The Savage Tide III: Tides of Dread [IC]

[lostsole31]

Skald goes below.

Meanwhile, Kabsi doesn't find any signs of injury on the person.

[digiman619]

Kabsi pauses. He was here to recover an ally's remains, but this man threw a bit of a wrench in his plans. Ultimately, he decided that, as a healer, his living patient was of a greater priority. He remembered reading that above water doctors had some sort of alchemical agent for waking people up called "smelling salts", but seeing as they didn't work underwater he'd never invested in a set of them. Instead, he lightly slapped the man across the face until he opened his eyes.

[lostsole31]

The man opens his eyelids, revealing hazel eyes .....

[bcool999]

Rhoha

Opening his eyes to see Kabsi standing over him and feeling no lingering pain from his wounds, Rhoha grins and says, "Rhoha thanks Kabsi for the healing, but even a foe like the Fish man and his pet cannot best Rhoha!"

Rhoha stands on the deck of the ship about to say more, but looks puzzled for a moment looking slightly upwards at Kabsi and asks, "Why Kabsi taller than Rhoha?"

[lostsole31]

Skald nods his head slowly, probably longer than is comfortable. "I don't know what you are now, Rhoha. But I know why you are ..... you," and with this he gestures to Rhoha generally.

Even an inch shorter than Kabsi, Skald is still three inches taller than "Rhoha" is now. "What do you make of that?" asks Skald to Kabsi, gesturing to this "Rhoha's" hair that seems to whip about by a breeze not felt by either of you.

"But it all makes sense now. Skephilipika was protective of his territory .... had a powerful animal pet .... and was tougher to fight from Kabsi's description than brawn alone would indicate. My guess is that he had nature magic that enhanced his prowess, and that he .... well, he had you reincarnated, Rhoha. The kopru is apparently a druid like me. Well, not like me, as I'm a storm druid, but you get the point."

[digiman619]

Kabsi shrugs. "Hard to say. What's important is that our ally is not currently dead, which is a definite improvement over where I thought he'd be when I woke up." He then puts his hand on Rhoha's shoulder, which was significantly lower than it used to be "But this is a big change. How are you feeling, emotionally speaking?"

[bcool999]

Rhoha

While Skald and Kabsi discussed Rhoha’s altered form, Rhoha was inspecting himself visually where he could and patting down places he couldn’t see like his head (no longer bald) and his features (Nose the wrong shape, ears weird).

When Kabsi asks him how he feels, Rhoha is staring at his hands. Hands that lack the signs of broken knuckles and scars that Rhoha’s fist fighting style inevitably leads to. ”How Rhoha feels?...” Rhoha says softly in his new higher pitched voice, “Rhoha feels like hunting down Fishman and fashioning a goblet from it’s skull.”

With a grumbling sigh, Rhoha continues, “But saving Farshore comes first. We here to turn half ship into whole ship? Fine. Rhoha find time later to hunt.”

[lostsole31]

"SHIP AHOY!" calls Skald very excitedly and unnecessarily loudly in both of your ears, as he points out further into the bay.

There she is, incoming, maybe a mile out .... the Blue Nixie.

[digiman619]

Kabsi nods at Skald's announcement before turning to face Rhoha. "You were very, very dead before the kopru showed you mercy by reincarnating you, so a modicum of respect is called for." As he made his way to the side of the ship, an odd sense of schadenfreude hit him; maybe now that Rhoha saw that there are consequences to running headfirst so much, perhaps he wouldn't be so insufferable and convinced of his invincibility. He put one leg on the railing, a smirk plastered over his face. "If you're still bothered by this turn of events, just remember one thing: You could have reincarnated into a cute halfling girl instead. Think of all the pretty little dresses you missed out on!" he says, sticking out his tongue before leaping off the side.

[lostsole31]

And where does Kabsi go? Does he go back to shore to let the others know? or farther out to greet the Blue Nixie?

And Rhoha?

[digiman619]

Kabsi made his way back to the shore; trying to meet an approaching ship was a tricky business, and it was all too easy to get rammed by it in the attempt. Better that he be at the shore where they're more likely to weigh anchor. And if they are heading to the ship, it's only a little swim to get there and a better angle to approach them regardless.

[lostsole31]

Do you say anything to anyone?

[digiman619]

Kabsi will inform the rest of the party of Rhoha's changed status, as well as the fact that Skald had spotted the Blue Nixie from his vantage point at the ship. There wasn't much to do until it weighed anchor, however, so he waited at the camp, doing miscellaneous bits of clean up in the mean time.

[bcool999]

Rhoha

Grumbling as Kabsi flees after his insults, Rhoha sits down to meditate and take stock of his new form. Before entering his trance, Rhoha says, "Rhoha needs to feel changes. Can someone keep watch on Rhoha?"

Spoiler: OOC

Show

Rhoha will attempt morning preps.

[Blackhawk101]

Hoggie nods hesitantly before sitting cross legged on the sand, observing Rhoha and petting Rusty.

[lostsole31]

Hoggie nods to Kabsi before sitting in the sand and petting Rusty, looking to the water to wait for Skald or new-Rhoha to return from the ship, or for representatives from the Blue Nixie to make their way.

Back on the ship, which is where Rhoha is and Hoggie isn't, Skald says, "We should get back to shore to meet with the others before your meditation. Can you still swim like before?"

[bcool999]

Rhoha

Grumbling and uncomfortable to admit weakness Rhoha speaks hesitantly, ”Rhoha not sure... everything feels... Raw. Unstructured and unstable. Rhoha also feels... less than before. Rhoha can swim, but will be defenseless.”

Upon Sklad’s request, Rhoha will attempt the swim to shore. Unarmored and not showing his previous ease in the water.

Spoiler: OOC

Show

Full Round action Swim checks. Success is 15 feet of progress, Failure by 4 or less is no progress, failure by 5 or more is going underwater. Rhoha would take 10 if he can for 19. Otherwise rolls are in the spoiler below for the first Minute.

Spoiler: Swim rolls if needed.

Show

(1d20+9)[21]
(1d20+9)[27]
(1d20+9)[27]
(1d20+9)[21]
(1d20+9)[13]
(1d20+9)[29]
(1d20+9)[18]
(1d20+9)[17]
(1d20+9)[11]
(1d20+9)[19]

[lostsole31]

True, much slower than before when his psionic power was focused around swimming (and breathing underwater). Still while no longer quite as massive and powerful as before, he finds that this compact form only lacks a little of the strength of his much more massive form, though greatly lacking more in mass and build than raw strength.

Returning with Skald is a person the rest of the party hasn't seen before... standing 5' 11" and a very slender 125 lbs. (less of an eyeball thing so much as seeing he doesn't weigh down the sand as much as expected).

[Blackhawk101]

Hoggie brushes the sand off his clothes as he rises and walks towards the stranger. The psychic gently touches the stranger’s mind with his and stops suddenly. A look of concentration crosses Hoggie’s placid face before he bursts into a wide grin. He moves quickly forward as if to hug the newcomer but at the last instant it is like he becomes distracted and merely pats him on the shoulder timidly before walking down the beach talking to himself.

I woke up in a Soho doorway
A policeman knew my name
He said, "You can go sleep at home tonight
If you can get up and walk away."

I staggered back to the underground
And the breeze blew back my hair
I remember throwin' punches around
And preachin' from my chair

Well, who are you?
(Who are you? Who, who, who, who?)

Spoiler

Show

spend a detect thoughts to ID the new person

[lostsole31]

Rhoha, you feel the faintest essence of Hoggie's mind searching ... do you let him "find you?"

[bcool999]

Rhoha

Feeling the familiar mental poking of Shaman Hoggie, Rhoha accepts the link and says, ”Yes Shaman Hoggie, Rhoha has returned. Skald says the Fish-Man used magic to Reincarnate Rhoha into this lesser form.”

[lostsole31]

Hoggie's detect thoughts are able to detect the thinking mind, and then the intellect of that mind (prodigious, a bit behind Hoggie's own, but not too far), and that his surface thoughts "betray" the truth that he thinks as he speaks .... that this strange person (whatever type of humanoid he is; would require assessment) at least believes he is Hoggie. However, there is no "stamp" that this is so, no happy confidence marker that Hoggie can trust in other than this strange humanoid's belief.

[digiman619]

Kabsi nodded. His bout of admittedly rude fun done, he turns to the rest of the party. "Now that we're all here, we should probably break camp as we wait for the Nixie to get to shore."

[Blackhawk101]

Hoggie strolls on the beach with Rusty, waiting for the crew of the Blue Nixie to come ashore.

[lostsole31]

So, the Sea Wyvern wrecked on a sand bar that is practically a mini drydock when it is low tide. That said, the Nixie anchors out and sends a longboat to shore. Included on the longboat are Lady Mayor (recently elected) Lavinia Vanderboren, Rabbi Cohen, Tavey Nesk, and others.

[lostsole31]

A base camp for officers is set up quickly while Lady Vanderboren and Rabbi Cohen look at the group. "Is this a lost cause? We came as quickly as we could, but Rabbi Cohen cast a divination, and from those clues we have to leave tomorrow. We have no time to tarry. What has happened?"

[bcool999]

Rhoha

"Rhoha would rather not talk about it." Rhoha hedges before admitting reluctantly, "Let us just say that an unhealthy reluctance for violence resulted in Rhoha dying and returning as this."

The last is said with Rhoha gesturing at his new form.

[lostsole31]

"Interesting," says Lady Lavinia. "It appears you are now what is known as a sylph ... one of the plane-touched races. In this case, touched by 'Air' in the dame way as Kabsi's heritage as a planetouched undine is 'Water.'"

[lostsole31]

Okay, the engineers have a confab. It is decided that it would take 2-3 days of work to get the Sea Wyvern seaworthy, but with a divination that Rabbi Cohen had ... you just don't have that time anymore. The battle will have to be fought with one ship protecting Farshore - the Nixie - and the Sea Wyvern will have to wait for a future repair.

Does anyone have anything to say/ comment before everyone is then brought aboard the Blue Nixie to sail south?

[digiman619]

Kabsi grunts in frustration, doing his best not to glare at Hoggie. The entire outing was all for nothing, and could have all been avoided. But what could have been is less important right now. They need to focus on the oncoming threat.