[Game Thread] Chapter I: Fires Over Brinestump

[PIG]

Wesh eyes the frayed rope holding the boat to dock, their thread back across the river. The buzz for adventure is still there but he doesn't want to get stuck out here in the middle of the night. He was about to request some help in dragging the boat (his small body just can't do it alone) to shore and turning it upside down so it doesn't float out if some strange tide comes in but Katrina takes care of the situation and ties a new rope to the small thing, letting the other half of the rope sink to the blackish depths below. The halfling is startled when Black Moon lets fly all the brackish water from the swamp and has to squint his eyes shut until its over. Nonchalant, the orange mighty cat walks his merrily way behind Ghosteye, nearly dry now and Wesh dripping.

That buzz for adventure begins to really ebb as they slosh through the mud. He steps on a sharp rock through the mud and cuts through his shoe into his foot. Instead of complaining he deals with the pain, though his foot is throbbing now. Sweat and mosquitos itch his face and he doesn't even bother wiping any of it away now. Just one step after another, one step after another, one step after another. Ghosteye's tiger moves through the mud with more ease, his strength silently violent and evident, though his fine coat speckled with brown now. By the Beard of Abadar he misses that soft bed at the inn. He deserves a good ale and meal after they return... if he has any money by that time. Then, in his ear, is Praeta droning on. "That be the second tenant of merchant law..." Wesh already knew the first, second, third, fourth, and (hypothetical) fifth and sixth tenants of the Trade Alliance and their laws, he was a professional clerk for varies guilds for two years, but he just let her talk.

Fearfully, he tries to keep his bearings. He is not an outside folk. He's a city boy. He can navigate tight streets, crooked alleyways, and webbings of stairs with ease- but he is of little to no help out in this bog. A frog hops away from and swims/hops through the mud to get away. He looks for the largest landmarks, a dead tree split lightening or an outcropping of rock, to try and keep his limited surival skills on track.

Finally they happen upon the moss covered ribcage of a ship. That little stir of adventure returns and he pants, looking at it. "What are the chances anything of worth is still here?" Katrina asks. The halfling smiles warily, pushing his wet glasses back into place. "I don't know, but let's find out. I need the money." He gingerly moves towards the ship first, trying to keep the crossbow dry.

 

1) Can they swim to it or can they walk to it?

2) Perception Check (Rolled): 8

3) History Check (Rolled): 15 (The type of ships that would dare traverse this way in the recent years, so he can narrow down its origin)

4) Survival Check (Take 10): 10

- ~ -

Right Hand: Crossbow
Left Hand: Nothing
Put Down: Nothing

Buffs
n/a

Hindrances
n/a

 

Mutagen Bonus
+2 Dex/-2 Wis
+2 Natural AC
10 min/10 min

[Sassafrass]

While Praeta may feel like this is home, sheis alone in her prowess of navigating this place.

Landing on the second part of the Marsh, heading towards the ship, the group begins to use the map to try and get to the ship. While it seems straight-forward, and quite literally straight, it is not quite so easy. They find themselves confused by the contours of the island, which occasionally has hills. Going up it at first, they realize that they cannot get back down at the ship, though they see it before the hill takes them above the swampy canopy. Praeta knew this, and said as much, but the others were insistent. Ghosteye was insistent in particular, though she knew in her heart of hearts they could have gone either direction, but the other one made more sense. They go back down, and it takes more time. Noon passes. The afternoon is hot. The sun begins its downward arc as they reach the ship.

Each of them takes a look at it. The ship looks like it might fit be seen along the Lost Coast, docked into Magnimar or at Sandpoint even, but most of them, save Katrina, whose experience with ships is that of river boats, see that this ship is slightly old. It is a Chelaxian-style vessel, that much Praeta can tell. She being devout of the First Vault, she knows her ships, and Wesh has seen his share. There are a few differences. The ship, though decayed, has a roof not dissimilar to the Kaijitsu Manor, a home on the cliffs above Sandpoint where Ameiko and the last two generations of her family have lived in Sandpoint since their travel from their homeland, far across the world. An odd combination that begets questions... but upon further inspection, there is nothing to question.

The name on the ship's plate, though covered in vines on the left-most side, say something quite plain in orange letters:

Kaijitsu Blossom

The ship can be approached by walking, and inspecting it would not be hard. There are boxes within its broken hull, but they are opened. No steps led to or from this place, and it has long since been abandoned....

But does Ameiko know about it? At all?

 

Out of Character No new map this time! Jade Regent Maps Party Stats Ghosteye (and Black Moon) Praeta Katrina (and Aldwulf) Wesh Alright, I answered most of your checks. Some I did not. Feel free to roll new Perceptions, or not. I didn't make you all approach, I just mostly wanted to show the consequences of the failed Survival check as a group. Now approach, and do so without fail!

[Blackfyre]

"I doubt there’s anything not well hidden left," Ghosteye added her opinion to the conversation at hand. At least there didn’t seem to be any recent tracks to be in the area. And given the time the wreck must have been there, there would be none of any original plunderers or the like.

For a long moment her eyes lingered on the vessel’s name when she spied it. "Isn’t that something? That’s Ameiko’s family name, right? Did anyone know they ever owned ships?" She herself was definitely not familiar enough with the family to say one way or another. It sure made the find more interesting than it had been. Even more curious about what they might find now Ghosteye carefully made her way onto the ship, not quite as graceful as she had been in the derelict shack earlier. She started to look around for anything that was not rotten and might be of interest.

On shore an indignant squeak-croak could be heard and a quick look showed a tiger with his head shoved between some ferns, nose close to the ground, pawing at something there. A moment later the ferns rustled and a respectable frog scampered away from the inquisitive cat that tried to give chase for a bit until he found himself with his paws sinking in the muck and gave up on the pursuit, instead looking for something else to pique his interest.

 

Rolls
Acrobatics: 10, Perception: 9
Yes, swamps are bad.

[PopCultureBard]

Ship Shape? "Is it?" Katrina honestly isn't sure about Ameiko's name. The mouthy bartender had never set well with her. So full of herself and her place of respect in the small town. And wouldn't this just be the icing on that cake? A ship with her name on it. They'd never hear the end of that. Aldwulf makes his way onto the ship, testing the rotting boards and patches of mud for stability. Moments later he reaches down to help the jadwiga follow. "If it is, it seems her family fortune found its way into the mud long ago." There is a smile on her lips as she says it, some contentment taken in that misfortune. She sets a hand on one of the curved boards that served as the ship's ribs, feeling the age in the wood. Aldwulf seems less interested, his eyes on the dark and shadowy places left around them. "Perhaps we should take the name plate so she can hang it over her bed and remember fonder times." A laugh, lilting and light but as edgy as the words had been. ~"Even a wreck as old as this may still harbor dangers."~ Aldwulf seems to direct the words toward the Shoanti. Her searching seems to be of concern to the ghost. Or maybe he's just being bossy. Katrina, for her part, seems unimpeded by potential danger as she uses her foot to kick over a rotting barrel filled with bogwater. She seems intent on locating something amid the wreck to make this trip worthwhile. Or maybe she's just being impudent.

Actions Dice Perception: 1d20+4 (11)+4 Total = 15 Aldwulf Looking for Danger Dice Perception: 1d20+4 (13)+4 Total = 17 Katrina Looking for Pretty Stuff

[Jarl11]

She was still looking over the ship with her arcane eyesight while the others walked up. A nod at the suggestion to bring the name plate, or at least the plank it was on, showed Praeta agreed with the idea. "Aye! There be a fine suggestion." She had the inclination to call Katrina a "princess" but decided against it as a barrel went crashing over. Perhaps she did actually get her hands dirty. Or feet, as the case may be.

Touching her holy symbol and letting the spark of life it created invigorate her, Praeta hefted her axe and went to the name on the ship. Her hand wiped what she could to clean it for a moment.

THWACK! THWACK-THWACK! Her axe bit into the rotting wood. With the curved end of the weapon, she pried back the wood to carefully separate the part with the name from the hull. Even if it simply meant taking a piece of the hull.

It was odd to see such a ship, bearing the name of her brother's best friend. Even if it didn't mean something from her past, it was pretty cool to find. Ameiko would undoubtedly be curious, if she cared. Sandru would probably even make a bargain for it. If they found nothing else, this may be a keepsake for her that would earn them the noble's favor. Or ire, possibly, but wood can burn too. "Thinkin' she'd like ta see this."

 

OOC Would you like a strength check or anything? Figure it's soggy, rotten wood and Praeta has God on her side. And a Str of 16. Me name HP AC TAC Flat CBD Move Fort Ref Will Abilities Buffs Conds Praeta 10+1/10 20 11 19 14 20' +3 +1 +5 1 Judge, 1 Zeal, 2-1st virtue   Lvl Me spells Uses 0 Detect Magic, Brand, Guidance, Virtue - 1 Prot fr Evil, Divine Favor 2

[PIG]

The halfling sits on a rock jutting from the ground, putting his hands on his knees as he tries to reclaim some energy. He peers up at the boat's lost name as the group talks about its implications: Kaijitsu Blossom. The woman with the ruined face, Ghosteye, is sharp and identifies the name. "Isn’t that something? That’s Ameiko’s family name, right? Did anyone know they ever owned ships?" It didn't ring at first, his mind was abuzz and he couldn't even remember the name of the innkeeper. Then Katrina catches on a little faster than Wesh, also not remembering her name off the bat but making the same conclusion. Wesh feels the world swirl and his stomach hurts. "Perhaps we should take the name plate so she can hang it over her bed and remember fonder times." says the icy woman, her ghost checking around the outer edges of the ship.

While Praeta does just that, using her mighty axe to chop out the name of the ship. THWACK! WHACK! THWACK-THWACK-THWACK-WACK! Wesh vomits to the ground and the the halfling has to keep his glasses from falling into his vomit. The long and tall shadow of Ghosteye is at his side. "Here, you are dehydrated. You need water and some salt." Knowledgable about survival, she encourages him to drink some water and to suck on a salt lick they got from town. Almost instantly, his water and salt levels lost in the heat and humidity of the travel is replaced. He has to remember that trick if he is to keep traveling in the days to come.

"Well," the halfling starting finding his way into the ship "we're here so let's make the best of it." The halfling looks for a way into the ship and starts searching inside. He doesn't know about all what they are talking about but he knows one thing: he can't pay the innkeeper his payment if he doesn't have any money. "For our sake, I really hope there's something else left over."

 

1) Perception Check (Rolled): 10
Anything inside the ship worth of value to pay his room.

- ~ -

Right Hand: Crossbow
Left Hand: Nothing
Put Down: Nothing

Buffs
n/a

Hindrances
n/a

 

Mutagen Bonus
+2 Dex/-2 Wis
+2 Natural AC
10 min/10 min

[Sassafrass]

There's not much to find. Not that they want to find, anyway.

They ponder over the finding of the name plate of the ship, faded paint and all, and Praeta pries it free from the side of the ship, the hull cracking as they do so. The sound of the cracking hull echoes through the trees, the waves lapping on the shore nearby reminding them of their place on the island in the middle of Brinestump Marsh, isolated and alone. The tiger and the phantom keep watch, looking around for any sign of life, or motion, that might threaten their respective pair. Initially, there appears to be nothing, and as they all go exploring, in the depths of the muddy water, the dark and the mess, they find very little.

What crates remain in tact have been raided, their contents pulled away and the hay within the crates rotted away, ages ago. Now, at the bottoms only sits water from rain, mud, and budding fungi. Each crate is the same, with slight variance. Flowers here, frogs there. In time, something begins to bubble, and the tiger and the phantom are the ones that notice first. Katrina, too distracted, and Wesh and Ghosteye, too deeply involved in finding loot, attempt and fail to discover anything. Aldwulf sees something vaguely familiar, rising out of the Marsh. From where, the ground or the water? The water is too shallow. Where are they coming from?

The depths, from the mud that soaks their bones. The skeletons, standing as tall as Ghosteye, stare wordlessly back, covered in armor and helmets of a foreign orientation, nothing like anything else on Avistan, with swords of a curved nature. They open their mouths, jaw somehow clinging to the skulls, as if to challenge them.

What?

 

Out of Character No combat map Jade Regent Maps Initiative: 15.75Skeletons Party Party Stats Ghosteye (and Black Moon) Praeta Katrina (and Aldwulf) Wesh Enemies: Skeleton 1-3-4/4 HP, 12T, 14FF16 AC Alright, no surprise round, but it's time for combat, y'all! Because I'm pressed for time, I just rolled a new Initiative and you lot lost. So, Begin Round I! Their round as to appear before everyone, and they did not get a Surprise because of Aldwulf. Yay dead people! But boo dead people! Stats provided above. No map because there's no reason to, one is not provided, I couldn't find a proper template, and because I said so. Now let's get crackin'

[PopCultureBard]

Dem Bones, Dem Bones "Eeeeewwwwww." The sound is an exhaled exclamation, nasally and brimming with disgust. Her eyes narrow on the now-risen bonemen, grime and muck dripping from their undead appendages, and she takes a slow step behind Aldwulf. The ghost brings the shield up and smacks the axe against it, the sound somehow wrong for steel on wood. Ectoplasm just doesn't have the same weight. He grunts, his eyes turning to sweep across the others as if expecting...something. The witch's head peeks out from behind the viking's shoulder, lips tight in a line of disapproval. She pokes him in the back, motioning toward the nearest skeleton with her other hand. "Okay. Let's do our thing." And so they do. Aldwulf leads with a sudden forward rush, shield raised in front of him. The slab bashes up against the creature but the angle is all wrong, denying any serious damage as the skeleton steps away from the impact.. Katrina follows him, her steps lighter, and a snap of her wrist pops the blade of the scythe up and into place. She hooks it high but the skeleton sees it coming, ducking as part of its previous movement and ending up with two obvious targets for its fury.

Actions Aldwulf and Katrina both charge at, and miss, the nearest skeleton. Lame!

[Blackfyre]

It took her a moment to fully notice just what they had disturbed on the derelict ship. Bare, dripping bones shambled towards the explorers and Ghosteye had little doubt about what they would do to them should they reach them. While she hadn’t met such undead before, tales about them were common enough - even if their looks didn’t already suggest that her spear as she usually used it would not have that much of an impact. The young woman turned towards the closest foe and rammed her weapon between the skeleton’s rips with a wordless cry. With savage strength she twisted the spear until bones broke and finally clattered down onto the deck in a, once more, lifeless heap.

Black Moon, meanwhile had heard the commotion and moved inquisitively closer to the ship, leaving the frogs alone - much to their relief. He sniffed at the air a he stalked closer, ears laid back, fangs bared in a snarl. It was a foul smell that was in his nose. Neither man nor beast. As much as curiosity was said to kill the cat, in this case the tiger did not prowl closer, leaving the strange things to the bipeds.

 

Rolls
Ghosteye hits her opponent for 10 damage, killing it even with DR
Black Moon however isn’t convinced to join that particular fray. (If she had to move to get to the skeleton, than she wouldn’t have tried to push him to begin with.

[Jarl11]

She was about to finish strapping the wood plan to her pack when they caught sight of the things. Horrific bones, something out of a nightmare. They moved and scrambled for living flesh. Praeta felt both a revulsion and a righteous anger. These things were not meant to be in the lands of the living. They were an abomination, an insult to the people they used to be. Unnatural, black magic.

Praeta forgot her pack and the name plate. "Get ye back ta tha Abyss, demons! Feel tha Judge's thunder!" With her dwarven axe in one hand, she barreled at the nearest skeleton. Short legs pounded over the soft ground to bring her to the closest pile of moving bones. Her arms moved quickly, flashing in an arc, while her legs didn't even slow. The axe connected and smashed through the shoulder of the skeleton, continuing down through the spine and hip joint so the thing burst apart and the stout dwarf ran right through the shower of bones looking for another target.

 

OOC Rolls. Religion check = 11 Charge attack (power attack) with a nat 20 and max dmg (15). Confirmed with an 18 for 16 more dmg. Total of 31. Minus 5 for DR. Does it hurt it? And here I was debating using a daily power... Me name HP AC TAC Flat CBD Move Fort Ref Will Abilities Buffs Conds Praeta 10+1/10 20 11 19 14 20' +3 +1 +5 1 Judge, 1 Zeal, 2-1st virtue   Lvl Me spells Uses 0 Detect Magic, Brand, Guidance, Virtue - 1 Prot fr Evil, Divine Favor 2

[PIG]

Wesh flops down onto the silt and slop some might call a beach as he cleans his glasses, worn and tired. They searched the old ship and turned up nothing. Nothing! Adventuring is nothing like he had heard in inns or the tales from children whispering on the city streets. You were supposed to find a dungeon, arm your self, light a torch and-

"Eeeeewwwwww."

The halfling looks quickly, annoyed really, at the ice queen Katrina to find creatures rising from the sloppy sand in a distant blur. Wesh panics and slides his spectacles back on to see the skeletons rising upon the beach. He curses as the others jump into action. Hair plastered to his forehead, Wesh grabs a bomb and Hit 6 | Misslaunches it at the closest enemy. In his haste it lands into the sand and bangs loudly, blowing grit everywhere but not damaging anything. He hears the dwarf come from nowhere and just destroy the same skeleton with her axe.

 

- ~ -

Right Hand: Crossbow
Left Hand: Nothing
Put Down: Nothing

Buffs
n/a

Hindrances
n/a

 

Mutagen Bonus
+2 Dex/-2 Wis
+2 Natural AC
10 min/10 min

[Sassafrass]

一Round I一

The skeletons stand fast, but fall just as quickly.

The Dwarf thinks over the skeletons: reanimated by some dark force. The Goblins, perhaps? Praeta charges forth, her impact alone almost causing the skeleton to erupt into shattered calcium dust and broken bits of armor, the Tian blade falling beside the ship and the skeleton falling to nothing. It is a fierce blow, one that makes even the most steadfast warrior among them tremble. Nearby, Ghosteye shoves her spear with a cry and twists, causing the skeleton before her to break and clatter downward. Black Moon, uninterested, stands away, and Wesh, nearby, draws his crossbow, for what good it will do. He suspects none, and with the skeletons going down so quickly, surely he won't need it. Right?

Katrina and her phantasmal companion Aldwulf attempt to take care of the last skeleton, but instead find their efforts in vain, more their own fault than any skill within the undead. The skeleton, for its part, raises the blade, looking almost fully animate and in control of its functions, and slashes at Katrina, catching her Attack: 16
Damage: 4in the side. The skeleton's jaw hangs open, as if roaring in contempt to the very being that is Katrina, and moving backwards in a slow, sluggish manner, reminds everyone gathered that it is only a broken vessel, a reanimated skeleton, its head more full of swamp weed than any real thought.

Something else is controlling it.

 

Out of Character No combat map Jade Regent Maps Initiative: 15.75Skeletons Party Party Stats Ghosteye (and Black Moon) Praeta Katrina (and Aldwulf) Wesh Enemies: Skeleton 3-4/4 HP, 12T, 14FF16 AC Begin Round II! Wow, I let that one get away from me. 12 days! Geez. Anywho, let's skedaddle, shall we?

[PIG]

Wesh glances behind at the wall of green hugging the beach. 'Someone is controlling the skeletons. But who?' Perception Check:

Dice Roll:

d20+2

(18)+2

Total = 20

He searches the marsh for any movement, anything trying to hide.

His attention is brought back to the battle at hand as Katrina cries out from a slash. The first wound to the adventuring group in their short career.

Wesh keeps the crossbow in his left hand as he puts his right hand in a pocket to pull out a metal ball. Standard: Ranged VS Skeleton (Bomb) Critical 22 | Dmg 8 || Critical Confirm 18 | Dmg 5 ||| Total Dmg 13He launches the bomb at the skeleton that attacked Katrina. The metal ball lodges into the skeleton rib cage from behind and BOOOM! blows up the undead creature into a shower of brittle bones with a terribly loud bang, raining the white splinters onto the sand and water. Its skull rolls like a ball at Praeta and bounces off the back of her leg before splashing into the water.

 

Standard: Ranged VS Skeleton (Bomb) Critical 22 | Dmg 8 || Critical Confirm 18 | Dmg 5 ||| Total Dmg 13

- ~ -

Right Hand: Crossbow
Left Hand: Nothing
Put Down: Nothing

Buffs
n/a

Hindrances
n/a

 

Mutagen Bonus
+2 Dex/-2 Wis
+2 Natural AC
10 min/10 min

[PopCultureBard]

Mud and Blood "OWWW!" The cry is a pained one as Kat drops a hand from the scythe to cradle the bloody line beneath her armor. This sends the scythe sagging in her other hand, blade cutting a furrow through the muck. "OWWW! WHY?!" She practically screams the word in the skinless face of her attacker, eyes wide and filled with frost. The impact of something deep inside the creature's ribcage draws her eyes downwards. She doesn't know what is about to happen. How could she? But the hair on her arms rises and her palms go clammy moments before the whole thing erupts in flames. She recoils out of instinct, throwing herself backwards as bone chips shower her face and arms, and she hits the mud with an undignified *SCHLOP*. The scythe is cast aside as she flails frantically against the muck. "NO! NO NO NO!" Scrambling to her feet, she finds her entire left side dark with swamp muck. Scraping through it, her efforts reveal a slightly lighter shade of brown across the fur and linen beneath the chainmail. Streaks of dirt, embedded deep into the strands, turn reddish near the wound. "Oh my gods! You have to be joking!" Her feet find purchase as she yanks them free of the mud's pull. LIttle stompy, angry steps carry her in a tight circle around the exploded skeleton, bones sinking beneath her feet. "These stains will never come out!" The adventure has claimed its first victim. Fashion victim, that is.

[Blackfyre]

The first bang, somewhat muffled by the sand it had landed it, already had elicited a hiss from Black Moon and a hectic looking around. The second one had the big cat hissing, ears flat against his head, body pressed low to the ground. Ghosteye herself had also whipped around at the explosion so close by, but she at least could place the sound.

Another look around showed no further enemies in sight and from what little expertise the young Shoanti had in the healing arts it did not seem as if Katrina was in any immediate danger of dying, so she left the care of her wound to someone more experienced and instead headed towards her feline companion, making calming sounds. Finally she came to a stop two steps away from him, out of easy reach of his claws in case he was so spooked that he would lash out at her.

"It’s alright, Moon. Everything’s fine now." She squatted down, seeking eye contact with the big cat. "The danger is over." Once he had calmed down enough he would come to her, she was sure.