Anything But Normal, Sailing the Endless Falls...

[Isida Kep'Tukari]

Sho'brakka nods, his moustache curling in a smile, and gives a bit of bow to you both. Then he makes a shooing motion with his hands. Clearly, you are dismissed.

Unless others have things they wish to do, eventually all find their way back to the ship well after midnight. Some might have arrived earlier, but Trebuchet and Lupaz were the last to arrive. When you get there, Tempest, the hazodee, Oobobooboo, the sentient ooze, and Ekilu, the darfellan, are already there talking with Captain Merri and the crew.

"We've got some interesting things going on," the Captain says, stroking his beard. "So children, do you have some travel plans?"

 

[Rystil Arden]

*Nissa is impressed at the level of interest shown by the void genasi. She smiles and waves to her before heading back to the ship. Then she heads off to contact Lupaz about what she's discovered. Since both of them know about the plot to take control of the Weirds, she wants his opinion before making a unilateral decision.*

"I found the wizard who is in charge of the shipments. I couldn't convince him to directly and obviously betray the Time Elementals by refusing them their goods, but I convinced him to give me the shipment's path so that we can ambush it and make sure it never reaches its intended target. I know it could be a trap, but I believe he was telling the truth, and he could have captured me before but chose not to do so. And even if it might be a trap, I believe that we need to take the risk in order to disrupt the ritual."

 

[Shayuri]

(does Rystil's action take place while Trebuchet is still with Lupaz? After we get back to the ship? Before? )

 

[Rystil Arden]

(OOC: Nissa would have arrived significantly before midnight, so she would have pulled Lupaz aside after he arrived)

 

[Kelleris]

Hmm... True, he could have captured you there, but he may also have simply seized the opportunity to take us all in one move.

Lupaz considers for a moment.

You say you trust this person, though? Well, I agree with you, it's a risk worth taking. And certainly you're the one among us best suited to judging that risk. But there are some things we can do to mitigate that risk. If we can find out the usual crew complement of the vessel dispatched by this mage, I should be able to immediately tell if an ambush is in the works simply by shifting over to the other vessel from a distance and sniffing around to get an idea of the number of bodies there. Unless, of course, your potentially-traitorous mage could get ahold of individual champions of great skill on short notice. And even then, I would smell it if there was anything especially unusual involved. If there isn't I can give the signal for an attack.

OOC: I'll roll Knowledge (local) at +11 after pumping Nissa for any additional details about the enemy vessel, hoping for anything but an estimated (normal) crew complement in particular, and a judgment as to our chances with, again, the usual complement. I don't think I have time for it, but I'll roll Gather Information +17 to get better information if I can (takes 1d4+1 hours).

 

[Rystil Arden]

"I agree--that seems like a prudent set of precautions. I knew you were the best one to help me judge past my own tendency to trust people, so that's why I knew I should talk to you first," Nissa nods at Lupaz's ideas to help spot a trap, "However, the way he not only saw past my disguise but effortlessly identified me...this Draco is a man of great power, and I had the feeling he might have been connected to the fey, and he claimed to be close to someone who cares for me, though he said he couldn't reveal that connection. I would guess it might be Uncle Proteus. I considered the possibility that he might let me go to try to catch more, but I think if he wanted us all, he could have just scoured my mind for information on the Khora Aisa and ambushed the ship while the rest of us were out and about. As far as I could sense, he was being completely sincere in that he sympathises against the Time Elementals but dares not be anything more than a neutral trader of goods in this conflict, for fear of retribution to himself and those who work for him."

"Even if he is completely honest, however, it is well to know what we should expect to be up against. Captain Grass of the Pungent Shrew rounds the Glass Maelstrom in three days. We may need to cut through the Maelstrom in order to cut him off. If any ship can do it, it will be the Khora Aisa."

 

[Erekose13]

The pale man concentrates, closing his eyes for a long moment. Then he opens them again, and they show a pale blue, a startling contrast to the blank and dead white they displayed before. "I will sent on of my spirits of the air to you, be watching," he says in a voice that echoes with wind and rumbling stones. Another blink, and the man's eyes go back to their blank whiteness.

"Did you get the answer you require?" he asks, with an odd tilt to his head.

"Yes, thank you." replies Vaukriel. He limited resources spent, Vaukriel will return to the Khora Aisa to find the others.

 

[Shayuri]

(ping)

 

[Kelleris]

OOC: Sorry, I was hoping to get a response on my skill checks before I perked up again. But bah! Who needs planning?

Lupaz nods at Nissa's comments. I agree. But before we go haring off after this lead, we should check and see how the others fared? Trebuchet and I were able to establish a contact within the elemental court, and we have a way to contact him in the future, though the terms were... unusual. The mage we contacted requested a fortnight of our dreams as payment, which seemed harmless to me, but... He sneers. Magic, you know? And strange magic at that. Should we expect any difficulties to arise from this arrangement, Nissa? You are our resident scholar.

In any case, we should share your findings with the others.

 

[Rystil Arden]

"That's..." Nissa pauses, "I don't know that I could have ever agreed to that. But then, maybe I could have if I were Trebuchet, who has no dreams. But for me, and I think maybe all fey, dreams are a big part of me. They feed the emotion, the passion, the imagination...I don't know that I would live through something like that. Certainly I wouldn't be the same...Even with Ananke, she could never take my dreams," Nissa shudders, "You have paid a steep price, my friend. I dearly hope that we shall yet prove it a worthy sacrifice."

(OOC: Add to those random thoughts any results of Kn Arc +10)