looks up. "Oh, Mari, was it? Any problems so far?"


@Francisco, Library

The auras of the cubes are quite the unusual sight. The clear cubes have very faint auras in them, bearing more resemblance to the lingering auras of dissipated magic than those typically associated with magically enchanted items. The glowing cube, on the other hand, contains an aura of moderate strength. When you try to identify the schools of magic involved, you are surprised to find that the auras of the cube have none of the distinguishing characteristics of the known schools of magic. In fact, there are virtually no characteristics at all. Pure, unadulterated magic in its rawest form is being contained in the cube.

[Diachronos]

"None aside from how cramped the quarters are, but I'm sure I'll get used to it." She heads over and peeks at the map. "Is that the area we're going to be working in?"

[thehungrydude]

@Mari, Ops Room

"Aye, It's a tad blank right now though. We've barely explored it and most of the information on the map is gleamed from basic divination." The map depicts the geographical features of the area south of the base. The first 100 or so miles around the base appear to be relatively flat, almost like a plain, with the occasional trench or hilly features that intensify as one heads further south, culminating in a deep sea mountain range with its peak in the southwestern corner of the map.

"We're having our resident mage scry through the area quickly for promising nearby sites for you all to dip your toes in. Nothing too dangerous, hopefully. Not yet anyway. His assessments are usually pretty close to the mark. Think of it as a dry run for your new equipment."

[Othniel]

Ruarc

Ruarc enters behind Mitas and Mari and laughs, "A dry run at the bottom of the sea."

[thehungrydude]

@Ruarc, Ops Room

"I would certainly hope so. Things won't end well if your suit is malfunctioning."

"In the event of non-catastrophic suit failure you should attempt to return to the sphere immediately. In the event that the sphere is then ruptured, have the nearest divine magic user perform your last rites promptly." Kurtz recites in an absolutely straight-faced fashion.

[Diachronos]

"I hope you're going to give us a chance to test these things out properly before sending us out there. If they don't work, you brought us all down here for nothing." She pokes at the sleeve of her suit, wondering if it's really suited for the kind of pressure and temperature they were going to be contending with down here.

[SpeedWitch]

@Ruarc, Ops Room
"In the event of non-catastrophic suit failure you should attempt to return to the sphere immediately. In the event that the sphere is then ruptured, have the nearest divine magic user perform your last rites promptly." Kurtz recites in an absolutely straight-faced fashion.


"Nomt am prablem."

The oracle stands behind the main group with a fish in his mouth. When others turn to look, he quickly swallows and clarifies: "I mean the rupturing, not the last-rights. I know a spell that could fix it. Probably. Depending on the size of the leak, of course."

[DaOldeWolf]

@Francisco, Library

The auras of the cubes are quite the unusual sight. The clear cubes have very faint auras in them, bearing more resemblance to the lingering auras of dissipated magic than those typically associated with magically enchanted items. The glowing cube, on the other hand, contains an aura of moderate strength. When you try to identify the schools of magic involved, you are surprised to find that the auras of the cube have none of the distinguishing characteristics of the known schools of magic. In fact, there are virtually no characteristics at all. Pure, unadulterated magic in its rawest form is being contained in the cube.

"Wow, this must be part of the whole magitech deal if I had to bet, don't you Cometh? I wonder why are they reuniting it like this or even how for that matter. And more importantly, do you think I can do this?" He tells Cometh who gets closer to the cube. He crosses his arms and remains in silent for a couple of seconds. "....ok, try touching it...." he tells his familiar who pokes the crystal cube with a finger.

[Othniel]

Ruarc

The Barbarian eyes Kurtz for a long moment before replying, "I trust you have already tested these suits?"

[thehungrydude]

@Mari, Ruarc, Samuel; Ops Room

"I hope you're going to give us a chance to test these things out properly before sending us out there. If they don't work, you brought us all down here for nothing."

Ruarc
"I trust you have already tested these suits?"

"That is precisely the aim of your first mission. Your predecessors were able to use them satisfactorily after some practise."

"Elif will come by in a moment to explain some other basic features of the suit. "

"COMING THROUGH!" Rabi walks into the room with a pile of cloth bags in his hands and walks towards you while he mutters, "Take one and one only. Don't overload them, don't puncture them, don't put extradimensional spaces in them, don't put them in extradimensional spaces, don't put your teammates inside them, don't .................. them, don't-"

"That will suffice for now, Rabi."



@Francisco; Library

"....ok, try touching it...." he tells his familiar who pokes the crystal cube with a finger.

Cometh reaches out to to the glowing cube cautiously is about to touch it when its appendage is seized by a strong hand. "Ye shouldn't be handling one na those barehanded, kitty. Raw magic is very unstable and VERY explosive. Ye one na the new contractors?" Jaeldun shakes his head disapprovingly. The two other dwarves have moved to the table and are scribbling furiously on the parchment. A short moment later, they hand several pages of notes to Jaeldun. "Bring this down to Lieutenant Kurtz will ye, he's expecting it." Jaeldun thrusts the notes into your hands.

[UristMcRandom]

Vran had started to follow Francisco to the library, but had decided against in favor of attempting to locate a relatively quiet place in the crew quarters to perform his meditations. When this, too, proved futile (I'm assuming) with the activities of the other contractors in the room, he had headed to the Ops deck for the briefing, arriving as Rabi was speaking.

"I'm beginning to get the feeling that we should exercise caution when using these," he said, picking one of the bags up and peering into it.

[thehungrydude]

@Vran, Ops Room


"I'm beginning to get the feeling that we should exercise caution when using these," he said, picking one of the bags up and peering into it.

"Actually it's just a regular bag of holding. Corporal Rabi is very particular about the maintenance and proper use of our stores."

Rabi nods in agreement, oblivious to Mitas' tone. "Taking care of one's equipment is one of the basics of soldiering. Improper use leads to premature wear and tear and unexpected failure in equipment."

[DaOldeWolf]

@Mari, Ruarc, Samuel; Ops Room



"That is precisely the aim of your first mission. Your predecessors were able to use them satisfactorily after some practise."

"Elif will come by in a moment to explain some other basic features of the suit. "

"COMING THROUGH!" Rabi walks into the room with a pile of cloth bags in his hands and walks towards you while he mutters, "Take one and one only. Don't overload them, don't puncture them, don't put extradimensional spaces in them, don't put them in extradimensional spaces, don't put your teammates inside them, don't .................. them, don't-"

"That will suffice for now, Rabi."



@Francisco; Library


Cometh reaches out to to the glowing cube cautiously is about to touch it when its appendage is seized by a strong hand. "Ye shouldn't be handling one na those barehanded, kitty. Raw magic is very unstable and VERY explosive. Ye one na the new contractors?" Jaeldun shakes his head disapprovingly. The two other dwarves have moved to the table and are scribbling furiously on the parchment. A short moment later, they hand several pages of notes to Jaeldun. "Bring this down to Lieutenant Kurtz will ye, he's expecting it." Jaeldun thrusts the notes into your hands.

"Yeah, no problem. But first, may I ask what you were doing while chanting just a few seconds ago? Was it part of the magitech stuff I heard about? What is it needed? Can I help?" Cometh tap Free gently on head to make him notice he was asking way too much. "Umm... sorry. I get carried away when I am interested about something. Still, if I could get some of the answers, I would be very grateful."

[thehungrydude]

@Francisco; Library


"Yeah, no problem. But first, may I ask what you were doing while chanting just a few seconds ago? Was it part of the magitech stuff I heard about? What is it needed? Can I help?" Cometh tap Free gently on head to make him notice he was asking way too much. "Umm... sorry. I get carried away when I am interested about something. Still, if I could get some of the answers, I would be very grateful."

"Scrying for suitable, promising sites for salvage of course. Can't have ye all scouring bare sandbeds for nothing, can we." Jaeldun points at the cubes, "Those are backbone for our tech. By storing raw magic rather than converting it into a fixed form in spells and magic items, it's possible to create a universal power source that can be easily refueled and replaced. Magic items fueled by these power cubes no longer have charges per day limitations as long as we have sufficient replacements. Ye can help recharge the cubes at the end of the day if ye wish, it drains your magic though."

Jaeldun starts pushing you towards the door as his two other assistants begin drawing a different magic circle on the ground. "Now be a good kitteh and bring those notes downstairs already."

[DaOldeWolf]

"Well, that was pretty revealing. I wonder if the rest are having as much fun as I am. " He decides its best to go and give the papers to the Lieutenant now since the papers sounded important for the future missions for the team. Not to mention, he had the perfect excuse to go and check out the accommodations at the top. He grins as he starts walking towards there.

[Diachronos]

Mari's eyes light up at the mention of the bags' nature. "And now the trip is suddenly worth it. Wish I'd had one of these back home, it would've made it a lot easier to bring things back up to the surface." She picked up one of the bags, running her fingers over the fabric. "It's going to make a bit of a mess when we open it up after coming back inside, though... the thing's going to fill up with water the moment we open it out in the ocean."

[thehungrydude]

@All, Ops Room


Mari's eyes light up at the mention of the bags' nature. "And now the trip is suddenly worth it. Wish I'd had one of these back home, it would've made it a lot easier to bring things back up to the surface." She picked up one of the bags, running her fingers over the fabric. "It's going to make a bit of a mess when we open it up after coming back inside, though... the thing's going to fill up with water the moment we open it out in the ocean."
"According to equipment use protocol 3.2.7, line 6 of paragraph 3, wet work equipment should be stored in the appropriate areas after field use for proper maintenance." Rabi recites from memory, his chest puffed with pride.

"He means wet equipment tends to be stored in the cargo bay after missions to dry out so that we don't get seawater everywhere. Our suits are still dry today so it's okay. The bags, sadly, aren't equipped with the barrier technology and will get filled with water but it should be alright since they're primarily provided to help you hold your salvage. You can bring extra bags you brought with you if you like though."

"Is Jaeldun still ******* around upstairs? He wasn't chanting to warp reality around his little finger when I left the lab." You turn towards the unfamiliar voice and see an elf with hazel skin and chestnut brown hair roughly tied in braids in a white full length coat slips through the barrier while munching on a fishcake.

"Check on him, Sergeant. Elif, go on ahead with the brief." Kurtz grumbles impatiently. Mitas nods and excuses himself out of the room quickly as Elif searches through the pockets of her coat with her free hand for a crumpled piece of parchment. It turns out to be a rough schematic of suit which she holds high so that everyone in the room can get a decent view of it. Using the half-eaten fishcake as a pointer, she begins.

"So, the suit you've been issued is an experimental piece of tech that is actually composed of multiple magic and technology items powered by a central universal source of magic." She waves the fishcake at the back of the suit for emphasis. "It's partially voice controlled, you can yell FINS and it activates a swimming mode that makes movement in water much easier. Gets a bit clunkier on land though." Elif takes a bite of the fishcake. "Defunately recommande fer cumbat. 'Gulp'. Button on the side of the helmet works too for those too embarrassed to yell."

"There's a few other buttons there as well. This one is a speaker so you can broadcast your voice louder underwater. The suit has a constant message spell on it so you can communicate with each other discreetly but its range and penetration kind of sucks though.

Last one that's good to go is the light switch. Normal lighting in a 20' cone, dim for a further 20. There's kind of a caveat attached to this one..."

"Anecdotal reports suggest they can attract unwanted attention when left on for too long. Unsurprising since it makes you a bright target in a dark sea."

"Redesigning it as a cone has helped and you shouldn't run into issues normally. Juggling who has the lights on might help to make an inconsistent target. Or perhaps you would prefer someone to be the main target. We've been discussing means of rectifying the situation but nothing's borne fruit so far. Keep those eyes of yours peeled for sea life with signs of unusual biology, will you? Like big eyes."



@Francisco; Staff Accommodations

You arrive at a similar landing to the one in the Research floor. Instead of two doors, however, there are six unlabelled barrier doors instead. Unlikely the doors in the previous levels however, the doors do not shimmer and are fully solid with no door knob in sight. A small black panel under the red emergency door lock catches your attention and you recall that the only other time you've seen this was a certain room in the Commons floor.

Just then, you are grabbed firmly by the shoulder by Mitas. "There you are! We need you and those notes downstairs, Fran. The briefings already started."

[DaOldeWolf]

"Oh. Sorry. Its just... " But before he finishes he is taken by Mitas to the reunion. Cometh changes shoulder and stay away from Mitas.

[Othniel]

Ruarc

"Or big teeth," the Barbarian mutters. "Have you had previous run-ins with, as you call it, "unusual biology?"

[thehungrydude]

@All, Ops Room

Ruarc

"Or big teeth," the Barbarian mutters. "Have you had previous run-ins with, as you call it, "unusual biology?"

"Nah, big teeth is the standard down here. Well, it's a wee bit complicated. We've done a bit of prospective investigations in similarly deep waters around Averris but the ones here are significantly larger, toothier, more abundant and more aggressive to match. We're not sure what's causing the difference here but it doesn't seem natural. Possibly magically enhanced but we don't know of any nations with magic like that on such a scale that could operate this close to our borders without us noticing.

Hm.. vision research to fix the light problem is one of our higher priorities so look out for creatures with big eyes, especially if there are glowing bits on them that aren't yellow, green or blue. Odd appendages like, I dunno, electric horns, poison stings, ink sacs, anything of interest beyond regular old scales and fins could be potentially useful. Fish like to aggregate around anything that isn't a plain bed of sand so look out wherever you go."

"There are a number of sunken ruins and wrecks on the seabed we'll have you investigate in good time as well. Magical artifacts and other valuables from them are very much in demand." Kurtz adds.

Mitas bursts in with Fran and Free in tow and hands the notes to Kurtz. Kurtz considers the information briefly before copying some of the information onto a separate sheet as Elif brings Fran up to speed. "A bumper crop. We'll give you the luxury of choosing your own poison." Kurtz hands you a short list of potential sites.

Architecture and debris suggest some kind of ancient land based civilisation. Weak magical traces. Possible treasure and items of cultural importance. Similar ruins dot the landscape, this is probably one of the most promising of the lot.

Sunken boat of non-Averrisian origin. Singular yet diffuse magical aura over the entire ship. Condition of ship suggests that it sunk a long time ago but traces of recently overturned sediment all around it point otherwise.

Architecture starkly different from the other discovered ruins which so far more closely resemble Ruin A. Weak magical traces. Building material appears to be mostly marine derived.

Decaying carcass of large whale-like sea creature. Weak magical traces. Higher density of scavenging sealife.

[SpeedWitch]

@All, Ops Room

Mitas bursts in with Fran and Free in tow and hands the notes to Kurtz. Kurtz considers the information briefly before copying some of the information onto a separate sheet as Elif brings Fran up to speed. "A bumper crop. We'll give you the luxury of choosing your own poison." Kurtz hands you a short list of potential sites.

Architecture and debris suggest some kind of ancient land based civilisation. Weak magical traces. Possible treasure and items of cultural importance. Similar ruins dot the landscape, this is probably one of the most promising of the lot.

Sunken boat of non-Averrisian origin. Singular yet diffuse magical aura over the entire ship. Condition of ship suggests that it sunk a long time ago but traces of recently overturned sediment all around it point otherwise.

Architecture starkly different from the other discovered ruins which so far more closely resemble Ruin A. Weak magical traces. Building material appears to be mostly marine derived.

Decaying carcass of large whale-like sea creature. Weak magical traces. Higher density of scavenging sealife.

"Hmm... A122 looks pretty interesting. A land-based kingdom ending up miles under the ocean? Bound to have treasure. And..." Samuel squints at the paper. "... Am I reading this right? A magical aura over an entire ship? What could cause that?"

[thehungrydude]

@Samuel, Ops Room

"Hmm... A122 looks pretty interesting. A land-based kingdom ending up miles under the ocean? Bound to have treasure. And..." Samuel squints at the paper. "... Am I reading this right? A magical aura over an entire ship? What could cause that?"

Kurtz shrugs in response. "You'll get used to seeing oddities down here."

Elif peeks at the sheet and mutters, "Yea, we've yet to collect enough to understand what happened but we're certain there was a bustling nation where we are right now and somehow everything went under. Might have even been part of Averris or connected it to other nations in the ancient past."

She nearly scratches her head with the wrong hand still holding the fishcake as she thinks through the second question. "I... honestly don't know. First time hearing of something like that down here. This is either something new or Jaeldun's been drinking the juice on the job again... If I were to give it a few wild stabs, it might be that the area around the ship or the whole ship itself is enchanted or something throughout the ship that is magical. The apparent conflict between signs of movement from what should have sunk a long time ago is way more suspicious if you ask me."

[Diachronos]

"Maybe they used magic wood?" She looks over the notes before pointing to the ones for Ruins A122 and the mystery ship. "My vote is for one of these. They're nearby so we'll have a chance to get used to the suits."

[DaOldeWolf]

Free takes a good look at the papers. "A122 sounds nice. An ancient civilization could be interesting to investigate. I am not so thrilled about looking for a sunken ship though. Now, an unidentified sea monster corpse? That sounds like an interesting deal. It might not be alive but knowing more about sea life would be a step forward to understanding nature."

[UristMcRandom]

Vran studies the papers, "Personally, I find sites A122 and A064 to be the most interesting, and the fact that they're rather nearby does sound promising."

[Othniel]

Ruarc

"A122 would be my vote as well," the Barbarian confirms.

[SpeedWitch]

Samuel shrugged. "Sounds like we're heading to A122. I prefer mystery ships to ancient civilizations, but I guess that's a trip for another day."

[thehungrydude]

"Excellent choice. Mitas, gather the other group of contractors as soon as you're ready." Mitas nods as he leaves the room. You vaguely hear him enter the next room briefly to get the crewmen to prepare the spheres for launch.

Elif tucks the remnants of the fishcake into her coat. "I'll see you all in the bay, I need to punch the coordinates into the navigation system of the sphere. You should probably leave what you don't want immersed in sea water back in your sleeping tubes."


One of the spheres was already released from its magnetic bindings and ready to go when you reach the bay while the crew work on the other. Elif closes a panel under the steering wheels that was hidden in the darkness previously as you climb into sphere. "Mitas told me one of you has some experience as a sailor? We need one of you at least to man the wheels. It's pretty easy though, so anyone can do it as long as nothing crazy is going on.

So the left one does the pitch and the right one tweaks the yaw. The centres of both wheels are buttons, left one starts and stops while the right one reverses the start point and destination so use that to find your way back. Keep the 'X' centred on the 'O' and you'll get where you need to in a straight line. That's it, really. Oh, use the suit lights so you don't crash into something. There's no collision detection. Yet. Good luck!" she wishes as she climbs out.

Don't need a check for a fairly leisurely cruise without urgency (take 10 assumed). Profession (sailor) or plain wisdom check can be used to pilot the ship. Whoever's piloting can roll if they like but if you roll under 5, the sphere scrapes on the underside of the base or the seafloor on the way out. Jarring but the damage is only superficial.

The bright lights of the base gradually fade into the darkness as the sphere traverses noiselessly through the dark depths. The journey is relatively uneventful, with small blind fish skirting away from the sphere when approached and the occasional black seastar and urchin dot the sandy and silty bottom.

About half an hour later, a collapsed stone arch comes into view, with squat structures in the gloomy distance. The light coloured, heavy stone blocks lie half buried in the sand, overgrown with encrusting organisms and shellfish. Smaller, darker, flat and thin stone fragments are scattered all around haphazardly, though they seem to generally lead away from you towards the structures in the distance. You check the navigation system (the glowing 'X' and 'O') and it seems you have arrived at Ruin A122.

Some of the sides of the stone blocks appear to be irregular and uneven but it's hard to tell why with all the sedentary sealife stuck to it.

You recognise that the stone blocks for the arch and the flat fragments were made from different types of sedimentary rock. The stone blocks appear to be carved from limestone while the dark, flat fragments seem to originate from slate.
The slate fragments show signs of labor and manipulation, indicating that their current flat and thin shape was not purely the result of natural processes.

Despite being scattered and broken, the flat and dark fragments remind you of stone slabs suitable for paving.

[SpeedWitch]

One of the spheres was already released from its magnetic bindings and ready to go when you reach the bay while the crew work on the other. Elif closes a panel under the steering wheels that was hidden in the darkness previously as you climb into sphere. "Mitas told me one of you has some experience as a sailor? We need one of you at least to man the wheels. It's pretty easy though, so anyone can do it as long as nothing crazy is going on.
"I have some experience as a sailor, though it's been years since my last voyage." Samuel stands up and walks over to the controls.


So the left one does the pitch and the right one tweaks the yaw. The centres of both wheels are buttons, left one starts and stops while the right one reverses the start point and destination so use that to find your way back. Keep the 'X' centred on the 'O' and you'll get where you need to in a straight line. That's it, really. Oh, use the suit lights so you don't crash into something. There's no collision detection. Yet. Good luck!" [/B]

"Uhh, okay, got it." Reaching up Samuel flips on his headlamp and examines the waters as they descend.


The bright lights of the base gradually fade into the darkness as the sphere traverses noiselessly through the dark depths. The journey is relatively uneventful, with small blind fish skirting away from the sphere when approached and the occasional black seastar and urchin dot the sandy and silty bottom.

"Anyone know some good sea stories?" The pilot asks, jokingly.


About half an hour later, a collapsed stone arch comes into view, with squat structures in the gloomy distance. The light coloured, heavy stone blocks lie half buried in the sand, overgrown with encrusting organisms and shellfish. Smaller, darker, flat and thin stone fragments are scattered all around haphazardly, though they seem to generally lead away from you towards the structures in the distance. You check the navigation system (the glowing 'X' and 'O') and it seems you have arrived at Ruin A122.

"Damn, she didn't mention how to stop this thing... wait, no, she did." Slowly, very slowly, Samuel moves the left wheel up until they're diving speed had considerably slowed. Just when he reached neutral position, the ship brushed up against a long line of sand near the structures (If he could find anything soft, that is). Finally, he hit the stop button.


Perception: [roll0]

[DaOldeWolf]

Free was alright with leaving most of his stuff behind. He was sure that he would only need his armor, clothes, weapon, cloak, compass and wands. It was better to go light to the mission and only bring what would be really needed. After getting ready, he heard the instructions and felt relieved when Samuel offered himself for the control of the ship since Free was never good at dealing with machinery.

His first action was to cast Know Direction to use for reference for their eventual return. He then observed as the travel began.


"Anyone know some good sea stories?" The pilot asks, jokingly.

"I have a good one. A couple of weeks before I went to the registration. Father, Shauna and me were having a delicious dinner on the upper deck when we saw a boat near us that exploded into a million pieces. The head of one of the people from the other boat felt on top of our dinner. I think I can still smell the burn meat from the head. We didn't find any survivors when we looked at the floating scraps of the ship. I suppose it goes without saying that nobody wanted to enjoy dinner after this."

U. Perception: [roll0]

[Othniel]

Ruarc

"Let me know if you want any help or to take over at any point, lad," Ruarc offers, leaving Samuel to the piloting of the vessel. "Been more recent for me," he adds with a slight smile. As the craft slows to a stop, Ruarc looks around at the blocks. "Hm. Some are uneven, if that means anything. Struck by something maybe, but who knows when."

[Diachronos]

"Weird.... this place is mostly limestone and slate, and it looks like somebody actually shaped it. How did they build a place out of sedimentary rock way out in the ocean? And why?" Mari checks the suit to make sure it's properly sealed before heading to the hatch. "Are we supposed to get out and take a closer look?"

[thehungrydude]

@Free, Sphere


His first action was to cast Know Direction to use for reference for their eventual return. He then observed as the travel began.


As if recalling a long forgotten memory, you realise that North is approximately 80 degrees to your right from your current position, from which you can see the collpased arch and its fallen keystone head-on.

[UristMcRandom]

Vran rose from his seated position as Mari spoke, "I would assume so, since the Lieutenant mentioned testing these suits, and it's far easier to test a diving suit when underwater than on land, hm?"

As soon as the sphere fully stops, Vran dons his helmet, then presses the FINS button and steps through the hatch.

[thehungrydude]

@Vran, Outskirts of Ruin A122

The fins make climbing the ladder a bit more awkward than usual but you make it outside without incident. A slight chill seeps in through the suit as you exit the sphere, then gradually fades as the suits enchantments react to the new environment. The waters are pitch black all around you, with the broken arch, the flat fragments and the squat structures in the distance illuminated only by the cone of light from Samuel's headlight through the inside of the sphere. The fallen blocks cast long shadows down the cone towards the ruins and piscine shapes lurk about in the distance, passing in and out of the shadows.

[Diachronos]

Mari follows Vran down the ladder after making sure the suit is fully sealed, though she waits until after exiting to activate the suit's fins. The cold is a shock, though not an unexpected one; she'd been down deep enough to where the water had started getting colder back when she was living with her parents, though it had never been this extreme.

She taps the side of her helmet a couple of times to make sure she can reach the buttons if needed. Better make sure the comms work... "Can you guys hear me?"

[Othniel]

Ruarc

Following the actions of Vran and Mari, and assuming he can hear her, Ruarc answers in the affirmative, "Aye, lass. I can hear you." He draws his falchion and looks around continually for signs of any threat. "Best move quickly, I suspect," he says. "Wouldn't want to draw the attention of something large if it can be avoided."

[UristMcRandom]

"Agreed," Vran says, drawing his own sword and looking around.

Perception, just for general sake: [roll0]
Knowledge (history) to see if I know anything about these ruins, or any ancient civilizations that lived close to this area on land: [roll1]
Knowledge (religion) to identify any markings I may see on the ruins: [roll2]

[thehungrydude]

@All

Mari and Ruarc's voice can be heard clearly from within your helmets, almost as though they were speaking normally beside you. It seems that the communications work just fine at this distance.


@Mari; Outskirts of Ruin A122

As your eyes wander about the scene before you, you make unexpected eye contact as you gaze at one of the blocks from the collapsed arch. You've seen your fair share of octopuses in Bitterhold Port but not a single one of them has ever given you such a distinct impression of malevolent intelligence as the one before you now. Its skin is smooth and light coloured, as though mimicking the sandstone block it has hidden most of its body behind. The beast meets your gaze without fear, watching you intently.

The arch and by extension, the octopus that's hiding behind it, is approximately 20' away.

[DaOldeWolf]

Free is a bit relunctant to go outside at first but seeing his companions leave and respond safely, gives him courage to check the outside. He stays near the sphere. He decides that trying to detect magic should be priority and casts the spell to see if he can find anything.

[Diachronos]

"Uh, guys? There's an octopus... and I don't like the way it's looking at us..." She points toward the creature, while wracking her brain to bring up any recollection of what it might be.


Knowledge checks!
Nature: [roll0]
Dungeoneering: [roll1]
Planes? [roll2]

[thehungrydude]

@Vran; Outskirts of Ruin A122

You notice that most of the fish you have seen so far are either red or black in colour, while the blocks from the arch are a bit too overgrown to look for any distinctive markings under the encrusting sponges and shellfish.

Averris' known history stretches back to approximately 900 years ago when defectors from the northern lands of Urvesta decided to colonise the island after abandoning an ongoing war. Based on the surviving fragments of copies of the logs written by the founding members of the nation, a vocal minority of historians believe that there is sufficient evidence to speculate that they initially took shelter in ruins that appeared to be long abandoned for the colonists could find no signs of living natives. The main argument against this interpretation is that no traces such ruins have been found or recorded in recent history, so it is unclear if it is an erroneous interpretation due to its fragmented nature or, as the minority believe, that the ruins have been completely destroyed during the early days of Averris' development.

Recent archaeological digs have unearthed several heavily weathered objects of bone and coral origin that resemble tools buried under thick layers of tuff, the result of volcanic ash compacted into rocks over very long periods of time. The minority camp have taken this to be irrefutable evidence of an existing civilisation on Averris far predating the arrival of the colonists, though their opponents rightfully point out that such forms could also result from natural processes and are hardly worth anything as evidence.

[thehungrydude]

@Free; Outskirts of Ruin A122

You are able to encompass the collapsed arch and most of the flat stone fragments you can see, which appear to be entirely mundane. The fish nearby display faint magical auras not from any particular schools and more closely resemble those sometimes emanated by creatures corrupted by magic of some form. The octopus seems to have a much stronger aura of the same type than the surrounding fish.

@Mari; Outskirts of Ruin A122

On further examination, you get the sneaking suspicion that the creature before you was formerly an octopus but has been transformed into something that can no longer be considered an animal by modern scholars. You're fairly certain now that whatever it is, it is sapient and very aware of your intrusion in its watery realm.

[Diachronos]

Mari puts her hand on her rapier. "Nope, not an octopus! You guys see it too, right?"

[DaOldeWolf]

"I can confirm its unnatural presence. Be careful with the octopus or whatever that thing is. I can sense a magic aura stronger than that fish surrounding the area. Some kind of corrupting magic. " He proclaims as he decides to draw out his weapon.

[Othniel]

Ruarc

"It can still die like an octopus," growls the Barbarian as he brandishes his falchion.

[SpeedWitch]

"Easy there, Ruarc," Samuel's voice cuts across the com. "Whatever it is, it hasn't moved against us yet. We don't want to fight anything if we don't have to."

Approaching from behind the group, Samuel puts his fingers across his headlight, reducing the shine considerably. "Lets just try to slowly walk around this... thing. Maybe dim our lights a bit." He rests his other hand on the hilt of his sword.

[thehungrydude]

As you all reach for your weapons, the sand between the sphere and the arch begins to churn violently. A pair of eyes the size of dinner plates are the first to emerge from the sand, unveiling a bloated looking, patchy and pale skinned massive squid-like creature with ten large tentacles thicker than a man's thigh. It waves its tentacles tipped with 1.5 inch barbs menacingly at you.

The octopus takes the chance to flee from the blocks, heading straight towards the edge of the area illuminated only by Samuel's headlamp. Fully exposed at last, it appears to be approximately 8 feet long when measured from head to tentacle. One of its tentacles is twisted and kinked in appearance. As Samuel gets up, the light from his headlamp is momentarily cutoff as he turns away from the window inside the sphere. Everyone but Free notices that the octopus has reached the edge of the area illuminated by Samuel's headlamp.

The squid-like creature displays the characteristics of what seamen call Kraken. This one is a sand kraken and is an ambush predator.

You've familiar with the tales of colossal squid-like beasts known as kraken that have attacked fleets in the open sea and dragged entire boats to bottom of the sea. This beast resembles the descriptions from those tales albeit much smaller and somewhat superficially different.
You've never heard of them burrowed in the sand though. This creature may be distantly related to the krakens of legend.

Octopus moved perpendicularly in relation to the direction of Samuel's cone of light and is at its edge. It is now 25 feet from you. However, the squid-like creature is in the way, occupying the immediate space between the collapsed arch and the sphere (5' away).

[Othniel]

Ruarc

"I haven't moved against it yet, lad," replies the Barbarian, "Just gettin' ready. Looks like one o' them krakens as take ships and seamen to their deaths. Never heard o' one that burrows, but not many as lived to tell the tale as it were."

Taking 10 on Profession (Sailor) for 17. Rolled an 18 in the OOC first. Either way, 'tis enough. :smalltongue:

[UristMcRandom]

Vran looks on in what appears to be horror at the giant creature in front of him. Reacting instinctively, he grips his sword in both hands and swings at the beast, finishing his attack off with a kick.

5 ft. step to close with the Kraken, then Flurry of Blows, spending 1 Ki point for an additional attack.
Sword attack 1: [roll0]
Damage: [roll1]
Sword attack 2: [roll2]
Damage: [roll3]
Unarmed strike: [roll4]
Damage: [roll5]

[SpeedWitch]

Samuel blinks. "Wait, Vran—okay, nevermind, that was justifiable and terrifying."

Standing in front of the vessel that he had previously piloted, the oracle steps back into the entryway. From within, he pulls out a small candle and begins to chant and gesture towards the outside. The candle lights as a swirling mass of bubbles appear outside the magical field. "I'm summoning some creatures to fight with us. Hope you all like dolphins."

[roll0] Dolphins (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/bestiary/monster-listings/animals/cetacean/dolphin/dolphin/summoned-creature-dolphin)

[DaOldeWolf]

Deciding it was better to not engage directly, Free concentrates as he uses one of his special skills. A shiny stardust is created targeting the aquatic creature. "This is probably the best I can ditch to such a creature for the moment."

Using my heaven spirit ability Stardust.

[thehungrydude]

@Vran, Outskirts of A122

Vran looks on in what appears to be horror at the giant creature in front of him. Reacting instinctively, he grips his sword in both hands and swings at the beast, finishing his attack off with a kick.

5 ft. step to close with the Kraken, then Flurry of Blows, spending 1 Ki point for an additional attack.
Sword attack 1: [roll0]
Damage: [roll1]
Sword attack 2: [roll2]
Damage: [roll3]
Unarmed strike: [roll4]
Damage: [roll5]

You hack away at its tentacles, your blade cutting cleanly through its pale, soft flesh. Perhaps a bit too cleanly.

You kick right through its tentacle, as though there was nothing there. The kraken beast fades into a translucent image as you come to the realisation that it is an illusion.

@Free, Outskirts of A122


Deciding it was better to not engage directly, Free concentrates as he uses one of his special skills. A shiny stardust is created targeting the aquatic creature. "This is probably the best I can ditch to such a creature for the moment."

Using my heaven spirit ability Stardust.

The sparkling dust adheres to the squid beast, lighting it up like a bizarre ornament in the dark waters.

[UristMcRandom]

Vran shakes his head and blinks twice as his foot meets the creature, then passes right through it. His monastic training kicks in, and he assumes a more steady posture, and his face resumes its composure, "The beast is an illusion, don't waste your energy on it."

[Othniel]

Ruarc

"An illusion, at this depth?" the Barbarian replies, looking suspiciously at the octopus.
Will save attempt: (including +4 for Vran saying it is an illusion)
He squints hard at the creature, and charges with his falchion swinging, "Nope; looks real!"
Attack: [roll]1d20+9
Damage: 2d4+6

[thehungrydude]

@Ruarc; Outskirts of Ruin A122

The kraken waves its remaining seven tentacles at you threateningly and spasms wildly when you lop off yet another tentacle.

You come to the same conclusion as Vran when you feel no resistance to your slash. The kraken is indeed and illusion and fades into a translucent image with that revelation.

[Diachronos]

Profession (pearl diving): [roll0]


Mari looks at the others. "Are you sure?" She moves in, drawing her rapier and thrusting it at the kraken.


Attack/confirm: [roll1]/[roll2]
Damage/crit: [roll3]/[roll4]

Will save for interacting (including +4 from the party saying it's fake): [roll5]

[DaOldeWolf]

Free complete trusts the words from his companion. He didn't believe he would lie for a situation like this.

I am not sure if rolling should be done. The result from the OOC should be enough anyway.

[thehungrydude]

@All, Outskirts of Ruin A122

With the sand kraken's illusory nature exposed, the octopus slinks into the darkness beyond the light, giving you a parting cold stare. Sand and ash is stirred up as it propels itself away, like snowflakes in the wind.

You may choose to pursue or let it go for now or whatever you desire to do. Also, can Ruarc do a wisdom check to see if he gets a hunch please?

[Diachronos]

Mari sheathes her rapier as the octopus slinks off. "I don't think I've ever heard of sea creatures using illusion magic..."

[Othniel]

Ruarc

"Well, it's gone now, and good riddance, I say!"

Wisdom check: [roll0]

[thehungrydude]

@Ruarc; Outskirts of Ruin A122

You get the hunch that the encrusting organisms on rocks and the like could probably be scrapped off carefully without damaging the underlying surface too much.

[DaOldeWolf]

"Its probably for the best. Anyway, hurting an animal from the nature felt wrong. I just hope that whatever it was, it stays away."

[Othniel]

Ruarc

"Let's take a look at some of this stonework - see I'd there's any writing or something. Hate to damage my blade...do we have anything to scrape the detritus from this stone?"

[Diachronos]

"Um..." Mari looks through her bags. "I have a crowbar, but that's it."

[thehungrydude]

@All; Outskirts of Ruin A122

Gingerly scrapping away the encrusting organisms on the stone blocks and piecing them together reveals a heavily eroded mural of some form etched into their faces. Most of the detail is lost but a common theme that appears is humanoids of some form exchanging items, as though some form of trade was ongoing.

[thehungrydude]

@All; Street Ruins of A122

The flat stone fragments practically form a trail for you to follow as you swim towards the squat structures that seem to comprise the main body of the ruins. Occasional half buried pieces can be seen sticking out of the sand that appear to be far more intact, taking on a squarish shape.

As the squat structures come into view, it is evident that they were once stone buildings of some form. Many you can see have crumbled into piles of rubble and only a handful have any walls remaining. Despite their current state, it is not hard to tell that the buildings were once arranged in an orderly street-like fashion, though the irregular gaps between them could have been buildings destroyed without a trace of connecting alleys between the four remaining streets you see. Small fish wander the ancient streets, an eerie reenactment of what must have been busy streets. The streets join and open up into a plaza further down the streets and far into the distance looms the shadowy shape of what might once have been a luxurious mansion, though its current state is difficult to determine from where you are. Five buildings are still standing in the streets in various states of disrepair.

Most of the damage to the stone buildings correspond heavily with earthquake damage.

[Othniel]

Ruarc

"What say we check out some of these ruins?" asks the Barbarian. "Carefully, of course."

Untrained Engineering: [roll0]

[DaOldeWolf]

Free decides to check the stone buildings for traces of magic. "I will keep checking all the traces of magic in the area as we keep moving. Lets keep looking till we find the source of the magic affecting the fish." he tells his teammates as he keeps watching around for signs of bigger magic concentrations.

[thehungrydude]

@Free, Street Ruins of A122

You are only able to cover a portion of the streets and two of the damaged buildings but it is hard to tell if you're not picking up much because there's nothing there or if the rubble is too thick to see through. You do see a faint aura in one particular pile of rubble near you.

Arcana check to identify school please. Also assuming you haven't moved from your spot since no one else has explicitly moved.

[thehungrydude]

@All; Street Ruins of A122

On closer examination, the streets are peppered with the same flat stone fragments. Two of remaining buildings are within 30' of you and 40' apart from each other while the remaining three are at least 70' away. The closest one is the most intact of the lot, a former multistorey building reduced to its lowest floor. Its walls are intact but covered with a web of cracks. A wall is all that is left of the other building.

Let me know if you want to split up to speed up the search.

[Diachronos]

Mari swims over to examine some of the ruins, trying to gauge how they got to be this way.

Knowledge Engineering: [roll0]

"Weird... It looks like an earthquake did this. That doesn't make any sense, unless these buildings used to be located above water... Or maybe if there was some aquatic race living here, but the damage doesn't match up with that."

She turns to the others. "We should probably stick together, especially if there are going to be more things like that sand kraken."

[Othniel]

Ruarc

"Better to stay together for now," the Barbarian agrees, following Mari. "Earthquake, hmm. Not sure if any of the buildings would be standing from a quake that brought an entire area underwater. Let's take a look at that close structure there."

[DaOldeWolf]

"Agreed. Stay close, Cometh. I am sure being a creature from the sea will come useful." he says as the creature clings to Free´s back. "I think I will cast a spell to be better prepared. Just give me a second to check this magic aura". After he finishes checking, he casts heightened awareness before following his team to the closest structure.


U. Knowledge arcana: [roll0]
+2 on perception and trained knowledge rolls. +4 on initiative.

[thehungrydude]

@Mari; Street Ruins of A122

The construction techniques, materials used and design more closely correspond to buildings of terrestrial origin. Faint traces of flaking associated with terrestrial weathering can still be found. Missing structural components that would commonly be made of wood are missing and may have rotted or floated away long ago. The signs point to a building built above water using appropriate techniques and materials on the surface.

@Free; Street Ruins of A122

You find a small, non-descript bronze bell with no distinguishing markings but you are unable to decipher the school of magic responsible for the ring's magical properties. The bell is slightly dented and heavily coated with a layer of green patina.

@Free,Mari,Ruarc; Street Ruins of A122

As you approach the remaining first storey of the buildings, you notice that its doorway still stands on the wall facing the street. The interior of the building seems to mostly filled with fallen rubble from its collapsed upper floors. A small school of fish are crowded around and feeding on something sticking out of the fallen rubble.

The fish seem to be feeding on a clawed, webbed foot of a similar size to your own.

[UristMcRandom]

Vran swims up behind Free when he picks up the bell, "Did you find something interesting?"

[DaOldeWolf]

Free decides to carry the bell with him. I am sure we can find more about it with the help of the dwarves from the library. He thinks. "Yes, I found this bell. I feel a magic aura but I can't identify it."

Sorry for taking so long to post. Got really sick.

[thehungrydude]

Perception rolls for those at the first building?

[DaOldeWolf]

"Look! Can anyone identify such a print? I wonder what kind of creature made it." Free declares as he checks out the webbed feet print.

The description was left by the dm in the OOC topic.

[thehungrydude]

The small school of fish disperse for a brief moment as they fight amongst themselves for the remains and you see that it is a scaly, sickly green leg sticking out from underneath one of the piles of rubble in the building. Clearing the rubble away carefully reveals that it belongs to a recently dead scaly humanoid with a lizard-like head and a long fish-like tail. You've all seen or heard of similar creatures before, a sahuagin.

[Othniel]

Ruarc

"Wonder what brought the poor fellow here," Ruarc muses. "Recent, or there'd be nothing but bones." Ruarc proceeds to check for anything useful on the person's gear, particularly for anything that might identify the creature or explain its reason for being there.

[DaOldeWolf]

"I wonder if the bell I found might be related to this poor soul. I just he didn't suffer much." Free gives the creature a minute of silence out of respect.

[thehungrydude]

@Ruarc; Street Ruins of A122

The pickings are sparse on the deceased sahuagin, though you do find a trident made from a twisted branch of coral nearby. You notice that the sahuagin is grasping something and prying open its stiff scaly fingers reveals a silver banded ring with a large round gem nearly an inch across. The ring seems a bit too small for the sahuagin's fingers, though it should fit you and your companions just fine.

@All

You hear something hard making clicking noises as it taps on the rock surfaces outside the building near the door.

[DaOldeWolf]

Free stops for a second as he hears the tapping noise. And he starts looking for the sound which he hears is coming from the outside. "Guys? Did you hear that?" Free declares as he tries to take a peek outside as silently as possible.


U. Stealth [roll0]

[Diachronos]

Mari shivers as they unearth the partially-eaten sahuagin, though the ring catches her interest. Were there similar treasures still waiting to be found here?


Perception: [roll0]


"Oh crap, what now?" She draws her rapier and turns, keeping an eye out for any signs of hostile life.

[thehungrydude]

@Free; Street Ruins of A122
You peek out of the doorway, just in time to come face to face with a ghastly pale crab about as tall as you are, its long spindly legs clacking on the stone fragments. It wriggles its antenna and raises its disturbingly large claws to your face!


[roll]crab [roll0]
PCs [roll1]

Crab goes first, oh dear.

Free is standing at the entrance, 10' away from everyone else, who were inspecting the body. The crab is out of line of sight adjacent to the entrance but the collapsed roofing means you can reach it from above if you swim 25', through the gaping holes in the ceiling.

[thehungrydude]

@All; Street Ruins of A122

A pair of long pale pincers clamp on Free's torso and waist with no apparent intention to let go! It squeezes hard, crushing Free mercilessly even with the suit's protection.

Both claws barely hit (ooc rolls) and begin a constriction attack
claw 1 [roll0]
claw 2 [roll1]
constriction [roll2]

[UristMcRandom]

Vran readies his sword, then swims towards the crab, taking a swing at its claws.

Sword attack: [roll0]
Damage: [roll1] (two-handed)

[Othniel]

Ruarc

The Barbarian swims around so that he can reach the crab, and then swings at the crab with his falchion.

Free action to enter Rage (+2 bonus on melee attack rolls, melee damage rolls, thrown weapon damage rolls, and Will saving throws. –2 penalty to Armor Class. + 8 temporary hit points (lost first from damage).
Using Power Attack, Accurate Stance (+1 to attack rolls, +1 more for ever 4 levels), and Deadly Accuracy (doubles Accurate Stance's bonus for crit confirm rolls). Link to Barbarian Unchained (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/unchained-classes/barbarian-unchained).
Attack:[roll0]
Damage:[roll1]

[thehungrydude]

@All

Vran's strike glances off the giant crab's claws, though it successfully grabs its attention away from Free, releasing him from its vice-like claws. Ruarc takes the chance to make a mighty swing, sinking his falchion deep between the crab's eyes. The water takes a blue tint as its blood pours out from the wound. Desperate, the giant claw turns its pale claws on Ruarc, grabbing on to his arms in a death grip.

Attack 1 [roll0]
Damage 1 [roll1]

Attack 2 [roll2]
Damage 2 [roll3]

Grapple [roll4]
Constrict [roll5]

Ruarc takes 11 after DR, so 3 after the temp hp

[Othniel]

Ruarc

"Crab for dinner!" Ruarc shouts within his suit, although his suit's communications are not turned on. He struggles within the crab's grip.

Combat Maneuver to break the grapple: [roll0] (Not using Power Attack this time)

[Diachronos]

Mari swims to the other side of the crab from Ruarc and stabs with her rapier.

Moving to flank the crab, then attacking.
Attack/Crit: [roll0]/[roll1]
Damage: [roll2]/[roll3]
Sneak Attack: [roll4]

[DaOldeWolf]

"Lets see if I can finish this without having to hurt it even more." He declares as he tries to cast while keeping the creature in check.


Casting a sleep spell.
[roll0] Need to pass a DC 17

[thehungrydude]

@All

Ruarc tries to shake the crab off unsuccessfully, the two of them struggling in what almost looks like an odd dance at the bottom of the sea if it didn't have bone crushing claws. The wild flailing is too much for Mari and Free, whose attempts to finish off the giant crab miss by mere inches as its claws dig deeper into Ruarc's flesh.

Grapple [roll0]
Constrict [roll1]
Attack as part of grapple [roll2]

[DaOldeWolf]

Free is unsure of what to do. Casting a spell was really hard in the current condition and he was in no condition to engage in melee. He would prefer to finish this fight without having to kill the creature but by this point, his teammates came first. He prepares a negative energy infused touch and tries to deliver the attack. "I am sorry but I have no other option."


Touch of the Grave ability
Melee Touch attack [roll0]
Damage inflicted [roll1] 1d4+2

[Othniel]

Ruarc

Ruarc keeps on struggling (and getting angrier) with the crab.

Trying again to break the grapple: [roll0]

[UristMcRandom]

Vran moves to get a better angle on the crab, and pauses for a moment to study his foe. Identifying a specific point on the beast, he delivers a punch to its abdomen.

Expending a usage of Stunning Fist on this attack.

5ft. step to get to a flanking position (if possible). If not, stay in my current place.

Unarmed strike: [roll0] (+2 if I can flank)
Damage: [roll1]

If I hit, the crab needs to make a DC 15 Fort save or be stunned (which should effectively free Ruarc if his nat. 20 wasn't enough).