[LPF] Ties that Bind

[Qik]

And here we are!

My thanks to all of you for agreeing to play in this. It promises to be quite a fun group. Special thanks to Artur for a) asking me to help throw this party, and b) being patient while I prepared it.

With that in mind: the adventure promises to be at least modestly long (although I always find it hard to tell). I'm going to do it in several parts, all of which have been outlined to some degree; depending on how things go on my end, there may be a bit of a break between acts so I can finalize the numbers.

We're going to start off with Elenka and Audra traveling back from Martna (sorry I didn't mention it earlier, GE, given your post in the Mystic Pearl; oh well, no harm, no foul), and Fulgrim and Eanos in Venza. There are no big secrets to be kept from one group to the next, but they were divergent enough that I wanted to start separately. We should merge shortly.

I'll put up the adventure information here shortly, but for now, I want to throw the thread and the first post up.

[MENTION=50177]Artur Hawkwing[/MENTION]
[MENTION=21076]IronWolf[/MENTION]
[MENTION=2710]jkason[/MENTION]
[MENTION=40413]GlassEye[/MENTION]

[sblock=Encounters/Rewards]Dragon Encounter: 1200 xp (300 each)

Phedilo's Payment: 3000 gp (750 each)

Deinonychus: 2400 xp (600 each), +1 Greataxe (2320 gp), Potion of Cure Moderate Wounds (300 gp), 2 Potions of Mage Armor (100 gp), Scroll of Glitterdust (150 gp)

Search/Heal Skill Challenge: 1200 xp (300 each)[/sblock][sblock=Expenditures]Horse rentals: 50 gp deposit each for Fulgrim, Eanos, and Audra, and 100 gp for Elenka. 50% due back on safe return of the horses, for a final cost of 25 gp per horse.[/sblock][sblock=Marching Order]Eanos***Fulgrim
Audra***Elenka
Drev[/sblock]

 

[Qik]

Act I

[sblock=Audra & Elenka]In the aftermath of the fall of the Temple of the Living God, Audra and Elenka made sure to enjoy their down time. Although Martna was a much smaller city than Venza, it nevertheless had its own comforts and experiences to offer. And given their recently-obtained celebrity status in the city, due to the role they played in removing the scourge that was the followers of Owbej, the pair found themselves on the receiving end of countless acts of kindness and beneficence. In short, it was a pleasant resolution to what had been a mostly hair-raising experience.

Still, all good things must come to an end, and the two eventually found themselves inquiring about passage back to Venza. A bit of legwork led them to the decks of the Rascal, a cargo ship captained by Hwuzel, a somewhat-eccentric gnome. In the end, Captain Hwuzel opted to offer them free passage in exchange for the promise of protection from any would-be raiders along the way. "Aye, Hwuzel has heard of you two - if you can take down the faithful of Owbej, you can certainly be expected to keep the Rascal free from the grubby hands of pirates!" Although the ship and its captain seemed slightly atypical, the two decided not to look a gift horse in the mouth. Shortly thereafter, they set sail for Venza, looking forward to seeing the City of Glass.[/sblock]
[sblock=Eanos & Fulgim]After stopping along the way to place an order with Marla, Phedilo leads the into a back room. Seating himself opposite the door at the round table there within, he gestures for Eanos to sit as well. "Thank you for hearing me out, Master Eanos. Really, I have two proposals to make for you: one just for aid with a simple chore, really, and the other, well..." He trails off, catches himself, and smiles. "Well, perhaps we will take it one step at a time, shall we?"

"I have a small shipment coming into the docks in a few days. It's nothing special, really - certainly not nearly as sensitive a contents as the stone - but the gnome for whom some of the items are due is a bit of the cautious sort, especially as of late. He had entreated me to find some help in picking up the cargo, and given his skill in the art of divination, I have opted to heed his advice." Phedilo hastens to add, "Not that I anticipate anything out of the ordinary, mind you, and certainly nothing on the order of our, ah, prior experience. Really, I believe my colleague is just being cautious. The whole thing should be a rather simple matter. And then, well, we can talk about the, ah, more involved issue..."

"I will pay you well, of course, and Master Fulgrim, too, should be be able to join us." Leaning in as if to keep the following between them, he adds, "I would have invited the others, too, but that celestial makes me a bit nervous, and as for Master Maui...."

"I just don't know what to think of him."[/sblock]

 

[Artur Hawkwing]

Audra Frost - Human Monk (Order of the Diamond Heart, Venza) Level 4

OOC: Might as well be the one to kick he first ball here, right? Mega thanks for this, Qik. I figured you might get a kick out of messing with Audra and her history. I'm looking so forward to this.

[sblock=Audra and Elenka]Audra was convinced, fairly easily, by Elenka that taking a ship back to Venza from Martna would be far preferable to the round about route that Audra took, by necessity, to get to Martna previously. She has only known Elenka for a short time, but has found her trust quickly won by the flaming haired summoner. She suggests, so that at least it looks good, the two of them might take shifts, turns of walking about or standing about the deck, as if ready for any trouble that might happen to befall the Rascal. She volunteers to go first, to allow the Summoner time to rest if she so desired. Audra found herself enjoying the feeling of the breeze of the ship in motion blowing into her face, her red hair, for now, out of the leather loops that usually hold it back behind her head blowing now and then with the wind. She moves around the deck, pausing to look out and lean casually against a handy crate, box or even rail. Her eyes scanning the near and far.[/sblock]

[sblock=GE]By no means am I assuming the Elenka has gone below, just that Audra volunteered. [/sblock]

 

[Qik]

[sblock=Audra and Elenka]Early on in their voyage, Audra's shifts are occupied by the breeze, the passing scenery along the river bank, and little else. Although the Rascal's relatively small crew is friendly enough when given the opportunity, they tend towards keeping to their own tasks and allowing Audra and Elenka to keep to their's. The two get the sense that passengers are something of an anomaly aboard this transport ship.

The exception to this rule is Captain Hwuzel himself. From the start, he makes a habit of appearing at odd intervals and hours, making extremely obtuse, and unprompted comments ("Moon looks half-cocked this evening, that's for sure," and "You know, if Hwuzel wasn't a captain, he'd have been an entrepreneur. He'd have specialized mostly in livestock and volatile powders," being exemplary), and then hastening off, often before the ladies have a chance to respond. Maybe it's the relative isolation of life on the water, maybe it's simply the culture gap so common in interspecies relations, but whatever the cause, Captain Hwuzel is one odd bloke indeed. But, apparently. harmless.

[sblock=OOC]GE - just curious, is Elenka keeping Drev under wraps?[/sblock][/sblock]

 

[IronWolf]

[sblock=OOC]

I was out of town this weekend, so just a heads up that I am back and will get caught up over the next 24 hours. Looking forward to this one!

[/sblock]

 

[Qik]

[sblock=OOC]Thanks for checking in, IW. No worries; you had said in the social group that you were AFK. It's been a slow weekend, anyway, so no rush! Glad to have you back, though. [/sblock]

 

[GlassEye]

[sblock=Audra, Elenka, & the very big stick]Elenka would vastly prefer travel by land; it is, after all, how she originally traveled from her home in the foothills of the Seithr Mountains to Venza. Her experience with river travel, while not unpleasant, was, barring a brief encounter with pirates of short stature and even shorter luck, tedious to say the least. However, she allowed herself to be convinced that river travel would be faster and Audra did seem rather eager to return to the City of Glass.

Unfortunately, Captain Renlow never reappeared in Martna while they were looking for passage and they eventually settled on the Rascal and Captain Hwuzel. Odd though the gnomish captain might be Elenka finds that the non sequiturs are more than entertaining once one has managed to make the leap of unreason.

Drevezh'korol takes to sitting at the front of the boat like some sort of over-sized masthead and stares out over the waters that they will soon be traveling over. Elenka normally sits nearby or wanders the deck from small bit of shade to small bit of shade looking to shield her fair skin from the sun or chats amiably with Audra. Audra seems much more introspective than Elenka and Elenka takes it as her personal quest to draw the other woman into conversation as much as possible.

"What do you plan to do once you've returned to Venza, Audra?"

[sblock=OOC]Sorry, should've checked with you first about the shopping, Qik. Can we assume it took place in Martna before she left, excepting the house, of course?

And no, she isn't going to keep Drevezh'korol under wraps. Her experience in Martna has made her inclined to not try to hide him ever, if she can get away with it.

Also, her SOP every morning would be to summon Drev, then cast extended Mage Armor upon him using the rod.[/sblock]

[/sblock]

 

[jkason]

Eanos Setirav, human inquisitor

[sblock=Eanos, Fulgrim, Phedilo]Eanos raises an eyebrow. Phedilo's circumspect reference to what Maui may or may not have done with their last enemy was clear enough to the inquisitor.

"Think we've all been in dark places, but point taken. I think the guy could probably use a little bit to drink off what he and his cat went through.

"As for me, long as there aren't more crazy rocks popping me off to chaos realms, I'm sure I can handle a stroll to the docks again with Fulgrim."

OOC: Have to get Eanos' 4th level statblock figured out, but wanted to check in.

[/sblock]

 

[Qik]

[sblock=Audra/Elenka/Stick Monster]By the second week of their journey, the monotony of river travel that Elenka found so distasteful had set in in full. Even Captain Hwuzel's eccentricity became mundane, as did the presence of Drevezh'korol, who had initially caused something of a stir among the crew. In time, his powerful stoicism and watchful presence seemed to blend in with the Rascal almost as though he became a part of the ship. Captain Hwuzel seemed especially comforted by his presence.

The ship made it out of the vicinity of Martna with nary a pirate in sight, perhaps a consequence of Elenka and her companion's reporting of the location of their base of operations to the authorities. As the days turned into weeks, Elenka, Audra and Drev attempted to remain vigilant in the face of tedium, although only Drev seemed to do so without effort. Audra found herself repeatedly falling back on her monastic training in this regard.

The first event to break the monotony came on a chill evening, with a sliver of moon lighting the sky. Elenka and Audra were in the process of changing watches, with one moving towards her hammock, which some shouting came from below, in the cargo hold. Their initial efforts at inspection were met with hasty assurances from Captain Hwuzel that everything was fine and a rather abrupt shooing; all three of the group only grew more suspicious from his eagerness to both assuage and then remove them...

[sblock=OOC]Elenka, Audra, and Drev all succeeded in their sense motive checks: something odd is definitely up. Let's consider the night of the event itself to have passed, with any attempts at inquiry of their's coming in the next couple of days. Nothing short of physically forcing their way into the cargo hold would deter the captain the night of.

Just a few notes on my intentions here: I don't mean to rush things along, but my goal right now is to set things up for your meeting point with Eanos and Fulgrim, and to have that happen as soon as possible. With that in mind, I don't mean to limit RP time, but if it seems like I'm railroading things a bit, that's why. Feel free to let me know if I'm rushing things too much, but I will say that we'll have ample opportunity on down the road for more relaxed RP dialogue between the PCs.[/sblock][/sblock][sblock=Eanos & Fulgrim]

"As for me, long as there aren't more crazy rocks popping me off to chaos realms, I'm sure I can handle a stroll to the docks again with Fulgrim."

To both his surprise and his disdain, Phedilo seems more than a bit squeamish at Eanos' presumed throwaway comment. Adjusting his glasses, the halfling stutters for a bit before gathering himself. "Well, Master Eanos, the truth is - there is another stone to discuss." Hastily, he adds, "It is not of chaos! So it should not be nearly as temperamental as the stone you have met. But, I am afraid to tell you that I was intending to eventually ask yourself and Master Fulgrim's aid in a task related to the one you handled so admirably." Sighing, with a sense of defeat, he adds, "I do hope you will still be willing to aid me."

[sblock=OOC]Was going to save that one for later if possible, but Phedilo hasn't a poker face to speak of![/sblock][/sblock]

 

[IronWolf]

[sblock=Eanos, Fulgrim, Phedilo]

Fulgrim nods. "I'da be 'apply to assist with de shipment. Fulgrim replies. "One can never be to safe, eh?

OOC: Fulgrim still needs to wrap up his level-up and swing by the magic shop before we get underway. No issues with that, right?

[/sblock]