The Wandering Archipelago (D&D 5e)

[thinkslogically]

((you guys are past this part anyway, but the insight roll would have told Mehriv that this was indeed Gwen, but hidden under some kind of strange illusion or form-changing magic.

Burns: what's the con roll for?))

[Arch Lich Burns]

Gwen sighs. "Are you sure that's for the best that I tell them? ...And it's not a demon. That, I know for sure."

(Concentration for holding casting)

[Dlover]

"Keeping it secret is bad news. Especially with appearance-changing."

[thinkslogically]

((Oh, ok - You weren't actually casting a spell though, right? I thought you were just studying the book? Neither of your chosen invocations require concentration...))

[Arch Lich Burns]

"The more reason I need to talk to it." Gwen sighs and closes her book under Merhiv's suggestion. She goes to find a place where she can rest.

(I wasn't sure what was going on, I thought it might have been mask of many so I put a oncentration just in case. If it was mask of many did a disguise stuck?)

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for all you know it could be an elder flumph dlover!

[thinkslogically]

((It was a partial Mask of Many that Mehriv interrupted, but Gwen wasn't really aware of what it was doing because she doesn't understand the words yet. Any effects ended when she stopped chanting to speak to Mehr.

Regardless, Mask of Many Faces lets you cast Disguise Self at will, but Disguise Self isn't a concentration spell, so you don't need to make checks for it. Once it's cast, it lasts until it ends or you cancel it. You just don't know how to cast it yet ))

[Dlover]

Alright, Mehr doesn't need to pursue the point any further right now.

[thinkslogically]

The next few days pass fairly uneventfully for the party, who spend their time mostly practicing and honing their skills for the journey ahead.

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Korrik begins to spend most of his time sleeping through the bright, hot days, and waking in the evenings to run his assault course in the lantern shadows below decks. After two nights of training, he has learned to tap into a greater well of energy within him, allowing him to push his body past his normal limits through sheer force of will. Having been thoroughly left behind while the others chased after the gnome a few days before, he is also pleased to discover that the persistent training has taught him to move more efficiently. He isn't strictly faster now, so much that he has learned how to cover the ground more efficiently. Regardless, at least now he should be able to keep up with the others...

The night before you arrive at your destination, Korrik could swear he catches a glimpse of other figures in the shadows... Bodies that aren't his or the crew, that flicker and then vanish into nothingness before he can make them out...

Korrik is now a full Level 2 monk.

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Kal spends his time sparring and meditating. He has something of a breakthrough on the second day of the trip when he catches his sword in the sunlight, and sees it fully imbued with Pelor's power and grace. He brings the weapon crashing down onto the deck, barely missing Raina as she ducks out of the way of the gleaming sword and leaves a scorch mark in the deck. Over the course of the next day, he discovers that he is able to draw the power of the light into his sword. It's exhausting, but feels invigorating at the same time. He also discovers that with some additional focus, he's able to shape the magic into something more than just reckless, destructive energy, and discovers that it seems particularly suited to healing and cleansing energies. With a bit of focus, he finds he's soon able to direct this magical force at will, using nothing more than his holy symbol to channel the energy.

Kal is now a full Level 2 paladin.

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Syli spends her time bonding with the cat, to the extent that she receives no less than three mouse-offerings over the course of the journey, which makes her feel quite privileged. One of them is still alive, so she scoops it into a pocket with a crumb of bread before anyone else spots it and stomps on it...

Finally, on the third day, she is watching the cat stalking a small bird along the ship's gunwale she feels a strange desire to join in the hunt. Crouching low to the deck, she begins to creep silently towards the bird, all her senses focused on the small, feathery, delicious morsel... She pounces and her jaws close around the bird's fat feathered neck as she whips her tail furiously to steady her leap and dig her claws into the side of the ship to save herself from falling.

The other cat hisses angrily at the surprise appearance of a new, red-furred cat on the ship and arches its body at Syli, who is feeling incredibly smug that she caught the bird. With a meow, she drops the dead creature on the gunwale and is halfway through grooming the feathers out of her claws before she realises what she's doing. She startles and almost falls off the ship again as the realisation of what she's managed to do sinks in.

For the next hour, she careens around the ship, behaving far too exuberantly for an ordinary cat (much to the disgust of the resident ordinary cat) as she delights in her new form. As the spell wears off, she cackles delightedly, certain that she will be able to transform into a cat again at will, and perhaps other creatures too with a little bit of practice.

Syli is now a full level 2 druid!

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Mehriv, like the others, spends much of the rest of the journey practicing his magics and attempting to bring them under some semblance of control. He is partially successful. With the practice, he finds he is able to extend the power of his spells in a couple of interesting ways, and to draw on the wild energies of the world more readily. He does not however, manage to stop the weird side-effects from happening. Overall, he somehow manages to fill every nearby container on the ship with water, and somehow makes one of the crew that he is a wolf for a full minute. The ship's cat is no longer speaking to him.

Mehriv is now a full Level 2 Sorceror[/b]

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Gwen does not sleep very well through the journey, though it's hardly unproductive. She has the same dream again on the second night as on the third, and still wakes in confusion at the strange chantings. She's certain she's on the verge of understanding what it all means, but it's not until the third night, after another full day of studying her book, that she is finally able to hear the words...

!sdog eht yb nekorb saw tahw fnif! Seye ym eb! Meht gnoma klaw! !tonnac srehto tahw ees! Nees ton dna nees eb! Meht gnoma klaw!

When she wakes on the third day, she is lying in bright light in the hold of the ship. Immediately fearing some terrible disaster has struck in the night, she hurries to get upstairs, but sees nothing wrong with the ship except the strange brightness all around her. Grabbing at the door handle, she stops suddenly. Her hands are blurring in and out of focus shifting shape and colour and form as she stares at them, even though they don't feel like they're changing... Rushing to a nearby barrel of water (of which there are now plenty after Mehr's accidental surge the day before), she is horrified to see the same thing happening to her face as it contorts and melts into the forms of both strangers and people she's known. Steadying herself, she hears the scraping, clawing voice speak into her mind:

Ti etsaw ton od. Ouy ot tfig ym si siht!

Calming herself, she steadies her breathing and focuses, forcing her features back into their normal alignment. Her eyes have a pale glow to them, but otherwise, she can't see any physical differences in her appearance from normal. As she composes herself, she begins to test the strange new power. focusing on the image of the person she knows so well, she watches in surprise as her reflection shifts to Mehriv's dragonborn features... Then to Korrik's and Syli's and Kal's[b/] before shifting back to her own. All the while, she knows she hasn't physically changed in any way, and yet... the mirage is awfully convincing... She smiles to herself in the total darkness of the hold.

Gwen has learned her Devil's Sight and Mask of Many Faces from her patron. (What spell were you picking up for Level 2? I don't think you said....

By late afternoon on the third day, Raina gives a shout and the group assembles on deck as she deftly maneuvers the ship alongside a stone pier.

"Well, here we are! If you're looking for a campground for tonight, the Lover's Pass is a couple of hours walk back towards the east. This is as close as we can get I'm afraid. Otherwise, you'll be able to reach Fort Oakwell to the south in a couple of days, or the Direwolf Lodge in about three days depending on how flooded the road is.

So what are your plans? Where are you going to start hunting?"

[Arch Lich Burns]

(Gwen swaped hlish rebuke for comorehend languages and picks up protection from good and evil)

[thinkslogically]

((ok, we'll consider that to have happened as part of all this dream stuff. Do you need components for those?))

[Arch Lich Burns]

(nope! Her crystal necklace is a foci so she doesn't need it! None are by worth)

[spiderwrangler]

He isn't strictly faster now, so much that he has learned how to cover the ground more efficiently. Regardless, at least now he should be able to keep up with the others...

((I am strictly faster, yes? Or that is pending? I was at 25ft previously, and gain +10ft, to put me at 35ft, faster than anyone but Syli as a wood elf.))


I hop off the ship to the stone pier, helping to secure it so the others can disembark.

[thinkslogically]

((yeah, that's bad wording on my part sorry, you are totally faster))

[spiderwrangler]

((Ok, that's cool! Yay for not being left behind any more!))

[Nioca]

Syli stretches as she schleps up to the deck. She had burned off a nice bit of nervous energy in her brief stint as a frantic feline, and seemed almost... relaxed as Raina called them to order. Although at the mention of Direwolf Lodge, she seemed to be more at attention.

"...Er, huh. Knew we were forgetting something. Mehriv, you remembered to bring the plan, right?" Syli smirks at her own rhetorical question. "Anyway, dunno what you guys had planned, but if I remember right... There's only the one main tributary into Morley lands, right? So, assumin' they were attacked on the rivership, the ambushers had to be monitoring the river, and that tributary would make the perfect spot to do it; after all, the Iskat had to go past there no matter what, right?"

"But..." At this, Syli pauses, seeming to try and think something through. "I think we might need more to go on than that. The Direwolf Lodge seems like our best stop first; they could tell us more about where these lizardfolk seem to be attacking the most, probably." She says, seeming eager to get moving.

...maybe a little too eager.

--Syli Bluff (+0): 9

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In truth, the best course as far as Syli is concerned is to just keep following the river, because since the lizardfolk ambushed a ship, that means they attacked at the river, rather than some place on land. But Syli's also hearing the word Dire Wolf, and with her newfound wild shape, would seriously like nothing more than to actually meet a dire wolf, even if it means detouring somewhat further away from where they were supposed to head (and, y'know, possibly getting eaten by aformentioned dire wolves). In short, the bluff check is to conceal that she's got an ulterior motive for wanting to head that direction.

At any rate, she's not revealing that she can wild shape to the rest of the party just yet. She's not going to put the group in danger by holding back, but she'd rather keep that arrow in the quiver for now until it's needed.

[spiderwrangler]

"Well, here we are! If you're looking for a campground for tonight, the Lover's Pass is a couple of hours walk back towards the east. This is as close as we can get I'm afraid. Otherwise, you'll be able to reach Fort Oakwell to the south in a couple of days, or the Direwolf Lodge in about three days depending on how flooded the road is.

So what are your plans? Where are you going to start hunting?"

((Are we assuming we are all privy to the map layout in character? If so, wouldn't that be a few hours WEST to get to Lover's Pass? Direwolf Lodge takes us towards Greyville lands, which we don't have clearance to traverse, though there are Ancient Ruins that look to bridge the flow towards Morely lands. I'm not sure why the ship can't take us around to the southern tributary, unless the Ambershard lands are only accessibly through the delta, though there are presumably mountains or high hills in the North and West of their land to cause the watershed to flow east all the way around, so they presumably must access through the tributary, which would mean going right past Fort Oakwell.))

[Arch Lich Burns]

Gwen has an odd glint in her eyes as she looks around the new area, eager to get off. She takes in the new area and looks awaits expectantly to explore. "...The river does seem like a likely place for some to hide out. However, we heard some hunt in the woods as well. And they said they lost a boat a month, didn't they? They would probably more careful, espessially with a child as a hostage. So maybe the people at the lodge might know." Gwen notices the eagerness and some different motivation besides the task at hand in Syli's tone and mannerisums, but ultimatly sees no harm in going.


Insight: 1D20+1 = [20]+1 = 21 (for Syli's deception)

[Dlover]

((What's the insight for?))

"Very well. The lodge shall be our destination."

[spiderwrangler]

"Pardon, I'm not sure I'm recalling the direction of stuff quite right, but doesn't that lead us right into another family's lands? The fort would get us closer, but do you know if they have a way of crossing the river?"

[Nioca]

"Well yeah, but don't we have free access? Isn't that what that little piece of paper's all about?"

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...you can add a Writ of Passage to your inventory: The writ is a piece of parchment, on which are written the words: "The bearer is hereby entitled to travel freely through all lands that fall under the protection of Hightown.". A gold stamp emblazoned with a sailing ship and set of merchants scales has been placed next to the signature of the Steward of Hightown [signed on behalf of the Council]))

In other words, if the Larkhalls had territory, we could tromp all over it, and they couldn't say anything about it.

((assuming I understand it correctly of course))

[spiderwrangler]

"Ah, well... to be honest, I kind of tuned out... not big on permits, but as long as you and Mehr have things squared away, I'm good to go."

[thinkslogically]

((yeah I screwed up the east and west but yeah, you all saw that map in the meeting so I assume someone remembers it ))

[Rodgeir]

Varsk climbs off the boat and looks around before thanking Raina and eyeing Gwen a bit.

"Seems the lodge is a reasonable enough destination, if we can get over the river, though the fort seems faster. My party should be at the entrance to the Morley's holdin's. I have my writ of passage."

Varsk orients himself towards the lodge and starts moving slowly that direction from the pier, gear strapped to his back. At the end of the pier he will scan the terrain around the road and the quality/type of road.

(Let me know if I need some rolls)

[thinkslogically]

Raina nods:
"I would think that heading for the Morley rivers directly would give you the best chance of finding any traces of the missing family quickly, and before anything worse happens to them. The Lodge may be able to help you with information though, that's certainly true, but they'll likely be interested in these bounties themselves so don't trust everything you hear from them. They're also a long way out of the way of the Morley lands... it's a good place to find refuge if you need it out here, but I'm not sure that's what you or the Morleys need right now. Still, I'm sure you know your business, and it's not my place to say what you should do out here save to stay alive.

There is a river crossing there (she point about 100m upstream), that joins the road from Lover's Pass towards the Lodge, and travellers usually keep the other bridges fairly well maintained for the most part. Folk do move the bridges around a bit though, so you might need to follow the river for a while before you find one.

Whatever you do, I wish you luck! We'd better be moving on before it gets dark."

The party disembark on the west side of the river (basically at the bridge marked in the map) and Raina waves as she steers the ship away to the east. About 100m away, above your heads, a sturdy-looking rope bridge hangs between two large trees over the river. The trail you're on leads to Lover's Pass in the west, or across the river and on to the Direwolf Lodge, 2-3 days to the east of you. The Morley waters start somewhere to the southeast of you.

[Rodgeir]

Varsk looks at the banks of the river and tries to estimate how hard it would be to travel south along it to get to the Morley territory directly.

"Raina is right. My team, and more importantly the bounty, is that way." Gesturing south along the river bank.

"Do you actually need anythin' from the lodge or the fort?"