(IC) We be Jammin' (5e PBP)

[Steve Gorak]

Nic flips as he realizes that he is on a flying ship. His normally fast pace of speaking goes up by an order of magnitude due to sheer excitement, and an ounce of relief that they will likely be out of reach of the crystal monstrosity "Ohmyohmyohmyohmy, the ship is flying!!!" he says, stating the obvious. He buzzes back and forth on the deck, trying to see what devices or magical accouterments are enabling the flight.

 

[Snarf Zagyg]

Phlox nodded at Montgomery upon hearing his explanation. The long years of isolation and training had left him unprepared for ... social niceties. As the boat went into the harbor, Phlox watched the receding shoreline contemplating when he might jump off, confident his swimming ability would get him back to the Lazzaretto. But while Phlox was debating this moment, the Captain called out and the boat started lifting, lifting, lifting up into the sky!

Phlox's preternatural balance kept him perfectly still, yet his mind was racing. This was some type of magick! And whatever his plans, both known to himself and, perhaps, unknown, he was on a new path now.

He held his gaze forward and while one hand tightened around his staff, his other hand balled into the fist of Zuoken in supplication. Guide me, Zuoken, that I might perfect myself and perfect your ways among these new people.

 

[FitzTheRuke]

An ape-like sailor leaped from one mast to the other, opening wing-flaps under his arms and soaring expertly across, landing on a yard where he could keep an eye out for the writhing vine that rose far over the city - high enough to still be a threat.

"Vine on the port bow! Heading fast!" called the sailor.

Captain Sartell thumped her foot on the deck again and called, "Hard to starboard! Up and away!"

The ship heeled as it swung to the side and anyone unused to the motion felt their stomachs lurch as they stumbled. A writhing vine - perhaps thousands of feet tall - sped through the air and narrowly missed the topmast.

The captain whistled and called to the ape-sailor, "That was a close one, Gordo! Keep calling out as you see them"

The ship continued to rise, and now the open ocean beyond the bay's breakwater ridge came into view. Far out to sea, another massive vine rose out of the water. It was so large, that a ridge of water that was tall enough to founder a ship rolled forth from it. Charlie, Gunthar, and others that were familiar with the sea knew that the ships leaving the bay would be unlikely to survive it - and there was nothing that they could do.

 

[Lidgar]

"Bless my barnacles!" Gunthar, normally level headed, struggled to control a surge of emotions - from awe, to terror, and finally a mixture of relief and grief. Relief that the fates brought Tanner and Selma back to him, but also a sudden, deep sorrow seeing the full scale of loss below him.

Fighting welling tears, his sorrow rapidly transformed into a blinding rage. He must find out who or what was behind this appalling, senseless destruction. Old feelings re-emerged, ones that he sought to bury years ago. Those responsible for this tragedy would not go unpunished.

 

[VLAD the Destroyer]

Charlie is helping people to settle in giving words of encouragement as things begin to get stowed and the ship is prepared to sail. As the ship pulled from the dock the form of Jak-Jak circles the ship once and then lands in the rigging. The monkey begins to hoot and holler and pointed towards the bay. Charlie settles the last of the townsfolk and returns to the main deck thinking to find the captain to introduce himself when the ships begins to pull up out of the water.

"Bloody 'ell, a ship i'nt supposed to move like this.

Charlie runs to the rail expecting to see some threat attacking the ship from below. Instead he watches as the vessel raises out of the water under some strange magic. Charlie whistles and scans the harbor.

"This is some ship you got here Cap'n."

His plan to introduce himself forgotten as the vine barely misses the airborne ship. He begins to call out any threats to the helmsman to assist in their escape. As the massive vine raises from the ocean he speaks a quick prayer to those in the boats below.

 

[Leatherhead]

As the call to take off is ordered, Glau immediately takes off to secure everything that isn't nailed down. Boxes and bags, people and pans. Sometimes the plasmiod would even stow one of the refugees behind a line and hand them something to hold on too. "This is gonna be the ride of your lives! Hold on tight and do whatever the crew tells you, even if it don't make sense! I'll throw anyone who starts any trouble over the side myself!"

 

[Steve Gorak]

As the call to take off is ordered, Glau immediately takes off to secure everything that isn't nailed down. Boxes and bags, people and pans. Sometimes the plasmiod would even stow one of the refugees behind a line and hand them something to hold on too. "This is gonna be the ride of your lives! Hold on tight and do whatever the crew tells you, even if it don't make sense! I'll throw anyone who starts any trouble over the side myself!"

Nic was curious about Glau from the beginning, and seeing that he (or "it", Nic didn't really know), seemed to know what he was doing, Nic approached him and spoke with his typical fast pace "Glau, Glau, Glau, how can I help, I can fix many many things and know a thing or two about ships. I'd love to see how this one works, do you know Glau, by any chance? Where should I go and what should I do?"

OOC: Nic is proficient in Navigator tools, and is handy on boats. He can be a competent crew member, as well as a competent carpenter

 

[FitzTheRuke]

There was plenty of work to be done, and plenty of people around, though most of them had no idea what they were doing. The Moondancer had lost a third of its crew to the chaos below. While the ship was capable of functioning with a very small company, all the extra work would fall on the Spelljamming Helmsman (in this case, currently unseen below decks).

Glau was aware that their secondary helmsman had been lost, and there was only so long that Flapjack could do all the work before he would be exhausted, and the ship would be "dead in the water" (so to speak). So he set about getting others to help.

Charlie and Gunthar (and others who noticed such things) were amazed to see the sails fill with a wind that had nothing to do with the air about them. The ship picked up speed and rose further into the sky.

Now the coastline could be seen far below and the mountains to the north of Kingsport. As fast as they were going, the twisting vines were growing faster still. What had been their home was now, so quickly, mostly roots of the massive vine that grew from the ground there, and swamped with the wave that had come from the vine out to sea. It was a relief that they were high enough that they could no longer make out any details of the people, ships, or buildings below.

Then suddenly they were in a cloud and a fog hung around the ship for a moment before they burst into the bright light above. For a few minutes, the ship seemed to sail on the clouds themselves with puffy white streaming by its sides like waves on the sea.

Then Gordo called a warning from the masthead and they saw it: A nearby vine grew up through the clouds. It must have been many miles tall and a hundred feet or more across. The captain called to steer clear and the ship tacked, heading away as the vine twisted, making massive swirls in the clouds.

Further away, another vine bust through the clouds, then another. The captain had planned at first to abandon the city, but it became increasingly clear to her that they needed to abandon the world.

She looked at the closest local she could see and said with a sympathetic look, "I am so sorry. There is nothing we can do."

Then she stamped her foot on the deck and called, "Flapjack! We're leaving. Take us up and out!"

 

[Steve Gorak]

Nic was never one to be in touch with his emotions. He was cerebral, and very task-oriented, often many tasks in parallel; some in another universe would likely diagnose him with attention issues and on the spectrum, which made his attention to people somewhat fickle. His wonder at the flying ship had temporarily defocused him on the events at hand. When he saw the vines go through the clouds, emotions hit him like a bolt of lightning. All the friends he had in town, all the people he had helped, heck all his family, his past, basically the entire world would be gone, and there was nothing he could do about it.

He began sobbing uncontrollably at the sheer scale of destruction and lost lives. He had to kneel and hold on to the side of the ship. Rather maladroitly, and his fast speech halted by the syncopations of his sobs, he talked to Glau "Glau, Glau, Glau, this is horrible, what is this monstrosity Glau? Has this happened before in other places Glau? How can we prevent this happening elsewhere Glau?"

OOC: @Leatherhead, it's your fault for picking a monosyllabic name for your character, and yes Glau, Glau, Glau will be heard often in this campaign ;-)

 

[FitzTheRuke]

The sorrow and terror that the occupants of the Moondancer felt only worsened as there was a deafening cracking noise. The clouds parted and they could see an enormous fissure along the surface of the world.

The captain's orders were fulfilled and the ship's sails filled with "air" - seemingly of their own volition - and she pulled away from the planet at a speed that very few aboard could even imagine. In fact, most were unaware that their home had even been a spherical object, but they saw it now, cracked and writhing with crystal vine-tentacles.

As the ship moved to a safer distance, the world split open and folded outward, revealing a ball of fire that had been hidden deep inside. The surface, now entirely coated in a reflective crystal, folded outward to form glowing petals. As terrible as the sight was, it was also beautiful - the world became a flower, that at the same time shone the fiery core like a lantern.

OOC: Closest I could find. Imagine the petals more opaque, as they are made up of the planet's crust, and the core a bigger ball of fire, but basically this. The light tendrils are crystal vines. Sorry to traumatise all your characters!