[Game Thread] On the Trail of a God

[Schniderman]

In Transit Aboard the Defiance, Haruka first walked the length of each deck to get her bearings aboard the flying ship. Beneath them the cityscape shrank to a latticework of intersecting lines, before they left it behind entirely. Pulling away from the earth like this was certainly impressive; the only experience she had with flying was through spell, relatively close to the ground below. It was nothing like these ships that flew hundreds, even thousands of feet above the surface. They skewed perception, and made even great nations seem like small things. Only after the ship had surmounted the clouds and the view of the world below was blocked from sight did the mutt warrior quit her watch at the top deck, heading in to find a hold where she wouldn't be in the way of the crew. There, hopefully undisturbed, she retrieved her inks and brushes, and began on a work: the character for "Cooperation".

[kedcoleman]

It didn't take Ira long to get settled in to the Last Stand. He didn't travel with a lot, just the gear on his back and in his saddlebags. Those he removed from his horse before it was led aboard, and slung over his shoulder. Heavier than he thought - he'd have to work on paring down his kit size, in the future. Getting too comfortable with having things on-hand.

Once he was shown his room he dropped the saddlebags and backpack on the bed and returned to the main deck, with a stop in the galley to find a cup of coffee. Beverage in hand he approached the railing at the side of the deck, cautiously. He had never seen such an immense distance to the ground. He stomach twisted with anxiety and he decided he would be better off further back from the edge, with the only thing between him and falling several hundred feet being a narrow wooden rail.

Soon, the work would have to begin on their plan to assault this disciple of a god. Soon, but not today. Everyone was still on edge from the council meeting and discovering an actual, living Human amongst them. Give it a few days. Besides, all they had was time, for now.

[Winter Wight]

Vatarin The kobold was not able to eat the first day. On the second everything he managed aside from water came back up and went over the edge of the ship. It was not motion sickness, in fact Sky Servant was surprisingly steady which was a blessing to the upset Vatarin. Being apart from the ground upset him profoundly, although he would be unable to explain the sensation even if he cared to trust a stranger. That, of course did not help. Strangers. Vatarin rarely worked with people he did not know, and never with someone not from the Exalted Kingdom of Erenea, Felshar, and Pontun. Unless one counted the several minutes of conversation that usually followed torture of those individuals. That said he now had to work with not just one, without any other operatives from the Exalted Kingdom, but five? Not even including the so-called Herald himself, Vatarin was wildly outside his comfort zone. To date Vatarin's missions had been simple. Confiscate, steal, kill, interrogate and the like were common. The majority of his time was spent traveling to and from his marks. Now he was tasked to kill a God and like most other people he had little idea of how exactly that was to be done nor how long it would be until he could return home. Vatarin sighed. His room was quiet and he could meditate as long as he left his boots off. The magic of his boots reminding him that there was no ground below him was too much. It was cold but Vatarin likewise hated going on deck for a similar reason. Collapsing in the cot supplied the kobold wondered why the other races preferred such odd, lumpy beds to good solid stone for their rest. It was going to be a long trip.

[Majestic Pyre]

Kerz I think I miss this most. Kerz stood on deck, at the prow of the Defiance, thinking about his lost humanity. The feel of a breeze on your skin. He could tell he was losing even the memory of it. He remember it was a light feeling, cool. A sensation infinitely unique, changing to fit the breath of each gust. Now he sensed only pressure. Kerz was good at waiting. He could do it indefinitely, actually, if there was cause. As long as the Defiance moved implacably forward, he'd be content. So far, he'd stood staring out over the prow, for just under a day. He'd felt no to cause to move. He was sure he'd be able to reach the rest of the ship without an unacceptable delay. The Herald was well capable of defending himself, he'd proved that in the council room. Since then, however, he'd also proved a tad humorless, declining Kerz's invitation to partake in games of chance. No great loss. Thankfully, Hal hadn't protested overmuch when Kerz had taken the room beside his. Kerz wanted to be able to respond quickly in the event of trouble, although truth be told, he didn't spend much time there. Meditations could be taken anywhere, and sleep was... not his style. He preferred the prow to being stuffed in a cabin the size of a large closet. But Kerz did need somewhere to store his pack, so he was glad for the use of the room. Leaping up onto the rail, Kerz seated himself, assuming the Lotus. Meditation amongst the nonliving tended to be more peaceful than the variety their living compatriots could achieve. Fewer distraction, he imagined. Kerz opened his dead senses, actively seeking sensation. The swell of the ship rocked him. He could feel subtle shifts, as it swung, almost ebbing back and forth in the wind. The sweat of sailors, hard at earning their living, assaulted him. He couldn't pick out one from the next, yet. Kerz grinned, a private pleasure. Perhaps he'd set that out as a goal for their little voyage. It was as good a goal as any. The taste of the air was wet, but fresh. In fact, out flicked his sensitive tongue, this air was near the most perfect he'd ever tasted. The unadulterated sunlight left it... light. Joyful. A tear would have escaped his eye then, but his last tear had dried nearly a generation ago. His eyes, his nose, even his tongue worked. So why, why by the Nine Hells, did his skin give him nothing. He opened his eyes, slowly; and he took in the vista. Might as well take the pleasures he was allowed. Peering forward, over the edge, he couldn't even see the ground. Perhaps, just perhaps, he could let himself go. Kick off his boots, and simply tumble over the edge. It'd take him almost half a minute to hit the ground, he knew. They were flying high. And when he landed, the ground would release him. His smile twisted. He couldn't. Literally. He could no more let himself fall than he could feel the breeze on his face. Higher authorites bound him. Besides, he had a job to do. Kerz closed his eyes again. At the front of the ship he sat, precariously perched, the Defiance's silent and unwavering masthead.

[Drakeblade]

Durzo Drifting away from the City of twenty five fountains. Durzo stood watching for a few minutes, feeling free as everything shrunk away beneath him. It was strangely different then normal flight, mainly smoother. Also falling from such a great height would actually give himself enough time to do something about it. He found it a decidedly enjoyable experience. Though picking between soaring through the sky or the complete darkness the twisting tunnels of Zer’thun offered. It was tough to call which he preferred. Opting that the twisting caves would favorable, the darkness allowed for tactics and trickery that simply couldn’t be done when you could see everything coming for miles. In some caves there were even stones that glistened like the stars yet they were even better! For you could take them with you when you left. Pulling out such a rock that he had rounded down into a small sphere the size of an eye, not worth much. But it was the only thing he kept that reminded him of home. While staring at it he reflected on his thoughts. Vatarin and Farash both boarding Sky Servant had not been too surprising. However Ira going off to Last Stand by himself hadn’t been accounted for. Though if something did happen to attack his ship, Durzo would be content to set back and observe. His experience with Catfolk had been limited to two or three he had killed and was curious how this one with his strange accent would handle himself in combat. That got him thinking about the other races at the council meeting. He had met them all, at least out of the present races at one point or another. Excluding the human of course. Though only ever conversing with a few, not out of any hatred, but normally because they were groups of bounty hunters. Looking to claim the Elven reward on Drow and being half-drow by nature Darklings were occasionally killed and claimed to be Drow children or youth. This had made him a prime target especially on his lone excursions away from Darkling territory to lands where many had never met a real Drow. These sort of interactions normally left little time to converse before a blade cut short any potential niceties. The Herald though was Human, a race that had been glorified in stories. It was actually rather disappointingly bland race, but he had been directly by a god. So it is pretty much guaranteed he would something fierce in combat. If it wasn't for the Bright One's wishes to take care of this God superseding her wish to kill humans. Durzo would of challenged the warrior, who wouldn't want to kill the last Human let alone possibly the strongest Human ever. Letting those thoughts come to an end, he strode down the main deck into the galley. In preparation to stand watch at night for anything that might decide to sneak upon us using the cover of darkness. Durzo retired to his quarters early, politics always made him drowsy.

[Panthas]

Farash listened to the creak of the wood of the ships as the balloons pulled at the tethering and ten suddenly he could feel in the soles of his feet that odd feeling of liftoff. As the ships surged up into the skies that feeling of pulling up, away vibrated through every board. He smiled and as he leaned against the railing and watched the city shrink beneath him. His red eyes traced the paths of rivers and streams, the gleam of lakes, the rippling of forests in a wind. He smiled and shook his head. This was a different sort of flying, this was more like his spellbound flying without the heavy, pulsing beat of Ialdo’s wings and the somewhat jarring motion that caused. This was smooth for the most part, gentle, comfortable, yes, he could definitely see the attraction of these airships.

After he admired the light touched tops of the clouds for some time, he finally went to talk to the captain. On his way he heard the voice of the Herald, it made him stiffen in place, his feathers puffing up as he listened. As the message concluded he let out a breath and then headed towards the captain to ask about what sort of quarters they could expect and also he needed to ask if there was a good, quiet place to work. Eventually he arranged for a length of time each day in the captains quarters, tinkering, so long as he didn’t blow anything up. He went to work very quickly, spending 8 or so hours in the captains quarters that first day, laboring in the silence.

After dinner he returned to his room, leaving Ialdo on deck, the roc had made something of a nest among some crates. He sat on the single chair in his room and contemplated the journey, what lay ahead and behind. Most of his worries rested with the Herald and the undead. The Herald’s connection to the enemy was problematic, with such a link between them, for all he knew, scrying spells could slip right through any barrier, he was unsure of how it would work, it was not an area he had researched. And then there was the undead……an interesting creature in that his presence had even been admitted. He had heard of the Silver Rings, but he knew that at the end of the day, with the items involved, all that stood between the present and a ship filled with wight minions was one small item. While he was traveling with such a companion he would be sure to be prepared. He got up and went over to his desk, thinking about the others for but a moment, some of them were interesting, but so far not problematic. He pulled out his spellbook and started to go over what he would need in the coming weeks in the company he was currently with. Company, something he hadn’t had in quite some time.

When he wasn’t working in the captains quarters he was on the deck more often than not, or out on Ialdo, scouting and keeping an eye on the other ships just to have something to do. On the second day, after spending time working in the captain’s quarters he went out on Ialdo, soaring underneath the ships and then over them. He eventually emerged from the cloud cover just in front of the Defiance, the heavy thud of Ialdo’s big wings scooping the air beneath him to lift them up in front of the prow of the ship to face an undead grippli. Ialdo easily kept space as he watched the undead for awhile. He frowned, tilting his black feathered head and watching for a bit before he signaled to Ialdo and they dropped down to ghost under the ship. Eventually, after a nice flight they returned to the Sky Servant and to dinner.

He noticed the uneasiness of the kobold and the trouble he was having keeping his food down, but he had no way to help that problem so he remained silent on it. On the third day of the trip though he did approach him to ask him his thoughts on the herald, especially what he thought of the magic scan they had both given him and what they had found. He knocked gently on the door of the kobold’s room and waited outside, having just a few minutes ago finished his tinkering for the day and taken a breath of fresh air on the deck.

[Winter Wight]

Vatarin The bird-man had not bothered concealing his presence and Vatarin heard his distinctive feet before the knock at the door. To answer or not to answer, the aging kobold questioned, Whether to avoid this stranger's inquiry, or to meet an ally's greeting. "Vignari," he muttered. Vatarin opened a slitted eye and glared at the door. He didn't even have his boots on but he stood and crossed to the door feeling the wood under his feet. It was strange to feel only that would, however, and he ached to feel the ground spreading away from him. Vatarin imagined the sensation would be very similar to those who had lost their eyes under his blade. He opened the door and returned to his place in the center of the room to continue his meditation. "Farash. Tengu with arcane abilities but if that were all you wouldn't have been so anxious to have your weapons back and that animal of yours is not the kind most wizards bind. So please tell me, Farash, what do you will of me?"

[Panthas]

Farash Farash heard the muttered words, his hearing what much better than most expected for a being without visible ears. He waited at the door for a moment, unsure of how the kobold would react. Finally he heard the sound much like his own walking, of the click of claws on the floor as feet moved across it. He looked into the room as the door opened to see the kobold already moving back inside. He smiled at that, well smiled as well as a bird could before stepping into the doorway. He listened to the description of himself and lightly sketched a bow. "An observant summation from the kobold that is just as apt to use his own arcane abilities." He leaned upon the doorframe, as he had not been invited in. His words were slightly raspy and his beak clicked now and then as he spoke, standing there in the doorway in a pair of blue leather pants and a tucked in white shirt, his sword belted on at his hip and his bow across his back, even now. "I came to speak with you of the Herald, the troublesome cog in our journey, driving the machine and yet a danger to it as well. We both did a scan of him, though you had more time for your’s as I was acting under the assumption that even my scan might turn things violent. I came to speak of what was learned, if you were willing to of course." Social niceities did not come easily to Farash, he had spent most of his adult life on his own with just Iolda, and so he had learned slowly the ways of others, but he tried to remember them as best he could. "A long journey lies before us, and it is best to be prepared for what will come, so far we know only of undead, but perhaps the two members of the party who have revealed themselves to be casters should see what they can do between them. I was not the only one reaching for my weapon after all."

[Winter Wight]

Vatarin "I know less of the Herald than you might think. We'll both need to keep an eye on him, but for now we lack the proper knowledge to make any solid conclusions. This God complicates everything." Vatarin settled a lazy gaze upon the armed Tengu. "We can prepare once we're on the ground. I can't concentrate as long as we're on this infernal contraption. Besides, we need to know more about the others as well before we can formulate any reliable tactics. I'll try getting more information on the Herald once we land. At least I should be able to determine more about the objects he carries. In the meantime I must ask you to permit me my solitude to meditate." Vatarin closed his eyes, his tail thumping as he shifted to return to his meditation. They weren't scheduled to land anytime soon and he preferred not to embarrass himself further before his first true ally.

[Panthas]

He nodded at that."Indeed, and I suspect matters will get even more twisted as we get closer to our goal." He looked at the kobold, tilting his head at the infernal contraption comment. He understood that some people were not happy flying. His eyes flicked around the room for a moment before he straightened in the door way.

"Understood, I shall leave you in peace then so that you make meditate." His voice was neutral sounding as he slowly stepped back and closed the door before he started to walk back towards the exit onto the deck. He shook his head with a soft chuckle as he stepped outside, to become so discomforted by a mode of transportation as to be rendered useless, interesting. He stepped outside and breathed in the fresh air.

He walked over to where Iolda lay and reached in to gently stroke the top of the roc’s head and hmmed softly to himself. "Looks like we are on our own until we land nestling." The bird chirped piercingly and he smiled, chirping back at it and continuing petting it as their journey continued and Farash thought about their situation, wishing he had had more time to look over the Herald’s gear, and that of the rest of the party.

[Ziether]

GM Post

”The Airship Formation” Airship travel is pretty monotonous. There are only so many things to see when peering down off the rails of a galley suspended ten thousand feet above the surface of the world, gliding by at a decent running pace. After four days of mountains and valleys, lakes and streams, the coast of Orculo appeared dead ahead. The white-capped waves sliced across the surface of the water, and the air grew rough, the sky filled with thick, dark clouds. Turbulence reigned for five whole days and nights. The formation of airships moved apart, maintaining 500 fta minimum safe distance in case a strong gust of wind battered two vessels towards each other. Rain never appeared, though, and the airships shrugged off the worst of the weather. Around dawn on the tenth day, the coast came into view once more, and the airways calmed significantly. Pristine, undeveloped beaches stretched as far as the eye could see. The captains conversed quickly, agreeing to pull the formation together more closely for the time being. The skies cleared, and verdant jungles covered the land below.

OOGM Majestic Pyre and Panthas have Secret Text. Waiting until at least one of them post is preferred, but you can do whatever you wish. The interval between this post and the next GM post is one in-game minute.

[Majestic Pyre]

Revealed Text At the prow of the Defiance, the Grippli had kept his watch relentlessly. He'd long since learned the distinctive smells and sights that punctuated life at 10,000 feet. So Kerz was a little startled at the glimmer that stirred him from his wool-gathering. Focusing his gaze, Kerz saw... What the? As his eyes adjusted fully into the light, Kerz saw something far in the distance, but coming in fast. Less than a minute now, he estimated. Something large. Not waiting to see if he was the first to notice the threat, Kerz clicked his boots. Practically shouting their command phase, he spoke: I'm leaf on the wind! The magic surged around him, empowering him. I have five minutes of flight with this use. I have 2 more uses today. I estimate a round has passed for this action + the weapon draw.He felt light, lithe and ready to act. He drew his weapon, Sanguine Sleep. He would fight, but first he had to warn the others. I fly at 60 ft per move. I'm doing nothing but flying and shouting, so I expect this takes about 2 rounds, or twelve second. Thus 18 seconds so far.Skimming over the heads off the crew, Kerz jetted down the length of the prow. ALARM! ALARM! If just it was a peaceful vessel, well, Kerz was willing to raise the alarm and be wrong. Better safe than in a thousand burning pieces, as his mother used to say. He screamed as loudly as he could. I'm only spending two rounds going down and two rounds coming back. So I can only make it 240 feet down the length of our 300 foot ship. I'm hoping that's enough.Most of the way down the length of the ship, he swerved. Plunging down, over the side of the ship, he came back across the side, shouting for all he was worth. TO ARMS! Hopefully the Herald would hear his warning through a window or chink in the ship's hull. As he neared the front of the ship, Kerz channeled just a sliver of the energy that kept his dead body moving. I'm using the Vanishing Trick to become invisible. It's a SU, so it can't be dispelled, and it lasts for a minute (or 10 Rounds.) It's a swift action, so I can do it on the fly. Approx. 5 Rounds have passed so far, or 30 seconds.Finding that little piece of soul inside himself, he wrapped himself in it, and vanished. As he cleared the length of the ship, Kerz prepared to engage whatever seemed to be assailing them. He flew directly at the distant figure hoping to get a better look, and if necessary, fight.

[Panthas]

Farash had been standing on the deck, at the rail, looking down at the land below them. He enjoyed the new smell in the air. The scent of the ocean was in the air, that odd tang of salt that he wasn’t used to filling his nose. He was a creature of forest and freshwater, and though he had seen the ocean, he preferred inland himself. He was a bird, not a fish, that much water made him nervous. He looked down at the glittering waters of the ocean, shaking his head at the idea of men that lived their life at sea, shivering at the thought of what splashing saltwater would do to his feathers. He would be white encrusted very quickly, and probably giving the crew ideas about a new dinner item if they ran out of vittles.

Defiance As he was about to turn back towards the midships he caught the flash of something at the edge of his vision. His left eye swiveled in its socket to see just what that had been. What he saw when he turned his head to get both eyes on target was the sort of thing to ruin a bird’s day, like finding a snake sitting in the middle of your sleeping bag and looking for soft company. A dragon, a scaley beast come to invade the nest, though whether it was coming to see what was distrubting its territory, or simply spoiling for a fight, well it was hard to tell with the chromatics. As is sped towards them he whirled around on deck and ran for the cabin space, knocking on the kobold’s door and saying,"Green dragon approaching, possible attack eminent, prepare." Before he spun away again, back out onto deck.

Defiance His bootsteps came drumming oddly on the deck from his claws and he looked around for the Last Stand and spotted it, and raised a claw to point at the catfolk he saw standing on deck with a cup of coffee. He traced his claws through the air as his other hand pulled a piece of copper wire from his pouch and he cast the spell, the wire vibrating in his fingers before messagethe spell took and he whispered "Green dragon approaching from the east, possible trouble, battlestations recommended." If the catfolk looked his way at the sound of the whispered words he would not and tip his hat brim before he dashed off to go alert the captain to the danger.

Defiance He sprinted to where the captain was and reported. "Captain, green dragon coming in fast on the east side, potential battle ahead." And with that he was off again, to where Ialdo was, letting out a piercing whistle that had the roc jumping out of its nest and standing tall. Farash slid up next to the bird and started casting spells quickly, one hand resting on Ialdo as he clawed symbols into the air and let arcane words come from his lips, making the air around the bird shiver even as the muscles on his wings seemed to swell and he started looking sleeker. He next started to cast over his bow, tracing runes along its length that flared for a brief moment with a strong red glow before they sunk into the bow and made it seem to swell in his hands, growing more powerful as he chanted. Finally he finished the spell and looked around. The dragon was close, and while he could still cast more spells for battle, he would wait and see.(Cast Swift Wings on Ialdo, and Gravity Bow on my bow)

[kedcoleman]

On the deck, Ira walks restlessly about. More stretching his legs, than anything. Over a week stuck in this boat - what he wouldn't give for a wide open plain ahead of him to run and ride. Still, it was hard to argue with the speed they've had, getting to the land of the Kitsune. Ira tips his hat back, to feel the wind wash over his face and fur. He closes his eyes and, for a moment, is reminded of the expanse of his home, where winds like these would whip across the grasslands and ridges.

He's in the midst of his recollection, when the call goes up. His eyes snap open and he looks in the direction of the threat. A dragon, they were saying. It took a few seconds, before Ira could pick out the distant shape moving towards them. "Well," he says, casually, around the toothpick in his mouth, "don't that just beat all." Keeping his gaze locked on the approaching dragon, the Marshall walks - almost casually - to the bow of the ship, up the short flight of stairs to the raised deck. Once he nears the railing, he twists his torso slightly, letting the wind grab his poncho and pull it to the side, revealing the holstered pistol and the polished medal badge of his position. He sets his stance wide, letting his right hand hang loosely near the grip of the pistol. He narrows his eyes and waits for the creature to draw closer.

[Winter Wight]

Vatarin Blast it to the nine hells!"Drevab coi ekess wer wlekjr uoinotai!" Vatarin continued muttering oaths as he slipped on his boots and grabbed his bag. He had barely been able to stomach food for the past week and he was not happy. He would have preferred it if he could punch it in the face for disturbing him but under the circumstances a giant ball of fire might do as well. The mutters shifted into spellcasting as he burst out upon the open deck. Unfazed by the shift of light, the kobold easily spots the approaching figure even as a Mage Armortransparent layer of force settles around his body. Another spell drifts into his mind and sits on the back of his tongue while he considers the probable threat. A threat perhaps, but under the circumstances it might even prove an ally. Likely it would prove too late by the time the crew discovered the truth of the matter. Looking over to Farash, Vatarin nods approvingly. Heedless of Farash's attention upon the distant catfolk before running to the captain, the spell on Vatarin's lips shifts and he jogs over to the bird-man. As the last syllable of the spell passes Vatarin's lips he clasps the Tengu by the wrist and permits the force of the spell to flow over the taller Tengu, wrapping him in Protection from Energy (Acid)protective energy. Vatarin smiles. "A small gift in case you need it." Not awaiting a response, Vatarin charges across the deck looking for an advantageous position in case this visit turns nasty.