The Wandering Archipelago (D&D 5e)

[thinkslogically]

((ok, just know that you could do it if you wanted to))

[thinkslogically]

Korrik "fumbles" the rope and let's it fall into the water with a bit too much of a show to be completely convincing.

Perception: 1D20 = [14] = 14

"Hoi! What do you think you're playing at?"

[Dlover]

Mehr chuckles, "That's not the name we were given as the owner's. I'm only handing over the ship to the rightful owner." Mehr casts a derisive gaze over the guards, "Judging by the force you have here, your options are to accept that and leave, or open fire and die like pigs. Don't bother hiding behind your family name; Any who try to harm me are but nameless brigands, a mercy on my part, unless you believe yourself able to face my clan."
Intimidation: 17

Turning his attention away and moving to the opposite deck, clearly indicating the small force isn't worth his time, though he subtly places a Mage Hand behind him lest any think to fire a bolt. Reaching the opposite deck, he yells at the civilians, "You lot! Stop gawking and help the damn dragonborn. You had some rather harsh words for us thinking we were with the guard, yet he was willing to swim in that to protect one of you fools, and you do nothing. So prove your worth and get him clean!"

[thinkslogically]

Mehriv is in his element today and is thoroughly enjoying giving orders to people who actually listen to him. And they are certainly listening.

The guards look somewhat confused, but clearly aren't about to start arguing over ownership of some boat with 2 nobles. A couple of them speak to each other quietly and one leaves to head back to town.

The noble who has been speaking thus far looks outraged as Mehriv turns his back on him.

"This insult will not stand, stranger! I have every right to this vessel. Stop behaving like a petty thief and return it to me and we shall forget this unpleasantness."

Mehriv meanwhile has turned his attention to the other bank. Thaqorel has apparently managed to get his armour off and dunk himself into the water trough. A number of other townsfolk are hurrying back and forth from a water pump with buckets of water which seem to be helping.

In the belly of the river ship, Syli continues her ritual preparations.

[spiderwrangler]

I'm just staying alert, waiting until Thaq has recovered himself. Once he does, and turns towards us, I'll holler out to him. "Thaq, these boys say they have rights to the boat. Should we let them on?"

[Arch Lich Burns]

Gwen mentally reaches out to Merv and then Korrik <I think one of them is bringing friends. I don't know what is going on but you need to sort this out soon.>

[spiderwrangler]

I glance at Gwen and nod, smile still on my face, but eyes betraying a grim acknowledgment of our possible predicament.

[Dlover]

Seeing Thaqorel cared for, Mehr returns to the annoying fly, "A petty thief? That from the brigand? Tell me, what right do you hold on this ship? I was given a name, and that name is not that which you gave. As an outlander, I know not your city's rules, but judging by the reactions of the citizens, I as the one who secured it am more the rightful owner than you, who have claimed the right with no proof. Nor do you present any proof of right to the name you have used."

[thinkslogically]

The first noble sniffs and nods at the second man.

"Guard! Secure the ship and see that this man is arrested for trespassing and whatever else he has done to that ship. The council will hear of this."

Thaquorel hears his name being called and hauls himself out the trough. He is completely naked, and his skin has a raw, pink tinge to it. He moves stiffly, but the crowd cheer as he gets up and crowd around to shake his hand and thank him.

"What did you say?"

[Dlover]

Mehr looks across the guards, "Don't make a move. You know full well that if he fails to present proof of ownership he lacks the authority to make demands on behalf of the rightful owners, no matter his family's standing. Even a direct member of the council lacks that authority without the support of enough council members. You may want to stay in his family's good graces, but act against me now and you actively make an enemy of the family which rightfully owns the ship, who you will be stealing from." Mehr grins at the merchants, "I've been trained in diplomacy since I was young. Even if I wasn't the most apt student, I do know what what you're proposing right now is running to the council and announcing your attempted theft to them. You won't do that if you have anything between your ears."

Is a Persuasion check needed? Please say no, because... 1
UNLESS... Can we use Tides of Chaos as a reroll, rather than Advantage? If we can, it's... 23

[Arch Lich Burns]

"Thaq are you okay?"

If the guards do not seem to be swayed by Merv's words. "Thaq, are these gents the people whom you say own this ship? I think they said they are from the Lorkgali family. Ever heard of them?"

int: 1D20-1 = [5]-1 = 4

Edited to fix Thaq's name. Sorry.

[thinkslogically]

((tides of chaos gives advantage, so allows you to roll twice and take the higher roll. I'd say persuasion in this case is definitely worthwhile, but you can use your 23 no problem. Next time you cast a L1 spell or higher, you'll have a 50% chance of triggering the chaotic table stuff and recovering the TOC ability. I figured 50% is high enough to be a major increase without being "reliable" which is sort of the point in the chaos stuff

Unless I think it'd be particularly funny or inconvenient, then I'll just make you roll

Burns, are you intentionally having Gwen use the wrong names for Thaqorel and the larkhalls or was it just accidental?

[Dlover]

((tides of chaos gives advantage, so allows you to roll twice and take the higher roll. I'd say persuasion in this case is definitely worthwhile, but you can use your 23 no problem. Next time you cast a L1 spell or higher, you'll have a 50% chance of triggering the chaotic table stuff and recovering the TOC ability. I figured 50% is high enough to be a major increase without being "reliable" which is sort of the point in the chaos stuff

Ooh, nice. Hopefully I'll think to use ToC on important rolls in the future, rather than hoping for generosity. Burns had to remind me of it this time, when I started grumbling at them about bad rolls. >.>
(I did understand that it's been consumed by this roll.)

Burns, are you intentionally having Gwen use the wrong names for Thaqorel and the larkhalls or was it just accidental?

Give her a pass on Thaqorel, at least, Clumsy human tongues can find dragonborn names difficult to pronounce properly.

[spiderwrangler]

Burns, are you intentionally having Gwen use the wrong names for Thaqorel and the larkhalls or was it just accidental?

And Merv. I think it's just a Burns quirk, as it happens across all games.

[Arch Lich Burns]

((tides of chaos gives advantage, so allows you to roll twice and take the higher roll. I'd say persuasion in this case is definitely worthwhile, but you can use your 23 no problem. Next time you cast a L1 spell or higher, you'll have a 50% chance of triggering the chaotic table stuff and recovering the TOC ability. I figured 50% is high enough to be a major increase without being "reliable" which is sort of the point in the chaos stuff

Unless I think it'd be particularly funny or inconvenient, then I'll just make you roll

Burns, are you intentionally having Gwen use the wrong names for Thaqorel and the larkhalls or was it just accidental?

Accidental for Thaq and intentional for Larkhalls (I rolled an int check to see if she remembered the name they gave her and name Thaq gave her and failed)

What do you mean Merv is not the short for Merhiv? I...mess up on names a lot.

[spiderwrangler]

((It's endearing. Mostly. ))

[Nioca]

Syli continues to work on her ritual, starting to chant the incantation.

► Show Spoiler

I'm still here. If you guys need support up top,
just give Syli a shout. I don't think she'd be much help up top with negotiations (unless you want it to devolve into a fight).

[thinkslogically]

Mehriv addresses the guards and merchants again. A strange pressure releases in the air around him as he speaks, making strangely well-informed claims about the the rules of the diplomatic game they are currently playing. Bluff or not, it would appear he's either hit close enough to the truth, or the others don't know enough to dispute it.

The guards lower their weapons.

"Stand down then, guards. Stay where you are sir, the council will hear of this soon enough and we'll have our orders directly."

He speaks the last part pointedly to the older Larkhall man who snorts in disgust.

"We will not forget this, stranger. Come boy, we have work to see to."

The two merchants ride off, leaving the guards behind. The guard-in-charge looks visibly relieved when they leave and turns back to Mehriv.

"I trust we don't have to worry about you starting any trouble, sir? I'll need for you and your folk to stay in sight until we can get this sorted out if you don't mind. Someone from the council should be here shortly, and there's more guard crossing the ferry too."

-------------------------

Gwen shouts over to Thaqorel.

"Yeah, I'm ok. Not my first swim and I doubt it'll be my last!"

At the mention of the Lorkgali family, he shouts back:

"Nah, never heard of them! Sound like a bunch of chancers to me! Hang on."

Turning to the gent who stole the boat earlier, he yells:

"Hoi! You! paddle over here and make yourself useful!"

The man jumps at being addressed, thinks about disobeying, then gives up and starts paddling over to being a very-naked Thaqorel back to the boat.

-------------------------------------

In the cargo hold, Syli is eventually able to finish her ritual. Taking a deep breath, she opens her eyes and gasps in amazement. The entire ship is glowing gently with a thousand magical markings that seem to have been etched into the very fibre of the wood, and the whole vessel gives off a gentle, melodious hum. It's quite beautiful!

Dragging her attention away from the vessel, she remembers to check the cargo crate. It is also definitely weakly magical, but there's a raw, unrefined quality to it. Many of the other crates ooze with a gentle magic too.

[spiderwrangler]

((I think I assumed the guards were with the merchants... house guards or the like, but this is a group of city guard?))

I look around, checking to see if everyone came back above deck as the boat approaches, hopping off the deck cover and thumping the deck with my staff if I notice anyone missing.

[Dlover]

"I trust we don't have to worry about you starting any trouble, sir? I'll need for you and your folk to stay in sight until we can get this sorted out if you don't mind. Someone from the council should be here shortly, and there's more guard crossing the ferry too."
"Indeed, I have no intention of starting trouble, only seeing the ship to its rightful owners. I'll comply with you and the council as best I can. For your awareness, one of my employees is currently below decks, trying to ascertain whether there's nothing dangerous on the ship. I know not whether that oversteps our authority, but for a ship to float in with only one corpse aboard seems suspicious."

[thinkslogically]

((I think I assumed the guards were with the merchants... house guards or the like, but this is a group of city guard?))

...Yes... that WOULD have made a lot of sense...

Nah, these are city guard as far as you can tell - they're in the same uniforms as Thaq, and the guards you would have seen already around the town.

[spiderwrangler]

((And it was the guard's rope that I acided, but he tossed it over at the noble's behest?))

[thinkslogically]

Yes, that's right. You may be interested OOC in this bit of info that Syli learned from Raina:

"Well, as I'm sure you're aware, Hightown is an independent city, run by a council made up of the heads of the seven trade families who founded it. They- we, I should say, ensure the city stays prosperous, by bringing in new businesses, maintaining the roads, docks, paying for the city guard and that kind of thing. They make a lot of money for the city from taxes and permitting, but most of their personal wealth comes from discovering magical artefacts in the wilds, and as I say, some can be a bit over-protective. Anyway, you might want to warn your boss to be proactive in finding a sponsoring family BEFORE he starts trading in magic from the forest. If you're set up on the poor side, he probably won't be getting the polite visitors if he waits too long."

So the ruling council of merchants run pretty well everything in this city, AND pay for the city guard's wages. That might help explain a couple of things

[thinkslogically]

To Mehriv:
"Hmm... Well, best bring them up on deck to be sure. If something funny's happened to the ship, I don't think you'd want there to be any confusion as to who did it, would you?

Who are you lot anyway?"

The warning is delivered politely enough.

[Dlover]

Mehr nods at the guard's warning, gesturing for somebody to fetch Syli. At the question, he shrugs, "Merchants, adventurers, traders, mercenaries, entrepreneurs, there are many things you could call us. In the end, it boils down to a group of capable people with a variety of skills, who intend to seek the backing of an influential council member so we can hunt and sell artifacts. I am Mehriv Turajin, owner of the newly founded Dungeons And Delvers: Five Experts. The excitable human girl is more a responsibility than an expert."