Jungle Deeps and Ocean Depths

[Isida Kep'Tukari]

Our Cast of Characters

Winter, Male Human Rogue 2/Sorcerer 8 (dave_o}
Halark Greywave, Male Half Sea Elf Wizard 7/ Arcane Devotee of Kelmvor 3 (WhatKu)
Morrin Estilan, Male Aasimar Cleric 9 of Kelemvor (Ankh-Morpork Guard)
Prince Undinar Deptholas, Male Water Genasi Fighter 6/Living Spell 3 (Erekose13)
Whisper, Male Finhead Saurial Fighter 4 / Rogue 4 (Velenne)
Erik Von Horne, Male Human Fighter 5/ BondBlade 5 (Wynter Wolf)
Dorcha Vasson, Male Human Fighter 6/Devoted Defender 3 (NPC cohort to Halark Greywave)

Out of Character Thread
Rogue's Gallery Thread

And so our story begins...

A new days dawns in Mezro. The sun always seems to rise so quickly here, though perhaps it's only a longing for it to stay cool dawn a while longer that makes it seem so. The day is hot and humid, as it has been every day since you've arrived. One thing, among many, that marks Mezro as a city apart from all others on Toril is the profuse explosion of greenery in the city. You sometimes feel as if the jungle is trying to reclaim the stone buildings of the city, so thick are the trees, bushes, vines, and flowers. Strange spices perfume the air here, mingling with the perfume of the tropical flowers and tree barks.

The port is busy even in the early morning, unloading crates of iron weapons and barrels of grain. Humans and the odd lizardfolk swarm the docks and the nearby market, crowding both with early risers. Some stalls have fruits and nuts fresh from the jungle surrounding the city, others sell hot, bitter coffee and the sweeter kava. One or two have stalls with loose gems, guarded by fierce, scowling dwarves. Though they carry no weapon, their fists look as hard as stones. A few others are selling tools, ivory, perfume, even ribbons.

Today is fifth-day, the second tenday of Flamerule. What are each of your characters doing right now?

 

[dave_o]

Winter casually makes his way through the Merzo marketplace, clad in a thin, high-collared jacket of black linen over loose garments of a deep, crimson cotton. Belted at his side is Needle, his hand resting on it out of habit. His eyes scan the stalls for the Dwarven gem sellers, and beyond that cursory inspection, gem sellers who may give him a bit of information.

OOC - Winter's interested in getting some of these "fist-sized gems", or at least finding out where they come from. Beyond that, any sort of politico he recognizes from his travels will be pounced upon.

 

[WhatKu]

OOC- Im going to use Medium Turquoise for my speech/thought colors.

Slamming a copy of Cormyr: A History shut, Halark begins to pace What am I supposed to be doing? Im no diviner. Couldnt they have at least told me what artifact im supposed to be looking for? "A religous artifact may have been lost in Chult. Try and find it, while advancing the goals of the church". Oh, thats real helpfull. Sighing, he grabs his quaterstaff and tries to find a nice bar to get some food at.

 

[Ankh-Morpork Guard]

Morrin walked calmly down the streets, wearing his no-longer-shining armor, though on the right shoulder was the symbol of Kelemvor. His large sword was strapped across his back, and the only piece of the armor he was not wearing were the annoying gloves. He knew he was going to burn up in the armor once it got later in the day, but for now he would be alright.
Walking around, Morrin found himself watching the people more than anything. There was a task at hand...he had to find that old artifact, whatever it was. For now though, that could wait. This place was far too interesting.

 

[Velenne]

Each new city was a new adventure for Whisper. Chult, more than any other, reminded him of home. It was a bittersweet feeling- he had left home for something different but now that he was here, he felt comfortable in the natural surroundings. Still, he was determined to find something entertaining to busy himself with.

 

[Erekose13]

Undinar Deptholas, water genasi Living Spell

*Undinar strode off the boat that had brought them to yet another great city-upon-the-land. Many people stopped to look at him. He stood tall and proud at their curious glances, his green skin gleaming in the hot sun. Accompanying his new mysterious employer Winter, Undinar wandered through the market keeping his eyes open for possible trouble.*

Hmm. This city is different, it is good to see so much life in such a city. Too many of the places I have visited have choked the green out, striving to replace it with their industry. While not the great coral reefs of my home, this jungle may have its attractions yet. Undinar thought to himself.

 

[WizWrm]

Taesshan sits at a table, writing rapidly in a slanting script on a piece of parchment that's covered with ink-stains. A small red-leather pouch sits on the table, obviously magical by the slightly unnerving runes that grace its hem. Between fits of writing, Taesshan pauses to look carefully at the pouch, gyrating his hand every so often from a cramp that has resulted from the literary frenzy.

He suddenly hears a door crash just outside the hall, whereupon he finishes his sentence with a flourish and drops the quill, snatching the pouch before attaching it to the braided cord Taesshan uses for a belt. He gets up and opens the door to nearly collide with the sea-green form of Undinar.

"Ah, we've arrived. Excellent," he says, glancing over Undinar's shoulder to see Winter. "I suppose we shall depart the boat, then?"

He gathers the rest of his possessions into his bag of holding and accompanies the other two down the boarding plank onto the dock. As they walk, Taesshan says "Perhaps we ought to check the local archives, first? If luck is on our side, they will have at least a mild shamble of jungle map." He looks around as he speaks, taking in all the sights.

 

[Isida Kep'Tukari]

*Winter, none of the politicos seem to be out this early morning, so you're free to wander the market a bit. The scowling dwarven gem guards only seem to deter a few people, though most of them are gawkers. You're easily able to get close to the booth, and with your elegant clothes are given a bit of respect and deference by the red and gold-clothed dwarven merchants. A simple, open-sided tent of brilliant white keeps the sun off the stall, and the gems are displayed in locked, glass-topped wooden cases lined with what seems to be black velvet.*

*Most of the gems are medium-sized, about the size of the end of a human thumb. They'd make an impressive centerpiece to a necklace. You even see at least two that are indeed the size of a human man's fist; one is a faceted, brilliantly purple stone with hints of blue and red in it, and the other is a fire opal, smooth and round. There seems to be no common stone, you can see stones of all colors and types. A particularly portly dwarven merchant whose beard is braided with small gold chains with small red stones comes over to you after several minutes of looking.*

"May I be of assistance, noble sir?" he asks, his voice a deep bass rumble.

*Winter, you also notice that not very many other people seem to be wearing weapons. As a matter of fact, most seem to be wearing only an eating knife. You knew Mezro was considered a holy city by its natives, but in the North holy cities do not necessarily mean that one can walk about unarmed. Perhaps here it is different.*

*Halark, Dorcha quietly pays a porter to take the rest of your things (and his) to an inn once you find one (he'll send a message back to the docks). He doesn't wear his armor, and carefully puts his warhammer in his backpack.*

"The porter mentioned that most people don't carry weapons here sir, he said it's because the city is holy to the Chultans," Dorcha tells you quietly before taking his usual traveling position of behind and to the right of you.

*After a bit of looking around you manage to find a nice-looking round inn that seems to cater to relatively wealthy travelers. It's called the Rainbow Bird, and is painted in colors that seem almost gaudy to your eyes, with bright flowers that bloom in windowboxes under each large, open window. Inside it's somewhat cooler and pleasently dim. A skylight in the center of the room lets in a brilliant shaft of sunlight; no other lights are about aside from the front windows.*

*The inn's common room is about a quarter full, mostly of northerners, but a few have the darker skin of native Chultans. All are dressed well, mostly in light cotton or silk, and all with jewelry.*

*A few birds, roughly the size of a hawk but with broad winds, a blunt black beak, and brilliantly-colored plumage sit on the rafters, on along the curved bar along the back or the room, or on the windowsills. One of the birds opens its beak and speaks to you.*

"Welcome to the Rainbow Bird, welcome! Crilly will see to you needs, Crilly!" it says in a squaking voice.

*A few seconds later a middle-aged human woman with deep brown skin and tightly braided wiry black hair comes out from behind the bar. She's slightly plump, and wears a simple cotton dress in colors of red and orange, and crimson leather sandles on her feet. She reaches into a pocket of her apron and pulls out a nut and tosses it up to the bird. It catches it easily and flies over to the bar, where it holds the nut in one claw over a shallow dish and begins to crack it to get to the nutmeat inside. The woman, Crilly you assume, smiles widely at you.*

"Greetings far travelers, how may I help?" she says pleasently, her voice holding a hint of an accent.

[OOC: Must dash, more later!]

 

[dave_o]

Inclining his head in a respectful nod, Winter brings that nation-toppling smile to his face. I do hope he is a push over. "Indeed, master dwarf. I've come a long way here, from the North, in order to perhaps procure some of these fabled Chultan gems. Obviously, you've quite a bit of talent in the area -- or, at least, know a few able scouts who could lead me to such riches?"

He stops a moment, straightening his collar, and lets his eyes narrow in slight concentration.

"Also, would you mind terribly if I cast a rudimentary spell or two, in order to determine any qualities these fine gems might have that you able hands may have missed?"

 

[WhatKu]

"Just some spiced wine and a good stew, along with rooms for me and my compainon. We will just wait in the common room."
Gesturing for Dorcha to come with him, Halark grabs a seat at an empty table, as close to the others as he can find, and waits for his food.