The Wandering Archipelago (D&D 5e)

[Rodgeir]

Yep. Out of his league. Up to find the spellcasting wannabe dragondragonborn. Varsk gets up and heads to Mehr and without preamble says,

"What's your employee Gwen doin' below? She is chantin' somethin'..." Varsk tries to put a word to the sensation, "twisted."

[WearsHats]

As Kal gets a feel for using a shield, it occurs to him that he could do more with it. "This could be useful if I had allies. I could help deflect blows against them, too, couldn't I? Hmm. We could say that capstan over there was an ally, and you could attack us both?"

[thinkslogically]

Raina nods and makes a strike at the capstan, telegraphing the strike a little more than necessary to let Kal get his shield in the way.

► Show Spoiler

_: 2D20.HIGH(1)+5 = [6, 4]+5 = 11

[WearsHats]

As the sword comes in, Kal attempts to deflect the blow.

► Show Spoiler

Fighting Style: Protection

When a creature you can see attacks a target other than you that is within 5 feet of you, you can use your reaction to impose disadvantage on the attack roll. You must be wielding a shield.

He then counterattacks.

1D20+5 = [19]+5 = 24

His arm stops just short of landing the hit. "Effective. With a simple twitch of my arm I can force you to stab around my shield, making it more difficult for you to get through to my ally without hindering my own movements."

[thinkslogically]

"hah! Excellent! Now you're getting the hang of it!"

► Show Spoiler

Sparring (multiattack): 1D20+5 = [13]+5 = 18
1D20+5 = [14]+5 = 19

Raina ducks away and swivels fast on her heel, catching Kal with two quick blows under his guard as he struggles to balance himself with the new shield.

She winks and drops back into a defensive stance to try and party whatever comes next.

((Happy to have this become a montage at any point when you feel like you've done enough turn by turn sparring wears ))

[WearsHats]

((Montage is good with me.))

"Well done! I see I have much to learn from you." Kal regains his balance and attacks again, while remaining close to the capstan.

[Dlover]

Mehr frowns, "She has a penchant for odd illusions and disturbing communication, but she's mostly harmless... Well, I'll investigate. Mehr heads below decks to seek out Gwen.

Perception: 16

[thinkslogically]

Mehriv goes looking for Gwen, and overhears her speaking quietly in a tongue he doesn't understand. He finds it slightly unsettling, but he doesn't know exactly why...

-----

Raina and Kal continue sparring for a little while until Kal is doing pretty well with the shield and able to block more attacks than hes letting in. After about an hour or so, they are both hot and tired, and decide to call it a day for now.

[spiderwrangler]

I watch at cheer Kal for a while, but once it's clear that it's more of a class than entertainment to watch, I find a shady spot facing forward that I can curl up out of the way and watch the miles slip by.

[Dlover]

Following the voice, Mehr does his best to track down Gwen.

[Nioca]

Syli jumps when the mouse gets stomped, knocked out of her reverie by the abrupt end of the mouse's life. Shaking her head to clear it a bit, she strokes the cat as it passes, following it up to the deck. Watching as it sinuously stretches and circles in preparation for sunbathing, Syli herself settles down, laying prone on the deck to watch the cat. As it snoozes, she creeps closer, seeming to examine its every breath, every heartbeat.

((And also creeping the cat right the flip out))

[WearsHats]

Resting from the sparring, Kal meditates on his morning vision, seeking new answers and clarity.

[thinkslogically]

((Burns, I'll leave it up to you to handle Mehriv finding you. If you're caught up in the spell, you may not hear him coming; if you're worried about being caught, you might notice him coming before you're caught. Up to you I'll let you guys RP this one out)).

[Arch Lich Burns]

Gwen is far to preoccupied with trying to find answers. She doesn't notice that she has been caught as she continues chantting. When Merhiv sees her, she doesn't even notice him, focused entirely on the book. "Fy'll unfa'tag lorta Itsep'll undayn cor'llion mesian glivio want'na ungavain..."


How long has she been going like this? Did she make contact with the patron yet?

[thinkslogically]

((Not through the book, no she's more familiar with the text than she was, but the meaning of her dreams are still just out of reach...))

When Mehriv finds Gwen, he recognized her voice, but nothing else. Instead of the young girl he's known for so long, he sees a humanoid creature in front of him whose features and shape seem to melt and shift as he approaches...

((Mehriv can make an insight / arcana check here if you'd like))

[thinkslogically]

Kal and Korrik spend some time meditating and relaxing. Korrik is content to simply let the miles slip by, watching the scrublands slowly give way to denser forest all around them. The ship passes by other travellers on the riverside road, including a number of well-armed mercenary types. Presumably the generous bounty has encouraged a few others out into the wilds as well.

Kal meditates, taking time to reflect on the lessons of the day. The further they go from the city, the more comfortable he feels with his surroundings; as unfamiliar as these woods are, he feels like he is returning home.

[spiderwrangler]

I eventually get bored. While smuggling, I could be content to stay holed up and silent for long periods on a boat, but having just gotten off one boat and only having a few days off, being cooped up on another so soon has me antsy. I explore a route through the ship that I can traverse without crossing in the way of the crew, and once I have it mapped out, begin picking up speed as I scurry along my obstacle course. A bit more haphazard than the constructed ones at the monastery, but it'll do in a pinch.

((Assuming I don't have my speed yet, I'd like to essentially do some freerunning/parkour along the ship, Acrobatics'ing my way across barrels and crates, sprinting, hopping, leaping, etc. Kal clobbering me with his axe showed me I wasn't fast enough, might be starting to feel like I've been taking it easy too much recently.))

[thinkslogically]

Korrik soon gets bored and decides to find something to do, so he heads to the hold and shoves a few boxes around to build himself a mini obstacle course, and focusses on pushing himself to greater bursts of speed. The shadows swinging user the lamplight remind him of his meditations the night before and he soon falls into a state of calm concentration as he sprints his way through the obstacle course, leaping from shadow to shadow...

----------

Syli creeps on the cat for a while, watching it's movements and behaviour as it goes about it's normal cat activities (mostly napping, with occasional bursts of nonsense), and she contemplates how it's shape is similar and different to her human form. By the time the sun is setting, she feels like she understands the animal's form enough that she could almost slip into it's skin if she could only figure out how...

--------

((I'll let Mehriv and Gwen resolve their piece first, but will otherwise move us through the next couple of days a bit quicker. I think I've got a good idea of what you guys will be doing to train ))

[WearsHats]

Kal is willing to help with chores on board, if it's not stepping on any toes or getting in the way. He also wants to practice with his tool kits. (Helping to maintain the ship could accomplish both at once, if there's any beginner level wood and/or leather work to be done on board, sous chef work in the galley, or simple first aid.) He's got much to learn to be as self-sufficient as his upbringing demands. It's less of a priority than honing combat skills or getting more deeply in touch with Pelor, but it's definitely something he wants to do during downtime like this.

Oh, and the shield... That was just loaned for sparring, right?

[thinkslogically]

((it was, yes))

[Dlover]

Insight: 14

Concerned for Gwen's safety, but worried about the magic, Mehr speaks out from a short distance, "Gwen, what are you doing?"

[Arch Lich Burns]

"Infaty'll faghtug'n al-AH!"Gwen snaps out of her trance, her concentration utterly broken for better or worse. She moves back from the sourse of the voice, a bit taken back someone found her hiding spot while she was trying to cast. She thinks about what she was going to say to him, not knowing what happened to herself while she was chanting. If she tells him a lie and he finds out later he might not trust her. If she tells him the complete truth, they may try to do something else. She is not sure what to do, she stammers slightly, telling him the bare minium of what she was doing, probably leaving more questions than answers.

"I...I am trying to alter my spells s-so they are less dangerous."

Con: 2D20.LOW(1)+3 = [3, 17]+3 = 6

[Dlover]

"By... Chanting in some arcane language? And turning into an abyssal horror? Putting aside the latter point, trying to modify established spells from the more academic branches is dangerous even in controlled circumstances. In an enclosed space, where if anything goes wrong a lot of people are in trouble, I'm sure you're smart enough not to take that risk. So, the full explanation?"

[Arch Lich Burns]

Gwen looks surprised that she was or appeared to be an abbysal horror. One more thing to ask it. Gwen rubs her head as she tries to think what to say. She takes a deep breathe.

"...I am not a wizard. ...I guess I should explain. Long before I met you I made a deal with an ancient god. It gives me my magic, my abilties, and it's language. And it will probably continue to do so. For the knowledge and power I gain, I have to retrieve an item for it. If I refuse to do it now then I think I might loose my abilities, it never answered me if I do or not. I feel like it wishes to speak to me, which is why I am trying to open communications with it, and hopefully discuss about my spells.

I don't think it's harmful, but it does like to mess around a bit."

► Show Spoiler

this is what gwen thinks of her patron not nessicarly how it actually is!

[Dlover]

"... It's an ancient abyssal god. There's no such thing as an abyssal god with good intentions. Now if you don't fill your part of the deal you may lose a lot more than your powers... Haah, well this is just great. Tell the others once we're off the boat, so we don't get thrown overboard. And don't try to conjure it again, lest one of the crew think you're a monster and stab you."