Burning Skies Of Liberty IC

[Ruess]

.............................................

[Ruess]

Aboard Delirium
Midnight Festivities

The drinks flow easily, music fills the air and mood is high. You, the airborne mounted officers of Delirium, are among the important persons invited by the captain into his cabin to celebrate yet another sunk war ship while the cre let loose across the breath and width of the ship herself.

There in the neatly decorated quarters where the captain makes his lair and plots whatever nefarious thought lead you to raid would-be tyrants, you found a festive feast laid ready and an invitation to be merry in good company while the moon shines on you across the clear skies. With the ship creaking underneath your feet, the table lit by candles and chandeliers hovering by chains, the music from distance joins the melody of groaning wood and the chattering of the high-spirited persons.

With you are the captain, who is just about to raise a toast, the doctor of the ship, the First Mate, the head of engineering, the Librarian, a few other officers who do not take to flight, and the ship's own high wizard.

"A toast, I say!" declares your captain as he stands tall and wiry like a reed, a gaunt smile on his features telling you he has not recovered well from a recent run in with some wraiths that ambushed your vessel not long ago. He still hauls up a large goblet carved from solid gold and embedded into which you see precious stones. "A toast, to friends and comrades! And tyrants that we trample to dust!"

"Hear. Hear," echoes the warforged that is the leader of the engineers aboard, the machine's eyes on the man.

[Pol Detson]

Felix d'Argentoux

"Aye! Friends and comrades!" echoed First Wizard. He drank deeply from silver cup and grinned as if world was without worry and there was no war. Felix burped and the cup clanged on the table surface.

Wizard slumped toward Delirum' quartermaster who sat nearby, put elbows on table, and in conversational tone asked:

"So, was the loot from the sunken ship tallied? How much will it be this time?"



Not that I expect free stuff, it's just role-playing a conversation. I assume that we have quartermaster officer who deals with all nitty gritty supplies, coin counting and divining the spoils of war according to contracts.

[BelGareth]

Chaine swayed with the motion of the ship, something he was want to do, even more so when he had had a few drinks in him. And tonight was no exception. He smiled as he downed another flagon and ale, and raised it silently to the Captain, unable to talk or say anything intelligent, or not wanting to, but simply enjoy the merriment of the occasion.

Drinking was sacred to him, it showed his patron deity that he was alive, and was enjoying the fruits of his labor. And so he drank.

It had been a good battle, those bastards had gone down swinging, but none of his crew had followed them to the briny depths of the dirty land below.

He spat on the floor, the thought disgusting him. Raised a hand for a refill, and smiled.

'twas good to be alive.

[alanek2002]

Cedric
Cedric raises his glass to the toast as well, Evchoing the Engineer, and much of the crew. "Hear Hear!"

Though, he was still a bit miffed about not being able to bring Fluffles to the table for these parties. (He broke a table one time...) Ah well. Didn't stop him from sneaking food into his pockets to take to Fluffles later.

...Though no Ale. Fluffles on Ale did not end well.

[Blinkbear]

"To absent friends." Grig's voice was not particularly loud in the crowd of happy, partying people. He was also shorter than most of them, and in his not overly colorful clothes it was easy for him to stand on the side and smile at the big picture, without people wondering why he wasn't a part of it. It was not like he was not enjoying himself, it was more that he still felt a bit awkward on such festivities, at least if he had to be in its center. But here, leaning on the drawer behind him, a glass in his hand, smiling, he felt good. Just a few steps away from him stood Cedric. Grig had a lot of respect for the little man, who seemed to have found the companionship of a dragon.

"Hey, Ced, why the long face?" Again, he's speaking rather low; but this time so loud that Cedric could hear him.

[alanek2002]

Cedric

Cedric turns to Grig, and sighs slightly. "It's that obvious? I'm just a bit sad about leaving Fluffles in the stables. He's kinda like a dog. He'll stay there even though he could burrow his way out through the solid wood, but he just looks so mournful when I do... Even if I do understand that he doesn't do well at parties. At least he can be out and about the rest of the time.


Dragon hawk, not dragon :p
Cedric's thoughts on Grig? Respect, you've gone through a lot but you're still going, and you aren't bad at what you do.

[Blinkbear]

"Maybe I noticed because I can relate." his Common is good, but still has a slight accent - a mix of goblin and the desert people in the area he stems from. Even though not often, a slight growl or other canine sound is mixing into his speech. "How long are you two friends anyway? And how did you meet?" Sure, they knew each other for a short while now, but it never had come up before.

[Ruess]

These are all of the Non-Player Characters present in the event. You can interact with any of them




[*=center] Captain Verim Devastus
[*=center]Head of Engineering Artificia Ektrine
[*=center]Archivist Danina of Esculon,
[*=center]First Mate Asir Decknin
[*=center]Doctor Merilushk
[*=center]Quartermaster Aquis
[*=center]Officer Eraliz Longrid
[*=center]Officer James Kingston
[*=center]Officer Jack Boaton
[*=center]Officer Little Hiss "Hissy Fit"




Officer is a rank that you, Player Characters are also in hold of: an important person who gets things done and carries responsibility as well as authority.






Captain Devastus proceeds to empty his drink to the last drop much to the cheering of those around him who applaud at the manly showmanship which he makes a full number out of.


Quartermaster Aquis is as friendly looking as ever: though thin, bald, tired and scarred all over the tall man has a ready smile to offer and beckons the elf over before leaning in. As he speaks it is easy to hear his steady voice, and he makes small gestures with the arm not busy holding a goblet holding fruit wine in it.

"It is being worked on,"” the man answers readily but then pauses for a drink from his goblet. Once he is refreshed he brings his free arm to motion with at a slow pace. “The problem is that the latest haul consists primarily gemstones, jewelry and assorted metals. Finding their precise worth and someone who is willing to meet the price is difficult, thus the process takes its own time and no less.” He ends his answer in a small spreading of his hands to indicate the matter is not in his hands.


“Is everything alright in here?” inquires a voice whose owner strolls over. He is James Kingston, an elderly man in the twilight of his life: his hair is white as snow , his form is lined by age and he is worn to bone by weather, but still he stands rigid like an iron sword when needed. He is an officer similar to yourself, although more responsible for keeping the entire crew ready and sharp with their skills than engaging the hostiles. “Or am I…interrupting something private?”

[Pol Detson]

"No, James. Everything's copacetic. Come, drink with us. " wizard answered, leaning back and searching for more wine to put into his goblet - his voice become even more slurred as he drunk strong wine "Gems. We we talking the last haul and gems from that ship we sunk. Gems.." he smiled and idea struck him.

"Aquis, if there are black onyxes among the loot, keep them. I will buy them for a fair price. I need some for my spells."

Wizard turned toward white-haired officer

"But enough money talk for tonight, we are celebrating!" he shouted and stood, attracting the attention of officers and crowds "A toast! To Captain Devastus, a terrific leader and a friend to us all!"!



Spontaneous toasts everyone!:smallbiggrin:

Gems: I would like to cast some animate dead latter, because undead are fun to have around, but I need black onyx. Additional firepower would be nice if we suffer high attrition rates in coming battles.

So if it's possible (and only if it's possible, I don't know how you plan to award treasure) I would ask to "fluff' my next encounter's loot share as a onyx payday.

[alanek2002]

"We've been friends since he hatched ten years ago," Cedric says, being continuing in a somewhat quieter tone. "I bought him from the Savage Emporium as an egg. Haven't heard from them since." It wasn't illegal to buy from the Emporium, per se, but as secretive as they were spreading around that you had contact with them didn't tend to end well.

"How about yourself?" Cedric asks, absently raising his glass to the wizard's toast.


zzzzzzz

[Blinkbear]

"Oh, so you know each other nearly a life long. Well, Fluffle's anyway, eh? That sounds really great... You know, Cracker answered my call. I had prayed to mother nature to send me a loyal friend to help me with my endeavors, and when I opened my eyes, after a day and a night, I couldn't see anyone. Thought it hadn't worked - but just as I intended to wander off: A shadow in front of the rising sun, becoming bigger every second, and a scream that let the birds abandon the trees. And there she was to take me for a ride."

[Ruess]

"Get me another!" the captain shouts with glee right as he slams his emptied tankard onto the heavy oaken table with enough force to make its resounding thmm resound despite the party. To his left a certain tiefling hurries to do so, having acquired one such tankard filled to the brim with foaming drink. Devastus gives a nod and a shouted thank-you before he turns to the party and outright stands up onto the table itself albeit mindful of the food set there. "Friends!" the man declares through the din and music. "I want to thank everyone!" Just as he shouts his his frame, all fix feet of muscle and change, starts to crane to the left and the wood underneath groans ever so faintly to indicate a slight course adjustment."I'm trying for a speech, and everyone had better listen, because I don't like aking speeches but a crew this fine deserves one!" For emphasis the man swings his drink, first to empty some of its contets into his gullet and then to indicate all those around the table, and the ones around it as well."And this goes for everyone so mounts and familiars and what have you are all included! Becaus they too are that fine!"

[alanek2002]

Cedric pauses in his conversation with Grig, and turns to the captain, awaiting said speech. He ignored the captains speech once. Doing so again hasn't crossed his mind since.

[Pol Detson]

Felix abruptly stopped the merry conversation and even stopped drinking.. last sip, really, last sip. He was quite curious what Captain had to say and why it couldn't wait until they all have hangover.

[Blinkbear]

Grig looks up when the captain starts his speech, or rather the announcement of his speech. When he briefly scans the room during the announcement, his glance stays on Lady Hiss, which puts a small smile on his face. He then focuses on the captain again.

[BelGareth]

Chaine was in the middle of a song, splashing his mug of mead, but he had the wherewithal to know when to stop, mostly. He mumbled the remainder of the song, not wanting to have the tune stuck in his head for lack of finishing the melody.

He nodded solemnly, hugging his mug, watching and smiling to himself.

[Ruess]

Devastus takes a moment to focus his thoughts, and also coincidetally lets his eyes crawl across those present in the festive room along with him. Thus inspired he takes his left arm and brings it swinging about like a giant would a tree when swatting at a pesky fly. "All of you!" he declares mightily, without his gaze again leaping amid the crowd but always finding eye contact. "You are the finest crew and greatest companions! A man could sail forever on the skies so long as he has you by his side to share the adventure..." There is a pause as the captain gulps from the tankard in his hands, suddenly continuing in a thunderous booming voice: "And the loot! We must always remember there are always more riches out there, more than you can shake a fist at! And to shame a dragon's hoard!" A cheer rises to meet this particular declaration, which the man allows with a grand smile. "Here is to us!" Again he raises a toast, one that is mirrored by those present. "And all those with us!"

Again, cheers rise at such an easy speech, albeit Aqui attempts to discretely beckon for four individuals to come sit by him: Chaine, Grig, Cedric and Felix. It seems the Quartermaster wishes to speak with you in this revelry, but he does not wish to interrupt the captain's own high spirits.

[BelGareth]

Chaine is caught in the revelry, and about to yell something when he sees the subtle summons. He closes his mouth, which was stuck half way open when he realized he should move. Standing up, he almost fell, holding himself steady and smiling like a fool.

He nodded to the captain, as if all was alright, and he stumbled on over to the quartermaster, slumping down in any available seat that was close enough.

[Blinkbear]

Grig also enjoyed the speech of the captain, its lack of actual content getting lost in the ambience of happy people. Just when he wanted to say something to Ced again, they are summoned, and he quickly moves over. His glass was still half-full, because for whatever reason it did not feel good to be drunk for him. Maybe it was a bit of feeling obliged to be "prepared". Maybe it was being afraid that locked up mental images would find their way to the surface again. But he'd got to admit, the wine from the Captain's stock was delicious. For a moment, he wondered if it was one of the bottles they had acquired from their last attack on the supply freighter. Without finding an answer to this, he arrives at the table and takes a seat.

[Pol Detson]

The quartermaster put a hand on his shoulder and declared that they need to talk on some other, more serious topic, before he can give answer about black onyxes. Aqui gestured to some other officers, while Felix tried to straighten up and sober up. His success was partial at best on both counts.

Serious business was perhaps the last thing on Felix mind as he contemplated current choice of wines. He shoot wistful look at the bottles and turned to face the quartermaster.

[alanek2002]

Cedric notices the signal as well, and hums quietly. It was interesting that the quartermaster would need to speak with them now , rather than in the morning.

He slinks over to the quartermaster alongside Grig, doing his best to avoid bumping into anybody, or in turn being fallen on.

[Ruess]

"Now you did not hear this from me ," begins Aquis once each of the four invited persons are close enough to hear his low voice. "But I have it on reliable sources that we are headed South to meet with old friends of our captain's, at Green Ridge. You may have heard of it, it is a large mountain surrounded by small archipelago. Lovely countryside at very high altitude." A sudden and sharp tinge grows in the man's eye as he beckons you to lean in as he drops his voice to a whisper as he now continues, his gaze searching the four of you for reactions be it good or ill. "I am not saying there is a young tyrant who is trying to bring them under her rule, but if you happened to be prepared to...shall we say... Proactively be ready to meet with some rough types once we reach our destination that would be, as some say, great."

Aquis pauses for a breath and a drink from his goblet before he continues in a murmur.

"Officially speaking there may or may not be some persons entitled diplomats or ambassadors who wish to meet with us right when our captain will be meeting some friends. We would not want to deny the persons a proper escort to see the interior of our vessel, yes? After all, they could get lost between the docks and our vessels, and who knows what might happen."


Sense Motive to sense what Aquis is hinting at
Knowledge: Geography to recall what Green Ridge is
Knowledge: Nobility to recall what manner of neighbors Green Ridge has
Knowledge: History to recall the summarized history of Green Ridge

[Blinkbear]

Grig tries to get a hold of what exactly this man is saying. Political intrigue and innuendo had never been his thing...


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

[Pol Detson]

"You are not making any sense Aquis. Just tell us who are we going to kill and loot this time." elf said. "Possibly point us directly, because I don't want to mix them up with some tree-hugging druid. That would be awkward as hell. Fun, but awkward."

Felix recognized the name of Green Ridge and tried to force his wine-addled mind to remember all the details.


Know geography: [roll0]

[alanek2002]

"Heh, more cloak and claw stuff?" Cedric remarks nulling over what he heard.



[roll0] sense motive
[roll1] geography

[roll2] nature to see if I recall any animals we might blame "accidents" on in the area.

Also, on phone, so no color. Type roll code is painful enough.

[BelGareth]

Chaine frowns at what the man is trying to insinuate.

The fact that several jugs of mead are flowing through his veins might not be helping.


[roll0]
[roll1]

[Ruess]

It must be the wine whispering in your ears, or then you are this smart by nature. That doubt lasts for three seconds, which is the time required for your mind to raise a pleasant fog to the forefront of your mind; in so doing your memories dig up a few ideas leading eventually to a conclusion that you come up with all on your own. Oh and you have a few memories of this, so that helps too.

Aqui is telling you that when you get to Green Ridge the captain is going to meet with some friends and in the mean time there will be some spies or othe trouble makers who will try to cause trouble in the absence of you captain. Aqui is telling you to discretely take them somewhere inside the ship and make sure they stop being a problem, but since he is going to be asked about it at some point the man cannot directly tell you to get rid of the troublemakers. The number of them is unknown but there will be more than a few, and given how you, trusted officers of the ship, are entrusted with this rather than some nameless crew... That means there may even be some large names or tough guys involved.

Aquis smiles apologetically at Felix before again helping himself to the goblet's contents and pours from a nearby bottle to any who wish for a refill of something dark and red. "Ah... In other words, once our captain is off and speaking with Green Ridge locals we should expect company. And I want you to escort them personally, preferably all of you four." The quartermaster's spinning hand makes for very interesting swirling motions that really define a circle in whole new ways. "You should plan a good escort, since the persons I expect to arrive will want all manner of special treatment and we do not want to disappoint. Certainly your mounts will be of great help in this."


Geographically Green Ridge is a grandiose mountain range that sweep the skies at very high altitudes but which have been cultivated to pastoral countryside by the many farmers and druids who have formed loose communities there. It is a lovely place all year round, and features some truly spectacular rolling mountains of green dotted by living trees that often mark farming territories.

Historically speaking Green Ridge is only a few centuries old and a project begun by druids at one time or another. It was first settled by farmers who wanted to be alone, and who eventually attracted more of their kind some of whom had power to call upon. They keep out of wars, trade when needed and mostly like to keep to themselves rather than try to expand beyond Ridge, which is more than large enough.

Geographically Green Ridge is a grandiose mountain range that sweep the skies at very high altitudes but which have been cultivated to pastoral countryside by the many farmers and druids who have formed loose communities there. It is a lovely place all year round, and features some truly spectacular rolling mountains of green dotted by living trees that often mark farming territories. You also know that more than a few druid circles have formed in this peace time, which is the leading reason Green Ridge draws its name on: after all, mountains do not make for a good farming location and at the height they are in it would be impossible without some help.


Green Ridge has a large number of neighbors who trace their lineages to immigrants of highly dubious ancestry. You know many claim a status as royalty or some manner of leaders of communities but what it always comes down to is people with most swords, biggest boats and the larger stack of cannons to call on. You know recently some latest tyrant houses have been trying for an alliance of some sort.

[alanek2002]

Cedric gives a solemn nod. "Fluffy and I'll be sure to escort them, sir."




Whoops. Has it really been a couple days? Bah. I blame finals... which I should be preparing for right now.

[Blinkbear]

Grig nods slowly. He's not entirely convinced to have fully understood what he's supposed to do. Currently it sounds as if he was supposed to let people fall down from very high heights. Which does sound a lot like cold-blooded killing. Then again, what was the actual difference between raiding a supply ship and killing a spy? Well, for starters, when you raid a supply ship, you can still choose to let people live after you got their stuff. But what if such measures are required in a war? But on mostly neutral ground? What if that actually drew the people there into war? He feels his head spinning a bit. He would need to give this more thought. Cedric seems to somewhat be okay with it, which is a good start.

[Pol Detson]

How did I miss the DM update?:smalleek:


Elven wizard took the refill and drank rapturously.


"If that special treatment involve introducing them to the Azzu'lzur I think I comprehended captain's problem."

Then he think and asks:

"Do you know exact day and hour of the captain's meeting or at least our estimated time of arrival? How much time we have to prepare?"

[Ruess]

The man lets his thin form sweep a new refill for his goblet before hiding a burp into a sleeve, which fuels his mouth with little effect on his good state of inebriation as you can see from the gentle sway of his stature, which wobbles in a mirroring sweep of his hands which continue moving when he speaks, though you can see his gaze keeps jumping from one to another in your group. "It's a..." he begins with clarity, and then closes his eyes as his fingers twiddles momentarily. "Two weeks from now, unless the winds decide to cause trouble, we will land in one of the larger farming communities named Greene's Thimble, and perch our ship on the peak of one of the mountains. According to plan, and this is the clever part."

Aquis beckons you to lean in as he performs the most dramatisized of stage whispers. "The captain will go meet with druids, and we keep the ship in shape. If things go as we expect there will be an attack, you ride over to stomp it down, and then we chase down the ones responsible." He pauses to look everyone's reactions over before narrowing his thin eyes to slits and continues in a slower pacing again. "When trouble happens because it always does, make sure you get at least one alive so we can talk with that one."

[alanek2002]

Cedric stays unperturbed throughout most of the explanation. After all, being attacked is a fairly common occurrence for sky privateers. Once Aquis gets to the last part, Cedric Immediately speaks up (quietly). "Not it for bringing one in alive. Me and fluffles don't really do the whole 'Not dead' thing."

[Pol Detson]

The great irony was that for all his lack of scruples, his spells were mostly non-lethal and his total body-count was low for an officer. Then he adds:

"I can do it. Captain can count on me." Felix said, giving strange look to Cedric. He didn't just said that he wants to disregard orders from Delirium's leader, didn't he?

"Two weeks is a lot of time to prepare. I will think on it tomorrow.. make it day after tomorrow. Now, let's drink!"

[BelGareth]

Chaine nodded with a sloppy burp, but frowned at the idea of taking one for captive.

"I'm not sure about taking one in for custody...that...seems a little too much, Death and honor an all that, maybe if he surrenders willingly, and then we treat him appropriate for a captive."

He seemed to have sobered up at the thought of jailing someone, you all know too well his convictions on the matter.

[Pol Detson]

Ah, paladins. Full of scruples like old lady closet is full of moles. Cut man's guts out, it's all pious and proper. Pull a man's fingernail and they scream as if pit fiend f*cked them in the ass.


"No worries, Chaine. Who are we, inquisitors? I can just Suggest him to tell us truth and lo! he will speak the truth. No need to crush his feats with torture devices, no need to do anything messy. Captain is not too keen on any of that, I don't know if we even have solid rack down below in the ship."

[BelGareth]

Chaine throws his hands in the air.

Not this again! he thought.

He looked at Felix with a serious expression, all mirth gone from before "Felix, I do sure hope you are pulling my leg."


Also, while I don't mind it, this is a PG13 forum, might want to watch the language.

[Blinkbear]

"There will be no torture," Grig injects with a calm voice. "Just as Felix said. There are more efficient ways of information retrieval. And now let's calm down and either drink or go to bed." He sounds a bit as if he is considering the second option.

[Ruess]

Cutting to Fast Forward in 3...2...1...


Next post: Green Ridge Intro

[Ruess]

Arrival
The trip is not a short one and seems to consist of short whiles in the sun after which come long days of traveling stormy winds and raging clouds, which truthfully is not surprising; neither is the fact that your run-ins with some storm fronts is almost regular by now, but the crew claim it is an ill omen and all learned persons confirm it is held as such. In similar manner you also avoid ill winds to the best of your ability, and everyone putting their backs to it helps get you through what would have been a right-out hurricane; you have plowed through enough of those to not want another go just yet. There is some rest to be had but not too much. Nonetheless the crew has good spirits about them despite the weather, but the more nature oriented ones are ill at ease: they are certain something terrible lies in the future and of which this is all an omen.

Your vessel clears itself of a thick cloud and finds itself far above a large blot of green. From this high the tops of the mountains and the ridges alone their snaky forms seem to draw up motions accurately resembling those of the waves far below. Between the lines you spy small dots of settlements with patchworks of colors around them in haphazard formations. High in the air eye also notice some great eagles in flocks, enjoying the air.

The sun is behind you and it is a golden morning. You, the mounted officers, are on deck at the request of Officers Boaton and Kingston who have expressed interest in you, the mounted officers, striding beside the ship once you climb to lower altitude. They are of the opinion you could mingle with the escort of eagles you are due upon declaring yourselves, and might gleam some things or just establish good relations with the locals.


You have a moment to spen planning. Making an entrance will definitely make an impression and as officers you do have leeway on how you do that...

[alanek2002]

Cedric grins, on the deck. "Well, We're here to make an impression, right? Lets go big, Fluffles." With that, Cedric and Fluffles race off the deck, jumping off with a whoop and a cry. Said cry suddenly becomes a far louder roar, shivering the timbers of the deck. Fluffles then flies back up into view, once more a huge creature, with his fluffy fur far more evident.

"Come on! Last one off the deck has to buy drinks when we get there!" Cedric calls down, to those still on the deck, before flying off.



Sorry for the delayed post, stuff happened. (Like my pregnant sister visiting! Ahhh I'm going to be an uncle in less than a year!)

Fluffles will be flying steadily in front of the ship. You... don't really want something his size doing acrobatics. Turbulence, you see. Same reason nobody takes off for a while after a large plane leaves the airport.

[Ruess]

Game is ended due to player abandonment.

Thank you alanek2002 for sticking to the game.