[Adventure] Serpent's Skull: Souls for Smuggler's Shiv (DM: Mewness; Judge: THB)

[GROMkill]

The dragonborn helps Noriaki rise to his feet, worried for his friend. "Noriaki, what is going on? Do you know the meaning of this violent fit? Has the sword become... tainted?"

He lets the others pull the box out of the shaft, making sure Noriaki is alright. When the box is opened, he stands in silent revelry, joyful he has come across more armor. Removing his mail shirt, some of the rings broken and marred, he replaces it with the new dwarven suit, admiring its fine craftsmanship. The chainmail slips over his padded armor underneath and it feels sturdier, despite no difference in thickness.

"Well... Shall we head back to camp? It's been two days since we've seen our friends. I'd imagine our return will give them much relief. I'm sure somebody there can figure out this calendar-device, as well."

 

[jbear]

Kane slips on the doublet admiring himself in the reflection of the deep shaft as the sun rises over head. He nods as Takahaan suggests returning to camp. As the group prepares to leave he weighs the strange disk in his hands, his face gleaming with a toothy grin.

"C-curious. A k-key?"

Kane's eyes suddenly widen. His mouth drops and he places the disc back in the chest with great urgency though he is carefully how he puts it down. He thinks some time before speaking, his coin spinning into the air with a rhythmic spinning.

"It is a c-calendar disk. A-ancient. Ancient M-magari. This one h-here you s-see" he stutters pointing at one of the figures "is the g-goddess M-ma-l-linal-x-x-x-x-xoc-chit-t-t-tl, b-betrayer of her p-people f-freind to their enemies the s-snake people. M-agari no l-longer speak her n-name. S-she is wickedness and b-betrayal. This d-disk is p-priceless.
If we g-get this off the island ... w-we will be k-kings and q-queens."

OOC: Cheeky request for XP?

 

[Mewness]

GM: It's late afternoon. You can probably make it back to your main camp tonight. About XP: I'll be awarding it formally on February 6, when the monthly period is up. Kane will level up to 3rd and everyone else will level up to 4th. You'll also be getting at least 600 time gold apiece. You can level yourselves up now and spend virtual gold if you like.

 

[Dekana]

Castile stands beside Kane while he explains the disk's significance. She looks increasingly astonished as he goes on.

"I can't even recognize her from the artwork - a goddess! If we can find the right sort to buy it... well, one thing at a time. Let's get this back to Daunton before we think about the prestige the disk will bring us."

While sorting through the plunder, Castile smiles at Kane and says, "I'm impressed."

OOC: The calender doesn't end a great cycle in this year, does it?

 

[Dekana]

[sblock=level up info]I tentatively leveled up Castile. She takes the Improved Defenses feat and "buys" a Circlet of Second Chances.[/sblock]

 

[Mewness]

GM: OK, assume that the circlet is in the treasure box as well.

 

[jbear]

Castile stands beside Kane while he explains the disk's significance. She looks increasingly astonished as he goes on.

"I can't even recognize her from the artwork - a goddess! If we can find the right sort to buy it... well, one thing at a time. Let's get this back to Daunton before we think about the prestige the disk will bring us."

While sorting through the plunder, Castile smiles at Kane and says, "I'm impressed."

OOC: The calender doesn't end a great cycle in this year, does it?

Kane grins like a wee boy at Castile and nods.

"J-just need to g-get off this h-hell hole alive!"

Kane grabs one end of the treasure chest and waits for one of his fellows to help it with the other end, obviously intending to take it back box and all.

When they head back down the hill to retake the path they know he whispers to Castile:

"Those other we-wrecks ... m-maybe we s-search them too?"

When they reach the abandoned village Kane drops the heavy chest down to rest. he takes the opportunity to reenter the hut marked with the strange symbol wondering of it might have anything to do with the calender disk.

As they finally retake the march back to camp Kane whistles a happy tune.

 

[Mewness]

Having collected their treasure, the group climbs back down the hill, heading north to rejoin their friends. As they walk along the coast, they arrive at the mouth of the river that flows south from their camp. From here, the wrecked ship that Pezock pointed out earlier--the newer one, the one that spooked him--is plainly visible. A closer inspection would require almost no detour at all, so the group decides to take a closer look.

The ship is definitely newer than the other wrecks the adventurers have seen here, but much its hull is missing--the cargo has likely been swallowed up by the sea already.

But the name of the ship is visible. “The Brine Demon!” exclaims Gelik. “Isn’t that the ship that Jade mentioned? I’m starting to wonder whether every lost ship in all of the Shifting Seas somehow ends up here.”

Pezock shudders and wraps the fingers of both hands around Pearl’s hilt. “Something’s not right with this one.”

[sblock=Insight 18 (active or passive)]There is a creepy sort of vibe to this area, as though something you can’t see is being held in check.[/sblock]

GM: Straight north is the most direct way back to camp, so you’re not passing back through the abandoned campsite. You’re now at location D3 on the map on the first page. The plot summary has been updated as well. I’ll need to know who’s carrying the calendar disk. If nobody else volunteers, I’ll assume it’s Kane.

 

[jbear]

OOC: My idea was to keep it in the chest and carry the entire chest back with the gold treasure. A chest could be useful for us at some stage. Plus I have a creeping feeling the disc might be malign or cursed in some way. Kane hasn't mentioned his fears directly to the group but he is a bit scared of the disc. So he's not keen to carry it directly on his person. The chest seems safer. Ignore stuff about returning to the abondoned camp. I'll relook over the thread and see what was said. The two events seem ... connected?

"J-jade's ship? Th-then w-we must explore it ... f-for Jade!"
By the look on Kane's eager face you can tell quite easily that Kane's motivation has NOTHING to do with helping Jade.

 

[Mewness]

GM: The entire box with the money and the disk is heavy enough that carrying it would be a job for one of the party's brutes (Castile or Takahaan probably, as Noriaki would probably refuse to lug heavy burdens around like a pack mule). I should note that there's nothing inherently sinister about the disk. As far as anyone can tell, it isn't magical, and while any depiction of Malinalxochitl is unsettling to a present-day Magari, the goddess isn't any more prominent on the disk than any of the other gods depicted. It just appears to date from a time when that goddess was routinely depicted on calendars.