Beyond the Rerisen Tower(DM Iron Sky, Judge: renau1g)

Toeto boards the ship. She remains on deck for awhile, looking out toward the sea.

Yishim mutters to himself. Might be a good time to get out of town. Somehow I doubt either the tavernkeeper's friends or the hobgoblins would be glad to see me right now. Perhaps this ship can take me somewhere far from den of socialists.

To the captain (and party) Yes, I think I will come on board for the journey. I've some experience against the undead, so perhaps I can help the others in this. As a self-interested rational actor cognizant of his own incentive structure of course. Not out of some good-hearted but ultimately misguided attempt to socialize losses and gains.

With that, Yishim comes on board the ship, and introduces himself. [sblock=Yishim Stat Block]Yishim- Male Human Wizard 3
Passive Perception: 14, Passive Insight: 17
AC:18, Fort:13, Reflex:18, Will:17, Resist 10 Force -- Speed:6
HP:29/29, Bloodied:14, Surge Value:7, Surges left:4/6
Initiative +5
Action Points: 0, Second Wind: not used
Powers: Scorching Burst, Chilling Cloud, Phantom Bolt, Shield, Grasping Shadows, Maze of Mirrors, Orb of Deception, Sleep, Orb of Unintended Consequences, Brooch of Shielding[/sblock]

"Many thanks for passage, Cyaptain," Salgyn says to Boundling, leading his horse up the gangplank. Surprisingly, Uyanmas accepts all of this with perfect, docile calm, having apparently no fear of the sea. "Perhaps I can return favor? I haff some skill vith weather. Just ask if you vant sailing forecast."

Turning to Fredrock and Kaz the half-elf asks, "You haff lost friends at tower, yes? My condolences. Sky cries when winds of life are stolen by those who return from the Land of Still Grasses. I shall lend my steel and my skill to your vorthy cause comrades. I am noted Caller among my people. I can help you stand strong vith healing breeze at your backs."

[sblock=stat block]Salgyn Khovalyg - Half-Elf Bard (Shaman) 1
http://l4w.wikia.com/wiki/PC:Salgyn_Khovalyg_(pacdidj)
Conditions: none
Passive Perception: 15, Passive Insight: 21, Init: +3
AC: 19, Fort: 16, Reflex: 15, Will: 19
Speed: 5
HP: 43/43, Bloodied: 21, Surge Value: 10, Surges left: 10/10
Action Points: 1, Milestones:
Basic Atk: Harmonic Songblade Scimitar +4 vs AC, 1d8 dmg
Ranged Basic Atk: none
At Will:
Staggering Note, War Song Strike, Call Spirit Companion, Virtue of Valor, Versatile Chainmail
Encounter:
Twin Panthers, Dissonant Strain, Claws of the Eagle, Spirits Fangs, Majestic Word, Majestic Word, Words of Friendship, Second Wind
Daily:
Stirring Shout, Speak with Spirits, Nature Sense, Harmonic Songblade, Spring Renewal Totem
Combat notes:

Uyanmas - Riding Horse
HP: 36/36; AC: 14, Fort: 15, Ref: 13, Will: 10
Speed: 10
Basic Atk: Kick +4 vs. AC, 1d6+4 dmg
Combat notes: [/sblock]

pacdidj said:

Turning to Fredrock and Kaz the half-elf asks, "You haff lost friends at tower, yes? My condolences. Sky cries when winds of life are stolen by those who return from the Land of Still Grasses. I shall lend my steel and my skill to your vorthy cause comrades. I am noted Caller among my people. I can help you stand strong vith healing breeze at your backs."

Click to expand...

Thank you my friend, hopefully with your power we can slay this menace once and for all. Kaz says, bowing and entering the boat.

Eithal walks up the gangplank looking behind her, "Ah hope we ah'nt leevin' ayneewon behiyand."

With everyone aboard, the ship Illest Omen set sail under a clear blue sky. Ten minutes later, the ship is under full sail, heading north along the coast to smell of salt, the cool mist of sea-spray on the skin, and nothing but the regular crash of the waves and the occasional calls from the crew to break the morning's quiet. Looks to be clear sailing.

Captain Boundling informs you that if the weather holds out, you'll be arriving at the tower sometime early the next day. Until then...



[sblock=Rest]You spend the day resting up for what is to come,. You relax, watch the shore go by or lay in a hammock, watching the clouds drift by in the sunlight.[sblock=Mechanical Benefit]You gain 5 Temporary Hit Points per level that last until your next extended rest.[/sblock][/sblock]

[sblock=Train]You spend the day training for what is to come. This might mean practicing with weapons, meditating, studying, or whatever it is you do to prepare for combat.[sblock=Mechanical Benefit]You gain an additional Action Point.[/sblock][/sblock]

[sblock=Train the Militia]You spend the day whipping the militia into fighting shape, making sure they know how to use their shields and spears and javelins, at the very least which point goes into the enemy.[sblock=Mechanical Benefit]The militia gain +1 level.[/sblock][/sblock]

[sblock=Prepare the Militia*]You spend the day impressing on the militia what they are up against, the rerising dead, like something from the horror stories they were told as kids, but real.[sblock]The militia will be able to act the first time they face the rerisen dead.[/sblock][/sblock]

[sblock=Read the Journal*]Kaz has the journal from one of the members of the militia's ill-fated first foray to the tower. As the others go about their tasks, you spend the day reading it aloud to them to help prepare everyone for what they will face. [sblock=Mechanical Benefit]I will post the journal entries.[/sblock][/sblock]

[sblock=Help Sail the Ship]You spend the day doing what you can to help the energetic Captain Boundling and his small crew, pulling in lines, manning the rudder, cleaning the deck, trimming the sails, etc.[sblock=Mechanical Benefit]The ship arrives earlier in the day than it would have otherwise. You will have more hours before nightfall the first day...[/sblock][/sblock]

[sblock=Keep a Lookout Along the Shore]You spend the day keeping an eye out on the shore, looking for the dead or anything else that might threaten the ship.[sblock=Mechanical Benefit]You spot a small sea-cave from which you spot a glint of golden light in the cliff wall as you near the tower. Convincing Boundling to let you take a small boat to examine it, you find a small shrine bearing a tiny gold statue of some long-forgotten goddess surrounded by natural crystals and vials full of golden liquid. The statue is worth about 50gp if you wish to take it and there are also 1d4 vials of Holy Water(level 1) or 1 vial of Holy Water(level 6).[/sblock][/sblock]

[sblock=Get to Know Your Companions]You spend the day getting to know the strange little company that is setting out to the tower, perhaps regaling them with tales of your previous adventures or listening to theirs, speaking of home, telling jokes, and otherwise bonding with your companions.[sblock=Mechanical Benefit]While you are adjacent to an ally, you both gain a +2 teamwork bonus to saving throws. While you are flanking with an ally, you both gain a +2 teamwork bonus damage.[/sblock][/sblock]

Kaz finds a good, quiet spot to settle down in and reads the journal he found in the tower. He never got the chance to finish it, too busy with help sailing the boat on the return trip. Perhaps it will help him gain an advantage in the upcoming battle.

[sblock=Journal Entry 1]The date on the first entry in the book is about three weeks ago. The handwriting is clean and crisp and the parchment in the back of the book looks almost new, aside from some water damage and blood splatters on the edges.

Mother gave me this journal and said I should take it with me. Said it would help, she knew from her own experience during Daunton's campaign two decades ago against the Pirates of Mont Cenon. She gave them to me with this journal, "so I saw that I was not alone."

The Captain frowned at the extra weight, said I'd be foolish to bring it, but I gave him the excuse that I'd be keeping the official journal and log of the expedition to restore Southpoint Tower. He laughed, said that there wouldn't be much to record, except maybe sightings of the backsides of some bandits as they ran from us.

It's been a long day of marching, tougher than the marches we went through during Muster Days. It's ok though, we only have another day or two to march, depending on how the weather is.

I wonder what the tower is like. Only Captain Cale has been around since the last time it was in service and he said it was mostly just a lookout point to watch for pirates or smugglers making a run around the cliffs at Southpoint. He said there were some ruins or something deeper inland towards the mountains, could see them up on the hills when they patrolled on a clear day.

I'm paraphrasing greatly since his language was a bit crude, but he said some of them were almost hanging from the mountainside below some caves, like, well, you get the picture. He also said he'd heard that they were there when the first people arrived to settle the island and that they were ancient then.

Too bad there's not much reason to go up there, got to be more interesting than sitting in a tower for months on end with nothing to do but take turns watching the sea...

Anyway, time to turn in, got another long hike tomorrow. At least we get to stop by Rogwood tomorrow. Captain Cale said we get to draw straws to see who gets a roof over their heads at the village - or at least the rest of us get to draw straws, there's no doubt about whether Cale is sleeping inside or not. Nice warm meals at any rate.

As a final random note, there's a really strange breed of ravens out here. Saw one sitting on a tree stump outside the camp while we were setting up. Sat there for nearly half-an-hour just watching us and when I finally moved close to see if it was even alive, it flew off without a sound. Whatever breed it is, they smell terrible.
[/sblock]


[sblock=Journal Entry 2]The next page is wrinkled and warped and the ink is splotched and difficult to read. The date is the day after the last entry.

The rain is miserable. Started coming down this afternoon - Captain Cale said that's normal for this time of year around here - and it hasn't let up a bit since. The road is nothing but a morass of mud - we're walking along the sides of it to avoid the worst, but earlier I slipped on the wet grass and slipped into it. I'm still scraping mud out of my boots.

I got a short straw so I'm huddled against the wall of the "inn". It's the only square building in Rogwood so we're packed in so tight trying to get a scrap of shelter that I barely have room to write.

Not much else to report except that we hope to be at the tower sometime late tomorrow night. Our scouts rode ahead this morning to see how bad the tower is doing. They were supposed to be back tonight, but I'll bet with the weather they're probably holed up in the tower. Warm. Dry. Comfortable. Bastards.

Time to see if I can get any sleep tonight. Who wins, exhaustion from marching through mud all day or the impossibility of sleeping while shivering and drenched?

Guess we'll see shortly.[/sblock]


[sblock=Journal Entry 3]The next entry is dated for the next day. The parchment is clean with just a few dirty fingerprint smudges around the edges of the page.

The tower is in better shape than we'd expected. We've sent Sasha back to let them know we made it and that it's clear, aside from some bats roosting in the top and a couple feral dogs slinking around the place. I'm relieved I'm not ashamed to admit.

We did receive a bit of training after Muster before they sent us out, but I'd rather not have to use my spear if I don't have to. The Captain almost seemed disappointed that there weren't any bandits here that we'd have to retake the tower from. I think he's crazy, why would you ever want to go to battle? I'll take boring garrison duty over fighting bandits any day.

Anyway, we crossed the bridge without incident. Water was running a bit high from all rain and the bridge isn't in the best of shape, but it was passable. Saw a couple more of those ugly, smelly ravens while we were crossing. Never seen a bird that takes care of itself so poorly as those ones did - bare patches where the feathers fell out, scabs on their legs, bleh. There were a couple at the tower when we got here too, thankfully they flew off into the woods when we showed up - it would have been unpleasant if they were roosting here.

Anyway, get to sleep inside tonight. Got a fire going downstairs, fresh mattresses for the bunk beds, a couple rugs and tables that weren't too bad after we shook them out or washed them. I spent the last couple hours before supper washing the walls and floors up here on the third floor where the bats were roosting. It's unpleasant work, but with all of us pitching in, this place should be pretty livable within a couple days, almost homey.

Now that Sasha is gone, its up to the other two Scouts to patrol the area. Here's hoping that they don't find anything hostile out there when they start searching the woods tomorrow - this could end up being a pretty comfortable posting, even has the crash of the waves on the cliff coming in through the window from way below, reminds me of Daunton.

Yawning too much as a write. At least I didn't pull watch tonight, I'm wiped out and I don't think I could stay up for another four hours. I must say, the way it's looking, mother's journals of the battles against the pirates are going to make my journal look like tamer than the Screamer...[/sblock]

Fredrock will work with the new militia, trying to better prepare them for battle. Even a little bit of training now, could save their lives later.

Eithal finds a comfortable spot on the deck and stretches out. Still weary from the battle behind, and aware that training this soon before a fight will only tire her, she takes the time to recover, reflect and prepare mentally.

Ole Freddie looks lahk hee's got'em gittin' raydee.