Lost on Dark Waters: Strange Tides

[Zero_Point]

Lost on Dark Waters
Strange Tides

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As the confusion of your journey fades and your eyes begin to focus in the darkness of the cavern, you slowly become aware that it is not as empty and lifeless as it had first seemed. A variety of faintly glowing fungi and moss grows on the waste of rats, bats and other small creatures along the edges of the walls and floor. Here and there tiny luminescent beetles and slugs crawl along, feasting on the fungi and going about their meager lives. Veins of quartz and mica run through the solid stone walls, stretching up toward a ceiling somewhere far above your head and beyond your sight.

The air is cool, and a layer of moisture covers the stone around you, making it glisten in the dim light provided by the plants and insects. A steady drip comes from somewhere overhead, hitting the rocks in a constant drone. A light breeze comes from somewhere far off in the dark, accompanied by the gentle sounds of waves on rock. It is apparent there is some large body of water not too far off. The tranquil quiet of the cave is broken only by the distant squeak of a bat, and the confused mutterings of the four other people who stand just within sight in the darkness of the cavern. Though you are sure they are strangers, and their clothes are foreign to you, you still feel a certain mysterious kinship with them. Its almost as though you know them, perhaps from a dream, or a barely tangible memory of another life. Regardless, they seem just as lost as you, and perhaps together you can discover what strange land you have been brought to.

[HappyMerecat]

Ossian

Ossian Was moving down a relatively dry street in the puddles when he was surrounded by swirling mists. While he was not particularly experienced with magic he was pretty sure this was not natural in anyway. All sense of movement and place was lost and reached for the wall that was beside him moments ago and it was not there. Ossians reflexes kicked in and he vanished into the mist as he could as it seemed to fade. Hiding in a crevice of his new environs he scanned what he saw. Soon he heard people and he looked and listened to see what he could see.

Stealth [roll0]
Perception [roll1]

[Bryconium]

Collapsing exhausted to her knees, Tessara breathes in long and desperate gasps of air, arms clutched tightly around her chest as tears stream down her face. Her familiar, Julius, sensing his master's distress crawls to her side and presses his body against hers in an attempt to bring any degree of comfort.

"They're dead, they're dead they're dead," Tessara thinks to herself. "Out from the sea they came, too many to fight. I had no choice, I had to run. I couldn't save my family, my friends, from..."

"From what?" She says out loud, having recovered slightly from her desperate race. What were those creatures, the Not-Elves, that destroyed her entire life. And... where was she? Tessara was an adventurous girl and had thought she had explored all the area around her home, but she didn't recognize the cave or the strange expanse of water before her. Surely she didn't run that far, why couldn't she figure out where she was? Looking for anything familiar, she turns around and sees the the solid stone wall behind her. She stares with unbelieving eyes for a second until her mind comes to terms with the reality presented to her. Turning from the blank wall, for the first time Tessara notices the other figures in the dark, her elven vision helping her to make out the shadowy shapes.

Swallowing her fear, and praying to whatever power may have brought her here that these figures aren't her attackers, Tessara calls out, "H... Hello? Please, do you know what this place is?"

[etnom0]

The dim of the cave is the first thing that Terin notices and gives pause. From bright to dim and what happened to the snow he mumbles to himself as his feet shift underneath him. As the fog clears and the cave solidifies around him, or was he solidifying in it, he is glad that he stopped walking as the wall right in front of his face would have hurt indeed. The steady drip of water in the background reminded him of his tests at the monastery in the Room of trials of having to hold the baskets of rock steady as other added more while he balanced at first on the boards and eventually on the poles dug into the ground 20 feet off the floor.
I wonder if this is a test he thinks to himself. Rotating in place he takes stock of his surroundings. The Cave while dim is not completely dark seems to be illuminated by….plants and bugs and….yes clearly shapes and forms in the dark. People Then one cried out a slight hesitation in her voice causing him to look for a source of danger wondering if there is trouble nearby. ’I don’t know of any caves near the monestary he thinks to himself as he shifts the quarterstaff to his other hand
perception [roll0]
The cry from the girl brings him back to reality
”Be calm I mean you no harm. While I don’t know where exactly ‘here’ is I will guess that it is underground somewhere.” His voice calm and coming out a bit louder that what he intended with the echo in the large cavern.

[Linken]

Venla hesitates as she gets up, stopping the transmission of her Message cantrip short as she stares blankly at the clear area around her. Not much light, just bugs. Bunch of other people, too! Definitely not Nash or the squad or anything, though, they're not hunched over or looking broody or anything. Or at least, from what the little Gnome could see. She couldn't feel the leylines anymore and she couldn't feel much of anything. Except cold. She takes a deep breath, putting on her brave face and smiling widely. There we go, just had to smile and it would be all better. She hoped.

She didn't really like the bugs skittering across the floor, and she hastily steps on the spot to avoid killing them but also to avoid having them get on her. Ew. Slowly but surely, Venla takes a Sunrod out from her pouch and strikes it onto an empty space of floor, before approaching the big person that sounded a bit like a human, who was presumably talking to an Elf of some sort. He doesn't look very tall for a Human, but still double Venla's height and therefore she had to be a bit cautious. Could be some unpleasant beastie. Then again, he was speaking normally, so. She waves the sunrod around, before speaking out surprisingly loudly. "C'mon, everyone get over here! Safety in numbers and stuff!" The Gnome hops on the spot to illustrate this further for any observers- just a light in the darkness, really. Once she's at the human, she stops, looks up, and speaks a single word in Common- hopefully he could understand her. Hi!

Least she made first friendly contact, and that was all that mattered, right? Making good impressions and trying not to let tiny lies slip out.

[Zero_Point]

As the light of the sun rod illuminates the darkness, it drives back the shadows of the cave to reveal that the group is standing on a narrow ledge of rock protruding out from the wall roughly eight feet before dropping off into dark water. The water glimmers a shade of greenish-black and stretches off beyond the edges of the light. Laying wedged between a stalagmite rising up from the water and the rocky ledge the group occupies appears to be the water logged corpse of a human in a tattered sailor's uniform, though the uniform is foreign to everyone in the group.

[Linken]

Venla flinches as she sees the corpse suddenly light up. Staring over it, she closes her eyes and sighs, holding the sunrod aloft. If only there was something she could do... oh well. There are more pressing matters at hand. "Oh... dear." She goes back to staring at the human, trying not to think about the lost sailor. She was also kinda worried about being on this ledge- flight isn't really a thing she could do much of, so. Maybe she could ask one of the bats or slugs or anything around what might have happened, but decides not to right now, keeping her eyes trained right on the big humanoids.

[HappyMerecat]

Ossian

Seeing that the other did not seem to be dangerous he steps into the open with his hood off and a friendly face. "Well I am glad I did not step over there." He gestures towards the dark waters.

He looks back to the group. "I take it none of you were here a few moments ago and none of us know where we are?"

[etnom0]

As the gnome strikes the sun stick Terin is forced to shield his eyes for sudden burst of light. After a moments adjustment he lowers his hand from his face to only to notice that the Gnome is right before him and speaking in common. that’s a relief at least I know that two of the people here speaks common he thinks to himself as he dusts the snow out of his hair.

”Hello to you as well, I’m Terin. Thank you for the light” He says as he looks down at her then back at the surroundings. With better light he is able to better assess the area. He can clearly see that the little gnome is un-nerved. The Watery surrounding gives him slight pause but the corpse that is floating in the water is what really catches his attention. ”well that’s something I haven’t seen before muttering under his breath.

Taking a look around now with more light and seeing all the water and the ledge that they are on he moves a little closer to take a further look into the water.
Terin looks up at the new voice in the cave, ”no I was in the mountains near my monastery before I was enveloped by a strange mist. Next thing I knew I was here with all of you.” As he probes the water with his staff to see how far it will go.

[Bryconium]

Hearing the voices and briefly blinded by the sudden illumination of the sunrod, Tessara waits a moment to collect herself before heading over to join the others. Determinedly not looking at the corpse, she comes up to the group.

"Hello, my name is Tessara, and this is Julius." she says, indicating the hare in her arms. "I suppose you all are as lost as I am. Maybe we can find a way out of this place together."

[HappyMerecat]

Ossian

Ossian bows, "I am Ossian."
"I recommend rather than beginning with where we are, we start with how far flung we were. I am from the puddles in Absalam."

[Linken]

Venla ekes out a smile yet again, staring up at the new group. Er, Venla. Pleasure to meet you all. She seems to be looking around anxiously- due to the light of her sunrod & her Low Light vision, she could see well in the darkness, and surveys it for any threats that might be coming or anything like that. She also considers starting up a Message spell again to try and signal for ships, but the sunrod should help too. Very curious as to where I am. This must be deeper in the cave, but seeing as... you're all here, in those silly outfits, I'm gonna say otherwise.

[Zero_Point]

At the very edges of low-light vision there is a mass of shadows that might be a rock formation, but it is too far away to see clearly or to make out any details. It does seem irregularly shaped for just a cluster of stalagmites, and there might be something more to it. But from this vantage, with the limited light, it looks like just a large, dark shape.

[Sleepy Shade]

Terry got out of the boat on to the shore pulling the boat up behind him who ever had knocked him out didn't seem to want him dead just gone. Still he felt unease and all this fog wasn't helping he turned around and started walking inland hoping to find a road. However a few feet from the shore he runs smack dab into a wall that just appears seemingly out of no where.
"Frack who builds a wall along the Lake" as he rubs his nose he starts hearing a group of voices out in the distance someone yelling at him to come over. He looks up first at the wall and finally sees it for what it is.
He turns around looking around slightly dumbfounded at what was going on the lake he had lived on all his life was nowhere to bee seen instead he seemed to be in some great underground cavern.
Out of the corner of his eye he finally spies the sun stick and the three people around it they all seemed to be staring at something.
"Hey you lot " he starts walking over to them "where the sodding hells am I?!"

[Bryconium]

Noticing something out of the corner of her eye, Tessara peers into the darkness, hoping for a glimpse of whatever is out there, be it rocks or something more.

Perception: [roll0]

[etnom0]

Ossian bows, "I am Ossian."
"I recommend rather than beginning with where we are, we start with how far flung we were. I am from the puddles in Absalam."

"Absalam? I have never heard of that place. Last I checked I was in the misty peaks of the Volurn Mountain range. Venla can you bring the light a little closer to the edge here? There is something over there that has caught my attention, shadowy forms or some such.

Squinting into the darkness of the cave Terin try's to make out what ever those forms are.

Perception [roll0]

[HappyMerecat]

Ossian

Ossian looks confused at someone who can speak common would not know of Absalam. "Absalam is the most well know city in my part of Golarion. I Have never heard of those mountians. I expect we are from very distant places."

[Sleepy Shade]

"What are you lot talking about? I was just on the shores of Lake Encarthan. Where am I?" As he drew closer he could see they were staring at some sort of form in the water.

[Linken]

The gnome looks up at the man who'd just arrived, smiling again, before reaching up and handing the stunstick to Terin. You take it, you have longer arms and can reach farther. Also, not very good with the 'balance' thing. Oh, and alsooo, I'm from Varsinen. She takes another good glance around, before starting a Message cantrip in the general direction of the thing in the distance, pointing over to it and whispering Hello? Can you hear me? Please, whisper back if you can... This should help if there's a person near there, or something like that. If it didn't work, well, she could always try again.

[Bryconium]

Turning away from the darkness, Tessara stares at her new companions incredulously. Golarion? Where is that. I'm from the shores of the Moonlight Sea, where are these places in comparison to it?

[etnom0]

Terin takes the Sunrod from the Gnome and holds it high above his head in a hopes of shedding more light on the matter at hand. "sure thing. It would appear that we are each from someplace vastly different from the other, now the real question is why?" He says as he moves closer to the edge.

Can I tell how deep the water is from when I used my staff?

[HappyMerecat]

Ossian

Ossian nods in agreement with Terin. "I suspect why made evade us for a while. I suggest we start with realizing no one here knows where we are and survival may be at issue in time."

[Sleepy Shade]

Terry shrugs at the explanation. "Why and how are for the higher ups right now all we need to focus on is what to do next." As he looks out on to the water hoping to see anything that might point them in the right direction.

Perception: [roll0]

[Zero_Point]

Holding the light higher does not make it extend any further and the dark shape remains in shadows and indistinct. At best it can be determined that there is something more than stalagmites out there in the water.

There is no response to the message spell sent in the direction of the shadows.

[Linken]

Venla realises it may not even be living, just another thing floating in the water. She wishes she had a Light spell. Moving backwards a little, she surveys the environment further, trying to see something, anything around that could help.

[Zero_Point]

The group is standing on an eight foot by six foot ledge of rock surrounded on three sides by the green-black water and a solid cave wall on the fourth side. To the right a pair of small stalagmites rise from the glassy surface of the water and a human corpse, water logged but fairly well preserved, is stuck stuck between them. Off the front of the rock and a little to the right is the shadowy shape of more stalagmites, as well as something else that is to distant and far from the light to make out clearly. There is nothing else within sight.

[Sleepy Shade]

Seeing the corpse Terry walks over to it takes out his long sword and taps it on the head. If their is no response he drags it from between the stalagmites and examines it.

To get the corpse out without hurting my self.
Dexterity [roll0]
Strength [roll1]

[Zero_Point]

It is pretty easy to dislodge the corpse and pull it onto the rock ledge. On closer inspection, what had first seemed to be a proper uniform looks instead to have been pieced together from several different uniforms along with regular clothes. It consists of a military style coat with brass buttons, a now ruined silk shirt, tattered trousers, military black boots, a wide leather belt with a gold buckle, and a light blue scarf wrapped several times around the man's neck. A rapier hangs on the man's belt, pitted and clearly in need of repair, as well as a coin purse. The coins are unlike anything any of you have seen before. They are octagonal and made of bronze with a center of polished green stone. In an inner pocket of his coat there is a small vial of syrupy amber liquid.

[HappyMerecat]

Ossian

Ossian looks at the corpse. "Looks like he might have been a pirate. Pieced together uniform and all."
"I think we should look to get to a less obvious place and hopefully one with more freedom."

Ossian pulls out his rope and grapple and looks around for a way to climb to where the other person was heard.

[Sleepy Shade]

Terry takes the bottle swirls it around a bit looking at the liquid.
"Looks like some sort of drink probably grog" He then wipes his hands off as best he can an unstops the top of the bottle. He dabs a bit of the liquid on the end of his pinky and tastes it.

I'm trying to identify by taste.
Perception check:[roll0]

[HappyMerecat]

Forgot Ossian's perception roll. 1d20+7

[HappyMerecat]

Bah [roll0]

[Bryconium]

"This place is bad luck. We should try and moving on. Maybe we can discover where we are."

[Zero_Point]

The liquid in the vial is unlike anything Terry has ever tasted and it sends a little shiver through his body.

Where exactly are you trying to grapple to?

[HappyMerecat]

Not even specifically trying to grapple anywhere. Preferable I won't need the grapple or the rope, but it seems we are trapped on a ledge/cave and I am looking for an exit that does not involve jumping into water.

[Zero_Point]

There isn't one that you can see

[HappyMerecat]

Ossian

"I don't see anyway out of here beyond the water."

[Linken]

Venla looks shocked. She's NOT going swimming there- she's only a Gnome, and Gnomes aren't really known for their swimming abilities. In fact, they don't do much swimming at all, most of them just use boats.

C-c'mon! There has to be another way.

[HappyMerecat]

Ossian

Ossian gestures with his arms to both sides, his rope and grapple still in his hands. "Take a look, maybe I missed something."

[Sleepy Shade]

"We don't all have to go at max just two of us. I can try swimming over to that thing out their see if it's a ship or something. If not well were pretty much screwed. Do any of you have some sort of swimming spell or something?"

[HappyMerecat]

Ossian

"I can swim as well."

[Sleepy Shade]

"Good" Terry takes a moment and unloads his back pack with most of his stuff only keeping his armor and weapons on him he also takes the small strange bottle unsure of it's content but hopeful that it might prove useful. He then takes a few hesitant steps into the water.

[etnom0]

Terin (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheet.html#id=872869)

"I can swim as well as seeing as I don't really have a need for weapons or armor I can assist in what ever comes our way"

Terin Lets down his staff and Looks to Velna, "can you please watch after this for me" as he hands her his backpack.

Testing the waters for temperature and depth, steep drop off or gradual, Terin wades into the water making for the shapes in the distance.

Swim Check [roll0]

[HappyMerecat]

Ossian

Ossian shrugs. "No point in us all getting wet quite yet."

[Linken]

Venla is handed the huge backpack without any warning, and tries to lift it. However, since it's full of Terin's stuff, such as seven pounds worth of rations, the hefty weight of the backpack itself, rope, a bedroll, etc, she struggles with it for a minute. She is, after all, only a Gnome, and Gnomes are also not known for their gi-GNOME-ous strength. In fact, quite the opposite. Maybe there are different gnomes where Terin lives? She didn't quite know or care enough to ask, since she'd just gotten a huge amount suddenly given to her. The backpack drops to the floor with a thud, and Venla huffs. Do I look like I can carry two backpacks at once? I'm sure it'll be fine, just leave it on the ground. She places her hands together, hoping that he'd accept her excuse.

[Zero_Point]

Slipping off the rocky ledge reveals that it drops off sharply into the water, allowing no easy decline. As Terin and Terry drop into the dark water, they find it unpleasantly warmer than they might expect from water that has never seen the warmth of the sun. However, it proves surprisingly clean, showing no signs of sediment or algae, and it is fresh water without a trace of salt. Moving through it at a steady stroke is relatively easy given it's glassy, nearly undisturbed surface, and the two manage to cover the distance to the shadowy object in good time. During the swim, the pair occasionally get the sense that something is in the water with them, though they see nothing. Terin even feels something brush past his leg, but nothing impedes their progress, and soon they are approaching the mysterious shapes.


As they draw closer to the stalagmites, the two men discover that the strange shape is indeed a ship, though one unlike anything either of them has ever seen before. Made of metal and wood, it vaguely resembles a tramp steamer, but with a distinctly Victorian construction reminiscent of something out of a Jules Vern novel, with sweeping brass fixtures and ornate filigree adorning it's hull and cabin. A pair of good size paddle wheels dominate the port and starboard hull, and a pair of short smoke stacks rises up from the rear of the ship's cabin.
http://vignette2.wikia.nocookie.net/transport-empire/images/5/54/Archimedes_cargo_steamship.png/revision/latest?cb=20151227064005

As Terin and Terry get closer, they can see that the ship appears to be stuck between two stalagmites, and a heavy chain descends from the port bow suggesting the ship's anchor is down. The chain also may provide access to the deck for the two adventurer's, or they can try to scale the hull itself (climb/strength check).

[etnom0]

Terin (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheet.html#id=872869)


Venla is handed the huge backpack without any warning, and tries to lift it. However, since it's full of Terin's stuff, such as seven pounds worth of rations, the hefty weight of the backpack itself, rope, a bedroll, etc, she struggles with it for a minute. She is, after all, only a Gnome, and Gnomes are also not known for their gi-GNOME-ous strength. In fact, quite the opposite. Maybe there are different gnomes where Terin lives? She didn't quite know or care enough to ask, since she'd just gotten a huge amount suddenly given to her. The backpack drops to the floor with a thud, and Venla huffs. Do I look like I can carry two backpacks at once? I'm sure it'll be fine, just leave it on the ground. She places her hands together, hoping that he'd accept her excuse.

Chuckling to himself Terin Smiles at the gnome ”I wasn’t expecting you to hold it or carry it. Just to keep an eye on it for me”
Swinging his arms in circles to loosen them up Terin tries to slowly wade into the water only to find that there is sharp drop and plummets into the water completely, bracing himself for a shock of cold that is typical of the waters found in caves where he is from. He is pleasantly surprised to find that the water is warm, and fresh!

Looking up to the others on the ledge he says ”Well so far so good, the water is surprisingly warm and fresh”

As he moves out towards the shape in the distance he revels in the stain of his muscles at the simple task of just swimming, until something Brushes his legs, then he stops. His mind is brought back to the task at hand as he looks around for whatever it was that had touched him, his nerves on edge now. With nothing in site he continues on towards the shapes. He glances back towards the rest of the group and realizes that he is rather far from them.

Thinking to himself ’hopefully they will be alright.’ Worried about what else might be in the caves and that thing that brushed his leg.

His curiosity peeked as he draws closer to the now identified ship ”It’s a ship of some kind”

While he is in the water he swims around the ship as much as he can disappearing from site of the others as he makes his way around looking or any other obvious signs of damage. Upon seeing the Chain leading from the ship into the water his curiosity getting the better of him as he places a hand on it and looks to Terry ”Shall we?”


Perception to look around for any other damage to the hull of the ship that can be seen from the water, or anything that might be on deck and seen from where I am. [roll0]
Climb check to head up the chain [roll1]
Stealth to be sneaky about it. [roll2]

[Sleepy Shade]

As Terry started into the water he was bit caught off guard by the sudden drop off. Momentarily submerging before coming back up sputtering and spitting the lake water out. However the warm water seemed out of place to him even in the lake the water was much cooler than this. Maybe this was all fed by hot springs or some sort of elemental deep beneath the waters. However he shook the thoughts from his head it wasn't worth thinking about at the moment and started swimming towards the boat making sure to stay near the human Terin.
Half way to the boat he thought he saw Terin pause for a second but wasn't sure.
As they came into view of the ship Terry was a little perplexed he was more familiar with ships that sailed on the Lake Carthan such as fish boats and small merchant vessels. This Paddle boat was unlike anything he had seen. It didn't have a sail so how did it move? the paddles? then what powered them? some sort of magic and what was with the odd metal masts?
”It’s a ship of some kind"
"Not like any I've seen I'm more familiar with sails. How does this thing even move"
Terin places his hand on the ship and looks to Terry ”Shall we?”
His curiosity peaked he smiles at him "After you"

I would like to aid Terin climbing up into the boat:[roll0]
Climb check:I would like to take 10 on this if it's acceptable total 18
Climb check If I can't take ten:[roll1]
Strength check:[roll2]

[Zero_Point]

Climbing the chain proves to be a fairly simple task, though Terin catches his finger in a link as he goes. It is painful but causes no lasting damage. Upon reaching the top of the chain, the two adventurers are able to lever themselves up over the rail and onto the deck of the ship where they find four large wooden crates tied down to the deck and covered by tarps made from some kind of gray material that might be shark skin. They also find three more bodies laid out on the deck, all human and dressed in similar fashion to the one back on the ledge.

A door leads into the cabin of the ship, and a set of stairs leads to a smaller wheel house above the cabin.

Back on the rock ledge the remaining two adventurers of the group wait in silence. As they stand there, staring after the two men, something ripples in the water to their left. Slowly, a long, thin antenna-like appendage rises up from beneath the glassy surface of the water, a small glowing bulb dangling from the end of it. Then a second appears a few feet from the first. They resemble the lures of angler fish, and they bob above the water enticingly. Make a Will Save

[etnom0]

Upon jamming his finger on the chain of the anchor Terin gasp in a brief pain and shakes his hand once he gets to the deck of the ship, a look of frustration on his face. Terry can see him almost stick it in his mouth before giving it a second thought. Quickly he crouches down and surveys the area, taking in the three other bodies on deck and looking around for what could have caused this calamity.

Perception [roll0]

Whispering ”Terry I’m going to check them real quick” Motioning to the bodies on the deck.

Concern on his mind first and foremost, safety second. Eyeballing the stairs and the door for movement. Slowly inching to the bodies trying to stay as low as possible, his nerves a mixture of excitement for something new and fear of something that could possibly kill 3 people imagine what it could do to him and this Terry guy. At least he seemed to be familiar with ships, maybe it’s not a total loss.

Getting to the bodies Terin investigates them for life first and foremost and if none seem to be present then he continues on to checking for possible cause of death.

[Zero_Point]

There are no signs of anything moving on the ship or any form of threat. The bodies are most definitely dead, and by their arrangement on the deck, it looks like two of them were back stabbed while on watch. The third shows signs of a struggle with an attacker, with defensive wounds on his hands and arms, and looks to have died from a stab to his neck. The two bodies that look to have been killed while on guard wear rapiers similar to the one found on the body in the water, and it looks like they never got the chance to draw them. They each have small coin pouches containing more of the odd coins found on the first body. the third body has a cutlass clenched in a death grip, and a ring with three keys on it dangling from his belt. He also has a coin purse with significantly more coin than the others (The group now has a total of 47 of the strange coins made of bronze and jade)

[Linken]

Venla hesitates for a moment as she spots the strange, glowing (presumably angler-fish) thing. She knew better than to go and investigate big, glowing fish in the middle of some dank cave. Deep down, she knew that there'd be Bad Stuff happening if she decided to go along with it... so she half-heartedly resists, walking over just a little bit. If all else failed and she couldn't resist, she could always blank her memory and try again, as well as do it with her friend, too. Uhhh... This is a very weird feeling, you feeling it too, Ossie? She can't believe she just made that nickname up on the spot. She steps away a little bit, though, cautiously.


[roll0] Will save- please be good!

[Sleepy Shade]

As Terry helps the man up the chain he hears him give a short gasp. Probably pinched his finger between the links he thinks no matter as long as he isn't bleedin it should be alright. As the human goes over the rail Terry quickly climbs up after him climbing aboard just as Terin is about to put his finger into his mouth. Terry just shrugs not judging Terin for anything he had injuries to his hand many time over the years and they all hurt no matter what any salt beard said.

However as he looks over the deck and spots the bodies he curses. "Not bad enough we've been standed not we got some sort of corpse ship to deal with. Ourang Medan." After he says the last words he spits overboard.
Whispering ”Terry I’m going to check them real quick” Terin motions towards the bodies

Terry however gets ready for any sort of fight that might happen. He unties the iron claw from his belt and puts it on his left hand. He had gotten it back in Demeter from a weapon sales man just back from eastern lands.It had been a great tool and weapon for Terry he hoped he wouldn't need it.

As Terin looked over the bodies Terry decided to look into the wheel house maybe they had some way to control the ship in there. He ascends tha stairs hearing the ship creek a bit underneath his weight. At the top before he inspects the Wheel house he walks over to one of the strange metal pipes. He had been on a ship or two where the fire in the kitchen had it's own small smoke stack but these surpassed those no question. He knocks on one of them with his knuckle hearing a hollow sound.

His curiosity mosly satisfied he walks back over to the door of the wheel house and opens it slowly from the side. No telling what sort of defenses they had and with the crew dead he wasn't about to assume the poor soul out on that barren rock was the murderer until he knew for sure nobody else was on board. He waits for a second and then peers into the wheel house.


Out of character is the chimney hot or cold?

[etnom0]

As Terin rifles through the bodies he begins to worry with the possibility of someone who is able to take out 3 people on their own ship. Or was it their ship? Were they thieves? No that couldn’t be one of them had key on them. ’what’s with these strange coins?’ he thinks to himself as he attaches the belt pouch to his belt and takes the keys. Looking around for Terry, he slowly moves over to the boxes to examine them before finally heading up the stairs to find Terry, keys in hand.

”found these on one of the bodies down there, looks like two of them were taken by surprise but the third, the one who had the keys, he fought whatever it was that did this.” He says as he holds up the keys for Terry to look at. The man seemed to be at ease on the ship almost as if he had been on one before. ”do you recognize anything here? I’ve never been on a ship before so I don’t really know what to look for. What should I be looking for?”

[HappyMerecat]

Ossian

Ossian spots the strange thing in the water. "Feeling?" Ossian is used to nicknames and does not even blink. He is more curious than scared, and is about to shout a friendly warning about something in the water when ...

Will Save [roll0]

[Zero_Point]

The smoke stacks are cold to the touch, though they still show signs of soot near the upper edges. When Terry tries the door to the wheel house he finds it locked, but it is a problem solved a moment later when Terin arrives with the ring of keys. One of them does indeed unlock the wheel house door, allowing the two men entrance to the small room. Three walls of the room are filled almost entirely by windows that give a good view of the ship and the waters beyond, while the fourth wall shows an impressive chart of an unknown sea spotted here and there by islands, some tiny and other appearing miles across. The chart shows large caverns of open water, smaller caverns filled with forests of stalagmites, and narrow river tunnels twisting and turning through a stranger underground land. A low table sits beneath the chart and it's surface is littered with half completed maps and charts that seem to show more detail than the primary chart.

The ship's helm is located in this room facing out toward the bow of the ship and consists of a twelve spoke wooden wheel, a brass lever that appears to be marked with increments of speed, and a strange glass orb that appears to be a compass-like device, but is not marked by the standard directions, but rather several strange symbols.

The strange angler-like bulbs continue to dance and bob above the water, but Ossian and Venla are able to shake off the hypnotic effect they seem to have. When they don't venture into the water to investigate, the water ripples and two pairs of eye stalks supporting beady black eyes rise up beside the angler-bulbs to gaze at the pair in silence. the creatures show no more of their forms above the water, but simple seem to regard the adventurers.

Your vision is blurred, but slowly comes into focus as the mists that surrounded you seem to dissipate and clear away. When you are able to see again you are standing alone on a tiny island of rock surrounded on all sides by deep, green-black water. At your feet, a rough satchel appears to have washed up on your tiny island. Not far off in the darkness you can make out the shape of a strange ship resting between stalagmites, and a pair of dark figures are moving around on the deck.

[Linken]

Venla looks over the two anglery-like creatures, and kneels down, getting even shorter. She wouldn't get too close- she was curious, not stupid- and she clears her throat a few times. Tapping into her race's innate affinity with nature and being able to speak with animals (if briefly), she'd talk. She assumed they were animals, anyway. They might be other weird things! Like... um. Fish. Big, humanoid fish with fuzzy wigglers. But if they had fuzzy wigglers, doesn't that mean they're mammals? She had no idea. She offers a little smile to the two things and starts speaking clearly to them, not condescendingly or... anything, really! Except upbeat. ALWAYS upbeat!~

Hiya! I'm Venla, I'm new around here, what is this place?

[Rokku]

"Bloody hell," says Kailey. She rubs her eyes to make sure everything is real, then starts searching through the satchel at her feet.

"Damnable fae, snatching up a girl when she's in her cups..."

[etnom0]

Feeling at loss as to what to do Terin looks about the room nervously, not sure what means what or for that matter what it all does. The Foreign symbols and odd maps do little to placate his uneasiness. Having never been on a ship before much less one that was on the water at the time he just tries to focus on the gentle lapse of the water on the hull of the vessel. ’guess I’m going to have a lot to learn’ he thinks to himself.

”Terry I hope some of this stuff looks at least a little familiar to you” Looking hopefully to his new companion. He glances back out the window toward the rest of his new found friends.

Not one to mope about he lets his curiosity get the better of him. ”Hey, I’m going to look about a bit, maybe see whats holding up this thing against the rocks and what’s in the room below.”

Terin Heads out of the cabin and back to the main deck taking care to investigate the crates on deck, looking over the side at the rocks next to the ship to see if there is any damage or lines holding the ship in place and finally below decks looking for any other people or goods that might be on the ship.


Perception checks for what I want to do. Not sure how many you are going to want so I will add a few along with a stealth check. Terin doesn’t quite know what or who else could be on the ship so he is being careful.
Perception= [roll0], [roll1], [roll2], [roll3].
Stealth= [roll4]

[Sleepy Shade]

Terry looks over the strange maps and compass familiar if strange. The lever however interests him clearly this was a ship built very differently from what he was used to but he would in due time learn it like all the ones he had been on before he thought to himself.
”Terry I hope some of this stuff looks at least a little familiar to you” Terry grins
"Most of this I have encountered before but I'm pretty sure this ship ain't like nothing I've been on before." He points to the lever. "It might take a bit but I think I can get a handle on it."
”Hey, I’m going to look about a bit, maybe see whats holding up this thing against the rocks and what’s in the room below.”
"I'll come with you maybe if I can figure out how this thing sail with out sails I'll be able to drive it. We better hurry up anyhow no telling whats out in these waters and the others must be getting antsy" Terry takes one last look around the cabin before coming down with Terin.

As Terin investigates the rocks Terry looks over the edge and sees if theirs any way to hoist the anchor. Afterwords he follows Terin's lead and investigates the cabin with him.


Sailor checks to Identify and understand the equipment on board [roll0]
Separate check to understand the maps and compass [roll1]
Perception check looking over the boat [roll2]

[HappyMerecat]

Ossian

Ossian blinks and points at the odd creatures hand moving reflexively to his daggers.
"Um ... be careful there are things in the water and I suspect they are not exactly benign. I think they tried to drawn me into the water."
Ossian looks at Venla confused. "Somehow I would not trust anything they might ...say."

[Zero_Point]

Opening the satchel reveals a water logged, leather bound book, a brass spyglass and two small vials of strange, syrupy, amber colored liquid. Opening the book reveals it to be a journal of some kind, apparently kept by a sailor. Most of the entries are dull and typical of what one might expect from a bored sailor on a cargo ship, but as they go on, they become more and more erratic. One entry that seems to be from roughly a week ago reads:

Damn the captain. It isn't bad enough to take on dangerous cargo, but to risk a short cut through uncharted waters is just foolish. Perhaps we'll avoid imperium patrols, but the risk of running a ground in shallows or encountering scavver crabs is too high for my liking. I'm all for running Exudate to the out ports, but in this quantity? I've seen Niles eyeing the crates since we took them on. No doubt he'll try to get his hands on some, damn addict. I'll have to keep a close watch on him. In the mean time, these uncharted caverns give me the creeps. Their too dark, and I feel like something is watching us...

The following entries read much the same until the finale entry which is written in a shaking script, as if the writer could not hold his quill steady:

So dark...I can see them...hear them...Grinning...Weeping...Devouring...Dreaming.. .all forgotten...forgotten...forgotten...

There are no further entries.

The crates on the deck of the ship are nailed closed. All except for one of them which has a corner pried up. Looking inside, the two adventurers see dozens, possibly hundreds or neatly packed vials of syrupy amber liquid. Each one is wrapped in cloth and placed so as not to be jarred or broken. It is easy to see that several of the vials are missing from the empty spaces. The crates themselves are each marked by a lantern symbol branded onto the wood.

A check over the bow of the ship reveals that it is resting between two large stalagmites, but does not seem to be too badly wedged in, and there are no signs of serious damage to the hull. The anchor chain runs up from the water through a hole in the rail and winds around a large crank wheel. It looks like it is designed in such a way that one person should be able to raise the anchor without too much effort.

The cabin door, like the wheel house, is locked, but the key is easily located on the ring that Terin found. Pushing the door open reveals a room slightly larger than the wheel house and made to serve more as a crew quarters. The port and starboard walls are dominated by six small bunks, three on each side, and a table is bolted to the middle of the floor. The top of the table is littlered with playing cards, dice, empty glasses, and a half full bottle of what smells like ale or grog. The stern wall of the cabin is set with six narrow metal lockers, only four of which seem to have been in use, containing spare clothes and boots. In one corner of the floor is a small hatch that looks just big enough for a medium size person to fit through and it leads below the deck.

In the hold of the ship the two adventurers find a strange device that dominates the space. It is an impressive amalgamation of iron, brass and bronze, with dozens of green crystal lenses surrounding a smooth sphere of blue-green marble. Something resembling a burner and boiler are set near the center of the contraption, but there is no apparent place for fuel.

At Venla's words, the creatures rise slowly up and glide closer to the rocky ledge she and Ossian are standing on. They appear to be giant crabs, each easily bigger than the little gnome, and they continue to stare at the adventurers with black, emotionless eyes. Then words seem to bubble from them, repeating over and over, "Food. Food. Food." the two giant crabs, their shells appearing a sickly yellow in the light of the sunrod, snap their claws as they advance on the rocky ledge. But they don't seem to be attacking, more like they are searching.

[Sleepy Shade]

At the sight of the strange device Terry exhales with a frustrated sigh.
"I don't have a clue how this thing is supposed to work I guess we just have to trust it has some fuel in it." Terry gets close to the burner and boiler seeing if their on or not. If neither is on he to the best of his ability turns them on.
After that Terry tells Terin "I'm gonna go up to the wheel house and try to drive this thing maybe that switch can turn this thing on. Can you raise the anchor? We won't get far if the anchors down".
He then goes back up to the wheel house. He first see's if the wheel turns the paddle wheels or not after that he waits for Terin to raise the anchor trying to decipher the Lever and the strange compass. He also tries to see if their is any mark on the maps that might indicate their current position.

[Linken]

Venla backs away for a moment, checking out the crablike creatures for a sec. Wow. They seem neat, if deadly. She'd reach out a hand to pet the crab, but decides against it. Didn't want to get, uh, 'specially petted' by those huge claws. Or just eaten in general. She wishes she was as good with support spells as those fully-fledged wizards. Oh well... she must be able to get some of it done soon, right? Meh. She REALLY wants to pet them. Nahhhh. She respectfully backs away, speaking once more in a polite tone. Um, surely there's food elsewhere? For example... over there! She points in the general direction behind the crabs. Man, she hoped that worked, but sadly she'd lose out on the opportunity to pet them. Better than getting eaten, she supposes. Stretching just a bit, the gnome eagerly awaits a response.


[roll0]
Rolling to bluff the crabs to get them to go away.

[etnom0]

The crates on the deck of the ship are nailed closed. All except for one of them which has a corner pried up. Looking inside, the two adventurers see dozens, possibly hundreds or neatly packed vials of syrupy amber liquid. Each one is wrapped in cloth and placed so as not to be jarred or broken. It is easy to see that several of the vials are missing from the empty spaces. The crates themselves are each marked by a lantern symbol branded onto the wood.

A check over the bow of the ship reveals that it is resting between two large stalagmites, but does not seem to be too badly wedged in, and there are no signs of serious damage to the hull. The anchor chain runs up from the water through a hole in the rail and winds around a large crank wheel. It looks like it is designed in such a way that one person should be able to raise the anchor without too much effort.

The cabin door, like the wheel house, is locked, but the key is easily located on the ring that Terin found. Pushing the door open reveals a room slightly larger than the wheel house and made to serve more as a crew quarters. The port and starboard walls are dominated by six small bunks, three on each side, and a table is bolted to the middle of the floor. The top of the table is littlered with playing cards, dice, empty glasses, and a half full bottle of what smells like ale or grog. The stern wall of the cabin is set with six narrow metal lockers, only four of which seem to have been in use, containing spare clothes and boots. In one corner of the floor is a small hatch that looks just big enough for a medium size person to fit through and it leads below the deck.

In the hold of the ship the two adventurers find a strange device that dominates the space. It is an impressive amalgamation of iron, brass and bronze, with dozens of green crystal lenses surrounding a smooth sphere of blue-green marble. Something resembling a burner and boiler are set near the center of the contraption, but there is no apparent place for fuel.

As Terin walks through the cabin door and notices the table BOLTED to the floor he stops to look at it a little closer wondering if it is a mistake, after a moment of looking and glancing back at Terry seeing that he doesn’t make anything of it he shrugs and looks at the other things in the room. Noticing the cards on the table he picks a few of them up to see if they look the same as where he comes from.

After that he wanders over to the four lockers that are seemingly in use ’four lockers yet only two bodies?’ Thinking as he searches through the things looking for some clue as to where he might be or anything that might be of use. As Terry heads through the small hatch in the floor Terin Quickly falls into step behind him, not wanting to get separated partly for his own lack of knowledge and partly due to strength in numbers. That and Terry at least has some clue as to what it is that we are looking at.

Stepping into the room under the cabin is no less confusing for Terin.’huh more strange stuff to follow the strange stuff, on top of other strange stuff……at least I can chalk it up to a learning experience. Going to have to keep a journal of all the things I find’ Terin thinks to himself at the sight of the odd device. He can at least appreciate the smoothness of the marble, it’s peaceful, free of turbulence and has a calming effect on him. As Terry goes to feel for a temperature Terin looks around the walls and room for anything that might resemble a lever or instructions of some kind.

When he is towards the back of the room he hears Terry telling him that he is going upstairs and wondering if Terin could go and try to raise the Anchor. ”Um, sure no problem. Shouldn’t be too hard right” he calls out in answer and heads out to the top decks to try and raise the anchor when Terry signals he is ready. Grateful for the simple task that he knows he can accomplish.


Perception roll for searching the lockers [roll0]
Perception roll for searching the engine room [roll1]
Strength check for raising the Anchor if necessary [roll2]

[Rokku]

"Well that's bloody horrifying," says Kailey, shuddering as she puts the journal back in the bag. Slinging the satchel over her shoulder she heads for the dark ship, whistling a tune to try and settle her nerves.

It wasn't helping much. This wasn't like any part of faerie she'd ever heard of.

[HappyMerecat]

Ossian

Despite himself Ossian recoils a little at the sight of the crab creatures advance onto the shore. He is somewhat torn between simply backing away or helping the gnome that invited them up on shore. He draws his rapier and one of his hidden daggers.
"We are not food," he suggests simply hoping that they will just leave.
"I am considering using a tone, slightly less polite, if they do anything but leave."

[Zero_Point]

A search of the lockers does not turn up anything interesting. The cards on the table are similar to normal playing cards and seem unremarkable. The strange device in the hold doesn't seem to have any clear on or off switches or level, and both the burner and boiler are cold to the touch. Nothing Terin or Terry do makes any change to the device that dominates the hold of the ship, and there is nothing on any of the walls that can offer any instructions for it's use.

Back up on deck, the anchor crank is a complex design of counter gears that pulls the chain up slowly as Terin pushes the crank in a circle. The chain drips water onto the deck as it is coiled around the crank's drum, until finally after several minutes there is a rush of water and Terin feels the strain on the chain relax as the anchor pulls out of the water. However, when he glances over the rail to see it, there is something attached to the anchor. It appears to be a slender female body draped over the hook of the anchor, but it is covered head to toe by one of the shark skin tarps and bound with rope.

In the wheel house, Terry finds that nothing has changed, and the level beside the wheel does nothing. Turning the wheel produces no visible change, but it's likely it controls a rudder that is beneath the surface of the water.


Kailey takes only a few steps before coming tot he edge of the tiny rock she is standing on and is confronted by the glassy surface of the water. The ship she can make out in the darkness is a good thirty feet away with no path to it other than through the water.

The large crabs continue to advance onto the rocky ledge, occasionally snapping their giant claws. Their black eyes are emotionless as they stare at the pair of adventurers, and the angler lures sprouting from their heads bob and dance as they move. they show no sign of listening to either Venla or Ossian, and continue to bubble the word food over and over again. They don't come across as particularly hostile or aggressive, but neither do they show any sign of stopping or going back into the water

[etnom0]

"Terry we have another body here! Terin shouts as he locks the handle back into the stowed position. Anxious energy fill his steps as he carefully moves around the water that is now on the..."Deck?...."Floor"..... Whatever it is now. Once clear of the immediate threat to his possible pride he runs to the side to get the body off the anchor if possible, who would attach some one to an anchor? he wonders as he looks over the body covered in the odd material, and what is with everyone's fascination with shark skin? Putting the thoughts into the back of his head for a later moment in time Terin focus's on the body of slender female once he gets it back on the deck of the ship. Gently looking for a method of unwrapping this waterlogged thing.


heal check to inspect the body. [roll0]
giving it a once over for anything of use [roll1]

[Sleepy Shade]

Terry was getting a bit frustrated at all the dead ends they had been hitting. The strange device in the bowls of the ship didn't seem to offer any clues to it's abilities or how it worked. The crew all lay dead and apparently assassinated by someone or something. And try as he might the only bit he could understand the wheel house didn't seem to have any more controls or secrets he could ferret out. He knew that machine in the hold was some sort of power source for the paddles but as far as he could tell in working order. Either it was out of fuel and he had no way of knowing how to refuel it or it was missing some vital piece.
As he watched Terin pull up the anchor he pulled out the small bottle they had found on the corpse and then he remembered that the box they found on deck. That had been pried open with some sort of torch symbol on it. Was this some sort of fuel? Or could the device merely be in an off state? was it controlled with the crystals? Deciding he would try an tinker with the device he steps out of the cabin only to hear Terin shout "Terry we have another body here!"
Another One!? What in blazes is going on around here? Terry descend the steps and helps Terin pull the water logger body on board.
As Terin starts inspecting the corpse Terry tells him "don't undo the binding something about this ain't right."

[HappyMerecat]

Ossian

Ossian shifts his position to the side in preparation to flank and then raises his arms to look as big as possible and shout, "Back off before I make YOU food!"

Intimidation [roll0]

[Zero_Point]

The shark skin tarp is only loosely bound around the female body, and a light tug on a couple of the ropes causes it to fall off without much effort. What it reveals is not what either Terry or Terin were expecting. It is indeed a female body beneath the tarp, but not one of flesh and blood. Instead, it appears to be an amazing creation of pure, milky white crystal sculpted in such fine detail that it looks as though it might come to life at any moment. The form resembles an elven woman with fair, delicate features and hair cut short along her jawline. The figure is smooth and flawless, and the only part of her that is not made of crystal is a thumb size marble sphere set into a sculpted crystal pendant around her neck. This sphere appears to be made from the same blue-green marble as the sphere set into the device in the hold of the ship.

Ossian's attempt to intimidate the crabs seems to fall on deaf ears, as the creatures continue to advance without even a hesitation. It's possible they don't even understand what he is saying. however, when he moves to the side, the lead crab darts past him and descends on the corpse that was laying behind him. The second crab quickly follows and the pair begin to tear at the dead body, stuffing bits into their maws with the smaller of their two claws. They show no further interest in the pair of adventurers as they feast on carrion.

[Linken]

Venla seems to huff once more, folding her arms as she looks up at Ossian. Last I checked, ya goofy doofy, I'm the only one who can talk to animals here. She watches the crabs skitter off with interest... but as soon as they start scrounging and consuming the corpse, she winces. Ouch... She'd rather not watch it, but she'd rather not be blindsided either. Shifting what little weight there was on her from foot to foot, she'd step back and keep an eye on the two crabs. Sure, it was just how nature was going, circle of life and all that, but it was just sad that she couldn't do anything about it. Ah well. She stares out in the distance where Terry and Terin disappeared to worriedly. Hnn. When'll they come baaack?

[Sleepy Shade]

"Well now I wasn't expecting that." As Terry looks the strange statue over he is confused as why anyone would throw something like this overboard. Probably wasn't cursed or at least served some sort of purpose if they attached it to the anchor was it hidden for a reason. He decided to test out a little theory he had. he walks over to the statues head and kneels down he taps it on the forehead.
"He you stone woman you awake?" If no response he decided to to investigate the strange stone and presses down on it hoping to activate it or get some sort of response.

[etnom0]

"Sorry Terry, it just kinda came off"

looking at the female figure once the tarp fell away, Terin stumbles backwards a little shocked to see a crystalline Golem laying before him. Only has he ever heard of stories of this mystical creations and never did he think that they were true. He glances up at terry quickly to see if he is just as panicked...

When the thing fails to move it bolsters Terin's courage by a bit, at least it seems to be inert. slowly he gets to his feet, giving the thing a closer look. Hesitantly he reaches out to touch it and see what it feels like. Curiosity getting the better of him, after all this is what getting out of the monastery is all about right. New experiences! "It doesn't seem to be alive, or awake, or what ever it would be...Active? Besides it doesn't look like there is much of anything around out here, yes I think that there is something funny going on around here but we have to find answers and look," As he points to the pendant that is resting against the things chest. Gently picking up the thing to take a closer look at it. "it's the same as the thing in that lower room isn't it?"

[Rokku]

Kailey considers the foreboding waters, then picks up a stone and tries chucking it in to see what happens. Hopefully, nothing does.

The last thing she needs is to wade in and get snatched by angry sea critters, after all.

[HappyMerecat]

Ossian

Ossian looks at Venla with a look of disbelief. Can she really talk to animals? He shrugs. so many weird things have happened and he has heard of such things, why not?

"I was not really trying to talk to them as much as scare them with my tone."

[Zero_Point]

The rock Kailey throws makes a fairly loud splash that echos in the darkness of the cavern, but stirs up nothing from the deep. The water's seem still and quiet, with no signs of anything lurking beneath the surface nearby. She can also tell that the water is warm, fresh, and strangely clean, with no signs of sediment or salt.

The two crabs continue to feast on the corpse, slowly dragging it off of the rocky ledge and into the water where they are obviously more comfortable. Suddenly a splash echos from somewhere in the direction of the ship, as if something heavy fell into the water.


The amulet around the crystal figure's neck is part of the sculpture and can not be removed. The sphere of smooth marble is a separate piece, but is also impossible to remove from the figure without breaking the crystal is is set in. Pushing, pulling or otherwise handling the sphere of marble produces no results. Both Terry and Terin get the distinct feeling that some magical know-how is needed to unravel the mysteries of this ship.

(Something I forgot to mention in my initial description of the ship is that there is a small lifeboat hanging from the stern)

[Rokku]

Kailey lets out a held breath when basically nothing happens.

"Well alright then. Lets go."

She wades into the water and makes for the boat.

[etnom0]

Looking at Terry "Well right now I don't think that we are going to be able to get anything done, However we could use that life raft to get back to the others and get them all here. Depending on the size of it we could all go at once or one of us stay here to make the trip back and forth."

Confused at the complete way that this Golem was created and looking over the joints to see how it would move as it looks more like a statue.

Heading over to the life raft he starts to look around to find ways of making it drop to the water, as well as what it has inside, oars? more odd machinery? Sails?


Perception check to investigate the life boat [roll0]

[Zero_Point]

An examination of the crystalline elf figure reveals no obvious joints, but there are a number of very fine lines along the body and limbs of the sculpture that might be seams.

The life boat is easy to drop from the back of the ship, supported as it is by two ropes attached to cranks. It is lowered to the water through a team effort, one man on the deck, and one in the boat operating the pulley system. the boat appears sea worthy, and it is operated by a simple pair of oars and a strong back. The life boat is big enough for one rower and up to three passengers to sit comfortably.

Slipping into the water Kailey swims toward the ship with little effort. She approaches just in time to see two men lowering a life boat into the water from the stern of the ship. One appears to be human, the other is half-orc.

[Rokku]

People! She'd been half-worried they'd end up being monsters of some kind, but no, just plain old-fashioned people. Thank the prophets! She waits for them to finish lowering the lifeboat, then pops her head up over the side.

Hello boys," she says, pausing to bat her eyes and flip her drenched rainbow of hair, "care to help a poor lost girl out?"

[Sleepy Shade]

Terry looks over at the Life boat a bit small but it should hold everyone he thinks. If you don't mind I'll row it over there and bring them back.
With help from Terin it the lifeboats decent is very smooth. Terry drops down into the boat when he suddenly hears a female voice.
"Hello boys, "care to help a poor lost girl out?" Terry looks around in confusion he had thought everyone on board was dead was this a survivor. Where was the voice coming from? Finally he located the owner of the voice a woman in the water with strange rainbow hair.
His better nature getting the best of him he holds a hand for the woman to help her climb aboard.
If she takes his hand and climbs abord he has two questions "Who are you and are you part of the crew of this boat?"

[Rokku]

Kailey offers Terry a bright smile as he helps her up out of the water.

"Name's Kailey, and I'm afraid I haven't a clue what happened to the crew of this old boat. I just woke up on that little rock over there, no clue how I got here. You lot experience something similar?"

[Sleepy Shade]

Terry frowns a bit at her explanation but he decides his story is no better. "Pretty much the same really." He pauses and looks Terin "Hey let her on board and I'll come back with the others." He turns back to Kailey "Right now where in a bit of a tight spot and I don't know whats going on right now but first thing we need to do is get out of here don't want to spend any more time here than I have to.
After he helps Kailey aboard he takes both paddles and begins to row towards the other hoping nothing has happened to them. He gives a brief thought to the odd events that sent him here but pushes them from his mind focusing on the task at hand.

[Linken]

Venla looks out in the distance to the strange mass her friends had disappeared off to, worriedly. The crabs just ate the corpses and not the two adventurers here, thank goodness, but nobody but the gods themselves know how the thing actually died in the first place. She couldn't swim and she didn't want to trouble Ossian, so she just needed to wait, right? Just needed to wait and hope to gosh that nothing ever happens. Fidgeting and trying not to think of the lost sailor, the little gnome gives an equally little smile to her compatriot next to her, before trying her best to Detect any Magic around the area. There's probably tonnes! Or none at all. She didn't quite know but it'd be nice to know at least what might be around. She also makes sure that she looks over in the distance near the mass to check every so often if her friends are swimming back.


Casting Detect Magic cantrip

[etnom0]

Terin looks up from the crank that he was working when he hears the new voice....um that's definitely a live person, I thought that the group was going to wait for us he thinks to himself before Terry walks over to the side to find another person, one he hasn't seen before, as Terry hauls her on deck.

"Sure thing Terry. Hello Kailey, I'm Terin" He says as he nods to the woman just brought up. Once he is able to see Terry off the ship safely he goes about cleaning up the deck mainly moving the bodies that were left there to a more out of the way area. Having the bodies just laying there un-nerves him a little, he's not used to seeing dead bodies just hanging about and the fact that he is in an unknown cave just irks him a bit more. Once he has the bodies safely out of the way he moves over to get the shark skin tarp that was covering the lady/statue/golem/whatevertheheck that thing is and uses it to cover the bodies up.

"sorry about the mess but we just kinda stumbled upon this situation. Know anything about boats?" he says over his shoulder to Kailey.

[Rokku]

Kailey glances at the covered bodies and makes a yucky face.

"Those boys had a bad night, yeah? Nice to meet you, Terin and uh... I know boats are how you get from place to place on the water? I know disappointingly little about seafaring, really."

[etnom0]

"Meh...it's ok you're in the same boat I am I guess then. I have never been on a boat before and while I know what they are for I have no clue as to how one would work." Terin says with a shrug. The gentle rocking of the ship puts him at ease for a little bit before he gets back to work making sure that the bodies are well covered and goes about a more in depth investigation of the deck since Terry is in the life raft and heading back for the others.

"that one there is about the only thing that is different, Where I come from it would be called a Golem but here...." Giving a shrug while pointing to the Female figure that was previously covered."who knows."

He seems to be easy going while giving Kailey a once over taking a look at her for the first time.

[Zero_Point]

Venla can not detect any magic from this distance coming from the direction her new companions went.

Terry finds that rowing the life boat across the glassy surface of the water is relatively easy, and it only takes him a few minutes to collect Venla and Ossian from the rocky ledge and return with them to the ship. With the aid of Terin and Kailey, the group is able to reattach the life boat to the ropes at the stern of the ship and haul it back out of the water and secure it back in it's place. At last the group is reunited on the deck of the strange ship. As they congregate and exchange information, dozens of dancing, bobbing angler lights begin to appear in the water around the ship. slowly closing in. (Everyone make will saves)

[etnom0]

Will power save [roll0]

[HappyMerecat]

Ossian

Ossian watches the crabs eat the corpse and hopes they dislike fresh meat, but maintains a guarded stance.

When he hears the splash he fears the worst and considers shouting out, but who knows what else that might bring. It would be nice if something would work for the better rather than adding to the fear of being here in general.

When the skiff arrives Ossian lets out a sigh of relief and sheaths his weapons and hops in the boat silently. On arrival they exchange descriptions about when happen then more lures arrive.

"Isn't this just typical."

Will save [roll0]

[Linken]

Venla notes the bobbing lights and hesitates. She soooo badly wants to pet them, but also wants to live. Hmmmm. She didn't know what to do, honestly, but she gladly hopped onto the boat. Swimming was bad for you when you're tiny. Smiling to the others calmly, she TRIES to divert her attention AWAY from the crabs. Mind-affecting things were NOT NICE in her mind. Maybe they WOULD be nice? Who knows.

[roll0]

[Zero_Point]

Terry, Ossian and Venla all feel a warm, cloudy sensation fall over their senses as they stare down at the bobbing lights on the water's surface. As one they turn toward the rails of the ship and begin to walk toward them, each one suddenly thinking what a wonderful idea it would be to jump into the water and sink below the surface. Only Kailey remains unaffected by the lights, and retains her senses as she watches her new companions make for the railings to throw themselves overboard.

[Sleepy Shade]

Terry looks over at the glowing lights and thinks It would be nice to go for a swim and starts walking towards the edge of the boat.

[Linken]

Venla feels herself getting pulled to the ledge. She didn't want to do it, but it'd be so nice... She casts Memory Lapse on herself to make her forget ever about wanting to go near the ledge, unless she was already in. She seems to look disoriented. The warm feeling was still there, but she doesn't try to go overboard.


Casting Memory Lapse if that's possible. Causes her to forget what happened in the last six seconds.

[HappyMerecat]

Ossian

Ossian remembers being repulsed by the crab-thinks, but can't for the life of him can't understand why. He walks towards the warm, inviting waters.

[Rokku]

"Oi what're you all... oi!"

Confused by her newfound companions' sudden zombie-like state, Kailey grabs the nearest person and tries to shake them out of it.

[Zero_Point]

Kailey grabs hold of Terry as he makes for the railing, and Venla manages to cast a quick spell that blanks her mind and releases her from the mesmerizing effect of the crabs lights, Ossian is less fortunate and tumbles over the railing into the water below with a loud splash. The shock of the water rushing over him is enough to snap him out of the trance, however, before the crabs are upon him.

Ossian draws his dagger as the heavy bulk of a crab closes the distance to him. He turns in the water, barely managing to avoid getting caught by one large claw, and he strikes back, driving the point of his dagger into a seam in the crustacean's tough shell. The creature makes a squealing sound as yellowish ichor oozes from the wound into the water. Pressing his advantage, Ossian dives beneath the crab and drives his dagger up into it's soft underbelly, cutting the crab open from end to end.

Up on deck, the rest of the group watches as crabs clamber up the hull and over the rails, snapping their claws at the adventurers menacingly. Venla scrambles backward as three of the giant crabs scuttle toward her in a tight pack, reaching for the small gnome with their dripping claws. Letting out a little screech she raises her hands in rapid gestures and downs one of them with electricity, making the crab jerk and spasm uncontrollably, flailing with it's heavy claws and striking the other two, making them stumble and shy away.

An especially large crab with barnacles growing across it's shell thumbs a large, hammer-like claw on the deck, cracking the wood, and charges at Terry. It swings and strikes the half-orc in the side, knocking the wind from his lungs, and he can already feel a bruise forming. In retaliation the big half-orc grabs hold of the claw the struck him and hammers a fist down at the joint. The crab screeches as the joint snaps and the claw comes free in his grasp. The big creature snaps with it's remaining claw, catching only clothing as Terry drops the severed claw and drives his boot into the beasts face, covering his boot in ichor and dropping the crab to the deck.

Kailey draws her cutlass as a pair of crabs close on her and she grins. A quick back step and leap and she is on the railing, balancing on the narrow beam and sprinting across. She leaps down behind one of the crabs and slashes, her blade scraping harmlessly across it's hard shell. The second crab turns to strike, but the nimble swashbuckler dances out of the way, bring her cutlass around to slice the offending claw free. the two crabs flank her and begin to snap at her, but she expertly twists and dodges, dancing back and forth between them and cutting deep lines into their shells. she takes a few painful nips to her legs, but manages to worry the pair of them down until they sink to the deck, dead.

Encountering more resistance than they had expected, the remaining crabs retreat into the water. They disappear beneath the surface and in moments all is silent once again.

[Sleepy Shade]

Terry full of rage walks over to the railing and yells at the retreating crab creatures.
"YOU BETTER GET YOU BUNCH"A OVERGROWN POTLUCK DINNERS! COME UP AGAIN I"LL BOIL YA ALIVE! No good scavs!" Terry throws a few more insults at them before calming down and walks over to the flagpole clutching his side. He had taken a pretty good hit to his side from the claw. It was most likely bruising but better safe than sorry. He would have to take a look at it soon. He looked over at the other most of them had come out with barely a scratch himself and Kailey being the exceptions.
"So can any one tell me how we start this thing I don't want to have to fight any more giant crabs today."

[Linken]

Venla immediately makes sure the crab she zapped was dead by giving it a light kick, before listening to the raginng Terry. Oh dear. She sighs, shrugging her shoulders at the last question he asked as she looks over the distance, trying to spot any measurement or tract of land. She just seems frustrated, and it shows on her agitated movements. She did not WANT to kill the crabs, but she had no choice. They lured her friends in and tried to EAT her. Unacceptable.


[roll0] Perception

spotting land or anything in the distance.

[HappyMerecat]

Ossian

Ossian picks himself up. "Well, that was fun."
He looks around for something to wipe his dagger on.
"Let's not do it again."