Elven Navy Delta Squad: Thought Taker

"if the Elven Navy and the Battlepoet trust you I will go... and of course because orders are orders. Why do you feel you need such an elite squad at your side? What dangers do you expect to encounter? What should we be prepared for?"

GE

"Dangers abound in the Spheres. Is not the Elven Navy dedicated to protecting all people of good faith?" the voice in your heads continues. "After consulting with your Battlepoet, I have learned that the region we must explore has a high incidence of pirate activity. We will also pass through the phlogiston, that spectacle of chaos and beauty. My crew are relatively inexperienced, but they are the best I could locate. The presence of experienced Navy personnel would be a great boost to their morale. If I had a Illithid Nautiloid at my command, things would be different, but I have had ... disagreements with my people."

"If there are no other questions, I shall retire to the ship. We shall leave within the hour." The mind flayer stands, as does its kobold companion (pet?), eager and trusting as a puppy (charmed, you imagine). They exit the observation room through another door.

The Battlepoet turns, "I'm glad to see you are willing to follow orders. This is an unpleasant assignment, and I would not trust it to anyone less. You are welcome to requisition mental defense equipment as you see fit. May Corellon guide you. Good hunting!"

Akodo mumbles something like "Don't mention it — at least there'll be pirates" as the Battlepoet leaves the room — despite his ignorance of what the problem is (although he does suspect that the mind flayer or at least mind flayers in general rest at the base of the problem), he's beginning to feel that his enthusiasm might be a little misguided. Turning to his teammates, "so if we're going to be requisitioning more equipment, what do you all recommend?"

Marcus looks over his teammates now that Battlepoet has left them. "Akodo, I would recommend items that strength your will or your resolve or any items that would help you to resist magics of any kind. Anyone else have any other ideas?"

"Also, Akodo, I think I should give you a brief rundown about Illithids or mindflayers? Unless one of our more learned teammates would like to give the lesson?" If no one does, Marcus will give a general description of who they are and what they do.

"If there are no questions, I suggest we gather our gear for a long journey, put our affairs in order, and meet on deck in forty." Marcus will wait until the others usher out, then speak with Battlepoet on who is in charge of the mission with Arramor elsewhere. He will also inquire if there will be a sending crystal or any other items to take on the trip.

Marcus will then gather his equipment, making sure everything is in order, and review the letter detailing where to send his personal effects (this he puts in a prominent location in his locker). Marcus will check with the supply sergeant at the armory for what's available for the trip and get what he can.

"I'm ready now; I'll be up on deck"

GE

GruTheWanderer said:

"Dangers abound in the Spheres. Is not the Elven Navy dedicated to protecting all people of good faith?" the voice in your heads continues. "After consulting with your Battlepoet, I have learned that the region we must explore has a high incidence of pirate activity. We will also pass through the phlogiston, that spectacle of chaos and beauty. My crew are relatively inexperienced, but they are the best I could locate. The presence of experienced Navy personnel would be a great boost to their morale. If I had a Illithid Nautiloid at my command, things would be different, but I have had ... disagreements with my people."

"If there are no other questions, I shall retire to the ship. We shall leave within the hour." The mind flayer stands, as does its kobold companion (pet?), eager and trusting as a puppy (charmed, you imagine). They exit the observation room through another door.

The Battlepoet turns, "I'm glad to see you are willing to follow orders. This is an unpleasant assignment, and I would not trust it to anyone less. You are welcome to requisition mental defense equipment as you see fit. May Corellon guide you. Good hunting!"

Click to expand...

Chjargal continues a low growl as the illithid leaves. He turns and looks down at the Battlepoet, "Thanks for the authorization of equipment, but what did he mean about his 'disagreements'? I'd like a little bit more Intel about his background before we depart."

In response to Chjargal's question, the Battlepoet replies that few specifics are known of Though Taker's differences with other illithids. To the best of her knowledge, the disagreement is non-violent, and other illithids are not considered a significant risk factor on this mission.

Keia said:

Marcus will wait until the others usher out, then speak with Battlepoet on who is in charge of the mission with Arramor elsewhere. He will also inquire if there will be a sending crystal or any other items to take on the trip.

Marcus will check with the supply sergeant at the armory for what's available for the trip and get what he can.

Click to expand...

The Battlepoet tells Marcus that he is the provisional leader of this mission. Because the voyage will take the squad outside the sphere, crystal communication will be impossible. If unforeseen complications arise, the squad should seek the nearest Elven Navy outpost or fleet.

You can find just about any magic item under 10,000gp aboard ship. Take what you want, subject to your requisition limit.

Rising to the flight deck, you spot a morayeel ship hovering off the wing of the Escaflowne. It's been a while since you've seen one of these old ships, as they've been replaced by more efficient designs in the last hundred years. They require a crew of ten (sail master, helmsmen, two men on the sails, and six men on the oars). With Thought Taker and the six of you, it will be a full ship.

You only hope you don't see much combat in this thing. It has two heavy catapults, but the wooden hull is not unbreakable.

http://www.shatteredfractine.com/shipyard/ships/morayeel.html

Ultimately, Akodo decides to forget about requisitioning new equipment — he hasn't had much of a chance to see how his current assembly works. When he reaches the flight deck and sees the condition of the ship, he shrugs — it wasn't as if the pirates had any better.

After boarding the Thought-Taker's ship, Amanu wanders about to familiarize himself with the layout of the vehicle. After they are underway, he also makes an effort to learn the identities and skills of the various members of the crew.

Marcus tips the supply sergeant for some supplies to hopefully arrive by the time Delta Squad returns and he arranges with an enchanter to enchant his spike chain upon return.

Marcus waits on the flight deck until all of his team are on board. Then he will board himself, and report to the Thought Taker (TT) all his team is on board and prepared to set out.

Marcus will set up his bunk and materials, then confer with his team on anything they've learned since coming on board. "Let's get to business. Battlepoet didn't have any more information other than what we learned at the briefing. I should note that we won't have communication with the Navy, so we're on our own out here. I prefer that we work in pairs while on duty on the ship. I don't care who pairs up with whom, I would suggest that we rotate, however, to get comfortable with each other and our abilities. It's been a while since the six of us have worked together. And, with a flayer on board, it would be a good idea to know each other well so that we can better detect if anyone is being controlled."

"I would like the ship thoroughly searched for anything unusual - stowaways, questionable cargo, problems with the ship. We should have two on deck at all times, perhaps in four hour shifts? Talking with the crew, the sailmaster and helmsman, is a priority as well. See if any have traveled in this area before and what we can expect as well as anything else that may be important. Any questions?"