The Wayfinders - The Wreck of the Archon

With some help, Dain moves his camp from the forest glade to the sparesly wooded area around the Rumbleball. As the craft lacks any sort of beds, you set up your tents and unpack some of your supplies for a welcoming feast for your new companion. Midian goes off in seclusion far from the Rumbleball in order to gather his power. The trail of devastation on the surface looks disruptive, however the earth has been churned and areated while the old growth has been knocked down to give other species a chance. The others sit around the campfire and exchange stories of their adventures, fighting demons and cultists, the Last War, and all that has changed since then. Dain tells you what little he can of the Mournlands, but it is an ever changing place and what he can describe is just a small fraction of the stories you have heard coming from that tainted land. As the hour grows late you say your goodnights, set a watch rotation, and settle down the the night. Other than the glow of airship rings high in the night sky, the evening passes without incident.

In the morning Midian returns and announces he is ready. Kraken enters the sphere with Doral and Whisper while Dain and Midian wait for them down near the waters edge. Midian mentions that after a night of studying the area and pondering what he could remember, he knows that the lake has connections to the sea and is quite deep in places. It may have any sort of ocean beast in it that can survive fresh water and there is no telling what could have been spawned by the Mournland's influence. With that, the two of them step out into the water and wait on Kraken.

Kraken drives the craft to the waters edge and senses a resistance to his urging to send the craft into the water. However after a few moments of wrestling with the controls he drives the craft into the water. It roils along the surface churning up clouds of silt and plants before dropping out of sight. Midian casts his water breathing spells on Dain and an endure elements spell as an afterthought, not knowing how cold it will be below the surface. He dives into the cloudy water and vanishes. A moment later a massive dorsal fin breaks the surface followed by a slick grey body. Dain glimpses all black eyes and a mouth wide enough to swallow him whole. It isn't until the creature sticks its head above the water and waggles it back and forth to reassure him before he dives in himself to grab a hold on its back. With a powerful sweep of its tail, the shark-Midian dives after the sphere.

Inside, navigation is difficult due to the clouds of silt kicked up by the craft. Kraken leans forward in his seat, trying his best to see through the silt. Realizing that the craft is plunging through darkness, Midian gapes his mouth and twists awkwardly in the water as he summons a minor spell to aid navigation. A light glows from the tips of the spikes as they roll along. A few more applications and soon the craft is ringed with light making the traveling much easier.

The bottom continues to drop away rapid as you travel further out into the lake. Soon it is dark all around you with only a slightly less dim patch above you to indicate which way is up.


Midian, Kraken, and Dain
[SBLOCK]
The darkness ahead of you seems to move oddly. You've seen shifting forms in the gloom before but this stands out to you. You catch glimpses of flashing fish scales... but wait, those are not fish bellys moving past. They coil and writhe like a nest of snakes but with a strange sheen. Suddenly the thing in front of you jets in closer revealing a cylindrical body with a huge mantle above glowing red eyes. At the other end of the body are nearly a dozen tentacles that reach out hungrily towards you!
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Midian
[SBLOCK]
Your enhanced senses give you a strange feeling about this beast. You're not used to having ampullae of lorenzini as your primary senses, but this thing is giving off a strong sensation, more so than than the energy generated by the bodies of fish. It feels highly unnatural.
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Kraken & Midian
[SBLOCK]
OOC - To make the Rumbleball do anything other than drive in straight lines or turn you need to make a piloting check which is profession. So 1d20+wis+2 with your special training.
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"This has been a pleasant enough trip so far," the oblivious Doral says conversationally to his companions.

Whisper frowns at the walls of the Rumbleball. She'd been happy with the plan as Midian and Dain had come up with it, but now she was having second thoughts.

"I should be out there too," she mutters. "I've learned to use magic to enhance my form-changing...I could breathe underwater if I had to. I hate not knowing what's going on out there."

"Bloody hell!" Dain screams in surprise as the giant sea creature appears in front of the rumbleball. He quickly regains his composure and makes an obscene gesture with his free hand.

[sblock=RELEASE THE KRAKEN!]I can't remember if you can talk with water breathing or not and can easily edit the post if needed.[/sblock]

Terrible Swift Sword said:

[sblock=RELEASE THE KRAKEN!]I can't remember if you can talk with water breathing or not and can easily edit the post if needed.[/sblock]

Click to expand...

OOC:
[SBLOCK]
From PSRD:
Spellcasting Underwater: Casting spells while submerged can be difficult for those who cannot breathe underwater. A creature that cannot breathe water must make a concentration check (DC 15 + spell level) to cast a spell underwater (this is in addition to the caster level check to successfully cast a fire spell underwater). Creatures that can breathe water are unaffected and can cast spells normally. Some spells might function differently underwater, subject to GM discretion

Since it says you can cast spells underwater, including those with verbal components, I would say you can speak.
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Doral shrugs at Whisper, "You should just relax and be glad you are in here, as it is warmer in here than out there. Our fellows are smart gentlemen. If there are problems I am sure they will find a way to let us know.

If there is anything we should envy, it is the fact that they are probably seeing the amazing sights in which our world's waters are gifted. I am sure when we land they will regale us with tales regarding the beauty of the deep."

Whisper chuckles.

"Lakes are either dark if they're deep, or murky and silty if they're shallow. Not much beauty to be seen there. You're right though...I doubt there's much in a lake that's overly dangerous. I just hate being out of the loop."

"It's food for thought though. Maybe one of us can figure out how to communicate reliably at a distance, through walls. It'd make avoiding surprises much easier."

Dr Simon said:

OOC: I assume Kraken can see out of the Rumbleball - does that apply to all occupants?

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OOC
[SBLOCK]
I could of sworn I had a part under the mechanics where only the driver could see out but I didn't see that part in my posts. The entry in the Magic of Eberron book says there is a series of fixed crystal windows... which doesn't make much sense in a craft that rolls around. Since I'm not finding that detail in my posts or craft notes, I'll go with everyone can see out while wearing goggles that are tethered to the craft which allow you to see through the elemental's senses. Plus that would let you navigate in earth-glide mode. I think it will make actions smoother anyway in retrospect, rather than having to have the driver explain each round to the passengers.

So everyone can read the Midian, Dain, Kraken sblock.
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